Today, as with so many days, I found myself stuck in a traffic jam, and I thought I’d share my little trick for keeping calm when it seems like you are creeping along（缓慢行进）．
The key to understand is that traffic jams don’t take as long as they seem to．It’s just that when we are in a hurry, and think we should be moving, but time appears to pass more than it does．To really show this, the next time you are stopped at a light that always seems to take forever to change, try to do something with your phone, your laptop, whatever you have available, and watch how much briefer the light seems．
When you enter a jam on the highway, reset your trip plan and care the time．Then, when you clear the jam, and are normally on your way again, care the distance of the jam, and the time it took to get through it．For my experience today, it took me 6 minutes to go 2 miles．Now, it happens to be mathematically convenient that your average speed on the highway is about 60 mph, or a mile per minute．So to estimate what time the jam actually cost you, just take your traffic jam passing time, and subtract（减去） the distance covered, which we know is a good estimate of the time it would have taken with no traffic jam．In my case, all that added up to 6-2=4 minutes．
Do this for every jam you are subjected to every time and watch how much less stressful they become once you understand how little time you are really losing．
1.We can infer from Paragraph 1 and 2 that ________．
A．there was no traffic jam in the past
B．modern people are under great pressure
C．time passes much faster during traffic jams
D．people in traffic jams are usually impatient
2.What does the writer suggest when caught in traffic jams?
A．Playing a trick on other drivers．
B．Figuring out how much time the jam actually cost you．
C．Doing some math problems．
D．Informing the boss about the delay．
3.The underlined phrase “subjected to” in the last paragraph probably means ________．
A．experience B．avoid
C．admit D．control
4.What’s the main idea of the passage?
A．Math is closely connected with life．
B．Stress is always a bad thing．
C．Traffic jam is not as bad as you think．
D．There is no use complaining about traffic jams．
Anyone who works in an office knows the power of technology．When it works, life is wonderful．Information files across the world in seconds．It saves time and makes our jobs easier．But when technology goes wrong, everyone hates it．
In March, Peter Golota received a gas bill for $0．00．He threw it away．In April, he received another bill for $0．00．He threw that one way, too．In May, the gas company sent him a letter which said he had to pay his gas bill．If he didn’t pay it, they were going to cut off his gas．He called and told them the bill was for $0．00．They said it was a computer error．But the bills continued．Finally, he sent a check for $0．00．This caused the bank’s computer to crash．After a lot of angry phone calls and the letters between the man, the gas company, and the bank, the case went to court．The gas company lost, and had to pay Peter Golota $8,000．It all happened because of a bill for $0．00．
A man from Colorado appeared on the news when he shot his computer because it crashed all the time．The man, who owned a bar, put the “dead” laptop on the wall for everyone to see．The police said, “It’s the first time someone shot a computer because he was angry with it．” They arrested him．
In December, Margaret Smart, of Energies Solutions, stood up in front of 2,000 people in Taxes．As she began to speak, her microphone stopped working．They found another one．After two minutes, that one also died．When she decided to show her notes on PowerPoint, the computer refused to start up．The title of her presentation was “Technology: The way Forward”．
1.Why did the bank’s computer crash?
A．Because it kept sending gas bills for $0．00．
B．Because Peter Golota sent a check for $0．00．
C．Because the gas company sent a letter to the bank．
D．Because the gas bill case went to court．
2.Who got angry with his computer and shot it?
A．A bar owner． B．A policeman．
C．Peter Golota． D．A bank manager．
3.Margaret Smart’s computer refuses to start up probably because ________．
A．there was a power failure B．it worked too long
C．it went wrong D．someone shot her computer
SPECIAL EVENTS THIS WEEKEND
Captain Goodfellow
Do your children enjoy interesting stories, funny games, and exciting dances? Captain Goodfellow will be ready to teach all these things to children of all ages at the City Theatres on Saturday morning at 10:00 Free．
Walking Tour of the Town
Forget your worries on Saturday morning．Take a beautiful walk and learn about local history．Meet at the front entrance of City Hall at 9:30．Wear comfortable shoes!
Films at the Museum
Two European films will be shown on Saturday afternoon at the Museum Theatre．See Broken Window at 1:30．The workers will be at 3:45．For further information, call 4987898．International Picnic
Are you tired of eating the same kind of food every day? Come to Central Park on Saturday and enjoy food from all over the world．Delicious and not expensive．Noon to 5:00 p．m．
Take me out to the Ballgame
It’s October, and tonight is your last chance to see the Redbirds this year．Get your tickets at the gate．It might be cold… don’t forget sweaters and jackets．
Do you want to hear “The Zoo”?
“The Zoo”, a popular rock group from Australia, will give their first US．Concert tomorrow night at 8 Rose Hall, City College．
1.You can probably eat Chinese, Italian and Arab food _________．
A．at Central Park on Saturday B．at the front entrance of City Hall
C．at the ballgame D．at 5:00 p．m．
2.If you are going on the Walking Tour, don’t forget _________．
A．your beautiful walk B．your comfortable shoes
C．your worries D．your learning about local history
3.The Redbirds ballgame _________．
A．is in the afternoon B．is at the gate
C．might be cold D．is outside
4.Which of the following is NOT true?
A．“The Zoo” is an Australian rock group．
B．“The Zoo” are going to meet their American audience for the last time．
C．“The Zoo” will appear at 8:00 p．m．
D．“The Zoo” will perform in front of college students．
A
priest（牧师） had a
cat that climbed up a tree in his backyard and then was afraid to come down．The priest persuaded, offered
warm milk, et
The
kitty would not come down．The tree was not strong enough to climb, so the priest decided that
if he tied a rope to his car and drove away so that the tree bent down, he
could then reach up and get the kitty．He did so, checking his progress in the car frequently, then figured
if he went just a little bit further, the tree would be bent enough for him to
reach the kitty．But
as he moved a little further forward, the rope broke．
The tree went “boing!” and the kitty at once sailed through the air —out of sight．The priest felt terrible．He walked all over the neighborhood asking people if they’d seen his kitty．Nobody had seen a lost kitty．
So, he prayed, “God, I just give this kitty to your keeping,” and went on about his business．
Several days later he was at the grocery store, meeting one of his church members．He happened to look into her shopping cart and was amazed to see cat food．Now this woman was a cat hater and everyone knew it, so he asked her, “Why are you buying cat food when you hate cats so much?”
She replied, “You won’t believe this,” and told him how her little girl had been begging her for a cat, but she kept refusing．Then a few days before, the child begged again, so the Mom finally told her little girl, “Well, if God gives you a cat, you can keep it．” She told the priest, “I watched my child go out in the yard, get on her knees, and ask God for a cat．You won’t believe this, but I saw it with my own eyes．A cat suddenly came flying out of the blue sky, with its paws spread out, and landed right in front of her．”
1.The priest drove his car to bend the tree in order to ________．
A．get his kitty down from the tree
B．persuade his kitty to come down
C．offer the kitty some warm milk
D．see if the rope was strong enough
2.The underlined sentence probably means that the priest _______．
A．was happy he didn’t have to care for the kitty
B．hoped his neighbors would look after his cat
C．thought his kitty might be lost or killed
D．didn’t want to see his kitty any more
3.Why was the priest amazed when he saw the woman had bought much cat food?
A．Because he couldn’t imagine she had her own cat．
B．Because the woman was his church member．
C．Because he thought she would live on cat food．
D．Because he knew clearly she didn’t like a cat．
4.Which may be the best title of this passage?
A．A flying cat B．A lucky girl
C．God sent her a cat D．An unlucky priest
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Around twenty years ago I was living in Seattle and going through hard times．I could not find 1work and I found this especially difficult as I had a lot of experience and a Master’s degree．
To my 2I was driving a school bus to 3my family．I had been through five 4with a company and one day they 5to say I did not get the job．I went to the bus barn, feeling 6．
Later that afternoon, 7doing my rounds through a quiet suburban neighborhood I had an inner wave 8from deep inside me and I thought “Why has my 9become so hard?” “Give me a sign, I asked, a physical sign, not some inner 10type of thing．”
Immediately after this internal（内心的） scream I 11the bus over to drop off a little girl and as she 12she handed me an earring saying I should keep it 13somebody looked for it．The 14was stamped metal, painted black and said “BE HAPPY”．Then it struck me．I had been putting all of my 15into what was wrong with my life 16than what was right!
One night there was a phone call for me from the 17at a large hospital．She asked me whether I 18do a report for 200 hospital workers．I said 19and got the job．
My day with the hospital workers 20very well．I got a great welcome and many more days of work．To this day I KNOW that it was because I changed my attitude to gratitude．
1.A．satisfying B．probable C．particular D．considerate
2.A．joy B．luck C．shame D．surprise
3.A．meet B．supply C．provide D．support
4.A．meetings B．interviews C．conferences D．reports
5.A．came B．hoped C．called D．expected
6.A．excited B．worried C．disappointed D．frightened
7.A．though B．while C．unless D．until
8.A．rise B．shout C．raise D．cry
9.A．work B．situation C．life D．position
10.A．sound B．voice C．noise D．thought
11.A．pulled B．carried C．brought D．held
12.A．took off B．put off C．gave off D．got off
13.A．as long as B．now that C．in case D．as soon as
14.A．earring B．watch C．necklace D．bag
15.A．money B．ideas C．energies D．strength
16.A．rather B．other C．more D．less
17.A．nurse B．work C．patient D．manager
18.A．should B．would C．must D．ought
19.A．no B．hello C．yes D．nothing
20.A．went B．looked C．seemed D．appeared
I’ve already told you that I’m going to buy it, ________．
A．how much does it cost B．no matter how it costs
C．however does it cost much D．however much it costs
