One day I was driving to a business appointment and, as usual, I was planning in my mind what I was going to say. I came to a very busy crossroad where the stoplight had just turned red.
A young couple, both blind, were walking across the road. Each of them had a white cane(手杖). They were overcoming the most feared blindness. I held my breath when I noticed that the couple was not walking on the crosswalk, but was instead stepping directly into the middle of the crossroad. Without realizing the danger they were in, they were walking right into the path of the oncoming cars. I was frightened for them because I didn’t know if the other drivers understood what was happening. Then I saw a miracle unfold before my eyes. Every car in every direction came to a stop at the same time. Nobody can yelled, “Get out of the way!”
Amazed, I noticed that everyone’s attention was also fixed on the couple. Suddenly the driver to my right reacted. He yelled, “To your right.”Other people followed, shouting, “To your right!”Trusting their elite canes and the calls from some concerned citizens, they made it to the other side of the road. I could judge they had no idea what was really going on around them. Yet I immediately felt smiles appeared on everyone’s face. The driver to the left of me was saying, “I can’t believe it!”
I thought all of us were deeply moved by what we had just seen. Here were human beings stepping outsides themselves for a while to help other people in deed.When the author drove to work, he saw_________.
| A．some drivers were driving their cars very fast |
| B．a couple failed to cross the road as usual |
| C．most drivers drove in the same direction |
| D．A blind couple was walking into the driveway |
What does the underlined word “miracle” in paragraph 2 refer to?
| A．Everybody told the blind couple to go to the right |
| B．The blind couple avoided many cars by themselves |
| C．The blind couple kept calm in danger |
| D．Every car stopped for the blind couple |
It can be inferred from the text that________.
| A．people felt a relief after the couple crossed the road |
| B．the author was amazed at the expressions on the couple’s faces |
| C．the couple’s quick crossing of the road surprised everyone |
| D．calls from everyone made the couple realize their danger |
The Truth Can Set You Free
I recently got pulled over for speeding not far from my new home in Virginia. I hadn’t been paying attention, and I had driven a few miles an hour over the speed limit.
“Can I see your license and registration?” the police officer asked me. I pulled both out for him, and he saw my Pittsburgh address on my Pennsylvania driver’s license.
“What are you doing here?” he asked. “Are you with the army?”
“No, I’m not.” I answered. I explained that I had just moved to Virginia, and I hadn’t had time to re-register yet.
“So what brings you here?”
He had asked a direct question. Without thinking very hard, I gave him a direct answer. “Well, officer,” I said, “since you’ve asked, I have cancer. I have just months to live. We’ve moved down here to be close to my wife’s family.”
“So you’ve got cancer,” he said flatly. He was trying to figure me out. Was I really dying? Was I lying? He took a long look at me. “You know, for a guy who has only a few months to live, you sure look good.”
He was obviously thinking: “Either this guy is pulling one big fat line on me, or he’s telling the truth.” He was trying to question my honesty without directly calling me a liar. And so he had forced me to prove that I was being honest.
“Well, officer, I know that I look pretty healthy. I look great on the outside, but the tumors（肿瘤）are on the inside.” And then, I don’t know what possessed me, but I just did it. I pulled up my shirt, showing the operational scars.
He looked at my scars. He looked in my eyes. He now knew he was talking to a dying man. Well, he wasn’t taking this any further. He handed me back my license. “Do me a favor.” he said, “Slow down from now on.”
The awful truth had set me free. As he went back to his police car, I had a realization. I had been one of those gorgeous blondes (金发美女) who could bat her eyelashes and get out of tickets. I drove home under the speed limit, and I was smiling like a beauty queen.The author was stopped by the police officer because ______.
| A．he didn’t have a license |
| B．he forgot to re-register |
| C．he was seriously ill |
| D．he drove too fast |
The author moved to Virginia probably because ______.
| A．he was homesick |
| B．he served in the army there |
| C．Virginia had better hospitals |
| D．his family could be better cared for |
On hearing about the author’s cancer, the police officer ______.
| A．said it was an excuse |
| B．doubted his honesty |
| C．showed sympathy for him |
| D．asked him to show his scars |
It can be inferred from the passage that the author was ______.
| A．optimistic | B．adventurous |
| C．dishonest | D．romantic |
Going green seems to be fad(时尚)for a lot of people these days. Whether that is good or bad, we can’t really say, but for the two of us, going green is not a fad but a lifestyle.
On April 22, 2011, we decided to go green every single day for an entire year. This meant doing 365 different green things, and it also meant challenging ourselves to go green beyond easy things. Rather than recycle and reduce our energy, we had to thin
k of 365 different green things to do and this was no easy task.
With the idea of going green every single day for a year, Our Green Year started. My life and I decided to educate people about how they could go green in their lives and hoped we could show people all the green things that could be done to help the environment. We wanted to push the message that every little bit helps.
Over the course of Our Green Year, we completely changed our lifestyle. We now shop at organic(有机的)stores. We consume less meat, choosing green food. We have greatly reduced our buyin
g we don’t need. We have given away half of what we owned through websites. Our home is kept clean by vinegar and lemon juice, with no chemical cleaners. We make our own butter, enjoying the smell of home-made fresh bread. In our home office anyone caught doing something ungreen might be punished.
Our minds have been changed by Our Green Year. We are grateful for the chance to have been able to go green and educate others. We believe that we do have the power to change things and help our planet.What might be the best title for the passage?
| A．Going Green. | B．Protecting the Planet. |
| C．Keeping Open-Minded | D．Celebrating Our Green Year. |
It was difficult for the couple to live a green life for the whole year because_________.
| A．they were expected to follow the green fad |
| B．they didn’t know how to educate other people |
| C．they were unwilling to reduce their energy |
| D．they needed to perform unusual green tasks |
What did the couple do over the course of Our Green Year?
| A．They tried to get out of their ungreen habits. |
| B．They ignore others ungreen behavior. |
| C．They chose better chemical cleaners. |
| D．They sold their home-made food. |
What can we infer form the last paragraph?
| A．The government will give support to the green people. |
| B．The couple may continue their project in the future. |
| C．Some people disagree with the couple’s green ideas. |
| D．Our Green Year is becoming a national campaign. |
For good health, be sure to eat fruits and vegetables, exercise regularly and lie as seldom as possible. A researcher is hoping this advice will someday take hold, based on results of a "science of honesty" study she completed.
Half of 110 participants were told to stop telling major or minor ("white") lies for 10 weeks, while the other half (the control group) was given no special instructions about lying.
The 110 people ranged from ages 18 to 71 and came from both sexes and all income levels. All came to a laboratory each week to complete health and relationship questionnaires and to take a test showing the number of major and minor lies they had told that week.
When those in the no-lie group told three fewer white lies than in other weeks, they complained less of headaches, tenseness, anxiety and other problems than those in the control group. In addition, they reported that their close personal relationships had improved and their social interactions(交往) had gone more smoothly.
“The link was that clear," said study author Anita Kelly, a professor of psychology at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana. "Lying less was clearly associated with better health for those people."
Previous research indicates that Americans average 11 lies per week, from the little white lies to save face or falsely praise others to major lies about serious matters. Kelly said her study differs from former studies because it didn't focus on how to detect a liar, but on the potential health consequences of telling lies.
“People might recognize the more harmful effect lying can have on relationships, but probably don't recognize the extent to which it can cause a lot of stress," said Dr. Bryan Bruno at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.
At the end of the study, some participants had created smart ways to avoid lying. Kelly noted that some realized they could simply tell the truth about their daily achievements rather than exaggerate(夸张), while others responded to a troubling question with another question to take the person’s attention away. They also stopped making false excuses for running late or failing to finish tasks.
“People usually think white lies are acceptable. In fact, white lies are trouble, not just major lies," Kelly said. "As long as you like, you can find effective ways to avoid lying in many cases. It depends on you.”
“But the goal doesn’t have to be the absolute absence of lies … the goal would be a reduction in lies,” she added.
According to the author, doing the following things is good for health EXCEPT .
| A．eating fruits and vegetables | B．exercising regularly |
| C．lying as seldom as possible | D．watching TV |
The “science of honesty” study by Anita Kelly focused on .
| A．the effect lifestyles have on health. |
| B．the link between lying and health. |
| C．how to improve relationships |
| D．how to discover a liar. |
Which of the following is TRUE about the research?
| A．All the participants were adults. |
| B．The control group was asked to stop lying. |
| C．The participants had ten physical examinations. |
| D．All the participants were of the same income level. |
The finding of the research is that .
| A．white lies help to improve relationships. |
| B．few people realize lying harms their health. |
| C．Americans tell 11 lies per week on average. |
| D．Lying less results in better health mentally and physically. |
Lee Kuan Yew emerged onto the international stage as the founding father of the state of Singapore, then a city of about 1 million. He developed into a world statesman who acted as a kind of conscience to leaders around the globe.
Fate initially seemed not to have provided him with a stage on which to achieve more than modest local success. In the first phase of decolonization, Singapore emerged as a part of Malaya. It was cut loose because of tensions between Singapore’s largely Chinese population and the Malay majority and, above all, to teach the city a lesson of dependency, Malaya undoubtedly expected that reality would cure Singapore of its independent spirit.
But great men become such through visions beyond material calculations. Lee challenged conventional wisdom by opting for statehood. The choice reflected a deep faith in the virtues of his people. He asserted that a city located on a sandbar with no economic resource to draw upon, and whose major industry as a colonial naval base had disappeared, could nevertheless thrive and achieve international reputation by building on its principal asset(财富): the intelligence, industry and dedication of its people.
A great leader takes his or her society from where it is to where it has never been ---- indeed, where it as yet cannot imagine being. By insisting on quality education, by suppressing corruption and by basing governance on merit. Lee and his colleagues raised the annual per capita income of their population from $500 at the time of independence in 1965 to roughly $55,000 today. In a generation, Singapore became an international financial center., the leading intellectual metropolis of Southeast Asia, the location of the region’s major hospitals and a favored site for conferences on international affairs. It did so by adhering to an extraordinary pragmatism: by opening careers to the best talents and encouraging them to adopt the best practices from all over the world..
Superior performance was one component of that achievement. Superior leadership was even more important. As the decades went by, it was moving ---- and inspirational ---- to see Lee., the mayor of a medium-size city, become a mentor of global strategic order.
The great tragedy of Lee’s life was that his beloved wife was felled by a stroke that left her a prisoner in her body, unable to communicate or receive communication. Through all that time, Lee sat by her bedside in the evening reading to her. He had faith that she understood despite the evidence to the contrary.
Perhaps this was Lee Kuan Yew’s role in his era. He had the same hope for our world. He fought for its better instincts even when the evidence was ambiguous. But many of us heard him and will never forget him.Why did Lee Kuan Yew choose to lead Singapore to be independent?
| A．He intended to act as a kind of conscience to leaders around the globe. |
| B．He determined his people shouldn’t be subjected to Malaya anymore. |
| C．He had considerable confidence in the value of the city’s assets. |
| D．He wanted Singapore to be the most powerful country worldwide. |
From the underlined sentence in Paragraph2, we can know that ________.
| A．Malaya expected Singapore to be powerful |
| B．Malaya had a desire to kick off Singapore |
| C．Malaya firmly believed Singapore would give in |
| D．Malaya didn’t think Singapore possessed independent spirit |
The fourth paragraph is organized to ________.
| A．illustrate how advanced Singapore has been today |
| B．demonstrate Lee Kuan Yew attached great importance to the talents |
| C．prove what a crucial decision Lee Kuan Yew once made |
| D．show the tremendous impact Lee Kuan Yew had on Singapore |
Which of the following can best describe Lee Kuan Yew?
| A．Stubborn and arbitrary |
| B．Aggressive and affectionate. |
| C．Demanding and bossy |
| D．Outspoken and humorous. |
Summer Rain
The worst days of any summer are the rainy ones. We spend all year looking forward to nice weather and long, hot days. All of winter, with its cloudy days and bitter cold, we dream of those endless days at the beach, lying on the sand and enjoying the bright and burning sun. And then, summer comes, and it rains.
As a child, I would wake up to rainy summer days and come close to crying. It wasn’t fair. We suffered through months of school and experienced bad weather for those short ten weeks of freedom and pleasant weather.
On those rainy summer days, I had nothing fun to do and could only sit inside, staring out at the rain like a bird in a cage. I was an only child, so there was no one else to play with. My father worked from home, so I was not truly alone, but he could not actively play with me since he was at work. It was those days that I would watch whatever was on television or read any books that I could find lying around. I’d drag through the day and pray each night that the rain would not be there the next day.
As an adult, though, my opinion of summer rain has changed. When you have to work every day, summer is not as exciting. Everything seems dull. Such a mindset makes you cheer for anything new or different. I spend the winter dreaming of summer and the summer dreaming of winter. When summer comes, I hate how hot it is. And then I look forward to the rain, because the rain brings with it a cold front, which makes me comfortable. Rainy days are still the worst days of the summer, but summer rain today means positively beautiful—and considerably cooler—weather tomorrow.When the author was a child, he ______.
| A．hated rainy days |
| B．liked staying indoors |
| C．preferred cooler weather |
| D．dreamed on summer days |
We can learn from the passage that the author ______.
| A．had no brothers or sisters |
| B．was often left alone at home |
| C．could enjoy the brilliant sun in winter |
| D．preferred reading to playing outside |
As an adult, the author views summer rain differently because ______.
| A．heknowsit won’t last long |
| B．rain makes the weather cooler |
| C．his summer holiday is very short |
| D．he can better deal with his downtime |
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