C
The drug store was closing for the night. Young Alfred Higgins, the shop-assistant, was ready to go home. Mr. Carr, the boss, stared at him and said “Hold on, Alfred. Maybe you'd be good enough to take the things out of your pockets and leave them here before you go.” Alfred's face got red. After a little hesitation, he took out what he had stolen. Mr. Carr said, “Maybe I should call your mother and let her know I'm going to have to put you in prison.”
Alfred thought his mother would come rushing in, eyes burning with anger. But, to his surprise, she arrived wearing a smile. “Hello, I'm Alfred's mother. Is he in trouble?” she said. Mr. Carr was surprised, too. He had expected Alfred's mother to come in nervously, shaking with fear, asking with wet eyes for a mercy for her son. But no, she was most calm, quiet and pleasant and was making Mr. Carr feel guilty…. Soon Mr. Carr was shaking his head in agreement with what she was saying. “Of course”, he said, “I don't want to be cruel. You are right. Sometimes, a little good advice is the best thing for a boy at certain times in his life and it often takes the youths long time to get sense into their heads.” And he warmly shook Mrs. Higgins's hand.
Back home, without even looking at Alfred, she said, “You are a bad luck. It is one thing after another, always has been. Why do you stand there so stupidly? Go to bed.” In his bedroom, Alfred heard his mother in the kitchen. There was no shame in him, just pride in his mother's strength. He felt he must tell her how great she was. As he got to the kitchen, he saw his mother drinking a cup of tea. He was shocked by what he saw. His mother's face was a frightened, broken one. It was not the same cool, bright face he saw earlier in the drug store. As she lifted the tea cup, her hand shook. And some of the tea splashed on the table. Her lips moved nervously. She looked very old. He watched his mother without making a sound. The picture of his mother made him want to cry. He felt his youth coming to an end. He saw all the troubles he brought his mother in her shaking hand and the deep lines of worry in her grey face. It seemed to him for the first time he had ever really seen his mother.Which of the following is probably said by Mrs. Higgins while talking to Mr. Carr?
| A．“Please, for God's sake, you know, he is just a kid.” |
| B．“I can't believe it! You are treating my son like that!” |
| C．“You know, it takes time for a youth to truly grow up.” |
| D．“Punishment makes sense because it teaches about the law.” |
What does the underlined phrase "his mother's strength"(Para. 3) refer to?
| A．Mrs. Higgins's calmness and communicating skills. |
| B．Mrs. Higgins's attitude towards parental sufferings. |
| C．Mrs. Higgins's love and care for her son Alfred. |
| D．Mrs. Higgins's greatness as a woman. |
After the incident, young Alfred would probably ________.
| A．feel ashamed of her mother | B．change his attitudes towards life |
| C．learn to live an independent life | D．hate Mr. Carr for hurting her mother |
This recently-released documentary(纪录片)had some fantastic footage(镜头) in it, and a very personal look at many of the astronauts who went to the moon. Overall, that is a very exclusive(独特的) club; only about a dozen men ever did it in the history of the world and just eight or nine ever stepped foot on it. Most of them are still alive and they discuss their adventures, insights and personal feelings here.
One gets the feeling that the rest of us will never know exactly how beautiful the moon is except to take the astronauts’s words about it, because even the pictures on this DVD can’t convey that.
Since this documentary is about 100 minutes long, you get a lot of information. You also get reminded how close two of the three men who went up on that historic first walk on the moon almost didn’t get home alive.
An absence in this documentary is the most famous astronaut of them all: Neil Armstrong, the first man to step foot on the moon! Apparently, he did not want to be part of this film. One of the astronauts mentions something briefly about Armstrong being somewhat of a “recluse(隐居者)” now and it “being understandable with what he’s gone through”. From what I’ve read, a lot of people have tried to make money off him in shady ways and so now he’s withdrawn(退出) from the public spotlight.
This film, a legacy to the Apollo program and the brave men who ran it, should be in every schoolroom. It would make history more interesting to students.What can we know from the passage?
| A．One of the astronauts talks about how beautiful the moon is. |
| B．Two of the three men who went to the moon lost their lives. |
| C．The documentary would make more students interested in history. |
| D．The astronauts talk about their adventures, insights and excitement. |
How many astronauts first flew to the moon?
| A．1 | B．2 | C．3. | D．4 |
Why was Armstrong absent from the film?
| A．Because he didn’t like to show in public. |
| B．Because he has been tired of astronaut’s life. |
| C．Because someone wanted to make money off him. |
| D．Because he thought what he did was nothing to mention. |
What made Armstrong famous around the world?
| A．That he came back safely to the earth alive. |
| B．That he became an astronaut. |
| C．That he first stepped on the moon. |
| D．That he walked on the moon for 100 minutes. |
For 40 years, the people of London have been happy to discover in their parks a bird that seems to have made its way from the Himalayas to the capital of England. With its shocking green body, red mouth, long tail and noisy screech(尖叫), the rose-ringed parakeet (长尾小鹦鹉) brought a vivid colour to parks in and around London.
However, the parakeets are no longer welcome. The government has suddenly woken up to the fact that there are many more parakeets in and around London making life harder for the local bird population. Government experts put the number of parakeets at around 30,000. They fear that if the number of parakeets keeps rising, these birds will push out local birds like wood-peckers, starlings and nuthatches from trees to build their own nests.
Not only that. According to an online report by The Independent, the parakeets will then also get control of most of the food available in the parks — seeds, berries, fruit and nuts. The local bird population will then have a hard time staying alive. An organization called the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has asked the government to investigate (调查) what kind of a threat the parakeet brings to local birds. If the government decides that these birds are indeed a threat to local birds, steps will be taken to control the number of parakeets.
The most surprising thing about the case of the rose-ringed parakeet is that no one quite knows how the parakeets came from India and started breeding (繁殖) in areas around London.Parakeets are no longer welcome mainly because ______.
| A．the local birds are being driven out |
| B．the government doesn’t like the birds |
| C．they are a threat to people’s health |
| D．people have a great fear of this kind of birds |
According to an online report by The Independent, ______.
| A．the parakeets’ future threat is impossible |
| B．the number of the parakeets is around 3,000 |
| C．the parakeets should fly back to the Himalayas |
| D．the local birds won’t have enough food |
People are not certain ______.
| A．where the parakeets live |
| B．how the parakeets breed |
| C．how they flew to London |
| D．when they started living in London |
The best title for this passage would be _____.
| A．Help the parakeets | B．Pretty birds have trouble |
| C．Birds invade London | D．Pretty birds |
Skateboarding has become one of several non - traditional activities that PE teachers around America are introducing to inspire kids to exercise regularly. Some PE classes feature in-line (滚轮) skating, yoga, and even rock climbing. Experts have called those types of activities “the new PE”.
Such activities are part of a larger effort to help kids develop lifelong fitness habits and to keep them from becoming overweight. Now, 9 million U.S. children and teens are overweight. Obesity (肥胖) can lead to health problems such as diabetes and heart disease later in life.
“Our children and youth are becoming unhealthy and obese,” says Lindsey Johnson. “Skateboarding is a great activity that keeps kids doing physical movement and gives them new skills and interest.”
Some schools don’t allow skateboarding because they say it is dangerous. Cendali, however, argues that regular practice eliminates a great deal of the danger. “We teach students how to do it and how to do it safely,” he says.
Some people say skateboarding teaches life lessons. “Skateboarding teaches kids to believe that if they stick with something they will finally succeed,” says education expert Richard Sagor of Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon.
Skateboarding inspires kids not to give up in learning difficult skills. “It’s natural for kids to want to learn and get better at things,” adds Sagor. “When it comes to skateboarding, they’ll try a trick hundreds of times before they succeed.” That same effort could be made in schoolwork.
Eric Klassen agrees that skateboarding requires kids to stop saying a task is too hard for them. “A baby will attempt to walk 600 to 900 times before he or she is successful,” says Klassen. “We tell students that they shouldn’t say ‘I can’t do it’ unless they’ve tried 600 to 900 times.”Skateboarding is introduced into American schools to ______.
| A．encourage students to compete bravely in competition |
| B．teach students how to deal with risks |
| C．prevent students suffering from heart disease later in life |
| D．help students form the habit of doing sports |
The underlined word “eliminates” in Paragraph 4 probably means “______”.
| A．reduces | B．increases | C．adds | D．brings |
What life lesson do kids learn from skateboarding?
| A．To succeed in life you have to learn skateboarding. |
| B．You will succeed in life if you don’t give up. |
| C．Only after failing 600 to 900 times can you succeed. |
| D．There is no hard work after learning skate-boarding well. |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．The dangerous PE | B．Skills of skateboarding |
| C．The new PE | D．The change of PE |
The penny is getting a change．The United States Mint (制币厂) revealed four new designs for the 1-cent piece, to celebrate the coming 200th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln's birth．United States Mint Director Ed Moy announced the new looks for the penny today in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C．"These coins are a tribute (赞辞) to one of our greatest Presidents, whose legacy (遗教) has had a lasting impact on our country," Moy said.
The heads side of the new pennies will continue to bear the profile (侧面) likeness of President Lincoln and the motto "In God We Trust." The back sides will pay tribute to four major parts of Lincoln's life.
The first redesigned penny will feature a log cabin that represents Lincoln's birthplace,near Hodgenville, Kentucky．The second design shows Lincoln reading a book while sitting on a log with his ax beside him．It shows how young Lincoln educated himself while working as a rail-splitter in Indiana．The third design shows Lincoln as a young man in front of the Capitol (议会会堂) in Illinois．The fourth and final design shows a half-finished United States Capitol dome, which was completed in 1863 despite the violent Civil War．The writing, on the back sides of the coins will remain "United States of America," "E Pluribus Unum" and "One Cent."
The first penny will be released into circulation on February 12, 2009, Lincoln's 200th birthday．This day is also the 100th anniversary of the release of the first penny, on February 12, 1909．One new coin will be released into circulation every three months in 2009.
"This is an important occasion in the history of our nation's coin-age because these designs represent the first change in the Lincoln cent in half a century," said Director Moy．A commemorative (纪念性的) Lincoln silver dollar will also be released in 2009．Why does the United States Mint get the Lincoln cent changed?
| A．Because the design is out of date． |
| B．Because the design doesn’t match Lincoln’s life. |
| C．Because the old coin is hard to be released into circulation． |
| D．Because the country wants to honor Lincoln on his 200th birthday. |
Which is the correct order of the new coins according to the description in the passage?
| A．a, b, c, d | B．b, a, d, c | C．c, d, a, b | D．b, c, a, d |
How many new Lincoln coins will be released in 2009?
| A．One | B．Three | C．Four | D．Five |
All the newly designed coins feature the following EXCEPT．
| A．the profile likeness of President Lincoln |
| B．the motto "In God We Trust" |
| C．the portrait of young Abraham Lincoln |
| D．the writing "United States of America" |
Which of the following does Penny Image 4 show?
A．Professional Life in Illinois． B．Presidency in Washington, DC．
C．Formative Years in Indiana． D．Birth and Early Childhood in Kentucky.
When you’re surfing the Internet on your laptop from your dorm or home, do you know your personal details are being gathered secretly? And would you be surprised to know the information may be sold cheaply to advertisers and marketers?
According to an investigation by The Wall Street Journal, all it takes is a tiny file in a computer-a single code consisting of a long series of numbers and letters- to record the computer user’s age, gender, location, favorite movies and hobbies.
The newspaper reports that Lotame Solutions Inc., a New York company, uses sophisticated(高科技) software called a "beacon" to capture what people are typing on a website.
Lotame packages that data into profiles（个人资料）about individuals, only without their names, and sells the profiles to companies seeking customers．Batches of such data may be sold for a few dollars.
The Wall Street Journal survey discovered that spying on Internet users is one of the fastest-growing businesses on the World Wide Web.
The "cookie"- a tiny text file put on your PC by websites or marketing firms which might be used to remember your preferences for one site, or to track you across many sites is already old news．There are new and more complex tools such as "beacons" which scan in real time what people are doing on a webpage．These beacons instantly assess the Internet user’s location, income, shopping interests and even medical conditions.
Millions of Internet users around the world also face unprecedented（空前的）threats．Private, sensitive, personal and business information is being gathered and sold without their knowledge.
Companies insist the information they gather is anonymous and the data is used harmlessly.But the technology has grown so powerful that even some of the biggest websites in the US don’t know that they were installing intrusive files on visitors’ computers．These include MSN.com and Yahoo.com.
Next time you visit a webpage and find an ad banner advertising something you’ve been planning to buy, don’t be amazed that your computer can read your mind.The purpose of the passage is to .
| A．introduce a tiny file in a computer-a single code |
| B．show how your individual information was let out when you surf the Internet |
| C．show how to protect your privacy |
| D．introduce a sophisticated software called a "beacon" |
All of the following statements is True except .
| A．Lotame sells the profiles about individuals to companies seeking customers with their age, gender, location, hobbies and names |
| B．spying on Internet users is the fastest-growing businesses on the World Wide Web |
| C．some of the biggest websites in the US know they were installing intrusive files on visitors’ computers |
| D．a tiny file in a computer-a single code consisting of a long series of numbers and letters can record users’ information |
It can be inferred that .
| A．because the data is used harmlessly．Internet users around the world will not face threats |
| B．when a person surf the Internet, his personal details may be let out without his knowledge |
| C．your computer can really read your mind |
| D．MSN.com and Yahoo.com．use software to capture what people are typing on a website |
According to the passage, “beacon” .
| A．is a tiny text file put on your PC by websites |
| B．is a soft ware that can package that data into profiles about individuals |
| C．can assess the Internet user’s location, income, shopping interests and even medical conditions |
| D．is not more complex than the "cookie" |
What’s the writer’s attitude to this problem?
| A．Neutral | B．Worried | C．Optimistic | D．Indifferent |