It was a weeknight. We were a half dozen guys in our late teens, hanging around “the flat” — as usual. The flat was poorly furnished, which, after some time, grew tiresome. We wanted action.
We got in a car, big enough for all of us to crowd into — and off we went, in search of adventure. We soon found ourselves at Blue Gum Corner, a place named after the huge old blue gum tree that stood by there, a well-known local landmark. It stands at a minor crossroad leading to our town. The trunk is tall and smooth with no handholds for climbing. About six metres from the ground the first branch sticks out over the road. We parked beneath the huge old tree and discussed what we might do. All of a sudden we hit upon an idea — a hanging! I was chosen as “hangee”.
The plan was quite simple. As I stood upon the roof of the car, the rope (绳子) was threaded down my jacket through my collar and down one leg of my jeans. I put my foot through the loop at the bottom. There I hung, still. The boys rolled about laughing until, a car, I hear a car! Before they ran to hide in the nearby field, they gave me a good push so that “the body” would swing as the car drove by.
To our disappointment, the car simply turned off for town without even slowing. The boys came out of their hiding places and we discussed the situation. Surely they had seen me, hadn’t they? Then we heard another car. The act was repeated, but still without any obvious reaction. We played the game about five or six times, but as no one seemed to notice, we abandoned the trick.
What we did not know was that every car that had passed had unquestionably seen “the body” and each one, too scared to stop, had driven directly to the local Police Station. Now at that time of the night, the local policeman was sound asleep in his bed, so the first person sent to the scene was the traffic officer that happened to be on duty that particular night. He had been informed that some person had been killed, by hanging, at Blue Gum Corner. When he arrived, the body was gone! And he was hearing “unnatural sounds” from the surrounding area. As far as he knew, some fierce animal was hiding in the field before him, possibly dragging a body behind him — and we thought we were scared!
He went to his radio and made a call that really began to worry us. I lay so close that I could hear every word. He called for the “armed police” and a “dog team, better make it two” and he had a “serious situation” at Blue Gum Corner. Then the police officer arrived. After a briefing from the traffic officer he decided not to go into the field until armed police and dog teams arrived. Now two spotlights were on the field and none of us could move.
As luck would have it, police cars cannot leave their spotlights on all night without charging their batteries. So, after a time, the two officers began lightening the field by turns, allowing us the opportunity to move on our fours for freedom. One by one, we all managed to steal away and make our way home. Behind us we left what must have looked like a small city of lights, police cars, roadblocks, barking dogs, armed officers and an old rope hanging from a tree.
When I think back to that night, to that tree, to what the drivers of the cars think happened, to what police believe happened, and to what I know happened, I am reminded of a simple truth — our eyes see darkness and light, color and movement, our ears hear only vibrations (振动) in the air. It is how we explain these vivid pictures that shapes our “reality”.The boys made the “hanging” plan in order to ______.
| A．make a fool of the police |
| B．draw public attention |
| C．seek fun and excitement |
| D．practise acting skills |
Seeing that no car passing by stopped, the boys must have felt ______.
| A．discouraged | B．proud |
| C．annoyed | D．confident |
Why was the traffic officer sent to the scene of “hanging”?
| A．Because a fierce animal kept the traffic in disorder. |
| B．Because the local policeman was not available at that time. |
| C．Because some naughty kids were playing a terrifying game. |
| D．Because many scared drivers turned directly to him for help. |
The boys managed to escape from the field when ______.
| A．the two police cars were being charged |
| B．the police officer was taking over the duty |
| C．the traffic officer was making a call for help |
| D．the two spotlights were not working together |
What is conveyed in the passage?
| A．Actions speak louder than words. |
| B．The truth lies beneath the surface. |
| C．Experience is the best teacher. |
| D．To see is to believe. |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Blue Gum Tree | B．A Body Found Hanging |
| C．Escape to Freedom | D．A Disappointing Experience |
Why must we pay taxes? The answer is that the government needs money for many things, for example to pay its soldiers, sailors and airmen, to build roads, bridges, offices, schools, etc and to buy goods from abroad; and only the people of the country can supply the money．One of the most important taxes is income-tax which a person pays according to the amount of his income-tax．Whether he is a businessman, a doctor, a lawyer, a shopkeeper, a miner, or anything else．This is called a “direct” tax, because it is paid in money direct to the government．
Another tax is paid on goods such as watches, jewellery, new clothes, tobacco, wine, etc, when they are brought into a country, such a tax is paid as part of the price of these goods if they are later sold in shops．We call it “indirect” tax, because it is paid indirectly through the shopkeeper．
People usually complain about having to pay taxes, but they forget that the money is spent on the things that they and their families need．We need policemen to catch thieves, to see that men obey the laws, to direct traffic, etc, and they must be paid what they earn; children need education and there must be schools and teachers; we want our streets to be kept clean, and the wages of men who do this kind of work have to be paid．Above all, the country must always be ready to defend itself against attacking enemies, and we cannot have an army without paying for it．
Taxes, therefore, cannot be avoided．We buy our own food and clothes and pay for our own amusements, but there are several things that the State finds the money for, and that are necessary for us if our society is to continue．So we have no real cause to complain when we are asked to supply money to be spent for the good of ourselves and for our fellow-citizens．Indirect tax means _______．
| A．tax that one pays direct to the government |
| B．tax that is not paid directly to the government |
| C．tax that is paid as an extra amount added to the price of certain goods |
| D．Both B and C |
Which of the following is right?
| A．Taxes are paid to the sellers． |
| B．Income-tax is an indirect tax． |
| C．The tax on new clothes is paid in money direct to the government． |
| D．Tax is amount of money that you have to pay to the government so that it can pay for public services． |
People have no real reason to complain about having to pay taxes because _______．
| A．some shopkeepers are very rich |
| B．they need money to buy goods from abroad |
| C．their children need education |
| D．the money is spent on the things that they and their families need |
Parents often believe that they have a good relationship with their teenagers. But last summer, Joanna and Henry noticed a change in their older son: suddenly he seemed to be talking far more to his friends than to his parents. “The door to his room is always shut,” Joanna noted.
Tina and Mark noticed similar changes in their 14-year-old daughter. “She used to cuddle up（蜷伏）with me on the sofa and talk,” said Mark. “Now we joke that she does this only when she wants something. Sometimes she wants to be treated like a little girl and sometimes like a young lady. The problem is figuring out which time is which.”
Before age 11, children like to tell their parents what’s on their minds. “In fact, parents are first on the list,” said Michael Riera, author of Uncommon Sense for Parents with Teenagers. “This completely changes during the teen years,” Riera explained. “They talk to their friends first, then maybe their teachers, and their parents last.”
Parents who know what’s going on in their teenagers’ lives are in the best position to help them. To break down the wall of silence, parents should create chances to understand what their children want to say, and try to find ways to talk and write to them. And they must give their children a mental break, for children also need freedom, though young. Another thing parents should remember is that to be a friend, not a manager, with their children is a better way to know them. “The door to his room is always shut” in the first paragraph suggests that the son______.
| A．is always busy with his studies |
| B．doesn’t want to be disturbed |
| C．keeps himself away from his parents |
| D．begins to dislike his parents |
What troubles Tina and Mark most is that______.
| A．their daughter isn’t as lovely as before |
| B．they can’t read their daughter’s mind exactly |
| C．they don’t know what to say to their daughter |
| D．their daughter talks with them only when she needs help |
Which of the following best explains “the wall of silence” in the last paragraph?
| A．Teenagers talk a lot with their friends. |
| B．Teenagers do not want to understand their parents. |
| C．Teenagers do not talk much with their parents. |
| D．Teenagers talk little about their own lives. |
What can be learned from the passage?
| A．Parents are unhappy with their growing children. |
| B．Parents have suitable ways to talk with their teenagers. |
| C．Parents should be patient with their silent teenagers. |
| D．Parents should try to understand their teenagers. |
Beldon and Canfield are two seashore towns, not far apart．Both towns have many hotels, and in summer the hotels are full of holiday-makers and other tourists．
Last August there was a fire at the Seabreeze Hotel in Beldon．The next day, this news appeared on page two of the town’s newspaper．The Beldon Post:
FIRE AT SEABREEZE
Late last night firemen hurried to the Seabreeze Hotel and quickly put out a small fire in a bedroom．The hotel manager said that a cigarette started the fire．We say again to all our visitors： “Please don’t smoke cigarettes in bed．” This was Beldon’s first hotel fire for five years．
The Canfield Times gave the news in these words on page one：
ANOTHER BELDON HOTEL CATCHES FIRE
Last night Beldon firemen arrived just too late to save clothing, bedclothes and some furniture at the Seabreeze Hotel．An angry holiday-maker said, “An electric lamp probably started the fire．The bedroom lamps are very old at some of these hotels．When I put my bedside light on, I heard a funny noise from the lamp．” We are glad to tell our readers that this sort of adventure does not happen in Canfield．
What are the facts, then? It is never easy to find out the exact truth about an accident．There was a fire at the Seabreeze Hotel last August: that is one fact．Do we know anything else? Yes, we know that firemen went to the hotel．
Now what do you think of the rest of the “news” ?Which of the following best gives the main idea of this text?
| A．Beldon and Canfield are both good places for tourists in summer． |
| B．A fire broke out at night in Seabreeze Hotel last summer． |
| C．It was not easy to find out exact truth from newspapers． |
| D．Two newspapers gave reports on the same matter． |
Which of the following are probably facts?
a．The fire broke out in a bedroom at the hotel．
b．A cigarette started the fire．
c．An old lamp started the fire．
d．The fire broke out at night．
e．There has never been a fire in Canfield．
| A．b and c | B．a and d | C．c and e | D．a and c |
The Canfield Times used the headline like this in order to make its readers think _______．
| A．hotels in Beldon often catch fire |
| B．hotels in Beldon don’t often catch fire |
| C．this was the second fire at the Seabreeze Hotel |
| D．Beldon was a good place except that hotels there are not quite safe |
The Canfield newspaper gave a report just the opposite to the Beldon Post by saying that _______．
| A．the bedroom lamps were very old at the Seabreeze Hotel |
| B．the bedroom lights made funny noise when the fire took place |
| C．the firemen failed to save clothing, bedclothes and other things |
| D．such accidents never happened in Canfield for the past 5 years |
Last year．I took a sightseeing trip to Washington, DC．I heard a voice say, “Can you help me?” When I turned around, I saw an elderly blind woman with her hand extended．Immediately, I pulled out all of my change and placed it on her hand without even looking at her．But the blind woman smiled and said, “I don’t want your money．I just need help finding the post office．”
In an instant, I realized what I had done．I acted with prejudice―I judged another person simply for what I assumed she had to be．I hated what I saw in myself．
The thing I had forgotten about myself is that I am an immigrant．I left Honduras and arrived in the US at the age of 15．I started my new life with two suitcases, my brother and sister．Through the years, I have been a doorkeeper, cashier and pizza delivery driver among many other humble(卑微的)jobs, and eventually I became a network engineer．
In my own life, I have experienced prejudice．I remember a time―at the age of 17―when I was a busboy, I heard a father tell his little boy that if he did not do well in school, he would end up like me．
But now, living in my American middle-class lifestyle, it is too easy to forget my past, to forget who I am, where I have been ,and to lose sight of where I want to be going．That blind woman on the streets cured me of my blindness．She reminded me of my belief in humility(谦虚)．By the way, I helped that lady to the post office．I hope to thank her for the priceless lesson．How did the writer give the blind woman money?
| A．In a modest way | B．In a polite way |
| C．In an impatient way． | D．In a painful way |
According to the text, the writer__________．
A．still lives a poor life
B．was busy with his work
C．was born in Honduras
D．was a native of Washington D．C．According to the text, the author most probably agrees that one should__________．
| A．be nice to the elderly and the disabled |
| B．try to experience different kinds of culture |
| C．treat others equally with love and respect |
| D．think about one’s past as often as possible |
What would be the best title of the text?
| A．A priceless lesson | B．An act of prejudice |
| C．A sightseeing trip | D．A humble moment |
GUATEMALA CITY （Reuters） – A fish that lives in mangrove swamps（红树沼泽）across the Americas can live out of water for months at a time, similar to how animals adapted（适应）to land millions of years ago, a new study shows.
The Magrove Rivulus, a type of small killifish, lives in small pools of water in a certain type of empty nut or even old beer cans in the mangrove swamps of Belize, the United States and Brazil. When their living place dries up, they live on the land in logs（圆木），said Scott Taylor, a researcher at the Brevard Endangered Lands Program in Florida.
The fish, whose scientific name is Rivulus marmoratus, can grow as large as three inches. They group together in logs and breathe air through their skin until they can find water again.
The new scientific discovery came after a trip to Belize.“We kicked over a log and the fish just came crowding out,” Taylor told Reuters in neighboring Guatgemala by telephone. He said he will make his study on the fish known to the public in an American magazine early next year.
In lab tests, Taylor said he found the fish can live up to 66 days out of water without eating.
Some other fish can live out of water for a short period of time. The walking catfish found in Southeast Asia can stay on land for hours at time, while lungfish found in Australia, Africa and South America can live out of water, but only in an inactive state. But no other known fish can be out of water as long as the Mangrove Rivulus and remain active, according to Patricia Wright, a biologist at Canada’s University of Guelph.
Further studies of the fish may tell how animals changed over time.
“These animals live in conditions similar to those that existed millions of years ago, when animals began making the transition（过渡）from water onto land,” Wright said.The Mangrove Rivulus is a type of fish that _______.
| A．likes eating nuts |
| B．prefers living in dry places |
| C．is the longest living fish on earth |
| D．can stay alive for two months out of water |
Who will write up a report on Mangrove Rivulus?
| A．Patricia Wright | B．Researchers in Guatemala |
| C．Scientists from Belize | D．Scott Taylor |
According to the text, lungfish can________
| A．breathe through its skin |
| B．move freely on dry land |
| C．remain alive out of water |
| D．be as active on land as in water |
What can we say about the discovery of Mangrove Rivulus?
| A．It was made quite by accident |
| B．It was based on a lab test of sea life |
| C．It was supported by an American magazine |
| D．It was helped by Patricia Wright |