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A few years ago, I had the opportunity to play the character of Ronald McDonald for the McDonald's Corporation.
One day each month，we visited hospitals bringing a little happiness to the children there. But there were two rules placed on me during a visit. First, I could not go anywhere in the hospital without permission. And second, I could not physically touch anyone within the hospital. They did not want me to carry germs(细菌)from one patient to another. Breaking either of these rules, I was told, I could lose my job. One day, as I was heading down a hallway and on my way home, I heard a little voice coming through a halfopened door，“Ronald，Ronald.”
I stepped in and saw a boy，about five years old, lying in his dad's arms, Mom with a nurse on the other side. I knew by the feeling in the room that the situation was grave. I asked his name. He told me it was Billy and that I did a few simple magic tricks for him. As I stepped back to say goodbye, he asked me “Ronald, would you hold me？”
At such a simple request, my heart was screaming, “Yes！”But my mind was screaming louder. “No！You are going to lose your job！”
“Hold me” was such a simple request, and yet I searched for any reasonable excuses that allowed me to leave, but none. It took me a moment to realize that in this situation, losing my job may not be the disaster I feared. Then, I picked up this little boy. He was so weak and so scared. We laughed and cried for 45 minutes. With tears in my eyes, I left them. Less than 48 hours later, I received a phone call from Billy's mom that Billy had passed away. She and her husband simply wanted to thank me for making a difference in their little boy's life.
Billy's mom told me shortly after I left the room. Billy looked at her and said, “Momma, I don't care any more if I see Santa this year because I was held by Ronald McDonald.”
For the record, McDonald's Corporation did find it out, but, given the situation，permitted me to go on with my job. I continued as Ronald for another year before leaving the corporation to share the story of Billy and how important it is to take risks.
1. The underlined word “grave” in Paragraph 3 means “________”.
A. weak B. serious C. interesting D. exciting
2.When Billy asked the author to hold him, at first the author ________.
A. was unwilling to do so B. was glad to do so
C. hesitated to do so D. hurried to do so
3.What lesson did the author draw from his experience?
A. To amuse others is enjoyable. B. To take risks is important.
C. To break rules is necessary. D. To be fired is not fearful.
4. We learn from the story that ________.
A.the author left the corporation because he broke the rules
B.the author left the corporation because he didn't like the rules
C.the boy was quite happy with the experience with the author
D.the boy was quite happy with Santa at Christmas
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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It's not a new phenomenon, but have you noticed how many nouns are being used as verbs? We all use them, often without noticing what we're doing.
I was arranging to meet someone for dinner last week, and I said “I’ll pencil it in my diary”, and my friend said “You can ink it in”, meaning that it was a firm arrangement not a tentative one!
Many of these new verbs are linked to new technology. An obvious example is the word fax. We all got used to sending and receiving faxes, and then soon started talking about faxing something and promising we'd fax it immediately. Then along came email, and we were soon all emailing each other madly. How did we do without it? I can hardly imagine life without my daily emails.
Email reminds me, of course, of my computer and its software, which has produced another
couple of new verbs. On my computer I can bookmark those pages from the World Wide Web that I think I'll want to look at again, thus saving all the effort of remembering their addresses and calling them up from scratch. I can do the same thing on my PC, but there I don't bookmark; I favorite—coming from “favorite pages”, so the verb is derived from an adjective not a noun.
Now my children bought me a mobile phone, known simply as a mobile and I had to learn yet more new verbs. I can message someone, that is, I can leave a message for them on their phone. Or I can text them, write a few words suggesting when and where to meet, for example. How long will it be before I can mobile them, that is, phone them using my mobile? I haven’t heard that verb yet, but I’m sure I will soon. Perhaps I’ll start using it myself!
1. “I’ll pencil it in my diary” in the second paragraph probably means________ .
A. it was a firm arrangement
B. it was an uncertain arrangement
C. the arrangement should be written as a diary
D. he prefers a pencil to a pen
2.A website address can be easily found if it has been______.
A. emailed B. messaged C. favorited D. texted
3.Which of the following has not been used as a verb, yet?
A. message B. page C. email D. mobile
4.The best title for this passage is____.
A. New Verbs from Nouns
B. The Development of the English language
C. New Technology and New words
D. Technology and Language.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Mark Ramirez, a senior executive at AOL, could work in the comfortable leather chair, if he wanted. No, thanks. He prefers to stand most of the day at a desk raised above stomach level.
“I’ve got my knees bent. I feel totally alive,” he said. “It feels more natural to stand.”
In the past few years, standing has become the new sitting for 10 percent of AOL employees at the firm’s Virginia branch. Part of a standing popularity is among accountants, programmers, telemarketers and other office workers across the nation.
GeekDesk, a California firm that sells desks raised by electric motors, says sales will triple this year.
Standers give various reasons for taking to their feet: It makes them feel more focused, prevents drowsiness(困倦睡意), and makes them feel like a general even if they just push paper. (Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfels works standing up. So does novelist Philip Roth.)
But unknown to them, a debate (辩论) is spreading among ergonomics experts（人类工程学家） and public-health researchers about whether all office workers should be encouraged to stand—to save lives.
Doctors point to surprising new research showing higher rates of diabetes, obesity, heart disease and even mortality among people who sit for long stretches. A study earlier this year in the American Journal of Epidemiology showed that among 123,000 adults followed over 14 years, those who sat more than six hours a day were at least 18 percent more likely to die during the time period studied than those who sat less than three hours a day.
“Every rock we turn over when it comes to sitting is astonishing,” said Marc Hamilton, a leading researcher on inactivity physiology at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana. “Sitting is harmful. It’s dangerous. We are on the cusp (尖端) of a major revolution.” He calls sitting “the new smoking”.
Not so fast, other experts say. Standing too much at work will cause more long-term back injuries. Incidences of varicose veins(静脉曲张) among women will increase. The heart will have to pump more.
Hedge, the Cornell professor, isn’t a fan of all this standing. “Making people stand all day is dumb,” he said.
The sensible and most cost-effective strategy（策略）, he said, is to sit in a neutral posture（姿势）, slightly reclined(下弯的), with the keyboard on a tray above the lap. This position promotes positive blood flow. Workers should occasionally walk around, stretch and avoid prolonged periods at the desk. The key, he said, is movement, not standing.
1.Marc Hamilton said “Every rock we turn over when it comes to sitting is astonishing” to show that________.
A. the result of the study about sitting too long is shocking
B. we need to remove many rocks
C. we need to smooth away many difficulties
D. sitting on a rock is necessary
2. The following are the reasons why some experts are against standing too long except________.
A. It will cause more long-term back injuries
B. it will raise the burden of heart
C. incidences of varicose veins among women will increase
D. standing too much at work per day is too tiring
3. According to the studies in the passage mentioned,________.
A. it is better not to stand more than 6 hours
B. sitting too long can arouse illnesses easily
C. sitting long is specially harmful to adults
D. standing much is better than sitting long
4.Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
A. Standing is not better than sitting
B. Standing more does no harm to people
C. Standing will promote the efficiency
D. More office workers take standing against sitting
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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If you will be cycling, you will need to know what these traffic signs and signals mean.
A sign like this one means that there is a bike lane. If there is a bike lane, you are required to use it. If there is not a bike lane, you should ride with traffic as far to the right side of the road as possible.
When the signal light turns green, cars go. When you cross the street at a signal light, you should wait for the walk signal. Be sure to look carefully to the left, right and left again, before crossing the street.
When the signal light turns yellow, car drivers should slow down and prepare to stop. You should not cross if the light is yellow. The light is about to turn red, and cars will enter the intersection.
This signal is the WALK sign. It has a picture of a person walking instead of using the word WALK.This signal is the DON'T WALK sign. It is part of the signal with the picture of a person walking.This is a picture of a red hand, meaning you should stop. You should wait to cross the street until the green picture of the person walking is showing.
Car drivers and bikers must come to a complete stop at STOP signs.
A yield sign means to slow down and be ready to stop.If there are pedestrians(行人)or vehicles in or nearing the intersection，you must stop.
If there is no traffic in or nearing the intersection and it is safe，you may go through.
This sign means you are coming to a crosswalk. Car drivers, antibikers must stop to allow people in the crosswalk to cross the street.
When people are working on the roads, parts of the road are often dug up or rough. Be careful when cycling. Rough roads could make you fall off your bike. If you must move into the road to go around a work area, you should stop and look carefully to be sure there is no traffic coming before going into the road.
A detour is a way of getting around a roadway that is closed. Roads are usually closed because of road work or dangerous conditions. If you must take a detour, be careful of roads you aren't used to.1.The passage is intended for ________.
A. car drivers B. skaters C. bikers D. Pedestrians
2. If you see the sign
while riding a bike，you are required to ________.A. take the bike lane B. stop your bike
C. ride close to the right side of the road D. ride in the middle of the road
3.Cyclists may see the sign when ________.
A. they come near a crosswalk
B. the bad weather is on the corner
C. they are about to pass a school
D. the road ahead is blocked because of the landslide (山崩)
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
If you will be cycling, you will need to know what these traffic signs and signals mean.
A sign like this one means that there is a bike lane. If there is a bike lane, you are required to use it. If there is not a bike lane, you should ride with traffic as far to the right side of the road as possible.
When the signal light turns green, cars go. When you cross the street at a signal light, you should wait for the walk signal. Be sure to look carefully to the left, right and left again, before crossing the street.
When the signal light turns yellow, car drivers should slow down and prepare to stop. You should not cross if the light is yellow. The light is about to turn red, and cars will enter the intersection.
This signal is the WALK sign. It has a picture of a person walking instead of using the word WALK.
Car drivers and bikers must come to a complete stop at STOP signs.
A yield sign means to slow down and be ready to stop.
A detour is a way of getting around a roadway that is closed. Roads are usually closed because of road work or dangerous conditions. If you must take a detour, be careful of roads you aren't used to.
while riding a bike，you are required to ________.