Americans are a strange people. They work like mad, then give away much of what they earn. They play until they are exhausted, and call this a vacation. They live to think of themselves as hard-hearted business men, yet they are push-overs for any hard luck story. They have the biggest of nearly everything including government, motor cars and debts. Yet they like to think of themselves as little people, average men, and they would like to cut everything down to their own size. They show off their tall buildings, high mountains, long rivers, big state, the best country, the best world, the best heaven. Yet they also have the most traffic deaths, the most waste, and the most liars.
When they meet, they are always telling each other, "Take it easy," then they rush off like crazy in opposite directions. They play games as if they were fighting a war, and fight wars as if playing a game. They marry more, and go broke more often. They love children, animals, mother, work, excitement, noise, nature, television shows, comedy, high pace, sports, the underdog, the hero, the flag, Christmas, jazz, shapely women and muscular men, classical recordings, crowds, comics, cigarettes, warm houses in winter and cool ones in summer, thick beefsteaks, coffee, ice cream, informal dress, plenty of running water, do-it-yourself, and a working week limited to forty hours or less.
They crowd their highways with cars while complaining about the traffic, troop to movies and television while blaming the quality and the advertisements, go to church but don't care much for sermons (布道), and drink too much in the hope of relaxing—only to find themselves drunk into even bigger dreams.
There is of course, no typical (典型的) American. But if you added them all together and then divided by 226, 000, 000 they would look something like what this chapter has tried to describe.What may be the best title of the passage?
| A．The Americans. | B．Life in America. |
| C．Strange people. | D．Great America |
What is the meaning of the underlined sentence in Para.1?
| A．They like listening to bad luck stories. |
| B．They push the interesting stories away. |
| C．They can easily be moved by sad stories. |
| D．They are informed of good luck stories often. |
Which one of the following is probably NOT what the Americans love?
| A．noise | B．advertisement |
| C．smoking | D．fresh water |
In what way did the author write this passage?
| A．By comparison. | B．By giving examples. |
| C．By experimenting. | D．By telling stories. |
Knowing how much her own children loved presents at Christmas, Ann Sutton always tried to seek help for one or two poor families．With a social worker mother, the Sutton children had inherited her commitment to service, and knew never to take their good fortune at Christmas for granted．This year, Kinzie, her seven-year-old daughter was thrilled that Santa Claus would make a special visit to a 22-year-old mother named Ashley who worked in a factory raising her 12-month-old son by herself．
The phone rang on Sunday．A representative from a local organization was calling to say that the aid Ann had requested for Ashley had fallen through．No Santa Claus, no presents, nothing．
Ann saw the cheer vanish from her children’s faces at the news．Without a word, Kinzie ran into her bedroom．She returned, her face set with determination．Opening up her piggy bank, she put all the coins onto the table: $3.30．Everything she had.
“Mom,” she told Ann, “I know it’s not much．But maybe this will buy a present for the baby.”
At a breakfast meeting the next day, Ann told her coworkers about her daughter’s story．To her surprise, staff members began to open their purses and empty their pockets to help Kinzie．By day’s end, the story of Kinzie’s gift had spread beyond Ann’s office．She received a call from an unknown donor．If a seven-year-old could give everything she had, he said, he should at least match her gift 100 to 1．He contributed $300．
On Christmas Eve, Ann drove through the pouring rain to the small trailer where the Ashleys lived．Then she began to unload the gifts from the car, handing them to Ashley one by one．
Ashley was very moved．Reflecting on a little girl’s generosity, Ashley says she’ll one day be able to do something similar for someone else in need．“Kinzie could have used that money for herself, but she gave it away,” Ashley says．“She’s the type of kid I’d like my son to grow up to be.”According to the text, Ann Sutton ______________.
| A．is making lots of money | B．is ready to help others |
| C．is only caring about herself | D．is a hard-working mother |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the text?
| A．Ashley lived a hard life with her little son. |
| B．The Sutton children took Anne as an example to follow． |
| C．The coworkers of Ann helped Kinzie to realize her wish. |
| D．Ann Sutton tried to ask for help for her own children. |
What can we learn about Kinzie?
| A．She was afraid that Santa Claus would visit the Ashleys. |
| B．She should get some presents from her mother at Christmas． |
| C．She devoted all her coins to buying a present for the baby. |
| D．She was cheerful when hearing the aid had fallen through. |
Which of the following can be inferred from the text?
| A．It rained heavily on Christmas Eve. |
| B．Ann handed gifts to Ashley one by one. |
| C．Ashley hoped she would help someone else in need. |
| D．A good deed can influence many people’s behavior. |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．A Young Girl’s Gift | B．A Mother’s Love |
| C．A Story of Young Girl | D．An Unknown Donor |
E
LOS ANGELES, the US
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff ruled Michael Jackson,s father can
receive some medical records related to his superstar son,s death．
The judge will review the records first before making them accessible to Joe Jackson,s
lawyer，Brian Oxman．Beckloff said the man can only receive records on or after June 25一
the day Michael Jackson died．
VANCOUVER，CANADA
World number one Zhou Yang overcame three South Korean players to win the women,s
short track speed skating 1,500 meters final at the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games．
The l8-year-old made perfect debut(首次亮相)as she set an Olympic record of a winning time
of 2 minutes and l6,993 seconds among other seven skaters．
China has never won the women,s l,500 meters in the Olympics before，and this time Zhou,s
performance gave China its third gold medal in Vancouver．
BElJING，CHINA
China,s first compulsory,(强制性的)safety regulation on primary school buses，which re-
quires every seat to have a seat belt，will take effect on July l to help ensure safer transporta-
tion for the country,s 100 million students．
Each primary school bus must also be equipped with a“black box，”0r a recording monitor，
to record speed，travel time and distance．Also，the bus must be staffed by teachers who will
ensure student safety．
In addition，the new rule states that the color of the school buses should be yellow，and each bus must have at least two emergency exits．
Texas，the US
A software engineer who crashed his plane into a Texas building housing a United States
tax agency office，killing himself and at least one worker，apparently left behind an angry anti-government manifesto(宣言) detailing his financial difficulties and tax problems．
The pilot took off from an airport in Georgetown．about 48 km from Austin．He flew low
over the Austin skyline before plowing into the building．
57．We can learn from the first news that_________．
A．all Michael Jackson,s medical records can be accessed
B．Mitchell Beckloff will not go over the record first
C．medical records before June 25 won,t be received
D．Joe Jackson,s lawyer will not get any records
58．The new school bus safety rules include all the followings EXCEPT_____________.
A．the driver,s experience B．the equipment of the bus
C．the color of the bus D．emergency exits
59．It seems the software engineer crashed into the US tax office mainly because of___________.
A．unhappy marriage B．mental disease
C．heavy work pressure D．financial and tax problems
60．We can infer from the news that____________.
A．Joe Jackson will be the first to receive the medical records
B．Zhou Yang once broke the Olympic records in the same event
C．the tax agency office is somewhere inside the building in Texas
D．the software engineer flew high over skyline before crashing into the building
D
We all accept that sports should stress skill over luck，and fairness over privilege(特权)．
They should be accessible to many and fun to watch．In the end，a sport,s champion should re-
present shared values and served as a role model．
But with today,s advances in technology，the power of sports equipment makers offers great
opportunity for the athletes who have access to the latest technology.
In 2008,108 world records were broken in the sport of swimming．The average number of
world records set in swimming in all past Olympic years is about 22．The average number of
world records set in a non-Olympic year is about 5．Now there are no“old”world records．
Suit technology has been the most widely recognized difference．The sharkskin suit and the
“paper”suits were all made public by suit manufactures before the Olympic．
As records continue to be broken，the Internet message boards for the swimming community
have taken a darker view of suit technology．“Time is meaningless”is one quote．I tend to agree．Some of the times I see being posted today are simply legends(传奇)．
Am I against suit technology?Not really．But 2008 marked an unbelievable change in the
sport of swimming．People are saying，“Bigger，faster，stronger at any cost!”，wanting no limits on technology，either suits or drugs．I am not one of those people．
I am a guy that recognized the sport of swimming being as simple as man vs．water．It used
to be the swimmer in the suit，not the suit on the swimmer．How times have changed．
53．According to the first paragraph，it is a common belief that________.
A．only a few people have chances to take part in sports
B．the latest suit technology should not be used in sports
C．sports should be interesting for people to watch
D．luck plays an important role in Olympic Games
54．It can be learned from the passage that_______.
A．the author is against the latest technology in sports
B．the athletes have become more skilled than before
C．some records are hard to break without technology
D．advanced suits and drugs can be used in Olympics
55．What does“Time is meaningless”mean in the swimming community?
A．Breaking records in swimming is too easy for most athelets．
B．It,s technology rather than skill that counts in some records．
C．Many athletes break records by luck and taking drugs．
D．Some rules aren,t obeyed when Olympic records are broken．
56．What,s the author,s opinion of the present sports?
A．Latest technology should be encouraged in compitition among athelets．
B．Time should be measured in a different way in modern Olympic Games．
C．All of the athletes should wear the same suits to ensure fairness．
D. Competition in skill should come first instead of that in equipment。
C
With smart phones taking the world by Storm，a phone that Can only send and receive voice
calls and text messages may seem like a relic from a bygone age．Yet in East Africa，simple
phones like these are changing the face of the economy，thanks to the mobile money services that are spreading across the region．
Usilng the text-messaging function built into the GSM system(全球通)used by most cell
phone networks，these services allow people without a bank account or credit card to use their
phone as an electronic walletthat can be used to store．send or receive cash．
It works like this：you pay cash to your local agent who then tops up your mobile money
account using a secure form of text messaging．That money can be transferred(转账)to another
person by sending a message to their cell phone account．
For some the system is a lifeline．“If I didn,t have my mobile phone．1 would be very
poor，”says Neyasse Neemur，a mother of four children who lives in northern Kenya．“Now I
can sell fish．”
Neemur took up fishing in July last year，but making money from it was a little tricky，
especially as Turkana people do not usually eat fish．A truck from Ethiopia to Tanzania passes
through her village once a week，and she arranged to have the driver transport the fish several
hundred kilometres south to market in Kisumu．where relatives sell the fish．
“I get the money transfer immediately．”says Neemur．“Then I can pay for my children to go to school and for vegetables and beans，”she adds，“so I don’t need to eat fish．”
According to the Central Bank of Kenya，payments worth around l billion Kenyan shillings
($13 million)per day were transferred through Kenya,s mobile money systems in 2009，equalling
the country,s credit card transactions(业务)．The bank expects mobile money transfers to overtake credit cards in 2010．
49．In Paragraph l，the author uses“simple phones”to________.
A．make a comparison B．introduce a topic
C．describe a scene D．offer an argument
50．What can we learn about the simple phones in East Africa?
A．They might help the local people apply for a bank account．
B．They will replace the banks completely in the near future．
C．They provide a safe means for the locals to do business．
D．They can do nothing except send and receive calls or messages．
51．The word“it”in the third paragraph refers to_______.
A．the GSM system B．the mobile money service
C．the credit card service D．the cell phone networks
52．The story of Neyasse Neemur suggests that_______.
A．the mobile money service plays a key rote in the locals, life
B．Neemur uses her mobile phone to contact her customers
C。her relatives tricks Turkana people to eat the fish they sell
D．the Bank of Kenya helps her improve her living condition
B
What weighs 3500 pounds(1600kg)and lived 60 million years ago?Are you thinking of
dinosaurs?Guess again!You don,t have to go to a museum to see these creatures．They are alive
and swimming in the warm coastal waters of Florida．
Manatees(海牛)have lived a peaceful existence in the warm waters of Florida for 60
million years．However，they are now an endangered species．This means that if humans don,t do
something to save them，they will soon go the way of dinosaurs．
Humans have made life very difficult for manatees．One big danger that humans have
introduced is the speedboat．Because manatees are mammals．they need to come to the surface to breathe about every 5 to 6 minutes．This means that they are in constant danger of being caught in the propellers(螺旋桨)of speedboats．And boating aceidents are the greatest cause of death for them．
Manatees are in extra danger when they are in their sleeping or“torpor”state．They still
have to come to the surface for the air，but sometimes they are too sleepy to avoid the danger of approaching boats．
Another danger for manatees is the pollution that humans produce．Due to human pollution，
a deadly plant called red tide had increased greatly in the Gulf of Mexico．The plant，or algae，
t11riVes(繁茂)on pollution．It wiped out nearly 20 percent of the total manatee population on
earth．
Humans can help to save manatees。The government has established boating speed limits to
give the manatees．a chance to escape approaching speedlsoats．Everyone can help by cutting
down on waste and pollution to protect the waters for the manatees．
One famous singer，Jimmy Buffet，has helped save the manatees．He co-founded the Save the Manatee Club(SMC)．SMC had begun an adoption(收养)program for the manatees．For a fee，sponsors(资助者)can name a manatee．Donations are used to help protect the manatees and their habitat．
45．The manatee is the kind of animal that___________．
A．1ikes living in the cold waters of Florida B．will die out if not protected in time
C．call dive in the deep sea for hours D．is the biggest living animal on earth
46．Why is it dangerous for manatees to be in a torpor state?
A．Because they come to the snlface to breathe，and that is when they are hunted．
B．Because they eat deadly algae，and this makes them too sick to avoid danger．
C．Because they live in groups and therefore they are easily hurt by passing boats．
D．Because they are sleepy when they surface，so they can,t avoid approaching boats．
47．The death of the manatees is largely due to__________．
A．human hunting B．human pollution
C．speedboat accidents D．deadly plants
48．To help protect manatees，people should_________．
A．never go speed boating in their living habitat
B．keep the waters of Florida free from pollution
C．have manatess named by sponsors without a fee
D．wake manatees up from their torpor state
粤公网安备 44130202000953号