The Greenbelt, a wide belt of open land around the cities and towns of the San Francisco Bay Area, includes about 3.75 million of the Bay Area’s 4.5 million acres. The Bay Area Greenbelt is one of the largest areas of open land in any U.S. urban area. Open land is land that has few buildings and lots of natural areas. The Greenbelt’s open land includes parks, forests, beaches, and more than 8,500 farms.
What are the advantages of the Greenbelt?
The Greenbelt has many advantages for people in the Bay Area, which include:
l walking and biking areas close to the cities and towns;
l places for wild plants and animals;
l cleaner air and water;
l income from farms.
Is the Greenbelt in danger?
Five hundred seventy thousand acres of the Greenbelt are in danger. There are builders who want to build suburbs on them. If those acres become suburbs, many things will change:
l the urban and suburban area will almost double;
l many farms will disappear;
l traffic will become worse;
l the air will become dirtier.
What is Greenbelt Alliance (联盟)?
Greenbelt Alliance, an organization that saves land in the San Francisco Bay Area, works alone and with other groups to save the Greenbelt in four ways:
1. Try to persuade people to build new buildings on land that is already urban, not on open land.
2. Make sure that the city and town governments are all making plans to save the Greenbelt.
3. Help Bay Area towns and cities to buy pieces of open land to make into natural areas.
4. Teach people in the Bay Area why the Greenbelt is important and what they can do to help save it.What can we learn about the Greenbelt from the first paragraph?
| A．The Greenbelt is the largest open land in the United States. |
| B．The Greenbelt covers much more than half of the Bay Area. |
| C．There are few farms on the open land of the Greenbelt. |
| D．There are more than 8,500 natural areas on the Greenbelt. |
One of the advantages of the Greenbelt for people in the Bay Area is __________.
| A．convenience for exercise | B．income from sightseeing |
| C．cleaner city streets | D．more plants and animals |
The Greenbelt is in danger because __________.
| A．traffic is getting worse |
| B．some plans to build suburbs on it |
| C．the suburban area has doubled |
| D．pollution is becoming serious |
Which of the following is TRUE about Greenbelt Alliance?
| A．It builds new buildings on open land. |
| B．It buys large open land for the Bay Area. |
| C．It educates people how to save the Greenbelt. |
| D．It helps the city governments make plans. |
While income worry is a rather common problem of the aged, loneliness is another problem that aged parents may face. Of all the reasons that explain their loneliness, a large geographical distance between parents and their children is the major one. This phenomenon is commonly known as “Empty Nest syndrome”.
In order to find better chances outside their countries, many young people have gone abroad, leaving their parents behind with no clear idea of when they will return home. Their parents spend countless lonely days and nights, taking care of themselves, in the hope that someday their children will come back to stay with them. The fact that most of these young people have gone to Europeanized or Americanized societies makes it unlikely that they will hold as tightly to the value of duty as they would have if they had not left their countries. Whatever the case, it has been noted that the values they hold do not necessarily match what they actually do. This geographical and cultural distance also prevents the grown-up children from providing response in time for their aged parents living by themselves.
The situation in which grown-up children live far away from their aged parents has been described as “distant parent phenomenon”, which is common both in developed countries and in developing countries. Our society has not yet been well prepared for “Empty Nest Syndrome”.According to the passage, the loneliness of aged parents is mainly caused by ________.
| A．their earlier experience of living alone |
| B．the poor living conditions in their native countries |
| C．the common worry that they have not saved much money |
| D．the distance between where parents live and where their children live |
Many young people have gone abroad, leaving their aged parents behind, to ________.
| A．realize their dreams in foreign countries |
| B．seek a better place for their aged parents |
| C．live in the countries with more money |
| D．continue their studies abroad |
If young people go abroad, ________.
| A．they do not hold to the value of duty at all |
| B．they can give some help to their parents back home |
| C．they cannot do what they should for their parents |
| D．they believe what they actually do is right |
From the last paragraph, we can infer that ________.
| A．the situations in the developed and developing countries are different |
| B．“Empty Nest Syndrome” has arrived unexpectedly in our society |
| C．children will become independent as soon as they go abroad |
| D．the aged parents are not fully prepared for “Empty Nest Syndrome” |
The society discussed in the passage is most probably ________.
| A．France | B．America | C．China | D．Britain |
Would you jump off the Great Wall of China for 300 pounds a day?
A stunt (特技表演)person is a man or woman who does all the dangerous bits of acting work in films or on TV. This can be anything from a simple fall into a swimming pool, or walking off the top of a tall building. It sounds like a job that you would have to be made to try, but there are actually lots of people who want to do it.
Sarah France, twenty-four, is one of Britain’s sixteen professional stunt women ---there are one hundred and sixty stunt men in the country. We asked Sarah how she came to be a stunt woman.
“When I was young I was trained to be a dancer, and for seven years after school I was hardly out of work. A dancer’s life is pretty short, though, and my father suggested I should think about doing stunt work after I’d given up dancing. I thought about it for the next two years and decided to have a go. For six months, I worked really hard every day. I had to learn different skills---swimming, jumping, horse -riding, etc.”
Sarah finished the course in just five months and applied to the office which decides whether you’re accepted as a professional stunt person or not. Two weeks after she was accepted, Sarah was throwing off the Great Wall of China in Superman IV.
“I was very lucky to get work so quickly. I had a small part, playing a traveler who fell off the Wall after an earthquake. The traveler’s life was saved by Superman, of course! Actually, I fell forty-five feet into a pile of cardboard boxes! You can’t use anything softer than that or you will be brought back into view of the cinema. Instead you just have to learn to fall properly. It’s quite dangerous but I enjoy it.”Quite a number of people want to do dangerous acts in films because___________.
| A．they are mad | B．they don’t think them dangerous |
| C．no training is needed | D．they can earn much money |
Sarah gave up dancing because___________.
| A．her father persuaded her to do stunt work |
| B．she could not go on dancing forever |
| C．she had to work hard every day |
| D．she was often out of work |
Soon after Sarah got her new job as a stunt person, ______________.
| A．an earthquake took place near the Great Wall |
| B．she fell off the Great Wall and hurt herself |
| C．she was asked to act in Superman IV |
| D．she learned how to fall properly |
Which of the following words best describes Sarah?
| A．Healthy | B．Adventurous | C．Skillful | D．Successful |
The purpose of the first sentence of the passage is to ____________.
| A．draw the readers’ attention to the whole passage |
| B．invite you to try jumping off the Great Wall for money |
| C．ask you to be a stunt person |
| D．raise a question for the readers to think about |
Toyota is the world's largest automaker, but its road to success has been long and filled with speed bumps（颠簸）.
1958：The company's first foray into the American market was the Toyopet in 1958. It was a flop.
1964：Toyota introduced their Corona line of automobiles and sales hit 6,400 in 1965, marking an increase in popularity.
1969：Toyota began importing the Corolla and in 1985 it would become the first Toyota built in the U.S.
1975：Toyota surpassed the popular German brand Volkswagen to become the top import sold in the U.S.
1986：The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ordered its first recall of Toyota cars due to "speed control" problems.
1988：The First North American Toyota plant opened in Georgetown, Ky.
1989：Toyota introduced the Lexus LS 400, the company's first U.S. luxury car. It was a major hit.
1997：Toyota debuted their Prius gas-electric hybrid car.
2002：The first consumer complaints emerged of the Camry's engine surging under braking.
2004：The NHTSA opened a defect investigation into 2002-2003 Camry, Camry Solara and Lexus ES models.
2006：Toyota "Americanizes" and opened a new plant in Texas to build full-size pickups
2007：Toyota surpassed General Motors to become the world's largest automaker.
2007：The NHTSA investigated pedal entrapment in some Toyota vehicles, which led recalls of floor mats on Camry and Lexus models.
2007：The NHTSA investigated pedal entrapment in some Toyota vehicles, which led recalls of floor mats on Camry and Lexus models.
Aug. 2009：An off-duty California Highway Patrol officer and three family members were killed when their rental 2009 Lexus ES speeds out of control.
Nov. 2009：Toyota recalled 3.8 million Lexus and Toyota models to remove floor mats that can trap pedals.
Jan. 2010：Toyota recalled approximately 2.3 million more vehicles with potential sticking pedal problems. On Jan. 26, Toyota stopped selling eight models involved in the recall.
Feb. 2010：Prius and Lexus hybrids are now being recalled for brake problems in 2010 models.Which of the following brands belong to Toyota family？
| A．Toyopet, Volkswagen, Lexus, Prius |
| B．Camry, Prius, Lexus, Georgetown |
| C．Corona, Prius, Lexus, Corolla |
| D．General Motors, Lexus, Camry, Corolla |
The underlined word in Para.6 probably means:
| A．withdrawal | B．sorrow | C．appreciation | D．resolve |
We can infer from the passage that____________
| A．Lexus LS 400 is a cheaper car |
| B．Prius may be a kind of environmentally friendly car |
| C．Corona became popular as soon as introduced to the US |
| D．Toyota’s plant opened in Georgetown symbolized its “Americanize” tactics |
The purpose of this passage is to_________.
| A．advertise for Toyota |
| B．display Toyota’s glory |
| C．uncover Toyota’s braking problems |
| D．introduce Toyota’ s struggle in the US |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．The world’s largest automaker | B．The rise of Toyota |
| C．Toyota meeting problems in the US | D．Toyota’s failure in the US |
When you practice reading with passages shorter than book length, do not try to take in each word separately, one after the other. It is much more difficult to grasp the broad theme of the passage this way, and you will also get the stuck on individual words which may not be absolutely essential to a general understanding of the passage. It is a good idea to skim through the passage very quickly first to get the general idea of each paragraph. Titles, paragraph headings and emphasized words can be a great help in getting this skeleton outline of the passage. It is surprising how many people do not read titles, introductions or paragraph headings. Can you, without looking back, remember the title of this passage and the heading of this paragraph?
Most paragraphs of a passage or chapter have a 'topic sentence' which expresses the central idea. The remaining sentences expand or support that idea. It has been estimated that between 50% and 90% of all expositive（说明的）paragraphs in English have the topic sentence first. Always pay special attention to the first sentence of a paragraph, it is most likely to give you the main idea.
Sometimes, though, the first sentence in the paragraph does not have the feel of 'main idea' sentence. It does not seem to give us enough new information to justify a paragraph. The next most likely place to look for the topic sentence is the last sentence of the paragraph.
Remember that the opening and closing paragraphs of a passage or chapter are particularly important. The opening paragraph suggests the general direction and content of the piece, while the closing paragraph often summarizes the very essence（精髓）.It is a good idea to skim through a passage quickly first ____________.
| A．at about 315 w.p.m.（words per minute） |
| B．to get the general idea of each paragraph |
| C．so that you can take in each work separately |
| D．to make sure you get to the end at least once |
The topic sentence of an expository paragraph in English _____________.
| A．usually comes in the middle |
| B．is most likely to be found at the end |
| C．is most often at the beginning |
| D．is usually left out in expository writing |
Most expository paragraphs in English have a clearly defined topic sentence. In such paragraphs the topic sentence comes first ________.
A. in about 5% of cases B in about 80% of cases
C. in about 20% cases D. very rarelySometimes we know the first sentence is not the topic sentence because ____________.
| A．it does not seem to give us enough new information |
| B．it is not long enough |
| C．it does not come at the beginning |
| D．it does not make a complete sentence |
The closing paragraph of a piece of writing ____________.
| A．is not really very important |
| B．is often unnecessary repetition |
| C．often comes at the end |
| D．often summarizes the essence of the passage |
Do you want to live with a strong sense of peacefulness, happiness, goodness, and self- respect? The collection of happiness actions broadly categorized as "honor" help you create this life of good feelings.
Here's an example to show how honorable actions create happiness.
Say a store clerk fails to charge us for an item. If we keep silent, and profit from the clerk's mistake, we would drive home with a sense of sneaky excitement. Later we might tell our family or friends about our good fortune. On the other hand, if we tell the clerk about the uncharged item, the clerk would be grateful and thank us for our honesty. We would leave the store with a quiet sense of honor that we might never share with another soul.
Then, what is it to do with our sense of happiness?
In the first case, where we don't tell the clerk, a couple of things would happen. Deep down inside we would know ourselves as a type of thief. In the process, we would lose some peace of mind and self-respect. We would also demonstrate that we cannot lie trusted, since we advertise our dishonor by telling our family and friends. We damage our own reputations by telling others. In contrast, bringing the error to the clerk's attention causes different things to happen. Immediately the clerk knows us to be honorable. Upon leaving the store, we feel honorable and our self-respect is increased. Whenever we take honorable action we gain the deep internal rewards of goodness and a sense of nobility.
There is a beautiful positive cycle that is created by living a life of honorable actions. Honorable thoughts lead to honorable actions. Honorable actions lead us to a happier existence. And it's easy to think and act honorably again when we're happy. While the positive cycle can be difficult to start, once it's started, it's easy to continue. Keeping on doing good deeds brings us peace of mind, which is important for our happiness.According to the passage, the positive action in the example contributes to our___.
| A．friendly relationship | B．financial rewards |
| C．advertising ability | D．self-respect |
The author thinks that keeping silent about the uncharged item is equal to___.
| A．lying | B．cheating | C．stealing | D．advertising |
The phrase "bringing the error to the clerk's attention" (in para. 5) means___.
| A．asking the clerk to be more attentive |
| B．offering advice to the clerk |
| C．telling the truth to the clerk |
| D．reminding the clerk of the charged item |
Which of the following can be the best title of this passage?
| A．How to Live Truthfully |
| B．Importance of Peacefulness |
| C．Ways of Gaining Self-respect |
| D．Happiness through Honorable Actions |
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