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Carrying a passenger on a bicycle is an offence punishable by law. Everyone knows that but still some of us do it.
I had done it many times before until something happened to teach me never to do it again. It was not the police. Rather it was an unforgettable, and unpleasant, experience.
It happened one evening when my friend Segaran and I wanted to go and visit another friend who lived some distance away. I had a bicycle. Segaran did not. So, as usual, he sat side-saddle on the horizontal bar of the bicycle while I pedalled. We had done it many times before, so it should not be any problem.
Near my friend’s house, we got onto a gravel(碎石) path made slippery by the recent rain. Still we managed to move along, thoroughly enjoying the rough ride.
As we passed by a stream, I made the mistake of going too near the bank. The rain had softened the soil and it could not hold our combined weight. One moment we were going along merrily, the next we were tumbling head over heels into the stream.
Splash! Splash! Splash! We plunged into the river bicycle first, followed by Segaran, then me. Normally the stream is only a few centimetres deep with clear water. When we fell in, it was a metre deep with smelly black water. The water prevented us from getting badly injured but we also had to pay the price of swallowing some of it. It tasted horrible. Segaran got the worst of it for being sandwiched between the bicycle and me. Our pride was far more hurt.
We walked all the way home. I had to push the bicycle because its front wheel was bent out of shape. From that moment I promised never to carry anyone on a bicycle again.
________ taught the author never to carry a passenger on a bicycle again.

A．The police	B．The experience
C．Segaran	D．The visited friend

Where did they land when they fell off the bike?

A．Into the dirty river	B．Onto the friend’s house
C．Onto the gravel path	D．Into the softened soil

The author felt hurt mainly because ________.

A．he swallowed some dirty water

B．he got badly injured in the water

C．he made Segaran sandwiched and hurt

D．he failed in a thing he had thought was easy

Where does the following paragraph go back into the passage?
We retrieved ourselves and the bicycle from the stream. We were both dirty and wet. Obviously we were in no condition to visit anyone. So we decided to go home.

A．Between Paragraph 3 and 4

B．Between Paragraph 5 and 6

C．Between Paragraph 6 and 7

D．After the last paragraph

Everyone has some opinion about history, no matter how ill-informed. Walking through a parking lot in a university in Miami, I noticed a bumper sticker (车尾贴纸) that said, “Ruin a Liberal’s (自由派) Day—Recite Historical Fact!” But Marwick thinks this sort of opinion is just fine; it is unavoidable that we all feel a sense of ownership of history.
History never stands still, as Marwick says at the beginning of The Nature of History, “The shape and content of history, too, vary according to the methods and materials available to different generations.” Marwick’s goal is to explain, in plain language, the changes in the way history is done up to the present; one method is to connect history with advances in the physical sciences. Marwick examines a number of case studies toward the end of the book. He ends the book with a refreshing collection of aphorisms (格言) about history. History truly belongs to each and every man and we all belong to history; with the proper education, history can be made more accessible to everyone.
Marwick relates how inventions and the physical sciences have driven historical changes. Dropping a ball in a vacuum will reveal the same properties (性质) each time the experiment is conducted, providing the conditions are the same. But historians obviously do not have the luxury of reproducing such conditions; historians view the past through the present which depends on invention and science.
By looking at the changing nature of history, Marwick feels the study progressing. Although Marwick suspects some people would accuse a historian of creating job security with the endless views of the past, he insists it is imperative based on the philosophy, science, and new materials of the age. History, according to Marwick, must be for everyone and not remain locked behind the walls of academia.
The author mentions the bumper sticker in order to ________.

A．show his own opinion about history

B．introduce the readers to Marwick

C．explain the freedom of understanding history

D．make the readers know about the argument between historians

Which of the following best describes the statement “History never stands still”?

A．Marwick explains the changes in the way history is done up to the present.

B．Marwick connects history with advances in the physical sciences.

C．He ends the book with a refreshing collection of aphorisms about history.

D．The shape and content of history vary according to the methods and materials available.

In paragraph 3, Marwick gives the example of dropping a ball in a vacuum to prove ________.

A．the changeable nature of history

B．the difficulty of historical study

C．changeable ways of historical study

D．the difficulty of scientific study

The text is intended to ________.

A．state a historian’s ideas

B．argue against a historian

C．attract readers to study history

D．describe the story of a historian

The U.S. government’s push to decrease the nation’s output of greenhouse gases by increasing the fuel efficiency of the cars Americans drive is arousing again an emotional argument: Does driving a small, fuel-efficient car make you more likely to die on the road?
Engineers and statistical analysts can point to data that suggest more-efficient cars don’t necessarily put motorists at greater overall risk. But most of us care less about the “overall” risk than we do about ourselves. Driving a big Chevrolet Tahoe SUV makes many of us believe we are safer than we would be in a smaller car — even if statistical measures across a large population of vehicles and all kinds of car accidents suggest the advantage of safety isn’t quite as wide as SUV owners believe.
The Obama government has put the fuel-efficiency and safety question back on the front burner by calling for new-vehicle fuel economy to rise to an average of 35 miles per gallon (加仑) by 2020 from about 25 mpg today. That goal could move higher if the government decides to adopt California’s requirement to cut vehicle greenhouse-gas giving off, which would result in stricter mileage standards.
Those moves, and the effects of last summer’s gas-price shock, are driving auto makers to offer cars such as the Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit and Daimler AG’s Smart For Two — which get the kind of mileage today that law says should be the average in a decade. Beyond that, auto makers will launch a wide range of new compact (紧凑的) vehicles, and decrease production of large, body-on-frame SUVs.
That’s leading to new concerns about “green safety”, a term for managing the balance between reducing vehicle size for efficiency and adding safety and protection features that tend to make vehicles heavier and less efficient. Undoubtedly, further work has to be done before Americans make the choice.
The U.S. government requires to improve the fuel efficiency in order to ________.
A. push Americans to drive smaller cars
B. reduce the output of greenhouse gases
C. drive auto makers to produce fewer SUVs
C. cause Americans to make an argument
According to Paragraph 2, engineers and analysts’ idea ________.

A．fails to relieve people of their worry about safety

B．persuades people to purchase smaller cars instead of SUVs

C．is based on research and therefore persuasive enough

D．makes people think of their safety as well as others’

About the Obama government’s new moves, the auto makers are ________ and average
Americans are ________.

A．uncertain; positive	B．doubtful; uncertain
C．supportive; positive	D．positive; uncertain

The best title for the text should be ________.

A．New Law Reduces Greenhouse Gases Output

B．Can Small Cars Overcome Accident Fears?

C．New Compact Cars Gets Popular in the U.S.

D．Do We Have to Follow the Government?

On warm summer days with little or no wind, the air temperature in cities can be up to ten degrees higher than that of the surrounding countryside. This is a phenomenon commonly referred to as the “urban heat island” effect.
This phenomenon happens when pavement, buildings, and other infrastructure (基础设施) replace natural land cover. Large amounts of paved and dark colored surfaces—such as roofs, roads, and parking lots—absorb, rather than reflect, the sun’s heat, causing surface temperatures and overall ambient (周围的) air temperature to rise. Unlike soil, paved areas contribute to runoff, which means that as paved areas increase, the amount of water available for evaporation (蒸发) decreases. Moreover, urban areas have fewer trees and less natural vegetation which help to control the heat by providing shade and blocking solar radiation. The surfaces of leaves also provide water for evaporation which cools the air, further worsening the heat island effect.
In particular, during summer, more energy is required to cool the insides of building and for refrigeration, thereby creating additional heat output. This in turn leads to higher ambient air temperatures, which can also significantly increase the formation of urban smog in an area, degrading local air quality. Such a situation may directly affect public health with individuals more likely to suffer from heat exhaustion and the effects of asthma (哮喘).
The underlined part in Paragraph 2 means ________.

A．Due to dark colored roads, urban areas are becoming hotter each year

B．Dark colored surfaces reflect the sun’s heat, causing air temperatures to rise

C．Because urban surfaces absorb heat, air and surface temperatures increase

D．Rising ambient air temperatures lead to urban surfaces absorbing more heat

Which of the following is not a cause of the urban heat island effect?

A．The lack of trees

B．The demand for refrigeration

C．The blocking of solar radiation

D．The construction of infrastructure.

The underlined word “degrading” most probably means ________.

A．ignoring	B．improving
C．highlighting	D．worsening

The passage is mainly developed by ________.

A．giving typical examples

B．following the time order

C．presenting the effect and analyzing the cause

D．analyzing a problem and seeking the solution

More and more pupils are giving teachers presents, but the practice only creates insecurity in parents and staff.
I’ve certainly noticed some pupils being feverishly overgenerous of late. Last year, I received not one bottle of wine but four for helping a disaffected pupil through his GCSEs. By and large, my colleagues report the gifts differing along gender lines. Gentlemen get ties, mugs, booze and, if they’re really lucky, tickets to football matches. The ladies are often presented with flowers, jewels, chocolates and so on.
When my son was at private school, I noticed there was a real competitiveness between the students about giving presents to teachers, with expensive baskets from fancy stores and huge bouquets being handed out on the last days of term. Since my wife and I only let my son give thank-you cards, it was clear we were not “classy”. Now he is at an inner-city primary, we’ve noticed that this kind of nonsense seems to have more or less disappeared. For one thing, there isn’t that kind of money floating around – but there isn’t that kind of competitive culture either.
Personally, I think gifts to teachers should be banned beyond the thank-you card: they cause many more problems than they solve, creating insecurity in both parents and staff. Perhaps the recession and the lack of money in people’s pockets might be a good excuse for the government to issue some guidelines to schools that gifts shouldn’t be accepted by teachers.
The gifts that I really value are the cards which say a genuine thank you. I still keep them in a file at home.
What can the author most probably be?

A．A teacher.	B．A school nurse.
C．A researcher.	D．A gift shop owner.

The underlined word “nonsense” in Paragraph 3 refers to the fact that ________.

A．the son only gives thank-you cards to teachers

B．the author and his wife are not classy

C．the son goes to an inner-city primary

D．the students give gifts to teachers

To solve the problem, the author thinks it’s a good way to ________.

A．forbid the students to give any gifts to teachers

B．create insecurity by giving thank-you cards

C．make people have less money in pockets

D．issue some guidelines by the government

Which of the following can be the best title?

A．Don’t Forget to Give Gifts to Your Teachers

B．Presents Won’t Make Pupils Teachers’ Pets

C．Learn the Competitive Culture of Gifts

D．Refuse Presents from Your Students

A．305-756-2385	B．305-532-9623
C．305-673-7530	D．305-532-9336