I IMCKKD up the phone. Without so much as a hello ,a voice said: “What’s new? We have an eagle in the backyard.
It look me three second* lo recognize my nephew’s a voice. He was excited.
“He’s sitting on top of a dead tree in the backyard .He’s been there a long lime. We’re tilling in the sunroom watching him."
But actually, my nephew is blind.
Ketinitis pigmentosa（色素性视网膜炎）brgan stealing his sight when he was 12. He’ s in his 20s now.
“It’s a big thing. Dad said it must have a wingspan of 6 feet (1.88 meters). We’ve got an eagle out hack!"
I could believe they had the rare pleasure of spotting an eagle. What I couldn’t believe was that my nephew, without sight, was giving the comment. It shouldn’t have been that surprising,really?
His sight might be gone, but he sees plenty. From memory, mostly; from conventions around him; from listening to television and radio. He has an amazing memory. We took him into town with us when we were visiting his parents once. Our GPS wasn’ t working, so he gave us directions turn by turn, complete with landmarks, approximate distances and cautions on curves（拐弯处）in the road. He knew exactly where we were and got us to where wanted to go.
Second to his family, there are two things that have been important in this young man’s life: a guide dog and a job.
The guide dog gave him the confidence he didn’t know he had.
The job, “well” as his dad said: “Having a job makes him like everybody else. Now, he has something to come home and complain about at the end of the day."
I never have a conversation with my nephew without asking about his job in case lie wants to complain. But I know-and I know that he knows work is a gift.
We were created to work. We were made to produce goods and services, to invent and solve problems. Work is what drags us out of bed in the morning.
Work gives us something to do and somewhere to go. If that doesn’t I sound like a big deal, talk to someone who’ s unemployed. It is working hard that enhances the lime that you don’t work, from kicking back and reading a book to watching an eagle in your backyard.What surprised the author when she received her nephew’s phone call?
| A．An eagle remained in her nephew’ s backyard for a long time. |
| B．The sight of an eagle made her nephew so excited. |
| C．Her nephew regained his sight after he had been blind for several years. |
| D．Despite being blind, her nephew described the eagle as if he could really see it. |
By mentioning her nephew lending her amend when site visited his parents, the author intends to .
| A．show that she got along well with her nephew and his family |
| B．fell us of her nephew’s good sense of direction |
| C．show how good a memory her nephew has |
| D．prove that her nephew had no trouble living by himself alone |
According lo the article, a job is very important lo the author's nephew mainly because .
| A．a job make* him confident and slops him from complaining |
| B．a job enables him lo feel normal |
| C．with a job he can afford to raise his guide dog |
| D．with a job he can help his parents support I he family |
What can we conclude from the lust two paragraphs?
| A．Everyone has to work, so make sure to play. |
| B．The hander you work, the more successful you w ill lie. |
| C．Work enriches our lives, so we should appreciate it. |
| D．Work is just a way for us to kill time and make a living. |
Dear Dr.Servaas,
I was diagnosed with histoplasrnosis（组织胞浆菌病）30 years ago ．At that time， my doctor told me that it was lung fungus（真菌）that could affect my eyesight.This has happened·Can it affect other organs of the body？
F．Buongiorne
Delta Junction，Arkansas，
Most people have no symptoms resulting from the lung infection，explains histo expert Dr.L.Joseph Wheat，when symptoms do develop，they are usually mild and will disappear without treatment
In some cases，however，histo can spread from the lungs and cause more serious problems．
“Histo is more severe in persons with diseases that reduce thcir immunity or who are receiving immunosuppressive（免疫抑制）medications,”says Dr.Wheat，"In such cases，histo can spread from lungs to other parts of the body．Patients with this type of histoplasmosis usually have constant fever，sweats，and weight loss·Excellent tests are available to diagnose this type of histo，and the treatment is highly effective·”
As mentioned by our Arkansas reader，eye problems accompanied by vision loss have been reported long after the first infection．
"Histo is thought by some to be a cause of spots on the back of the eye，called ‘histo spots’，”notes Dr·Wheat．“These injuries cause no problems in some patients， while in others they cause visual loss．There is no proof that histo causes these spots， however，as the organism is not found in the injured parts，and treatment for histo is not effective for the eye spots．”
People catch histoplasmosis by breathing extremely small spores（孢子）of the histoplasma fungus into their lungs·This fungus is commonly found in areas polluted by bird or bat droppings such as caves，chicken cages，barns（谷仓），and under bridges．It will spread through the air during construction or whenever plowing，sweeping，or digging disturbs the soil．What’s the problem with F．Buongiorne？
| A．He has recently been diagnosed with his to． |
| B．He is having difficulty in breathing． |
| C．He is worried about his health． |
| D．He has become totally blind． |
Which of the following is Dr．Wheat’s opinion about“histo"？
| A．The disease is equally harmful to all people． |
| B．The disease will make people put on weight． |
| C．The disease won’t cause serious problems and no medicine is effective for it· |
| D．The disease doesn’t，t necessarily have a serious effect on every patient with it· |
How is“histo" related to“histo spots"？
| A．"Histo spots" may not be caused by“histo"． |
| B．Patients with“histo" will have“histo spots"． |
| C．"Histo spots" will cause visual loss to all patients． |
| D．“Histo spots" can be cured by the same medicine as cures“histd |
We can infer from the passage that＿ ．
| A．“histo" spreads through water |
| B．"histo" originates from animals |
| C．you may have the disease by eating affected chicken |
| D．workers in a close office are most likely to have“histo" |
It has happened to all of us．You want to talk about an object，but you forgot the name of it．Or you never knew the name at all．Maybe you are not even sure there is a word for it．
For example，that thing, that you need to fix your bicycle．Or perhaps it is something you need for your computer·Or that part on your motorcycle that never，ever seems to work．
What are these things?
They are called“doohickies"·A doohickey is a word you use when you do not know，or you have forgotten，the real name of an object·
The MacMillan Dictionary defines doohickey as“something such as a small object or tool that you cannot remember the name of"·The American Heritage Dictionary says it is“something，especially a small device or part，whose name is unknown or forgotten"．
Language experts say the word first started being used in the United States in the early 1900s· But other experts say they have seen examples of words like that in writings from the middle 1800s．
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary for Learners of American English gives this example of how native speakers might use doohickey：“I need one of those doohickeys，you know，with the long handle．”
Merriam-Webster adds that doohickey may be a combination of two other words：“doodad" and“hickey" ．Strange as it may be，both of these words mean the same as doohickey．The dictionary lists a lot of strange words as.synonyms for doohickey．The most common are whatchamacallit，whatnot and whatsit．
You will probably never see these words in official documents or newspaper reports·But you might hear them in informal American English，when people are talking to each other·
“Hey，what does this doohickey do，anyway?”
"Dude，bring me that thingamajig，willya·”
"Janine，can you get me one of those whatchamacallits?”
Most Americans will know what you are talking about if you use one of those words.Just point at the object，use one of these words，and they will bring it to you·When people need a doohickey it means they need something＿＿·
| A．which can be used to repair a bicycle |
| B．which can be used to fix a computer |
| C．whose name is forgotten |
| D．whose handle is very long |
The words similar to doohickey were most likely to be seen in＿＿for the first time．
| A．1800 | B．1850 | C．1900 | D．1950 |
You are sure to find the word whatchamacallit in＿＿
| A．the Macmillan Dictionary |
| B．the American Heritage Dictionary |
| C．an Official document or a newspaper report |
| D．the Merriam-Webster Dictionary for Learners of American English |
The above，passage is mainly about＿＿·
| A．a special word |
| B．American English dictionaries’ |
| C．the development of American English |
| D．the way to learn and use American English |
Are you ready to take off? Launch into the adventure of a lifetime when you join the ranks of Space Camp where explorers train to live and work in space．This is your opportunity to command，navigate（航行）and contribute to an advanced space mission simulation（模拟）．
Space Camp is located at the U.S.Space＆Rocket Center，the Official Visitor Center for NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center．The program encourages trainees to pursue science，technology，engineering and math disciplines through, exciting，hands-on educational activities．
During the five-night program，trainees participate in two，one-hour simulated missions．Our trainers guide participants through the past，·present and future of space exploration with the help of high-fidelity（高保证的）test articles or actual rockets and shuttles．visitors explore the first rocket that put an American in space-the real National Historic Landmark Saturn V moon rocket-and actual capsules earlv
astronauts used during their missions·Trainees experience walking on the moon in the 1/6th gravity chair to feel what it's like to work in a frictionless environment．
Space Camp trainees also climb the tallest mountain on the red planet with the Mars Climbing Wall and experience four times the gravity of Earth with the takeoff force of the Space Shot simulator．They get an astronaut's view of Earth while watching amazing films in the IMAX Spacedome Theater and Digital Theater．
Space Camp begins on Sunday afternoon and graduation is on Friday morning.Parents and family members are encouraged to attend the graduation ceremony。
There is no other camp like it！
Whom is the Space Camp intended for?
| A．Tourists. | B．Students. |
| C．Astronauts | D．Scientists. |
How long will the Space Camp last?
| A．About a day | B．About three days． |
| C．About six days | D．About twelve days. |
Space Shot simulator will let the trainees know＿·
| A．the takeoff force of a rocket |
| B．the highest mountain on mars |
| C．the history of space exploration |
| D．the feeling of being in the 1/6th gravity environment |
Picking a university is a tense period of asking yourself which institution is most relevant. That's why university rankings play such an important role in students searching for their next academic direction. Rankings are also an inescapable part of the reputation and brand image of universities. "No university website is complete without the claim to be in the top 100 for something or other," reported the BBC. The reason is simple: Rankings help them to attract students, staff and research investment.
Currently there are numbers of university rankings, and each has its own list of criteria. But the main categories are the same: academic reputation, graduates' performance and faculty(全体员工) resources.
However, experts point out the ranking process isn't entirely reliable. Mark Kantrowitz, a US financial aid researcher, said university rankings were mostly just for show. He wrote in The New York Times. "It may give your parents better bragging（吹牛）rights, but that's about it. "
Moreover, it's not difficult to see the limitations of university rankings. Many rankings focus on the number of times research work is cited(引用) by other researchers. It helps British and US universities to dominate(控制) global rankings because English is the favored language of academia, John O'Leary, a member of the QS academic advisory board, told The Gunrdian,. Also, rankings such as QS mainly focus on the qualities of the university rather than its students. "Any university ranking is likely to help students make better decisions about where to study, but the need to balance them with other more human factors is also important," said Phil Moss, an education and admissions consultant. "Advice from graduates or current students can be as valuable in providing a genuine insight into the experience or quality of a particular degree program. It can also add an element that rankings can never convey the actual emotion of a university experience. "Why do universities consider rankings important?
| A．Rankings make them more appealing. |
| B．Rankings are students' only reference. |
| C．Rankings can increase their academic level. |
| D．Rankings help them complete their websites. |
What does the underlined "It" in paragraph 4 refer to?
| A．Academic research work. |
| B．The number of researches. |
| C．The way of ranking universities. |
| D．The limitation of university ranking. |
According to John O'Leary, what helps British and US universities rank well?
| A．The wide use of English in academia. |
| B．Their outstanding qualities. |
| C．Their graduates' excellent performance. |
| D．The academia's favor to them. |
Besides ranking, what does Phil Moss suggest you should refer to if you're picking a university?
| A．Investment in education. |
| B．Guidance from professors. |
| C．Information on websites. |
| D．Suggestions from students. |
Revenge is one of those things that everyone enjoys. People don’t like to talk about it, though. Just the same, there is nothing more satisfying or more rewarding than revenge. The purpose is not to harm your victims but to let them know that you are upset about something that they are doing to you. Careful planning can provide you with relief from annoying coworkers, gossiping friends or talkative family members.
Coworkers who make comments about the fact that you are always fifteen minutes late for work can be taken care of very simply. All you have to do is get up extra one day. Before the sun comes up, drive to each coworker’s house. Reach under the cover of your coworker’s car and disconnect the center wire that leads to the distributor（配电盘）cap, the car will be unharmed, but it will not start, and your friends at work will all be late for work on the same day. If you’re lucky, your boss might notice that you are the only one there and will give you a raise.
Gossiping friends at school are also perfect targets for a simple act of revenge. A way to trap either male or female friends is to leave false messages on their lockers(柜子). If the friend that you want to get is male, leave a message that a certain girl would like him to stop by her house later that day. With any luck，her boyfriend will be there. The girl won’t know what’s going on, and the victim will be so embarrassed that he probably won’t leave his home for a month.
When Mom and Dad and your sisters and brothers really begin to annoy you, harmless revenge may be just the way it makes them quiet down for a while. The dinner table is a likely place. Just before the meal begins, throw a handful of raisins (葡萄干) into the food. Wait about five minutes and, after everyone has begun to eat, cover your mouth with your hand and begin to make strange noises. When they ask you what the matter is, point to a raisin and yell. “Bugs!” They’ll throw their food in the dustbin, jump into the car, and head for McDonald’s. That night you’ll have your first quiet, peaceful meal in a long time.
A well-planned revenge does not have it hurt anyone. The object is simply to let other people know that they are beginning to bother you. According to the passage, a harmless revenge is ________.
| A．to amuse the victim |
| B．to hurt nobody emotionally |
| C．to react to those who bother you |
| D．to prevent one from disturbing others |
As a harmless revenge, you might come first and get a raise by ________.
| A．pleasing your boss |
| B．destroying your colleagues’ cars |
| C．making your colleagues come late |
| D．getting up earlier than your colleagues |
The family members threw their food in the dustbin because ________.
| A．they wanted to eat out |
| B．they didn’t like the food with raisins |
| C．they wanted to have a peaceful meal |
| D．they thought their food had been ruined |
The topic of the passage is how to ________.
| A．make a harmless revenge |
| B．silence gossiping friends |
| C．avoid talkative family members |
| D．deal with annoying coworkers |