At Blossom End Railroad Station, 22-year-old Stanley Vine sat, waiting for his new employer. The surrounding green fields were so unlike the muddy landscape of war-torn France. After four horrible years as an army private fighting in Europe, Stanley had returned to England in February 1946. Armed now with some savings and with no prospects for a job in England, he answered a newspaper ad for farm help in Canada. Two months later he was on his way.
When the old car rumbled (发着辘辘声) toward the tiny station, Stanley rose to his feet, trying to make the most of his five foot and four inches frame. The farmer, Alphonse Lapine, shook his head and complained, “You’re a skinny thing.” On the way to his dairy farm, Alphonse explained that he had a wife and seven kids. “Money is tight. You’ll get room and board. You’ll get up at dawn for milking, and then help me around the farm until evening milking time again. Ten dollars a week. Sundays off.” Stanley nodded. He had never been on a farm before, but he took the job.
From the beginning Stanley was treated horribly by the whole family. They made fun of the way he dressed and talked. He could do nothing right. The humourless farmer frequently lost his temper, criticizing Stanley for the slightest mistake. The oldest son, 13-year-old Armand, constantly played tricks on him. But the kind-hearted Stanley never responded.
Stanley never became part of the Lapine family. After work, they ignored him. He spend his nights alone in a tiny bedroom. However, each evening before retiring, he lovingly cared for the farmer’s horses, eagerly awaiting him at the field gate. He called them his gentle giants. On Saturday nights he hitch-hiked into the nearest town and wandered the streets or enjoyed a restaurant meal before returning to the farm.
Early one November morning Alphonse Lapine discovered that Stanley had disappeared, after only six months as his farmhand. The railway station master, when questioned later that week, said he had not seen him. In fact no one in the community ever heard of him again. That is, until one evening, almost 20 years later, when Armand, opened an American sports magazine and came across a shocking headline, “Millionaire jockey (赛马骑师), Stanley Vine, ex-British soldier and 5-time horse riding champion, began life in North America as a farmhand in Canada.”Stanley Vine decided to go to Canada because ___________.
A.he wanted to escape from war-torn France |
B.he wanted to serve in the Canadian army |
C.he couldn’t find a job in England |
D.he loved working as a farmhand |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A.Stanley joined the French army when he was 18 years old. |
B.On the farm Stanley had to milk the cows 14 times a week. |
C.The Lapine family were very rich but cruel to Stanley. |
D.Stanely read about the job offer in a newspaper. |
What did Stanley like doing after work each day?
A.Hitch-hiking to different towns. |
B.Caring for the farmer’s horses. |
C.Wandering around the farm alone. |
D.Preparing meals on the farm. |
Why was Armand so astonished when he read about Stanley in the magazine?
A.He didn’t know Stanley had been a British soldier. |
B.He had no idea Stanley had always been a wealthy man. |
C.He didn’t know his father paid Stanley so little money. |
D.He didn’t expect Stanley to become such a success. |
Banks view online banking as a powerful “value-added” tool to attract and keep new customers while helping to eliminate costly paper handling or teller(出纳员)interactions in an increasingly competitive banking environment .
Today , most large national banks , many local banks and credit unions offer some form of online banking , variously known as PC banking , home banking , electronic banking or Internet banking . Online banks are sometimes referred to as “brick-to-click” banks , both to tell them from “brick-to-mortar” banks that haven’t yet offered online banking , as well as from “virtual”(虚拟)banks that have no physical branches or tellers whatsoever .
The challenge(挑战)for the banking industry has been to design this new service channel in such a way that its customers will readily learn to use and trust it . Most of the large banks can now offer fully safe ,fully functional (功能的)online banking for free or for a small cost . As more banks succeed online and more customers use their sites , fully functional online banking will likely become as commonplace as automated teller machines (ATM).
Online banking has a lot of advantages . Unlike your corner bank , online banking sites never close; they’re at hand 24 hours a day , seven days a week , and they’re a mouse click away . If you’re out of state or even out of the country when a money problem appears , you can log on instantly to your online bank and take care of business . Online bank sites generally carry out and confirm (确认)deals at or quicker than ATM processing speeds . Many online banking sites now offer fashionable tools to help you manage all of your valuable items more effectively .The word “eliminate” in the first paragraph probably means “”.
A.keep | B.remove | C.reduce | D.improve |
What is the challenge for the banking industry according to the text ?
A.To make online banking attractive . | B.To open new services all over the world . |
C.To offer online banking for free . | D.To take care of business 24 hours a day . |
From the text we can conclude that .
A.“brick-to-click” banks are in fact another kind of physical banks |
B.the function of a “brick-to-click” bank is as common as that of an ATM |
C.a “ brick-to-mortar” bank is no better than a virtual one |
D.customers can deal with their banking by a mouse click |
What would be the best title for this text ?
A.Banking of Various Forms | B.Improvement of Banking Industry |
C.Development of Online Banking | D.Functions of the “Brick-to-Click” Bank |
A lot of grown-ups worry that spending too much time playing video games isn’t good for a kid’s health. Now some doctors have noticed that kids who bring their hand-held game players to the hospital seem less worried about being there. These patients also seem to experience less pain when they are concentrating on a superhero adventure or a car race. At the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Maryland, young patients are finding hospital visits easier to deal with, thanks to a test program called the Hospital-based On-line Pediatric Environment (HOPE). Patients in HOPE have a life-threatening condition where their kidneys(
肾脏
)no longer filter(
过滤
)wastes from their blood. To get their blood cleaned, these kids must be hooked up to dialysis(
透析
) machines at the hospital three times a week, for at least three hours each time. HOPE allows kids to play online sports, racing, and adventure games with each other. Eventually they will be able to connect with kids in other hospitals who are suffering from the same problem. "We want to use the power of the Internet to bring together kids who feel that they are separated by their illness, and let them know that they are not alone," said Arun Mathews, the doctor who heads the program. He loves video games himself and got the idea to connect kids all over the country. Many researchers elsewhere are testing video game programs that might help young patients. For example, nine-year-old Ben Duskin of San Francisco, who was struggling with cancer helped to design a video game where players get rid of cancer cells. That’s all great news, because doctors already know that reducing pain and worry helps patients heal faster.
What’s the main idea of the passage?
A.Playing video games too much is bad for kids’health. |
B.Playing video games seems to be beneficial to young patients’ recovery. |
C.Doctors find that reducing pain helps patients recover faster. |
D.Doctors invent a game to help kids in hospitals. |
How long will it take a patient to get his blood cleaned in a week?
A.About 3 hours. | B.About 6 hours. | C.About 9 hours. | D.About 21 hours. |
According to Arun Mathews, the main purpose of HOPE is to _________.
A.encourage kids to play online games |
B.teach kids how to design video games |
C.help kids who are suffering from illness connect with each other |
D.make parents worry less about their kids playing video games too much |
Which of the following plays the most important role in the HOPE project?
A.Music. | B.The Internet. | C.Novels. | D.Films. |
What can we learn from the passage?
A.Nine-year-old Ben Duskin, who has a cancer, is very brave and clever. |
B.Many parents want their children to play video games because it’s good for their health. |
C.Doctors are not sure whether reducing pain and worry can help the patients recover faster. |
D.HOPE allows kids to play online games only with the kids in the same hospital. |
Just because you are in a wheelchair doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the competitiveness(
竞争
) —the all-around fun —that playing sports offers you. More and more wheelchair users are playing sports every day —some even on a professional level. The following are just a few examples of the different choices you have.
Wheelchair basketball is a very common wheelchair sport. It was started over forty years ago as part of a medical recovery(
康复
) program. Over the years it has grown rapidly. Today wheelchair basketball is a professional sport that has more than 180 teams across the United States. In order to play wheelchair basketball, it is essential to have a lightweight wheelchair. Several different kinds of sports wheelchairs are on the market today just for sports fans.
Another wheelchair sport, quad rugby(
橄榄球
), was specifically designed for people who can’t move their arms or legs and are unable to play wheelchair basketball. It is a mixture of wheelchair basketball and ice hockey. To play the game you must have two teams of four players each.
Power soccer is another fun wheelchair sport that can be very fun and exciting. Players in power soccer must have an electric wheelchair. Two teams have two 30-minute halves to push the soccer ball over the other team’s goal line. The first team to reach the other team’s goal line most frequently wins.
Based on the sport you choose to take part in, there are several things you can buy for your wheelchair, including belts, gloves, bags for carrying things, drink holders and special back supports.
In which part of the newspaper will you read this passage?
A.Technology. | B.Society. | C.Culture. | D.Health. |
In the beginning, wheelchair basketball was started for the purpose of ______.
A.holding professional games around the US |
B.spreading the sport all over the US |
C.helping patients return to a normal life |
D.making people want to play sports |
What is the main idea of the passage?
A.To introduce some possible sports to wheelchair users. |
B.To introduce some products to the wheelchair users. |
C.To encourage wheelchair users to compete with each other. |
D.To talk about the differences between these sports. |
About 1 million adult New Yorkers are obese(肥胖的), but nearly two-thirds of them don’t think they are, according to a study released on Tuesday by the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene(卫生).
Among the obese, who account for about one in five New Yorkers, only 39% described themselves as “very overweight”, according to the report. 2% said they were very underweight, 1% said they were slightly underweight, 16% said they were just right and 42% said they were slightly over weight.
Some 2 million more New Yorkers are overweight, the report said, and one in five children in kindergarten is obese.
Only 44% of the city’s adults are at a healthy weight, and nearly 75% say they do not participate in(参加) any regular physical activity.
New York City’s adult obesity rate was 20% in 2003 compared with 23% nationwide in 2004.The national average has nearly doubled from 12% in 1993, the report said.
Overweight and obese are defined by body mass index, or BMI (=" kg/m)" , which is based on a person’s weight , adjusted(调整) for height, the department said.
Being obese means having a BMI of 30 or greater, while being overweight means a BMI of more than 25 but less than 30.
A 5-foot, 10-inch (1.78-meter) man weighing 175 pounds(79kg) would have a BMI of 25.1 and be considered overweight according to the department . If he weighed 210 pounds (95kg), he would have a BMI of 30.1 and be obese.
The report came from results of the department’s 2002 and 2003 yearly telephone surveys of some 10,000 adults.New York City has a population of about _____ according to the passage.
A.5,000,000 | B.2,000,000 | C.1,000,000 | D.500,000 |
We can infer from the passage that ____.
A.most adult New Yorkers go in for many regular physical activities |
B.New Yorkers think that obesity shows economic development |
C.New York City’s adult obesity rate increased from 1993 to 2004 |
D.most of the New York City’s adults are at a healthy weight |
If a 1.75-meter-tall man weighs 99 kilograms, he is ____ according to the passage.
A.overweight | B.underweight | C.slightly underweight | D.obese |
What is the passage mainly about?
A. Population explosion in USA.
B. Weight problems in New York.
C. Weight controlling measures
D. Diet habits in USA
Hire charges
What’s included:
1)Unlimited mileage (英里数).
2)Expenses on oil , maintenance (保养)and repairs, which will be repaired on production of invoices(发票).
3)Full insurance except personal accident (see below) and contents.
What’s not included:
1)Personal accident insurance.
2)Garaging, petrol, parking and traffic fines
Conditions of Hire
lThe shortest rental period at these special low prices is three days. For prices for periods of one or two days you only see our representative (代理人)at the hotel.
lCar hire must be booked six weeks or more before arrival in London to guarantee(保证) a car.But if you have been unable to make a booking in advance, please see our representative at the hotel who may still be able to help you.
lThe car types on the sheet are examples of the types of cars in each price range, but a particular car cannot be guaranteed.
lUpon delivery the driver(s) will be asked to sign the car hire company” Conditions of Hire.
lIf you decide to hire a car , just fill in the Booking Form and return it to us . A booking fee of £12 as part of the car hire cost is required.
lShould you be forced to cancel (取消)your car hire booking after payment in full (two weeks before the date of hire), a cancellation charge of £12 will be made.from the advertisement we can see a car hirer will pay extra money for_____.
A.insurance against damage to the car | B.insurance against injury to the driver |
C.the cost of maintenance of the car | D.the cost of repairs to the car |
Which of the following conditions , you have to accept when hiring a car?
A.When you hire a car from the company, the driver will go together with you |
B.It’s unnecessary for you to give invoices if you want to be repaid for repairs |
C.If you have paid a booking fee , you don’t have to fill in the Booking Form. |
D.You have to accept the terms of car hire company’s Conditions of Hire |
If you change your mind after paying the whole cost of hiring , the £12
Booking fee is_____.
A.partly returned | B.doubtly paid |
C.not returned at all | D.returned within six weeks |
The prices for car hire are especially low when _____.
A.it is booked for at least three days | B.it is booked two weeks in advance |
C.it is booked for two days | D.the booking is made in London |