On a cool November afternoon in Fleming Island, Florida, Melissa Hawkinson, 41, was driving her five-year-old twins home from school when she saw a sudden splash in Doctors Lake just ahead. What was that? She thought. As she drove up to the scene, she saw a half-submerged car sinking about 30 yards offshore. “It was going down pretty quickly,” Hawkinson recalls. She stopped the car near the boat ramp and ran toward the water. Water is going to be cold, she thought.
She took off her vest and leather boots, got into the icy water, and swam to the car, where she found Cameron Dorsey, five, trapped into his car as the swirling water rose around him.
Hawkinson tried to open the door, but it was locked. So she pushed and pulled hard on the partially open window until she could reach through and unlock the door. She pulled the boy free, swam to shore, and handed him off to onlookers who were only watching them on a dock. The driver, the boy’s suicidal father, swam back to land on his own. Afterward, Hawkinson sat on the shore wrapped in a blanket. “For ten or 15 minutes, I couldn’t stop shaking,” she said.
There’s nothing visibly extraordinary about Melissa Hawkinson, an energetic stay-at-home mom with brown hair and a sweet smile. Yet something made her different from the dockside onlookers that day. Why do some people act quickly, willing to take a risk for a stranger? What makes them run toward danger rather than away from it? Hawkinson, the Granite Mountain Hotshots (能手，高手)---19 of whom lost their life this past summer in Arizona--- every hero who puts his or her life on the line to save another: what makes them brave?
Moreover, can bravery be learned, or is it a quality with which you are born? The answer is complex. Bravery taps the mind, brain and heart. It comes from instinct, training and sympathy. Today, neurologists, psychologists and other researchers are studying bravery, trying to uncover the mystery.It can be learned from the passage that _______.
| A．Melissa Hawkinson was a 41-year-old nurse |
| B．it was spring when the accident happened |
| C．Melissa Hawkinson was picking up her five-year-old son |
| D．Melissa Hawkinson was kind and courageous. |
What conclusion can we draw from the third paragraph?
| A．Not everyone was ready to risk saving the five-year-old boy.. |
| B．The father committed suicide because of the divorce. |
| C．The father was saved in the end by Melissa Hawkinson. |
| D．No one else was available except Melissa Hawkinson. |
How does the writer find other people on the dockside?
| A．Warm and ready to help | B．Thoughtful |
| C．Kind of cold-blooded | D．Not skillful at swimming |
What is the writer’s purpose of writing this passage?
| A．To set us thinking what makes people brave. |
| B．To call on us to learn from such people as Hawkinson. |
| C．To remind people of risk while saving others. |
| D．To show people bravery can be learned. |
WHAT happens to a teenage kid when the world he thought he knew suddenly changes? Find out in Little Brother by American author Cory Doctorow. It is a fascinating book for a new generation of sci-fi readers.
Marcus Yallow, 17, from San Francisco is much more comfortable in front of a computer than obeying the rules of society. Smart, fast and wise to the ways of the networked world, he has no trouble outwitting （骗过） his high school's monitoring system．This way he and his friends get to head off to play a popular online game in real life.
While they are playing, a bomb explodes on the Bay Bridge. Marcus stops a military vehicle to get help for his injured friend, but this simple act throws him into a Department of Homeland Security （DHS） secret prison．There he is treated as a possible terrorist. He is eventually let go after four days, but his injured friend disappears.
When he returns, Marcus discovers that there are many "security measures" in place and that now all citizens are treated like potential terrorists. While some consider this government action necessary for public safety, Marcus sees this as a complete destruction of the rights he is supposed to have as a citizen.
He knows that no one will believe his story, which leaves him with only one thing to do: to take down the DHS himself. He helps organize a large network called Xnet to spread the truth, anonymously （匿名地）.
The book presents a young man who is irresponsible, but learns about himself, and grows, in the course of the story. As part of this learning and growing he becomes aware of very serious issues about his society．What kind of article does this passage belong to?
| A．A fascinating story | B．A book review |
| C．News report | D．A TV programme |
The underlined word destruction in the passage means .
| A．damage | B．reward | C．ruin | D．protection |
Marcus Yallow was sent to prison because.
| A．he killed his friend |
| B．he bombed a military vehicle |
| C．he did something that a possible terrorist could do |
| D．his injured friend disappeared |
From the second paragraph we can infer that.
| A．Marcus Yallow is much more comfortable obeying the rules of society |
| B．Marcus Yallow is smart, fast and wise in real life |
| C．Marcus Yallow always plays online games in real life |
| D．Marcus Yallow is expert at the network world |
At the end of the book, Marcus Yallow .
| A．is supposed to be more irresponsible |
| B．becomes aware of very serious issues about his society |
| C．presents a young man who is irresponsible |
| D．plays a popular online game in real life |
As a boy, Charles Robert Darwin collected anything that caught his interest: insects, coins and interesting stones. He was not very clever, but Darwin was good at doing the things that interested him.
His father was a doctor, so Darwin was sent to Edinburgh to study medicine, and was planned to follow a medical career. But Charles found the lectures boring. Then his father sent him to Cambridge University to study to be a priest. While at Cambridge, Darwin’s interest in zoology and geography grew. Later he got a letter from Robert FitzRoy who was planning to make a voyage around the world on a ship, the Beagle. He wanted a naturalist to join the ship, and Darwin was recommended(推荐). That voyage was the start of Darwin’s great life.
As the Beagle sailed around the world, Darwin began to wonder how life had developed on earth. He began to observe everything. After he was home, he set to work, getting his collection in order. His first great work The Zoology of the Beagle was well received, but he was slow to make public his ideas on the origin of life.
Later Darwin and Wallace, another naturalist who had the same opinions as Darwin, produced a paper together. Darwin’s great book, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection (《物种起源》) appeared. It attracted a storm. People thought that Darwin was saying they were descended from monkeys. What a shameful idea! Although most scientists agreed that Darwin was right, the Church was still so strong that Darwin never received any honors for his work.
Afterwards, he published another great work, The Descent of Man. His health grew worse, but he still worked. “When I have to give up observation, I shall die,” he said. He was still working on 17, April, 1882. He was dead two days later.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Charles Darwin’s ideas |
| B．Charles Darwin’s works |
| C．Father of modern biology: Charles Darwin |
| D．The greatest scientist: Charles Darwin |
Darwin’s father sent him to Edinburgh to _____.
| A．make him like natural history |
| B．make him become a doctor |
| C．let him change his hobbies |
| D．have him give up his collection |
According to the passage, Charles Darwin’s whole life was changed by _____.
| A．his study at Cambridge University |
| B．his collection of coins |
| C．the naturalists at Cambridge |
| D．the voyage of the Beagle |
The underlined part “they were descended from monkeys” probably means “_____”.
| A．they gave monkeys life |
| B．they were different from monkeys |
| C．they were developed from monkeys |
| D．they had to live with monkeys |
Work is a part of living —my grandparents understood that. They lived and worked on a farm that has been in my family for 150 years. They raised chickens for eggs , pigs and cattle for meat . Cows were kept for milk and the cream, from which Grandma made butter and cheese. What little yard they had became a garden.
The Depression, therefore, didn’t make much change in their lives. But it did bring an unending flow of men out of work, drifting from job to job, to the farm. The first to show up at the door of the kitchen was a man in rags. He took off his hat and quietly explained that he hadn’t eaten for a while. Grandpa stood watching him a bit , then said , “There’s a stack of firewood against the fence behind the barn (谷仓). I’ve been needing to get it moved to the other side of the fence . You have just about enough time to finish the job before lunch .”
Grandma said a surprising thing happened. The man got a shine in his eyes and he hurried to the barn at once. She set another place at the table and made an apple pie. During lunch, the stranger didn’t say much, but when he left, his shoulders had straightened. “Nothing ruins a man like losing his self-respect,” Grandpa later told me.
Soon after, another man showed up asking for a meal. This one was dressed in a suit and carried a small old suitcase. Grandpa came out when he heard voices. He looked at the man and then offered a handshake.” There is a stack of firewood along the fence down behind the barn I’ve been meaning to get it moved. It’d sure be a help to me . And we’d be pleased to have you stay for lunch.” The fellow set his suitcase aside and neatly laid his coat on top. Then he set off to work.
Grandma says she doesn’t remember how many strangers they shared a meal with during those Depression days-or how many times that stack of wood got moved.When he was asked to move a stack of firewood, the first man who asked for a meal got a shine in his eyes for he was glad that .
| A．he had found a good job |
| B．he would have something to eat |
| C．he would no longer suffer from the Depression |
| D．he would get what he wanted without losing his self-respect |
The writer’s grandfather asked those jobless men to move the stack of firewood because ____ .
| A．he didn’t want them to have a meal free of charge |
| B．he had been needing to get it moved |
| C．he wanted to help them in his own way |
| D．he wanted to show them his kindness and respect |
The writer’s grandfather was all of the following but .
| A．kind | B．thoughtful | C．wealthy | D．sympathetic |
The best title for the story would be .
| A．The Depression |
| B．The Pleasure of Helping Others |
| C．No Pains , No Gains |
| D．Work-A Part of Living |
Thomas Edison was one of ten said to be the greatest genius of his age.There are only a few men in all of the history, who have changed the lives of other men as much as the inventor of the first useful electric light.But Edison could never be happy only because someone said he was a genius.“ There is no such thing as genius,”Edison said.He said that what people called genius was mostly hard work.
But Edison was a dreamer as well as a worker..From his earliest days as a child he wondered about the secrets of nature.Nature, he often said,is full of secrets.He tried to understand them;then, he tried to learn what could usefully be done with them.
Edison enjoyed thinking. He knew that most people will do almost anything instead of the difficult work of thinking, especially if they do not think very often. But he knew, too, that thinking can give men enjoyment and pleasure.
Edison could not understand how anyone could be uninterested in life. As he loved to think, he also loved to work. On the day he became 75 years old, someone asked him what ideas he had about life. “ Work,” he answered. “Discovering the secrets of nature and using them to make men happier.” He said he had enough inventions in his mind to give him another 100 years of work.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Edison invented the electric light. |
| B．Many other people have changed Edison’s life. |
| C．Edison has changed the life of many other people. |
| D．Few men in history can change other people’s life. |
Edison thought __________.
| A．he could be happy if he was a genius |
| B．genius plays the most important part in one’s success |
| C．hard work could do better than genius |
| D．genius could do better than hard work |
Edison was __________.
| A．very much interested in nature |
| B．interested in discovering the secrets of nature |
| C．interested in changing people’s ideas |
| D．uninterested in making people happier by discovering the secrets of nature |
In Edison’s opinion, _________.
| A．thinking can supply people with enjoyment and pleasure as well as help |
| B．people’s successs lies mostly in genius |
| C．hard work is the second important thing in making people successful |
| D．there are few secrets for him to discover later |
The last sentence in the passage most probably implies _________.
| A．life is too short for Edison to invent more for human beings |
| B．Edison made 100 inventions in his life |
| C．Edison was able to live and work for 100 years |
| D．People of his time were ready to give Edison another 100 years’ work |
When I was six, Dad brought home a dog one day, who was called “Brownie”. My brothers and I all loved Brownie and did different things with her. One of us would walk her, another would feed her, then there were baths, playing catch and many other games, Brownie, in return. loved each and every one of us. One thing that most touched my heart was that she would go to whoever was sick and just be with them .We always felt better when she was around.
One day, as I was getting her food, she chewed up(咬破)one of Dad’s shoes, which had to be thrown away in the end. I knew Dad would be mad and I had to let her know what she did was wrong. When I looked at her and said, ”Bad girl,” she looked down at the ground and then went and hid. I saw a tear in her eyes.
Brownie turned out to be more than just our family pet, she went everywhere with us .People would stop and ask if they could pet her. Of course she’d let anyone pet her. She was just the most lovable dog. There were many times when we’d be out walking and a small child would come over and pull on her hair. she never barked(吠) or tried to get away. Funny thing is she would smile. This frightened people because they thought she was showing her teeth. Far from the truth, she lovely everyone.
Now many years have passed since Brownie died of old age. I still miss days when she was with us.What would Brownie do when someone was ill in the family?
| A．Look at them sadly. | B．Touch them gently. |
| C．Play games with them. | D．Keep them company. |
We can infer from Paragraph 2 that Brownie__________.
| A．world eat anything when hungry |
| B．felt sorry for her mistake |
| C．loved playing hide-and-seek |
| D．disliked the author’s dad |