It was a dark and cold night . The taxi driver didn’t have even one passenger (乘客) all day . when he went by the bus station . He saw a young man coming out with two bags in his hands . So he quickly opened the door of the car and asked , “Where do you want to go ,sir ?”
“ To Star Hotel ,” the young man answered . When the taxi driver heard this , he didn’t feel happy any more . He knew the young man could give him only three dollars because the hotel was not far from the bus station . But suddenly (突然地) he had an idea . He took the passenger through many streets of the big city .
After a long time , the car arrived at the hotel at last . “ You should pay me fifteen dollars .” the driver said to the young man “What ? Fifteen dollars ! Do you think I’m a fool (傻子) ？ Only last week , I took a taxi from the bus station to the same hotel and I only gave the driver thirteen dollars . I know how much I have to pay for the trip.I won’t pay you one dollar more than I paid to the other taxi driver last week . ”. When did the story happen ?
| A．in the morning | B．at noon |
| C．in the afternoon | D．on a cold night |
The driver felt very ___ when he saw the young man coming out of the bus station
| A．unhappy | B．worried |
| C．sad | D．excited |
From the passage we know that the young man ____
A. didn’t want to stay in the city
B. knew clearly how far it was from the bus station to the hotel
C He didn’t know the city well
D He came to the city by planeWhat do you think of the driver ?
| A．He was a kind and helpful man |
| B．He was good at driving |
| C．He was a dishonest man |
| D．He was good and clever |
The taxi driver took the young man through many street to _____
| A．make the young man happy |
| B．get more than twenty dollars |
| C．let the young man think it was very far from the bus station to the hotel |
| D．let the young man have a good look at the city |
Blind imitation (模仿) is self-destruction. To those who do not recognize their unique worth, imitation appears attractive: to those who know their strength, imitation is unacceptable.
In the early stages of skill or character development, imitation is helpful. When I first learned to cook, I used recipes (菜谱) and turned out some tasty dishes. But soon I grew bored. Why follow someone else's way of cooking when I could create my own? Imitating role models is like using training wheels on a child's bicycle; they help you get going, but once you find your own balance, you fly faster and farther without relying on them.
In daily life, imitation can hurt us if we subconsciously (下意识地) hold poor role models. If, as a child, you observed people whose lives were bad, you may have accepted their fear and pain as normal and gone on to follow what they did. If you do not make strong choices for yourself, you will get the results of the weak choices of others.
In the field of entertainment, our culture glorifies celebrities. Those stars look great on screen. But when they step off screen, their personal lives may be disastrous. If you are going to follow someone, focus on their talent, not their bad character or unacceptable behaviors.
Blessed is the person willing to act on their sudden desire to create something unique. Think of the movies, books, teachers, and friends that have affected you most deeply. They touched you because their creations were motivated by inspiration, not desperation. The world is changed not by those who do what has been done before them, but by those who do what has been done inside them. Creative people have an endless resource of ideas. The problem a creator faces is not running out of material; it is what to do with the material knocking at the door of imagination.
Study your role models, accept the gifts they have given, and leave behind what does not server. Then you can say, "I stand on the shoulders of my ancestors" tragedies and stories, and know that they are cheering on. Imitation proves useful when you _____.
| A．know you are unique |
| B．lose the balance of life |
| C．begin to learn something new |
| D．get tired of routine practice |
To avoid the bad result of imitation, we should _____.
| A．forget daily fear and pain |
| B．choose the right example |
| C．ask others for decisions |
| D．stay away from stars |
The trouble a creator faces is _____.
| A．the lack of strong motivation |
| B．the absence of practical ideas |
| C．how to search for more materials |
| D．how to use imagination creatively |
What is the author's purpose in writing this passage?
| A．To highlight the importance of creatively. |
| B．To criticize the characters of role models. |
| C．To compare imitation with creation. |
| D．To explain the meaning of success. |
There are different ways in which people try to deal with the problem of energy. One way is the greater production of common energy sources(能源), such as coal, oil and gas. The trouble with these sources, however, is that they are not renewable.
Another way is energy conservation(节能), which means using energy more efficiently(有效地). In some very cold countries people build special houses to save energy. They place materials between the inside and the outside of the walls of the house to keep the cold out and the warmth in. The house is heated by the lights, the body heat of the people and the other equipment in it.
Finally, renewable energy sources are used even though they are often expensive to develop. One form of these is geothermal energy. In certain parts of the world the temperature of the earth increases thirty degrees centigrade with each kilometre down. At six kilometres, therefore, t rises to nearly two hundred degrees. To get the heat, water is pumped(压;抽)down into the ocks and back up to the surface. Heat from the earth is already used in certain countries.The writer tells about the "special houses" because they __________
| A．show the excellent skills of the builders |
| B．serve as an example of energy conservation |
| C．are heated by different sources of energy |
| D．are warmer than other types of houses |
The underlined words geothermal energy in the third paragraph mean________
| A．renewable source |
| B．underground source |
| C．heat inside the earth |
| D．temperature of the earth |
At a place where the surface temperature is 15℃, how deep do you have to dig so as to get a temperature of 75℃?
| A．One km. | B．Two km. |
| C．Three km. | D．Four km. |
If you are lost in the mountains, stay calm in the face of darkness, loneliness, and the unknown. It will greatly increase your chances of survival (生存). Many people think that preparing necessary equipment and knowing how to use it are very important, but actually eighty percent of mountain survival is your reaction to fear.
Find a hiding place
Unnecessary labor will make you sweat and make you cold. Find a hiding place around you before trying to start your own construction. If you are in a snow-covered area, you may be able to dig a cave in deep snow for protection from the wind. You should try to hide yourself in the middle of the mountain if possible. Stay out of the valleys-cold air falls, and the valley floor can be the coldest area on the mountain.
Signal for help
The best time to signal is during the day. Signal for help from the highest point possible-it will be easier for rescuers to see you, and any sound you make will travel farther. If you take a box of matches and a space blanket (a special blanket for traveling), build three smoky fires and put your blanket-gold side facing out on the ground.
Do not walk away
It will make finding you more difficult, as search teams will be trying to follow your path and may miss you if you have gone off in a different direction. Searchers often end up finding a car with no one in it.
If you get frostbite (冻伤), do not rewarm the affected area until you're out of danger.
You can walk on frostbitten feet, but once you warm the area and can feel the pain, you will not want to walk anywhere. Try to protect the frostbitten area and keep it dry until you are rescued.When lost in the mountains, you can increase your chances of survival if you_____.
| A．take a space blanket with you |
| B．do more physical labor |
| C．try to find a car immediately |
| D．walk as far as possible to find help |
According to the passage, people most probably fail to survive if they _____.
| A．do not take enough equipment |
| B．stay in the middle of the mountain |
| C．do not keep themselves warm |
| D．stay in a snow-covered area |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Don't travel by yourself. |
| B．Mountain traveling is dangerous. |
| C．Don't get frightened in danger. |
| D．Avoid going to unfamiliar places. |
April Fool’s Day is supposed to be a day to play jokes on others in hopes of getting a good laugh and making one feel like a fool. However, the April Fool’s Day of 2014 was quite different for my mom and me.
That day my friend Jimmy and I were playing a game. I had dropped down from a bar (横木) many times in the past without ever having a problem, but that day the simple act of dropping to the ground became a nightmare (噩梦). I broke my arm.
Jimmy’s dad heard my crying and rushed out to see what was going on. When he saw the problem he quickly put me into his truck and went inside to telephone my mom and let her know he would take me to hospital. As that day was April Fool’s Day, Mom was not buying it and really thought all this was a big joke. Mom was finally convinced by Jimmy’s mom. When she saw me, she broke down in tears because she felt so bad –she originally thought this was just a big prank (恶作剧).
I guess one could compare this to the story of The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Since I had pulled pranks before, it is no wonder that my mom didn’t believe it. I as well as my mom was made to look like a fool that day. We both learned a valuable lesson.What happened to the writer on the April Fool’s Day of 2014?
| A．He dreamed a terrible dream. |
| B．He was hurt by Jimmy. |
| C．He had an accident. |
| D．He fooled his mom with his friend. |
Why did Jimmy’s dad phone the writer’s mom?
| A．Because he wanted to play a joke on her. |
| B．Because he wanted her to go to the hospital to pay the money. |
| C．Because he wanted to see how deeply she loved her son. |
| D．Because he wanted to inform her of the accident. |
From the passage we can infer that _________.
| A．the writer’s mom didn’t care much about him |
| B．the writer was a dishonest person |
| C．the writer won’t pull pranks as before |
| D．the writer will lose interest in games |
The day that a robot wakes you up, cleans your room and walks your dog might still be a few decades （十年）off. But increasingly, engineers are saying that robots are going to make the leap from the factory floor to your family room.
Companies like Sony and General Electric are working on designs for small robots. Products like the Roomba, a robot that can clean floors, are flying off the shelves. On the cover of a recent issue of Scientific American magazine, Bill Gates predicted the “Dawn of the Age of Robots”.
What’s behind this new era (时代)? It’s partly a matter of technology. Devices that can recognize and respond to a human voice have been developed. There are now a few different ways for robots to move around. They can walk, crawl or ride on wheels. They are being made smaller and smaller. They are also becoming more and more energy efficient.
A bigger part of the story is on the demand side. From the day Robert Adler invented the television remote control in the 1950s, people around the world have tirelessly searched for ways to get lazier.
Also take into consideration the increasing wealth of rich people, the time appears ripe to introduce robots to ease our daily lives.
To be sure, robots that walk on two legs and talk like people are still too complex for our present engineering abilities. Today’s robot revolution is to make them for everyday use. Robots will do basic housework such as cleaning or gardening, or just help you have more fun on the basketball court.
What makes a robot different from an ordinary cleaning machine is not the presence of computer chips (芯片). Nowadays even your microwave has a computer chip. It is the ability to sense and make changes to the environment in real time.
For example, a floor-cleaning robot should be able to sense your scared cat and move out of the way. Today’s computing ability is, for the first time, able to make machines that could “think”, at least in certain limited ways.
| Robot revolution |
|
| What today’s robot can do |
What |
| Recognize and respond to your voice |
talk like people sense and make some changes to the |
| work in the factory |
walk your dog |
| move around, like walking or |
Clean your floor |
| think in some limited |
Accompany you on the basketball court |
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