One morning more than thirty years ago, I entered the Track Kitchen, a restaurant where everyone from the humblest(卑微的)to the most powerful came for breakfast. I noticed am empty chair next to an elderly, unshaven man, who looked somewhat disheveled. He was wearing a worn-out hat and was alone. I asked if I might join him. He agreed quietly and I sat down to have my breakfast.
We cautiously began a conversion and spoke about a wide range of things. We never introduced ourselves. I was concerned that he might have no money and not be able to afford something to eat. So as I rose to go back to the counter and buy a second cup of coffee, I asked,
“My I get you something?”
“A coffee would be nice.”
Then I bought him a cup of coffee, we talked more, and he accepted another cup of coffee, Finally, I rose to leave, wished him well, and headed for the exit. At the door I met one of my friends. He asked,
“How did you get to know Mr. Galbreath?”
“Who?”
“The man you were sitting with. He is chairman of the Board of Churchill Downs.”
I could hardly believe it. I was buying, offering a free breakfast, and feeling pity for one of the world’s richest and most powerful men!
My few minutes with Mr. Galbreath changed my life. Now I try to treat everyone with respect, no matter who I think they are.What does the underlined word “disheveled” mean?
| A.Unfriendly. | B.Untidy. | C.Gentle. | D.Kind |
The author bought coffee for the old man because
| A.he thought the old man was poor |
| B.he wanted to start a conversation |
| C.he intended to show his politeness |
| D.he would like to thank the old man |
How did the author probably feel after he talked with his friend?
| A.Proud. | B.Pitiful. | C.Surprised. | D.Regretful |
What is the message mainly expressed in the story?
| A.We should learn to be generous. |
| B.It is honorable to help those in need. |
| C.People in high positions are not like what we expect. |
| D.We should avoid judging people by their appearances. |
My house is made out of wood, glass and stone. It is also made out of software.
If you come to visit, you’ll probably be surprised when you come in. Someone will give you an electronic PIN (个人身份号码)to wear. This PIN tells the house who and where you are. The house uses this information to give you what you need. When it’s dark outside, the PIN turns on the lights nearest you, and then turns them off as you walk away from them. Music moves with you too. If the house knows your favorite music, it plays it. The music seems to be everywhere, but in fact other people in the house hear different music or no music. If you get a telephone call, only the nearest telephone rings.
Of course, you are also able to tell the house if you want something. There is a home control console (控制台), a small machine that turns things on and off around you.
The PIN and the console are new ideas, but they are in fact like many things we have today. If you want to go to a movie, you need a ticket. If I give you my car keys, you can use my car. The car works for you because you have the keys. My house works for you because you wear the PIN or hold the console.
I believe that ten years from now, most new homes will have the systems that I’ve put in my house. The systems will probably be even bigger and better than the ones I’ve put in today.
I like to try new ideas. I know that some of my ideas will work better than others. But I hope that one day I will stop thinking of these systems as new, and ask myself instead, “How will I live without them?” What does the passage mainly discuss?
| A.How to develop a new system. | B.The function of the PIN. |
| C.A home for the future. | D.Easy life in the future. |
What’s the purpose when the writer wrote the fourth paragraph?
| A.To let readers know why his ideas are new. |
| B.To let readers know how special his house is. |
| C.To explain the importance of the PIN and the console. |
| D.To explain more easily what the functions of the PIN and the console are. |
The writer’s new house is different from ordinary ones mainly because _____.
| A.it has been controlled by computers |
| B.you can make a telephone call anywhere |
| C.it has your favorite music following you |
| D.the writer is able to change his new idea into practice |
What is the writer most likely to be according to the passage?
| A.An IT expert. | B.A famous doctor. |
| C.An idealist | D.An experienced teacher. |
What can’t be done in the writer’s new house?
| A.turns on the lights | B.play music |
| C.get a telephone call | D.go swimming |
We know that many animals do not stay in one place. Birds, fish and other animals move from one place to another at a certain time. They move for different reasons most of them move to find food more easily, but others move to get away from places that are too crowded. When cold weather comes, many birds move to warmer places to find food. Some fishes give birth in warm water and move to cold water to feed. The most famous migration(迁移)is probably the migration of the fish, which is called “salmon”. This fish is born in fresh water but it travels many miles to salt water. There it spends its life. When it is old, it returns to its birthplace in fresh water. Then it gives birth and dies there. In northern Europe, there is a kind of mice. They leave their mountain homes when they become too crowded. They move down to the low land. Sometimes they move all the way to the seaside, and many of them are killed when they fall into the sea.
Recently, scientists have studied the migration of a kind of lobsters(龙虾). Every year, when the season of bad weather arrives, the lobsters get into a long line and start to walk across the floor of the ocean. Nobody knows why they do this, and nobody knows where they go. So, sometimes we know why humans and animals move from one place to another, but at other times we don’t. Maybe living things just like to travel. Most animals move from one place to another at a certain time to __________ .
| A.give birth | B.enjoy warmer weather |
| C.find food more easily | D.find beautiful places |
The fish called “salmon” spends a long life in __________ .
| A.salt water | B.rivers | C.fresh water | D.its birthplace |
The mice in northern Europe move when __________ .
| A.they give birth | B.the weather is bad |
| C.the place gets too crowded | D.they haven’t enough food |
The lobsters move __________ .
| A.to the fresh water | B.to the sea floor |
| C.at a certain time | D.to find more food |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A.Animals move in order to find food more easily. |
| B.The migration of the fish called “salmon” is the most famous migration. |
| C.Living things move from one place to another because they like to travel. |
| D.Sometimes we know why and how living things move from one place to another, but sometimes we don’t. |
Today almost everyone knows computers and the Internet. If I ask you “What is the most important in your life?”, maybe you will say “Computers and the Internet.”
The first computer was made in 1946. It was very big but it worked slowly. Today computers are getting smaller and smaller. But they work faster and faster. What can computers do? A writer has said, “People can’t live without computers today.”
The Internet came a little later than computers. It is about twenty-five years later than computers. But now it can be found almost everywhere. We can use it to read books, write letters, do shopping, play games or make friends.
Many students like the Internet very much. They often go into the Internet as soon as they are free. They make friends on the Internet and maybe they have never seen these friends. They don’t know their real names, ages, and even sex (性别). They are so interested in making the “unreal friends” that they can’t put their heart into study. Many of them can’t catch up with others on many subjects because of that.
We can use computers and the Internet to learn more about the world. But at the same time, we should remember that not all the things can be done by computers and the Internet. The Internet cannot be used for __________.
| A.studying | B.shopping | C.thinking | D.playing |
When the computer was invented, it was__________.
| A.large and worked quickly | B.small and worked slowly |
| C.large but worked slowly | D.small but worked quickly |
The Internet was born in about __________.
| A.1960 | B.1970 | C.1980 | D.1985 |
Which of the following is true?
| A.Few students like going into the Internet. |
| B.Students use the Internet to make “unreal friends”. |
| C.These “unreal friends” often meet each other. |
| D.Students know the friends on the Internet very well. |
What does the writer think of the Internet?
| A.It is wonderful. | B.It can make students study harder. |
| C.It is not good for students. | D.It is helpful, but we can’t do everything on it. |
At two o’clock a bank robber stole in. “This is a holdup,” the man said rudely. He took a gun from under his jacket, pointing to George. “Hand it over!” George reached into his money-box and took all the bills from the top part—close to six thousand dollars. The robber snatched them and turned to leave.
Then while everyone watched the robber, George calmly lifted the top part of the money-box, took bills from the bottom part and put them into his won pocket secretly.
The door was shut and the bank robber was gone. George fainted(晕倒).
As soon as he was safely behind his bedroom door, George counted the money. He had eight thousand dollars. He was very happy.
The next morning, while the others were examining the bank’s records, George was called into Mr. Burrow’s office and was introduced to Mr. Carruthers, who used to be president of the bank.
“Good morning, George, I was sorry, to give you a hard time yesterday, but with all the banks being robbed these days I thought it would be a good idea to prove that our little bank can robbed, too. I retired yesterday, just to keep everyone on his toes. Now, I have put the money back in your money-box—all six thousand.”This passage tells us ______.
| A.a serious case | B.one part of a play |
| C.a humorous story | D.a meaningful story |
Which of the following do you think is true?
| A.George wanted to protect the money for the bank. |
| B.George had been thinking of taking money away. |
| C.This bank had been robbed several times. |
| D.Nobody knew the bank would be robbed that day. |
Why was George called into Mr. Burrow’s office?
| A.His stealing money was disclosed. |
| B.Mr. Burrow wanted to say sorry to him. |
| C.Mr. Carruthers wanted to explain the whole thing to him. |
| D.Mr. Burrow wanted to tell him the money had been put back. |
In this article “to keep everyone on his toes” means “______”.
| A.to make everyone work hard |
| B.to keep everyone standing straight |
| C.to make everyone do a kind of exercise |
| D.to keep everyone paying attention to the coming danger |
Which sentence can be used to end the story?
| A.George turned cold with fear. | B.George turned red with anger. |
| C.George was pleased with the end. | D.George was disappointed with the end. |
Thousands of people living in the Chinese capital will celebrate the start of the Chinese New year by heading for the ski resorts (滑雪场). Never mind that Beijing's dry weather seldom produces snow. It is cold enough in winter for snow-making machines to make a covering for the hills north to the capital. And the rapid growth of a pleasure-seeking middle class has formed the basis for this new craze(热潮).
Since Beijing's first ski resort was opened ten years ago, the sport has enjoyed astonishing increase. There are now more than a dozen resorts. Clothes markets in the city have added bright colored ski suits to their winter collections. Mr. Wei, a manager of a newly-opened ski resort in Beijing, sees the growth of an industry that could soon lead Chinese to head for the ski resorts of Europe, In recent years ski resorts offering natural snow have opened in China. But many are in faraway areas of the country and can't really match the equipment and services of some ski resorts in Europe.
Beijing's skiing craze is partly a result of the recent increase in private (私有的) cars. This has led to the
growth of a leisure industry in the capital's suburbs (郊区), which until the late-1990s were unreachable to ordinary people, According to Mr, Wei, about 40% of the visitors to his resort come in their own cars. The rest are bused in by schools, businesses or government Offices.
The problem is making money. Starting ski resorts requires quite a lot of money; hiring land from the local government, preparing the hills, buying snow machines, making sure there are enough water and electricity to run them, and buying ski equipment for hiring out to customers.
The ski resort where Mr. Wei works cost nearly $4m to set up. And, as so often in China when someone comes up with a good idea, many others hash in and price wars break out. Beijing now offers some of the cheapest ski training classes in the world, though with most people rather new to the sport, expecting a few more doing the same job.What does this text mainly talk about?
| A.Convenience for skiers brought about by private cars. |
| B.Skiing as a new way of enjoying one's spare time. |
| C.Things to be considered when starting a ski resort. |
| D.A sudden increase of ski training classes in Beijing. |
Why are some Chinese likely to go skiing in Europe?
A. To visit more ski areas. . To ski on natural snow.
C. For a large collection of ski suits. D. For better services and equipment. The underlined words "leisure industry" in Paragraph 3 refer to -
A. transport to ski resorts B. production of family cars
C. business of providing spare time enjoyments
D part-time work for people living in the suburbsWhat is the main problem in running a ski resort?
| A.Difficulty in hiring land. | B.Lack of business experience. |
| C.Price wars with other ski resorts. | D.Shortage of water and electricity, |
Which of the following is right?
| A.People always worry that Bejing’s dry wather seldom produces snow. |
| B.Beijing’s ski resort was opened in recent years. |
| C.Private cars are partly the reason for Beijing’s skiing craze. |
| D.Starting ski resorts dosen’t requires quite a lot of money. |