They sit by the door waiting for me. And while I may speak more about the narrowness of my very limited life than their real worth, just the fact that they're sitting there, waiting for me, makes me happy.
I speak, of course, of my wonderful, brilliant, intelligently designed, calf-high rubber boots. They are a piece of industrial genius（杰作）. They are real and vibrant（活力的），and make my life more worth living.
My rubber boots are real and they do not fail me. I slip them on over my socks at a moment's notice. They go on easily. My feet feel joyful like the wagging（摇摆）tail of a dog waiting for its walk. My feet know they are safe.
I step outside the house and nothing can stop me the late season snowstorm, the pool of standing water at the bottom of my doorsteps that will never give off, the mud and dirt this season brings. My feet are warm and dry and happy. And so am I.
My boots are modest. They make no promise they can't keep. I found them at one-third the price of the long boots I looked at longingly for years. Mine are American-made and inexpensive and unattractive and brown and solid. They are now three years old and still look new. I know I will have them forever. I will die with them on. They are homely and they are wonderful.
My rubber boots make me braver and kinder and more generous. Yes, I will get the mail. Yes, I will get the newspaper. Yes, I will walk the dog. Yes to the garbage. Yes. Yes. Yes. I have rubber boots, good strong rubber boots-and I am not afraid. We can infer from the passage that __________.
| A．the writer has a small life circle |
| B．it must be very cold in winter where the writer lives |
| C．the writer enjoys the dog wagging its tail |
| D．the boots are designed by an industrial talent |
Which of the following is mentioned in the last two paragraphs?
| A．The writer is a postman by occupation. |
| B．The writer will wear the boots all his life. |
| C．The writer bought the boots out of curiosity. |
| D．The boots are good-looking, old and American made. |
Which is the right order of the writer's developing the passage?
a. He feels at home in the boots.
b. His feet feel safe.
c. They bring him happiness.
d. His life is meaningful.
e. He feels very fearless.
f. They warm his feet and keep wet out.
| A．a-c-b-e-d-f |
| B．c-d-e-f-b-a |
| C．a-c-b-f-d-e |
| D．c-d-b-f-a-e |
The writer writes the passage in order to __________.
| A．tell his daily life |
| B．advertise rubber boots |
| C．praise the objects ordinary but reliable |
| D．attach the importance to happiness and safety |
It was Mother’s Day morning last year and I was doing shopping at our local supermarket with my five-year-old son, Tenyson. As we were leaving, we found that only minutes earlier an elderly woman had fallen over at the entrance and had hit her head on the concrete. Her husband was with her, but there was blood everywhere and the woman was embarrassed and clearly in shock.
Walking towards the scene, Tenyson became very upset about what had happened to the couple. He said to me, “Mum, it’s not much fun falling over in front of everyone.”
At the front of the supermarket, a charity group had set up a stand selling cooked sausages and flowers to raise funds. Tenyson suggested that we should buy the lady a flower. “It will make her feel better,” he said. I was amazed that he’d come up with this sweet idea. So we went over to the flower seller and asked her if we could buy a flower for the lady to cheer her up. “Just take it,” he replied. “I can’t take your money for such a wonderful gesture.”
By now paramedics(急救人员) had arrived, and were attending to the injured woman. As we walked up to her, my son became intimidated by all the blood and medical equipment. He said he was just too scared to go up to her.
Instead, I gave the flower to the woman’s husband and told him, “My son was very upset for your wife and wanted to give her this flower to make her feel better.”
At that, the old man started crying and said, “Thank you so much, you have a wonderful son. Happy Mother’s Day to you.”
The man then bent down and gave his wife the flower, telling her who it was from. Though badly hurt and shaken, the old lady looked up at Tenyson with love in her eyes and gave him a little smile.1What does the author intend to tell us?
| A．One can never be too careful. |
| B．Actions speak louder than words. |
| C．Love begins with a little smile. |
| D．A small act of kindness brings a great joy. |
The underlined word “intimidated” in the fourth paragraph probably means “____”.
| A．astonished | B．struck |
| C．frightened | D．excited |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The elderly woman was knocked down by Tenyson. |
| B．Tenyson’s care for the elderly woman puzzled the flower seller. |
| C．Tenyson’s idea of buying a flower gained his mother’s support. |
| D．The elderly woman was moved to tears by Tenyson’s gesture. |
Which best describes the writer’s attitude in the passage?
| A．Approving | B．Hopeless |
| C．Doubtful | D．Pessimistic |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Mother’s Day |
| B．Flower Power |
| C．An Accidental Injury |
| D．An Embarrassing Moment |
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With help from a Mr. H, you can _____.
A. Stop using batteries
B. Finish your homework on time
C. Remember your teachers’ instructions
D. Get your room tidied on your way home.
A. repair your TV B. organize your homework
C. be a James Bond D. know what the weather is likeA PENGO WATCH CONTROL can help you to _____.
You can get your Mr. H for ______.
| A．$499 | B．$299 | C．$199 | D．$99 |
Where would you be most likely to find the two texts?
| A．On a notice board. |
| B．In a company brochure. |
| C．On a teenage website. |
| D．In a college newspaper. |
Last night I was driving from Harrisburg to Lewisburg, a distance of about eighty miles. It was late. Several times I got stuck behind a slow-moving truck on a narrow road with a solid white line on my left, and I became increasingly impatient.
At one point along an open road, I came to a crossing with a traffic light. I was alone on the road by now, but as I drove near the light, it turned red and I made a stop. I looked left, right and behind me. Nothing. Not a car, no suggestion of car lamps, but there I sat, waiting for the light to change, the only human being for at least a mile in any direction.
I started wondering why I refused to run the light. I was not afraid of being caught, because there was clearly no policeman around, and there certainly would have been no danger in going through it.
Much later that night, the question of why I’d stopped for that light came back to me. I think I stopped because it’s part of a contract we all have with each other. It’s not only the law, but it’s an agreement we have, and we trust each other to honor it: we don’t go through red lights.
Trust is our first inclination(倾向). Doubting others does not seem to be natural to us. The whole construction of our society depends on mutual trust, not distrust. We do what we say we’ll pay. We trust each other in these matters, and we’re angry or disappointed with the person or organization that breaks the trust we have in them.
I was so proud of myself for stopping for the red light that night.Why did the author get impatient while driving?
| A．He was lonely on the road. |
| B．He was slowed down by a truck. |
| C．He got tired of driving too long. |
| D．He came across too many traffic lights. |
What was the author’s immediate action when the traffic light turned red?
| A．Stopping still. |
| B．Driving through it. |
| C．Looking around for other cars. |
| D．Checking out for traffic police. |
The event made the author strongly believe that ____.
| A．traffic rules may be unnecessary |
| B．doubting others is human nature |
| C．patience is important to drivers |
| D．a society needs mutual trust |
Even when you’re extremely busy, you aren’t using your time with 100% efficiency. There are gaps in everyone’s schedule where they aren’t doing anything important. Even if your schedule has no gaps, there is probably lots of time where you aren’t working as fast or as effectively as you possibly could.
Why aren’t you completely efficient? It’s because time isn’t the limiting factor. If it were the limiting factor, people could work non-stop without breaks or any unproductive distractions (消遣). Instead, people, even those who are highly productive, need to take breaks, occasionally procrastinate (拖延) and slow down on tasks throughout the day.
The real and most important limiting factor for productivity is your energy levels to pay attention. Energy levels limit your productivity because when you’re tired, you can have enough time and still not get everything done. Your attention ability is also limited, because even if there are a million things that need to be done, you can only focus on one or two at a time.
You might not be able to add another 4-5 hours into your schedule without making some sacrifices. But even extremely busy people can add an hour or two into their schedule without cancelling (取消) anything. The reason why it’s hard to “find time” isn’t a lack of time. It’s because you don’t have enough energy left to focus on something else that needs to fit into your day.
I first suspected time wasn’t the real problem during an extremely busy period in my life over a year ago. I was extremely busy, but at that time I still exercised regularly. I had daily to-do lists with over twenty items, and I still found time to exercise. However, after a few weeks off, due to illness, I stopped exercising. I was not busy by any standards, in fact, my schedule was incredibly light. Despite this free time, I found it hard to find time to exercise. It seemed to get pushed later and later into my schedule until it was gone. How can I explain this strange experience? I believe you have known it.If someone can’t work with 100% efficiency, the most important limiting factor is ________.
| A．a schedule without gaps |
| B．breaks and distractions |
| C．the limited time |
| D．the limited energy |
The writer gives the example of himself in the last paragraph in order to ________.
| A．prove what the real limiting factor is |
| B．show us how busily he needs to work |
| C．explain how important a healthy body is |
| D．tell us what an strange experience he has |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．Do You Really Lack Time? |
| B．How Can You Work Efficiently? |
| C．What Makes Your Energy Limited? |
| D．When Should You Do Exercise? |
Most young architects—particularly those in big cities—can only dream about working in a building of their own. And making that dream come true often means finding a building no one else seems to want, which is exactly what happened to David Yocum and his partner, Brain Bell. Their building is a former automobile electrical—parts firm in Atlanta. From the outside, it looks too old, even something horrible, but open the door and you are in a wide, open courtyard, lined on three sides with rusting (生锈的) walls.
In 2000, Yocum and Bell found this building in the city’s West End. Built in 1947, the structure had been abandoned (放弃) years earlier and the roof of the main building had fallen down. But the price was right, so Yocum bought it. He spent eight months of his off-hours on demolition (拆除), pulling rubbish out through the roof, because it was too dangerous to go inside the building, The demolition was hard work, but it gave him time to think about what he wanted to do, and “to treasure what was there—the walls, the rust, the light,” Yocum said. “Every season, more paint falls off the walls and more rust develops. It’s like an art installation (装置) in there—a slow-motion show.”
Since the back building had been constructed without windows, an all-glass front was added to the building to give it a view of the courtyard, and skylights were installed in the roof. The back of the building is a working area and a living room for Yocum and his wife. A sort of buffer (缓冲) zone between the front and the back contains a bathroom, a kitchen and a mechanical (机械的) room, and the walls that separate these zones have openings that allow views through to the front of the studio and the courtyard beyond.
Yocum and Bell, who have just completed an art gallery for the city, feel that the experience from the decoration of their building, focusing on the inside rather than the outside, has influenced their work. It has also given these architects a chance to show how they can make more out of less.According to the passage, it is for most young architects in big cities to work in a building of their own.
| A．easy | B．unnecessary |
| C．unrealistic | D．common |
Working on the old building, Yocum and Bell .
| A．pulled rubbish out through the roof |
| B．removed the skylights from the bathroom |
| C．presented a slow–motion show in an art gallery |
| D．built a kitchen at the back part of the old building |
It can be inferred from the passage that Yocum and Bell .
| A．benefited a lot from pulling down the roof |
| B．turned more old buildings into art galleries |
| C．got inspiration from decorating their old building |
| D．paid more attention to the outside of the gallery |
The main idea of the passage is that .
| A．people can learn a lot from their failures |
| B．it is worthwhile to spend money on an old building |
| C．people should not judge things by their appearance |
| D．creative people can make the best of what they have |
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