A well-dressed man entered a famous jewelry shop. He explained that he wished to buy a pearl for his wife’s birthday. The price didn’t matter. Since business had been very good for him that year. After examining a nice black one that cost $5000, he paid for the pearl in cash, shook hands with the jeweler, and left.
A few days later the man returned and said that his wife liked the pearl so much that she wanted another one just like it. It had to be exactly the same size and quality, as she wanted a pair of earrings made, “Can you give me any advice on how to get such a pearl?” said the man. The jeweler regretfully replied, “I would say it’s exactly impossible to find one exactly like that pearl.”
The rich man insisted that the jeweler advertise in the newspapers, offering $ 25,000 for the matching pearl. Many people answered the advertisement but nobody had a pearl that was just right.
Just when the jeweler had given up hope, a little old lady came into his store. To his great surprise, she pulled the perfect pearl from her purse. “I don’t like to part with it,” she said sadly, “I inherited it from my mother, and my mother inherited it from hers. But I really need the money.”
The jeweler was quick to pay her before she changed her mind. Then he called the rich man’s hotel to tell him the good news. The man, however, was nowhere to be found.The man said he wanted to buy a pearl for ______.
| A．his wife | B．his mother -in–law |
| C．his own mother | D．no one |
He paid $ 5,000 for the black pearl without bargaining because ______.
| A．he was very rich | B．he wanted to make the jeweler believe him |
| C．he was anxious to get it | D．his business had been successful |
He told the jeweler to get him another pearl that must be ______.
| A．exactly the same size as the black one |
| B．exactly the same quality as the black one |
| C．worth no more than $ 25,000 |
| D．exactly as big and nice as the black one |
Many people answered the advertisement because they wanted _______.
| A．to see the perfect pearl |
| B．to buy some beautiful pearls too |
| C．to get in touch with the rich man |
| D．to sell their own pearl at a high price |
The jeweler couldn’t find the man anywhere because ______.
| A．he died suddenly. |
| B．He happened to be out |
| C．He got $ 20,000 by cheating and had run away with the money. |
| D．He wouldn’t show up until the jeweler called him a second time. |
Linda Evans was my best friend—like the sister I never had. We did everything together：piano lessons，movies，swimming，horseback riding.
When I was 13，my family moved away. Linda and I kept in touch through letters，and we saw each other on special times—like my wedding(婚礼) and Linda’s. Soon we were busy with children and moving to new homes，and we wrote less often. One day a card that I sent came back，stamped “Address(地址) Unknown” I had no idea how to find Linda.
Over the years，I missed Linda very much. I wanted to share(分享) happiness of my children and then grandchildren. And I needed to share my sadness when my brother and then mother died. There was an empty place in my heart that only a friend like Linda could fill.
One day I was reading a newspaper when I noticed a photo of a young woman who looked very much like Linda and whose last name was Wagman—Linda’s married name. “There must be thousands of Wagmans，” I thought，but I still wrote to her.
She called as soon as she got my letter. “Mrs.Tobin！”she said excitedly，“Linda Evans Wagman is my mother.”
Minutes later I heard a voice that I knew very much，even after 40 years，laughed and cried and caught up on each other’s lives. Now the empty place in my heart is filled. And there’s one thing that Linda and I know for sure：We won’t lose each other again!The writer went to piano lessons with Linda Evans ________.
| A．at the age of 13 |
| B．before she got married |
| C．after they moved to new homes |
| D．before the writer’s family moved away |
They didn’t often write to each other because they ________.
| A．got married |
| B．had little time to do so |
| C．didn’t like writing letters |
| D．could see each other on special time |
There was an empty place in the writer’s heart because she ________.
| A．was in trouble |
| B．didn’t know Linda’s address |
| C．received the card that she sent |
| D．didn’t have a friend like Linda to share her happiness or sadness |
They haven’t kept in touch ________.
| A．for about 40 years |
| B．for about 27 years |
| C．since they got married |
| D．since the writer’s family moved away |
A businessman walks into a bank in San Francisco and asks for the loan officer. He says he is going to Europe on business for two weeks and needs to borrow ＄5,000. The bank officer says the bank will need some kind of security for such a loan. So the businessman hands over the keys to a Rolls Royce parked on the street in front of the bank. Everything checks out, and the bank agrees to accept the car as collateral for the loan. An employee drives the Rolls into the bank’s underground garage and park it there.
Two weeks later, the businessman returns, and repays the ＄5,000 and the interest, which comes to ＄15.41
The loan officer says, “We are very happy to have had your business, and this transaction has worked out very nicely, but we are a little puzzled. While you were away, we checked you out and found that you are a multimillionaire. What puzzles us is that why you would bother to borrow ＄5,000?”
Laughing, the businessman replies, “Where else in San Francisco can I park my car for two weeks for ＄157.”The businessman walks into the bank with the true purpose of .
| A．borrowing ＄5,000 | B．meeting the loan officer |
| C．finding a place to park his car | D．showing how rich he is |
The loan officer is puzzled because .
| A．he never thought he could meet a multimillionaire in his bank |
| B．he thinks the businessman is crazy to leave his car in the bank |
| C．he never thought the businessman could drive a Roils Royce |
| D．he thinks ＄5,000 is so small a sum of money to the businessman |
The underlined word “collateral” In Paragraph 1 most probably means “ ” .
| A．security | B．payment | C．reward | D．deal |
Which of the following words can best describe the businessman according to the story?
| A．Honest. | B．Clever | C．Rich | D．Kind |
Should parents ever hit their children?
Research suggests many of us are likely to respond “no”, and public support for spanking (打屁股) has been falling over the years. But surveys also show that 75 percent to nearly 90 percent of parents admit spanking their child at least once.
I was raised in a zero-tolerance( 零容忍) home for disrespect, and my parents often turned to physical punishment. And, no, I don’t feel I was damaged by it.
Nothing is more annoying than watching ill-mannered behavior from children.
But there is data to suggest that a return to old-school spanking isn’t the answer.
Two years ago , Newsweek reported that it had found data suggesting that teens whose parents used physical punishment were more likely to become aggressive(好斗的).
Murray Straus, professor at the University of New Hampshire in America, has studied the topic of children and spanking for decades. He said that children who were physically punished have lower IQs than their peers. It may be that children with lower IQs were more likely to get spanked, but the punishment may have been counterproductive (反作用) to their mental development, as well.
Some researchers make the argument that occasional open-handed smacks (用巴掌打) on the bottom are not only harmless but can have some benefit.
Last year, Marjorie Gunnoe, a psychologist at Calvin College, studied teens who have never been spanked. There are a greater number of children growing up without ever having been physically punished. Gunnoe’s research suggests they don’t turn out any better than those who were sometimes spanked.
There are some parents who simply cannot control their tempers. But I still believe that the best parents are the ones who are able to offer fair and firm discipline (管教) without ever turning to physical punishment. What can we know from the research in the second paragraph?
| A．Many of the parents made no response to the survey. |
| B．More and more people support spanking in public. |
| C．Most parents have the experience of spanking their children. |
| D．Many of the parents think they should hit their children. |
According to Marjorie Gunnoe’s research, ________ .
| A．the children who have never been spanked do better than those who were sometimes spanked |
| B．instead of harmless, spanking can have a little benefit |
| C．spanking has little effect on the children’s future performance |
| D．the teens who were often spanked are more likely to be aggressive |
In the author’s opinion, the best parents are the ones ______.
| A．who often use physical punishment | B．who never use physical punishment |
| C．who use physical punishment properly | D．who take physical punishment as useful tool |
Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The author’s parents were strict with him when he was young. |
| B．The author thinks his parents’ spanking did no harm to him. |
| C．Murray Straus thinks spanking has nothing to do with children’s IQs. |
| D．Some parents spank their children because they can’t control their tempers. |
Nickname: Hawaii’s Island of Adventure
Size: 4,028 square miles
Population: 148,677. The most heavily populated areas are Hilo on the east side and Kailua-Kona on the west.
Temperature: Averages between 71℉and 77℉year around (expect the mercury(水银柱) to drop at higher heights).
Beaches: 47 Golf Courts: 20 Highest Peak: Mauna Kea, 13,796 feet.
Agriculture: The bulk of Hawaii’s farming products are grown and processed on the Big Island, including coffee, macadamia nuts and papaya.
Lodging: 9,655 rooms total; nightly rates range from $35—$5,000.
Airports: Hilo International Airport on the east side and Kona International Airport on the west side.
Rental Cars: All of the nationally known rental car companies have locations at Hilo International and Kona International Airports as well as many resorts. In addition, Hilo, Kona and the major resort areas are serviced by taxis.
Resources: Call (800) 648-2441 to order a video, poster, brochures and maps from the Big Island Visitors Bureau. See www.bigisland.org for updated information.
Shopping: The largest shopping centers are in Hilo, Kona, Waimea and the Kona Coast. _________ are mostly interested in reading the passage.
| A．Students | B．Businessmen | C．Tourists | D．Immigrants |
The average population per square mile on the island is about _________.
| A．28 | B．32 | C．37 | D．44 |
The underlined part “expect the mercury(水银柱) to drop at higher heights” means _________.
| A．Things are easy to lose weight at higher places |
| B．Dropping things from higher places is expected |
| C．Temperature is expected to be lower at higher places |
| D．Temperature is expected to be higher at higher places |
__________ are not mentioned as a traffic means to get around the Big Island.
| A．Trains | B．Planes | C．Rental cars | D．Taxis |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．You can see www.bigisland.org for updated information. |
| B．You can call (800) 648-2441 to order some food. |
| C．You can find some courts to play tennis on the island. |
| D．You may pay a high price for spending one night on the island. |
Besides providing a perfect environment for sea plants and animals to live in, seawater has other values, one of which is that it constantly moves, and its movements produce energy.
The most obvious movements are the waves and the tides. Winds cause the waves, and the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun causes the tides. In places like the Bay of Fundy in Canada, the difference between the high and low tide level can be as much as 40 feet.
France and Britain are now trying to use energy in the tides to produce electricity. Waves can produce electricity and some experiments are taking place to learn more about this. One of the most encouraging areas of research uses the difference between the temperature of seawater at the surface and deep down to produce electricity. Waves and tides are caused by ________ .
| A．the same forces | B．different forces | C．their own movements | D．plants and animals |
It can be inferred from the passage that __________ .
| A．waves as well as the energy in the tide can produce electricity |
| B．the highest tide is 40 feet higher than the lowest one at the sea |
| C．many countries in the world have made the most of energy produced by seawater |
| D．it is being tried in some developed countries to use energy in the tides to produce electricity |
The best title for the passage is ______.
| A．Tides and Waves | B．How to Produce Electricity | C．Seawater | D．Another Cheap Energy |
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