We were on the way from Hutchinson to Chicago for a short spring break. For many years I had wanted to take my family on the train. We all had been to Chicago four years ago, and the kids loved it. Chicago is one of my favorite cities, too, so the thought struck me again last fall to ride the train to Chicago. Of course, flying would have been faster. But I don’t think flying is easier, especially these days, with all the security and waiting in lines at airports.
Though we were tired in the middle of the night, the kids got on the train with the exhilaration of this adventure. “We’re moving,” my son William shouted happily with big eyes as the train began to pull away from the Hutchinson station.
I removed my shoes and lay down to try to finish my night’s sleep. The sleeper car would have better enabled that, but the ordinary train seats were not too bad. An airline flight is a more miserable experience for me: not enough room, two hours of pain with my knees almost touching my chin, the hard seatback in front cracking my kneecaps (膝盖) with every move of the body planted in front of me. On the train I could almost outstretch all of my 6-foot-2-plus body in the generous legroom.
The journey didn’t feel at all as long as it was. We all found the train ride a joy. The car ride would have felt every minute of 13 hours. But on the train you are free to walk around, sit in the observation carriage for a while and enjoy the scenery out the windows, have a nice meal in the dining car, read a book, or play a board game.
In short, the train is all about enjoying the trip, which isn’t something I do so much when traveling by airline or by car, when the trip seems more of a mission (任务) to get there than an experience to enjoy along the way.
Chicago offers much to do for a family. This time, getting there was half the fun.We can learn from the first paragraph that _____.
| A．the kids love the train journey |
| B．Chicago is one of the kid’s favorite cities |
| C．the author didn’t enjoy the long train journey |
| D．it was the first time that the kids were taken on the train |
What does the underlined word “exhilaration” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?
| A．Excitement. | B．Relaxation. | C．Tiredness. | D．Worry. |
In the third paragraph, an airline flight experience is mentioned to show _____.
| A．an airline flight is easier | B．a train ride is too long |
| C．an airline flight is miserable | D．a train ride is more comfortable |
Which of the following words best describes the whole family’s feeling about the train journey?
| A．Moved. | B．Delighted. | C．Disappointed. | D．Nervous. |
Western New Bridge Library Announcement
2008-3-10
| Shortened Library Hours for Spring Break |
| Library Hours have been shortened to 7 hours a day（9∶00 a．m．-4∶00 p．m．） for Spring Break from March 24 to March 30． |
| Coming Events |
| ●On Monday, March 24,at 10∶30 a．m．, Scott Sutton, a children’s writer, will tell stories to kids over seven．Sutton’s attractive style will surely inspire everyone present! ●At 1∶00 p．m．on March 26, the Georgetown Musicians will present an Irish Folk Concert, which will be entertaining for the entire family．Come for the music and stay to check out（完成手续拿走） some relevant（相关） books for the rest of the week! ●On Thursday, March 27,at 2∶00 p．m．, the annual Children’s Gathering will take place in Room 201,the second floor ．Pick up an invitation in the Children’s Room and return your RSVP（回复） to reserve （预定）your seat at the table by 3∶00 p．m．on Tuesday, March 25．Only children are allowed in the Gathering． ●At 10∶30 a．m．on Friday, March 28, Enzo Monfre of the hit kids’ science show, ENZOology, will bring Fossils Live! Surely Enzo will take the audience back in time, deep beneath the surface of the earth, to uncover the mysteries of killer dinosaurs, and more．Enzo recently appeared on the Ellen De Generes Show—come and see him at the library! |
| Please note： In case of emergency, please call the Help Desk at 926-3736 and follow the procedures outlined on the voice message．The call-down service is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for emergencies．The Help Desk supplies service to you all the year round! For questions about all these, please contact hld@wnbl．org． |
| Come for the great fun; Stay for the relevant books! |
To attend the annual Children’s Gathering, one has to ________．
| A．buy a ticket | B．apply in advance |
| C．make a reservation | D．contact the call-down service |
According to the passage, Enzo Monfre will ________．
| A．show the children around a zoo |
| B．tell stories to children over seven |
| C．be present at the science show in person |
| D．lead the children to the Ellen De Generes Show |
The Help Desk in this library supplies service ________．
| A．only during the daytime | B．in case of emergency |
| C．till the end of the Spring Break | D．after 22∶00 p．m．every day |
We can learn from the passage that children can ________．
| A．attend all the activities with their parents． |
| B．borrow some relevant books for the activities． |
| C．participate in the activities from 8∶00 a．m．to 4∶00 p．m． |
| D．choose only one of the activities according to their interests． |
After a 15-year ban on the sale of fireworks in Beijing, Kang Guoliang, 51, was able to start his old trade again yesterday．
As a salesman in Xinhui store in Dongcheng District, he is happy about the increasing number of buying fireworks wrapped in red paper — a color standing for happiness and good luck．
“Fireworks are available for the first time in town for more than a decade,” Kang said happily．“People will buy them．”
The store has 300 boxes of fireworks piled up and is open 24 hours at the moment．Residents are buying the fireworks and firecrackers for the upcoming Spring Festival, which falls on February 18．
Citywide, 2,116 registered stores and retailers, 585 in the centre and 1,600 on the outskirts are trading fireworks in the Chinese capital．Sales of fireworks within the Fifth Ring Road started yesterday and will last until March 4, Xinhua reported．Among the stores, 117 stores are permitted to operate 24 hours．About 600,000 boxes of firecrackers worth more than 100 million yuan have been carried to registered stores．
The Chinese capital began a ban in 1993 to reduce fireworks-related deaths and fires during the holiday season．Last September the ban was removed in response to residents’ fondness for fireworks when celebrating Spring Festival．
According to new rules, Beijing residents are allowed to set off fireworks within the Fifth Ring Road all day on Lunar New Year’s Eve and Lunar New Year’s day, from 7 a．m．to midnight every day from February 19 to March 4．
“Spring Festival without fireworks is not Spring Festival,” said Sheng Hefei, who was buying fireworks in the store．“It was fun to light the firecrackers when I was little,” he said．“The sound and view of fireworks make a real holiday．” However, not all residents welcome the return of firecrackers because of injuries, pollution and noise．“My child is scared of the sudden sound of firecrackers, and it is annoying to hear it all night long,” complained Lu Jun, a local resident．
（China Daily02/11/2008）The passage is likely to belong to a（n）__________?
| A．description | B．argument | C．advertisement | D．news report |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Beijing fireworks sales start after a 15-year ban． |
| B．People go to buy fireworks and firecrackers every where in Beijing． |
| C．Beijing residents all welcome the return of firecrackers． |
| D．Many stores began to sell fireworks and firecrackers． |
We can learn from the passage that ____________．
| A．every Spring Festival falls on February 18 |
| B．Beijing residents can set off fireworks everywhere ． |
| C．fireworks are allowed to be sold because people like them． |
| D．from February 19 to March 4, Beijing residents can set off fireworks twenty four hours every day． |
What is the writer’s attitude towards the sales of fireworks in Beijing?
| A．Negative | B．Not mentioned | C．Positive | D．Satisfactory |
Xinhua Sept．25,2008
JIUQUAN, Gansu---China launched successfully its third manned spacecraft on Thursday with three astronauts on board to attempt the country’s first-ever space walk．
The spaceship Shenzhou VII blasted off（发射） on a Long March II-F carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the northwestern Gansu Province at 9：10pm．after a breathtaking countdown to another milestone on China’s space journey．
On board pilots Zhai Zhigang, Liu Boming and Jing Haipeng are expected to orbit the earth for three days, when one of them will float out of the cabin about 343 kilometers above the earth．
When they make it, China will become the third country in the world who is able to conduct extravehicular activity （EVA） in space following the former Soviet Union and the United States．
President Hu Jintao watched the historic moment at the launch center, joined by Chinese experts and other work staff．
Hu briefly met the trio astronauts before they entered the spacecraft Thursday afternoon, wishing them “a complete success in this glorious and sacred mission”．
“During the mission, you will carry out China’s EVA with homemade EVA space suit, which is a great leap for China’s space technology．” said Hu．
Other tasks of the Shenzhou VII crew include the release of a small monitoring satellite and a trial of the data relay of the satellite Tianlian-I．
If successful, the mission would be of great significance to the country’s future plans to build a space lab and a space station, said ZhangJianqi, deputy chief commander of the manned space project．In which section would the passage be seen in a newspaper?
| A．Science and Technology． | B．Entertainment． |
| C．Sports report． | D．Advertisement |
Which one is NOT true according to the report?
| A．China launched its third manned spacecraft． |
| B．The pilots on board are expected to orbit the earth for three days |
| C．The spaceship Shenzhou VII blasted off three astronauts on board． |
| D．One of the three astronauts will float out of the cabin above the earth． |
What is the great leap for China’s space technology during the space journey?
| A．The spaceship Shenzhou VII blasted off successfully． |
| B．The astronauts will carry out China’s EVA with homemade EVA space suit． |
| C．Three astronauts are expected to orbit the earth for 3 days． |
| D．The spaceship Shenzhou VII will release a small monitoring satellite． |
The tasks of the Shenzhou VII crew include the following EXCEPT ________．
| A．the release of a small monitoring satellite |
| B．a trial of the data relay of the satellite Tianlian-I |
| C．carrying out China’s EVA with homemade EVA space suit |
| D．building a space lab and a space station |
Have you ever noticed what happens to an idea once you express it? Just talking about it or writing it down causes you to make it clear in your own mind．How can you use this to increase your brain power? Start writing．
By putting thoughts into words, you are telling yourself the logic （逻辑） behind what you think, feel, or only partly understand．Often, explaining a thought is the process of understanding．In other words, you increase your brain power by exercising your “explain power.”
Try this experiment．Explain how you’ll increase your brain power, even if you have no idea how right now．Just start with anything, and create an explanation．For example, start with “I’ll learn chess,” or “I’ll read an article on the mind every week.” Explain how that will help．You’ll be surprised how often this becomes a workable plan, and if you actually do this, you’ll have a better understanding of your brain twenty minutes from now．
Another benefit of writing is that it helps you remember．Many, if not most, highly productive people are always taking notes．You can try keeping it all in your head, but if you keep a journal of your ideas the next time you’re working on a big project, you’ll probably have more success．
Want to understand a topic? Write a book about it．That’s an extreme example, but if you are learning something new, write a letter to a friend about it, and you will understand it better．Want to invent something? Write an explanation of the problem, why you want to solve it, and why it is worth solving, and you’re half-way there．
Writers don’t always write because they clearly understand something beforehand．Often, they write about something because they want to understand it．You can do the same．Writing will help bring you to an understanding．Give it a try.What would be the best title for the text?
| A．A Way on How to Write |
| B．Increase Your Brain Power through Writing |
| C．Brain Power Helps Improve Your Writing |
| D．How to Start Your Writing |
According to the text, writing can help you a lot in the following ways EXCEPT ______.
| A．the increase of your brain power |
| B．the ability to remember |
| C．the development of your interest in study |
| D．the better understanding of a topic |
If a writer writes something, it means that he or she _______.
| A．has understood it very well |
| B．needs to understand it better |
| C．wants to remember it in his or her mind |
| D．is exercising his or her “explain power” |
The underlined sentence “you’re half-way there” in the fifth paragraph implies that ______.
| A．you are already successful |
| B．you still need to work hard |
| C．writing can help you walk half way |
| D．writing is important to solve problems |
What’s the main purpose of the writer writing the text?
| A．To advise readers to start their writing ． |
| B．To explain the importance of writing. |
| C．To persuade readers to become writers． |
| D．To increase readers’ brain power. |
It was a beautiful day at the beach—blue sky, gentle wind, calm sea．I knew these things because a man sitting five feet from me was shouting them into his mobile phone, like a play-by-play announcer （实况解说员）.
“IT’S A BEAUTIFUL DAY,” he shouted．“THE SKY IS BLUE, AND THERE’S A GENTLE WIND, AND THE WATER IS CALM, AND…”
Behind me, a woman, her mobile phone pressed to her ear was walking back and forth.
“She DIDN’T,” she was saying．“No．She DIDN’T．She DID? Really? Are you SERIOUS? She did NOT．She DID? No she…”
And so on．This woman had two children, who were playing in the sea．I found myself watching them, because the woman surely was not．A huge squid could have caught and snatched the children, and this woman would not have noticed．Or, if she had noticed, she’d have said, “Listen．I have to go, because a huge squid just……No! She didn’t ! She DID? No! She……”
And next to me, the play-by-play man would have said: “…AND A HUGE SQUID JUST ATE TWO CHILDREN, AND I’M GETTING A LITTLE SUNBURNED, AND …”
It used to be that the major trouble at the beach was the fellow who brought a boom box （便携式录音机） and turned it up so loud that the bass notes caused seagulls to explode．But at least you knew where these fellows were; you never know which beachgoers have mobile phones．You’ll settle next to what appears to be a sleeping sunbather, or even （you hope） a corpse , and you’ll lie happily on your towel, and you’ll get all the way to the second sentence of your 467-page book before you fall asleep to the hypnotic surge of the surf （催人入梦的潮声）, and …
BREEP! BREEP! The corpse sits up, feels urgently for its mobile phone, and shouts “Hello! I’m at the beach! Yes! It’s nice! Very peaceful! What? She did? No, she didn’t! She DID? No, she…”
Loud mobile-phoners never seem to get urgent calls．Just once, I’d like to hear one of them say, “Hello? Yes, this is Dr．Johnson．Oh, Dr．Smith．You’ve opened the abdominal cavity （腹腔）? Good! Now the appendix should be right under the … What? No, that’s the liver．Don’t take THAT out, ha ha! Oh, you did? My God! OK, now listen carefully…”From the passage we can know that the writer of the passage _____.
| A．had a wonderful holiday at the beach |
| B．must have suffered a lot because of the terrible weather |
| C．is only interested in talks by doctors about operation |
| D．experienced an unhappy holiday at the beach |
According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
| A．The writer often spends his holidays at the beach. |
| B．A huge squid ate two children while their mother was not watching. |
| C．Some people used to play boom box while spending their holidays at the beach. |
| D．Some people often make loud mobile phone calls without caring for others. |
The underlined word“ corpse”in this passage has the closest meaning to________.
| A．a dead body | B．a loud mobile phone |
| C．a sound sleeper | D．a sleep lover |
In the past the fellow who brought a boom box_________.
| A．turned it up to make the seagulls happy |
| B．turned it up to cause the seagulls to explode |
| C．might cause less trouble than the beachgoers with mobile phones |
| D．might cause more trouble than the beachgoers with mobile phones |
We can infer from the passage that _______.
| A．the writer is interested in mobile phone. |
| B．the writer hates people using mobile phone |
| C．the writer hates to be disturbed while enjoying holidays on the beach. |
| D．the writer seldom finishes reading a book before going to sleep. |