This is an open letter to the three people who stole my handbag from the department store I am employed as a shop assistant.
When you took my bag, I don’t know what you thought you were going to get. With my wages, there’s not much left on a Tuesday. I hope the ￡5 was useful to you. I have informed the social security office so you won’t be able to cash the child benefit next week. I hope that won’t leave you too short．But if you really need a couple of pounds, I suppose you could always cash one of the two checks left in my check book．Of course, I phoned the bank right away and the check-cashing card is no longer valid(有效的), so it won’t be much use to you.
Actually I don’t mind about the money too much. We single parents who work to support our families understand only too well what it means to be short of cash. However, I don’t suppose it went very far among the three of you. Sorry about that!
I wish you had left the bag behind and just taken the wallet and check book．There were all kinds of papers in it, and notes and things that I really need. I really think that was very inconsiderate of you . I mean, how would you like something like that to happen to you?
Well, perhaps the bag will turn up. It wasn’t even an expensive one, just a plain, old brown leather handbag. You probably dumped it in the nearest rubbish bin or threw it into the bushes. We’ve looked around, of course, but no one saw which way you went after you left the shop.
I’m not really angry with you．I know how the pressures of modern living can affect us, but I am sad at the loss of my personal things. I feel offended and helpless. The police were very icy, and they just shrugged（耸） their shoulders. “It happens all the time,” they told me. Some small comfort, I suppose. But I’ve lost just a little more faith in human nature. And as my young son said when I told him what had happened, “Why? Mummy, why us?” I couldn’t answer that question. I wonder if you can.In writing Paragraph 2, the writer wants to __________.
| A．describe the contents of the bag in detail |
| B．give some suggestions to the three thieves |
| C．tell the thieves they could hardly get any money |
| D．state the fact that she was careless with the money |
Which of the following is the most valuable to the writer?
| A．The cash in her bag. |
| B．The papers and notes in the bag. |
| C．The handbag itself. |
| D．The check books in the bag. |
What can we conclude about the police?
| A．They have doubts about human nature. |
| B．They show sympathy for the woman. |
| C．They think the case quite common. |
| D．They are unable to find the thieves. |
Why does the author write the letter?
| A．To give the thieves a serious warning. |
| B．To complain about the fall of human goodness. |
| C．To call people’s attention to their belongings. |
| D．To express her affection for her valuable bag. |
Singing had always been an important part of Gloria Estefan’s life. “ Since I was three years old, I sang. I sang everything,” Gloria said. “Gubans,” she added, “are a musical people.”
Gloria was born in Cuba in 1957. Her family left the country just before Fidel Castro came to power. In Miami, where the family settled, many people did not accept Cuban immigrants. In first grade, she spoke little English, but she worked hard to learn the language. Six months after she entered school, she won an award for reading in English!
When Gloria was ten , her father returned from the Vietnam War. Soon, the family realized he wasn’t well. They soon found out that he was badly ill. Her mother went back to teaching at school to support the family. Gloria cared for her father and her younger sister.
She still made the honor roll, and she still had her music, but Gloria was lonely. However, when the band leader Emilio Estefan came to speak at her high school, Gloria sang for him. He asked her to join his band. It was the beginning of the Miami Sound Machine. Within a few months, the Miami Sound Machine was the top band in Miami. In 1978, Gloria and Emilio married.
At first, the Miami Sound Machine was known only in Miami. Then the band signed with CBS Records. Estefan and his band became stars.
Since then, the Miami Sound Machine has sold millions of records. Estefan has done more than just singing when Hurricane Andrew hit central Florida in 1992. She used only two weeks to organize an all-star concert that raised $ 2 million for the people who suffered in the hurricane. “We needed a party after that disaster,” she said.
Estefan said, “You have to stay true to the music you really love to do. There will always be people who will tell you, ‘that won’t work.’ You’ve got to be firm in spite of difficulties. Stick to it——that’s the main thing.”Estefan’s father was ill ______.
| A．after he returned from Vietnam War |
| B．before they left their home country |
| C．when they settled down in Miami |
| D．as soon as she finished high school |
According to the passage, probably Estefan did the following except________.
| A．organizing an all-star concert for Hurricane victims |
| B．teaching at school to support the family |
| C．winning an award for reading in English |
| D．taking care of her father and sister |
The underlined word “disaster” in this passage refers to _______.
| A．the concert | B．the celebration | C．the hurricane | D．the victims |
This passage mainly tells about Estefan’s ______.
| A．Cuban background | B．happy marriage | C．music style | D．life story |
My Best Enemy
Once again, I was in a new school. So was a girl in my class named Lisa. That’s where the similarities ended.
I was tall and she was small. My thick black hair had been recently cut short into an untidy style. Her natural blonde hair flowed to her waist and looked great. I was 12 and one of the oldest in the class while she was 11 and the youngest. I was awkward and shy. She wasn’t. I couldn’t stand her, considering her my enemy. But she liked me and wanted to be friends.
One day, she invited me over and I said yes—I was too shocked to answer any other way. My family had moved six times in six years, and I had never managed to develop any friendships. But this girl who wore the latest fashions wanted me to go home with her after school.
She lived in a fun part of town that had two pizza places, an all-night bookstore, a movie theater and a park. As we walked from the school bus stop through her neighborhood, I tried to guess which house might be hers. Was it the white one with the perfect lawn or the three-story house with a front porch? I got very surprised when she led me into an old apartment building. She lived on the fourth floor in a two-room place with her mother,her stepfather, her two brothers and her sister.
When we got into the room she shared with her sister, she took out a big case of Babies, which was my next surprise. I had never played with them. We sat on the floor,laughing as we made up crazy stories about the Babies. We found out that we both wanted to be writers when we were older and both had wild imaginations. We had a great day that afternoon.
Lisa was loved by the whole neighborhood. The bookstore owners lent her fashion magazines; the movie theater gave her free tickets… Soon I was included in her magic world. We slept over at each other’s houses and spent every free moment together.
Lisa, my first real friend since childhood, helped me get through the rough year of early adolescence(青春期) and taught me an amazing and very surprising thing about making friends: that your worst enemy can turn out to be your best friend.The writer and Lisa were similar in the way that_____.
| A．they were of the same age | B．they had the same hair styles |
| C．they were both tall | D．they were both new students |
One day Lisa invited the writer______ .
| A．to go to her home | B．to go to the movie |
| C．to go to a park | D．to go to a pizza place |
In the passage the writer described Lisa as a girl who was ______
| A．awkward and shy | B．rich and happy |
| C．friendly and lovely | D．quiet and lonely |
Which of the following did the writer learn from Lisa?
| A．How to make up stories. | B．How to deal with enemies. |
| C．How to live a better life. | D．How to make friends. |
Ad.1
West High School Bake Sale
Come and support our band and buy some delicious baked goods!
Friday, September 20th, 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
In the hall by the office after school
Cookies: 25 cents each or 5 for $1
Brownies: 50 cents each or 3 for $1.25
Cake by the slice: $1
Whole cakes: $8
Proceeds go toward sending our band to Nationals.
Ad.2
SHIPPING AND HANDLING CHARGES
Ups or U.S. Parcel Post are the standard methods for continental U.S. shipments.
ORDER TOTAL GROUND EXPEDITED GROUND
9-12 working days 4-5 working days
$0.00 to $30.00 $4.50 $5.50
$30.01 to $60.00 $7.25 $8.25
$60.01 to $100.00 $9.50 $10.50
$100.01 to $200.00 $11.50 $12.50
Add $7.00 to Ground Rates for 3 Days.How much money can you save if you buy 3 brownies?
| A．25 cents. | B．50 cents. | C．75 cents. | D．1.25 dollars. |
Which of the following gives you the most for your money if you buy the baked goods?
| A．4 cookies. | B．2 brownies. | C．5 cookies. | D．One slice of cake. |
If you wish to receive an order totaling $90.00 within 3 days, how much would the shipping cost?
| A．$10.50. | B．$16.50. | C．$15.00. | D．$26.50. |
How much should you pay for an order totaling $50 for the expedited ground?
| A．$1 | B．$7.25 | C．$8.25 | D．$15.5 |
Many people like to eat at a favorite restaurant on their birthday. 71 Here are the tips about how to eat for free on your birthday.
Notice promotional (促销的) cards or signs at restaurants for their e-club or online notification of special offers. Sometimes it is called a birthday club. In some cases they ask for your email address and at other times, you register online from your own computer. 72
If you don’t know whether your favorite restaurant has an e-club, look them up online. Just search their name if it’s a chain. Look over the webpage for anything that says SIGN UP or JOIN. It may call it an e-club.
You will receive e-mail advertisements from them. 73 if it asks for birthday and anniversary dates when you sign up, then the restaurant usually will send you a personal coupon and invitation for that event.
Check your e-mail the week leading up to your birthday. All the e-clubs that you signed up for will be sending their invitations.
Read the fine print on all the offers before deciding where to eat on your birthday. Some are only on the exact date. 74 There may be other requirements, like free dessert when you buy an entree (主菜).
Choose the most inviting offer or over several days, take advantage of free dining opportunities. __75
| A．Anyway, look around for these offers and get signed up. |
| B．However, others may be for any time over a two-week period. |
| C．But how can we eat better in a free restaurant? |
| D．It would be an even greater treat if the meal or part of the meal were free. |
E. Why not celebrate your birthday for a whole week, not just one day?
F. Often the advertisements will include discount coupons(优惠券).
G. So don’t go to such restaurant.
D
You may picture firefighters holding a hose (水管) outside of a burning building, but the Golden Eagles Hotshots don’t fight fires quite that way. When they go into action, you may not even see a fire truck.
The Hotshots are firefighters who battle fires in wildness areas. But don’t think you’ll only find them in their home state California. Wherever there is a national wildfire emergency, the Golden Eagles Hotshots could be there.
But these firefighters don’t work the same way as firefighters in a big city. They work in areas where there are a large number of trees, bushes, and grass. They climb up and down steep hills to clear brush and burnable debris（残骸）. They sometimes use water, but they often fight fire with fire!
They do that by lighting what are called “backfires,” which are small, controlled fires that burn up fuel in the path of large wildfires. That way, when the wildfire gets there, it has nothing to burn and nowhere to go, because all the burnable fuel has already gone up in smoke.
The Hotshots also clear away fuel using old-fashioned hard work. For example, they use a saw to cut away trees and heavy brush that could catch fire.
Of course there are times when the Golden Eagles Hotshots do have trucks to supply water to the fires. But the water is limited, and these guys have to rely on hard work more than anything. Physical fitness is very important. They have to be in great physical shape to handle steep hills and difficult terrain(地形) while carrying a 60-pound pack.
The Golden Eagles Hotshots definitely work hard for their pay. But thanks to their efforts, many lives have been saved, many houses have not burned, and countless trees are still standing.67. The firefighters mentioned in the passenger.
| A．do much of their work in California |
| B．avoid climbing steep hills in their work |
| C．do their work equipped with advanced tools. |
| D．carry out their work mostly in forests and mountains. |
68. According to the passage, why do the firefighters light “backfires”?
| A．To signal for help. | B．To remove obstacles. |
| C．To protect trees and bushes. | D．To prevent the fire from spreading. |
69. What can we learn about the Golden Eagles Hotshots?
| A．They are firefighters working in big cities. |
| B．Their work requires physical strength. |
| C．They are voluntary firefighters working for free. |
| D．They usually hold a hose to put out the fires. |
70. What is the author’s attitude towards the Golden Eagles Hotshots?
| A．Appreciative | B．Doubtful | C．Worried | D．Critical |
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