It was in October. I was aimlessly wandering down the street, heading into a most gloriously beautiful sunset. I had an urge to speak to someone on the street to share that beauty, but it seemed everyone was in a hurry.
I took the next-best action. Quickly I ducked into a department store and asked the lady behind the counter if she could come outside for just a minute. She looked at me as though I were from some other planet. She hesitated, and then seemingly against her better judgment, she moved toward the door.
When she got outside I said to her, “Just look at that sunset! Nobody out here was looking at it and I just had to share it with someone.”
For a few seconds we just looked. Then I said, “God is in his heaven and all is right with the world.” I thanked her for coming out to see it; she went back inside and I left. It felt good to share the beauty.
Four years later my situation changed greatly. I came to the end of a twenty-year marriage. I was alone and on my own for the first time in my life. I lived in a trailer park which, at the time, I considered a real come-down, and I had to do my wash in the community laundry room.
One day, while my clothes were going around, I picked up a magazine and read an article about a woman who had been in similar circumstances. She had come to the end of a marriage, moved to a strange community, and the only job she could find was one she disliked: clothing sales in a department store.
Then something that happened to her changed everything. She said a woman came into her department store and asked her to step outside to look at a sunset. The stranger had said, “God is in his heaven and all is right with the world,” and she had realized the truth in that statement. From that moment on, she turned her life around.The author asked the woman to go outside to ______.
| A．admire the sunset | B．cheer her up |
| C．offer some help | D．have a chat |
Four years later, the author ______.
| A．found her dream job |
| B．put an end to her marriage |
| C．worked in a laundry room |
| D．lived in the same community |
After reading the article in the magazine, the author was probably______.
| A．disappointed | B．puzzled |
| C．inspired | D．overjoyed |
Which of the following shows the right order of what happened?
a. I shared a few words and beautiful sunset with the woman.
b. The woman I met years ago got into frustration after divorce.
c. I got divorced and felt lost in my life.
d. I came across a beautiful sunset but had no one to share with.
e. The woman felt astonished by the invitation from a stranger.
f. I recognized the woman I met before in the magazine.
| A．b, d, e, f, a, c | B．d, e, a, c, f, b |
| C．d, e, a, f, b, c | D．b, d, e, a, c, f |
What can be the best title for the passage?
| A．Sharing Beauty | B．Never give up |
| C．Beauty of Life | D．An Unforgettable experience |
When you’re lying on the white sands of the Mexican Rivera, the stresses (压力) of the world seem a million miles away. Hey, stop! This is no vacation—you have to finish something.
Here lies the problem for travel writer and food critic (评论家) Edie Jarolim. “I always loved traveling and always liked to eat, but it never occurred to me that I could make money doing both of those things,” Jarolim said. Now you can read her travel advice everywhere--- in Arts and Antiques, in Brides, or in one of her three books, The Complete Idiot Travel Guide to Mexican Beach Resorts.
Her job in travel writing began some eight years ago. After getting a PhD in English in Canada, she took a test for Frommer’s travel guides, passed it, and got the job. After working at Frommer’s, Jarolim worked for a while at Rough Guides in London, then Fodor’s where she fell so in love with a description of the Southwest of the U.S. that she moved there.
Now as a travel writer, she spends one-third of her year on the road. The rest of the time is spent completing her tasks and writing reviews of restaurants at home in Tucson, Arizona.
As adventurous as the job sounds, the hard part is fact-checking all the information. Sure, it’s great to write about a tourist attraction, but you’d better get the local museum hours correct or you could really ruin someone’s vacation.What is most difficult for Jarolim?
| A．Working in different places to collect information. |
| B．Checking all the facts to be written in the guides. |
| C．Finishing her work as soon as possible. |
| D．Passing a test to write travel guides. |
What do we know about Jarolim from the text?
| A．She is successful in her job. |
| B．She finds her life full of stresses. |
| C．She spends half of her time traveling. |
| D．She is especially interested in museums. |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．Adventures in Travel Writing | B．Working as a Food Critic |
| C．Travel Guides on the Market | D．Vacationing for a Living |
It all started at the beginning of this term. At first, Carmen wasn’t really sure what was happening. In class, she had to squint (眯眼) to see the blackboard clearly. As it got worse, she became more and more worried. It was important for her to see the notes and homework the teacher wrote on the board.
In class, she asked for a desk that was closer to the blackboard. One day, her teacher said, “Carmen, I’ve noticed you squinting a lot. Are you having trouble seeing the board?” Carmen shook her head. “I’m fine, Mrs. Cruz.”
At home, she had to sit closer and closer to the television. Her mother noticed her squinting as she watched her favorite shows.
“Tomorrow I will go to see a doctor,” she said firmly. Three days later, Carmen had new glasses. She was told to wear them all the time. “All of the kids at school will think I am a nerd (书呆子)，” she said. “You look just as beautiful with those glasses on as you do without them,” her mother said. But Carmen didn’t believe her.
The next day, Carmen kept the glasses in her pocket as she walked into the schoolyard. Suddenly, she heard her friend Theresa shout. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
“My silver ring is gone!” Theresa cried. Carmen could tell that Theresa was very upset. They all looked for the ring in the grassy area of the playground.
Carmen realized that she could search better if she could see better. She took the glasses out of her pocket and put them on. Everything looked so different! So clear! And a glimmer (微光) of silver caught her eye.
“Here it is,” she shouted. “Thanks Carmen,” Theresa said. “I didn’t know you wore glasses. They look great!” “Thanks,” Carmen replied shyly.
As they walked back toward the school building, two more girls praised her glasses. Carmen smiled. “Maybe wearing glasses won’t be so bad after all,” she thought.According to the text, Carmen_________.
| A．doesn’t like doing homework |
| B．often tells lies to her teacher |
| C．cares how well she does in lesson |
| D．has trouble getting along with her classmates |
When Carmen wore glasses for the first time, she felt________.
| A．sad | B．pleased | C．surprised | D．disappointed |
What can we infer from the last two paragraphs?
| A．Other girls expect to have new glasses. |
| B．Carmen will get used to wearing glasses. |
| C．Wearing glasses will make Carmen look beautiful. |
| D．Carmen hopes to receive more comments on her glasses. |
The purpose of the text is to tell readers__________.
| A．how to protect their eyes |
| B．never to make fun of others |
| C．things aren’t always as bad as we expect |
| D．it is necessary to give a hand to those in trouble |
Camping wild is a wonderful way to experience the natural world and, at its best, it makes little environmental influence. But with increasing numbers of people wanting to escape into the wilderness, it is becoming more and more important to camp unobtrusively(不引人注目地)and leave no mark.
Wild camping is not permitted in many places, particularly in crowded lowland Britain. Wherever you are, find out about organizations responsible for managing wild spaces, and contact them to find out their policy on camping and shelter building. For example, it is fine to camp wild in remote parts of Scotland, but in England you must ask the landowner’s permission, except in national parks.
Camping is about having relaxation, sleeping outdoors, experiencing bad weather, and making do without modern conveniences. A busy, fully-equipped campsite(野营地)seems to go against this, so seek out smaller, more remote places with easy access to open spaces and perhaps beaches. Better still, find a campsite with no road access: walking in makes a real adventure.
Finding the right spot to camp is the first step to guaranteeing a good night’s sleep. Choose a campsite with privacy and minimum influence on others and the environment. Try to use an area where people have obviously camped before rather than creating a new spot. When camping in woodland, avoid standing dead trees, which may fall on a windy night. Avoid animal runs and caves, and possible homes of biting insects. Make sure you have most protection on the windward side. If you make a fire, do so downwind of your shelter. Always consider what influence you might have on the natural world. Avoid damaging plants. A good campsite is found, not made—changing it should be unnecessary.You needn’t ask for permission when camping in .
| A．national parks in England | B．most parts of Scotland |
| C．crowded lowland Britain | D．most parts of England |
The author thinks that a good campsite is one .
| A．with easy access | B．used previously |
| C．with modern conveniences | D．far away from beaches |
The last paragraph mainly deals with
| A．protecting animals |
| B．building a campfire |
| C．camping in woodland |
| D．finding a campsite with privacy |
The passage is mainly about
| A．the protection of campsites |
| B．the importance of wild camping |
| C．the human influence on campsites |
| D．the dos and don’ts of wild camping |
Do you know of anyone who uses the truth to deceive (欺骗)? When someone tells you something that is true, but leaves out important information that should be included, he can give you a false picture.
For example, some might say, “I just won a hundred dollars on the lottery (彩票). It was great. I took that dollar ticket back to the store and turned it in for one hundred dollars!”
This guy’s a winner, right? Maybe, maybe not. We then discover that he bought $200 worth of tickets, and only one was a winner. He’s really a big loser!
He didn’t say anything that was false, but he left out important information on purpose. That’s called a half-truth. Half-truths are not technically lies, but they are just as dishonest.
Some politicians often use this trick. Let’s say that during Governor Smith’s last term, her state lost one million jobs and gained three million jobs. Then she seeks another term. One of her opponents(对手) says, “During Governor Smith’s term, the state lost one million jobs!” that’s true. However, and honest statement would have been, “During Governor Smith’s term, the state had a net gain of two million jobs.”
Advertisers(广告商) will sometimes use half-truths. It’s against the law to make false statements so they try to mislead you with the truth. An advertisement might say, “Nine out of ten doctors advised their patients to take Yucky Pills to cure toothache.” It fails to mention that they only asked ten doctors and nine of them work for the Yucky Company.
This kind of deception happens too of often. It’s a sad fact of life: Lies are lies, and sometimes the truth can lie as well.How much did the lottery winner lose?
| A．One hundred dollars. | B．Two hundred dollars. |
| C．Three hundred dollars. | D．Four hundred dollars. |
We may infer that the author believes people should _______.
| A．buy lottery tickets |
| B．make use of half-truths |
| C．not take anything at face value |
| D．not trust the Yucky Company |
What do the underline words “net gain” in Paragraph 5 mean?
| A．final increase | B．big advantage | C．large share | D．total saving |
What can we know from the example of the Yucky Pill advertisement?
| A．False statements are easy to see through. |
| B．Half-truths are often used to mislead people. |
| C．Doctors like to act in advertisements. |
| D．Advertisements are based on facts. |
Once Dr. Mellinkoff invited me to join him at the hospital to discuss interesting cases（案例， 病例） with his students．The case at hand was a Guatemalan man, aged 34, who had a fever and many other medical problems．His condition was not improving, and there was not much hope he would live．
Dr.: Mellinkoff asked to see the patient．He introduced himself in Spanish and, in a very gentle voice, asked how he felt．The patient smiled and said everything was all right．Then the doctor asked if he was able to eat．The patient said that he had no desire to eat．
"Are you getting food you like?"
The patient said nothing．
"Do you get the kind of food you have at home?"
The answer was no．
The doctor put his hand on the man's shoulder and his voice was very soft．
"If you had food that you liked, would you eat it?"
"Yes, yes," the patient said．
The change in the patient's appearance couldn't have been more obvious．Nothing was said, but it was easy to tell that a message had been sent and had also been received．
Later, the doctor asked why the Guatemalan man wasn't getting food he could eat．One of the students said, "We all know how difficult it is to get the kitchen to make special meals．"
"Suppose," the doctor replied, "you felt a certain medicine was absolutely necessary but that our hospital didn't carry it, would you accept defeat or would you insist the hospital meet your request?"
"I would probably insist," the student said．
"Very well," the doctor said．"You might want to try the same method in the kitchen．It won't be-easy, but I can help you．Meanwhile, let's get some food inside this man as fast as possible, and stay with it．Or he'll be killed by hunger．By the way, there must be someone among you who can speak Spanish．If we want to make real progress, we need to be able to talk with him．"
Three weeks later．Doctor Mellinkoff told me that the Guatemalan man had left the hospital under his own power．It takes more than medicine to help sick people; you also have to talk to them and make them comfortable．The patient had no desire to eat because __________________.
| A．he was not hungry |
| B．he was seriously ill |
| C．he was given special meals |
| D．he was not satisfied with the food |
According to the passage, we can conclude that __________________.
| A．the patient’s native language was Spanish |
| B．the patient’s illness was caused by hunger |
| C．Dr. Mellinkoff performed an operation on the patient |
| D．the hospital failed to provide the right medicine for the patient |
Which of the following words can be used to describe Dr. Mellinkoff?
| A．Cold. | B．Considerate. | C．Curious. | D．Careless. |
What do you think Dr. Mellinkoff wanted to tell his students in this case?
| A．Doctors should be good at foreign languages. |
| B．Doctors should know their patients’ real problems. |
| C．Doctors should try to improve their medical skills. |
| D．Doctors should have a good relationship with their patients. |