Like many of my generation, I have a weakness for hero worship. At some point, however, we all begin to question our heroes and our need for them. This leads us to ask: What is a hero?
Despite immense differences in cultures, heroes around the world generally share a number of characteristics that instruct and inspire people.
A hero does something worth talking about. A hero has a story of adventure to tell and community who will listen. But a hero goes beyond mere fame.
Heroes serve powers or principles larger than themselves. Like high-voltage transformers, heroes take the energy of higher powers and step it down so that it can be used by ordinary people.
The hero lives a life worthy of imitation. Those who imitate a genuine hero experience life with new depth, enthusiasm, and meaning. A sure test for would-be heroes is what or whom do they serve? What are they willing to live and die for? If the answer or evidence suggests they serve only their own fame, they may be famous persons but not heroes. Madonna and Michael Jackson are famous, but who would claim that their fans find life more abundant?
Heroes are catalysts (催化剂) for change. They have a vision from the mountaintop. They have the skill and the charm to move the masses. They create new possibilities. Without Gandhi, India might still be part of the British Empire. Without Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr., we might still have segregated (隔离的) buses, restaurants, and parks. It may be possible for large-scale change to occur without leaders with magnetic personalities, but the pace of change would be slow, the vision uncertain, and the committee meetings endless.Although heroes may come from different cultures, they __________.
| A．generally possess certain inspiring characteristics |
| B．probably share some weaknesses of ordinary people |
| C．are often influenced by previous generations |
| D．all unknowingly attract a large number of fans |
According to the passage, heroes are compared to high-voltage transformers in that _______.
| A．they have a vision from the mountaintop |
| B．they have warm feelings and emotions |
| C．they can serve as concrete examples of noble principles |
| D．they can make people feel stronger and more confident |
Madonna and Michael Jackson are not considered heroes because __________.
| A．they are popular only among certain groups of people |
| B．their performances do not improve their fans morally |
| C．their primary concern is their own financial interests |
| D．they are not clear about the principles they should follow |
The author concludes that historical changes would __________.
| A．be delayed without leaders with inspiring personal qualities |
| B．not happen without heroes making the necessary sacrifices |
| C．take place if there were heroes to lead the people |
| D．produce leaders with attractive personalities |
Parking has long been a major headache for drivers in Shanghai. The Transportation Department is mapping out a new plan for the city’s parking system. There are one million cars on the road in Shanghai but only enough public parking space to provide room for 15percent of them. It is no wonder that local drivers get so worried trying to find a place to park.
The city is seeing a rise in private car owners. In March, the city sent out 2,000 private car licenses, the highest number of licenses ever sent out in a month. And prices rose to 14,600 yuan, 500 more than in February. Industry experts say this suggests that local people have a strong, active interest in buying cars.
By the year 2020, the number of automobiles in Shanghai will probably reach two million. If one parking lot is for each car, then a lot of parking space should be built for these vehicles.
Downtown Shanghai is most short of parking space. However, experts point out that simply building more parking lots in downtown areas is not practical and doesn’t provide an ideal solution. The idea of “ Park & Ride” system has been suggested. This means that drivers can leave their vehicles in car par nearby subway or bus stations and ride public transport to go downtown. Based on this idea, the city will limit the number of parking lots in downtown areas and demand higher parking fees but build more parking areas near main subway and bus stops.
1.The underlined phrase “ mapping out ” in the first paragraph means __________.
A. making B. arguingC. controlling D. inspiring
2. About __________ drivers can find places to park their cars in Shanghai now.
A. 850,000 B. 1,000,000 C. 150,000 D. 2,000,000
3. What does the second paragraph mainly tell us ?
A. The city sent out more private licenses in February.
B. Less and less people bought cars in March.
C. The city sent out less private licenses in March.
D. More and more people are going to buy cars.
4. According to the idea of a “ Park & Ride ” system, the city will __________.
A. send out more private car licenses
B. build more parking lots near bus stops
C. encourage people to buy more cars
D. build more parking areas in downtown
In Vietnam(越南), Tet-trung-Thu, or Mid- autumn Festival, is one of the most popular holidays. It is held on the 15th day of the 8th month in lunar calendar
Vietnamese families plan their activities around their children on this special day. In a Vietnamese story, parents were working so hard to prepare for the harvest that they left the childen playing by themselves. To make up for the lost time, parents would use the Aid-Autumn Festival as a chance to show their love and than for their children.
As a result, the Mid- autumn Festival is also called the Children’s Festival. In the USA, this tradition continues in many Vietnamese- American families. Tet-trung-Thu, activities are often centered on Children and education. Parents buy lanterns for their children so that they can take part in a lantern parade at dawn. Lanterns mean brightness, while the parade means success in school. Vietnamese markets sell different kinds of lanterns, but the most popular children’s lantern is the star lantern. Other children’s activities includes arts and crafts(手工艺) in which children make face mas and lanterns. Children also perform traditional Vietnamese dances for grown-ups and take part in contests for prizes and scholarships. Unicorn(麒麟) dancers are also very popular at Tet-trung-Thu festivities.
Like the Chinese, Vietnamese parents tell their children folk stories and serve moon-cakes and other special treats under the bright moon. A favorite folk story is about a carp(鲤鱼) that wanted to bee a dragon. The carp worked hard and finally changed itself into a dragon. Parents use this story to encourage their children to work hard so that they can bee whatever they want to be.
1. The Tet-trung-Thu Festival is held ________.
A. in China and other Asian countries. B. in Vietnamese-American families.
C. all over the world, except Vietnam. D. Across the United States.
2.In Both Vietnam and China, on Mid-autumn Festival people would ___________.
A. eat moon-cakes B. buy lanterns for children.
C. take part in contests. D. buy a carp
3.What is the center of the Mid-Autumn festival in Vietnam?
A. Family get-together. B. Children on education.
C. Relaxation and fun in the middle of the year.
D. parents having more time with their children.
4.According to the passage, parents tell their children folk stories, because __________.
A. children like listening to folk stories in the evening.
B. parents want to show their love for their children.
C. parents want to teach the children to work hard.
D. parents want to make up for the lost time.
CHINA
Coal mines claim (使…失踪) more lives
A COAL mine blast (爆炸) in Jixi, Helongjiang, left more than 100 miners dead on Thursday .Ten mines in Jixi were ordered to stop production. The government has tried to shut down thousands of small, illegal (非法的) mines in the country that do not meet safety standards(标准).
MIDDLE EAST
Bombers continues to kill
PALESTINIANS killed 32 Israelis in three major attac between Tuesday and Thursday. There were two suicide bombing (自杀性爆炸) and a militant (武装的) attack on Jewish settlement. They led to one of the highest Israeli death tolls ( 死亡人数) in such a short period over the last two years.
CHINA
Young people stand tall
The average height of Chinese young people has risen by 6 centimeters pared to that of 20 years ago. This year far exceeds (超过) the word’s average growth speed. A survey on health conducted by a panel(调研组) of Chinese students found the results. According to the world average level, youths get taller by 1 cm every 10 years.
CANADA
Talking about world issue (援助)
The Group of Eight (G8)—the US, Japan , Germany, Britain, France, Italy , Canada and Russia ---- will hold a summit(峰会)on June26 and 27 in Kananaskis, Canada. The G8 are the richest and most powerful countries in the world. G8 leaders and some African presidents will discuss strengthening global economic growth and helping Africa. Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary General, will also attend.
1. Thousands of mines have been shut because ______.
A. they have blast B. they produced less coal
C. they are very small and illegal D. they don’t meet the safety standards
2. In the last 20 years, the average growth speed of Chinese youths exceeds the world’s average level by _______.
A.1 cm B.4 cm C. 5 cmD. 6 cm
3. What’s the purpose of the Summit ?
A. to strengthen the global economic growth and helping some poor African countries.
B. To make these eight countries much more powerful.
C. To help some African president to strengthen their economic growth.
D. Kofi Annan will have an important speech on world issues.
第三部分阅读理解（共20题，每小题2分，共40分）
“You can have the same neighbors for years,” the old man said. “You love them or you think you love them. And you hope that they love you. But do you really understand them?”
“Charlie Kemp and his family lived next door to me for fifteen years. We were good friends for all that time. I enjoy friendship-I’m sure it’s the best thing in the world. And friendship with the Kemps was easy because they seemed to wele it.”
“They were interesting and intelligent people; their home caught fire twice, and twice the whole family slept in my home. They were always losing things…money, keys, or watches. Pictures fell off the walls; the children fell out of beds…”
“I was their neighbor and their friend. Life was always interesting, never dull. Best of all I liked the whole family.”
“One day, I lit a fire in the garden and was burning some rubbish. After a while Charlie Kemp came out of his house and walked up the road.”
“’Morning Charlie,’ I said’ Lovely day, isn’t it’? He smiled at me and nodded. I went on with my work.”
“Twenty minutes later a policeman arrived. He walked into my garden and said,’ You’ll have to put out the fire. Your neighbor has plained to us. He doesn’t like the smell.’”
“My neighbor…?” I said
“Yes,” the policeman said .He took out his notebook and read, “Charlie Kemp. He lives next door, doesn’t he?”
1. ________were neighbors in this storey.
A. The old man and his family B. Charlie Kemps and his family.
C. The old man and the Kemps D. Both A and B
2. The old man found that it was very strange that_________.
A. Charlie told the police about the fire B they often lost the things
C. the fire burst the whole of the Kemps’ house D Kemp smiled to him
3. How did the old man help the kemps?
A. he found the things they lost B. he thought they were interesting and intelligent
C. he lent them money D. he let them sleep in his house after the fires
4. The story shows that__________.
A. friendship is the best thing in the world B. we never really understand our friends
C. friendship with the Kemps was easy D. friendship with the Kemps was not easy
Ⅵ．阅读表达（共5小题；每小题2分，满分10分）
阅读下面短文，并根据短文后的要求答题。
We were driving in the right lane when, all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded. and missed the other car’s back end by just inches! The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused a big accident, turned his head angrily and started yelling bad words at us.
My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was friendly. So, I said, “Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to hospital!” And this was what my taxi driver told me, which I call “The Law of the Garbage Truck”.
Many people are like garbage trucks and they run around full of garbage, full of frustration , full of anger, and full of disappointment. And their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump（倾倒）it. And if you let them, they’ll dump it on you. When someone wants to dump on you, don’t take it personally. You just simile, wave, wish them well, and move on. You’ll be happy you did.
So this was it: “The Law of the Garbage Truck”. I started thinking: how often do I let Garbage Trucks run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and spread it to other people: at home , on the streets? It was that day I said, “I’m not going to do that any more.”
I began to see garbage trucks. I see the burden they are carrying. I see them coming to drop it off. And like my taxi driver, I don’t . I just simile, wave, and move on.
Good leaders know they have to be ready for their next meeting. Good parents know that they have to welcome their children home from school with hugs and kisses. What about you? The mark of a successful person is how quickly they can get back their focus on what’s important.
81．What’s the purpose of the author to write this passage?（Please answer within 20 words.）
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82．Which sentence of the passage can be replaced by the following one?
A lot of people act as garbage trucks and are working, studying or living in a very bad mood.
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83．Please fill in the blank in the last but one paragraph with proper words or phrases to complete the sentence.（Please answer within 10 words.）
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84．How did the author first think his taxi driver should react to what had happened?（Please answer within 20 words.）
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85．Please translate the underlined sentence into Chinese.
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