For more than ten years John Grimshaw has been pioneering a gentle revolution. He aims to get us going by bike on Britain’s network of disused railways. He works as an engineer for Sustrans, a Bristol-based charity.
He believes that there is no benefit or logic behind the building of bigger and faster roads that only encourage people to use cars more extravagantly(过分地). Britain’s roads being built ignore all but the motorists while miles of railway tracks no longer used by trains lie wasted.
His organization started work in 1994 with a
modest five mile track from Bristol to Bath, and cyclists and walkers now make a million journeys a year on the path. Sustrans has since completed a further 150 miles throughout Britain with the help of volunteer workers.
Building such paths is not easy or cheap. Sustrans buys or leases(租借) land from British Rail and the paths can cost from 6,000 pounds up
to 8, 0000 pounds per kilometer to build. Money comes from central and local government, charity bodies and gifts from individuals.
To encourage more walkers and cyclists along its paths, Sustrans plans to construct a work of art on every mile of path it builds. Most of their tracks quickly transport people from the city to the countryside. The latest route runs from the heart of Glasgow to Loch Lomond. Relics (遗迹)of the great railway age litter the routes—station houses, signals boxes and even steam trains.
Some might consider John Grimshaw a traveler from the past, out of touch with the modern world, but for many he is preparing the way for an alternative for a car-mad world. The aim of Sustrans is to _________.
a. encourage people to use cars more efficiently
b. use old railway lines for leisure purposes
c. provide a cycling network across Britain
d. build 
better and faster roadsHow does Sustrans finance its work?
a. with a mixture of money from the government and donations
b. with money from British Rail
c. by leasing its land
d. by using volunteer workersWhich of the following is TRUE?
a. Sustrans will not build any more tracks after Glasgow to Loch Lomond
b. Sustrans will have to clear the track of relics
c. Sustrans makes the countryside more accessible to the public
d. Sustrans believes more drivers will use their tracks.
A
Thanksgiving Day was near. The first grade teacher gave her class a fun assignment—to draw a picture of something for which they were thankful.
Most of the class might be considered economically disadvantaged, but still many would celebrate the holiday with turkey and other traditional goodies of the season. These, the teacher thought, would be the subjects of most of her student’s art. And they were.
But Douglas made a different kind of picture. Douglas was a different kind of boy. He was the teacher’s true child of misery, frail and unhappy. As other children played at recess, Douglas was likely to stand close by her side. One could only guess at the pain Douglas felt behind those sad eyes.
Yes, his picture was different. When asked to draw a picture of something for which he was thankful, he drew a hand. Nothing else. Just an empty hand.
His abstract image captured the imagination of his peers. Whose hand could it be？One child guessed it was the hand of a farmer, because farmers raise turkeys. Another suggested a police officer, because the police protect and care for people. And so the discussion went—until the teacher almost forgot the young artist himself.
When the children had gone on to other assignments, she paused at Douglas’ desk, bent down, and asked him whose hand it was. The little boy looked away and murmured, “It’s yours, teacher.”
She recalled the times she had taken his hand and walked with him here and there, as she had the other students. How often had she said, “Take my hand, Douglas, we’ll go outside.” Or, “Let me show you how to hold your pencil.” Or, “Let’s do this together.” Douglas was most thankful for his teacher’s hand.
Brushing aside a tear, she went on with her work.
In fact, people might not always say “thanks”. But they’ll remember the hand that reaches out.What’s the purpose of the assignment the teacher gave her students?
| A．To celebrate Thanksgiving Day. |
| B．To show gratitude for others. |
| C．To improve students’ art level. |
| D．To make the festival fun. |
Which of the following is true?
| A．The teacher thought students couldn’t focus their art on turkey and other traditional goodies. |
| B．Douglas would often join in his classmates and played with them happily. |
| C．The picture was really different for there was nothing but a hand. |
| D．The boy told his teacher the content of the picture actively. |
Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word “capture”?
| A．affect | B．reflect | C．conquer | D．arouse |
What can be inferred from the last two paragraphs?
| A．Words speak louder than actions. |
| B．Lost time is never found again. |
| C．Time tries all. |
| D．Love me, love my dog. |
D
I was no different from any other mother.
When my little boy, Skyler, was born, I longed for the day he would talk to me. My husband and I dreamed about the first sweet “Mama” or “Dada.” Every cry or coo was a small glimpse into my son’s mind.
My baby’s noises were even more precious to me because Skyler had been born with several health problems.
At first, the problems had delayed his development, but once they were safely behind us. I looked forward to my son’s first words. They didn’t come.
At age three, Skyler was diagnosed autistic, a developmental disability destined to affect his social and emotional well-being in his entire life. Skyler couldn’t talk and wouldn’t talk. I would probably never hear any words from him at all. In a store, I would hear a child calling “Mommy,” and I would wonder if that were what my little boy might sound like. I wondered how it would feel to hear my child call out for me.
But I could have learned to live with his silence if it weren’t for another hallmark characteristic of autism: Skyler formed no attachments. He didn’t want to be held, much preferring to lie in his bed or sit in his car seat. He wouldn’t look at me; sometimes, he even looked through me.
Once, when I took him to the doctor, we talked to a specialist who was my size, age and who had the same hair color. When it was time to go, Skyler went to her instead of me—he couldn’t tell us apart. When Skyler was three, he spent three days at Camp Courageous for disabled children in Iowa, and when he returned he didn’t even recognize me.
The pain was almost unbearable. My own son didn’t even know I was his mother.
I hid the pain, and we did the best we could for Skyler. We enrolled him in our local area educational agency preschool, where the teachers and speech pathologist worked hard to help Skyler connect with the world around him. They used pictures and computer voice-machines that spoke for him, and sign language. These devices gave me little glimpses of who Skyler was, even if he didn’t understand who I was. “He will talk,” the speech pathologist insisted, but inside, I had given up hope.
The one dream I couldn’t let go was to have Skyler understand that I was his mom. Even if I never heard him say, “Mom,” I wanted to see the recognition in his eyes.
The summer of Skyler’s fourth year was when it started. A smoldering ember of understanding in him sparked, and fanned by our efforts, steadily flamed. His first words were hardly recognizable, often out of context, never spontaneous. Then, slowly, he could point to an item and say a word. Then two words together as a request. Then spontaneous words. Each day, he added more and more recognizable words, using them to identify pictures and ask questions. We could see his understanding increase, till his eyes would seek out mine, wanting to comprehend.
“You Mom?” he said one day.
“Yes, Skyler, I’m Mom.”
He asked his teachers and caregivers: “You Mom?”
“No, Skyler, not Mom.”（原作者：陈德琪）“You my Mom?” he said back to me.
“Yes, Skyler, I’m your Mom.”
And finally, a rush of understanding in his eyes: “You my Mom.”
“Yes, Skyler, I’m your Mom.”
If those had been Skyler’s only words ever, they would have been enough for me: My son knew I was his mother.
But Skyler wasn’t done.
One evening I leaned against the headboard on Skyler’s bed, my arms wrapped around him. He was cozily tucked between my legs, our bodies warm and snug as I read to him from one of his favorite books—a typical affectionate scene between mother and son, but because of Skyler’s autism, one that I could never take for granted.
I stopped reading. Skyler had interrupted me, leaning back his head so he could look me in the eye.
“Yes, Skyler?”
And then the voice of an angel, the voice of my son: “I love you, Mom.”According to the description of the author, we can learn that Skyler .
| A．could easily have a cold |
| B．usually preferred to stay alone |
| C．could only recognize his doctor |
| D．frequently lost temper |
The author felt the most heartbroken when .
| A．Skyler was diagnosed with autism |
| B．a child in a store called her “Mommy” |
| C．she realized Skyler didn’t know who she was |
| D．she found Skyler was born with several health problems |
What does the underlined sentence mean?
| A．The author had little hope that Skyler would talk. |
| B．The author decided to give up the treatments for Skyler. |
| C．The author was disappointed with the speech pathologist. |
| D．The author strongly believed that Skyler would make progress. |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Skyler traveled around the world with his teachers. |
| B．The family was so frustrated that they lost hope. |
| C．The author never heard Skyler say “Mum”. |
| D．Skyler’s language ablity grew little by little. |
From the last few paragraphs, we can infer that .
| A．the author was grateful that her efforts paid off |
| B．Skyler could not only talk but also read |
| C．mom was the only word Skyler could say |
| D．the author had high expectations for Skyler |
What’s the best title for the passage?
| A．Road to Speaking | B．What is Autism? |
| C．A Caring Mother | D．Talk to Kids |
C
It’s been called the “hardest word,” but some women seem to use the word “sorry” as everything from a way to interject their thoughts into a conversation to a way of prefacing any request for help. Yesterday, Pantene even released a video about how often women apologize in everyday situations.
Apologizing unnecessarily puts women in a subservient（恭顺的） position and makes people lose respect for them, says executive coach and radio host Bonnie Marcus. Sylvia Ann Hewlett, founder of the Manhattan-based think tank, Center for Talent Innovation and author of Executive Presence: The Missing Link Between Talent and Success, says using “sorry” frequently undermines our gravitas and makes them appear unfit for leadership.
It’s not like women don’t know it’s a bad habit. So, why do they do it?
Business consultant Kathryn D. Cramer, author of Lead Positive: What Highly Effective Leaders See, Say, and Do, says women are socialized from an early age to focus on relationships and nurturing. Any sign of strength can be off-putting, so they’re conditioned to soften communication that can be construed as assertive or aggressive. Apologizing before speaking—or in any situation where women must show strength or where there is potential for conflict—is one way of doing so.
She adds that workplace culture contributes to its use, too. In many cases, strong women need to find ways to temper（使温和） their personalities or risk being called “rude,” “abrasive,” or even risk their jobs if they don’t find ways to soften others’ perception, she says. But saying “sorry” too often can be more career-killing than being disliked. So, it’s time to purge the word unless you really have something to be sorry about.
Marcus suggests keeping a log（日志） of when you “sorry,” what the situation was, and how you felt. Sometimes, “sorry” is just a verbal tic（言语抽搐）, but some usage patterns may indicate a situation or person who makes you feel insecure, she says. Being aware of those triggers and how they influence your language can help you be more vigilant in “changing your communication so you’re coming from a position of strength and equality,” she says.
Trusted friends can help you break the habit by quietly letting you know when you’re using “sorry” inappropriately, Cramer says. Knowing that you’re under another watchful eye is also going to make you more aware of your speech, she says.
Sometimes, saying “sorry” is easier than thinking about the word you really want to say, or becomes a way of softening your words or opinion before they’re even out of your mouth, Cramer says. If either is the case, be more careful to choose the word or phrase you really mean to say. “Start your statement with, ‘Let me say this…’ or some other word or phrase that reflects your meaning better than saying ‘sorry,’” she says.
Sometimes, instead of saying “sorry,” it’s best to not say anything at all. Hewlett encourages women to embrace the power of silence. Using silence deliberately makes people uncomfortable, but not in an aggressive way,” she says.According to the passage, women’s habitual apologies .
| A．make it hard for them to start a new conversation |
| B．are a barrier to displaying their hidden talents |
| C．prove it is brave of them to admit mistakes |
| D．show they are in socially inferior positions |
What does the underlined word “so” in Paragraph 4 probably refer to?
| A．Making statements less aggressive. |
| B．Following workplace culture. |
| C．Realizing full potential. |
| D．Voicing complaints. |
The author uses the last three paragraphs mainly to .
| A．provide typical examples |
| B．make comparisons |
| C．offer suggestions |
| D．analyze effects |
Which would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Why are women always apologizing? |
| B．What are the techniques for apologizing? |
| C．Women should have a place in the modern world |
| D．I’m sorry, but women really need to stop apologizing |
B
A new study, led by scientists at the American Museum of Natural History, shows that living sharks are actually quite advanced in evolutionary terms, despite having retained their basic "sharkiness" over millions of years. The research is published today in the journal Nature.
"Sharks are traditionally thought to be one of the most primitive surviving jawed vertebrates（脊椎动物）. And most textbooks in schools today say that the internal jaw structures of modern sharks should look very similar to those in primitive shark-like fishes," said Alan Pradel, a postdoctoral researcher at the Museum and the lead author of the study. "But we've found that is not the case. "
The new study is based on an extremely well-preserved shark fossil collected by Ohio University professors Royal Mapes and Gene Mapes in Arkansas, where an ocean basin once was home to a diverse marine ecosystem. The fossilized skull of the new species, named Ozarcus mapesae. The heads of all fishes -- sharks included -- are segmented into the jaws and a series of arches that support the jaw and the gills（鳃）. These arches are thought to have given rise to jaws early in the tree of life.
Because shark skeletons are made of cartilage（软骨）, not bone, their fossils are very fragile and are usually found in flattened parts, making it impossible to study the shape of these internal structures. But the Ozarcus mapesae specimen（标本）was preserved in a nearly three-dimensional state, giving researchers a rare glimpse at the organization of the arches in a prehistoric animal.
"This beautiful fossil offers one of the first complete looks at all of the gill arches and associated structures in an early shark. There are other shark fossils like this in existence, but this is the oldest one in which you can see everything," said John Maisey, a curator in the Museum's Division of Paleontology and one of the authors on the study. "There's enough depth in this fossil to allow us to scan it and digitally dissect out the cartilage skeleton."
Working with scientists at the European Synchrotron, the ESRF, Pradel imaged the specimen with high-resolution x-rays to get a detailed view of each individual arch shape and organization. "We discovered that the arrangement of the arches is not like anything you'd see in a modern shark or shark-like fish," said Pradel. "Instead, the arrangement is fundamentally the same as bony fishes."
The authors say it's not unexpected that sharks -- which have existed for about 420 million years -- would undergo evolution of these structures. But the new work, especially when considered alongside other recent developments about early jawed vertebrates, has significant implications for the future of evolutionary studies of this group. "Bony fishes might have more to tell us about our first jawed ancestors than do living sharks," Maisey said.What does the underlined word “that” in Paragraph 1 refer to?
| A．Living sharks are quite advanced in evolutionary terms. |
| B．Sharks have kept their basic “sharkiness” over millions of years. |
| C．The jaw structures of modern sharks are similar to those in fishes. |
| D．Shark’s jaws have remained almost the same over millions of years. |
It is hard to study the internal jaw structures of ancient sharks because .
| A．there are only a few shark fossils |
| B．shark skeletons are made of bones |
| C．their fossils are often in poor condition |
| D．their fossils are found in a nearly three-dimensional state |
According to Paragraph 4, the shark fossil used in the study is .
| A．the only complete shark fossil |
| B．the oldest complete shark fossil |
| C．the only Ozarcus mapesae specimen |
| D．the biggest Ozarcus mapesae specimen |
A
We need your help -- actually, we all need each other's help!
Although dinner might be just about our only daily opportunity to sit down together, catch up and eat a healthy meal, we tend to be too busy/stressed/tired (you can throw in a dozen other reasons) to cook ourselves. The kids are shrieking, everyone is starving and your fridge contains nothing but a few squishy squashes and a limp carrot. So what do we all do? We give up and give in to some awful food choices that someone in some far-off factory or fast-food restaurant "cooked" without one bit of love in their heart. And this is making us sick and fat and it's killing us.
Why not try HOME COOKED SUNDAYS? The idea is simple: Use the one day of the week we do have time to cook -- Sundays. Let's make it a fun bonding activity -- and a wildly productive and delicious one, too. Let's use Sundays to shop, prep and cook with our families (hey, everyone can pitch in!), and then enjoy a great sit-down dinner at the family table. Let's turn this into a cherished weekly ritual（惯例）.
To get people excited and cooking again, Kirstin Uhrenholdt (she is Danish and -- no kidding -- grew up on a fruit farm) and I wrote The Family Cooks, a cookbook filled with easy, healthy and tasty recipes.
We included lots of tips and tricks to avoid an unhealthy week -- including how to avoid junk food hazards in the supermarket, and ways that small and big kids can help you cook. We know you have good ones, too. So let's share all our great ideas and inspire others to give it a try, because we know that Home Cooked Sundays will guarantee calmer and healthier weeknights -- and give us the perfect way to start the week connecting with our kids while teaching them a thing or two about health and happiness.
Will you help make home-cooked meals synonymous with Sundays? Share your ideas, inspirations and best tips on how you prep your fridge on Sunday for a smooth week ahead. Send us your three best tips and favorite go-to recipe for Sunday dinner.
We will post ours, and together, we'll make Home Cooked Sunday the single best and most delicious day of the week!The problem mentioned in Paragraph 2 is that .
| A．people give up cooking for many reasons |
| B．many people have been killed by fast food |
| C．there are only a few good fast-food restaurants |
| D．some people don’t know how to love and be loved |
The author advises readers to .
| A．attend a cooking competition |
| B．start cooking on Sundays regularly |
| C．buy the cookbook The Family Cooks |
| D．spend more time with families on Sundays |
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