In 1986, when Monty Reed was a member of the Army Rangers (黑鹰突击 队), he had an accident. "It was a night jump, and we were jumping low," he recalls. "We were training. Somebody got too close to my parachute (降落伞)."The parachute below blocked Reed’s air and his parachute failed to open. Reed crashed a hundred feet to the ground, breaking his back in five places.
The next morning, Reed could not move. "Doctors said it was likely that I would never walk again." Reed stared out of his hospital window, wondering what the future would be like. It was the saddest moment of his life. "The experts are telling me my body doesn’t work! What am I supposed to do?" he thought.
To distract (转移注意力) himself, he picked up a book: Robert Heinlein’s Starship Troopers. The science-fiction describes a set of man-made muscles that would allow people to carry 2,000 pounds. He thought that if he could build something like that, it might be able to lift him out of his wheelchair. So he began his project and finally succeeded in building a set of robot legs. Several years later, he made an amazing recovery and was able to get up and walk away from his wheelchair. He even jumped out of an airplane again to celebrate.
Reed wanted to do something for others with the second chance that life had given him. He has now perfected the robot legs that can get the injured, the elderly and the paralyzed (瘫痪的) out of their wheelchairs. Now he has started his own company to make the legs. "I’ve seen them compete in marathons and go swimming and mountain climbing," he said. "So never give up!"
| A．his feet hit the ground too hard |
| B．his parachute was under another person’s |
| C．another person’s parachute stopped his from opening |
| D．he was training to jump at night |
| A．create a new kind of wheelchair for himself |
| B．discover how to make man-made muscles |
| C．learn how to jump out of an airplane |
| D．stop himself from thinking about his pain |
| A．He didn’t lose heart in the face of difficulty. |
| B．He is fond of reading science fiction. |
| C．He spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair. |
| D．He didn’t believe what the doctors said. |
| A．become a famous writer like Robert Heinlein |
| B．return to the Army Rangers and continue with his jumps |
| C．compete in games and marathons and go swimming |
| D．help more patients in wheelchairs to recover |
The most frightening words in the English language are, “Our computer is down.” You hear it more and more when you are on business. The other day I was at the airport waiting for a ticket to Washington and the girl in the ticket office said, “I’m sorry, I can’t sell you a ticket. Our computer is down.”
“If your computer is down, just write me out a ticket.”
“I can’t write you out a ticket. The computer is the only one allowed to do so.”
I looked down on the computer and every passenger was just standing there drinking coffee and staring at the black screen. Then I asked her, “What do all you people do?”
“We give the computer the information about your trip, and then it tells us whether you can fly with us or not.”
“So when it goes down, you go down with it.”
“That’s good, sir.”
“How long will the computer be down?” I wanted to know.
“I have no idea. Sometimes it’s down for 10 minutes, sometimes for two hours. There’s no way we can find out without asking the computer, and since it’s down it won’t answer us.”
After the girl told me they had no backup(备用) computer, I said. “Let’s forget the computer. What about your planes? They’re still flying, aren’t they?”
“I couldn’t tell without asking the computer.”
“Maybe I could just go to the gate and ask the pilot if he’s flying to Washington, ” I suggested.
“I wouldn’t know what gate to send you to. Even if the pilot was going to Washington, he couldn’t take you if you didn’t have a ticket.”
“Is there any other airline flying to Washington within the next few hours?”
“I wouldn’t know, ” she said, pointing at the dark screen. “Only ‘IT’ knows. ‘It’ can’t tell me.”
By this time there were quite a few people standing in lines. The word soon spread to other travelers that the computer was down. Some people went white, some people started to cry and still others kicked their luggage.The best title for the article is _______.
| A．When the Computer Is Down |
| B．The Most Frightening Words |
| C．The Computer of the Airport |
| D．Asking the Computer |
What could the girl in the ticket office do for the passengers without asking the computer?
| A．She could sell a ticket. |
| B．She could write out a ticket. |
| C．She could answer the passengers’ questions. |
| D．She could do nothing. |
Why do you think they had not a backup computer?
| A．Because it was easy down |
| B．Because it was very expensive. |
| C．Because it was not advanced enough. |
| D．Because it was not as big as the main computer. |
The last paragraph suggests that _______.
| A．a modern computer won’t be down. |
| B．computers can take the place of humans |
| C．sometimes a computer may bring suffering to people |
| D．there will be great changes in computers |
Thomas Alva Edison was awarded more patents on inventions than any other American. When he died in 1931, Americans wondered how they could best show their respect for him. One suggestion was that the nation observe a minute or two of total blackout. All electric power would be shut off in homes, streets, and factories. Perhaps this suggested plan made Americans realize fully what Edison and his inventions mean to them. Electric power was too important to the country. Shutting it off for even a short time would have led to complete confusion. A blackout was impossible.
On the day of Edison's funeral, many people silently dimmed their lights. In this way they honored the man who had done more than anyone else to put the great force of electricity at his countrymen's fingertips.This selection says that Thomas Edison ________.
| A．was the only important American inventor |
| B．received the first American patent |
| C．received more patents than any other American |
| D．was the first American inventor |
People decided to honor Edison when ________.
| A．he made the first electric light |
| B．electric power was 100 years |
| C．the country realized electricity's importance |
| D．he died in 1931 |
The suggested plan was to ________.
| A．turn off the lights in factories and schools |
| B．observe a few minutes of total silence |
| C．dim all electric lights |
| D．shut off all electricity for a short time |
It gives me great pleasure today to say a few words in praise of a man we will all miss very much. To be honest, I can't imagine we will do without him when he's gone.
Bill Masters almost single-handed built up our sales force in the Houston area and developed the market position that we enjoy today. In only six years, he has brought the firm from a very low fifth position in the area sales to the point where we now outsell all but one of our competitors. Not only have we got 37 per cent of the market under Bill's leadership; we are increasing our share with each passing month.
As you know, the company has moved Bill to northern California to work his sales magic in one of this company's most competitive(竞争的) areas. But we know that if anyone can do it, Bill Masters can, and I know you all join me in wishing him the best of luck in his new work.The speech was made _______.
| A．at a welcome meeting |
| B．at the opening of a new school term |
| C．when somebody was leaving |
| D．when they had a new manager |
How long did Masters worked there?
| A．37 years | B．less than 5 years |
| C．about six years | D．since he began to work |
When Bill started to work in Houston area, he had _______to help him.
| A．many people | B．nobody |
| C．about 37 people | D．very few people |
Bill increased the company's sale _______.
| A．by 37 per cent every month |
| B．to the second largest in the area |
| C．to be the fifth largest in the area |
| D．five times as much as before |
The arts, especially music, should be part of every school's lessons at every grade level. Students would be much smarter if they had some musical experience. They could improve their classroom skills, like paying attention and following directions. People develop all these skills when they learn music. Making music also lets children use their imagination. It provides students with a chance to try out their own ideas.
Music not only makes children better students, but also gives them something positive to do. In a music program, children can be part of a band instead of joining a gang (团伙). Parents can enjoy listening to their children's music instead of seeing them glued to a computer or TV screen. In a school band, students get to be part of a team. They can get along well with old friends and make new friends through music.
Music builds self-confidence, too. It gives children a sense of achievement and success. Making music is something for them to be proud of, and it lets kids practice performing in front of an audience. Music gives children an opportunity for self-expression, and that helps develop their self-confidence.
Once again, music is important because it can make children better students, give them something positive to do, and build their character. That is why music should be offered in every single grade in every school.According to the passage, music could make students smarter by________.
| A．improving their classroom skills and paying attention |
| B．improving their classroom skills and imagination |
| C．improving their attention, direction and imagination |
| D．learning music, making music and trying out their own ideas |
What does the underlined phrase "glued to" in the second paragraph mean?
| A．unwilling to turn on | B．always looking |
| C．unwilling to leave | D．always playing |
The third paragraph mainly tells us that music could __________.
| A．give children self-expression and self-confidence |
| B．bring to children achievement and success |
| C．give children something to be proud of |
| D．develop children's self-confidence |
What's the best title of this passage？
| A．Music is a must as a course at school |
| B．Music builds children's self-confidence |
| C．Music makes students much smarter |
| D．Learning music and making music |
Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia（百科全书）．This name is a combination of“wiki" and “encyclopedia"． Wiki is the Hawaiian word for quick． Wiki websites are designed to enable users to make addition or edit any page Of the site．
Wikipedia has been accused of exhibiting systemic prejudice and mistakes．Critics argue that Wikipedia's open nature and a lack of proper sources for much of the information makes it unreliable,
Mention Wikipedia within the walls of academy and you'll find no shortage of opinions．That-s no surprise．Can an online encyclopedia that is edited by anyone be trusted as a credible information source? Should students be encouraged to use this tool? And is it even possible to discourage its users?
To find out, we performed a simple experiment．We selected 100 terms from the U．S．history textbooks, We chose a mix of items that students might be asked to research for a test or paper and we entered each item into Google to find out which websites the search engine suggests as the most useful links． The results are shocking． Google listed Wikipedia as the number one： 87 times out of 100．
Several conclusions can be drawn from this finding． First, people searching for information about these historical terms are finding the entries from Wikipedia helpful．Second, 6'banning" the use of Wikipedia appears hopelessly simple-minded．Jimmy Wales, one of Wikipedia's founders, told the New York Times, "They might as well suggest not listening to rock & roll either"．
To our untrained eyes, the information from Wikipedia appeared just as reliable．The reason why the content is mostly reliable is probably that these terms are rather mainstream．The high-school level content is less likely to be wrong than the subjects studied in graduate schools． So when primary and secondary students are researching history, Wikipedia is still a proper place to start．Which of the following can best describe Wikipedia?
| A．Wikipedia is from the Hawaiian language with the meaning of prejudice and mistakes． |
| B．Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia edited freely． |
| C．Wikipedia is an encyclopedia under public attack． |
| D．Wikipedia is a tool for enjoying rock & roll． |
What does "it" in the second paragraph refer to?
| A．Wikipedia's open nature． |
| B．Wikipedia's lack of proper sources． |
| C．Wikipedia |
| D．Information on the Internet． |
From the underlined sentence we can conclude that ．
| A．Wikipedia serves only primary and secondary students |
| B．People are always ready to find faults with others |
| C．Wikipedia has a range of topics and is rich in knowledge |
| D．People hold different opinions about Wikipedia |
What does the writer imply in the last paragraph?
| A．Wikipedia can be useful in certain aspects． |
| B．Students should be discouraged from using Wikipedia． |
| C．The information from Wikipedia is totally reliable． |
| D．Wikipedia cannot be trusted at all． |
What could be the best title for the passage?
| A．Wikipedia-a perfect encyclopedia |
| B．Wikipedia-a misleading encyclopedia |
| C．Wikipedia-a paper encyclopedia |
| D．Wikipedia-a helpful online encyclopedia |
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