Everyone gathered around and Paddy read out loud, slowly, his tone growing sadder and sadder. The little headline said: BOXER RECEIVES LIFF SENTENCE.
Frank Cleary, aged 26, professional boxer, was today found guilty of the murder of Albert Gumming, aged 32, laborer, last July. The jury(陪审团) reached its decision after only ten minutes, recommending the most severe punishment to the court. It was, said the Judge, a simple case. Cumming and Cleary had quarreled violently at the Harbour Hotel on July 23rd and police saw Cleary kicking at the head of the unconscious Gumming. When arrested, Cleary was drunk but clear-thinking.
Cleary was sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labour. Asked if he had anything to say, Cleary answered, “Just don’t tell my mother.”
“It happened over three years ago,” Paddy said helplessly. No one answered him or moved, for no one knew what to do. “Just don’t tell my mother,” said Fee numbly(麻木地). “And no one did! Oh, God! My poor, poor Frank!”
Paddy wiped the tears from his face and said. “Fee, pack your things. We’ll go to see him.”
She half-rose before sinking back, her eyes in her small white face stared as if dead. “I can't go,” she said without a hint of pain, yet making everyone feel that the pain was there. “It would kill him to see me. I know him so well—his pride, his ambition. Let him bear the shame alone, it’s what he wants. We’ve got to help him keep his secret. What good will it do him to see us?”
Paddy was still weeping, not for Frank, but for the life which had gone from Fee’s face, for the dying in her eyes. Frank had always brought bitterness and misfortune, always stood between Fee and himself. He was the cause of her withdrawal from his heart and the hearts of his children. Every time it looked as if there might be happiness for Fee, Frank took it away. But Paddy’s love for her was as deep and impossible to wipe out as hers was for Frank.
So he said, “Well, Fee, we won’t go. But we must make sure he is taken care of. How about if I write to Father Jones and ask him to look out for Frank?”
There was no excitement in the eyes, but a faint pink stole into her cheeks. “Yes, Paddy, do that. Only make sure he knows not to tell Frank we found out. Perhaps it would ease Frank to think for certain that we don’t know.”Paddy cried because he thought ___________.
A.Frank did kill someone and deserved the punishment |
B.Frank should have told Fee what had happened |
C.what had happened to Frank was killing Fee |
D.Frank had always been a man of bad moral character |
The underlined sentence “She half-rose before sinking back…” in Paragraph 6 shows that___________.
A.Fee was so heart-broken that she could hardly stand up |
B.Fee didn’t want to upset Paddy by visiting Frank |
C.Fee couldn’t leave her family to go to see Frank |
D.Fee struggled between wanting to see Frank and respecting his wish |
What can be inferred from the passage?
A.The jury and the judge agreed on the Boxer’s Sentence of Life Imprisonment. |
B.The police found Gumming unconscious, heavily struck by Frank. |
C.The family didn’t find out what had happened to Frank until 3 years later. |
D.Frank didn’t want his family to know the sentence to him, most probably out of his pride. |
What is Frank and Paddy’s probable relationship with Fee?
A.Frank is Fee’s son and Paddy is Fee’s brother. |
B.Frank is Fee’s son and Paddy is Fee’s husband. |
C.Frank is Fee’s brother and Paddy is Fee’s lover. |
D.Frank is Fee’s lover and Paddy is Fee’s husband. |
A centuries-old tradition of wearing a white horse-hair wig in court ended for many judges when a simpler new dress code came into force.
While judges in criminal cases will still wear them, those in civil and family hearings will appear bare-headed in court, wearing a new-style plain black robe, the British government said.
After a long debate, the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Philips, head of the judiciary(司法部) in England and Wales, finally ordered the changes in an attempt to modernize the courts.
Wigs have been an emblem(象征) of the British legal system since the 17th century when the fashion for wearing them in wider society went through to the courts.For hundreds of years before the reign(统治)of Charles II, judges and lawyers were expected to come to court with short hair and a beard.
The decision to abandon wigs has disappointed traditionalists who argue that they give judges an air of authority and impartiality.Wigs could also protect them from angry members of the public.John Mortimer, the barrister and author of the “Rumpole of the Bailey” books, opposed the changes.“The idea’s ridiculous! A barrister without his wig would be like a doctor without a stethoscope(听诊器),” he wrote in a newspaper article when the changes were first proposed.
However, modernists argue that wigs are a hangover from the past that could intimidate people in court.In a newspaper interview, Lord Phillips described wigs as an anachronism(不合时宜之物)that gave the public a false impression of judges.
A Ministry of Justice survey last year found 70 percent of court workers wanted to keep wigs, compared to 42 percent of the public.
1.The reasons why wigs should be kept are the following EXCEPT________.
A.to build up the fair image of the judges.
B.to keep the judges from the harm from the audience.
C.to make the audience fear the judges.
D.to symbolize justice.
2.According to the British government, wigs will still be worn in ________.
A.murder cases B.divorce cases C.property cases D.real estate cases
3.The underlined word ‘intimidate’ in Paragraph 4 means ________.
A.frightened B.dissatisfied C.amused D.annoyed
4.Based on the article, which of the following inferences is TRUE?
A.Wearing wigs were very popular in the 17th century in Britain.
B.A stethoscope to a doctor is what a wig to a traditionalist.
C.The courts started the fashion of wearing wigs.
D.Many people favor the wigs for the judges.
5.The article is mainly about _________.
A.the difficulty in abandoning wigs in court.
B.the history of wearing wigs and the end of it.
C.abandoning wigs for many judges and the debate caused by it.
D.the opinion of the public and court workers on abandoning wigs.
Making greener choices, from the food you eat to the way you travel, can improve your health.A recent article advises people should try low–carbon (低碳) lifestyles which could be the most important contribution to yourself, even the earth.Some guidelines follow:
1.Use your own power rather than oil whenever you can
Burning oil in your car makes pollution like carbon dioxide (CO2) that causes global warming.Cutting down on driving and using your own twolegs helps cut global warming pollution and helps reduce weight problems over time without dangerous diets or surgery.
If all Americansused foot instead of engine as daily exercise during normal travel, we could reduce our oil dependence by more than a third.Besides, by using a push mower(剪草机) instead of a power mower to cut your lawn, you can also cut up to 80 pounds of CO2 per year! And you’ll get a great workout!
2.Drop the bottled water, drink tap(自来水)
Drinking plenty of water is important during hot weather or when exercising.You may think bringing bottled water with you can be both convenient and harm-free to the environment.But, you may change your mind if you see the truth below in 2006, 30 billion plastic water bottles were made, which used the amount of more than 17 million barrels(桶)of oil–enough to fuel more than one million cars for a year, and produced more than 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide.
If you have worries about your tap water, clean it regularly!The truth is thattap water is no worse than bottled water ant it saves much money.
3.Choose foods carefully
There are somegeneral ways you can follow that are good for you and the planet:
a.Eating less meat and more grains and vegetables helps reduce the need to cut down forests to grow the food for animals
b.Buying local food may be environmentally–friendly.Locally grown foods often use much less oil in transport than the foods coming from somewhere far away, which would help reduceCO2 amount.
For more information, you may consult http://www.edf.org/
1.What benefit can people make if they walk more but drive less?
A.More pollution will be made during the process.
B.There will be no obvious effect on reducing the amount of carbon dioxide.
C.Every year, more than 30% of the oil can be saved, which will help weaken global warming.
D.People’s weight will stay the same, and they still need to go on a diet to get thinner.
2.Why should we change our preference to bottled water?
A.Bottled water contains more good things for our health.
B.Tap water is not clean enough for people to drink.
C.Bottled water is more expensive than tap water for its better quality.
D.Tap water is as good as bottled water, which wastes so much resource during its production.
3.If you mean to protect the environment, you will ________.
A.often buy food from foreign countries B.seldom eat meat for dinner
C.usually drive to work and home D.never boil tap water to drink
4.Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A.Low–carbon lifestyles bring more harm than benefit to nature.
B.Man’s daily life activities have no effect on the changes of the environment.
C.What you eat can not only be good for your health, but also for the health of the earth.
D.The choice of food is completely personal, which won’t be important for nature at all.
In my experience, one of the greatest reasons of unhappiness is the difficulty we have in accepting things as they are.When we see something we don’t like, we wish it could be different–we cry out for something better.That may be human nature, or perhaps it’s something that has been grown in our culture.
The root of the unhappiness isn’t that we want things to be different, however, it’s that we decided we didn’t like it in the first place.We’ve judged it as bad, rather than saying, “It’s not bad or good, but it just is.”
Here is an example.I have written a paper, A Beautiful Method to Find Peace of Mind.Quite a few people think it bad after reading it because I think people should expect things to go differently than you planned, and that you should accept that, instead of encouraging people to change themselves or the environment as much as possible.You could accept it as the way the world works–as the way things actually are.And try to understand why that is, and follow it, as it is.
This can be useful to whatever you do: whether it be how other people act at work, how politics works and how depressing the news media can be.Accept these things as they are, and try to understand why they’re that way.
It’ll save you a lot of sadness because you’ll no longer say, “Oh, I wish things didn’t go bad!”
If you really understand what I mean, you can try a different way to live in this world:accept, and understand.It might lead to some interesting results.
1.What is the major reason why we feel unhappy in the writer’s opinion?
A.We are never satisfied with ourselves and the environment around us.
B.When we see something that makes us unhappy, we don’t know what to do.
C.We feel hard to accept the way things happen themselves.
D.No matter how happy we are, we never want to be happy.
2.What do you think the writer may say to himself when he meets something unhappy?
A.How could I have made such a stupid mistake?
B.I should have done better.It’s all my fault.
C.Why is it all against my plan? It can’t be so bad.
D.Well, I know all is what it is meant to be.Take it easy.
3.Why do some people think badly of the writer’s new paper after reading it?
A.The writer hasn’t shown an encouraging attitude in his paper.
B.The writer asks people to try to make things better.
C.The writer reminds the people that things will go exactly as you’ve planned.
D.The writer doesn’t think it a good idea to accept the things go naturally.
4.The statements below are based on the writer’s points of view, EXCEPT_______
A.Unhappiness may be caused by human nature that we always want things to be better.
B.Why we don’t like the thing is that we have regard it as bad in the beginning.
C.The news media shouldn’t be so depressing if the reporters worked harder.
D.The best way to avoid feeling unhappy is to accept the things as they are.
三.阅读理解(共20小题;每小题2分,满分40分)
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项中,选出最佳选项;并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
In front of 60,000 fans, the former Olympic and world champion, Liu Xiang got his third National Games gold medal in the final of the men’s 110 meters hurdles at the Olympic Sports Center in Ji Nan, Shandong province.
Before winning this game, Liu joined in the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix meet(上海国际田径黄金大奖赛) in September, 2009 and won the second place in men’s 110 meters hurdles with a very slight loss to his solid rival–American athlete, Terrence Trammell.That was the first time that he had shown up on the track and in public after his 13 month’s lay–off.So, this game on October 25, in 11th Chinese National Games was very critical for him to handle.After crossing the finishing line, Liu said, “The most important thing was to finish the race safely and smoothly.The result is not very good but the effort was not bad.”
With the final result of 13.34 seconds, Liu became the first Chinese hurdler to win a National Games title three times.“I’m feeling very good now,” Liu said.“I started to compete at the National Games at the age of 18 and now I’m 26.I hope I can run at the Games again in four years’ time because, for all Chinese athletes, is a dream and it is also my starting point.I would just like to thank all the people who have supported me and all the spectators who cheered for me here.”
It is hard for most of Liu’s fans to forget the heartbroken moment at Bird’s Nest last year at the Beijing Olympics because of the foot injury.Thirteen months later, however, the strong-minded man thrilled the home crowd with the strong comeback and would gain another take–off in his career.“I never thought of coming back when I got injured and I felt my future was in doubt,”Liu said, “But now I have seen there is still a future.”
1.When will the 12th Chinese National Games be held?
A.2012 B.2013 C.2014 D.2015
2.Which of the following statement is TRUE?
A.Liu Xiang was very confident after he knew his foot was badly injured.
B.Liu Xiang beat Terrence Trammell in the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix meet.
C.Liu Xiang had won three gold medals in the National Games before October 25, 2009.
D.Liu Xiang couldn’t have won this gold medal without his strong will and people’s support.
3.What’s the best title for the article?
A.A Legend–Liu Xiang B.Liu Xiang Is Back
C.Champion of The National Games D.Never Give Up
Dear Daughter,
As we drove off from Columbia, I wanted to write a letter to you to tell you all that is on my mind.
First, I want to tell you how proud we are.Getting into Columbia is a real testament of what a great well-rounded student you are.It is in college that you will truly discover what learning is about.I encourage you to be curious, but I also want to tell you “Education is what you have left after all that is taught is forgotten”.That is really what learning in college is about–this will be the period where you go from teacher-taught to master-inspired, after which you must become self-learner.So do take each subject seriously, and even if what you learn isn’t critical for your life, the skills of learning will be something you cherish forever.
There is no single simple answer to any question.Remember during your high school debate class, I always asked you to take on the side that you don’t believe in? I did that for a reason– things rarely “black and white”, and there are always many ways to look at a problem.You will become a better problem solver if you recognize that.This is called “critical thinking”, and it is the most important thinking skill you need for your life.This also means you need to become tolerant and supportive of others.I will always remember when I went to my Ph.D.advisor and proposed a new thesis topic.He said “I don’t agree with you, but I’ll support you.”
Do your best in classes, but don’t let pressure get to you.Your mother and I have no expectations for your grades.If you graduate and learn something in your four years, we would feel happy.Please don’t be worried.The only thing that matters is that you learned.The only metric you should use is that you tried.Grades are just silly letters that give the vain people something to brag, and the lazy people something to fear.You are too good to be either.
College is the four years where you have:·the greatest amount of free time.·the first chance to be independent.·the most flexibility to change.·the lowest risk for making mistakes.
So please treasure your college years.
Love,
Dad (& Mom)
(A letter from Kaifu Lee)
1.According to Kaifu Lee, the underlined sentence in the second paragraph means_________.
A.you should learn by yourself instead of learning from your teachers.
B.the knowledge isn’t as important as the ability to learn.
C.the knowledge from college is of less worth than that acquired after college.
D.education is nothing but what you have remembered.
2.Kaifu Lee expects his daughter to _________.
A.agree with those who hold the opposite opinions.
B.find out the difference between ‘right and wrong’.
C.think of more ways to solve a problem critically.
D.step into others’ shoes and think from others’ positions.
3.Based on the letter, it can be inferred that ________.
A.high grades are not important for people.
B.Kaifu Lee and his wife don’t care about their daughter’s grades or college life.
C.Kaifu Lee doesn’t expect her daughter to make any mistakes in her life.
D.Kaifu Lee’s daughter is a freshman in Columbia University.
4.We can conclude that Kaifu Lee’s daughter is _________.
A.dependent and curiousB.tolerant and supportive
C.well-rounded and worried D.excellent and hard-working