Raised in a motherless home, my father was extremely tightfisted towards us children. His attitude didn’t soften as I grew into adulthood and went to college. I had to ride the bus whenever I came home. Though the bus stopped about two miles from home, Dad never met me, even in severe weather. If I grumbled, he’d say in his loudest father-voice, “That’s what your legs are for!”
The walk didn’t bother me as much as the fear of walking alone along the highway and country roads. I also felt less than valued that my father didn’t seem concerned about my safety. But that feeling was cancelled one spring evening.
It had been a particularly difficult week at college after long hours in labs. I longed for home. When the bus reached the stop, I stepped off and dragged my suitcase to begin the long journey home.
A row of hedge（树篱）edged the driveway that climbed the hill to our house. Once I had turned off the highway to start the last lap of my journey, I always had a sense of relief to see the hedge because it meant that I was almost home. On that particular evening, the hedge had just come into view when I saw something gray moving along the top of the hedge, moving toward the house. Upon closer observation, I realized it was the top of my father’s head. Then I knew, each time I’d come home, he had stood behind the hedge, watching, until he knew I had arrived safely. I swallowed hard against the tears. He did care, after all.
On later visits, that spot of gray became my watchtower. I could hardly wait until I was close enough to watch for its secret movement above the greenery. Upon reaching home, I would find my father sitting innocently in his chair. “So! My son, it’s you!” he’d say, his face lengthening into pretended surprise.
I replied, “Yes, Dad, it’s me. I’m home.” What does the underlined word “grumbled” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?
| A．Accepted happily. | B．Spoke unhappily. |
| C．Agreed willingly. | D．Explained clearly. |
What made the author feel upset was ______.
| A．the tiredness after long hours in labs. |
| B．the fear of seeing something moving. |
| C．the feeling of being less than valued. |
| D．the loneliness of riding the bus home. |
The author’s father watched behind the hedge because ______.
| A．he wanted to help his son build up courage. |
| B．he was concerned about his son’s safety. |
| C．he didn’t want to meet his son at the doorway. |
| D．he didn’t think his son was old enough to walk alone. |
Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
| A．Terrible Journey Home. | B．My College Life. |
| C．My Father’s Secret. | D．Riding Bus Alone. |
One day a teacher was giving her young students a lesson on how the government works ．She was trying to explain the principle of income tax （收入税）．
“You see ,” she began , speaking slowly and carefully , “each person who works must pay part of his or her salary （薪水）to the government ．If you make a high salary , your taxes are high ．If you don’t make much money, your taxes are low ．”
“Is that clear ?” she asked ．“Does everyone understand the meaning of income tax ?” The students nodded．“Are there any questions ?” she asked ．The students shook their heads ．
“Very good !” she said ．“Now ,I would like you to take a piece of paper and write a short paragraph on the subject of income tax ．”
Little Joey was a slow learner ．He had lots of problems with spelling and grammar , but this time he at least seemed to understand the task ．He took his pen and after a few minutes , he handed the teacher the following composition :
Once I had a dog．His name was Tax．
I opened the door and in come Tax．The teacher was trying to explain one day ．
| A．the basic principles of the income tax |
| B．how the government works |
| C．everyone should pay income tax |
| D．how much tax one should pay for his income |
After the teacher’s explanation, ．
| A．all the students shook their heads |
| B．many of the students were still puzzled |
| C．not all the students understood the meaning of income tax |
| D．a few students disagreed with their teacher |
The students were asked ．
| A．to say something about income tax |
| B．to answer some questions on income tax |
| C．to write a composition on “income tax” |
| D．to explain the principle of income tax |
Little Joey ．
| A．was clever |
| B．understood what the teacher said |
| C．was not clever enough |
| D．did as what he was told to do |
Linda Evans was my best friend like the sister I never had．We did everything together; piano lessons, movies, swimming, horseback riding．
When I was 13, my family moved away．Linda and I kept in touch through letters, and we saw each other on special times—like my wedding and Linda’s．Soon we were busy with children and moving to new houses, and we wrote less often．One day a card that I sent came back, stamped “Address Unknown”．I had no idea how to find Linda．
Over the years, I missed Linda very much．I wanted to share happiness of my children and then grandchildren．And I need to share my sadness when my brother and then mother died．There was an empty place in my heart that only a friend like Linda could fill．
One day I was reading a newspaper when I noticed a photo of a young woman who looked very much like Linda and whose last name was Wagmans—Linda’s married name．“There must be thousands of Wagmans．” I thought, but I still wrote to her．
She called as soon as she got my letter．“Ms Tobin!” she said excitedly, “Linda Evans Wagmans is my mother．” Minutes later I heard a voice that I knew very much, even after 40 years, laughed and cried and caught up on each other’s lives．Now the empty place in my heart is filled．And there’s one thing that Linda and I know for sure: We won’t lose each other again!What happened to me when I was 13?
| A．My father died of an illness． |
| B．I got married and had a son． |
| C．My family removed to a new place． |
| D．Linda moved away with her family． |
Why was the card I sent returned to me?
| A．I forgot to write the address． |
| B．The address couldn’t be found． |
| C．Something was wrong with the card． |
| D．Linda was sent to a foreign country． |
Over the years, I missed Linda very much because________．
| A．Linda could fill my dream |
| B．Linda made a promise that she would visit me |
| C．Linda had a deep effect on my choice of life |
| D．I wanted to share happiness and sorrow with Linda |
What did I notice in the newspaper one day?
| A．A photo of a young woman who looked very much like Linda． |
| B．Linda was still looking for me in the newspaper． |
| C．Linda fell in love with a man called Wagmans． |
| D．Linda was still living in the nearby city． |
We walked in so quietly that the nurse at the desk didn’t even lift her eyes from the book．Mum pointed at a big chair by the door and I knew she wanted me to sit down．While I watched mouth open in surprise, Mum took off her hat and coat and gave them to me to hold．She walked quietly to the small room by the lift and took out a wet mop（拖把）．She pushed the mop past the desk and as the nurse looked up, Mum nodded and said, “Very dirty floors.” “Yes, I’m glad they’ve finally decided to clean them,” the nurse answered．She looked at Mum strangely and said, “But aren’t you working late?”
Mum just pushed harder, each swipe （拖一下）of the mop taking her farther and farther down the hall．I watched until she was out of sight and the nurse had turned back to writing in the big book．After a long time Mum came back．Her eyes were shining.
She quickly put the mop back and took my hand．As we turned to go out of the door, Mum bowed politely to the nurse and said, “Thank you.”
Outside, Mum told me “Grandma is fine．No fever.”
“You saw her, Mum?”
“Of course．I told her about the hospital rules, and she will not expect us until tomorrow．Dad will stop worrying as well．It’s a fine hospital．But such floors! A mop is not good．You need a brush.”When she took a mop from the small room what Mum really wanted to do was ______.
| A．to clean the floor |
| B．to please the nurse |
| C．to see a patient |
| D．to surprise the story-teller |
When the nurse talked to Mum she thought Mum was a ______.
| A．nurse | B．visitor |
| C．patient | D．cleaner |
After reading the story what can we infer about the hospital? ______
| A．The nurses and doctors there don’t work hard. |
| B．It has strict rules about visiting hours. |
| C．The conditions there aren’t very good． |
| D．It is a children’s hospital. |
Which of the following words best describes Mum? ______.
| A．Clever | B．Warm-hearted |
| C．Strange | D．Hardworking |
Scientists have long understood the key role that oceans play in regulating the Earth’s climate. Oceans cover 70 percent of the globe and store a thousand times more heat than the atmosphere does. What’s newer is the understanding of how this key component of our climate system responds to global warming.
A brake on global warming — for now
One of oceans’most important climate functions is absorbing heat and carbon dioxide (CO2), one of the gases that cause global warming. Acting as a heat sponge (海绵), oceans have absorbed huge amounts of heat and CO2 in the last forty years.
Fujita explains that "oceans are saving us from faster climate change — they are a big flywheel that delays rapid overheating of the Earth, putting a brake on the climate system."
"That’s the good news," he adds. "The bad news is that oceans only slow the atmospheric warming. Once oceans come to balance with a greenhouse gas warmed earth, the extreme heat will remain in the atmosphere and things will get much hotter." But where and how oceans release this accumulated (积累的) heat is uncertain. And as oceans store heat, fragile underwater ecosystems are struggling.
The most recent scientific report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) also notes with concern that oceans are acidifying because of increased absorption of atmospheric CO2, and thus causing a threat for shell-forming species. Sharp increases in carbon dioxide levels will cause further acidification of oceans.
Currents distributing heat
Another important role oceans play is that of distributor. Oceans deliver heat and life-sustaining nutrients around the globe. Just as blood vessels bring oxygen and nutrients to cells in the human body, oceans’ currents carry oxygen, nutrients and heat throughout the Earth. Oceans distribute 25 percent to 50 percent of the energy the planet receives from the sun. For example, the Gulf Stream carries heat across the Atlantic. This warm current gives northwestern Europe a milder climate than it would normally have so far north. A change to oceans’ circulation (循环) patterns could throw Europe into a colder period, even as the rest of world experiences warmer temperatures.
This passage mainly talks about .
A.the roles of oceans B.global warming
C.ocean currents D.carbon dioxide
Arriving in Sydney on his own from India, my husband, Rashid, stayed in a hotel for a short time while looking for a house for me and our children.
During the first week of his stay, he went out one day to do some shopping. He came back in the late afternoon to discover that his suitcase was gone. He was extremely worried as the suitcase had all his important papers, including his passport.
He reported the case to the police and then sat there，lost and lonely in a strange city, thinking of the terrible troubles of getting all the paperwork organized again from a distant country while trying to settle down in a new one.
Late in the evening, the phone rang. It was a stranger. He was trying to pronounce my husband’s name and was asking him a lot of questions. Then he said they had found a pile of papers in their trash can（垃圾桶）that had been left out on the footpath.
My husband rushed to their home to find a kind family holding all his papers and documents. Their young daughter had gone to the trash can and found a pile of unfamiliar papers. Her parents had carefully sorted them out, although they had found mainly foreign addresses on most of the documents. At last they had seen a half-written letter in the pile in which my husband had given his new telephone number to a friend.
That family not only restored the important documents to us that day but also restored our faith and trust in people. We still remember their kindness and often send a warm wish their way.
Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
| A．From India to Australia. |
| B．Living in a New Country. |
| C．Turning Trash to Treasure. |
| D．In Search of New Friends. |
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