Dear Dad,
I know you were very busy with work, but I'm hoping if you can help me out anyway. I’m thinking of leave the football team, and I need your opinion. My homework this year is crazy, but I need more time to get them done.Since I’m the man of the house while you’re gone, I have much housework, either. On the other hands, I’ve put in two years on the team, and the coach says I’ll make captain soon. However, I’d like try something new. I’ve been thinking about photography, actual, and I want to meet some new kids. How do you think, Dad? I can’t wait to see you!
Yours,
Xiao Liang
A man was driving at 70 miles in a 40-mile-zone, when a police car came behind him with the light on.1.
As the policeman came to him, he said, "Hi, officer, I guess you caught me a little bit over the limit. I was in a rush to get home, to be with my wife and kids, you know my younger son wasn't feeling too well when I left home this morning."
The policeman said, "Well, I guess so,'' and started writing something in his notebook.2. . A few moments later, the policeman came to his window and handed him a paper, and returned to his car without saying a single word. The man started to wonder, how much this ticket was going to be as he began to look at the paper. 3.
"I had a daughter who was killed by a speeding car at the age of six, by a speeding driver like you. He got a fine, a few months in prison, and was free, free to hug two other daughters. 4. I have tried to forgive that man a thousand times, and I thought I had. Maybe I really did forgive him, but I have to do it again, even right now. 5. "
The man was very surprised and could not move for the next few minutes. When finally he did, he drove slowly, even a few miles under the speed limit, praying for forgiveness.
A．So pray for me and be careful when you drive again, my son is all I have left.
B．I only had one, and now I have to wait I go to heaven before I can hug her again.
C．As minutes went by, he could see from the side view mirror, the policeman was still writing.
D．He was surprised it was not a ticket but a receipt.
E．So pray for you, and be careful when you drive again, your daughter is all you have left.
F．Right away the man started thinking of excuse to give.
G．He was surprised it was not a ticket as he began to read.
Over the last 70 years, researchers have been studying happy and unhappy people and finally found out ten factors that make a difference. Our feelings of well-being at any moment are determined to a certain degree by genes. However, of all the factors, wealth and age are the top two.
Money can buy a degree of happiness. But once you can afford to feed, clothe and house yourself , each extra dollar makes less and less difference.
Researchers find that, on average, wealthier people are happier. But the link between money and happiness is complex. In the past half-century, average income has sharply increased in developed countries, yet happiness levels have remained almost the same. Once your basic needs are met, money only seems to increase happiness if you have more than your friends, neighbors and colleagues.
“Dollars buy status, and status makes people feel better,” conclude some experts, which helps explain why people who can seek status in other ways---scientists or actors, for example—may happily accept relatively poorly-paid jobs.
In a research, Professor Alex Michalos found that the people whose desires—not just for money, but for friends, family, job, health—rose furthest beyond what they already had, tended to be less happy than those who felt a smaller gap. Indeed, the size of the gap predicted happiness about five times better than income alone. “The gap measures just blow away the only measures of income.” Says Michalos.
Another factor that has to do with happiness is age. Old age may not be so bad. “Given all the problems of aging, how could the elderly be more satisfied?” asks Professor Laura Carstensen.
In one survey, Carstensen interviewed 184 people between the ages of 18 and 94, and asked them to fill out an emotions questionnaire. She found that old people reported positive emotions just as often as young people, but negative emotions much less often.
Why are old people happier? Some scientists suggest older people may expect life to be harder and learn to live with it, or they’re more realistic about their goals, only setting ones that they know they can achieve. But Carstensen thinks that with time running out, older people have learned to focus on things that make them happy and let go of those that don’t. “People realize not only what they have, but also that what they have cannot last forever,” she says. “A goodbye kiss to a husband or wife at the age of 85, for example, may bring far more complex emotional responses than a similar kiss to a boy or girl friend at the age of 20.
1.According to the passage, the feeling of happiness ________.
A．is determined partly by genes B．increases gradually with age
C．has little to do with wealth D．is measured by desires
2.Some actors would like to accept poorly-paid jobs because the jobs_____.
A．make them feel much better B．provide chances to make friends
C．improve their social position D．satisfy their professional interests
3.Aged people are more likely to feel happy because they are more______.
A．optimistic B．successful C．practical D．emotional
4.Professor Alex Michalos found that people feel less happy if _______.
A．the gap between reality and desire is bigger
B．they have a stronger desire for friendship
C．their income is below their expectation
D．the hope for good health is greater
The south and east of the Great Lakes is famous for the huge amounts of snow it receives. When the snow starts to fall every year, people start discussing the phrase “lake-effect snow”.
Lake-effect snow which is influenced by the movement of cold air over the relatively warm water of the Great Lakes often comes in late autumn and early winter. Because of the at least 20 degrees’ difference between the lake water and the overrunning air, it’s easy to form huge amounts of snow.
As the cool air crosses the water of Great Lakes, the lowest levels of the atmosphere begin to warm and pick up moisture. This newly warmed atmosphere is lighter than the cold air above it, so it starts rising. As the changed air continues to climb higher and higher, it finally meets much colder atmosphere which changes the moisture into water drops and ice, forming clouds. After this course repeats a number of times, the clouds become heavier and heavier, and then they are changed into snow and fall down.
The most important point that decides the amount of snowfall is the direction of the wind. If the wind runs perpendicularly（垂直地）across the lake, there won’t be plenty of time for clouds to develop. However, if the wind runs in the opposite direction, clouds will form easily. The longer the cold air travels over the lake, the more moisture it is able to produce, which leads to a greater amount of snow.
The largest amount of the lake-effect snow was found across the U.P. of Michigan, the northwestern Pennsylvania and the far southwestern and northwestern New York, which are all along the south or east of the Great Lakes. It has been over 100 inches of snowfall in a winter season.
1.The level of the snowfall depends on ________.
A．the size of the lake
B．the direction of the wind
C．the temperature of the lake
D．the strength of the wind
2.From the passage, we can learn that ________.
A．clouds are easy to produce with the help of the perpendicular wind
B．cold air always falls down and picks up moisture to form clouds
C．the temperature of the lake water is the same as the overrunning air’s above it
D．the longer journey of the cold atmosphere can make a grater amount of snow
3.The passage is mainly about ________.
A．the influences of the lake-effect snow for local people
B．the weight between moisture and atmosphere
C．how the phrase “lake-effect snow” comes in New York
D．how the lake-effect snow forms around the Great Lakes
One morning Mrs Smith was driving home after she had done shopping. When she drove near a rubbish dump, she noticed a microwave oven(微波炉) not far from the side of the road.“John is a good electrician!”she said to herself.“Perhaps he can repair this. I'll take it home and let him try.”She picked up the oven and put it in the boot of her car. Then she drove on happily. A few kilometers later, she heard the siren (警报器)of a police car behind her. She looked in the driving mirror and saw a policeman waving to her to tell her to pull over and stop.
Mrs Smith was very puzzled. She slowed down at the side of the road. A traffic policeman got out of the police car and walked up to her.
“Can I see your driving license and insurance certificate(保险证)，please? ”he asked her. He copied down details of her name, address and the number of the car.“What's wrong, officer?” Mrs Smith asked. The policeman did not reply. He looked in the car and then at the back. “Open the boot, please.”he said to Mrs Smith.
Mrs Smith was still puzzled. She opened the boot and pointed to the microwave oven. "I found this old microwave oven a few minutes ago," she said. "I'm just taking it home to see if my husband can repair it." The policeman stared at her for a moment to see if she was telling the truth. "That's not a microwave oven." he said at last. "That's our radar set(雷达装置). It was the start of a speed trap. Do you mind if we have it back?" Mrs Smith's face turned red. "Oh", she said," I'm very sorry. I wouldn't have touched it if I'd known what it was."
1.Why did Mrs Smith pick up the police's radar set and want to take it home?
A．She had no microwave oven and wanted one.
B．She took it for a waste microwave oven.
C．She saw nobody was looking.
D．She just wanted to steal it.
2.The underlined word "boot" in the third paragraph means_____ .
A．the outer covering for the foot
B．the outer covering for the car
C．the place for luggage at the back of a car
D．the place for metal equipment for protection
3.Choose the right order of the events(事件) given in the passage.
a. The policeman wrote down Mrs Smith's name, address and the car number.
b. Mrs Smith picked up a radar set and put it in the boot of her car.
c. The policeman took back the radar set.
d. Mrs Smith went shopping.
e. A policeman signed Mrs Smith to stop her car.
f. The policeman found the radar set in the boot of Mrs Smith's car.
A．b,d,e,f,c,a B．d,b,e,f,c,a C．b,d,e,a,f,c D．d,b,e,a,f,c
Along the seashore(海边)，the tall coconut(椰子)trees waved in he wind. The sand was white in the bright sun, and the ocean was dark blue. The houses in the town near the shore, were painted white. The boats had been pulled up on the shore. Usually they would all be in the water with hard-working fishermen. But today was a holiday, and everyone was preparing for the celebration that was going to take place that evening.
In the distance, men could be seen climbing the coconut trees. They were singing as they worked. There were monkeys in the trees, too. The monkeys were jumping up and down and screaming angrily.The climbers just laughed at the monkeys and continued to pick the fruits.
1.What is this passage about?
A．It tells us a story of the monkeys.
B．It describes the scene on the seashore.
C．It talks about the life of the fishermen.
D．It is about how the people celebrated a holiday.
2.The boats had been pulled up on the shore because_________.
A．it was a holiday
B．the weather was too hot
C．there was going to be a storm
D．it was not the season for fishing
3.The men climbed the coconut trees to_________.
A．pick the coconuts
B．catch the monkeys
C．look at the ocean far away
D．see who could climb high and fast
4.The word "screaming" in Paragraph Two probably means _______.
A．singing and working
B．jumping up and down
C．running here and there
D．shouting in a high voice
5.The monkeys were angry because________.
A．the men were trying to catch them
B．the men wanted to drive them away
C．the men got the coconuts , which were their food
D．the men climbed higher and faster than they did
