Four years ago my sweet mom went to be with her Lord.She did it her way.
I got the call at work, and I headed home quickly.Mom and Dad lived on a small farm that they had owned since I was seven.I hated going there every weekend.There was nothing for a young girl to do but watch the one station on the old TV set, if the weather allowed reception.
My mom, on the other hand, loved the peace and quiet of the land and loved to work in the garden among her flowers and vegetables.The place was rustic, with no indoor plumbing or heat.We had a big wood stove in the kitchen that did its best to heat the little farmhouse, but it always seemed cold and too quiet to me.
In the evenings, my mom and I would sit for hours singing in the little kitchen.I sang the melody and Mom harmonized.Her favorite song was "Moon River" and we sang it over and over.Mom told me stories about how when I was a little girl, I could sing before I could talk.She loved to tell how my playpen(婴儿圈栏)sat in the kitchen next to the radio and there was one song I particularly loved called "Ivory Tower".
As time passed, I had my own children and went to visit every week or two.The kids loved the farm and the tractor rides with my dad.Me, well, I still hated the silence of the farm.While my mom loved to sit at her kitchen table and look out at her garden and flowers and retell all the old stories, I missed the hustle and bustle(喧闹)of my life at home.But I sat there listening quietly as she reminisced.
Now, I sat back in the silence and the silence was deafening so I finally leaned over to turn on an old radio.Music always comforted me.
My heart skipped a beat."Moon River" was playing on the radio.I sat there stunned, with a tear running down my cheek, as I listened to every familiar note.
Then the radio announcer of this oldie station came on."Here's one we haven't heard in a while," and an unfamiliar song began.I began to cry harder as I heard the words sung over the airwaves."Come down, come down from your Ivory Tower...."The writer didn’t like staying on the farm for the following reasons Except that ________.
A.it was too cold and quiet |
B.she could only sing one song on the small farm |
C.there was nothing more that could make her excited |
D.The place was rustic, with no indoor plumbing or heat |
From the first paragraph, we know that the writer’s mother ________.
A.passed away four years ago | B.left the small farm with Lord |
C.left for Lord to live her own way | D.preferred to be with Lord |
The underlined word reminisced in the fifth paragraph probably means ________.
A.recalled | B.comforted | C.shouted | D.sighed |
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage _______.
A.The writer was able to sing before she could speak. |
B.The writer preferred to live a busy life in the city. |
C.The writer was still quite familiar with the song "Ivory Tower". |
D.The writer treasured all her childhood memories in the small farmhouse. |
Which of the following would be the best title for this passage? _______
A.Cherish life | B.My happy childhood |
C.Our small farmhouse | D.Mom’s music |
The way people hold to the belief that a fun - filled, pain free life equals happiness actually reduces their chances of ever attaining real happiness. If fun and pleasure are equal to happiness then pain must be equal to unhappiness. But in fact, the opposite is true: more often than not things that lead to happiness involve some pain.
As a result, many people avoid the very attempts that are the source of true happiness. They fear the pain inevitably brought by such things as marriage, raising children, professional achievement, religious commitment (预担的义务), self - improvement.
Ask a bachelor(单身汉) why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying. If he is honest he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment. For commitment is in fact quite painful. The single life is filled with fun, adventure, excitement. Marriage has such moments, but they are not its most distinguishing features.
Couples with infant children are lucky to get a whole night’s sleep or a three - day vacation. I don’t know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe raising children. But couples who decide not to have children never know the joys of watching a child grow up or of playing with a grandchild.
Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations. It liberates time: now we can devote more hours to activities that can genuinely increase our happiness. It liberates money: buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless. And it liberates us from envy: we now understand that all those who are always having so much fun actually may not be happy at all.According to the author, a bachelor resists marriage chiefly because ________ .
A.he is reluctant to take on family responsibilities |
B.he believes that life will be more cheerful if he remains single |
C.he finds more fun in dating than in marriage |
D.he fears it will put an end to all his fun adventure and excitement |
Raising children, in the author’s opinion is ________ .
A.a moral duty | B.a thankless job |
C.a rewarding task | D.a source of inevitable pain |
From the last paragraph, we learn that envy sometimes stems from ________ .
A.hatred | B.misunderstanding | C.prejudice | D.ignorance |
To understand what true happiness is one must ________ .
A.have as much fun as possible during one’s lifetime |
B.make every effort to liberate oneself from pain |
C.put up with pain under all circumstances |
D.be able to distinguish happiness from fun |
What is the author trying to tell us?
A.Happiness often goes hand in hand with pain. |
B.One must know how to attain happiness. |
C.It is important to make commitments. |
D.It is pain that leads to happiness. |
America is growing older. Fifty - eight years ago, only 4 out of every 100 people in the United States were 10 or older. To day, 10 out of every 100 Americans are over 10. The aging of the population will affect(影响)American society in many ways—education, medicine, and business. Quietly, the graying of America has made us a very different society—one in which people have a quite different idea of what kind of behavior(行为) is suitable(合适)at various , ages.
A person s age no longer tells you anything about his/her social position, marriage or health. There’s no longer a particular year in which one goes to school or goes to work or gets married or starts a family. The social clock that kept us on time and told us when to go to school, get a job, or stop working isn’t as strong as it used to be. It doesn’t surprise us to hear of a 29 - year - old university president or a 35 - year -old grandmother, or a 15 year - old man who has become a father for the first time. Public ideas are changing.
Many people say, “I am much younger than my mother— or my father— was at my age. ”No one says“Act your age” any more. We’ve stopped looking with surprise at older people who act in youthful ways.
12.It can be learnt from the text that the aging of the population in America ________ .
A. has made people feel younger B. has changed people’s social position
C. has changed people’s understanding of age D. has slowed down the country’s social development
13.The underlined word “one”refers to ________ .
A. a society B. America C. a place D. population
14.” Act your age” means people should ________ .
A. be active when they are old
B. do the right thing at the right age
C. show respect for their parents young or old
D. take more physical exercise suitable to their age
15.If a 25 - year - old man becomes general manager of a big firm, the writer of the text would most probably consider it ________ .
A. normal B. wonderful C. unbelievable D. unreasonable
The following are four forms about medicine. How to use the medicine is very important. Never take any by mistake.
1)Take the medicine with water, followed by one tablet every eight hours, as required. For further night - time and early morning, take two tablets at bedtime. Do not take more than six tablets in 24 hours. For Children six to twelve years old, go to your doctor for advice. Reduce dosage if nervousness, restlessness or sleeplessness takes place.
2)Each pill of the medicine taken three times every day for fourteen years old. As usual, a pill 6∶00 a. m., before breakfast, one before 11∶00 and one before sleep. Not for children under six years old and old persons with heart attack.
3)The medicine for a person with a fever. Once two pills a day before sleep for adult. Not take the medicine without fever. Half for Children under 12 years old. Children with a high fever, go to see a doctor.
4)The medicine taken three times a day, once five pills for adult with a cold. Half of the pills for children 10 years old. Take the medicine before breakfast, lunch, supper or before sleep.Obviously a kind of medicine can’t be proper for ________, judging from the information.
A.children over twelve years old | B.some old persons with a fever |
C.some old persons with heart attack | D.neither adults nor heart attack |
When a person has a cold, he had better ________ .
A.have about more than fourteen pills a day | B.have twice a day |
C.have four times a day | D.have nine pills a day |
How many kinds of medicine are used for the children six years old?
A.All of them. | B.Three kinds of medicine. |
C.Two kinds of medicine. | D.Almost not any medicine. |
Some researchers claim that people´s personalities can be classified by their blood types.If you have blood type O, you are a leader. When you see something you want, you strive to achieve your goal. You are passionate, loyal, and self-confident, and you are often a trendsetter. Your enthusiasm for projects and goals spreads to others who happily follow your lead. When you want something, you may be ruthless about getting it or blind to how your actions affect others. Another blood type, A, is a social, “people” person. You like people and work well with them. You are sensitive, patient, compassionate, and affectionate. You are a good peacekeeper because you want everybody to be happy. In a team situation, you resolve conflicts and keep things on a smooth course. Sometimes type As are stubborn and find it different to relax. They may also find it uncomfortable to do things alone.
People with type B blood are usually individualists who like to do things on their own. You may be creative and adaptable, and you usually say exactly what you mean. Also you can adapt to situations, you may not choose to do so because of your strong independent streak. You may prefer working on your own to being part of a team. The final blood type is type AB. If you have AB blood, you are a natural entertainer. You draw people to your because of your charm and easygoing nature. ABs are usually calm and controlled, tactful and fair. On the downside, though, they may take too long to make decisions. And they may procrastinate, putting off tasks until the last minute.People with type O will do the following things except____.
A.direct a board | B.burn the night´s oil |
C.be considerate | D.self-oriented |
Which of the following is not the feature of type A?
A.Stubborn. | B.Sensitive. | C.Reserved. | D.Patient. |
What is Not true to type B?
A.He likes to work by himself. | B.He doesn’t think much before he speaks. |
C.He has many original ideas. | D.He cannot fit in with the environment. |
The best profession for a type AB is ____.
A.Musician | B.Peacekeeper | C.Actor | D.Spokesman |
A device that stops drivers form falling asleep at the wheel is about to undergo testing at Department of Transport laboratories and could go on sale within 12 months.
The system, called Driver Alert, aims to reduce deadly road accidents by 20% - 40% that are caused by tiredness. Airline pilots can also use it to reduce the 30% of all pilot-error accidents that are related to fatigue.
Driver Alert is based on a computerized wristband. The device, worn by drivers or pilots, gives out a sound about every four minutes during a car journey. After each sound the driver must respond by squeezing the steering wheel (方向盘). A sensor in the wristband detects this pressing action and measures the time between the sound the driver’s response.
Tiredness is directly related to a driver’s response time. Usually, a watchful driver would take about 400 milliseconds to respond, but once that falls to more than 500 milliseconds, it suggests that the driver is getting sleepy.
In such cases the device gives out more regular and louder sounds, showing that the driver should open a window or stop for a rest. If the driver’s response continues to slow down, the sounds become more frequent until a nonstop alarm warns that the driver must stop as soon as possible.
The device has been delivered to the department’s laboratories for testing. If these tests, scheduled for six months’ time, are successful, the makers will bring the product to market within about a year.According to the text, Driver Alert ______.
A.aims to reduce tiredness-related accidents |
B.has gone through testing at laboratories |
C.aims to prevent drivers form sleeping |
D.has been on sale for 12 months |
How should a driver respond to the sounds from Driver Alert?
A.By sounding a warning. | B.By touching the wristband. |
C.By checking the driving time. | D.By pressing the steering wheel. |
We can learn form the text that the driver needs to stop for a break when his response time is ______.
A.about 400 milliseconds | B.below 500 milliseconds |
C.over 500 milliseconds | D.about 4 minutes |
When the driver gets sleepy while driving, Driver Alert ______.
A.moves more regularly | B.stops working properly |
C.opens the window for the driver | D.sounds more frequently and loudly |