In this day and age when we have a tendency to toss toys that are even slightly worn, it is tough to believe that there is a “hospital” where dolls can be repaired and brought back to their original glory. What is even more amazing is that such a place has existed for a century and is still going strong. Welcome to Sydney’s “original Doll Hospital” that celebrated its l00th birthday, on February 22nd, 2013.
In 1913, a general store owner in Sydney began importing dolls. However, the rubber bands(橡皮圈) that held them together would often break. Luckily for him, his brother Harold Chapman Sr., was a good handyman and set aside a little “hospital” area in the store to repair the delicate toys. But when customers found out about this, they began bringing in their raggedy dolls, stuffed animals and even leather goods and umbrellas—starting what would become a family business for many generations.
In l930, Chapman’s son also, named Harold, relocated the doll hospital and expanded the business even further, by agreeing to repair anything that could be fixed, no matter how big or small. While business was robust, the real boom came in 1938 during World War Two. Faced with extreme restrictions, new dolls and toys became a rarity, and young girls and boys had no option, but to get their existing ones lovingly restored.
While it does not have as many employees today, the hospital that is run by his son Geoff Chapman now sits in a spiffy location with a beautiful store-front that features everything a little girl could possibly wish for, from new to lovingly restored, to even extremely rare and valuable dolls. Also in keeping with modern times and dolls, the doctors are now specialists—some focus on bringing back to life modern dolls, while others stick to antiques. And then there are also the soft toy experts and accessory repair experts.
Though it may not appear to be, the doctors say their jobs are very interesting given that no two dolls are the same or need the same repairs and that just like medical doctors they have no idea what obstacle they will have to face when they come to work each day. The one advantage? There are no emergency night calls to worry about!We can learn from Paragraph 2 that __________.
| A．people showed little interest in having their toys repaired at first |
| B．most of the toys that had broken were thrown away by Harold |
| C．stores in Sydney didn’t produce toys for kids at the beginning of 1900s |
| D．the toy repairing business came into being rather accidently |
The underlined word “robust” in Paragraph 3 shows the family’s business __________.
| A．was struggling hard |
B．was greatly stricken |
| C．was developing very well |
D．was enjoying its best time |
What can we learn about people working in the toy repairing hospital?
| A．They work in that hospital mainly because they love toys. |
| B．Most of them focus on repairing modern dolls for little kids. |
| C．They are not capable of repairing toys that are extremely rare. |
| D．There are different experts who specialize in different types of toys. |
Which of the following words can describe the doctors’ work according to the last paragraph?
| A．Simple. |
B．Boring. |
C．Worthless. |
D．Challenging. |
To get to the tennis court, Conner Stroud has to push his wheelchair there.
The 15-yea-old from North Carolina, US was born without legs. But when he picks up his racquet(球拍) and begins to hit a ball, you quickly see that the young man just want to win.
Stroud began playing tennis at age 5 at the small tennis club his parents own. For years, he played against able-bodied players by putting rubber on the stumps (残余部分) of his legs. Though he was a foot (30.48cm) or two shorter than many of the players he played against, he won a number of matches. He became well-known enough that he got to meet Rafael Nadal, his favorite player at the US Open in 2013.
“The most important thing is that he’s happy,” Nadal told reports about Stroud after that 15-minute meeting. “He’s playing tennis... That’s a great example of being happy even if life doesn’t give you everything.”
Stroud started playing wheelchair tennis at 13 and now he is No 1 in the US.
Earlier this summer, he played for the US in the world’s biggest junior wheelchair team tennis event --- the World Team Cup. He played six matches and won five of them as the US won the cup for the first time since 2000.
“He is a polite boy , but he will rip（撕扯）your heart out trying to beat you,” Jason Harnett, a United States Tennis Association coach, said of Stroud. “You see that attitude in a lot of the best players, whether they are able-bodied or disabled.
Teenage players can often get disappointed and angry. Racquets sometimes get thrown. Players shout at themselves after missed shots. Stroud never does that.
“ I just try to stay positive,” Stroud said. “After every point, I try to say I’m going to win the next point, or the next game, or the next game, or the whole match.
“ There’s always room to be positive . You can always win another time.”How is Conner Stroud different from other tennis players?
| A．He was disabled in a car accident. |
| B．He has been coached by his father since the age of 5. |
| C．He is too short to be a tennis player |
| D．He was born disabled , yet he plays tennis well. |
What impressed Rafael Nadal the most about Conner Stroud?
| A．His desire to win the match. |
| B．His happiness about playing tennis. |
| C．His faith in life, even though he is disabled. |
| D．The training he went through to play tennis. |
Which of the following words best described Conner Stroud?
| A．Positive | B．Independent |
| C．Humorous | D．Considerate |
With the development of science and technology, new inventions, especially new electronic products, have made people’s lives easy and convenient. But as the saying puts: A coin has two sides.
One day, I was walking in the park with a friend and his cell phone rang, interrupting our conversation. There we were, walking and talking on a beautiful sunny day and…I became invisible, absent from the conversation.
The telephone used to connect you to the absent. Now it makes people sitting next to you feel absent. Why is it that the more connected we get, the more disconnected I feel? Every advance in communications technology is a tragedy to the closeness of human interaction. With email and instant messaging over the Internet, we can now communicate without seeing or talking to one another. With voice mail, you can conduct entire conversations without ever reaching anyone. If my mom has a question, I just leave the answer on her machine.
As almost every contact we can imagine between human beings gets automated, the alienation(疏远) index goes up. You can't even call a person to get the phone number of another person any more. Directory assistance is almost always fully automated.
Pumping petrol at the station? Why say good morning to the attendant when you can swipe(刷)your credit card at the pump and save yourself the bother of human contact?
Making a deposit at the bank? Why talk to a teller who might live in the neighborhood when you can just insert your card into ATM?
Pretty soon you won’t have the burden of making eye contact at the grocery shop. Some supermarket chains are using a self-scanner so you can check yourself out, avoiding those check-out people who look at you and ask how you are doing.
I am not against modern technology. I own a cell phone, an ATM card, a voice mail system, and an email account. Giving them up isn't wise…they're a great help to us. It's some of their possible consequences that make me feel uneasy.
More and more, I find myself hiding behind e-mail to do a job meant for conversation. Or being relieved that voice mail picked up a call because I didn't really have time to talk. The communications industry devoted to helping me keep in touch is making me lonelier.
So I've put myself on technology restriction: no instant messaging, with people who live near me，no cell phoning in the presence of friends, no letting the voice mail pick up when I'm at home.Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?
| A．The Advance of Communications Technology |
| B．The Consequences of Modern Technology |
| C．The Process of Communications Revolution |
| D．The Automation of Modern Communications |
Paragraphs 5 to 7 are listed as examples, which show that the use of modern communications is ___________.
| A．encouraging | B．disappointing |
| C．satisfying | D．embarrassing |
The passage implies that _______________.
| A．modern technology is bridging the people |
| B．modern technology is separating the people |
| C．modern technology is developing too rapidly |
| D．modern technology is interrupting our lives |
What does the writer think to do with the modern technology?
| A．We may use them no matter what others are doing. |
| B．We can throw them away and return to the ancient. |
| C．We can be far away from them forever. |
| D．We can use them less and communicate with the people around us. |
You may have experienced the annoyance of being fined because of parking illegally or finding your car towed away(拖走)after leaving it parked somewhere for a couple of minutes．But now a high-tech car sticker that’s designed to be stuck to a car’s windscreen could help motorists avoid such a situation．
The TowStop sticker sends a text message to a driver when touched by a traffic policeman，to allow motorists to send a reply and give them time to move their cars immediately．Frankfurt-based IT consultant，Daniel Kalliontzis，came up with the idea and is raising money to put his ￡43 sticker into production．
Car owners can put the sticker inside their car’s windscreen，having set it up with key information，such as their phone number．The slim design will include a sensor(传感器)that，when touched by a traffic policeman，will send a text message warning a driver of a possible fine．The driver could then type a reply for the policeman using a smartphone，which will appear on the sticker’s screen．
The smart sticker system will rely on the good will of traffic policemen and in a way，a German law．The law states：an officer has to choose the most efficient and inexpensive way for the car owner to remove the vehicle．It could be cheaper for the government to call the driver than to tow his car．
Mail Online asked the Department of Transport whether the sticker could be used in the UK in a similar way．A spokesman said，“In England there is no legal duty to warn the motorist before issuing the ticket．However，a policeman does have the discretion not to issue a ticket if he doesn’t think the situation is that bad or he just wants to issue a warning．”
So far，Mr．Kalliontzis has raised just over￡2,362 of his￡39,381 goal．If he manages to raise the money，the stickers will be shipped in June 2015．But it appears that car owners using the smart system could get some unnecessary warning messages，because anyone could touch the smart sticker．The author wrote the third paragraph to _______________．
| A．explain how a smart car sticker works |
| B．advise drivers to buy a car sticker |
| C．show the importance of a sensor |
| D．tell drivers how to park a car |
We may infer from the text that in Britain _______________．
| A．car owners don’t have to worry about a parking ticket |
| B．smart car stickers wouldn’t work as well as in Germany |
| C．traffic policemen prefer to call a driver rather than tow his car |
| D．the Department of Transport thinks highly of smart car stickers |
The underlined word “discretion” in Paragraph 5 can best be replaced by“____________”．
| A．trouble | B．pressure | C．freedom | D．opportunity |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．Daniel Kalliontzis — a great inventor |
| B．Environment-friendly car stickers |
| C．Parking systems in Europe |
| D．End of the parking ticket? |
I was 16 when my father finally decided he would send me to wilderness camp for several months. He had threatened to do it many times before, but my mother had always managed to prevent him from doing so. This time he insisted on doing it.
The latest incident was the last straw. Impulsively(冲动地), I had pushed Mr. Ford, my math teacher, down a flight of steps at school. He broke his arm in two places. Anyway, he had agreed not to accuse me as a favor to my dad, who was in the middle of a tight race for sheriff(执法官) in our town. But my reckless behavior had my dad’s closest advisor talking.
“John, he’s your son and he’s a kid, but he is dragging you down,” I heard Jake Hutch tell my dad through his closed office door the night after I pushed Mr. Ford. “If you can’t make your son obey the rules, how can you make the law obeyed in this town?”
So, off to Pisgah National Forest I went. I imagined hours of untold abuse at the hands of some strong sergeants(军士). I was determined no to be broken. I was who I was.
Nearly every day for six months, a small group of other troubled teens and I carried our 30-pound backpacks on a difficult journey covering about 10 miles. We hiked in a rough wilderness that seemed untouched by civilization.
Our sergeants were firm but kind, not frightening as I had imagined. We learned how to make a fire without matches and create a shelter with branches and grass. We learned which plants were safe to eat out in the wild. I felt myself change. I was calm and often reflective. My old, impulsive self was gone.
One morning, six months later, my dad came to pick me up. I ran to hug him and saw relief and love in his eyes.
“So what’s it like being sheriff?” I asked on the ride home.
“I lost the race, Danny,” he said.
“I’m sorry, Dad.” I knew my behavior probably had a lot to do with the defeat.
Dad squeezed my shoulder and brought me close. “As long as I don’t ever lose you, I’m okay.”The author was finally sent to wilderness because _____.
| A．he could learn how to survive in the wild |
| B．his teacher insisted on giving him a lesson |
| C．he pushed his math teacher down the stairs |
| D．his mother feared that he would be accused |
The underlined word “reckless” in Paragraph 2 probably means ______.
| A．selfish | B．careless | C．rude | D．reasonable |
What can we learn about the author from the passage?
| A．He changed a lot after the camp. |
| B．He was not satisfied with his life in the camp. |
| C．He was still what he used to be after the camp. |
| D．He made enemies with other troubled teens at the camp. |
How did the author’s father feel at the end of the story?
| A．Grateful. | B．Annoyed. |
| C．Disappointed | D．Relieved |
Many tourists visiting the USA on vacation enjoy shopping for bargains. You can find many bargains in the US if you know where to shop and how to take advantage of the competitive sales.
Department stores offer good quality and high fashion
Macy’s department stores offer a wide selection of merchandise(商品), including fashion clothing, luggage and jewelry. They normally offer good quality merchandise, well known brands and the latest fashions, but not low quality products at bargain prices. They frequently have seasonal sales with attractive discounts. At such times, you can get high quality or fashion merchandise at bargain prices.
General merchandise stores offer affordable quality
Sears and JCPenny are two large national chains with stores across the US. They are similar to department stores but they do not offer high fashion merchandise or luxury(奢侈的) brands. Instead, they feature good quality merchandise at affordable prices. They are particularly known for their selection of children's clothing and domestic goods. Sears is famous for its selection of tools and garden products.[]
Discount stores sell at low prices
Discount stores sell some good quality merchandise at affordable prices and some lower quality merchandise at very low prices. If you are not looking for the latest fashions, famous brands, or the best quality, you can find some very inexpensive merchandise at a discount store. Some national discount chains with stores across the US are K-Mart, Wal-Mart, Target and Caldor.
Outlet stores are a bargain hunter's wonderland
Outlet stores or factory outlets sell high quality merchandise and well-known brands at discounted prices. They usually offer merchandise with slight flaws(瑕疵) and remainders from the last season or the previous year. They do not have end-of-season sales like the department stores, as their merchandise is always discounted 20% to 40% below department store prices. If you want to buy a new dress that is fashionable, you should go to _______.
| A．Sears | B．Wal-Mart |
| C．JCPenny | D．Macy’s |
What is a feature of general merchandise stores?
| A．They normally offer the best quality merchandise. |
| B．They offer well-known brands and the latest fashions. |
| C．They offer goods at acceptable prices. |
| D．They can offer a special discount. |
Which of the following is NOT true about outlet stores?
| A．You can purchase goods with excellent quality and reasonable prices. |
| B．They can offer goods from last year. |
| C．You will get goods with serious quality problems. |
| D．Their merchandise is always discounted below department store prices. |