In a moment of personal crisis, how much help can you expect from a New York taxi driver? I began studying this question and found the answers interesting.
One morning I got into three different taxis and announced, “Well, it’s my first day back in New York in seven years. I’ve been in prison.” Not a single driver replied, so I tried again. “Yeah, I shot a man in Reno.” I explained, hoping the driver would ask me why, but nobody asked. The only response came from a Ghanaian driver, “Reno? That is in Nevada?”
Taxi drivers were uniformly sympathetic when I said I’d just been fired. “This is America,” a Haitian driver said. “One door is closed. Another is open.” He argued against my plan to burn down my boss’s house. A Pakistani driver even turned down a chance to profit from my loss of hope; he refused to take me to the middle of George Washington Bridge—a $20 trip. “Why you want to go there? Go home and relax. Don’t worry. Take a new job.”
One very hot weekday in July, while wearing a red ski mask and holding a stuffed pillowcase with the word “BANK” on it, I tried calling a taxi five times outside different banks. The driver picked me up every time. My ride with a Haitian driver was typical of the superb assistance I received.
“Let’s go across the park.” I said. “I just robbed the bank there. I got $25,000.”
“$25,000?” He asked.
“Yeah, you think it was wrong to take it?”
“No, man. I work 8 hours and I don’t make almost $70. If I can do that, I do it too.”
As we approached 86th and Lexington, I pointed to the Chemical Bank.
“Hey, there’s another bank,” I said, “Could you wait here a minute while I go inside?”
“No, I can’t wait. Pay me now.” His reluctance may have something to do with money—taxi drivers think the rate for waiting time is too low—but I think he wanted me to learn that even a bank robber can’t expect unconditional support.
1.. From the Ghanaian driver’s response, we can infer that ____.
A. he was indifferent to the killing B. he was afraid of the author
C. he looked down upon the author D. he thought the author was crazy
2.. Why did the Pakistani driver refuse to take the author to the middle of the George Washington Bridge?
A. Because he was able to help the author to find a new job.
B. Because he wanted to go home and relax.
C. Because it was far away from his home.
D. Because he thought that the author would commit suicide.
3..What is the author’s interpretation of the driver’s reluctance “to wait outside the Chemical bank”?
A. The driver thought that the rate for waiting time was too low.
B. The driver thought it wrong to support a taxi rider unconditionally.
C. The driver was frightened and wanted to leave him as soon as possible.
D. The driver did not want to help a suspect to escape from a bank robbery.
4.. Which of the following statements is true about New York taxi drivers?
A. They are ready to help you do whatever you want to.
B. they often refuse to pick up those who would kill themselves.
C. They are sympathetic with those who are out of work.
D. They work only for money.
5.. The passage mainly discusses ____.
A. how to please taxi drivers.
B. how to deal with taxi drivers
C. the attitudes of taxi drivers towards riders in personal trouble
D. the attitudes of taxi drivers towards troublesome taxi riders
How do you know if your home is an easy aim for thefts(偷窃)? Around the holidays, many families don’t consider taking proper measures to prevent their homes from suffering holiday thefts. With just a few simple steps, you can better make sure of the safety of your home during all of the holiday celebrations. Here are a few tips for making it difficult to tell you are away from home.
● Either have a trusted neighbor pick up your mail and newspapers, or tell your mailperson to hold your mail until you return. Nothing says “Hey, we are not home!” like when your postbox is filled with all kinds of mails and you have many different newspapers in your driveway.
● Set several different lights in your house on random timers (随机定时器)。Don’t leave your outdoor lights on all the time. Instead, put your outside lights on timers to be on during the nights. If an outdoor light remains on for days at a time, it means that nobody is home to turn it off.
● If you have pets that you are not taking with you on vacation, leave them with a friend, rather than having someone come into your house every day to take care of them. When thefts see a neighbor or friend entering your house every day, they will know you are not home.
● Close all your curtains when you leave town. This is effective to deter possible thefts, as no one can see what is in your house. If they don’t know what there is to take, then the risk is even greater for them to break in.
● This article just has suggested a few tips to help you keep your house safe while you are on holiday. Nothing can truly protect your home unless you have it monitored by a professional home security system.
1.. What is the main idea of the passage?
A. to tell us how to prevent the thefts around the holidays
B. to let the outdoor lights on all the time
C. to tell us many families suffering from the thefts while they are on holiday
D. to tell you to have your neighbor go to your house to take care of your pet.
2..If you are on holiday in other places, the lights in your house should________.
A. be lit in an irregular way B. be kept on all the night
C. be replaced by random timers D be turned on only once one day
3..To make your home is well protected, what does the writer advise you to do?
A. Have all the curtains closed B. Stop your mail service at once
C. Turn to your close neighbors or friends D. Equip your home with security system
4.. Most of the tips mentioned in the text seem to ______.
A. be very popular with families B. have no effect on preventing thefts
C. give a false impression on thefts. D. be a little hard to be brought into effect.
5..The underlined word “deter ”probably means “___________ ”.
A. discover B. discourage C. surprise D. attract
It was a cold winter’s night when I stopped for gas on my way home from work. I was tired and had a slight 36.
I worked in a 37 doctor’s office and this was one of those days when the unexpected happened, making the schedule run 38 than usual. It seemed I was going to be late 39 home and my husband, being the 40 person, would be ready to pronounce me late once again. Maybe 41 I hurried, I could still make it home.
I was heading inside to 42 for my gas when I noticed an older couple at the counter. I heard them asking for 43 to the local hospital. It was the same hospital that I had just 44 a few minutes ago.
The young man at the counter was trying to be 45 in explaining how to get there, with two other people making 46. One of them was 47 trying to give them a whole different route back. It was then that I walked over to the couple and said, “Would you like to follow me to the 48 ?”
A look of 49 crossed the woman’s face.
“I’ m going right by there,” I said, which wasn’t a(an) 50 since I had just made up my mind to do 51 that.
I got in my car and began the journey back. I was trying to watch to be sure they were right 52 me. It took only fifteen minutes to get there as rush hour traffic was beginning to 53 . I felt better than I had all day and my headache was nearly gone.
Later, as I arrived home, my husband 54 , “So you aren’ t ever late any more.”
I said, “Sometimes it’s 55 to be late.”
1.. A. break B. fever C. cold D. headache
2..A. foreign B. common C. busy D. noisy
3.. A. earlier B. later C. easier D. simpler
4.. A. getting B. cooking C. calling D. working
5.. A. tough B. punctual C. generous D. careful
6... A. as B. since C. while D. if
7..A. pay B. change C. wait D. search
8..A. opinions B. trouble C. directions D. money
9..A. reached B. visited C. called D. left
10..A. skilled B. helpful C. experienced D. active
11.. A. comments B. promises C. jokes D. offers
12..A. only B. still C. even D. ever
13..A. station B. office C. hospital D. hotel
14..A. panic B. relief C. sadness D. peace
15..A. duty B. fact C. reason D. lie
16.. A. partly B. properly C. exactly D. perfectly
17..A. across B. before C. beside D. behind
18.. A. go up B. die down C. speed up D. turn down
19.. A. teased B. shouted C. burst D. laughed
20.. A. possible B. special C. good D. safe
The Green Corporation donated the property to the state of California, with one condition ____ the Green family would be allowed to use it when they wished.
A. what B. which C. when D. that
If Rose ____ her diamond in a safer place, it ____ stolen.
A. had put; might not have been B. had put; could be
C. had put; might be D. had not put; could not have been
The plan ________encourage the employees to improve their work turned out to be a success.
A．having designed to B．designed to
C．to design to D．designing to
