MichaelwasafarmerinTexas.Hispa-优题课

Have you heard of the movie Benji off the Leashf This Benji story7 begins when his mother, a pretty black furry dog, escapes from the puppy mill with Colby, a boy who loves her．He tries to hide her in an abandoned house．The boy' s father discovers her there and takes mother and pups back home to the puppy mill, but leaves Benji behind because he doesn't look purebred （纯血统的） enough to be sold for money．Colby comes back later to rescue the tiny puppy and keeps Benji in his wooden clubhouse, bringing Mom to come to visit him in secret．
As Benji grows bigger, it becomes harder to keep him in the clubhouse, and eventually the boy' s father discovers him and Benji is forced to flee to the streets．But despite his fear of Colby' s father, Benji cannot forget about his mother, who is growing steadily weaker and sicker．He continues to sneak back to the puppy mill yard to spy on the goings-on there and plan a way to rescue her．
Benji's doggie pal, Scrappy enters the story when he is pushed out of a car into a country lane．Once his paws hit the ground, Scrappy wags his tail once helplessly after the car as it drives away, and then is immediately up to his neck in hapless mischief （顽皮）. Scrappy is a lovably stupid little dog who barely manages to escape the animal control officers who are determined to catch him．
One of the wonderful things about this movie is that the two stars are not highly trained purebred dogs．Both Benji and Scrappy were rescued mixed breed dogs found at local animal shelters．Adorable Benji and his stupid pal, Scrappy, demonstrate that mixed-breed rescue dogs are just as intelligent and trainable as any purebred dog．
Benji Off the Leash clearly demonstrates the connection between people who abuse animals and people who abuse people．Colby' s father takes out his anger on those who are weaker than him, namely by frightening his wife and the dogs．He attempts to frighten Colby, but the boy bravely refuses to let him．
Children who are used to fast-paced action films with catchy theme songs may not have the patience for the slower pace of this film．But for rescue volunteers, older children, and anyone who loves dogs, this is a heartwarming movie that shows how even in today' s world of deserted dogs and backyard puppy mills, there can still be happy endings for homeless dogs．
What can be learned from the passage?

A．Two dogs star the movie．

B．The boy' s mother is very disgusting．

C．The movie will be liked by all the children．

D．The movie is fast-paced．

We can infer from the passage that _____．

A．The movie is in praise of deserting homeless dogs．

B．We shouldn't have mercy on homeless dogs．

C．We human beings need to love animals because they are our friends．

D．mixed-breed rescued dogs are less intelligent and trainable than purebred dogs．

What' s the passage mainly about?

A．Reviewing a Him．

B．Giving a summary of a movie．

C．Thinking highly of the relationship between animals and humans．

D．Criticizing people deserting animals．

What' s the purpose of writing the passage?

A．To attract more people to see the movie．

B．To call on children to help homeless pets．

C．To show anger about abusing animals．

D．To urge people to care and love animals．

When JetBlue captain Clayton Osbon became unpredictable, his co-pilot invented a reason for him to go back into the cabin．Once the captain was out of the cockpit （驾驶舱） , the co-pilot locked the door to keep the captain from returning．Passengers, some with law enforcement experience, calmed the captain．The flight changed course to Amarillo, Texas where the captain was hospitalized．
Incidents in which a pilot has had an in-flight psychological breakdown are rare．But how could it happen at all? Though pilots are required to have an examination at least once a year by a physician approved by the FAA, there are no formal procedures in place to test pilots for signs of psychological problems．
At most airlines, pilots are members of a union．A pilot who appears to have a psychological or an alcohol problem can be reported to a union member whose job it is to investigate．If there is a problem, the pilot is given the choice of getting treatment or being reported to management．But at airlines, such as Allegiant, JetBlue, and Virgin American where there is no union, pilots are – to say the least - unwilling to report a fellow pilot to management．
In most professions, a person experiencing emotional difficulties is free to consult a doctor．Rut an airline pilot in therapy is viewed with suspicion both by the airline and by the FAA．No pilot wants to be put under extra examination by an agency that has the power to revoke their license or end their employment．That being the case, pilots are less likely than people in other professions to seek help．
There may be no way to make sure this never happens again, but its possibility can be reduced． Tests such as the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory （ MMPI） can reliably detect depression, paranoia, schizophrenia, and other problems．The FAA could require pilots to take the MMPI or a similar test on a periodic basis．Whether such testing becomes required will depend upon the public's response to this incident and whether additional incidents take place．
Flying is remarkably safe．But incidents such as this cause concern．
What does the underlined word "revoke" most probably mean?

A．delay

B．cancel

C．interrupt

D．renew

Why are some pilots unwilling to report a fellow pilot to management?

A．Because they are tested for signs of psychological problems every year．

B．Because they are likely to be treated by physicians．

C．Because they are supported by the airlines．

D．Because they might be fired．

What is the author' s attitude towards the incident?

A．satisfied

B．indifferent

C．concerned

D．disapproving

In which part of the newspaper can the passage be found?

A．Entertainment

B．Sports

C．Business

D．Society

Can you imagine living in a house built by recycled waste?
Texas home builder Dan Phillips transforms trash into artful treasures, creating beautiful floors with wood pieces, kitchen counters from ivory -colored bones and roofs out of license plates （牌照）．
The fantastic houses which spring from his imagination are made almost entirely of materials which would otherwise have ended up in a garbage area．
" People have been doing this for hundreds of thousands of years; using whatever is available to build shelter, " Phillips said．"If you think about carefully what could be used, then building materials are everywhere．
The thirteen homes he has built so far would fit better in an art museum than the residential streets of Huntsville, a conservative town of about 35 ,000 people．
Living in these houses is a bit like living in a roadside attraction．"Almost every day, somebody knocks on the door and says ' Is there any way that we could see?' "said Edie Wells, an artist who rents a room in the Bone House．Her home features a stairway made of bones, floors covered in wine corks （软木塞） and beer bottle caps．Wells said visitors are most impressed when they see a bathroom with its walls, floor and ceiling entirely covered with broken mirror pieces．
In addition, each house is highly energy efficient with plenty insulation （隔热材料） , an on-demand solar hot water heater and a system that can collect and recycle rainwater to clean the toilet and wash clothes．
Phillips founded Phoenix Commotion 12 years ago with the aim of creating a new model for sustainable housing．For as little as $ 10,000 it builds affordable homes for single parents, low-income families and artists．
The company has used hundreds of tons of construction waste by recycling the materials into habitable buildings．
Phillips tries to spread his recycled-house idea by speaking at events across the United States, and by using the Internet to reach out to like-minded individuals．Phillips said: "I'm not going to be saving the world anytime soon．But there needs to be at least some visibility for this model in this century．
Which of the following is NOT the advantage of the homes built by Phillips?

A．environmentally-friendly	B．energy efficient
C．convenient	D．cheap

What do we know about Dan Phillips?

A．He is serious and hard-working．

B．He is full of imagination and intelligence．

C．It didn't take him long to build the houses．

D．He didn't give speeches in the United States．

According to the passage, the houses are like artful treasures because they are.

A．made of bones	B．museums
C．admired by people	D．made of various trash

Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?

A．Home Builder Dan Phillips

B．Green Homes

C．Home Builder Dan Phillips Tunis Trash into Green Homes

D．A Home Builder' s Life

Some years ago on a hot summer day in south Florida a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house．In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out of the back door, leaving behind shoes, socks, and shirt as he went．
He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, a crocodile was swimming toward him．His mother in the house was looking out of the window and saw the two．In great fear, she ran toward the water, shouting to her son as loudly as she could．Hearing her voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U-turn to swim to his mother．It was too late．Just as he reached her, the crocodile reached him．From the shore, the mother grabbed her little boy by the arms just as the crocodile snatched his legs．That began an incredible tug-of-war between the two．The crocodile was much stronger than the mother, but the mother was much too passionate to let go．A farmer happened to drive by, heard their screams, raced from his truck, took aim and shot the crocodile．
Remarkably, after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived．His legs were extremely scarred by the attack of the animal．And, on his arms, were deep scratches where his mother’s fingernails dug into his flesh in her effort to hang on to the son she loved．
The newspaper reporter, who interviewed the boy, asked if he would show him his scars．The boy lifted his legs．And then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter, “But look at my arms．I have great scars on my arms, too．I have them because my Mom wouldn’t let go．”
Never judge another person’s scars, because you don’t know how they were made．
By saying “But look at my arms．I have great scars on my arms, too” in paragraph 4,the boy really wants to show__________．

A．how deep the scars made by the crocodile were

B．what a brave and courageous boy he was

C．how many scars and scratches he had

D．how great and beloved his mother was

Hearing Mother’s shouts, the boy______．

A．remained in the middle at a loss

B．didn’t stop swimming forwards

C．swam back towards the shore

D．was ready to fight the crocodile

Which of the following statements is true according to the text?

A．A crocodile attacked him when the boy and his mother were swimming．

B．The crocodile bit the arms of the boy when it reached him．

C．There is always an interesting story behind every scar．

D．It was the farmer who shot the crocodile．

Which of the following will be the best title for the text?

A．Scars of Love	B．Women Hold up Half the Sky
C．A Terrible Experience	D．Don’t Judge by Appearances

What’s your idea of a good time? What about dancing in a rainy field with one hundred and fifty thousand other people while a famous rock band plays on a stage so far away that the performers look like ants?
It may sound strange but that is what many hundreds of thousands of young people in the UK do every summer．Why? Because summer is the time for outdoor music festivals．
Held on a farm, the Glastonbury Festival is the most well-known and popular festival in the UK．It began in 1970 and the first festival was attended by one thousand five hundred people each paying an admission price of ￡1 — the ticket included free milk from the farm．
Since then the Glastonbury Festival has gone from strength to strength — in 2004 one hundred and fifty thousand fans attended, paying ￡112 each for a ticket to the three-day event．Tickets for the event sold out within three hours．Performers included superstars, such as Paul McCartney and James Brown, as well as new talent, like Franz Ferdinand and Joss Stone．
Although many summer festivals are run on a profit-making basis, Glastonbury is a charity event, donating millions of pounds to local and international charities．
Glastonbury is not unique(独特的) in using live music to raise money to fight global poverty．In July of this year, the Live 8 concerts were held simultaneously （同时） in London, Paris, Rome and Berlin．Superstars such as Madonna, Sir Elton John and Stevie Wonder performed in order to highlight international poverty and debt．
What does the author mean by saying “the Glastonbury Festival has gone from strength to strength”?

A．The festival has achieved growing success．

B．Great efforts have been made to hold the festival．

C．The festival has brought in a large amount of money．

D．There have been thousands of fans attending the festival．

Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．The Glastonbury Festival is run on a profit-making basis．

B．Tickets for the 2004 Glastonbury Festival were in great demand despite the high price．

C．Both James Brown and Joss Stone were born in poor families．

D．In the 1970 Glastonbury Festival, one could have lunch on the farm for free．

We can learn from the last paragraph that _____．

A．the Glastonbury Festival is not so popular as the Live 8 concerts

B．the Live 8 concerts are held every year in London

C．London, Paris, Rome and Berlin are famous for outdoor music festivals

D．some superstars are concerned about global poverty

What is the best title for the passage?

A．How to have a good time

B．Charity events around the world

C．The Glastonbury Festival

D．Superstars’ performances in charity events