I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a freezing cold wet day in the winter of 1975. I remember the right moment, hiding behind a fragile mud wall, peeking (窥视)into the alley (胡同)near the frozen stream. That was a long time ago ,but it’s wrong what they say about the past, I,ve learned, about how you can bury it, because the past claws its way out. Looking back now, I realize I,ve been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years.
One day in summer, my friend, Rahim Khan called from Pakistan. He asked me to come to see him. Standing in the kitchen with the receiver to my ear, I knew it wasn’t just Rahim Khan on the line. It was my past of unatoned sins (未能弥补的罪行) After I hung up, I went for a walk along Spreckels Lane on the northern edge of Golden Gate Park. The early afternoon sun sparkled on the water where dozens of small boats sailed, driven by a gentle breeze. Then I glanced up and saw a pair of kites with long blue tails, soaring in the sky. They danced high above the trees on the west end of the park, over the windmill, floating side by side like a pair of eyes looking down on San Francisco, the city I now call home.
And suddenly Hassan5S voice whispered in my head: For you, a thousand times over. Hassan the hare-lipped kite runner. I sat on a park bench near a willow tree. I thought about something Rahim Khan said just before he hung up, almost as an after thought. There is a way to be good again. I looked up at those twin kites. I thought about Hassan. Thought about Baba. AU. Kabul. I thought of the life I had lived until the winter of 1975 came along and changed everything. And made me what I am today.After 1975,the hero of the story spent his life_____.
A.with happiness | B.with regret |
C.in peace | D.in danger |
It can be inferred from the passage that_____.
A.Rahim Khan spoke ill of the hero |
B.the hero had made up for his wrong-doings |
C.San Francisco was the birthplace of the hero |
D.something bad might have happened in the alley |
The writer attracts the readers by using_____
a.an impressive opening b.a lively description of inner thoughts
c.concrete and vivid language d.a detailed plot of the story
A.abc | B.bcd | C.acd | D.abd |
What is the passage mainly about?
A.A hide-and-seek game. | B.A forget-me-not event. |
C.kite-flying competition. | D.A coming-of-age story. |
He held the blazing(点燃) matches to a piece of wood. After a while, he became aware that he could smell his hands burning. Then he began to feel the pain. He opened his hands, and the blazing matches fell on to the snow. The flame went out in a puff of gray smoke.
The man looked up. The dog was still watching him. The man got an idea. He would kill the dog and bury his hands inside its warm body. When the feeling came back to his fingers, he could build another fire. He called to the dog. The dog heard danger in the man's voice. It backed away.
The man called again. This time the dog came closer. The man reached for his knife. But he had forgotten that he could not bend his fingers. He could not kill the dog, because he could not hold his knife.
The fear of death came over the man. He jumped up and began to run. The running began to make him feel better. Maybe running would make his feet warm. If he ran far enough, he would reach his friends at Henderson Creek. They would take care of him.
It felt strange to run and not feel his feet when they hit the ground. He fell several times. He decided to rest a while. As he lay in the snow, he noticed that he was not shaking. He could not feel his nose or fingers or feet. Yet, he was feeling quite warm and comfortable. He realized he was going to die. Well, he decided, he might as well take it like a man. There were worse ways to die. The man closed his eyes and floated into the most comfortable sleep he had ever known.
The dog sat facing him, waiting. Finally, the dog moved closer to the man and caught the smell of death. The animal threw back its head. It let out a long, soft cry to the cold stars in the black sky.
And then it tuned and ran toward Henderson Creek... where it knew there was food and a fire.Put the following statements in the correct order.
① The thought to kill the dog occurred to the man.
② The man failed to build a fire.
③ The dog headed for Henderson Creek.
④ The man’s life came to an end.
⑤ The man tried to warm by running on his frozen feet.
A.②①⑤④③ | B.①②⑤③④ |
C.①②③④⑤ | D.②①⑤③④ |
Why did the dog back away from the man?
A.It never trusted human. | B.It smelt food somewhere. |
C.It sensed murderous atmosphere. | D.It caught sight of the knife.. |
What does the underlined word “it” mean in the 5th paragraph?
A.The dog. | B.The weather. |
C.The death. | D.The cry. |
It can be concluded from the passage that________.
A.Man can conquer nature. | B.the man tried hard to survive |
C.the dog obeyed human beings . | D.the man met death without dignity. |
In the past, the affairs happening inside one country had little influence on other countries, even the neighboring ones. Therefore, incidents of food safety only affected and spread within one country, one city, one island or one village. However, with globalization, goods and products can almost flow freely between countries, regions, and continents. So the food safety problem is therefore no longer a national or regional issue, but rather a global one.
In 1997, Avian Influenza caused widespread panic in Hong Kong.It is said that the Avian Influenza originated from Shenzhen. Some Hong Kong people blamed the chicken farm staff on the mainland for the outbreak. The staff was accused of not thoroughly checking the health condition of the chicks under their care. It resulted in Hong Kong people's anger towards chicken farm staff in Shenzhen, whose supposed negligence(疏忽)contributed to the later spread of Avian Influenza in Hong Kong.
Worse still, in Germany, people have been warned not to eat cucumbers until tests can identify the source of a deadly E. coli outbreak. The scare has spread across Europe, with 16 people so far having been killed.In many people's minds, European countries have the strictest standards and checking procedures on their food safety. But the E. coli cucumber incident brought home the reality that it was not an effective defense against such an outbreak.
These diverse food safety issues from various parts of the world are enough evidence that food safety problem is not endemic in China. In fact, food safety is not even directly related to the development level of a place, thanks, no doubt, to the connectivity of our age. If we do not maintain our vigilance(警惕), people's confidence in food safety can be destroyed instantly—even in a developed countryWhich of the following is true according to the passage?
A.Nowadays, food safety incidents spread inside one country |
B.In 1997, Avian Influenza caused great fear in Hong Kong |
C.16 Germans died of deadly E. coli after eating cucumbers |
D.Food safety is only related to the developing countries |
The underlined word "endemic" in the last paragraph most probably means "______"
A.serious | B.common | C.urgent | D.unique |
We can infer from the passage that ______
A.food safety problems spread from one country to another |
B.the staff of a Shenzhen chicken farm caught Avian Influenza |
C.the strictest standards protected European people from getting E. coli |
D.China is a country where food safety problem is related to people's age |
Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A.Food Safety Problem Is a Global Issue |
B.Cucumbers Are Popular in European Countries |
C.Avian Influenza Originated from Shenzhen |
D.Food Safety Issues Are Various from Country to Country |
Turns out we aren’t good at walking and talking at the same time, according to a study of pedestrians (行人) on their cell phones.
Nearly one-third of pedestrians (29.8% ) were distracted (分散注意力) by their mobile devices while crossing the street, say researchers of a study published online in the journal Injury Prevention.
Just as drivers who text, talk on cell phones, or adjust MP3 players increase their risk of losing control of their vehicles, pedestrians distracted by their conversations or their devices also put themselves at higher risk of getting into an accident.
During the summer of 2012, scientists in Seattle, Wash. , studied 1,102 pedestrians at 20 crossroads seeing the city * s highest number of pedestrian injuries over the past few years.
They watched how pedestrians crossed the street @ whether they looked both ways or obeyed the crossroad signal @ and also recorded how long it took pedestrians to do so.Distractions included listening to music with headphones, using a cell phone or earpiece to talk on a cell phone, text messaging, and talking with another person.
Overall, researchers found the most common distraction among pedestrians was listening to music (11.2%), followed by text messaging (7.3%), and using a handheld phone(6.2%). But the most absorbing distraction was texting. Compared to pedestrians who were not distracted, those who were texting took 1.87 seconds longer to cross and were four times more likely to not look where they were going, disobey traffic lights, or cross outside of the crosswalk. While the study did not track injuries related to these trends, previous studies have linked such activities to a higher risk of being injured while crossing the street.
Combined with the rise in the use of mobile devices, especially smart phones, the results raise concerns that multi-tasking while walking may be a rising concern for pedestrians. And that danger may only climb, as the number of wireless devices has already exceeded the population of the United States. Last year, roughly 1,152 people wound up in the emergency room to treat injuries caused by using a cell phone or electronic device, the Consumer Product Safety Commission told the Associated Press in July. Those numbers may be underestimated, however, because patients may not always admit that they were using their phones along with other activities such as walking or driving when they were hurt.The scientists did their study at the 20 crossroads in order to _____.
A.attract more attention | B.see more injuries |
C.record more samples | D.find more pedestrians |
According to the research, while crossing the street the most dangerous activity for apedestrian is _____.
A.talking on a phone | B.texting messages |
C.listening to music | D.disobeying traffic lights |
The underlined word "exceeded" is closest in meaning to "____".
A.gone beyond | B.greatly influenced |
C.accelerated the increase of | D.drawn the attention of |
Which might be the best title of the passage?
A.Walk and don't Talk |
B.Prevention of Distraction |
C.Look both ways while crossing the street |
D.Cell phones lead to injuries |
When Scotsman Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876, it was a revolution in communication. For the first time, people could talk to each other over great distances almost as clearly as if they were in the same room. Nowadays, though, we increasingly use Bell' s invention for taking photographs, accessing the internet, or watching video clips, rather than talking. Over the last two decades a new means of spoken communication has appeared: the mobile phone.
The first real mobile telephone call was made in 1973 by Dr Martin Cooper, the scientist who invented the modem mobile handset. Within a decade, mobile phones became available to the public. The streets of modem cities began to feature sharp-suited characters shouting into giant plastic bricks. In Britain the mobile phone quickly became the same with the "yuppie" , the new type of young urban professionals who carried the expensive handsets as status symbols. Around this time many of us said that we would never own a mobile phone.
But in the mid-90s, something happened. Cheaper handsets and cheaper calling rates meant that, almost overnight, it seemed that everyone had a mobile phone. And the giant plastic bricks of the 80s had changed into smooth little objects that fitted nicely into pockets and bags.
Moreover, people' s timekeeping changed. Younger readers will be amazed to know that, not long ago, people made spoken arrangements to meet at a certain place at a certain time. But later Meeting times became approximate under the new order of communication: the Short Message Service (SMS) or text message. Going to be late? Send a text message! It takes much less effort than arriving on time, and it' s much less awkward than explaining your lateness face to face and the text message has changed the way we write in English. Traditional rules of grammar and spelling are much less important when you' re sitting on the bus, hurriedly typing "Will B 15mm late - C U @ the bar. Sorry! - )".
Alexander Graham Bell would be amazed if he could see how far the science of telephony has progressed in less than 150 years.If he were around today, he might say "That' s gr8! But I' m v busy rite now.Will call U 2nite."What does the underlined part in Para. 2 refer to?
A.Houses of modern cities. | B.Sharp-suited characters. |
C.New type of professionals. | D.Mobile phones. |
According to Paragraph 4, why did Meeting times become approximate?
A.People were more likely to be late for their meeting. |
B.SMS made it easier to inform each other. |
C.Young people don' t like unchanging things. |
D.Traditional customs were dying out. |
If you want to meet your friend at the school gate this evening, which of the following message can you send him?
A.Call U@ SKUg8 2nite. | B.IM2BZ2CU 2nite. |
C.CU@ the bar g8 2nite. | D.W84U@ SKUg8 2nite. |
What does the passage mainly tell us about?
A.Alexander Graham' s invention. |
B.SMS @ a new way of communication. |
C.New functions of the mobile telephone. |
D.The development of the mobile phone. |
Edward Snowden—the fugitive (逃亡者) former U.S.intelligence employee —appears to be stuck in Moscow, unable to leave without a valid American passport, according to interviews Sunday with two men who had sought to aid him: WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange and Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa.
Snowden, 30, arrived at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport last weekend, after previously taking refuge in Hong Kong. Moscow was only supposed to be a stopover.WikiLeaks, the anti-secrecy organization, had said Snowden was headed on to Ecuador—whose president has been critical of the United States — and that he would seek asylum there.
Now, however, both men said Snowden is unable to leave.
"The United States, by canceling his passport, has left him for the moment trapped in Russia," said Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, on ABC ' s " This Week With George Stephanopoulos". The United States canceled Snowden' s passport last weekend. Assange criticized the United States, saying: " To take a passport from a young man in a difficult situation like that is a disgusting action."
President Correa spoke to the Associated Press in Puerto Viejo, Ecuador. For now, he told the AP, Snowden was "under the care of the Russian authorities. "
"This is the decision of Russian authorities. He doesn't have a passport. I don't know the Russian laws, I don' t know if he can leave the airport, but I understand that he can' t," Correa said. He said that the case was now out of Ecuador' s hands. "If Snowden arrives at an Ecuadoran Embassy, we' 11 analyze his request for asylum."
Snowden traveled from Hong Kong to Moscow on his U.S.passport. Although the U.S.had already revoked it, Hong Kong authorities said they hadn’t received the official request to cancel the passport before Snowden left.
An official at the Ecuadoran Embassy in London had also issued a letter of safe passage for Snowden. But Snowden apparently did not use it for his trip to Moscow.
And it doesn’t appear that the Ecuadoran government would make a similar gesture again.
On Sunday, Correa told the AP that an Ecuadoran official at that embassy had committed "a serious error" by issuing the first letter without consulting officials back home. Correa said the consul would be punished, although he didn’t specify how.
Correa' s tone seemed to have shifted after a conversation with Vice President Biden on Friday.Where Correa had earlier been aggressive and determined, he now voiced respect for U.S.legal procedures.Edward Snowden is a person who once worked in a federal department ______.
A.to assist the governor of one state |
B.to collect information secretly for the US |
C.to organize overseas promotion campaign |
D.to educate intelligence employees |
Which of the following word can take the place of the underlined word in Para.2 ?
A.shelter. | B.praise. | C.position. | D.forgiveness. |
By what means did Edward Snowden leave Hong Kong for Moscow' s Sheremetyevo International Airport?
A.A letter of safe passage from the Ecuadoran Embassy. |
B.Permission from Chinese government |
C.Invitation of the Russian authorities. |
D.An American passport. |
What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
A.Edward Snowden will live in Moscow forever. |
B.Ecuadoran government will provide Edward Snowden protection. |
C.Through U.S.legal procedures Edward Snowden has been caught. |
D.Correa hesitated to assist Edward Snowden. |