How many people have I met who have told me about the book they have been planning to write but have never yet found the time? Far too many.
This is Life, all right, but we do treat it like a rehearsal (排演）and, unhappily, we do miss so many of its best moments.
We take jobs to stay alive and provide homes for our families always making ourselves believe that this style of life is merely a temporary state of affairs along the road to what we really want to do. Then, at 60 or 65, we are suddenly presented with a clock and several grandchildren and we look back and realize that all those years waiting for Real Life to come along were in fact real life.
In America they have a saying much laughed at by the English：“Have a nice day” they speak slowly and seriously in their shops, hotels and sandwich bars. I think it is a wonderful phrase, reminding us, in effect, to enjoy the moment: to value this very day.
How often do we say to ourselves, "I'll take up horse-riding (or golf, or sailing） as soon as I get a higher position," only to do none of those things when I do get the higher position.
When I first became a reporter I knew a man who gave up a very well paid respectable job at the Daily Telegraph to go and edit a small weekly newspaper. At the time I was astonished by what appeared to me to be his completely abnormal (反常的） mental state. How could anyone turn his back on Fleet Street in central London for a small local area？I wanted to know.
Now I am a little older and possibly wiser, I see the sense in it. In Fleet Street the man was under continual pressure. He lived in an unattractive London suburb and he spent much of his life sitting on Southern Region trains.The first paragraph of the passage tells us that _______ .
| A．we always try to find some time to write a book |
| B．we always make plans but seldom fulfil them |
| C．we always enjoy many of life's best moments |
| D．we always do what we really want to do |
The underlined phrase "turn his back on" (paragraph 6） most probably means .
| A．leave for | B．return to | C．give up | D．rely on |
The man ( paragraph 6） left his first job partly because he was ______.
A. in an abnormal mental state B. under too much pressure
C. not well paid not respectedWhat is probably the best title for the passage?
| A．Provide Homes For Our Family | B．Take Up Horse-riding |
| C．Value This Very Day | D．Stay Alive |
It's common for parents to feel emotional when the moment comes for their child to leave home and go to university. Even parents who don't speak about the event are likely to feel a sense of sadness because it’s the end of an era where you and your family were at the centre of your child's world. As a parent you’ll probably continue to support your child in different ways, but the main job of raising your child is over. It's a huge change for everyone involved.
There are a few things that you can do to make the transition easier. Plan carefully for your child's departure and think about how you can help. Many parents take their child to university for the first time. If you decide to do that, be ready to feel a real wrench when the time comes to say goodbye. Your child will probably be as nervous as you are about the moment when you finally say goodbye – but that might not show!
Be positive and cheerful about the choice your child has made to continue studying, and plan to leave once you've unpacked the car and looked around your child's new living accommodations. If you can, save your tears for the car – you'll make things easier on your child and yourself.
The more you've invested in being a parent, the more you'll feel a sense of loss, so the sadness you feel now is a sign that you've been a good mom or dad. Remind yourself that parenting is all about raising an independent and confident child who functions well without you. If your child quickly settles and starts enjoying himself, you should congratulate yourself.
It's also only fair to allow yourself some time to grieve(悲痛). Don't expect to pick yourself up and move on straight away. But you may decide to find a hobby or sport to fill your extra time. Perhaps you've always wanted to learn a new language, go to yoga classes or take up swimming. You may decide to spend more time with family and close friends, who are likely to be feeling the absence of your child as well.
Agree on the best approach to staying in touch before your child leaves, and stick to your agreement. Try not to panic if your child doesn't respond immediately – remember, they're starting a new and busy life.Why do parents feel sad when their child leaves home for college?
| A．Because the absence of their child makes them feel lonely. |
| B．Because their children will start a new life in college. |
| C．Because it means the end of love between parents and their child. |
| D．Because they are no longer the main focus of their children’s life. |
The underlined word “wrench” in Paragraph 2 means a feeling of ________.
| A．sorrow | B．regret | C．anger | D．love |
What does good parenting consist of?
| A．Supporting your child in different ways all the time. |
| B．Congratulating yourself when your child goes to college. |
| C．Preparing your child to stand on their own feet in the future. |
| D．Investing as much as possible in the growth of your child. |
What’s NOT advised as the way to recover from your child’s departure?
| A．Developing a new hobby or sport |
| B．Learning a new language. |
| C．Spending more time with close friends |
| D．Staying in touch with your child. |
What would be an appropriate title for the whole passage?
| A．Staying in Touch with Your Child |
| B．Preparing to Say Goodbye to Your Child |
| C．Dealing with Your Child Leaving Home for University |
| D．Life after Your Child Has Left Home for University |
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． |