I was in a strange city and I didn't know the city at all, and what is more, I could not speak a word of the language. After having spent my first day in the town-centre, I decided to lose my way on my second day, since I believed that this was the simplest way of getting to know the strange city, I got on the first bus that passed, rode on it for several stops, then got off it and walked on. The first two hours passed pleasantly enough. Then I decided to turn back to my hotel for lunch. After walking about for some time, I decided I had better ask the way. The trouble was that the only word I knew of the language was the name of the street in which I lived and even then I pronounced it badly. I stopped to ask a friendly-looking newspaper-seller. He smiled and handed me a paper. I shook my head and repeated the name of the street and he put the paper into my hands. I had to give him some money and went on my way. The next person I asked was a policeman. The policeman listened to me carefully, smiled and gently took me by the arm. There was a strange look in his eyes as he pointed left and right and left again. I thanked him politely and began walking in the direction he pointed. About an hour passed and I noticed that the houses were getting fewer and fewer and green fields were appearing on either side of me. I had come all the way into the countryside. The only thing left for me to do was to find the nearest railway station.The writer believed that if you wanted to get to know a strange city, ________.
| A．you should go everywhere on foot |
| B．you should have a map |
| C．you should ask people the way |
| D．you should get lost |
The newspaper-seller ________.
| A．could understand what he said |
| B．didn't know what he said |
| C．laughed at him |
| D．didn't want to take the money |
The writer's real trouble was that ________.
| A．he couldn't speak the language |
| B．he followed the policeman's direction |
| C．he took the wrong bus |
| D．he left the town-centre |
The policeman ________.
| A．didn't help him |
| B．pointed at him |
| C．didn't understand what he really meant |
| D．didn't know the way |
A South African farmer is receiving phone calls from his sheep after equipping them with cell phones to keep tabs on the flockamidrecentlivestockthefts, according to local press Wednesday.
When the sheep call, it is always bad news for farmer Erard Louw of the Cape Town suburbs, as the phones around their necks are only set to switch on when the sheep start running, a sign that thieves have cut through the fences.
"As they run it gives me a phone call and says 'Sheep One' or 'Sheep Two' and so on, so at least I know where to start looking because the farm is 750 hectares (1,850 acres)," Louw told the Cape Times daily.
Louw attached the phone-like security device to the collars of four sheep in separate flocks after thieves sneaked in and stole 27 sheep and 13lambs a couple of weeks ago, driving Louw to rack his brains for ways to protect his animals.
He said there was no use calling nearby police, as they were stationed too far away and in his experience they either lacked an available car or the vehicle was out of fuel or missing tyres -- also the work of thieves.
According to Louw, the cell phones have already proved their worth, with one sheep-snatchercaught thanks to the device.
Still, with theft attempts currently at their peak, given long winter nights and early nightfall, a few sheep-robbers managed to get away in spite of the device.
"The phone did start ringing that night and I went out," he said, but added that he was too late.Why did Erard Louw attach the phone-like device to the sheep he raises?
| A．Because he thought it was fun to do. |
| B．Because the police there didn’t care about animals. |
| C．Because he liked hi-tech very much. |
| D．Because he wanted to protect them against thieves. |
What does the underlined expression in Paragraph 4 probably mean?
| A．Try very hard to remember or think of something. |
| B．Have a headache. |
| C．Make the brain bigger. |
| D．Shake the brain from side to side. |
You can most probably read this passage______.
| A．in a book |
| B．in a dictionary |
| C．in a newspaper |
| D．in a novel |
Man, a land animal. But he is also closely tied to the sea. Throughout history the sea has served the needs of man. The sea has provided man with food and a convenient way to travel to many parts of the world. Today, nearly two-thirds of the world’s population live within 80 kilometers of the sea coast.
In the modern technological world, the sea offers many resources to help mankind survive. Resources on land are beginning to be used up. The sea, however, still can be hoped to supply many of man’s needs.
The list of riches of the sea yet to be developed by man’s technology is big. Oil and gas explorations have been carried out for nearly 30 years. Valuable amounts of minerals exist on the ocean floor ready to be mined.
Fish farming promises to be a good way to produce large quantities of food. The culture of fish and shellfish (贝类动物) is an ancient skill practised in the past mainly by Oriental people, including people in China.
Besides oil and gas, the sea may offer new sources of energy. Experts believe that the warm temperature of the ocean can be used in a way similar to the steam in a steamship. Ocean currents and waves offer possible use as a source of energy.
Technology is enabling man to explore ever more deeply under the sea. The development of strong, new materials has made this possible.
The technology to harvest the sea continues to improve. Experts believe that by the year 2020 the problems that prevent us from exploiting（开发） fully the food, minerals, and energy sources of the sea will be largely solved.Valuable amounts of minerals are ______.
| A．in the ocean water | B．in the warm ocean water |
| C．on the sea coast | D．on the ocean floor |
We can conclude from this passage that ______.
| A．the sea resources have largely been used up |
| B．the sea, in the broad sense, has not yet been developed |
| C．the problems that prevent us from using the food, minerals, and energy sources of the sea have already been solved. |
| D．by the year 2020 , the technology will be good enough to exploit all the sea resources |
The underlined words “Oriental people” in the fourth paragraph probably mean ______.
| A．the people in Asia | B．African people |
| C．European people | D．American people |
The best title for this passage is ______.
| A．Sea Harvest | B．Sea Food |
| C．Technology for Exploiting the Sea | D．Man and the Sea |
"He who can have patience can have what he wants," said Benjamin Franklin. They say patience is a virtue (美德) seldom found in women and never in men. This may or may not be true, but it's fair to say that there is nobody on the earth who couldn't benefit from more patience.
Patience is necessary for success.
It is said that "all good things come to those who wait". Many of the great scientists have remarked that their scientific discoveries came only through patient perseverance (坚持). Edison said, "Genius was 99% perspiration and only 1% inspiration." Patience teaches us to value the effort and not just the success. It is a mistake to think that happiness can only be obtained through achievements.
Patience brings peace of mind.
When we desire certain outcomes (结果), we'll have no peace of mind. Even if one desire is filled, the nature of desire is that more will appear in its place. There is no end to human desires. Patience means we will work with an attitude of detachment (超然).
Patience can transform suffering into joy.
Throughout life we suffer injustice; the best healer is patience. Through being patient and accepting our situation, it's quite possible for our suffering to be transformed.
Sri Chinmoy said, "If failure has the strength to turn your life into bitterness itself, then patience has the strength to turn your life into the sweetest joy."Whose saying supports the idea that patience makes a person joyful?
| A．Franklin's | B．Edison's | C．Chinmoy's | D．Einstein's |
In the writer's opinion, _____ .
| A．human desires will easily be filled |
| B．patience is a virtue seldom found in a person |
| C．happiness can only be obtained through success |
| D．patience is the best medicine of suffering |
How is the whole passage organized?
| A．General-detail-general. | B．General-detail. |
| C．Detail-general-detail. | D．Detail-general. |
Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
| A．We All Need Patience | B．Patience Means Success |
| C．Benefits of Patience | D．We Should Not Be patient |
If you don’t use a dictionary. What should you do instead? The first thing you can do is trying to guess what the word means. Often the surrounding context gives a very clear idea of the meaning of the word. Even if you can’t work out the meaning exactly, you may be able to get a vague idea, enough to enable you to continue reading.
Sometimes It is impossible to guess the meaning of a word from the context and then you will have to decide whether the word is important enough to make it worthwhile stopping and looking it up in a dictionary or whether you can just pass it by.
Many times in your reading, you will come across words which you don’t know, but which do not prevent you from understanding all the main points of the text. You can made your dictionary use much more efficient if you only look up the words which are necessary to understand the text. and this means that you must develop the skill to decide whether the words are worth looking up.The passage mainly tells us in our reading what we would do.
| A．without knowledge of English |
| B．when we look up words in a dictionary |
| C．when we are guessing new words |
| D．without using a dictionary |
What does the underlined word “vague” mean?
| A．Mysterious. | B．Not clear. | C．Exact. | D．Important. |
In our reading some words we don’t know.
| A．help us to understand the text well |
| B．don’t prevent us from understanding the main points of the text |
| C．will be remembered forever |
| D．are borrowed from other languages |
In this passage the writer.
| A．advised us to use the dictionary as much as possible |
| B．told us not to be discouraged by the sight of a dictionary |
| C．gave us some advice on how to deal with these unknown words |
| D．introduced some ways to take notes in the course of reading |
I shall never forget the day when the earthquake took place. The time was about 5 o’clock in the afternoon and I was driving along the road to take my daughter from school. Our plan was to go swimming together. I had finished my work at 4 o’clock and then gone to the Post Office. Then I’d stopped off at a shop in order to get some fresh fruit. We like to have some fruit to eat after our swim.
I was driving along a high road on my way to my daughter’s school. Over my road was another road which was built like a bridge for cars coming to the other way. I was hungry so I put the bag of apples in the seat beside me and started to eat one.
Suddenly I saw the cars in front of me start to move from side to side. Then my car started to shake! I didn’t know what was happening. Perhaps something had gone wrong with my car. I drove a little more slowly and then I stopped the car and at the same moment the road fell onto the cars in front of me.
I found myself in the dark. I couldn’t move. The bottom parts of both of my legs and my feet were hurting badly and I couldn’t move them. All around me was quiet. But above me I could hear shouts and a lot of noise. Then I memorized (记起) what had happened. I had been in an earthquake.
For about two hours nobody came. Luckily I could reach the bag of apples, so at least I had plenty to eat. Then I heard people climbing towards me. A team of people had come to see if anyone was under the broken road. I called out. “I’m here!” I heard a shout. Soon a stranger climbed to the side of the road near my car. “How are you doing?” he asked.
“Not too bad,” I said, “but my feet and leg feel as if they’re broken.” “We’ll have you out of there just as soon as we can.” They didn’t get me out until the next morning. I had been in my car for fourteen hours.When the earthquake took place, the writer was ______.
| A．on his way to the Post Office | B．stopping off a shop |
| C．doing some shopping | D．under a road built like a bridge |
The writer’s car began to move from side to side because ________.
| A．there was something wrong with his car |
| B．he ate apples as he drove |
| C．an earthquake began to happen |
| D．he drove too fast |
Which is the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．When the earthquake happened, the writer was with his daughter together. |
| B．The writer’s leg and feet were badly wounded in the earthquake. |
| C．The writer was saved as soon as the stranger climbed up the road. |
| D．The writer was frightened that he forgot everything that happened around. |