It was a winter morning, just a couple of weeks before Christmas 2005. While most people were warming up their cars, Trevor, my husband, had to get up early to ride his bike four kilometers away from home to work. On arrival, he parked his bike outside the back door as he usually does. After putting in 10 hours of labor, he returned to find his bike gone.
The bike, a black Kona 18 speed, was our only transport. Trevor used it to get to work, putting in 60-hour weeks to support his young family. And the bike was also used to get groceries（食品杂货），saving us from having to walk long distances from where we live.
I was so sad that someone would steal our bike that I wrote to the newspaper and told them our story. Shortly after that, several people in our area offered to help. One wonderful stranger even bought a bike, then called my husband to pick it up. Once again my husband had a way to get to and from his job. It really is an honor that a complete stranger would go out of their way for someone they have never met before.
People say that a smile can be passed from one person to another, but acts of kindness from strangers are even more so. This experience has had a spreading effect in our lives because it strengthened our faith in humanity（人性）as a whole. And it has influenced（影响）us to be more mindful of ways we, too, can share with others. No matter how big or how small, an act of kindness shows that someone cares. And the results can be everlasting.Why was the bike so important to the couple?
| A．They used it for work and daily life. |
| B．It was their only possession. |
| C．It was a nice Kona 18 speed. |
| D．The man’s job was bike racing. |
We can infer from the text that ____________.
| A．the couple worked 60 hours a week. |
| B．people were busy before Christmas |
| C．the stranger brought over the bike |
| D．life was hard for the young family. |
What do the couple learn from their experience?
| A．Strangers are usually of little help |
| B．One should take care of their bike. |
| C．News reports make people famous. |
| D．An act of kindness can mean a lot. |
The fourth round of heavy smog to hit Beijing in four weeks has sent more people to the hospital with respiratory（呼吸的） illnesses and led to calls for laws to control the pollution.
Pan Shiyi, a celebrity real estate developer said he is planning to propose (提案) a Clean Air Act to the local government. As a representative to the Beijing Municipal People's Congress, he started an online survey at 9:20 a.m. Within three hours, more than 25,000 web users, or 99 percent of total respondents（应答者）, welcomed his proposal on Sina Weibo, China's Twitter.
They have good reasons to stand alongside Pan. The latest round of haze（雾霾）reduced visibility to under 500 meters in many parts of the city. The smog has also led to a great increase in respiratory illnesses, particularly among children and the elderly. Anxious parents and doctors almost all blame the smoggy air for the illnesses. Though most schoolchildren are home for the winter holidays, the bad air can easily move indoors. Besides, ordinary medical masks fail to provide adequate protection, so some people have turned to gas masks and respirators（呼吸器）.
The causes of the scary smog are rather mysterious, though experts blame excessive emissions and the mountains around Beijing that trap pollution in winter, unless there is adequate wind to clear it away. Some critics have pointed fingers at China’s top two oil firms, China National Petroleum Corp and China Petrochemical Corporation, saying the companies’ outdated production technologies produce large quantities of substandard, high-polluting gas fuel.
Meanwhile, concerned Beijingers have moved their brainstorming sessions to cyberspace. If Pan’s proposal for a Clean Air Act is adopted, netizens say the new law should include items providing for “car-free days” in times of smog, higher standards for vehicle fuel, stricter restrictions on industrial and exhaust gas emissions, and more effective protection for the public.
Beijing is not the only city that has ever lost the blue sky. Five days of thick fog caused thousands of deaths in Britain in December 1952, urging the government to pass the first Clean Air Act in 1956, which introduced smokeless zones and cleaner fuels to reduce pollution. That may provide some experience for Beijing to refer to. What can we learn from the passage?
| A．People are clear about the causes of the smoggy weather. |
| B．Children staying indoors will not get respiratory illnesses. |
| C．Smog is worse for people with lower resistance to diseases. |
| D．Masks can give people protection against the smoggy weather. |
Britain is mentioned in the last paragraph to ______.
| A．suggest Beijing should learn from other countries |
| B．let people know many places have this problem |
| C．tell people the situation in Britain is worse |
| D．call on the government to pass Britain’s Clean Air Act |
What’s the best title for this passage？
| A．The Use of Gas masks and Respirators |
| B．Beijingers Call for Clean Air Act |
| C．Effective Protection for Blue Sky |
| D．The Mysterious Causes of the Scary Smog |
An Australian researcher is urging parents to load up their teenager’s backpack and make them walk to school.
Professor Leon Straker says students who walk or cycle to school are less likely to have back and neck pain. But the study of 1,202 Western Australian 14yearold found that 72% of students travelled to school by car or bus. Straker says the study suggests walking or cycling while carrying a schoolbag helps improve trunk (躯干) and spinal (脊柱的) muscle strength.
This helps reduce back pain because greater muscle strength improves support for the back during load carrying .Despite advocating that parents get their children moving，Straker warns bag load should not exceed (超过) 15% of body weight.
Straker says the study also stresses that neck pain is as common as back pain among young teenagers. This is an area that has been largely ignored，he says，but can be an important indicator of neck pain into adulthood.
For the study，students were asked a series of questions such as how long they carried their bags for，how they carried their schoolbags，the method of travel，and their perceptions(感觉) about the bag’s weight.
Straker says about half of all participants experienced back and neck pain，with slightly more females reporting neck pain. However，the gender (性别) difference may also be due to the fact that females have lower pain tolerance.
Studies from the 1980s found carrying a bag over one shoulder was most common among teenagers. However in this study 85% of participants carried their bag over both shoulders.
Straker believes the change has been driven partly through education campaigns，but also by increasing fashion status of backpacks and improved design.In the opinion of Leon Straker，parents should________.
| A．reduce the load of their children’s schoolbags |
| B．put more books in their children’s schoolbags |
| C．get their children’s schoolbags ready for school |
| D．ask their children to walk to school carrying schoolbags |
If a child weighs 40 kilograms，the weight of his schoolbag should be________.
| A．no more than 15 kg |
| B．less than 6 kg |
| C．as heavy as 9 kg |
| D．more than 6 kg |
We can learn from the passage that________.
| A．most of the students in Australia walk to school |
| B．neck pain is uncommon among young teenagers |
| C．walking while carrying a backpack helps reduce back pain |
| D．males are more likely to experience back pain than females |
According to the passage，what change has taken place since the 1980s?
| A．How students carry their schoolbags. |
| B．How heavy students’ schoolbags are. |
| C．How students go to school every day. |
| D．How long students carry their schoolbags for. |
Nuclearpowered aircraft carriers are considered one of the most important marine weapons in the 20th century. So far, only two countries in the world, the USA and France, have ever produced them. But these fearful fighting machines are about to enter Asia.
The US Navy said last month that one of its nine nuclearpowered aircraft carriers will be sent to Japan to replace the diesel(柴油)powered carrier Kitty Hawk in 2008. In an agreement on October 30, the two countries also planned to level up their military (军事的) cooperation and the USA called for Japan to take a larger role in alliance (联盟)military moves.
It will be the first time that a nuclearpowered carrier is based in Japan. Bombed by US forces in World War Ⅱ at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan is the only world country to have been attacked by a nuclear weapon. Therefore, the citizens are highly sensitive to where nuclearpowered weapons are based.
“A radiation leak at Yokosuka would kill 100,000 people as far away as Tokyo, and could cause billions of dollars in damage，” said Masahiko Goto, leader of a protest group in Yokosuka. His group has collected more than 300,000 signatures of people across Japan opposed to the nuclear carrier.
The 44yearold Kitty Hawk, the US Navy's oldest active ship, has been based in Yokosuka since 1998. It had returned to the US to be decommissioned(废弃核武器) in 2008. The new carrier will travel faster, be capable of supporting longer operations and carry with it the Navy's most modern technology.
Experts pointed that this change is not only to strengthen the USJapan military alliance but also to keep the military power of China and North Korea within limits. However, even Japanese experts don't believe that the two countries are threats to the region.
“There is no need for Japan to have a nuclear carrier as defense，” said Tetsuo Maeda, an international relations professor at Tokyo International University. He said that the change of ship indicates an increased military capability in the region, much more than what is needed.With such a powerful weapon to enter its country, Japanese citizens ________.
| A．are aware of its benefits to the country |
| B．are anxious about its potential danger |
| C．are curious about the advanced technology |
| D．are against where the carrier will be based |
The replacement of the aircraft carrier is intended to________.
| A．set up a kind of base in Japan |
| B．strengthen the USJapan military alliance |
| C．show Japan's greater military capability |
| D．get rid of the dated marine weapon |
From the story, we learn that________.
| A．no other countries except the USA and France possess aircraft carriers |
| B．Japan has long planned to increase its military capability with new weapons |
| C．Japan will be the first country in Asia to have a nuclear aircraft carrier |
| D．Japan will be the third country to produce a nuclearpowered aircraft carrier |
By his remark in the last paragraph, the professor means that________.
| A．he is quite confident of their military defense |
| B．he is completely opposed to a new nuclear carrier |
| C．what is needed is far more than a nuclear carrier |
| D．it is unnecessary to guard against the two countries |
China_is_going_green. In order to reduce air pollution and oilshortages, automobile manufacturers have announced their plans to develop hybrid vehicles (混合燃料汽车) for the Chinese market. Toyota's hybrid car Prius will be ready to drive in China this week. Let's have a look at the new car.
Any vehicle is a hybrid when it combines two or more sources of power. Hybrid cars run off a rechargeable battery and gasoline. Hybrid cars have special engines, which are smaller than traditional gasoline engines. They run at 99 percent of their power when the car is cruising (匀速行驶). A specially designed battery motor provides extra power for running up hills or when extra acceleration is needed.
Step into a Prius, and turn on the engine. The first thing you notice is how much quieter it is than a traditional car. At this point, the car's gasoline engine is dormant (休眠). The electric motor will provide power until the car reaches about 24 km/h. If you stay at a low speed, you are effectively driving an electric car, with no gasoline being used, and no waste gas gives off.
The onboard(车载的) computer makes the decision about when to use a gas engine, when to go electric, and when to use a combination of the two. If you go over 24 km/h, when you step on the gas pedal (油门), you are actually telling the computer how fast you want to go.
The electronic motor recharges automatically using a set of batteries. When driving at high speed, the gasoline engine not only powers the car, but also charges the batteries. Any time you use the brake, the electric motor in the wheels will work like a generator and produce electricity to recharge the batteries. As a consequence, the car's batteries will last for around 200,000 miles.The author writes this passage mainly to________.
| A．teach people how to drive a hybrid car |
| B．introduce a new kind of “green” car |
| C．show how to save their gasoline when driving a car |
| D．announce plans to develop hybrid vehicles for China |
The first sentence probably refers to ________.
| A．there will be more and more green land in China |
| B．China is still young and lacking experience |
| C．China's new cars are combinations of different green models |
| D．China has started producing environmentally friendly cars |
Which of the followings is NOT true?
| A．The hybrid cars reduce air pollution and oilshortages. |
| B．The car's gasoline engine doesn't work until it reaches about 24 km/h. |
| C．This kind of car is completely controlled by an onboard computer. |
| D．A specially designed battery motor provides extra power when needed. |
What is the most important feature of hybrid cars?
| A．They are powered by both a rechargeable battery and gasoline. |
| B．They are much quieter than traditional cars. |
| C．They only use 99 percent of their power to run up hills. |
| D．They have smaller engines than traditional gasoline ones. |
There are two factors which determine an individual's intelligence. The first is the sort of brain he is born with. Human brains differ considerably, some being more capable than others. But no matter how good a brain he has to begin with, an individual will have a low order of intelligence unless he has opportunities to learn. So the second factor is what happens to the individual—the sort of environment in which he is reared (培养). If an individual is handicapped (妨碍) environmentally, it is likely that his brain will fail to develop and he will never attain the level of intelligence of which he is capable.
The importance of environment in determining an individual's intelligence can be demonstrated by the case history of the identical twins, Peter and Mark X. Being identical, the twins had identical brains at birth, and their growth processes were the same. When the twins were three months old, their parents died, and they were placed in separate foster homes. Peter was reared by parents of low intelligence in an isolated community with poor educational opportunities. Mark was reared in the home of well-to-do parents who had been to college. He was read to as a child, sent to good schools, and given every opportunity to be stimulated intellectually. This environmental difference continued until the twins were in their late teens, when they were given tests to measure their intelligence. Mark's I.Q. was 125, twenty-five points higher than the average and fully forty points higher than his identical brother. Given equal opportunities, the twins, having identical brains, would have tested at roughly the same level.This passage can be best titled_________.
| A．Intelligence and Environment |
| B．Measuring Your Intelligence |
| C．The Case of Peter and Mark |
| D．How the brain Influences Intelligence |
According to the passage, the average I.Q. is _____.
| A．85 | B．125 | C．110 | D．100 |
The case history of the twins appears to support the conclusion that _______.
| A．individual with identical brains seldom test at same level |
| B．an individual's intelligence is determined only by his environment |
| C．changes of environment produce changes in the structure of the brain |
| D．lack of opportunity blocks the growth of intelligence |
This passage suggests that an individual's I.Q.______.
| A．can be increased by education |
| B．stays the same throughout his life |
| C．can be predicted at birth |
| D．is determined by his childhood |
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