I was puzzled! Why was this old woman making such a complaint about our way to deal with an old bush which was of no use to anybody? She had written letters to the local paper, even to a national to protest about our projected by-pass to her village, and, looking at a map, the route was nowhere near where she lived and it wasn’t as if the area was attractive. I was more than puzzled, I was intrigued. I wanted to know what it was that motivated her. So it was that I found myself knocking on a cottage door, being received by Mary Smith and then being taken for a walk to the woods.
“I’ve always loved this place”, she said, “it has a lot of memories for me, and for others. We all used it. They called it ‘Lovers lane’. It’s not much of a lane, and it doesn’t go anywhere important, but that’s why we all came here. To be away from people, to be by ourselves.” She added.
It was indeed pleasant that day and the songs of many birds could be heard. Squirrels gazed from the branches, quite bold in their movements, obviously few people passed this way and they had nothing to fear. I could imagine the noise of vehicles passing through these peaceful woods when the by-pass was built, so I felt that she probably had something there but as I hold strong opinions about the needs of the community over-riding the opinions of private individuals, I said nothing. The village was quite a distant and dangerous place because of the traffic especially for old people and children, their safety was more important to me than an old woman’s whims (怪念头).
“Take this tree”, she said pausing after a short while. “To you it is just that, a tree. Not unlike many others here”. She gently touched the bark. “Look here, under this branch, what can you see?”
“It looks as if someone has done a bit of carving with a knife” I said after a cursory (草率的) inspection.
“Yes, that’s what it is!” she said softly. “There are letters and a lover’s heart”.
I looked again, this time more carefully. The heart was still there and there was an arrow through it. The letters on one side were indistinct, but on the other an ‘R’ was clearly visible with what looked like an ‘I’ after it. “Some budding romance?” I asked, “Did you know who they were?”
“Oh yes, I knew them”, said Mary Smith, “it says RH loves MS”.
After a pause, she went on … “He had a penknife and I helped him to carve my initials. We were very much in love, but he was going away, and could not tell me what he was involved in the army. I had guessed of course. It was the last evening we ever spent together, because he went away the next day, back to his Unit.”
Mary Smith was quiet for a while, then she sobbed, “His mother showed me the telegram. ‘Sergeant R Holmes ... Killed in action in the invasion of France.’”
I realized that I could be getting out of my depth, and longed to be in my office, away from here and this old lady, snug, and with a cup of tea in my hand.
There was a further pause. Mary Smith gently touched the wounded tree, just as she would have caressed him. “And now they want to take our tree away from me.” Another quiet sob, then she turned to me. “I was young and pretty then, I could have had anybody, I wasn’t always the old woman you see here now. I could have had everything I wanted in life, a lovely man, health and a future to look forwards to”.
She paused again and looked around. The breeze gently moved through the leaves with a sighing sound. “There were others, of course, but not a patch on my Robin!” she said strongly. “And now I have nothing except the memories this tree holds. If only I could get my hands on that awful man who writes in the paper about the value of the road they are going to build where we are standing now, I would tell him. Has he never loved, has he never lived, does he not know anything about memories? We were not the only ones, you know, I still meet some who came here as Robin and I did. Yes, I would tell him!”
I turned away, sick at heart.Why was the by-pass to Mary Smith’s village to be built through these woods?
| A.The community wanted to explore the beauty of the woods as a way of tourism. |
| B.Many people passed these woods causing heavy traffic jam. |
| C.The traffic was inconvenient making the village a dangerous place to live in. |
| D.The village was quite far away and its economy needed improving. |
The underlined sentence “I felt that she probably had something there” means ________.
| A.I thought there might be something hidden in the woods by Mary Smith |
| B.I guessed there might be a story related with Mary Smith |
| C.I thought there might be some reason for Mary Smith’s protest |
| D.I guessed there might be a secret purpose of Mary Smith. |
The main purpose of this passage is to ________.
| A.draw attention to the damage that wars cause |
| B.persuade people to give up private interest |
| C.arouse the awareness of being environmentally friendly |
| D.introduce a touching but sad love story |
Never go into a supermarket hungry! This is a good piece of advice. If you go shopping for food before lunchtime, you’ll probably buy more than you plan to. Unfortunately, however, just this advice isn’t enough for consumers these days. Modern shoppers need an education in how and how not to buy things at the store. First, you check the weekly newspaper ads. Find out the items that are on sale and decide if you really need these things. In other words, don’t buy anything just because it’s cheaper than usual! “New and Improved!” or “All Natural” on the front of a package influence you. Instead, read the list of ingredients(contents) on the back. Third, compare prices: that is, you should examine the prices of both different brands and different sizes of the same brand.
Another suggestion for consumers is to buy ordinary items instead of famous brands. Ordinary items in supermarkets come in plain packages. These products are cheaper because producers don’t spend much money on packing or advertising. The quality, however, is usually as good as the quality of well-known name brands. In the same way, in buying clothes, you can often find high quality and low prices in brands that are not famous. Shopping in discount clothing stores can help you save a lot of money. Although these stores aren’t very attractive, and they usually do not have individual dressing rooms, not only are the prices low, but you can often find the same famous brands that you find in high-priced department stores.
Wise consumers read magazine ads and watch TV commercials, but they do this with one advantage: knowledge of the psychology behind the ads. In other words, well-informed consumers watch for information and check for misinformation. They ask themselves questions: Is the advertiser hiding something in small print at the bottom of the page? Is there any real information in the commercial, or is the advertiser simply showing an attractive image? With the answers to these questions, consumers can make a wise choice. All the following statements are true about the phrase “ordinary items” in Paragraph 2 except ____.
| A.ordinary items never say “New and Improved” or “All Natural” |
| B.ordinary products are usually cheaper than famous brands |
| C.producers spend less money on packaging of ordinary items |
| D.the quality of ordinary items is usually as good as that of famous brands |
One of the author’s suggestions to consumers is ____.
| A.not to buy items with words like “New and Improved” or “All Natural” |
| B.to make use of ads |
| C.to buy high quality items such as famous brands after lunch |
| D.to buy any ordinary items instead of famous brands |
The author implies that ____.
| A.going into the supermarket hungry, you may buy more than you plan to |
| B.the quality of ordinary items is usually high and the prices are relatively low |
| C.discount clothing stores are good places to go to |
| D.ads sometimes don’t tell the truth |
Increasingly ,over the past ten years ,people—especially young people—have become aware of the need to change their eating habits ,because much of the food they eat ,particularly processed foods ,is not good for the health .As a result ,there has been a growing interest in natural foods :foods which do not contain chemical fertilizers ,widely used in farming today .
Natural foods ,for example ,are vegetables ,fruit and grain which have been grown in soil that is rich in organic(有机的)matter . In simple terms ,this means that the soil has been nourished by unused vegetable matter ,which provides it with essential vitamins and minerals. This in itself is a natural process compared with the use of chemicals and fertilizers , the main purpose of which is to increase the amount—but not the quality—of food grown in commercial farming areas .
Natural foods also include animals which have been allowed to feed and move freely in healthy grassland for cattle .Compare this with what happens in the mass production of poultry (家禽):there are battery farms ,for example ,where thousands of chickens live crowded together in one building and are fed on food which is little better than rubbish .Chickens kept in this way are not only tasteless as food; they also produce eggs which lack important vitamins .
There are other things of healthy eating which are now receiving increasing attention from experts on diet .Take ,for example ,the question of sugar .This is actually a non-essential food! Although another natural food ,such as honey ,can be used to sweeten food if this is necessary ,we can in fact do without it .It is not that sugar is harmful in itself .But it does seem to be addictive : the quantity we use has grown steadily over the last two centuries and in Britain today each person consumes an average of 200 pounds a year !Yet all it does is provide us with energy ,in the form of calories .There are no vitamins in it ,no minerals ,and no fibre .
It’s very important that nowadays fibre is considered to be an important part of a healthy diet .In white bread ,for example ,the fibre has been removed .But it is present in unrefined flour and of course in vegetables .It is interesting to note that in countries where the national diet contains large quantities of unrefined flour and vegetables ,certain diseases are comparatively not often seen .For this reason ,the importance is placed on the eating of wholemeal(没有去麸的面粉)bread and more vegetables by modern experts on “healthy eating”.People have become more interested in natural foods because .
| A.they want to keep fit |
| B.they want to taste all kinds of foods |
| C.natural foods are more delicious than processed foods |
| D.they want to return to nature |
Chickens raised in poultry farms are all of the following EXCEPT that.
| A.they are fed on food which is little better than garbage |
| B.they live in very crowed condition |
| C.the eggs they produce lack vitamins |
| D.they are allowed to move about and eat freely |
According to the passage,_________.
| A.people need sugar to give them energy |
| B.sugar is bad for the health |
| C.the use of sugar is habit forming |
| D.sugar only sweetens food, but provides us with nothing useful |
Smoking, which may be a pleasure for some people, is a series of discomfort for their fellows. Medical scientists have expressed their concern about effect of smoking on the health not only of those who smoke but also those who do not smoke. In fact, non-smokers who take in the air polluted by tobacco smoke suffer more than the smokers themselves. A great number of students are trying to persuade the university to forbid smoking in classrooms. Believe they are completely right in their aim. However, I think it more important to achieve this by calling on the smokers to use good judgment and to show concern for others. Smoking is not allowed in theaters, cinemas and in other public places. Therefore, smoking must be forbidden in our classroom. Although many people have passed away for having smoked a lot and we call on people to give up smoking, yet many more that are following will turn down what we say every day, above all, the young people smoke a lo
t more. In the writer’s opinion, smoking does good to ________.
| A.nobody | B.some people | C.smokers | D.young people |
The phrase “pass away” probably means ________.
| A.leave one’s home | B.lose one’s life | C.pass by | D.go away |
According to the selection, which of the following is true?
| A.Smokers suffer from the polluted air more than the non-smokers. |
| B.Non-smokers suffer from the polluted air more than the smokers. |
| C.Non-smokers suffer as much from the polluted air as the smokers. |
| D.Non-smokers don’t suffer so much from the polluted air as the smokers. |
Register(注册) in person
Register by phone
Register by mail
1781 N. Winchester ST.
Call 264 8833
Use form given
Chicago
Basic Photography
This is an eight-hour course for beginners who want to learn how to use a 35mm camera. The teacher will cover such areas as kinds of film, light, and lenses(镜头). Bring your own 35mm camera to the class.
Course Charge: $150
Jan. 10, 12, 17, 19, Tues. & Thurs. 6-8p.m.
Marianne Adams is a professional photographer whose photographs appear in many magazines.
Understanding Computers
This twelve-hour course is for people who don’t know very much about computers, but who need to learn about them. You will learn what computers are, what they can and can’t do, and how to use them.
Course Charge: $75
Equipment Charge: $10
Jan. 7, 14, 21, 28, Sat. 9-12 a.m.
Joseph Saimders is a professor of computer science at New Urban University. He has over twelve years of experience in the computer field.
Stop Smoking
Do you
want to stop smoking? Have you already tried to stop and failed? Now it is the time to stop smoking using the latest methods. You can stop smoking, and this twelve-hour course will help you do it.
Course Charge: $30
Jan. 4, 11, 18, 25 Mon. 4-7 p.m.
Dr.John Goode is a practicing psychologist(心理学家)who has
helped hundreds of people stop smoking.
Typing
This course on weekdays is for those who want to type as well as those who want to improve their typing. You are tested in the first class and practice at one of eight different skill levels. This allows you to learn at your own speed. Each program lasts 20 hours. Bring your own paper.
Course Charge: $125
Materials Charge: $25
Two hours each evening for two weeks.
This course is taught by a number of business education teachers who have successfully taught typing courses before. The word “professional” in this advertisement most probably means “_____”
| A.spiritual | B.journalist | C.professor | D.experienced |
The shortest course is _____.
| A.Basic Photography | B.Understanding Computers |
| C.Stop Smoking | D.Typing |
A course which can do something good for your health will cost____.
| A.$50 | B.$30 | C.$10 | D.$125 |
There are typing courses_____.
| A.on Saturdays and Sundays | B.from Monday to Friday |
| C.from Monday to Saturday | D.on each day in the week |
When you leave school,you can breathe sigh of relief and leave learning behind,right?Wrong!Learning should last a lifetime. You exercise your body to stay strong,and you should exercise your mind to stay sharp.
An English idiom says,“You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” But scientists have discovered that isn’t true. Older people can learn,and they should,in order to keep their brain active. Now a new trend has begun in several states in the US that encourages learning. Adults can attend One Day University. They can spend a Saturday or Sunday hearing four 70-minute lectures. Each one is given by a top university professor. One of the orig
inal participants said,“It’s like a health club for the brain.” Also,universities like MIT have made all of their courses and lectures available online for free!Libraries offer learning programs too. With so much available,there is no excuse not to learn!
Learning is a habit. Don’t leave it behind after you leave school. On the website lifehack.org,author Scott Young mentions several things to help you.
Always have a book. It doesn’t matter if you read fast or slow. Just read. If you read just one book a week,you’ll read 52 over the course of a year. Think of the knowledge you’ll gain!
Practice it. As you read,do something with what you’ve learned. Don’t just enjoy the mental exercise. Use the knowledge. If you read about painting,try it!
Make a “to learn” list. Compose a “to learn” list for yourself. Maybe you want to speak better English,play the piano,or cook French food. Whatever interests you,put it on your list and then make the time to do it.
Teach others. Whatever you learn,teach someone else. You’ll not only help other
s but also understand what you’ve learned.What’s the best title for this passage?
| A.Make learning last a lifetime. |
| B.What you should do after leaving school. |
| C.Several tips on learning. |
| D.A new trend in learning. |
What does the underlined part in Paragraph 1 mean?
| A.You don’t need to consider what you have learnt after graduation. |
| B.You can relax as you have escaped from the hard life of studying. |
| C.Leaving learning behind is what you should do after a break. |
| D.You should have a good rest and then go on learning. |
How many ways of learning for adults in the US are mentioned in Paragraph 2?
| A.One. | B.Two. | C.Three. | D.Four. |
Which of the following is NOT a suggestion
made by Scott Young in the passage?
| A.Keep learning as a habit. |
| B.Always have a book. |
| C.List what you want to learn. |
| D.Teach others what you learn. |