At present time, roller skating (滑旱冰) is easy and fun. But many years ago, it wasn’t easy at all. Before 1750, people never tried skating on wheels. That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin. Merlin’s work was making instruments (工具). In his free time he liked to play the violin. Merlin was a man with many ideas and many dreams. People called him a dreamer.
One day Merlin received an invitation to go to an important party. He was very pleased and a little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think. He wanted to find a way to make a wonderful entrance at the party. Merlin had an idea. He thought that he would attract a lot of attention if he could skate into the room.
Merlin tried different ways to make himself roll (滚动). Finally, he decided to put two wheels under each shoe. These were the first roller skate shoes. Merlin was very proud of them. He dreamed of arriving at the party and skating into the room while playing the violin. He was sure that everyone would be very surprised.
On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room, playing his violin. Everyone was really surprised to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skating. He rolled on, playing the violin. Then, with all eyes on him, Merlin hit into a huge mirror on the wall. The mirror broke into many pieces with a very loud noise.
Nobody forgot Merlin’s wonderful entrance after that.The first paragraph tells us that people began to skate on wheels from 1750 because _______.
| A．it is very easy | B．it is very exciting |
| C．Joseph Merlin’s instruments | D．it is very popular |
People called Merlin a dreamer because ___________. .
| A．he slept and dreamed a lot |
| B．he was full of different ideas and dreams |
| C．he invented the first roller skates |
| D．he always made people’s dreams come true |
___________ made Merlin think of skating on wheels.
| A．Merlin’s work | B．Merlin’s violin |
| C．A huge mirror | D．An important party |
What was Merlin’s problem after he rolled into the room?
| A．He couldn’t stop his roller-skating. |
| B．He couldn’t attract a lot of attention. |
| C．Everyone was surprised at him. |
| D．He couldn’t play the violin while rolling. |
What’s the best title for the passage?
| A．Joseph Merlin’s Story |
| B．How Roller Skating Was Invented |
| C．A Surprising Entrance to the Party |
| D．Violin and roller skating |
A serious problem for today’s society is who should be responsible for our elderly and how to improve their lives. It is not only a financial problem but also a question of the system we want for our society. I would like to suggest several possible solutions to this problem.
First, employers should take the responsibility for their retired employees. To make this possible, a percentage of profits should be set aside for this purpose. But when a company must take life-long responsibility for its employees, it may suffer from a commercial disadvantage due to higher employee costs.
Another way of solving the problem is to return the responsibility to the individual. This means each person must save during his working years to pay for his years of retirement. This does not seem a very fair model since some people have enough trouble paying for their daily life without trying to earn extra to cover their retirement years. This means the government might have to step in to care for the poor.
In addition, the government could take responsibility for the care of the elderly. This could be financed through government taxes to increase the level of pensions（养老金）. Furthermore, some institution should be created for senior citizens, which can help provide a comfortable life for them. Unfortunately, as the present situation in our country shows, this is not a truly viable answer. The government can seldom afford to care for the elderly, particularly when it is busy trying to care for the young.
One further solution is that the government or social organizations establish some working places especially for the elderly where they are independent.
To sum up, all these options have advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that some combination of these options may be needed to provide the care we hope to give to our elderly generations.What is the passage mainly about?
| A．The problems faced by the old in society. |
| B．Why we should take responsibility for the old. |
| C．How we can improve the lives of the old. |
| D．Where the old can go to get their pensions. |
According to the passage, how can the government help to improve the lives of retired people?
| A．Set aside some profits to help people with problems after they retire. |
| B．Increase savings levels of people during their working years. |
| C．Increase the discounts for food and transport for the old. |
| D．Make available pensions for those who have retired. |
The underlined word “viable” most probably means “__________”.
| A．impossible | B．practical | C．useful | D．successful |
What can be concluded from the passage?
| A．Taking care of the old is mainly an issue of money. |
| B．Employers should allow their workers to retire at a later age. |
| C．Becoming independent should be the goal of most old people. |
| D．There is no single solution to the problems of the old. |
What is the writer’s main purpose in writing this article?
| A．To point out the need for government support for old people. |
| B．To make general readers aware of the problems of retired people. |
| C．To discuss some possible solutions to an important social problem. |
| D．To instruct retired people on how they can have a happier life. |
The secret in re-remembering is to allow the full power of your memory to flow freely without “trying” to remember any one specific (特定的) thing.
I recently sat down to a relaxed and enjoyable dinner with some friends. At the beginning of the meal, a friend told us that his car had just been broken into and his briefcase (公文包) had been stolen. He was frustrated (懊恼的) because his diary and a number of other items important to him were in the briefcase. He said he could remember only four items that were in his stolen briefcase, that he knew there were many more, that he had to give a full report to the police within two hours, and that the more he tried to remember the more blocked he became.
Several of us at the table who were familiar with Memory Principles (规则) then took him through the following exercise; instead of continuing to allow him to think of what he could not remember, we asked him when he had last had his briefcase open. It turned out that it was at the office just before he left work, at which point he suddenly remembered that he had put two important magazine articles in the briefcase. We then asked him when he had last had the briefcase open before leaving home for work. It turned out to have been the night before, and he remembered having put in two more articles as well as a tape recorder, in preparation for the following morning. Finally we asked him to describe the inner (内部的) design of his briefcase, and as he went through a detailed description, he remembered pens, pencils, letters and a number of other items that he had completely “forgotten” before.
Within 20 minutes, he remembered 18 additional items. The secret is to “forget about” whatever you are trying to remember and “relive” all experiences that connect in any way with the item you are trying to remember. This method works at once almost in all cases, and takes the form of a created Mind Map around the “missing” center.
This memory method, like the others, improves your memory as well as your creativity, and in addition gives you confidence when you realize that, no matter what you have forgotten, there is still a chance to solve any memory mystery (谜团)!Which of the following shows how the man remembered the items according to the passage?
What does the underlined word “relive” mean in the passage?
| A．go through again | B．get out of | C．get used to again | D．pay attention to |
What can be the best title for the passage?
| A．Forgetting — You can never really forget |
| B．Drawing — The better way to remember things |
| C．Re-remembering — Remember what you have forgotten |
| D．Replacing — Forgetting something instead of remembering |
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 (现金), 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.The aged gentleman who wanted to buy the biscuits_________ .
| A．hoped to have the food first and pay later |
| B．promised to obey the store rules |
| C．forgot to take any money with him |
| D．could not afford anything more expensive |
Which of the following best describes the old gentleman?
| A．kind and lucky | B．friendly and helpful |
| C．poor and lonely | D．hurt and disappointed |
The writer acted upon the store rules because_________ .
| A．he felt no pity for the old gentleman |
| B．he considered the old man dishonest |
| C．he expected someone else to pay for the old man |
| D．he wanted to keep his present job |
What does the writer learn from his experience?
| A．Wealth is more important than anything else |
| B．Experience is better gained through practice |
| C．Obeying the rules means more than compassion. |
| D．Helping others is easier said than done |
Dear Michelle,
Why can't my daughter manage her life better? She is 17 and an honor student, but she seems to be wasting her life away with a boyfriend who is holding her back.
He consumes every waking minute of her precious time and smooth-talks her as well.
His goal is to get her to agree to go to the college of his choice, not her choice, and because his grades are lower, his choice will be limited.
A worried mother
Dear Mother of a 17-year-old Girl,
Hmmmmm. What's the matter with kids today? Remember that song from "Bye Bye Birdie"?
Well if you do not, let me fill you in about teenagers and their life-management skills. Do not expect too much too soon because at the ripe age of 17, life-management is not within their reach, nor should it be.
Life experience creates both the conditions and the skills for management, and if management went before experience, there would be little of it.
Your daughter is an honor student for good reasons. She is smart, studies with intelligence and you have given her good values.
When the time comes for her to apply for college, and she visits the ones that are specifically designed for students at the top of their grade, she will most likely break away from her boyfriend's influence.
It is rare for an honor student to change the path of their academic career for puppy love. That being said, there might be some adolescent wisdom in her behavior after all.
Perhaps she is choosing to worry you, her parents, for unconscious reasons. Being such a good girl and being a steady source of joy might have become a bit too much for her.
Let your daughter have her own private moment of 11th grade rebellion. She deserves a break from perfection.
MichelleFrom the mother's letter we can learn that her daughter _________ . .
| A．is being fooled by the boy |
| B．has fallen behind in her studies |
| C．doesn't talk much with her mother |
| D．has chosen which college to attend |
According to Michelle, 17-year-old teenagers _________ . .
| A．are too young to manage their life |
| B．are old enough to live their own life |
| C．should have management before experience |
| D．have reached the age of an adult |
The underlined word "puppy-love" refer to_________ . .
| A．false love | B．foolish love | C．pure love | D．adolescent love |
Michelle seems to believe that the daughter will finally_________ . .
| A．come up with the right decision |
| B．follow her boyfriend's advice |
| C．worry her parents for unconscious reasons |
| D．influence her boyfriend's behavior |
Eco City Farms(生态城市农场) are becoming more popular in cities and towns around the Unites States.
Eco City Farms in Edmonton, Maryland, is located near shopping centers, car repair shops and homes. The neighborhood is a working-class community(社区). People do not have very much money. And they have limited access to fresh food in markets.
Over the past two years, the farm has attracted volunteers from the community like Marcy Clark. She schools her four children at home. On a recent day she brought them to Eco City Farms for a lesson. Her son Alston Clark thinks his experience is very valuable.“I like coming out here,”he says,“You know, you connect with the earth, where your food comes from. You appreciate the food a little bit more.”
Margaret Morgan started Eco City Farms. She thinks of it as a place where people can learn to live healthier lives. “Growing food in a community brings people together,”she continues,“Every piece of what we do here is a demonstration(示范) to show people everything about how to have an eco-friendly community.”she says. From the Eco City Farms people come to know that they are not only growing food and raising chickens and bees, but improving the soil with compost(肥料)made from food waste.
Eco City Farms is an experimental operation. The farm gets its power not from the local electricity networks, but from the sun with solar panels. In winter, the green house use a geothermal(地热)system.
Vegetables can be grown all year. So once a week, all winter long, neighbors like Chris Moss and her three children bike to the farm to pick up a share of the harvest.
“I like eating the vegetables ”say five-year-old Owen Moss.What is mainly talked about in the passage?
| A．Eco City Farms save a lot of energy. |
| B．Eco City Farms are gaining popularity. |
| C．Eco City Farms are influencing community life. |
| D．Eco City Farms helps the working-class live better. |
According to the passage, Eco City Farms are close to the following places EXCEPT______.
| A．shopping centers | B．car repair shops |
| C．fast-food restaurants | D．working-class community |
What is the author’s attitude toward Eco City Farms?
| A．Enthusiastic(热心的). | B．Disappointed. |
| C．Surprised. | D．Doubtful. |
In which column(专栏) of a newspaper can you most probably read this article?
| A．People. | B．Travel. | C．Environment. | D．Education. |
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