Whydoesthewriterintroducesoman-优题课

Students from Florida International University in Miami walked on water Thursday for a class assignment．To do it，they wore aquatic (水上的）shoes they designed and created．
Alex Quinones was the first to make it to the other side of a 175-foot lake on campus in record time—just over a minute．Quinones，who wore oversized boat-like shoes，also won last year and will receive $ 500．Students had to wear the aquatic shoes and make it across the lake in order to earn an “A” on the assignment for Architecture Professor Jaime Canaves，Materials and Methods Construction Class．"It's traditional in a school of architecture to do boats out of cardboard for a boat race．I thought our students were a little bit more special than that，" Canaves said．" We decided to do the walk on water event to take it to the next level．"
A total of 79 students competed in the race this year in 41 teams．Only 10 teams failed to cross the lake．Others who fell got back up and made it to the end．The race is open to all students and anyone in the community．The youngest person to ever participate was a 9-year-old girl who competed in place of her mother，while the oldest was a 67-year-old female．
A large crowd on campus joined Canaves as he cheered on the racers．He shouted encouraging words，but also laughed as some unsteadily made their way to the end．
"A part of this is for them to have more understanding of designing and make it work better，" he said．It is also a lesson in life for the students．
“Anything，including walking on water，is possible，if you do the research，test it and go through the design process seriously．”
For what purpose did the students take part in the race?

A．To go across the lake to school．

B．To test their balance on the water．

C．To pass Professor Canaves’ class．

D．To win the prize money of $ 500．

Which of the following is true about the race?

A．The students who fell into the water had to quit．

B．More than 20 teams failed to cross the lake．

C．The students kept silent when the other racers competed．

D．The youngest competitor competed instead of her mother．

According to Canaves，this race can help the students_________．

A．understand designing better

B．achieve almost everything

C．work together and unite as one

D．walk on the surface of water

What is the purpose of this passage?

A．To advertise a student' s program．

B．To report an interesting assignment．

C．To introduce a creative professor．

D．To encourage special events on campus．

My daughter and I collected the empty cans and bottles in our home this morning．We had 6 full garbage bags later so I knew we would be spending a bit more of time at the recycling center．When we got there，a man and his kids were also doing the morning recycling and were using two of the four machines to recycle their plastic and cans．Luckily，we were able to use the 2 remaining machines．
Of course，there were others that came，but when they saw the two families with garbage bags full of recycled things，they quickly left．However，one woman came in with just 5 cans and looked as if she was in a hurry．So I stopped what I was doing and let her in to recycle her cans．Of course，she was grateful，and it felt good to let her go ahead of me．But that was not the whole story．
My daughter and I continued to work through the bags，but the plastic recycling machine stopped working because it was full．My daughter was left with nothing to do．The other family was still using the other two plastic recycling machines，but it seemed that they were almost done．I just told my daughter we would have to wait until they were done．But the man of the other family came through with another act of kindness．He offered to let us go ahead of him．I was really surprised，because we had more than 5 bottles，but he didn’t seem to mind．I happily accepted it．
It was great to give and then to get an act of kindness in turn．It was small，I didn't expect it，but it surely brightened up my day．
Why did the writer let the woman recycle her cans first?

A．Because there were many other families there．

B．Because the woman seemed to be in a hurry．

C．Because the writer wanted to hear a story．

D．Because the woman was very grateful．

Why couldn't the writer finish her recycling in time?

A．Because her daughter' s machine stopped working．

B．Because the other family was still using the machines．

C．Because she let the other family use her machine first．

D．Because she helped recycle the other family's bags first．

What does the underlined word "it" in Paragraph 3 refer to?

A．The kindness．	B．The offer．
C．The machine．	D．The 5 bottles．

Which of the following best describes the topic of this passage?

A．A good name is sooner lost than won．

B．A little is better than none．

C．All men cannot be first．

D．One good turn deserves another．

Down-to-earth means being honest，open，and easy to deal with．It is a pleasure to find someone who is down-to-earth．A person who is down-to-earth is easy to talk to．He or she accepts others as equals．A down-to-earth person may be an important member of society，of course，but they do not let their importance go to their heads，and they do not consider themselves to be better than others who are less important．Someone who is filled with self-importance and pride，often without cause，is said to have his nose in the air．There is no way a person with his nose in the air can be down-to-earth．
Americans use another expression that is similar in some way to down-to-earth．The expression is both feet on the ground．Someone with both feet on the ground is a person with a good understanding of reality．He has what is called common sense．He may have dreams but he does not allow them to block his knowledge of what is real．The opposite kind of person is one who has his head in the clouds．A man with his head in the clouds is a dreamer whose mind is not in the world．Sometimes such a dreamer can be brought back to reality；sharp words from the teacher，for example，can usually get a daydreaming student to put both feet back on the ground．
The person who is down-to-earth usually has both feet on the ground．But the opposite is not always true．Someone with both feet on the ground may not be as open and easy to deal with as someone who is down-to-earth．When we have both our feet firmly on the ground，we are realistic and we act honestly and openly toward others，and our lives are like the ground below us，solid and strong．
If a person has his nose in the air，he ．

A．is down to the earth

B．is easy to deal with

C．always thinks he is more important than others

D．is confident

If a person has both feet on the ground，he ．

A．is in touch with reality，and doesn’t have any dreams

B．has some dreams but he is realistic

C．is honest，open and easy to deal with

D．is honest，open but hard to deal with

The underlined sentence “But the opposite is not always true．” most probably means that ______．

A．the person who has his nose in the air is not true

B．a man with his head in the clouds is often not intelligent

C．the opposite direction is always wrong

D．a person who has both feet on the ground may not be down-to-earth

You may have experienced the frustration of receiving a parking fine or finding your car towed away （拖走）after leaving it parked for a couple of minutes.
But now a hightech car sticker could help motorists avoid such a situation by allowing a traffic warden（管理员）to get in touch with them. Car owners can buy the sticker and place it inside their car’ s windscreen， having set it up with vital information, such as their phone number. The slim design will include a sensor that will send a text message warning a driver about a coming fine when touched by a traffic warden. The message will ask them to move their car immediately. The driver could then type a reply for the warden using their smartphone, which will appear on the sticker’ s screen.They may choose to write something along the lines of“back in two minutes”in a bid to avoid a fine. Frankfurt-based IT consultant, Daniel Kalliontzis, came up with the idea and is raising funds on Indiegogo to put his 54 sticker into production.
The smart sticker system will rely on the good will of traffic wardens and critically, a German law. The law states:“An officer has to choose the most efficient and inexpensive way for the car owner to remove the vehicle.”It could be cheaper for the authorities to contact the driver than to tow his car.
At the time of writing, Mr Kalliontzis has raised just over 3,000 of his 50,000 goal on Indiegogo. If he manages to raise the money, the stickers will be shipped in June 2015. But it appears that car owners using the smart system could get some unnecessary warning messages, because anyone could touch the smart sticker.
The first paragraph is intended to ________.

A．highlight an awkward situation

B．complain about a parking fine

C．introduce the topic of the passage

D．remind motorists of the parking risk

What may probably contribute to the application of the TowStop sticker in Germany?

A．The sticker’ s low cost.

B．The mass production.

C．The goodwill of motorists.

D．The law of the country.

What can be concluded from the last paragraph about the TowStop Sticker?

A．It takes time and efforts to put it to use.

B．Only traffic wardens can touch the sticker．

C．All car owners will use the sticker in 2015．

D．Kalliontzis is experienced in raising money．

What’ s the right order of the following statements according to the passage?
①A message is sent by the sensor.
②The sticker is put inside a car’ s windscreen.
③A traffic warden touches the smart sticker.
④The sticker is set up with vital information.
⑤The motorist sends a message.

A．②④⑤③①	B．④②③①⑤
C．④②③⑤①	D．②④①③⑤

The Silver City Council recognizes that citizens have certain needs. To better meet your needs, we have made several changes to community facilities in 2014. The followings show how we have tried to make your life better.
Transport
☆Three stations for the suburbs have been added to the western train service.
☆20 new buses for the southern line were purchased in January.
☆50 per cent of city busstops have been upgraded.
Communication
☆Broadband cable is now available to all parts of the city.
☆All of the new Government buildings are smartwired for better computer service!
Medical Facilities
☆The new stateoftheart Nightingale Hospital was opened in June.
☆To overcome a shortage of trained medical staff at Dover Hospital, 10 doctors have been employed from overseas.
☆Some facilities at Station Street Hospital have been upgraded.
Education
☆Textbooks will be free to all primary students in 2014!
☆Rental for private schools has been reduced.
Protection and Security
☆Extra police now patrol（巡逻）the tourist areas.
☆50 new police officers graduated in July and have taken up duties in the city area.
Entertainment / Recreation
☆The new Central Community Building opened in May.
☆5,000 new fiction books were bought for the Silver City Library.
What is the purpose of the changes in Silver City?

A．To satisfy all the needs of the citizens.

B．To make public service improved.

C．To better the citizens’life.

D．To meet the needs of the Silver City Council.

What can we learn from the passage?

A．Travel books are provided in the new library.

B．More bus lines and stops are bought in Silver City.

C．Free medical treatment is available at Station Street Hospital.

D．There are more police officers on duty now.

The public notice is from _______.

A．the community	B．the local government
C．the Silver City Library	D．a travel agency

A．8:30 a.m. Wednesday.	B．9:30 a.m. Friday.
C．3:00 p.m. Sunday.	D．5:00 p.m. Tuesday.