My wife and I used to feel that it was impossible to be a true friend to someone whose name we didn’t know. How wrong we were! Years of Sunday-morning bus trips through the city with the same group of “nameless” people have changed our thinking. Before the bus takes off, we all join in a conversation: where’s the silent woman who sits up front and never responds to our cheery greetings? Here she comes. Her worn clothing suggests she doesn’t have much money to spare, but she always takes an extra cup of coffee for the driver.
We get smiles from a Mexican couple as they get on the bus hand in hand. When they get off, they’re still holding hands. The woman was pregnant late last year, and one day her change of shape confirmed that she’d delivered the child. We even felt a little pride at the thought of our extended family.
For many months, our only sadness lay in our inability to establish the same friendship with the silent woman at the front of the bus. Then, one evening, we went to a fish restaurant. We were shown to a table alongside someone sitting alone. It was the woman from the bus.
We greeted her with friendly familiarity we’d shown all year, but this time her face softened, then a shy smile. When she spoke, the words escaped awkwardly from her lips. All at once we realized why she hadn’t spoken to us before. Talking was hard for her.
Over dinner, we learned the stay of a single mother with a disabled son who was receiving special care away from home. She missed him desperately, she explained. “I love him… and he loves me, even though he doesn’t express it very well,” she murmured. “Lots of us have that problem, don’t we? We don’t say what we want to say, what we should be saying. And that’s not good enough.” The candles flared on our tables. Our fish had never tasted better. But the atmosphere grew pleasant, and when we parted as friends—we shared names.All the following statements can describe the woman except ______.
| A．poor | B．warm –hearted |
| C．silent | D．cold |
The underlined word “establish” in the 3th paragraph has the same meaning as_________.
| A．keep | B．discover |
| C．set up | D．accept |
The woman had the same problem with her son in the way that ______.
| A．they both disabled people |
| B．they both had some difficulty in expressing |
| C．they both liked bus travel |
| D．they both brought interest to the passengers |
Which of the following might be the best title of this passage?
| A．Friends of the Road | B．The Silent Woman on the Bus |
| C．Going to Work by Bus | D．Different Kinds of Friendship |
When I was growing up in the suburbs of New York, our first local Earth Day was organized around a drive to a town field where families were urged to empty items from their basements （地下室）for recycling rather than dropping them in the dustbin. It was an eye opening idea for a kid in 1970.
But as an environmental reporter, I'm bored of the large amount of deals and promotions that arrive by email or in my office or home mailbox on Earth Day. Like Valentine's Day, Earth Day has become a huge marketing opportunity—a way to promote consumption.
In fact, Earth Day is such a good sales opportunity that some shops, like Target, have expanded Earth Day into Earth Month.
There isn't time to give you a variety of the Earth Day shopping opportunities I was informed of this past week. They included deals on buying bottled water and earth-friendly wipes.
My award for the silliest promotion: a plan to gift 25 of the most environmentally conscious stars with unique, useful and “green” products and services, including skin care products, cheese-cake and artwork. My guess is most of the stuff will end up in celebrities' garbage.
Is buying and selling a good way to celebrate and protect the environment? I would argue that Earth Day might be an occasion to consider giving up purchases or habits that are environmentally questionable or that we could happily do without. How about not buying bottled water, but refilling a water bottle? How about not buying foods—even “organic” foods—that are packed in non-recyclable plastic?
Don't get me wrong. The company of Bridgestone is celebrating Earth Day by promising to repurpose a spent tire（利用废旧轮胎）for every tire that it sells. Verizon will plant a tree for each cell phone you trade in. Some coffee stores will even refill reusable cups at no charge. Target is giving out free reusable carrier bags without requiring a purchase.
But few shopkeepers are taking the next step－charging a fee at the cash register for disposable plastic bags, a common practice in Europe－to encourage customers to use those new reusable carriers.
Earth Day is transient（短暂的）. If you only showed love on Valentine's Day, would that really mean anything at all?The author's first local Earth Day was celebrated by ___________.
| A．driving to the town field |
| B．emptying waste for recycling |
| C．looking for good ideas for reuse |
| D．clearing items from their basements |
Why do some people expand Earth Day into Earth Month?
| A．Because many activities are organized for the day. |
| B．Because they intend to make many sales strategies. |
| C．Because they want to have more selling opportunities. |
| D．Because they have to deal with too much waste. |
According to the author, it's environmentally friendly to .
| A．buy packed organic foods |
| B．offer stars green products |
| C．refill water bottles |
| D．ask for free plastic bags |
It could be inferred from the text that Bridgestone and Verizon .
| A．are likely to misunderstand the author |
| B．have a good way to celebrate Earth Day |
| C．are devoted to making money on Earth Day |
| D．make wrong promotion plans on Earth Day |
“If you have not played video games, your childhood should be called 'incomplete'.” That's from Zhan Zaozao, 29, the screenwriter（编剧）of Play to Grow Up, a 40-minute short movie.
It tells the story of two men growing up fans of video games and how they find happiness in games. While people think playing games makes one lazy and is a waste of time, Zhan tries to prove that one can make a living out of it. In the movie, the two heroes, Dunzi and Yanjing, who are in middle school, visit a video games room on the street each day after school.
But why make a short movie about video games, since there are lots to write about childhood, such as puppy love, sports and study? “Playing games is so important to everyone's childhood from little kids to teenagers, though it's a bittersweet experience,” said Zhan. According to him, his teachers and parents didn't allow video games, but they played games “under their noses ” anyway.
In the movie, the two playmates follow different paths after school. Dunzi opens a small store selling gaming products. Yanjing works as a manager in his father's company, After years of working and facing various problems in life, they get together again, build a video game machine and play on the street. Free, simple and happy. They rediscover the carefree childhood, which they have lost in the adult world.
Many consider playing games as a bad influence, but it isn't all true, according to Zhan. “It can change your attitude toward life,” said Zhan. “On the other hand, the movie also tells you that, although the world of video games is fun, you must face real life at the end of the day. ”What is the purpose of Zhan writing the short movie?
| A．To memorize his past. |
| B．To offer an exciting movie. |
| C．To prove that people can make life better with playing video games. |
| D．To prove that people can make a living out of playing video games. |
What's the fourth paragraph mainly about?
| A．The plot((情节）of the movie. |
| B．The end of playing video games. |
| C．The happy childhood. |
| D．The gathering of the two men. |
What can we infer from the text?
| A．Playing games is forbidden by all parents. |
| B．People can learn something from the movie. |
| C．Playing games is longed by the two heroes. |
| D．People in their childhood couldn't afford the games. |
The writer writes the text to ___________ .
| A．criticize some parents' attitude towards playing video games |
| B．attract people to see the movie Play to Grow Up |
| C．show the film focusing on video games |
| D．promote the film Play to Grow Up |
Dennis Sinar, 51, a doctor from Washington, N. C., is quick to explain why he took a yearlong break from his job. “I was pretty burned out after practicing medicine for 26 years. I needed a recharge.” So he took a “gap year”, from July 2011 to June 2012, to explore things like ancient buildings, antique restoration, and traditional Eastern medicine, in locations including Alaska, Nepal and Romania.
“Taking a break from work is an excellent way for adults to go into a new career or refresh an old one,” said Holly Bull, president of the Center for Interim（过渡时期）Programs in Princeton, N, J., which sets up gap-year programs. The group works mainly with college-age students, but it has also served older adults since it was formed 28 years ago. “In recent years, mid-career breaks have been gaining more interest,” she said. A report on adult gap years published this year by a market research company also described the potential（潜在的）American market for gap years as a “sleeping giant.”
“A gap year is a challenge for the older individual to step out of a comfort zone and take a risk. I enjoyed that side most.” said Dr. Sinar, who kept a daily blog about his experience. His time studying Eastern medicine “reaffirmed（再次肯定）the reasons I went into health care,” said Dr. Sinar, who returned to practice medicine at his old job, although he works fewer days. “I use those experiences to provide my patients with more care,” he added. “And I listen better than I did before.”
George Garritan, chairman of the Department of Leadership and Human Capital Management at New York University, certainly agrees with Dr. Sinar. He said a gap-year experience could be worthwhile for employees and companies. For employees, investing in themselves and improving skill sets is a move that will benefit throughout their career. He added that returning employees feel refreshed and have given more thought to their career. For companies, offering unpaid leaves makes good sense for attracting and keeping talented employees.
“My hope is that this takes off,” Dr. Garritan said. “We’re all thinking, ‘What’s my next act?’ ”Dr. Sinar took a gap year because he _________.
| A．gave up his old job |
| B．felt exhausted after 26 years’ work |
| C．wanted to travel very much |
| D．became interested in historical research |
After his gap year, Dr. Sinar _________.
| A．became more considerate in his job |
| B．regretted taking a “gap year” |
| C．was eager to explore ancient buildings |
| D．Improved his speaking ability |
What’s George Garritan’s attitude toward the “gap year”?
| A．Unhappy.. | B．Positive | C．Uninterested. | D．Negative. |
What’s the passage mainly about?
| A．Whether a gap year is popular with adults. |
| B．How an adult plans a mid-career gap year. |
| C．Why a gap year is worthwhile for adults. |
| D．Why a gap year is challenging for individuals. |
An energy watchdog is alarmed about the threat to the environment from the increasing electricity needs of gadgets（小装置）like MP3 players, mobile phones and flat screen TVs.
In a report today, the Paris-based International Energy Agency says new electronic gadgets will be three times their energy consumption by 2030 to 1,700 terawatt hours（千瓦时）, which is equal to today's home electricity consumption of the United States and Japan combined.
The world would have to build around 200 new nuclear power plants just to power all the TVs, iPods, PCs and other home electronics expected to be plugged in by 2030,when the global electric bill to power them will rise to $200 billion a year, the agency said.
“Consumer electronics is the fastest growing area and the area with the least amount of policies in place to control energy efficiency, ” said Paul Waide, a senior policy analyst at the agency.
Electronic gadgets already account for about 15 percent of household electric consumption, a share that is rising rapidly as the number of these gadgets multiplies. Last year, the world spent $80 billion on electricity to power all these household electronics, the energy agency said.
“ Most of the increase in consumer electronics will be in developing countries, where economic growth is the fastest and ownership rates of gadgets are the lowest , ” Waide said.
“This will jeopardize efforts to increase energy security and reduce the amount of greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.” the agency said. Existing technologies’ could cut down gadgets’ energy consumption by more than 30 percent at no cost or by more than 50 percent at a small cost, the agency estimates, meaning total greenhouse gas emissions（排放） from households’ electronic gadgets could be held stable（稳定的） at around 500 million tons of CO2 per year.How many terawatt hours did the energy consumption of new electronic gadgets reach?
| A．Nearly l, 700. | B．Nearly 600. | C．About 200. | D．About 60. |
What is the condition in the area of consumer electronics?
| A．There are a lot of rules to control the market. |
| B．There are few policies to control energy efficiency. |
| C．There are few choices for the customers. |
| D．There are lots of regulations to protect consumers' rights. |
The underlined word “jeopardize” in the last paragraph probably means “”.
| A．harm | B．inspire | C．strengthen | D．encourage |
We can know from the last paragraph that existing technologies ___________.
| A．are able to control gadgets’ energy consumption |
| B．could do nothing about gadgets’ energy consumption |
| C．could only cut down gadgets’ energy consumption by 30 percent |
| D．cut down gadgets’ energy consumption at great cost |
More than 27,000 people from around the UK set off at dawn from London to begin the cycle route through Surrey to the Sussex coast.
The annual（一年一度的）54-mile ride raises money for the British Heart Foundation（BHF） and is Europe’s largest charity cycling event. Cyclists began the exhausting journey at Clapham Common at 6 a. m. , hoping to reach Brighton seafront within an average of six hours.
Money from today's event will help the charity to continue its vital work through heart research and the development of its care and support services. Among those taking part was BBC Breakfast's resident（居民）Dr Rosemary Leonard and several colleagues.
BHF spokeswoman Gemma Cloke said, “It was quite cold this morning, but everyone set off without any problems.” Those taking part range in age from 14 to those in their 70s. Last year cyclists raised￡4. 1 million for the charity, and have raised more than￡50 million since the BHF became involved in the event in 1980. The first ride was held in 1976. It is hoped this year's fund raising total could reach￡4. 5 million. She added : “We have a lot of people taking part, from the more experienced cyclists to those cycling with friends and family in memory of someone and to raise money through sponsorship.”
“People are always pleased knowing the money is going to a good cause. There is so much support along the route, with local residents watching the ride. ”
“One of the highlights for participants（参加者）is coming along the seafront while people are clapping, which can really help when they've been in the saddle (自行车车座) for a long time. ”What can we know about the cycling event from the text?
| A．It is the world’s largest charity cycling event. |
| B．Cyclists may raise more money than last year. |
| C．The first event was held by the BHF in 1980. |
| D．The route of the event is 54 kilometers long. |
What can we learn from what Gemma Cloke said?
| A．Cyclists will receive encouragement from local people. |
| B．Some people doubt whether the money is properly used. |
| C．Most of the cyclists are professional. |
| D．Local people have little interest in cycling events. |
The local residents’ attitude towards the ride is .
| A．doubtful | B．unconcerned | C．worried | D．supportive |
What is the text mainly about?
| A．Cyclists have raised over￡50 million for the BHF. |
| B．More than 27,000 people like travelling by bike in the UK. |
| C．Charity cycling event wins support from local people. |
| D．More than 27,000 people in the UK join in the charity bike ride. |