MAY 14 marks the 60th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel(以色列). Many Israelis, however, are not in the mood to celebrate.
Looking at the damage to her neighbor's home from a Palestinian(巴勒斯坦) rocket, Batia Katar, a 17-year-old Israeli girl, was in tears. "We can't celebrate (Israel's) independence when things like this are happening," she said.
What is clear is that Israel is not a normal country. The country has a dramatic (戏剧性) history and ancient culture but has only officially existed for 60 years. Within hours after it was established in 1948, Israel was at war with its Arab neighbors for land. It won that time, and in 1956, 1967 and 1973, acquiring the West Bank, the Golan Heights, Gaza and east Jerusalem. For good or ill, Israelis can take pride in victories with so many countries. However, it occupied much more land than the United Nations agreed, which left local Palestinians homeless.
Different from all its neighbors in religion, Israel is also far more successful economically than its neighbors. Though, it gets a great amount of support from America and other Western countries. The country is now a world leader in many industries, such as IT and modern agriculture.
However, conflict exists, just like 60 years ago. And the signal of peace is as weak as ever. Palestinian militants (武装人员) have fired more than 7,000 missiles from Gaza, mainly at Sedro, killing 13 people. In the same period hundreds of Palestinian civilians in Gaza have died in Israeli military action.
In order to create peace, the world community hopes both sides accept and follow the Middle East peace plan. Optimists believe through Israeli-Palestinian negotiations there will finally be peace.
Both Israelis and Palestinians want to live in peace without explosions that remind them that they are living in a special but dangerous place. Why are many Israelis not in the mood to celebrate the both anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel? Because .
A.the government didn't organize it |
B.they are too busy to attend it |
C.it is dangerous to celebrate it |
D.conflicts and fights still exist |
The underlined word established in the fourth paragraph means .
A.defeated | B.founded | C.attacked | D.accepted |
Israel is not a normal country because .
A.the country has a dramatic history and ancient culture but has only officially existed for 60 years |
B.within hours after its establishment, Israel was at war with its Arab neighbors for land |
C.it occupied much more land than the UN agreed, which left local Palestinians homeless |
D.all of the above |
Which statement about Israel is NOT true according to the passage?
A.It became a country in 1948. |
B.It is different from all its neighbors in religion. |
C.It is now a world leader in many industries, such as IT and modern agriculture. |
D.No country has supported it since it was founded. |
It can be inferred from the passage that .
A.it is still a question mark whether Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace |
B.Israel was created as a homeland for homeless Jews |
C.for good or ill, Israelis can take pride in victories with so many countries |
D.Israel is far more successful economically than its neighbors |
The world itself is becoming much smaller by using modern traffic and modern communication means (通讯设备).Life today is much easier than it was hundreds of years ago, but it has brought new problems. One of the biggest is pollution. To pollute means to make things dirty. Pollution comes in many ways. We see it, smell it, drink it and even hear it.
Man has been polluting the earth. The more people, the more pollution. Many years ago, the problem was not so serious because there were not so many people. When the land was used up or the river was dirty in one place, Man moved to another place. But this is no longer true. Man is now slowly polluting the whole world.
Air pollution is still the most serious. It’s bad for all living things in the world, but it is not the only one kind of pollution. Water pollution kills our fish and pollutes our drinking water. Noise pollution makes us angry more easily.
Many countries are making rules to fight pollution. They stop people from burning coal in houses and factories in the city, and from putting dirty smoke into the air.
Pollution by carbon dioxide is now the most dangerous kind of air pollution. It is caused by heavy traffic. It is true that if there are fewer people driving, there will be less air pollution.
The earth is our home. We must take care of it. That means keeping the land, water and air clean. And we must take care of the rise in population at the same time..
. Hundreds of years ago, the pollution was _________it is today.
A.much easier than | B.as easy as | C.as hard as | D.much less than |
.
Our world is becoming much smaller_________.
A.because the earth is being polluted day and night |
B.because science is developing |
C.because of the rise in population |
D.because the earth is blown away by the wind every year |
.
Air pollution is the most serious kind of pollution because_________.
A.it does harm to all living things in the world | B.it makes much noise |
C.it makes our rivers and lakes dirty | D.it makes us angry more easily |
.
Which of the following is NOT the possible way to reduce air pollution?
A.Stop people from burning coal in the houses and factories in the city |
B.Stop putting dirty smoke into the air |
C.Encourage people to go to work by bike or on foot instead of driving a car |
D.Don’t throw rubbish into the river. |
.
Which of the following is NOT true?
A.The problem of pollution is not so serious because there are not so many people living on the earth. |
B.The pollution of the earth grows as fast as the world’s population does. |
C.If people could go to work by bike ,it would be helpful against the problem of carbon dioxide. |
D.Many countries are making rules to fight against pollution. |
People have smoked cigarettes for a long time now. The tobacco which is used to make cigarettes was first grown in what is now part of the United States. Christopher Columbus, who discovered America, saw the Indians smoking. Soon the dried leaves were transported to Europe . In the late 1800s, the Turks made cigarettes popular.
Cigarette smoke contains at least two harmful substances, tar and nicotine. Tar, which forms as the tobacco burns, damages the lungs and therefore affects breathing. Nicotine, which is found in the leaves, causes the heart to beat faster and increases the breathing rate. Nicotine in large can kill a person by stopping a person’s breathing muscles. Smokers usually take in small amounts that the body can quickly break down.
Nicotine can make new smokers feel dizzy(头晕) or sick to their stomachs. The heart rate for young smokers increases 2 to 3 beats per minute. Nicotine also lowers skin temperature and reduces blood flow in the legs and feet. It plays an important role in increasing smokers’ risk of heart disease and stroke.
Smoking cigarettes is dangerous. Cigarette smoking was the cause of lung cancer and several other deadly diseases. .
Tobacco first appeared in_________.
A.Asia | B.Africa |
C.Europe | D.America |
.
What is the main purpose of the first paragraph?
A.To tell us the bad effects caused by smoking cigarettes |
B.To introduce the history of smoking |
C.To let us know what the cigarettes are made from |
D.To tell the readers that Columbus found the Indians smoking |
.
._________doesn’t make one’s heart beat as usual.
A.Tar | B.Nicotine |
C.Lung disease | D.Leave |
.
The following effects are caused by Nicotine EXCEPT that________.
A.It can make new smokers feel dizzy or sick to their stomachs |
B.It lowers skin temperature |
C.It causes the heart to beat less fast |
D.Nicotine will probably kill a person if a smoker takes in too much of it. |
.
What’s the main idea of this passage?
A.Where did cigarettes come from? |
B.The effect of smoking on your body. |
C.How to smoke is healthy? |
D.Who is the first smoker? |
James Stallman Rockefeller, the oldest-known U.S.Olympic medal winner and the former head of the bank that became Citigroup, died Tuesday.He was 102.Records of the U.S.Olympic Committee show that Rockefeller was the oldest American medal winner.He was the captain of Yale University's eight-man rowing team with coxswain that won gold at the 1924 Paris Olympics - beating the Canadian team by less than 16 seconds.The oars from the winning race and the gold medal were prominently displayed in Rockefeller's house."I think he was really proud of that - probably more than the bank career," said his grandson.
Rockefeller suffered a stroke on Thursday, said his grandson, who lived with him at his Greenwich home for two years, attributed his long life to a regimented(严密组织的) lifestyle: breakfast at eight a.m., lunch at 1 p.m., cocktails at 6 p.m.and dinner promptly at 7 p.m.. He liked plain food, without sauces or cheese, and plenty of fresh vegetables, including those grown in the garden of his estate.Rockefeller was in good health until shortly before he died.He drove his car up until last year and would review documents from the various charities and businesses he helped lead.
Rockefeller, born on June 8, 1902, was a grandson of William Rockefeller, who founded Standard Oil with his brother, John D.Rockefeller.He graduated from Yale in 1924 and served in the Airborne Command during World War II.He started at the bank, and then called the National City Bank, in 1930, following his uncle and grandfather, who were leaders of the bank. He became president in 1952, chairman in 1959 and retired in 1967.In 1955, under Rockefeller's leadership, the bank merged with the First National Bank of New York to form Citigroup.Rockefeller also was a director of numerous companies, including Pan American Airways, Northern Pacific Railroad, NCR and Monsanto, and served on the boards of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and the American
Museum of Natural History.
Rockefeller and his wife.Nancy Carnegie Rockefeller, had four children.His wife died in 1994.Rockefeller lost his wife when he was_______.
A.at the age of 91 | B.in his eighties |
C.in his early nineties | D.in his 1994 |
We can learn from the passage t
hat _______.
A.the American rowing team beat the Canadian team in less than 16 seconds in 1924. |
B.Rockefeller was the first American medal winner. |
C.James Stallman Rockefeller founded the National City Bank and was the first president. |
D.His grandson thought Rockefeller had long life because of a regimented lifestyle. |
What we can infer from the passage is that ______.
A.James Stallman Rockefeller is a great Olympic medal winner. |
B.James Stallman Rockefeller was in good health until he died. |
C.James Stallman Rockefeller was very active in American society. |
D.James Stallman Rockefeller was the only grandson of William Rockefeller. |
On the day Apple debuted the often-delayed white-colored iPhone 4, the company's marketing department gave a nod to the product's troubled history.
"Finally." read the big headline Thursday above a picture of the white phone on the homepage of Apple.com.
The white model was supposed to ship alongside the black one at the iPhone 4's launch(推出) last June.But design and manufacturing complications delayed the process by 10 months, catching Apple off guard, executives say.
As CNN reported last month, earlier test models of the white iPhone 4 produced unclear photos, especially when the flash(闪光灯) was used.Its whiteness confused the proximity sensor (距离传感器) , which detects when the phone is held next to someone's head and turns off the touch screen to save battery life.
These problems weren't present in older iPhones that came in white because they didn't have flash photography; the proximity sensor was unaffected because the front side of previous models was black.
"We thought we were there a year ago, or less than that, when we launched the iPhone 4, and we weren't," Philip Schiller, Apple's chief marketing executive, said in an interview."It's not as simple as making something white.There's a lot more that goes into both the material science of it —how it holds up over time…but also in how it all works with the sensors."
Ticonderoga Securities analyst Brian White predicts that the white model could help drive sales of Apple's phones.He says Apple could sell 1 million to 1.5 million every three months until the next iPhone model is unveiled, which is expected to be this fall.
Forty-five people were lined up at Apple's flagship New York store Thursday morning to buy white iPhones, according to a CNN Money report.The reason why white-colored iPhone 4 was delayed by 10 months is that _______.
A.it's always sold out due to its popularity |
B.it met some problems concerning design and manufacture |
C.it lacked white manufacturing materials |
D.its proximity sensor can't save battery life |
According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A.There are multi-colored models of iPhone 4. |
B.The same design problems were also found in older white iPhones. |
C.IPhone4 will be launched this fall. |
D.Originally designers thought they could solve the problems before iPhone 4 was launched. |
What would be the best title for this passage?
A.Why the White iPhone 4 Took So Long |
B.The History of iPhone 4 |
C.The Attraction of White![]() |
D.The Design and Manufacture of iPhone 4 |
A characteristic of American culture that has become almost a tradition is to respect the self-made man —the man who has risen to the top through his own efforts, usually beginning by working with his hands.While the leader in business or industry or the college professor occupies a higher social position and commands greater respect m the community than the common laborer or even the skilled factory worker, he may take pains to point out that his father started life in America as a farmer or laborer of some sort.
This attitude toward manual (体力的) labor is now still seen in many aspects of American life.One is invited to dinner at a home that is not only comfortably but even luxuriously (豪华地) furnished and in which there is every evidence of the fact that the family has been able to afford foreign travel, expensive hobbies, and college education for the children; yet the hostess probably will cook the dinner herself, wil2 serve it herself and will wash dishes afterward, furthermore the dinner will not consist merely of something quickly and easily assembled from contents of various cans and a cake or a pie bought at the nearby bakery.On the contrary, the hostess usually takes pride in careful preparation of special dishes.A professional man may talk about washing the car, digging in his flowerbeds, painting the house.His wife may even help with these things, just as he often helps her with the dishwashing.The son who is away at college may wait on table and wash dishes for his living, or during the summer he may work with a construction gang on a highway in order to pay for his education.From paragraph 1, we can know that in America _____.
A.people tend to have a high opinion of the self-made man
B.people can always rise to the top through their own efforts
C.college professors win great respect from common workers
C.college professors feel it painful to mention their fathers as labors.According to the passage, the hostess cooks dinner herself mainly because ______.
A.servants in American are hard to get |
B.she takes pride in what she can do herself |
C.she can hardly afford servants |
D.It is easy to prepare a meal with canned food |
The expression " wait on table" in the second paragraph means "______”.
A.wait for others on a table | B.keep accounts in a restaurant |
C.wait to lay![]() |
D.serve customers in a restaurant |
How does the author sup
port his opinion?
A.By analyzing causes and effects | B.By giving examples |
C.By reasoning and concluding | D.By telling stories |