Thirteen-year-old Madison Williams was studying in her bedroom when Leigh Williams, her mother, told her that a little boy fell into a septic tank(化粪池）and no one could reach him.
Madison and Leigh ran to a neighbor's yard, where they found the boy's worried mother and other adults surrounding the tank opening. It stuck out a few inches above the ground and was 11 inches in width-slightly wider than a basketball-with a hatch(盖子)that had been moved unnoticed. The two-year-old boy had slipped in and was drowning in four feet of waste water inside the eight-feet-deep tank.
Madison surveyed the situation. She was the only one who could fit through the small hole. Without hesitation, she told the adults, "Lower me in. Inside, the tank was dark, and the air was smelly . In the process , she jammed her left wrist against a hidden pole , injuring the muscles in her wrist so severely that the hand was left useless.
Rather than tending to her injury ,Madison tried to feel the underwater boy. Minutes went by before she saw the outline of his foot. Madison shot her good hand out and grasped the foot tightly "Pull me up!" she shouted. Then, ten minutes after Madison had entered the tank, she and the boy were lifted out.
But the boy wasn't out of trouble. He had lacked Oxygen long enough that he wasn't breathing. He was placed on his side, and an adult hit him hard on the back. It was only when Madison heard him cry that she knew he was all right . It took Madison longer to recover than the boy, who was taken to hospital and left hospital that same night .She, however, experienced months of painful treatment, for the injury that she had postponed tending was more severe, which, says neighbor Mary Holley, made the girl's actions all the more impressive.
1.What most likely caused the boy to fall into the septic tank?
A.The tank was very hard to be noticed.
B.The boy was curious about the unknown.
C.The hatch was not in the correct position.
D.The tank opening stood out on the ground.
2.Why did Madison take longer to recover?
A.The injury to her wrist became worse
B.She wasn't sent to hospital in time.
C.She paid all her attention to the boy.
D.Serious infection set in to her wound.
3.Which of the following can be used to best describe Madison?
A.Modest. B.Optimistic.
C.Courageous. D.Hard-working.
4.What is the text mainly about?
A.A lucky little boy. B.A terrible drowning accident.
C.A hidden septic tank. D.An admirable teen hero.
LEG CRAMPS(痉挛）AT NIGHT?
If muscle pain , cramping and stiffness (酸痛)in your legs ,back , feet or bottom are interrupting your sleep, you should know relief is available. Muscle Cramp Pain Reliever that contains eight active materials and has no known side effects can help prevent and relieve cramps and pains that are worse at night. It is sold at Aid, and CVS. Receive a free bottle when you order three (Limit 3 per order). Satisfaction guaranteed. Order now at www. LegCrampsRelief. com.
STRONG FOOT PAIN?
Do you suffer from burning or sudden and strong pain in your feet ? You should know help is available . Pain Relieving Foot Cream contains Eucalyptus Oil and Beeswax, known to relieve sharp, burning, and strong pain while also restoring skin that is severely dry, sensitive, or gets itchy(发痒的）or harmed. No known side effects. It is sold at Walgreens CVS, Rite Aid, Target and Walmart. Get a free jar when you order above two (Limit 3 per order). Get more details or order now at www.MDFootCream.com
BACK OR LEG PAIN?
Are pains down the back of your legs, or pain in your bottom or lower back making it uncomfortable to sit, walk or sleep? Leg & Back Pain Relief Cream combines seven active materials to relieve burning pains and annoying feelings. This product is not intended to treat or cure pain, but can ease painful symptoms. Stop using and get medical help if any extra bad effects like an itch bother you . It is sold at CVS , Rite Aid and Amazon . Get a free jar when you order three (Limit3 per order). Your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed! Get more details or order now at www. Leg BackCream. com.
1.Which is the function of Pain Relieving Foot Cream?
A.Repairing damaged skin B.Relieving stiffness in feet.
C.Preventing strong foot pain. D.Curing pain in lower body .
2.What do the three products have in common?
A.They are sold at the same places. B.They have satisfaction guarantees .
C.They have no known side effects. D.They offer a better deal when ordered three.
3.What type of writing does this text belong to?
A.A study. B.A direction
C.An advertisement. D.A notice.
假设你是红星中学高三(1)班学生李华。请你根据以下四幅图，给21世纪英文报写一封稿件，介绍上周你班同学邀请一位常年在学校附近拉二胡的老人参加校艺术节的过程。
注意：1. 词数不少于60;
2. 开头已给出，不计入总词数。
提示词：拉二胡 play the erhu
Last week, a special guest was invited to our annual school art festival.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
假设你是红星中学高三学生李华，你的英国朋友Chris想了解中国家庭里的家规，并请你向他介绍一条你家的家规。请给他写封回信，内容包括：
1. 这条家规的内容；
2. 这条家规对你的影响。
注意：1. 词数不少于50.
2. 开头和结尾已经给出，不计入总词数。
提示词：家规：family rules
Dear Chris,
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
A Wonder Plant
Every rainy season, the mountain gorillas (大猩猩) of Central Africa migrate to the foothills and lower parts of the Virunga Mountains to feed on bamboo. For the 650 or so that remain in the wild, it’s a vital food source. 1. Gorillas aren’t the only locals keen on bamboo. For the people near the mountains, it’s a valuable raw material used for building houses and making household items. But in the past 100 years, resources have come under increasing pressure as populations have exploded and large areas of bamboo forest have been cleared to make way for farms.
2. All over the world, the ranges of many bamboo species appear to be reducing, endangering the people and animals that depend upon them. A report published by the UN Environment Programme has revealed just how profound our ignorance of global bamboo resources is.
Bamboo is a wonder plant. Its ecological role extends beyond providing food and habitat for animals. Bamboo tends to grow in stands made up of groups of individual plants that grow from root systems. Its extensive root systems are crucial in preventing water loss and soil erosion.3. In India 25% of paper produced is made from bamboo fiber, and in Brazil, 100,000 hectares of bamboo are grown for its production. Because of its flexibility and strength, it has traditionally been used in construction. Bamboo is often the only readily available raw material for people in many developing countries.
4. Ray Townsend, vice president of the British Bamboo Society, says, “Some plants are threatened because they can’t survive in the habitat—they aren’t strong enough or there aren’t enough of them, perhaps. But bamboo can take care of itself-it is strong enough to survive if left alone.5.” When forest goes, it is transformed into something else: there isn’t anywhere for forest plants such as bamboo to grow if you create a cattle grass land.
A. Sadly, this isn’t a single story.
B. It is the physical disturbance that is the threat to bamboo.
C. Until now, bamboo has been viewed as a second-class plant.
D. Without it, their chances of survival would be reduced significantly.
E. Besides, bamboo’s most immediate significance lies in its economic value.
F. More than a billion people rely on bamboo for either their shelter or income.
G. Despite bamboo’s value in economy and ecology, its situation is all the more worrying.
That robots, automation, and software can replace people might seem obvious to anyone who’s worked in automotive manufacturing. But MIT business scholars Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee’s claim is more troubling and controversial. They believe that rapid technological change has been destroying jobs faster than it is creating them.
They believe that technology increases productivity and makes societies wealthier, but it became clear to them that the same technologies making many jobs safer, easier, and more productive were also reducing the demand for many types of human workers. Technologies like the Web, artificial intelligence, and big data are automating many routine tasks. Countless traditional white-collar jobs, such as many in the post office and in customer service, have disappeared.
As evidence, Brynjolfsson and McAfee point to a chart on which separate lines represent productivity and total employment in the United States. For years after World War II, the two lines closely tracked each other, with increases in jobs corresponding to increases in productivity. Then, beginning in 2000, the lines diverge; productivity continues to rise steadily, but employment suddenly shrinks. By 2011, a significant gap appears between the two lines, showing economic growth with no parallel increase in job creation.
United States Productivity and Employment
But are these new technologies really responsible for a decade of lackluster (无生气) job growth? David Autor, an economist at MIT who has studied the connections between jobs and technology, doubts that technology could account for such a sudden change in total employment. Moreover, he also doubts that productivity has, in fact, risen steadily in the United States in the past decade. If he’s right, it raises the possibility that poor job growth could be simply a result of a depressed economy. The sudden slowdown in job creation “is a big puzzle,” he says, “but there’s not a lot of evidence that it’s linked to computers.” “To be sure, computer technologies are changing the types of jobs available, but that is very different from saying technology is affecting the total number of jobs,” he adds. “Jobs can change a lot without there being huge changes in employment rates.”
Lawrence Katz, a Harvard economist, says that while technological changes can be painful for workers whose skills no longer match the needs of employers, no historical pattern shows these shifts leading to a net decrease in jobs over an extended period. Still, Katz doesn’t dismiss the notion that there is something different about today’s digital technologies. Though he expects the historical pattern to hold, it is “genuinely a question,” he says. “If technology disrupts enough, who knows what will happen?”
1.Which period on the chart strongly supports McAfee’s claim?
A. 1947—1967. B. 1985—1987.
C. 1997—2000. D. 2011—2013.
2.According to David Autor, the change in job growth ________.
A. is not necessarily caused by technology
B. results from a weakening economy
C. has no connection with productivity
D. affects the current types of jobs
3.What is Lawrence Katz’s attitude towards the topic?
A. Optimistic. B. Defensive.
C. Objective. D. Disapproving.
4.The main purpose of the passage is to ________.
A. show the relation between productivity and job creation
B. discuss the effect of technological advances on employment
C. argue against the wide use of artificial intelligence
D. explain the impact of technologies on productivity
