It all began with a stop at a red light.
Kevin Salwen was driving his 14-year-old daughter, Hannah, back from a sleepover in 2006 . While waiting at a traffic light, they saw a black Mercedes Coupe on one side and a homeless man begging for food on the other.
“Dad, if that man had a less nice car, that man there could have a meal.”Hannah protested. The light changed and they drove on, but Hannah was too young to be reasonable. She pestered （纠缠）her parents about inequity, insisting that she wanted to do something.
“What do you want to do?” her mom responded. “Sell our house?”
Warning! Never suggest a grand gesture to an idealistic teenager. Hannah seized upon the idea of selling the luxurious family home and donating half the proceeds to charity, while using the other half to buy a more modest replacement home.
Eventually, that’s what the family did. The project —crazy, impetuous （鲁莽的） and utterly inspiring — is written down in detail in a book by father and daughter scheduled to be published next month: “The Power of Half.” It’s a book that, frankly, I’d be nervous about leaving around where my own teenage kids might find it. An impressionable child reads this, and the next thing you know your whole family is out on the street.
At a time of enormous needs in Haiti and elsewhere, when so many Americans are trying to help Haitians by sending everything from text messages to shoes, the Salwens offer an example of a family that came together to make a difference — for themselves as much as the people they were trying to help. In a column a week ago, it described neurological evidence from brain scans that unselfishness lights up parts of the brain normally associated with more primary satisfaction. The Salwens’ experience confirms the selfish pleasures of selflessness.
Mr. Salwen and his wife, Joan, had always assumed that their kids would be better off in a bigger house. But after they downsized, there was much less space to retreat to, so the family members spent more time around each other. A smaller house unexpectedly turned out to be a more family-friendly house.The best title for the passage should be “______”.
| A．The Less, the Better | B．An Expected Satisfaction |
| C．Something We Can Live Without | D．Somewhat Crazy but Inspiring |
What does the underlined word “inequity” most probably mean in Paragraph 3?
| A．Unfairness. | B．Satisfaction. | C．Personal attitude. | D．Reasonable statement. |
What does the underlined sentence “Never suggest a grand gesture to an idealistic teenager.” means___?
| A．Never give a quick answer to an idealistic teenager. |
| B．Unless a child is realistic, never give an answer immediately. |
| C．Give an answer if the child is reasonable. |
| D．Don’t respond to a child's demands firmly without consideration. |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．The Salwens regretted selling their house. |
| B．The relationship between the family members of the Salwens is much closer. |
| C．Small houses can bring happiness. |
| D．The Salwens intend to buy another big house. |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Mercedes Coupe is only an ordinary car which is quite cheap. |
| B．Unselfishness has nothing to do with people’s primary satisfaction. |
| C．Hannah asked her parents to do something charitable and they sold their house. |
| D．The writer’s children asked him to sell their house. |
When I was about 12, I had an enemy, a girl who liked to point out my shortcomings. Week by week her list grew: I was very thin, I wasn’t a good student, I talked too much, I was too proud, and so on. I tried to hear all this as long as I could. At last, I became very angry. I ran to my father with tears in my eyes.
He listened to me quietly, and then he asked. “Are the things she says true or not? Janet, didn’t you ever wonder what you’re really like? Well, you now have that girl’s opinion. Go and make a list of everything she said and mark the points that are true. Pay no attention to the other things she said.”
I did as he told me. To my great surprise, I discovered that about half the things were true. Some of them I couldn’t change (like being very thin), but a good number I could—and suddenly I wanted to change. For the first time I got a fairly clear picture of myself.
I brought the list back to Daddy. He refused to take it. “That’s just for you,” he said. “You know better than anyone else the truth about yourself. But you have to learn to listen, not just close your ears in anger and feel hurt. When something said about you is true, you’ll find it will be of help to you. Don’t shut your ears. Listen to them all, but hear the truth and do what you know is the right thing to do.”
Daddy’s advice has returned to me at many important moments. In my life, I’ve never had a better piece of advice. Which do you think would be the best title for this passage?
| A．Not an Enemy, but the Best Friend |
| B．The Best Advice I’ve Ever Had |
| C．My Father |
| D．My Childhood |
What does “Week by week her list grew” mean?
| A．Week by week she discovered more shortcomings of mine and pointed them out to me. |
| B．She had made a list of my shortcomings and she kept on adding new ones to it so that it was growing longer and longer. |
| C．I was having more and more shortcomings as time went on. |
| D．Week by week, my shortcomings grew more serious. |
Why did her father listen to her quietly?
| A．Because he believed that what her daughter’s “enemy” said was mostly true. |
| B．Because he had been so angry with his daughter’s shortcomings that he wanted to show this by keeping silent for a while. |
| C．Because he knew that his daughter would not listen to him at that moment. |
| D．Because he wasn’t quite sure which girl was telling the truth. |
What did the father do after he had heard his daughter’s complaint?
| A．He told her not to pay any attention to what her “enemy” had said. |
| B．He criticized (批评) her and told her to overcome her shortcomings. |
| C．He told her to write down all that her “enemy” had said about her and pay attention only to the things that were true. |
| D．He refused to take the list and have a look at it. |
Animal moms are great moms. You might be surprised at some of these moms.
Octopuses(章鱼)
The octopus mother lays about 50,000 eggs. For about 300 days, she stays with the eggs, cleans them and protects them. She does not leave to feed. However, this animal mom dies as soon as the eggs are hatched (孵化).
Crocodiles(鳄鱼)
A crocodile mother puts a lot of time and effort into raising her babies. She starts by building a nest(巢),which she guards for over two months! When the eggs are ready to hatch, the young crocodiles call out to their mother, who digs them out and helps them hatch. She then carries them in her mouth down to the water, where she will guard them for several weeks or months until they learn to hunt on their own.
Bats
Bats become moms by hanging head up in a cave, giving birth. Catching the youngster before it can fall to the ground below, she puts it in a pouch(育儿袋).Bat moms may carry babies with them when feeding for the first few days. As the little bats get bigger and heavier, moms help them hang on the wall of their caves and return often to feed them. It continues for about three weeks, until the babies are grown up and able to fly on their own.
Koalas
This animal mom gives birth after a pregnancy(怀孕期) of only 35 days. The hairless baby climbs into its mother’s pouch and lives there for another five months. When the little koala is between five and eight months old, it leaves the pouch for short periods of time but returns for safety. Once it is too big to return to the pouch,it will climb onto its mother’s back and ride there until it is about 12 months old.How many animal moms are mentioned in the passage.
| A．Two | B．Three | C．Four | D．Five |
Which animal mom dies when their babies are born?
| A．Octopus. | B．Crocodile. | C．Bat. | D．Koala. |
A crocodile mother usually carries her babies to the water .
| A．in her mouth | B．on her back |
| C．in her pouch | D．by her tail |
A bat mom .
| A．gives birth by lying in the nest |
| B．gives birth by hanging in a cave |
| C．leaves its babies in the pouch for months |
| D．lets its babies live on their own after birth |
How long does a young koala usually stay in its mother’s pouch at least?
| A．35 days. | B．5 months. |
| C．8 months. | D．12 months. |
Most of us know about the Nobel Prize(诺贝尔奖) especially the Nobel Peace Prize, but few of us know anything about the man who set them up. His name was Alfred Nobel. He was a great scientist and inventor himself. Besides, he had a big business. His business may surprise you. He made and sold explosives. His companies even made and sold weapons. Isn’t this something that surprises you? The man who made money from weapons should set up the Peace Prize?
Though Alfred Nobel had a lot of money from weapons, he hated war. He hoped that there would be no war in the world. He was one of the richest in Europe. When he died in 1896, he left behind him a lot of money and his famous will. According to his will, most of his money was placed in a fund. He wanted the interest(利息) from the fund（资金） to be used as prizes every year. We know them as the Nobel Prizes. The Nobel Prizes are international（国际的）. Alfred Nobel wanted the winners to be chosen for their work, not the country they came from.
Alfred Nobel had given his whole life to his studies and work and to the benefits of mankind. He made money all by his own efforts, but he left the world share his wealth. His inventions and wealth stay with the world for ever.Alfred’s business was _____.
| A．making and selling explosives |
| B．not making and selling weapons |
| C．making explosives and selling weapons |
| D．making weapons and selling explosives |
Nobel wanted to set up the Nobel Peace Prize because _____.
| A．he made enough money |
| B．he hated war |
| C．he wanted to get more interest from the fund |
| D．he liked to live in a peaceful world |
Nobel Prizes come from _____.
| A．all Nobel’s money in the fund |
| B．all Nobel’s money in his company |
| C．all the interest from the fund |
| D．some of the interest in the fund |
Nobel was a (an) _____ person in the world.
| A．interesting | B．unselfish |
| C．kind-hearted | D．richest |
Which statement of the following is Right according to the passage?
| A．Nobel set up his company to sell clothes. |
| B．Most of Nobel’s money was used for the world Wars. |
| C．Nobel Prizes are only for some people from some special countries. |
| D．Nobel worked hard in his life and saved lots of money for the world to share. |
The trip to the United Stated opened my eyes to the fact that there are a lot of similarities as well as differences between American youth and French youth.
The first difference is in appearance. Going around in the U.S., I found that American youth do not really care about their appearance. In the morning, they choose something in their closet and wear it with another thing, often of different colors and styles, without wondering whether their choices make them look strange. The reason behind this is that they don’t care what people look like, but are just interested in their ideas. I think it’s great, but it also causes problems. Since they don’t care about their appearance, they don’t really care about their weight. Often they get fat without realizing it.
There are differences in relationships too. When the American youth fall in love, they don’t really think of the future. Also, there are differences in the rules concerning behavior that is allowed. In some respects, the French are more accepting. For example, in America it is generally unacceptable to make physical display of love. Lovers, in theory, can’t kiss or hold each other everywhere they want. People think that not showing love in public places is a way to respect others. On the contrary, the French youth can do almost everything they want.
With regard to other types of relationships, there are also big differences. Americans act differently from French people in front of unknown people. When an American girl, for example, arrives in front of people she has never met before, she will talk with them, trying to create a kind of bond（联系）between her and this new circle of people. The French girls will just think about rather than really do this kind of thing because they are too shy and lacking in self-confidence.
To finish, I noticed that in American classes, when pupils want to say or ask something, they just do it. In general, they don’t really care how the others will judge them. In France, it’s not the same case. If somebody wants to ask something, he/she will think about it before speaking up. I appreciate the freedom in Americans’ behavior, ideas, and ways of expressing themselves.American young people _______.
| A．are just interested in people’s clothes |
| B．show more interest in people’s ideas |
| C．care more about their weight |
| D．are more concerned about appearance |
When American youth fall in love with each other, they _________.
| A．will not hold each other |
| B．will always think about their future |
| C．will rarely display their love in public |
| D．will kiss wherever they like |
When meeting with strangers, American girls will not _______.
| A．try to establish a type of relationship with them |
| B．have faith in themselves |
| C．start to create a conversation |
| D．behave in a way similar to French girls |
It can be inferred from the passage that French youth may think more about ______.
| A．their relationship’s future |
| B．their public images |
| C．their physical displays |
| D．their lover’s ideas |
The passage is mainly about the______ between American youth and French youth.
| A．similarities | B．friendship |
| C．differences | D．differences and the similarities |
It was time for a school holiday and I was at home. My family’s house was located in (位于) an area by the sea.
I just sat down in front of the television. Suddenly I heard a loud noise and then the first shock started to hit. My mom and I ran to the front door. We got out and we were standing in the street holding on to each other to stand up. The ground was covered with snow. I could remember watching black cracks in the earth snaking their way along the ground. A tree in our back yard was actually cut in half.
As suddenly as the earthquake started, it was over. Dead silence. Then a light snow began to fall. All the power was off—no radio, no TV and no communication with the outside world. We found out later that the ground area was lowered an average of 35 feet.
My dad succeeded in getting home from where he worked in the city centre. Later that evening we were told to leave the area because a terrible ocean wave was expected. We spent the night and the next day and night away from home at the shelter.
I often think about the courage my dad showed during that time. Before Dad retired, he was a senior manager of a famous local company. This company was damaged because of the quake. Dad stayed in the company to rebuild the business and rebuild our family home.In which season did the earthquake take place?
| A．Spring. | B．Summer. |
| C．Autumn. | D．Winter. |
After the earthquake, the writer’s father ______.
| A．opened up his own company |
| B．lived with his family and did a better job |
| C．helped neighbors build their houses |
| D．became a famous person in their town |
What would be the best title of the passage?
| A．My father | B．My mother and I |
| C．A quake in my town | D．Earthquake tips |