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After my husband died from a heart attack, my world changed all in a sudden. I just put all my effort into making a living, caring for the children and just keeping my head above water.
I was lucky to find a wonderful housekeeper to care for the children during the week, but from Friday nights to Monday mornings, the children and I were alone, and in fact I was uncomfortable. Every unusual noise and any late-night phone call would fill me with fear. I felt unbelievably alone.
One Friday evening I came home from work to find a big beautiful German shepherd （牧羊犬） on our doorstep. I became worried. Where did this dog come from? Was it safe to let the children play with a strange dog? Finally I let him sleep in the basement（地下室）until the next day, when we could search around the neighborhood for his owner. That night I slept peacefully for the first time in many weeks.
The following morning we made phone calls and checked lost-and-found ads for German’s owner, but with no results. Saturday night he was still with us and I planned to take the children on a picnic without German. But we were surprised to see him jumping onto the hood （引擎盖）and looking directly into my eyes. No way was he going to be left behind. So he stayed again Sunday night. Monday morning I let him out for a run while the children got ready for school. He didn’t come back till the next Friday evening. And again he stayed until Monday morning, when our housekeeper arrived.
This repeated every weekend for almost 10 months. Each week, between German’s visits, I grew a little stronger and braver; every weekend I enjoyed his company（陪伴）. Then one Monday morning we patted his head and let him out for what turned out to be the last time. He never came back.
I think of him often. He came when I needed him the most and stayed until I was strong enough to go on alone. I believe German was sent because he was needed, and because no matter how sad and alone we feel, somehow, somewhere, someone knows and cares.
1.The underlined part in Paragraph 1 means the writer_____________.
A.had great difficulty supporting the family B.couldn’t breathe and swim at the same time
C.found it hard to look for a good housekeeper D.was too heart-broken to take care of her children
2.What conclusion can we draw from the last paragraph?
A.At last the writer came to realize who German’s owner was.
B.Being strong enough, the writer didn’t miss German any more.
C.German had no choice but to come to the writer’s house on weekends.
D.The writer believes that German was sent to her because she was alone.
3.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A.A Homeless Dog B.We Are Not Alone
C.Every Dog Has Its Day D.German, Our Pet Dog
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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1.Isabelle is at Chicago. She wants to go to Roosevelt. She should change lines at________.
A.Grand. B.Monroe. C.Reno. D.Clark.
2.Alex is going to Youth Centre from Baseball Field. How many stops does he have to take?
A.Four. B.Five. C.Six. D.Seven.
3.To get to the Medical Centre from Fullerton, you should take underground lines in this order:
________.
A.Blue Line — Green Line — Red Line B.Blue Line — Red Line — Green Line
C.Red Line — Blue Line — Green Line D.Red Line — Green Line — Blue Line
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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An INTERESTING experiment
It takes a little skill to do this experiment, but the result is truly SURPRISING.
What do you need?
Several rubber balloons
Wooden skewer（木签）
Vegetable oil
Paper towel
Step l
Blow up a balloon, let some of the air out of it, and tie it closed.
Step 2
Rub some oil on skewer with paper towel.
Step 3
Gentle twist（搓捻）and push skewer into end of balloon opposite the knot. If balloon pops（爆 炸），go back to Step 1.
Step 4
When skewer is in balloon, slowly twist and push it out of balloon near knot.
What will happen?
28
The balloon does not pop, even though it has a skewer in it.
Why won't it pop?
Rubber is made out of long chains of molecules （分子）.
The skewer pushes these molecules aside.
The molecules mix with the oil and they stick together tightly.
The oil on the skewer seals the hole and air cannot get out.
1.Which is the most suitable word for 28 ?
A.Topic B.Result C.Problem D.Reason
2.What’s the proper meaning of the underlined word "seals"？
A.密封 B.润滑 C.点燃 D.腐蚀
3.What can we infer（推断）from the passage?
A.It's easy to push a skewer into and out of a balloon.
B.You'd better blow as much air as possible into a balloon.
C.There's no need for you to use the oil while doing the experiment.
D.It's hard for the air to get out of the hole as molecules and oil stick together.
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
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How about forgetting bad memories?
Can we forget bad memories? Someone might tell you that time is the only “cure”. But this might be not true.
Researchers at Canada's McGill University have tested a pill that can help you forget bad memories. They tested it on 60 people and found it to be useful.
All 60 people had experienced painful romantic relationships and wanted to forget them. In the study, they were asked to write about these bad memories. Then, they took a pill that is usually used to treat high blood pressure （血压）. They then recalled their bad memories by reading what they wrote earlier. In the end, they talked about their feelings, saying that they were finally able to forget their bad experiences.
Dr. Alain Brunet, who led the study, believes that the pill can ease（缓解）the pain that bad memories bring. People can take it after bad things happen to them.
How did the pill do this? In fact, your memories change all the time. They’re like papers on your computer. Every time you recall and "open” the papers, you might happen to make some changes and "save" them. Researchers believe that the pill can stop something in the brain from "re-saving" these memories. This means some details of the memory are lost.
However, there are some ethical （伦理的）worries about this treatment. Some people might use it to forget things that they should be learning from, such as when they did a crime.
A11 of us can think of bad events in our lives that were terrible at the time but make us who we are. They also help us all avoid the mistakes of the past. I'm not sure we want to erase those memories, said Rebecca Dresser, a medical ethicist.
How do we form memories?
The part of our brain known as the hippocampus （海马体）is important for forming new memories. Scientists found it after studying a patient named Henry Molaison in the 1950s. After Molaison's hippocampus got hurt during an operation, he couldn't store new memories. But he could remember memories from before the operation. This means long-term memories are stored outside the hippocampus. Scientists believe they are stored in the neocortex（新皮质），which controls attention and planning.
1.The writing purpose of this passage is ________.
A.to introduce a new medical invention B.to describe the bad influence of the pill
C.to tell stories about a patient named Henry D.to discover the fun secrets of hippocampus
2.The pill tested on people can ________.
A.cause the brain to fix memories B.recall what they wrote down before
C.help people remember things easily D.help people forget painful memories
3.Which of the following does Rebecca Dresser agree with in Paragraph Six?
A.Some memories are harmful to people's lives.
B.The pill can help avoid the mistakes of the past.
C.Experiencing bad events makes us different from others.
D.The pill should be used to reduce people's sufferings from bad memories.
4.We can infer from the passage that________.
A.the pill can certainly stop criminals from doing crimes
B.taking the pill will be harmful to people's physical health
C.the pill has been produced and used by the public America
D.medical workers are still unsure about the influence of the pill
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
