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 ago, I was still learning my lines. 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. 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.Disappointed and helpless |
C.Satisfied and cheerful | D.Fortunate and helpful |
On her way home the writer _______.
A.was robbed of her wallet by an armed man |
B.was stopped by a garbage truck driver |
C.lost her wallet unknowingly |
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.Her wallet was found in a garbage truck. |
D.She heard someone call her name. |
From the text, we can infer that the writer _________.
A.would stay on in San Francisco |
B.would stop working at night |
C.would make friends with cleaners |
D.would give up her job at the bank |
Random ramblings from a guy who is too busy to have a Web site. On the bright side, you won't find any ads, pop-ups, hype, or any attempts to sell you anything at all. Furthermore, you won't find any pages divided into a hundred little boxes. And the text is so large, you don't need an electron microscope to read it. A refreshing break from reality. Anyway, here's what I have so far as I gradually resurrect my poor neglected Web site.
PC Survival Camp
Being new to computers, or even just being a “casual user”, isn’t always fun. It's as though everybody on the planet assumes you already know all the buzzwords, and already possess all the skills necessary to use a computer. Which is a really big assumption, when you consider that nobody was ever born knowing how to use a computer. The links below provide some quick mini-tutorials on all the skills and buzzwords that everyone else seems to assume you already know. Click on any link (underlined text) for a quick mini-lesson. Use the Back button at the bottom of any
page to work your way back to this page.
TechFear Camp |
Jargon Camp |
Internet Camp |
Windows XP Camp |
Wrong button! |
Hardware |
What is the Net? |
Desktop |
Crash the Internet! |
Ports |
What's Bandwidth? |
Start menu |
Erase everything! |
KB, megabytes, etc. |
What's Download? |
Taskbar |
Run out of space! |
Software |
What Web browser? |
Quick Launch |
Email privacy! |
Toolbars |
Getting around |
Notifications |
Viruses! |
What e-Mail client? |
Moving and Sizing |
|
Hackers! |
Death to pop-ups |
Control Panel |
|
More... |
If you're looking for Microsoft Access stuff, click here.
lI'm gradually bringing back some of my old HTML stuff here.
lIf you have a question, Ask Alan Who is the passage written for?
A.Everyone | B.College students. |
C.Anyone who wants to use a computer. | D.An expert on computers. |
What’s the advantage of this web site?
A.It’s cheap. | B.There are no ads. |
C.It’s modern. | D.It provides an electron microscope. |
You can learn computer skills except_____.
A.Erase everything! | B.Software. | C.Flash . | D.Taskbar. |
If you have problems, ask____ for help.
A.Coolnerds.com | B.PC survival Camp |
C.Alan | D.HTML Stuff |
This recently-released documentary(纪录片)had some fantastic footage(镜头) in it, and a very personal look at many of the astronauts who went to the moon. Overall, that is a very exclusive(独特的) club; only about a dozen men ever did it in the history of the world and just eight or nine ever stepped foot on it. Most of them are still alive and they discuss their adventures, insights and personal feelings here.
One gets the feeling that the rest of us will never know exactly how beautiful the moon is except to take the astronauts’s words about it, because even the pictures on this DVD can’t convey that.
Since this documentary is about 100 minutes long, you get a lot of information. You also get reminded how close two of the three men who went up on that historic first walk on the moon almost didn’t get home alive.
An absence in this documentary is the most famous astronaut of them all: Neil Armstrong, the first man to step foot on the moon! Apparently, he did not want to be part of this film. One of the astronauts mentions something briefly about Armstrong being somewhat of a “recluse(隐居者)” now and it “being understandable with what he’s gone through”. From what I’ve read, a lot of people have tried to make money off him in shady ways and so now he’s withdrawn(退出) from the public spotlight.
This film, a legacy to the Apollo program and the brave men who ran it, should be in every schoolroom. It would make history more interesting to students.What can we know from the passage?
A.One of the astronauts talks about how beautiful the moon is. |
B.Two of the three men who went to the moon lost their lives. |
C.The documentary would make more students interested in history. |
D.The astronauts talk about their adventures, insights and excitement. |
How many astronauts first flew to the moon?
A.1 | B.2 | C.3. | D.4 |
Why was Armstrong absent from the film?
A.Because he didn’t like to show in public. |
B.Because he has been tired of astronaut’s life. |
C.Because someone wanted to make money off him. |
D.Because he thought what he did was nothing to mention. |
What made Armstrong famous around the world?
A.That he came back safely to the earth alive. |
B.That he became an astronaut. |
C.That he first stepped on the moon. |
D.That he walked on the moon for 100 minutes. |
For 40 years, the people of London have been happy to discover in their parks a bird that seems to have made its way from the Himalayas to the capital of England. With its shocking green body, red mouth, long tail and noisy screech(尖叫), the rose-ringed parakeet (长尾小鹦鹉) brought a vivid colour to parks in and around London.
However, the parakeets are no longer welcome. The government has suddenly woken up to the fact that there are many more parakeets in and around London making life harder for the local bird population. Government experts put the number of parakeets at around 30,000. They fear that if the number of parakeets keeps rising, these birds will push out local birds like wood-peckers, starlings and nuthatches from trees to build their own nests.
Not only that. According to an online report by The Independent, the parakeets will then also get control of most of the food available in the parks — seeds, berries, fruit and nuts. The local bird population will then have a hard time staying alive. An organization called the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has asked the government to investigate (调查) what kind of a threat the parakeet brings to local birds. If the government decides that these birds are indeed a threat to local birds, steps will be taken to control the number of parakeets.
The most surprising thing about the case of the rose-ringed parakeet is that no one quite knows how the parakeets came from India and started breeding (繁殖) in areas around London.Parakeets are no longer welcome mainly because ______.
A.the local birds are being driven out |
B.the government doesn’t like the birds |
C.they are a threat to people’s health |
D.people have a great fear of this kind of birds |
According to an online report by The Independent, ______.
A.the parakeets’ future threat is impossible |
B.the number of the parakeets is around 3,000 |
C.the parakeets should fly back to the Himalayas |
D.the local birds won’t have enough food |
People are not certain ______.
A.where the parakeets live |
B.how the parakeets breed |
C.how they flew to London |
D.when they started living in London |
The best title for this passage would be _____.
A.Help the parakeets | B.Pretty birds have trouble |
C.Birds invade London | D.Pretty birds |
Skateboarding has become one of several non - traditional activities that PE teachers around America are introducing to inspire kids to exercise regularly. Some PE classes feature in-line (滚轮) skating, yoga, and even rock climbing. Experts have called those types of activities “the new PE”.
Such activities are part of a larger effort to help kids develop lifelong fitness habits and to keep them from becoming overweight. Now, 9 million U.S. children and teens are overweight. Obesity (肥胖) can lead to health problems such as diabetes and heart disease later in life.
“Our children and youth are becoming unhealthy and obese,” says Lindsey Johnson. “Skateboarding is a great activity that keeps kids doing physical movement and gives them new skills and interest.”
Some schools don’t allow skateboarding because they say it is dangerous. Cendali, however, argues that regular practice eliminates a great deal of the danger. “We teach students how to do it and how to do it safely,” he says.
Some people say skateboarding teaches life lessons. “Skateboarding teaches kids to believe that if they stick with something they will finally succeed,” says education expert Richard Sagor of Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon.
Skateboarding inspires kids not to give up in learning difficult skills. “It’s natural for kids to want to learn and get better at things,” adds Sagor. “When it comes to skateboarding, they’ll try a trick hundreds of times before they succeed.” That same effort could be made in schoolwork.
Eric Klassen agrees that skateboarding requires kids to stop saying a task is too hard for them. “A baby will attempt to walk 600 to 900 times before he or she is successful,” says Klassen. “We tell students that they shouldn’t say ‘I can’t do it’ unless they’ve tried 600 to 900 times.”Skateboarding is introduced into American schools to ______.
A.encourage students to compete bravely in competition |
B.teach students how to deal with risks |
C.prevent students suffering from heart disease later in life |
D.help students form the habit of doing sports |
The underlined word “eliminates” in Paragraph 4 probably means “______”.
A.reduces | B.increases | C.adds | D.brings |
What life lesson do kids learn from skateboarding?
A.To succeed in life you have to learn skateboarding. |
B.You will succeed in life if you don’t give up. |
C.Only after failing 600 to 900 times can you succeed. |
D.There is no hard work after learning skate-boarding well. |
What would be the best title for the passage?
A.The dangerous PE | B.Skills of skateboarding |
C.The new PE | D.The change of PE |
The penny is getting a change.The United States Mint (制币厂) revealed four new designs for the 1-cent piece, to celebrate the coming 200th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln's birth.United States Mint Director Ed Moy announced the new looks for the penny today in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C."These coins are a tribute (赞辞) to one of our greatest Presidents, whose legacy (遗教) has had a lasting impact on our country," Moy said.
The heads side of the new pennies will continue to bear the profile (侧面) likeness of President Lincoln and the motto "In God We Trust." The back sides will pay tribute to four major parts of Lincoln's life.
The first redesigned penny will feature a log cabin that represents Lincoln's birthplace,near Hodgenville, Kentucky.The second design shows Lincoln reading a book while sitting on a log with his ax beside him.It shows how young Lincoln educated himself while working as a rail-splitter in Indiana.The third design shows Lincoln as a young man in front of the Capitol (议会会堂) in Illinois.The fourth and final design shows a half-finished United States Capitol dome, which was completed in 1863 despite the violent Civil War.The writing, on the back sides of the coins will remain "United States of America," "E Pluribus Unum" and "One Cent."
The first penny will be released into circulation on February 12, 2009, Lincoln's 200th birthday.This day is also the 100th anniversary of the release of the first penny, on February 12, 1909.One new coin will be released into circulation every three months in 2009.
"This is an important occasion in the history of our nation's coin-age because these designs represent the first change in the Lincoln cent in half a century," said Director Moy.A commemorative (纪念性的) Lincoln silver dollar will also be released in 2009.Why does the United States Mint get the Lincoln cent changed?
A.Because the design is out of date. |
B.Because the design doesn’t match Lincoln’s life. |
C.Because the old coin is hard to be released into circulation. |
D.Because the country wants to honor Lincoln on his 200th birthday. |
Which is the correct order of the new coins according to the description in the passage?
A.a, b, c, d | B.b, a, d, c | C.c, d, a, b | D.b, c, a, d |
How many new Lincoln coins will be released in 2009?
A.One | B.Three | C.Four | D.Five |
All the newly designed coins feature the following EXCEPT.
A.the profile likeness of President Lincoln |
B.the motto "In God We Trust" |
C.the portrait of young Abraham Lincoln |
D.the writing "United States of America" |
Which of the following does Penny Image 4 show?
A.Professional Life in Illinois. B.Presidency in Washington, DC.
C.Formative Years in Indiana. D.Birth and Early Childhood in Kentucky.