Your car is a necessary part of your life. You use it every day. Of course, you want to hold on to it so you make sure it has the latest alarm and immobilizer(汽车防盗器). But despite all these, cars like yours are still stolen every day. In fact, in this country, one car is stolen almost every minute! And if your car is stolen, you only have a 50:50 chance of seeing it again.
Each year, car crime costs nearly £3 billion. Of course, if you’re insured, you won’t lose out, or will you? Firstly, you will have to pay extra insurance later on, and then you may not be offered the full amount by the agent. You will probably have to hire a car and you will also lose the value of the contents and accessories(配件) in the car.
Now comes the solution. An RAC Trackstar system, hidden in one of 47 possible secret locations(位置) in your car, is the key of our system. If your car is stolen, radio signals are sent at twenty-second intervals from the car to the RAC Trackstar National Control Center via a satellite network. Then a computer gives the vehicle’s exact location, speed and direction.
The RAC Trackstar National Control Center, which operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, will immediately inform the police in the area where the car is located. Because the police receive information every twenty seconds, they will always know the vehicle’s location. Once the thief has been arrested, your car will be returned to you.
RAC Trackstar is unique in being able to provide the National Control Center with details of the exact location of your car, its speed and direction. And speed is the key to successful recovery of a stolen vehicle. RAC Trackstar Control will immediately tell the police if you report your car stolen and under the 24-hour Guardian Option. It will also tell you if your car has been stolen. RAC Trackstar’s constant updates mean the police are kept informed of the car’s location. All these greatly improve your chances of seeing your car again.
If your car is stolen, you will have to _____.
| A．hire a new car |
| B．pay more insurance |
| C．buy a RAC Trackstar system |
| D．inform the National Control Center |
The Trackstar system can tell the police _____.
| A．where the car is |
| B．how the car is stolen |
| C．who the thief is |
| D．what brand the car is |
The underlined word “It” in the last paragraph refers to ______.
| A．the local police station |
| B．the Guardian Option |
| C．the insurance company |
| D．the RAC Trackstar Control |
According to the passage, people with RAC Trackstar ______.
| A．are more likely to get the stolen cars back |
| B．have less chance of being in an accident |
| C．seldom get their vehicles damaged |
| D．automatically find directions |
Most people hate change, which is sad since we often go through intense changes in life. And for some of us, even the smallest changes can upset our day. So the question is: Why do most of us find making adjustments to our lives so hard?
Fear of change is nothing new. Over a century ago, the Parisians were unhappy over a particular addition to their city: the Eiffel Tower. In fact, the citizens were so angry about the plans for the tower that they protested its construction. As strange as it may seem, their anger was completely natural. They were given no choice about the huge change that was going to be made, so they became angry.
But we get upset over changes even when we do have a say in the matter and think about them carefully. Changes are brought about every day by the decisions we make: which school to attend, which job to take, whom to marry. Voluntary changes also make most of us uneasy because we don’t know how those changes will affect our future.
People have discovered that the key to overcoming the fear and anger associated with change is to be flexible(可弯曲的). When they are flexible, people can adapt to new situations more easily. Being flexible is especially important in the 21st century as technology makes change occur faster than ever before. Those who oppose change, especially with technology in the workplace, may find themselves out of a job.
When change comes, and you have no choice but to face it, embrace it. A positive attitude helps a lot. In fact, the change may turn out to be the best thing for you. That new job you got may end up being much better than your old one. You may make the best friends of your life in the new city you moved to. Don’t merely focus on how you feel about change; instead decide to accept the change. The change is the reality, and it’s up to you whether the change will be a success or a failure. You never know – your next change may be your life’s Eiffel Tower!Why did the building of the Eiffel Tower make the Parisians unhappy?
| A．Because they didn’t like the design of the Eiffel Tower. |
| B．Because they couldn’t avoid accepting the Eiffel Tower. |
| C．Because it was no use building the Eiffel Tower. |
| D．Because the Eiffel Tower seemed strange. |
According to the passage, it can be inferred that what won’t disturb us are _____________.
| A．the changes that have agreement with one’s will |
| B．the small changes we meet in our daily life |
| C．the changes whose effect we can predict and control |
| D．the changes that we discuss or consider thoroughly |
How should we overcome negative emotions that the changes bring?
| A．We are not supposed to face the changes and let them alone. |
| B．We should actively accustom ourselves to the new circumstance. |
| C．We should not take the changes seriously and avoid them as much as possible. |
| D．We should know that the changes merely bring us bad influence. |
What does the underlined sentence in the last paragraph mean?
| A．The change will probably make you fail like the Eiffel Tower. |
| B．The change is like the Eiffel Tower which is not good for our future life. |
| C．Your future life is never known just like the Eiffel Tower unknown to the Parisians. |
| D．Your future life is likely to be a great achievement due to the change. |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．The Psychology of Change | B．The ways to Overcome the Fear |
| C．Changes That Disturb Us | D．The Bad Effect of Changes |
The common cold is the world’s most widespread illness, which is plagues(疫病) that flesh receives.
The most widespread fallacy(谬误) of all is that colds caused by cold. They are not. They are caused by viruses passing on from person to person. You catch a cold by coming into contact, directly or indirectly, with someone who already has one. If cold causes colds, it would be reasonable to expect the Eskimos(爱斯基摩人) to suffer from them forever. But they do not. And in isolated arctic regions explorers have reported being free from colds until coming into contact again with infected people from the outside world by way of packages and mail dropped from airplanes.
During the First World War soldiers who spent long periods in the trenches(战壕), cold and wet, showed no increased tendency to catch colds.
In the Second World War prisoners at the notorious Auschwitz concentration camp(集中营), naked and starving, were astonished to find that they seldom had colds. At the Common Cold Research Unit in England, volunteers took part in Experiments in which they gave themselves to the discomforts of being cold and wet for long stretches of time. After taking hot baths, they put on bathing suits, allowed themselves to be with cold water, and then stood about dripping wet in drafty room. Some wore wet socks all day while others exercised in the rain until close to exhaustion. Not one of the volunteers came down with a cold unless a cold virus was actually dropped in his nose.
If, then, cold and wet have nothing to do with catching colds, why are they more frequent in the winter？Despite the most pains-taking research, no one has yet found the answer. One explanation offered by scientists is that people tend to stay together indoors more in cold weather than at other times, and this makes it easier for cold viruses to be passed on.
No one has yet found a cure for the cold. There are drugs and pain suppressors(止痛片) such as aspirin, but all they do is relieve the symptoms(症状). The writer offered _______ examples to support his argument.
| A．4 | B．5 | C．6 | D．3 |
Which of the following does not agree with the chosen passage?
| A．The Eskimos（爱斯基摩人） do not suffer from colds all the time. |
| B．Colds are not caused by cold. |
| C．People suffer from colds just because they like to stay indoors. |
| D．A person may catch a cold by touching someone who already has one. |
Arctic explorers may catch colds when _______.
| A．they are working in the isolated arctic regions |
| B．they are writing reports in terribly cold weather |
| C．they are free from work in the isolated arctic regions |
| D．they are coming into touch again with the outside world |
Volunteers taking part in the experiments in the Common Cold Research Unit ______.
| A．suffered a lot | B．never caught colds |
| C．often caught colds | D．became very strong |
The passage mainly discusses _______.
| A．the experiments on the common cold |
| B．the cures about the common cold |
| C．the reason and the way people catch colds |
| D．the continued spread of common colds |
What if you could fly like a bird just by thinking happy thoughts? Or you could disappear to a faraway land, never grow old and fight pirates every day? For Peter Pan and his friends, the Lost Boys, these dreams come true.
More than 100 years after this playful boy was “born”, Peter Pan and his friends are to continue their adventure in a sequel(续集)to J.M. Barrie’s original novel. “Peter Pan in Scarlet”(重返梦幻岛),written by British author Geraldine McCaughrean, was published earlier this month.
The sequel brings all the original characters back. Peter Pan’s friends, the Lost Boys, are now grown up and live in the real world. What’s more, at the end of the first book, Peter Pan thinks he has killed his enemy, Captain Hook. But ,new readers discover he is not so dead at all.
For those who are unfamiliar with the original story, Peter Pan lives in faraway Neverland with a group of orphans. But they are eager for a real mother and Peter Pan flies to London with a fairy(仙女), Tinkerbell, to find one. They visit a young girl, Wendy, who loves to read stories, and bring her and her two brothers back to Neverland to live with them. In Neverland, children never have to grow up, and there are no parents to tell them what to do.
Many teenagers dream of a world where they don’t have to grow old and take responsibility. But, the author explains such a world is not the paradise(乐园)when it first appears: adventures can be scary and often dangerous, and, though we all sometimes dream of running away, we all need someone to love and look after us too. The passage is written to ________.
| A．tell you about an unrealistic dream |
| B．introduce novels about Peter Pan |
| C．analyze the difficulties of growing up |
| D．explain why Peter Pan can’t grow old |
“Peter Pan in Scarlet” is about _________.
| A．how some children fought against the pirate–Captain Hook |
| B．the care–free life the children led in Neverland |
| C．how peter Pan looked for a real mother for the Lost Boys |
| D．how the Lost Boys return to Neverland for more adventures |
The stories of Peter Pan and the Lost Boys reflect that those at their age ________.
| A．are ready to shoulder responsibility |
| B．choose adventures in faraway places |
| C．long for independence but also need someone to love them |
| D．can’t wait to grow up |
The place Peter Pan and his friend stay is named Neverland probably because .
| A．they never have to grow up |
| B．they don’t have parents |
| C．they never have troubles |
| D．they never need to worry |
Peter Pan flies to London _________.
| A．to find a fairy |
| B．to visit a young girl |
| C．to find a real mother |
| D．to earn money |
When Mary Moore began her high school in 1951, her mother told her, "Be sure and take a typing course so when this show business thing doesn't work out, you'll have something to rely on. " Mary responded in typical teenage fashion. From that moment on, "the very last thing I ever thought about doing was taking a typing course," she recalls.
The show business thing worked out, of course. In her career, Mary won many awards. Only recently, when she began to write Growing Up Again, did she regret ignoring her morn," I don't know how to use a computer," she admits.
Unlike her 1995 autobiography, After All, her second book is less about life as an award-winning actress and more about living with diabetes (糖尿病). All the money from the book is intended for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), an organization she serves as international chairman. "I felt there was a need for a book like this," she says. " I didn't want to lecture, but I wanted other diabetics to know that things get better when we're self-controlled and do our part in managing the disease. "
But she hasn't always practiced what she teaches. In her book, she describes that awful day, almost 40 years ago, when she received two pieces of life-changing news. First, she had lost the baby she was carrying, and second, tests showed that she had diabetes. In a childlike act, she left the hospital and treated herself to a box of doughnuts (甜甜圈). Years would pass before she realized she had to grow u p ---again---and take control of her diabetes, not let it control her. Only then did she kick her three-pack-a-day cigarette habit, overcome her addiction to alcohol, and begin to follow a balanced diet.
Although her disease has affected her eyesight and forced her to the sidelines of the dance floor, she refuses to fall into self-pity. "Everybody on earth can ask, 'why me?' about something or other," she insists. "It doesn't do any good. No one is immune (免疫的) to heartache, pain, and disappointments. Sometimes we can make things better by helping others. I've come to realize the importance of that as I've grown up this second time. I want to speak out and be as helpful as I can be. "Why did Mary feel regretful?
| A．She didn't achieve her ambition. | B．She didn't take care of her mother. |
| C．She didn't complete her high school. | D．She didn't follow her mother's advice. |
When Mary received the life-changing news, she .
| A．lost control of herself | B．began a balanced diet |
| C．need to get a treatment | D．behaved in an adult way |
What can we know from the last paragraph?
| A．Mary feels pity for herself. |
| B．Mary has recovered from her disease. |
| C．Mary wants to help others as much as possible. |
| D．Mary determines to go back to the dance floor. |
It was Monday. Mrs. Smith's dog was hungry, but there was not any meat in the house.
Considering that there was no better way. Mrs. Smith took a piece of paper, and wrote the following words on it：“Give my dog half a pound of meat.” Then she gave the paper to her dog and said gently：“Take this to the butcher（* person whose job is selling meat）and he's going to give you your lunch today.”
Holding the piece of paper in its mouth, the dog ran to the butcher's. It gave the paper to the butcher. The butcher read it carefully, recognized that it was really the lady's handwriting and soon did it as he was asked to. The dog was very happy, and ate the meat up at once.
At noon, the dog came to the shop again. It gave the butcher a piece of paper again. After reading it, he gave it half a pound of meat once more.
The next day, the dog came again exactly at noon. And as usual, it brought a piece of paper in the mouth. This time, the butcher did not take a look at paper, and gave the dog its meat, for he had regarded the dog as one of his customers（*people who buy sth. from a shop）.
But, the dog came again at four o'clock. And the same thing happened once again. To the butcher's more surprise, it came for the third time at six o'clock, and brought with it a third piece of paper. The butcher felt a bit puzzled. He said to himself, “This is a small dog. Why does Mrs. Smith give it so much meat to eat today?”
Looking at the piece of paper, he found that there were not any words on it！ It seemed that the dog knew well that the paper Mrs. Smith gave it ______ .
| A．might do it much harm | B．could do it much good |
| C．would help the butcher | D．was worth many pounds |
The butcher did not give any meat to the dog __________ .
| A．before he felt sure that the words were really written by Mrs. Smith |
| B．when he found that the words on the paper were not clear |
| C．because he had sold out all the meat in his shop |
| D．until he was paid enough by Mrs. Smith |
From its experience, the dog found that ________.
| A．only the paper with Mrs. Smith's words in it could bring it meat |
| B．the butcher would give the meat to it whenever he saw it |
| C．Mrs. Smith would pay for the meat it got from the butcher |
| D．a piece of paper could bring it half a pound of meat |
At the end of the story, you'll find that _______.
| A．the dog was clever enough to write on the paper |
| B．the dog dared not go to the butcher's any more |
| C．the butcher was told not to give any meat to the dog |
| D．the butcher found himself cheated by the clever animal |
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