Andy rode slowly on his way to school, day-dreaming about the fishing trip that his father had promised him. He was so busy dreaming about all the fish he would catch that he was unaware of everything else around him.
He rode along until a strange sound drew him to the present. He came to a stop and looked curiously up to the sky. What he saw shocked and terrified him. A huge swarm of bees filled the sky like a black cloud and the buzzing mass seemed to be heading angrily towards him.
With no time to waste, Andy sped off in the opposite direction, riding furiously—but without knowing how to escape the swarm. As the bees came closer, his panic increased. Andy knew that he was sensitive to bee stings(蜇). The last sting had landed him in hospital—and that was only one bee sting! Suddenly, his father’s words came to him. “When you are in a tight situation, don’t panic. Use your brain and think your way out of it.”
On a nearby hill, he could see smoke waving slowly skywards from the chimney of the Nelson family home. “Bees don’t like smoke,” he thought. “They couldn’t get into the house.” But Andy knew he could not reach the house in time. He estimated that the bees would catch up with him soon.
Suddenly, out of the corner of his eyes, he spotted a small dam used by Mr. Nelson. Off his bike and into the cool water he dived, disappearing below the surface and away from the savage insects. After holding his breath for as long as he could, Andy came up for air and noticed the bees had gone. Dragging himself out of the dam, he struggled up the hilly slope and rang the doorbell. Mrs. Nelson took him inside and rang his mother.Why did Andy fail to notice the swarm of bees earlier?
| A．He was riding to school. |
| B．He was listening to a strange sound. |
| C．He was going fishing with his father. |
| D．He was lost in the thought of the fishing trip. |
Which of the following is NOT mentioned about the swarm of bees in the passage?
| A．They crowded like a black cloud. |
| B．They shocked and terrified Andy. |
| C．They tried to attack Andy in a mass. |
| D．They made Andy stay in hospital for two days. |
How did Andy avoid the bees in the end?
| A．He asked Mr. Nelson for help. |
| B．He hid himself under the water. |
| C．He rushed into the Nelson house. |
| D．He rode off in the opposite direction. |
Which of the following can best describe Andy’s escape from the bees?
| A．No pains, no gains. |
| B．Once bitten, twice shy. |
| C．Where there is a will, there is a way. |
| D．In time of danger, one’s mind works fast. |
My wife and I used to feel that it was impossible to be a true friend to someone whose name we didn’t know. How wrong we were! Years of Sunday-morning bus trips through the city with the same group of “nameless” people have changed our thinking. Before the bus takes off, we all join in a conversation: where’s the silent woman who sits up front and never responds to our cheery greetings? Here she comes. Her worn clothing suggests she doesn’t have much money to spare, but she always takes an extra cup of coffee for the driver.
We get smiles from a Mexican couple as they get on the bus hand in hand. When they get off, they’re still holding hands. The woman was pregnant late last year, and one day her change of shape confirmed that she’d delivered the child. We even felt a little pride at the thought of our extended family.
For many months, our only sadness lay in our inability to establish the same friendship with the silent woman at the front of the bus. Then, one evening, we went to a fish restaurant. We were shown to a table alongside someone sitting alone. It was the woman from the bus.
We greeted her with friendly familiarity we’d shown all year, but this time her face softened, then a shy smile. When she spoke, the words escaped awkwardly from her lips. All at once we realized why she hadn’t spoken to us before. Talking was hard for her.
Over dinner, we learned the stay of a single mother with a disabled son who was receiving special care away from home. She missed him desperately, she explained. “I love him… and he loves me, even though he doesn’t express it very well,” she murmured. “Lots of us have that problem, don’t we? We don’t say what we want to say, what we should be saying. And that’s not good enough.” The candles flared on our tables. Our fish had never tasted better. But the atmosphere grew pleasant, and when we parted as friends—we shared names.All the following statements can describe the woman except ______.
| A．poor | B．warm –hearted |
| C．silent | D．cold |
The underlined word “establish” in the 3th paragraph has the same meaning as_________.
| A．keep | B．discover |
| C．set up | D．accept |
The woman had the same problem with her son in the way that ______.
| A．they both disabled people |
| B．they both had some difficulty in expressing |
| C．they both liked bus travel |
| D．they both brought interest to the passengers |
Which of the following might be the best title of this passage?
| A．Friends of the Road | B．The Silent Woman on the Bus |
| C．Going to Work by Bus | D．Different Kinds of Friendship |
Squirrels often communicate with whistles, chirps and chucks, which sound like the word “chuck”. Whistles and chirps are like the sounds that many birds make. Now scientists have translated some of their squirrel-speak.
Hare, a professor of zoology at the University of Maniloha in Winnipeg, and his team managed to record squirrels' alarm calls. The researchers studied the sounds and then played them back to 60 wild squirrels, which the scientists approached individually with a video recorder to capture(抓拍）their responses. Some squirrels lifted their heads up and became alert(警惕的）. Creatures that were more frightened simply ran for their lives and dived into caves.
"In effect then, whistles that mix with chucks say 'there's an enemy of average threat that's here', and whistles without chucks say 'there's an enemy of seemingly average threat around here somewhere', while pure chirps say, 'I'm hiding here because there's an immediate danger. ' " Hare told. Discovery News.
Hare and some other researchers believe such sounds are part of an advanced language that develops just as all other communication systems.
Although squirrels risk their lives when they call out to warn others of threats, other squirrels might admire this behavior, thus increasing the caller’s social status, like humans who look up to heroes. Hare added that other animals, such as birds, probably understand at least some squirrel language, since they also may benefit from the alarm calls.
In fact, another Canadian study found that deep-voiced, black-capped chickadees have their own language too. According to certain research, there are a lot of tidings in chickadees' calls, such as directing fellows' activities, keeping in contact between mates, and raising alarms.
While chickadees and other birds are often welcomed into gardens by homeowners, squirrels are frequently viewed as pests(害兽）. Hare wishes a greater understanding of the complex social lives and communication systems of squirrels will provide “hope that humans will gain a greater appreciation and stop doing harm to these animals”.The text mainly talks about _______ .
| A．the ways for squirrels to escape from their enemies |
| B．the comparison between squirrels and chickadees |
| C．the calling for the protection of squirrels |
| D．the study on the language of squirrels |
If a squirrel is in a very dangerous situation, it would probably make ____.
| A．whistles with chucks | B．pure chirps |
| C．whistles without chucks | D．repeated chucks |
The underlined word “tidings” in paragraph 6 probably means ____.
| A．difficulties | B．noises |
| C．messages | D．languages |
What can be learned from this text?
| A．Squirrels communicate with each other as humans do. |
| B．Some squirrels understand the recorded alarm calls. |
| C．Other animals also well understand the language of squirrels. |
| D．Birds such as chickadees don’t have their own language. |
| Café en Seine The wildly luxury (奢华) new art style of this huge bar has been a huge hit since it first opened in 1995, and while it may not be the “in” place it once was, it is still very popular with the after-work crowd and out-of-towners. Maybe it’s the glass frames, or the real 12m-high trees; but most likely it’s the beautiful people supporting the wood-and-marble bar. Good for: decoration, cocktails, amazing food and service Address: 40 Dawson St Transport: all city centre Phone: 01 677 4369 |
| Gravediggers (aka Kavanagh’s) The gravediggers from the neighboring Glasnevin Cemetery had a secret serving hatch (舱口) so that they could drink on the job – therefore the pub’s nickname. Founded in 1833 by one John Kavanagh and still in the family, this pub is one of the best in Ireland, almost unchanged in 150 years. In summer time the green of the square is full of drinkers bathing in the sun, while inside the hardened locals ensure that never a hint of sunshine disturbs some of the best Guinness in town. An absolute classic. Good for: Guinness, traditional pub, pub food Address: 1 Prospect Sq Glasnevin Transport: 13 from city centre Phone: 830 7978 |
| Davy Byrne’s James Joyce, an Irish author and a poet (1882-1941), would hardly recognize the bar that Leopold Bloom rushed into for a gorgonzola sandwich and a glass of wine in Ulysses. It doesn’t stop Davy Byrne’s from making the most of its Joyce’s connections, even though today's version is strictly for out-of-towners and the rugby crowd. Good for: socializing with the locals, tasty Irish food, watching TV Address: 21 Duke St Transport: all city centre Website: www.davybyrnes.com Phone: 01 677 5217 |
People choose Café en Seine most probably because they enjoy _____as well as its cocktails and service
| A．its location | B．its history |
| C．its decoration | D．its environment |
“Guinness” in Gravediggers probably refers to ________.
| A．a kind of tea | B．a kind of beer |
| C．the name of the boss | D．the name of the town |
We can infer that Davy Byrne’s is ________.
| A．a newly-opened bar |
| B．an old-fashioned bar |
| C．a bar with a long history |
| D．a bar popular with foreigners |
What do Café en Seine and Davy Byrne’s have in common?
| A．Their represent the same architecture style. |
| B．They give the same description about transport. |
| C．They both serve cocktails and tasty Irish food |
| D．They are both popular with the rugby crowd. |
We regularly hear how important consumer spending is for the economy. The story goes like this：the more consumers spend，the more money circulates in the economy, which contributes to healthy job growth and profits. Keynes, a British economist，went as far as to say that individuals saving their money may actually be hurting the economy. Sounds troubling, doesn’t it?
Fear not. You aren’t actually hurting anyone else by saving money. Strong economic growth only comes from one place：savings. Not consumption. In fact，economic activity should not be mistaken for economic growth. For example，somebody takes their money, walks into a store, and purchases goods. The store increases its revenue.
But what happens to all of those goods and services that people have chosen not to consume by saving their money? Simple：Other people are allowed to consume them. Think of it this way：When you lend out your savings, you are actually saying，“Here, I am not going to consume right now, so why don’t you?” Banks simply play the middleman：they collect lots of people’s savings and then lend out lots of funds.
It takes an unbelievable amount of goods and services to construct a building. It takes food, shelter, and entertainment for all of the workers, as well. Without savings，it is quite impossible to finance such a construction. The coordination(协调)between savings and consumption is a necessary basis for sound economic growth. This coordination is also why consumer lending (say , to borrow a big sum of money to buy a car) is not productive，in a strict sense. It doesn’t increase the net (净的) amount of wealth of an economy. Those savings could have been used to construct, say, factory equipment.
None of this means consumption and spending are “bad” things. They simply do not make us wealthier. After all, the final goal of production and savings is to consume. But to say that consumption is the engine of economic growth is to put the cart before the horse. Or, to rephrase: the consumption of wealth can never make you wealthier. Happier, perhaps. Wealthier, no.What is the author’s attitude towards Keynes’ theory?
| A．Approving. | B．Reserved(矜持的). |
| C．Uncertain. | D．Critical. |
The underlined word “revenue” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to‘‘_________”.
| A．cost | B．reputation |
| C．interest | D．income |
According to the author, which chart could show the effect of savings on economy?
What would be the best title for this passage?
| A．The Saving Behavior of the Economy |
| B．Consumption：a Key Concept in Economy |
| C．Consumer Spending and Economic Growth |
| D．The Truth about Savings and Consumption |
In her new book, “The Smartest Kids in the World,” Amanda Ripley, an investigative journalist, tells the story of Tom, a high-school student from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, who decides to spend his senior year in Warsaw, Poland. Poland is a surprising educational success story: in the past decade, the country raised students’ test scores from significantly below average to well above it. Polish kids have now outscored(超过……分数) American kids in math and science, even though Poland spends, on average, less than half as much per student as the United States does. One of the most striking differences between the high school Tom attended in Gettysburg and the one he ends up at in Warsaw is that the latter has no football team, or, for that matter, teams of any kind.
That American high schools lavish more time and money on sports than on math is an old complaint. This is not a matter of how any given student who plays sports does in school, but of the culture and its priorities. This December, when the latest Program for International Student Assessment(PISA) results are announced, it’s safe to predict that American high-school students will once again display their limited skills in math and reading, outscored not just by students in Poland but also by students in places like South Korea, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, Singapore, and Japan. Meanwhile, they will have played some very exciting football games, which will have been breathlessly written up in their hometown papers.
Why does this situation continue? Well, for one thing, kids like it. And for another, according to Ripley, parents seem to like the arrangement, too. She describes a tour she took of a school in Washington D.C., which costs thirty thousand dollars a year. The tour leader—a mother with three children in the school—was asked about the school’s flaws(暇疵). When she said that the math program was weak, none of the parents taking the tour reacted. When she said that the football program was weak, the parents suddenly became concerned. “Really?” one of them asked worriedly, “What do you mean?”
One of the ironies(讽刺) of the situation is that sports reveal what is possible. American kids’ performance on the field shows just how well they can do when expectations are high. It’s too bad that their test scores show the same thing.Tom decides to spend his senior year in Poland because _______.
| A．there are striking differences between the 2 countries |
| B．Polish kids are better at learning |
| C．sports are not supported at schools in Gettysburg |
| D．he intends to improve his scores |
According to Paragraph 2, we know that _______.
| A．too much importance is placed on sports in America |
| B．little time is spent on sports in Japanese schools |
| C．American high schools complain about sports time |
| D．PISA plays a very important role in America |
The underlined sentence in the last paragraph means _______.
| A．American students’ academic performance worries their parents a lot |
| B．high expectations push up American students’ academic performance |
| C．low expectations result in American students’ poor PISA performance |
| D．lacking practice contributes to American students’ average performance |
The purpose of this article is to _______.
| A．draw public attention to a weakness in American school tradition |
| B．call on American schools to learn from the Polish model |
| C．compare Polish schools with those in America |
| D．explain what is wrong with American schools and provide solutions |
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