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A few years ago, I took a sightseeing trip to Washington, D.C．Standing outside the Ronald Reagan Center, I heard a voice say, “Can you help me?” When I turned around, I saw an elderly blind woman with her hand extended．In a natural reflex （反应）, I reached into my pocket, pulled out all of my loose change and placed it on her hand without even looking at her．I was annoyed at being bothered by a beggar．But the blind woman smiled and said, “I don’t want your money．I just need help finding the post office.”
In an instant, I realized what I had done．I judged another person simply for what I assumed she had to be．I hated what I saw in myself．This incident re-awakened my belief in humility(谦恭), even though I’d lost it for a moment．
The thing I had forgotten about myself is that I am an immigrant．I left Honduras and arrived in the U.S．at the age of 15．I started my new life with two suitcases, my brother and sister, and a strong, serious-minded mother．Through the years, I have been a dishwasher, mechanic and pizza delivery driver among many other humble jobs, and eventually I became a network engineer.
In my own life, I have experienced many open acts of prejudice (偏见)．I remember a time, at age 17 ----- I worked as a waiter, and I heard a father tell his little boy that if he did not do well in school, he would end up like me．I have also witnessed the same treatment of my family and friends, so I know what it’s like, and I should have known better．
But now, living in my American middle-class lifestyle, it is too easy to forget my past, to forget who I am and where I have been, and to lose sight of where I want to be going．That blind woman on the streets of Washington, D.C., cured me of my blindness．She reminded me of my belief in humility and to always keep my eyes and heart open．By the way, I helped that lady to the post office．And in writing this essay, I hope to thank her for the priceless lesson．
We can learn from the first two paragraphs that __________ ．
A．the author regretted his act of prejudice
B．the blind woman needed the money badly
C．the author was as poor as the blind woman
D．the author was a native American
【小题２】According to Paragraph 4, hearing the father’s words, the author was probably _____ ．
A．rather hurt B．very excited C．deeply moved D．greatly inspired
【小题３】According to the passage, the author probably agrees that one should ________ ．
A．be nice to the elderly and the disabled
B．try to experience different kinds of life
C．treat others equally with love and respect
D．think about one’s past as often as possible
【小题４】Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
A．Learn from your past
B．How my dream comes true
C．A belief that will never change
D．A priceless lesson in the street
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
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Happiness is associated with smiling. But do we always smile when we are happy?
During the Olympic Games in Barcelona in 1992, Spanish researchers analyzed the facial expressions of 22 gold medal winners at the medal ceremonies. The researchers were surprised to see that these medal winners didn't smile very much. In fact, throughout the different medal ceremonies, they only smiled about 10% of the time. But during the brief moment when the gold medal was put around their neck, the medal winners grinned (露齿笑) about 70% of the time.
The researchers interviewed the winners they had watched to find out how they felt. All the winners interviewed said that they felt intensely(强烈的）happy throughout the ceremony.
Though they were profoundly（衷心地）happy, they didn't smile a great deal. The researchers concluded that smiling was not the automatic expression of happiness. The fact that the gold medal winners smiled much more when they were actually being given their medals could be explained because, according to the Spanish researchers, smiling was a form of communication between individuals. The happy athletes were smiling at the people who were giving them gold medals. Perhaps we can support the findings of the Spanish researchers by making some observations of our own behaviors. When we are all alone, for example, do we smile at ourselves when we are happy? Probably not very often. If someone greets us with a friendly smile, do we respond with a smile? Yes, we probably do. When a friend gives us a beautiful present, will we show our appreciation with a smile? Yes, of course. But if we are sitting alone watching television, do we smile at a commentator (讲解员) who smiles at us?
How much of the time did the gold medal winners smile during the medal ceremonies?
A. 10%. B. 70%. C. 22%. D. 92%.
【小题２】According to the passage, when did the athletes smile quite a lot?
A. Throughout the medal ceremony.
B. When they were informed of their success.
C. When the gold medal was put around their neck.
D. When their national flag was raised.
【小题３】 According to the passage, on which of the following occasions would we most probably NOT smile?
A. When we are sitting alone watching TV.
B. When someone greets us with a friendly smile.
C. When a friend gives us a beautiful present.
D. When we feel intensely happy.
【小题４】According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. The gold medal winners were too nervous that they would hardly smile at the medal ceremonies.
B. People will always smile automatically when they feel happy.
C. Smiling is a way of communication.
D. When the gold medal was put around their neck, the gold medal winners were smiling at the audience but not at those who gave the medal.
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
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Have you got any wonderful plans for your coming winter vacation? Here are some wonderful films for you to kill time.
Away We Go
With a baby on his way, a young couple, Burt and Verona, look at their lives and are puzzled about what they really want. So they hit the road and seek a place to call home. On their journey, they visit a handful of characters and learned a lot.It’s about taking the scenic route in life, preparing for the hope and excitement and fear of new beginnings, while never forgetting to look out of the window.
Orphan
Esther, a bright and well-behaved child, however, is not as innocent as she appears. Soon after being taken home, the peace of her adoptive family is completely changed…
You want a good horror film about a child from hell? Then you got one! Do not, in any cases, take children to see it.500 Days of Summer
Tom is in love with Summer from the moment he sees her. Can he accept that she simply likes him for now, not for forever? The movie is about Tom wrestling with that reality. Tom remembers his love, Summer, as a series of joys and bafflements. But Summer is just herself and he cannot have her.Here is a rare movie that begins by telling us how it will end and is about how the hero has no idea why.
2012
The director Roland Emmerich successfully dresses a corny story with an old Mayan prediction, which is believed by many to happen in the coming 2012 and as a result, attracts millions of people into the cinema.It’s just an entertaining Hollywood blockbuster(大片) with plenty of jokes, instead of a description of what the end of the world is really like. Don’t take it too seriously!
This passage aims to __________.
A. make comments on films for a cinema
B. introduce films for a film corporation
C. recommend several films for fun
D. advertise several films for a website
【小题２】If you bring your seven-year-old sister to the cinema, which of the following film should you avoid?
A. Away We Go. B. Orphan.
C. 2012. D. 500 Days of Summer.
【小题３】Among all the characters mentioned in the passage, who directed films in Hollywood?
A. Roland Emmerich. B. Tom and Summer. C. Burt and Verona. D. Esther.
【小题４】Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Orphan is a comedy about Esther adopted by a kind family.
B. 500 Days of Summer is a romance with a happy ending.
C. Away We Go shows beautiful scenery on the young couple’s journey.
D. The ancient Mayan prediction is going to happen in 2012.
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
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What would you do if you were lost in the dark forest at night? The first sensible lesson is that you shouldn’t bother trying to find your way in the dark at all, but just stay where you are until dawn. Because then you won’t trip over things? No, mainly because you’ll have an idea of direction. The sun rises in the east. But you will be amazed at how many people forget they know that. Apparently, the area underneath a holly bush provides a good makeshift shelter — they are thick, and evergreen. The next thing to do — or rather not to do — is panic, for the obvious reason that unless there is someone there to hear you scream, it will get you nowhere. Just try to think of nice, happy things.
There is always a point in films when a person who is lost in the desert or the snow, dehydrated (脱水的) and exhausted, comes across a set of their own footprints and realizes they have just walked in a huge, round circle. It is wrong to owe it to the unequal strengths or different lengths of your legs. Experiments prove that, without the sun or the moon (or landmarks) as a fixed guide, lots of small errors add up over time so the brain can’t correctly identify the “straight ahead” direction. To just get out of somewhere, pick a spot on the horizon and just head for it.
There are several ways to find directions in the dark, and by far the best is to establish north using the stars. Most people can identify the Plough, which is part of Ursa Major. It looks a lot like a saucepan. The Plough rotates（旋转）through the sky, but let’s imagine the saucepan lying horizontally (水平地), with its handle on the left. You need to trace a line from the star at the right-hand base of the pan, through the star at the right-hand rim (边沿), and follow it upwards; the north star is roughly five times the distance between those two “pointer” stars. Then drop a vertical line from the North Star to the horizon and that’s north.
“Tonight is very cloudy and I can’t see the Plough.” Maybe luckily, it is quite windy. Keep in mind that almost all of our weather comes from a south-westerly direction. (This only works if you are in the British Isles). To find the direction, you can throw light bits of dried-out grass in the air and see which way they blow; or, if there are clouds and patches of clear sky, see which way they blow across the stars. You can also get an idea of direction from leggy plants. If they look as if they have been blown over, they will probably be pointing north-east. If they are simply leaning in one direction as they grow, there’s a good chance that is south (they will be reaching towards the sun). The last thing to do is to judge your direction and off you go.
What might be the best title of the passage?
A. How to survive in the forest
B. How to protect yourself in the forest
C. How to direct your way out of the wild
D. What to do if you are lost
【小题２】Which of the following pictures matches the description of the position of the north star?
【小题３】Why will people often walk in a circle if they are lost in the desert or the snow?
A. Because without anything to refer to for directions, the brain will be confused by errors.
B. Because one of the legs is longer and stronger than the other.
C. Because the desert or the snow usually covers a large area for people to get across.
D. Because people usually feel dehydrated and exhausted in the desert or the snow.
【小题４】If you were lost in Taklimakan Desert in China, _________ would NOT be dependable for you to identify the directions.
A. the sun B. the North Star C. wind D. the moon
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
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Recently, a study was carried out to determine who was the greatest American president．Sixty-five presidential historians took part in it, and they judged the past forty-two American leaders based on ten leadership qualities, including public persuasiveness (信服), crisis leadership, management of the economy, moral leadership, and conduct of international relations．The historians also looked at administrative (管理) ability, relations with Congress, ability to set goals, and the pursuit of equal justice for all．Finally, the experts took into consideration the historical period in which the president lived．
The historians chose Abraham Lincoln as American’s greatest president．He had also been named best president in a similar study in 2000．Abraham Lincoln was the president who led the nation through the Civil War in the 1860s, and was able to unite it in the end．He also took the first steps to abolish slavery in America．
Edna Medford, a professor of history at Howard University in Washington, D.C., was an adviser on this study and the earlier one．She says Abraham Lincoln is seen to represent the values the nation most honors, such as truthfulness, moderation, and respect for human rights．
The historians put American’s first president, George Washington, second on the list, while Franklin D．Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, and Harry Truman follow in that order．John F．Kennedy, the country’s first Roman Catholic president, is sixth on the list．Like Lincoln, Kennedy was murdered while in office．
Among recent presidents, Ronald Reagan was named the tenth best and Bill Clinton rated fifteenth, while the historians put former president George W．Bush at number thirty-six．His father, George H.W．Bush, did much better, being placed at number eighteen．
We learn from the text that ___________．
A．this is the second time that Abraham Lincoln has been chosen as America’s greatest president
B．Edna Medford didn’t take part in the study conducted in 2000．
C．George H.W．Bush was thought to have done worse in office than George W．Bush
D．Harry Truman was rated the fourth-best president by the study
【小题２】Which of the following belong to the ten leadership qualities considered?
a．Being able to persuade the public
b．Taking effective measures during a financial crisis．
c．Balancing home life and career．
d．Pursuing equal justice for all．
A．a,b,c B．b,c,d C．a,b,d D．a,c,d
【小题３】Who is rated worst among the following four presidents?
A．John F．Kennedy B．George Washington
C．Bill Clinton D．George W．Bush
【小题４】The text is mainly about ________．
A．the ten qualities a great president needs
B．a study of American presidents
C．the values the American nation honors most
D．how Abraham Lincoln improved the country
难度: 简单查看答案及解析