One August afternoon, Richard Allen dropped off his last passenger, Mrs. Carey. Lifting two grocery bags, he followed her across the yard and stood on the step of her house. Glancing up, he saw a large wasp（黄蜂）nest under the roof. Allen had heard that wasps can become more likely to sting（sting, stung, stung蜇）in summer. He mentioned this to Mrs. Carey, who had opened the door.
“Oh, they don’t bother me,” she said lightly. “I go in and out all the time.”
Anxiously, Allen looked at the nest again-to see the wasps flying straight at him. “Hurry!” he shouted to Mrs. Carey. “Get in!”
She stepped quickly inside. Allen ran for his mini-bus. Too late; they were upon him. Just as he jumped aboard, half a dozen red spots showed on his arm, and he felt more on his back and shoulders.
As he was driving down the road, Allen felt as if something was burning at the back of his neck, and the “fire” was spreading forward toward his face. An immediate anxiety took hold of him. Allen knew that stings could cause some persons to die. But he had been stung the previous summer and the after-effects soon passed. However, what he didn’t know was that the first sting had turned his body into a time bomb waiting for the next to set off an explosion.
Miles from the nearest medical assistance, Allen began to feel his tongue thick and heavy and his heartbeat louder. Most frightening, he felt his breathing more and more difficult. He reached for the radio mike（话筒）,trying to call the mini-bus center, but his words were hardly understandable. Signals were also poor that far out. He knew a rescue team was on 24-hour duty at the Amherst Fire Department’s north station. So his best chance was to make a run for it.
Rushing down the mountain, Allen tried not to panic, focusing his mind on each sharp turn. He was almost through the last of them when he felt sure he was going into shock（休克）.Just then he reached for the radio mike again.
“Call fire station,” he shouted, concentrating to form the words. “Emergency. Bee sting. Emergency. There in ten minutes.”
“Five-ten,” the center replied.
Hold on, Allen thought. Keep your eyes open. Breathe. Keep awake.
At last he reached the station. Two firemen ran out. Allen felt their hands grasp him before he hit the ground. You made it, he thought.It is mentioned in the passage that wasps are more likely to attack when_____.
A. there are huge noises
B. strangers are approaching
C. the hottest season comes around
D the air is filled with food smellAllen didn’t know that if stung by wasps again, he would______.
| A．have no after-effects |
| B．suffer from sharper pain |
| C．become more sensitive |
| D．surely lose his life |
Allen failed at his first attempt to send his message to the mini-bus center because _______.
| A．he was in a state of shock |
| B．his radio equipment was poor |
| C．he was unable to speak clearly |
| D．no one was on duty |
Which would be the best title for the passage？
| A．A Race Against Death |
| B．Wasps, Bloody Killers |
| C．Allen, A Helpless Driver |
| D．War Against Wasps |
A sunflower is a sunflower. A mobile phone is a mobile phone. But can you combine the two to do something for your local environment?
As early as next year it may well be possible. When you have finished with your mobile phone you will be able to bury it in the garden or a plant pot and wait for it to flower. A biodegradable (生物可降解的) mobile phone was, this month, introduced by scientists. It is hoped that the new type of phone will encourage consumers to recycle.
Scientists have come up with a new material over the last five years. It looks like any other plastic and can be hard or soft, and able to change shape. Overtime it can also break down into the soil without giving out any toxic (有毒的) chemicals. British researchers used the new material to develop a phone cover that contains a sunflower seed. When this new type of cover turns into waste, it forms nitrates (硝酸盐). These feed the seed and help the flower grow.
Engineers have designed a small transparent (透明的) window to hold the seed. They have made sure it only grows when the phone is thrown away.
"We've only put sunflower seeds into the covers so far. But we are working with plant experts to find out which flowers would perform best. Maybe we could put roses in next time," said one scientist.
As phone technology is developing so quickly people are constantly (经常地) throwing their mobiles away. This means manufacturers are under pressure to find ways of recycling them.
Some 650 million mobile phones have been sold this year. Most of them will be thrown away within two years, adding plastic, heavy metal and chemical waste to the environment. A biodegradable cover can offer some relief for nature, according to the scientists.
"The seed is released and the flower grows in the pot so you don't have to concern yourself with the phone when you have finished using it," said Kerry Kirwan. She leads the research team, which is based at the University of Warwick in Britain.After you have finished using the new type of mobile phone, ________.
| A．the sunflower seed will come out and flower wherever you throw it |
| B．the phone cover will break down easily in the soil which you bury it in |
| C．it will be recycled by the manufactures |
| D．it can recharge itself in an environmental friendly way |
Which of the following is wrong about the cover of the new type of phone?
| A．It can provide useful fertilizer for the sunflower seed after the mobile phone breaks down. |
| B．It looks like normal plastics but it can break down. |
| C．It can serve as the storage for the sunflower seed. |
| D．It makes sure the seed only grows after the phone is thrown away. |
This type of research is done because ________.
| A．the technology that produces mobile phones is changing rapidly |
| B．consumers tend to throw away their mobile phones within two years |
| C．nobody has ever thought of recycling mobile phones |
| D．producing mobile phones uses a lot of energy, so this has become a very big problem for the environment |
We can infer from the story ________.
| A．the new type of mobile phone is already on the market |
| B．the new type of mobile phone will sell extremely well |
| C．recycling mobile phones is increasingly important to the environment |
| D．other flowers may be used in the new type of cell phone |
While Bill was getting ready for work one Monday morning, he announced to his wife that he had finally decided to ask his boss for a salary raise. All day Bill felt nervous as he thought about the upcoming showdown. What if Mr. Smith refused his request? Bill had worked so hard in the last 12 months and managed to win a contract that was hard to get for Procter& Gamble. Of course, he should get a salary raise.
The thought of walking into Mr. Smith’s office left Bill weak in the knees. Late in the afternoon he was finally brave enough to approach his superior. To his delight and surprise, the mean boss agreed to give Bill a raise!
Bill arrived home that evening---despite breaking all city and state speed limits---to a beautiful table. His wife, Alice, had prepared a fabulous meal including his favorite dishes. Immediately he figured someone from the office had told her the news.
Next to his plate Bill found a beautiful lettered note. It was from his wife. It read: “Congratulations, my love! I knew you’d get the raise! I prepared this dinner to show just how much I love you. I am so proud of your accomplishments!” He read it and stopped to reflect on how sensitive and caring Alice was.
After dinner, Bill was on his way to the kitchen to get dessert when he noticed that a second card had slipped out of Alice’s pocket onto the floor. He bent forward to pick up. It read: “Don’t worry about not getting the raise! You do deserve one! You are a wonderful provider and I prepared this dinner to show you how much I love you though you did not get the increase.”
Suddenly tears welled in Bill’s eyes. Total acceptance! Alice’s support for him was not conditional upon his success at work.
The fear of rejection is often softened and we can face almost any difficulty when we know someone loves us regardless of our success or failure.What was Bill’s plan that Monday?
| A．To request a wage increase from his boss． |
| B．To get a promotion． |
| C．To celebrate his success． |
| D．To ask his boss to come for dinner. |
On his way home, Bill was .
| A．excited | B．relaxed | C．nervous | D．puzzled |
We can conclude from the passage that .
| A．unconditional love brings courage and strength |
| B．work hard and you will be rewarded. |
| C．many fears turn out to be unfounded |
| D．we should never be afraid to demand what is due to |
Which of the following statements about the passage is FALSE?
| A．Bill was afraid that his request would be refused. |
| B．Bill had worked hard and done his part for the company. |
| C．Bill’s boss agreed to his request. |
| D．One of Bill’s colleagues had told his wife the good news. |
One of my fondest memories as a child is going by the river and sitting idly on the bank. There I would enjoy the peace and quiet, watch the water rush downstream and listen to the singing of birds and the rustling of leaves in the trees. I would also watch the bamboo trees bend under pressure from the wind and watch them return gracefully to their original position after the wind had died down.
When I think about the bamboo trees’ ability to bounce back or return to its original position, the word “resilience” comes to my mind. When used in reference to a person, this word means the ability to readily recover from shock, depression or any other negative situation that stretches the limits of a person’s emotions.
Have you ever felt like you are about to lose control of your emotions? Have you ever felt like you are at your breaking point? Thankfully, you have survived the experience to live to talk about it.
During the experience you probably felt a mix of emotions that threatened your health. You felt emotionally tired, mentally exhausted and you most likely bored unpleasant physical symptoms.
Life is a mixture of good times and bad times, happy moments and unhappy moments. The next time you are experiencing one of those bad times or unhappy moments that take you close to your breaking point, bend, but don’t break. Try your best not to let the situation get the best of you.
A measure of hope will take you through the unpleasant moments. Will hope for a better tomorrow or a better situation, things may not be as bad as they seem to be. The unpleasant moment may be easier to deal with if the end result is worth having.
If the situation gets tough and you are at your breaking point, show resilience. Like the bamboo trees, bend, but don’t break!What does the underlined word “resilience” mean in Paragraph 2?
| A．The ability to overcome any difficulty. |
| B．The quality of hoping for a better tomorrow. |
| C．The quality of being brave at the breaking point. |
| D．The ability to recover easily and quickly from unpleasant or damaging events. |
Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
| A．Life is like a bamboo tree that never breaks. |
| B．Whatever difficulties we may meet with in our life, we can bend, but can never break. |
| C．Life is a mixture of good times and bad times, happy moments and unhappy moments. |
| D．If you get over your breaking point, you can survive to live longer and more happily than others. |
According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
| A．The author was an idle child when he was living near the river. |
| B．We should try our best not to let our bad times get the best of us. |
| C．Our being likely to lose control of our emotions is common in our life. |
| D．We should always believe things may not be as bad as they seem to be. |
Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?
| A．Bend, but don’t break. |
| B．My wonderful childhood. |
| C．The bamboo trees. |
| D．Love the bamboo trees and your life. |
That cold January night, I was growing sick of my life in San Francisco. There I was, walking home at one in the morning after a tiring practice at the theatre. With opening night only a week away, I was still learning my lines(台词). I was having trouble dealing with my part-time job at the bank and my acting at night at the same time. As I walked, I thought seriously about giving up both acting and San Francisco. City life had become too much for me.
As I walked down empty streets under tall buildings, I felt very small and cold. I began running, both to keep warm and to keep away from any possible robbers (抢劫犯). Very few people were still out except a few sad-looking homeless people under blankets.
About a block from my apartment, I heard a sound behind me. I turned quickly, half expecting to see someone with a knife or a gun. The street was empty. All I saw was a shining streetlight. Still, the noise had made me nervous, so I started to run faster. Not until I reached my apartment building and unlocked the door did I realize what the noise had been. It had been my wallet falling to the sidewalk.
Suddenly I wasn’t cold or tired anymore. I ran out of the door and back to where I’d heard the noise. Although I searched the sidewalk anxiously for fifteen minutes, my wallet was nowhere to be found.
Just as I was about to give up the search, I heard the garbage truck (垃圾车) pull up to the sidewalk next to me. When a voice called from the inside, “ Alisa Camacho ?” I thought I was dreaming. How could this man know my name? The door opened, and out jumped a small red-haired man with an amused look in his eye. “Is this what you’re looking for?” he asked, holding up a small square shape.
It was nearly 3 A.M. by the time I got into bed. I wouldn’t get much sleep that night, but I had gotten my wallet back. I also had gotten back some enjoyment of city life. I realized that the city couldn’t be a bad place as long as people were willing to help each other.How did the writer feel when she was walking home after work?
| A．Cold and sick. |
| B．Fortunate and helpful. |
| C．Satisfied and cheerful. |
| D．Disappointed and helpless. |
On her way home the writer _______.
| A．lost her wallet unknowingly |
| B．was stopped by a garbage truck driver |
| C．was robbed of her wallet by an armed man |
| D．found some homeless people following her |
In the fifth paragraph, why did the writer say she was dreaming?
| A．Someone offered to take her back home. |
| B．A red-haired man came to see her. |
| C．She heard someone call her name. |
| D．Her wallet was found in a garbage truck. |
From the text, we can infer that the writer _________.
| A．would stop working at night |
| B．would stay on in San Francisco |
| C．would make friends with cleaners |
| D．would give up her job at the bank. |
Pango was a village in India. The people were poor. However, they were not unhappy. After all, their forefathers had lived in the same way for centuries.
Then one day, some visitors from the city arrived. They told the villagers there were some people elsewhere who liked to eat frog’s legs. However, they did not have enough frogs of their own, and so they wanted to buy frogs from other places.
This seemed like money for nothing. There were millions of frogs in the fields around, and they were no use to the villagers. All they had to do was catch them. Agreement was reached, and the children were sent into the fields to catch frogs. Every week a truck arrived to collect the catch and hand over the money. For the first time, the people were able to dream of a better future. But the dream didn’t last long.
The change was hardly noticed at first, but it seemed as if the crops were not doing so well. More worrying was that the children fell ill more often, and, there seemed to be more insects around lately.
The villagers decided that they couldn’t just wait to see the crops failing and the children getting weak. They would have to use the money earned to buy pesticides (杀虫剂）and medicines. Soon there was no money left.
Then the people realized what was happening. It was the frog. They hadn’t been useless. They had been doing an important job—eating insects. Now with so many frogs killed, the insects were increasing more rapidly. They were damaging the crops and spreading diseases.
Now, the people are still poor. But in the evenings they sit in the village square and listen to sounds of insects and frogs. These sounds of the night now have a much deeper meaning.From Paragraph 1 we learn that the villagers ________.
| A．worked very hard for centuries |
| B．dreamed of having a better life |
| C．were poor but somewhat content |
| D．lived a different life from their forefathers |
Why did the villagers agree to sell frogs?
| A．The frogs were easy money. |
| B．They needed money to buy visitors. |
| C．They wanted to please the visitors. |
| D．The frogs made too much noise. |
What might be the cause of the children’s sickness?
| A．The crops didn’t do well. |
| B．There were too many insects. |
| C．The visitors brought in diseases. |
| D．The pesticides were overused. |
What can we infer from the last sentence of the text?
| A．Happiness comes from peaceful life in the country. |
| B．Health is more important than money. |
| C．The harmony between man and nature is important. |
| D．Good old days will never be forgotten. |