Last Christmas was a very difficult time for me. My family and all of my close friends were back home in Florida, and I was all alone in a rather cold California. I was working too many hours and became very sick.
I was working a double shift at the Southwest Airlines ticket counter, it was about 9:00 PM on Christmas Eve, and I was feeling really miserable inside. There were a few of us working and very few customers waiting to be helped. When it was time for me to call the next person to the counter, I looked out to see the sweetest-looking old man standing with a cane. He walked very slowly over to the counter and in the faintest voice told me that he had to go to New Orleans. I tried to explain to him that there were no more flights that night and that he would have to go in the morning. He looked so confused and very worried. I tried to find out more information by asking if he had a reservation or if he remembered when he was supposed to travel, but he seemed to become more confused with each question. He just kept saying, “She said I have to go to New Orleans.”
After much time, I was able to at least find out that this old man had been dropped off at the curb on Christmas Eve by his sister-in-law and told to go to New Orleans, where he had family. She had given him some cash and told him just to go inside and buy a ticket. When I asked if he could come back tomorrow, he said that she was gone and that he had no place to stay. He then said he would wait at the airport until tomorrow. Naturally, I felt a little ashamed. Here I was feeling very sorry for myself about being alone on Christmas, when this angel named Clarence MacDonald was sent to me to remind me of what being alone really meant. It broke my heart.
Immediately, I told him we would get it all straightened out, and our Customer Service agent helped to book him a seat for the earliest flight the next morning. We gave him the senior citizen’s fare, which gave him some extra money for travelling. About this time he started to look very tired, and when I stepped around the counter to ask him if he was all right, I saw that his leg was wrapped in a bandage. He had been standing on it that whole time, holding a plastic bag full of clothes.
I called for a wheelchair. When the wheelchair came, we all stepped around to help him in, and I noticed a small amount of blood on his bandage. I asked how he hurt his leg, and he said that he had just had bypass surgery and an artery was taken from his leg. Can you imagine? This man had had heart surgery, and then shortly afterward, was dropped off at the curb to buy a ticket with no reservation to fly to New Orleans, alone!
I never really had a situation like this, and I wasn’t sure what I could do. I went back to ask my supervisors if we could find a place for him to stay. They both said yes, and they obtained a hotel voucher for Mr. MacDonald for one night and a meal ticket for dinner and breakfast. When I came back out, we got his plastic bag of clothes and cane together and gave the porter a tip to take him downstairs to wait for the airport shuttle. I bent down to explain the hotel, food and itinerary (行程) again to Mr. MacDonald, and then patted him on the arm and told him everything would be just fine.
As he left he said, “Thank you,” bent his head and started to cry. I cried too. When I went back to thank my supervisor, she just smiled and said, “I love stories like that. He is your Christmas Man.”Last Christmas the writer had a miserable time because ______.
| A．there were more customers than usual waiting to be helped |
| B．it was freezing cold in California at Christmas time |
| C．she was working all alone at the ticket counter |
| D．she was far away from her family and friends |
The writer’s first impression of the old man was that he was ______.
| A．gentle-looking and weak | B．tired out and worried |
| C．confused and very sick | D．sad and anxious |
The old man wanted to fly to New Orleans to ______.
| A．see his friends there |
| B．spend the Christmas with his family |
| C．visit his sister-in-law |
| D．undergo heart surgery |
On hearing the old man say that he would wait at the airport the whole night, the writer felt a bit ashamed. This is because ______.
| A．she felt sorry that she couldn’t do the old man a favor |
| B．she realized that someone was even more miserable than she felt |
| C．it took her a long time to find out how helpless the old man was |
| D．the old man was like an angel in the writer’s eyes |
The writer called for a wheelchair for the old man because ______.
| A．the old man had broken his leg when he was dropped off at the curb |
| B．the old man could spend the whole night on it at the airport |
| C．the old man was carrying a whole lot of clothes |
| D．the old man had had surgery just before and was very weak by then |
By calling the old man the writer’s Christmas Man, the writer’s supervisor implied that ______.
| A．the old man had told the writer a love story on Christmas |
| B．the old man had caused a lot of trouble for the writer on Christmas |
| C．the old man was the best gift the writer could have received on Christmas |
| D．the old man was the only customer the writer had served on Christmas |
When Charles Stratton was five, he stopped growing. His mother took him to see the famous showman, P. T. Barnum. Mr. Barnum thought a small person would be the perfect addition to his show. He hired Charles’ parents along with him, and they traveled the world together.
He gave the two-foot-tall Charles a name, General Tom Thumb. He taught Tom how to sing, dance, act and tell jokes. When he felt Tom was ready to perform on stage, he made up ads. To stir up great interest, he said that Tom was eleven years old and had come from England.
During the show, Tom fought battles pretendedly with tall people. He also danced upon a wooden plate held by a person who was eight feet tall. Tom’s act was very popular and brought in a lot of money. By the time Tom was an adult, he had grown very rich. He had become a billionaire at the age of twenty five.
Fortunately for Tom, Mr. Barnum added more little people to his show, and Tom became lucky in love as well. One of the little people was Lavinia Warren, a schoolteacher. Tom was able to win her love, and they married.
The ceremony and reception were the talk of the town. They were attended by many rich and famous people and by about 2000 guests. Crowds filled the streets of New York to have a look at their tiny wedding marriage. The couple even met with President on their honeymoon just before going to live in Tom’s house in Connecticut.
Their wedding, which took place during the Civil War, provided a welcome escape from the sad problems of war. Not willing to let this bit of sunshine fade, communities throughout the country sponsored (发起) “Tom Thumb” weddings. In these weddings, small boys and girls, all dressed up, went through marriage ceremony for fun.
56. Which of the statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Charles’ parents supported him and performed together with him.
B. Charles was found and hired by the famous showman.
C. Charles put lots of advertisements to arouse interest.
D. Charles’ success was largely due to Mr. Barnum’s help.
57. Tom would dance on a wooden plate held by an eight-foot-tall person probably because ______________.
A. the wooden plate would make it sound as if Tom was dancing
B. it made Tom look taller
C. the eight–foot–tall man was the only tall person Tom trusted
D. the difference between them would make Tom look even smaller
58. The underlined words “talk of the town” in the second paragraph from the bottom means ______________.
A. it was in the newspaper B. people spread bad rumors about it
C. it was the most popular topic D. it was discussed in a city meeting
59. What does the author think about Tom’s wedding?
A. It helped people cheer up in a dark time. B. People gave it too much of their attention.
C. It was funny and ridiculous. D. Tom and Lavinia were stupid.
The sandstorm has a bad effect on human beings, but it also brings some good results. There wouldn’t have been our Chinese nation if there had been no sandstorms. Sandstorms have existed for millions of years, while the written history of human beings has lasted only 5,000 years. The Loess Plateau(黄土高原) was formed by sandstorms over millions of years. The Yellow River, while moving through the Loess Plateau, carries a great deal of sand and has formed the North China Plain. The Loess Plateau is regarded as the place where Chinese civilization(文明) began. If there had been no Loess Plateau, the North China Plain wouldn’t have existed, nor would have the Chinese civilization.
Sandstorms don’t bring only loess to human beings. When sandstorms move from central Asia to the Pacific regions, they carry some minerals into the air, which will later fall into the ocean in the form of rain. The minerals will help some planktons(浮游生物) to survive. The planktons are eaten by small shellfish, and fish live on these small shellfish, and fish are eaten by humans. This forms a biological chain which shows a relation between humans and nature.
So it is unrealistic to say we should stop sandstorms. What we can possibly do is to reduce their bad influence as much as we can.
59. The underlined sentence in the first paragraph probably means _________.
A. there are many sandstorms in China
B. the land of China was made by sandstorms
C. sandstorms helped to form Chinese civilization
D. the history of sandstorms was longer than that of Chinese nation
60. How does the sandstorm help to form the biological chain?
A. The sandstorm carries lots of rain into the ocean.
B. The sandstorm helps some minerals fall into the ocean.
C. Some minerals directly fall into the ocean in the form of rain.
D. The sandstorm moves from central Asia to the Pacific regions.
61. The writer thinks that _______.
A. the sandstorm only has a bad effect on human beings
B. sandstorms bring about lots of trouble, but we can still make use of them
C. without sandstorms, there would be no Chinese civilization and human beings
D. sandstorms play an active role in the Chinese civilization, so we should protect them
62. The text mainly talks about _______.
A. the history of sandstorms B. what the biological chain is
C. how the Loess Plateau formed D. the good effects of sandstorms
The Florida Sea Base Programs
Diving Adventure
If you are a diver, this is your program. During the program you will be making as many as nine dives (weather permitting), including a night dive. We have open dates in June, July and August for the summer months and for fall we have opening in September, October, November and December. Check out the dates today. Click here!
Sea Exploring!
The name brings back the memory of pirates(海盗) sailing the high seas of the past. This adventure is for larger teams of 18 to 20 teammates. Sailing on a tall ship with your team, you will be making memories that you will share for the rest of your life with anyone who will listen. Be sure and check out the dates we have open. Click here! We can fit your timetable to meet your needs with these great dates.
Live Aboard Diving
The Florida Sea Base has the sailing and diving programs joined for one wonderful adventure! On this adventure, you will spend your days not only in diving, but also in sailing around the Florida Keys. There are openings this fall and winter. Check now for open dates to spend your winter holidays in the keys. Click here! Fall dates are open now. Check them out today!
Just around the corner: the Christmas season in the keys! We have an opening for the Live Aboard program on December 26. Book today---it won’t last long!
Diving Certification(证书)
The Diving Certification program is designed for teammates who want to get a certification--- all who complete the week successfully will be offered PADI certification! Come and learn how to dive in the beautiful waters of the Florida Keys.
We have the following dates open: August 5, August 12, August 19, August 22 and August 26. We also have programs we offer in the fall: September 30, October 7, October 14, October 21, and many more dates. Check out the rest of the dates. Click here!
55. The text is most probably found _________.
A. in a newspaper B. on the Internet
C. in a science magazine D. in a book about Florida Sea
56. Colin wants to join in the Diving Adventure. He is supposed to have ______.
A. 9 dives B. 10 dives
C. 19 dives D. as many dives as he likes
57. According to this text, Live-Aboard Diving is special in that ____.
A. diving goes on during the sailing
B. it is an adventure at sea
C. there are diving programs in it
D. it is held in the Christmas season
58. The purpose of the text is mainly to ________.
A. teach B. introduce C. report D. advertise
Online shopping started not so long ago. Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1990. The first online bank opened in 1994. In 1995, Amazon started operating and is now one of the largest online shopping malls. Then in 1996, eBay started its online shopping site.
By sitting at home you can now buy anything from knives to cars. The worry you may have about traveling and parking can be avoided while you shop online. With online shopping, you need not worry about the weather. Online shops have no holidays, closing times or any other problems. You can shop 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year. Some online shops also keep customers’ opinions about each product, so you can easily find out what other customers think about the product before buying it.
When you go for real-world shopping, you can actually touch and feel it, but in online shopping you can only see the pictures. Also if you are shopping online, you have to be careful with your credit cards.
The first step in online shopping is to search for what you want to buy. Once you find the required product, put it in a “shopping cart” and continue shopping. After you have got enough in your “shopping cart”, check out the product. You can add or take out the products in your shopping cart. The next step is to login(登录) using a username and a password. Enter the address where you want the product to be sent. Some sites even ask for your email, phone numbers, etc. Then wait for the confirmation(确认)of your order. You can also cancel the order if needed. Online shopping is a different experience and you can make shopping online easy when you get used to it.
51. When shopping online, you can _______.
A. buy anything wherever you go B. park your cars where you want to
C. touch anything you want to buy D. know what others think of the product
52. The second paragraph mainly tells us ______.
A. the things people can buy in online shops
B. people can know different opinions of customers
C. people can do online shopping at their own homes
D. the advantages people can have through online shopping
53. From the text we can know that ______.
A. customers needn’t have a username to buy something online
B. customers must give their emails as well as their phone numbers
C. customers should be careful with their credit cards when shopping online
D. once customers put the products in their “shopping carts”, they can’t change them
54. If you want to buy a cup online, what is the right order of the following things you can do?
a. Enter the address
b. Search for a right cup
c. Wait for the confirmation of the order
d. Put the cup into your “shopping cart”
A. b-c-d-a B. b-d-a-c C. a-b-c-d D. c-d-a-b
.Can you imagine your doctor warning that taking a bath could be unhealthy? In the early 1800s, many doctors thought that bathtubs(浴缸) could carry diseases, so they advised against their use. The advice wasn’t based on personal experience, because few of the doctors owned bathtubs. The White House did not even have a bathtub until 1851.
In the 19th century, only one home out of six had a bathroom. A child took only one bath a week. On Saturday nights, children all lined up for their turns to wash in a wooden bathtub in the kitchen. Mothers had to boil the water on the stove and carry it over to fill the bathtub. It’s no wonder that children could not jump into a bathtub as they do today.
When the first bathtubs were introduced, even their makers weren’t sure whether the new fashion would last. They advertised their products as water containers that “could be used as bathing tubs”.
The bathtub became popular in America shortly after World War I. By then most middle-class families had indoor taps. At first most bathtubs were made of wood, but as the popularity of the product increased, so did the creativity of bathtub makers. Before porcelain(瓷) bathtubs there were rubber ones like the plastic swimming pools kids use today. In the past few years owners often invited guests to see them. They told their friends how wonderful baths in these bathtubs could be.
Now doctors no longer warn that bathtubs carry diseases. Instead, they tell their patients about the benefits of frequent bathing in the bathtubs. Maybe one of the best reasons why doctors encourage frequent trips to the bathtub is that bathed patients smell better!
47. Many doctors in the past were against using bathtubs because ______.
A. they didn’t have their own bathtubs
B. they thought bathtubs could carry diseases.
C. the children might hurt themselves in the bathtubs
D. bathtubs were too expensive for the common families
48. Why couldn’t children jump into a tub in the 19th century as they do today?
A. It was unhealthy to do so. B. The bathtubs were not enough.
C. Mothers were always busy. D. The bathtubs were made of wood.
49. Which of the following is true according to the text?
A. Some different materials can be used to make bathtubs.
B. In the 19th century only one home out of seven had a bathroom.
C. The bathtub became popular when they were introduced to the market.
D. Children prefer the bathtubs made of plastic to those made of porcelain.
50. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that ______.
A. all the doctors have bathtubs in their homes
B. the doctors have realized the advantages of bathtubs
C. the doctors will make lots of money by advertising bathtubs
D. the patients should take a bath before going to see a doctor