A heartless thief is believed to have crashed a fund-raiser and made off with a bag of cash meant to help a New York City firefighter pay for life-changing surgery for his 9-year-old son. But little Aidan Sullivan -- who was born with a facial defect and no right ear -- yesterday put up a brave front, with a message for the crook(thief): "I'm going to kick your butt!"
"I want to look normal," said Aidan, whose father, Tim, is a firefighter in the Bronx. The third-grader has hemi facial micro soma, in which one half of the face doesn't develop correctly.
Last weekend, family friend Peter Drake, a Ridgefield, Conn., firefighter, hosted a fund-raiser, collecting between $8,000 and $9,000. But when the party at a Danbury, Conn., Irish cultural center was over, the money had disappeared.
"At the end of the night, all the money that was donated was put in a zippered bag," said Tim Sullivan. "A bartender gave the bag to Pete... He had it in his hands. He put it down to go do something, and when he came back, he saw that it was missing."
Sullivan said his longtime friend -- who has had fund-raisers to pay for Aidan's 10 previous surgeries -- is "devastated."
"Pete was so upset. He kept saying, 'I let Aidan down, I let Aidan down,” Colleen Sullivan, 40, recalled.
"We even went Dumpster diving, in case it was thrown out."
The Sullivans plan to go ahead with the March 1 surgery led by specialists at NYU's Langone Medical Center in Manhattan. The money would have offset the $10,000 to $15,000 that insurance doesn't cover. Yesterday, Aidan said he's not a fan of hospitals and doesn't like to be away from his sister, Kaylee, 4. But he's willing to do it. "I'm excited," he said. "Finally, an ear."Where do you probably read this text from?
| A．A magazine. | B．A newspaper. |
| C．A book. | D．An advertisement. |
How did little Aidan Sullivan feel when he knew the money was missing.
| A．He felt excited. | B．He felt surprised. |
| C．He felt upset. | D．He felt annoyed. |
What is the money used for according to this text?
| A．To help Aidan Sullivan to have another operation. |
| B．To help pay for Aidan Sullivan’s life insurance. |
| C．To return the money the Sullivans owed to the hospital. |
| D．To help a firefighter who got hurt in the ear. |
What is true of little Aidan Sullivan?
| A．He hates going to hospital. |
| B．He will go to New York for the surgery. |
| C．He didn’t care too much about the lost money. |
| D．He has received 10 surgeries before. |
What can we infer about Pete from the text?
| A．He was heartless. | B．He was kind. |
| C．He was caress. | D．He was a firefighter. |
Heroes of Our Time
A good heart
Dikembe Mutombo grew up in Africa among great poverty and disease. He came to Georgetown University on a scholarship to study medicine—but Coach John Thompson got a look at Dikembe and had a different idea. Dikembe became a star in the NBA, and a citizen of the United States. But he never forgot the land of his birth, or the duty to share his fortune with others. He built a new hospital in his old hometown in the Congo. A friend has said of this goodhearted man: “ Mutombo believes that God has given him this chance to do great things.”
Success and kindness
After her daughter was born, Julie Aigner-Clark searched for ways to share her love of music and art with her child. So she borrowed some equipment, and began filming children’s videos in her own house. The Baby Einstein Company was born, and in just five years her business grew to more than $20 million in sales. And she is using her success to help others—producing child safety videos with John Walsh of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Julie says of her new program: “ I believe it’s the most important thing that I have ever done. I believe that children have the right to live in a world that is safe.”
Bravery and courage
A few weeks ago, Wesley Autrey was waiting at a Harlen subway station with his two little girls when he saw a man fall into the path of a train. With seconds to act, Wesley jumped onto the tracks, pulled the man into the space between the rails, and held him as the train passed right above their heads. He insists he’s not a hero. He says: “ We have got to show each other some love.”
1, What was Mutombo praised for?
A, Being a star in the NBA B, Being a student of medicine
C, His work in the church D, His willingness to help the needy
2, Mutombo believes that building the new hospital is __________
A, helpful to his personal development B, something he should do for his homeland
C, a chance for his friends to share his money D, a way of showing his respect to the NBA
3, What did the Baby Einstein Company do at its beginning?
A, Produce safety equipment for children B, Make videos to help protect children
C, Sell children’s music and artwork D, Look for missing and exploited children
4, Why was Wesley Autrey praised as a hero?
A, He helped a man get across the rails
B, He stopped a man from destroying the rails
C, He protected two little girls from getting hurt
D, He saved a person without considering his own safety.
A child survivor of the Indian Ocean tsunami and a girl from the United States who offered help met for the first time after the disaster.
The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami destroyed Nada Luthfiyyah’s small town in Aceh. Her parents and two brothers were among the 160,000 people who died in the disaster. Maggie Hamilton’s classmates in the state of Michigan decided to make and sell bracelets (手镯) to raise money for the victims. Maggie, who was 9 years old at the time, wrote a letter to survivors to offer help. Nada was selected from her class to respond with a letter of thanks.
Three and a half years later, the two girls met for the first time. Their meeting was arranged by the Indonesian government, and was used as a symbol of the two countries’aid relationship. Their letters were quoted by diplomats (外交官)of both countries.
Maggie, visiting the town under reconstruction, said she did not expect that her letter would draw so much attention, but, she said, the experience helped to make her more active in volunteering work. "I’ve been volunteering at a nursing home in Ohio. I just want to help people whenever I can," Maggie said.
Juanda, the spokesman for Indonesia’s tsunami reconstruction agency, says the meeting of the two girls serves as a symbol of their informal relationship. It will represent the international community’s role in Aceh’s future. "I think what we can learn from this experience is that Nada from Aceh and Maggie from the U.S. are able to share their experiences, friendship, knowledge and support," Juanda says.
Maggie says she wants to learn Indonesian and hopes to have Nada visit her home in Michigan sometime, perhaps next year.
1. Nada and Maggie first made contact with each other through ______.
A. letters B. visiting the diplomats
C. arrangements by the government D. informal visits
2. From the text we know that ______.
A. Maggie and Nada’s friendship is a symbol of the two countries’ friendship
B. 16,000 people lost their lives in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami
C. Maggie volunteered to work in the reconstruction after the tsunami
D. Maggie is now a volunteer working in Nada’s hometown
3. The text mainly tells us that ______.
A. Indonesian and American girls build friendship after a tsunami
B. the Indian Ocean tsunami influenced the USA
C. letters are an advantage in building friendships
D. Indonesia is under construction after a tsunami
Books, software, and videos, no matter what you are looking for, if you turn on a computer and log (登录) on the Internet, you are sure to find something.
E-books are all over the Internet; some are free, and some are not. E-books are basically electronic books you can read without having to carry heavy books and flip through (翻阅) all the pages. Now authors not only sell regular books in bookstores but also sell e-books on the Internet. Some e-books are sold on CDs, too.
You can get all types of software right from the Internet. After you download it, you have it. It is so convenient that you can get it even without leaving the house. These are the advantages we have in today’s high-tech world.
We can find videos of different people. There are so many websites with videos that it would take you some time to actually go through them all. The cool thing about videos is that some people have their own websites or their own spaces where they can upload (上传) videos of their families or of different events and allow other people to view them. It is amazing.
The Internet is an exciting place and it plays a big part in our lives today. You can even pay your bills on the Internet if that’s what you want to do. The marketing industry is also doing a lot better because of the Internet. Companies can communicate very quickly with each other over the Internet.
1. What can we know from the second paragraph?
A. People are free to read e-books on the Internet.
B. People prefer e-books to paper books.
C. Some authors sell e-books in bookstores.
D. Some people sell e-books on CDs.
2. What can we know about the videos online according to the passage?
A. They are making human rights harder to protect.
B. They can include a lot of personal information.
C. They allow viewers to get to know each other more easily.
D. It’s a waste of time to watch videos online.
3. It can be inferred from the passage that _______.
A. people have to pay to download software
B. people usually pay their bills on the Internet these days
C. the Internet allows people to communicate more quickly
D. a lot of people still like paper books
4. The purpose of the passage is to______.
A. suggest that people start reading e-books on the Internet
B. advise people to form good computer habits
C. introduce many uses of the Internet
D. discuss problems people have online
三，阅读理解(共15小题；每小题2分,满分30分)
阅读下列短文,从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中,选出最佳选项。
During his college years, Rogers spent his summer holidays at an Idaho logging camp (伐木场). When Roy, the manager, had to leave for a few days, he put Rogers in charge. "What if the workers refuse to follow my orders?" Rogers asked. He thought of Tony, a worker who was always giving the other men a hard time. "Fire them," Roy said. Then, as if reading Rogers’ mind, he added, "I suppose you want to fire Tony if you get the chance. I’d feel bad about that. Tony is the most reliable worker I’ve ever had. I know he complains a lot, but he comes first and leaves last. There has not been an accident on the hill where he works for eight years." Rogers took over the manager’s job the next day. He went to Tony and spoke to him, "Tony, did you know that I’m in charge today?" Tony didn’t show any respect or interest. "I was going to fire you because you once gave me a hard time, but I want you to know I’m not," he told Tony, adding what Roy had said. When Rogers finished, tears streamed down Tony’s face. That day Tony worked harder than ever before —and he smiled for the first time! Rogers went back to school after that summer. Twelve years later he met Tony again. He was in charge of one of the largest logging companies in the West. Rogers asked him how he managed to become so successful. Tony replied, "If it were not for that time you spoke to me back in Idaho, I would not be myself today. That one minute changed my whole life." Have you got one minute to appreciate someone? It can make a difference for a lifetime.
1. Which of the following statements about Tony is TRUE?
A. He didn’t care about his work.
B. He never showed respect to his co-workers.
C. Nobody liked Tony because of his bad temper.
D. He worked hard but he always complained.
2. The manager’s attitude towards Tony is _____.
A. strict B. doubtful C. satisfied D. negative
3. Rogers changed his mind and didn’t fire Tony because _______.
A. Tony smiled at him
B. he learned more about Tony’s work
C. Roy didn’t give him the power to fire anyone
D. Tony didn’t give him a hard time anymore
4. What can we learn from Tony’s success?
A. It’s never too late to learn.
B. Well begun is half done.
C. It’s necessary to work with a wise boss.
D. It’s important to recognize others’ good qualities.
The United States government wants to know what the public thinks about its findings on the safety of cloned animals．
The Food and Drug Administration says meat and milk from clones of adult animals are safe to eat．They called them “as safe to eat as the food we eat every day”．
And when those clones reproduce sexually(有性繁殖)，the agency says，their offspring(后代) are safe to eat as well．
The United States this year could become the first country to allow the sale of foods from cloned animals．
First，however，the public will have ninety days to comment on three proposed
documents．On December 28th the F．D．A．released a long report，called a draft risk assessment，along with two policy documents．
The agency says it must receive comments by April second．The F．D．A． seemed ready to act several years ago，but an advisory committee called for more research．
For now，the government will continue to ask producers to honor a request that
they not sell foods from cloned animals．
Clones are still rare．They cost a lot and are difficult to produce．
The F．D．A．says most food from cloning is expected to come not from clones themselves，but from their sexually reproduced offspring．It says clones are expected to be used mostly as breeding animals to spread good qualities．
Public opinion studies show most Americans do not like the idea of food from cloned animals．But this research also shows the public knows little about cloning．
Cloning differs from genetic engineering．A cell taken from a so-called donor animal is grown into an embryo(胚胎)in the laboratory．Next，the embryo is placed into the uterus(子宫)of a female animal．If the process is successful，the pregnancy reaches full term and a genetic copy of the donor animal is born．
1．From the passage，we can conclude________．
A．cloned adult animals are safe to eat
B．foods from cloned animals are popular in America
C．cloned animals will be easy to produce
D．most foods from cloning is expected to come from clones themselves
2．The main purpose of the text is to________．
A．tell a story B．give a report
C．give advice D．compare opinions
3．Who believe that foods from cloning are safe to eat?
A．Most Americans． B．An advisory committee．
C．Critics． D．The F．D．A．
4．It can be inferred from the last paragraph that________
A．cloning has much in common with genetic
B．not every cell taken from a donor animal can grow into a genetic copy
C．the donor animal should be a female one
D．cloned animals grow faster than normal ones