When I was ten my dad helped me buy my first ten-speed bicycle from Allen. I put up $60 of my grass cutting and snow shoveling (铲) money and my dad put up the other half I would pay him back over the next six months. Although it was not in the latest style, it was my ticket to the adult world.
I spent that summer and autumn riding happily. My sister Liz, a prisoner of her five-speed bicycle, never had a chance to keep up. Just before the Christmas deadline to pay my dad back, we were hit with several snowstorms. This allowed me to shovel enough driveways (车道) to pay off my debt. I was now officially a bike owner; it was a feeling unlike any other.
On that Christmas morning, my dad gave me a used portable (便携式的) record player. I was excited. However, my joy was short-lived after my dad called my sister to the kitchen. “We have one more gift for you.” he said as he opened the door that led to the garage. There, on the steps, stood a new ten-speed bicycle.
“It’s not fair,” I complained. “I worked so hard for my bike and it’s not even new. Then Liz gets a new bike. She didn’t have to do anything for it. ” My dad smiled. “She didn’t have to do anything for it because it’ s not really for her,” he said. What did that mean? I didn’t want her bike.
By spring Liz and I were riding all over town together now that she could keep up. As we grew, Liz and I became true friends.
Still I wasn’t smart enough to figure out what my dad meant until years later. That new bike was not a gift for Liz — it was a gift for me. He’d given me the gift of my sister’s company, the ability to stay together rather than drift apart (逐渐疏远) in the face of my ability to travel. He gave me my best friend.What do we know about the author’s bike?
| A．It was worth $120. |
| B．Allen bought it for him. |
| C．It was very fashionable. |
| D．He didn’t like it actually. |
Why did the author think he was officially a bike owner?
| A．He had paid off his debt. |
| B．He had learned to ride a bike. |
| C．He could also own Liz’s bike. |
| D．He could sell his bike to Liz. |
Why was the author’s Christmas joy short-lived?
| A．His sister got a new record player. |
| B．His father didn’t care about him. |
| C．The record player wasn’t new. |
| D．His sister got a better gift. |
Hearing his father say “it’s not really for her (Paragraph 4)”, the author probably felt ________.
| A．moved | B．satisfied |
| C．puzzled | D．disappointed |
The author finally realized that ________.
| A．the new bike actually belonged to him |
| B．the new bike wasn’t bought by his father |
| C．his father actually gave him a more valuable gift |
| D．his father loved his sister more as a matter of fact |
A sobbing little girl stood near a small church from which she had been turned away because it “was too crowded．” “I can’t go to Sunday School,” she sobbed to the pastor (牧师) as he walked by．Seeing her shabby appearance, the pastor guessed the reason, and, taking her by the hand, took her inside and found a place for her in the Sunday School class．The child was so touched that she went to bed that night thinking of the children who have no place to worship Jesus．
Some years later, this child lay dead in one of the poor buildings and the parents called for the kindhearted pastor, who had befriended their daughter, to handle the final arrangements．As her poor little body was being moved, a worn purse was found which seemed to have been picked up from some trash dump．Inside was found 57 cents and a note scribbled in childish handwriting which read, “This is to help build the little church bigger so more children can go to Sunday School．”
For two years she had saved for this offering of love．When the pastor tearfully read that note, he knew instantly what he would do．Carrying this note, he told people the story of her unselfish love and devotion．
A newspaper learned of the story and published it．It was read by a Realtor who offered them a parcel of land worth many thousands．When told that the church could not pay so much, he offered it for 57 cents．
Church members made large donations．Checks came from far and wide．Within five years the little girl’s gift had increased to $250,000, a huge sum for that time．
When you are in the city of Philadelphia, look up Temple Baptist Church, with a seating capacity of 3,300 and Temple University, where hundreds of students are trained．Have a look, too, at the Good Samaritan Hospital and at a Sunday School building which houses hundreds of Sunday scholars, so that no child in the area will ever need to be left outside during Sunday school time．
41．Why did the girl have a purse with 57 cents?
A．To save money for her future career．
B．To build a large building for more children to live in．
C．To help build a church big enough for every child to go to．
D．To remind people to make remarkable history．
42．How did a Realtor help the church?
A．He made the story known to the public by publishing it．
B．He sold a land to the church for free．
C．He offered the church a piece of land for 57 cents．
D．He raised money for the church．
43．What can be inferred from the passage?
A．Church members donated because of their desire for a big church．
B．The girl’s unselfish love was rewarded at last．
C．The pastor found 57 cents saved by the little girl．
D．Temple Baptist Church, Temple University, Good Samaritan Hospital and a Sunday School building all belong to the small church the little girl went to．
44．What’s the best title of the passage?
A．57 Cents B．A little girl’s wish
C．Pastor and Girl D．A bigger Church
The Vienna-based researchers showed that dogs will stop doing a simple task when not rewarded if another dog, which continues to be rewarded, is present．
The experiment consisted of taking pairs of dogs and getting them to present a paw for a reward．On giving this “handshake” the dogs received a piece of food．One of the dogs was then asked to shake hands, but received no food．The other dog continued to get the food when it was asked to perform the task．
The dog without the reward quickly stopped doing the task, and showed signs of anger or stress when its partner was rewarded．
To make sure that the experiment was really showing the interaction between the dogs rather than just the frustration of not being rewarded, a similar experiment was conducted where the dogs performed the task without the partner．Here they continued to present the paw for much longer．
Dr Frederike Range from the University of Vienna says this shows that it was the presence of the rewarded partner that was the greater influence on their behaviour．
“The only difference is one gets food and the other doesn’t, they are responding to being unequally rewarded．” she said．
The researchers say this kind of behaviour, where one animal gets frustrated with what is happening with another, has only been observed in primates(灵长类) before．
Studies with various types of monkeys and chimpanzees show they react not only to seeing their partners receiving rewards when they are not, but also to the type of reward．
The dog study also looked at whether the type of reward made a difference．Dogs were given either bread or sausage, but seemed to react equally to either．Dr Range says this may be because they have been trained．
57．The dogs refused to give the paw when they_______．
A．found another dog was given nothing
B．felt they were not treated equally
C．were aware they received less food
D．were given too much reward
58．What would the dogs do if they presented their paw alone?
A．They would go on with the performance much longer．
B．They would be too shy to present their paw．
C．They would miss their partners．
D．They would compare what they got with that of others．
59．According to the passage, compared with dogs, monkeys and chimpanzees ______．
A．pay no attention to the type of reward
B．only like to play interesting games
C．pay attention to the type of reward as well as whether they are rewarded
D．care more about how they are rewarded
60．Which of the following can best summerise the passage?
A．Animals’ various ways to show anger
B．Dogs are more envious than man
C．Most animals want to be be rewarded for their work
D．Animals also have a sense of fairplay
Want to be a happy married couple? Consider having kids．
A new study found that having children boosts happiness．And the more, literally, the merrier．
But unmarried couples shouldn’t expect to find greater happiness through child-raising．The study, published in the Oct．14 online edition of the Journal of Happiness Studies, suggests that having children has little or no effect on boosting happiness among couples who aren’t hitched(和谐)．
The findings contradict previous research that suggested that having more offspring doesn't lead to greater happiness and might even make people less satisfied with their lives．One theory behind the conclusion is that parents don’t receive many rewards in return for the hard work of raising children．
The new study, however, notes that parents say children are one of the most important things in their lives, if not the most important．
The study found that life satisfaction for married people -- women especially -- goes up the more kids they have．Single, separated and co-habiting people, by contrast, report negative experiences．
“One is tempted to advance that children make people rich under the ‘right conditions’ -- a time in life when people feel that they are ready, or at least willing, to enter parenthood,” Dr．Luis Angeles, of the University of Glasgow in Scotland, said in a news release from the journal’s publisher．“This time can come at very different moments for different individuals, but a likely signal of its approach may well be the act of marriage．”
1．The underlined word “offspring” in the fourth paragraph can be replaced by _____．
A．generation B．children
C．mothers D．marriage
2．The best title of this passage should be _______．
A．Children Are the Source of Happiness
B．Are You Happy Married Couple?
C．Married with Children Paves Way to Happiness
D．The Right Conditions of Having Children
3．Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
A．The more children women have, the happier they are．
B．The more children the married women have, the more unsatisfied they become．
C．Raising kids can give any person happiness．
D．Without marriage, one woman had better not raise kids．
4．In the passage, the underlined part ‘right conditions’ refers to _______．
A．a time when the couple are ready and willing to become parents
B．the situation where the family is rich enough to raise a child
C．the situation where the couple are very happy
D．a time when the couple thinks raising children can boost happiness
The surprising experiment I am about to describe proves that air is all aroud you and that it proves down upon you．Air pressure is a wonderful force．When you swim underwater, you can feel water push down your body．The air all around you does the same．However, your body is so used to it that you do not notice this ．The pressure is caused by a layer of air called the atmosphere．This layer surrounds the Earth , extending to about five kilometers above the Earth’s surface．
The following experiment is an easy one that you can do at home．But make sure that you are supervised , because you will need to use matches．Now for the experiment！
What you need
·A hard-boiled egg without the shell
·A bottle with a neck slightly smaller than the egg
·A piece of paper
·A match
Metheod
1) Check that the egg will sit firmly on the neck of the bottle．
2) Tear the paper into strips and put the strips into the bottle．
3) Light the paper by dropping a burning match into the bottle．
4) Quickly sit the egg on the neck of the bottle．
Result
Astonishingly,the egg will be sucked into the bottle．Your friends will be amazed when you show them the experiment．But be careful when you handle matches．
Why it happened
As the paper burns,it needs oxyen and uses up the oxygen(air) in the bottle．The egg acts as a seal in the neck of the bottle,so no more air can get inside ．This reduces the air pressure inside the bottle．The air pressure must equalize,so more air from outside must enter the bottle．The outside air pressure against the egg and then the egg is pushed into the bottle!The proves that air is all around and that it is pressing down on it．
1．When you do the experiment, why need you a person beside you?
A．You couldn’t place the egg on the bottle by yourself．
B．The egg needs to be shelled．
C．You need to use matches．
D．The bottle can’t sit firmly on the desk．
2．The purpose of doing this experiment is to prove ______．
A．air pressure is a wonderful force
B．water can push down your body when you swim underwater
C．the air pressure is not equalized around us
D．the earth is surrounded by a layer of air called the atmosphere
3．How did the egg put into the bottle？
A．The oxygen inside the bottle suckde the egg in．
B．It became solt without the shell．
C．The neck of the bottle was wide enough．
D．The outside air pressure forced it into the bottle．
4．The passage is ______．
A．an experiment reportB．a scientific story
C．a research report D．an interesting novel
The amazing image shows the world’s largest ever cruise ship, complete with beach pool, shopping mall, rock-climbing walls, outdoor amphitheater（圆形剧场）and New York-style loft suites（套间）．The “traveling city” is being built on dry-docks in Finland by Royal Caribbean International, and she is named Oasis of the Seas．
Almost 1,200 feet long, 154 feet wide and rising 213 feet above the water line, the Oasis of the Seas will be able to host 3,000 crew to service every passenger’s need．In addition to the size, the Oasis of the Seas will also be the first ship that attracts people by the cruise line’s new
neighborhood concept: 7 distinct themed areas, including Central Park, Boardwalk, the Royal Promenade, the Pool and Sports Zone, Vitality at Sea Spa and Fitness Center, Entertainment Place and Youth Zone．Of all these areas, the excellent zone will be “Central Park”．
Protected from the weather by a clear screen to let in the light, the Central Park area will be themed on Caribbean plants and leaves reflecting the area which the ship will eventually cruise in．And the park zone will have different restaurants, bars and boutique shops, bringing the idea of “floating city” to reality．
In addition, Oasis of the Seas will also include a rock wall, over 15 restaurants and bars, a casino(娱乐场), a theatre, two night-clubs and the largest freshwater pool on any cruise liner．
“Royal Caribbean is proud to introduce a number of ‘firsts’ that the world has never seen before,” said Adam Goldstein, “Oasis of the Seas is the ultimate expression of the creativity and imagination found on all of our ships, providing guests with a collection of experiences that will offer an incredible cruise vacation．”
1．In the passage, Oasis of the Seas refers to ______．
A．a traveling city B．a cruise ship
C．a deserted island D．an ocean park
2．It can be inferred from the passage that ______．
A．the Oasis of the Seas hasn’t been built well so far
B．7 distinct themed areas are being built on dry-docks
C．the “traveling city” can hold 3,000 passengers
D．the “traveling city” is a beauty spot
3．The main idea of the third paragraph would be _____．
A．what the Central Park is B．the location of the Central Park
C．the features of the Central Park D．the theme of the Central Park
4．The Oasis of the Seas includes a number of ‘firsts’ EXCEPT _____．
A．the world’s largest ever cruise ship
B．its way of attracting tourists
C．the largest freshwater pool on any cruise liner
D．its most delicious food in the world