Every night for a year, Neil Simons quietly went out of his house. He wanted to “talk” to an owl (猫头鹰)settling for the night at the end of his garden. He made owl cries like a real wild owl and was happy to hear the bird “hooting (大声叫嚣)” back to him.
Last year Fred Cornes moved in next door. He heard an owl hooting and answered back. For 12 months the neighbors got into the back gardens of their homes, thinking they were talking with nature. Mr. Simmons kept a diary of all his talks with his bird friend. They would both be out again tonight if it wasn’t for a chance talk between their wives.
Mr. Simmons said. “My wife Kim was telling Fred’s wife Wendy about my owl watching and described how I got the birds to boot back. She said, ‘That’s funny — that’s just what Fred has been doing.’ Then the penny dropped, I felt such a fool when I found out. The trouble is that owl calls aren’t exactly the same and it’s easy to make a mistake.”
Mr. Cornes said, “I’m really flattered (过奖). I didn’t know I sounded so real. I love nature and I couldn’t resist hooting at the owls. I was very excited when they hooted back. I’m sorry that I was fooling my neighbor who was fooling me.”
1.After the talk between the wives, the two men would probably _________ .
A. stop observing owls B. not stay up hooting again
C. not enter the back garden again D. make no mistakes about wild owl cries
2.“Then the penny dropped.” most probably means “Then __________.”
A. I understood B. everybody knew about it
C. I heard the noise D. no money was paid
3.Mr. Simmons felt upset about the whole thing because __________.
A. all his efforts seemed to be meaningless B. his wife let out his secret by chance
C. garden owls hooted so differently D. Fred had been doing the same
4.The text suggests that __________.
A. Nail seldom heard natural owl calls B. the owl never hooted back to Neil
C. Fred was always good at pleasing owls D. owl watching is no longer interesting to Fred
Some say everyday miracles(奇迹) are predestined(注定的)----the right time for the appointed
meeting. And it can happen anywhere.
In 2001, 11-year-old Kevin Stephan was a bat boy for his younger brother's Little League team in
Lancaster, New York. It was an early evening in late July. Kevin was standing on the grass away from the plate, where another youngster was warming up for the next game. Swinging his bat back and forth, giving it all the power an elementary school kid could give. The boy brought the bat back hard and hit Kevin in the chest. His heart stopped.
When Kevin fell to the ground, the mother of one of the players rushed out of the stands to his aid.
Penny Brown hadn't planned to be there that day, but at the last minute, her shift(换班)at the hospital had been changed to see her son’s performance. She was given the night off. Penny bent over the senseless boy, his face already starting to turn blue, and giving CPR, breathing into his mouth and giving chest compressions. And he revived in the end.
After his recovery, he became a volunteer junior firefighter, learning some of the emergency first-aid
techniques that had saved his life. He studied hard in school and was saving money for college by working as a dishwasher in a local restaurant in his spare time.
Kevin, now 18, was working in the kitchen when he heard people screaming, customers in confusion,
employees rushing toward a table. He hurried into the main room and saw a woman there, her face turning blue, her hands at her throat. She was choking.
Quickly Kevin stepped behind her, wrapped his arms around her and clasped his hands. Then, using
skills he'd first learned in Scouts. The food that was trapped in the woman's throat was freed. The color began to return to her face.
"The food was stuck. I couldn't breathe," she said. She thought she was dying. "I was very frightened."
Who was the woman?
Penny Brown.
1.The author wrote the passage to show us that_______.
A. miracles are predestined and they can happen anywhere
B. whoever helps you in trouble will get a reward one day
C. God will help those who give others a helping hand
D. miracles won’t come without any difficulty sometimes
2.Which of the following statements is True of Kevin Stephan?
A. He was hit on the face by a boy and almost lost his life
B. He was a volunteer junior firefighter, teaching the players first-aid skills
C. He worked part-time in a local restaurant to save money for college
D. He saved Penny Brown though he didn’t really know how to deal with food choke
3.Why did Penny Brown change her shift and was given the night off that night?
A. She was invited to give the players directions
B. She volunteered to give medical services
C. She was a little worried about his son’s safety
D. She came to watch her son’s game and cheered him
4.The underlined word “revived”(paragraph3) most likely means______.
A. came back to life B. became worse C. failed D. moved
5.When Kevin knew the woman was Penny Brown, probably he first felt _____.
A. happy B. surprised C. sad D. worried
It is a typical case. A young professional has just moved to a new city. She is very active in her new job but wishes to meet people socially outside of work. How does she do this？
Signing up for a night class is always a good starting point. Not only is it an ideal way to meet like-minded people，it can also be a great new learning experience. Pubs and clubs can be a good meeting place but can be a bit hard if you are on your own.
Join a gym
GL-14 health club in Manchester city centre is a gym which also has lots of member activities outside the gym from charity fashion shows to dinner dances giving members a chance to socialize away from the treadmill（繁忙的工作）. Or if you want a gym with a difference，try a“Green Gym”for people who want to exercise but wish to be outdoors and doing something that will benefit the environment at the same time. The“work out”could involve such activities as practical conservation or gardening work. It’s a great way to get people’s heart and muscle working. And many agree that meeting other people and having a matter and a laugh is a big attraction of the scheme.
Reading groups
In the Reading Groups，Jenny Hartley suggested that there may be as many as 50，000 people in reading groups in the UK. They range from informal groups of friends or colleagues who meet in someone’s home or at the local pub，to discuss a book. If you want something a bit more structured，lots of libraries have reading groups and could have a broader group of members.
Statistics
The BBC recently conducted a survey called Going solo：single life in the 21st century. You can look at the overall results or search by area. It found that：
*69％ of people thought that the gym was a good place to meet new
*Pubs or clubs were considered to be good meeting places by 58％ of people in the UK
*68％ thought that work was a good place to meet people
*72％ thought that internet chat was not an ideal way to meet people
1.“Green Gym”in Paragraph 3 refers to an activity in which you can________.
A．have night classes with like-minded people
B．do something good for the environment on your own
C．discuss a book with other members at a pub
D．benefit the environment while doing outdoor exercise
2.Which of the following is a Green Gym activity？
A．Gardening work. B．Chatting on the Internet.
C．A charity fashion show. D．A dinner dance away from the treadmill.
3.What’s the most popular place to meet new people outside of work？
A．Pubs or clubs. B．The Internet. C．The working place. D．The gym.
请认真阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
I was caught in the war and put to prison．I was sure that I was to be killed，I became terribly nervous．I reached in my pockets to see if there were any cigarettes(香烟)，which had 1__ their search．I found one and because of my 2hands，I could only get it to my lips.But I had no 3．
I looked 4the bars(铁栏)at my jailer(狱警)．He did not make eye contact with me．I called out to him,“Have you got a light?” He looked at me，and came over to 5my cigarette．
As he came close and lit the match，his eyes met with mine．At that moment，I smiled I don't know 6I did that，Perhaps it was 7，perhaps it was because，when you get very close，one to another，it is very hard not to 8．In any case，I smiled．It was 9a spark(火花)jumped across the distance between our two hearts．I know he didn't want to，but my smile jumped through the bars and caused a smile on his lips．He lit my cigarette but stayed near，looking at me 10_ in the eyes and continuing to smile．
I kept smiling at him，now 11of him as a person and not just a jailer．And his looking at me seemed to have a new 12，too．“Do you have kids?” he asked．
“Yes，here，here．”I took out my wallet and nervously searched for the pictures of my family．He, too，took out the pictures of his family and began to talk about his 13and hopes for them．My eyes were filled with 14．I said that I feared that I'd never see my family again，never have the chance to see them grow up．Tears came to his eyes，too．
Suddenly， 15，he unlocked my cell(牢房)and silently led me out．Out of the prison，quietly and by 16routes，out of the town．There，at the edge of town，he set me 17．And without another word，he turned back toward the town．
My life was 18by a smile．
Yes, the smile—the unaffected，unplanned，natural connection between people．I really believe that if that part of you and that part of me could 19each other，we wouldn’t be enemies．We couldn’t have 20or envy or fear．
1.A. avoided B.escaped C.followed D.prevented
2.A.interacting B.trying C.shaking D.upsetting
3.A.energy B.strength C.daylight D.matches
4.A.over B.through C.below D.above
5.A.1ight B.smoke C.accept D.operate
6.A.when B.where C.why D.how
7.A.embarrassment B.confidence C.disappointment D.nervousness
8.A.smile B.smoke C.call D.glare
9.A.as though B.even though C.if only D.what if
10.A.deliberately B.thankfully C.directly D.immediately
11.A．certain B.aware C.tired D．careful
12.A．motivation B.belief C.response D．meaning
13.A．plans B.procedure C.accomplishment D.concern
14.A．admiration B.shame C.tears D.ambition
15.A．without difficulty B.without another word C.with reason D.with safety
16.A．1eft B.front C.back D.right
17.A．out B.up C.off D.free
18.A．saved B.inspired C.delivered D.approached
19.A．realise B.adapt C.comfort D.recognize
20.A．love B.sympathy C.hatred D.worry
---Jack didn’t pass the examination last week.
---_______? He had been working so hard at his lessons.
A. What for B. Pardon C. Did he D.How come
The little boy still needs the _____ 30 dollars to do with the things _____.
A. remaining; remained to be settled B. remaining; remaining to be settled
C.remained; remained to settle D. remained; remianing to settle
