A classical guitarist was excited to hear from New York City police that his valuable guitar had been found. It disappeared almost a year ago when he got out of a cab and forgot to take the guitar with him. Laurence Lennon, 44, said he was running late that day. He was talking to his manager on his cellphone when he dashed out of the taxi. He said that he gave the driver $ 60 and told him to keep the change. He walked through the front doors of the concert hall still talking on the phone to his manager.
Upon discovering his loss, Lennon used his cellphone to call the police. The policewoman asked him for the name of the cab company, the number of the cab, and the name of the driver. He said that she had to be kidding.
She told Lennon that he could file a missing items report at the police station or online. Lennon asked for the online address. She told him that finding the guitar might take a couple of years—finding guitars was not as important as finding murderers and marijuana smokers. Then she told him to have a nice day.
“This year has been depressing，” said Lennon. “I had to postpone the recording of two new CDs. I've been using borrowed guitars. And I was losing hope of ever recovering my guitar.”
Lennon was reunited with his $ 100,000 musical instrument yesterday. The case and the guitar had been discovered in the corner of a coffee house only two blocks from where Lennon had lost it in the first place. Lennon had offered a $ 10,000 reward for its return. He said he would give the reward to the coffee house owner, who had informed the police.It can be inferred from this reading passage that________.
| A．Lennon gave the driver much more money than what was actually needed |
| B．Lennon couldn't give any useful information about the driver and his cab |
| C．Lennon was too busy talking to his friend to remember to pay the cab driver |
| D．Lennon used to work at the concert hall in New York City |
The policewoman told Lennon________.
| A．not to worry about the guitar |
| B．to have a nice day in New York City |
| C．to find the cab driver and talk to him |
| D．to wait with patience |
Which of the following is the most important according to the policewoman?
| A．Finding a lost guitar. |
| B．Finding the cab driver. |
| C．Finding murderers. |
| D．Enjoying one's own life |
The underlined word“depressing”can be best explained by“________”．
| A．making people feel sad |
| B．making people unfortunate |
| C．making people losing money |
| D．making people losing good luck |
What do you guess the driver did to the guitar after Lennon left it in the cab?
| A．He sold it to someone for 10,000 dollars. |
| B．He took it to a coffeehouse and then left it there. |
| C．He gave it to a friend, who lost it some time later. |
| D．He kept it for himself but then lost it carelessly. |
What’s your dream vacation? Watching wildlife in Kenya? Boating down the Amazon? Sunbathing in Malaysia? New chances are opening up all the time to explore the world. So we visit travel agents, compare packages and prices, and pay our money.
We know what our vacation costs us. But do we know what it might cost someone else? It’s true that many poorer countries now depend on tourism for foreign income. Unfortunately, though, tourism often harms the local people more than it helps them.
It might cost their homes and lands. In Myanmar, 5,200 people were forced to leave their homes among the pagodas（佛塔）in Bagan so that tourists could visit the pagodas.
Tourism might also cost the local people their livelihood a
nd dignity. Local workers often find only menial（卑微的）jobs in the tourist industry. And most of the profits do not help the local economy. Instead, profits return to the tour operators in wealthier countries. When the Maasai people in Tanzania were driven from their lands, some moved to city slums. Others now make a little money selling souvenirs or posing for photos.
Problems like these were observed more than 20 years ago. But now some non-government organizations, tour operators and local governments are working together to begin correcting them. Tourists, too, are putting on the pressure.
The result is responsible tourism, or“ethical tourism.”Ethical tourism has people at its heart. New international agreements and codes of conduct can help protect the people’s lands, homes, economies and cultures. The beginnings are small, though, and the problems are complex.
But take heart. The good news is that everyone, including us, can play a part to help the local people in the places we visit. Tour operators and companies can help by making sure that local people work in good conditions and earn reasonable wages.
They can make it a point to use only locally owned hotels, restaurants and guide services. They can share profits fairly to help the local economy. And they can involve the local people in planning and managing tourism.
What can tourists do? First, we can ask tour companies to provide information about the conditions of local citizens. We can then make our choices and tell them
why. And while we’re abroad, we can:
★Buy local foods and products, not imported ones.
★Pay a fair price for goods and services and not bargain for the cheapest price.
★Avoid flaunting(炫耀) wealth.
★Ask before taking photographs of people. They are not just part of the landscape! Let’s enjoy our vacation and make sure others do, too..
．What is probably the best title for the article?
| A．Tourism Causes Bad Effects | B．Tourism Calls for Good Behavior |
| C．Vacations Bring a Lot of Fun | D．Vacations Cost More Than You Think |
.
The underlined phrase“take heart”means“ ”.
| A．pay attention | B．take care | C．cheer up | D．calm down |
.
According to the passage, the writer thinks .
| A．tourism is not a promising industry. |
| B．dream vacations should be spent abroad |
| C．the problems caused by tourism are easy to settle. |
| D．tourists should respect local customs and culture |
When the shooting of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was complete, it was much more than a movie wrap-up (结束).
Rupert Grint, who played Ron Weasley, told The Sunday Times that he’s happy to have the time for romance now filming is over. Emma Watson, who is Hermione Granger in the movies, said she looked forward to “finally being free, being my own person” – a change signaled by her new haircut.
Daniel Radcliffe, who has been the face of the boy wizard since 2001, said that he “did cry like a little girl” when the last movie finished.
“It’s like the ending of a relationship,” he told The Vancouver Sun. “There’s a sense of, ‘God, what am I going to do now?’” He said he was eager to see “what life holds for him beyond Hogwarts”.
Along with the three actors, Harry Potter fans, now in their late teens, came of age with J.K. Rowling’s characters. For them, the last film isn’t just a goodbye to a decade of magic, but the close of their childhoods.
“We are the Harry Potter generation,” Canadian Andrea Hill, 19, told The Vancouver Sun. “We started in elementary school, reading about a boy our age who was going through the same things we were going through. We grew up, so did he.”
For Emily Chahal, an 18-year-old student, the series has been an inspiring journey. “That first book was what started my love of literature. It was the inspiration for everything – really teaching me to appreciate my friends, and to face difficulties with a sense of courage,” she said. “I have a sense of sadness. The end of the movies is kind of the end of my childhood, too.”
Fortunately, to the delight of die-hard fans, there are many things that keep the boy wizard alive. For example, in June this year, a Harry Potter theme park opened in Florida, US.
Some schools in the US and UK also have Quidditch teams – players ride broomsticks. “We’re not waiting anymore to see what happens to Harry next,”
Hill told The Vancouver Sun. She founded a Quidditch club at Carleton University in Canada. “We’re still engaged in that magical world.”.
How did Emma Watson feel when she finished the shooting of the Harry Potter series?
| A．She cried like a little girl. |
| B．She was ready to move onto something new. |
| C．She was happy to have the time for romance. |
| D．She felt it was like the end of a relationship. |
.
. What did Daniel Radcliffe mean by saying he was eager to see “what life holds for him beyond Hogwarts”?
| A．He was bored with life in Hogwarts. |
| B．He couldn’t wait to graduate from Hogwarts. |
| C．He missed life in Hogwarts now he had left. |
| D．He was looking forward to new life out of Hogwarts. |
.
. The series has brought Emily Chahal all the following EXCEPT _______.
| A．the chance to live in a magical world |
| B．the courage to face difficulties |
| C．the appreciation of her friends |
| D．encouragement to love literature |
.
What is the main focus of the article?
| A．Celebration of the close of childhood. |
| B．Fans’ love for the Harry Potter series. |
| C．Mixed feelings about the end of the series. |
| D．Excited anticipation of the opening of the Harry Potter theme park. |
When I looked at the grade on my math paper my jaw almost dropped to the ground: a big “65” in bright red ink. I had never received such a terrible grade before.
I was so ashamed that when I got home that afternoon I lied to my dad. I told him I got 85 and that the report wouldn’t come until the end of the month. Dad smiled. His daughter would never lie about her grade, so he didn’t doubt the unusual delay of my report.
A month later, Dad casually asked me again about the report at the dinner table. He looked right into my eyes and asked for an answer. Having no choice, I told him that I had in fact got just 65 in my math final. I had lied because I didn’t want to let him down.
For a moment, he just looked at me. I would have preferred a telling off than that silence. Finally, Dad said, in a hurt voice, “You have already let me down, with your lie. I am not disappointed at your math score. That is no big deal – no one can be perfect all the time. But I am very disappointed in you. If you can’t be honest with your dad, who can you be honest with? It’s much easier to achieve a better grade than rebuild someone else’s trust in you.”
Dad’s words touched my heart. I couldn’t forgive myself for having hurt his feelings. I took out the report that I had been hiding for weeks, handed to him and apologized, sincerely. I realized that my honesty is not only important to me personally, but to those around me that truly care about my well-being.
In one of Shakespeare’s plays a character says: “No legacy is so rich as honesty.” After the crisis between Dad and me, I began to understand those words..The first paragraph may suggest that the author ______.
| A．was punished by her father for a bad grade |
| B．never expected teachers to give her bad grades |
| C．usually got a higher grade |
| D．was bad at math |
. The author lied to her father because ______.
| A．she thought her father would believe her story |
| B．she didn’t want to let her father down |
| C．her father wouldn’t get her grade report |
| D．her father got angry whenever she got a poor grade |
. Why did her father stay silent after his daughter told him that she had lied?
| A．He didn’t understand what his daughter had said. |
| B．He was angry that his daughter lied to him again. |
| C．He was unhappy with his daughter’s bad score. |
| D．He was hurt that his daughter had lied to him. |
. The purpose of the article is to tell us that ______.
| A．dishonesty may work sometimes, but there is a price to pay |
| B．sometimes a lie can make things easier |
| C．we should study hard to make our parents happy |
| D．we should accept the fact that we are not perfect |
In 1981, there were more than 1.3 million elephants in Africa. But in 1991, that number was cut down to 600,000. African elephants are hunted for their valuable ivory tusks(象牙). More have been killed by poachers(偷猎者). Poachers are hunters who kill animals illegally
. An adult(成年) elephant eats as much as 300 pounds a day. In their search for food, elephants oft
en move great distances. When they cannot find the grasses they prefer, they may strip(剥光) the land of trees.
Today, the area in which elephants herds live is smaller than it used to be. Many areas in their path have been turned into farms. And some eleph
ants have been killed by f
armers for trampling(践踏)their crops.
What can we do here in our country about a threatened animal that lives so far away? Our government has passe
d a law to protect it. People cannot import or bring in items made from ivory or any part of the elephant’s body.
Most countries throughout the world have also stopped ivory imports. It is hoped that the ban(禁令) on the sale of ivory will help save the African elephant. But the world’s largest land animal needs other help. The countries where these animals live are often poor and unable to manage the herds. If the elephant is to survive, this animal is going to need our support for many years to come.The number of the elephant in Africa in 1991 was .
| A．the same as that ten years ago | B．more than that ten years ago |
| C．a little less than half of that in 1981 | D．a little more than half of that in 1981 |
African elephants have been killed mainly because _____.
| A．they eat a lot | B．they have beautiful tusks |
| C．poachers kill for fun | D．there are too many of them |
The areas where African elephants live are much smaller today because ___.
| A．they tend to live in herds |
| B．there are not so many of them today |
C．many of these areas have been t urned into farms |
| D．farmers have been killing them to save their crops |
It is mentioned in the passage that our country has ____.
| A．officially stopped ivory imports |
| B．banned the killing of elephants in Africa |
| C．threatened the elephants that live far away |
| D．helped the African countries where elephants live |
Which of the f
ollowing statements is TRUE?
| A．Poachers have a license(执照) to hunt for animals. |
B．Elephants do a lot of good for the farmers in Africa. |
| C．We live too far away to help to save the African elephants. |
D．The African elephant needs the world’s support for its s urvival |
It was on a warm day last summer. I was walking by the sea. The waves came and went. But I didn’t see them. I was lost in my thoughts.
A row of small holes soon caught my eyes. They lay in the sandy earth by the side of a road. In a minute I would have stepped on them.
What are these holes? I wondered. It had an answer soon. A fat, hairy insect crawled up from the earth. It had a wide tail. It was using the tail to dig in the ground.
The insect moved round and round in one spot(地点). Soon it had made another hole. When it was finished, the insect hid at the bottom. It covered its head with sand.
By now my thoughts of the early morning had gone. This new hole and the insect were all my world. So I sat quite still by the side of the road. And I waited.
As I watched, a small ant crossed the road. It passed my foot, a
nd then it crossed the sandy earth. In a little while it reached the edge of the hole. I saw it start to fall in. The ant tried to turn back. But it couldn’t.
And then I knew. I knew why the holes were there. For just then the fat insect came up out of the hole. It ate the ant who was trapped there.
Later I learned the insect’s name. It’s called ant lion. It digs holes to catch ants.
I’ll never forget that day. The holes looked so small to me. But to the ant and the ant lion they were the whole world.
I took my walks by the sea that summer. But I never aga
in learned as much as I did on the one. What did the ant lion use to dig holes?
| A．Its tail | B．Its feet. | C．Its head | D．Its whole body |
Why did the ant lion hide in the hole?
| A．To keep the sun away | B．So no one would catch it. |
| C．So the ant wouldn’t see it | D．To ke ep warm. |
Why did “I” sit down by the side of the road?
| A．To think | B．To eat her lunch |
| C．To watch the little holes | D．To catch ants. |
Why did the ant lion dig the holes?
| A．To play a game | B．To catch its food |
| C．To hide its eggs | D．To hide from its enemy |
Why did “I” never forget that day?
| A．Learned something | B．Had a nice time |
| C．Saw the ant lion whenever she took a walk | |
| D．Felt sorry for the ant. |
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