Driving to a friend’s house on a recent evening, I was struck by the sight of the full moon rising just above my friend’s rooftops, huge and round, yellow through the dust and smoke of the city. I stopped to watch it for a few moments, thinking what a pity it was that most city livers---myself included---usually miss sights like this because we spend most of our lives indoors.
My friend had also seen it. He grew up living in a forest in Europe, and the moon meant a lot to him then. It had touched much of his life.
I know the feeling. Last December I took my seven-year-old daughter to the mountainous jungle of northern India with some friends. We stayed in a forest rest house with no electricity or hot water. Our group had campfires outside every night, and indoors when it was too cold outside. The moon grew to its fullest during our trip. Between me and the high mountains lay three or four valleys. Not a light shone in them and not a sound could be heard. It was one of the quietest places I have ever known, a bottomless well of silence. And above me was the full moon.
Today our lives are connected with glass, metal, plastic and fiber-glass. We eat and breathe things our bodies were not designed to process. We have televisions, cell phones, pagers, electricity, heaters, air-conditioners, cars and computers. White noise and pollution is in the air. Radio waves and strange lights are constantly disturbing our minds and bodies.
Struggling through traffic that evening at the end of a tiring day, most of it spent indoors, I saw the moon and remembered these things. And I thought: before long, I would like to live in a small cottage. There I will grow vegetables and read books and walk in the mountains and perhaps write. I may grow old there. But I will be able to walk outside on a cold silent night and touch the moon.
1.What was the author’s pity in this passage?
A. Most people living in the city failed to see the beautiful moon.
B. There was too much pollution in the city.
C. There were too many modern inventions.
D. There was too much traffic on the road.
2.What attracted the author most according to the passage?
A. The mountainous jungle of India. B. The fullest moon.
C. The high mountains in India. D. All kinds of modern inventions.
3.The author longs for ________.
A. Camping outside at night B. Returning to the nature
C. Writing books D. Watching the moon
4.The main idea of this passage probably is “________”.
A. Disadvantage of Living in Cities
B. The Pleasure of Being out at Night
C. Touched by the Moon
D. Pollution Caused by Modern Technology
You must have a favorite line or pet phrase you repeat often in your conversations. Studies say that pet phrases can reflect our changing society and reveal information about a person’s personality. Here are some of the most popular pet phrases among young people.
脑残---nuts
I love the word and use it whenever I think a person is stupid, or a behavior is crazy. I learned the term from one of my classmates. Once, we saw two high school girls wearing miniskirts on a very cold winter day and my classmate called the two girls “nuts”. I don’t think the word reflects my personality. I use it because it sounds cool.
Diao Yujie, 22, computer science major at Nanjing University.
汗---stunning
I use this word very often. Once, my classmates and I were discussing how amusing QQ is. One guy suddenly burst out, “I have MSN too”. This comment had no relation with the topic we were discussing. I used this word and everybody laughed. I think it is a fantastic word that can change awkwardness to amusement.
Mu Li, 20, journalism major at Beijing Normal University.
晕死---I’m giddy!
I use this word a lot---more often than my classmates. It has became a symbol of me, as my friends sometimes refer to me as the guy who often says the word. I am a person who wants to be different and this word gives me that feeling.
Chen Zhou, 21, Nanjing University.
雷---stunning
I only use this word with my friends. My parents don’t understand it. The word, which is only used among people of my age, is intimate. I think it stands for being young and energetic. And I want to be young forever, so I like the word.
Chen Jianjun, 23, senior at Nanjing University.
1.If a man wearing suit and a tie is climbing a mountain, what can we say to him according to the passage?
A. nuts B. I’m giddy. C. 汗---stunning D. 雷---stunning
2.What’s the meaning of “pet phrase” in the first paragraph?
A. 习惯用语 B. 宠物语言 C. 口头禅 D. 座右铭
3. What’s young people’s attitude to pet phrase?
A. indifferent B. crazy C. reasonable D. against
4.Pet phrase can ________ according to studies.
A. reflect our changing society
B. reveal information about a person’s personality
C. make young people popular
D. both A and B
Parents whose children show a special interest in a sport feel very difficult to make a decision about their children’s careers. Should they allow their children to train to become top sportsmen and sportswomen? For many children it means starting schoolwork very young, and going out with friends and other interests have to take a second place. It’s very difficult to explain to a young child why he or she has to train five hours a day, even at the weekends, when most of his or her friends are playing.
Another problem is of course money. In many countries money for training is available from government for the very best young sportsmen and sportswomen. If this help cannot be given, it means that it is the parents who have to find the time and the money to support their child’s development and sports clothes, transport to competitions, special equipment, etc. Can all be very expensive?
Many parents are worried that it is dangerous to start serious training in a sport at an early age. Some doctors agree that young muscles may be damaged by training before they are properly developed. Professional trainers, however, believe that it is only by training young that you can reach the top as a successful sports person. It is clear that very few people do reach the top, and both parents and children should be prepared for failure even after many years of training.
1.This article is most probably taken from ________.
A. a complaint letter B. an advertisement
C. a personal diary D. a newspaper article
2.According to the passage, parents whose children show a special interest in sport ________.
A. feel uncertain if they should let their children train to be sportsmen or sportswomen
B. try to get financial (财政的) support from the government for their children’s training
C. have to get medical advice from doctors about training methods
D. prefer their children to be trained as young as possible
3.________ can become the best players after many years of training.
A. Most people B. All C. Hardly any people D. No people
We were on our way home from Houston one Saturday morning. We decided to stop at a local gas station to get coffee and something to snack on since it was a good hour and a half before we got home.
When we were done, we got back into our car and before I started it, we noticed a man standing outside in front of the building. He was a homeless man with worn clothes and it looked like he had gone in and gotten himself some coffee or something warm to drink since it was cold this time of the year. He must have not had enough money to get something to eat.
Then a dog walked up to the front of the building. I could tell she was a “she”, because you could tell that she had baby dogs. She was terribly in need of something to eat and I felt so bad for her. I knew if she didn’t eat soon, she and her baby dogs would not make it.
I and my wife sat there and looked at her. We noticed that people walked by and didn’t even pet her, like most people do when they walk by an animal in front of a store. We still did not do anything. But the homeless man, who I thought did not buy himself anything to eat, went back into the store. And what he did brought tears to me and my wife. He had gone into the store and with what money he may have had, bought a can of dog food and fed that dog.
This story plays a great part in our lives. You see, that was Mother’s Day weekend. And a lot of people forget that some animals are parents too.
It took a homeless man, to show me what I should have done. He make me a better man that day.
1. The homeless man only had something to drink because _______.
A. he didn’t have enough money for food B. he was thirsty only
C. the store only provided drinks D. he felt cold that day
2. Seeing what the poor man did for the dog, the author and his wife ________.
A. were puzzled B. were greatly moved
C. regretted they hadn’t done anything D. were indifferent
3. If the homeless man hadn’t given the dog food to eat, she and her babies would ________.
A. not survive B. have to attack people
C. not have to die D. lose their homes
4.Which of the following is the most suitable title for this passage?
A. A kind Homeless Man B. A Lucky Mother Dog
C. Mother Day’s Weekend D. Animals Are Parents Too
I was brought up by my grandparents for the first years of my life. We 36 in a very small community and all of my aunts and uncles lived 37_ . Everyone had a hand in taking care of my safety. Of course in those days 38 everyone in the community spoke the beautiful language of my childhood. When my grandfather spoke I would _ 39_ him carefully.
Then at age six my father 40 from the army. I was forbidden to speak that 41 ever again. My grandfather was 42 . He couldn’t speak English, so my grandmother would 43 for him whenever he spoke to me. With my mother and father we 44 from that small community. I was about to enter public school so I had to learn English. My grandfather 45 when I was eight and we returned to that small community for his funeral. He was 46 in the living room, as was the tradition. I went and stood by him and 47 no one was around I spoke to him in a whisper 48 that beautiful language of my childhood. That was the 49 time I spoke those words.
Almost fifty years later, _ 50 _ I had forgotten the beautiful language of my childhood, I had the opportunity to 51 a newly written paper of it. On my first look at it I recognized 52 . I must have looked it over several times in the following weeks. Then one day I read out loud a word from my past. I almost cried. I was 53 reading over other words. Words came 54 back to me after all these years. When receiving something from someone, you don’t take it from their hand, rather you let them lay it in your hand. For me it was 55 ---The beautiful language of my childhood was Michif. It was not only a language but also a way of life.
1.A. lived B. reached C. made D. put
2.A. far B. nearby C. inside D. outside
3.A. never B. already C. seldom D. almost
4.A. give B. believe in C. listen to D. like
5.A. returned B. went C. rushed D. swept
6.A. language B. community C. hand D. safety
7.A. happy B. joyful C. heartbroken D. warm-blooded
8.A. look B. translate C. wait D. speak
9.A. moved into B. move back C. move away D. moved on
10.A. worked B. traveled C. visited D. died
11.A. carried out B. laid out C. held out D. pick out
12.A. when B. if C. even if D. although
13.A. for B. upon C. at D. in
14.A. first B. latter C. last D. former
15.A. long before B. long ago C. before long D. long after
16.A. beat B. see C. ask D. touch
17.A. nothing B. something C. anything D. everything
18.A. sadly B. hardly C. faithfully D. anxiously
19.A. drawing B. frying C. flooding D. steaming
20.A. simple B. merciful C. perfect D. bitter
Our bodies are strengthened by taking exercise. ________, our minds are developed by learning.
A. Probably B. Likely C. Similarly D. Generally
