阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项A、B、C和D中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
I hate nosy (爱管闲事的) neighbors and it’s very unlucky that I had one for myself. They moved in a couple of months back and although I never felt that they were a strange family, I’ve always hated the way they get “too close” to me, my house, my garden, and even my garbage cans.
One day, my neighbors were mowing their lawn (草坪). My garbage cans were near their lawn. For some strange reason, I found the wife looking through my garbage cans. I felt angry but since they were from a different culture, I thought that maybe it was “normal” from their ideas.
That afternoon, the couple knocked on my front door. When I opened, they gave me a plastic bag. Inside were my old daily bills, credit cards and bank statements, and an old birthday card that my old uncle sent. They said that they were returning them to me because these documents contained very private information that may be used by others.
I’ve heard it before. I asked them how those documents can be used by others and they started telling me their very own experience, which forced them to leave their home and move next door to us. The wife told me that she never destroyed the bills. They also had a “nosy neighbor” who looked through their garbage cans which they actually thought was pretty strange. Little did they know that this “nosy neighbor” was collecting their personal information from their rubbish. Then all their money was taken out from the bank by their neighbor.
It was a very painful experience for all of them and they wanted to leave them all behind so they left. I was very thankful. They were not nosy neighbors. They simply didn’t want us to experience the same thing that they did.What made the author angry?
| A.His neighbor’s wife was looking through his rubbish. |
| B.His neighbors were mowing their lawn one morning. |
| C.His neighbors got too close to his own home. |
| D.His neighbors came to knock at his door at night. |
Why did the couple come to the author’s home?
| A.To introduce themselves to the author. |
| B.To get to know each other better. |
| C.To return the documents to the author. |
| D.To borrow some money from the author. |
The neighbors came to live next door to the author because ______.
| A.they no longer had money to live in their former home |
| B.they didn’t want to live in such a noisy home as before |
| C.their personal documents were used by their former neighbor |
| D.they thought the author was much better than their former neighbor |
Which of the following can we infer from the last paragraph?
| A.The author was kind and helpful to the neighbors. |
| B.The neighbors had to move from place to place. |
| C.The neighbors didn’t have enough money. |
| D.The author changed his idea about his neighbors. |
Some people will do just about anything to save money. And I am one of them. Take my family’s last vacation. It was my six-year-old son’s winter break form school, and we were heading home from Fort Lauderdale after a weeklong trip. The flight was overbooked, and Delta, the airline, offered us $400 per person in credits to give up our seats and leave the next day. I had meetings in New York,So I had to get back. But that didn't mean my husband and my son couldn't stay. I took my nine-month-old and took off for home.
The next day, my husband and son were offered more credits to take an even later flight. Yes, I encouraged—okay, ordered—them to wait it out at the airport, to "earn" more Delta Dollars. Our total take: $1,600. Not bad, huh?
Now some people may think I'm a bad mother and not such a great wife either. But as a big-time bargain hunter, I know the value of a dollar. And these days, a good deal is something few of us can afford to pass up.
I've made living looking for the best deals and exposing (揭露) the worst tricks. I have been the consumer reporter of NBC's Today show for over a decade. I have written a couple of books including one titled Tricks of the Trade: A Consumer Survival Guide. And I really do what I believe in.
I tell you this because there is no shame in getting your money’s worth. I’m also tightfisted when it comes to shoes, clothes for my children, and expensive restaurants. But I wouldn't hesitate to spend on a good haircut. It keeps its shape longer, and it's the first thing people notice. And I will also spend on a classic piece of furniture. Quality lasts.Why did Delta give the author's family credits?
| A.Their flight had been delayed. |
| B.Their flight had been cancelled. |
| C.They had early bookings |
| D.They took a later flight |
What can we learn about the author?
| A.She rarely misses a good deal. |
| B.She seldom makes a compromise. |
| C.She is very strict with her children |
| D.She is interested in cheap products. |
What does the author do?
| A.She's a teacher. | B.She's a media person |
| C.She's a housewife. | D.She's a businesswoman. |
What does the author want to tell us?
| A.How to expose bad tricks. | B.How to reserve airline seats. |
| C.How to make a business deal. | D.How to spend money wisely |
Women were friends, I once would have said, when they totally love and support and trust each other, and bear to each other the secrets of their souls, and run—no questions asked—to help each other, and tell harsh truths to each other(No, you can’t wear that dress unless you lose ten pounds first.) when these truths must be told.
In other words, I once would have said that a friend is a friend all the way, but now I believe that’s narrow point of view. Friendships serve many different functions,meet different needs and range from those as all-the-way as the friendship of the soul sisters mentioned above to that of the most casual playmates.
Convenience friends are women with whom we’d have no particular reason to be friends: a next-door neighbor or the mother of one of our children’s closest friends. They’ll lend us their cups for a party. They’ll drive our kids to school when we’re sick. They’ll take us to pick up our car when we need a lift .As we will for them. But we don’t , with convenience friends, ever come too close or tell too much; we maintain our public face and emotional distance.
Special-interest friends aren’t intimate(亲密),and they needn’t involve kids or cats. Their value lies in some interest jointly shared .And so we may have an office friend or a tennis friend.
“I’ve got one woman friend,” says Joyce,” who likes, as I do, to take music courses, which makes it nice for me and her. I’d say that what we’re doing is doing together, not being together.”
Crossroads friends are important for what was for the friendship we shared at a crucial(关键的),now past, time of life. A time, perhaps, when we roomed in college together or went together through pregnancy, birth and that scary first year of new motherhood.
Crossroads friends develop powerful links, links strong enough to endure with not much more contact than once-a-year letters at Christmas. And out of respect for those crossroads years, for those dramas and dreams we once shared, we will always be friends.
Crossroads friends seem to maintain a special kind of intimacy ----dormant(休眠的) but always ready to be revived(复活) ---and though we may rarely meet ,whenever we do connect, it’s personal and strong. Another kind of intimacy exists in the cross-generational friendships, the friends that form across generation in what one woman calls her daughter-mother and her mother-daughter relationships.
There are good friends, pretty good friends and very good friends, and these friendships are defined by their level of intimacy. We might tell a good friend, for example, that yesterday we had a fight with our husband. And we might tell a pretty good friend that this fight with our husband made us so mad that we slept on the couch. And we might tell a very good friend that the reason we got so mad in that fight that we slept on the couch had something to do with a girl who works in his office. But it’s only to our very best friends that we’re willing to tell all, to tell what’s going on with that girl in his office.The underlined word “harsh”(in Para.1)probably means “------“
| A.protective | B.impossible |
| C.unpleasant | D.unbelievable |
What can we know about convenience friends?
| A.People may share their sorrow and pain with their convenience friends. |
| B.People may borrow a large sum of money from their convenience friends. |
| C.People may ask their convenience friends to pick up their children for them. |
| D.People would like to seek comfort and convenience from their convenience friends. |
What is the similarity between crossroads friends and cross-generational friends?
| A.They often write to each other but never meet. |
| B.They become friends at a crucial time of their life. |
| C.They both enjoy a special kind of intimacy with each other. |
| D.The relationship usually exists between mothers and daughters. |
The friendships in the passage are classified(分类) according to _________.
| A.different stages of one’s life |
| B.the purpose of making friends |
| C.how people make friends with others |
| D.how close the relationship is |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A.The value of friendship |
| B.How to make lasting friendships |
| C.Ways to avoid destroying your friendship |
| D.Friends, good friends and such good friends |
In 1896, Einstein went to Zurich to study physics. There he met a girl from Hungary. They studied in the same class and the same interest in physics brought them together and they became good friends. Before long they fell in love. In 1903 when Einstein was 24, he married Merits, who was 4 years older than he.
After their marriage, Einstein devoted himself to the research of the great theory. To give her husband more help, Merits gave up her own work, and became a good wife and assistant. She tried her best to encourage him whenever possible. She was sure that her husband would succeed. They often discussed the theory while walking outside or sitting together in the room. They even did that in their letters when one of them was away from their home.
In1914, Einstein moved to Berlin and settled down there. At that time his theory proved to be correct and he had become famous all over the world. But it was not long before the First Would War broke out. Merits as well as her two sons, who were on holiday in Switzerland, couldn’t come back to Berlin any more. The war not only stopped Einstein’s work but also broke up the warm, happy family. In 1919, Einstein and Merits had to get divorced(离婚).In which year was Merits born? ___
| A.1896 | B.1875 | C.1883 | D.1879 |
We can learn from the passage that Merits ______.
| A.greatly helped Einstein with his research work |
| B.supported Einstein but helped him little |
| C.was also a great scientist |
| D.was the real discoverer of the theory |
The underline phrase "settled down" in the last paragraph means _____.
| A.to become restless |
| B.solve problems |
| C.decide to leave |
| D.to begin living a stable and orderly life |
Why did Einstein and Merits get divorced?
| A.Because Merits didn’t love Einstein after the war broke out. |
| B.Because Einstein was famous all over the world. |
| C.Because Einstein only cared about his research. |
| D.Because the war stopped Merits from coming back to Berlin. |
The writer wanted to tell us that _____.
| A.Merits should be respected as greatly as her husband |
| B.We should remember Merits when talking about Einstein’ theory |
| C.The bitter (苦难的) suffering was the mother of success |
| D.Einstein suffered a great deal in his life |
For years scientists have been worried about the effects of air pollution on the earth's natural conditions. Some believe the air inside many houses may be more dangerous than the air outside.
Most scientists agree that every modern house has some kind of indoor pollution. People began to notice the problem in the early 1970s. When builders began making houses and offices, they did not want to waste energy. To do this they built buildings that limited the flow of air between inside and outside. They also used man-made building materials which are now known to let out harmful gases.
As the problem became more serious, scientists began searching for a way to deal with it. They discovered a natural pollution control system for building green plants.
Scientists believe that a plant's leaves absorb the pollutants (污染物). In exchange the plant lets out oxygen through its leaves. Studies of different plants show that each absorbs different chemicals. So the most effective way to clean the air is to use different kinds of plants.Indoor air pollution may be more dangerous than the air outside mainly because .
| A.the building are too high |
| B.the flow of air indoor is limited |
| C.the building materials are harmful |
| D.people don't want to waste energy |
Some kind of indoor pollution can be found in .
| A.all kinds of offices | B.all kinds of houses |
| C.every modern house | D.every old house |
In the last paragraph the word“ absorb” may mean .
| A.take in | B.bring up | C.give out | D.turn into |
Scientists believe that plants can.
| A.change oxygen into pollutants |
| B.absorb all the pollutants |
| C.make your houses more prettier |
| D.absorb pollutions and let out oxygen |
According to the last paragraph, we should to clean the air.
| A.plant all kinds of plant |
| B.plant more trees. |
| C.have the same kind of plant |
| D.have different kinds of plants |
The year is 2094. It has been announced that a comet (彗星) is heading towards the Earth. Most of it will miss our plant, but two pieces will probably hit the southern half of the Earth.
On 17 July, a piece four kilometers wide enters the Earth’s atmosphere(大气层) with a massive explosion. About half of the piece is destroyed, but the remaining part hits the South Atlantic at 200 times the speed of sound. The sea boils and a huge hole is made in the sea bed. Huge waves are created and spread outwards from the hole. The wall of water, a kilometer high, rushes towards southern Africa at 800 kilometers an hour. Cities on the African coast are totally destroyed and millions of people are drowned.
Before the waves reach South America, the second piece of the comet lands in Argentina. Earthquakes and volcanoes are set off in the Andes Mountains. The shock waves move north into California and all around the Pacific Ocean. The cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco and Tokyo are completely destroyed by earthquakes. Millions of people in the southern half of the earth are already dead, but the north won’t escape for long. Because of the explosions, the sun is hidden by clouds of dust, and temperatures around the world fall to almost zero. Crops are ruined. The sun won’t be seen again for many years. Wars break out as countries fight for food. A year later, no more than 10 million remain alive.
Could it really happen? In fact, it has already happened more than once in the history of the Earth. The dinosaurs were on the Earth for over 160 million years. Then 65 million years ago they suddenly disappeared. Many scientists believe that the Earth was hit by a piece of object in space. The dinosaurs couldn’t live through the cold climate that followed and they died out. Will we meet the same end?What is mainly described in the passage?
| A.An event of imagination. |
| B.A scientific adventure. |
| C.A research on space. |
| D.A historic discovery. |
When the first piece hits the South Atlantic , it causes _____
| A.an earthquake | B.damages to cities |
| C.an Earth explosion | D.huge waves |
Why can’t the northern half of the earth escape for long?
| A.Because the light and heat from the sun can not reach the earth. |
| B.Because the land is covered with water |
| C.Because people there can not live at the temperature of zero. |
| D.Because wars break out among countries. |
By giving the example of dinosaurs, the author tries to prove______
| A.the Earth could be hit by other objects in space |
| B.what happened 65 million years ago was an invented story |
| C.the human beings will die out in 2094 |
| D.animals could not live in the cold climate |
We may guess that the writer is ______________.
| A.worried | B.practical |
| C.a scientist | D.full of imagination |