It was a weeknight. We were a half dozen guys in our late teens, hanging around “the flat” — as usual. The flat was poorly furnished, which, after some time, grew tiresome. We wanted action.
We got in a car, big enough for all of us to crowd into — and off we went, in search of adventure. We soon found ourselves at Blue Gum Corner, a place named after the huge old blue gum tree that stood by there, a well-known local landmark. It stands at a minor crossroad leading to our town. The trunk is tall and smooth with no handholds for climbing. About six metres from the ground the first branch sticks out over the road. We parked beneath the huge old tree and discussed what we might do. All of a sudden we hit upon an idea — a hanging! I was chosen as “hangee”.
The plan was quite simple. As I stood upon the roof of the car, the rope (绳子) was threaded down my jacket through my collar and down one leg of my jeans. I put my foot through the loop at the bottom. There I hung, still. The boys rolled about laughing until, a car, I hear a car! Before they ran to hide in the nearby field, they gave me a good push so that “the body” would swing as the car drove by.
To our disappointment, the car simply turned off for town without even slowing. The boys came out of their hiding places and we discussed the situation. Surely they had seen me, hadn’t they? Then we heard another car. The act was repeated, but still without any obvious reaction. We played the game about five or six times, but as no one seemed to notice, we abandoned the trick.
What we did not know was that every car that had passed had unquestionably seen “the body” and each one, too scared to stop, had driven directly to the local Police Station. Now at that time of the night, the local policeman was sound asleep in his bed, so the first person sent to the scene was the traffic officer that happened to be on duty that particular night. He had been informed that some person had been killed, by hanging, at Blue Gum Corner. When he arrived, the body was gone! And he was hearing “unnatural sounds” from the surrounding area. As far as he knew, some fierce animal was hiding in the field before him, possibly dragging a body behind him — and we thought we were scared!
He went to his radio and made a call that really began to worry us. I lay so close that I could hear every word. He called for the “armed police” and a “dog team, better make it two” and he had a “serious situation” at Blue Gum Corner. Then the police officer arrived. After a briefing from the traffic officer he decided not to go into the field until armed police and dog teams arrived. Now two spotlights were on the field and none of us could move.
As luck would have it, police cars cannot leave their spotlights on all night without charging their batteries. So, after a time, the two officers began lightening the field by turns, allowing us the opportunity to move on our fours for freedom. One by one, we all managed to steal away and make our way home. Behind us we left what must have looked like a small city of lights, police cars, roadblocks, barking dogs, armed officers and an old rope hanging from a tree.
When I think back to that night, to that tree, to what the drivers of the cars think happened, to what police believe happened, and to what I know happened, I am reminded of a simple truth — our eyes see darkness and light, color and movement, our ears hear only vibrations (振动) in the air. It is how we explain these vivid pictures that shapes our “reality”.The boys made the “hanging” plan in order to ______.
| A．make a fool of the police |
| B．draw public attention |
| C．seek fun and excitement |
| D．practise acting skills |
Seeing that no car passing by stopped, the boys must have felt ______.
| A．discouraged | B．proud |
| C．annoyed | D．confident |
Why was the traffic officer sent to the scene of “hanging”?
| A．Because a fierce animal kept the traffic in disorder. |
| B．Because the local policeman was not available at that time. |
| C．Because some naughty kids were playing a terrifying game. |
| D．Because many scared drivers turned directly to him for help. |
The boys managed to escape from the field when ______.
| A．the two police cars were being charged |
| B．the police officer was taking over the duty |
| C．the traffic officer was making a call for help |
| D．the two spotlights were not working together |
What is conveyed in the passage?
| A．Actions speak louder than words. |
| B．The truth lies beneath the surface. |
| C．Experience is the best teacher. |
| D．To see is to believe. |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Blue Gum Tree | B．A Body Found Hanging |
| C．Escape to Freedom | D．A Disappointing Experience |
People in several American states may be surprised to see cars on city streets without a driver. Experimental driverless vehicles now are legal in Florida, Nevada and California. They are pointing the way to a future that is not far down the road. The high-tech company Google has a number of self-driving cars, which had covered 480,000 kilometers by August. Volvo is among the companies doing road tests and says it plans to sell driverless cars by 2020.
In September, California Governor Jerry Brown signed an act to allow autonomous vehicles on the roads of his state. " Today we're looking at science fiction becoming tomorrow's reality-the driverless car. " The technology for these cars includes cameras, radar and motion sensors. The systems have been improved through competitions sponsored by the U. S. government agency DARPA. Engineer Richard Mason of the Rand Corporation helped design driverless vehicles for DARPA challenge races.
Cars have become much more fuel-efficient, and new electronic features are' making Hondas safer, said Angie Nucci of Honda America. " A camera on the passenger-side mirror actually engaged on your guiding screen so you can safely change lanes. " Other safety features include warning systems on the front and the sides of the cars. These systems help drivers , but don't replace them. Curator Leslie Kendall of the Petersen Automotive Museum said autonomous cars will make the high ways safer．
"By taking out drivers, you also remove most risks of an accident," Kendall said. He said consumers, however, may be unwilling to lose control. "It may take them time to come to realize that the technology is indeed reliable, but it will have to prove itself first. "
Mason said the technology already works and the biggest challenge now is getting down the cost for driverless vehicles from hundreds of thousands of dollars to something more affordable. He said this will happen as the technology is improved.What can we learn from Paragraph l?
A. Driverless vehicles are now legal in the whole USA.
B. Volvo will be the first to sell driverless cars.
C. Driverless cars are pointing us' a faraway future.
D. Google's self-driving cars have covered a long distance.We learn that Governor of California Jerry Brown_________.
| A．helped design self-driving cars. |
| B．supports self-driving cars on roads. |
| C．considers self-driving cars science fiction. |
| D．improved the self-driving car systems. |
What is the role of the systems mentioned in Paragraph 3?
| A．They can help people drive more safely. |
| B．They can take the place of drivers now. |
| C．They can make cars run without fuel. |
| D．They can help cars run much faster. |
According to Richard Mason, what is the biggest challenge for driverless cars?
| A．They are not allowed to run on the road. |
| B．Their technical problems remain to be solved. |
| C．They are now too expensive for consumers. |
| D．They are more dangerous for people on the street. |
What's the best title of the passage?
| A．The benefits of the self-driving cars. |
| B．The biggest challenge of the self-driving cars. |
| C．Safer or more dangerous-self-driving cars. |
| D．Self-driving cars-science fiction future is near. |
Students from Florida International University in. Miami walked on water Thursday for a class assignment. To do it, they wore aquatic (水上的)shoes they designed and created.
Alex Quinones was the first to make it to the other side of a 175-foot lake on campus in record time - just over a minute. Quinones, who wore oversized boat-like shoes, also won last year and will receive $ 500. Students had to wear the aquatic shoes and make it across the lake in order to earn an '6A" on the assignment for Architecture Professor Jaime Canaves, Materials and Methods Construction Class. "It's traditional in a school of architecture to do boats out of cardboard for a boat race. I thought our students were a little bit more special than that, " Canaves said. "We decided to do the walk on water event to take it to the next level. "
A total of 79 students competed in the race this year in 41 teams. Only 10 teams failed to cross the lake. Others who fell got back up and made it to the end. The race is open to all students and anyone in the community. The youngest person to ever participate was a 9-year-old girl who competed in place of her mother, while the oldest was a 67-year-old female.
A large crowd on campus joined Canaves as he cheered on the racers. He shouted encouraging words, but also laughed as some unsteadily made their way to the end.
"A part of this is for them to have more understanding of designing and make it work better, " he said. It is also a lesson in life for the students.
"Anything, including walking on water, is possible, if you do the research,test it and go through the design process seriously.Which statement about Alex 'Quinones is ture ?
| A．He finished the race in less than a minute. |
| B．He won the race with the help of 2 boats. |
| C．He failed the race last year. |
| D．He set a new record this year. |
For what purpose did the students take part in the race?
| A．To go across the lake to school. |
| B．To test their balance on the water. |
| C．To pass Professor Canaves’ class. |
| D．To win the prize money of $ 500. |
Which of the following is true about the race?
| A．The students who fell into the water had to quit. |
| B．More than 20 teams failed to cross the lake. |
| C．The students kept silent when the other racers competed. |
| D．The youngest competitor competed instead of her mother. |
According to Canaves, this race can help the students
| A．understand designing better | B．achieve almost everything |
| C．work together and unite as one | D．walk on the surface of water |
What is the purpose of this passage?
| A．To advertise a student' s program. |
| B．To report an interesting assignment. |
| C．To introduce a creative professor. |
| D．To encourage special events on campus. |
The World Health Organization says there has been a sharp increase in the number of over-weight children in developing countries. In African countries, the WHO says the number of over-weight or obese children is twice as high as it was 20 years ago. Around the world, about 43 million children under the age of five were overweight in 2013.
Overweight and obese children are more likely to become overweight and obese adults. The condition can generate serious health problems like heart diseases.
Francesco Branca is the director of the WHO Department of Nutrition for Health and Development. He says urban lifestyle makes people eat processed food more often ,which has a high sugar ,fat and salt content. He also says people are gaining weight because of their lack of activities. They travel in cars or other vehicles more than on foot.
The WHO experts say to lower obesity rates is especially complex in countries that also deal with high rates of infectious(感染性的) diseases.
The WHO has some basic solutions for individuals and countries. The organization says you should lower your intake of fat, sugar, salt and processed food and eat more fruits,' vegetables and increase physical activity. The WHO says these actions are especially important for children.
And WHO expert Branca says mothers should breastfeed their babies for at least the first six months of life, if possible. More importantly, governments should consider providing vitamins for children and educational campaigns about problems linked to obesity would also help. In his view, government policies should deal with how food is marketed to children and food producers must balance quality and taste with the dangers of sugar, fat and salt. "Reducing the number of overweight children will not be easy. The goal is difficult to meet even in wealthy countries. " he adds.What is the main idea of Paragraph l?
| A．Children in developing countries generally weigh too much. |
| B．Overweight children in developing countries have increased greatly. |
| C．The number of overweight children in the world has doubled. |
| D．The World Health Organization has increased greatly. |
According to Branca , people are becoming overweight because of their changes in _______
| A．lifestyles | B．transportation |
| C．physical condition | D．school educational . |
Which of the following word can best replace the underlined word in Paragraph 2?
| A．cure | B．prevent | C．worsen | D．cause |
According to WHO, which of the following is true?
| A．Poor nutrition is often related to children obesity. |
| B．To lower infectious disease rates is more complex than to lower obesity rates. |
| C．Eating less sugar and more vegetables helps lower obesity rates. |
| D．Increasing physical activity is most effective to lower obesity rates. |
What can we learn from the last Paragraph?
| A．Babies breastfed aren't likely to become overweight. |
| B．Governments should play a necessary role in fighting obesity. |
| C．Food producers should be stopped from marketing, food to children. |
| D．The number of overweight children decreases easily in wealthy countries. |
My daughter and I collected the empty cans and bottles in our home .this morning, We had 6 full garbage bags later so I knew we would be spending a bit more of time at the recycling center. When we got there , a man and his kids were also doing the morning recycling and were using two of the four machines to recycle their plastic and cans. Luckily ,we were able to use the 2 remaining machines.
Of course, there were others that came, but when they saw the two families with garbage bags full of recycled things, they quickly left. However, one woman came in with just 5 cans and looked as if she was in a hurry. So I stopped what I was doing and let her in to recycle her cans. Of course, she was grateful, and it felt good to let her go ahead of me. But that was not the whole story.
My daughter and I continued to work through the bags, but the plastic recycling machine stopped working because it was full. My daughter was left with nothing to, do. The other family was still using the other two plastic recycling machines, but it. seemed that they were almost done .I just told my daughter we would have to wait until they were done. But the man of the other family came through with another act of kindness. He offered to let us go ahead of him. I was really surprised, because we had more than 5 bottles, but he didn’t seem to mind. I happily accepted it.
It was great to give and then to get an act of kindness in turn. It was small, I didn't expect it, but it surely brightened up my day.What can we learn from Paragraph l?
| A．The writer did collecting every morning. |
| B．The writer usually had 6 bags of cans to recycle. |
| C．There were four recycling machines in all. |
| D．Most people did recycling in the morning. |
Why did the writer let the woman recycle her cans first?
| A．Because there were many other families there. |
| B．Because the woman seemed to be in a hurry. |
| C．Because the writer wanted to hear a story. |
| D．Because the woman was very grateful. |
Why couldn't the writer finish her recycling in time?
| A．Because her daughter' s machine stopped working. |
| B．Because the other family was still using the machines. |
| C．Because she let the other family use her machine first. |
| D．Because she helped recycle the other family's bags first. |
What does the underlined word "it" in Paragraph 3 refer to?
| A．The kindness. | B．The offer. |
| C．The machine. | D．The 5 bottles. |
Which of the following best describes the topic of this passage?
| A．A good name is sooner-lost than won. |
| B．A little is better than none. |
| C．All men cannot be first. |
| D．One good turn deserves another. |
Noah Webster, born on October 16, 1758 , is known for The American Dictionary of the English Language. He has been called the " Father of American Scholarship and Education. " His " Blue-Backed Speller" books were used to teach spelling and reading to five generations of American children. But how much .do you know about him beyond that?
At the age of 16, Noah Webster began attending ,Yale College. Unfortunately, he spent his four years at Yale during the American Revolutionary War, and, because of food shortages, many of his college classes were held in Glastonbury, Connecticut. Later, he served in the army.
Having graduated from Yale in 1778, Webster wanted to continue his education in order to earn his law degree. He had to teach school in order to pay for his education. He set up many small schools that didn't survive, but he was a good teacher because instead of forcing his students to learn, like most teachers did, he rewarded them. He earned his law degree in 1781, but did not practice law until 1789. Once he started he found the law was not to his liking.
Webster did not have much money. In 1793 , Alexander Hamilton lent him $ 1500 to move to New York City to edit a newspaper. In December, he founded New York ' s first daily newspaper, American Minerva, and edited it for four years. For decades, he published . textbooks, political essays, a report on some diseases, and newspaper articles for his party, He wrote so much that a modern list of his published works required 655 pages .Noah Webster died on May 28, 1843 and was buried in the Grove Street Cemetery.What's the main idea of Paragraph l?
| A． Webster's famous dictionarie . |
| B．Webster's daily routines. |
| C． Webster's main achievements. |
| D．Webster's college education. |
Which of the following best describes Webster's life at Yale?
| A．Tough. | B．Smooth. | C．Normal. | D．Tiring. |
What did Noah want to be after graduation from Yale?
| A．A teacher. | B．A lawyer. | C．A headmaster. | D．A scholar. |
Why was Webster a good teacher?
| A．Because he set up many small schools. |
| B．Because he graduated from Yale College, |
| C．Because he forced his students to learn. |
| D．Because he often rewarded his students. |
What can we infer from Paragraph 4?
| A．Webster was a most productive author. |
| B．Webster led a miserable life in New York City. |
| C．Webster's books added up to 655 pages. |
| D．Webster didn't write any polifical works. |
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