Maybe ten-year-old Elizabeth put it best when she said to her father, “But, Dad, you can’t be healthy if you’re dead.”
Dad, in a hurry to get home before dark so he could go for a run, had forgotten to wear his safety belt－a mistake 75% of US population makes every day. The big question is why.
There have been many myths about safety belt ever since their first appearance in cars some forty years ago. The following are three of the most common.
Myth the Number One: It’s best to be “thrown clear” of a serious accident.
Truth: Sorry, but any accident serious enough to “throw you clear” is able to be serious enough to give you a very bad landing. And chances are you’ll have traveled through a windshield(挡风玻璃) or door to do it. Studies show that chances of dying after a car accident are twenty－five times in cases where people are “thrown clear”.
Myth Number Two: Safety-belts “trap” people in cars that are burning or sinking in water.
Truth: Sorry again, but studies show that people knocked unconscious(昏迷) due to not wearing safety belts have a greater chance of dying in these accidents. People wearing safety belts are usually protected to the point of having in these accidents. People wearing safety belts are usually protected to the point of having a clear head to free themselves from such dangerous situation, not to be trapped in them.
Myth Number Three: Safety belts aren’t needed at speeds of less than 30 miles per hour(mph).
Truth: When two cars traveling at 30 mph hit each other, an unbelted driver would meet the windshield with a force equal to diving headfirst into the ground from a height of 10 metres.Why did Elizabeth say to her father, “But, Dad, you can’t be healthy if you’re dead”?
| A．He was driving at a great speed. |
| B．He was running across the street. |
| C．He didn’t have his safety belt on. |
| D．He didn’t take his medicine on time. |
The reason why father was in a hurry to get home was that he .
| A．wasn’t feeling very well |
| B．hated to drive in the dark |
| C．wanted to take some exercise |
| D．didn’t want to be caught by the people |
According to the text, to be “thrown clear” of a serious accident is very dangerous because you .
| A．may be knocked down by other cars. |
| B．may get serious hurt thrown out of the car |
| C．may find it impossible to get away from the seat |
| D．may get caught in the car door |
Some people prefer to drive without wearing a safety belt because they believe .
| A．the belt prevents them from escaping in an accident |
| B．they will be unable to think clearly in an accident |
| C．they will be caught when help comes |
| D．cars catch fire easily |
What is the advice given in the text?
| A．Never drive faster than 30 miles an hour. |
| B．Try your best to save yourself in a car accident. |
| C．Never forget to wear the safety belt while driving. |
| D．Drive slowly while you’re not wearing a safety belt. |
Everyone has got two personalities—the one that is shown to the world and the other that is secret and real．You don't show your secret personality when you're awake because you can control your behaviour，but when you're asleep， your sleeping position shows the real you．In a normal night，of course，people frequently change their position．The important position is the one that you go to sleep in．
If you go to sleep on your back，you're a very open person．You normally trust people and you are easily influenced by fashion or new ideas．You don't like to upset people，so you never express your real feelings．You're quite shy and you aren't very confident．
If you sleep on your stomach，you are a rather secretive（不坦率的）person．You worry a lot and you're always easily upset．You're very stubborn（顽固的），but you aren't very ambitious．You usually live for today not for tomorrow．This means that you enjoy having a good time．
If you sleep curled up（卷曲），you are probably a very nervous person．You have a low opinion of yourself and so you're often defensive．You're shy and you don't normally like meeting people．You prefer to be on your own．You're easily hurt．
If you sleep on your side，you have usually got a well-balanced personality．You know your strengths and weaknesses．You're usually careful． You have a confident personality．You sometimes feel anxious，but you don't often get depressed．You always say what you think even if it annoys people．According to the writer，you naturally show your secret and real personality _____.
| A．only in a normal night |
| B．only when you go to sleep |
| C．only when you refuse to show yourself to the world |
| D．only when you change sleeping position |
Which is NOT mentioned in the second paragraph about a person's personality？
| A．He or she is always open with others． |
| B．He or she always likes new ideas earlier than others． |
| C．He or she is always easily upset． |
| D．He or she tends to believe in others． |
Point out which sentence is used to show the personality of a person who is used to sleeping on his or her stomach？
| A．He or she is careful not to offend others． |
| B．He or she doesn't want to stick to his or her opinion． |
| C．He or she can't be successful in any business． |
| D．He or she likes to bring others happiness． |
Maybe you don't want to make friends with a person who sleeps curled up．Why？
| A．He or she would rather be alone than communicate with you． |
| B．He or she is rarely ready to help you． |
| C．He or she prefers staying at home to going out． |
| D．He or she wouldn't like to get help from you． |
It appears that the writer tends to think highly of the person who sleeps on one side because ______ ．
| A．he or she always shows sympathy for people |
| B．he or she is confident，but not stubborn |
| C．he or she has more strengths than weaknesses |
| D．he or she often considers annoying people |
One of Britain's bravest women told yesterday how she helped to catch suspected （可疑的） police killer David Bieber -- and was thanked with flowers by the police. It was also said that she could be in line for a share of up to ￡30,000 reward money.
Vicki Brown, 30, played a very important role in ending the nationwide manhunt. Vicki, who has worked at the Royal Hotel for four years, told of her terrible experience when she had to steal into Bieber's bedroom and to watch him secretly. Then she waited alone for three hours while armed police prepared to storm the building.
She said: "I was very nervous. But when I opened the hotel door and saw 20 armed policemen lined up in the car park I was so glad they were there.”
The alarm had been raised because Vicki became suspicious （怀疑） of the guest who checked in at 3 pm the day before New Year's Eve with little luggage and wearing sunglasses and a hat pulled down over his face. She said: "He didn't seem to want to talk too much and make any eye contact （接触）." Vicki, the only employee on duty, called her bosses Margaret, 64, and husband Stan McKale, 65, who phoned the police at 11 pm.
Officers from Northumbria Police called Vicki at the hotel in Dunston, Gateshead, at about 11:30 pm to make sure that this was the wanted man. Then they kept in touch by phoning Vicki every 15 minutes.
"It was about ten past two in the morning when the phone went again and a policeman said ‘Would you go and make yourself known to the armed officers outside?'. My heart missed a beat."
Vicki quietly showed eight armed officers through passages and staircases to the top floor room and handed over the key.
"I realized that my bedroom window overlooks that part of the hotel, so I went to watch. I could not see into the man's room, but I could see the passage. The police kept shouting at the man to come out with his hands showing. Then suddenly he must have come out because they shouted for him to lie down while he was handcuffed （带上手铐）。The underlined phrase "be in line for" （ paragraph 1 ） means __
| A．get | B．be paid | C．ask for | D．own |
Vicki became suspicious of David Bieber because __________.
| A．the police called her |
| B．he looked very strange |
| C．he came to the hotel with little luggage |
| D．he came to the hotel the day before New Year's Eve |
Vicki’s heart missed a beat because _________.
| A．the phone went again |
| B．she would be famous |
| C．the policemen had already arrived |
| D．she saw 20 policemen in the car park |
David Bieber was most probably handcuffed in ________.
| A．the passage | B．the man's room |
| C．Vicki's bedroom | D．the top floor room |
The whole event probably lasted about _______ hours from the moment Bieber came to the hotel to the arrival of some armed officers.
| A．6 | B．8 | C．11 | D．14 |
Washington, D.C. is home to famous buildings, memorials and museums that visitors love. But it is also home to a large and beautiful green space. There are many arboretums in the city. Today, we take you to the United States National Arboretum, an active center for both scientific research and public education.
Many people who come to Washington are astonished when they first visit the National Arboretum. The Arboretum is only a short drive from the center of the city. However, visitors often feel like they are remote from the busy American capital. The Arboretum covers one hundred eighty hectares of green space in the northeast part of Washington. The area is famous for its beautiful flowers, tall trees and other plants. About nine thousand different kinds of plants grow there.
The National Arboretum was established by an act of Congress in 1927. Today, the United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service operates the Arboretum.
The goal of the Arboretum is to carry out studies and provide education in an effort to improve the environment. The goal includes protecting trees, flowers and other plants and showing them to the public. The National Arboretum is a popular stop for visitors to Washington. It is open every day of the year except December twenty-fifth, the Christmas holiday. Money is not necessary to visit the Arboretum.
As many as six hundred thousand people visit the Arboretum’s grounds each year. Hundreds of thousands of people also visit with the help of computers. They use the Arboretum’s Internet web site to learn about current research programmes and how to care for plants. Director Thomas Elias says Arboretum officials would like to see even more visitors. He says they believe that many people do not know it exists. Part of the problem might result from the fact that the Arboretum is about five kilometers from the closest train station. Many famous places in Washington are a short walk from Metrorail, the local train system.
The Arboretum is easy to reach by automobile or bus, however. About fifteen kilometers of roads have been built on the property. The roads connect to major collections and seasonal flowers. The Arboretum also welcomes people on bicycles. Disabled persons or those who want to walk only short distances may visit four beautiful areas that are close to each other.The underlined word “arboretums” in Paragraph 1 means______.
| A．memorials with trees and other plants around them |
| B．buildings with trees and other plants around them |
| C．museums with trees and other plants for scientific and educational purposes |
| D．places with trees and other plants for scientific and educational purposes |
What do we learn about the National Arboretum according to the passage?
| A．It lies to the northeast part of Washington, free to visit it. |
| B．In fact it is a short walk from Metrorail, the local train system. |
| C．It is surprising and attractive. |
| D．It is where the United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service is. |
Why was the National Arboretum established by an act of Congress?
| A．To protect and study about nine thousand different kinds of plants there. |
| B．To make it a popular stop for visitors to Washington. |
| C．To grow trees for Christmas. |
| D．To improve the environment. |
How many ways are there for visitors to choose if they visit the Arboretum?
| A．Five. | B．Six. | C．Seven. | D．Eight. |
Which of the following would be the best conclusion of this passage?
A．Washington, D.C. is home to famous buildings, memorials and museums.
B．The National Arboretum in Washington offers science of nature and public education.
C．The National Arboretum in Washington is an interest of green place.
D．The National Arboretum is a place where trees and other plants are grown.
As more and more people speak the global languages of English, Chinese, Spanish, and Arabic, other languages are rapidly disappearing. In fact, half of the 6,000--7,000 languages spoken around the world today will likely die out by the next century, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
In an effort to prevent language loss, scholars from a number of organizations--UNESCO and National Geographic among them--have for many years been documenting dying languages and the cultures they reflect.
Mark Turin, a scientist at the Macmillan Centre Yale University, who specializes in the languages and oral traditions of the Himalayas, is following in that tradition. His recently published book, A Grammar of Thangmi with an Ethnolinguistic Introduction to the Speakers and Their Culture, grows out of his experience living, working, and raising a family in a village in Nepal.
Documenting the Thangmi language and culture is just a starting point for Turin, who seeks to include other languages and oral traditions across the Himalayan reaches of India, Nepal, Bhutan, and China. But he is not content to simply record these voices before they disappear without record.
At the University of Cambridge Turin discovered a wealth of important materials-including photographs, films, tape recordings, and field notes--which had remained unstudied and were badly in need of care and protection.
Now, through the two organizations that he has founded–the Digital Himalaya Project and the World Oral Literature Project--Turin has started a campaign to make such documents, for the world available not just to scholars but to the younger generations of communities from whom the materials were originally collected. Thanks to digital technology and the widely available Internet, Turin notes, the endangered languages can be saved and reconnected with speech communities.Many scholars are making efforts to ______.
| A．promote global languages |
| B．set up language research organizations. |
| C．search for language communities |
| D．rescue disappearing languages |
What does “that tradition’ in Paragraph 3 refer to?
| A．Telling stories about language users |
| B．Writing books on language teaching. |
| C．Having full records of the languages |
| D．Living with the native speaker. |
What is Turin’s book based on?
| A．The cultual studies |
| B．The documents available at Yale. |
| C．His language research in Bhutan. |
| D．His personal experience in Nepal. |
Which of the following best describe Turin’s work?
| A．Write, sell and donate. |
| B．Collect, protect and reconnect. |
| C．Record, repair and reward. |
| D．Design, experiment and report. |
Passenger pigeons(旅鸽) once flew over much of the United States in unbelievable numbers. Written accounts from the 18th and 19th centuries described flocks(群) so large that they darkened the sky for hours.
It was calculated that when its population reached its highest point, there were more than 3 billion passenger pigeons--a number equal to 24 to 40 percent of the total bird population in the United States, making it perhaps the most abundant bird in the world. Even as late as 1870 when their numbers had already become smaller, a flock believed to be 1 mile wide and 320 miles (about 515 kilometers) long was seen near Cincinnati.
Sadly, the abundance of passenger pigeons may have been their undoing. Where the birds were most abundant, people believed there was an ever-lasting supply and killed them by the thousands. Commercial hunters attracted them to small clearings with grain, waited until pigeons had settled to feed, then threw large nets over them, taking hundreds at a time. The birds were shipped to large cities and sold in restaurants.
By the closing decades of the 19th century, the hardwood forests where passenger pigeons nested had been damaged by Americans’ need for wood, which scattered (驱散) the flocks and forced the birds to go farther north, where cold temperatures and spring storms contributed to their decline. Soon the great flocks were gone, never to be seen again.
In 1897, the state of Michigan passed a law prohibiting the killing of passenger pigeons, but by then, no sizable flocks had been seen in the state for 10 years. The last confirmed wild pigeon in the United States was shot by a boy in Pike County, Ohio, in 1900. For a time, a few birds survived under human care. The last of them, known affectionately as Martha, died at the Cincinnati Zoological Garden on September 1, 1914.In the 18th and early 19th centuries, passenger pigeons________.
| A．were the largest bird population in the Us |
| B．lived mainly in the south of America |
| C．did great harm to the natural environment |
| D．were the biggest bird in the world |
The underlined word “ undoing” probably refers to the pigeons’ ________.
| A．escape | B．liberation |
| C．ruin | D．evolution |
What was the main reason for people to kill passenger pigeons?
| A．To seek pleasure. | B．To save other birds. |
| C．To make money. | D．To protect crops. |
What can we infer about the law passed in Michigan?
| A．It was ignored by the public. |
| B．It was declared too late. |
| C．It was unfair. |
| D．It was strict. |