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It was a Saturday morning，a day I believed would end in victory．For weeks，I had been preparing for the match at the county fairgrounds，sponsored(赞助)by our local riding club．My horse，Tonka, and I could run faster than any kid in the county, and I hoped to bring home a blue ribbon．
My mother usually drove me to the riding events, but on this day, my father planned to drop us off at the fairgrounds with the horse trailer(马车) ．
Although we never discussed it, my father’s struggle with alcoholism had become the silent center of our family life．My mother was paralyzed with fear and indecision．Her salary as a part-time nurse couldn’t possibly support four children．No one talked about alcoholism in those days，and it was my family secret．
We climbed on the trailer and my father pulled out of our driveway and headed toward the fairgrounds，picking up speed once we hit the main road．It wasn’t until we felt a big bump that I realized the trailer was out of control．The dream of my riding winner disappeared．Tonka lay on the floor, completely still．No words were possible．I knew he was dead．
Suddenly a man appeared．“Are you all right?”he asked．“Yes．”I answered，although I knew that nothing was all right．“Sit here on the grass，”he said．He bent down to look into the trailer．Tonka remained still．He touched Tonka and then turned to face me．“He is going to be OK．He has just been knocked unconscious．” He rubbed Tonka’s cheeks and gently pulling his ears．Tonka rose to his feet．
Our father was talking to a police officer．He was upset and in pain and took little notice of me．I looked back；the man was gone．
I never forgot him．He gave me strength and a sense of hope in a dark and frightening moment．
1.The writer went to the fairgrounds because he wanted to ___________．
A．take part in a horse racing B．buy Mum a blue ribbon
C．join the local riding club D．train his horse there
2.We can learn from the third paragraph that ___________．
A．the family kept silent at home B．the family lived a secret life
C．Father was addicted to alcohol D．Mum was physically disabled
3.What does “he’’ in the fourth paragraph refer to?
A．Father B．The stranger
C．The horse D．The winner
4.What does the author want to tell the readers through the story?
A．Once formed，bad habits are difficult to break
B．Unexpected kindness is a light that shines in the darkness
C．However mean your life is，meet it and live it
D．Family is a place of encouragement, a safe harbor in the storms
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Seoul
A dangerous new bird flu in South Korea has spread nationwide despite efforts to make on the virus．Authorities have killed 2.8 million household chickens and ducks since the outbreak began，and the flu has also killed dozens of Baikal teal and other migratory birds．As yet，there are no reports of human infections．Scientists are puzzling over where the H5N8 flu，never before seen in a highly pathogenic（病原的）form，originated．
Portland，Oregon
A tiny chub （鲦鱼)has bounced back from near extinction(灭绝) ．The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)says populations of the Oregon chub are healthy enough to remove the 9-cm-long fish from its list of threatened and endangered wildlife．Last week’s announcement marks the first time an endangered fish has recovered enough to be delisted
After the 1940s, the chub populations dropped sharply from habitat damage by pollution and dams．When the fish was listed by FWS in 1993，only nine remained．Predation(捕食)by large-mouth bass and other non-native fishes was the largest threat to the remaining chub．
Since then, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and other groups started 20 new populations of the chub in predator-free ponds Changes to dam management have lowered the threat to remaining habitat．
Mexico City
The axolotl salamander’s only known home in the wild，the Xochimilco canals of Mexico City，has become increasingly polluted，but recent reports of the salamander’s extinction have been overstated．
Two weeks after announcing that months of searching the canals hadn’t turned up any axolotls，scientists in Mexico City have some good news：two of the unique salamanders were spotted on 4 February “There’s been an alarming reduction in population．”says Luis Zambrano, a biologist at the National University of Mexico，“but I can guarantee that is not yet extinct in the wild．”
1.Which section of a magazine does the passage probably come from?
A．Around the World B．Health＆Diet
C．Endangered Species D．Energy＆Environment
2.which of the following titles would most probably fit the bank box?
A．Oregon Chub Swimming off Endangered Species List
B．Oregon Chub Put on the Endangered Species List
C．Pollution and Dam Management Threatening Oregon Chub
D．Predator-free Ponds Set to Be Built for Oregon Chub
3.we can learn from the passage that_________．
A．the population of salamanders is on the rise
B．measures have been taken to preserve Oregon chub
C．the Xochimilco canals are the only home to the salamander
D．scientists are sure about what caused nationwide New Bird F1u
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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A culture’s values can be mirrored by its humor．Humor has been evaluated by many great minds such as Thomas Hobbes，who，in“On Nature”，disliked humor,“Laughter is nothing else but sudden glory arising from sudden thought of feeling far better than others．”He thought humor to be a negative quality of human narrow-mindedness．
However, Mordechai Gordon，Ph. D of Education，insists，“Humor allows us to view the
world from an angle that is amusing rather than serious．”1 agree with Gordon．Learning to look
at the world through humor is important．
In the United States，every four years an election occurs．Without humor as a way to express their feelings，how else would Americans keep from clawing their eyes out and going the
way of lemming? Television shows like“The Daily Show”have become important parts of American culture．They are mothering the masses by metaphorically(隐喻地) airplane-ing politics into our mouths．They make politics fun．
Of course, politics is only one type of humor．Social humor helps people through the twists
and turns of the human condition．American pop culture promotes an unhealthy self image．On the topic of self-image，Hari Kondabolu stands out．He has a joke about the popular musical group“The Pussycat Dolls”，describing their hit song“Don't Cha”as a negative representation of women．He points out an obvious offence in American culture．
A study from Loyola University of Maryland has shown that humor is one determining factor for selecting a mating partner．Amongst other things，mates look for an outstanding funny
bone in a potential partner．
Of course，humor is not always used for good purposes．Humor can be linked to vulgarity
(粗俗)and racism，but，like everything else，it has potential to unite human beings by allowing
us to laugh at ourselves，our failures and our connection with one another．
Though 1ife may seem tough and depressing at times，all I have to do is look in the mirror at my increased wrinkles(皱纹) to know that there is a comedy out there that even Chaplin wasn’t
aware of．
With that in mind，remember to laugh with humanity and sometimes at humanity．
1.Hobbes believes that humor__________．
A．was only a way to laugh at others to make oneself feel better
B．resulted in narrow-mindedness of human beings
C．had the power to mirror personal glory and national values
D．was for people to view the world from another angle
2.What is the author’s attitude towards political humor?
A．Worried B．Disappointed
C．Curious D．Appreciative
3.The fourth paragraph is developed mainly__________．
A．by example B．by process
C．by comparison D．by classification
4.What can we learn from the last two paragraphs?
A．Chaplin wasn’t aware of being laughed at
B．The author feels helpless and sad about getting older
C．Never be the one who laughs at other people
D．The author is determined to face life with a sense of humor．
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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BERLIN (Reuters)—Germany’s postal service has announced plans to explore improved service and help protect the environment by getting “fetch friends”—ordinary people traveling across cities—to deliver parcels on their way.
It is hoped that the move, which will be tested in the coming months, might lessen traffic in inner cities and reduce CO2 emissions(排放). This should help DHL, a division of the German postal service, reach its target of improving the company’s carbon efficiency by 30 percent before 2020.
“As the world’s biggest logistics(物流) provider, we recognize a special responsibility to reduce the impact on the environment as much as possible,” said Frank Appel, Chief Executive Officer of Deutsche Post DHL, in a statement referring to a variety of measures being considered.
The “fetch friends” find out online about parcels that need delivering to people who live or work along the way that they are planning to travel through the city. They then select the ones that they want to take.
Codes(编码) sent to their mobile phones tell the volunteers where to pick the packages up. Parcels can be taken part of the way or passed on to another volunteer but all volunteers need to have the right code on their mobile phone so the track and trace system can be updated.
Logistics companies will be responsible for looking after the operation to make sure that the privacy of post is respected.
It’s hoped that this could be done using mobile phones but DHL says it recognizes that some security issues remain to be worked out.
1.According to the passage, the “fetch friend” program ________.
A. has been tested for months
B. aims to reduce the cost of the service
C. employs environmentalists to help with deliveries
D. encourages ordinary people to help cut the carbon footprint
2.Which of the following statements is TRUE of DHL?
A. It belongs to the Germany’s postal service.
B. It has the most up-to-date tracking system in Germany.
C. It has succeeded in improving its carbon efficiency by 30%.
D. It has designed many measures to improve its service speed.
3.What may be a problem with the new service according to the article?
A. Volunteers’ not allowing to select parcels.
B. The wrong codes in the mobile phones.
C. The possibility that parcels could be opened on the way.
D. Parcels’ being taken to the destination by a single volunteer.
4.What might be the best Title for the best passage?
A. New Challenges for the Postal Service
B. A Greener Way to Deliver Parcels
C. Solutions for Global Warming
D. Statements from DHL
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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We are naturally drawn to friends and colleagues with familiar voices, scientists have found．People prefer those who have a similar accent，intonation and tone of voice to themselves , they discovered．
Previous research has focused on how masculine or feminine a voice sounds．Men with deeper voices and women with slightly higher voices were thought to sound more attractive，because they suggest a bigger or a smaller body．
But the new study，published by a linguistics(语言学)expert in Canada，suggests there is a
more complex mechanism(机制)at play．Dr Molly Babel, from the University of British Columbia in Canada, said，“The voice is an amazingly flexible(灵活的)tool that we use to construct our identity．Very few things in our voices are changeless，so we felt that our preferences had to be about more than a person’s shape and size．’’
She recorded 30 volunteers’ voices and asked each to rate the others’ attractiveness on a scale of one to nine．Each participant was from western America，with similar accents．The people we assessed were all in the same dialect group，but they showed that dialect to different degrees．
“We seem to like people who sound like we sound，we like people who fit within what we know，”Dr Babel said．She also found that breathy voices in women－typified by the famous American actress Marilyn Monroe－were seen as more attractive．
The breathy tone，caused by younger and thinner vocal cords(声带)，implied youthfulness
and health A creaky voice，suggesting a person has a cold，is tired or smokes，was seen as unattractive．The participants preferred men who spoke with a shorter average word length and deeper voices．
The linguist，whose work is published in the journal PLOS One，said，“Once you’re outside of a certain range of familiarity，novel and exotic sounding voices might become more attractive．We also have to keep in mind we find some accents more preferable than others because of social fixed ideas．”
1.In terms of voice preferences，the new findings highlight_______.
A．body size and shape B．shorter word length
C．thicker vocal cords D．the same social groups
2.Dr. Molly Babel mentions Marilyn Monroe in order to________.
A．evaluate a creaky voice
B．explain her new findings
C．challenge previous research
D．promote the actress’s reputation
3.According to the passage，who would most probably have a creaky voice?
A．An old lady with a silvery voice．
B．A young lady with a thin voice．
C．A deep-voiced man with a dry throat．
D．A little man with a quiet and gentle voice．
4.What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
A．People favor familiar accents when in a new place．
B．People might have a preference for different accents．
C．Voice preferences have no link to long-held belief．
D．Voice preferences are influenced by sex differences．
5.The main purpose of the passage is to________.
A．encourage men to use shorter words and talk less
B．inform readers of the findings of voices
C．argue against women’s breathy way of speaking
D．compare male voices with female voices
难度: 中等查看答案及解析