My sister Jodie and I are always traveling for work. As jewelry designers, we need to go to a lot of shows. We can’t pack lightly and usually bring about four suitcases filled with our work.
Most of our stuff is made from heavy materials and metals. So part of the routine for us when we fly is getting stopped by security. Our jewelry sets off the alarms, and we’ve become accustomed to arriving early to go through private screenings. Most of the time, it’s not troublesome.
However, on our recent trip to a Paris trade show, we were stopped at security and asked to empty our bags. One of the agents walked over to another agent and they started whispering to each other. Both gentlemen came back, and one of them then told us that it seemed that we were carrying a very dangerous object.
My sister and I just said, “Huh?” Of course, we were a little concerned, thinking that maybe someone put something dangerous in one of our bags when we weren’t looking.
One of the agents then started to unpack our bags. I kept asking what he was looking for and then the object in question finally appeared. It was our Cosima necklace. It’s a piece of jewelry, with large, metal triangular spikes.
My sister and I looked at each other and breathed a huge sigh of relief. We started laughing and explained to the two male agents that it was just a necklace from our collection, not a weapon of mass destruction. They thought we were lying, and one agent kept repeating that he believed it was a weapon.
I tried to explain that we were jewelry designers going to a trade show, and this was simply a piece from our collection. But the agents didn’t buy it. Then a few women guards came over to assist. One of the women guards was holding an earring up to her ear and another was trying on a ring. Apparently, they liked our stuff.
It was only at this point that the male guards gave up. And I think they also got tired of listening to a bunch of women talk about jewelry. They let us through.
We took the names of the women agents and sent them a piece of jewelry when we got back to say thanks.
1.When the object in question finally appeared, the writer and her sister felt _______.
A. anxious B. relieved C. excited D. frightened
2.The writer and her sister were stopped by the agents because ________.
A. their suitcases were too heavy
B. the agents wanted to play a joke on them
C. they were suspected to carry dangerous objects
D. the agents wanted to admire the jewelry inside the suitcases
3.The underlined word “buy” in Paragraph 7 probably means ________.
A. doubt B. believe C. purchase D. understand
4.The writer sent the women agents a piece of jewelry in order to ________.
A. persuade them to buy her jewelry later
B. get help from them next time
C. show them her talent in designing jewelry
D. show them her gratitude for their assistance
5.According to this passage, which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. Someone put something dangerous in one of the writer’s bags.
B. The male agents didn’t believe the writer at first.
C. The female agents liked the jewelry.
D. The writer is always travelling on business.
For those who make journeys across the world, the speed of travel today has turned the countries into a series of villages. Distances between them appear no greater to a modern traveler than those which once faced men as they walked from village to village. Jet plane fly people from one end of the earth to the other, allowing them a freedom of movement undreamt of a hundred years ago.
Yet some people wonder if the revolution in travel has gone too far. A price has been paid, they say, for the conquest （征服） of time and distance. Travel is something to be enjoyed, not endured （忍受）. The boat offers leisure and time enough to appreciate the ever-changing sights and sounds of a journey. A journey by train also has a special charm about it. Lakes and forests and wild, open plains sweeping past your carriage window create a grand view in which time and distance mean nothing. On board a plane, however, there is just the blank blue of the sky filling the narrow window of the airplane. The soft lighting, in-flight films and gentle music make up the only world you know, and the hours progress slowly.
Then there is the time spent being “processed” at a modern airport. People are conveyed like robots along walkways; baggage is weighed, tickets produced, examined and produced yet again before the passenger move again to another waiting area. Journeys by rail and sea take longer, yes, but the hours devoted to being “processed” at departure and arrival in airports are luckily absent. No wonder, then, that the modern high-speed trains are winning back passengers from the airlines.
Man, however, is now a world traveler and can not turn his back on the airplane. The working lives of too many people depend upon it; whole new industries have been built around its design and operation. The holiday maker, too, with limited time to spend, patiently endures the busy airports and limited space of the flight to gain those extra hours and even days, relaxing in the sun. speed controls people’s lives；time saved, in work or play, is the important thing—or so we are told. Perhaps those first horsemen, riding free across the wild, open plains, were enjoying a better world than the one we know today. They could travel at will, and the clock was not their master.
1.What does the writer try to express in Paragraph1?
A. Travel by plane has speeded up the growth of villages.
B. The speed of modern travel has made distances relatively short.
C. The freedom of movement has helped people realize their dreams.
D. Man has been fond of traveling rather than staying in one place.
2.How does the writer support the underlined statement in Paragraph2?
A. By giving instructions.
B. By analyzing cause and effect.
C. By following the order of time.
D. By giving examples.
3.According to Paragraph3, passengers are turning back to modern high-speed trains because______.
A. they pay less for the tickets
B. they feel safer during the travel.
C. they can enjoy higher speed of travel
D. they don’t have to waste time being “processed”
4.What does the last sentence of the passage mean?
A. They could enjoy free and relaxing travel.
B. They needed the clock to tell the time.
C. They preferred traveling on horseback.
D. They could travel with their master.
5.What is the main idea of the passage?
A. Air travel benefits people and industries.
B. Train Travel has some advantages over air travel.
C. Great changes have taken place in modern travel.
D. The high speed of air travel is gained at a cost.
There were smiling children all the way. Clearly they knew at what time the train passed their homes and they made it their business to stand along the railway, wave to complete strangers and cheer them up as they rushed towards Penang. Often whole families stood outside their homes and waved and smiled as if those on the trains were their favorite relatives. This is the simple village people of Maiaysia. I was moved.
I had always traveled to Malaysia by plane or car, so this was the first time I was on a train. I did not particularly relish the long train journey and had brought along a dozen magazines to read and reread. I looked about the train. There was not one familiar face. I sighed and sat down to read my Economics.
It was not long before the train was across the Causeway and in Malaysia. Johore Baru was just another city like Singapore, so I was tired of looking at the crowds of people as they hurried past. As we went beyond the city, I watched the straight rows of rubber trees and miles and miles of green. Then the first village came into sight. Immediately I came alive. I decided to wave back.
From then on my journey became interesting. I threw my magazines into the waste basket and decided to join in Malaysian life. Then everything came alive. The mountains seemed to speak to me. Even the trees were smiling. I stared at everything as if I was looking at it for the first time.
The day passed fast and I even forgot to have my lunch until I felt hungry. I looked at my watch and was surprised that it was 3:00 pm. Soon the train pulled up at Butterworth. I looked at the people all around me. They all looked beautiful. When my uncle arrived with a smile, I threw my arms around him to give him a warm hug （拥抱）. I had never done this before. He seemed surprised and then his weather-beaten face warmed up with a huge smile. We walked arm in arm to his car.
I looked forward to the return journey.
1.The author expected the train trip to be ________.
A. adventurous B. pleasant C. excitingD. dull
2.What did the author remember most fondly of her train trip________?
A. The friendly country people.
B. The mountains along the way.
C. The crowds of people in the streets.
D. The simple lunch served on the train.
3.Which of the following words can best take the place of the word “relish” in the second paragraph_____?
A. choose B. enjoy C. prepare for D. carry on
4.Where was the writer going________?
A. Johore Baru. B. The Causeway. C. Butterworth. D. Singapore.
5.What can we learn from the story________?
A. Comfort in traveling by t rain.
B. Pleasure of living in the country.
C. Reading gives people delight.
D. Smiles brighten people up.
Short and shy, Ben Saunders was the last kid in his class picked for any sports team. "Football, tennis, Cricket—anything with a round ball, I was useless." he says now with a laugh. But back then he was the object of jokes in school gym classes in England's rural Devonshire.
It was a mountain bike he received for his 15th birthday that changed him. At first the teen went biking alone in a nearby forest. Then he began to cycle along with a runner friend. Gradually, Saunders set his mind on building up his body, increasing his speed, strength and endurance. At age 18, he ran his first marathon.
The following year, he met John Ridgway, who became famous in the 1960s for rowing an open boat across the Atlantic Ocean. Saunders was hired as an instructor at Ridgway's school of Adventure in Scotland, where he learned about the older man's cold-water exploits（成就）. Intrigued, Saunders read all he could about Arctic explorers and North Pole expeditions, then decided that this would be his future.
Journeys to the Pole aren't the usual holidays for British country boys, and many people dismissed his dream as fantasy." John Ridgway was one of the few who didn't say, 'You are completely crazy,'" Saunders says.
In 2001, after becoming a skilled skier, Saunders started his first long-distance expedition toward the North Pole. He suffered frostbite, had a closer encounter（遭遇）with a polar bear and pushed his body to the limit.
Saunders has since become the youngest person to ski alone to the North Pole, and he's skied more of the Arctic by himself than any other Briton. His old playmates would not believe the transformation.
This October, Saunders, 27, heads south to explore from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole and back, an 1800-mile journey that has never been completed on skis.
1.The turning point in Saunders' life came when _________.
A. he started to play ball games
B. he got a mountain bike at age 15
C. he ran his first marathon at age 18
D. he started to receive Ridgway's training
2.We can learn from the text that Ridgway __________.
A. dismissed Saunders' dream as fantasy
B. built up his body together with Saunders
C. hired Saunders for his cold-water experience
D. won his fame for his voyage across the Atlantic
3.What do we know about Saunders_________?
A. He once worked at a school in Scotland.
B. He followed Ridgway to explore the North Pole.
C. He was the first Briton to ski alone to the North Pole.
D. He was chosen for the school sports team as a kid.
4.The underlined word "Intrigued" in the third paragraph probably means_________.
A. Excited B. Convinced
C. Delighted D. Fascinated
5.It can be inferred tat Saunders' journey to the North Pole __________.
A. was accompanied by his old playmates
B. set a record in the North Pole expedition
C. was supported by other Arctic explorers
D. made him well-known in the 1960s
Sixteen years ago I learned this lesson in the back of a New York City taxi cab. Here’s what happened. I hopped in a taxi, and we took off for Grand Central Station. We were driving in the right lane when, all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car’s back end by just inches!
The driver of the other car, who almost caused a big accident, started yelling bad words at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean he was friendly. So, I said, “Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!” And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call “The Law of the Garbage Truck. ”
Many people are like garbage （rubbish） trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it. And if you let them, they’ll dump it on you. When someone wants to dump on you, don’t take it personally. You just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. You’ll be happy with what you did.
I started thinking, how often do I let Garbage Trucks run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets? It was that day I said, “I’m not going to do anymore.”
Successful people do not let Garbage Trucks take over their day. What about you? If you let more garbage trucks pass you by, you’ll be happier. Life’s too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So, Love the people who treat you right. Forget about the ones who don’t.
1.What happened one day when the author was taking a taxi?
A. The taxi almost hit another car.
B. The taxi driver was injured.
C. The author scolded the driver of the other car.
D. The author learned a lesson from the driver of the garbage truck.
2.How did the taxi driver respond to the behavior of the driver of the black car?
A. He yelled back at the driver.
B. He sent the driver to the hospital.
C. He was friendly towards the driver.
D. He dumped some garbage in front of his car.
3.What does the taxi driver think of people according to Paragraph 3?
A. Many people like to drive garbage trucks.
B. Many people dump garbage wherever they like.
C. Many people are warm-hearted to make others happy.
D. Many people tend to be very much depressed.
4.What can we infer from Paragraph 4?
A. The author used to have a lot of garbage trucks.
B. The author used to complain a lot.
C. The author used to have a lot of money.
D. The author used to be a good manager.
5.According to the passage, what should you do if people “dump garbage” on you?
A. Ignore them and go on with our own work.
B. Try our best to persuade them not to do that again.
C. Tell them to dump the garbage in the right place.
D. Take over their work and carry the garbage to somewhere else.
An old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and 4-year-old grandson. The old man’s hands , his eyesight was not clear, and his unsteady（不稳定的）. The family were every night at the dinner table. But the elderly grandfather’s shaky hands and sight made this rather difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped the glass, would often spill（洒落）onto the tablecloth. “We must do something about grandfather,” said the husband.
So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There, grandfather ate in the corner while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner at the dinner table. grandfather had already broken a dish or two, his food was served in a bowl. Sometimes, when the family grandfather, he had a tear in his eye as he ate alone. , the only words the couple had for him were sharp when he dropped a fork or spilled food. The 4-year-old boy watched all this .
One evening before supper, the father his son playing with wood scraps（小块）on the floor. He asked the child sweetly: “What are you making?” Just as , the boy answered: “Oh, I am making a little for you and mama to eat your food from when I grow up.” The 4-year-old boy smiled and went back to on it.
The words the parents so much that they were . Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. no word was spoken, both knew what they had to do. That evening, the husband took grandfather’s hand and led him back to the family table.
1.A. wounded B. moved C. trembledD. dragged
2.A. step B. feetC. speech D. body
3.A. awayB. togetherC. asleep D. apart
4.A. losingB. failing C. disappearingD. rising
5.A. foodB. panC. milkD. dinner
6.A. aloneB. casuallyC. steadilyD. bitterly
7.A. AfterB. SinceC. While D. When
8.A. smallB. safeC. bigD. wooden
9.A. glanced atB. stared atC. looked throughD. looked after
10.A. HoweverB. OtherwiseC. StillD. Rather
11.A. commentsB. quarrelsC. warningsD. remark
12.A. in silenceB. in advanceC. in dangerD. in charge
13.A. researchedB. noticedC. searchedD. explored
14.A. firmlyB. suddenlyC. cruelly D. sweetly
15.A. bowlB. cupC. spoon D. pan
16.A. worshipB. workC. whisperD. weave
17.A. impressedB. touchedC. confusedD. struck
18.A. speechlessB. homelessC. fearlessD. hopeless
19.A. OnceB. WhetherC. ThoughD. Unless
20.A. gentlyB. happilyC. fluentlyD. fortunately
