Before Alaska became part of the U.S., it had been owned by Russia. Trading posts and small settlements were scattered along the coast. The rest of land was left unexplored. The Russians were mainly interested in the wealth of furs from the vast herds of seals they found there.
By the mid-1800’s, most of the seal herds had been wiped out, and Russia no longer wanted to keep Alaska. William Seward, Secretary of State for President Johnson, believed the United States should buy Alaska from Russia. President Johnson wasn’t so sure it was a wise way to spend U.S. money, but he agreed to let Seward discuss it with the Russians. Acting quickly, Seward made a deal. On March 30, 1867, he signed an agreement for the U.S. to pay seven million dollars for the land.
Many people thought it was a foolish waste of America’s money. They called the deal “Seward’s folly”. Then gold was discovered in Alaska and public opinion changed quickly.
Seward did not live to see the true value of Alaska. He died in 1872, five years after making the purchase (购买). Each year, Alaska’s natural resources(资源) have brought in many times the $7,000,000 paid for it. Natural gas, coal, oil, lumber, seafood and other minerals, besides the gold first found, have made it a valuable addition to the United States. In 1959, Alaska be-came the 49th state of the United States.The Russians wanted to sell Alaska because ______.
| A．they thought it wasn’t a good place |
| B．they thought it didn’t belong to Russia |
| C．they couldn’t find enough seals there |
| D．they wanted to earn more money from the U.S. |
When Seward signed the agreement, many people thought ______.
| A．it was a successful deal | B．it had its true value |
| C．he wasted U.S. money | D．he was clever |
Which of the following things was found first in Alaska?
| A．Gas. | B．Coal. | C．Oil. | D．Gold. |
The best title for this passage would probably be ______.
| A．Alaska, a beautiful place | B．Alaska with natural resources |
| C．Alaska, the 49th state of the U.S. | D．Alaska, home to seals |
I had to knock on the taxi to get his attention．Finally，the driver，a man about 60，looked up from behind the wheel and apologized，“I’m sorry，but I was reading a letter．” He sounded as if he had a cold or a cough．
Since I was in no hurry，I told him to finish his letter．He shook his head，explaining that he had already read it several times and almost knew it by heart．Curious，I asked whether it was from a child or maybe a grandchild．“This isn’t family，”he replied．“though he might just as well have been a regular member of the family．Old Ed and I grew up together．”
They were always friends．But since he moved away from the neighborhood 30 years ago，it’d generally just been postcards at Christmas time between them．A couple of weeks ago，Ed died．“I should have kept in touch．” He repeated this，more to himself than to me．To comfort him，I said sometimes we just didn’t seem to find the time．“But we used to find the time，” he said．“Take a look．” He handed the letter over to me．
The first sentence “I’ve been meaning to write for some time，but I’ve always delayed it．” reminded me of myself．It went on to say that he often thought about the good times they had had together．When I read the part where it said “Your friendship really means a lot to me，more than I can say because I’m not good at saying things like that”，I found myself nodding in agreement．
We had gone several kilometers and were almost at my hotel, so I read the last paragraph: “So I thought you’d like to know that I was thinking of you.” And it was ended with “Your Old Friend, Tom.”
“I thought your friend’s name was Ed,” I said.
“I’m Tom,” he explained. “It’s a letter I wrote to Ed before I knew he’d died. I never put it in the mailbox. I guess I should have written it sooner.” His face was pale as he wiped his eyes with a handkerchief.
When I got to my hotel room I didn’t unpack right away．I had to write a letter and post it．
Who wrote the letter？
| A．Tom |
| B．Old Ed． |
| C．The author． |
| D．The driver’s grandchild． |
It can be inferred from the passage that the driver regretted_____．
| A．missing Ed’s funeral |
| B．moving away from his neighborhood |
| C．forgetting to send Ed Christmas cards |
| D．not being able to keep in touch with Ed |
From Paragraph 4，we learn that the author _______．
| A．often fails to write to his friends |
| B．has no intention to write to his friends |
| C．had many great moments with his friends |
| D．was good at expressing his feelings to friends |
What message does the passage probably try to convey？
| A．Comfort your friends when they are feeling down． |
| B．Life is unpredictable so live each day as if it were your last． |
| C．Remember to always mail your letters after expressing your words． |
| D．Always make time to value and experience your lasting friendships． |
“Father, do you see Mother in your dreams?” the young girl asks. “You know sometimes I do.”
“Mother comes to see me a lot, you know. We sit and talk.” The father smiles. “How is your homework coming along?”
“Why do I have to study so hard?”
“It is what your mother would have wanted!”
She regrets speaking her mind. “I’m sorry, Father, I shouldn’t have said that.” She looks up and sees his eyes well up with tears.
“It’s okay, love,” he gets up and pours himself a drink. “I’ll just sit outside for a while. You finish up your work, okay?”
“I’m sorry, Father; Mother did love you very much. She told me all the time.”
“Homework, first, eh? Then we can chat about your mother.”
He heads off outside and sits in his usual chair, looking around the courtyard. The whole area relaxes the mind and somehow soothes the soul.
“All finished, Father. May I get a drink and sit with you? I have some questions.”
She comes with two drinks one for him and one for herself. He looks surprised. She never really liked him having a drink. Although he had cut back a lot from before he brought her here, it still seemed strange.
“Mother told me all about you. That is before she passed away. We would laugh together at your love stories.”
He listens without uttering a single sound.
“Why didn’t you come and take her away with you? She really wanted that. Did you know that?”
Her father looks at his daughter lovingly. “Circumstances were difficult back then. It was just the way things were. When it came time to…” He sighs. “To visit her it was too late.”
The girl smiles. “I hope I will have the same kind of love you and mother had.”
“Without all the heartache,” her father adds.
“She always knew you loved her. She told me every day,” the child mentions cheerfully. “I saw her crying sometimes when she read your letters.”
“Did she make you promise to look after me?” She inquires.
“She asked me to take care of you.”
“You promised her, didn’t you?”
“Yes, I did.”
“It is nice out here, isn't it? Mother would have been very happy here.”
She talks with some authority. Her father remains silent. A smile comes to his weary brow. He nods his head.
“Mother wanted me to give you something. I think now the time is right.” She runs to her room. Upon returning she hands her father a book. “It’s mother’s diary! She wanted me to give it to you.”
He takes the book and holds it in his trembling hands, “Thank you.”
“Mother said you would understand things better.”
“Wise woman, your mother.”
He places the book on the table as he gets up. The girl gets up and wraps herself around her father.
“I love you.” she looks up at his face.
He picks her up and hugs her. “I love you, too.” His voice trembles.
“It’s okay, Father. We have each other now and mother is in both of us.”
He kisses her head.
“Time you went to bed,” her father softly says.
He puts her down and she scampers off to get washed and ready for bed.
Clearing up everything he checks on his daughter. She is in bed waiting for her good night kiss. He tucks her in and bids her goodnight.
Just as he is to leave she tells him. “Mother told me she adopted me when I was a baby.”
He stands at her bedroom door. Words fail him. Yes, he knew she was adopted.
“I am really lucky for being loved by my parents, even if I am not really theirs.”
“You trying to bring on the water works?” he tells her.
She giggles, “Goodnight, Father. I love you.”
“Love you, too.”
His face lights up as he wipes his dampened eyes.
The door closes and the child falls asleep dreaming of her mother.
Sitting outside he picks up the diary and opens it and reads the first line: “I love you, my dearest, if only things could have been different…”Why isn’t the mother with her family?
| A．She has already died. | B．She is ill in hospital. |
| C．The couple is divorced. | D．She lives in another city. |
What can we know about the couple’s relationship?
| A．They understood each other very well. |
| B．They quarreled a lot and are separated. |
| C．They used to have misunderstandings. |
| D．They were quite sure of each other’s love. |
What can we learn from the story?
| A．The girl was adopted because the couple couldn’t give birth. |
| B．Father looks after the girl just because the girl is alone. |
| C．The girl feels unfortunate that she was adopted. |
| D．Father was not very close to the girl before she moved in with him. |
Why didn’t father bring mother home when she was ill?
| A．Because he was too busy with his work |
| B．Because he didn’t know he was wanted |
| C．Because he was too poor to afford the medical fees |
| D．Because he didn’t know she was in hospital |
What does the sentence “You trying to bring on the water works?” mean?
| A．You want another cup of water? |
| B．Are you kidding me? |
| C．Are you trying to make me cry? |
| D．Are you thinking about the water factory? |
Which word best describes father’s feeling at the end of the story?
| A．Regretful | B．Satisfied |
| C．Confused | D．Doubtful |
Reading for pleasure is declining among primary-age pupils, and increasing numbers of "time poor" parents are dropping the practice of sharing bedtime stories with their children once they start school.
Research presented to a conference last week found that, while parents read to preschoolers , this later tails off, and by the final year of primary school only around 2% read to their children every day. Once children can read skillfully, parents tend to step back, and this usually happens at the age of seven or eight. The report also found that 820-/o of teachers blame the government's " target-. driven" education policies for the fact that fewer children are reading for pleasure.
They believe that a straitjacket (束缚) of strictly organized schooling is containing young people's ability to read more widely. Two-thirds of teachers surveyed said they lacked time in the school day to introduce a variety of books and that this was a " major obstacle to being able to develop a level of reading". Teachers also cited as main factors the reduction in the number of school librarians, who could put interesting books before children, and the rise in "screen time", switching children from reading to playing games.
The majority of teachers said the curriculum's (课程) " emphasis on reading as a skill to be mastered" was increasing the pressure. This was compounded by parents who saw reading just as a focus of learning, a skill critical to career advancement in a competitive world.
Reading habits and the digital revolution in publishing were key topics of debate at the conference. The theme of the lack of British culture was supported by children's writer Frank Cottrell Boyce, who wrote the scripts(手稿 ) for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2012 Olympics.
“We discovered the whole nation had forgotten that they did the industrial revolution," he said.
"Books are so central to it; books can be written by anyone. A lot of the pleasure of a book is listening to somebody read it to you. "
"We found a real love of reading al110ng teachers, and a strong desire ,to encourage more children to read for pleasure ,”said Rob Cheney," However ,the teachers also had an overpowering sense of frustration with their situation." "Touch-screen phone and tablets are naturally attractive to children," the survey said, and predicted a period of awkwardness as everyone else adapts. By 2018, children's television will have adopted the presence of this second screen ,and it "will be strange not to have children ,at home drawing along on tablets and then having these appearing live in the show ".
The hope is “that user-friendly screens could, if material is adapted and downloaded easily, present an opportunity for more ambitious publishing - for example, books children can either read or choose to have read to them; or digital books with moving pictures instead of photos to clarify factual and scientific points. Parental controls that are easy to use would be key, the conference was told, such as "a warning for when devices use the Wi-Fi, especially after bedtimes", to allow parents to shut off access to children in the home.
What leads to parents' dropping the practice of sharing bedtime stories with their children?
| A．Children have less time to spend with their parents after they start school. |
| B．Parents chink it unnecessary to do so when children can read themselves. |
| C．The government’s education policies have placed much burden on children. |
| D．Children don't like parents reading stories to them when they are seven or eight. |
Which of the following is not teachers' point of view?
| A．Children are prevented from reading widely enough in school. |
| B．Schools pay attention to reading skills instead of reading for fun. |
| C．Playing video games reduces children's time spent on reading. |
| D．School libraries can't provide good books for lack of money. |
The word "compounded" (Paragraph 4) most probably means ______.
| A．worsened | B．preserved | C．reduced | D．improved |
It can be inferred from the article that _____
| A．children don't like reading because books are not attractive |
| B．British people enjoyed reading books very much in the past |
| C．teachers forbid their students co read more books for fun |
| D．children should enjoy more freedom to use the Wi-Fi at home |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Parents should set a limit to their children's using electric devices at hoI11e. |
| B．Children are encouraged to read as l11any interesting books as they can. |
| C．Children miss out on pleasures of reading a good book in modern life. |
| D．Experts appeals to the government to reduce the heavy burden on children. |
While drunken driving may be on the decline, traffic safety experts remain puzzled over how to deal with another alcohol related danger: drunken pedestrians(行人).
Pedestrians struck and killed by cars often are extremely drunk. In fact, they are intoxicated(喝醉的) more frequently and with higher blood alcohol levels than drunken drivers who are killed in accidents, various studies have shown. Forty percent of adult pedestrians involved in fatal crashes have a blood alcohol level of at least 0.10 which by law in most states signifies intoxication compared to only 25 percent of drivers in deadly accidents, according to recent federal data.
Some types of pedestrain accidents have been declining nationally, especially those involving children, but the number of adult pedestrians who are drunk when killed in traffic has remained relatively steady at 2500 a year. The total number of pedestrians killed annually in U.S. traffic accidents is at least 7000, or one of every seven highway accidents resulting in death.
“We’re dealing here, we think, with a very severe drinking problem that leads to a severe highway safety problem,” said Richard Blomberg, president of Dunlap and Associates Inc, in Norwalk, Coon.
Blomberg, whose consulting company found a very high rate of alcohol involvement in a controlled study of pedestrian accidents in New Orleans, was among several researchers who spoke on the topic at the annual meeting of the Research council’s Transportation Research Board(TRB) in Washington in January.
Pedestrian accidents have not received enough attention in the past, according to Kay Colpitts, who chairs the board’s committee on pedestrians. Few methods exist to monitor walking habits, she said, and researchers have been mystified（迷惑不解） about how to prevent disasters.
Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Traffic Safety. |
| B．Drunken Drivers. |
| C．Drunken Pedestrian Accidents. |
| D．A Severe Highway Safety Problem. |
Among the causes of walkers’ accidents, the most serious problem is ________.
| A．long delays in traffic signals that may make people cross streets ignoring traffic rules |
| B．the alcohol level in their blood which is too high. |
| C．a lack of adult keeping eyes on many children involved in accidents |
| D．former drunken drivers whose licenses are not allowed to use for a time |
According to recent federal data, drunken drivers with an over 0.10 blood alcohol level in deadly accidents ____.
| A．are 15 percent less than drunken adult walkers with the same level |
| B．are 2500 a year in US traffic accidents |
| C．are at least 7000 in US traffic accidents |
| D．make up one seventh of highway accidents |
According to the passage, what is Blomberg?
| A．A researcher. |
| B．A specialist in traffic safety. |
| C．A clerk of a consulting company. |
| D．A government official |
Across the rich world, well-educated people increasingly work longer than the less-skilled. Some 65% of American men aged 62-74 with a professional degree are in the workforce, compared with 32% of men with only a high-school certificate. This gap is part of a deepening divide between the well-education well off and the unskilled poor. Rapid technological advance has raised the incomes of the highly skilled while squeezing those of the unskilled. The consequences, for individual and society, are profound.
The world is facing as astonishing rise in the number of old people, and they will live longer than ever before. Over the next 20 years the global population of those aged 65 or more will almost double, from 600 million to 1.1 billion. The experience of the 20th century, when greater longevity translated into more years in retirement rather than more years at work, has persuaded many observers that this shift will lead to slower economic growth, while the swelling ranks of pensioners will create government budget problems.
But the notion of a sharp division between the working young and the idle old misses a new trend, the growing gap between the skilled and the unskilled. Employment rates are falling among younger unskilled people, whereas older skilled folk are working longer. The divide is most extreme in America, where well-educated baby-boomers (二战后生育高峰期出生的美国人) are putting off retirement while many less-skilled younger people have dropped out of the workforce.
That even the better-off must work longer to have a comfortable retirement. But the changing nature of work also plays a big role. Pay has risen sharply for the highly educated, and those people continue to reap rich rewards into old age because these days the educated elderly are more productive than the preceding generation. Technological change may well reinforce that shift: the skills that complement computers, from management knowhow to creativity. Do not necessarily decline with age.what is happening in the workforce in rich countries?
| A．younger people are replacing the elderly |
| B．well-educated people tend to work longer |
| C．unemployment rates are rising year after year |
| D．people with no college degree do not easily find work |
what has helped deepen the divide between the well-off and poor?
| A．Longer life expectancies |
| B．Profound changes in the workforce |
| C．rapid technological advance. |
| D．A growing number of well-graduated. |
what do many observers predict in view of the experience of the 20th century?
| A．Economic growth will slow down. |
| B．Government budgets will increase. |
| C．More people will try to pursue higher education |
| D．There will be more competition in the job market. |
What is the result of policy changes in European countries?
| A．Unskilled workers may choose to retire early. |
| B．more people have to receive in-service training. |
| C．Even wealthy people must work longer to live comfortably in retirement. |
| D．People may be able to enjoy generous defined-benefits from pension plans. |
What is characteristic of work in the 21st century?
| A．Computers will do more complicated work. |
| B．More will be taken by the educated young. |
| C．Most jobs to be done will be creative ones. |
| D．Skills are highly valued regardless of age. |
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