阅读下面短文,掌握其大意,然后从各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中,选出最佳选项。
In the week before Christmas, one Delta airlines pilot gave a sad Arizona family a gift that no one else could.
Father of three, Jay short died after a ____with lung cancer Dec, 16th. Three days later, his family was attempting to ____to Tennessee for the funeral scheduled for the next morning. But a 90-munite ___at the Phoenix airport ____them only seven minutes to make their connecting flight in Minnesota. “This was our ____chance to say goodbye to my dad, and if we hadn’t _____the flight, we would have missed the ______.” Jay’s daughter said. But when they arrived at the gate, the last plane of the day to Memphis was ____away from the gate.
“My son was ______his arms and pleading with the pilot through the floor-to ceiling windows.” said Marcia, “I was _____ and comforting my girls who were also in tears when the phone rang, ______us that the pilot was returning to the gate to let us _____the plane.” Captain Adam Cohen saw the _____on their faces through the gate’s windows and decided to turn the plane around. Airline experts pointed out Cohen could have _____gotten into trouble for the _____decision, but Delta ____the move instead. “This is ______we’ll take with us, knowing we made a _______.” confirmed Adam.
This story is an _____that we can bring humanity back to society. Show care and it may ______you how far that you go.
1.A. competition B. symptom C. connection D. battle
2.A ride B run C fly D. drive
3.A. wait B. delay C. interval D. sleep
4.A. spared B. offered C. brought D. left
5.A. last B. slight C. rare D. proper
6.A. followed B. caught C. booked D. confirmed
7.A. doctor B. meeting C. polite D. funeral
8.A. keeping B. bringing C. pulling D. taking
9.A. raising B. waving C folding D. crossing
10.A. struggling B. shouting C. crying D. praying
11.A. advising B. informing C. warning D. instructing
12.A. land B. guide C. change D. board
13.A. appreciation B. satisfaction C. desperation D. caution
14.A. easily B. merely C. optionally D. deliberately
15.A. careless B. unusual C. selfless D. unwise
16.A. resisted B. opposed C. praised D. sponsored
17.A. nothing B. something C. anything D. everything
18.A. difference B. change C. promise D. deal
19.A. activity B. event C. incident D. evidence
20.A. surprise B. panic C. disappoint D. Embarrass
The book A Big Fat Crisis: The Hidden Forces Behind Obesity Epidemic— and How We Can End It by Deborah Co
hen, a senior natural scientist, is very popular now. 1. But according to this book, the fo
llowing are some misunderstandings of obesity or being overweight.
1．If you're obese, blame your genes.
2. Yet, between 1980 and 2000, the number of Americans who are obese has doubled—too quickly for genetic factors to be responsible. At restaurants, a dollar puts more calories on our plates than ever before, because restaurant meals usually have more calories than what we prepare at home, so people who eat out more frequently have higher rates of obesity than those who eat out less.
2．If you're obese, you lack selfcontrol.
Research shows that if we are faced with too much information, we have a tendency to make poor choices on diet. 3. Even, the most vigilant(警觉的)people may not be good controllers of themselves.
3．4.
Although the US Department of Agriculture estimates that fewer than 5 per cent of Americans live in the “food deserts”， about 65 per cent of the nation's population is obese. For most of us, obesity is not related to access to more fresh fruits and vegetables, but to the choices we make in supermarkets.
4．The problem is not that we eat too much, but that we don't exercise.
Michelle Obama's “Let's Move” campaign is based on the idea that if kids exercise more, childhood obesity rates will decrease. 5. In fact, although a drop in workrelated physical activity may explain up to 100 fewer calories burned, leisure physical activity appears to have increased.
A．Lack of access to fresh fruits and vegetables is a cause of obesity.
B．Obesity rates have increased.
C．Fresh fruits and vegetables we choose in a supermarket are related to obesity.
D．But there was no obvious decrease in physical activity levels as obesity rates climbed in the 1980s and 1990s.
E．People hold different views on obesity.
F．People benefit a lot from physical activities.
G．Our world has become so rich in food that we can be led to consume too much in ways we can't understand.
We took a rare family road trip to the Adirondacks in late August，and it was as refreshing and exhausting as family vacations tend to be．Toward the end of our long drive home, even the kids were leaning forward in their seats urging my lead foot on．At that point in a road trip，even sixty-five miles per hour feels slow. We have become numb to our speed and numb to the road signs flashing by.
My family lives on the edge of Lancaster County. Only thirty miles from home，I hit the brakes，and we began to roll，slowly，behind a horse-drawn carriage. We began to open our eyes again．We saw familiar green hills and the farm with the best watermelons. I rolled down the windows, and we breathed again．Just-cut hay and a barn full of dairy cattle．
At five miles per hour，you remember what you forget at sixty-five．You are thinking about a place，even when you are moving from place to place．
I am a placemaker. A homemaker, too. I am a mother of a young kid at home，and also a writer and a gardener．But，for me，those roles are wrapped up with the one big thing I want to do with the rest of my life：I want to cultivate a place and share it with others．
The place I make with my family is a red-brick farmhouse built in l880. It has quite a few nineteenth-century bedrooms and a few acres of land，and we love nothing more than to fill them with neighbors and friends. We grow vegetables and flowers，keep a baker’s dozen of egg—laying chickens，and，since we moved in three years ago，we have planted many，many trees．
Living with my life’s purpose does not allow for much travel. I need to be here，feeding the chickens and watering the tomatoes. Any extra in the budget，and we spend it on trees．
But I learned something at the end of our family road trip．Travel can help me in the task of caring for my own place．When I slow down and pay attention to the road between here and there，travel tells me the connections between my place and all the other places．
1.What does the author try to express in the first paragraph?
A．The tiredness of her past family life．
B．Her disappointment at the family road trip．
C．The family’s eagerness to return home．
D．Kids’excitement at driving fast on the road．
2.Why did the author slow her car some miles from her home?
A．Because she made a way for a horse-drawn carriage．
B．Because she enjoyed the scenery along the road．
C．Because she needed a break after the long drive．
D．Because she wanted to get rid of a fast-paced life．
3.What can be the best title of the passage?
A．On the Way Home
B．Never Travel again
C．Escape from a Family Life
D．Life on the Farm
I first came across the concept of pay-what-you-can cafes last summer in Boone, N.C., where I ate at F.A.R.M (Feed All Regardless of Means) Café. You can volunteer to earn your meal, pay the suggested price($10) or less, or you can overpay—paying it forward for a future customer’s meal. My only regret after eating there was not having a chance to give my time. So as soon as Healthy World Café opened in York in April, I signed up for a volunteer shift(轮班).
F.A.R.M and Healthy World are part of a growing trend of community cafés. In 2003, Denise Cerreta opened the first in Salt Lake City. Cerreta now runs the One World Everybody Eats Foundation, helping others copy her pay-what-you can model.
“I think the community café is truly a hand up, not a handout,” Cerreta said. She acknowledged that soup kitchens(施粥所) have a place in society, but people typically don’t feel good about going there.
“One of the values of the community café is that we have another approach,” she said. “Everyone eats here, no one needs to know whether you volunteered, overpaid or underpaid.”
The successful cafés not only address hunger and food insecurity but also become necessary parts of their neighborhood – whether it’s a place to learn skills or hear live music. Some teach cooking to seniors; some offer free used books. Eating or working there is a reminder that we are all in this world together.
My 10 am---1pm shift at World-Healthy-Café began with the café manager – one of the two paid staff members. Our volunteer crew wasn’t the most orderly, but we managed to prepare and serve meals with a lot of laughs in between. At the end of my shift, I ordered my earned meal at the counter, together with other volunteers. After lunch, I walked out the door, with a handful of new friends, music in my head and a satisfied belly and heart.
1.What did the author do at F.A.R.M Café last summer?
A. She enjoyed a meal.
B. She ate free of charge.
C. She overpaid for the food.
D. She worked as a volunteer.
2.What is the advantage of community cafés compared with soup kitchens?
A. People can have free food.
B. People can maintain their dignity.
C. People can stay as long as they like.
D. People can find their places in society.
3.Why are community cafés becoming popular in the neighborhoods?
A. They bring people true friendships.
B. They help to bring people together.
C. They create a lot of job opportunities.
D. They support local economic development.
4.How did the author feel about working at Healthy World Café?
A. It paid well. B. It changed her.
C. It was beneficial. D. It was easy for her.
Back in 2003 an 86-year-old man drove his Buick through a crowded farmers’ market. Nine people were killed. More than fifty-four people were hurt, fourteen with serious injuries. When he finally stopped, the 86-year-old man got out his car and screamed at people to get out of the way. No alcohol or drugs were found in his system. Apparently, he was just old and confused.
This is a frightening accident, and it is not a rare one. There are many examples of elderly drivers driving into swimming pools, houses, storefronts, or worse.
In our teenage years, we all heard “driving is not a right; it’s a privilege.” That is still true, and there comes an age when driving is no longer a privilege that can be allowed. After a certain age, eyesight and dementia(痴呆) are very serious concerns. Undoubtedly, these age-related problems affect some older adults’ driving ability. By the time a person is between eighty-five and ninety years old, his or her driving privilege should be examined.
Licensing laws vary greatly from state to state, and it’s time for a national law on the maximum age limit for driving. The motivation for this law is safety. Another option is to start with laws that ban anyone over the age of eighty-five from driving after sundown, because driving conditions are not as safe as daylight hours. Still another option that may allow elderly drivers to continue driving could be new technology like a voice warning system that cautions drivers on busy streets or at traffic lights. Finally, since there are laws against driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, shouldn’t some prescription drugs also be included? The average age of 85-year-old is undoubtedly taking at least one prescription drug daily.
The thought of an 86-year-old driver with failing eyesight running down the road in a two-ton piece of metal is unsettling to us all. Driving at an advanced age is not only challenging for the elderly drivers, but also it’s dangerous for the rest of us.
1.The first paragraph is written in order to show_________.
A. the harm of driving at an old age
B. the importance of traffic safety
C. traffic accidents are on the rise
D. many elderly drivers are careless
2.The author suggests that there should be new laws against driving __________.
A. over eighty-five
B. between sunset and dawn
C. with the help of voice warning systems
D. under the influence of prescription drugs
3.The underlined word “unsettling” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to “________”.
A. disappointing B. worrying
C. touching D. interesting
4.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
A. How to keep old people safe on the road?
B. Are drivers well protected by licensing laws?
C. Should there be an age limit for elderly drivers?
D. Is driving a right or a privilege for an old person?
It is good to get in touch with your inner child from time to time，and obviously some people are willing to pay big money for the chance to do so in a proper environment．A Brooklyn-based adult preschool is charging customers between $333 and $999 for the chance to act like a kid again．
At Preschool Mastermind in New York adults get to participate in show—and—tell，arts—and—crafts such as finger paint，games like musical chairs and even take naps．The month-long course also has class picture day where the adults are expected to have a field trip and a parent day．
30-year-old Michelle Joni Lapidos，the brain behind the adult preschool，studied childhood education and has always wanted to be a preschool teacher．She’s always on the lookout for new ways to get people in touch with the freedom of childhood．A friend encouraged her to start the mastermind course instead．
According to Candice，her blogger friend，Preschool Mastermind gives adults a chance to relearn and master the things that they failed to understand as children．“I realized all the significances of what we learn in preschool，”said founder Michelle Joni，“People come here and get in touch with their inner child．It’s magical．We are bringing ourselves back to another place，another time with ourselves when we are more believing in ourselves，more confident and ready to take on the world.”
“One person’s here because they want to learn not to be so serious．”Michelle said．“Another's here to learn to be more confident.” She explained that most of the classes were planned．However，Joni added that while the planned activities were fun，it was often the spontaneous(自发的)moments that attracted students．“It’s the things you don’t plan for，the sharing between friends and learning from each other.’’
1.What is the purpose of Preschool Mastermind?
A．To give adults a chance to return to childhood．
B．To help parents understand their children better．
C．To provide practical training courses for teachers．
D．To introduce some ways of playing with children．
2.What is mainly discussed about Preschool Mastermind in Paragraph 2 ?
A．Its customers． B．Its activities．
C．Its environment． D．Its schedule.
3.According to Candice，people come to this program to________.
A．enjoy freedom of thinking
B．realize their childhood dreams
C．discover their inner abilities
D．figure out childhood puzzles
4.What do we know about Michelle Joni?
A．She used to be a preschool teacher．
B．She likes to make plans in advance．
C．She founded Preschool Mastermind．
D．She gained confidence by sharing．
