Driving to a friend’s house on a recent evening, I was attracted by the sight of the full moon rising just above my friend’s rooftop. I stopped to watch it for a few moments, thinking about what a pity it is that most city people — myself included — usually miss sights like this because we spend most of our lives indoors.
My friend had also seen it. He grew up living in a forest in Europe, and the moon meant a lot to him then. It had touched much of his life.
I know the feeling. Last December I took my seven-year-old daughter to the mountainous jungle of northern India with some friends. We stayed in a forest rest house with no electricity or running hot water. Our group had campfires outside every night, and indoors when it was too cold outside. The moon grew to its fullest during our trip. Between me and the high mountains lay three or four valleys. Not a light shone in them and not a sound could be heard. It was one of the quietest places I have ever known, a bottomless well of silence. And above me was the full moon, which struck me deeply.
Today our lives are filled with glass, metal, plastic and fiber-glass. We have television, cell phones, electricity, heaters and ovens and air-conditioners, cars, computers.
Struggling through traffic that evening at the end of a tiring day, most of it spent indoors, I thought, “Before long, I would like to live in a small cottage. There I will grow vegetables and read books and walk in the mountains. And perhaps write, but not in anger. I may become an old man there, and wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled and measure out my life in coffee spoons. But I will be able to walk outside on a cold silent night and touched the moon.”The best title for the passage would be _________.
A.Break away from the Reality |
B.A Bottomless well of Silence |
C.Touched by the Moon |
D.The Pleasures of Modern Life |
The writer felt sorry for himself because __________.
A.he failed to see the fullest moon. |
B.there were too many accidents on the road. |
C.he didn’t adapt to modern inventions |
D.there was too much pollution. |
Modern things are mentioned mainly to ___________.
A.show that the writer likes city life very much. |
B.show that we can also enjoy nature at home through them. |
C.tell us that people greatly benefit from modern life. |
D.explain that people have less chances to enjoy nature. |
If you will be cycling, you will need to know what these traffic signs and signals mean.
A sign like this one means that there is a bike lane(道). If there is a bike lane, you are required to use it. If there is not a bike lane, you should ride with traffic as far to the right side of the road as possible.
When the signal light turns green, cars go. When you cross the street at a signal light, you should wait for the walk signal. Be sure to look carefully to the left, right and left again, before crossing the street.
When the signal light turns yellow, car drivers should slow down and prepare to stop. You should not cross if the light is yellow. The light is about to turn red, and cars will enter the intersection(十字路口).
This signal is the WALK sign. It has a picture of a person walking instead of using the word WALK.
This signal is the DON’T WALK sign. It is part of the signal with the picture of a person walking. This is a picture of a red hand, meaning you should stop. You should wait to cross the street until the green picture of the person walking is showing.
Car drivers and bikers must come to a complete stop at STOP signs.
A yield sign means to slow down and be ready to stop. If there are pedestrians(行人)or vehicles in or nearing the intersection, you must stop. If there is no traffic in or nearing the intersection and it is safe, you may go through.
This sign means you are coming to a crosswalk. Car drivers and bikers must stop to allow people in the crosswalk to cross the street.The passage is intended for .
A.car drivers | B.skaters |
C.bikers | D.pedestrians |
If you see the sign
while riding a bike, you are required to .
A.take the bike lane |
B.stop your bike |
C.ride close to the right side of the road |
D.ride in the middle of the road |
Which of the following signs has the same meaning as the sign
?
A.![]() |
B.![]() |
C.![]() |
D.![]() |
When the signal light turns yellow, cyclists .
A.can cross the road | B.should walk across the road |
C.should wait | D.can enter the intersection |
India has a very vast history and heritage(遗产). The country has witnessed some of the most important events in the past and every event has an effect of its own on the culture, religion, lifestyle, and economy of the country. This is one of the leading reasons why tourists prefer India to travel and explore. Historical tours in India provide everything that a traveler expects from his/her journey. These historical tours give an opportunity to study and explore Indian history.
Historical tours of India generally consisted of four phases: ancient, medieval(中世纪的), modern India and contemporary(当代的)India. Some of the historical travel packages are:
Forts and Palaces
The rich cultural past of India is reflected in the countless(无数的) forts and palaces across the country. Most of the forts were constructed as a defense device to keep the enemy away and palaces were made on the names of the kings and queens. Some of the famous forts and palaces are: Agra Fort (Agra), Fatehpur Sikri (Agra), Hawa Mahal (Jaipur), Amber Fort (Jaipur), City Palace (Jaipur), Gwalior Fort (Gwalior), Mysore Palace (Mysore), Red Fort (Delhi), etc.
India Heritage Tours
The main purpose of India Heritage tours is to make Indians as well as tourists familiar with the rich Indian legacy(遗产). The heritage of the country is at least 5000 years. Some of the heritage tours are: medieval heritage, Rajput heritage, Golden Triangle, splendid Gujarat, etc.
South India Historical Tours
The Southern India is known for its diversity and there are many places, whic(景区) in South India include Goa, Cochin, Kerala, Munnar, Periyar, Kottayam and the list goes on and on.The main purpose of this passage is .
A.to report some important events in the history of India |
B.to introduce some tours that can explore the history of India |
C.to help study the culture and history of India |
D.to tell us how to explore the history of India |
Many tourists prefer to travel to and explore because .
A.modern India has little to study |
B.Indian people have an interesting lifestyle |
C.its culture is greatly influenced by its history |
D.India’s history is longer than that of any other country |
Most forts were built in order to .
A.honor the kings | B.act as a palace for queens |
C.keep enemies away | D.attract tourists |
According to the passage, Rajput heritage .
A.is a famous fort in India |
B.is one of the heritages in India |
C.has a history of no more than 200 years |
D.lies in South India |
“Who does the cooking in your home?” I’m often asked by my colleagues. “My wife and I share it 50/50,” I usually say without hesitation.
It’s a lie, of course. We’re pretty much even(相等的)when it comes to the children and the elderly. But the paying of bills isn’t 50/50-my wife pays all sorts of household expenses, so I never even have to set eyes on them. And the cooking isn’t 50/50, either.
The truth is that I am the cook. On my recent 40th birthday, I received the following gifts from my children: a new pot, two mini bottles of truffle oil, a decorative salad-dressing pourer, and a juice-making machine. For a moment I longed for something more manly, a cricket bat, perhaps, and then had to admit that all these things would be useful for me.
It’s not that my wife can’t or doesn’t like to cook (she makes delicious Welsh cakes). Nor has it always been this way. In the early years of our marriage I’d be relaxing with a glass of wine while my wife prepared for dinner after work.
But at some point that changed and I became the cook. Ten years with my wife gave me the rewards-I can throw together a roast, and I can make much foreign food. But I have truly become a monster(怪物) in the kitchen, unable to keep myself away from cooking. “You have to add Dijon to the sauce; it brings out the taste of the cheese,” I volunteer, as my wife is cooking. “Quick, stir in the butter so the dish becomes delicious.”
Is it any wonder that my wife has given up coming into the kitchen while I find the whole process of chopping, mixing, and adding things deeply satisfying?What do the writer and his wife probably share evenly at home?
a. Cooking in the kitchen.
b. Taking care of the children.
c. Paying household expenses.
d. Taking care of the elderly at home.
A.ab | B.bc | C.bd | D.ac |
The gifts that the writer received on his 40th birthday show that .
A.his children don’t know him at all |
B.he is in charge of the cooking at home |
C.he doesn’t get along well with his children |
D.his children have made wrong choices |
What do we know about the writer’s wife?
A.She can’t cook. |
B.She doesn’t like cooking. |
C.She used to cook for the family. |
D.She only knows how to make Welsh cakes. |
From Paragraph 5 we learn that the writer .
A.likes sticking his nose into other people’s business |
B.doesn’t think his wife is good at cooking |
C.studies very hard in order to cook well |
D.enjoys cooking in the kitchen |
It was a winter morning, just a couple of weeks before Christmas 2005. While most people were warming up their cars, Trevor, my husband, had to get up early to ride his bike four kilometers away from home to work. On arrival, he parked his bike outside the back door as he usually does. After putting in 10 hours of labor, he returned to find his bike gone.
The bike, a black Kona 18 speed, was our only transport. Trevor used it to get to work, putting in 60-hour weeks to support his young family. And the bike was also used to get groceries(食品杂货), saving us from having to walk long distances from where we live.
I was so sad that someone would steal our bike that I wrote to the newspaper and told them our story. Shortly after that, several people in our area offered to help. One wonderful stranger even bought a bike, then called my husband to pick it up. Once again my husband had a way to get to and from his job. It really is an honor that a complete stranger would go out of their way for someone they have never met before.
People say that a smile can be passed from one person to another, but acts of kindness from strangers are even more so. This experience has had a spreading effect in our lives because it strengthened our faith in humanity(人性)as a whole. And it has influenced(影响)us to be more mindful of ways we, too, can share with others. No matter how big or how small, an act of kindness shows that someone cares. And the results can be everlasting.Why was the bike so important to the couple?
A.The man’s job was bike racing. |
B.It was their only possession. |
C.It was a nice Kona 18 speed. |
D.They used it for work and daily life. |
We can infer from the text that ____________.
A.the couple worked 60 hours a week. |
B.people were busy before Christmas |
C.the stranger brought over the bike |
D.life was hard for the young family. |
How did people get to know the couple’s problem?
A.From radio broadcasts. | B.From a newspaper. |
C.From TV news. | D.From a stranger. |
A couple had two little boys aged 8 and 10 who were very naughty. They were always getting into trouble and their parents knew that if any trouble occurred in their town their sons were probably involved.
The boys' mother heard that a clergyman(牧师) in the town had been successful in educating children so she asked if he would speak with her boys. The clergyman agreed but asked to see them individually. So the mother sent her 8-year-old first in the morning with the elder boy to see the clergyman in the afternoon.
The clergyman, a huge man with a booming(嗡嗡) voice, sat the younger boy down and asked him strictly, "Where is God?"
The boy's mouth dropped open but he made no answer, sitting there with his mouth hanging open, wide-eyed. So the clergyman repeated the question in an even stricter tone "Where is God?" Again the boy made no attempt to answer. So the clergyman raised his voice even more and shook his finger in the boy's face and shouted" Where is God?"
The boy screamed and escaped from the room, ran directly home and dove into his closet, slamming the door behind him. When his elder brother found him in the closet, he asked "What happened?"
The younger brother replied out of breath, "We are in big trouble this time. God is missing--and they think we did it."What were the two boys like?
A.They always made trouble. | B.They were brave. |
C.They were easygoing. | D.They were honest. |
What did their parents plan to do?
A.They gave up their children. |
B.They liked their children very much. |
C.They wanted the clergyman to persuade their children. |
D.They helped their children to make trouble. |
What do you suppose the boy felt when he was asked by the clergyman?
A.Happy. | B.Sad. |
C.Afraid. | D.Surprised. |
What do you think the underlined word "slamming" in Paragraph 5 means?
A.Open. | B.Shut. | C.Knock. | D.Pull. |