MONTREAL (Reuters) – Crossing the US-Canada border to go to church on a Sunday cost an American ＄10,000 for breaking Washington’s strict new security rules.
The expensive trip to church was a surprise for Richard Albert, who lives on the Canadian border. Albert often crosses the border like the other half-dozen people of Township 15. The nearby Quebec village of St. Pamphile is where they shop, eat and go to church. There are many such situations in these areas along the largely unguarded 5,530-mile border between Canada and the US, which in some cases actually runs down the middle of streets or through buildings.
As a result, Albert says he did not expect any problems three weeks ago when he returned home to the US after attending church in Canada as usual. The US customs station in this area is closed on Sundays, so he just drove around the locked gate, as he had done every weekend since the gate appeared last May, following a tightening of border security. Two days later, Albert was told to go to the customs office, where an officer told him he had been caught on camera crossing the border illegally.
Ottawa has given out special passes to some 300 Americans in that area so they can enter the country when Canadian customs stations are closed, but the US stopped a similar program last May. That forces the people to a 200-mile detour along hilly roads to get home through another border checkpoint.
Albert has requested that the customs office change their decisions on the fine, but he has not attended a Sunday church since. “I feel like I’m living in a prison,” he said.
1.We learn from the text that Richard Albert is .
A. an American working in a Canadian church B. a Canadian living in a Quebec village
C. a Canadian working in a customs station D. an American living in Township 15
2.Albert was fined because he .
A. broke the American security rules B. failed to obey traffic rules
C. worked in St. Pamphile without a pass D. damaged the gate of the customs office
3.According to paragraph 4, how can Americans in that area get home?
A. They have to drive through the town.
B. They have to race across the fields.
C. They have to drive to the mountain area.
D. They have to drive in a roundabout (绕道的) way.
4.What would be the best title for the text?
A. A Cross-country Trip. B. An Expensive Church Visit.
C. An Unguarded Border. D. A Special Border Pass.
Global warming is the process of earth’s atmosphere heating up. Over the last 100 years, the average temperature of earth’s atmosphere has gone up 1 Fahrenheit. The weather has not changed exactly the same way in every area of the planet. But scientists think that the rise in average temperature is already affecting the earth’s climate.
Many scientists now believe that global warming is caused by cutting down trees, producing more trash, and polluting the environment which are some of the reasons why the temperature has gone up. Many scientists believe that the biggest causes of global warming are new human technologies that release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
The greenhouse effect is not new. Certain gases in the atmosphere, like carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane, making it hard for heat energy to go into space. In the past, the climate didn’t change much because nature produced just the right amount of greenhouse gases to deal with it.
Today, most scientists are pretty sure that the rising temperature can’t be blamed on nature. Ever since the industrial revolution in the 1700s, humans have relied on machines for daily life. And many of those machines give off a lot of greenhouse gases. An increase in the release of greenhouse gases from human activities is throwing nature off balance.
The climate is a very complicated thing, but many scientists agree that the rising atmospheric temperature has already damaged the environment. Sheets of ice, called glaciers, are melting in Antarctica and other parts of the globe. As glaciers break off and melt into the oceans, they are adding warm water to the oceans and causing the sea level to rise.
Over the past 100 years, the sea level has risen 6-8 inches around the world. That means land along the coasts is beginning to disappear under water. Bigger and warmer oceans are also adding to other weather problems caused by pollution in the atmosphere. Some places have received more rain, others have had bigger storms and a few areas in the world have experienced unusual droughts.
1.What is mainly talked about in this passage?
A. The melting of glaciers. B. Global warming.
C. The world’s weather. D. The earth’s temperature.
2.What causes global warming according to scientists?
A. Human activities. B. The nature itself.
C. The earth’s atmosphere. D. New discoveries
3.How can greenhouse gases make the globe warm?
A. They keep heat in the atmosphere. B. They let the heat go out into space.
C. They release heat into the air. D. They can make the other gases warm.
4.From the passage we can see that global warming will bring about _____.
A. the pollution in the atmosphere B. natural disasters
C. population pollution D. the rise of glaciers
When I was young, I belonged to a club that did community service work. There was one specific event that was unusual for me. I spent three or four hours handing out warm dinner to the homeless out in the streets. After that I went to a homeless shelter not far from the Bay Bridge.
I was in high school and at the time my sister was too young to __36__. She wanted to help, __37__ she made four or five dozen chocolate chip cookies for me to __38__ and hand out to people. When getting to the homeless shelter __39__ passed out the remaining meals. __40__, I began making sandwiches and __41__ them with the crowd. I had the containers with my __42__ cookies in them and began to __43__, offering them to anyone near me.
I __44__ an old gentleman and said, “sir, would you like a cookie?” He stopped and turned around, __45__ and said, “What did you say? Did you call me sir?” I told him I __46__, and his eyes __47__ a little bit and he said, “No one has __48__ called me sir.” So he was __49__ taken aback(意外). It struck me.
I explained I had been raised that__ 50__color and social status, everyone deserved respect. It __51__ me to think that just because he was homeless, no one__ 52__ him the honor. It broke my heart, and I __53__. I just didn’t understand__ 54__ no one ever called him sir. I had never thought that anyone was below me because I wasn’t raised that way. Every __55__ person deserves to be treated with dignity. Years later, I still carry that memory and the lessons it taught me. Sometimes, what we take for granted can really make a difference in someone’s life.
How have you made a difference to others? How have others made a difference to you?
1.A. participate B. decide C. choose D. go
2. A. however B. but C. yet D. so
3.A. bring B. fetch C. collect D. take
4.A. I B. you C. she D. we
5.A. First B. Next C. Third D. Finally
6.A. shared B. gave C. helped D. assisted
7. A. classmate’s B. schoolmate’s C. sister’s D. family’s
8.A. walk around B. knock around C. come around D. stand around
9. A. went B. came C. approached D. met
10.A. glanced at me rightly B. stared at me with difficulty
C. glared at me in anger D. looked at me right in the eye
11.A. had B. called C. did D. do
12.A. watered B. cried C. tore D. dropped
13.A. already B. ever C.still D. yet
14.A. differently B. normally C. completely D. exactly
15.A. in spite B. regardless of C. concerned about D. for fear of
16.A. strengthened B. saddened C.frightened D. pleased
17.A. handed B. afforded C. provided D. supplied
18.A. had no choice but to cry B. couldn’t help to cry
C. had no right to cry D. couldn’t help but cry
19.A. what B. when C. whether D. why
20.A. single B. poor C. ordinary D. normal
_____ comes first will get the prize.
A. Who B. Whoever C. Whom D. Whomever
John received an invitation to dinner, and with his work _____, he gladly accepted it.
A. finished B. finishing C. having finished D. was finished
Jack described his father, who _____ a brave boy many years ago, as a strongwilled man.
A. would be B. would have been C. must have been D. must be
