The marathon(马拉松) in my town usually takes place in hot weather. My job was to follow the runners to help those who needed medical help. “We should stay behind the last runner, so take it slowly,” I said to the driver, Doug.
As it began, the front runners started to disappear(消失). Then I noticed a woman in blue running shorts and a white T-shirt. “ Doug, look!” We knew we were watching our “last runner”. Her feet turned in , yet her left knee turned out. Her legs were so crippled(畸形的) that it seemed impossible for her to be able to walk. How could she run a marathon？
We watched in silence as she slowly moved forward. We would move forward a little bit, then stop and wait for her. Then we would slowly move forward a little bit more. As I watched her try to put one foot in front of the other, I found myself breathing for her. I wanted her to stop, and at the same time, I hoped that she wouldn’t. Finally, she was the only runner left in sight. When the finishing line came into sight, we found the cheering people had all gone home. She slowly crossed through the line and lifted her hands, full of happiness.
I do not know the woman’s name, but since that day she has become a part of my life. For her, it was about finishing what she had set out to do, no matter what. When I think things are too difficult and want to say “I just can’t do it”, I think of the last runner. Then I realize how easy the task before me really is.When does the marathon usually take place in the writer’s town？
| A．In spring. | B．In summer. | C．In autumn. | D．In winter. |
The last runner had problems with her .
| A．head | B．back | C．legs | D．arms |
Why did the woman take part in the marathon?
| A．To win a good prize |
| B．To beat the other runners |
| C．To make friends with others |
| D．To finish what she had decided to do |
A dog entered a butcher's shop with a note in his mouth．The note read，"﹩10of lamb chops （羊排），please．"
The butcher was very （1） （surprise）．He took the money，put a bag of chops in the（2） （dog） mouth，and then he closed the shop （3） （quick）．He followed the dog and watched him wait for a green light．Then the dog crossed the road to a bus stop．He checked the timetable and sat on the bench．When a bus arrived，the dog checked the number and got （4） it．
As the bus traveled out into the countryside，the dog enjoyed the scenery．After （5） while，he stood on his back paws （爪子）（6） （push） the"stop"button．Then the butcher followed （7） （he） off．
The dog ran up to a house and dropped his bag on the ground．He went back down the path，took a big run，and （8） （throw） himself against the door．No answer．He repeated the action a few times．Then a big man opened the door （9） started complaining about the dog and beating him．
Seeing this，the butcher ran up and shouted at the man，"What are you doing？This dog is a genius!"The man replied，"Genius？No way!He has forgotten his key for the （10） （four） time this month!"
Huge Waves Destroying Arctic Ice Faster than Expected
Ice covers much of the Arctic Ocean（北冰洋）．Some pieces of ice are huge， like moving islands． As temperatures have increased， however， some of the ice has begun to disappear． Scientists have discovered huge waves（海浪）in the arctic waters．
The waves were discovered by accident in May， 2010．Scientist Aleksey Marchenko and his students set out on a trip． They wanted to study the icy waters．
On May 2， the ship traveled east and stopped next to a large chunk of ice．around 50 miles from the small island of Hopen．Marchenko prepared to lead his students out onto the Ice
"We were ready to go but when I went out， I discovered many cracks（裂缝）around，" he remembers．
He decided to move the ship deeper into the ice to keep safe． The farther in they went， he thought， the harder the ice would become． As they pushed forward，however， the ship experienced small waves， and then bigger ones．Soon， the waves broke up the ice around the ship into thousands of smaller pieces．
Within an hour， Marchenko and his team saw a wave that was about 13 feet high． The ship's navigation（航行）system finally recorded the largest waves．They were more than 20 feet in height． The waves were so strong that they forced huge pieces of ice to jump up and down， breaking the ice into smaller pieces within just one hour． Scientists had never imagined that the process could happen so fast． The waves in these areas used to be small．
The speed and force of the huge waves there makes it impossible to know in advance when they are coming． That could be dangerous for navigators and local communities who are unprepared for huge waves or depend on sea ice to protect them． Wildlife like polar bears and walruses that depend on sea ice to live is also in danger．
Some scientists think people will soon see even bigger waves in these icy waters．As waves break up ice， the seas will become more open， and the waves will get even stronger． There are stormy times ahead．
（1）When did Marchenko and his students discover huge waves in the arcticwaters？
（2）Why did Marchenko and his students set out on the trip？
（3）What did Marchenko decide to do to keep safe？
（4）How high were the largest waves recorded by the navigation system？
（5）What is Paragraph 7 mainly about？
How Much Can We Afford to Forget？
In 2018， Science magazine asked some young scientists what schools should teach students． Most said students should spend less time memorizing facts and have more space for creative activities． As the Internet grows more powerful， students can access （获得） knowledge easily． Why should they be required to carry so much of it around in their heads？
Civilizations（文明）develop through forgetting life skills that were once necessary． In the Agricultural（农业的）Age， a farmer could afford to forget hunting skills． When societies industrialized， the knowledge of farming could be safe to forget． Nowadays， smart machines give us access to most human knowledge． It seems that we no longer need to remember most things． Does it matter？
Researchers have recognized several problems that may happen． For one，human beings have biases（偏见），and smart machines are likely to increase our biases． Many people believe smart machines are necessarily correct and objective，but machines are trained through a repeated testing and scoring process．In the process， human beings still decide on the correct answers．
Another problem relates to the ease of accessing information． When there were no computers， efforts were required to get knowledge from other people， or go to the library． We know what knowledge lies in other brains or books， and what lies in our heads． But today， the Internet gives us the information we need quickly． This can lead to the mistaken belief﹣the knowledge we found was part of what we knew all along．
In a new civilization rich in machine intelligence， we have easy access to smart memory networks where information is stored． But dependency on a network suggests possibilities of being harmed easily． The collapse of any of the networks of relations our well﹣being（健康）depends upon， such as food and energy， would produce terrible results． Without food we get hungry； without energy we feel cold．And it is through widespread loss of memory that civilizations are at risk of falling into a dark age．
We forget old ways to free up time and space for new skills．As long as the older forms of knowledge are stored somewhere in our networks， and can be found when we need them， perhaps they're not really forgotten． Still， as time goes on， we gradually but unquestionably become strangers to future people．
（1）Why are smart machines likely to increase our biases？
A．Because they go off course in testing and scoring．
B．Because we control the training process on them，
C．Because we offer them too much information．
D．Because they overuse the provided answers．
（2）The ease of accessing information from the Internet •
A． frees us from making efforts to learn new skills
B． prevents civilizations from being lost at a high speed
C．misleads us into thinking we already knew the knowledge
D．separates the facts we have from those in the smart machines
（3）The word "collapse" in Paragraph 5 probably means" "．
A．a sudden failure
B．the basic rule
C．a disappointing start
D． the gradual development
（4）What is the writer's main purpose in writing this passage？
A．To question about the standards of information storage．
B．To discuss our problems of communication with machines．
C．To stress the importance of improving our memorizing ability．
D．To remind us of the risk of depending on machines to remember．
Sometimes it seems that time is flying． Perhaps it doesn't need to feel this way． Our experience of time can be possibly changed． By understanding the psychological （心理学的） processes behind our different experiences of time， we might be able to slow down time a little．
One basic law of psychological time is that time seems to slow down when we're exposed（接触） to new environments and experiences． The law is caused by the relationship between our experience of time and the amount of information our minds process． The more information our minds take in， the slower time seems to pass．
It follows， then， that we have different experiences of time in different situations． In some situations， our life is full of new experiences． Our minds process a lot of information and time seems to slow down． In other situations， we have fewer new experiences and the world around us becomes more and more familiar（熟悉的）． We become insensitive to our experience， which means we process less information， and time seems to speed up．
How can we slow down time？ Here are two suggestions．
Firstly， since we know that familiarity makes time pass faster， we can expose ourselves to as many new experiences as possible． We can give ourselves new challenges， meet new people， and expose our minds to new information， hobbies and skills． This will increase the amount of information our minds process and expand （增加） our experience of time．
Secondly， and perhaps most effectively， we can give our whole attention to an experience﹣to what we are seeing， feeling， tasting， smelling or hearing． This means living through our senses rather than through our thoughts． For example， on the way home， focus your attention outside of yourself， instead of thinking about the problems you have to deal with． Look at the sky， or at the buildings you pass， traveling among them． This open attitude to your experiences helps take in more information and also has a time﹣expanding effect．
To a certain degree， we can understand and control our experience of time passing． It's possible for us to slow down time by expanding our experience of time．
（1）According to the writer， we can expand our experience of time by ．
A． going to bed on time
B． traveling to new places
C． having dinner as usual
D． printing the same materials
（2）What can we learn from the passage？
A． Being familiar with the world around helps us get more information．
B． Understanding psychological time makes life pass more quickly．
C． We can take in more information by living through our senses．
D． We should build a stronger relationship between time and us．
（3）Which of the following would be the best title for the passage？
A． Slow Down Time
B． Only Time Will Tell
C． Race Against Time
D． Time Will Not Come Twice
Blue Lightning
Sally loved cars more than anything else． This spring she thought of building a go﹣kart to enter for the Go﹣Go Race． So she asked her dad for help．
"Well，" he said． "How about this： you do some research first and then come back to me with a design．"
A week later， Sally brought her notes and drawings to Dad． She named her go﹣kart "Blue Lightning"． Dad looked over her work， thinking． "Well， that's interesting，" he said． "Have a try． Just build Blue Lightning as you've designed．"
Over three weekends of hard work， Sally turned her design into a real， working go﹣kart and painted it light blue． Dad asked her to take it for a test drive． Sally agreed．
After she did that， Sally drove back to Dad． "Well，" she said． "Now I know why you wanted me to have a test drive．"
"Oh， do you？" he said． "Please share．"
"When I drove fast， there was a lot of pushback，" she said． "I think it's because of the lightning bolt （闪电） shape．"
"Very good!" Dad said．
"So， why didn't you tell me about that problem in the first place？" Sally asked．
Dad laughed． "Where's the fun in that？ If you give a man a fish， he'll eat for a day． But if you teach a man to fish， he'll eat for a lifetime．"
Sally said， "I see． Anyway， designing is half the fun !"
Dad smiled． "Good． Sometimes， learning happens during the process． We learn how to do something right by doing it a few times first and making mistakes along the way．"
That encouraged Sally and she worked even harder． When she showed Dad her new go﹣kart， he nodded with pride．
Finally came the race． Sally wasn't worried about whether she would win﹣in her mind， she had already won， by building something better than ever before．
（1）Sally thought of building a go﹣kart to ．
A． practice driving
B． enter for a race
C． play with friends
D． do some research
（2）What did Sally's dad ask her to do after she built the go﹣kart？
A． To have a test drive．
B． To take a good rest．
C． To give it a cool name．
D． To paint it light blue．
（3）Sally's story mainly tells us that ．
A． winning a race is important
B． fishing brings us a lot of fun
C． driving experience is necessary
D． learning happens during the process
粤公网安备 44130202000953号