This is a true story of how my car got stuck in water and how a stranger helped me during the worst rain storm.
Last Sunday, the sky was grey when I woke up. The weather report said rain was coming, but I couldn’t stay home just because of rain.
Around 8:00 am I had a doctor’s appointment. It wasn’t raining then. At 9:00 I left the doctor’s office to drive to work, and it was raining hard. I just had to go about 5-6 miles down one main road to get to a nearby school, where I could stay until the rain ended. Unfortunately, the road in front of the school was flooded, and my car stopped in the middle.
“Who is going to save me?” I wondered. I shut off the engine and turned on my flashers (车灯). I called 911. They were not helpful. I called my husband, even though he couldn’t come and help me. I was also very close to a police station. But I never saw even one police car. I decided to get out of the car, since it was still pouring.
My best decision of the day had been to wear rain boots. I took my umbrella and quickly got out and ran across the street to a shelter.
Before long, a tow truck(拖车) happened to pass by the street. The driver kindly offered to help me. At that moment, I really needed car pulled out quickly, so I trusted the stranger. He pulled my car and drove me home. After he had dropped my car off, he also helped me check the engine. He said the engine was most likely flooded, but fortunately there was no water inside the car.
Although many years have passed, I still remember that stormy day and the warm-hearted stranger clearly.How was the weather when the author got up?
| A．Rainy. | B．Cloudy. | C．Windy. | D．Sunny. |
Which of the following is the correct order about the things that the author did?
① Drove to work. ② Drove to the doctor’s office.
③ Ran to a shelter. ④ Called 911 for help.
| A．②①④③ | B．②③①④ | C．①②④③ | D．①③②④ |
What did the author do after her car had got stuck in the water?
| A．She turned off her flashers. |
| B．She tried to restart the engine. |
| C．She went to the police station nearby. |
| D．She got out of her car. |
How did the stranger help the author?
| A．He lent his car to her. |
| B．He pulled her car out of the water. |
| C．He drove her to school. |
| D．He helped her fix her engine. |
The average American child spends three to five hours a day watching TV. In 1961, the average child began to watch television at age three; however, today it is nine months. Yet, most parents think that television has a bad influence on their children. For example, in the early 1970s, my parents believed that my bad eyesight was the result of sitting too close to the screen, and they therefore made my stay at least six feet from it. Today, most people have no such worry, but many new ridiculous (荒谬的) sayings have appeared:
*TV makes kids stupid. Many children watch more educational programs when they are pre-schoolers. When they grow up, they can read more books and have much better ideas to solve difficult problems than other children.
*TV makes kids violent. The real story is not so simple. Hundreds of studies show that watching violence on TV makes children more aggressive (好斗的). But a study of over 5,000 children also finds that some positive programs make children kinder. The problem is that kids are increasingly watching shows with violence instead of those suitable for their age.
*Sitting around watching TV makes kids overweight. An experiment finds that when children watch less television, they do lose extra weight; however, reducing their television time does not make them more active. The real problem lies in snacking (吃零食), a widespread habit for kids, and junk-food advertisements.
*TV helps kids get to sleep. The opposite is true. The more television children watch, the more likely they are to have irregular sleep and nap(小睡) patterns. Allowing kids to watch television is part of the problem, not the solution.Which one is the advantage of educational TV programs?
| A．They will make children solve difficult problems better than others. |
| B．They will improve children’s ability to get along with others. |
| C．They are likely to make children more aggressive. |
| D．They will make sure of children’s success in the future. |
Why are children spending much time watching TV likely to be fat?
| A．Watching TV makes children lazy and inactive. |
| B．Children are attracted by the food advertisement on TV. |
| C．Watching TV doesn’t burn up as much fat as doing sports. |
| D．Children like to snack while watching TV. |
What influence does watching TV have on a child’s sleep?
| A．Children are likely to sleep deeper after watching TV. |
| B．Children’s sleep time will be greatly reduced. |
| C．It will make children form a bad habit of sleeping. |
| D．It will make children sleep easier. |
What is the purpose of this text?
| A．To increase people’s knowledge of watching TV. |
| B．To warn parents of the disadvantages of watching TV. |
| C．To explain the bad influences that watching TV has on children. |
| D．To correct parents’ wrong ideas of television’s effect on children. |
Most people know the feeling when you walk into a lift(电梯) with other people. A study has found that where people stand is based on their social position on entering the lift.
Rebekah Rousi, a Ph.D. student, did a study of lift behavior in two of the tallest office buildings in Adelaide, Australia. As part of her research, she took a total of 30 lift rides in the two buildings, and discovered there was a fixed order about where people chose to stand.
In her research paper, she wrote that more senior men seemed to walk straight towards the back of the lift. She said , “in front of them were younger men, and in front of them were women of all ages.” She also noticed there was a difference in the direction where people look during the ride. “Men watched the monitors, looked in the side mirrors (in one building) to see themselves, and in the door mirrors (in the other building) to watch others. Women would watch the monitors and avoid looking into others’ eyes (unless in conversations) and the mirrors.”
Rebekah Rousi concluded that shyer people stand toward the front, where they can’t see other passengers, while fearless people stand in the back, where they have a good view of everyone else.According to the study, where people stand in a lift is decided by __________.
| A．their social position |
| B．the monitors |
| C．other passengers |
| D．others’ position |
Who are most likely to go to the back of the lift?
| A．Shyer people. | B．Senior men. |
| C．Younger men. | D．Women. |
Which is true according to the passage?
| A．The order in which people stand in a lift is fixed. |
| B．Few people feel embarrassed with strangers in a lift. |
| C．Women like watching themselves in the side mirrors. |
| D．Fearless people stand in the back to avoid seeing others. |
The passage is probably taken from __________.
| A．a lift instruction | B．a story book |
| C．a travel guide | D．a newspaper |
Most people know that Marie Curie was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize, and the first person to win it twice. However, few people know that she was also the mother of a Nobel Prize winner.
Born in September, 1897, Irene Curie was the first of the Curies’ two daughters. She studied in her mother’s school, and finished her high school education at the College of Sevigne in Paris.
Irene entered the University of Paris in 1914 to prepare for a degree in mathematics and physics. When World War I began, Irene developed X-ray equipment in military(军事) hospitals in France and Belgium to help save the lives of wounded soldiers. Her services were recognized in the form of a Military Medal by the French government.
In 1918, Irene became her mother’s assistant at the Curie Institute. In December 1924, Frederic Joliot joined the Institute, and Irene taught him the techniques required for his work. They soon fell in love and got married in 1926. Their daughter Helene was born in 1927 and their son Pierre five years later.
Like her mother, Irene combined family and work. Like her mother, Irene was awarded a Nobel Prize, along with her husband, in 1935. Unfortunately, also like her mother, she developed leukemia because of her work with radioactivity（辐射能）. Irene Joliot-Curie died from leukemia on March 17, 1956.Irene Curie was awarded a Military Medal because she _____________.
| A．won the Nobel Prize with Frederic |
| B．received a degree in mathematics |
| C．contributed to saving the wounded |
| D．worked as a helper to her mother |
Where did Irene Curie meet her husband Frederic Joliot?
| A．At the College of Sevigne. |
| B．At the Curie Institute. |
| C．At the University of Paris. |
| D．At a military hospital. |
The underlined word “leukemia” probably refers to a __________.
| A．habit | B．research |
| C．machine | D．disease |
Would you like to be a king or queen? To have people waiting on you hand and foot? Many Americans experience this royal treatment every day. How? By being customers. The American idea of customer service is to make each customer the center of attention. Need proof? Just listen to the commercials. Most of them sound like the McDonald’s ad: “We do it all for you.” Actually, not all stores in America roll out the red carpet for their customers. But wherever you go, good customer service means making customers feel special.
People going shopping in America can expect to be treated with respect from the very beginning. Most places don’t have a “furniture street” or a “computer road” which allow you to compare prices easily. Instead, people often “let their fingers do the walking” through the store hot lines. From the first “hello”, customers receive a satisfying response to their questions. This initial contact can help them decide where to shop.
When customers get to the store, they are treated as honored guests. Customers don’t usually find store clerks sitting around watching TV or playing cards. Instead, the clerks greet them warmly and offer to help them find what they want. In most stores, the clear signs that label each department make shopping a breeze. Customers usually don’t have to ask how much items cost, since prices are clearly marked. And unless they’re at a flea market or a yard sale, they don’t bother trying to bargain.
When customers are ready to check out, they find the nearest and shortest checkout lane. But as Murphy’s Law would have it, whichever lane they get in, all the other lanes will move faster. Good stores open new checkout lanes when the lanes get too long. Some even offer express lanes for customers with 10 items or less. After they pay for their purchases, customers receive a smile and a warm “thank you” from the clerk. Many stores even allow customers to take their shopping carts out to the parking lot. That way, they don’t have to carry heavy bags out to the car.By quoting (引用) the McDonald’s ad: “We do it all for you”, the author intends to_______.
| A．suggest that customers believe what mercials say deeply |
| B．show readers the American idea on good customer service |
| C．express all the stores pay much attention to the customers |
| D．persuade readers to choose the stores with ads correctly |
In the USA, what may you do at first if you want to do some shopping?
| A．To visit a professional street with lots of similar stores. |
| B．To pare prices in many shops in the same street. |
| C．To make phone calls and get better shopping choices. |
| D．To receive other customers’ answers to the questions. |
Which of the followings shows American stores offer convenience to customers in this passage?
| A．The store clerks don’t usually sit around watching TV or playing cards. |
| B．Some stores offer price bargain to the customers like a yard sale. |
| C．The clerks give customers a smile and a warm “thank you” after paying. |
| D．Some stores open new checkout lanes when the lanes are crowded. |
Which of the following can be the best title of this passage?
| A．Customer Service in America |
| B．Excellent Stores in America |
| C．Shopping Rules in America |
| D．Being King or Queen in America |
Henry was a pen name used by an American writer of short stories. His real name was William Sydney Porter. He was born in North Carolina in 1862. As a young boy he lived an exciting life. He did not go to school for very long, but he managed to teach himself everything he needed to know. When he was about 20 years old, O. Henry went to Texas, where he tried different jobs. He first worked on a newspaper, and then had a job in a bank, when some money went missing from the bank O. Henry was believed to have stolen it. Because of that, he was sent to prison. During the three years in prison, he learned to write short stories. After he got out of prison, he went to New York and continued writing. He wrote mostly about New York and the life of the poor there. People liked his stories, because simple as the tales were, they would finish with a sudden change at the end, to the reader’s surprise.In which order did O. Henry do the following things?
a. Lived in New York.b. Worked in a bank.
c. Travelled to Texas. d. Was put in prison.
e. Had a newspaper job. f. Learned to write stories.
| A．e. c. f. b. d. a | B．c. e. b. d. f. A |
| C．e. b. d. c. a. f. | D．c. b. e. d. a f. |
O. Henry went to prison because.
| A．people thought he had stolen money from the newspaper |
| B．he broke the law by not using his own name |
| C．he wanted to write stories about prisoners |
| D．people thought he had taken money that was not his |
What do we know about O. Henry before he began writing?
| A．He was well-educated. |
| B．He was not serious about his work. |
| C．He was devoted to the poor. |
| D．He was very good at learning. |
Where did O. Henry get most material for his short stories?
| A．His life inside the prison. |
| B．The newspaper articles he wrote. |
| C．The city and people of New York. |
| D．His exciting early life as a boy. |