I stopped at a grocery store the other day because I was about to go on a long drive and I wanted to buy my favorite beverage for the trip. It wasn’t the store I normally go to, just one I passed along the way.
As I walked up to the entrance, I noticed a man and a boy who was about 10 or 12 years old standing at the front of the store. Customers walked past, as the man handed them half-sheets of white paper. I walked up to them with curiosity, wondering what cause they were representing. As I got closer, I saw that they had two carts starting to fill with groceries.
I said hello and the man greeted me and handed me one of the pieces of paper, explaining that they were collecting donations for the local food pantry. On the paper was a simple list of food items: peanut butter, noodles, pasta sauce, canned fruits and vegetables. It also included a short story about the boy and his efforts to collect food donations since the age of 8. I was really touched that someone so young would be so interested in helping others. I told him it was an awesome idea and that he should be proud of himself. He smiled.
Then, I went inside to get my drink. Unfortunately, the store didn’t have it in stock. But, I wasn’t upset, because by then I felt I had another mission. I went through the store, picking things from the list, then brought them back out to the boy and put them in the cart. I also gave the man the white sheet of paper back to reuse for another customer. They thanked me and offered me a treat (candy, I think) but I said to pass it on to someone else.
As I walked back to my car, the boy’s well-intentioned spirit stuck with me. How inspiring to encounter a young boy with a resolve to do good deeds, and the courage to act on it. It made my day!What do we know from the passage?
| A．The author wasn’t a regular customer to the store. |
| B．The store was owned by the man and the boy. |
| C．The store didn’t deal in drinks. |
| D．The author refused their treat because he didn’t need it. |
What does the author mainly want to tell readers in paragraph 4?
| A．He didn’t get his drink |
| B．He carried out another mission. |
| C．He got thanks and was offered a treat |
| D．He wasn’t upset though not getting his drink. |
What’s the best title for the passage?
| A．A Day for a Boy. | B．A Young Boy’s Determination. |
| C．An Inspiring Boy. | D．A Young Boy’s Groceries. |
We can infer from the description of the author that the boy is _______.
| A．noble-minded | B．hard-working |
| C．well-educated | D．open-minded |
In the last 500 years, nothing about people — their clothes, ideas, or languages—has changed as much as what they eat. The original chocolate drink was made from the seeds of the cocoa tree(可可树)by South American. Indians. The Spanish introduced it to the rest of the world during the 1500’s. And although it was very expensive, it quickly became fashionable. In London, shops where chocolate drinks were served became important meeting places. Some still exist today.
The potato is also from the New World. Around 1600, the Spanish brought it from Peru to Eu¬rope, where it soon was widely grown. Ireland became so dependent on it that thousands of Irish peo¬ple starved when the crop failed during the "Potato Famine (饥荒)" of 1845—1846, and thousands more were forced to leave their homeland and move to America.
There are many other foods that have traveled from South America to the Old World. But some others went in the opposite direction. Brazil is now the world’s largest grower of coffee, and coffee is an important crop in Colombia and other South American countries. But it is native to Ethiopia, a country in Africa. It was first made into a drink by Arabs during the 1400’s.
according to an. Arabic legend, coffee was discovered when a person named Kaldi noticed that his goats were attracted to the red berries on a coffee, bush. He tried one and experienced the " wide-awake" feeling that one third of the world’s population now starts the day with.
1. according to the passage, which of the following has changed the most in the last 500 years?
A. Food. B. Clothing. C. Ideology. D. Language.
2. The word "some" in the last sentence of the first paragraph refers to________.
A. some cocoa trees B. some chocolate drinks.
C. some shops D. some South American Indians
3. Thousands of Irish people starved during the " Potato Famine" because________
A. they were so dependent on potatoes that they refused to eat anything else
B. they were forced to leave their homeland and move to America
C. the weather conditions in Ireland were not suitable for growing potatoes
D. the potato harvest was bad
4. according to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. One third of the world’s population drinks coffee.
B. Coffee is native to Colombia.
C. Coffee can keep one awake.
D. Coffee drinks were first made by Arabs.
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 increas¬ing 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 competitive 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.
1. The speech was made ________.
A. at a welcome meeting B. after someone died
C. when somebody was leaving D. when they had a new manager
2. How long did Masters work there?
A. 37 years. B. Less than 5 years.
C. About six years. D. Since he began to work.
3 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
4. 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
People living on parts of the south coast of England face a serious problem. In 1933, the owners of a large hotel and of several houses discovered, to their surprise that their gardens had disappeared overnight. The sea had eaten into the soft limestone cliff (悬崖) on which they had been built. While ex¬perts were studying the problem, the hotel and several houses disappeared altogether, sliding down the cliff and into the sea.
Erosion (侵蚀) of the white cliffs along the south coast of England has always been a problem but it has become more serious in recent years. Dozens of homes have had to be aban¬doned as the sea has crept farther and farther inland. Experts have studied the areas most affected and have drawn up a map for local people, forecasting the year in which their homes will be eaten up by the hungry sea.
Angry owners have called on the Government to erect sea defenses to protect their homes. Government surveyors have pointed out that in most cases, this is impossible. New sea walls would cost hundreds of millions of pounds and would merely make the waves and currents further along the coast, shifting the problem from one area to another. The danger is likely to continue, they say, until the waves reach an inland ar¬ea of hard rock, which will not be eaten as limestone is. Mean¬while, if you want to buy a cheap house with an uncertain fu¬ture, apply to a house agent in one of the threatened areas on the south coast of England. You can get a house for a knock¬down price but it may turn out to be a knockdown home.
1. What is the cause of the problem that people living on parts of the south coast of England face?
A. The rising of the sea level.
B. The experts’ short of knowledge.
C. The washing-away of limestone cliff.
D. The disappearance of hotels, houses and gardens.
2. The erosion of the white cliffs in the south of England ________.
A. will soon become a problem for people living in central England
B. has now become a threat to the local residents
C. can be stopped if proper measures are taken
D. is quickly changing the map of England
3. The experts’ study on the problem of erosion can ________.
A. warn people whose homes are in danger
B. provide an effective way to slow it down
C. help to its eventual solution
D. lead to its eventual solution
4. It is not feasible to build sea defenses to protect against erosion because ________.
A. house agents along the coast do not support the idea
B. it is too costly and will endanger neighboring areas
C. the government is too slow in taking action
D. they will be easily knocked down by waves and currents
Play is the basic business of childhood, and in recent years research has shown the great impor¬tance of play in the development of a human being. From earliest infancy (婴儿), every child needs opportunity and the right materials for play, and the main tools of play are toys. The main function of toys is to suggest, encourage and play. To succeed in this, they must be good toys, which children will play with often, and will come back to again, and again. Therefore it is important to choose suit¬able toys for different stages of a child’s development.
In recent years research on infant development has shown that the standard a child is likely to reach, within the range of his inherited (遗传的) abilities, is largely determined in the first three years of his life. So a baby’s ability to benefit from the right play materials should not be underestimated. A baby who is encouraged, talked to and shown things and played with, has the best chance of growing up successfully.
In the next stage, from three to five years old, curiosity knows no bounds. Every type of suitable toys should be made available to the child, for trying out, experimenting and learning, for discovering his own particular ability: Bricks and jigsaws (七巧板) and construction toys; painting, scribbling (涂鸦) and making things; sand and water play;toys for imaginative and pretending play — the first so¬cial games for learning to play and get on with others.
But at the third stage of play development — from five to seven or eight years old — the child is at school. But for a few more years play is still the best way of learning, at home or at school. It is easier to see which type of toys the child most enjoys.
Until the age of seven or eight, play and work mean much the same to a child. But once reading has been mastered, then books become the main source of learning. Toys are still interesting and val¬uable, which lead up to new hobbies, but their significance has changed — to a child of nine or ten years old, toys and games mean, as to adults, relaxation and fun.
1. according to the first passage we know that as a child grows up________.
A. he should be allowed to choose his own toys
B. he should be given the same toys
C. he should be given different toys
D. he should be given fewer and fewer toys
2. according to the passage, the abilities a child has inherited from his parents________.
A. determine his character
B. will not change after the age of three
C. partly determine the standard he is likely to reach
D. to a large extent determine the choice of toys
3. We learn from the passage that a child has boundless curiosity________.
A. when he is two B. when he is around four
C. when he is six D. when he is eight
4. The passage is mainly about________.
A. the importance of pre-school education B. the importance of schooling
C. the role of play in a child’s development D. the choice of toys for youngster
What does it mean to say that we live in a world of persuasion? It means that we live among competing interests. Your roommate’s need to study for an exam may take priority (优先) over pizza. Your instructor may have good reasons not to change your grade. And the object of your romantic/interest may have other choices.
In such a world, persuasion is the art of getting others to give fair and favorable consideration to our points of view. When we persuade, we want to influence how others believe and behave. We may not always prevail — other points of view may be more persuasive, depending on the listener, the situation, and the merit of the case. But when we practice the art of persuasion, we try to ensure that our position receives the attention it deserves.
Some people, however, object to the very idea of persuasion. They may regard it as an unwelcome interruption into their lives. Just the opposite, we believe that persuasion is unavoidable — to live is to persuade. Persuasion may be ethical (合乎道义的) or unethical, selfless or selfish, inspiring or degrading. Persuaders may enlighten our mind or prey on our vulnerability. Ethical persuasion, however, calls on sound reasoning and is sensitive to the feelings and needs of listeners. Such persuasion can help us apply the wisdom of the past to the decisions we now must make. Therefore, the most basic part of education is learning to resist the one kind of persuasion and to encourage and practice the other.
Beyond its personal importance to us, persuasion is necessary to society. The right to persuade and be persuaded is the bedrock of the American political system, guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution (美国宪法).
. according to the passage, persuasion means ________.
| A．changing others’ points of view |
| B．exercising power over other people |
| C．getting other people to consider your point of view |
| D．getting people to agree with you and do what you want |
. The underlined word in the second paragraph “prevail” means________.
| A．win | B．fail | C．speak | D．listen |
. The passage states that some people object to persuasion because they think it is ________.
| A．a danger to society | B．difficult to do well |
| C．unwelcome behavior | D．never successful |
. The passage mainly discusses ________.
| A．how people persuade |
| B．why people persuade |
| C．that persuasion is both good and bad |
| D．that persuasion is important and it is all around us |
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