Today is National Bike-to-Work Day. And on New York City’s jammed streets, people are cycling on hundreds of miles of new bike lanes. But New York’s widespread efforts to make streets safer for bikes have also left some locals complaining about the loss of parking spots and lanes for cars.
When the weather is good, Aaron Naparstek likes to pedal(用踏板踩)his two young kids to school on a special Dutch-made bicycle. Naparstek supports the new lane.
Aaron: The bike lane on Prospect Park West is really introducing a lot of new people to the idea that it’s possible to use a bike in New York City for transportation or to travel around. This is what 21st century New York City looks like.
Prospect Park West is still a one-way road, but where it used to have three lanes of car traffic, now it has two, plus a protected bike lane. Supporters say that makes the road safer for everyone, including pedestrians, by slowing down cars and taking bikes off the sidewalk. But some longtime residents disagree. Lois Carswell is president of a group called Seniors for Safety. She says the two-way bike lane is dangerous to older residents who are used to one-way traffic.
Lois: We wanted a lane — the right kind of lane that would keep everybody safe, that would keep the bikers safe. But we want it to be done the right way. And it has not been done the right way.
Craig Palmer builds bars and restaurants in Manhattan. I was interviewing him for a different story when he brought up the bike lanes all on his own.
Craig: I think the biggest problem is that Bloomberg put all these bike lanes in. You took what used to be a full street and you’re shrinking it.
Then there are the Hasidic Jews in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, who forced the city to remove a bike lane through their neighborhood. But polls show that the majority of New Yorkers support bike lanes by a margin of 56% to 39%. Bicycle advocate Caroline Samponaro of Transportation Alternatives calls that a mandate.
Caroline: If this was an election, we would have already had our victory. The public has spoken and they keep speaking. And I think, more importantly, the public is starting to vote with their pedals.
1.What does Aaron mean by saying “This is what 21st century New York City looks like.”?
A.There are hundreds of miles of new bike lanes in 21 st century New York City.
B.Drivers slow down their cars and bikes are taken off the sidewalk in New York.
C.Bikes are used as a means of transport in 21 st century New York City.
D.It’s possible to make the streets safe for pedestrians in New York.
2.According to the passage, which of the following CANNOT support the opponents of these new bike lanes?
A.Drivers lose parking spots and lanes for cars.
B.The two-way bike lane is dangerous to older residents.
C.We took what used to be a full street so the road is broader than before.
D.The removal of one bike lane through a neighbourhood in Brooklyn was not supported by the majority of New Yorkers.
3.“A mandate” in Paragraph 8 was referred to a demand or command from ______.
A.the authority B.the public C.the supporters D.the government
4.What of the following might be the best title of the passage?
A.Ride on National Bike-to-Work Day B.A New Bike Lane Appears in New York
C.A Bike Lane Divides New Yorkers D.Who Wins an Election
Some say every day miracles are predestined (注定的)---- All that’s necessary is readiness, the right circumstance for the appointed meeting. And it can happen anywhere.
In 1999, 11-year-old Kevin Stephan was a bat boy for his younger brother's Little League team in Lancaster, New York. It was an early evening in late July. Kevin was standing on the grass away from the plate, where another youngster was warming up for the next game. Swinging his bat back and forth, and giving it all the power an elementary school kid could give, the boy brought the bat back hard and hit Kevin in the chest. His heart stopped.
When Kevin fell to the ground, the mother of one of the players rushed out of the stands to his aid. Penny Brown hadn't planned to be there that day, but at the last minute,she had changed her shift (轮班) at the hospital, and she was given the night off. Penny bent over the senseless boy, his face already starting to turn blue, and giving CPR, breathing into his mouth and giving chest compressions (按压). And he came to life.
After his recovery, he became a volunteer junior firefighter, learning some of the emergency first-aid techniques that had saved his life. He studied hard in school and was saving money for college by working as a dishwasher in a local restaurant in his spare time.
Kevin, now 17, was working in the kitchen when he heard people screaming, customers in confusion, employees rushing toward a table. He hurried into the main room and saw a woman there, her face turning blue, her hands at her throat. She was choking .
Quickly Kevin stepped behind her, wrapped his arms around her and clasped his hands. Then, using skills he'd first learned in Scouts, the food that was trapped in the woman's throat was freed. The color began to return to her face.
“The food was stuck. I couldn't breathe,” she said. She thought she was dying. “I was very frightened.”
Who was the woman?
Penny Brown.
1.Kevin Stephan fell to the ground and fainted probably because ________.
A.he stood close to the boy who was swinging his bat
B.he suffered from heart attack all of a sudden
C.he was too excited when watching the game
D.he swung the bat too hard to keep his balance
2.Which of the following statements is True of Kevin Stephan?
A.He was hit on the face by a boy and almost lost his life.
B.He was a volunteer junior firefighter, teaching the players first-aid skills.
C.He worked part-time in a local restaurant to save money for college.
D.He saved Penny Brown though he didn’t really know how to deal with food choke
3.Why did Penny Brown change her shift and was given the night off that night?
A.She was there to give her son directions.
B.She volunteered to give medical services.
C.She was a little worried about her son’s safety.
D.She came to watch her son’s game and cheered him .
On the IraqSyria border,a pack of wild dogs circled American soldiers for food.The leader of the pack was a grayandwhite dog.The soldiers called him Nubs.Nubs was shaking and __36__ able to stand.Marine major Brian Dennis looked closer and saw that there was a knife wound __37__ his chest.
Dennis couldn’t stand seeing the dog __38__.He and his men immediately treated the wound,and gave Nubs medicine.Nubs__39__but was still in pain.The next day,the team had to__40__.Ten days later,Dennis’s unit was back,and so was Nubs.He was still___41__,but the men fed him and played with him.
Before long the unit once again__42__an outpost (前哨) 70 miles away.Nubs,slowly but determinedly,__43__them far into the trackless wasteland until the men lost__44__of him.Two days later,beyond Dennis’s__45__,he saw Nubs just outside the outpost.The dog had tracked him across 70 miles of frozen desert to__46__with the friend who had saved his life.From then on Nubs and the men slept in the same place,and ran around in the same ruins.
Until an order came down from above that they were not__47__to have pets. Dennis__48__to make sure the dog would continue to live the__49__life.So he quickly raised $4,000 from his family and friends to fly Nubs to__50__.
A month later,when Dennis and the dog were__51__in California,at first Nubs didn’t recognize the guy.__52__within minutes,the dog jumped into Dennis’s arms,jumping up again and again to__53__ his friend’s face.
A little__54__and concern in the middle of war will not save a violent world.But small stories,like the story of a soldier and a dog,hold a promise of a(n) __55__world.
1. A.mostly B.certainly C.hardly D.never
2. A.in B.on C.at D.behind
3. A.stand B.starve C.bleed D.suffer
4. A.pulled through B.fell asleep C.woke up D.fell down
5. A.leave B.rest C.pass D.remain
6. A.hungry B.tired C.dirty D.weak
7. A.took up B.took over C.left for D.returned from
8. A.watched B.followed C.accompanied D.barked
9. A.touch B.sight C.footprint D.smell
10. A.ability B.surprise C.imagination D.understanding
11. A.part B.fight C.meet D.break
12. A.asked B.suggested C.required D.allowed
13. A.decided B.agreed C.accepted D.proposed
14. A.moving B.good C.numb D.interesting
15. A.London B.America C.Iraq D.Syria
16. A.found B.interviewed C.linked D.reunited
17. A.So B.And C.But D.Though
18. A.lick B.touch C.bite D.clean
19. A.pity B.mercy C.care D.contribution
20. A.equal B.harmonious C.prosperous D.amazing
--Wow, isn’t this handsome device the most popular iphone5? Can I have a look at it? --______.
A.No, you can’t B.Sorry, it’s expensive
C.Of course, it looks good D.Yes, go ahead
Everybody knows about it! No one knows _________ prevented the rumor from spreading.
A.what was it that B.what it was that
C.how it was that D.why it was that
__________ after a whole day’s work that he could hardly stand it.
A.So he was tired and hungry B.Was he so tired and hungry
C.So tired and hungry was he D.So tired and hungry he was