A nobleman and a merchant once met in an inn. For their lunch they both ordered soup. When it was brought, the nobleman took a spoonful, but the soup was so hot that he burned his mouth and tears came to his eyes, The merchant asked him why he was weeping. The nobleman was ashamed to admit that he had burned his mouth and answered, “Sir, I once had a brother who committed a great crime , for which he was hanged. I was thinking of his death, and that made me weep.” The merchant believed this story and began to eat his soup. He too burned his mouth, so that he had tears in his eyes. The nobleman noticed it and asked the merchant, “Sir, why do you weep?” The merchant, who now saw that the nobleman had deceived (欺骗) him, answered, “My lord(="master)," I am weeping because you were not hanged together with your brother.”This story teaches us ______.
| A．not to eat in inns | B．not to eat soup that is too hot |
| C．to cry when we burn our mouth | D．not to believe everything you hear |
The nobleman did not tell the truth because he ______.
| A．was a nobleman | B．felt ashamed | C．was in an inn | D．was angry |
It is probable that the nobleman ______.
| A．had no brother who was hanged | B．had a very good brother |
| C．knew the soup was too hot | D．had never eaten soup |
The merchant’s answer showed that he ______.
| A．was very happy | B．believed the nobleman |
| C．was angry with the nobleman | D．had kind heart |
It was such an extremely freezing day that I decided to get a cup of hot drinking first after work．As my colleague，Ricky，and I were making our way to a coffee shop，I noticed an old gentleman rather poorly dressed sitting on a bench nearby．Obviously he was frozen，seemingly one of the homeless or someone like that．
We joined the 1ine and waited to be served．Ricky handed the server a twenty-dollar bill， ordered three cups of hot coffee，and gestured the server to give one to the old gentleman outside on the bench as a favour．The server looked at Ricky，a little perplexed，without full comprehension of the request．Afterwards，there was a wonderful exchange between the server and the old man in need of some attention．I only wish I had taken a photo of the smiles on the both faces.
As I was thinking about this event later on，I wondered to myself why Ricky didn’t perform this act of kindness himself．I suspected that deep down in his heart he was hoping that this act of kindness might inspire others to do something for this old man as well．Absolutely beautiful!
There are many ways of thinking when we meet someone as the old man in need of kindness and attention．Perhaps he needs a little helping hand and thank God for my colleague who inspired the others to goodness as well．Oh，by the way，the last words Ricky told the server were，“There go I，but for the Grace of God．”What was the author’s impression of the old gentleman?
| A．He was a greedy man． |
| B．He took on a sign of poor manners. |
| C．He was in poor health． |
| D．He needed some kind of human care. |
Why didn't Ricky give the favour to the old gentleman himself?
| A．He didn’t know the old gentleman． |
| B．He was too shy to speak to strangers． |
| C．He tried to influence others to be kind． |
| D．He feared the old man would refuse his help． |
What the author really thinks absolutely beautiful is that_________.
| A．an act of kindness could go widespread |
| B．a cup of coffee could warm the old man |
| C．the server was very kind to customers |
| D．Ricky had created good impressions |
They say there are three ways to experience the Grand Canyon；on foot，on mules(骡子)or by air．We chose the first．Waking up early，my husband and I and our three children couldn’t wait to get started．We decided to walk along a lovely path named Bright Angel Trail．
As we set out，I was shocked at how narrow the path was．And I couldn’t help noticing that the other tourists weren’t like us．They had heavy backpacks，water bottles，and hats．But as usual we were dressed．As the sun rose higher．Arizona’s famous heat seemed to roast us．There was no shade and our legs were aching．We decided to go back，with the girl on my back and the boys far behind．By the time we finally got back，our legs were like jelly．
The next day，after we’d had a long rest and a good breakfast，we were ready for another view of the Canyon—by air．After our last walk，this would be the easiest thing in the world．
We called to each other excitedly as the plane took off and circled around the Canyon．But the smiles on our faces disappeared as the pilot tossed(翻转)the plane around，pretending he was going to hit the ground．I shouted，“STOP，TAKE US BACK!”When we finally arrived back on land，once again our legs were like jelly．We hardly spoke as we drove back．
As I said，there are three ways to view the Grand Canyon．We never tried the mules，but personally I'd suggest a fourth buy yourself a good magazine like National Geographic．That way，you can see the Canyon，without fear or tiredness．Which of the following is true according to the second paragraph?
| A．They made a careful preparation before the trip． |
| B．They children were more joyful than their parents． |
| C．Bright Angel Trail was not as lovely as they expected． |
| D．The narrow road prevented them from enjoying the view． |
The underlined expression“Our legs were like jelly”probably means_________.
| A．we were weak | B．we were unhappy |
| C．we were dissatisfied | D．we were disappointed |
Which of the following best describes their Canyon trip by air?
| A．It proved to be frightening． | B．It was more comfortable. |
| C．It turned out to be exciting． | D．It made each of them tired． |
We can infer from the passage that_________．
| A．experiencing the Canyon on mules would be the best way |
| B．one needs to dress less when visiting the Grand Canyon |
| C．the writer was not serious when she made the suggestion |
| D．the whole family narrowly escaped from the air accident |
“Eat local．” It’s one way to reduce human effect on the planet．Eating local means to try to buy and consume foods that are grown in places close to home．However, most of the food sold at supermarkets is not locally grown or produced．Trucks and planes deliver these foods from hundreds or thousands of miles away．During the transportation, greenhouse gases are produced, causing global warming．So the shorter the distance your foods must travel, the less the harm is done to the environment．
But how do you get local food if you live in a large city, hundreds of miles away from farms？Environmental health scientist Dickson Despommier and his students came up with the idea of a “vertical farm”．
A vertical farm is a glass-walled structure that could be built as tall as a skyscraper．Since the garden is built upwards, rather than outwards, it requires much less space than an ordinary farm．The world is quickly running out of room for ordinary farming．Vertical farms could be a key to this situation．Despommier imagines a 30-story building with a greenhouse on every floor．The walls of the building would be clear, to allow crops to get as much sunlight as possible．Depending on a city’s water resources, Despommier thinks hydroponic（水培） farming is another method for the vertical farm which needs no soil to grow plants．
Despommier says the hydroponic greenhouses would use a system that would use a city’s waste water and fill it with nutrition to make the crops grow．If this method works, it would provide food to a city and save millions of tons of water．
The idea of a vertical farm has attracted the attention of government officials around the world．Scott Stringer, a government official from New York City, thinks the city is suitable for the vertical farming．“Obviously we don’t have much land left for us,” Stringer said, “But the sky is the limit in Manhattan．”
Despommier admits that there is still a lot of work to do to make vertical farms a reality．“But I think vertical farming is an idea that can work in a big way．” he says．Why are people advised to eat local?
| A．Because it means convenience to people． |
| B．Because it can help people save a lot of money． |
| C．Because local food has more nutrition． |
| D．Because it is environmentally friendly． |
Which is one of the vertical farm’s benefits when compared with ordinary farming?
| A．It produces healthier food． |
| B．It does less harm to the cities． |
| C．It consumes more energy of the city． |
| D．It requires less transport costs． |
By saying “the sky is the limit in Manhattan”, Stringer means ________．
| A．people can make full use of vertical space of Manhattan |
| B．there is a limit for using empty land in Manhattan |
| C．the height of buildings in Manhattan is limited |
| D．Manhattan has a great potential for development |
What can we learn about the vertical farming in the passage?
| A．In a vertical farm, soil may not be needed to grow plants． |
| B．It has solved the problem of the food shortage in a big way． |
| C．It is a 30-story building with a greenhouse on every floor． |
| D．Crops are mainly grown in the rainwater in a vertical farm． |
Researchers at the University of Kansas say that people can accurately judge 90 percent of a stranger's personality simply by looking at the person's shoes．“Shoes convey a thin but useful slice of information about their wearers,” the authors wrote in the new study published in the Journal of Research in Personality．“Shoes serve a practical purpose, and also serve as nonverbal cues （线索） with symbolic messages．People tend to pay attention to the shoes they and others wear．”
Medical Daily notes that the number of detailed personality traits （特质） detected in the study include a person's general age, income, political tendency, and other personality traits, including someone's emotional stability．Lead researcher Omri Gillath said the judgments were based on the style, cost, color and condition of someone's shoes．In the study, 63 University of Kansas students looked at pictures showing 208 different pairs of shoes worn by the study's participants．Participants in the study were photographed in their most commonly worn shoes, and then filled out a personality questionnaire．
So, what do your shoes say about your personality? Some of the results were expected: People with higher incomes most commonly wore expensive shoes, and flashier footwear was typically worn by outgoing people．However, some of the more specific results are interesting．For example, “practical and functional” shoes were generally worn by more “friendly” people, while ankle boots were more closely connected with “aggressive” personalities．The strangest of all may be that those who wore “uncomfortable looking” shoes tend to have “calm” personalities．
And if you have several pairs of new shoes or take exceptional care of them, you may suffer from “attachment anxiety,” spending too much time worrying about what other people think of your appearance．There was even a political calculation in the mix with wearing “shabbier and less expensive” shoes．
The researchers noted that some people will choose shoe styles to mask their actual personality traits, but researchers pointed out that volunteers were also likely to be unaware that their footwear choices were revealing deep insights into their personalities．By looking at a person’s shoes, it’s possible for people to_____．
| A．know the wearer thoroughly and accurately |
| B．form an opinion about the wearer’s character |
| C．have exact cues about the wearer’s social status |
| D．judge the wearer’s educational background |
What can we know about the passage?
| A．Wealthy people tend to choose shiny shoes． |
| B．Calm people prefer shoes with uncomfortable appearance． |
| C．Friendly people are likely to wear ankle boots． |
| D．Outgoing people always wear shoes with practical functions． |
Takingexceptional care of new shoes shows that _____．
| A．the owners care much about others’ opinions on their appearance |
| B．the owners are in a relaxed state |
| C．the owners are particular about their appearance |
| D．the owners have too many shoes to choose from |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．How To Choose Suitable Shoes |
| B．How To Judge People’s Personality Traits |
| C．People Are What They Wear |
| D．Shoes Reflect People’s Personalities |
Everywhere I look outside my home I see people busy on their high-tech devices, while driving, walking, shopping, even sitting in toilets．When connected electronically, they are away from physical reality．
People have been influenced to become technology addicted．One survey reported that “addicted” was the word most commonly used by people to describe their relationship to iPad and similar devices．One study found that people had a harder time resisting the allure of social media than they did for sleep, cigarettes and alcohol．
The main goal of technology companies is to get people to spend more money and time on their products, not to actually improve our quality of life．They have successfully created a cultural disease．Consumers willingly give up their freedom, money and time to catch up on the latest information, to keep pace with their peers or to appear modern．
I see people trapped in a pathological （病态的） relationship with time-sucking technology, where they serve technology more than technology serves them．I call this technology servitude．I am referring to a loss of personal freedom and independence because of uncontrolled consumption of many kinds of devices that eat up time and money．
What is a healthy use of technology devices? That is the vital question．Who is really in charge of my life? That is what people need to ask themselves if we are to have any chance of breaking up false beliefs about their use of technology．When we can live happily without using so much technology for a day or a week, then we can regain control and personal freedom, become the master of technology and discover what there is to enjoy in life free of technology．Mae West is famous for the wisdom that “too much of a good thing is wonderful．” But it’s time to discover that it does not work for technology．
Richard Fernandez, an executive coach at Google acknowledged that “we can be swept away by our technologies．” To break the grand digital connection people must consider how life long ago could be fantastic without today’s overused technology．The underlined word “allure” in Paragraph 2 probably means ______．
| A．advantage | B．attraction |
| C．adaption | D．attempt |
From the passage, technology companies aim to ______．
| A．attract people to buy their products |
| B．provide the latest information |
| C．improve people’s quality of life |
| D．deal with cultural diseases |
It can be inferred from this passage that people ______．
| A．consider too much technology wonderful |
| B．have realized the harm of high-tech devices |
| C．can regain freedom without high-tech devices |
| D．may enjoy life better without overused technology |
What’s the author’s attitude towards the overusing of high-tech devices?
| A．Neutral． | B．Skeptical． |
| C．Disapproving． | D．Sympathetic． |
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