The united States has about 475,000 school buses — all painted yellow. Each day they carry more than 25,000,000 children, half of all schoolchildren in the country. But these buses, on average, use four liters of diesel (柴油) fuel to travel less than sixteen kilometers. When the school year began last fall, diesel averaged 55 cents a liter nationally. The price nearly doubled, to a dollar and 8 cents, by the end of school in June.
Bob Riley speaks for the American School Bus Council. He says fuel prices for schools are not much lower than others have to pay. As a result, schools are looking for ways to reduce transportation costs. Bus routes are being redrawn or, in some cases, canceled. Some areas are buying buses that use natural gas or other alternative fuels. Other steps include fewer field trips and less travel by sports teams. And some school districts may end any bus service not required by law.
Studies show that school buses are the safest form of transportation to and from school. The American School Bus Council says cuts in bus service are bad for children and possibly the environment. It says removing buses from the road will mean an increase in other vehicles transporting students. Spokesman Bob Riley says another concern is that reducing bus services might reduce attendance.
But it could also get more children to walk or bicycle to school. And that would surely make people happy at the National Center for Safe Routes to School. More kids walking or biking safely to school is the aim of a three-year-old federal program, part of an international movement. The goal is to increase physical activity and reduce air pollution. The United States will celebrate Walk to School Day on October eighth this year. But for some students, high fuel prices could make every day a walk-to-school day.
1.What does this passage mainly tell us?
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A．High fuel prices’ influences on school buses. |
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B．New measures to transport school students. |
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C．The safest form of student transportation. |
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D．The origin of Walk to School Day. |
2.In order to cut down transportation cost, many schools take the following measures EXCEPT_____.
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A．changing some bus routes |
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B．stopping some bus routes |
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C．asking parents to drive children to and from school |
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D．using other types of fuels |
3.The National Center for Safe Routes to School encourages more children to walk or bike to school in order to ____.
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A．save more fuels and diesel for the country |
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B．keep the children safe on their way to school |
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C．make the children live a simple life |
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D．keep the children healthy and the environment clean |
Hank Viscardi was born without legs．He had not legs but stumps（残肢）that could be fitted with a kind of special boots, People stared at him with cruel interest．Children laughed at him and called him ‘Ape Man’ （猿人）because his arms practically dragged on the ground．
Hank went to school like other boys．His grades were good and he needed only eight years to finish his schooling instead of the usual twelve．After graduating from school, he worked his way through college．He swept floors, waited on table, or worked in one of the college offices．During all this busy life, he had been moving around on his stumps．But one day the doctor told him even the stumps were not going to last much longer．He would soon have to use a wheel chair．
Hank felt himself got cold all over．However, the doctor said there was a chance that he could be fitted with artificial legs（假腿）．Finally a leg maker was found and the day came when Hank stood up before the mirror, for the first time he saw himself as he has always wanted to be a full five feet eight inches tall．By this time he was already 26 years old．
Hank had to learn to use his new legs．Again and again he marched the length of the room, and marched back again．There were times when he fell down on the floor, but he pulled himself up and went back to the endless marching．He went out on the street．He climbed stairs and learned to dance．He built a boat and learned to sail it．
When World War II came, he talked the Red Cross into giving him a job．He took the regular training．He marched and drilled along with the other soldiers．Few knew that he was legless．This was the true story of Hank Viscardi, a man without legs．
1.Children laughed at Hank and called him ‘Ape Man’ because ．
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A．he didn’t talk to then |
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B．he kept away from them |
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C．his arms touched the ground when he moved |
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D．he couldn’t use his arms |
2.The sentence “he talked the Red Cross into giving him a job” implies that the Red Cross ．
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A．was only glad to give him a job |
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B．gave him a job because he was a good soldier |
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C．gave him a job after he talked to someone whom he knew in the organization |
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D．was not willing to give him to job at first |
3.When Hank marched and drilled along with the other soldiers, he------
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A．did everything the other soldier did |
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B．did most of the things the other soldiers did |
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C．did most of the things the other soldiers did |
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D．took some special training |
4.The writer suggests that Hank Viscardi ．
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A．had no friends |
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B．never saw himself as different from others |
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C．was very shy |
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D．was too proud to accept help from others |
Once there was a very brilliant, creative and learned man. He gained much ____36_____while traveling throughout the world. Unfortunately he lost his legs and left arm in a traffic accident, leaving only a finger and thumb on his right hand. He became so ____37_____ that he was afraid he would spend his life _____38_____ and would no longer be able to use his life in a(n) ____39_____way.
One day, he remembered how he had always loved getting ____40_____. He realized that he still had partial ____41_____ of his right hand and could write with ____42_____. Then, he had an idea. “Why not write to other people who need encouragement?”
He ___43___ where he could find those who could be encouraged if they read his letters. He thought of people in ____44___. Many of them had hope of regaining their ____45___ . Others would keep feeling depressed and remain put away for the rest of their lives. He decided that he must try to __46____ them. So he wrote to a prison ministry about sending letters to the prisoners. The prison minister replied that writing to the prisoners would be ____47____. However, it would be against prison rules for the prisoners to write back.
____48_____with the intention, the man began sending 49 messages of God’s love, hope, strength, and encouragement. He wrote twice a week, testing his strength and ability to the ___50____. He poured his heart and soul into his words, ___51_____ his experience, sense of humor, optimism, and faith.
It was difficult to write those letters, especially without hope of any ___52___. Frequently, he felt discouraged, wondering if anyone ___53____read his letters. However, this was his ___54____chance，so he determined to continue.
At last, he received a letter from the prison officer, which said, “Please write on the best paper you can afford. Your letters are passed from cell (牢房) to cell until they almost fall to ____55___!”
We all have unique experiences, abilities and talents. We can discover ways to reach others in need of encouragement and strength.
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I wonder if your wife will go to the ball. If your wife _____， so _____ mine.
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A．does， will |
B．will， does |
C．will， would |
D．does， do |
____ ， I will not buy it.
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A．Much as do I like it |
B．As much I like it |
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C．Much as I like it |
D．As I like it much |
—— Here ____！ Where is Xiao Liu？
---- There ____.
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A．comes the bus， is he |
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B．the bus comes， he is |
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C．comes the bus, he is |
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D．the bus comes, is he |
