Life is speeding up (加速). Everyone is getting unwell.
This may sound like something someone would say today. But in fact, an unknown person who lived in Rome in AD (公元) 53 wrote it.
We all love new inventions. They are exciting , amazing and can even change our lives.
But have all these developments really improved the quality (品质) of our lives?
Picture this: you’re rushing to finish your homework on the computer. Your mobile phone rings, a QQ message from your friend appears on the screen, the noise from the television is getting louder and louder. Suddenly the computer goes blank and lose all your work. Now you have to stay up all night to get it done. How happy do you feel?
Inventions have sped up our lives so much that we often live feeling stressed (有压力的) and tired. Why do you think people who live far away from noisy cities, who have no telephones, no car, not even any electricity often seem to be happier? Perhaps because they live simpler lives.
One family in the UK went “back in time” to see what life was like without all the inventions we have today. The grandparents , with their daughter and grandsons Benjamin, 10 and Thomas, 7, spent nine weeks in a 1940s house. They had no washing machine, microwave, computer or mobile phones.
The grandmother, Lyn, said, “The more things you have, the more difficult life becomes.” The boys said they fought less. Probably, they said, because there was less to fight over, such as their computer . Benjamin also noticed that his grandmother had changed from being a “trendy (时髦的), beer-drinking granny, to one who cooked things”.The writer uses the quote (引用) at the beginning of the story to _________.
| A．tell us a truth about our life |
| B．tell us what life was like long time ago |
| C．point our what causes such a thing to happen |
| D．point out that you experience some big problems and they may be the same |
In the passage the writer describes a picture to show that new inventions ________.
| A．have speeded up our lives |
| B．have improve the quality of our lives |
| C．may make people feel very happy |
| D．may bring people some trouble |
The family chose to spend some time in a 1940s house because _______.
| A．they loved to live simple lives |
| B．they wanted to know how people lived without modern inventions |
| C．they were troubled by modern inventions |
| D．living in a different time would be a lot of fun for them |
According to the passage, which is NOT right?
| A．People who live far away from noisy cities often seem to be happier. |
| B．An unknown Roman was sure that the quality of life would get better. |
| C．The family had some changes when they lived in a 1940s house. |
| D．With the improvement of our lives, we often feel stressed and tired |
The passage is mainly about_______.
| A．problems with technology |
| B．improvement of our lives with technology |
| C．changes happening to technology |
| D．the importance of technology |
| Sports Bar opens on Friday Champs Bar& Grill, a sport -themed bar and restaurant, will hold an opening party at Shangri-La Hotel in Shenzhen on Friday. Guests can enjoy a 20% off on all food and drinks on Friday. Add: 2/F, Shangri-La, Shenzhen Underground: Shenzhen Railway Station, Exit E For booking, please call 8396--1366 or email to fbreservation.stz@shangri-La.com. |
| A taste of Bali Bali has its unique(奇特的) food, have a try. You will have an unforgettable experience of the delicious food Time : 12:00---2:30 pm for lunch , 6:00----10:00 pm for dinner, December10---19 Price: 198yuan for an adult or 399 yuan for a family of three Add: Cafe Zentro.1/F. Crowne Plaza TEL: 2693—6888 Underground: Window of the World Station, Exit A |
| Have a cup of coffee for 10yuan Ecoffee, a Taiwan--based shop, is offering its 10 yuan coffee at its first shop in Shenzhen. Ecoffee is for young people. So it is trying to attract customers with lower prices. Besides the 10 yuan coffee, other coffees and drinks are also cheaper than those in other shops. Add:B2F.King Glory Plaza. Luohu Distrist TEL: 2453--8168 Underground：Guomao Station, Exit A |
If two hamburgers, a vegetable salad and two ice-creams are 85yuan at Champs Bar& Grill, you will only pay _____yuan for them on Friday.
| A．17 | B．85 | C．102 | D．68 |
If you want to enjoy unforgettable food with your family, you can go to _______________.
| A．Guomao Station, Exit A |
| B．2/F, Shangri-La, Shenzhen |
| C．Cafe Zentro.1/F.Crowne Plaza |
| D．B2F.King Glory Plaza. Luohu Distrist |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．The owner of Ecoffee may be from Taiwan. |
| B．You can take the Underground to the three places above. |
| C．You can send an email to Champs Bar& Grill for booking. |
| D．If Mr.and Mrs Wu have dinner with their 6-year-old son at Cafe Zentro , they need to pay 396 yuan. |
Water pollution happens when waste things from many areas are thrown into rivers,lakes and seas．
Agriculture
To get more food，farmers use large amounts of chemicals(化学制品)．When the chemicals are not completely used by the plants，they are washed away by the rainwater into rivers，lakes and seas，which pollute both surface water and underground water．
Industry
Factories and industries often release poisonous chemicals into seas，rivers or lakes，which is quite bad for Mother Nature．An example of industrial sea pollution happened in Japan in the 1950s．A local factory had poured waste water with mercury(水银)into the Minamata Bay for 20 years．Tuna fish in the bay took in the mercury and people ate the tuna. Many children were born with birth deformities(畸形)．As a result，people lost their，hearing and sight，and thousands of people died in the end．
Sea transportation
When ships transporting oil get damaged on the way，oil spillage(溢出)happens·One major disaster was the Exxon Valdez oil spill．An oil tanker sink off Alaska in 1989 and leaked(泄漏)oil into the ocean．To save cost，some ships also poured unwanted oil from their engine rooms into the sea，thus polluting the oceans·
Home activities
If the waste from the washing of clothes and dishes are not treated and poured into the sea，they will do harm to the sea life．Some diseases may also spread．Sometimes，rubbish is dumped into the sea．Farmers Use large amounts of chemicals to ．
| A．have more food | B．release poison |
| C．planting | D．plant more crops |
From the example in Paragraph 3．we learn that．
| A．eating tuna fish is sometimes a great danger |
| B．water pollution is a serious problem in Japan |
| C．factories and industries should be closed in Japan |
| D．water pollution can do great harm to people’s health |
The underlined word“release”probably means．
| A．释放 | B．吸收 | C．生产 | D．运用 |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．Industrial water pollution |
| B．Agriculture water pollution |
| C．Reasons for water pollution |
| D．Ways to solve water pollution |
“An Englishman，even if he is alone，forms an orderly queue of one'”wrote a famous British author ,George Mikes．While this sounds funny，it’s a popular English stereotype (刻板印象)．From the supermarket to the subway，queues are a common sight on the streets of Britain．
Here in China，queues are normal，too．It is a part of everyday life. People queue most of
the time from buying tickets in the cinema to waiting for seats at a restaurant ·But in certain situations ,you'll find yourself in the middle of a rushing crowd ,such as getting onto the subway．Even away from the busy subway platform，queues are different·
One day I was standing in line at the supermarket．I left a small space in front of me. Within seconds，a girl walked by and took her place in that small space. I was surprised at first ,but later I found these experiences very interesting．It is with these small ,every day differences that I get to live and learn in a new culture·
Back in Britain，the person spends about six months of their life waiting in a queue，according to the auction site MadBid．To pass the time，maybe they tell themselves the famous
proverb：Good things come to those who wait．From the passage，we know that the English are famous for．
| A．being rude and loud |
| B．traveling on subways |
| C．forming an orderly queue |
| D．standing in line at the supermarket |
How did the writer feel when the girl jumped the queue?
| A．From annoyed to calm． |
| B．From calm to angry． |
| C．From surprised to interested． |
| D．From shocked to angry． |
The passage is mainly about．
| A．comparing queuing in two cultures |
| B．praising the English tor good manners |
| C．calling on people in China to queue more |
| D．explaining why people rush in some situations |
Where would you most probably read this passage?
| A．Novel． | B．Poster． |
| C．Newspaper． | D．Science magazine· |
One day a man saw an old lady standing by her expensive car，clearly in need of help．So
he stopped his old truck and got out．Although he was smiling，the old lady was worried．Was he going to hurt her ?He didn’t look safe．
The man could see that she was frightened，so in his friendliest voice he said，“ I'm here to help you，madam．Why don’t you wait in the car where it's warm ?By the way，my name is Bryan Anderson．”Bryan quickly fixed the car and the lady thanked him．Then she asked how Much she should pay him．
But Bryan wanted no money．He was just giving a hand to someone in trouble．This was normal for him．He said，“If you really want to repay me，next time you see someone in need ,help them and think of me．”
After saying goodbye，the lady continued down the road until she reached a small care where she decided to stop for something to eat．As the pretty waitress took her order，the lady noticed she was nearly eight months pregnant(怀孕)．Although the waitress looked tired，she was very kind．As the lady was going to pay the$1 0 bill she remembered Bryan’s words．
She paid with a hundred—dollar bill．But when the waitress returned with the change，the lady was gone．On the table she saw a small note．There．were tears in her eyes when she read it：“Somebody once helped me the way I'm helping you．If you want to pay me back，continue being kind to others．”Under the note were nine more$1 00 bills．
Was the old lady an angel ?The waitress was so excited that she called her husband to tell him the news．“Bryan···Bryan Anderson my dear···you’re not going to believe what just happened．．．”When the lady saw Bryan，she was worried because she thought．
| A．he may hurt her |
| B．he was n’t going to stop |
| C．he could n’t help her |
| D．she did n’t have enough money |
What can we learn．about the old lady from the story?
| A．She was never kind to others． |
| B．She was usually quite careless. |
| C．She was probably very rich． |
| D．She was not a very good driver． |
．The underlined word“it”(Paragraph 5)refers to“”．
A.he change B．the bill C．the note D·the orderWhich of the following shows the relationship between the man，the lady and the waitress?
STICKS AND STONES may be a name of．
| A．a theatre | B．a play |
| C．a person | D．a kind of care |
On Sunday，you can go there．
| A．at 7：3 0 a．m． | B．at 7：30 P．m． |
| C．at 3：00 a．m． | D．at 3：00 P．m． |
Robb Badlam may be a／an．
| A．actor | B．writer | C．producer | D．director |