We lived in a very quiet neighborhood. One evening I heard a loud crash in the street. Earlier that evening my wife had asked me to go to the store to get some soft drinks. It seemed that this would be a good time to let my teenage daughter Holly practice her driving, so I sent her to the store in my truck. At dinner my son talked about how much he liked my truck. I enjoyed having it, but I said: “Guy, my heart is not set on that truck. I like it but it is just metal and won't last forever. Never set your heart on anything that won't last.” After hearing the loud noise, the whole family ran outside. My son shouted: “Dad! Dad, Holly crashed your truck.”
The accident had occurred in my own driveway. Holly had crashed my truck into our other vehicle, the family van. In her inexperience, she had confused the brakes(刹车) and the gas pedal (油门). Holly was unhurt physically but when we reached her, she was crying and saying: “Oh, Dad, I'm sorry. I know how much you love this truck.” I held her in my arms as she cried.
Later that week a friend stopped by and asked what had happened to my truck. I told her the whole story. Her eyes were wet and she said: “That happened to me when I was a girl. I borrowed my dad’s car and ran into a tree that had fallen across the road. I ruined the car. When I got home, my Dad knocked me to the ground and began to kick me.”
Over 40 years later, she still felt the pain of the night. It was a deep wound on her soul. I remember how sad Holly was on the night she crashed our truck, and how I comforted her. One day, when Holly thinks back on her life, I want her to know that I love her a thousand times more than any piece of property.What caused the crash?
| A．The brakes weren't working. |
| B．The car got a flat tire and Holly lost control. |
| C．Holly was drinking a soft drink while driving. |
| D．Holly stepped on the gas pedal instead of the brakes. |
What happened to the author's friend after she ruined her dad's car?
| A．She lost the courage to drive. |
| B．Her father was violent toward her. |
| C．Her father kicked her out of the house. |
| D．She suffered physical pain for a long time |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．The author regretted sending his daughter to the store. |
| B．Holly was allowed to drive because she was older than her brother. |
| C．Seeing the crash, the author was sorry for the damage to his beloved truck. |
| D．The author made it clear that he loved his daughter more than his truck. |
What does the underlined sentence imply?
| A．The friend was seriously wounded |
| B．The wound recovered after 40 years. |
| C．The friend was deeply hurt by her father. |
| D．Parents shouldn’t beat their children. |
The purpose of writing the passage is to show us________.
| A．love is more important than possessions |
| B．parents should never let a teenager drive |
| C．it is useless blaming someone after an accident |
| D．we should always forgive others’ mistakes |
Enter your kid’s photo today and win! We’re giving away 52 weekly $250 prizes from Readers’ Choice votes. Plus, our editors will select one entry(参赛作品) to win our grand prize of $7,000.
Official Contest Rules
No purchase necessary to enter or win.
The Kid of the Year Photo Contest entry period begins at 12：00 am March 23,2013, and ends December 21, 2013 (the “Entry Period”). Entries must be received by 9：00 pm on December 21,2013 (“Entry Deadline”). Entries will not be acknowledged or returned.
SPONSOR: Meredith Corporation, 1716 Locust Street, Des Moines, Iowa.
ENTRY: There will be two methods of entry.
Share My Entry：
Visit http：//www.parents.com/photos/photocontests1/kidoftheyear and click the button to enter.
Facebook Entry：
Visit Facebook. com/Parents Magazine and click the Kid of 2012 tab (选项卡)．
Then complete the registration form and follow the instructions to upload one album of up to six photos of your child aged three months to eight years. You may provide one description and one album title that will be applied to all photos. Photos, without any brand names or trademarks, must be taken by participants, nonprofessional, unpublished and may not have won any prize or award. Photos must be.jpeg or.bmp image formats (格式) and cannot be over 3 MB.
This promotion is in no way sponsored, supported or run by, or associated with Facebook.
You are providing your information to Parents Magazine and not to Facebook. The information you provide will only be used to run the promotion and register for Parents. com.
Photos must not contain material that infringes (侵犯) the rights of another, including but not limited to privacy, publicity or intellectual property rights, or that constitutes copyright infringement. Photos must not contain brand names or trademarks.
LIMIT: One entry per household, per eligible (有资格的) child, per week. One weekly prize per child. For entries of more than one eligible child in the household, the entry process must be completed separately for each child. No group entries.To enter the contest, photos must ________.
| A．have won some prize or award |
| B．contain parents’ personal information |
| C．contain brand names or trademarks |
| D．be taken by nonprofessional participants |
Linda, a mother with sevenyearold twins, wants to enter the contest. She must ________.
| A．complete the entry process separately for each of her kids |
| B．go to Meredith Corporation to fill out the registration forms |
| C．provide a description and an album title for the kid’s photos |
| D．provide the information to Facebook if she chooses Facebook Entry |
We can learn from the passage that ________.
| A．you should buy something first before you enter the contest |
| B．you should send your entry before 9：00 pm on December 21,2013 |
| C．your entry will not be returned even if you don’t win the contest |
| D．the editors of the contest will decide who will win the 20,000 dollars in prizes |
The purpose of the passage is ________.
| A．to advertise the website Facebook. com |
| B．to encourage parents with children to enter a photo contest |
| C．to introduce two methods of entering a photo contest |
| D．to attract photographers’ interest in a photo contest |
The most frightening words in the English language are, “Our computer is down.” You hear it more and more when you are on business. The other day I was at the airport waiting for a ticket to Washington and the girl in the ticket office said, “I’m sorry, I can’t sell you a ticket. Our computer is down.”
“If your computer is down, just write me out a ticket.”
“I can’t write you out a ticket. The computer is the only one allowed to do so.”
I looked down on the computer and every passenger was just standing there drinking coffee and staring at the black screen. Then I asked her, “What do all you people do?”
“We give the computer the information about your trip, and then it tells us whether you can fly with us or not.”
“So when it goes down, you go down with it.”
“That’s good, sir.”
“How long will the computer be down?” I wanted to know.
“I have no idea. Sometimes it’s down for 10 minutes, sometimes for two hours. There’s no way we can find out without asking the computer, and since it’s down it won’t answer us.”
After the girl told me they had no backup(备用) computer, I said. “Let’s forget the computer. What about your planes? They’re still flying, aren’t they?”
“I couldn’t tell without asking the computer.”
“Maybe I could just go to the gate and ask the pilot if he’s flying to Washington, ” I suggested.
“I wouldn’t know what gate to send you to. Even if the pilot was going to Washington, he couldn’t take you if you didn’t have a ticket.”
“Is there any other airline flying to Washington within the next few hours?”
“I wouldn’t know, ” she said, pointing at the dark screen. “Only ‘IT’ knows. ‘It’ can’t tell me.”
By this time there were quite a few people standing in lines. The word soon spread to other travelers that the computer was down. Some people went white, some people started to cry and still others kicked their luggage.The best title for the article is _______.
| A．When the Computer Is Down |
| B．The Most Frightening Words |
| C．The Computer of the Airport |
| D．Asking the Computer |
What could the girl in the ticket office do for the passengers without asking the computer?
| A．She could sell a ticket. |
| B．She could write out a ticket. |
| C．She could answer the passengers’ questions. |
| D．She could do nothing. |
Why do you think they had not a backup computer?
| A．Because it was easy down |
| B．Because it was very expensive. |
| C．Because it was not advanced enough. |
| D．Because it was not as big as the main computer. |
The last paragraph suggests that _______.
| A．a modern computer won’t be down. |
| B．computers can take the place of humans |
| C．sometimes a computer may bring suffering to people |
| D．there will be great changes in computers |
Thomas Alva Edison was awarded more patents on inventions than any other American. When he died in 1931, Americans wondered how they could best show their respect for him. One suggestion was that the nation observe a minute or two of total blackout. All electric power would be shut off in homes, streets, and factories. Perhaps this suggested plan made Americans realize fully what Edison and his inventions mean to them. Electric power was too important to the country. Shutting it off for even a short time would have led to complete confusion. A blackout was impossible.
On the day of Edison's funeral, many people silently dimmed their lights. In this way they honored the man who had done more than anyone else to put the great force of electricity at his countrymen's fingertips.This selection says that Thomas Edison ________.
| A．was the only important American inventor |
| B．received the first American patent |
| C．received more patents than any other American |
| D．was the first American inventor |
People decided to honor Edison when ________.
| A．he made the first electric light |
| B．electric power was 100 years |
| C．the country realized electricity's importance |
| D．he died in 1931 |
The suggested plan was to ________.
| A．turn off the lights in factories and schools |
| B．observe a few minutes of total silence |
| C．dim all electric lights |
| D．shut off all electricity for a short time |
It gives me great pleasure today to say a few words in praise of a man we will all miss very much. To be honest, I can't imagine we will do without him when he's gone.
Bill Masters almost single-handed built up our sales force in the Houston area and developed the market position that we enjoy today. In only six years, he has brought the firm from a very low fifth position in the area sales to the point where we now outsell all but one of our competitors. Not only have we got 37 per cent of the market under Bill's leadership; we are increasing our share with each passing month.
As you know, the company has moved Bill to northern California to work his sales magic in one of this company's most competitive(竞争的) areas. But we know that if anyone can do it, Bill Masters can, and I know you all join me in wishing him the best of luck in his new work.The speech was made _______.
| A．at a welcome meeting |
| B．at the opening of a new school term |
| C．when somebody was leaving |
| D．when they had a new manager |
How long did Masters worked there?
| A．37 years | B．less than 5 years |
| C．about six years | D．since he began to work |
When Bill started to work in Houston area, he had _______to help him.
| A．many people | B．nobody |
| C．about 37 people | D．very few people |
Bill increased the company's sale _______.
| A．by 37 per cent every month |
| B．to the second largest in the area |
| C．to be the fifth largest in the area |
| D．five times as much as before |
The arts, especially music, should be part of every school's lessons at every grade level. Students would be much smarter if they had some musical experience. They could improve their classroom skills, like paying attention and following directions. People develop all these skills when they learn music. Making music also lets children use their imagination. It provides students with a chance to try out their own ideas.
Music not only makes children better students, but also gives them something positive to do. In a music program, children can be part of a band instead of joining a gang (团伙). Parents can enjoy listening to their children's music instead of seeing them glued to a computer or TV screen. In a school band, students get to be part of a team. They can get along well with old friends and make new friends through music.
Music builds self-confidence, too. It gives children a sense of achievement and success. Making music is something for them to be proud of, and it lets kids practice performing in front of an audience. Music gives children an opportunity for self-expression, and that helps develop their self-confidence.
Once again, music is important because it can make children better students, give them something positive to do, and build their character. That is why music should be offered in every single grade in every school.According to the passage, music could make students smarter by________.
| A．improving their classroom skills and paying attention |
| B．improving their classroom skills and imagination |
| C．improving their attention, direction and imagination |
| D．learning music, making music and trying out their own ideas |
What does the underlined phrase "glued to" in the second paragraph mean?
| A．unwilling to turn on | B．always looking |
| C．unwilling to leave | D．always playing |
The third paragraph mainly tells us that music could __________.
| A．give children self-expression and self-confidence |
| B．bring to children achievement and success |
| C．give children something to be proud of |
| D．develop children's self-confidence |
What's the best title of this passage？
| A．Music is a must as a course at school |
| B．Music builds children's self-confidence |
| C．Music makes students much smarter |
| D．Learning music and making music |
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