Louis Pasteur, one of the world's great scientists, was born in 1822, and died in 1895.While still a young boy, Louis Pasteur made his decision to become a scientist. He spent much of his life time studying the diseases of cattle, chickens and other tame animals. His wife learned to help him with his work. Almost everyone knows that Pasteur is the man responsible for finding a way of preventing milk from spoiling (变质). Not many people know he was the first to imagine and to prove that air we breathe is full of germs (细菌). One of his greatest successes was finding a treatment for people and animals to prevent a disease called rabies (狂犬病). Louis Pasteur won many honors and could have got large amount of money. But Pasteur preferred to live simply. The real happiness of this unusual man came from his work. Louis Pasteur did so well in his life that the French government took up his work and created the Institute Pasteur in the year 1888. According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?
| A．Pasteur was a scientist and doctor as well. |
| B．Pasteur lived for less than seventy years. |
| C．Everybody knows that Pasteur succeeded in finding a way of preventing milk from spoiling. |
| D．Pasteur's wife was of some help to him in his work.. |
From the passage, we know that Pasteur lived a simple life. This is because ________.
| A．he earned little money. |
| B．he cared much about money. |
| C．what he really enjoyed was a simple life. |
| D．of all mentioned above. |
Why were many honors given to Louis Pasteur?
| A．Because he was the greatest scientist in the world. |
| B．Because he spent much of his life time studying the diseases of people . |
| C．Because he lived simply. |
| D．Because he was a great success as a scientist. |
Pasteur could have got large amount of money if he had___________.
| A．cared much about it. |
| B．made more discoveries. |
| C．lived a better life. |
| D．achieved more successes. |
To Louis Pasteur the real happiness in his life was to __________.
| A．study | B．work |
| C．get large amount of money | D．raise tame animals |
It’s such a happy-looking library, painted yellow, decorated with palm-tree stickers and sheltered from the Florida sun by its own roof. About the size of a microwave oven, it’s pedestrian-friendly(对行人友善的), too, waiting for book lovers next to a sidewalk in Palm Beach country Estates, along the northern boundary of Palm Beach Gardens.
It’s a library built with love.
A year ago, shortly after Janey Henriksen saw a Brian Williams report about the Little Free Library organization, a Wisconsin-based nonprofit organization that aims to promote literacy(读书识字) and build a sense of community in a neighborhood by making books freely available, she announced to her family of four, “That’s what we’re going to do for our spring break!”
Son Austin, now a 10th-grader, didn’t see the point of building a library that resembles（类似） a mailbox. But Janey insisted, and husband Peter unwillingly got to work. The 51-year-old owner of a ship supply company modified（修饰） a small wooden house that he’d built years earlier for daughter Abbie’s toy horses, and made a door of glass.
After adding the library’s final touches (装点), the family hung a signboard on the front, instructing users to “take a book, return a book,” and making the Henriksen library, now one of several hundred like it nationwide and among more than 2,500 in the world, the only Little Free Library in Palm Beach County.
They stocked it with 20 or so books they’d already read, a mix of science fiction, reference titles, novels and kids’ favorites. “I told them, keep in mind that you might not see it again,” said Janey, a stay-at-home mom.
Since then, the collection keeps replenishing (补充) itself, thanks to ongoing donations from borrowers. The library now gets an average of five visits a day.
The project’s best payoff, says Peter, are the thank-you notes left behind. “We had no idea in the beginning that it would be so popular.” In what way is the library “pedestrian-friendly”?
| A．It owns a yellow roof. |
| B．It protects book lovers from the sun. |
| C．It stands near a sidewalk. |
| D．It uses palm-tree stickers as decorations. |
Janey got the idea to build a library from __________.
| A．a report on a Wisconsin-based organization |
| B．a spring break with her family |
| C．a book sent by one of her neighbors |
| D．a visit to Brian Williams |
The library was built __________.
| A．by a ship supply company | B．on the basis of toy horses |
| C．with glass | D．like a mailbox |
The passage tells us that the borrowers__________.
| A．get paid to collect books for the library |
| B．receive thank-you notes for using the library |
| C．donate books to the library |
| D．visit the library over 5 times on average daily |
Shakespeare once called the English countryside “the precious stone set in the silver sea”- and he is not the last to sing high praises of its beauty and historical charm(魅力).
The countryside is particularly beautiful during the summer, especially in August and September. As one travels the countryside, you’ll find more of its treasures: so many plants and animals, romantic castles(浪漫的城堡), secret gardens, and villages so unchanged in the last decades that they seem to have been caught under a fairy’ s spell.
Must-sees include Derbyshire, called “the heart of England” and home to the National Park. The great peaks were the muse（创作灵感）of the Bronte sisters (and if you love the book Jane Eyre, you can visit North Lees hall, where the real Eyre family once lived).
History lovers will enjoy a visit to Lincoln city (its most famous son is Lord Alfred Tennyson). It is also known for its cathedral(大教堂), the charming tea shops, a small castle. One would never guess its violent past—built by Romans, it was once a center for arrow(箭) making.
Harry Potter fans shouldn’t miss a visit to Alnwick, which is better recognized as the “Hogswarth” in the movies.
Let’s not leave out the Wessex region, where one can see one of England’s greatest mysteries, Stone Henge. You can also go to the City of Bath, which has been famous for its medicines springs since the Roman times. Other popular tractions include Salisbury Cathedral, and landscaped(景色优美的) gardens of Stourhead, and the cobbled(用鹅卵石铺的) streets of Shaftesbury. This is also home to Oxford, one of the world’s most famous universities.
Art lovers will also like a visit to East Anglia, whose landscapes inspired the painter Constable (he was born in Dedham village). This is also home of the University City of Cambridge, and the famous architectural(建筑上的) attraction, King’s College Chapel. Be sure to visit the aircraft museum of Duxford. What was Shakespeare’s attitude towards the English countryside?
| A．Uninterested. | B．Dissatisfied(不满意的). |
| C．Surprised. | D．Admiring. |
According to the text, Lincoln city________.
| A．produced arrows in the past |
| B．will be enjoyed by music lovers |
| C．was the place where the Eyre family once lived |
| D．has one of the world’ s most famous universities |
When traveling in the countryside, Harry Potter fans are advised to visit ________.
| A．the Wessex region | B．Derbyshire | C．Yorkshire | D．Alnwick |
The text is most probably taken from ________.
| A．a travel guide |
| B．a book review(书评) |
| C．a history paper |
| D．a newspaper report |
Among rich countries, people in the United States work the longest hours. They work much longer than in Europe. This difference is quite surprising because productivity(生产力) per hour worked is the same in the United States as it is in France, Spain and Germany, and it is growing at a similar speed.
In most countries and at most times in history, as people have become richer they have chosen to work less. In other words they have decided to “spend” a part of their extra income on a fuller personal life. Over the last fifty years Europeans have continued this pattern, and hours of work have fallen sharply. But not in the United States. We do not fully know why this is. One reason may be greatly lower taxes in America, which increase the rewards to work. Another may be more satisfying work, or less satisfying personal lives.
Longer hours do of course increase the GDP(国内生产总值). So the United States has produced more per worker than, say, France. The United States also has more of its people at work, while in France many more mothers and older workers have decided to stay at home. The overall result is that American GDP per head is 40% higher than in France, even though productivity per hour worked is the same.
It is not clear which of the two situations is better. As we have seen, work has to be compared with other values like family life, which often get lost in its interest. It is too early to explain the different trends（趋势）in happiness over time in different countries. But it is a disappointing idea that in the United States happiness has made no progress since 1975, while it has risen in Europe. Could this have anything to do with trends in the work-life balance?Which of the following countries has more of its people at work?
| A．Spain. | B．France. | C．Germany. | D．America. |
What message can we get from the text?
| A．The GDP of Europe is higher than that of America. |
| B．Two possible reasons are given for working longer hours in the US. |
| C．People all over the world choose to work less when they are richer. |
| D．Americans are happier than Europeans. |
Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
| A．Americans and Europeans |
| B．Staying at Home |
| C．Work and Productivity |
| D．Work and Happiness |
LONDON Thursday July 26(Reuters)—Eddy missed his girlfriend Anna so much he flew back to Britain from Australia to propose(求婚) to her. The problem is she did the same in the opposite direction.
He and Anna even managed to miss each other when they sat in the same airport waiting room in Singapore at the same time to wait for connecting flights.
Anna, heartbroken, when she arrived at Eddy’s Sydney flat to find he had flown to London, told The Times, “It was as though someone was playing a cruel joke on us.“
“He is the most romantic(浪漫的) person I have ever known. I think our problem is that we are both quite impulsive(冲动的) people. We are always trying to surprise each other.”
After an 11,000-mile flight across the globe, she was greeted by Eddy’s astonished roommate asking what she was doing there.
Eddy, a 27-year-old engineer, had taken a year off to travel round Australia. But he was missing Anna, a 26-year-old secretary, so much he got a job on a Sydney building site(工地) and started saving for a surprise.
He then flew home to Britain and went to her flat armed with an engagement(订婚) ring, wine and flowers.
“I really missed Anna and I’d been thinking about her all the time. I was so excited when she phoned me from Australia,” he said.
Eddy then asked Anna to marry him on the phone. “I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry but I accepted,” she said.
Anna was given a tour of Sydney by Eddy’s friends before going back home. Eddy had to stay in Britain for two weeks because he could not change his ticket. What does the last sentence of the first paragraph tell us?
| A．Anna flew to Britain from Australia to marry him. |
| B．Anna flew to Australia from Britain to marry him. |
| C．Anna flew to Britain from Australia to propose to him. |
| D．Anna flew to Australia from Britain to propose to him. |
The underlined word “miss” in Paragraph 2 most probably means_______.
| A．escape from | B．fail to understand |
| C．fail to meet | D．long to see |
Eddy got a job on a Sydney building site because he________.
| A．wanted to travel round Australia |
| B．needed money to pay his daily cost |
| C．was an engineer at this building site |
| D．hoped to make money from this job |
Which of the following is TRUE about Eddy and Anna according to the text?
| A．Eddy proposed to Anna on the phone and Anna accepted. |
| B．Anna stayed in Australia waiting for Eddy’s arrival. |
| C．Anna had a good time touring Sydney with Eddy. |
| D．Eddy met Anna in the airport waiting room by chance. |
Many years ago, when I was fresh out of school and working in Denver, I was driving to my parents’ home in Missouri for Christmas. I stopped at a gas station(加油站)about 50 miles from Oklahoma City, where I was planning to stop and visit a friend. While I was standing in line at the cash register(收款台), I said hello to an older couple who were also paying for gas.
I took off, but had gone only a few miles when black smoke poured from the back of my car. I stopped and wondered what I should do. A car pulled up behind me. It was the couple I had spoken to at the gas station. They said they would take me to my friend’s. We chatted on the way into the city, and when I got out of the car, the husband gave me his business card.
I wrote him and his wife a thank-you note for helping me. Soon afterward, I received a Christmas present from them. Their note that came with it said that helping me had made their holidays meaningful.
Years later, I drove to a meeting in a nearby town in the morning. In late afternoon I returned to my car and found that I’d left the lights on all day, and the battery(电池)was dead. Then I noticed that the Friendly Ford dealership - a shop selling cars - was right next door. I walked over and found two salesmen in the showroom.
“Just how friendly is Friendly Ford?” I asked and explained my trouble. They quickly drove a pickup truck to my car and started it. They would accept no payment, so when I got home, I wrote them a note to say thanks. I received a letter back from one of the salesmen. No one had ever taken the time to write him and say thank you, and it meant a lot, he said.
“Thank you” - two powerful words. They’re easy to say and mean so much.The words “took off” underlined in Paragraph 2 mean “______”.
| A．turned off | B．moved off | C．put up | D．set up |
What happened when the author found smoke coming out of his car?
| A．He had it pulled back to the gas station. |
| B．The couple sent him a business card. |
| C．The couple offered to help him. |
| D．He called his friend for help. |
The battery of the author’s car was dead because_______.
| A．something went wrong with the lights |
| B．the meeting lasted a whole day |
| C．he forgot to turn off the lights |
| D．he drove too long a distance |
By telling his own experiences, the author tries to show______.
| A．how to write a thank-you letter |
| B．how to deal with car problems |
| C．the kind-heartedness of older people |
| D．the importance of expressing thanks |