Our house was directly across the street from the clinic entrance of John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. We lived downstairs and rented the upstairs rooms to the patients at the clinic.
One evening as I was fixing supper, there was a knock at the door. I opened it to see a truly awful-looking man. He’s hardly taller than my eight-year-old son. “Good evening. I’ve come to see if you’ve a room. I came for a treatment this morning from the eastern shore, and there’s no bus till morning.” He told me he’d been hunting for a room since noon but with no success. “I guess it’s my face…I know it looks terrible, but my doctor says with a few more treatments…” For a moment I hesitated, but his next words convinced me: “I could sleep in this chair on the porch. My bus leaves early in the morning.”
I told him we would find him a bed. When I had finished the dishes, I talked with him. He told me he fished for a living to support his five children, and his wife, who was hopelessly crippled (残疾的) from a back injury. He didn’t tell it by way of complaint. Next morning, just before he left, as if asking a great favor, he said, “Could I come back and stay the next time?” He added, “Your children made me feel at home.”
On his next trip he arrived a little after seven in the morning. As a gift, he brought a big fish and the largest oysters (牡蛎) I had ever seen. I knew his bus left at 4:00 a.m. and I wondered what time he had to get up in order to do this for us.
In the years he came to stay overnight with us and there was never a time that he did not bring us vegetables from his garden. I know our family always will be grateful to have known him; from him we learned how to accept the bad without complaint when facing the misfortune.
1.Why did the author agree to let the man spend the night in his house at last?
A. Because the man said others refused to accommodate him.
B. Because the man said he would not cause much inconvenience.
C. Because the man said he had come from the eastern shore.
D. Because the man said he had been hunting for a room since noon.
2. How long would it take the man to travel from his home to Baltimore by bus?
A. About 1 hour. B. About 2 hours.
C. About 3 hours. D. About 4 hours.
3.From the text we can know that __________.
A. the author’s children were kind and friendly to the man
B. the man was fed up with his hard-work and his family
C. John Hopkins Hospital provided rooms for the patients to live in
D. the author and his family were thought highly of by his neighbors
4.The author’s family were grateful to know the man because __________.
A. he often brought them fish and vegetables from his garden
B. he paid them money for his staying
C. he taught them how to accept the bad without complaint
D. he stayed only overnight with the writer’s family
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Tayka Hotel De Sal
Where: Tahua, Bolivia
How much: About $95 a night
Why it’s cool: You’ve stayed at hotels made of brick or wood, but salt? That’s something few can claim. Tayka Hotel de Sal is made totally of salt—including the beds (though you’ll sleep on regular mattresses (床垫) and blankets).The hotel sits on the Salar de Uyuni, a prehistoric dried-up lake that’s the world’s biggest salt flat. Builders use the salt from the 4,633-square-mile flat to make the bricks, and glue them together with a paste of wet salt that hardens when it dries. When rain starts to dissolve the hotel, the owners just mix up more salt paste to strengthen the bricks.
Green Magic Nature Resort
Where: Vythiri, India
How much: About $240 a night
Why it’s cool: Ridding a pulley(滑轮)-operated lift 86 feet to your treetop room is just the start of your adventure. As you look out of your open window—there is no glass!—you watch monkeys and birds in the rain forest canopy. Later you might test your fear of heights by crossing the handmade rope bridge to the main part of the hotel, or just sit on your bamboo bed and read. You don’t even have to come down for breakfast—the hotel will send it up on the pulley-drawn “elevator”.
Dog Bark Park Inn B&B
Where: Cottonwood, Idaho
How much: $92 a night
Why it’s cool: This doghouse isn’t just for the family pet. Sweet Willy is a 30-foot-tall dog with guest rooms in his belly. Climb the wooden stairs beside his hind leg to enter the door in his side. You can relax in the main bedroom, go up a few steps of the loft in Willy’s head, or hang out inside his nose. Although you have a full private bathroom in your quarters, there is also a toilet in the 12-foot-tall fire hydrant outside.
Gamirasu Cave Hotel
Where: Ayvali, Turkey
How much: Between $130 and $475 a night.
Why it’s cool: This is caveman cool! Experience what it was like 5,000 years ago, when people lived in these mountain caves formed by volcanic ash. But your stay will be much more modern. Bathrooms and electricity provide what you expect from a modern hotel, and the white volcanic ash, called tufa, keeps the rooms cool, about 65℉in summer.(Don’t worry—there is heat in winter.)
1.What is the similarity of the four hotels?
A. Being expensive. B. Being beautiful.
C. Being natural. D. Being unique.
2.What does the underlined part “Sweet Willy” refer to?
A. The building of Dog Bark Park Inn B&B.
B. The name of a pet dog of the hotel owner.
C. The name of the hotel.
D. The name of the hotel owner.
3.Which of the hotel makes you have a feeling of living in the far past?
A. Tayka Hotel De Sal
B. Green Magic Nature Resort
C. Dog Bark Park Inn B&B
D. Gamirasu Cave Hotel
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
“Selfie” (自拍) joins ranks of dictionary words.
In 2002, an Australian man went to his friend’s 21st birthday party. He got drunk, tripped on some steps and cut his lip. He took a picture of his injuries and shared it with his friends on an online forum. “And sorry about the focus,” he wrote, “it was a selfie.” That was the first recorded use of the word “selfie”, according to linguistic experts at Oxford Dictionaries.
On Nov 19, Oxford Dictionaries declared “selfie” Word of the Year for 2013, in honor of the term having taken over the world thanks to millions of smart phone self-portraits and the resulting shares on social media.
So what does the choice of the word say about our culture? Mary Elizabeth Williams, writing in Salon magazine, says the word reminds us that contemporary culture is defined by our narcissism(自恋).Megan Jackson from a local newspaper points out a selfie may only focus on appearance.
Selfies invite judgment based on appearance alone. What kind of cultural influence does this have on women? Erin Gloria Ryan on Jezebel says selfies teach young woman to obsess over their appearance and judge themselves on the basis of beauty rather than accomplishments. “They’re a reflection of the warped way we teach girls to see themselves as decorative,” said Ryan.
In Slate magazine, Rachel Simmons has the opposite view. She argues that selfies are an example of young women promoting themselves and taking control of their own self-presentation. Think of each one, she says, as “a tiny pulse of girl pride —a shout-out to the self”.
1. Which of the following is true about the first use of “selfie”?
A. The Australian man created it to celebrate his friend’s 21st birthday.
B. The Australian man created by chance when he got drunk and shared his photo online.
C. The Oxford Dictionary used it to thank the creation of smart phone.
D. The social media were so advanced that they made the word transmitted.
2.The underlined word “tripped” in the first paragraph probably means “________”.
A. traveled B. stepped lightly
C. fell down D. made mistakes
3.Who holds a positive opinion towards selfie in the life of women?
A. Mary Elizabeth. B. Megan Jackson.
C. Erin Gloria Ryan. D. Rachel Simmons.
4.The text is mainly concerned with ________.
A. the introduction of the word “selfie”
B. the choice of the word “selfie”
C. the history of the word “selfie”
D. the characteristics of the word “selfie”
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Some colors people see late at night could cause signs of the condition mental health experts call clinical depression(临床抑郁症). That was the finding of a study that builds on earlier study findings. They show that individuals who live or work in low levels of light overnight can develop clinical depression.
Doctors use the word clinical depression to describe severe form of depression. Signs may include loss of interest or pleasure in most activities, low energy levels and thoughts of death or suicide.
In the new study, American investigators designed an experiment that exposed hamsters（仓鼠）to different colors. The researchers chose hamsters because they are nocturnal, which means they sleep during the day and are active at night. The animals were separated into four groups. One group of hamsters was kept in the dark during their night-time period. Another group was placed in front of a blue light, a third group slept in front of a white light, while a fourth was put in front of a red light. After four weeks, the researchers noted how much sugary water the hamsters drank. They found that the most depressed animals drank the least amount of water.
Randy Nelson, at Ohio State University, says animals that slept in blue and white light appeared to be the most depressed. “What we saw is that these animals didn’t show any sleep interruptions at all but they did mess up biological clock (生物钟) genes and they did show depressive sign but if they were in the dim red light, they did not.” He says there’s a lot of blue in white light. This explains why the blue light and white light hamsters appear to be more depressed than the hamsters seeing red light or darkness.
1. From the text we know that ________ made the hamster feel depressed.
A. the amount of the water
B. the colour of the light
C. the loss of pleasure
D. the level of energy
2. What was the purpose of the experiment on hamsters?
A. To show how well they slept.
B. To see how much sugary water they drank.
C. To explain why they liked dark colours.
D. To find out what caused the depression on them.
3.The author explains the clinical depression by _________.
A. reporting an experiment process
B. presenting research data
C. setting down general rules
D. giving his own experience
4.Where can we probably find the text?
A. In a science magazine.
B. In a physics textbook
C. In a tourist guidebook.
D. In an official announcement.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
Carrots are easy to raise and easy to harvest. They taste good. 1.
When people think of carrots, they usually picture in their mind a vegetable that is long, thin and orange. 2. And not all carrots are orange. For example, Paris Market carrots are about five centimeters around. Rome carrots are thin and about twenty-five centimeters long. And Belgian White carrots are, as their name suggests, white.
For the best results, carrots should be grown in sandy soil that does not hold water for a long time. The soil also should have no rocks. To prepare your garden for carrots, dig up the soil, loosen it and turn it over. Then, mix in some plant material or animal fertilizer (肥料).
3. Experts say warm days, cool nights and a medium soil temperature are the best conditions for growing carrots that taste great.
Carrots need time to develop their full sugar content. This gives them their sweetness if you wait too long to pull them from the ground. 4. Usually, the brighter the color, the better the taste.
5. If the winter is not cold enough to freeze the ground, you can grow and harvest carrots the same way as during the summer months. If the ground does freeze, simply cover your carrot garden with a thick layer of leaves or straw. This will prevent the ground from freezing.
A. But carrots come in many different sizes and shapes.
B. They are economic crops.
C. The best time for planting carrots is during the winter months.
D. Weather, soil conditions and age will affect the way carrots taste.
E. The best way to judge if a carrot sis ready to be harvested is by its color.
F. And they contain a lot of carotene (胡萝卜素), which the body make into vitamin A.
G. Many people do not know that carrots can be grown during the winter months.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
阅读下面短文, 从短文后各题所给的四个选项 (A、B、C和D) 中, 选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项, 并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
It was in my high school science class. I was doing a task in front of the classroom with my favorite shirt on.
A came. "Nice shirt," I smiled from ear to ear. Then another voice said, "That shirt belonged to my dad. Greg's mother works for my family. We were going to that shirt away, but gave it to her ." I was speechless. I wanted to hide.
I my shirt in the back of the closet and told my mom what had happened. She then dialed her , "I will no longer work for your family," she told him. That night, Mom told my dad that she couldn’t clean anymore; she knew her life's was something greater.
The next morning she with the personnel manager at the Board of Education. He told her that without a proper education she could not teach. So Mom decided to a university.
After the first year in college, she went back to the personnel manager. He said, "You are , aren't you? I think I have a for you as a teacher's assistant. This opportunity deals with children who are mentally challenged with little or no chance of .” Mom accepted the opportunity very .
For almost five years, as a teacher's assistant, she saw teacher after teacher give up on the children and quit, feeling . Then one day, the personnel manager and the principal in her classroom. The principal said, "We have watched how you the children and how they communicate with you and admire your hard-working over the last five years. We are all in that you should be the teacher of this class."
My mom spent more than 20 years there. her career, she was voted Teacher of the Year. All of this came about because of the comment made in my classroom that day. Mom showed me how to handle __ situations and never give up.
1.A. noise B. voice C. sound D. tune
2.A. get B. take C. carry D. throw
3.A. otherwise B. anyhow C. instead D. actually
4.A. settled B. pushed C. sent D. stuck
5.A. teacher B. employer C. director D. adviser
6.A. support B. encouragement C. purpose D. victory
7.A. went B. stayed C. worked D. met
8.A. visit B. continue C. attend D. prepare
9.A. serious B. cautious C. careful D. responsible
10.A. career B. duty C. position D. part
11.A. learning B. judging C. obeying D. imagining
12.A. patiently B. eagerly C. successfully D. skillfully
13.A. upset B. frightened C. guilty D. ashamed
14.A. looked up B. went up C. took up D. showed up
15. A. believe B. protect C. treat D. receive
16.A. spirit B. intention C. action D. attempt
17.A. discussion B. argument C. disagreement D. agreement
18.A. At B. During C. On D. With
19.A. worthless B. thoughtless C. hopeless D. helpless
20.A. challenging B. different C. dangerous D. strange
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（不多于3个词）或括号内单词的正确形式，并把答案写在答题卡上的相应位置。
Louis invited his friends to lunch one day. He was cooking some delicious food in the kitchen. Suddenly, he 1. (find) that he had run out of salt. So Louis called to his son, “Go to the village and buy some salt, but pay a fair price for it: neither too much 2. too little.”
His son looked surprised. “I can understand why I shouldn’t pay too much, Father, but if I can pay less, 3. not save a bit of money?”
“That would be a very 4. (reason) thing to do in a big city, but it could destroy a small village like ours,” Louis said.
Louis’s guests, 5. had heard their conversation, asked why they should not buy sale more cheaply if they could. Louis replied, “The only reason why a man would sell sale 6. a lower price would be that he was desperate for money. And anyone who took advantage of that situation would be showing a lack of respect for the sweat and struggle of the man who worked very hard to produce 7. .”
“But such a small thing couldn’t 8. (possible) destroy a village.”
“In the beginning, there was only 9. very small amount of unfairness in the world, but everyone added a little, always 10. (think) that it was only small and not very important, and look where we have ended up today.”
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的短文。短文中共有10处错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏词符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分
Li Hua is a senior three student who devote himself to his lessons every day. Last Saturday, as usual, he went to several courses. In the evening, he studies at home until deep into the night. He was too sleepy and tired that he couldn’t work effectively. In Sunday morning, Li Hua was about to study when his father came up and advised him to have a break. Soon they had good idea. They bought a kite which they liked it very much and then the family went to the suburbs where Li Hua enjoyed himself fly the kite. The family had a picnic together but felt very relaxed in the open air. On Monday, Li Hua was energetic and actively in class. He said it was only why he had a better weekend.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
假如你是中学生李华，你校外教Mary女士近期准备回英国度假，为此，你班同学准备开一个晚会为她送行。请你根据以下提示，用英语写一封邀请信。
对她的教学表示感谢。
时间：本周日晚上7：30开始，预计持续1个小时。
地点：高三10班教室
活动：唱英文歌，送鲜花等
注意：1. 词数100左右。
2. 开头和结尾已经给出，不计入总词数。
3. 可适当发挥，使行文连贯。
Dear Mary,
We hear that you’ll return to the United Kingdom on a holiday soon.
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
Yours truly,
Li Hua
难度: 中等查看答案及解析