Theofficehasalwaysbeenaplaceto-优题课

Frederick Law Olmsted （1822 - 1903）, a Connecticut farm boy, saw his first public park in Liverpool, England, as he accompanied his brother on a walking tour. He was impressed by the park’s winding paths, open fields, lakes and bridges. Perhaps the most wonderful things of all was that the park was open to everyone.
A moment beginning in 1840 to set aside park land on New York City’s Manhattan Island has successful result in 1856 with the purchase of 840 acres of rocky and swampy （沼泽） land, bought with about $ 5 million in state funds. Olmsted’s chance meeting with a project organizer led to his applying for the job of park manager. In 1857 Olmsted was appointed manager of the proposed park, and the clearing of the site began.
Calvert Vaux, a British architect, asked Olmsted to collaborate with him on a park design, and Olmsted agreed. Vaux saw the park as a work of art, while Olmsted saw the park as a place for people to escape the noise of the city. Together they invented a plan that would give the persons and animals living in the city a quiet, green park and would also preserve and increase the good qualities of the natural features of the land. The commissioners voted in favor of Vaux and Olmsted’s plan, and in 1858, the two became the official designers of New York City’s Central Park.
It took millions of cartloads of topsoil to build Central park’s gentle slopes, shady glens, and steep, rocky ravines. Five million trees were planted, a water – supply system was laid, and bridges, arches, roads and paths were constructed. The park officially opened in 1876, and today, well over a century later, people still escape the noise of the city in Olmsted and Vaux’s great work of art.
53．What is the text mainly about?
A．A history of the planning of Central park.
B．An engineering plan for Central Park.
C．A biography of Frederick Law Olmsted.
D．A guided walking tour of Central park.
54．Olmsted became manager of Central Park because of .
A．his friendship with Calvert Vaux
B．his hard work in clearing the land
C．his winning a design competition
D．a chance meeting with one of the park’s organizers
55．The underlined word “collaborate” in the third paragraph means .
A．disagree B．comment C．vote D．work together
56．Which of the following is true about Central Park?
A．It is out of date nowadays.
B．The designers came from the same country.
C．It is an old park in America.
D．It is only for people who can well afford it.

Games originally are entertainment. Contemporary games are very realistic and for this reason they are a source of great experience for the player and develop the imagination. Games are entertainment and even more than that. The statistics （统计） of the New York University led by Green claim that the player preferring active games get improvement of some types of brain activity. In particular, game players deal with problems of simultaneously （同时地） tracking several moving objects at the average level of 30% better than people who do not play active computer video games. The “gaming” violent experience may not be the cause of violent behavior in reality. None of the playing experience will become the priority in making important decisions concerning problems in real life. A game is an abstraction （虚拟物）. A player gets abstract tasks and acts according to abstract rules.
Games are also the possibility to be however a person wants to he and to rest from the outside world for some time. But what if a person gets so much excited with the game scenes that he becomes violent in reality? Then, it proves that the games cause people to become violent in reality. But a psychologically healthy person will never confuse these two different worlds. A game is virtual world with visual images very similar to human. These images represent by themselves nothing but playing obstacles （障碍）. A game may potentially give the opportunity to “destroy the obstacles” that may not be destroyed according to the rules but it is more about personal choice whether to do it or not. This leads us to the conclusion that violence is not a consequence but the cause. People who are originally trended to violence may get into a temper by games and perform violence in the “real world”. But in this case violence in games is a simple justification （理由） of the violent nature of the player.
49．The passage is .
A．a story B．a descriptive writing
C．an argumentative writing D．a scientific essay
50．In the first paragraph the author used the statistics to prove that .
A．games can provide experience for the players
B．games can help develop player’s imagination
C．games can cause violent behavior
D．game are more than entertainment
51．What is the author’s attitude towards the “computer games”?[
A．“Violent games” can lead to the performance of violence in the real world.
B．Violence is not a consequence of the “computer games” but the cause.
C．Games are just entertainment and nothing more.
D．The virtual world and the real world are just the same.
52．The best title for this passage is .
A．Violent games cause violence B．Games: good or bad?
C．The cause of violence D．The consequence of games

Some names have special meanings in popular American expressions. One day, an average Joe was walking down the street. An average Joe is a common person – either male or female. He did not know where he was going. So average Joe asked John Q. Public for directions to the nearest bank. John Q. Public is also a common person – male or female. “Jeez Louise,” said John Q. Public. This is an expression of surprise. “Don’t you know that all banks are closed today? It is Saturday.”
“For Pete’s sake.” said average Joe. This is also an expression used to show a feeling like surprise or disappointment. “I do not believe you,” said he. At that moment, Joe Blow was walking down the street with a woman. Joe Blow is also an expression for a common person. Now this Joe Blow was NOT walking next to a plain Jane. A plain Jane is a woman who is neither ugly nor pretty. The woman with Joe Blow was a real Sheila – a beautiful woman.
Average Joe asked the woman if all banks were closed on Saturday. “No way, Jose,” she answered. This is a way of saying “no.” “No way, Jose. Many banks are open on Saturdays.”
Average Joe did not know either of these two people from Adam. That is, he did not know them at all. But he followed their directions to the nearest bank. [
When he arrived, he walked to the desk and said: “I am here to withdraw some money so I can pay my taxes to Uncle Sam”. This represents the United States government. The banker produced some papers and told him to sign his John Hancock at the bottom. A John Hancock is a person’s signed name – a signature. Historically, John Hancock was one of the signers of the United States Declaration of Independence. Hancock had a beautiful signature and signed his name larger than all the others.
45．The main idea of this text is that .
A．some popular American names have special stories
B．some popular American expressions have some special names[
C．some popular American names have special meanings
D．some popular American expressions are interesting
46．Which of the following refers to an ordinary – looking woman?
A．A average Joe B．John Q. Public
C．Joe Blow D．A plain Jane
47．The name “Jeez Louise” is .
A．an expression of surprise B．a feeling like disappointment
C．an expression for a common man D．a woman who is neither ugly nor pretty
48．What does the banker really want to ask Joe to sign on the papers?
A．John Hancock. B．United States Declaration.
C．His own name. D．Uncle Sam.

It was a cold grey day in late November. The weather had changed overnight, when a backing wind brought a pale sky and a muzzling rain with it, and although it was now only a little after two o’clock in the afternoon the gray of a winter evening seemed to have closed upon the hills, surrounding them in mist. It would be dark by four. The leather seats felt damp to the hands, and there must have been a small crack in the roof, because now and again little drips of rain fell softly through, polluting the leather and leaving a dark – blue stain like a spot of ink. The wind came in, at times shaking the coach as it traveled round the bend of the road, and in the exposed places on the high ground it blew with such force that the whole body of the coach trembled and swayed, rocking between the high wheels like a drunken man.
The driver, muffled （裹住） in a greatcoat to his ears, bent almost double in his seat in a faint endeavor to gain shelter from his own shoulders. The few passengers pressed together for warmth, exclaiming all together when the coach sank into a heavier rut （车辙） than usual, and one old fellow, who had kept up a constant complaint ever since he had joined the coach at Truro, rose from his seat in anger; and, feeling with the window – frame, let the window down with a crash, bringing a shower of rain upon himself and his fellow – passengers. He thrust his head out and shouted up to the driver, scolding him in a angry voice for a rogue and a murderer; that they would all be dead before they reached Bodmin if he persisted in driving at dangerous speed; they had no breath left in their bodies as it was, and he would never travel by coach again.
41．What is the main image the author gives in this description?
A．In terrible weather, a coach was running fast in mud with complaining passengers on it.
B．On a cold and rainy day the coach broke and the driver was repairing it on the road.
C．On a cold night the driver and the passengers felt very cold and struggled in the rain.
D．The bad condition of the road resulted in the bad mood of the passengers.
42．Which of the following is correct according to the text?
A．The windows were tightly closed, so the cold air was kept outside the coach.
B．The spot of ink stained leather, so the seats felt damp to the hands.
C．Most probably the roof of the coach was broken.
D．There was a drunken man swaying constantly on the coach.
43．The expression “muffled in a greatcoat to… his own shoulders” implies .
A．the driver felt very cold and tried to change his seat
B．the driver felt comfortable by doing in that way
C．The driver felt very cold and tried to gain warmth
D．The driver tried to protect his ears and shoulders
44．We can learn from the text that .
A．the coach was running slowly due to the bad weather
B．an old passenger who got on the coach at Truro was angry about the windows
C．one of the passengers on the coach was a murderer
D．the few passengers let out exclamations as the coach moved violently

At first, the earth’s surface（表面） layer (层) was made up of huge blocks of hard, solid rocks. Then slowly, the rocks broke up into smaller and smaller pieces. Finally stones, pebbles (卵石) and grains of sand were formed. Many sorts of plants and animals lived and died on the surface of the earth. Their remains mixed up with the stones, pebbles and formed soil. The outmost layer of the earth is soil.
There are many ways in which large pieces of rock break into smaller ones. Wind, water. heat and cold help to break up rocks. When winds blow grains of sand against a large rock for a long time, the softer layers of the rock are slowly worn away. These leave holes and cracks (裂缝) in the rock, which become bigger and finally the rock breaks up into smaller pieces.
The moving water of streams and rivers also helps to break up rocks. As the water moves along, it carries with it small pieces of rock. These rub the larger ones. Thus, the larger rocks are worn down to smaller pieces.
The heat of the sun is also helpful to breaking up rocks. When the sun shines, the rocks become very hot. If these rocks are suddenly cooled, they may crack. Ice also plays a part in making soil. Water in the carcks can turn into ice in cold weather. As this happens, it becomes bigger and the cracks become wider, and finally break into smaller pieces.
According to the passage, soil ______ .

A．forms very slowly

B．is a mixture of stones, pebbles and sand

C．makes up the layers of the earth

D．is becoming smaller and smaller

How many factors are mentioned in helping break up rocks?

A．Three.

B．Four.

C．Five.

D．More than five.

Which of the follwing speeds up（加速） the breaks of rocks most?

A．Hot weather.	B．Cold water.
C．Sharp changes in temperature.	D．More dead plants in the cracks.

Which of the following is NOT true?

A．The remains of many plants and animals formed soil.

B．If a large rock never moves, it will never break up.

C．Even if a large rock never moves, it will break up.

D．Ice in the cracks helps to break up rocks.

The best title for this passage should be ____ ?

A．Soil From Rocks

B．Ways to Break up Rocks

C．Soil on the Earth

D．Soil, Outmost Layer of the Earth

A．we are short of paper	B．the printing is not important
C．we should save paper	D．we have to pay for the paper