It is quite reasonable to blame traffic jams, the cost of gas and the great speed of modern life, but manners on the road are becoming horrible. Everybody knows that the nicest men would become fierce tigers behind the wheel.
Road politeness is not only good manners, but good sense. It takes the most cool-headed drivers' great patience to give up the desire to beat back when forced to face rude driving. On the other hand, a little politeness goes a long way towards reducing the possibility of quarrelling and fighting. A friendly nod or a wave of thanks in answer to an act of politeness helps to create an atmosphere of good will and becomes so necessary in modern traffic conditions. But such behaviors of politeness are by no means enough. Many drivers nowadays don't even seem able to recognize politeness when they see it.
However, misplaced politeness can also be dangerous. Typical examples are the driver who waves a child crossing the street at a wrong place onto the path of oncoming cars that may not be able to stop in time. The same goes for encouraging old ladies to cross the road wherever and whenever they want to.
An experienced driver, whose manners are faultless, told me it would help if drivers learnt to correctly join in traffic stream without causing total blockages that give rise to unpleasant feelings. Unfortunately, modern drivers can't even learn to drive, let alone master the roadmanship. Years ago, experts warned us that the fast increase of the car ownership would demand more give-and-take from all road users. It is high time for all of us to take this message to heart. The passage mainly talks about __________.
| A．traffic jams |
| B．road politeness |
| C．good manners |
| D．modern drivers |
Troubles on the road are often caused by __________.
| A．the behavior of the drivers |
| B．traffic jams |
| C．great speed |
| D．terrible road conditions |
According to the writer, a good driver should __________.
| A．be able to recognize politeness when he sees it |
| B．beat back when forced to face rude driving |
| C．encourage old ladies to cross the roads whenever they want to |
| D．join in traffic stream quickly however other people feel |
The following statements are right EXCEPT that __________.
| A．some modern drivers are not good at driving |
| B．road politeness is good sense as well as good manners |
| C．drivers are expected to master the roadmanship |
| D．traffic jams are caused by tigers behind the wheel |
It is not always right for drivers to __________.
| A．master roadmanship |
| B．recognize politeness when they see it |
| C．give a friendly nod or wave in answer to an act of politeness |
| D．wave a child crossing the street onto the path of oncoming cars |
Most lives saved from sinking ferryCao Min couldn’t believe she was experiencing exactly what she had seen years ago in the film “Titanic”.
Cao and her two children from Anhui Province were traveling on board the “Liaoludu 7”on February 22.They were among the first people on the ship who were rescued by lifeboats. Cao’s one-year-old son was the youngest passenger on board.
The “Liaoludu 7”was traveling in the Bohai Straits(渤海海峡)from Lushun in Liaoning Province to the port city of Longkou in Shandong Province. It suddenly lost its power at 2:30 pm and tilted(倾斜)on its side. With 81 people on board, the ferry(渡船)began to sink.
“I was so scared that my legs couldn’t move forward. They kept shaking even when I was asked to jump onto a “ lifeboat.” Cao recalled.
Upon receiving the urgent appeal, China Marine Search and Rescue Center(中国海上搜救中心)immediately informed the State Council(国务院).The center sent eight lifeboats to the sinking ship and asked for help form the Ministry of Agriculture, the Navy and nearby fishing boats.
After more than four hours of fighting against strong winds and freezing ocean water, the passengers were recovered. All but four survived. These four died after spending too long in the freezing waters, according to a spokesperson for the Beijing-based center.
(From 21st Century, Mar.3, 2003)How many people survived the disaster?
| A．4 | B．81 | C．85 | D．77 |
Who do you think were the first people rescued?
| A．Women and children | B．Women | C．Children | D．Men |
Which of the following is Not true?
| A．The accident happened from Longkou in Shandong Province to Lushun in Liaoning Province. |
| B．The fighting of the people on board against the strong winds and freezing ocean water lasted several hours. |
| C．Cao and her children fortunately were saved. |
| D．But for the State Council, the passengers and the crew would have lost their lives. |
For years and years people have been saying that the railways are dead. “ We can do without railways.” People say…as if motorcars and planes have made the railways unnecessary. We all keep hearing that trains are slow, that they lose money, and that they’re dying .But this is far from the truth: in these days of expensive oil, the railways have become highly competitive with motorcars and planes. If you want to carry people or goods from place to place, they are cheaper than planes. And they have much in common with planes. A plane goes in a straight line and so does a railway. What is more, it takes you from the heart of a city into the heart of another. It doesn’t leave you up as a plane does, miles and miles from the city center. It doesn’t hold you up as a car does, in endless traffic jams, and a single train carry goods which a plane or a motorcar could never do.
Far from being dead, the railways are very much alive. Modern railway lines give you a smooth, untroubled journey. Where else can you eat well, sleep in comfort, feel safe and enjoy the scene while you are traveling at speed at the same time? And we are only at the beginning, for we have just entered the age of super-fast trains, trains traveling at 150 miles an hour and more. Soon we will be wondering why we spent so much on motorcars we can’t use because we have not enough money to buy the oil and planes we can’t fly for the same reason..Some people think the railways are unnecessary for many reasons except that.
| A．planes and motorcars have taken the place of trains |
| B．oil is expensive today |
| C．trains are slow |
| D．railways lose money |
According to the writer, which of the following is Not true?
| A．It is cheaper to travel by train than by plane. |
| B．The railway station is usually at the center of the city. |
| C．When you get off the plane you will find yourself right in the city center. |
| D．No motorcar or plane can carry as many goods as a train does. |
The writer thinks that the railways, far from being dead, are very much alive because.
| A．we can have a smooth and untroubled journey |
| B．we’ll not have enough money to fly in planes |
| C．we can now travel in super-fast train |
| D．all of the above |
The best title for this passage may be””
| A．Not the End but the Beginning |
| B．Which is the Best: Train, Motorcar or Plane |
| C．Trains are More Competitive than Motorcars or Planes |
| D．Oh, Super-fast Trains |
The Republic of Vanuatu is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. It was one of the poorest nations in the region. Within the last five years, however, it has become a hot spot for adventure travelers. In 2006 it was voted the happiest place on Earth. The reason is not that Vanuatu are the richest but that Vanuatu has white-sand islands, clear waters, the world’s most accessible live volcano, great diving and food that grows faster than it can be picked.
With a population of about 221,000, Vanuatu has 113 languages, which is a result of 3,000 years of immigration from many Pacific countries. There are three official languages: English, French, and Bislama. Bislama developed from South Pacific English, a simplified language that traders and other foreigners used it to communicate with speakers of the many local languages.
Most of the islands are mountainous and of volcanic origin. There are several active volcanoes in Vanuatu, including Yasur on the island of Tanna, one of the world’s most accessible volcanoes. If you’ve ever fancied getting close to a volcano, here’s your chance.
Vanuatu Post’s Underwater Post Office has quickly become one of the busiest post offices for postcards in the world! Visitors from around the world want to experience the world’s first underwater post office. The Post Office is only 50 meters offshore and at just three meters below the surface, very appealing to the young and young at heart. Since opening in 2003, the underwater post office has received about 100,000 visitors. They have posted one of the waterproof（防水的）postcards available in Vanuatu; these cards are collected regularly by one of Vanuatu Post’s four trained divers. The underwater branch is manned daily for usually about an hour, longer with demand.Vanuatu was voted the happiest place on Earth because _______.
| A．it’s the poorest nation in the region |
| B．it’s Vanuatu that are the richest |
| C．it’s a favorite place for adventurers |
| D．it’s blessed with abundant nature |
From the text, _______ led to over one hundred languages spoken in Vanuatu.
| A．immigration | B．location | C．dialects | D．foreigners |
Which of the following is true about Vanuatu?
| A．Bislama developed from local Pacific French. |
| B．Yasur is one of the live volcanoes in Vanuatu. |
| C．Vanuatu has more than 113 official languages. |
| D．Underwater Post Office has opened for 5 years. |
Which of the following would be the most proper title for the text?
| A．Working at the underwater branch | B．Great diving in amazing Vanuatu |
| C．A hot spot for adventure travelers | D．The busiest post office on Earth |
What is most likely to be discussed in the paragraph that follows?
| A．Various languages. | B．Underwater diving. |
| C．Food in Vanuatu. | D．History of Vanuatu. |
Owning a smartphone may not be as smart as you think. They may let you surf the Internet, listen to music and take photos wherever you are, but they also turn you into a workaholic（工作狂）.
A study suggests that, by giving you access to emails at all times, the smartphone adds as much as two hours to your working day. Researchers found that Britons work an additional 460 hours a year on average as they are able to respond to emails on their mobiles. The study shows the average UK working day is between 9 and 10 hours, but a further 2 hours is spent responding to or sending work emails, or making work calls.
Almost one in ten admits spending up to three hours outside their normal working day checking work emails. Some workers say they are on call almost 24 hours a day. Nearly two-thirds say they often check work emails just before they go to bed and as soon as they wake up, while over a third have replied to one in the middle of the night. The average time for first checking emails is between 6 am and 7 am, with more than a third checking their first email in this period, and a quarter checking them between 11pm and midnight.
Ghadi Hobeika, marketing director of Pixmania, said: “The ability to access millions of applications has made smartphones invaluable for many people. However, there are disadvantages. Many companies expect their employees to be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and smartphones mean that people cannot get away from work. The more constantly in touch we become, the more is expected of us in work . ”With a smartphone the average UK working day is _______.
| A．2 hours | B．9 to 10 hours | C．11 to 12 hours | D．24 hours |
It could be inferred from the text that the British people _______.
| A．prefer to check emails in the morning |
| B．are crazy about different smartphones |
| C．shorten their normal working hours |
| D．work extra hours with smartphones |
What does Ghadi Hobeika feel about smartphones?
| A．They are unimportant for most of people. |
| B．They have disadvantages for some companies. |
| C．They make it impossible for people to rest. |
| D．They are useful to improve a work ability. |
Where can we most probably read this text?
| A．In a science fiction. | B．In a newspaper. |
| C．In a travel magazine. | D．In a storybook. |
The number of smokers in England is about 8 million. According to the Department of Health, smoking is the biggest cause of early death in the country. Smokers in England have been asked to give up smoking for 28 days this month, in an action backed by Cancer Research UK and the British Heart Foundation.
Research shows people who manage not to light up for this length of time are 5 times more likely to kick the habit. Public health experts say campaigns that include a combination of hard-hitting ads and supportive messages work best.
Quitting smoking can be difficult. However, people are much more likely to succeed if other people are doing the same than if they try to do it alone and go cold turkey. Robert West, Director of Tobacco Studies at University College London, points out how pressure from people around can prevent a smoker going on smoking. “We are social animals,” he said.
The action has met some doubts among readers of the BBC News Online website. Some compared it to asking people to stop eating as a way of fighting overweight. Others doubt the action’s effectiveness. “Its weakness is that it fails to explain why a person smokes, and the reasons are as many as the number of smokers”, says someone who signed as BluesBerry.
Another reader, Cazz, has decided to give it some credit. He says:“ Campaigns like this won’t necessarily inspire the majority of smokers to quit, but may encourage those thinking about quitting to set a date and try. Surely it’s worth a shot. ”What does the text mainly talk about?
| A．A new action to quit smoking. |
| B．A way of fighting overweight. |
| C．A country with the most smokers. |
| D．The biggest cause of early death. |
The underlined phrase “go cold turkey” in the third paragraph means “_______”.
| A．buy a cold turkey | B．eat too much food | C．stop a bad habit | D．get much support |
Why is it easier to stop smoking when other people are doing the same?
| A．Because people usually respect each other. |
| B．Because they’re faced with the same pressure. |
| C．Because people are influenced by each other. |
| D．Because they keep the same animals as pets. |
What’s Cazz’ s attitude in the last paragraph?
| A．Distant． | B．Doubtful． | C．Surprised． | D．Approving |