One year our family decided to have a special celebration of Mother’s Day, as a token of appreciations for all the sacrifices that Mother had made for us. After breakfast we had arranged, as a surprise, to hire a car and take her for a beautiful drive in the country. Mother was rarely able to have a treat like that, because she was busy in the house nearly all the time.
But on the very morning of the day, we changed the plan a little, because it occurred to Father that it would be even better to take Mother fishing. As the car was hired and paid for, we might as well use it to drive up into the hills where the streams are. As Father said, if you just go driving without object, you have a sense of aimlessness, but if you are going to fish there is a definite purpose that heightens the enjoyment.
So we all felt it would be nicer for Mother to have a definite purpose . Father had just got a fishing rod the day before, which he said mother could use if she wanted to. Only Mother said she would much rather watch him fish than try to fish herself.
So we got her to make up a sandwich lunch in case we got hungry, though we were to come home again to a big festive dinner.
Well, when the car came to the door, it turned out that there was not as much space in it as we had supposed. It was plain that we couldn’t all get in.
Father said that he could just stay home and put in the time working in the garden. He said that there was a lot of rough dirty work that he could do, like digging a trench for the garbage, which would save hiring a man, and so he said that he’d stay home; he said that we were not to let the fact that he had not had a real holiday for three years stand in our way. He wanted us to go right ahead and not to mind him.
But of course we all felt that it would never do to let Father stay home, especially as we knew he would make trouble if he did. The two girls, Anne and Mary, would have stayed and helped the maid get dinner, only it seemed such a pity,for the two girls were eager to show their new hats on a lovely day like this. But they said that Mother had only to say the word and they’d gladly stay home and work. Will and I would have dropped out, but unfortunately we wouldn’t have been any use in preparing the dinner.The author’s family decided to celebrate Mother’s Day specially to _______.
| A．show love for their mother |
| B．show gratitude to their mother |
| C．show respect for their mother |
| D．to make up for a previous appointment |
According to Paragraph 2, we know that the plan was changed because________.
| A．Father proposed to go fishing out |
| B．we thought that driving out is boring |
| C．we failed to hire a car to go out |
| D．the car was not big enough |
What problem did we find when the car arrived?
| A．The car was too old to drive on mountain roads. |
| B．The car was larger than we expected. |
| C．The car was too small to accommodate us all. |
| D．The car was too plain looking. |
Why didn’t the author drop out of the activity?
| A．Because his sisters didn’t join in. |
| B．Because he needed to have dinner. |
| C．Because he couldn’t cook the dinner. |
| D．Because he hadn’t had a real holiday for three years. |
Which of the following proverbs describes the text best?
| A．Everything comes to him who waits. |
| B．Changes always go beyond plans. |
| C．Better late than never. |
| D．Once on shore, one prays no more. |
The Knowledge Society
According to American economist Peter Drucker, every few hundred years in Western history a sharp transformation takes place in which society rearranges itself. One such period happened between 1455 and 1517, beginning with the invention of the printing press, and included the Renaissance, the European discovery of America, a reawakening of science, and the Protestant Reformation. All these events had significant effects on the development of Western society. The next period lasted from the American Revolution and the Perfection of the steam engine in 1776 until Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo in 1815. During this time, the Industrial Revolution took place, public schools systems were established on a large scale, the first modern university was founded in Berlin in 1809, and both capitalism and communism emerged as economic and political ideologies. Again, society had been altered.Drucker suggested that another services to them.Those are the events which happened between 1455 and 1517 EXCEPT __________.
| A．the Industrial Revolution |
| B．the invention of the printing press. |
| C．the European discovery of America. |
| D．a reawakening of science and the Protestant Reformation. |
What is the major characteristic of the new society today ?
| A．Labor will be the basis of wealth. |
| B．Class conflict will appear. |
| C．Knowledge will be used as an economic resource. |
| D．People who provide various types of services must be socially and economically disadvantaged. |
Mr. Sankaram, a physics teacher, was known for his antics(滑稽动作)in his classroom to make the dull lessons in physics lively and interesting. Mixing different chemical drugs in the lab to become new substances in chemistry makes students excited. While studying botany or zoology, students can visit a garden or zoo. But physics limits students to listening to the boring lectures which are hard to understand. For example, why an apple dropping from a tree travels downwards but not upwards. But Mr. Sankaram’s classroom antics to cause students to listen to topics such as how sound travels in air or why light travels faster than sound made him stand out from the rest of the teachers.
At that time, most students in our school attended the college to please their parents, and some parents were proud of their children for simply attending a college, no-matter whether they benefited or not. They didn’t study hard. But a few students were diligent and they wanted to study pre-medical courses to gain admission into the medical school. The schooling of pre-medical courses was very expensive. The college was next to the medical school. The wall separating them was about four feet high. Few tried to jump over the wall to get free pre-medical courses. Doing this was at risk of injuries and the climbing was forbidden.
The college where Mr. Sankaram taught was known for unruly and naughty students. The unruly students usually sat at the back of the classroom. When a student from the back of the classroom tried to disrupt the class, Mr. Sankaram would say, “Dare you go ahead to make noise? Can you jump over the four-foot wall to get into the medical school?” The student’s face went red and he became silent. In the physics class . I sat in the first row to escape from the troublemakers at the back. One day during the class. Mr. Sankaram unexpectedly asked me, “Can you jump over the four-foot wall?” I shook my head and answered, “No, sir, I couldn’t jump over a one-foot wall, let alone a four-foot wall.” Mr. Sankaram wasn’t satisfied with my reply but waved his hand for me to sit down. He looked at me in the eyes hard and said, “If you can. Believe in yourself!”
There were stories about Mr. Sankaram’s past history. As a student at same college years ago, he went into much depression for some time when he couldn’t get into the medical school. In fact he could have been admitted by the school by his ability of studying. Because his family couldn’t afford his pre-medical courses and he didn’t dare to climb the wall, he often walked back and forth along the four-foot wall talking to himself and sometimes cried over his failure. Whether this story was true or false it was passed on from year to year. So Mr. Sankaram had a nickname “four-foot.” It was true that he left his dream to his students and he began challenging the students’ ability to jump over the four-foot wall to get into the medical school.
As a student I failed at my attempt to get admission into the medical school. In fact not all students wanted to be a doctor. And years later I ended up as a chemistry teacher at the same college. I thank Mr. Sankaram for his encouragement to me, and I am determined to follow his example to make my class interesting. Mr. Sankaram passed away years ago. He will always be remembered for his wonderful teaching techniques such as dancing movements and his encouraging words.Which subject was boring in the author’s opinion?
| A．Botany | B．Physics | C．Chemistry | D．zoology |
Most of the author’s schoolmates went to college to _____.
| A．make their parents happy |
| B．learn a skill of making a living |
| C．study abroad after graduation |
| D．find a good job after graduation |
Why wasn’t Mr. Sankaram satisfied with the author’s reply?
| A．He didn’t think the author was diligent. |
| B．He thought the author lacked confidence. |
| C．The author didn’t know what he meant |
| D．The author was shy while answering it. |
Mr. Sankaram’s failing to get into the medical school______.
| A．resulted in getting his nickname “four-foot” |
| B．caused him to be forever depressed and to cry every day |
| C．made him work hard to let his students realize his dream |
| D．made him complain the life was unfair and he was not lucky |
We can infer from this passage that the author_____.
| A．wanted to become a doctor very much in fact |
| B．regretted that he didn’t respect Mr. Sankaram |
| C．was born in a rich family and once a good student |
| D．is a good teacher in the college where he once studied |
Many people believe that all ice cubes are created equal, but they are not. At least that’s what the folks at California’s Glace Luxury Ice Company would like us to believe. The Davisbased company says that the ice cubes they make are healthier and last longer than the ones that we throw into our drinks on a daily basis. What’s more, the company also says that their ice cubes do mot leave behind an aftertaste(余味)in drinks, like regular ones do.
In order to create these unique ice cubes, Glace Luxury begins with water that has been rid of the hazardous impurities(杂质)that the company says can lead to cancer and exist in regular ice. They then freeze it in large blocks. Once ready, the ice is carved into perfect cubes and each cube measures 2.5 inches across. Besides being healthier, these ice cubes apparently also take longer to melt. The company says that each ice cube can last up to 30 minutes.
Of course, those ice cubes do not come cheap. Those that wish to have a taste of this “tasteless” frozen perfection will have to pay $325USD for a bag of 50 ice cubes. That comes to $6.50USD for a single cube of ice!
The unique product is the brainchild of Robert Sequeira, a former business school lecturer who said that he wanted to establish a profitable business that could be easily scaled. Given that he can make as mush Glace Luxury ice as he needs for as little as $0.12USD per cube, he thinks that the idea certainly meets the standard. Now, if he can find that the few people can afford to buy this Glace Luxury ice, life would be great!People at California’s Glace Luxury Ice Company probably want consumers to believe that _____.
| A．ice cubes are healthy for people to use |
| B．their ice cubes add tastes to drinks |
| C．all ice cubes are created the same |
| D．their ice cubes are different |
What does the underlined word “hazardous” in paragraph 2 mean?
| A．Active | B．Regular | C．Dangerous | D．Powerful |
Compared with regular ice cubes, the ice cubes created by Glace Luxury Ice Company_____.
| A．taste much bette |
| B．look much more beautiful |
| C．have more different shapes |
| D．are healthier and melt more slowly |
What does the author think of the ice cubes created by Glace Luxury Ice Company?
| A．They will be a big success |
| B．They are too costly to make. |
| C．They are just regular ice cubes. |
| D．They are too expensive for consumers |
If you and your friends wish to share a secret, you can write it in code, and no one else will be able to read it. Codes are one way of writing in secret Ciphers(暗码)are another. In a code each word is written as a secret code word or a code number. In a cipher each letter is changed.
Codes and ciphers have played an important role in the history of the world. Julius Caesar, the Roman ruler who defeated almost all the countries in Europe about 2,000 years ago, used a cipher when he sent secret messages to his troops. During the American Revolution, George Washington’s spies used a kind of code to send his information about the enemy before his military action. In World War Ⅱ. the Americans ”broke” or figured out Japan’s most important navy codes and got enough information to destroy a powerful Japanese fleet.
Storekeepers use codes to mark their goods. The codes show how much is paid for the goods or when they are added to the stock. Businessmen use codes to hide plans from their business enemies. Sometimes personal letters or diaries are written in code. Many people enjoy figuring out codes and ciphers simply as a hobby.
In the 16th century, codes and ciphers Were very popular among scientists. They wrote messages to each other in code so that no one else would learn their secrets. Geronimo Gardano, all Italian astrologer(占星家), mathematician, and doctor, invented the trellis cipher.
He took two sheets of paper and cut exactly the same holes in each one. Then he sent one sheet, which he called a trellis, to a friend and kept the other for himself. Whenever he wanted to write a message. he put his trellis over a clean sheet of paper and wrote the secret message through the holes. There he removed the trellis and filled the rest of the paper with words that would make sense. When his friend received it, he put his trellis over the writing and read the secret message.The best title of this passage would be _______.
| A．Codes and Ciphers |
| B．Differences between Codes and Ciphers |
| C．History of Codes and Ciphers |
| D．Inventors of Codes and Ciphers |
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．Ciphers can be broken or figured out more easily than codes. |
| B．You could read some words in Geronimo’s letter without his trellis. |
| C．The first person who ever used a cipher in history was Julius Caesar. |
| D．Fondness of using codes was the hobby of the scientists in the 1600s. |
According to Geronimo Gardano, a trellis is _____________.
| A．a piece of paper with many small holes |
| B．a secret message with a lot of small holes |
| C．a letter with unreadable words and sentences |
| D．a sheet of paper with groups of Arabic figures |
It is NOT mentioned in the passage that codes and ciphers are used for the purpose of _________.
| A．military affairs | B．commercial secrets |
| C．scientific achievements | D．personal enjoyment |
Talking plants might sound like characters in a fairy tale. But recent scientific studies have shown that plants communicate with each other and with other living things in a surprising number of ways. To understand them, scientists say, we just have to learn their language. Farmers are especially interested in what plants have to say.
“Plants are able to communicate with all sorts of organisms(有机体). They can communicate with giant bacteria, with other plants and with insects. They do this chemically, ”said Cahill, an Ecology Professor of the University of Alberta in Canada.
Plant scientists are just beginning to understand this chemical “language”. Cahill says studies have shown, for example, that plants can evaluate conditions in their immediate environment and take appropriate actions. Plants have an ability, for example, to signal pain or discomfort caused by anything from temperature extremes to an insect attack. Jack Schultz, a professor of chemical ecology at the University of Missouri, says when a plant senses that it’S being eaten, it cannot walk away from trouble；on the contrary, it will release a chemical vapor that alerts other plants nearby.
“Their language is a chemical language, and it involves chemicals that move through the air, which are easily to be changed, and most of all are smells that we are familiar with, ” Schultz explained.
“All plants responded to the attack by changing their chemistry to defend themselves, ” Schultz recalled. “But we were quite surprised to find that nearby plants also changed their chemistry to defend themselves, even though they were not part of the experiment. ”
Studies have also shown that plants under attack release pleasant chemicals. Those chemicals attract friendly insects that attack the pests eating the plant.
In the end, plants’ability to communicate their needs－and our ability to understand them－could help farmers reduce the use of poisonous chemicals, cut operating costs and limit damage to the environment.The recent scientific studies have shown that plants can __________.
| A．communicate with other living things in a chemical way |
| B．hardly react to any sudden change in temperature |
| C．use a very special chemical language which is familiar to us |
| D．respond to the attack by giving off poisonous chemicals |
When being eaten by a pest, the plant will ___________.
| A．walk away from trouble |
| B．change its chemistry to kill the insect |
| C．release a chemicaI vapor to “ask” other plants for help |
| D．give off nice chemicals to attract friendly insects to a tack the pest |
The underlined word “alerts” most probably means “___________”.
| A．warns | B．protects |
| C．threatens | D．allows |
Which would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Communication between Plants |
| B．A Chemical “Language” |
| C．Plants Can Talk |
| D．How Plants Protect Themselves |