Sometimes,when you worry that you may fail an exam,you end up failing.Or during a seating arrangement (安排) in your class,when you are afraid to sit next to someone you don' t like,you end up sharing the desk with him or her.
This is what Murphy' s Law tells us: If things can go wrong,they will go wrong.But is it true?
Of the studies about Murphy' s Law,the most famous one is the buttered toast (烤面包片)phenomenon (现象): One toast with butter falls,it lands butter﹣side down most of the time.
To prove this,Robert Matthews did a lot of experiments with more than 1,000British school kids in 2001.
In the first experiment,each student put a piece of buttered toast on a plate,let it fall off 20times and noted which side it landed on.Of almost 10,000experiments,toast landed butter﹣side down 62percent of the time.
But you may ask: Is it the butter that plays a role? Here comes Matthews' second experiment.
This time,instead of butter,the toast had a letter "B" written on one side.It still landed 58 percent of the time on the B﹣side.
This proved that Murphy' s Law is true: If the toast can land butter﹣side down,it will do so.
Matthews did another experiment.When students threw the toast from a height of 2.5metres,the toast landed butter﹣side down only 47percent of the time.
"Toast lands butter﹣side down because humans aren' t tall enough to let it land any other way," Matthews said.
根据上文内容判断正 (T) 误(F)
(1)According to Murphy' s Law,in an English class,if you don' t want to be questioned by the teacher,you may end up failing answering the questions.
(2)In the first experiment of buttered toast,we know the toast landed butter﹣side down about 620times.
(3)If the toast can land butter﹣side down,Murphy' s Law is true.
(4)In the first two experiments,either the butter or the letter "B" plays a role.
(5)The passage is mainly talking about Murphy' s Law depends on people' s mental state(心理状态).
A middle﹣aged man, Xu Shijie, from Kaifeng is a pedicab(三轮车) driver, or rather, a tour guide. Over the past 15 years, he has served hundreds of foreign tourists. He told them stories about Kaifeng in English.
(1) With the help of a dictionary, he read English magazines and books in his spare time. He also kept a diary in English. Thus, he could learn more new words and grammar.
He first talked to a foreign tourist in 2003. He was nervous and not sure whether the tourist could understand him or not. Luckily, the tourist understood him and they talked happily that day.
Since then, Xu has studied English even harder. He practiced listening and speaking skills every night. In order to provide a better introduction to Kaifeng, he has also read lots of books about the city's history and culture. Xu is now better known as Jason, his English name. He has become the most popular pedicab driver in Kaifeng.(2) He often helps tourists buy train tickets or medicine. Sometimes, he also helps them find quality hotels. Many people call Xu a culture ambassador. XU said he would try his best to live up to the praise and make Chinese culture known to the world.
练习一:下面四个选项中选出能填入文中(1)和(2)处的最佳选项.
A. Xu has learned English all by himself.
B. At first, people laughed at Xu's poor pronunciation of English.
C. Foreign tourists don't care about Xu's best service.
D. This is not only because he can speak English, but also because he is warm﹣hearted.
练习二:Translate the underlined sentences into Chinese.
练习三:What does the passage mainly talk about?
Last night, a school night, my 11﹣year﹣old son's baseball team played a game that lasted until 9:30. By the time we got home and he had a quick dinner and shower, it was 10:30﹣an hour and a half later than a child who gets up at 6:30 should be going to bed. We love baseball. My son is having fun, getting exercise, and learning patience, teamwork and sports spirit. But the truth is that the game also influences his sleep.
As parents, we want good things for our children. We want them to be healthy both in body and in mind. To this end , we look for ways to help our kids grow and develop. We help them with their homework. We sign them up for dance, soccer and baseball. We encourage our kids to take honors courses(培优课程) or to have after﹣school jobs. And we praise them for hard﹣earned success and achievements.
However, the irony is that all of these activities and responsibilities that we are giving our children to make their lives colorful could be badly influencing their health and taking happiness away. Activities, responsibilities, and goals are good. But if we want our kids to realize their full physical, learning and social ability, sleep is important. We have to start taking sleep seriously.
Parents make bedtime routines and carry out(执行) strict rules about nighttime. But in fact,these measures(措施) aren't enough because getting our kids, enough sleep isn't just about carrying out stricter bedtime. It actually requires more than that. In order to ensure our kids get the sleep they need, bout parents and schools should make an effort.
(1)From the passage we know the writer's son
A. isn't good at sports
B. wastes time every night
C. can't get enough sleep
D. always hangs out with friends
(2)What does the underlined word "irony " mean in Chinese?
A. 光荣
B. 骄傲
C. 讽刺
D. 公正
(3)What does the writer think of taking honors courses at last?
A. Boring.
B. Unnecessary.
C. Interesting.
D. Enjoyable.
(4)How can we make sure kids get enough sleep according to the write?
A. By making the children's lives colorful.
B. By refusing all the after﹣school activities.
C. By carrying out strict rules about bedtime.
D. By making an effort from parents and schools.
(5)What would the writer probably talk about in the following paragraph?
A. Advice on how to sleep well.
B. Ways of changing kids' education.
C. The importance of sleeping well.
D. Measures parents and schools should take
My father died when I was five. It was hard on us all. My brother, who is eight years older than me, began to take care of my mother and me.
He took on more responsibilities than expected. I remember he made sure the rubbish was taken out, and the yard was cleaned. He did on his own, without being told to do so.
Because of my father's death, mom had to get a full time job. Brother would get me up for school and make me breakfast. While I was eating, he would lay out my clothes, make my bed, and gather my school books up.
Hand in hand we would walk to the bus stop. As we waited, he would play games my father used to play with me. When we returned from school, we were alone for about half an hour, until mom was home from work. Before I did my homework, he would sit me down with three cookies and a glass of milk. Then he would prepare something for mom to cook dinner.
Mom would greet us with a hug and kiss. This was our time to have some fun outside. This was my brother's time to be a kid.
One Saturday in June several years later, my mother and I were at a store where the Father's Day cards were sold. I stared at the cards. Mom said, "Cindy, I know this is hard time for you."
"No, mom. That's not it. Why don't they have Brother's Day cards?"
She smiled, "You're right, your brother has exactly been a father to you. Go ahead to choose a card."
I did so, and on Father's Day, my mother and I sat my brother down and gave him the card.
As he read it, I saw the tears in his eyes. Mom said, "Son, your father is proud of you, seeing that he raised a good man, and that you do your best to fill his shoes. We love you and thank you."
(1)Who asked the brother to take on more responsibilities?
A. The father.
B. The mother.
C. He himself.
D. Cindy.
(2)What did the brother do for the whole family?
①He got Cindy up for school. ②He prepared for dinner.
③He did the dishes every day. ④He gathered up Cindy's books.
⑤He played games with Cindy. ⑥He helped Cindy with the homework.
A. ①②③④
B. ①②④⑤
C. ①③④⑤
D. ②③⑤⑥
(3)Cindy's brother returned to be a kid when .
A. he played games with her at the bus stop.
B. they stayed home alone waiting for mom.
C. he offered delicious cookies and milk.
D. they had fun outside after mom came back.
(4)While reading the card, Cindy's brother felt .
A. down
B. embarrassed
C. moved
D. angry
(5)What's the best title for the passage? .
A. My Childhood
B. My Second Father
C. A Valuable Card
D. A Careful Brother
Welcome to the HuangshanTaiping Cableway(索道)! This is Asia's longest ﹣ and China's biggest﹣tourist cableway! Each cable car can carry 100 passengers and one staff worker. The cableway is 3,709 meters long.
The ride takes about eight minutes.
Here are things you mast know before you take our cable car.
• Please obey the rules. Wait in a line for tickets, security check and entry.
• You must show your ticket to enter the passenger hall and take the cable car.
• People who have serious illnesses should not take the cable car.
• Don't use your mobile phone while you are in the cable car. Keep your head an hands inside the car. For the cable car may shake during the ride, please hold the handrail(扶手) firmly.
• If anything goes wrong, please keep calm. Ask the staff worker for help.
• Please bring your personal belongings with you before your leave the cable car. Don't step out of the car until it stops completely.
• You are not allowed to carry flammable, explosive or other dangerous things into the cable car.
Please call our staff when you need help. Our service number is 0559﹣08551818.
Thank you very much for your cooperation.
(1)Each cable car can carry people in total.
A. 100
B. 101
C. 110
D. 113
(2)Before travellers enter the passenger hall, they must .
A. take a photo
B. show their tickets
C. hand in their mobile phones
D. take a physical examination
(3)According to the passage, flammable and explosive things are .
A. expensive
B. cheap
C. delicious
D. dangerous
(4)Passengers should hold the handrail firmly because during the ride.
A. the cable car runs too fast
B. the cable car may be broken
C. the cable car may shake
D. the cable car is often crowded
(5)The passage above may be .
A. a notice
B. a report
C. a piece of news
D. a story
When I saw Ronny for the first time, he looked like other kids in the first﹣grade classroom where I volunteered as a Reading Mom. However, he usually arrived at school wearing old clothes.
On the day when it was Ronny's turn to read. he sat very close to me. I watched his fingers move slowly under each letter as he tried to speak out "Bud the Sub". It sounded more like "Baw Daw Saw" when he said it because of his difficulty with the alphabet(字母).
The year passed quickly and Ronny had made some progress but he was still below the level of grade. A few weeks before the school year ended, I held an award(颁奖) ceremony. I had gifts and certificates(证书) for everyone. It took me a while to think about which Ronny fit; I believed the gift could cheer him up. I finally decided on "The Most Progressive Reader". I showed his certificate and a book.
A few days later, I saw Ronny reading the book when I went back to the school. His teacher said, "He hasn't put that book down. That's the first book he's ever owned."
Fighting back tears(眼泪) I came near Ronny and asked, "Will you read me your book, Ronny?" He nodded.
And then, for the next few minutes, he read to me more smoothly than I'd ever thought. When he finished reading, Ronny closed his book and said, "Good book."
At that moment, I knew I should do what an author(作家) had done﹣care children and make them excellent.
(1)The writer found that there was something wrong with Ronny's .
A. eyes
B. talent
C. pronunciation
D. fingers
(2)The writer praised Ronny at the end of the school year because in the class.
A. he tried to do better
B. he could read the alphabet best
C. he was above the level of grade
D. he did as well as the other students
(3)The underlined phrase "fighting back (tears)"in the fifth paragraph means .
A. beginning to cry silently
B. turning back to cry loudly
C. being filled with sad tears
D. trying hold not to show the feeling
(4)The writer was moved so deeply that she wanted to .
A. help more children become successful
B. take care of Ronny all the time
C. teach children in the school as a teacher
D. write more novels for children
(5)Choose the main idea of this article.
A. Many children aren't cared in some schools.
B. Children should be encouraged in their study.
C. Most children like to read if they have good books.
D. All the authors can be good teachers in primary schools.