Having returned from her round trip, the angry woman stood outside the ticket office. "The railway owes me $12, " she said to Harry Jenks, the young man working at the office. "You sold me a ticket for May 22nd, but there was no ship from Jersey that night. So my daughter and I had to stay in a hotel. It cost me $12. "
Harry was worried. He remembered selling the woman a return ticket. "Come into the office, Madam, "he said politely. "I'll check the Jersey timetable for May 22nd. "
The woman and her little girl followed him inside. She was quite right, as Harry soon discovered. There was no sailing on May 22nd. How could he have made such a careless mistake? He shouldn't have sold her a ticket for that day. Wondering what to do, he smiled at the child. "You look sunburnt, "he said to her. "Did you have a nice holiday in Jersey?"
"Yes", she answered, shyly. "The beach was lovely. And I can swim too!"
"That's fine, "said Harry. "My little girl can't swim a bit yet. Of course, she's only three'""
"I'm four, "the child said proudly. "I'll be four and a half. "
Harry turned to the mother." I remember your ticket, Madam, "he said. "But you didn't get one for your daughter, did you?"
"Er, well", "the woman looked at the child." I mean … she hasn't started school yet. She's only four. "
"A four-year-old child must have a ticket, Madam. A child's return ticket to Jersey costs' "let me see … $ 13. 5. So if the railway pays your hotel, you will owe $1. 5. The law is law, but since the fault (过错) was mine…".
The woman stood up, took the child's hand and left the office.The woman was angry because .
| A．she returned home one day later than she thought |
| B．she spent more money than she had planned |
| C．there was no ship when she arrived at the station in Jersey |
| D．the young man didn't sell her the ticket for a round trip |
Harry felt worried because .
| A．he didn't change the timetable in time |
| B．the woman was too angry with him |
| C．the woman didn't buy a ticket for her daughter |
| D．he didn't do his work carefully enough |
Harry started talking to the little girl because .
| A．he had a little girl about the same age as this girl |
| B．he wanted to find a way out from the little girl |
| C．he was in difficulty and did not know what to do |
| D．he wanted to show his friendliness to the little girl |
The underlined sentence means that .
| A．she should pay $1. 5, but as he had made a mistake, she could go without paying |
| B．the woman had to pay him $1. 5, and the railway would pay for the hotel |
| C．they have to follow it without other choice, even though the fault was his |
| D．he must be strict with the woman because of the laws, though he didn't want to |
Why did the woman leave the office without saying anything?
| A．She knew she would have to pay the railway $ 13.5. |
| B．She knew that it was her fault to come to ask for the $12. |
| C．She became even more angry with the young man and didn't want to see him. |
| D．She was going home to get the money to pay for her daughter's ticket. |
On October 11, NASCAR announced the car of tomorrow after a seven-year design program. People used to believe that science would promise a future of endless spare time and very cheap electricity. Nowadays the scientists’ predictions are a great deal less optimistic: the world is challenged by climate change and decreasing resources.
In fact, the car of tomorrow is a symbol of hope. The emission of carbon dioxide has contributed to global warming, but the car producers are waking up to their responsibilities. Investment in new technology to maximize efficiency and minimize environmental damage is not only improving the car industry’s act but also setting an example to other industries.
It is said that most cars of today run about 15 percent efficiency, which does highlight the potential for improvement. Get it right, and we could continue to enjoy the freedom that comes with owning a car, without the worries.
Of course, many advances have already been made. There’s evidence that the public is eager to buy cleaner and greener cars. And with petrol prices increasing there is no doubt that the cars with economical, efficient engines are going to be in great demand.
The good news is that we can all drive the car of tomorrow today, without having to worry about the purchase cost. By choosing our holiday hired cars wisely we can cut down on our fuel costs and experience an eco-friendly drive. Hire a green car and you’ll make a difference to the environment.
Designers will always enjoy catching our imagination with “concept cars” that look more like miniature(微型) spaceships than anything you see on the highway. Whether these creations will eventually become family cars remains to be seen. However, for the moment, there’s no doubt at all what the car of tomorrow will be, and it’s here today: something familiar and friendly that does its job with considerably less trouble and much greater efficiency than the car of yesterday.The writer of the text intends to ________.
| A．suggest | B．inform | C．approve | D．instruct |
According to the text, people’s present worry about developing the car industry is that ________.
| A．the production is beyond its need |
| B．it’s not environmentally friendly |
| C．the competition is very fierce |
| D．the economic situation affects it a lot |
It can be learned from the fourth paragraph that ________.
| A．fewer cars will be produced in the future |
| B．new cars cost less to maintain |
| C．cleaner and greener cars are in great demand |
| D．no measures have been taken to improve car quality |
What is the author’s attitude towards the cars of tomorrow?
| A．Indifferent. | B．Negative. |
| C．Doubtful. | D．Supportive. |
Strange Baby-Naming Laws
Germany
Parents are banned by law from using last names and the names of objects and products as first names. A child’s first name must clearly show his or her sex, and all names must be approved by the office of vital statistics(人口统计) in the area in which the child was born.
Iceland
The country’s naming committee consults the National Register of Persons to determine if a name is acceptable. If parents prefer a name which is not on the list, they must apply for approval and pay a fee, and the name must contain only letters in the Icelandic alphabet.
New Zealand
The country’s Births, Deaths, and Marriages Registration Act of 1995 doesn’t allow parents to choose a name that “might cause offense to a reasonable person; is unreasonably long; or is, includes, or is similar to an official title or rank,” including, apparently, Adolf Hitler and Yeah Detroit—both names recently rejected.
Denmark
If Danish parents prefer a name not on the list of 7,000 preapproved baby names, they must get permission from local church and government officials. 15 to 20 percent of the 1,100 reviewed names—including creative spellings of common names, last names as first names, and unusual names—are rejected each year.You can tell whether a baby is a girl or a boy according to the first name in ________.
| A．Germany | B．New Zealand |
| C．Iceland | D．Denmark |
In Iceland, the names should ________.
| A．be on the name list without exception |
| B．be paid a large amount of money for |
| C．contain only letters in the Roman alphabet |
| D．be accepted by the National Register of Persons |
In New Zealand the naming law ________.
| A．used to forbid the use of the name of Adolf Hitler |
| B．allows names similar to an official title or rank |
| C．is considerate as to how other people feel about the names |
| D．doesn’t allow using last names as first names |
It can be learned from the text that ________.
| A．each year about 160-220 reviewed names are rejected in Denmark |
| B．babies’ names should be allowed by the office of vital statistics in Iceland |
| C．Adolf Hitler is a name that is banned in all the European countries |
| D．parents must give up babies’ names if the names are not on the list in Ireland |
A fierce earthquake struck Haiti onJanuary 12, 2010, causing a crowded hospital to fall down and countless houses and buildings were destroyed.
The earthquake, the worst in the region in more than 200 years, with a magnitude estimated at 7.0, struck just before 5 p.m. about 10 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince, leaving the region nearly in ruins. As night fell in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, fires burned near the shoreline downtown, but otherwise the city fell into darkness. The electricity was out, telephones were not working and relief workers struggled to make their way through blocked streets.
In this earthquake, it was not possible for officials to determine how many people had been killed and injured. It was reported that the headquarters of the United Nations mission was seriously damaged and many employees were missing. Part of the national palace had fallen to the ground. A hospital was totally ruined in Pétionville, which is home to many diplomats（外交官） and wealthy Haitians. A New York reporter said that a wall at the front of the Hotel Oloffson had fallen, killing a passer-by. A number of nearby buildings was badly damaged, trapping people. People were screaming, calling for help from every corner.
Haiti sits on a large fault between the much larger North American plate to the north and the Caribbean plate to the south. The earthquake on Tuesday happened when what appears to be part of the southern fault zone broke. With many poor people living in tin-roof shacks(窝棚) and with many of the buildings in Port-au-Prince and elsewhere in the country of questionable quality, it was expected that the quake caused major damage to buildings and great loss of life.What was the damage of the earthquake?
| A．The headquarters of the UN mission was totally destroyed. |
| B．Some of the national palace had fallen to the ground. |
| C．A hospital was partly ruined in Pétionville. |
| D．All the walls of the Hotel Oloffson had fallen. |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the text?
| A．All the hospitals in Haiti were destroyed in the earthquake. |
| B．The earthquake was the worst in Haiti in less than two centuries. |
| C．After dark the city fell into darkness because of the earthquake. |
| D．Communication, electricity and transportation were all affected. |
It can be learned from the text that ________.
| A．fires broke out in the capital city due to the earthquake |
| B．Haiti covers the entire geographic plates of the earth |
| C．the earthquake caused the southern fault zone to break |
| D．a grand hotel was completely ruined in Pétionville |
In Haiti, one way to reduce losses in earthquakes is probably to ________.
| A．repair the Southern fault zone |
| B．move to the seaside |
| C．improve the quality of the buildings |
| D．live in tin-roof buildings |
MOOCs, short for “massive open online courses,” mark an important, possibly revolutionary, development in education. These courses are on line, free of charge, and open to anyone in the world who has a laptop and an Internet connection. Moreover, they are mainly offered by great universities like Stanford, Berkeley, Harvard and Columbia.
The courses are arranged according to how difficult they are, enabling students to progress from beginners to the advanced. The courses cover not only a broad range of science subjects such as math and computer science, but also courses in social sciences and humanities. Though MOOCs are not offered for credit and degree, many students enroll(加入) in the courses for real skills or knowledge which they can put to some practical use.
The format(形式) seems better than the traditional school class. The average quality of the lecturers is much higher. Besides, students can learn back and forward－that is, they can go at their own learning speed, which they can’t do in a live lecture. And, more importantly, they don’t have to travel anywhere to attend an online lecture. There is a problem of asking questions of the lecturer in a class of ten thousand students, but some MOOCs have solved it by allowing students to post questions on line for a vote, and only the most popular questions are put to the lecturer.
In a knowledge age, lifelong learning is not confined to a traditional classroom. Students taking MOOCS are usually very clever, have work experience, and in many cases, have already developed a set of practical skills. Moreover, they also offer unique international perspectives(远景) that would be the envy of any school classroom.Which of the following statements is NOT true about MOOCs?
| A．The word “MOOCs” is short for “ massive open online campuses”. |
| B．Anyone who has a computer and an Internet connection can take MOOCs. |
| C．MOOCs are usually offered by first-class universities in the world. |
| D．MOOCs may be a breakthrough in the development of education. |
MOOCs seem to have an advantage over traditional school classes in that ________.
| A．there is a problem of asking questions in traditional classes |
| B．students enrolling in MOOCs can get credit and degree easily |
| C．students can learn at their own study pace |
| D．students can travel to many places when taking MOOCs |
The meaning of the underlined word “confined” means ________.
| A．extended | B．developed |
| C．limited | D．advanced |
The behaviour of a building’s users may be at least as important as its design when it comes to energy use, according to new research from the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC). The UK promises to reduce its carbon emissions (排放）by 80 percent by 2050, part of which will be achieved by all new homes being zero-carbon by 2016. But this report shows that sustainable building design on its own — though extremely important — is not enough to achieve such reductions: the behaviour of the people using the building has to change too.
The study suggests that the ways that people use and live in their homes have been largely ignored by existing efforts to improve energy efficiency，which instead focus on architectural and technological developments.
‘Technology is going to assist but it is not going to do everything,’ explains Katy Janda, a UKERC senior researcher, ‘consumption patterns of building users can defeat the most careful design.’ In other words, old habits die hard, even in the best-designed eco-home.
Another part of the problem is information. Households and bill-payers don’t have the knowledge they need to change their energy-use habits. Without specific information, it’s hard to estimate the costs and benefits of making different choices. Feedback (反馈） facilities, like smart meters and energy monitors，could help bridge this information gap by helping people see how changing their behaviour directly affects their energy use; some studies have shown that households can achieve up to 15 percent energy savings using smart meters.
Social science research has added a further dimension (方面），suggesting that individuals’ behaviour in the home can be personal and cannot be predicted —whether people throw open their windows rather than turn down the thermostat (恒温器) , for example.
Janda argues that education is the key. She calls for a focused programme to teach people about buildings and their own behaviour in them.As to energy use, the new research from UKERC stresses the importance of________.
| A．zero-carbon homes |
| B．the behaviour of building users |
| C．sustainable building design |
| D．the reduction of carbon emissions |
The underlined word “which” in Paragraph 2 refers to “________.”
| A．the ways | B．their homes |
| C．developments | D．existing efforts |
What are Katy Janda’s words mainly about?
| A．The importance of changing building users’ habits. |
| B．The necessity of making a careful building design. |
| C．The variety of consumption patterns of building users. |
| D．The role of technology in improving energy efficiency. |
The information gap in energy use _______.
| A．can be bridged by feedback facilities |
| B．affects the study on energy monitors |
| C．brings about problems for smart meters |
| D．will be caused by building users’ old habits |
What does the dimension added by social science research suggest?
| A．The social science research is to be furthered. |
| B．The education programme is under discussion. |
| C．The behaviour of building users is unpredictable. |
| D．The behaviour preference of building users is similar. |
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