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For 52 years my father got up every morning at 5:30 am, except Sunday, and went to work. He returned home at 5:30 pm, for dinner at 6:00 pm. I never remember my father having a night out with his children. All he asked from me as a daughter was to hold his hammer while he repaired something, just so we could have some time to talk to each other.
For 22 years, after I left home for college, my father called me every Sunday. Nine years ago, my father, 67 years old, spent three days painting my house. He asked me to hold the paint brush for him and talk to him. But I was too busy and I could not take the time to hold the paint brush, or talk to my father.
Five years ago, my father spent five hours making a swing（秋千）for my daughter. Again, all he asked me to do was to give him a glass of tea, and talk to him. But again, I had some clothes to wash, and the house to clean.
On January 16, 1996, my father telephoned me as usual, this time from my sister’s home in Florida. I had to get to church, and I cut the conversation short.
The call came at 4:40 pm. That day, my father was in hospital in Florida. I got on an airplane immediately, and on the way, I made up my mind that when I arrived, I would make up for the lost time, and have a nice long talk with him.
I arrived in Florida at 1:00 am, but my father had passed away at 9:12 pm. This time it was he who did not have time to talk, or time to wait for me.
1.
When the author was young, her father ______.
A. was busy with his work B. disliked his children
C. often talked to his children D. never cared about his children
2.
How old was the author’s father when he made a swing for his granddaughter?
A. 45. B. 67. C. 71. D. 76.
3.
When painting the house, the father asked the author to hold a paint brush because ______.
A. he wanted to make his work easy
B. he was too old to work all by himself
C. he just wanted his daughter to help him
D. he wanted to have a talk with his daughter
4.
The underlined phrase “passed away” in the last paragraph probably means “______”.
A. arrived B. lost C. left D. died
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
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Remembering names is an important social skill．Here are some ways to master it．
◆Recite and repeat in conversation．
When you hear a person’s name，repeat it．Immediately say it to yourself several times without moving your lips．You could also repeat the name in a way that does not sound forced or artificial．
◆Ask the other person to recite and repeat．
You can let other people help you remember their names．After you’ve been introduced to someone，ask that person to spell the name mad pronounce it correctly for you．Most people will be pleased by the effort you’re making to learn their names．
◆Admit you don’t know．
Admitting that you can’t remember someone’s name can actually make people relaxed．Most of them will feel sympathy if you say，“I’m working to remember names better．Yours is right on the tip of my tongue．What is it again?”
◆Use associations．
Link each person you meet with one thing you find interesting or unusual．For example，you could make a mental note: “Vicki Cheng -- tall, black hair.” To reinforce（加强）your associations, write them on a small card as soon as possible.
◆Limit the number of new names you learn at one time.
When meeting a group of people, concentrate on remembering just two or three names. Free yourself from remembering everyone. Few of the people in mass introductions expect you to remember their names. Another way is to limit yourself to learning just first names. Last names can come later.
◆Go early.
Consider going early to conferences, parties and classes. Sometimes just a few people show up on time. That's fewer names for you to remember. And as more people arrive, you can hear them being introduced to others -- an automatic review for you.
1.
How will most people feel when you try hard to remember their names? _________
A. They will be angry.
B. They will be guilty
C. They will be delighted.
D. They will be discouraged.
2.
If you can't remember someone's name, you may _________.
A. telephone others to help you B. tell him a white lie
C. ask him for another name card D. tell him the truth
3.
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
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We were standing at the top of a church tower. My father had brought me to this spot in a small town not far from our home in Rome. I wondered why.
"Look down, Elsa," Father said. I gathered all my courage and looked down. I saw the square in the center of the village. And I saw the crisscross (十字形) of twisting, turning streets leading to the square. "See, my dear," Father said gently. "There is more than one way to the square. Life is like that. If you can't get to the place where you want to go by one road, try another."
Now I understood why I was there. Earlier that day I had begged my mother to do something about the awful lunches that were served at school. But she refused because she could not believe the lunches were as bad as I said.
When I turned to Father for help, he would not help. Instead, he brought me to this high tower to give me a lesson. By the time we reached home, I had a plan.
At school the next day, I secretly poured my lunch soup into a bottle and brought it home. Then I asked our cook to serve it to Mother at dinner. The plan worked perfectly. She swallowed one spoonful and sputtered, "The cook must have gone mad! "Quickly I told what I had done, and Mother said firmly that she would take up the matter of lunches at school the next day!
In the years that followed I often remembered the lesson Father taught me. I began to work as a fashion designer two years ago. I wouldn't stop working until I tried every possible means to my goal, Father's wise words always remind me that there is more than one way to the square.
1.
What did the author want her mother to do earlier that day? _______
A. Do something delicious for lunch.
B. Ask the father to taste her awful lunch.
C. Dismiss the mad cook.
D. Speak to the school about lunch.
2.
The underlined sentence in the fifth paragraph means ______ .
A. the cook agreed to serve the soup to Father
B. the matter of lunch hasn’t been settled
C. her father persuaded her mother successfully
D. the method the author thought of was effective
3.
By sharing her own experiences, the author tries to tell us________.
A. when one road is blocked, try another
B. how bad the lunch of her school is
C. how wise her father is
D. about the church rower' near her home
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
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Hawaii has planned to be the first U.S. state to roll out（正式推出）electric car stations statewide --- a move towards weaning the islands off oil.
Hawaii, which is far away from the U.S. mainland, imports foreign oil for almost 90 percent of its energy needs. One–third of that oil is used to power cars and buses on island streets. This move will help Hawaii meet its goal of reducing fossil fuel use by 70 percent by 2030.
Better Place, a Palo Alto, California-based company, will build the car recharging stations and provide recharged batteries for electric cars. The company will purchase renewable energy --- such as wind power --- from Hawaiian Electric Co.
Better Place picked Hawaii for the first statewide rollout in part because the islands are a contained environment, with few vehicles (车辆) coming in and out. Better Place would need to build a bigger network across several states to serve some mainland markets. Hawaii also has rich renewable energy resources, including wind, solar and wave power. This is important because Better Place won’t use oil. Better Place plans to recharge its batteries at night with power from Hawaii’s wind farms. That power normally goes unused because of Hawaii’s low nighttime energy needs.
Hawaii is an ideal place to show off Better Place technology because the state welcomes over five million tourists each year from the U.S. mainland, Japan, Canada and the rest of the world. “If we can get them into electric cars when they rent, we do two great things,” Shai Agassi, Better Place’s founder and chief executive officer, said. “One, we avoid emissions （排放物）; two, we use the opportunity to educate them, to teach them in Hawaii how it needs to be done in the rest of the world.”
However, Hawaii doesn’t expect to spend any money to improve the network. Maybe it needs to offer tax breaks or other ways to encourage people to buy electric vehicles when they are first offered.
1.
The underlined part “weaning the islands off oil” (in Para 1) probably means _________.
A. exploring the islands for oil
B. stopping Hawaii’s dependence on oil gradually
C. importing more oil from other islands
D. increasing the amount of oil used there
2.
Why is Hawaii chosen to be the first state where car recharging stations will be built statewide? _________
①There are few cars in Hawaii.
②Hawaii can provide environmentally friendly energy.
③Plenty of oil has been found in Hawaii.
④Hawaii is separated from the mainland with few vehicles coming in and out.
A. ①, ③ B. ②, ③ C. ②, ④ D. ①, ④
3.
When visitors to Hawaii rent electric cars, they _________.
A. will be taught it is necessary to do as Hawaiians do to protect the earth
B. will be offered tax breaks
C. need to be told what should be done before travelling
D. should be given the chance to try two things before driving
4.
We can infer from the passage that _________.
A. Better Place is a company producing electric cars
B. people are not encouraged to buy electric cars
C. electric cars will be recharged with power from renewable resources
D. Hawaii now has reduced the use oil by 90 percent
难度: 简单查看答案及解析