For many years Henry had been a journalist. He had worked on many international newspapers and magazines and traveled over the world.
Henry had witnessed war and natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes and erupting volcanoes ( 火山爆发).
He had reported on serious accidents such as major fires and airline crashes.
He had seen every kind of terrible crime and strange event there was.
He had met and written about some of the most unusual people in the world.
In fact, there wasn’t much that Henry had not seen or done.
Now he was retired from journalism(新闻业). He owned a very expensive restaurant and spent his days talking to his wealthy and important customers. He liked to say that nothing surprised him.
One day he was sitting at the bar in his restaurant when a big gorilla(大猩猩) walked in and asked for a table.
Henry showed no surprise. He took the gorilla to a table and handed him a menu. He treated him politely and pretended there was nothing at all strange about having a gorilla in his restaurant.
The gorilla looked through the menu and ordered a salad.
Henry served the gorilla his salad personally, knowing that his waiters and waitresses would be too frightened.
At last the gorilla finished his salad and asked for the bill.
Henry wrote out the bill and handed it to the big animal.
The gorilla studied it, shook his head sadly then gave Henry fifty dollars.
“Thank you,” Henry said, and then to make conversation, he added, “we don’t get many gorillas in this restaurant.”
“At fifty dollars for a salad,” the gorilla said, “I’m not surprised.” According to the story, Henry had________.
A.had the most exciting experiences |
B.told the longest stories |
C.made history |
D.caused accidents |
One day when a gorilla came into the restaurant, Henry was_____.
A.very surprised by the gorilla |
B.not disturbed(烦忧) by the gorilla |
C.very interested in the gorilla |
D.scared of the gorilla |
From the sentences “Henry served the gorilla his salad personally, knowing that his waiters and waitresses would be too frightened” you can learn that______.
A.his staff were not brave people |
B.Henry didn’t normally serve customers |
C.the gorilla had eaten there before |
D.the gorilla was careful with his money |
Jamie Oliver has been invited by Gordon Brown to prepare a banquet at No.10 for President Barack Obama and other leaders of the G20,offering a cut-price menu to reflect times when trade and industry are far from prosperous and the rate of employment is decreasing.
Downing Street sources say Oliver, the well-known chef, will cook using“honest high—street products”and avoid expensive or“fancy”ingredients(材料).
The prime minister is trying to avoid a repeat of the embarrassment last year when he sat down to an 18-course banquet at a Japanese summit to discuss world food shortages.
Obama,President Nicolas Sarkozy of France,Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and other leaders will be served by apprentices(学徒)from Fifteen,the London restaurant Oliver founded to help train young people in poverty in order to make a living by mastering a skill.
Brown wants the dinner to reflect the emphasis of the London summit,which he hopes will lead to an agreement to lift the world out of depression.“To be invited to cook for such an important group of people,who are trying to solve some of the world’s major problems, is really a privilege,”said Oliver,“I’m hoping the menu I'm working on will show British food and produce is some of the best in the world,but also show we have pioneered a high-quality apprentice scheme at Fifteen London that is giving young people a skill to be proud of.”
The chef has not yet finalized the menu,but is expected to draw inspiration from his latest book, Jamie's Ministry of Food,which has budget recipes for beef and ale stew(啤酒炖菜)and “impressive” chocolate fudge cake.
56. What can we learn about Oliver from the text?
A.He is a well-known American cook.
B.He is invited to attend the G20 summit.
C.He has founded the Fifteen London.
D. He is one of the apprentices serving leaders of the G20.
57.The menu of the banquet for the leaders of the G20 is supposed to .
A.include all delicious British food
B.use inexpensive produce with special characteristics
C.be rich,varied and of high quality
D.imitate the menu of last Japanese summit
58.Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?
A.Oliver is honored to be invited to cook for the G20 leaders.
B. Altogether three presidents are mentioned in the text.
C.President Barak Obama offers the cut-price menu.
D.The menu for the G20 dinner banquet has been decided.
59.What is the Fifteen London?
A.an apartment in London B.a luxurious restaurant in London
C.a restaurant as well as a training center D.a famous avenue
Whenever human populations have lived in forest areas, they have always cut down trees which they used for a number of purposes, for housing and ships and served as a source of heating fuel and timber. Growth of cities often meant expansion into forest areas, while even more trees were removed to provide space for agriculture. With the growing demand for paper, vast quantities of trees have also been cut down for paper production. These factors, along with many others, have been contributing to a dangerous phenomenon known as deforestation.
In the last 5,000 years, humans have reduced forest from roughly 50 percent of the earth’s land surface to less than 20 percent. Most of this original, or old growth, forest cover is concentrated in three large areas: the Canadian and Alaskan boreal forest, the boreal forest of Russia, and the tropical forest of the northwestern Amazon Basin and the Guyana Shield. These areas comprise almost 70 percent of the world’s remaining original forest cover. In most places, the rate of deforestation is increasing, with the alarming result of 16 million hectares disappearing worldwide every year.
Loss of forest does not just mean the decline of natural resources. There are several other factors that make deforestation seriously harmful to both the human and natural worlds. One of them is changes in the global climate. For example, forest clearance is releasing substantial volumes of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere as vegetation is burnt or decays. It has been suggested that this is a significant factor in global warming. Moreover, about 10 percent of the world’s tree species are in danger of extinction as a result of deforestation. Deforestation also threatens biological diversity through the destruction of wildlife habitats, which endangers a number of animal species and leads to their potential disappearance. Species are particularly easy to extinction in tropical rainforests because many species have few individuals per unit area, which makes reproduction more difficult. Finally, since forests play an important role in storing water and stabilizing soil, deforestation and the resulting change in land use cause soil erosion (腐蚀) and other forms of land degradation.
72. The passage discusses all of the following EXCEPT the ________.
A. causes of deforestation B. consequences of deforestation
C. management of deforestation D. rate of deforestation
73. The word “diversity” in the last paragraph probably means “________”.
A. variety B. expansion
C. development D. advantage
74. Why does the author mention fuel and timber in Paragraph 1?
A. To explain the rate of deforestation.
B. To compare them with housing and ships.
C. To show the dangers of deforestation.
D. To illustrate the causes of deforestation.
75. Which of the following sentences summarizes Paragraph 3 best?
A. Deforestation threatens biological diversity.
B. Deforestation has many harmful consequences.
C. Deforestation causes changes in global climate.
D. Deforestation should be stopped.
Throughout time, people have loved music for its ability to transport them into a world of rhythm and melody. Recently more and more hospitals and clinics have been tapping into the power of music - not only to comfort patients, but to help them heal as well. Welcome to the world of music therapy.
After each of the two world wars, musicians visited hospitals and played instruments for injured soldiers suffering from emotional and physical pain. Today’s music therapists continue this practice, playing instruments such as guitars and harps to bring comfort to their audiences.
Therapist Eric Mammen encourages his patients at a children’s hospital to participate with him as he plays. During visits with 13-year-old cancer patient Lawrence Garcia, Mammen encourages Garcia to beat on electric drums while he plays the guitar. The therapy won’t cure his cancer, but it does, according to Garcia’s mom, take away much of the boy’s depression.
Music therapy can elevate patients’ moods and ease the symptoms of depression according to the American Music Therapy Association. Other benefits include relieving pain, calming tension, aiding sleep, counteracting worry or fear, and easing muscle tension.
Jose Haro personally experienced the benefits of music therapy when he was recovering from heart surgery. During his recovery, he played a piano whose keys lit up, indicating which keys to touch to play along with the background music. Soon, he was playing tunes and noticing something strange. “I was searching for my pain.” He says of his experience, “but it was gone.”
While Haro’s experience provides an evidence of the power of music to relieve pain, scientific research has proven music also helps patients with Alzheimer’s disease and arthritis.
In addition, music therapy helps premature (早产的) babies. Doctors are tapping into a powerful way to teach premature babies that haven’t yet learned how to suck. Doctors use a device that comforts the babies by playing music when they suck on a pacifier (奶嘴). Soon, the babies learn to suck in return for music, gaining weight faster and going home earlier than those who don’t use the device.
Even perfectly healthy people are discovering the power of music to calm and heal. Drum circles attract people who find stress relief in pounding out rhythms. While music isn’t a cure-all, it does make life a little easier.
68. In the first paragraph, the underlined phrase “tapping into” can be replaced by “________”.
A. discussing on B. looking for
C. showing interest in D. making use of
69. According to the passage, Jose Haro ________.
A. went through an obvious effect of music on his recovery
B. recovered from heart disease completely
C. felt no pain in his surgery
D. was asked to play the piano by his doctors
70. From the passage, we know ________.
A. musicians cured many soldiers after each of the two world wars
B. Garcia found much comfort in music according to his mom
C. music can prevent people from suffering from arthritis
D. the more music they listen to, the faster premature babies gain weight
71. What is the best title for this passage?
A. Music Is Becoming Popular in Most Hospitals
B. Music Helps Patients Recover
C. Musicians Work with Doctors
D. People’s Life Benefits from Music
(You may read the questions first.)
Box Office Instructions |
Discounts/ Service charges: We offer children (12 and under), seniors (65 and over) and students (student ID card required) discounts on all seats. Please call the Box Office to know about any other possible discounts. |
Returns/ Exchanges: We are happy to offer returns or exchanges of tickets purchased up until the close of the last business day before the show with a $3.00 per ticket fee for this service. The box office must be informed directly in order to exchange tickets to another date (this service is not available online). |
Friendly reminders: Latecomers will not be permitted to enter the hall until a suitable break in the performance. Children must be seated where they can be looked after by parents. Please show consideration for other audiences by not talking during the performance, and please encourage children to do the same. Cameras and recording equipment are not allowed to be used in our theatre. Please turn off all cell phones while enjoying the performance. |
Will call: Please tell us at the time of booking if you would like your tickets mailed to you, otherwise they will be held for pickup at the box office. |
65. We can learn from the passage that exchanges of tickets purchased ________.
A. are free of charge
B. are not available until the last business day
C. will not be given a big cash discount
D. need to contact the box office directly
66. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Latecomers will not be permitted to enter the theatre.
B. There is a special area for children in the theatre.
C. The audience is not allowed to take photos in the theatre.
D. Children can talk in a low voice during the performance.
67. According to the passage, the audience ________.
A. can receive their tickets by mail
B. can see the performance online
C. can’t take cell phones to the theatre
D. can’t return tickets in any case
Birds that are half-asleep—with one brain hemisphere (半球) alert and the other sleeping—control which side of the brain remains awake, according to a new study of sleeping ducks.
Earlier studies have documented half-brain sleep in a wide range of birds. The brain hemispheres take turns sinking into the sleep stage characterized by slow brain waves. The eye controlled by the sleeping hemisphere keeps shut, while the wakeful hemisphere’s eye stays open and alert. Birds also can sleep with both hemispheres resting at once.
Decades of studies of bird groups led researchers to predict extra alertness in the end-of-the-row sleepers which tend to be attacked more easily. Sure enough, the end birds tended to watch carefully on the side away from their companions. Ducks in the inner spots showed no preference for gaze direction.
Also, birds napping at the end of the line depend on single-hemisphere sleep, rather than total relaxation, more often than inner ducks did. Turning 16 birds through the positions in a four-duck row, the researchers found that compared with 12 percent for birds in internal spots, outer birds half-asleep during some 32 percent of napping time.
“We believe this is the first evidence for an animal behaviorally controlling sleep and wakefulness at the same time in different regions of the brain,” the researchers say.
The results provide the best evidence for a long-standing assumption that single-hemisphere sleep evolved as creatures scanned for enemies. The preference for opening an eye on the lookout side could be widespread, he predicts. He’s seen it in a pair of birds napping side-by-side in the zoo and in a single pet bird sleeping by a mirror. The mirror-side eye closed as if the reflection were a companion and the other eye stayed open.
Useful as half-sleeping might be, it’s only been found in birds and such water animals as dolphins, whales, and seals. Perhaps keeping one side of the brain awake allows a sleeping animal to surface occasionally to avoid drowning.
Studies of birds may offer unique insights into sleep. Jerome M. Siegel of the UCLA says he wonders if birds’ half-brain sleep “is just the tip of the iceberg.” He supposes that more examples may turn up when we take a closer look at other species.
72. According to the passage, birds often half sleep because ______.
A. they have to watch out for possible attacks
B. their brain hemispheres take turns to rest
C. the two halves of their brain are differently structured
D. they have to constantly keep an eye on their companions
73. What is implied about the example of a bird’s sleeping in front of a mirror?
A. An imagined companion gives the bird a sense of security.
B. Birds prefer to sleep in pairs for the sake of their security.
C. The phenomenon of birds napping in pairs is widespread.
D. A single pet bird enjoys seeing its own reflection in the mirror.
74. While sleeping, some water animals tend to keep half awake in order to ______.
A. alert themselves to the approaching enemy
B. emerge from water now and then to breathe
C. be sensitive to the ever-changing environment
D. avoid being swept away by rapid currents
75. By saying “just the tip of the iceberg”, Siegel suggests that ______.
A. half-brain sleep has something to do with icy weather
B. the mystery of half-brain sleep is close to being solved
C. most birds living in cold regions tend to be half sleepers
D. half-brain sleep may exist among other species