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One of the qualities that most people admire in others is the willingness to admit one's mistakes. It is extremely hard sometimes to say a simple thing like “I was wrong about that，”and it is even harder to say，“I was wrong，and you were right about that.”
I had an experience recently with someone admitting to me that he had made a mistake fifteen years ago. He told me he had been the manager of a certain grocery store in the neighborhood where I grew up，and he asked me if I remembered the egg cartons (箱子)．Then he related an incident and I began to remember clearly the incident he was describing.
I was about eight years old at the time，and I had gone into the store with my mother to do the weekly grocery shopping. On that day，I must have found my way to the dairy (乳品的) food department where the incident took place.
There must have been a special sale on eggs that day because there was an impressive display of eggs in dozen and halfdozen cartons. The cartons were stacked(堆放) three or four feet high.I must have stopped in front of a display to admire the stacks. Just then a woman came by pushing her grocery cart and knocked off the stacks of cartons. For some reason，I decided it was up to me to put the display back together，so I went to work.
The manager heard the noise and came rushing over to see what had happened.When he appeared，I was on my knees examining some of the cartons to see if any of the eggs were broken，but to him it looked as though I was the criminal.He severely scolded me and wanted me to pay for any broken eggs.I protested(抗议)my innocence and tried to explain，but it did no good. Even though I quickly forgot all about the incident，obviously the manager did not.
1.The author was ________ when he wrote this article.
A．about 8 B．about 18
C．about 23 D．about 15
2.Who should have been blamed for knocking off the stacks of cartons?
A．The author. B．The manager.
C．The woman. D．The author's mother.
3.When the manager scolded him，the author ________.
A．was frightened and cried
B．felt the manager was right
C．did not say anything
D．tried to explain
4.It can be inferred that the author ________.
A．regrets arguing with the manager for what he didn't do
B．has forgiven the manager for what he did to him fifteen years ago
C．would like to tell people never to be fooled by an egg sale
D．expects the woman to say sorry to him for the mistake she made
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Rachel Carson，a wellknown nature author in America，was happiest writing about the strength and stability of natural systems.Her books mainly described the inter connectedness of nature and all living things.
Completing Silent Spring took Carson four years.First published in The New Yorker in June 1962，the book alarmed readers across America.It described how DDT entered the food chain and accumulated (堆积) in the fatty tissues of animals，including human beings，and caused cancer and genetic damage.
Carson begins by describing exactly these effects in the first chapter，creating strong images and drawing the readers in.As the book continues，she gives various examples of how insecticides(杀虫剂) are not only unsuccessful，but actually very costly and damaging.She also explains about the biological controls which are less expensive and much more efficient.
A single application on a crop，she wrote，killed insects for weeks and months，and not only the targeted insects but countless more，and remained poisonous in the environment even after it was washed out by rainwater.Carson concluded that DDT and other pesticides had definitely harmed birds and animals and had destroyed the entire world's food supply.The book's most famous chapter，A Fable for Tomorrow，described a nameless American town where all life—from fish to birds to apple blossoms to human children—had been “silenced” by the harmful effects of DDT.
The most important effect of Silent Spring，though，was a new public awareness that nature was so easily destroyed by human intervention(干预)．Rachel Carson had made a brave proposal：that，at times，technological progress is so basically at odds with(与……不一致) natural processes that it must be prevented.
1.What are Rachel Carson's books mainly concerned about?
A．The relationship between man and nature.
B．The balance of natural systems.
C．The interconnection of nature and living things.
D．The pollution of the environment.
2.According to the text，Silent Spring________.
A．didn't draw the readers' attention when first published
B．mainly describes people's quiet lives in an American town
C．effectively tells people how to keep the balance of nature
D．showed the harmful effects of DDT on nature
3.Rachel Carson thinks that the more efficient way to kill insects is to use ________.
A．DDT
B．human controls
C．biological controls
D．technical progress
4.The publication of Silent Spring makes people ________.
A．understand the author's outstanding writing talent
B．realize the importance of technical progress
C．aware of the necessity of environmental protection
D．rethink the harmful effects of developing industry
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Outside her shabby cottage，old Mrs. Tailor was hanging out laundry on a wire line，unaware that some children lay hidden in the leaves of a nearby tree watching her every move. They were determined to find out if she really was a witch.
They watched as she took a broomstick to clean the dirt from her stone steps.But，much to their disappointment，she did not mount the broomstick and take flight.Suddenly，the old lady's work was interrupted by the cackling of her hen－a signal that an egg had been laid in the warm nest on top of the haystack.
The old broomstick was put aside as she hobbled off towards the haystack followed by Sooty，a black cat she had rescued from a fox trap some time back.With only three legs，it was hard for Sooty to keep up with the old lady.The cat provided proof－ the children were sure that only a witch would own a black cat with three legs.
There，standing on a wooden box，was Mrs.Tailor，stretching out to gather her precious egg.Taking the egg in one of her hands，she began to climb down when，without warning，the box broke and the old lady fell.
“We have to go and help her，”whispered Amy.
“What if it is a trick？” replied Ben.
“Don't be silly，Ben.If she were a witch，she would have turned us into frogs already，” reasoned Meg.“Come on Amy，let's go.”The girls climbed down the tree and ran all the way to the haystack.
Approaching carefully，they could see a wound on the old lady's face.She had knocked her head on a stone and her ankle was definitely broken.“Go and get Dad，” Amy yelled to her brother.“Tell him about the accident.”
The boys did not need another excuse to leave.They ran as fast as they could for help，hoping that Mrs.Tailor would not wake and turn the girls into frogs.
1.Why were the children hiding in the tree?
A．They wanted to watch Mrs.Tailor do her housework closely.
B．They were playing a hideandseek game.
C．They wanted to find out if the rumors about Mrs.Tailor were true.
D．They were pretending to be spies.
2.Mrs.Tailor stopped sweeping when________.
A．her front steps were clean
B．she noticed the children in the tree
C．she was ready to take a flight
D．she heard the hen cackling
3.Ben did not rush to help Mrs.Tailor because________.
A．he thought that she could be tricking them
B．he knew that they should not have been in the tree
C．he did not see the old lady fall down
D．he was afraid of the threelegged cat
4.Which of these old sayings best suits the story's lesson for us?
A．Make hay while the sun shines.
B．Never judge a book by its cover.
C．People in glasshouses should not throw stones.
D．A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Last fall，beekeepers from states with warm climates began to report a sudden loss of honey bees.Losses were reported in twentyfour states and spread to Canada.Today，some beekeepers say thirty percent to ninety percent of their honey bees are gone.Food price could go up as a result.And some beekeeping businesses have failed.
Many kinds of plants，trees and grasses need bees to pollinate them.Bees gather nectar from flowers during this process.The liquid gives them food and material to make honey.As the bees land on flowers，their bodies pick up and drop off particles of pollen(花粉)．Most flowering plants need pollination to reproduce.
Honey bees can die during the winter.But few dead bees have been found this time.Instead，the bees seem to have disappeared.Experts call the condition “colony collapse disorder”．
Agriculture Department official Caird Rexroad said the colony collapse disorder threatens about fifteen billion dollars worth of the country's farm economy.Mr.Rexroad commented at a hearing of a House of Representatives agriculture subcommittee.
Mr.Rexroad said the cause of the sudden loss of bees was not clear.The number of honey bees had already fallen before the colony collapse disorder began.
Experts say the varroa mite is at least partly responsible for the earlier decrease in honey bees.The mite is a tiny creature that feeds on honey bees.It may play a part in colony collapse disorder by carrying bee viruses.Or the problem may be caused by other disease and weather conditions.
Diana CoxFoster of Pennsylvania State University is part of the scientific group.Ms.CoxFoster says the nation needs honey bees that can defend themselves better against disease and insects.The recent mapping of most of the honey bees' genes offers the hope of a stronger honey bee some day.
1.Some people have failed in beekeeping businesses because ________.
A．they want to make more money by doing something else
B．the climates were too warm to raise bees last fall
C．too many bees have disappeared for no reason
D．more and more people are beginning to raise bees
2.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to this passage?
A．It is normal that some bees die in the cold season.
B．The plants can't live without bees at all.
C．Many bees have died because of the bad weather.
D．Researchers have found the reason of the death of bees.
3.The passage is mainly to tell us that ________.
A．the honey bees are important to plants，trees and grasses
B．many Americans are surprised at the loss of honey bees
C．strong honey bees are in great need in America
D．something has happened to American honey bees
难度: 中等查看答案及解析