The snow was falling. The schools were over earlier than usual, but much to my surprise my appointment wasn’t canceled. And so I went, feeling especially heroic. Snow or no snow, I’d be on time for my scheduled donation at the local blood center.
When I got there, I discovered four more “hero-types” were already there, with machines quietly collecting their lifesaving gifts. Seeing them made me believe that while I was proud to be there, I wasn’t a hero. And any silly heroic thoughts quickly disappeared as I lay back in my own donor chair and began my donation. I was ready to make a difference in the life of someone I’ d never meet.
My wife Karen is a donor, too. She’s been on the bone marrow (骨髓) list for fifteen years, ever since she signed up to provide bone marrow to a child. That little girl died before Karen’s bone marrow could help her, but Karen was called again recently as it turned out she might be a match for someone else. The caller asked Karen if she’d still be willing to become a bone marrow donor. “Yes,” she said and then immediately began answering questions in preparation for the pages of paperwork to follow. It was a race against time. I wish I could say this race was won, but again it wasn’t.
Last week Karen gave blood and next week I’ll make my usual donation. I’ll clear an afternoon from my schedule and call for an appointment. Whatever blood product they need whole, I’ll gladly give. I don’t know whose life my donation may affect, but it really doesn’t matter. And sadly, while so few among us actually take the time to donate, Karen and I always will.
1.What can be inferred about the author from the first paragraph?
A.He is quite fond of taking risks.
B.He is a man who always keeps his word.
C.The snow almost ruined his appointment.
D.He never thinks donating blood is a heroic deed.
2.What influence did other donors have on the author?
A.They changed his attitude to himself.
B.They helped him find joy in donating.
C.They made him feel it a duty to donate.
D.They strengthened his belief not to be a donor.
3.What does the passage say about Karen and her bone marrow donation?
A.She has been found a match to nobody.
B.She decided to join in it over 20 years ago.
C.She fell in trouble when she came to paperwork.
D.She has already met with two failures in donation.
4.Which of the following shows the author’s opinion?
A.More people should have become donors.
B.The donation itself should have been made easier.
C.Receivers should have been introduced to donors.
D.More blood products should have been developed.
If you’ll be taking vacation time in the coming year and plan on flying, here are some shopping tips for you. Those who fly first class and don’t care what airline tickets cost are excused from this lesson.
When to buy
If you are shopping for domestic (国内的) flights, check prices on Tuesday afternoons. This is an old tip but still useful because most US carriers continue to release sales on Tuesday morning, and competitors quickly drop their fares to match the better deals.
When to fly
Weekdays continue to be generally cheaper times to fly than weekends for most flights. In the US, the cheapest days are typically Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. A good itinerary (Ðг̱í) for the expensive US spring break travel period is Tuesday to Saturday; it will save you money over weekend-to-weekend travel.
Where to fly
We continue to see good deals to Boston and Denver and more and more nice prices to Chicago, Seattle and Washington, D.C. As for Europe, there have been surprising deals throughout the fall and those will continue into the winter.
Direct vs. connecting flights
Compare the price of direct with connecting flights. Sometimes adding a stop to your route will save you money. An example: an Francisco to Raleigh/Durham: $553 direct, $362 one-stop.
You’d better think twice about the direct flight for San Francisco to Raleigh.
Compare, compare, compare
Stifle the impulse to go to your favorite airline site to purchase tickets without doing any comparison. Example: Let’s say you want to fly from New York to London and figure your favorite US legacy carrier will get you there for the best price. Airline price: $554 round-trip.
However, the comparison site also showed a cheaper flight from the same legacy carrier ($521). See what you’re missing when you fail to compare?
1.When can you possibly find the best price for flights within the US?
A.On Monday morning. B.On Tuesday morning.
C.On Tuesday afternoon. D.On Sunday morning.
2.What does the underlined phrase “stifle the impulse” in the last but one paragraph mean?
A.Feel free to do something. B.Hold off on doing something.
C.Get well prepared for something. D.Make quick decision on something.
3.Who is the text intended for?
A.Those who usually choose first class for their flights.
B.Those who want to find suggestions on where to fly.
C.Those who are traveling during the spring break.
D.Those who are looking for the best airline ticket prices.
Scientists think they have the answer to a puzzle that confused even Charles Darwin： How flowers evolved and spread to become the most important plants on earth．
Flowering plants, or angiosperms (被子植物), make up about 90% of all living plant species,but how they did this has been a mystery. New research suggests it is due to genome (基因组) size．
Hundreds of millions of years ago,the earth was dominated by ferns (蕨类)and conifers(针叶树) - they were the main plants on the earth． Then, about 150 million years ago， the first flowering plants appeared on earth. They quickly spread to all parts of the world．
Why angiosperms were successful and diverse on earth has been debated for centuries.Charles Darwin himself called it a "mystery", fearing this apparent sudden change might challenge his theory of evolution．
Kevin Simonin from San Francisco State University in California US and other researchers analyzed data held by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew， on the genome size of hundreds of plants, including flowering plants, gymnosperms (a group of plants including conifers) and ferns. They then compared genome size with anatomical (结构上的) features. This provides "strong evidence" that the success and rapid spread of flowering plants around the world is due to "genome downsizing"．
By reducing the size of the genome, which is contained within the nucleus (核) of the cell, plants can build smaller cells. The researchers say genome-downsizing happened only in the angiosperms, and this was "a necessary condition for rapid growth rates among land plants"．
1.What do we know about angiosperms？ ______
A.They are superior in number among all living plant species．
B.They controlled the earth for hundreds of millions of years．
C.They challenge Charles Darwin's theory．
D.They are extinct plants in the world．
2.It can be implied that ______ ．
A.Simonin works in the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
B.Simonin is probably an American biologist
C.Darwin was confident of his theory of evolution
D.Darwin succeeded in figuring out the flower evolution
3.What contributed to the success and diversity of angiosperms？ ______
A.The weaker ferns and conifer．
B.The larger nucleus．
C.The stronger cell．
D.The smaller genome．
4.What can be a suitable title of this passage？ ______
A.Why were gymnosperms successful on earth？
B.What puzzle confused even Charles Darwin？
C.Why angiosperms dominated the earth？
D.When angiosperms outnumbered conifers and Ferns？
The development of a V-shaped fuel-efficient airplane design known as the Flying-V will be funded by Dutch national carrier KLM Royal Dutch Airlines．
To improve the sustainability （持续性） of air travel, the Flying-V was developed by researchers at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, also known as TU Delft．
Its futuristic design puts the passenger cabin into the wings. It's said the plane will use 20% less fuel than the Airbus A350-9-while carrying a similar number of passengers．
"In recent years, KLM has developed as a pioneer in sustainability within its airline industry," said Pieter Elbers, CEO and president of KLM. "We are proud of our progressive relationship with TU Delft"．
"Air travel is contributing about 2.5% of global CO₂ emissions (排放物)， and the industry is still growing, so we really need to look at more sustainable airplanes," said TU Delft project leader Roelof Vos．
"We cannot electrify planes, as electrified airplanes become way too heavy and you can't fly people across the Atlantic on electric airplanes- not now, not in 30 years," Vos said. "So we have to come up with new technologies that reduce fuel burning in a different way."
"We've been flying traditional airplanes for decades now, but it seems like they are reaching the limit in terms of energy efficiency," he said."The new design actively contributes to the lift of the airplane, and creates less air drag."
The plane's increased fuel efficiency is largely a result of its design, Vos explained．
The researchers hope to fly a model this September, Vos said, while the new cabin design will be open to the public at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in October. The completed plane is expected to enter service between 2040 and 2050．
1.What can we infer from the text？ ______
A.Flying-V was developed by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines．
B.Researchers at TU Delft have raised enough money．
C.20% of the passengers will sit in Flying-V's wings．
D.KLM plays an important role in sustainability．
2.Why sustainable planes are needed？ ______
A.To save electricity．
B.To reduce global CO₂ emissions．
C.To make air travel more affordable．
D.To develop air industry．
3.How does the Flying-V save energy？ ______
A.It's the V-shaped design that makes a big difference．
B.The idea of electrified airplanes is applied to its development．
C.It depends on a kind of more efficient fuel．
D.Its futuristic design leads to a limited number of passengers．
4.What's the purpose of the text？ ______
A.To instruct us the importance of environment protection．
B.To inspire us to explore the unknown area of technology．
C.To inform us of the fuel-efficient Flying-V．
D.To appeal to us to raise fund for technology．
Growing up in England with a British father and a Chinese mother, I've enjoyed food from both countries ever since I was able to hold a knife and fork and chopsticks!
Mum has sweet memories of the food from her home town in Sichuan, and often cooks spicy dishes.Thanks to this， Dad has come to love hot pot! But there are still some dishes that Dad dare not try even after many years of marriage to my mother. Even today he still does not take to eating things like chicken feet．
But I enjoy that sort of food myself. Last week, I went to the butcher's and asked, "Do you have pigs' ears？" "No," the butcher said, pulling at his own ears, "just these ordinary ones." He must have thought I was joking．
Dad can cook a super "full English breakfast" of bacon, eggs, beans, sausages and toast with butter. Mum and I just have to find a way to get him into the kitchen! He also does a typical Sunday roast.We all love roast beef and vegetables．
I'll never forget my first visit to China. Mum encouraged me to try different kinds of food. But just when I thought I could deal with all Chinese food, I came across stinky tofu, a horrible grey thing that looked and smelt like a burnt sports shoe. I gathered all my courage to take a bite and was amazed to find it wasn't so bad. It reminded me of blue cheese, a similarly strong smelling type of food you either love or hate. Maybe I'll fall in love with stinky tofu, someday.
People say that one man's meat is another man's poison, but I feel at home with food from both my cultures．
1.What can we learn from this passage？ ______
A.I have enjoyed the food from two cultures since a little child．
B.Because of my Mum， Dad loves all kinds of Chinese food．
C.We all like roast beef and vegetables except Mum．
D.I have fallen in love with the stinky tofu now．
2.What kind of person did the butcher probably think the author was？ ______
A.Generous． B.Mean．
C.Humorous． D.Serious．
3.What does the underlined part in paragraph 2 probably mean？ ______
A.Resist． B.Like．
C.Allow． D.Mind．
4.What's the passage mainly about？ ______
A.Comparing two different cultures．
B.Trying some different foods．
C.Different eating habits in China and Britain．
D.The eating experiences of a mixed-race family．
Modern people are paying more attention to exercise and many celebrities are leading the trend， while in ancient China there were also many fitness lovers．
Lu You： chosho
As a noted productive poet， Lu You from the Song Dynasty wrote more than 20，000 poems in his lifetime． According to historical records， he lived to 85 years old， the longest living poet in the Song Dynasty．
However， Lu You was weak as a child． During his later years， Lu You started the body building called chosho． Chosho was quite popular in ancient times， which was not roaring or whistling， but an elegant， serious and skillful health method． People opened their body， breathed in deep and then breathed out with a long and loud cry in rhyme．
Su Dongpo： long run， five kilometers per day
The great Song Dynasty poet Su Dongpo， or Su Shi preferred to take long runs， and he thought that only by moving your body regularly could you have a strong body．
He would slow down when he breathed hard， and speed up when his breath balanced． Su Dongpo would run until he was sweaty， hot， blood circulating and limbs feeling refreshed．
Huyan Zan： cold bath
There was an annual festival in November during the early Tang Dynasty （618-907）called "Pouring cold"， where a group of strong men， nearly bare， sang and danced in the street while crowds poured cold water on them． The festival， a sacrifice to god， was thought to be helpful to body building．
During the Song Dynasty， Huyan Zan recovered the tradition by removing the singing and dancing parts and keeping the pouring cold water part， as a way to exercise his kids' physical bodies．
1.What would Lu You do when doing chosho exercise？ ______
A.Scream after opening his body．
B.Make a long and loud roar．
C.Whistle for a long time．
D.Breathe deep and shout with a rhyme．
2.While Su Dongpo was running， he ______ ．
A.adjusted his running speed according to his breath
B.kept running at a high speed all the way
C.would run until his body was tired
D.practiced Qigong during the course of running
3.Why did Huyan Zan have his kids do a cold bath？ ______
A.To teach them the hardship of life．
B.To honor his general-inherited family．
C.To make them have a healthy body．
D.To expect them to have a long life．
