J
During the Christmas shopping rush in London, the intriguing story was reported of a tramp(流浪汉) who, apparently through no fault of his own, found himself locked in a well-known chain store late on Christmas Eve. No doubt the store was crowded with last minute Christmas shoppers and the staff were dead beat and longing to get home. Presumably all the proper Security checks were made before the store was locked and they left to enjoy the three-day holiday untroubled by customers desperate to get last minute Christmas presents
However that may be, our tramp found himself alone in the store and decided to make the best of it. There was food, drink, bedding and camping equipment, of which he made good use. There must also have been television sets and radios Though it was not reported if he took advantage of these facilities, when the shop re-opened, he was discovered in bed with a large number of empty bottles beside him. He seems to have been a man of good humour and philosophic temperament---as indeed vagrants(流浪汉) very commonly arc. Everyone also was enjoying Christmas, so he saw no good reason why he should not do the same. He submitted, cheerfully enough, to being taken way by the police. Perhaps he had bad a better Christmas than usual. He was sent to prison for Seven days. The judge awarded no compensation to the chain store for the food and drink our tramp had consumed. They had, in his opinion, already received valuable free publicity from the coverage the story received in the newspapers and on television. Perhaps the judge had had a good Christmas too.
1. The tramp was locked in the store____
A. for his mistakes. B. due to a misunderstanding
C. by accident. D. through an error of judgment.
2. The staff were 'dead beat' means they were _____
A. half asleep B. exhausted. C. annoyed. D. forgetful.
3. What action did the tramp take? He_____
A. looted the store. B. made himself at home.
C. went to sleep for 2 days. D. had a Christmas party.
4. When the tramp was arrested, he _____
A. laughed at the police. B. looked forward to going to pr)son.
C. rook his bottles with him. D. didn't make any fuss
5. Why didn't the judge award compensation to the chain store?
A. The tramp had stolen nothing of value B. The store had profited by the incident.
C. The tramp deserved a happy Christmas D. The store was responsible for what happened.
Do you know that women’s brains are smaller than men’s? The average women’s brain weighs 10% less than men’s. Since researches have shown that the bigger the brain, the cleverer the animal, men must be more intelligent than women. Right? Wrong. Men and women always score similarly on intelligence tests, despite the difference in brain size. Why? After years of study, researchers have concluded that it’s what’s inside that matters, not just the size of the brain. The brain consists of “grey matter” and “white matter”. While men have more of the latter, the amount of “thinking” brain is almost exactly the same in both sexes.
It has been suggested that smaller brain appears to work faster, perhaps because the two sides of the brain are better connected in women. This means that little girls tend to learn to speak earlier, and that women can understand sorts of information from different sources at the same time. When it comes to talking to the boss on the phone, cooking dinner and keeping an eye on the baby all at the same time, it’s women who come out on top every time.
There are other important differences between two sexes. As white matter is the key to spatial(空间的) tasks, men know better where things are in relation to other things. “A great footballer always knows where he is in relation to the other players, and he knows where to go,” says one researcher. That may explain one of life’s great mysteries—why men refuse to ask for directions … and women often need to!
The differences begin when fetuses(胎儿) are about nine weeks old, which can be seen in the action of children as young as one. A boy would try to climb a barrier (障碍物) before him or push it down while a girl would attract help from others. These brain differences also explain the fact that more men take up jobs that require good spatial skills, while more women speech skills. It may all go back to our ancestors, among whom women needed speech skills to take care of their babies and men needed spatial skills to hunt, according to one research. www. .com
If all this disappoints you, it shouldn’t. “The brain changes throughout our lives according to what we do with it.” says a biologist.Which of the following is true according to the first paragraph?
| A．Women’s brain is 10% less than men’s |
| B．Grey matter plays the same role as white matter. |
| C．Grey matter controls thinking in the brain. |
| D．Both sexes have the same amount of white matter. |
What can we infer from the second and third paragraphs?
| A．Women prefer doing many things at a time. |
| B．Men do better dealing with one job at a time. |
| C．Women do not need to tell directions. |
| D．Men have weaker spatial abilities. |
Which of the following do you agree with according to the fourth paragraph?
| A．Young boys may be stronger than young girls. |
| B．More women take up jobs requiring speech skills. |
| C．Women may have stronger feelings than men. |
| D．Our ancestors needed more spatial skills. |
What is the writer’s attitude in writing this passage?
| A．Defensive. | B．Persuasive. | C．Supportive. | D．Objective. |
Do you know of anyone who uses the truth to deceive (欺骗)? When someone tells you something that is true, but leaves out important information that should be included, he can give you a false picture.
For example, some might say, “I just won a hundred dollars on the lottery (彩票). It was great. I took that dollar ticket back to the store and turned it in for one hundred dollars!”
This guy’s a winner, right? Maybe, maybe not. We then discover that he bought $200 worth of tickets, and only one was a winner. He’s really a big loser! www. .com
He didn’t say anything that was false, but he left out important information on purpose. That’s called a half-truth. Half-truths are not technically lies, but they are just as dishonest.
Some politicians often use this trick. Let’s say that during Governor Smith’s last term, her state lost one million jobs and gained three million jobs. Then she seeked another term. One of her opponents(对手) said, “During Governor Smith’s term, the state lost one million jobs!” That’s true. However, an honest statement would have been, “During Governor Smith’s term, the state had a net gain of two million jobs.”
Advertisers will sometimes use half-truths. It’s against the law to make false statements so they try to mislead you with the truth. An advertisement might say, “Nine out of ten doctors advised their patients to take Yucky Pills to cure toothache.” It fails to mention that they only asked ten doctors and nine of them work for the Yucky Company.
This kind of deception happens too often. Lies are lies, and sometimes the truth can lie as well, which is a sad fact of life.How much did the lottery winner lose?
| A．One hundred dollars. | B．Two hundred dollars. |
| C．Three hundred dollars. | D．Four hundred dollars. |
We may infer that the author believes people should _______.
| A．buy lottery tickets |
| B．make use of half-truths |
| C．not take anything at face value |
| D．not trust the Yucky Company |
What do the underline words “net gain” in Paragraph 5 mean?
| A．final increase | B．big advantage |
| C．large share | D．total saving |
What can we know from the example of the Yucky Pill advertisement?
| A．False statements are easy to see through. |
| B．Half-truths are often used to mislead people. |
| C．Doctors like to act in advertisements. |
| D．Advertisements are based on facts. |
One August afternoon, Richard Allen dropped off his last passenger, Mrs. Carey. Lifting two grocery bags, he followed her across the yard and stood on the step of her house. Glancing up, he saw a large wasp (黄蜂) nest under the roof. Allen had heard that wasps can become more likely to sting (蜇) in summer. He mentioned this to Mrs. Carey, who had opened the door.
“Oh, they don’t bother me,” she said lightly. “I go in and out all the time.”
Anxiously, Allen looked at the nest again—to see the wasps flying straight at him. “Hurry!” he shouted to Mrs. Carey. “Get in!”
She stepped quickly inside. Allen ran for his mini-bus. Too late; they were upon him. Just as he jumped aboard, half a dozen red spots showed on his arm, and he felt more on his back and shoulders.
As he was driving down the road, Allen felt as if something was burning at the back of his neck, and the “fire” was spreading forward toward his face. An immediate anxiety took hold of him. Allen knew that stings could cause some persons to die. But he had been stung the previous summer and the after-effects soon passed. However, what he didn’t know was that the first sting had turned his body into a time bomb waiting for the next to set off an explosion.
Miles from the nearest medical assistance, Allen began to feel his tongue thick and heavy and his heartbeat louder. Most frightening, he felt his breathing more and more difficult. He reached for the radio mike(话筒), trying to call the mini-bus center, but his words were hardly understandable. Signals were also poor that far out. He knew a rescue team was on 24-hour duty at the Amherst Fire Department’s north station. So his best chance was to make a run for it.
Rushing down the mountain, Allen tried not to panic, focusing his mind on each sharp turn. He was almost through the last of them when he felt sure he was going into shock(休克). Just then he reached for the radio mike again.
“Call fire station,” he shouted, concentrating to form the words. “Emergency. Bee sting. Emergency. There in ten minutes.”
“Five-ten.” the center replied. www. .com
Hold on, Allen thought. Keep your eyes open. Breathe. Keep awake.
At last he reached the station. Two firemen ran out. Allen felt their hands grasp him before he hit the ground. You made it, he thought. It is mentioned in the passage that wasps are more likely to attack when_____.
| A．there are huge noises |
| B．strangers are approaching |
| C．the air is filled with food smell |
| D．the hottest season comes around |
Allen didn't know that if stung by wasps again, he would______.
| A．have no after-effects |
| B．suffer from sharper pain |
| C．surely lose his life |
| D．become more sensitive |
Allen failed at his first attempt to send his message to the mini-bus center because _______.
| A．he was unable to speak clearly |
| B．his radio equipment was poor |
| C．he was in a state of shock |
| D．no one was on duty |
Which would be the best title for the passage？
| A．Allen, a Helpless Driver |
| B．Wasps, Bloody Killers |
| C．A Race against Death |
| D．War against Wasps |
Ever since Stephanie’s 13th birthday we have been receiving comments from other adults expressing their sympathies because our daughter is now a teenager．We’ve heard everything from，“Sure she’s a good kid，but just wait，now that she’s teenager…”to the ever inspiring，“Well，all kids are rotten when they are teenagers，just try to go through it the best way you can．”What’s more upsetting is that many of these insensitive adults feel the need to share their negative predictions well within the hearing of both our daughters．
I know that teenagers can be moody（闷闷不乐）and difficult at times，but I’m 38 and I can also be difficult and moody．We worry about the future and want today’s kids to know that we care for them and that there are opportunities that wait for them．However, at the very point they set out on that journey toward adulthood we stand there watching them disapprovingly（不赞成），just waiting for them to make mistakes．“just like we knew they would．”We tell them to respect themselves and to say no to drugs，yet we fail to set a positive example by treating them with kindness and consideration，demonstrating（示范）our respect for them．
I have，at times been guilty of this behavior but am now realizing that the more I see each person as a person，the more I am pleasantly surprised in some way or another. For example，a few weeks ago my husband and I were having dinner at our favorite restaurant and two teenage boys came in and sat down right beside us．I must admit that my first thought was，“perfect，there goes our quiet, peaceful dinner．”I was so wrong! These young men were well behaved．quiet and left a nice tip for the waitress．Once I looked beyond the jeans so loose they were practically falling off and the multi-colored hair, I saw what fine people these kids were．
Many of the people who，perhaps unknowingly, treat teens with disrespect are unhappy about the fact that pop singers and sports stars are our children’s heroes. I feel that unless we give them something better to go after, we really shouldn’t complain．When their children reach their teens，parents usually expect_________．
| A．trouble | B．sympathy |
| C．congratulations | D．inspiring comments |
In the author’s opinion，the trouble with parents is that________．
| A．they are too watchful of their teenage children |
| B．they are too concerned about their children’s future |
| C．they fail to treat teenagers with enough kindness and respect |
| D．they speak ill of their children within their hearing |
When two teenagers came into the restaurant and sat beside the author, her first thought was that__________．
| A．they were wrong to have chosen this restaurant for dinner |
| B．something interesting was going to happen over dinner |
| C．her quiet dinner with her husband would be ruined |
| D．she and her husband were going to have a pleasant surprise |
What does the author think of the two teenage boys?
| A．They may become nice people if they are willing to change their lifestyle． |
| B．They are typical of teenagers who wear ill-fitting clothes and dye their hair． |
| C．They’re fine young men despite their loose jeans and multi-colored hair． |
| D．They will respect you if you respect them． |
Mark and his brother Jason both were looking at the shining new computer enviously. Jason was determined not to go against their father’s wishes but Mark was more adventurous than his brother. He loved experimenting and his aim was to become a scientist like his father.
“Dad will be really mad if he finds out you’ve been playing with his new computer.” Jason said, “He told us not to touch it.”
“He won’t find out.” Mark said, “I’ll just have a quick look and shut it down.”
Mark had been scolded before for touching his father’s equipment. But his curiosity was difficult to control and this new computer really puzzled him.
“It was a strange-looking machine –one his dad had brought home from the laboratory where he worked. “It’s an experimental model,” his father had explained, “so don’t touch it under any circumstances.” But his warning only served to make Mark more curious. Without any further thought, Mark turned on the power switch. The computer burst into life and seconds later, the screen turned into colors, shifting and changing and then two big white words appeared in the center of the screen: “SPACE TRANSPORTER.”
“Yes!” Mark cried excitedly, “It’s a computer game. I knew it! Dad’s only been pretending to work. He’s really been playing games instead.” A new message appeared on the screen:
“ENTER NAMES VOYAGER 1: … VOYAGER 2: …”
Mark’s fingers flew across the keyboard as he typed in both of their names.
“INPUT ACCEPTED. START TRANSPORT PROGRAM. AUTO-RETRIEVE INITIATED（自动回收程序已启动）.”
The screen turned even brighter and a noise suddenly rose in volume.
“I think we’d better shut it off, Mark,” Jason yelled, reaching for the power switch. He was really frightened.
But his hand never reached the switch. A single beam of dazzling white light burst out of the computer screen, wrapping the boys in its glow (光芒), until they themselves seemed to be glowing. Then it died down just as suddenly as it had burst into life. And the boys were no longer there. On the screen, the letters changed.
“TRANSPORT SUCCESSFUL. DESTINATION: MARS. RETRIEVE DATE: 2025.”Where did the boy’s father most likely work?
| A．In an electronic factory. |
| B．In a computer company. |
| C．In a scientific research center. |
| D．In an information processing center. |
Mark thought“SPACE TRANSPORTER”on the screen was the name of _________． .
| A．a computer game | B．a company website |
| C．a software producer | D．an astronomy program |
What happened to the boys at the end of the story?
| A．They were blown into the air. |
| B．They were sent to another planet. |
| C．They were hidden in the strong light. |
| D．They were carried away to another country |
Why did Jason want to shut off the computer?
| A．He was afraid of being scolded. |
| B．He didn’t like the loud noise and light. |
| C．He didn’t want to play games any more. |
| D．He was afraid something dangerous might happen. |
粤公网安备 44130202000953号