ISITTIMETOGETMP3?Yourcomputerh-优题课

As I grew older, my dad and I grew further apart. We always had totally different opinions. He thought that college was a waste of time, but for me it was important to finish college. He wanted me to work my way to the top as he had done in his field，but I wanted a different life. There was a time when we did not talk with each other.
A few months ago, I heard that my 84-year-old dad was in poor health. When he called and asked whether I could move from Colorado bank to Tennessee to help him, I knew he was seriously ill. I am his only child and so it was time to meet my father's requirement.
Two weeks after moving back, we bought a boat and started fishing again. Fishing was one of the few things that we did while I was young and that we both enjoyed. It is strange but true that as we are fishing we are able to put things that have kept us apart for so many years behind us. We are able to talk about things that we have never talked about before. Fishing has been healing the old wounds that have kept us apart.
It is not important how many fish we catch. It is about enjoying the relationship that we have not had for years. I' m 62 and he is 84. When we are on the lake fishing, it is like enjoying life. It is far better to find a way to put the unhappy past behind. I am so lucky to spend the happy time with my father in his last years. Now my heart is filled with love. A smile always graces my lips.
The author and his father became further apart because .

A．they lived very far from each other

B．they seldom went to see each other

C．they only communicated by phone

D．they had different views on things

Why did the author came back to Tennessee?

A．Because his father invited him to go fishing.

B．Because he decided to live in a different city.

C．Because his father was ill and needed caring.

D．Because he regretted being rude to his father.

For the author, fishing with his old father

A．helps cure his father’s disease

B．makes him realize the importance of relaxation

C．is a good way to get close to nature

D．provides a chance for them to communicate

Which of the following can be the title for the text?

A．Fishing Brings Us Together	B．Forgiving Is Difficult
C．Memories of Old Days	D．My Beloved Father

Sweet peas, cucumbers, grapes ---- what do you think they have in common?
None of these vegetables grow on trees. They all don’t have strong roots, big trunks or long branches, which makes it harder for them to get sunlight. But don’t worry. They have developed their own unique way of growing taller climbing!
Take sweet peas as an example. The plant grows as a straight stem until it finds something to hold onto, either a nearby tree or a stick. That is when the stem makes small coil(卷曲) that helps the plant hold the stick tightly.
How these plants are able to do this has been a mystery to scientists for years. Even Charles Darwin was interested in this question. But it is not until now that a Harvard research team has finally found the answer. The study was published in the Journal Science earlier this month.
The key, as it turns out, is inside a kind of thread-like cell called “g-fiber cell”, which has the ability to shrink or stretch. Each stem of the pea plant is made of several layers of g-fibers. Once the plant finds something to hold onto, cells on side of the stem start to shrink, forcing the whole thing to bend and coil, which is a bit like how our muscles get our bodies to move.
What’s more, a pea’s coil is not exactly like that of a spring. If you look closely, you may find that a spring coils all in the same direction, but a plant’s coil is in two opposite directions, like a telephone line. This means that the stem can stay soft when pulled gently but become strong enough when pulled harder.
“You want the plant to have a little bit of flexibility(柔韧性) so that if the wind blows or an animal disturb it, it doesn’t break,” explained Sharon Gerbode, author of the study. “This structure allows the plant to easily accommodate small movement, but then if something really serious happens it can become strong and protect itself.”
According to the article, coiling happens in sweet peas plant to allow the plant to.

A．form a straight stem

B．grow strong roots

C．develop g-fiber cells on the stems

D．climb itself up toward the sunlight

According to the article, which one is true about “a sweet pea’s coil”?

A．to be like that of a spring

B．to bend all in the same direction

C．to make the stem hard break

D．to make the stem get soft when pulled hard

When the sweet pea plant finds something to hold onto, .

A．g-fiber cells on both sides of stem, forcing the stem to bend and coil

B．g-fiber cells on side of stem shrink, forcing the stem to bend and coil

C．g-fiber cells on the stem start to stretch, forcing the stem to bend and coil

D．there are more g-fiber cells on the stems

What’s the purpose of the writer in the passage?

A．To tell us why the sweet peas can climb the tree or stick.

B．To display new research allows scientists to understand more about climbing plants.

C．To show us new scientific research about the role of “g-fiber cell”.

D．To tell us the mysterious natural phenomena of some plants.

The cars were honking (鸣叫) on the road one morning as I was walking to the park. I walked on and soon found the cause — a little taxi that had got stuck in the middle of the road. There was sweat on the driver's face as he tried to start the engine again and again — nothing happened. "No petrol,"
I said to myself and then found myself getting angry. "Why doesn't the fool move his taxi to the side?" I thought, so did all the others who honked and shouted.
He got up tiredly, and the passenger in the taxi got out. He was a young man in a white shirt, who watched the driver try to push it to the side. "Stupid guy!" I said. "Can't he lend a helping hand? "
I watched as the poor driver pushed it to the side. Cars, buses and trucks went past cursing (咒骂 ) the poor man. The young man took another taxi and went off.
The taxi driver began mending his taxi. "Stupid passenger!" I said to him. "He didn't help you!" The taxi driver slowly got up. "Sir!" he asked, "Did you?" I looked at him guiltily, then looked away, and walked away fast, asking myself, "Did I help the poor man push his taxi?"
What had I been doing as the traffic jam took place? How had I helped deal with the problem? Did I help the poor man push his taxi? I’d done my bit, with my mouth. But never had I moved to solve the problem. I was shocked with guilt as I heard him asking, "Sir! Did you?"
Why did a traffic jam happen on the road when the author was walking to the park?

A．There was too much traffic in the street.

B．Truck drivers attempted to go ahead of others.

C．A taxi driver couldn't start his engine.

D．A young man wasn't good at driving.

The author's attitude toward the passenger is that of __________.

A．anger

B．respect

C．sympathy

D．guilt

Why did the author feel guilty?

A．Because he blamed the driver wrongly.

B．Because he didn't help the driver, either.

C．Because he tried to help but failed in the end.

D．Because he didn't persuade the passenger to help.

From the incident, the author learnt a lesson that we should _________.

A．criticize those who don't help

B．hurt the self-respect of others no more

C．think more of those who are in need

D．stop talking and start to help

When my family moved to America in 2010 from a small village in Guangdong, China, we brought not only our luggage, but also our village rules, customs and culture. One of the rules is that young people should always respect elders. Unluckily, this rule led to my very first embarrassment in the United States.
I had a part-time job as a waiter in a Chinese restaurant. One time, when I was serving food to a middle-aged couple, the wife asked me how the food could be served so quickly. I told her that I had made sure they got their food quickly because I always respect the elderly. As soon as I said that, her face showed great displeasure. My manager, who happened to hear what I said, took me aside and gave me a long lecture about how sensitive(敏感) Americans are and how they dislike the description “old”. I then walked back to the table and apologized to the wife. After the couple heard my reason, they understood that the problem was caused by cultural differences, so they laughed and were no longer angry.
In my village in China, people are proud of being old. Not so many people live to be seventy or eighty, and people who reach such an age have the most knowledge and experience. Young people always respect older people because they know they can learn from their rich experience.
However, in the United States, people think “growing old” is a problem since “old” shows that a person is going to retire or that the body is not working well. Here many people try to keep themselves away from growing old by doing exercises or jogging, and women put on makeup, hoping to look young. When I told the couple in the restaurant that I respect the elderly, they got angry because this caused them to feel they had failed to stay young. I had told them something they didn’t want to hear.
After that, I changed the way I had been with older people. It is not that I don’t respect them any more; I still respect them, but now I don’t show my feelings through words.
By Jack
Jack brought the couple their food very fast because _______.

A．the manager asked him to do so

B．he respected the elderly

C．the couple wanted him to do so

D．he wanted more pay

When Jack called the couple “elderly”, they became _______.

A．nervous

B．satisfied

C．Unhappy

D．excited

In Jack’s hometown, _______.

A．people dislike being called “old”

B．people are proud of being old

C．many people reach the age of seventy or eighty

D．the elderly are the first to get food in restaurants

After this experience, Jack _______.

A．lost his job in the restaurant

B．made friends with the couple

C．no longer respected the elderly

D．changed his way with older people

Which of the following is TRUE?

A．The more Jack explained, the angrier the couple got.

B．Jack wanted to show his feelings through words after his experience.

C．The manager went back to the table and apologized to the couple.

D．From this experience, Jack learned more about American culture.

Should ecigarettes (electronic cigarettes) be a new choice for the smokers trying to get rid of the habit? Reactions from Americans are mixed. More than half of the people questioned in a survey think ecigarettes should be controlled by the US Food and Drug Administration，but 47 percent believe the ecigarettes should be available to the smokers who want to quit.
“In the hunt for a safer cigarette，ecigarettes are becoming a popular choice among those either trying to quit or looking to replace standard tobacco smoke with an alternative that manufacturers claim to be safer，” Zogby International，which conducted the survey，said in a statement.
About half of the 4,611 adults who took part in the survey had heard about ecigarettes，which are batterypowered，or rechargeable cigarettes that vaporize a liquid nicotine solution. They do not produce smoke but a water vapor without smell. Sold mostly on the Internet，ecigarettes were first made in China.
Last year the World Health Organization (WHO) warned against using ecigarettes，saying there was no evidence to prove they were safe or helped smokers break the habit. The WHO said people who smoke ecigarettes breathe in a fine fog of nicotine into the lungs.
Nearly a third of people questioned in the survey think that ecigarettes should be allowed in places where smoking is forbidden，because they don’t produce smoke，but 46 percent disagree. Men who were aware of the availability of ecigarettes were more likely than women to say they should be a choice available to smokers who want to quit. Young people，aged 18－29，and singles were the groups most open to trying ecigarettes. Smoking is the single largest cause of preventable death worldwide，according to the WHO.
What can we learn from Paragraph 1?

A．American smokers ought to try ecigarettes.

B．Americans have different opinions about ecigarettes.

C．Every kind of cigarettes should be forbidden in America.

D．Most of the Americans don’t like ecigarettes.

According to Zogby International，ecigarettes ________.

A．are much safer than common cigarettes

B．are popular among people who want to quit smoking

C．will take the place of traditional cigarettes

D．are produced in a safer way by manufacturers

What do we know about ecigarettes from the passage?

A．Most Americans are familiar with them.

B．They are a good choice as there is no nicotine.

C．They produce a water vapor that can’t be seen.

D．Most people buy them on the Internet.

What’s the attitude of the WHO towards ecigarettes?

A．Negative.	B．Supportive.
C．Doubtful.	D．Indifferent.

What can we conclude from the last paragraph?

A．People can smoke ecigarettes in places where smoking is forbidden.

B．Most women agree that ecigarettes should be available to smokers.

C．Young adults and singles are the main groups who agree to try ecigarettes.

D．The problem of smoking is becoming worse around the world.

A．Free of charge.	B．Free downloading.
C．At least fifty dollars.	D．About a dollar.