Arriving in Sydney on his own from India, my husband, Rashid, stayed in a hotel for a short time while looking for a house for me and our children.
During the first week of his stay, he went out one day to do some shopping. He came back in the late afternoon to discover that his suitcase was gone. He was extremely worried as the suitcase had all his important papers, including his passport.
He reported the case to the police and then sat there, lost and lonely in a strange city, thinking of the terrible troubles of getting all the paperwork organized again from a distant country while trying to settle down in a new one.
Late in the evening, the phone rang. It was a stranger. He was trying to pronounce my husband’s name and was asking him a lot of questions. Then he said they had found a pile of papers in their trash can(垃圾桶)that had been left out on the footpath.
My husband rushed to their home to find a kind family holding all his papers and documents(文件). Their young daughter had gone to the trash can and found a pile of unfamiliar papers. Her parents had carefully sorted them out, although they had found mainly foreign addresses on most of the documents. At last they had seen a half-written letter in the pile in which my husband had given his new telephone number to a friend.
That family not only restored the important documents to us that day but also restored our faith and trust in people. We still remember their kindness and often send a warm wish their way. What did Rashid plan to do after his arrival in Sydney?
A.Go shopping | B.Take his family |
C.Join his family | D.Find a house |
The girl’s parents got Rashid’s phone number from_______.
A.a friend of his family | B.a Sydney policeman |
C.a letter in his papers | D.a stranger in Sydney |
.What does the underlined word “restored” in the last paragraph mean?
A.Showed | B.Gave back |
C.Delivered | D.Sent out |
Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
A.Turning Trash to Treasure.. | B.Living in a New Country. |
C.From India to Australia | D.In Search of New Friends. |
Ireland has had a very difficult history. The problems started in the 16th century when English rulers tried to conquer Ireland. For hundreds of years, the Irish people fought against the English. Finally, in 1921, the British government was forced to give independence to the south of Ireland. The result is that today there are two “Irelands”. Northern Ireland, in the north, is part of the United Kingdom. The Republic of Ireland, in the south, is an independent country.
In the 1840s the main crop, potatoes, was affected by disease and about 750,000 people died of hunger. This, and a shortage (短缺) of work , forced many people to leave Ireland and live in the USA, the UK, Australia and Canada. As a result of these problems, the population fell from 8.2 million in 1841 to 6.6 million in 1851.
For many years, the majority of Irish people earned their living as farmers. Today, many people still work on the land but more and more people are moving to the cities to work in factories and offices. Life in the cities is very different from life in the countryside, where things move at a quieter and slower pace.
The Irish are famous for being warm-hearted and friendly. Oscar Wilde, a famous Irish writer, once said that the Irish were “the greatest talkers since the Greeks”. Since independence, Ireland has revived(复兴) its own culture of music, language, literature and singing. Different areas have different styles of old Irish song which are sung without instruments. Other kinds of Irish music use many different instruments such as the violin, whistles, etc.What does the author tell us in paragraph 1?
A.How the Irish fought against the English. |
B.How Ireland gained independence. |
C.How English rulers tried to conquer Ireland. |
D.How two “Irelands” came into being.. |
We learn from the text that in Ireland .
A.food shortages in the 1840s led to a decrease in population |
B.people are moving to the cities for lack of work in the countryside |
C.it is harder to make a living as a farmer than as a factory worker |
D.different kinds of old Irish songs are all sung with instruments |
The last paragraph is mainly about.
A.the Irish character | B.Irish culture |
C.Irish musical instruments | D.a famous Irish writer |
What can be the best title for the text?
A.Life in Ireland |
B.A Very Difficult History |
C.Ireland, Past and Present |
D.The Independence of Ireland |
Student Membership-----Cambridge Arts Cinema
Cambridge Arts Cinema is one of the art houses in Britain and home of the internationally celebrated Cambridge Film Festival. Since 1947 generations of students have discovered the wealth of world cinema. Now you too can make most of it and save money. If you’re a member of Cambridge Arts Cinema, you will enjoy free .
A.Darkroom Gallery shows |
B.mailed programmes |
C.special film events |
D.film shows |
How long will the membership for Cambridge Arts Cinema last?
A.Four months. | B.Eight months. |
C.Nine months. | D.One year. |
For what purpose is the text written?
A.Offering students cheaper tickets. |
B.Announcing the opening of a premiere. |
C.Telling the public of the cinema’s address. |
D.Increasing the cinema’s membership. |
F. Scott Fitzgerald, born on September 24,1896, an American novelist, was once a student of St. Paul Academy, the Newman School and attended Princeton. University for a short while. In 1917 he joined the army and was posted in Alabama, where he met his future wife Zelda Sayre. Then he had to make some money to impress her.
His life with her was full of great happiness, as he wrote in his diary : “ My own happiness in the past often approached such joy that I could share it even with the person dearest to me but had to walk it away in quiet streets and take down parts of it in my diary. ”
This side of paradise, his first novel, was published in 1920. encouraged by its success, Fitzgerald began to devote more time to his writing. Then he continued with the novel the Beautiful and Damned (1922), a collection of short stories Thales of the Jazz Age (1922), and a play The Vegetable (1923). But his greatest success was The Great Gatsby, published in 1925,which quick brought him praise from the literary world. Yet it failed to give him the needed financial security. Then, in 1926, he published another collection lf short stories All the Sad Young Men.
However, Fitzgerald’s problems with his wife Zelda affected his writing. During the 1920s he tried to reorder his life, but failed. By 1930, his wife had her first breakdown and went to a Swiss clinic. During this period he completed novels Tender Is the Night in 1934 and The love of the last Tycoon in 1940.While his wife was in hospital in the United States, he got totally addicted to alcohol. Sheila Graham, his dear friend, helped him fight his alcoholism. How many novels written by Fitzgerald are mentioned in the passage ?
A.5 | B.6 | C.7 | D.8 |
Which of the following is the correct order to describe Fitzgerald’s life according to the passage?
a. He became addicted to drinking.
b. He studied at St. Paul Academy.
c. He published his first novel This Side of Paradise.
d. The Great Gatsby won high praise.
e. He failed to reorder his life.
f. He joined the army and met Zelda.
A.f-c-e-a-b-d | B.b-e-a-f-c-d |
C.f-d-e-c-b-a | D.b-f-c-d-e-a |
We can infer from the passage that Fitzgerald.
A.had made some money when he met Zelda in Alabama. |
B.was well educated and well off before he served in the army |
C.would have completed more works if his wife hadn’t broken down |
D.helped his friend get rid of drinking while his wife was in hospital |
The passage is probably followed by a concluding paragraph about_______ .
A.Zelda’s personal life |
B.Zelda’s illness and treatment |
C.Fitzgerald’s friendship with Graham |
D.Fitzgerald’s contributions to the literary (文学的)world |
Brave Frenchman Found Half-way Around the World
(NEW YORK) A French tourist highly praised for rescuing a two-year-old girl in Manhattan said he didn’t think twice before diving into the freezing East River.
Tuesday’s Daily News said 29-year who left the spot quickly after the rescue last Saturday.
He lifted the little girl out of the water after she fell off the bank at the South Street Scaport museum. He handed the girl to her father, David Anderson, who had dived in after him.
“I didn’t think at all,” Duret told the Daily News. “It happened very fast. I reacted very fast. ”
Duret, an engineer on vacation ,was walking with his girlfriend along the pier(码头)when he saw something falling into the water . He thought it was a doll, but realized it was a child when he approached the river. In an instant ,he took off his coat and jumped into the water.
When he reached the girl, she appeared lifeless, he said . Fortunately, when she was out of the water, she opened her eyes.
Anderson said his daughter slipped off the bank when he was adjusting his camera. An ambulance came later for her, said Duret, who was handed dry clothes from cookers. Duret caught a train with his girlfriend shortly after.
The rescue happened on the day before he left for France. Duret said he didn’t realize his tale of heroism until he was leaving the next morning . “I don’t really think I’m a hero,” said Duret. “Anyone would do the same ting. ” Why was Duret in New York?
A.To meet his girlfriend | B.To work as an engineer |
C.To spend his holiday | D.To visit the Andersons. |
What did Duret do shortly after the ambulance came?
A.He was interviewed by a newspaper |
B.He asked his girlfriend for his dry clothes |
C.He went to the hospital in the ambulance |
D.He disappeared from the spot quickly |
Who dived after Duret into the river to save the little girl?
A. David Anderson | B. A passer-by |
C. His girlfriend | D. a taxi driver. |
When was duet most probably found to be the very hero?
A.The day when he was leaving for home. |
B.A couple of days after the girl was rescued |
C.The first day when he was in New York |
D.The same day when he was interviewed. |
Ted Shreds doesn’t like cars. He wants people to stop driving because cars make the air dirty. Ted had an idea. He said,“I’m going to cycle around North America. I want to show everyone that cycling is a fun way to get around. If more people ride bikes, the air will be cleaner.”
He left his hometown with $160 in his pocket. When he got to San Diego, he met another cyclist. The cyclist invited Ted to speak at a big meeting about the environment. He said,“We’ll pay your airfare to Texas and we’ll pay you to talk about your cycling trip.”Two hours late, Ted was on a plane to the environmental conference and to a big surprise!
While he was at the conference, he met Deanna, it was love at first sight! They talked for six hours straight.
The next day, Ted called Deanna and asked her to finish the trip with him. Deanna said yes, sold everything in her apartment, gave her notice at work, and was on the road with Ted 20 days later!
“It was difficult at first,”said Deanna.“Ted got up every morning at 6:00 a.m., but I wanted to sleep until noon.”After a few days, they started having fun. As they cycled from Florida to Montreal and then back to Vancouver, every day was an adventure. People paid for their food in restaurants and gave them extra money. Some people gave them $50 or $100.They slept in people’s backyards and drank beer with motorcycle gangs.
On their way back to Vancouver, they stopped in Edmonton to visit Ted’s relatives. During the stopover, they got married. People tied a “Just Married” sign and tin cans to the backs of their bikes. They got married. They now want to write a book about their trip.“We want people to know that you can be an environmentalist and still have fun,”Shreds said.Ted Shreds went cycling because_________.
A.he loves adventure |
B.cycling is a lot of fun |
C.he wanted to find himself a wife |
D.he supports environmental protection |
Ted got paid for_________.
A.giving a talk about his cycling trip |
B.cycling throughout North America |
C.traveling around North America by air |
D.attending conferences on cycling |
The “big surprise” he had at the conference was that _________.
A.he met another cyclist who wanted to join him |
B.he fell in love with a girl there |
C.he gave a long talk lasting 6 hours |
D.he had a lot of fun talking about his cycling trip |
During the trip, Ted and Deanna_________.
A.found it hard to get up early |
B.were attacked by motorcycle gangs |
C.did not have to pay for their meals in restaurants |
D.decided to get married |