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I was telling my boy Sonny the story of the hare and the tortoise. At the end I said, “Son, remember: Be slow and steady, and that will win the race. Don’t you think there’s something to learn from the tortoise?”
Sonny opened his eyes wide, “Do you mean next time when I’m entering for the 60-metre race I should wish that Billy, Tony and Sandy would all fall asleep halfway?”
I was shocked, “But the tortoise didn’t wish that the hare would fall asleep!”
“He must wish that already,” Sonny said, “Otherwise how could he be so foolish as to race with the hare? He knew very well the hare ran a hundred times faster than he himself did.”
“He didn’t have such a wish,” I insisted. “He won the race by pushing on steadily.”
Sonny thought a while. “That’s a lie,” he said. “He won it because he was lucky. If the hare didn’t happen to fall asleep, the tortoise would never win the race. He could be as steady as you like, or a hundred times steadier, but he’d never win the race. That’s for sure.”
I gave up. Today’s children are not like what we used to be. They’re just hopeless.
1.The writer argued with his son because ______________.
A.he liked tortoises while his son liked hares
B.they disagreed about whether the tortoise was foolish
C.he tried to teach his son a lesson but the son had totally different opinion
D.he liked the story of the hare and the tortoise while his son didn’t.
2.Sonny believed that the tortoise ______________.
A.won the race by his own hard working
B.took a risk by agreeing to run a race
C.was not given a fair chance in the race
D.in fact did win the race luckily
3.Billy, Tony and Sandy must be_______________.
A.boys who were unknown to Sonny’s father
B.boys who Sonny has run races with before
C.boys who Sonny has never raced with before
D.boys who Sonny did not hope to race with again
4.According to the passage, who do you think learnt a lesson? ______________.
A.The tortoise B.Sonny
C.The hare D.Sonny’s father
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Can you imagine that several hundred years ago, tomatoes were seen as toxic food in Europe?
What made Europeans believe this was John Gerard’s publication of Herbal in 1597. Gerard wrote: “The leaves and stalks of the tomato plant are toxic.” Undoubtedly, Gerard’s opinion was based on a misunderstanding of tomatoes. But his opinion was widely spread in Britain and North America for over two hundred years.
In the late 1700s, a lot of Europeans held more fears for tomatoes. A nick name for the fruit was “poison apple” because it was believed that aristocrats(贵族) got sick and died after eating them. But the actual reason was the pewter plates they used. Since tomatoes are high in acidity, when placed on the plates, the lead(铅) in the plates would dissolve. This caused many deaths. This is unluckily, no one knew this at that time. So the innocent tomatoes were picked as the killer.
Today, more than one and a half billion tons of tomatoes are produced every year around the world. Tomatoes are cooked in various ways. This healthy and tasty food finally wins its innocence(清白) back.
1.What does the underlined word “toxic” in paragraph 1 mean?
A.delicious B.nutritious(营养) C.poisonous D.safe
2.What do we know about the book Herbal?
A.It was written by an American writer. B.It was published about 400 years ago.
C.Tomatoes were described as good food. D.Chinese herbal medicine was included.
3.What’s the passage mainly about?
A.Europeans’ fears for tomatoes B.History of tomato planting
C.Why do people eat so many tomatoes D.How did the tomato prove its value
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Every spring, the cherry trees in Washington, DC take bloom(花), beginning one of the country’s loveliest celebrations, the National Cherry Blossom Festival (March 17-April 15). Book your trip now to see this lively display of pink and white in this city full of history!
Washington, DC Cherry Blossom In-Depth tour
Price: $45
Available: Mar 25- Apr 15
Period: 1Day
Highlights: Visit Washington, DC; experience the peak(高峰) period of cherry blossom (April 8-12)
Route: Guests would start to celebrate the National Cherry Blossom Festival and discover the beauty of cherry blossoms. Next, we will begin our sightseeing city tour including Lincoln Memorial, White House, US Capitol, Madam Tussauds Wax Museum, Washington Monument and International Spy Museum. Then visit the Jefferson Memorial, the best location to view the cherry blossoms. Finally, guests may board a Potomac River cruise to see the city from the water. Then tour ends.
Price Include: Ground Transportation
Service fee for the tour guide: $10/person
Admission Fees(入场费):
Destination(目的地)
Adult
Child
Senior
International Spy Museum (Optional)
$21.95
$14.95 (3-12 yrs)
$19.95 (Over 65 yrs)
Madame Tussauds Wax Museum (Optional)
$23
$17 (3-12 yrs)
$20 (Over 65 yrs)
Potomac River Cruise (Optional)
$26
$18 (3-12 yrs)
$23 (Over 65 yrs)
Note: if you would like to join in the optional(可选择的) activities, please pay the fee in cash(现金) to the tour guide. You cannot buy the tickets on your own or use City Passes. The tour guide will arrange the tickets for the group.
1.On March 25, tourists can enjoy ______.
A.the cherry blossoms in full bloom B.the anniversary celebration of the gift of trees
C.a discounted tour of a city foil of history D.the National Cherry Blossom Festival
2.The tour covers ______ tourist spots without admission fees.
A.four B.five C.seven D.eight
3.Tourists are supposed to ______.
A.pay the service fee for the tour guide B.take care of the ground transportation
C.show the City Pass at the ticket office D.choose at least one optional destination
4.It costs ______ for you and your grandpa (aged 67) to go on the tour, with the wax museum included.
A.$156 B.$143 C.$153 D.$108
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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We desire to believe that we can get fit without effort. We invent chocolate-chip cookie diets to make us thin while eating fat. We wish to get fit from doing nothing. We wish to lie in bed, think about going to the gym and then, get the body of a Greek god.
A new study from Brian Clark at Ohio University shows that sitting still, while just thinking about exercise, might make us stronger. Clark and his colleagues asked 29 volunteers and wrapped their wrists in surgical casts for a whole month. During this month, half of the volunteers thought about exercising their immobilized (使不动)wrists. For 11 minutes a day, 5 days a week, they sat completely still and focused their entire mental effort on pretending to flex their muscles. When the casts were removed, the volunteers that did mental exercises had wrist muscles that were two times stronger than those who had done nothing at all.
The idea behind the research is not a new concept-just a concept that’s often neglected in the field of neuroscience(神经科学): our bodies and our brains develop together. Even though we treat our mind and bodies as two separate things(brain vs brawn; mind vs matter), they are finally and closely connected.
Indeed, even before Brian Clark published his study, other researchers had explained links between the brain and the muscles. Ten years ago, Guang Yue at the Cleveland Clinic reported that imaginary exercise increases the strength of finger muscles by up to 35%. Just five years ago, Kai Miller at the University of Washington, showed that imaginary exercise activates the same brain areas that are activated during real exercise. Brain Clark's research adds to this body of knowledge and provides believable facts about the role of neuromuscular(神经肌肉的) pathways in strength training.
1.What's the purpose of chocolate-chip cookie diets?
A.To keep strong. B.To grow thinner. C.To keep fat. D.To have muscles
2.The experiment proves that .
A.wrapping their wrists may be quick B.showing their muscles needs efforts
C.sitting still might make us stronger D.thinking about exercise is so useful
3.Which of the following concepts is often neglected according to the passage?
A.Our mind and bodies are two separate things B.Our bodies and brains develop together
C.Our mind has a close relation to bodies D.Our mind has little effect on our brains
4.What's the best title for the passage?
A.How to grow stronger without lifting weights. B.How to carry out a muscle exercise program.
C.How to prevent muscle from growing thinner. D.How to provide pathways in strength training,
难度: 中等查看答案及解析