A policeman was questioning 3 blondes who were training to become detectives． To test their skills in recognizing a suspect, he shows the first blonde a picture for5 seconds and then hides it．
“This is your suspect, how would you recognize him?"
The first blonde answers, "That's easy, we'll catch him fast because he only has one eye!" The policeman says, "Well．．．uh．．．that's because the picture shows his profile．"
Slightly confused by this ridiculous response, he flashes the picture for 5 seconds at the second blonde and asks her, "This is your suspect, how would you recognize him?"
The second blonde giggles, flips her hair and says, "Ha! He'd be too easy to catch because he only has one ear!"
The policeman angrily responds, "What's the matter with you two? Of course only one eye and one ear are SHOWING because it's a picture of his profile!! Is that the best answer you can come up with?"
Extremely frustrated at this point, he shows the picture to the third blonde and in a very testy voice asks "This is your suspect, how would you recognize him?" He quickly adds, "Think hard before giving me a stupid answer．"
The blonde looks at the picture intently for a moment and says, "Hmmmm…the suspect wears contact lenses．"
The policeman is surprised and speechless because he really doesn't know himself if the suspect wears contacts or not． "Well, that's an interesting answer．．．wait here for a few minutes while I check his file and I’ll get back to you on that．" He leaves the room and goes to his office, checks the suspect's file in his computer, and comes back with a beaming smile on his face． "Wow! I can't believe it．．．it's TRUE! The suspect does in fact wear contact lenses． Good work! How were you able to make such an acute observation?"
"That's easy," the blonde replied． "He can't wear regular glasses because he only has one eye and one ear．"Why did the policeman show a picture to the three blondes?
| A．To inquire about their relationship with the suspect． |
| B．To test their potential of being detectives． |
| C．To train them as qualified police officers． |
| D．To show the skills in recognizing a suspect． |
What's the policeman's attitude towards the first blonde's answer?
| A．Angry． | B．Puzzled． |
| C．Embarrassed． | D．Satisfied． |
What did the second blonde think of the task?
| A．Demanding． | B．Easy． |
| C．Ridiculous． | D．Confusing． |
How did the third blonde know that the suspect wore contact lenses?
| A．By coincidence． |
| B．By random guess． |
| C．By logical and reasonable analysis． |
| D．By checking the file in the computer． |
Derek Wayne has obtained a 30-year, fixed-rate home loan of $ 100,000 with an annual interest rate of 7.5 percent. Because the loan extends for such a lengthy period, the mortgage(抵押) company calculates a monthly payment that ensures it will get most of its interest back first. Thus in the beginning months, Wayne’s principal payment—the amount he pays toward his actual loan—increases extremely slowly.
| Payment Number |
Total Monthly Payment |
Principal Portion of Payment |
Interest Portion of Payment |
Current Balance |
| 1 |
$699.21 |
$ 74.21 |
$ 625.00 |
$99,925.79 |
| 2 |
$699.21 |
$74.68 |
$624.54 |
$99,854.11 |
| 359 |
$699.21 |
$690.56 |
$8.66 |
$694.87 |
| 360 |
$699.21 |
$694.87 |
$4.34 |
$0.00 |
Let’s analyze Wayne’s early payments. Imagine that on December 15 the Mauritanian Mortgage Corporation gives Wayne $100,000, and on January 15 his initial payment is due. Throughout this first month, interest accumulates on the entire $ 100,000. On a yearly interest rate of 7.5%, Wayne’s monthly rate is 0.625% or 7.5%divided by 12. Multiplying $100,000 by 0.625% yields $625, the portion of Wayne’s first monthly payment that is interest. So Wayne now owes $ 99,925.79 ( $100,625－$699.21). His February interest payment will be 0.625% of $ 99,925.79.
By the time Wayne makes his last few payments, his monthly interest payment has decreased considerably. His balance following his 359th payment is $ 694.87, and 0.625% of that is about $ 4.34, his final interest payment. What was the total amount of interest Wayne paid? Multiplying 360 months by $699.21 equals $ 251,715.60, and subtracting $100,000(the loan amount) leaves $151,715.60—over 1.5 times what he actually borrowed!This passage is mainly concerned with_________________.
| A．Derek Wayne |
| B．the Mauritanian Mortgage Corporation |
| C．how interest payments on a loan change |
| D．calculating the number of payments Wayne made |
The monthly interest rate on Wayne’s loan was____________.
| A．7.5% | B．6.5% |
| C．0.625% | D．$625 |
We can conclude that Wayne’s total monthly payment was always___________.
| A．$699.21 | B．$100,000 |
| C．$360 | D．$151,715.60 |
The table in the passage helps the readers see_____________.
| A．Wayne’s down payment before he took out the loan |
| B．Wayne’s first and last payments |
| C．how much his interest payments increased |
| D．at what point the interest and principal payments were just about equal. |
Some people believe that international sport creates goodwill between the nations and that if countries play games together they will learn to live together. Others say that the opposite is true: that international contests encourage false national pride and lead to misunderstanding and hatred. There is probably some truth in both arguments, but in recent years the Olympic Games have done little to support the view that sport encourages international brotherhood. Not only was the Olympics the scene of a tragic incident involving the murder of athletes, but the Games were also ruined by lesser incidents caused principally by minor national contests.
One country received its second-place medals with visible indignation after the hockey final. There had been noisy scenes at the end of the hockey match, the losers objecting to the final decisions. They were convinced that one of their goals should not have been disallowed and that their opponents’ victory was unfair. Their manager was in a rage when he said: “This wasn’t hockey. Hockey and the International Hockey Federation are finished.” The president of the Federation said later that such behavior could result in the suspension(禁赛) of the team for at least three years.
The American basketball team announced that they would not yield first place to Russia, after a disputable end to their contest. The game had ended in disturbance. It was thought at first that the United States had won by a single point, but it was announced that there were three seconds still to play. A Russian player then threw the ball from one end of the court to the other, and another player popped it into the basket. It was the first time the U.S.A. had ever lost an Olympic basketball match. An appeal jury debated the matter for four and a half hours before announcing that the result would stand. The American players then voted not to receive the silver medals.
Incidents of this kind will continue as long as sport is played competitively rather than for the love of the game. The suggestion that athletes should compete as individuals, or in non-national teams, might be too much to hope for. But in the present organization of the Olympics there is far too much that encourages aggressive patriotism.According to the author, recent Olympic Games have ________.
| A．created goodwill between the nations |
| B．bred only false national pride |
| C．barely showed any international friendship |
| D．led to more and more misunderstanding and hatred |
What did the manager mean by saying “Hockey and the International Hockey Federation are finished”?
| A．His team would no longer take part in international games. |
| B．Hockey and the Federation are both ruined by the unfair decisions. |
| C．There should be no more hockey matches organized by the Federation. |
| D．The International Hockey Federation should be ended. |
The basketball example implied that ________.
| A．too much patriotism was shown in the incident |
| B．the announcement to let the match continue was wrong |
| C．the appeal jury took too long in making the decision |
| D．the American team was right in rejecting the silver medals |
The author gives the two examples in Paragraphs 2 and 3 to show ________.
| A．how national pride led to undesirable incidents in international games |
| B．that sportsmen are more obedient than they used to be |
| C．that competitiveness in the games discourages international friendship |
| D．that unfair decisions are common in the Olympic Games |
What conclusion can be drawn from the passage?
| A．The organization of the Olympic Games must be improved. |
| B．Athletes should compete as individuals in the Olympic Games. |
| C．Sport should be played competitively rather than for the love of the game. |
| D．International contests can lead to misunderstanding between nations. |
Years ago, I drove into a service station to get some gas. It was a beautiful day, and I was feeling great. As I walked into the station to __ the gas, the owner said to me, “How do you feel?” That seemed like a __ question, but I felt fine and told him __ .
“You don’t look well,” he replied. This __ me completely by surprise. A little less __ , I told him that I had never felt better. Without __ , he continued to tell me how bad I looked and that my skin appeared __ .
By the time I left the service station, I was feeling a little __ . About a block away, I __ to the side of the road to look at my face in the mirror. How did I feel? Was I sick? Was everything all right? By the time I got home, I was beginning to feel a little ill. Did I have hepatitis (肝炎)? Had I __ some rare disease?
The next time I went into that gas station, feeling fine again, I __ what had happened. The place had recently been painted a bright yellow, and the light __ off the walls made everyone inside look as though they had hepatitis! I wondered how many other folks had __ the way I did. I had let one short conversation with a total stranger change my __ for an entire day. He told me I looked sick, and before long, I was __ feeling sick. That single _ _observation had a strong effect on the way I felt and __ .
A little while later I saw how __ the incident was, although on that day when the man had told me how ill I looked, I was __ frightened. I wonder how many other people that man had told they were ill __ he realized that the service station had had a paint job!
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Humans have sewn by hand for thousands of years. It was said that the first thread was made from animal muscle and sinew (腱). And the earliest needles were made from bones. Since those early days, many people have been involved in the process of developing a machine that could do the same thing more quickly and with greater efficiency.
Charles Wiesenthal, who was born in Germany, designed and received a patent on a double-pointed needle that eliminated the need to turn the needle around with each stitch (缝合) in England in 1755. Other inventors of that time tried to develop a functional sewing machine, but each design had at least one serious imperfection. Frenchman Barthelemy Thimonnier finally engineered a machine that really worked. However, he was nearly killed by a group of angry tailors when they burned down his garment factory. They feared that they would lose their jobs to the machine.
American inventor Elias Howe, born on July 9, 1819, was awarded a patent for a method of sewing that used thread from two different sources. Howe’s machine had a needle with an eye at the point, and it used the two threads to make a special stitch called a lockstitch. However, Howe faced difficulty in finding buyers for his machines in America. In frustration, he traveled to England to try to sell his invention there. When he finally returned home, he found that dozens of manufacturers were adapting his discovery for use in their own sewing machines.
Isaac Singer, another American inventor, was also a manufacturer who made improvements to the design of sewing machines. He invented an up-and-down-motion mechanism that replaced the side-to-side machines. He also developed a foot treadle(脚踏板) to power his machine. This improvement left the sewer’s hands free. Undoubtedly, it was a huge improvement of the hand-cranked machine of the past. Soon the Singer sewing machine achieved more fame than the others for it was more practical, it could be adapted to home use and it could be bought on hire-purchase. The Singer sewing machine became the first home appliance, and the Singer company became one of the first American multinationals.
However, Singer used the same method to create a lockstitch that Howe had already patented. As a result, Howe accused him of patent infringement（侵犯）. Of course, Elias Howe won the court case, and Singer was ordered to pay Howe royalties（版税）. In the end, Howe became a millionaire, not by manufacturing the sewing machine, but by receiving royalty payments for his invention.Barthelemy Thimonnier’s garment factory was burned down because _____________.
| A．people did not know how to put out the fire |
| B．Elias Howe thought Thimonnier had stolen his invention |
| C．the sewing machines was couldn’t work finally |
| D．workers who feared the loss of their jobs to a machine set fire |
Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Singer is an American inventor and manufacturer. |
| B．The Singer sewing company became more practical. |
| C．The foot treadle helped to make the sewer’s hands free. |
| D．Singer made improvements to the design of sewing machines. |
Why did the court force Isaac Singer to pay Elisa Howe a lifetime of royalties?
| A．Because the judge was against Singer for his surly attitude. |
| B．Because Howe had already patented the lockstitch used by Singer. |
| C．Because Singer had borrowed money from Howe and never repaid it. |
| D．Because Singer and Howe had both invented the same machine. |
Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
| A．A Stitch in Time Saves Nine |
| B．The Case between Howe and Singer |
| C．Patent Laws on the Sewing Machine |
| D．The Early History of the Sewing Machine |
Can people change their skin color without suffering like pop king Michael Jackson? Perhaps yes. Scientists have found the gene that determines skin color.
The gene comes in two versions, one of which is found in 99 percent of Europeans. The other is found in 93 to 100 percent of Africans, researchers at Pennsylvania State University report in the latest issue of Science.
Scientists have changed the color of a dark-striped zebra-fish（斑马鱼） to uniform gold by inserting a version of the pigment (色素) gene into a young fish. As with humans, zebra-fish skin color is determined by pigment cells, which contain melanin (黑色素). The number, size and darkness of melanin per pigment cell determine skin color.
It appears that, like the golden zebra-fish, light-skinned Europeans also have a mutation (变异) in the gene for melanin production. This results in less pigmented skin.
However, Keith Cheng, leader of the research team, points out that the mutation is different in human and zebra-fish genes.
Humans acquired dark skin in Africa about 1.5 million years ago to protect bodies from ultra-violet rays of the sun (太阳光紫外线), which can cause skin cancer.
But when modern humans leave Africa to live in northern latitudes, they need more sunlight on their skin to produce vitamin D. So the related gene changes, according to Cheng.
Asians have the same version of the gene as Africans, so they probably acquired their light skin through the action of some other gene that affects skin color, said Cheng.
The new discovery could lead to medical treatments for skin cancer. It also could lead to research into ways to change skin color without damaging it like chemical treatment did on Michael Jackson.The passage mainly tells us that ________.
| A．people can not change their skin color without any pain |
| B．the new discovery could lead to research into ways to change skin color safely |
| C．pop king Michael Jackson often changed his skin color as he liked |
| D．scientists have found out that people’s skin color is determined by the gene |
It can be inferred from the passage that _____________.
| A．nowadays people who want to change their skin color have to suffer a lot from the damage caused by the chemical treatment |
| B．Europeans and Africans have the same gene |
| C．the new discovery could help to find medical treatments for skin cancer |
| D．there are two kinds of genes |
Scientists have done an experiment on a dark-striped zebra-fish in order to _____________.
| A．find the different genes of humans’ |
| B．prove the humans’ skin color is determined by the pigment gene |
| C．find out the reason why the Africans’ skin color is dark |
| D．find out the ways of changing people’s skin color |
The reason why Europeans are light-skinned is probably that _____________.
| A．they are born light-skinned people |
| B．light-skinned Europeans have mutation in the gene for melanin production |
| C．they have fewer activities outside |
| D．they pay much attention to protecting their skin |
The writer’s attitude towards the discovery is ______________.
| A．neutral | B．negative |
| C．positive | D．unconcerned |
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