Four years ago my sweet mom went to be with God. 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 simple, with no indoor pipes or heating. 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 rhythm 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 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 turned on an old radio. Music always comforted me.
My heart skipped a beat. "Moon River" was playing on the radio. I sat there shocked, with a tear running down my cheek, as I listened to every familiar note.
Then the radio announcer of this old 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 in the farm for the following reasons Except that ________.
| A．it was too cold and quiet |
| B．she could only sing one song in the small farm |
| C．there was nothing more that could make her excited |
| D．it had no indoor pipes or heating |
From the first paragraph, we know that the writer’s mother ________.
| A．passed away four years ago | B．left the small farm |
| C．left to live her own way | D．preferred to be with God |
The underlined word reminisced in the fifth paragraph probably means ________.
| A．remembered | B．comforted | C．shouted | D．sighed |
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
| 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 would be the best title for this passage?
| A．Cherish life | B．My happy childhood |
| C．Our small farmhouse | D．Mom’s music |
FREE $ 10 Gift Card with ANY Purchase at CVS
September 4, 2013 by Michelle
New Plink members are invited to join and make any purchase at CVS to get a $10 gift card from your choice at places like Amazon.com, Target, Walmart, Kohls, Starbucks and more!
Just sign up with Plink, then make your purchase. You’ll receive 1,000 points in your Plink account --- enough to redeem (兑换) for a $10 gift card!
※ New Plink members only, one sign-up bonus per person.
※Plink Member must link a credit or debit card and make a purchase at CVS by Sunday, 9/15 11:59 EST.
※ Purchase is necessary (after the member links a credit/ debit card to their Plink account) to qualify for the bonus 1,000 Plink Points by Sunday, 9/15 11:59 EST.
※Bonus 1,000 Plink Points will be awarded within 7 business days of the transaction posting date.
※ CVS purchases that occur on 9/16 or later will not qualify the bonus.
I happen to love Plink because they make it easy to earn without doing anything extra!What is the first step to get the gift card?
| A．Link a credit or debit card. | B．Make a purchase at CVS. |
| C．Open a bank account. | D．Sign up with Plink. |
CVS customers can get the gift card when their purchases happen on _________.
| A．9/14/2013 | B．9/16/2013 | C．9/17/2013 | D．9/18/2013 |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．Goods at CVS are always sold at discounted rates. |
| B．New Plink members have the chance to get two gift cards. |
| C．The bonus is enough to be exchanged for a $ 10 gift card. |
| D．The bonus can be sold for $ 10 whenever you like. |
The illegal ivory(象牙) trade has been a major problem in Africa for decades. Poachers have killed hundreds of thousands of elephants to obtain ivory. Now, affected areas are taking action. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) announced on Wednesday key African states where poaching takes place have promised to stop the ivory trade to protect elephants.
Over the past few days, top officials and experts from 30 states met at the African Elephant Summit. The conference, organized by the IUCN and the government of Botswana, was held in Gaborone, Botswana.
Conservation efforts will include China and Thailand, where much of the ivory is sent. “Now is the time for Africa and Asia to join forces to protect this universally valued species,” said Botswana President Ian Khama.
In the 1980s, as many as 1 million elephants across Africa were killed for their ivory. The ivory was used to make jewelry and other items. This continued until 1989, when the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) voted to ban all the trade in ivory. As a result, demand for ivory fell. Governments cracked down on poachers. Elephant populations slowly began to increase. However , this progress was short-lived.
According to the IUCN, 2011 saw the highest levels of poaching and illegal ivory trading in at least 16 years. Around 25,000 elephants were killed in Africa that year. Data from the IUCN show even higher levels of illegal trade may have been reached in 2013. “With an estimated 22,000 elephants illegally killed in 2012, we continue to face a critical situation,” said John E. Scanlon, CITES Secretary-General. “Current elephant poaching in Africa remains far too high, and could soon lead to local extinction if the present killing rate continues.
At the African Elephant Summit , key African states where elephants make their home agreed to develop a “zerotolerance approach” to poaching. The deal calls for maximum sentences for poachers and hunters, and increased cooperation between affected states. Officials are committed to classifying wildlife trafficking (交易) as a serious crime --- and to making sure that the people who commit it are punished. All participants at the conference agreed to sign the deal. With these states working together, there may yet be hope for elephants.The purpose of holding the African Elephant Summit is to _________.
| A．make new laws to punish poachers. |
| B．prevent elephants from being poached. |
| C．collect money for elephants’ protection |
| D．call for African countries to save elephants. |
Why are China and Thailand mentioned in the text?
| A．The ivory is illegally sold in these two countries. |
| B．Elephants need protecting in these two countries. |
| C．They know how to protect wildlife like elephants. |
| D．They prefer jewelry and other items made of ivory. |
What can we learn from Paragraph 5 ?
| A．The governments do nothing to protect animals. |
| B．Elephant poaching in Africa is out of control. |
| C．A large number of elephants have been killed. |
| D．Illegal ivory trading is to blame for the elephants’ extinction. |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．Wild Animals Are at Risk | B．New Hope for Elephants |
| C．Elephants Need Our Help | D．Wildlife Protection in Africa |
Londoners are great readers. They buy vast numbers of newspapers and magazines and of books --- especially paperbacks, which are still comparatively cheap in spite of ever-increasing rises in the costs of printing. They still continue to buy “proper” books, too, printed on good paper and bound (装订) between hard covers.
There are many streets in London containing shops which specialize in book-selling. Perhaps the best known of these is Charring Cross Road in the very heart of London. Here bookshops of all sorts and sizes are to be found, from the celebrated one which boasts of being “the biggest bookshop in the world” to the tiny, dusty little places which seem to have been left over from Dickens’ time. Some of these shops stock, or will obtain, any kind of book, but many of them specialize in second-hand books, in art books, in foreign books, in books on philosophy, politics or any other of the countless subjects about which books may be written. One shop in this area specializes only in books about ballet!
Although it may be the most convenient place for Londoners to buy books, Charring Cross Road is not the cheapest. For the really cheap second-hand books, the collector must venture off the beaten track, to Farringdon Road, for example, in the East Central district of London. Here there is nothing so impressive as bookshops. The booksellers come along each morning and pour out their sacks of books onto small hand carts. And the collectors, some professionals and some amateurs, have been waiting for them. In places like this they can still, occasionally, pick up for a few pence an old one that may be worth many pounds.”Londoners are great readers” means that ___________.
| A．Londoners are great because they read a lot. |
| B．There are a great number of readers in London. |
| C．Londoners read a lot. |
| D．Londoners are readers who read only great books. |
According to this passage, Charring Cross Road __________.
| A．is in the suburbs of London | B．is the busiest street in London |
| C．contains various kinds of shops | D．is famous for its bookshops |
In this passage, what does the underlined part “venture off the beaten track” mean?
| A．move away from a busy street |
| B．buy books in a most busy street |
| C．waste time looking for books |
| D．take a risk of losing one’s life |
On Farringdon Road, _______________.
| A．you can find fine bookshops for the latest books |
| B．there are only small bookshops for the second-hand books |
| C．you can see book sellers selling books on hand-carts |
| D．the same books as the ones in the bookshops of Charring Cross Road are sold |
Just two years before her 100th birthday, Sensei Keiko Fukuda has become the first woman to achieve a tenth-degree black belt --- the highest rank in the martial art and combat sport judo(柔道). Fukuda is now one of only four living people who’ve earned the tenth-degree (or dan) black belt. Throughout history, only sixteen people have ever achieved this honor.
Fukuda began practicing judo in 1935 and is the only surviving student of its founder, Kano Jiguro. Urged by her teacher, she learned English to help spread judo internationally.
During a time when getting married, building a family, and becoming a housewife was the standard, Fukuda went against tradition, opting out of marriage to pursue the martial art.
“All I did was judo ... this was my marriage,” Fukuda reflected tearfully to the San Francisco Chronicle. “This is when my life destiny was set. I just never imagined how long this road would be.”
She described the Jiguro’s school, known as the Kodokan, as “old-fashioned and sexist(性别歧视的) about belts and ranks”. In fact, an order that prevented women from achieving any higher than a fifth-degree black belt kept Fukuda at that level for thirty years. She was finally promoted to sixth dan in 1972 when a woman’s division was created.
Fukuda said she approached judo and her life with the intention to “be gentle, kind and beautiful, yet firm and strong, both mentally and physically”. Fukuda said this kind of beauty is decidedly not external (外部的). “ A kind soul is inner beauty,” she explained to the paper. “I believe this is true beauty … All my life this has been my dream.”
Dream realized, the 98-year-old Sensei Keiko Fukuda continues to teach judo three times a week at a woman’s judo.It can be learned from the passage that ____________.
| A．Fukuda achieved the tenth-degree black belt at 97. |
| B．four people earned the tenth-degree black belt in history. |
| C．nearly all of Kano Jiguro’s students were dead. |
| D．the Kodokan was founded in 1935. |
The underlined part “opting out of” in the 3rd paragraph is closest in meaning to _________.
| A．choosing or welcoming | B．longing for or desiring |
| C．keeping out of or avoiding | D．missing or having no chance of |
Why did Fukuda remain at fifth-degree black belt for so long a time?
| A．It was hard for her to improve her level. |
| B．She suffered from a foolish rule. |
| C．Her family life took up too much of her time. |
| D．She didn’t want to improve her level. |
Which of the following is the main idea of the passage?
| A．The only surviving student of Kano Jiguro remains single. |
| B．The tenth-degree black belt is the highest rank in judo. |
| C．Sensei Keiko Fukuda spreads judo throughout the world. |
| D．98-year-old woman becomes the first woman ever to earn judo’s highest-degree black belt. |
Throughout the world, boys and girls prefer to play with different types of toys. Boys typically like to play with cars and trucks, while girls typically choose to play with dolls. Why is this? A traditional sociological explanation is that boys and girls are socialized and encouraged to play with different types of toys by their parents, peers, and the “society”. Growing scientific evidence suggests, however, that boys’ and girls’ toy preferences may have a biological origin.
In 2002, Gerianne M. Alexander of Texas A&M University and Melissa Hines of City University in London surprised the scientific world by showing that monkeys showed the same sex-typical toy preferences as humans. In the study, Alexander and Hines gave two masculine toys (a ball and a police car), two feminine toys (a soft doll and a cooking pot), and two neutral toys (a picture book and a stuffed dog) to 44 male and 44 female monkeys. They then assessed the monkeys’ preference for each toy by measuring how much time they spent with each. Their data showed that male monkeys showed significantly greater interest in the masculine toys, and the female monkeys showed significantly greater interest in the feminine toys. The two sexes did not differ in their preference for the neutral toys.
If children’ s toy preferences were largely formed by gender socialization, as traditional sociologists’ claim, in which their parents give “gender appropriate” toys to boys and girls, how can these male and female monkeys have the same preferences as boys and girls？They were never socialized by humans, and they had never seen these toys before in their lives.Traditional sociologists believe boys’ and girls’ toy preferences ________.
| A．are passed down from their parents |
| B．are largely formed in later life |
| C．have nothing to do with gender socialization |
| D．have a biological origin |
The study by Alexander and Hines shows that monkeys________.
| A．also have a sex typical toy preference |
| B．also play toys as humans do |
| C．have no toy preferences |
| D．like to play different toys at different time |
Alexander and Hines carried out the study to ________.
| A．find more evidence for traditional sociology |
| B．test the intelligence of monkeys |
| C．test whether monkeys like to play toys |
| D．find out why boys and girls prefer different toys |
According to the study, if given a stuffed dog, ________.
| A．only the male monkeys showed interest |
| B．the female monkeys showed more interest |
| C．the male and female monkeys showed the same interest |
| D．neither the male nor the female monkeys showed any interest |