In a moment of personal crisis (危机), how much help can you expect from a New York taxi driver? I began studying this question and found the answers interesting.
One morning I got into three different taxis and announced: “Well, it’s my first day back in New York in seven years. I’ve been in prison.” Not a single driver replied, so I tried again. “Yeah, I shot a man in Reno,” I explained, hoping the driver would ask me why, so I could say casually, “Just to watch him die.” But nobody asked. The only response came from a Ghanaian driver: “Reno? That is in Nevada?”
Taxi drivers were uniformly (一致地) sympathetic when I said I’d just been fired. “This is America,” a Haitian driver said. “One door is closed. Another is open.” He argued against my plan to burn down my boss’s house: “If you do something silly and they put you away, you cannot look for another job.” A Pakistani driver even turned down a chance to profit from my loss of hope: He refused to take me to the middle of the George Washington Bridge, a $20 trip. “Why you want to go there? Go home and relax. Don’t worry. Take a new job.”
One very hot weekday in July, while wearing a red ski mask (面具) and holding a stuffed (塞满的) pillowcase with the word “BANK” on it, I tried hailing (招呼) a taxi five times outside different banks. The driver picked me up every time. My ride with Guy Caaude Theve – nain, a Haitian driver, was typical of the superb (一流的) assistance I received.
“Is anyone following us?”
“No.” said the driver, looking in his rearview mirror at traffic and me.
“Let’s go across the park,” I said. “I just robbed the bank there. I got $ 25,000.”
“$ 25,000?” he asked.
“Yeah, you think it was wrong to take it?”
“No, man. I work 8 hours and I earn just $ 70. If I can do that, I do it too.”
As we approached 86, Lexington Street, I pointed to the Chemical Bank.
“Hey, there’s another bank.” I said. “Could you wait here a minute while I go inside?”
“No, I can’t wait. Pay me now.” His reluctance may have something to do with money – taxi drivers think the rate for waiting time is too low, but I think he wanted me to learn that even a bank robber can’t expect unconditional support.
1．From the Ghanaian driver’s response, we can infer that .
A．he was not caring about the killing
B．he was frightened to hear what the writer said
C．he thought the writer was a criminal
D．he thought the writer was crazy
2．Why did the Pakistani driver refuse to give the writer a ride?
A．He didn’t want to help the writer get over his career crisis.
B．He was in a hurry to go home and relax.
C．The place was far away.
D．He thought the writer was going to kill himself.
3．The underlined word “reluctance” in the last paragraph most probably means .
A．anger B．unwillingness C．opportunity D．eagerness
4．What does the passage mainly discuss?
A．Honesty of taxi drivers in New York.
B．Taxi riders’ awareness of possible dangers.
C．Taxi drivers’ attitudes towards riders.
What will people die of 100 years from now?If you think that is a simple question,you have not been paying attention to the revolution that is taking place in bio-technology(生物技术).With the help of new medicine,the human body will last a very long time.Death will come mainly from accidents,murder and war.Today’s leading killers,such as heart disease,cancer,and aging itself,will become distant memories.
In discussion of technological changes,the Internet gets most of the attention these days.But the change in medicine can be the real technological event of our times.How long can humans live?Human brains were known to decide the final death.Cells(细胞) are the basic units of all living things,and until recently,scientists were sure that the life of cells could not go much beyond 120 years because the basic materials of cells,such as those of brain cells,would not last forever.But the upper limits will be broken by new medicine.Sometime between 2050 and 2100,medicine will have advanced to the point at which every 10 years or so,people will be able to take medicine to repair their organs(器官).The medicine,made up of the basic building materials of life,will build new brain cells,heart cells,and so on—in much the same way our bodies make new skin cells to take the place of old ones.
It is exciting to imagine that the advance in technology may be changing the most basic condition of human existence,but many technical problems still must be cleared up on the way to this wonderful future.According to the passage,human death is now mainly caused by _______.
| A．diseases and aging | B．accidents and war |
| C．accidents and aging | D．heart disease and war |
In the author’s opinion,today’s most important advance in technology lies in _______.
| A．medicine | B．the Internet |
| C．brain cells | D．human organs |
Humans may live longer in the future because _______.
| A．heart disease will be far away from us |
| B．human brains can decide the final death |
| C．the basic materials of cells will last forever |
| D．human organs can be repaired by new medicine |
We can learn from the passage that _______.
| A．human life will not last more than 120 years in the future |
| B．humans have to take medicine to build new skin cells now |
| C．much needs to be done before humans can have a longer life |
| D．we have already solved the technical problems in building new cells |
阅读下面短文，根据第1～3题的具体要求，简要回答问题。
The north magnetic pole(磁极)is no longer a resident of Canada.It has drifted across the Canadian Arctic and is now angling toward Siberia.
Not to be confused with the geographic North Pole-the northern extremity of the Earth's axis(地轴),the north magnetic pole(where the Earth's magnetic field is directed downward)is moving due to natural changes in the Earth's magnetic field,a process that originates about 3000 kilometers below our feet,in the outer core(核心)of the planet.But scientists are now noticing that the magnetic pole has picked up its pace.
Over the past century,the pole has been migrating at an average speed of about 10 kilometers per year,says Larry Newitt,head of Geomagnetic Laboratory at Natural Resources Canada in Ottawa.Since the 1970s,this speed has increased to about 50 kilometers per year.
Scientists are wondering why the speed is increasing,says Newitt.One hypothesis(假说)relates it to "magnetic jerks",sudden shifts(变化)in the rate of change of the magnetic field.There have been three jerks in the past four decades,each one correlating to an increases in speed.
If the north magnetic pole continues at its current rate,it could reach Siberia by 2056.
"For most of recorded history,the pole has been a part of Canada,and now it's not,"says Newitt."It may be a blow to our collective psyche,but other than that,it doesn't have a major effect on most people's existence."
| 1． |
Find in the passage a word closest in meaning to the underlined word "angling"
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| 2． |
What could happen to the north magnetic pole by the middle of the 21st century?(回答词数不超过8个)
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| 3． |
What is the main idea of the passage?(回答词数不超过8个)
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One of our biggest fears nowadays is that our kids might some day get lost in a “sea of technology”rather than experiencing the natural world.Fear-producing TV and computer games are leading to a serious disconnect between kids and the great outdoors,which will change the wild places of the world,its creatures and human health for the worse,unless adults get working on child’s play.
Each of us has a place in nature we go sometimes,even if it was torn down.We cannot be the last generation to have that place.At this rate,kids who miss the sense of wonder outdoors will not grow up to be protectors of natural landscapes.“If the decline in parks use continues across North America,who will defend parks against encroachment(蚕食)？”asks Richard Louv,author of Last Child in the Woods.
Without having a nature experience,kids can turn out just fine,but they are missing out a huge enrichment of their lives.That applies to everything from their physical health and mental health,to stress levels,creativity and cognitive(认知的)skills.Experts predict modern kids will have poorer health than their parents—and they say a lack of outside play is surely part of it:research suggests that kids do better academically in schools with a nature component and that play in nature fosters(培养)leadership by the smartest,not by the toughest.Even a tiny outdoor experience can create wonder in a child.The three-year-old turning over his first rock realizes he is not alone in the world.A clump of trees on the roadside can be the whole universe in his eyes.We really need to value that more.
Kids are not to blame.They are over-protected and frightened.It is dangerous out there from time to time,but repetitive stress from computers is replacing breaking an arm as a childhood rite(仪式)of passage.
Everyone from developers,to schools and outdoors’ citizens,should help regain for our kids some of the freedom and joy of exploring,taking friendship in fields and woods that cement(增强)love,respect and need for the landscape.As parents,we should devote some of our energies to taking our kids into nature.This could yet be our greatest cause.The main idea of Paragraph 2 is that_______.
| A．kids are missing the sense of wonder outdoors |
| B．parks are in danger of being gradually encroached |
| C．Richard Louv is the author of Last Child in the Woods |
| D．children are expected to develop into protectors of nature |
According to the passage,children without experiencing nature will______.
| A．keep a high sense of wonder |
| B．be over-protected by their parents |
| C．be less healthy both physically and mentally |
| D．change wild places and creatures for the better |
According to the author,children’s breaking an arm is_______.
| A．the fault on the part of their parents |
| B．the natural experience in their growing up |
| C．the result of their own carelessness in play |
| D．the effect of their repetitive stress from computers |
In writing this passage,the author mainly intends to_______.
| A．blame children for getting lost in computer games |
| B．encourage children to protect parks from encroachment |
| C．show his concern about children’s lack of experience in nature |
| D．inspire children to keep the sense of wonder about things around |
Photos that you might have found down the back of your sofa are now big business!
In 2005,the American artist Richard Prince’s photograph of a photograph,Untitled (Cowboy),was sold for $1 248 000.
Prince is certainly not the only contemporary artist to have worked with so-called “found photographs”—a loose term given to everything from discarded(丢弃的)prints discovered in a junk shop to old advertisements or amateur photographs from a stranger’s family album.The German artist Joachim Schmid,who believes “basically everything is worth looking at”,has gathered discarded photographs,postcards and newspaper images since 1982.In his on-going project,Archiv,he groups photographs of family life according to themes:people with dogs;teams;new cars;dinner with the family;and so on.
Like Schmid,the editors of several self-published art magazines also champion(捍卫)found photographs.One of them,called simply Found,was born one snowy night in Chicago,when Davy Rothbard returned to his car to find under his wiper(雨刷)an angry note intended for someone else:“Why’s your car HERE at HER place?”The note became the starting point for Rothbard’s addictive publication,which features found photographs sent in by readers,such as a poster discovered in your drawer.
The whole found-photograph phenomenon has raised some questions.Perhaps one of the most difficult is:can these images really be considered as art?And,if so,whose art?Yet found photographs produced by artists,such as Richard Prince,may raise endless possibilities.What was the cowboy in Prince’s Untitled doing?Was he riding his horse hurriedly to meet someone?Or how did Prince create this photograph?It’s anyone’s guess.In addition,as we imagine the back-story to the people in the found photographs artists,like Schmid,have collated(整理),we also turn toward our own photographic albums.Why is memory so important to us?Why do we all seek to freeze in time the faces of our children,our parents,our lovers,and ourselves?Will they mean anything to anyone after we’ve gone?
In the absence of established facts,the vast collections of found photographs give our minds an opportunity to wander freely.That,above all,is why they are so fascinating.The first paragraph of the passage is used to_______.
| A．remind readers of found photographs |
| B．advise readers to start a new kind of business |
| C．ask readers to find photographs behind sofas |
| D．show readers the value of found photographs |
According to the passage,Joachim Schmid_______.
| A．is fond of collecting family life photographs |
| B．found a complaining note under his car wiper |
| C．is working for several self-published art magazines |
| D．wondered at the artistic nature of found photographs |
The underlined word “them”in Paragraph 4 refers to“_______”.
| A．the readers |
| B．the editors |
| C．the found photographs |
| D．the self-published magazines |
By asking a series of questions in Paragraph 5,the author mainly intends to indicate that_______.
| A．memory of the past is very important to people |
| B．found photographs allow people to think freely |
| C．the back-story of found photographs is puzzling |
| D．the real value of found photographs is questionable |
The author’s attitude toward found photographs can be described as_______.
| A．critical | B．doubtful |
| C．optimistic | D．satisfied |
| Welcome to my Message Board! |
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| Subject Slimming down classics? |
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| Mr. Handsome  2007-5-12&24 AM |
Orion Books,which decides there is a market in creating cut-down classics(经典著作)，is slimming down some novels by such great writers as L.Tolstoy,M.Mitchell and C.Bronte.Now,each of them has been whittled down to about 400 pages by cutting 30 to 40 per cent of the original,with words,sentences,paragraphs and,in a few cases,chapters removed.The first six shortened editions,all priced at ￡6.99 and advertised as great reads “in half the time”,will go on sale next month,with plans for 50 to 100 more to follow.The publishing house believes that modern readers will welcome the shorter versions. |
| Mr. Edwards  2007-5-12 9:40 AM |
Well,I’m publisher of Orion Group.Thanks for your attention,Mr.Handsome. I must say,the idea developed from a game of “shame”in my office.Each of us was required to confess(承认)to the most embarrassing blanks in his or her reading.I admitted that I had never read Anna Karenina and tried but failed to get through Gone with the Wind several times.One of my colleagues acknowledged skipping(跳读)Jane Eyre.We realised that life is too short to read all the books you want to and we never were going to read these ones. As a leading publishing house,we are trying to make classics convenient for readers but it’s not as if we’re withdrawing the original versions.They are still there if you want to read them. |
Ms.Weir 2007-5-12 11:35 AM |
I’m director of the online bookclub www.lovereading.co.uk. Mr.Edwards,I think your shortened editions is a breath of fresh air.I’m guilty of never having read Anna Karenina,because it’s just so long.I’d much rather read two 300-page books than one 600-page book.I am looking forward to more shortened classics! |
| Mr. Crockatt  2007-5-124:38 PM |
I’m from the London independent bookshop Crockatt & Powell. In my opinion,the practice is completely ridiculous.How can you edit the classics?I’m afraid reading some of these books is hard work,and that is why you have to develop as a reader.If people don’t have time to read Anna Karenina,then fine.But don’t read a shortened version and kid yourself it’s the real thing. |
According to the message board,Orinon Books_______.
| A．opposes the reading of original classics |
| B．is embarrassed for cutting down classics |
| C．thinks cut-down classics have a bright future |
| D．is cautious in its decision to cut down classics |
In Mr.Edwards’ opinion,Orion Group is shortening classics to_______.
| A．make them easier to read |
| B．meet a large demand in the market |
| C．increase the sales of literary books |
| D．compete with their original versions |
By describing the shortened classics as “a breath of fresh air”,Ms.Weir_______.
| A．speaks highly of the cut-down classics |
| B．shows gailty of the original classics |
| C．feels guilty of not reading the classics |
| D．disapproves of shortening the classics |
Mr.Crockatt seems to imply that_______.
| A．reading the classic works is a confusing attempt |
| B．shortening the classics does harm to the original |
| C．publishing the cub-down classics is a difficult job |
| D．editing the classic works satisfies children’s needs |
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