Years ago, I lived in a building in a large city. The building next door was only a few feet away from mine. There was a woman who lived there, whom I had never met, yet I could see her seated by her window each afternoon, sewing or reading.
After several months had gone by, I began to notice that her window was dirty. Everything was unclear through the dirty window. I would say to myself, “I wonder why that woman doesn't wash her window. It really looks terrible.”
One bright morning I decided to clean my flat, including washing the window on the inside. Late in the afternoon when I finished the cleaning, I sat down by the window with a cup of coffee for a rest. What a surprise! Across the way, the woman sitting by her window was clearly visible. Her window was clean!
Then it dawned on me. I had been criticizing (批评) her dirty window, but all the time I was watching hers through my own dirty window. That was quite an important lesson for me. How often had I looked at and criticized others through the dirty window of my heart, through my own shortcomings? Since then, whenever I wanted to judge (评判) someone, I asked myself first, “Am I looking at him through my own dirty window?” Then I try to clean the window of my own world so that I may see the world about me more clearly.The writer couldn't see everything clearly through the window because_____.
| A．the woman's window was dirty |
| B．the writer's window was dirty |
| C．the woman lived nearby |
| D．the writer was near-sighted |
The writer was surprised that_____.
| A．the woman was sitting by her window |
| B．the woman's window was clean |
| C．the woman did cleaning in the afternoon |
| D．the woman's window was still terrible |
"It dawned on me" probably means "____".
| A．I began to understand it | B．it cheered me up |
| C．I knew it grew light | D．it began to get dark |
From the passage, we can learn ______.
| A．one shouldn't criticize others very often |
| B．one should often make his windows clean |
| C．one must judge himself before he judges others |
| D．one must look at others through his dirty windows |
For sale
| Antique door |
Solid wood. Includes a coloured glass window near the top of the door. Excellent condition. $300. Phone 9411-2987 |
| Baby bed |
Lovely bed, painted white. $310. Also travel bed and car seat. $500 for all, or will separate. Phone 4097-5701 |
| Exercise bike |
Near new. Bought for $1200, selling for $600. Call 0289-457-076 |
| Furniture |
Dining table and chairs, two double beds, leather sofa and loveseat, chest of drawers, wardrobe, shelf. Come on and make an offer. Must sell this week. 13/453 Crown Rd Fairburn |
| Golf clubs |
Set of eleven. Ladies left hand. Also golf bag, balls. $675. Phone 9765-9975 |
| Computer |
Pentium 166, CD-ROM, 32 RAM, 56K modern, sound, speaker, large monitor, mouse, keyboard. $220. Phone 9982-6720 |
| Piano |
Kowai Grand GS30, black, excellent action and sound, perfect condition, music books and stool. $1800. Phone 9938-1044 |
| TV |
Bony 53cm with surround, remote control, with instruction book. Excellent condition. $300. Phone 2039-6946 |
Which is the cheapest thing for sale?
| A．A baby bed. | B．A TV. | C．A piano. | D．A computer. |
If you want to buy an exercise bike, you can call _______.
| A．0289-457-076 | B．2039-6946 | C．9982-6720 | D．9765-9975 |
If you have only $600, you can buy _______.
| A．an antique door and a baby bed |
| B．a computer and a piano |
| C．a TV and an antique door |
| D．a piano and furniture |
Wild animals are our friends, but many of them are getting fewer and fewer. We should try to protect them. The four animals below are now in danger.
Tibetan Antelopes
Tibetan antelopes (藏羚羊) are medium-sized animals. They mainly feed on grass. They are usually found in groups of about 20. They are killed for their wool, which is warm, soft and fine and can be made into expensive clothes. Although people can get the wool without killing the animals, people simply kill them before taking the wool. The number of them is dropping year by year. There are less than 75,000 Tibetan antelopes left in the world, down from a million 50 years ago.
Golden Monkeys
Golden monkeys are mainly found in Sichuan, Gansu, Shanxi provinces and Shengnongjia mountainous area of Hubei Province. Golden monkeys have golden-orange fur. They move around in the daytime, usually in groups of as many as 100 to 200 heads, or 20 to 30 heads. They feed on fruits and young leaves of bamboos. But people are destroying the environment where they live. Trees and bamboos are disappearing, so golden monkeys have less and less to eat.
Elephants
Elephants are very big and strong. They are bigger than any other animals on land. They are grey and have long trunks and tusks. They have poor eyesight, but very good hearing and smell. They can lift heavy things and break down branches with their trunks. Elephants are very friendly towards each other and towards their neighbours. Normally, they live in a group for many years. Young male elephants do not leave the group until they are about 12 years old. Now, there are very few elephants in the world. The number of them is becoming smaller and smaller because their living areas are used for farming. Also, people hunt them for their tusks.
Wolves
Wolves are not very big. They have grey fur. Wolves have very good eyesight, hearing and smell. Wolves’ food is various. They eat animals, insects and snails. They are friendly to each other and never attack people. They do not kill for fun. Wolves are in danger, too. They are losing their living areas because people cut down forests. Soon they will have no home or food.Tibetan antelopes usually live in groups of about _______.
| A．20 | B．30 | C．100 | D．200 |
Which of the following animals are the biggest on land?
| A．Tibetan antelopes. | B．Golden monkeys. |
| C．Elephants. | D．Wolves |
Which of the following sentences is right?
| A．There are less than 7,500 Tibetan antelopes left in the world now. |
| B．Golden monkeys usually move around during the night. |
| C．Elephants have good eyesight, but very poor hearing and smell. |
| D．Wolves are friendly to each other and they never attack people. |
What can be the best title of the passage?
| A．Wild animals in danger |
| B．How to hunt wild animals |
| C．Animals in the zoo |
| D．How to train the animals |
My name is Toby. I’m eighty-three years old now. I once knew the greatest man in England. William Shakespeare was his name. I first met William near a big field of apple trees in the town named Stratford in October, 1579. He told me he was 15 years old. He was two years older than me. He had a sister, Joan, and two younger brothers, Gilbert and Richard. And the next year he had another brother, Edmund. After William’s parents died, he and his sister lived with his mother’s brother. I became his friend from that day until he died. We met nearly every day. We were friends for thirty years.
I once worked with him in the theatre, through the good times and the bad times. William was good at acting. He could make all kinds of people pleased. By 1592, he became very famous. He was always busy day and night. I don’t know when he slept. He not only acted in plays, but also wrote his own plays. In his whole life, William wrote 37 plays in all. He was the best playwright in England.
He wrote a play about love in 1595. It was Romeo and Juliet. He once used my name, Toby, in his play—Twelfth Night. In this play, Sir Toby Belch was a big fat man, who liked drinking too much and having a good time. Queen Elizabeth the First watched this play on the 6th of January, 1601. She liked it.
William Shakespeare is dead now, of course. He has been dead for more than thirty years. There’s no singing, no dancing, no plays. It isn’t like that in my young days. But I can still think—and remember when William and I were young, we had a good time in London, William and I…Toby and William first met in ______.
| A．1601 | B．1595 | C．1592 | D．1579 |
Who was William’s youngest brother?
| A．Gilbert | B．Edmund | C．Richard | D．Joan |
In the second paragraph, the underlined word “playwright” means “a person who ______”.
| A．writes plays | B．performs in plays |
| C．watches plays | D．works in a theatre |
Romeo and Juliet is a play about _______.
| A．war | B．peace | C．love | D．friendship |
请认真阅读下面短文，在短文后表格中的空白处填入适当的单词(注意：每空1个单词)。
CCTV cameras watch action
In UK , Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras are everywhere. They help the police solve crimes and keep the streets safe. But that’s not all they do . They also catch people doing very stupid or smart things.
One of the videos is of a British woman Mary Bale. She clearly doesn’t like cats. In 2010 she was caught on CCTV throwing one into a dustbin. The video shows Mary walking down a quiet street. All of sudden , she notices Lola the cat jump onto a fence. Mary stops to pickup Lola and drops her into a large dustbin . Lola was saved fifteen hours later. And Mary was arrested for causing unnecessary suffering to an animal . She was fined ( 罚款)￡250 and was not allowed to own pets for five years.
Another video shows “ Britain’s drunkest man” . He’s been at a party at London’s Savoy Hotel. And he’d obviously had a few too many glasses of beer. At about 2 a. m. , he was kicked out for being too drunk . So, he decided to walk home. On the way , CCTV cameras filmed him falling down stairs and crossing the roads madly… A Savoy Hotel waiter said, “ It’s amazing he didn’t hurt himself badly.”
Sometimes they also record smart events. Once a British band The Get Out Clause didn’t have any money to make a music video. So , they came up with an unbelievable idea. They set up their instruments ( 乐器) and played a song in front of eight CCTV cameras. And then, according to the English Freedom of Information Act , they asked for a copy of all the footages ( 视频) , which they edited. The result is that a totally new music video was made, and it didn’t cost them a penny.
Title: CCTV cameras catch action
| Passage outline |
Supporting details |
| Usage of CCTV cameras |
They are almost (1)______________ and are used in many ways. |
| To help the police solve crimes |
A woman saw a lonely cat and (2) ___________ it into a big dustbin. She was fined ￡250 and was not allowed to own pets for five years. |
| To catch people doing stupid things |
A man got very drunk and was thrown out of London’s Savoy Hotel. He went back home through a lot of troubles and dangers but was not (3) ________________hurt. |
| To (4)____________ people doing Smart events |
A band had no money but still wanted to make a music record. They played in front of eight CCTV cameras and asked for the footage copy for (5) ___________________. They edited the footages and make a totally new music video. |
Ever thought of moving to a new country? How about starting a new country? Patri Friedman is planning to do just that. He left Google years ago to set up the Seasteading Institute. And his dream is to build seasteads-----floating micro-nations in the middle of the ocean.
So, what will life on a seastead be like? Probably a bit like life on a cruise liner (游轮), but much larger, with shops, gyms, swimming pools, schools and other areas. In fact, the early seasteads may actually be specially-rebuilt cruise liners. But as science advances, Friedman believes they’ll become more like floating cities, with several hundred people.
Seasteading raises a lot of questions. First of all, how will the new countries make money? The Seasteading Institute has suggested several money-making ideas, including ocean-based theme parks, casinos (赌场) and fish farming. There’s also the questions of safety. With storms, typhoons and pirates (海盗) , the high seas are a dangerous place. However, the Institute says that it can stand bad weather and prevent crimes with its well-designed systems.
So, is this just a day dream? Well, maybe not. One of the people behind the project is Peter Thiel. He founded PayPal and was one of the first investors (投资者) in Facebook. So far, he’s donated $ 500,000 to the project.
And Friedman isn’t wasting any time. He recently announced the creation of the Poseidon Award. This will be given to the first seastead with fifty people. Friedman is hoping to hand out the award in 2015.Where did Friedman use to work?
| A．In Facebook. | B．In Seastead Institute . | C．In PayPal. | D．In Google. |
A future seastead may be most likely to look like ___________________.
| A．a cruise liner | B．a floating city | C．a theme park | D．a fishing farm |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Friedman is planning to move to a new country. |
| B．Friedman is worried about the safety of seasteads. |
| C．Friedman has got some supporters for his project. |
| D．Friedman has already won the Poseidon Award. |
Which of the following can be the best titles of this passage?
| A．Seasteading: a new idea of living |
| B．Seasteading: a wild way of farming |
| C．Peter Thiel: a man behind the project |
| D．Patri Friedman: a crazy day dreamer |