Compassion is a desire within us to help others. With effort, we can translate compassion into actions. An experience last weekend showed me this is true. I work part-time in a supermarket across from a building for the elderly. These old people are our main customers, and it’s not hard to lose patience over their slowness. But last Sunday, one aged gentleman appeared to teach me a valuable lesson. This untidy man walked up to my register (收款机) with a box of biscuits. He said he was out of cash, had just moved into his room, and had nothing in his cupboards. He asked if we could let him have the food on trust. He promised to repay me the next day.
I couldn’t help staring at him. I wondered what kind of person he had been ten or twenty years before, and what he would be like if luck had gone his way. I had a hurt in my heart for this kind of human soul, all alone in the world. I told him that I was sorry, but store rules didn’t allow me to do so. I felt stupid and unkind saying this, but I valued my job.
Just then, another man, standing behind the first, spoke up. If anything, he looked more pitiable. “Charge it to me,” was all he said.
What I had been feeling was pity. Pity is soft and safe and easy. Compassion, on the other hand, is caring in action. I thanked the second man but told him that was not allowed either. Then I reached into my pocket and paid for the biscuits myself. I reached into my pocket because these two men had reached into my heart and taught me compassion.What does the word “compassion” underlined in Paragraph 1 mean?
| A．pity for the sufferings of others |
| B．feeling or expression of sorrow |
| C．liking for each other produced in people who have similar opinions or tastes |
| D．something for which to be thankful |
The aged gentleman who wanted to buy the biscuits _____.
| A．promised to obey the store rules |
| B．forgot to take any money with him |
| C．hoped to have the food first and pay later |
| D．could not afford anything more expensive |
Which of the following best describes the first old gentleman?
| A．kind and lucky | B．poor and lonely |
| C．friendly and helpful | D．hurt and disappointed |
The writer acted upon the store rules because _____.
| A．he wanted to keep his present job |
| B．he felt no pity for the old gentleman |
| C．he considered the old man dishonest |
| D．he expected someone else to pay for the old man |
What does the writer learn from his experience?
| A．Wealth is more important than anything else. |
| B．Helping others is easier said than done. |
| C．Experience is better gained through practice. |
| D．Obeying the rules means more than compassion. |
Do you long for lasting camp memories? Sure we can guarantee it.
Shadow Ridge Summer Camps offer so many exciting things for campers to do. Unlike other camp programs that include horses as a small part of their program, at Shadow Ridge horses ARE the program ! We are 100% horse from stable（马厩）management, nature walks, and track rides to bedroom furnishings.
Horses help us achieve many of our aims. Girls can learn to develop responsibility, self-confidence and personal connections in their lives while having fun. Using horses as a wonderful tool for education, our camps offer an interesting place for growth and learning:
Imagine each girl having her very own horse to spend time with and a best friend to love and take care of. Each camper is responsible for a horse for the week. Our riding program provides a lot of riding and lesson time. Campers will learn how to take care of the horse and the tack（马具）, as well as how to ride. Days are filled with horse-related activities to strengthen the connection between each girl and horse, as the girls learn to work safely around the horses.
At Shadow Ridge we try to create a loving, caring family atmosphere for our campers. We have “The Bunkhouse”（4 girls）, the “Wranglers Roost”（4 girls）, and “The Hideout”（2 girls）in our comfortable 177-year-old farm house. All meals are home cooked, offering delicious and healthy food for the hungry rider.
Our excellent activities create personalized memories of your child’s vacation. Each child will receive a camp T-shirt and a photo album （usually 300-500 pictures） of their stay at camp.
Our camps are offered during June, July and August 2013, for small groups of girls aged
13-16 years, not only from Canada but also other parts of the world.
We will send you full program descriptions at your request.What is the main purpose of the passage?
| A．To attract people to the camps. |
| B．To talk about camping experiences |
| C．To describe the programs of the camps. |
| D．To explain the aims of the camps. |
What do we know about the camp programs at Shadow Ridge?
| A．Campers are required to wear camp T-shirts. |
| B．Horses play a central role in the activities. |
| C．Campers learn to cook food for themselves. |
| D．Horse lessons are offered all the year round. |
The programs at Shadow Ridge mainly aim to help people ________.
| A．understand horses better |
| B．enjoy a family atmosphere |
| C．have fun above other things |
| D．achieve an educational purpose |
The passage is written mainly for ________.
| A．horse riders | B．teenage girls | C．Canadian parents | D．international travelers |
Is there a limit to the number of years that a person can expect to live? Can changes in life-style add years to one’s life? Throughout history people have sought answers to these questions and others.
Various myths offer the hope of great longevity. In the imaginary land of Shangri-La, for example, people are said to lead a charmed existence for a thousand years. The Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon was convinced that he would find the Foundation of Youth in what is now the state of Florida. According to the Bible, Methuselah lived to be more than 900 years old.
The subject of longevity is fascinating, and scientists study individuals such as Jeanne Calment to learn about the aging process. Calment died in 1997 in Arles, France, at the age of 122. She never married, and she lived in her own apartment until moving to a retirement community when she was 109.
Most scientists agree that bodies will last, at best, about 125 years. This potential has changed little since modern human beings appeared more than 100 thousand years age. Recent improvements in medicine and the environment have extended life expectancy, especially for those from poorer parts of the world. It is not clear, however, whether such improvements will lengthen life expectancy beyond a certain point.
Life expectancy is the number of years an infant can be expected to live, given the conditions into which it is born. Life expectancy, therefore, is affected by nutrition, medical care, and social and political circumstances. An individual’s genetic makeup is also an important factor. Children from long-lived families can hope to enjoy long lives themselves. According to recent data, the average life expectancy worldwide in 1998 was 67 years. This can be compared with an average life expectancy of 77 in the United States.
In 1970 the average life expectancy worldwide was 61 years, or 6 years less than it was in 1998. This same period saw a drop in infant mortality -— the death of a child before the first birthday-—from 80 births out of 1,000 to 54 births out of 1,000. According to some researchers, the rise in the average life expectancy is due primarily to the drop in infant mortality. It is not so much that adults are living to an older age. It is, rather, that more people are living into adulthood because more children are surviving beyond their first birthdays.Infant mortality is defined as ________ .
| A．the number of children born alive |
| B．the kinds of behavior typical of very young children |
| C．the number of children, out of 1,000 births, who die before their first birthday |
| D．the typical and obvious thoughts of very young children |
Although it may be possible to improve the life expectancy of a particular group of people, ________ .
| A．it is more difficult to affect the rate of infant mortality |
| B．it is unlikely that one will be able to extend the potential life span of human beings in general |
| C．the process of evolution is extending the potential life span beyond 125 years |
| D．the potential that bodies will last, at best, about 125 years has changed much since modern human beings appeared |
One can infer that people have at times imagined that ________ .
| A．people live longer in the state of Florida |
| B．a long life is a burden rather than a blessing |
| C．it is possible to find a way to live for centuries |
| D．life expectancy is affected by a couple of factors |
One can conclude that ________ .
| A．the aging process can be stopped. |
| B．the aging process is inevitable. |
| C．life expectancy in the United States will soon reach 125 years. |
| D．the average life expectancy worldwide is decreasing |
Today is National Bike-to-Work Day. And on New York City’s jammed streets, people are cycling on hundreds of miles of new bike lanes. But New York’s widespread efforts to make streets safer for bikes have also left some locals complaining about the loss of parking spots and lanes for cars.
When the weather is good, Aaron Naparstek likes to pedal（用踏板踩）his two young kids to school on a special Dutch-made bicycle. Naparstek supports the new lane.
Aaron: The bike lane on Prospect Park West is really introducing a lot of new people to the idea that it’s possible to use a bike in New York City for transportation or to travel around. This is what 21st century New York City looks like.
Prospect Park West is still a one-way road, but where it used to have three lanes of car traffic, now it has two, plus a protected bike lane. Supporters say that makes the road safer for everyone, including pedestrians, by slowing down cars and taking bikes off the sidewalk. But some longtime residents disagree. Lois Carswell is president of a group called Seniors for Safety. She says the two-way bike lane is dangerous to older residents who are used to one-way traffic.
Lois: We wanted a lane — the right kind of lane that would keep everybody safe, that would keep the bikers safe. But we want it to be done the right way. And it has not been done the right way.
Craig Palmer builds bars and restaurants in Manhattan. I was interviewing him for a different story when he brought up the bike lanes all on his own.
Craig: I think the biggest problem is that Bloomberg put all these bike lanes in. You took what used to be a full street and you’re shrinking it.
Then there are the Hasidic Jews in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, who forced the city to remove a bike lane through their neighborhood. But polls show that the majority of New Yorkers support bike lanes by a margin of 56% to 39%. Bicycle advocate Caroline Samponaro of Transportation Alternatives calls that a mandate.
Caroline: If this was an election, we would have already had our victory. The public has spoken and they keep speaking. And I think, more importantly, the public is starting to vote with their pedals.What does Aaron mean by saying “This is what 21st century New York City looks like.”?
| A．There are hundreds of miles of new bike lanes in 21 st century New York City. |
| B．Drivers slow down their cars and bikes are taken off the sidewalk in New York. |
| C．Bikes are used as a means of transport in 21 st century New York City. |
| D．It’s possible to make the streets safe for pedestrians in New York. |
According to the passage, which of the following CANNOT support the opponents of these new bike lanes?
| A．Drivers lose parking spots and lanes for cars. |
| B．The two-way bike lane is dangerous to older residents. |
| C．We took what used to be a full street so the road is broader than before. |
| D．The removal of one bike lane through a neighbourhood in Brooklyn was not supported by the majority of New Yorkers. |
“A mandate” in Paragraph 8 was referred to a demand or command from _______.
| A．the authority | B．the public | C．the supporters | D．the government |
What of the following might be the best title of the passage?
| A．Ride on National Bike-to-Work Day |
| B．A New Bike Lane Appears in New York |
| C．A Bike Lane Divides New Yorkers |
| D．Who Wins an Election |
ASK LASKAS
YOU'VE GOT QUESTIONS. SHE'S GOT ANSWERS
Q: My problem is computer gaming. I do it day and night, averaging four hours of sleep. I can't control of this, and I don't know where to go for help. Do you? —Player
A: Dear Player,
You have an addiction. For some people playing video games releases dopamine, a powerful brain chemical that makes you feel good. You'd toss your cigarettes if you were ready to quit, right? To kick the habit, get help from a health professional. And don't look for help on line; that would be like an alcoholic going to the bar for advice.
Q: My brother's wife just had triplets(三胞胎). This is such a joy! Yet every time I share the news with co-workers, they ask me if she was on fertility pills. I think this is rude—or has society just become so talk-show numbed (麻木的)that you can ask anyone anything? —No Show Host
A: Dear Host,
Yes. Our society has become increasingly disrespectful of privacy. But don't blame it all on the talk-shows. Continue to celebrate and greet impolite questions with stony silence. Their fertility history is nobody's business but their own.
Q: I work at an amusement park, and my manager steals supplies. She has a catering business on the side, and we've seen her load up her van at the back gates. The big bosses think she is the best thing since buttered bread, and we're all afraid that if we say anything, we'll lose our jobs. What can we do? —Righteous
A: Dear Righteous,
Be sure you're right. You must have evidence about what and why things are going out the back gates. Once you know for certain, it's time to go to the bosses and report what you have seen.
Q: My stepson's wife sometimes leaves their eight-year-old home alone for "a short run to the store." That may be an hour or so. I believe by law we should report it. What do you think?
—The In-laws
A: Dear Laws,
I don't know what the child-protection laws in your state are, but I do know that children need care and attention. This child may be able and unafraid, but kids aren't always careful. It also sounds like there is stress in your family relationship. One thing you can do to help this situation is offer to baby-sit when Mom needs to step out.Which of the following statements is true?
| A．Dopamine is a powerful brain chemical good to our health. |
| B．Looking for help on line is like getting help from a health professional. |
| C．Player is a video game addict who smokes and sleeps few hours. |
| D．Player is advised to stay clear of the screen. |
According to the Q&A, .
| A．Host's colleagues are insensitive |
| B．The talk-show is to blame |
| C．Somebody's business is everybody's |
| D．Host's sister-in-law was on fertility pills |
What we can infer from the Q&A is .
| A．The Mom is not to blame because she needs a short run to the store |
| B．Children need care and attention, though not for all of them |
| C．Laws, the old lady, wants to report what she sees to the child's father |
| D．Laskas doesn't seem to approve of Laws' trying to report what she sees |
Which Q&A mentioned transport?
| A．The first | B．The second. | C．The third. | D．None. |
Rachel Carson, born in rural Pennsylvania in 1907, had a great impact on the environment. Carson earned a master’s degree in zoology in 1932. It was as a writer and not as a research scientist, however, that she made her mark, sharing her view that human beings are just one element in a larger natural order.
In the articles on natural history Carson wrote for various publications, she expressed dry facts in poetic and persuasive language. She wrote five books. Two of them, The Sea Around Us and The Edge of the Sea, have been called “biographies of the ocean.”
Carson also made the world aware of how scientific discoveries can harm as well as help living things. In her best-selling book Silent Spring, Carson challenged the profligate use of chemical pesticides by large agricultural and government organizations. She was the first to detail how the pesticide DDT had entered the food chain and damaged populations of bald eagles, falcons, and brown pelicans by causing the shells of their eggs to become so thin that they could not withstand the weight of the parent bird.
Carson died of cancer in 1964. Today, the Rachel Carson Council collects and disseminates (散播) information on pesticide-related issues. In 1970, the Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge, a large area of salt marsh and freshwater habitat in Maine, was dedicated to her memory.Which of the following words is closest to the meaning of the underlined word in paragraph 3 ?
| A．excessive | B．inadequate | C．authoritative | D．efficient |
Which of the following inferences is correct ?
| A．Carson wrote books that the average person could understand. |
| B．Dangerous properties of new chemical products may be immediately apparent. |
| C．If not for Carson, no one would have learned about the dangers of DDT. |
| D．In 1970, large quantities of salt and freshwater were dedicated to Carson’s memory by the Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge |
Which of the statements below expresses the main idea of the passage ?
| A．Writers have played an important role in the battle against pollution. |
| B．The scientist Rachel Carson taught people about environmental issues through her writing. |
| C．Carson’s book Silent Spring changed the way some pesticides were used. |
| D．Many of Carson’s books were about pesticide-related issues. |
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