It was Thanksgiving morning and in the crowded kitchen of my small home I was busy preparing the traditional Thanksgiving turkey when the doorbell rang. I opened the front door and saw two small children in rags huddling together. “Any old papers, lady?” asked one of them.
I was busy. I wanted to say “no” until I looked down at their feet. They were wearing thin little sandals, wet with heavy snow.
“Come in and I’ll make you a cup of hot cocoa.”
They walked over and sat down at the table. Their wet sandals left marks upon the floor. I served them cocoa and bread with jam to fight against the cold outside. Then I went back to the kitchen and started again on my household budget.
The silence in the front room struck me. I looked in. The girl held the empty cup in her hands, looking at it. The boy asked in a flat voice, “Lady, are you rich?”
I looked at my shabby slipcovers. The girl put her cup back in its saucer carefully and said, “Your cups match your saucers.” Her voice was hungry with a need that no amount of food could supply. They left after that, holding their bundles of papers against the wind. They hadn’t said “Thank you.” They didn’t need to. They had reminded me that I had so much for which to be grateful. Plain blue china cups and saucers were only worth five pence. But they matched.
I tasted the potatoes and stirred the meat soup. Potatoes and brown meat soup, a roof over our heads, my man with a good steady job—these matched, too.
I moved the chairs back from the fire and cleaned the living room. The muddy prints of small sandals were still wet upon my floor. Let them be for a while, I thought, just in case I should begin to forget how rich I am. Two children came to the writer’s front door because _________________.
A.it was Thanksgiving Day | B.they were beggars |
C.they wanted old papers | D.they wanted a cup of cocoa |
Why did the writer let the children in?
A.She showed great pity on them |
B.She had old papers to sell |
C.She wanted to invite them to her Thanksgiving feast |
D.She wanted them to see how rich she was |
The girl thought the writer was rich perhaps because ________________.
A.she saw that the lady’s room was comfortable |
B.she saw the cups matched the saucers |
C.the writer’s slipcovers were very new |
D.the writer was preparing a big meal while she was too hungry. |
From the passage, we can infer that whether you are rich depends on ________.
A.how much money you have had |
B.how you feel about your life |
C.how you have helped others |
D.what job your husband is doing |
The writer left the muddy prints of small sandals on the floor for a while to ____________.
A.show her husband that someone had come |
B.remind her that she had helped two children |
C.remind her that she was very rich in the neighborhood |
D.remind her how life should be |
For thousands of years, man has enjoyed the taste of apples. Apples, which are about 85 percent water, grow almost everywhere in the world but the hottest and coldest areas. Among the leading countries in apple production are China, France and the United States.
There are various kinds of apples, but a very few make up the majority of those grown for sale. The three most common kinds grown in the United States are Delicious, Golden Delicious, and McIntosh..
Apples are different in color, size and taste. The color of the skin may be red, green or yellow. They have various sizes, with Delicious apples being among the largest. The taste may be sweet or tart(酸的). Generally, sweet apples are tasted fresh while tart apples are used to make applesauce(果酱).
Apple trees may grow as tall as twelve meters. They do best in areas that have very cold winters. Although no fruit is yielded during the winter, this cold period is good for the tree.It can be learned from the text that Delicious apples are_______.
A.grown in France | B.sold everywhere | C.very big | D.quite sweet |
Cold winter weather is good for________.
A.the growth of apple trees | B.producing large apples |
C.improving the taste of apples | D.the increase of water in apples |
China, France and the United States are considered to_______.
A.be small producers of apples |
B.be large producers of applesauce |
C.have the longest history in apple production |
D.have the coldest winter among apple production |
The word yielded in the last sentence means________.
A.improved | B.increased | C.produced | D.sold |
Scientists are trying to make the deserts into good land again.They want to bring water to the deserts,so people can live and grow food.They are learning a lot about the deserts.But more and more of the earth is becoming desert all the time.Scientists may not be able to change the desert in time.
Why is more and more land becoming desert?Scientists think that people make deserts.People are doing bad things to the earth.
Some places on the earth don’t get much rain. But they still don’t become deserts. This is because some green plants are growing there. Small green plants and grass are very important to dry places. Plants don’t let the sun make the earth even drier. Plants do not let the wind blow the dirt away. When a bit of rain falls, the plants hold the water. Without plants, the land can become desert more easily. Deserts ________ .
A.never have any plants or animals in them |
B.can all be turned into good land before long |
C.are becoming smaller and smaller |
D.get very little rain |
Smallgreenplantsareveryimportanttodryplaces because ________ .
A.they don’t let the sun make the earth even drier |
B.they don’t let the wind blow the soil away |
C.they hold water |
D.All of the above. |
Landisbecomingdesertlittlebylittlebecause ______.
A.plants can’t grow there |
B.there is not enough rain |
C.people haven’t done what scientists wish them to do |
D.scientists know little about the deserts |
Why is more and more land becoming desert according to this passage?
A.Earthquakes make deserts. | B.Wind makes deserts. |
C. Lack of water makes deserts. | D.People make deserts. |
Every year holidays Broughton teams up with Sopraviva Trekking to offer twelve days of unforgettable adventure in a tropical rain forest. Depending on where this year's rain forest adventure is located, you may be going to Borneo, Malaysia, Indonesia, or even to the greatest rain forest of them all, the mighty Amazonian forest.
You will fly with your fellow adventurers to one of our special base camps at the edge of the forest, where you will be given five days of survival training, and talks on the local wildlife by trained and experienced experts. You will also go on walks which take you deeper and deeper under the forest canopy until on your final night you camp out in the rain forest itself.
Then you transfer by bus into the forest itself. If you go on one of the Asian holidays, you will have to walk the final five miles to the camp site itself, to avoid disturbing the local ecology. All of the Sopraviva sites have been carefully built to conform with the latest regulations, and to cause the minimal amount of disturbance to the local wildlife.
From the camp, you will go on daily walking tours to experience for yourself the beauty and diversity of the forests, and plants and vegetation that can be found nowhere else on the planet. Remember that these adventure holidays take you deep into the wilderness, and they are not suitable for families with young children or for anyone who is not physically able to meet the demands of this kind of adventure. Also remember that in order to preserve the delicate ecological system that you will be walking through, no more than two dozen guests can stay at any camp at one time, so if you want to go on one of these very special holidays, you will need to book early!If you want to go on the camp, you will first have to___________.
A.attend talks on the local wildlife | B.have survival training |
C.walk the final five miles | D.book beforehand |
What does the organizer of the camp mainly stress?
A.Disturbing the local ecology. |
B.Preserving the forest environment. |
C.Private possessions and possible dangers. |
D.The survival training. |
Go on daily walking tours and you’ll enjoy___________.
A.the wilderness | B.the Amazonian forest |
C.the Asian forest | D.the forest canopy |
Which of the following people is/are allowed to enter the forest?
A.A family with young kids. |
B.A person with physical problems. |
C.Walking tourists |
D.Cyclists. |
Which of the following is true of the holiday camp?
A.It is free of charge. |
B.It lasts 12 days. |
C.It is organized by Broughton. |
D.It attaches little importance to ecology. |
Cameron thought of himself as merely organized. He certainly did not consider that he took great pains over anything, he did just enough to get it right. Exactly right, of course, for as he was fond of telling his staff, "if it's not exactly right, it's wrong". Occasionally a worker might be sad on hearing these words, because it meant another hour or so of going over the same bit of work, correcting the mistakes which Cameron had patiently pointed out. And doing the corrections exactly right of course.
Strangely enough, his department had the reputation for performing the highest quality work in the company, and it was seen, and not only by those who worked in the department, as a sort of elite (出类拔萃) unit. Those programmes that had to work first time, straight out of the box, Cameron's men got those. "It's mission (任务) critical—give it to Cameron" was almost a catch-phrase with his team.
It helped that Cameron was not merely particular about things. He wanted things done just so, not because of a personal taste, but because he had discovered through patient experimentation that this was the best way for it to be done.
In Cameron's dictionary, "Take as long as you want" meant that you could work on your task not just in office hours, but that evening, and late into the early hours of the following morning if you so desired. But the project had to be in by its completion date, and yes, done exactly right. Or you did it again.
But he would always be regarded, and not least by himself, as someone who had failed to meet requirements, one of those who just couldn't cut it. You had to face it, if you were not working for Cameron, you were second best. So when word got out that Cameron had messed up, big time, the news was greeted with a mixture of sympathy, and entire relief that this perfection too was human.Cameron was a___________.
A.software programmer | B.a chief scientist |
C.quality controller | D.head of department |
"Mission-critical" work was given to Cameron because___________.
A.Cameron's work was error-free | B.Cameron was critical |
C.he didn't mind working late | D.he had a good team |
Working for Cameron, people felt that___________.
A.they were part of an elite |
B.their mission was critical |
C.Cameron was very particular about things |
D.Cameron was patient and responsible |
According to the underlined part in Paragraph 5, what is meant by someone “who couldn't cut it” ?
A.He didn’t cut corners. | B.He wasn't good enough. |
C.He had the wrong measurements. | D.He was a perfection. |
What can we learn about Cameron?
A.He never got things wrong. |
B.He didn’t allow for any mistake. |
C.He encouraged work to be done in office hours. |
D.He was often misunderstood. |
The attitude of the author towards Cameron is that of being___________.
A.positive | B.sympathetic |
C.non-subjective | D.optimistic |
Lightning flashed through the darkness over Donald Lubeck’s bedroom skylight. The 80-year-old retired worker was shaken by a blast of thunder. It was 11 p.m. The storm had moved directly over his two-story wood home in the rural town of Belchertown, Massachusetts. Then he heard the smoke alarm beeping. Lubeck padded down the stairs barefoot and opened the door to the basement, and flames exploded out.
Lubeck fled back upstairs to call 911 from his bedroom, but the phone didn’t work. Lubeck realized he was trapped. “I started panicking,” he says.
His daughter and young granddaughters, who lived with him, were away for the night. No one will even know I’m home, he thought. His house was three miles off the main road and so well hidden by pines that Lubeck knew calling for help would be fruitless.
Up a hill about a third of a mile away lived Lubeck’s closest neighbors, Jeremie Wentworth and his wife. Wentworth had been lying down, listening to the radio when it occurred to him that the sound was more like a smoke detector. He jumped out of bed, grabbed a cordless phone and a flashlight, and headed down the hillside toward the noise.
He dialed 911. “Is anyone there?” he called out as he approached the house. Wentworth knew that Lubeck lived in the house.
Then he heard, “Help me! I’m trapped!” coming from the balcony off Lubeck’s bedroom.
“I ran in and yelled,‘Don, where are you?’ Then I had to run outside to catch my breath.”
After one more attempt inside the house, he gave up and circled around back. But there was no way to get to him. “I shined the flashlight into the woods next to an old shed and noticed a ladder,” says Wentworth. He dragged it over to the balcony and pulled Lubeck down just as the second floor of the house collapsed.
Wentworth and Lubeck don’t run into each other regularly, but Lubeck now knows that if he ever needs help, Wentworth will be there.
Lubeck still chokes up when he tells the story. “I was alone,” he says. “Then I heard the most beautiful sound in my life. It was Jeremie.” According to the text, Lubeck___________.
A.stayed calm in the fire | B.couldn’t find a safe way out |
C.lived on the first floor | D.called for help in the fire |
How did Wentworth help Lubeck escape?
A.He called 911. |
B.He went upstairs and took Lubeck out. |
C.He put out the fire. |
D.He used a ladder and pulled Lubeck down. |
Which of the following factors was not mentioned in the text that almost cost Lubeck’s life?
A.He was living in his wood home alone that night. |
B.The storm was too heavy and the fire was too fierce. |
C.He lived far from the main road and was surrounded by pines. |
D.He was too frightened to escape from the danger. |
What does the text mainly talk about?
A.A near neighbour is better than a distant cousin. |
B.A good way to get a narrow escape. |
C.God helps those who help themselves. |
D.Blood is thicker than water. |