Maggie was very glad that James was not a frequent visitor to the house. So far as the children were concerned, they had a mystery about him that stirred their imagination. He stirred Maggie’s anger, however, so that she often said to her husband, “It’s mercy that brother of yours doesn’t come oftener.”
In fact James came once a year, unexpectedly, around eight o’clock in the evening, and he stayed for six hours of close discussion with his brother. His arrival was a signal to the children that their bedtime would be delayed. Not that he ever spoke to them or played with them. He took no notice of them, as if he was unable to see children, at least until the time came for him to go. Instead, after his first greeting and a careless kiss, James took no notice of Maggie either, except to add, “You’ll be getting on with the supper, Maggie.” Such was his regard for her.
Maggie paid him back in her own way. She kept the children up, the four of them, to keep her company, she said, but of course they sang and made a noise and broke the endless sound of James’s voice. Very late, they dropped off to sleep in their chairs. Then, when James was about to go, Maggie woke them up and so more or less forced him to part with four shillings before he left. That gave her some satisfaction, for James, though rich, was mean. He always went home by the last train, just after two o’clock.
Maggie’s children secretly stared at their uncle. They could not forget that he had, in their mother’s words, “lost two wives and taken a third, ” They wondered about those two unfortunate lost ladies. They asked each other what their fate had been, and if neither could ever be found again. James never brought his third wife with him nor ever mentioned her. The children decided that he must be so frightened of losing her that he never allowed her outside the door.
11. The underlined word “mercy” in the text most probably means _______.
A. loss B. wonder C. lucky thing D. terrible thing
12. Maggie never prepared anything special for James because _______.
A. he was a man difficult to please
B. she never knew when he was coming
C. she was too busy looking after her children
D. he never stayed long enough for a meal
13. What do we know about James’ behavior?
A. He was a kind man, with love for the family.
B. He was generous, especially towards his brother.
C. He was anxious to please the family, especially the kids.
D. He was rude to his sister-in-law.
14. Maggie felt pleased when _______.
A. she paid James the money that she owed him
B. James gave some money to the children
C. she had to wake James up to catch his train
D. James thanked her for the nice supper
15. The children did not realize that two of James’ wives _______.
A. had been dead B. suffered from loss of memory
C. had run away from him D. might appear again one day
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| 1． |
One of the benefits mentioned in, the advertisement is.
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| 2． |
Which of the following bookings may receive the most benefits?
|
| 3． |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the advertisement?
|
Papa, as a son of a dirt-poor farmer, left school early and went to work in a factory, for education was for the rich then. So, the world became his school. With great interest, he read everything he could lay his hands on, listened to the town elders and learned about the world beyond his tiny hometown. "There's so much to learn," he'd say. "Though we're born stupid, only the stupid remain that way. " He was determined that none of his children would be denied an education.
Thus, Papa insisted that we learn at least one new thing each day. Though, as children, we thought this was crazy, it would never have occurred to us to deny Papa a request. And dinner time seemed perfect for sharing what we had learned. We would talk about the news of the day; no matter how insignificant, it was never taken lightly. Papa would listen carefully and was ready with some comment, always to the point.
Then came the moment-the time to share the day's new learning.
Papa, at the head of the table, would push back his chair and pour a glass of red wine, ready to listen.
"Felice," he'd say, "tell me what you learned today. "
"I learned that the population of Nepal is .... "
Silence.
Papa was thinking about what was said, as if the salvation of the world would depend upon it. "The population of Nepal. Hmm. Well . . . . " he'd say. "Get the map; let's see where Nepal is. " And the whole family went on a search for Nepal.
This same experience was repeated until each family member had a turn. Dinner ended only after we had a clear understanding of at least half a dozen such facts.
As children, we thought very little about these educational wonders. Our family, however, was growing together, sharing experiences and participating in one another's education. And by looking at us, listening to us, respecting our input, affirming our value, giving us a sense of dignity, Papa was unquestionably our most influential teacher.
Later during my training as a future teacher /1 studied with some of the most famous educators. They were imparting what Papa had known all along-the value of continual learning. His technique has served me well all my life. Not a single day has been wasted, though I can never tell when knowing the population of Nepal might prove useful.
| 1． |
What do we know from the first paragraph?
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| 2． |
The underlined word "it" in the second paragraph refers to
|
| 3． |
It can be learned from the passage that the author.
|
| 4． |
What is the greatest value of "dinner time" to the author?
|
| 5． |
The author's father can be best described as.
|
Food festivals around the world
Stilton Cheese Rolling
May Day is a traditional day for celebrations, but the 2,000 English villagers of Stilton must be the only people in the world who include these rolling in their annual plans. Teams of four,dressed in a variety of strange and funny clothes , roll a complete cheese along a 50-metre course. On the way, they must not kick or throw their cheese, or go into their competitors' lane. Competition is fierce and the chief prize is a complete Stilton cheese weighing about four kilos (disappointingly, but understandably the cheeses used in the race are wooden ones). All the
competitors arc served with beer or port wine, the traditional accompaniment for Stilton cheese.
Fiery Foods Festival—The Hottest Festival on Earth
Every year more than 10,000 people head for the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico. They come from as far away as Australia, the Caribbean and China, but they all share a common addiction—food that is not just spicy ,but hot enough to make your mouth burn, your head spin and your eyes water. Their destination is the Fiery Eood and BBQ Festival which is held over a period of three clays every March. You might like to try a chocolate-covered habanero pepper—officially the hottest pepper in the world—or any one of the thousands of products that are on show. But one thing's for sure—if you don't like the feeling of a burning tongue, this festival isn't for you!
La Tomatina—The World's Biggest Food Fight
On the last Wednesday of every August, the Spanish town of Bunol hosts Ea Tomatina—the world's largest food fight. A week-long celebration leads up to an exciting tomato battle as the highlight of the week's events. The early morning sees the arrival of large trucks with tomatoes—official fight-starters get things going by casting tomatoes at the
crowd.
The battle lasts little more than half an hour, in which time around 50,000 kilograms of tomatoes have been thrown at anyone or anything that moves, runs, or fights back. Then everyone heads down to the river to make friends again—and for a much-needed wash!In the Stilton cheese rolling competition, competitors on each team must .
| A．wear various formal clothes |
| B．roll a wooden cheese in their own lane |
| C．kick or throw their cheese |
| D．use a real cheese weighing about four kilos |
Where is the Fiery Food and BBQ Festival held?
| A．In New Mexico. | B．In the Caribbean. |
| C．In Australia. | D．In China. |
The celebration of La Tomatina lasts .
| A．three days | B．seven days |
| C．less than three days | D．more than seven days |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The chief prize for the Stilton cheese rolling competition is beer or port wine. |
| B．More than 10,000 Chinese take pail in the Fiery Food and BBQ Festival. |
| C．Thousands of spicy foods are on show in the Fiery Food and BBQ Festival. |
| D．An exciting tomato battle takes place at the beginning of La Tomatina. |
D
Technological change is everywhere and affects every aspect of life, mostly for the better. However, social changes are brought about by new technology are often mistaken for a change in attitudes.
An example at hand is the involvement of parents in the lives of their children who are attending college. Surveys (调查) on this topic suggests that parents today continue to be “very” or “somewhat” overly-protective even after their children move into college dormitories. The same surveys also indicate that the rate of parental involvement is greater today than it was a generation ago. This is usually interpreted as a sign that today’s parents are trying to manage their children’s lives past the point where this behavior is appropriate.
However, greater parental involvement does not necessarily indicate that parents are failing to let go of their “adult” children.
In the context (背景) of this discussion, it seems valuable to first find out the cause of change in the case of parents’ involvement with their grown children. If parents of earlier generations had wanted to be in touch with their college-age children frequently, would this have been possible? Probably not. On the other hand, does the possibility of frequent communication today mean that the urge to do so wasn’t present a generation ago? Many studies show that older parents - today’s grandparents - would have called their children more often if the means and cost of doing so had not been a barrier.
Furthermore, studies show that finances are the most frequent subject of communication between parents and their college children. The fact that college students are financially dependent on their parents is nothing new; nor are requests for more money to be sent from home. This phenomenon is neither good nor bad; it is a fact of college life, today and in the past.
Thanks to the advanced technology, we live in an age of bettered communication. This has many implications well beyondthe role that parents seem to play in the lives of their children who have left for college. But it is useful to bear in mind that all such changes come from the technology and not some imagined desire by parents to keep their children under their wings.The surveys inform us of ______.
| A．the development of technology |
| B．the changes of adult children’s behavior |
| C．the parents’ over-protection of their college children |
| D．the means and expenses of students’ communication |
The writer believes that ______.
| A．parents today are more protective than those in the past |
| B．the disadvantages of new technology outweigh its advantages |
| C．technology explains greater parental involvement with their children |
| D．parents’ changed attitudes lead to college children’s delayed independence |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．Technology or Attitude |
| B．Dependence or Independence |
| C．Family Influence or Social Changes |
| D．College Management or Communication Advancement |
Which of the following shows the development of ideas in this passage?
C
Life in the Clear
Transparent animals let light pass through their bodies the same way light passes through a window. These animals typically live between the surface of the ocean and a depth of about 3,300 feet—as far as most light can reach. Most of them are extremely delicate and can be damaged by a simple touch. Sonke Johnsen, a scientist in biology, says, “These animals live through their life alone. They never touch anything unless they’re eating it, or unless something is eating them.”
And they are as clear as glass. How does an animal become see-through? It’s trickier than you might think.
The objects around you are visible because they interact with light. Light typically travels in a straight line. But some materials slow and scatter(散射) light, bouncing it away from its original path. Others absorb light, stopping it dead in its tracks. Both scattering and absorption make an object look different from other objects around it, so you can see it easily.
But a transparent object doesn’t absorb or scatter light, at least not very much, Light can pass through it without bending or stopping. That means a transparent object doesn’t look very different from the surrounding air or water. You don’t see it ----you see the things behind it.
To become transparent, an animal needs to keep its body from absorbing or scattering light. Living materials can stop light because they contain pigments(色素) that absorb specific colors of light. But a transparent animal doesn’t have pigments, so its tissues won’t absorb light. According to Johnsen, avoiding absorption is actually easy. The real challenge is preventing light from scattering.
Animals are built of many different materials----skin, fat, and more----and light moves through each at a different speed. Every time light moves into a material with a new speed, it bends and scatters. Transparent animals use different tricks to fight scattering. Some animals are simply very small or extremely flat. Without much tissue to scatter light, it is easier to be see—through. Others build a large, clear mass of non-living jelly-lie(果冻状的)material and spread themselves over it .
Larger transparent animals have the biggest challenge, because they have to make all the different tissues in their bodies slow down light exactly as much as water does. They need to look uniform. But how they’re doing it is still unknown. One thing is clear for these larger animals, staying transparent is an active process. When they die, they turn a non-transparent milky white.According to Paragraph 1, transparent animals_______.
| A．stay in groups | B．can be easily damaged |
| C．appear only in deep ocean | D．are beautiful creatures |
The underlined word “dead” in Paragraph 3 means__________.
| A．silently | B．gradually |
| C．regularly | D．completely |
One way for an animal to become transparent is to ________.
| A．change the direction of light travel |
| B．gather materials to scatter light. |
| C．avoid the absorption of light |
| D．grow bigger to stop light. |
The last paragraph tells us that larger transparent animals________.
| A．move more slowly in deep water |
| B．stay see-through even after death |
| C．produce more tissues for their survival |
| D．take effective action to reduce light spreading |
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