I lost my sight when I was four by falling off a box car in a freight（货物）yard in Atlantic City. Now I am thirty two. I can slightly remember what color red is. It would be wonderful to see again, but a disaster can do strange things to people. I might not have come to love life as I do if I hadn’t been blind. I don’t mean that I would prefer to go without my eyes. I simply mean that the loss of them made me appreciate the more what I had left.
Life, I believe, asks constant adjustments to reality. The adjustment is never easy. I was totally confused and afraid. But I was lucky. My parents and my teachers saw something in me—a potential to live, and they made me want to fight it out with blindness.
The hardest lesson I had to learn was to believe in myself. If I hadn’t been able to do that, I would have become a chair rocker on the front porch for the rest of my life. When I say belief in myself, I mean: an assurance that I am, despite imperfections, a real, positive person; that somewhere in the intricate（错综复杂的） pattern of people there is a special place where I can make myself fit.
It took me years to discover and strengthen this assurance. Once a man gave me an indoor baseball. I thought he was making fun of me and I was hurt. “I can’t use this.” I said. “Take it with you,” he urged me, “and roll it around.” The words stuck in my head. “Roll it around!” By rolling the ball I could hear where it went. This gave me an idea how to achieve a goal I had thought impossible: playing baseball. At Philadelphia’s Overbrook School for the Blind I invented a new kind of baseball. We called it ground ball.
All my life I have set a series of goals and then tried to reach them, one at a time. I had to learn my limitations. It was no good trying for something that I knew at the start was out of reach. I would fail sometimes anyway but on the average I made progress.We can learn from the beginning of the passage that _______
| A．the author lost his sight because of a car crash. |
| B．the author wouldn’t love life if the disaster didn’t happen. |
| C．the disaster made the author appreciate what he had. |
| D．the disaster strengthened the author’s desire to see. |
What’s the most difficult thing for the author?
| A．How to adjust himself to reality. |
| B．Building up assurance that he can find his place in life. |
| C．Learning to manage his life alone. |
| D．How to invent a new kind of baseball. |
According to the context, “a chair rocker on the front porch” in paragraph 3 means that the author _________.
| A．would sit in a rocking chair and enjoy his life. |
| B．would be unable to move and stay in a rocking chair. |
| C．would lose his will to struggle against difficulties. |
| D．would sit in a chair and stay at home. |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．A Miserable Life | B．Struggle Against Difficulties |
| C．A Disaster Makes a Strong Person | D．An Unforgettable Experience |
The baby is just one day old and has not yet left hospital. She is quiet but alert (警觉). Twenty centimeters from her face researchers have placed a white card with two black spots on it. She stares at it carefully. A researcher removes the card and replaces it by another, this time with the spots differently spaced. As the cards change from one to the other, her gaze(凝视) starts to lose its focus - until a third, with three black spots, is presented. Her gaze returns; she looks at it for twice as long as she did at the previous card. Can she tell that the number two is different from three, just 24 hours after coming into the world?
Or do newborns simply prefer more to fewer? The same experiment, but with three spots shown before two, shows the same return of interest when the number of spots changes. Perhaps it is just the newness? When slightly older babies were shown cards with pictures of objects(a comb, a key, an orange and so on), changing the number of objects had an effect separate from changing the objects themselves. Could it be the pattern that two things make, as opposed to three? No again. Babies paid more attention to squares moving randomly on a screen when their number changed from two to three, or three to two. The effect even crosses between senses. Babies who were repeatedly shown two spots became more excited when they then heard three drumbeats than when they heard just two; likewise(同样地) when the researchers started with drumbeats and moved to spots.The experiment described in Paragraph 1 is related to the baby’s ______.
| A．sense of hearing. |
| B．sense of sight. |
| C．sense of touch. |
| D．sense of smell. |
Babies are sensitive to the change in ______.
| A．the size of cards. |
| B．the colour of pictures. |
| C．the shape of patterns. |
| D．the number of objects. |
Why did the researchers test the babies with drumbeats?
| A．To reduce the difficulty of the experiment. |
| B．To see how babies recognize sounds. |
| C．To carry their experiment further. |
| D．To keep the babies’ interest. |
Where does this text probably come from?
| A．Science fiction. |
| B．Children’s literature. |
| C．An advertisement. |
| D．A science report. |
Some people will do just about anything to save money. And I am one of them. Take my family's last vacation. It was my six-year-old son's winter break form school, and we were heading home from Fort Lauderdale after a weeklong trip. The flight was overbooked, and Delta, the airline, offered us $400 per person in credits to give up our seats and leave the next day. I had meeting in New York，So I had to get back . But that didn't mean my husband and my son couldn't stay. I took my nine-month-old and took off for home.
The next day my husband and son were offered more credits to take an even later flight. Yes, I encouraged一okay, ordered-them to wait it out at the airport, to "earn" more Delta Dollars. Our total take: $1,600. Not bad, huh?
Now some people may think I'm a bad mother and not such a great wife either. But as a big-time bargain hunter, I know the value of a dollar. And these days, a good deal is something few of us can afford to pass up.
I've made living looking for the best deals and exposing (揭露) the worst tricks . I have been the consumer reporter of NBC's Today show for over a decade. I have written a couple of books including one titled Tricks of the Trade: A Consumer Survival Guide. And I really do what I believe in. I tell you this because there is no shame in getting your money's worth. I'm also tightfisted when it comes to shoes, clothes for my children, and expensive restaurants. But I wouldn't hesitate to spend on a good haircut. It keeps its longer, and it's the first thing people notice. And I will also spend on a classic piece of furniture. Quality lasts.
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Why did Delta give the author's family credits?（）
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What can we learn about the author?（）
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What does the author do?（）
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What does the author want to tell us?（）
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When I was a baby, I entertained you and made you laugh．Whenever I was “bad”, you'd shake your finger at me and ask, “How could you?”--but then you'd give up, and roll me over for a belly scratch and I believed that life could not be any more perfect．
My housetraining was a long process, because you were terribly busy, but we worked on that together. We went for long walks, runs in the park and car rides. We stopped for ice cream. I took long naps in the sun waiting for you to come home at the end of the day.
Gradually, you began spending more time at work and on your career, and more time searching for a human mate．Eventually, you fell in love．She, now your wife, is not a dog person, but I still welcomed her into our home．I was happy because you were happy．Then the human babies came along and I shared your excitement, I was fascinated by their pinkness, how they smelled, and I wanted to mother them too．
Your wife was afraid I would bite them．But nevertheless, as they began to grow, I became their friend．Now, you have a new job in another city and you and they will be moving to an apartment that does not allow pets．You've made the right decision for your “family”, but there was a time when I was your only family．
I was excited about the car ride until we arrived at the dog pound．It smelled of dogs and cats, of fear, of hopelessness．You filled out the paperwork and said, “I know you will find a good home for her”．They shrugged and gave you a pained look．The children were in tears as they waved me goodbye．And “How could you?” were the only three words that swept over my mind．
Is it better to live with hope or without hope? At first, whenever anyone passed my pen （围栏）, I rushed to the front, hoping it was you, that you had changed your mind and that this was all a bad dream．
My beloved master, I will think of you and wait for you forever．I hope you receive more faithfulness from your family than you showed to me．Who tells this story?
| A．A dog． | B．A child． | C．A dog's owner． | D．A dog trainer. |
Why did the dog's owner take his dog to the pound?
| A．He had a newborn baby． | B．His wife did not like the dog． |
| C．He was moving into a new building． | D．He thought the dog too troublesome． |
Which is true about the dog when it lived at the pound?
| A．It hoped to be adopted by another family | B．It continued to love its former owner． |
| C．It did not trust humans any more． | D．It was excited about the pound． |
What is the theme of the story?
| A．Be ready for changes． | B．Never expect too much． |
| C．Never complain about your life． | D．Be faithful to those who love you |
Spring is here and so is the cycling season. Here are some tips on how to do it safely and comfortably.
Watch your feet—Pushing with the wrong part of the foot can raise your risk of developing a painful injury of the heel and arch（脚心）, says Rob Werstine, a sports physiotherapist（理疗师）and board member of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association. You should push with the ball of your foot, he says.
Layer up—While it’s still cool, wear layers of clothing, with clothing close to the body that breathes and outer layers that do not absorb water. Go for bright colors that increase your visibility（可见度）.
Be reasonable—If you are just starting out and aren’t in good shape, don’t sign up for a 50-kilometre ride. And while cycling is great exercise for people who want to get into shape, if your doctor advises you not to do tiring exercise, cycling shouldn't be your starting position, Werstine says. Walk to begin getting into shape and then graduate to cycling.
Fix the fit—If you develop lower back pain or numbness in your hands and fingers from cycling, it could be your bike isn’t adjusted properly for your height. A good cycle shop can help you find the right height for the seat and handlebars, but if you have continuing problems, consider consulting a bike fit physiotherapist, Werstine says.
Be mindful—You have to pay attention on the roads to vehicles, other cyclists and pedestrians（行人）.Consider taking a cycling safety course to practise your skills. Or do some reading about how to avoid dangerous cycling situations. bicyclesafe.com, for instance, lists 10 types of car-bike accidents and how to avoid them.Which part of the foot should one use when cycling?
| A．The heel. | B．The arch. | C．The ball. | D．The toes. |
From Paragraph 4 we can conclude______.
| A．not everyone can exercise by cycling | B．walking is better than cycling |
| C．cycling is popular with people | D．cycling is helpful to everyone |
According to the last paragraph, if you want to avoid danger when cycling, you should ______.
a. consider taking a cycling safety course
b. search for information on bicyclesafe.com
c. consider consulting a bike fit physiotherapist
d. adjust the bike properly for your height
| A．a. c | B．c. d | C．a. b | D．b. d |
In many African countries, the care of orphans has been mainly led by foreign donor organizations. However, Sister Florence has changed all that. Using her own resources, Sister Florence is leading the work of raising orphans from different backgrounds. Sister Florence Wanjala’s biggest motivation to start the orphan program was when she saw a little boy whose parents had died. The boy was living with a cruel grandparent and he would visit the grave of his mother, crying for support. Sister Wanjala wanted to give a helping hand and give him hope. From that time, she started feeling the call to help a larger number of orphans.
She opened an office with a few friends and coordinated (协调）a program to help the orphans. All the registrations were done in the office and the program so far has 8000 children. Sister Wanjala said, “My dream is to help the orphan to live a holistic (完整)life and be a good Kenyan citizen to help this country. Many people think that the way to support orphans is to put them in an institution（孤儿院）. Others support them up to the age of eighteen, but here, we do it very differently.” For Sister Wanjala, putting a child in an institution is normally her last choice. She prefers the orphans to live in a foster(寄宿的) home.
She said, “I’m so encouraged and happy to see the orphans succeeding. When they come first or second in class, it shows how the program has helped them, and that’s encouraging to me as I continue to coordinate the program.”Through her charity work, more than 1000 orphans have been able to find a home. Sister Wanjala, as a mother, takes care of her own family.What inspired Sister Wanjala to start the orphan program?
| A．Her preference for kids. | B．Her own similar experience. |
| C． A sad story about an orphan. | D．Her successful charity work. |
Sister Wanjala opened an office mainly to ______.
A. set up as many institutions as possible for orphans
B start a program to offer orphans a foster family
C. provide school education for those orphans
D. raise more money for the homeless kidsWhat does the underlined sentence probably mean?
| A． She didn’t want orphans to live in an institution. |
| B． She preferred to put orphans into an institution. |
| C． She had no choice but to put orphans in institutions. |
| D． She sent orphans into an institution in the end. |
What can we learn from the text?
| A． Sister Wanjala finally adopted the little boy. |
| B． Sister Wanjala found foster homes for 8000 orphans. |
| C． Sister Wanjala was too busy to care for her own family. |
| D． Sister Wanjala was not alone in helping orphans. |