It was a cold winter. The day my husband fell to his death, it started to snow, just like any November day. His body, when I found it, was lightly covered with snow. It snowed almost every day for the next four months, while I sat on the couch and watched it pile up. One morning, I shuffled downstairs and was surprised to see a snow remover clearing my driveway and the bent back of a woman shoveling(铲) my walk. I dropped to my knees, crawled through the living room. And back up stairs so those good people would not see me. I was embarrassed. My first thought was, how would I ever repay them? I didn’t have the strength to brush my hair let alone shovel someone’s walk.
Before John’s death, I felt proud that I rarely asked for favors. I identified myself by my competence and independence. So who was I if I was no longer capable and busy? How could I respect myself if I just sat on the couch every day and watched the snow fall?
Learning to receive the love and support from others wasn’t easy. Friends cooked for me and I cried because I couldn’t even help them set the table. Finally, my friend Kathy said, “Mary, cooking for you isn’t a burden for me; it makes me feel good to be able to do something for you.”
Over and over, I heard similar words from the people who supported me during those dark days. One wise man told me, “You aren’t doing nothing because being fully open to your sorrow may be the hardest work you will ever do.”
I am not the person I once was, but in many ways I have changed for the better. I’ve been surprised to learn that there is incredible freedom coming form facing one’s worst fear and walking away whole. I believe there is strength, for sure, in accepting a dark period of our life. Which of the following is True according to the passage?
| A．The writer’s friend was unwilling to cook for her. |
| B．The writer had been busy with her life before |
| C．The writer recovered from her sorrow quickly with his friend’s help. |
| D．The day her husband died, it was snowing heavily. |
We can describe the writer before her husband died as the following EXCEPT __
| A．hard-working | B．independent |
| C．smart | D．capable |
We can infer from the passage that ____________.
| A．the writer found her husband immediately he fell off the roof |
| B．the writer became strong-willed immediately after John's death |
| C．the people around the writer were friendly and supported her |
| D．before John’s death, the writer never asked others for help |
The writer wrote the passage to______
| A．share her sad story with us |
| B．express her guilty conscience to the people who helped her |
| C．show her thanks to the people who love and support her |
| D．tell us the changes she has made because of her husband’s death |
We lived in a very quiet neighbourhood. Early one evening, my wife asked me to go to the to get some soft drinks. My daughter Holly had just got her permit, so I asked her to drive my truck for the shopping instead, as a chance of .
While we were waiting for Holly, my son talked about how much he liked my truck, and I told him I enjoyed having it, too. But I was more or less about Holly. Just then, we heard a loud noise outside. My son looked out and , “Daddy! Daddy! Holly … Truck!”
“Oh, my God!” I ran to the door, I found that the truck had been brought to a stop.
The had happened in our own driveway. With experience, Holly had my truck hit our garage wall. , Holly was unhurt, but when I reached her, she was crying and saying, “Oh, Dad, I’m sorry. I know how much you this truck.” I held her in my arms as she cried.
I remember how Holly was the night she had my truck damaged, and how I her. The repaired truck reminds me of what really in my life. One day, when Holly her life, she will certainly know that I love my a thousand times more than anything else.
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The World's Largest Insect
This giant insect can be used as a toy.
A child ties one end of a string to a stick and the other end around the "neck" of an insect. Holding the stick, the child lets the insect go. With a loud whirring sound, the insect takes off, pulling the string in a large curve over the child's head. The child laughs as the stick jumps around. The child is African, and the toy is the African Goliath beetle, the largest insect in the world.
The Goliath is a true insect because it has six legs and a body that is divided into three parts. Like all beetles, it has two pairs of wings. The front pair are thick and stiff and protect the back pair, which are soft. It is these soft back wings that make the beetle fly forward. They also cause the loud whirring sound the beetle makes when it flies. To steer, the beetle twists and turns its legs the same way you steer a bike by turning its front wheel.
African children often use the Goliath beetle as a toy. Although it is over 15 centimeters long, it is quite harmless.The African Goliath beetle is _______.
| A．the world's largest insect |
| B．a toy used in many parts of the world |
| C．the only insect found in Africa |
| D．the world's smallest insect |
What made the whirring sound that the child heard?
| A．The curved string. |
| B．The beetle's soft wings. |
| C．The beetle's six legs. |
| D．The beetle's body. |
We know the Goliath beetle is a true insect because it _______.
| A．makes a whirring sound when it flies |
| B．has both soft and hard wings |
| C．has six legs and a body with three parts |
| D．can fly |
When flying, the Goliath steers by_______.
| A．turning its soft back wings |
| B．twisting and turning its hard front wings |
| C．twisting and turning its legs |
| D．twisting and turning its whole body |
Earthquakes are something that people fear．There are some places that have few or no earthquakes．Most places in the world，however，have them regularly（有规律的）.Countries that have a lot of earthquakes are usually quite mountainous（多山的）. The most talked about earthquake in the United States was in San Francisco in 1906. Over 700 people died in it．The strongest one in North America was in 1964. It happened in Alaska．
Strong earthquakes are not always the ones that kill the most people．In 1755，one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded was felt in Portugal．Around 2,000 people died．
In 1923，a very strong earthquake hit the Tokyo，Yokohama area of Japan．A hundred and forty thousand people died．Most of them died in fires which followed the earthquake．
One of the worst earthquakes ever was in China in 1976．It killed a large number of people．The worst earthquake ever reported was also in China，in which 400,000 people were killed or injured．This earthquake happened in 1556．
Earthquakes worry people a lot．The reason is that we often do not know when they are coming．People can not prepare for it．Earthquakes happen.
| A．in all the places in the world |
| B．only in the countries that have a lot of mountains |
| C．regularly in most places in the world |
| D．only in a few places along the coast |
When and where was the worst earthquake ever reported？
| A．1964; Alaska. | B．1556; China. |
| C．1923; Japan. | D．1976; China. |
According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true？
| A．The stronger the earthquake is, the more people are killed. |
| B．Earthquakes often come unexpectedly （出乎意料地）． |
| C．Earthquakes can cause fires． |
| D．People still don’t know how to tell when an earthquake will come． |
What may be talked about in the sixth paragraph？
| A．How do earthquakes worry people？ |
| B．What will people do to prepare for earthquakes？ |
| C．How can we save people when earthquakes happen？ |
| D．How do earthquakes happen？ |
Along the river banks of the Amazon and the Orinoco there lives a bird that swims before it can fly, flies like a fat chicken, eats green leaves, has the stomach of a cow and has claws (爪) on its wings when young. They build their homes about 4.6m above the river, an important feature (特征) for the safety of the young. It is called the hoatzin.
In appearance, the birds of both sexes look very much alike with brown on the back and cream and red on the underside. The head is small, with a large set of feathers on the top, bright red eyes, and blue skin. Its nearest relatives are the common birds, cuckoos. Its most striking feature, though, is only found in the young.
Baby hoatzins have a claw on the leading edge of each wing and another at the end of each wing tip. Using these four claws, together with the beak (喙), they can climb about in the bushes, looking very much like primitive（远古的） birds must have done. When the young hoatzins have learned to fly, they lose their claws.
During the drier months between December and March hoatzins fly about the forest in groups of 20 to 30 birds, but in April, when the rainy season begins, they collect together in smaller living units of two to seven birds for producing purposes.What is the text mainly about?
| A．Hoatzins in dry and rainy seasons. |
| B．The relatives and enemies of hoatzins. |
| C．Primitive birds and hoatzins of the Amazon. |
| D．The appearance and living habits of hoatzins. |
Young hoatzins are different from their parents in that____ ．
| A．they look like young cuckoos |
| B．they have claws on the wings |
| C．they eat a lot like a cow |
| D．they live on river banks |
What can we infer about primitive birds from the text?
| A．They had claws to help them climb. |
| B．They could fly long distances. |
| C．They had four wings like hoatzins. |
| D．They had a head with long feathers on the top. |
Why do hoatzins collect together in smaller groups when the rainy season comes?
| A．To find more food. |
| B．To protect themselves better. |
| C．To keep themselves warm. |
| D．To produce their young. |
Here is a question I have often asked at dinner parties:
You're on an island with only one other person, your best friend. He's dying of cancer. In his final days, he tells you, "I have 100,000 dollars in a bank back home. When I die, make sure my son goes to medical school." Then he dies. But his son is a no-good playboy who has no interest in going to medical school and will waste that money away in a very short time. But your son is entering college, and he is willing to become a doctor. Which one do you give the money to for medical school?
I've asked this question of everyone from the president of a famous university to an ordinary young soldier, and it has never failed to get a discussion going. Everyone has an opinion, most of them different, but all of them correct. Sometimes this one topic lasts the whole evening.Which of the following is TRUE to the passage?
| A．Only the clever people can answer the question rightly. |
| B．Some people refuse to answer such a silly question. |
| C．Everyone at the dinner party seems to be interested in the question. |
| D．Most of the people have the same answer. |
What the writer often says at dinner parties is _______.
| A．not a true story | B．a true story |
| C．a strange story | D．just a joke |
Why does the writer often ask people such a question? Because ______.
| A．he wants to find the answer for a research |
| B．he is interested in such a question |
| C．he likes to make fun of people at parties |
| D．he wants to offer people a topic in which everyone could say something |
Which of the following decisions is most likely NOT correct?
| A．You give the money to your friend's son. |
| B．You give the money to your son for medical school. |
| C．You keep the money for your future medical care. |
| D．You keep the money for your friend's son. |