Millions of people visit Yosemite National Park every year to see the tall waterfalls and mountains. These mountains are a splendid sight when viewed from the valley floor. Lots of stores, hotels, and restaurants are needed to handle the crowds. Also, water, roads, and other service systems are part of the infrastructure（ 基础设施）that must be maintained.
Unfortunately, these systems are starting to break down. It is not just in Yosemite but in national parks around the nation.
Yosemite is thirty years old according to Dennis Galvin, a National Park Service worker. The park is not only old but worn out. Two or three times as many visitors come every year. That is too many visitors for the park to deal with.
Four years ago a storm washed out a water pipeline in the Grand Canyon. The National Park Service had to send water trucks to provide water for the visitors. Last month pipe almost broke again and roads had to be closed for a while.
Why hasn’t the National Park Service kept up the park repairs? There is lack of money. The United States has 378 mountains, parks, and wilderness areas. Between three and four billion dollars are needed for repairs.
Yosemite is one national park that does have money fro repairs. It has two hundred million dollars but cannot spend it any way it chooses. When the park workers started widening the road, they were forced to stop by the Sierra Club. The club claimed that the road work was damaging the Merced River that runs through the park.
A Sierra Club lawyer, Julia Olson, feels that the infrastructure needs to be moved out of Yosemite. That way less pressure will be put on the already crowed park. According to the text, the mountains in Yosemite look most splendid when
they are appreciated from _______ .
| A．the bottom of the valleys | B．the top of the mountains |
| C．the side of the mountains | D．the edge of the valleys |
National parks like Yosemite in the U.S. find it increasingly difficult to
meet the need of visitors because _______ .
| A．their transport management needs improving |
| B．they spend too much on their service systems |
| C．their service systems frequently go out of order |
| D．they need help from environmental organizations |
The main problem of Yosemite Park is its ________ .
| A．modern water pipes | B．overcrowdedness | C．lack of water | D．narrow roads |
According to the text, the Sierra Club is most likely to be _______ .
| A．an environmental group | B．an information center |
| C．a travel service | D．a law firm |
“This one’s for you,” Sergeant (警官) Barstow shouted and left quickly through the back door. I was a little puzzled. I looked out a window of the Ashfordly Police Station and saw an elderly woman come into the building.
“Good morning, Madam,” I said.
“Good morning,” she said pleasantly. “You’re new, aren’t you?”
“Yes, Madam.”
“It’s about that man who’s been annoying me,” she said. “I’ve been here about him before.”
“Could I have your name and address, please?”
“Miss Fraser. Josephine Fraser. I live at 43 Prince Terrace. Now, can you please do something about Jackson?”
“What’s he done, Miss Fraser?”
“Done? He’s thrown garbage all over my stairs again. He must be stopped.”
“Where does he live?”
“Next door, Number 41,” she said.
“I’ll go and see later and warn him off, Miss Fraser.”
“I would be most grateful.” With that she left.
Half an hour later, I reached Prince Terrace. NO. 41 was in a bad state of repair. I knocked. No reply. I entered. The place was deserted. I wondered if the Jackson was a tramp (流浪者). Anyway, it seemed he had left, possibly because of Miss Fraser’s threatening police action. I decided to visit her.
I knocked on her door and it was opened almost immediately. “Ah!” she said gladly. “You’re just in time for coffee.” I followed her inside. Miss Fraser told me more about her battle with Jackson. But when I asked specific questions, it clearly showed that she had never seen Jackson. Finally, I managed to leave.
Sergeant Barstow smiled kindly as I returned. “Nick, did you kick(踢出) Jackson out of that house?”
“Jackson!” I cried. “Who is he?”
“There is no Jackson,” he said. “Miss Fraser is lonely and she likes company. We always let the new young men deal with Miss Fraser. It gives her deep satisfaction. That’s what we are here for, isn’t it — to satisfy the public?”Why did Sergeant Barstow leave quickly when Miss Fraser came?
| A．Because he wanted to let Nick deal with her alone. |
| B．Because he had to go and catch Jackson at once. |
| C．Because he was tired of the elderly woman. |
| D．Because he knew she would tell a lie. |
Miss Fraser told Nick that _____.
| A．her neighbor had often caused her trouble |
| B．it was her first visit to the police station |
| C．she was looking for Sergeant Barstow |
| D．someone had broken into her house |
Miss Fraser made up the story of Jackson because _____.
| A．she liked to play jokes on the policemen |
| B．she wanted to have someone to talk with |
| C．she loved to show others her nice coffee |
| D．she hated Jackson very much |
Every year, as Spring Festival draws near, most Chinese people will get excited to make preparation for the most important festival and make plan for the winter break. It is a little like Christmas in the United States, but there are some differences between the two festivals.
Both the major Chinese and the major Western holidays come during the cold season, and special food is expected. In western countries, cookies and cakes begin just after Thanksgiving in November and show up everywhere. Turkey, potatoes and other food come later. Similar thing happens in China. Entering lunar December, most families will make shopping plans for the coming big day and food is certainly one of the most important things to be considered. At the end of the month, both parents in each family will be very busy---the father is busy buying food while the mother is busy cooking.
A deeper similarity (相似处) is tradition. Christmas, as the letters “Christ” suggests, began as a holiday to celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ. Many people pray (祈祷) on this day. In China, people living in cities or towns, though they don’t plan to sow seeds（播种） this month, still celebrate on the big day for farmers.
Followers of both holidays are also different from each other. While Chinese people travel to the homes of elder relatives, Americans usually call or send cards. Westerners prefer Christmas carols to fireworks. In Christmas, many family gifts come together instead of one by one, since adults may have only one day free to celebrate.
But the most curious difference is about students. Chinese students going home for Spring Festival sometimes report that they get bored by the end of vacation, yet American students seldom get bored around Christmas and western New Year.
Not everyone enjoys classic holiday traditions. Students in western countries may get upset, as too much homework, travel or bad family relations may destroy the short holiday season. In China, more and more college students choose to travel or work during the winter holiday instead of going home to stay with their families. It’s against the tradition but many people accept it.What does “the coming big day” (Paragraph 2) refer to?
| A．Christmas | B．Thanksgiving Day |
| C．the New Year’s Day | D．the Spring Festival |
The second and the third paragraphs mainly talk about ________.
| A．the similarities between Christmas and the Spring Festival |
| B．the differences between Christmas and the Spring Festival |
| C．the preparations for Christmas and the Spring Festival |
| D．the history of Christmas and the Spring Festival |
What does the writer mainly want to tell us in this passage?
| A．Food in different festivals. |
| B．Differences between two festivals. |
| C．Festivals in China and western countries. |
| D．Traditional celebrations in different countries. |
I know what you’re thinking : pizza （比萨饼）? For breakfast? But the truth is that you can have last night’s leftovers in the a. m. if you want to
I know lots of women who skip breakfast （不吃早餐）, and they have a ton of different excuses for doing it . Some say they don’t have time,others think they’re “saving” calories （卡路里）, and still others just don’t like breakfast food .
But the bottom line is that eating in the morning is very important when you’re trying to lose weight. “Eating just about anything from 300 to 400 calories would be better than nothing at all,” says Katherine Brooking , R , D , who developed the super-easy eating plan for this year’s “SELF CHALLENGE”. And even pizza can be healthy if it’s loaded with vegetables, and you stick to one small piece.
Breakfast is one meal I never miss, and the same goes for most weight loss success stories. Research shows that eating breakfast keeps you from overeating later in the day. Researchers at the University of Southem California found that breakfast skippers have a bigger chance of gaining weight than those who regularly have a morning meal.
So eat something in the morning, anything. I know plenty of friends who end up having no breakfast altogether, and have just coffee or orange juice. I say, try heating up last night’s leftovers-it may sound crazy, but if it works for you, do it! I find if I tell myself, “You can always eat it tomorrow,” I put away the leftovers instead of eating more that night. Try it,and then you may save yourself some pre-bedtime calories. And watch your body gain the fat-burning effects.The underlined word “leftovers” in Paragraph 1 probably means__________.
| A．food remaining after a meal | B．things left undone |
| C．meals made of vegetables | D．pizza topped with fruit |
What can we infer from the text?
| A．Working women usually have breakfast in a hurry. |
| B．Many people have wrong ideas about breakfast. |
| C．There are some easy ways of cooking a meal. |
| D．Eating vegetables helps save energy. |
According to the last paragraph, it is important to____________.
| A．eat something for breakfast | B．be careful about what you eat |
| C．heat up food before eating it | D．eat calorie-controlled food |
The text is written mainly for those_____________.
| A．who go to work early | B．who want to lose weight |
| C．who stay up late | D．who eat before sleep |
Want to be perfect at a holiday dinner party? Follow these tips on good manners, and your dinner companions are sure to be thankful.
*Arrive no earlier than the time the host has announced and no later than half an hour after the time.
*Plan to stay about an hour after dinner unless travel plans or sleepy children which make you leave a bit earlier.
*Bring a gift and write a note of thanks afterwards.
*Offer to help set up for dinner and to clean afterwards.
*Tell the host of any special dietary needs---if you are a vegetarian, diabetic or allergic to common foods. You can tell the host how to prepare a dish you can eat, or even better, offer to bring that dish yourself.
*If you’re going to a potluck (百乐餐) dinner, bring a serving dish with you as an offer. Remember, the best potluck dishes are those that need little preparation in the host’s kitchen, can be served at room temperature and need only a fork to eat.To be a perfect guest, you should _______.
| A．never be late for a holiday dinner party |
| B．leave right away after meal if necessary |
| C．bring a gift with some words of thanks on |
| D．help to make table and clean afterwards |
“Diabetic or allergic” here refers to people who _____ .
| A．have some special needs for certain foods |
| B．are more important than other dinner companions |
| C．never try some common foods served at dinner |
| D．always bring dishes to dinner themselves |
According to the passage, potluck dinner dishes are those _______ .
| A．usually given by the guests |
| B．carefully prepared in the kitchen |
| C．served only at room temperature |
| D．eaten only with a fork and knife |
The passage is mainly written for _____ .
| A．holiday makers | B．companions | C．dinner hosts | D．dinner guests |
A kindergarten teacher decided to let her class play a game. The teacher told each child in the class to bring along a plastic bag containing a few potatoes. Each potato will be given a name of a person that the child hates, so the number of potatoes that a child will put in his/her plastic bag will depend on the number of people he/she cannot forgive（宽恕）.
So when the day came, every child brought some potatoes with the name of the people he/she hated. Some had 2 potatoes; some 3, while some had up to 5 potatoes.
The teacher then told the children to carry the potatoes with them wherever they go (even to the toilet) for one week. With days passing by, the children started to complain because of the unpleasant smell let out by the rotten (腐烂) potatoes they were carrying.
Those children who have 5 potatoes really began to feel the weight of the heavier bags. After one week, the children were happy to hear that the teacher had finally ended the game. The teacher asked: "How did you feel while carrying the potatoes with you for one week?" The children started complaining of the trouble that they had to carry the heavy and smelly potatoes wherever they go.
Then the teacher told them the hidden meaning behind the game. The teacher said: "This is exactly the situation when you carry your hatred（仇恨）for somebody inside your heart. The burden（负担）of hatred will pollute your heart and you will end up carrying an unnecessary burden with you wherever you go.
If you cannot tolerate the smell of rotten potatoes for just one week, can you imagine what a burden it would be to have the hatred in your heart for your lifetime?"According to the teacher, if a Child hates three persons, he or she needs to carry ________.
| A．one potato | B．two potatoes | C．three potatoes | D．four potatoes |
The underlined word “tolerate ” in the last paragraph probably means _____________.
| A．carry | B．hate | C．receive | D．stand |
In fact, the teacher wants to ______________.
| A．play a game with the students | B．teach the students a lesson |
| C．make the students more tired | D．play jokes on the students |
What is the main idea of the story?
| A．It’s best to learn to forgive and forget. |
| B．Students should love people around them. |
| C．Children should carry less rotten potatoes. |
| D．Rotten potatoes are really a heavy burden. |