“Keep an eye on Esther. I’ll be back in a second,” Joy Warren said to her three-year-old son Stephen, who was sitting in the back of the Buick. She didn’t like leaving the children alone in the car, but the baby was sleeping soundly. And it would only be a moment.
She had hardly walked 40 yards when she saw the car moving. It headed straight towards the river. Unable to swim, Joy shouted, “My babies are in that car!”
Daniel Whitehead, a 17-year-old student, was walking by the river when the Buick crashed into the water just yards ahead .Without thinking, Daniel jumped in. Though a competitive swimmer, he was shocked by the icy chill.
Two minutes earlier, Skip Womack had pulled to a halt as the Buick ran in front of him. Now seeing it hit the water and hearing Joy’s cries, Skip got out of his truck and jumped into the water. He had only one thought: If I don’t get them out, they’ll drown.
Daniel reached the car and grabbed a door handle. But the water was only four inches beneath the window, and the door wouldn’t open. With one powerful punch, Daniel and Skip broke a window. Daniel reached inside and lifted Stephen out. He placed him on his back and set out for shore. At the same time, Skip squeezed himself through the window .He managed to free Esther from beneath her seat belt. After he got out of the car with the baby, he held her over the water and swam toward the shore. All this took place just seconds before the Buick disappeared beneath the water.
Later, driving home, Skip thought of his wife and children—how close he’d come to leaving them behind. He thought of the miracle he’d lived through, and how two children were still alive because he and Daniel happened to be in the right place at the right time.Why did Joy leave her children in the car?
| A．He did not like shopping with a child in hand. |
| B．She didn’t like waking up her baby. |
| C．Stephen was big enough to take care of his sister. |
| D．It was icy cold outside. |
Daniel and Skip, who saved the lives of the two kids, _____.
| A．had been good friends |
| B．were two close friends of Joy Warren’s |
| C．were Joy Warren’s neighbors |
| D．were strangers before the accident |
How did Daniel get Stephen out of danger?
| A．He squeezed into the car and carried him out. |
| B．He pulled him out through the broken window. |
| C．He freed him from his seatbelt before he got him out. |
| D．He held him over the water and swam back to shore. |
What happened to Joy Warren’s Buick?
| A．It had four inches of water in it. |
| B．One of its windows could not be opened. |
| C．It was pulled out of water and set on the shore. |
| D．It sank to the bottom of the river. |
How did Skip feel in his way home?
| A．He felt lucky to be still alive after having saved the lives of two kids. |
| B．He missed his wife and children, whom he left behind in the morning. |
| C．He felt very thankful to Daniel, without whom he would not have made it. |
| D．He wondered how he and Daniel could be in the right place at the right time. |
If I see one more article about how wonderful alternative energy is compared to oil, I will flip(翻页). Alternative energy sources can be good---- very good in fact. And it’s pretty obvious that we’re going to need them, and that our dependence on oil is a Bad Thing. But accepting that does not mean accepting that any kind of alternative energy is a good thing.
To be a good thing, it has to have three properties: 1) It has to help reduce our dependence on oil, 2) It has to be no worse for the environment, and 3) It has to be economically practical.
Many of the things praised meet one or even two of those properties. Solar panels, for example. They can reduce our need for oil, at least in certain regions, and they’re certainly not bad for the environment. But they’re expensive. If you spend the money to make your home solar-powered, you probably won’t get back your costs for at least 15 years, which approaches the lifespan of the panels.
Certainly we need to clean up our act big time and find workable sources of alternative energy. But we also have to keep in mind that every one of these alternative-energy sources comes at a cost, which is something people seem to forget. They hear the phrase “alternative energy” and automatically assume it’s got to be good. But green isn’t always good, and oil isn’t always bad.
One seemingly “green” technology that pops up again and again is electric cars. It is praised by well-meaning people as good for the environment and a way to reduce our oil dependence, especially as oil prices continue to rise.
Electric cars are dirty. In fact, not only are they dirty, they might even be more dirty than their gasoline-powered cousins.
People in California love to talk about “ zero-emissions vehicles”, but people in California seem to be clueless about where electricity comes from. Power plants mostly use fire to make it. Aside from the new folks who have their roofs covered with solar cells, we get our electricity from generators. Generators are fueled by something---- usually coal, oil, but also by heat generated in nuclear power plants. There are a few wind farms and geothermal（地热的） plants as well, but by far we get electricity mainly by burning something.
In other words, those “zero-emissions” cars are likely coal-burning cars. It’s just because the coal is burned somewhere else that it looks clean. It is not. It’s as if the California Greens are covering their eyes ---- “ If I can’t see it, it’s not happening. “ Gasoline is an incredibly efficient way to power a vehicle; a gallon of gas has a lot of energy in it. But when you take that gas ( or another fue) and first use it to make electricity, you waste a nice part of that energy, mostly in the form of wasted heat ---- at the generator, through the transmission（传送） lines, etc.
A gallon of gas may propel your car 25 miles. But the electricity you get from that gallon of gas won’t get you nearly as far ---- so electric cars burn more fuel than gas- powered ones. If our electricity came mostly from nukes; or geothermal, or hydro, or solar, or wind, then an electric car truly would be clean. But for political, technical, and economic reasons, we don’t use much of those energy sources.
In addition, electric cars’ batteries which are poisonous for a long time will eventually end up in a landfill. And finally, when cars are the polluters, the pollution is spread across all the roads. When it’s a power plant, though, all the junk is in one lace. Nature is very good at cleaning up when things are too concentrated, but it takes a lot longer when all the garbage is in one spot.Which of the following statements will the writer support?
| A．Any kind of alternative energy is a good thing. |
| B．Alternative energy is bound to take the place of oil. |
| C．People should have an objective view towards alternative energy. |
| D．Solar panel is a good example of alternative energy that meets three properties. |
What does “ clueless” mean in Paragraph 7?
| A．People see the California Greens everywhere. |
| B．People in California love to talk about zero-emissions vehicles. |
| C．People in California love to have their roofs covered with solar cells. |
| D．People there have no idea that so far electrically mainly comes from burning coal, oil, etc. |
What is the main idea for the text?
| A．Green technology is not always green. |
| B．Alternative energy is economically practical. |
| C．Electric cars are not clean at all. |
| D．Gasoline is an efficient way to power a vehicle. |
According to the text, electric cars ___________.
| A．are more environmentally friendly |
| B．burn more fuel than gas-powered ones |
| C．are very good at cleaning up when things are not too concentrated |
| D．are poisonous for a long time and will eventually end up in a landfill |
It can be inferred from the text that _________.
| A．being green is good and should be encouraged in communication |
| B．electric cars are not clean in that we get electricity mainly by burning something |
| C．zero-emissions vehicles should be chosen to protect our environment |
| D．electric cars are now the dominant vehicle compared with gasoline-powered cousins |
Beauty has always been regarded as something praiseworthy. Almost everyone thinks attractive people are happier and healthier，have better marriages and have more respectable occupations. Personal consultants give them better advice for finding jobs. Even judges are softer on attractive defendants(被告)．But in the executive circle，beauty can become a liability.
While attractiveness is a positive factor for a man on his way up the executive ladder，it is harmful to a woman.
Handsome male executives were thought as having more integrity than plainer men；effort and ability were thought to account for their success.
Attractive female executives were considered to have less integrity than unattractive ones；their success was attributed not to ability but to factors such as luck.
All unattractive women executives were thought to have more integrity and to be more capable than the attractive female executives. Interestingly，though，the rise of the unattractive overnight successes was attributed more to personal relationships and less to ability than that of attractive overnight successes.
Why are attractive women not thought to be able？An attractive woman is thought to be more feminine and an attractive man more masculine(有男子气概的)than the less attractive ones. Thus，an attractive woman has an advantage in traditionally female jobs，but an attractive woman in a traditionally masculine position appears to lack the “masculine” qualities required.
This is true even in politics. “When the only clue is how he or she looks，people treat men and women differently，”says Anne Bowman，who recently published a study on the effects of attractiveness on political candidates. She asked 125 undergraduate students to rank two groups of photographs，one of men and one of women，in order of attractiveness. The students were told the photographs were of candidates for political offices. They were asked to rank them again，in the order they would vote for them.
The results showed that attractive males utterly defeated unattractive men，but the women who had been ranked most attractive invariably received the fewest votes.The underlined word “liability”(in Para.1)most probably means “________”．
| A．misfortune | B．instability | C．disadvantage | D．burden |
In traditionally female jobs，attractiveness________.
| A．reinforces(加强)the feminine qualities required |
| B．makes women look more honest and capable |
| C．is of primary importance to women |
| D．often enables women to succeed quickly |
Bowman's experiment reveals that when it comes to politics，attractiveness________.
| A．turns out to be an obstacle to men |
| B．affects men and women alike |
| C．has as little effect on men as on women |
| D．is more of an obstacle than a benefit to women |
It can be inferred from the passage that people's views on beauty are often________.
| A．practical | B．prejudiced | C．oldfashioned | D．pessimistic |
The author writes this passage to________.
| A．demand equal rights for women |
| B．emphasize the importance of appearance |
| C．discuss the negative aspects of being attractive |
| D．give advice to jobseekers who are attractive |
There is one type of illness in the world that affects more people than anything else and is very deadly. If untreated this illness could affect everything you do. What is this illness? Depression. Serious depression requires professional treatment. Self-induced depression is something each of us can change.
Everyone's circumstances are different, but the causes of self-induced depression are common: low self-esteem, hurtful thinking and a bad attitude.
So how can we change the way we think, feel, and cultivate a cheerful attitude?
First we must look at ourselves, truly and honestly examining our motives for what we wish to achieve. If you are dissatisfied because you feel you haven't or can't do anything, then one step is needed - to set goals.
Always start your goals relatively small and easy to attain. Think of them as sand; one grain may be insignificant but as a group they form the beach. Once you have set and attained small goals for yourself, move on to slightly larger, more challenging goals.
It takes more than just setting goals to be happy. It takes positive thinking. How can we attain this?
There are a number of factors that can make us think negatively and one of those is diet.
In my opinion, a person who eats a lot of take out and fast food is feeding their body junk. Start by eating better foods which give the body much NEEDED minerals. If your physical body is happy, it's much easier for your mental body or "thinking ability" to be happy.
Next, exercise. A half-hour a day is recommended for positive well being. Then think about good memories you had, or generally think of things that make you smile. Remember, everything you wear costs money but to wear a smile is free. A smile can be the difference between an average day and a great day.
If you follow these steps, positive change is inevitable. Which of the statements about depression is TRUE?
| A．Depression is a kind of illness that can’t be cured like some cancer. |
| B．Depression can all be cured successfully by patients themselves. |
| C．Those who suffer from depression feel dissatisfied with themselves. |
| D．Those who suffer from depression live in similar circumstances. |
According to the passage we can learn that ____________.
| A．a practical goal can help people to achieve a sense of success |
| B．we shouldn’t be satisfied with small goals that are insignificant |
| C．we should avoid challenging goals that may lead to failure |
| D．people can enjoy happiness only if they set reasonable goals |
In order to achieve positive thinking a person should do these things EXCEPT____________.
| A．set challenging goals | B．eat healthier foods |
| C．exercise half an hour a day | D．always wear a smile |
What’s the passage mainly about?
| A．To prove the argument that depression can be changed. |
| B．To analyze the danger depression can bring to people. |
| C．To introduce to readers how to keep positive thinking. |
| D．To recommend some ways to deal with depression. |
Barack Obama makes his first trip to Asia as president this week, leaving behind a host of domestic (国内的) problems with the visit that recognizes the region’s economic and diplomatic importance. “Obama”s trip includes stops in Japan, Singapore, China and South Korea, and his message will be simple, says Nicolas Lardy at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. “Well, I think his broadest aim is to convince Asians that the United States is fully committed to the region that we have an agenda that’s much broader than they saw over the past eight years of the very heavy focus on anti-terrorism.”
Obama’s first stop is Japan, where he meets with the new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama who has promised to steer a diplomatic course more independent of Washington. While Japan is seen as a getting-to-know-you stop, when Obama heads to the Singapore for the APEC meeting, he will likely face pressure on trade. “Many Asians are concerned about what US trade policy will be, and they’ve been somewhat alarmed by the fact that the president really hasn’t set out very much revision for what US trade policy is in his administration.”
But the critical leg of the trip will come in China, his third stop where Obama will have to navigate the complex relationship with the country that is the largest holder of US debt. “As you say, you know, if you owe the bank one dollar, it’s your problem, if you owe the bank, you know, 3 million dollars, it’s the bank’s problem, so it’s similar with China. I mean they have no interest in trying to use the influence with us, because eventually, they’re the one that they own all those dollars.”
Also on the table will be North Korea and Iran’s nuclear ambitions as well as cooperation on Afghanistan.
With Obama enjoying sky high popularity level in the countries he is visiting, detailed results may be beside the point, given that Obama is still in his first year in office, analysts say this trip is mostly about laying the ground work for the future. From the second paragraph, we can infer that .
| A．Japan has not been the closest friend of America |
| B．Japan and Singapore will give America some pressure on trade |
| C．Japan is concerned about what US trade policy will be |
| D．Japan decides not to rely on America too much |
What can you infer about China’s relation with America in the third paragraph?
| A．China will sell all its shares in US national debt. |
| B．It will hurt China if the value of the dollar falls. |
| C．China will not be the largest debt holder of US. |
| D．China is US’ s overseas bank where US can borrow money. |
The author develops the passage mainly .
| A．by examples | B．by cause and effect |
| C．by comparison | D．by order in time |
“In only six days I lost seven pounds of weight.”
“Two full inches in the first three days！”
These are the kinds of statements used in magazine，newspaper，radio and television ads，promising new shapes and new looks to those who buy the medicine or the device. The promoters of products say they can shape the legs，slim the face，smooth wrinkles，or in some other way to add to beauty or desirability.
Often such products are nothing more than moneymaking things for their promoters. The results they produce are questionable，and some are dangerous to health.
To understand how these products can be legally promoted to the public，it is necessary to understand something of the laws covering their regulation. If the product is a drug，FDA(Food and Drug Administration)can require proof under the Food，Drug，and Cosmetic Act that is safe and effective before it is put on the market. But if the product is a device，FDA has no authority to require premarketing proof of safety or effectiveness. If a product already on the market is a danger to health，FDA can request the producer or distributor to remove it from the market voluntarily，or it can take legal action，including seizure(查封)of the product.
One notable case a few years ago involved an electrical device called the Relaxacisor，which had been sold for reducing the waistline. The Relaxacisor produced electrical shocks to the body through contact pads. FDA took legal action against the distributor to stop the sale of the device on the grounds that it was dangerous to health and life.
Obviously，most of the devices on the market have never been the subject of court proceedings(法律诉讼)，and new devices appear continually. Before buying，it is up to the consumer to judge the safety or effectiveness of such items.It can be inferred that the ads mentioned in the text are________.
| A．objective | B．costly | C．unreliable | D．illegal |
FDA can ask for the proof of safety and effectiveness of a product ________.
| A．if it is a drug |
| B．if it is a device |
| C．if its consumers make complaints |
| D．if its distributors challenge FDA's authority |
The Relaxacisor is mentioned as________.
| A．a product which was designed to produce electricity |
| B．a product whose distributor was involved in a legal case |
| C．a successful advertisement of a beauty product |
| D．an example of a quality beauty product |
The author intends to________.
| A．make consumers aware of the promoters' false promises |
| B．show the weakness of the law on product safety |
| C．give advice on how to keep young and beautiful |
| D．introduce the organization of FDA |
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