It was Thanksgiving morning. I was busy preparing the traditional Thanksgiving turkey when the doorbell rang. I opened the front door and saw two small children in rags huddling together on the top step.
"Any old papers, lady?" asked one of them.
I was busy. I wanted to say "no" until I looked down at their feet. They were wearing thin little sandals(凉鞋), wet with heavy snow.
"Come in and I'll make you a cup of hot cocoa."
They walked over and sat down at the table. Their wet sandals left marks upon the floor. I served them cocoa and bread to fight against the cold outside. Then I went back to the kitchen and started cooking.
The silence in the front room struck me. I looked in. The girl held the empty cup in her hands,
looking at it. The boy asked in a flat voice, "Lady, are you rich?"
"Am I rich? Pity, no!"
I looked at my worn-out slipcovers(椅套). The girl put her cup back in its saucer carefully
and said, "Your cups match your saucers." They left after that, holding their papers against the wind. They had reminded me that I had so much for which to be grateful.
Plain blue china cups and saucers were only worth five pence. But they matched.
I tasted the potatoes and stirred the meat soup. Potatoes and brown meat soup, a roof over our heads, my man with a regular job, these matched, too. I moved the chairs back from the fire and cleaned the living room. The muddy marks of little sandals were still wet upon my floor. Let them be for a while, I thought, just in case I should begin to forget how rich I am.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
| A．Lady, are you rich? |
| B．Thanksgiving Day |
| C．Don't forget how rich you are |
| D．Does cups and saucers match well? |
The writer let the two children come in and served them well because________.
| A．she wanted to sell old papers to them |
| B．she wanted to invite them to her Thanksgiving party |
| C．she showed great pity and care on them |
| D．she had the same experience as them in the past |
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．The girl thought the writer was rich just because she wanted to make the writer happy. |
| B．The writer had thought she wasn't rich because her supplies were not expensive. |
| C．If cups and saucers match well, they are a best pair even though cheap. |
| D．After hearing what they said, the writer seemed to understand what a rich life was. |
The writer left the muddy marks of little sandals on the floor for a while to________.
| A．show that she was a kindhearted lady |
| B．remind her that she shouldn't forget how rich she was |
| C．leave room for readers to think about what being rich is |
| D．prove that she had understood what meant being rich |
It can be inferred from the text that whether you are rich depends on________.
| A．how much money you have made |
| B．what attitude you have had towards life |
| C．the way you help others |
| D．your social relationship |
Elizabeth Freeman was born about 1742 to African American parents who were slaves. At the age of six months she was acquired, along with her sister, by John Ashley, a wealthy Massachusetts slaveholders. She became known as “Mumbet” or “Mum Bett.”
For nearly 30 years Mumbet served the Ashley family. One day, Ashley’s wife tried to strike Mumbet’s sister with a spade. Mumbet protected her sister and took the blow instead. Furious, she left the house and refused to come back. When the Ashleys tried to make her return, Mumbet consulted a lawyer, Theodore Sedgewick. With his help, Mumbet sued(起诉) for her freedom.
While serving the Ashleys, Mumbet had listened to many discussions of the new Massachusetts constitution. If the constitution said that all people were free and equal, then she thought it should apply to her. Eventually, Mumbet won her freedom---- the first slave in Massachusetts to do so under the new constitution.
Strangely enough, after the trial, the Ashleys asked Mumbet to come back and work for them as a paid employee. She declined and instead went to work for Segdewick. Mumbet died in 1829, but her legacy lived on in her many descendants(后裔). One of her great-grandchildren was W.E.B. Du Bois, one of the founder of the NAACP, and an important writer and spokesperson for African American civil rights.
Mumbet’s tombstone still stands in the Massachusetts cemetery where she was buried. It reads, in part: “She was born a slave and remained a slave and remained a slave for nearly thirty years. She could neither read nor write, yet in her own sphere she had no superior or equal.”What do we know about Mumbet according to Paragraph 1?
| A．She was born a slave |
| B．She was a slaveholder |
| C．She had a famous sister |
| D．She was born into a rich family |
Why did Mumbet run away from the Ashleys?
| A．She found an employer |
| B．She wanted to be a lawyer |
| C．She was hit and got angry |
| D．She had to take care of her sister |
What did Mumbet do after the trial?
| A．She chose to work for a lawyer |
| B．She found the NAACP |
| C．She continued to serve the Ashleys |
| D．She went to live with her grandchildren |
What is the test mainly about?
| A．A story of a famous writer and spokesperson |
| B．The friendship between a lawyer and a slave |
| C．The life of a brave African American woman |
| D．A trial that shocked the whole world |
One afternoon last week, I saw three tearful children from my son’s school being comforted by teachers. That morning, my 11-year-old had stomach pains, retching（干呕）into a bowl. Talking to other mothers later, I heard about other children with stomachache or difficult sleeping the night before.
What caused so much pain? Sports day. Sports day might be necessary at a highly-competitive independent school, but not at a village primary school. For the children who can fly like the wind, sports day cause no problem. For those who are overweight or just not good at sport, it is nightmare（噩梦）. Even for those who enjoy running but fall halfway down the track in front of the entire school and their parents, it can prove a disease.
Why do we put our children through this annual suffering? Some may say competition is character building; or it’s taking part, not winning, that’s important; or that’s a tradition of school life. I just felt great pity for those children in tears or in pain.
Team games at the end of sports day produced some close races, wild enthusiasm, lots of shouting — and were fun to watch. More importantly, the children who were not so fast or quick at passing the ball were hidden a little from everyone’s eyes. Some of them also had the thrill of being on the winning side.
I wish that sports day could be abandoned and replaced with some other less competitive event. Perhaps an afternoon of team games, with a few races for those who want them, would be less stressful for the children and a lot more fun to watch.Sports day is still an annul event in this school probably because __________.
| A．this is an independent school |
| B．it is a tradition of the school |
| C．it helps children lose weight |
| D．children enjoy watching sports |
What does the author think about team games?
| A．They should include more stressful races. |
| B．They are acceptable to different children. |
| C．They should be abandoned at primary school. |
| D．They are less fun for those who love running. |
What is the author’s attitude towards sports day?
| A．Critical. | B．Neutral. |
| C．Positive. | D．Ambiguous. |
It was a cold winter day. A woman drove up to the Rainbow Bridge tollbooth (收费站). “I’m paying for myself, and for the six cars behind me,” she said with a smile, handing over seven tickets. One after another, the next six drivers arriving at the tollbooth were informed, “Some lady up ahead already paid your fare.”
It turned out that the woman, Natalie Smith, had read something on a friend’s refrigerator: “Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty.” The phrase impressed her so much that she copied it down.
Judy Foreman spotted the same phrase on a warehouse wall far away from home. When it stayed on her mind for days, she gave up and drove all the way back to copy it down. “I thought it was beautiful,” she said, explaining why she’d taken to writing it at the bottom of all her letters, “like a message from above.” Her husband, Frank, liked the phrase so much that he put it up on the classroom wall for his students, one of whom was the daughter of Alice Johnson, a local news reporter. Alice put it in the newspaper, admitting that though she liked it, she didn’t know where it came from or what it really meant.
Two days later, Alice got a call from Anne Herbert, a woman living in Marin. It was in a restaurant that Anne wrote the phrase down on a piece of paper, after turning it around in her mind for days.
“Here’s the idea,” Anne says. “Anything you think there should be more of, do it randomly.” Her fantasies include painting the classrooms of shabby schools, leaving hot meals on kitchen tables in the poor part of town, and giving money secretly to a proud old lady. Anne says, “Kindness can build on itself as much as violence can.”
The acts of random kindness spread. If you were one of those drivers who found your fare paid, who knows what you might have been inspired to do for someone else later. Like all great events, kindness begins slowly, with every single act. Let it be yours!Why did Natalie Smith pay for the six cars behind her?
| A．She knew the car drivers well. |
| B．She wanted to show kindness. |
| C．She hoped to please others. |
| D．She had seven tickets. |
Judy Foreman copied down the phrase because she_________.
| A．thought it was beautifully written |
| B．wanted to know what it really meant |
| C．decided to write it on a warehouse wall |
| D．wanted her husband to put it up in the classroom |
Which of the following statements is closest in the meaning to the underlinedsentence above?
| A．Kindness and violence can change the world. |
| B．Kindness and violence can affect one’s behavior. |
| C．Kindness and violence can reproduce themselves. |
| D．Kindness and violence can shape one’s character. |
What can we infer from the last paragraph?
| A．People should practice random kindness to those in need. |
| B．People who receive kindness are likely to offer it to others. |
| C．People should practice random kindness to strangers they meet. |
| D．People who receive kindness are likely to pay it back to the giver. |
Science Fiction
The science fiction type of entertainment is considered by most to be fathered by Jules Verne (A Journey to the Center of the Earth and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea) and H. G. Wells (The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds). Sci-Fi, as it is commonly shortened, is a fictional story in which science and technology have a significant influence on the characters and plot. Many such works are guesswork about what the future holds and how scientific findings and technological advances will shape humankind.
Writing in the late 1800s, Jules Verne was remarkably successful in his 10 guesses about future technologies of air conditioning, automobiles, the Internet, television, and underwater, air, and space travel. Unbelievably, of all places from which to choose, Jules Verne guessed Tampa, Florida, USA as the launching site of the first project to the Moon, which was only 200 kilometers away from the actual 1969 location at Cape Canaveral, Florida.
One of the best-known science fiction books is Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell. Published in 1949, it was not meant as a prediction, but as a warning: Orwell was describing what he saw as the outcome of the ideas, trends, and emerging technologies of his time. Many invented terms from this novel have become common in everyday use, such as “big brother” and “doublethink”. Even the author’s name has been made into an adjective—Orwellian—and has become a warning descriptor for situations where privacy is lost and the individual becomes sacrifice under a totalitarian(极权主义) government. Nineteen Eighty-Four was translated into sixty-five languages within five years of its publication, setting a record that still stands.
What helps bring science fiction into being is usually a new discovery or innovation. The author creates an analysis of the potential influence and consequences and then wraps it in a pleasant story. For example, the beginning of space exploration was followed a few years later by the Star Trek television program and movie series. Advances in genetics(遗传学) cause fantasies of the end of disease, horrors of eugenics(优生学), and thrillers where creatures disappearing long ago are brought back to life. The science fiction author’s self-determined role is that of field glasses for humanity—searching the world of future possibilities upon the road which we are traveling. What can science fiction offer to people?
| A．A forecast of how a new discovery could influence mankind. |
| B．A thoughtful look at the present drawbacks of technology. |
| C．An analysis of why a new technology could be used to harm human. |
| D．A thoughtful look at the past and what brought us to this point in history. |
Which of the following best summarizes the description of Nineteen Eighty-Four?
| A．A prediction of future technologies. |
| B．A warning of cruel and unfair ruling. |
| C．The consequence of scientific findings. |
| D．An imaginary perfect world of freedom. |
From the passage we can learn that _____.
| A．Nineteen Eighty-Four adopted some popular terms |
| B．H.G. Wells predicted the Internet in the late 1800s |
| C．Cape Canaveral was mentioned in Jules Verne’s fiction |
| D．Star Trek movie series were based on space exploration |
According to the author, what is the role of science fiction in society?
| A．A moral compass. |
| B．A reference of technology. |
| C．A record of science development. |
| D．A consideration of possibilities. |
Does money buy happiness? Not! Ah, but would a little more money make us a little happier? Many of us smirk(傻笑，假笑) and nod. There is, we believe, some connection between financial fitness and emotional fulfillment. Three in four American college students—nearly double the 1970 proportion— now consider it “very important” or “essential” that they become “very well off financially”. Money matters.
But a surprising fact of life is that in countries where nearly everyone can afford life’s necessities, increasing wealth matters surprisingly little. The connection between income and happiness is “surprisingly weak,” observed University of Michigan researcher Ronald Inglehart in one 16-nation study of 170,000 people. Once comfortable, more money provides diminishing returns(报酬递减). The second piece of pie, or the second $100,000, never tastes as good as the first. Even lottery winners and the Forbes’ 100 wealthiest Americans surveyed by University of Illinois psychologist Ed Diener have expressed only slightly greater happiness than the average American. Making it big brings temporary joy. But in the long run wealth is like health: its complete absence can create suffering, but having it doesn’t guarantee happiness. Happiness seems less a matter of getting what we want than of wanting what we have.
Has our happiness, however, floated upward with the rising economic tide? Are we happier today than in 1940s, when two out of five homes lacked a shower or tub? Actually, we are not. Since 1957, the number of Americans who say they are “very happy” has declined from 35 to 32 percent. Meanwhile, the divorce rate has doubled, the teen suicide(自杀) rate has increased nearly three times, the violent crime rate has gone up nearly four times, and depression has mushroomed. Economic growth has provided no boost to human morale. When it comes to psychological well being, it is not the economy.
I call this soaring wealth and shrinking spirit “the American paradox.” More than ever, we have big houses and broken homes, high incomes and low confidence, secured rights and reduced civility. We are good at making a living but often fail at making a life. We celebrate our prosperity(繁荣) but long for a purpose. We treasure our freedoms but long for connection. In an age of plenty, we feel spiritual hunger.Which of the following statements best expresses the author’s view?
| A．The more money we earn, the less returns we have. |
| B．The more money we earn, the happier we would be. |
| C．In the long run, money cannot guarantee happiness. |
| D．In the long run, happiness grows with economy. |
“The second $100,000 never tastes as good as the first” because _____.
| A．it is not so fresh as the first $100,000 |
| B．it is not so important as the first $100,000 |
| C．profit brought by it is less than that from the first $100,000 |
| D．happiness brought by it is less than that from the first $100,000 |
According to the passage, people do well in making a living but don’t _____.
| A．have any primary aim | B．know how to spend money |
| C．know how to enjoy life | D．keep in touch with other people |
The things that happened after 1957 are given to show that _____.
| A．people’s spiritual needs cannot be fulfilled by wealth |
| B．family problems become more and more serious |
| C．young people are not happy about their life |
| D．social crimes have increased significantly |