If you haven’t heard or seen anything about Road Rage in the last few months, you’ve probably been avoiding the media. There have been countless stories about this new and scary phenomenon, considered a type of aggressive driving. You have most likely encountered aggressive driving or Road Rage recently if you drive at all.
While drunk driving remains a critical problem, the facts about aggressive driving are surely as disturbing. For instance, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Association, 41,907 people died on the highway last year. Of those deaths, the agency estimates that about two-thirds were caused at least in part by aggressive driving behavior.
Why is this phenomenon occurring more than ever now, and why is it something that seemed almost nonexistent a few short years ago? Experts have several theories, and all are probably partially correct. One suggestion is extreme overcrowding. In the last decade, the number of cars on the roads has increased by more than 11 percent, and the number of miles driven has increased by 35 percent. However, the number of new road miles has only increased by 1 percent. That means more cars in the same amount of space; and the problem is severe in urban areas. Also, people have less time and more things to do. With people working and trying to fit extra chores and activities into the day, stress levels have never been higher. Stress creates anxiety, which leads to short tempers. These factors, when combined in certain situations, can spell Road Rage.
You may think you are the last person who would drive aggressively, but you might be surprised. For instance, have you ever yelled out loud at a slower driver, sounded the horn long and hard an another car, or sped up to keep another driver from passing? If you recognize yourself in any of these situations, watch out!
Whether you are getting angry at other drivers, or another driver is visibly upset with you, there are things you can do to avoid any major conflict. If you are easily influenced by Road Rage, the key is to release your emotion in a healthy way. If you are the target of another driver’s rage, do everything possible to get away from the other driver safely, including avoiding eye contact and getting out of their way.The first sentence in Para. 1 implies that ______.
| A．RoadRagehasreceivedmuchmediacoverageinthelastfewmonths | |
| B．themediacreatedtheterm“RoadRage”onlyafewmonthsago | C．onemaybeangeredbymediareportsandwantstoavoidthem |
| D．peoplenotinterestedinthemediaknowlittleaboutrecenthappenings |
The underlined word “spell” in Para. 3 means ________.
| A．relieve | B．cause | C．spread | D．prevent |
Which of the following characterizes aggressive driving?
| A．Talking while driving. |
| B．Driving at high speed. |
| C．Shouting at another driver. |
| D．Sounding the horn when passing |
The last paragraph is intended to _________.
| A．tellpeoplehowtodealwithRoadRage |
| B．informpeoplehowaggressivedriverscouldbe |
| C．showpeoplehowtocontrolthemselveswhenangry |
| D．warnpeopleagainsteyecontactwithanotherdriver |
Scientists are developing a new kind of machine to take the place of humans. These machines can do jobs in places that are too dangerous for humans. For example, they are being developed to work in nuclear power center, deep under the oceans and in outer space.
John Marrit, a psychologist(心理学家) in Williamsburg Massachusetts, helped develop the new machine. This is how they work. A machine is placed in an area far away from the person who operates it. The person wears special hard hat with television screens and sound equipment. The screens and sound equipment let the person see and hear exactly what the machine is seeing and hearing. Mr. Marrit says this gives the person the feeling of being in the same place as the machine. The idea, he says, is being there without going there. The person uses an electronic control to make the machine move. The machine copies the person’s movements exactly. If the person raises his right arm, the machine raises the right arm, too. This means an expert can do a dangerous job while staying in the safe place. For example, a person can direct the machine to destroy a bomb without going near the bomb himself.The new kind of machine being introduced in the passage is _______.
| A．in existence | B．only an idea |
| C．being tried out | D．being researched and developed |
The machine _______.
| A．follows the person’s order |
| B．is controlled by a computer |
| C．does exactly what the person does |
| D．is controlled by a television on the person’s head |
The difference between such a new machine and a robot is that _______.
| A．the new machine is more difficult to make than a robot |
| B．the new machine is more difficult to be controlled |
| C．a robot is controlled by man indirectly |
| D．a robot can’t be used in places too dangerous or faraway |
A flock of hungry pigeons were flying across the sky in search of food. Having traveled a long distance, they felt tired and settled down on a tree. Just below the tree, they saw grains strewn (撒满) all over the ground. The pigeons were happy to have found enough food to eat. All the pigeons came down from the tree and started eating the grains. As they were doing so, a huge net fell on them and trapped them all.
The pigeons were taken aback. They noticed a hunter sitting at a distance from the tree, a bow and arrow in hand. The pigeons realized it was the hunter who had trapped them in the net. The hunter got up and began to move towards the pigeons.
The leader of the pigeons spoke, “Friends, we are in great trouble. The hunter will catch us if we do not act swiftly in a few seconds. There is only one option available at this moment. Let all of us use our force together and fly up along with the net. If all of us use our force and fly together, we can fly carrying the net along with us. Let us start now.”
All the pigeons agreed with him and flew high carrying the net along with them. After traveling enough distance away from the hunter, the pigeons settled on a tree and carefully came out of the net one by one and thus escaped the evil design of the hunter.Who strewed the grains over the ground?
| A．A villager. | B．The hunter. |
| C．The pigeon. | D．The writer. |
The word “”has the closest meaning to the underlined word “option”.
| A．reason | B．choice | C．action | D．opinion |
How did the pigeons react when they got trapped?
| A．They didn’t know what to do. |
| B．They tried to fly in all directions. |
| C．They remained rather calm. |
| D．They decided to fight for their lives. |
This story wants to tell us that .
| A．two heads are better than one. |
| B．confidence will save everyone. |
| C．teamwork can work wonders. |
| D．actions speak louder than words. |
Once upon a time there was a monster（怪兽）. He was very ugly and had no friends. No one wanted to talk to him. Even other monsters thought he was ugly.
He lived alone and was very unhappy because he was so lonely.
“I wish I had a friend.” He said to himself every day, “One friend would be enough. Someone to talk to.”
He wrote a letter to a magazine. The magazine gave people advice.
“Dear Editor,” he wrote, “I am a ugly monster. How can I find a friend?”
“Dear monster,” the Editor replied, “Advertise for a friend in this magazine.” The monster wrote an advertisement.
“Monster wants a friend, male or female. I have two heads, four arms, six legs and three tails. I have one blue eye, one green eye and one brown eye. Smoke comes out of my nose. But I am really a kind monster and will be a good friend to someone. If you would like to meet me, please stand outside Blake’s Store at 6 p.m. on Friday, May 7th. Write to Mr. A, Box 45, everybody’s Magazine.”
A few days later he went to the magazine.
“Do you have any letters for Box 45?” he asked.
The clerk looked in Box 45.
“Yes, there is one.” She said, and gave it to him.
The monster opened the letter, and read, “Dear Monster, I think a person’s character is more important than his appearance. I will wait outside Blake’s Store on Friday. Please carry a flower so that I will recognize you. Yours sincerely, Miss Alice Thwaite.”Why was the monster unhappy?
| A．He had no friends. | B．He was ugly. |
| C．He had two heads. | D．He had three tails. |
What did the monster advertise for?
| A．A magazine. | B．A friend. | C．An editor. | D．A male or female monster. |
How did the monster describe him in the advertisement?
| A．Ugly | B．Lonely | C．Kind | D．Good-looking |
What was strange about Miss Thwaite’s letter?
| A．She was not interested in people’s appearance. |
| B．She wanted to meet the monster. |
| C．She needed a flower to recognize him. |
| D．It was the only reply. |
Women’s fashions change more rapidly than men’s. In the early 1990’s, all women wore their skirts to the ankle. Today, some skirts are even longer than before, but some are very short. Women’s shoes have also gone through all sorts of boots for women were very common at the beginning of this century. Then for years, they were not considered fashionable. Today, they’re back again in all colours, lengths and materials. In fact, today’s women can wear all types of clothes on almost any occasion. While all of these changes were taking place in women’s fashions, men’s clothing remained almost the same until a few years ago. And, in fact, most men are still dressed in the kinds of clothes they used to wear.What kind of skirts do women like to wear today?
| A．Long skirts. |
| B．Short skirts. |
| C．Both long skirts and short skirts. |
| D．Neither long skirts nor short skirts. |
Now boots are considered ______now.
| A．fashionable | B．unfashionable | C．uncommon | D．fit for girls most |
When today’s women go to the party, they wear _______.
| A．skirts down to the ankle |
| B．red long boots |
| C．long skirts and short boots |
| D．any kinds of clothes they like |
The passage tries to tell us _______.
| A．boots for women have been thought fashionable since 1900 |
| B．women’s shoes are back again in all colours, length etc. |
| C．today men are dressed in the kinds of clothes they used to wear |
| D．fashions for clothes, shoes and so on always change |
The United Nations is warning that the world is not prepared to deal with the fast growth of cities. The World Economic and Social Survey 2013 calls for new ways to meet the needs of city populations. More than 6.5 billion people are expected to be living in cities by 2050.
Most new city dwellers will be in developing countries. The United Nations says the effect on limited resources in many countries will be huge. The World Economic and Social Survey points to the increasing demand for energy, water, sanitation, public services, education and health care.
The world population is expected to rise to more than nine billion by 2050, two-thirds of all people are expected to live in cities. The United Nations says about 80 percent of this growing urban population will be found in Africa and Asia.
The report says sustainable development of urban areas requires coordination and investments to deal with important issues, these include land-use, food security, job creation and transportation.
Willem Van Der Geest is with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, he says cities need to work closely with rural communities, so that food supplies can be secured, and the environment can be protected.
"We need enough integration(整合，融合) with cities... An integration between the rural and urban economies is absolutely vital for issues of nutrition, food security, and environmental sustainability."
The report says development in a sustainable（可持续发展）way is important to end poverty. The report also examines the problem of food insecurity, which affects hundreds of millions of people around the world. One in eight people still severely lack nutrition.
UN officials say some things are clear. The Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, Shamshad Akhtar, says world food production will have to increase by 70%, that increase will be needed to feed the additional 2.3 billion people expected on the planet by the middle of the century. She says an important part of meeting that need is to waste less food. "There has to be efforts to reduce food wastage. ."
Food and nutrition security are core elements of the sustainable development agenda.The survey includes the following statements except that ______.
| A．varieties of demands are hard to meet because of the increasing population in Africa and Asia. |
| B．one way to put an end to poverty is to be able to develop for a long time. |
| C．transportation is an important issue to deal with when it comes to sustainable development of urban areas. |
| D．hundreds of millions of people around the world are affected by the problem of food insecurity. |
From the passage we can infer that ______.
| A．cities grow so fast that the world can’t find out new ways to deal with the growing population. |
| B．the growing city dwellers who mainly come from the developing countries greatly challenge limited resources in the world. |
| C．sustainable development of urban areas requires coordination and investments to deal with important issues |
| D．food wastage is an effective way to feed the additional 2.3 biilion people by the middle of the century. |
What is the best titile of the passage?
| A．The World Economic and Social Survey 2013. |
| B．City Population Will Increase to 9 Billion. |
| C．Cities Need to Cooperate with Rural Areas. |
| D．The World Is Not Prepared to Deal with the Fast Growth of Cities. |
The passage is chosen from ______.
| A．a textbook | B．a travel guide | C．a novel | D．a newspaper |