Taking the train is a wonderful way to see America. In the 19th century, train routes appeared from coast to coast, carrying both people and goods Today, a long-distance Amtrak train trip is a different way to experience the United States.
The long-distance Amtrak trains have lots of room. Coach seats have lots of leg room and wide aisles(走廊),sightseeing lounges(休闲室) have large windows, and sleeping areas can provide a good night’s rest. On a train trip, there’s time to talk, play cards or board games, and read to one another. On a car trip, parents have to drive while on a train, parents can sit back and watch the scenery go by. Unlike an airplane, traveling by train is not the quickest way to arrive at your destination; the train is the destination in itself.
Amtrak manages long-distance trains that run through the United States. Routes have different names, such as Empire Builder, California Zephyr, Sunset Limited and Southwest Chief. The long-distance trains have double-decker cars(Superliners), sightseeing lounges, and a real dining car. On shorter trains, such as from New York to Washington. DC, the cars are single level and only have a snack bar. In the Superliner trains, the sightseeing lounge is lined with windows on the second level while on the lower level a snack bar and tables can be found. In the evening, videos are shown in the lounge car—either entertaining movies or documentaries.
Tip: As delays are common on Amtrak trains, always call the station before you go there. Otherwise, you may be cooling your heels(脚后跟) for hours.What’s the advantage of seeing America by train?
| A．There are more services on the train than any other |
| B．Traveling by train is the quickest way to reach your destination. |
| C．Traveling by train gives people more time to see and do things. |
| D．The trains like Amtrak allow people to enjoy the journey cheaply. |
Which of the following can be found on short-distance Amtrak trains?
| A．Sleeping areas. | B．Snack bars. | C．Sightseeing lounges. | D．Coach seats. |
What does the underlined sentence in the last paragraph mean?
| A．You will have to wait. |
| B．You make your heel cool. |
| C．You will have no place to stand on the train. |
| D．Your feet will be hurt on the train. |
Which of the following about Superliners is true?
| A．There are lines of windows on the lower level. |
| B．The snack bar is on the higher level. |
| C．A sightseeing lounge is on the upper level. |
| D．Both levels are equipped with videos. |
Fifty years ago, Martin Luther King dreamed of an America that would one day deliver on its promise of equality for all of its citizens, black as well as white. Today, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has a dream, too: he wants to provide Internet access to the world’s five billion people who do not now have it. But the world currently faces a growing technological divide, with implications for equality, liberty, and the right to pursue happiness.
Around the world, more than two billion people live in the Digital Age. They can access a vast universe of information, communicate at little or no cost with their friends and family, and connect with others with whom they can cooperate in new ways. The other five billion are still stuck in the Paper Age in which my generation grew up.
Internet.org, a global partnership launched by Zuckerberg, plans to bring the two-thirds of the world’s population without Internet access into the Digital Age. The partnership consists of seven major information-technology companies, as well as non-profit organizations and local communities.
A friend working to provide family-planning advice to poor Kenyans recently told me that so many women were coming to the clinic that she could not spend more than five minutes with each. These women have only one source of advice, and one opportunity to get it, but if they had access to the Internet, the information could be there for them whenever they wanted it.
Enlarging our vision still more, it is a hope that putting the world’s poor online would result in connections between them and more affluent people, leading to more assistance. Research shows that people are more likely to donate to a charity helping the hungry if they are given a photo and told the name and age of a girl like those the charity is aiding. If a mere photo and a few identifying details can do that, what might Skyping with the person do?
Providing universal Internet access can also raise new risks and sensitive ethical issues, the distinctiveness of local cultures may be eroded, which has both a good and a bad side, for such cultures can restrict freedom and deny equality of opportunity. On the whole, though, it is reasonable to expect that giving poor people access to knowledge and the possibility of connecting with people anywhere in the world will be socially transforming in a very positive way.What is Zuckerberg’s purpose of providing Internet access to people who do not now have it?
| A．Attracting more users for his social network. |
| B．Making people without Internet enjoy the benefits of it. |
| C．Establishing connections will affluent people and organizations. |
| D．Helping poor people being available to necessary cure. |
Internet.org is made up of .
| A．Zuckerberg, several major information-technology companies and nonprofit organizations |
| B．nonprofit organizations and a person working to provide family-planning advice to poor people |
| C．seven major information-technology companies, nonprofit organization and national communities |
| D．some information-technology companies, nonprofit organization and local communities |
What does the underlined word in para.5 refer to?
| A．Communicating online by using an Internet tool. |
| B．Playing online games. |
| C．Taking pictures using a digital camera. |
| D．Donating through a personal computer. |
What does the author want to express in the last paragraph?
| A．We should use the Internet without any restrict. |
| B．The Internet should be developed in a very positive way. |
| C．We can develop our local culture on the Internet. |
| D．Using the Internet can lead to negative effects. |
A man may usually be known by the books he reads as well as by the company he keeps; for there is a companionship of books as well as of men; and one should always live in the best company, whether it be of books or of men.
A good book may be among the best of friends. It is the same today that it always was, and it will never change. It is the most patient and cheerful of companions. It does not turn its back upon us in times of adversity or distress. It always receives us with the same kindness; amusing and instructing us in youth, and comforting and consoling us in age.
Men often discover their affinity(密切关系) to each other by the mutual love they have for a book just as two persons sometimes discover a friend by the admiration which both entertain for a third. There is an old proverb, ‘Love me, love my dog.” But there is more wisdom in this:” Love me, love my book.” The book is a truer and higher bond of union. Men can think, feel, and sympathize with each other through their favorite author. They live in him together, and he in them.
A good book is often the best urn(瓮) of a life enshrining the best that life could think out; for the world of a man’s life is, for the most part, but the world of his thoughts. Thus the best books are treasuries of good words, the golden thoughts, which, remembered and cherished, become our constant companions and comforters.
Books possess an essence of immortality. They are by far the most lasting products of human effort. Temples and statues decay, but books survive. Time is of no account with great thoughts, which are as fresh today as when they first passed through their author’s minds, ages ago. What was then said and thought still speaks to us as vividly as ever from the printed page. The only effect of time have been to sift out the bad products; for nothing in literature can long survive e but what is really good.Why does the author think a good book may be among the best of friends according to paragraph2?
| A．Because it is just like a person |
| B．Because it contains all kinds of knowledge. |
| C．Because it doesn’t turn its back upon us when we are in difficulty. |
| D．Because it can comfort and console us in youth, and amuse and instruct us in age. |
What’s the meaning of “Love me, love my book.” in paragraph 3?
| A．If you love me, you must love my book, too. |
| B．The book can be a bond between us. |
| C．Books are our friends. |
| D．If you love reading books, we will be friends. |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The world of a man’s thoughts is the world of his life for the most part. |
| B．All kinds of books are our constant companions and comforters. |
| C．Temples, statues and books all decay in the future. |
| D．Only literature can long survive in books. |
The best title of the passage is .
| A．Reading Books | B．A Good Book |
| C．Our Best Friend | D．Companionship of Books |
请认真阅读下列短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
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12 Years a Slave |
| Release Date: Oct18, 2013 Runtime: 2 hr. 14min. Director: Steve McQueen Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Paul Giamatti, Alfre Woodard. |
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| Chiwetel Ejiofor stars in the true story of Solomon Northup, a free man in 1800s New York State, who was kidnapped and forced into slavery on a plantation near New Orleans, and his subsequent fight for freedom with the help of a Canadian abolitionist(Brad Pitt). |
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Lost for Words |
| Release Date: Oct18, 2013 Runtime: 1 hr. 47min. Genres: Drama, Romance Cast: Hugh Grant, Zhang Ziyi, Sean Fairs, Grace Huang |
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| Amidst the sweeping cityscape of Hong Kong, “Fate”brings two lost souls together in this multilingual cross-cultural romance. Arriving on the same day, Michael, an American ex-Marine(退役海军), and Anna, a ballerina(芭蕾舞女演员) from Beijing, are both dealing with the aftermath(余波) of failed relationships. As their two worlds mix, romance blossoms. |
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The Fifth Estate |
| Release Date: Oct11, 2013 Runtime: 2 hr. 8min. Director: Bill Condon Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Daniel Bruhl, Laura Linney |
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| The story is about the creation of WikiLeaks(维基解密) by the ambitious Julian Assange, played by Benedict Cumberbatch. The movie opens with Assange hiring Daniel Domscheit-Berg(Daniel Bruhl), a fellow tech talent, to help him keep his new website operational. Soon the pair find themselves in possession of information that will bring down a corrupt bank. But it’s just the tip of the iceburg. |
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Wedding Palace |
| Release Date: Sept 27, 2013 Runtime: 1 hr. 29 min. Director: Christine Yoo Cast: Brain Tee, Kang Hye-jung, Bobby Lee |
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| Abandoned at the wedding, Jason’s(Brian Tee)family quickly introduces him to other eager brides in waiting, he rejects them all. On a business trip to Korea, Jason meets the girl of his dreams, Na Young(Kang Hye-jung). There will be a dramatically romantic love story waiting for them. |
You may go to see if you’re interested in network technique.
| A．12 Years a Slave | B．Lost for Words |
| C．The Fifth Estate | D．Wedding Palace |
Which of the following is the information about the movie based on the true history more than one hundred years ago?
| A．It’s directed by Steve McQueen. |
| B．It has Asian actresses. |
| C．It’s a story about a famous website |
| D．It will be released on September. |
Overlooking the swollen banks of the Missouri River at Omaha’s riverfront landing, one scientist has an important explanation for the past three months of flooding .While many consider the flood to be man-made, a result of water released by the US. Army Corps of Engineers upriver, his theory aims to look deeper into the root of the problem.
“The Missouri River is flooding,” said Dr. James Hansen, Director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, during a visit to Omaha on Tuesday.”We’ve had floods that usually only happen once in every hundred years a couple of times on the Missouri River recently. That’s one of the expected consequences of the increasing level of atmospheric carbon dioxide.”
Hansen, who is considered to be one of the world’s leading experts on global warming , said the Missouri River is an example of how global warming is affecting the earth .”Unless you do statistics ,and you see that the frequency of these events is changing , it’s not so easy to see that changes are occurring , because the climate system has large inertia (惯性),”he said .
Hansen explained, “The ocean is four kilometers deep, and the ice sheets are two or three kilometers thick , so they don’t respond immediately as we begin to change the atmospheric composition .We’ve only experienced about half of the warming that will be caused by the gases already in the atmosphere .The full effect is going to be felt by our children and grandchildren .And if we continue to increase the amount of CO2, the effect will be even larger.”
Hansen drew a comparison, “If we spend more money than what we’re taking in , we’re leaving a debt for our children and grandchildren to deal with .”According to Hansen, the responsibility lies in effective policy making to fight against global warming .That includes a gradual reduction in carbon emissions .Hansen suggests that a rising price be placed on carbon emissions, which should be collected from the fossil fuel companies at the first sale .
Without effective measures taken by the government, Hansen said the public could expect more of the recent extreme weather patterns,, including more severe droughts and floods in the decades ahead .Many people think the reason for the flooding of the Missouri River is _____.
| A．the army releasing water upriver |
| B．the effects of global warming |
| C．the increasing level of carbon dioxide |
| D．the dam at Omaha’s riverfront breaking |
Which of the following statements is true ?
| A．Hansen thought we have already experienced the full effect of the global warming. |
| B．The Missouri River flooded every hundred years in the past. |
| C．The effects of global warming will not get any worse than they are now. |
| D．As soon as people stop releasing carbon, there won’t be any more global warming. |
What did Hansen compare the fight against global warming to in the fifth paragraph?
| A．A price adjustment plan |
| B．The handling of the money |
| C．A fight against the fossil fuel companies |
| D．The bringing up of children |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．The Extreme Weather Patterns in the USA |
| B．The Greenhouse Effect |
| C．A Debt for Our Children and Grandchildren |
| D．The Reason for the Missouri River Flooding |
From the passage, we can infer that ____________.
| A．the increasing level of atmospheric carbon dioxide has nothing to do with the global warming |
| B．the flooding of the Missouri River is an unexpected result of the global warming |
| C．because of the global warming the ice sheets are melting |
| D．people is easy to see the changes without referring to some statistics |
Water is of vital importance in a healthy diet and lifestyle. There are many health benefits of drinking water .It helps get toxins out of our systems. It aids in the delivery of oxygen and nutrients .In fact, nearly every system in our bodies depends on water for proper functioning .But how can we tell whether the water we’re drinking is healthy?
As to tap water, it’s relatively easy .If your water comes from a governmental source , the suppliers are required by law to provide annual water quality reports .If you have a well, you can have an authorized lab test your water .It may cost $100 or more, but it’s a small price to pay for peace of mind .
When it comes to bottled drinking water, it can be more difficult to know what you’re getting .Start by checking the label or the bottle cap. Some may tell you that the water comes from a governmental source or “community water system”, which means tap water .If the label doesn’t give any information, you can call the bottler and ask .But don’t be surprised if you get the runaround and are transferred to several different departments .Some states have a bottled water program that tracks bottled drinking water and can tell you the origin of the water as well as other information .
Safe and healthy drinking water has become big business .Thousands of companies are competing for your hard earned cash , and some are not always honest about what their products offer .The initial investment in a home drinking water filtration (过滤)system can seem expensive at first , but over time , it is usually less expensive than bottled drinking water .And with a water filter , you at least know where the water you drink comes from and how it is treated .
Before going out and spending your hard earned money on bottled drinking water , it’s a good idea to do some research .You’re likely to find that a drinking water filtration system or purifier is a healthier choice and provides the best value as well .According to the second paragraph, we can know tap water _____
| A．costs us a large amount of money to test |
| B．is very hard to judge its safety |
| C．is reliable if it comes from a government approved source |
| D．needs to be tested every month |
By using a water filter, people_____
| A．can drink water without fearing that the water isn’t treated |
| B．will have to pay more money eventually than if they just drink bottled water |
| C．will know if the water company is honest or not |
| D．can check the quality of the water by themselves. |
What’s the author’s attitude towards drinking bottled water?
| A．Concerned | B．Indifferent |
| C．Positive | D．Opposed |
What is the meaning of the underlined word “toxins” in the first paragraph?
| A．extra blood | B．harmful material |
| C．useless tissue | D．polluted chemicals |
What is the main idea of this passage?
| A．The disadvantages of bottled water |
| B．The benefits of drinking water |
| C．The difference between tap water and bottled water |
| D．The ways to ensure the safety of your drinking water |
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