【2015·湖南】B
In its early history, Chicago had floods frequently, especially in the spring, making the streets so muddy that people, horses, and carts got stuck. An old joke that was popular at the time went something like this: A man is stuck up to his waist in a muddy Chicago street. Asked if he needs help, he replies, "No, thanks. I've got a good horse under me."
The city planner decided to build an underground drainage (排水) system, but there simply wasn't enough difference between the height of the ground level and the water level. The only two options were to lower the Chicago River or raise the city.
An engineer named Ellis Chesbrough convinced me the city that it had no choice but to build the pipes above ground and then cover them with dirt. This raised the level of the city's streets by as much as 12 feet.
This of course created a new problem: dirt practically buried the first floors of every building in Chicago. Building owners were faced with a choice: either change the first floors of their buildings into basements, and the second stories into main floors, or hoist the entire buildings to meet the new street level. Small wood-frame buildings could be lifted fairly easily. But what about large, heavy structures like Tremont Hotel, which was a six-story brick building?
That's where George Pullman came in. He had developed some house-moving skills successfully. To lift a big structure like the Tremont Hotel, Pullman would place thousands of jackscrews (螺旋千斤顶) beneath the building's foundation. One man was assigned to operate each section of roughly 10 jackscrews. At Pullman's signal each man turned his jackscrew the same amount at the same time, thereby raising the building slowly and evenly. Astonishingly, the Tremont Hotel stay open during the entire operation, and many of its guests didn't even notice anything was happening. Some people like to say that every problem has a solution. But in Chicago's early history, every engineering solution seemed to create a new problem. Now that Chicago's waste water was draining efficiently into the Chicago River, the city's next step was to clean the polluted river.The author mentions the joke to show ______.
| A．horses were fairly useful in Chicago |
| B．Chicago's streets were extremely muddy |
| C．Chicago was very dangerous in the spring |
| D．the Chicago people were particularly humorous |
The city planners were convinced by Ellis Chesbrough to_______.
| A．get rid of the street dirt |
| B．lower the Chicago River |
| C．fight against heavy floods |
| D．build the pipes above ground |
The underlined word "hoist" in Paragraph 4 means "_______".
| A．change | B．lift |
| C．repair | D．decorate |
What can we conclude about the moving operation of the Tremont Hotel?
| A．It went on smoothly as intended. |
| B．It interrupted the business of the hotel. |
| C．It involved Pullman turning ten jackscrews. |
| D．It separated the building from its foundation. |
The passage is mainly about the early Chicago's ______.
| A．popular life styles and their influences |
| B．environmental disasters and their causes |
| C．engineering problems and their solutions |
| D．successful businessmen and their achievements |
It's great fun to explore (探索) new places—it feels like an adventure, even when you know you're not the first to have been there. But make sure not to get lost or waste time going round in circles.
● Do the map reading if you're being driven somewhere. It'll be easier if you keep turning the map so it follows the direction you' re traveling in. Keep looking ahead so that you can give the driver lots of warning before having to make a turn, or you'll have to move to the back seat.
● Get a group of friends together and go exploring. You'll need a good map, a compass (指南针), a raincoat, a cell phone to call for help in case you get lost, and a bit of spare cash for emergencies (应急现金). Tell someone where you're going before you set out and let them know what time you expect to be back. The test is in not getting lost, not in seeing how fast you can go, so always stick together, waiting for slower friends to catch up.
● See if your school or a club organizes orienteering activities, in which you need a map and a compass to find your way. This can be done as a sport, with teams trying to find the way from A to B (and B to C, etc. ) in the fastest time, or simply as a spare-time activity. Either way, it's not only good fun, but a great way to keep fit.Sitting beside the driver, you should ________.
| A．direct the driver when necessary |
| B．look ahead to see where there's a turn |
| C．move to the back seat if feeling uncomfortable |
| D．keep looking at the map to find a place to go to |
Why do you need to tell someone your exploration plan before setting out?
| A．To get information when in danger. |
| B．To be saved in case of an accident. |
| C．To share the fun with him/her in exploration. |
| D．To tell him/her what's going on with the group members. |
Orienteering activities can ________.
| A．make people work fast |
| B．help people stay healthy |
| C．help people organize other activities |
| D．make people get prepared for sports |
His first successful fight was for the equal rights of black people in South Africa. Then, as the first black president, he fought to unite the country and organize the government. Now Nelson Mandela has set his sights on a new enemy, AIDS.
On March 19 the 82-year-old, former president, hosted his second AIDS-awareness concert. He warned that 25 million people in Africa were already infected with the fatal disease.
Mandela was born in a small village in South Africa in 1918. He was adopted by the chief of his tribe and could have been a chief himself and lived a happy country life.
But he refused to be a chief when his people lived under racial discrimination(歧视). He decided to fight for equal rights for all the people in South Africa. Before 1990, under the country’s Racial Segregation Law, colored and white people lived separately. Black people were treated unfairly even when taking a bus. Blacks had to stand at the back of the bus to make room for white people even when there were only a few of them on board.
For his opposition to the system, Mandela was arrested and spent 27 years in prison. He was freed in 1990 and became the president of the country after the first election were held in which everyone could vote.
Mandela was not only a political fighter who attacked with speeches. He was also a trained boxer and fought in the ring when he was young.
“Although I did not enjoy the violence of boxing, I was interested in how one moved one’s body to protect oneself, how one used a strategy both to attack and retreat”, he wrote in his autobiography.
As a skillful fighter, he chose music as his weapon against AIDS. He hopes to win another victory against AIDS.When was Mandela arrested?
| A．In 1963 |
| B．In 1990 |
| C．When he refused to be a chief |
| D．When he became the president |
Nelson Mandela succeeded in doing the following except _______.
| A．winning the equal rights for the black people in South Africa |
| B．Uniting South Africa |
| C．organizing a government in South Africa |
| D．controlling the spread of AIDS |
If Nelson Mandela hadn’t fought against racial discrimination, he_______.
| A．could have been the president of South Africa |
| B．could still have lived a happy life |
| C．could have been in a difficult situation |
| D．would have been an excellent boxer |
Which of the following statements can best describe the life of Nelson Mandela?
| A．struggle is his life |
| B．sports make his fame |
| C．fight for equal rights |
| D．a great fighter against government. |
King's College Summer School
King's College Summer School is an annual( 每年的) training program for high school students at all levels who want to improve their English. Courses are given by the teachers of King's College and other colleges in New York. Trips to museums and culture centers are also organized. This year's summer school will be from July 25 to August 15.
More information is as follows:
| Application (申请) date lStudents in New York should send their applications before July 18, 2012. lStudents of other cities should send their applications before July 16, 2012 lForeign students should send their applications before July 10, 2012 |
CourseslEnglish Language Spoken English: 22 hours Reading and Writing: 10 hours lAmerican History: 16 hours lAmerican Culture: 16 hours |
| StepslA letter of self-introduction lA letter of recommendation(推荐) ﹡ The letters should be written in English with all the necessary information. |
CostlDaily lessons: $200 lSports and activities: $100 lTravels: $200 lHotel service: $400 ﹡You may choose to live with your friends or relatives in the same city. |
| Please write to: Thompson, Sanders 1026 King' s Street New York, NY 10016, USA E-mail: KC-Summer-School@ yahoo, com |
50. You can most probably read the text in ________.
| A．a newspaper | B．a travel guide |
| C．a textbook | D．a telephone book |
51. Which of the following is true about King' s College Summer School?
| A．Only top students can take part in the program. |
| B．King' s College Summer School is run every other year. |
| C．Visits to museums and culture centers are part of the program. |
| D．Only the teachers of King' s College give courses. |
52. If you are to live with your relatives in New York, you will have to pay the school __
| A．$200 | B．$400 | C．$500 | D．$900 |
53. What information can you get from the text?
| A．The program will last two months. |
| B．You can write to Thompson only in English. |
| C．As a Chinese student, you can send your application on July 14, 2012 |
| D．You can get in touch with the school by e-mail or by telephone. |
I have been a student at Bentley College in Waltham for some time now, so I have a lot of experience and know how things work at Bentley. As a freshman(新生)at Bentley College you will be living in the Tree Dorms, Slade Hall or Miller Hall. I would highly suggest that you choose to live in the Tree Dorms because this is where most fresh-men are going to be living. There will be a lot of activities going on in the building and you will meet lots of people. Slade Hall is next to the parking lot and not far from the Tree Dorms, so that would be your second choice. As Miller Hall is small and far away, it would be my last choice for freshmen housing. If Bentley offers you the chance to live with second or third year students you’d better refuse their offer and live with freshmen. Living with your classmates will make the transition (过渡) into college life a lot easier.
As a freshman your classes should be easy. After freshman year your classes will become a lot more difficult, so I advise that you get down to business early in the first year. There are two very easy things you can do to increase your knowledge as a freshman. The first is to just go to class and the second is to always do your homework. I also highly advise that you do it on your own and try to stay disciplined. It is too easy to put your homework away and then get really behind and not be able to learn everything before a mid-term or final exam. The author advises freshmen to live in the Tree Dorms because ___________.
| A．it is across the parking lot from Slade Hall |
| B．it is small and quite far away from the playground |
| C．there are many second and third year students there |
| D．there are many freshmen and more activities |
Where is Slade Hall?
| A．Near Miller Hall. | B．Far from Tree Dorms. |
| C．Beside the car park. | D．Near the classrooms. |
According to the author, how can freshmen improve knowledge?
| A．Remember to do homework by discussing it with others. |
| B．Finish homework and go to class every day. |
| C．Try to spend more time in the library. |
| D．Be able to learn something before a mid-term or final exam. |
The author writes the passage to ___________.
| A．tell new students how to get used to college life |
| B．tell new students about their teachers and dormitory |
| C．show the differences between college and high school |
| D．tell readers about some funny things at Bentley College |
Maybelle said she wouldn't be coming with me to the library. I asked why, and she said she could get all the short stories she wanted off the Internet. Saved walking all the way to the library, and putting up with my long chat on the way there, and on the way back. Maybelle is very direct like that, always has been.
"But, Maybelle, we've been walking to the library every Monday for the last fifty years!"
She said," Why don't you get Internet'? We can send each other emails."
So I had to get Internet. I called the local high school. They said they'd send me a good student to tell me all about computers and such.
Evil thing, this Internet. Makes you lose old friends, forces you to learn new complex ideas, even if you're too old. But Maybelle said you have to be modern; otherwise, you're dead.
The kid came the next day. Tall skinny black kid, by the name of Arsenius, said his work would cost more.
I said, "All right. As long as I get Internet."
"You need a computer, then you need to get hooked up," he said.
"Let's buy a computer and get hooked up, then."
"How much you want to spend?"
"Whatever it takes."
"How many rams you want?"
I wasn't going to show him my ignorance, so I said, "Whatever it takes."
"Let's go to the mall. You got a car?"
"In the garage."
When I opened the garage door, he gasped. Daddy's car is still there, a'57 Chevy. I never drive it. Walk everywhere.
I said," Let's walk. It's only a mile or so."
He said," Let's drive, or you will faint on me in this heat."
"Young man, I don't faint, never have. We're walking."
"I get paid by the hour," he said. "Walking will cost you a lot more. Also, you feel like carrying a computer a mile or so?"What kind of person is Maybelle?
| A．She always says what she means in an honest way. |
| B．She no longer likes reading in her old age. |
| C．She doesn't want to be friends with the writer any more. |
| D．She doesn't want to keep up with the time. |
Why does the writer want to have Internet at his place?
| A．Because the writer believes that one is never too old to learn. |
| B．Because the writer thinks that it is better late than never. |
| C．Because of the pressure from people of his age. |
| D．Because of the convenience the Internet will bring. |
Arsenius gives _________ reasons for driving to the mall.
| A．two | B．three | C．four | D．five |