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Raised in a fatherless home，my father was extremely tightfisted towards us children. His attitude didn’t soften as I grew into adulthood and went to college. I had to ride the bus whenever I came home. Though the bus stopped about two miles from home，Dad never met me，even in severe weather. If I grumbled，he’d say in his loudest father-voice，“That’s what your legs are for!”
The walk didn’t bother me as much as the fear of walking alone along the highway and country roads. I also felt less than valued that my father didn’t seem concerned about my safety. But that feeling was canceled one spring evening.
It had been a particularly difficult week at college after long hours in labs. I longed for home. When the bus reached the stop，I stepped off and dragged my suitcase to begin the long journey home.
A row of hedge（树篱）edged the driveway that climbed the hill to our house. Once I had turned off the highway to start the last lap of my journey，I always had a sense of relief to see the hedge because it meant that I was almost home. On that particular evening，the hedge had just come into view when I saw something gray moving along the top of the hedge，moving toward the house. Upon closer observation，I realized it was the top of my father’s head. Then I knew，each time I’d come home，he had stood behind the hedge，watching，until he knew I had arrived safely. I swallowed hard against the tears. He did care，after all.
On later visits，that spot of gray became my watchtower. I could hardly wait until I was close enough to watch for its secret movement above the greenery. Upon reaching home，I would find my father sitting innocently in his chair. “So! My son，it’s you!” he’d say，his face lengthening into pretended surprise.
I replied，“Yes，Dad，it’s me. I’m home.”
1.What does the underlined word “grumbled” in Paragraph 1 probabl
y mean .A． Accepted happily.
B． Explained clearly.
C． Agreed willingly.
D． Spoke unhappily.
2.What made the author feel upset was ______.
A． the tiredness after long hours in labs
B． the fear of seeing something moving
C． the feeling of being less than valued
D． the loneliness of riding the bus home
3.The author’s father watched behind the hedge because ______.
A． he was concerned about his son’s safety
B． he wanted to help his son build up courage
C． he didn’t want to meet his son at the doorway
D． he didn’t think his son was old enough to walk alone
4.Which of the following can be the best title for the text
A． My Father’s Secret.
B． The Life of My father.
C． Terrible Journey Home.
D． Riding Bus Alone.
难度: 困难查看答案及解析
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The human body is designed to move. But modern lifestyles and office jobs rarely give us the chance to move around. As we know. we're while we're eating; we sit in the car and we sit while we watch TV. And many of us sit for many hours at work.
New research shows that sitting less than three hours a day might extend your life by two years. Peter Katzmarzyk，a scientist at the University of Louisiana in the southern United States，says that sitting is ubiquitous in our lives，meaning it is something we do all the time，everywhere.
However，Mr. Katzmarzyk says that does not mean you can sit for the rest of your waking hours. He also says you may exercise often，“We can't throw away physical activity. It's extremely important. We have 60 years of research showing us that. ”
Mr. Katzmarzyk and his coi leagues are part of a new generation of researchers studying how sitting all day affects length of life. “Studies that have assessed the relationship between sitting and mortality(死亡率)or television viewing and mortality are very rare. There's only been a few of them，actually five or six now，in the last four or five years. ”They found that cutting television time to less than two hours a day could add one-point four years to life.
Luckily，change is already coming to some offices，especially in the design of desks. A “standing desk”lets people stand while they work. Another new design is called the “treadmill desk. ” A treadmill is an exercise machine that lets you walk in one place. Even some U. S. schools are beginning to experiment with desks that are part bicycle to keep children moving. That's one of the strategies that many companies are using now.
Mr. Katzmarzyk also says studying this problem has inspired his team to make a few changes in their own lives.
1.Which view agrees with the opinion of Mr. Katzmarzyk?
A． Sitting too long may help increase one's life.
B． Exercise is important and don't sit too long.
C． Watching TV is bad，but can broaden one's horizons.
D． Stopping watching TV is a necessary but hard task.
2.What does Mr. Katzmarzyk think of his study in Paragraph 4?
A． It's a ly new area of study.
B． It's a hot subject studied by experts.
C． It's a study that begins too late.
D． It's not ignored by many experts.
3.Why are the desks of all kinds designed for those who sit more?
A． To give them more comfort.
B． To improve their work efficiency.
C． To offer them the chance to exercise.
D． To seek pleasure while working.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Alaska’s Arctic lakes now freeze later and melt earlier in the year than in 1950，leaving them easy to suffer water loss from evaporation(蒸发)and possibly adding to local warming，a new study finds．The winter ice season near Barrow，Alaska，is shorter than in 1950，researchers reported Jan.30 in the journal The Cryosphere.
Lake ice is also thinner each winter．The scientists surveyed 402 lakes on the North Slope，where permafrost (permanently frozen ground)and shallow lakes dominate the areA． In 2011，the lake ice was 38 percent thinner than in 1950，and 22 percent fewer lakes froze through to their bottoms．
“When we saw the actual numbers we were shocked at how dramatic the change has been，”lead study author Cristina Surdu，of the University of Waterloo in Canada，said in a statement．Surdu and her co-authors analyzed the changes in lake—ice thickness and ice cover with satellite images and climate model simulations(satellite images are only available from 1991)．
The climate models suggest the Arctic lakes froze almost six days later and broke up about 18 days earlier in the winter of 2011 compared with the winter of 1950．“The changes in ice and the shortened winter affect Northern communities that depend on ice roads to transport goods，”Surdu saiD． For example，every winter，oil companies build roads over frozen lakes to carry supplies to Prudhoe Bay．
“The dramatic changes in lake ice may also contribute to further warming of the entire region，because open water on lakes contributes to warmer air temperatures，”Surdu saiD． The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet，for reasons that may include its layered atmosphere，which traps heat，and the loss of sea ice and snow cover，which help reflect the sun’s energy when present．
1.What does the text mainly tell us?
A． Arctic 1akes now freeze earlier and melt 1ater．
B． Alaska’s local warming is decreasing sharply．
C． Arctic lakes are losing ice．
D． Arctic lakes hold more flesh water than before．
2.According to the text，the great changes of Alaska’s Arctic lakes ________．
A． are totally beyond Surdu’s expectations
B． are completely within Surdu’s expectations
C． come as no surprise to Surdu and her co-authors
D． come as a great excitement to Surdu
3.How many days was the winter ice season of Arctic 1akes in 2011 shorter than that in 1950?
A． 6 days．
B． 12 days．
C． 18 days．
D． 24 days．
4.What is the last paragraph mainly about according to Surdu?
A． What reflects the sun’s energy．
B． How its layered atmosphere traps heat．
C． Why our planet is warming．
D． Why the Arctic region is becoming warmer．
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Stop wasting your time thinking of reasons for your failures and shortcomings. Instead，realize that the seeds of success were planted within you when you were born. Only you have the power to make those seeds grow.
The seeds，and the power to grow them，are contained in the most awesome machine ever created: the human mind. Success is a choice and not a chance. You were born a winner. You were born rich. You can be a success if only you make the right choice.
You cannot be successful without first developing your self-esteem (自信心). Your level of self-esteem is always based on the degree of control that you are able to exercise over yourself，and thus over your life. People with low self-esteem are people who do not believe that they have any power，or responsibility for their lives. They are always victims. They are leaves tossed (摇摆) by the winds of chance blown about with any sudden change in the weather.
You can exercise control over your life only to the degree that you believe you are responsible for everything that happens in your life. Failures think that everything happens by accident and chance. Successful people realize that they are responsible.
Everything happens as a result of something. If we can identify the cause，we can control the effect. We are responsible for what we choose to think and believe. One generally rises to the level that one expects. We are responsible for setting our expectations. Our success is dependent upon our level of confidence.
If you associate with positive-thinking people，you are definitely going to achieve success. On the contrary，the opposite happens. We are responsible for finding，planting，and nurturing (培育) the seeds that contain future victory，born from setbacks (挫折).
In short，in all areas of your life，whether they are financial，physical，emotional，or spiritual，you are responsible. Once you recognize this，accept it，and firmly believe it. You are on the road to success.
1.People with low self-esteem are compared to leaves because they ______.
A． can’t exercise control over themselves
B． are easily affected by windy weather
C． don’t have the power to face their fate
D． are ready to change their minds
2.Losers would think that ______.
A． success is the result of hard work
B． working hard will lead to success
C． they fail only because of bad luck
D． they don’t make efforts to succeed
3.It can be inferred from the fifth paragraph that ______.
A． setting our expectations is essential before taking action
B． knowing cause and effect is the key to future success
C． thoughts and beliefs are the result of creative mind
D． whether we will succeed depends on our attitudes
4.The last paragraph serves as ______.
A． the proof of the author’s points
B． the conclusion of the argument
C． an introduction to another topic
D． a comparison between two views
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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