If you put a buzzard（秃鹰） in a pen(围栏) six to eight feet square and entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of its ability to fly, will be a prisoner. The reason is that a buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a run of ten to twelve feet. Without space to run, it will not even attempt to fly, but remain a prisoner for life in a small prison with no top.
The ordinary bat that flies around at night, a remarkably nimble creature in the air, cannot take off from a level place. If it is placed on the floor or flat ground, all it can do is to shuffle about helplessly and, no doubt, painfully,until it reaches some slight height from which it can throw itself into the air. Then, at once, it takes off like a flash.
A bumblebee (大黄蜂), if dropped into an open tumbler(平底玻璃杯), will be there until it dies, unless it is taken out. It never sees the means of escape at the top, but insists on trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom. It will seek a way where none exists until it completely destroys itself.
In many ways, there are lots of people like the buzzard, the bat and the bumblebee. They are struggling about with all their problems and frustrations, not realizing that the answer is right there above them.Why does a buzzard choose to stay in a pen?
| A．Because it is safe to live there. |
| B．Because it gets used to living there. |
| C．Because it cannot take off within an limited area. |
| D．Because it lost its ability to fly. |
The underlined word in the second paragraph probably means “ .”
| A．to run slowly | B．to move slowly |
| C．to pace slowly | D．to fly slowly |
A bumblebee will completely destroy itself for .
| A．it does not look for a way out above |
| B．it is dropped into an open cage |
| C．it does not try to find a way to escape |
| D．it hurts itself while flying |
In which way are many people similar to a buzzard, an ordinary bat and a bumblebee?
| A．They are overcoming all their problems and frustrations. |
| B．They are all content with the things as they are. |
| C．They choose to give in to problems and frustrations. |
| D．They do not seek new ways to deal with difficulties. |
I was now in my twenty third year of residence in this island and was accustomed to the place and to the manner of living. If it had not been the savages（野人）who had come to the place to disturb me, I could have been content to spent the rest of my time there, even to the last moment, till I had laid me down and died, like the old goat in the cave.
I had also arrived to some little recreations and amusements, which made the time pass more pleasantly with me a great deal than it did before．
At first, I had taught my Poll to speak. And he did it so familiarly and talked so clearly and plain that it was very pleasant to me. And he lived with me no less than twenty six years. How long he might live afterwards, I don’t know; though I know they have an idea in Brazil that they live a hundred years. Perhaps poor Poll may be alive there still, calling Poor Robin Crusoe to this day. I wish no other English man had the bad luck to go there and hear him. But if he did, he would certainly believe it was the devil（魔鬼）.
My dog was a very pleasant and loving companion to me, for no less than sixteen years of my time, and then died of mere old age.
As for my cats, they multiplied to that degree that I had to shoot several of them at first to keep them from eating up all I had.
Besides these, I had two more parrots which talked pretty well and would all call Robin Crusoe, but none like my first. Nor indeed did I take the pains with any of them that I had done with him.
I had also several sea-fowls, whose names I don’t know, that I caught upon the shore and cut their wings. And the little stakes which I had planted before my castle wall being now grown up to a good thick bush, these fowls all lived among these low trees and bred there, which was very agreeable to me; so that as I said above, I began to be well content with the life I led if not worried about the threat from the savages.What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．Robin Crusoe treated animals kindly. |
| B．Robin Crusoe led a hard life on the island. |
| C．The animals raised by Robin Crusoe brought him much pleasure. |
| D．The savages always spoiled Robin Crusoe’s happy life. |
How many parrots did Robin Crusoe mention in this passage?
| A．2 | B．3 | C．4 | D．5 |
According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?
| A．Robin’s dog may be still alive on the island. |
| B．Robin Crusoe lived in harmony with savages. |
| C．Robin Crusoe met an English man while on the island. |
| D．Parrots raised by Robin could talk very well. |
What is the “sea-fowl” mentioned in the last paragraph?
| A．A bird living on the coast. |
| B．A fish living in the sea. |
| C．A creature without a name |
| D．An animal feeding on tree leaves. |
The £109 Nest Protect Smoke Alarm promises Internet alerts（警报）and an end to the low battery chirp（短而尖的叫声）. Besides, it uses a voice to tell you where the fire is.
The alarm is the first UK product from Nest, which is run by iPod-inventor Tony Fadell. The company claims the device’s batteries will last for up to seven years. The device will offer a spoken warning before it sounds a major alarm. Also it will use text messages and apps on your phones to alert users to low-level risks.
The present smoke alarms constantly alert users to non-existent threats, which will make many users annoyed and finally remove their batteries altogether. “We’ve all experienced the smoke alarm going off while we’re cooking. Sometimes, we need to search for the source of that non-stop low-battery chirp at midnight,” said Fadell. “Therefore, every time a smoke alarm cries wolf, we trust it a little less, and then — in a moment of frustration — we take the batteries out to stop the beep（嘟嘟声）. And that leaves us and our families at risk.”
If the Protect smoke alarms are used, they can be set up in up to ten zones, so that the clear warnings tell users where the risk has been detected.
“Safety shouldn’t be annoying,” said Matt Rogers, Nest founder and vice president of engineering. “It was unacceptable to us that one in eight houses in the UK has a non-functioning smoke alarm. These products are required by law and are supposed to keep us safe, yet people hate them. We wanted to change that.”
For what purpose did Nest create the Protect Smoke Alarm?
| A．To predict low-level fire risks. | B．To experiment with a new battery. |
| C．To improve present smoke alarms. | D．To avoid the low-battery chirp. |
What did Tony Fadell really want to tell us in Paragraph 3?
| A．One of his cooking experiences. |
| B．Disadvantages of present smoke alarms. |
| C．His growing distrust of smoke alarms. |
| D．His source of annoyance to crying wolf. |
Which of the following are the advantages of the Protect Smoke Alarm?
a. Rechargeable batteries b. A talking smoke alarm
c. Longer battery life d. Going off constantly
e. Internet connection
| A．a, b, c | B．c, d, e | C．a, c, e | D．b, c, e |
What can we know from the last paragraph?
| A．In the UK people seldom set up smoke alarms. |
| B．Matt Rogers didn’t like the safety requirements. |
| C．Non-functioning smoke alarms make people annoyed. |
| D．The government should pay attention to safety issues. |
| Bulletin Board Workshops are held at Women’s Health Centre, 1441 29 St. N.W. If you are interested, please call 944-2260 or visit www.womenhealthcentre.ca. |
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| Eating to Get to Your Healthiest Weight |
If you are seeking professional help with your weight-loss efforts, then this workshop series, presented by Dawn Peacock, BSc, RD, is for you. The workshop will take place on Fridays, July 10 between 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. or July 24 between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Fee: $120 |
| How to Reduce Depression & Anxiety |
Depression and anxiety are two disorders that often affect women at the same time. They may go unrecognized and cause needless suffering. This four-part class, offered by Elizabeth Miles, MSc, Rpsych, will help reduce the suffering. The classes will be held on Wednesdays, July 8, between 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. or July 22 between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Fee: $120. |
| How Do I Protect My Bones? |
Osteoporosis (骨质疏松) is a serious health condition that affects women as they age. Come to this workshop, presented by Irene Jackson, RN, MN, to find out more about osteoporosis and learn how you can reduce your risk factors and protect your bones. The workshop will take place on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Fee: $150. |
| Raising Your Child in a Weight Obsessed World |
We live in a world where television and restaurants are pushing super-sized hamburgers and soft drinks, while magazines feature pencil-thin models. This presentation, by Keri Sullivan, MSc, RD, Eating Disorder Program, will offer ways to build healthy environments and behaviours for children. The presentation will be offered on Wednesday, Aug. 24, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Fee: $150. |
You are not free on Wednesdays. To help your child be in good shape, you need to join in _______.
| A．Eating to Get to Your Healthiest Weight |
| B．How to Reduce Depression & Anxiety |
| C．How Do I Protect My Bones |
| D．Raising Your Child in a Weight Obsessed World |
A woman with weight and bone problems can go to the evening classes _______.
| A．on July 10 & Aug. 16 | B．on July 8 & Aug. 24 |
| C．on July 24 & Aug. 16 | D．on July 22 & Aug. 24 |
Which of the following is TRUE, according to the ad?
| A．To lose weight, women can attend the class offered by Elizabeth Miles. |
| B．Women may not be aware of the depression and anxiety they are suffering. |
| C．Hamburgers and soft drinks are the main causes of children’s bad behaviours. |
| D．Pencil-thin models are always shown on televisions. |
We can infer from the ad that osteoporosis is likely to happen to _______.
| A．the middle-aged women |
| B．women who are easily depressed |
| C．those who are getting old |
| D．overweight children |
At the age of 16, Clara Barton was advised to become a teacher, since she was quite shy. She taught in Massachusetts for ten years, and was invited to Bordentown, New Jersey, to teach in a private school. She saw personally that these communities needed free education for their citizens, and she responded by creating a free school, one of the first in her state. Later, officials ignored her and appointed a male as principal instead. She resigned and moved to Washington DC, becoming the first woman employed by the U. S. Patent Office.
Clara Barton was forever changed by her experience with the troops in the Civil War. She saw surgeons dressing wounds with cornhusks（玉米叶）, since they had nothing else. The medical supplies for the Army were well behind the troops, who were moving faster than their medical supply lines. She brought in a wagon of bandages and medical supplies that she had collected personally beforehand. Barton continued to work on the battlefields throughout the war.
She helped in the identification process of 13,000 dead Union soldiers. Afterward, she was an important figure in a campaign to identify missing soldiers from the Civil War. This non-stop work debilitated her, and upon recommendation by her physicians, she traveled to Europe to recover herself.
While in Europe, and still in poor health Miss Barton was moved by the hardship on civilians brought about by the France-Prussia war. She helped in their relief effort, and in that work she was inspired to create the Red Cross, which served all troops and civilians.
Clara Barton returned to America and then began the establishment of the American Red Cross. The US government did not think there would ever be another war, after the horror of the Civil War. But she convinced them that the Red Cross would be valuable to serve in times of natural disasters, as well. This was her lasting legacy（遗产）, an agency that still provides aid to victims today.What does this text mainly tell us about?
| A．The establishment of the American Red Cross. |
| B．A general introduction of Clara Barton’s life. |
| C．Clara Barton’s contribution to the Red Cross. |
| D．Clara Barton’s service in the army. |
Why did Clara give up her job in the free school?
| A．Because officials didn’t make her principal. |
| B．Because she wanted to work in a Patent Office. |
| C．Because she wanted to serve in the army. |
| D．Because she was not satisfied with the pay. |
The underlined word “debilitated” in the third paragraph means .
| A．rewarded | B．satisfied | C．disturbed | D．weakened |
What is the greatest contribution made by Clara Barton?
| A．She set up a free school. |
| B．She collected supplies for the army. |
| C．She identified missing soldiers. |
| D．She set up the American Red Cross. |
Once upon a time, there was a lovely vegetable field, on which grew a very thick tree. Both the vegetables and the tree gave the place a wonderful appearance, which was the joy of the garden’s owner. What no one knew was that the vegetables in the field and the tree couldn’t stand each other. The vegetables hated the tree’s shadow, because it left them only just enough light to survive. The tree, on the other hand, hated the vegetables because they drank nearly all the water before it could get to him, leaving him with just enough to survive.
The situation became so extreme that the vegetables got totally fed up and decided to use up all the water in the ground so that the tree would dry up. The tree answered back by refusing to give the vegetables shadow from the hot midday sun, so they both began to dry up. Before long, the vegetables were really thin and the tree’s branches were drying up.
Neither of them thought that the gardener, on seeing his vegetable field becoming worse, would stop watering it. When he did that, both the tree and the vegetables really learned what thirst was. There seemed to be no solution, but one of the vegetables, a small courgette（小胡瓜）, understood what was going on, and decided to deal with it. Despite the little water and the unbearable heat, the little courgette did all he could to grow, grow...He managed to grow so big that the gardener started watering the field again. The gardener wanted to enter that beautiful big courgette in some gardening contest.
And so the vegetables and the tree realized that it was better to help each other than to fight. They should really learn how to live in harmony with those around them, doing the best they could. So they decided to work together, using both the shadow and the water in the best combination to grow good vegetables. Seeing how well they were doing, the gardener now gave the best of care to his vegetable field, watering it better than any other field for miles around.What is the problem between the tree and the vegetables?
| A．They looked down upon each other. |
| B．They didn’t leave water to each other. |
| C．They couldn’t stand each other. |
| D．They didn’t know how to protect themselves. |
What is the result of the fight between the tree and the vegetables?
| A．They grew taller and stronger. |
| B．They were both drying up. |
| C．The tree defeated the vegetables. |
| D．The vegetables defeated the tree. |
The courgette thought of ways to solve the conflict by .
| A．making peace with the tree | B．working together with other vegetables |
| C．entering the gardening contests | D．growing big enough |
What can we learn from this passage?
| A．We ought to live in harmony with others. |
| B．We ought to save as much water as possible. |
| C．We ought to learn from each other in some ways. |
| D．We ought to learn to respect each other. |
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