Do you sometimes argue about what seems to you to be simple fact? Do you argue whether it’s cold outdoors or whether the car in front of you is going faster than the speed limit?

If you get into such arguments, try to think about the story about the six blind men and the elephant. The first blind man who felt the elephant’s trunk said it was like a snake. The second who felt the elephant’s side said it was like a wall, while the third said it was like a spear as he touched the animal’s tusk. The fourth, who got hold of the elephant’s tail insisted that it was like a rope. The fifth man said it looked like a tree as he put his arms around one of the elephant’s legs. The sixth, who was tall and got hold of the elephant’s ears, said it was like a huge fan.

Each man’s idea of the animal came from his own experience. So if someone disagrees with you about a“simple fact”, it’s often because his experience in the matter is different from yours.

To see how hard it is for even one person to make up his mind about a“simple fact”, try this simple experiment. Get three large bowls. Put ice water in one. Put hot water in the second. Put lukewarm water in the third. Now put your left hand in the ice water. Put your right hand in the hot water. After thirty seconds, put both hands in the lukewarm water. Your right hand will tell you the water is cold. Your left hand will tell you it’s hot!

What makes people think about simple facts differently?

A. The fact that simple facts differ from one another.

B. The fact that people have different experience in the same simple fact.

C. The fact that people often disagree with one another.

D. The fact that it’s hard to make up one’s mind about simple facts.

Which of the following temperatures can the word“lukewarm”be applied to?

A. Around 1℃          B. Above 60℃      C. Around 25℃        D. Below 0℃

After reading the last paragraph, we may think of        .

A. Newton’s law                       B. Gallileo’s theory of falling objects

C. Einstein’s theory of relativity    D. Marx’s On Capital

The main idea of this passage is         .

A. people often judge something according to his own experience

B. people often agree about simple facts

C. it’s hard for a person to make up his mind about a simple fact

D. don’t care too much about simple facts

Cloze test 完形填空

阅读下面短文,掌握其大意,然后从26-45各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中选出能填入相应空白处的最佳选项。

Last Tuesday I took my two daughters, aged five and seven, to town by car. It began to rain__36__ so I decided I would leave the children in the car__37__ I rushed into a shop. I warned the girls not to __38__ anything and told them I would be __39__ within a few minutes. Then I locked all the doors and left __40__happily looking out of the window.

   I returned to the car in less than five minutes but the girls had __41__! I could hardly believe my __42__. The car doors were __43__ locked, the windows tightly shut and on the back seat __44__only two coats. Being __45__, I ran to the corner of the street __46__ there was no sign of them. I __47__up to an old lady nearby and asked __48__ she had seen two small girls but she said “No”.

Feeling quite sick with fear, I sat on the driver’s seat, and __49__ to stop trembling(发抖). Suddenly, I __50__ a merry laugh _51__ me. I got out of the car, ran round to open the boot(车尾行李箱) and __52__ were two very red-face and __53__ children. They had obviously pulled out the back seat, __54__ behind it and then been unable to push the seat forward again. __55__ tears in my eyes, I leaned forward and pulled their ears.

36.A. heavy

B. hard

C. big

D. hardly

37. A. before

B. since

C. after

D. which

38. A. talk

B. reach

C. hear

D. touch

39.A. away

B. out

C. back

D. along

40.A. them

B. her

C. herself

D. themselves

41.A. discovered

B. disappeared

C. described

D. delivered

42.A. ears

B. words

C. eyes

D. heads

43.A. even

B. again

C. already

D. still

44.A. have

B. were

C. had

D. are

45.A. foolish

B. proud

C. frightened

D. pleased

46.A. where

B. which

C. that

D. when

47.A. arrived

B. looked

C. rushed

D. left

48.A. what

B. when

C. whether

D. how

49.A. tried

B. had

C. tired

D. ought

50.A. felt

B. listened

C. smelt

D. heard

51.A. behind

B. over

C. before

D. with

52.A. outside

B. among

C. inside

D. between

53.A. worried

B. excited

C. surprised

D. interested

54.A. climbed

B. flew

C. threw

D. jumped

55.A. For

B. About

C. With

D. Down

Taiwan police cannot decide whether to treat it as an extremely eleven act of stealing or an even cleverer cheat . Either way , it could be the perfect crime (犯罪), because the criminals are birds—horning pigeons !

The crime begins with a telephone message to the owner of a stolen car : if you want the car back, pay up then, the car owner is directed to a park, told where to find a bird cage and how to attach money to the neck of the pigeon inside . Carrying the money in a tiny bag , the pigeon flies off .

There have been at least four such pigeon pick-ups in Changwa. What at first seemed like the work of a clever stay-at-home car thief, however , may in face be the work of an even lazier and more inventive criminal mind—one that avoid (避免)not only colleting money but going out to steal the car in the first place . Police officer Chen says that the criminal probably has pulled a double trick: he gets money for things he cannot possibly return . Instead of stealing cars , he lets someone else do it and then waits for the car-owner to place an ad (启事) in the newspaper asking for help .

The theory is supported by the fact that , so far , none of the stolen cars have been returned . Also, the amount of money demanded-under 3,000 Taiwanese dollars –seems too little for a car worth many times more .

Demands for pigeon-delivered money stopped as soon as the press reported the story. And even if they start again, Chen holds little hope of catching the criminal . “We have more important things to do, ” he said .

1.After the car owner received a phone call. He          

A.went to a certain pigeon and put some money in the bag it carried

B.gave the money to the thief and had his car back in a park

C.sent some money to the thief by mail

D.told the press about it

2.The “lazier and more inventive” criminal refers to          .

A.the car thief who stays at home     

B.one of those who put the ads in the paper

C.one of the policemen in Changwa  

D.the owner of the pigeons

3.The writer mentions the fact that “none of the stolen cars have been returned” to show       .

A.how easily people get fooled by criminals

B.what Chen thinks might be correct

C.the thief is extremely clever

D.the money paid is too little

4.The underlined word “they” in the last paragraph refers to          .

A.criminals            B.pigeons

C.the stolen cars    D.demands for money

5.We may infer from the text that the criminal knows how to reach the car owners because     .

A.he reads the ads in the newspaper  

B.he lives in the same neighborhood

C.he has seen the car owners in the park 

D.he has trained the pigeons to follow them


Parents in three Midwestern states will soon know just how good or bad their kids' driving is when their children take the car for a spin (疾驶).
Starting today, American Family Insurance is offering customers with teen drivers free cameras that record what happens when a sudden change in the car's movement occurs.
The cameras record the action inside and in front of the car in 20 - second audio - video clips (剪辑). The clips are then transmitted to Drive Cam, a San Diego company that analyzes the clips for risky behavior.
Among things the analysts look for is the response time of the drivers and if they are paying attention to the road. Parents can receive a report on their kids' driving and view the clips on a home computer.
Car accidents are the leading cause of death among U. S. teens, according to the NHTSA
(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration).
"There will be fewer accidents," Rick Fetherston, vice president at American Family said of the new system. American Family will test the system out by offering it for free for one year to 30.000 families in Wisconsin, Indiana and Minnesota to see whether the system results in fewer accidents. If the system is proven to prevent accidents, customers who volunteer to use it might see their insurance premiums (保险费) drop. The company would not be viewing the videos or individual score cars, unless there is an accident.
Bruce Moeller, president of Drive Cam, says his company's system is already being used by companies with lots of cars. "Some of our customers are reporting a 30% to 90% reduction in their risky driver events," Moeller says.
But a lawyer in Minneapolis says. "If I felt I needed a camera in the car to watch over my kids, I shouldn't be letting them drive."
American Family tested the system in two high schools in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Megan Ireland, 17, said the camera caught her stopping too late and taking turns too fast. The student at Prior Lake High School in Savage, Minn., said she didn't like it because she felt it invaded her privacy (侵犯隐私) but has warmed up to the system. "Now I don't really have a problem with it because it's made me a better driver," she says. "For real."
69.The camera is being offered to________by________free of charge now.
A.teen drivers; a company called Drive Cam
B.insurance companies; a San Diego company
C.families with teen drivers; an insurance company
D.American Family Insurance; the NHTSA
70.The camera is used to________.
A.record what the teen driver does while driving
B.prevent the teen drivers from speeding
C.reduce the insurance premiums
D.provide videos and score cards for the police
71.Which of the following states is NOT true according to the passage?
A.Drive Cam will analyze the clips to find if the driver drives riskily.
B.All the students in Minnesota and Wisconsin don't like the system.
C.The insurance company will never look at the clips or score cards of the customers.
D.If the system can reduce the number of accidents, the fees for insurance will be reduced.
72.The best title for this passage might be________.
A.Teens, drive carefully     B.A free camera for kids
C.Cameras invade Privacy     D.Cameras keep watch on teen driving

Weddings in the United States vary as much as the people do. There are church weddings with a great deal of fanfare; there are weddings on mountain-tops with guests barefooted; and there have been weddings on the ocean floor with oxygen tanks for the guests. But many weddings, no matter where or how they are performed, include certain traditional customs.
  Before a couple is married,they become engaged. And then invitations are sent to those who live nearby, their close friends and their relatives who live far away. When everything is ready,then comes the most exciting moment.
  The wedding itself usually lasts between 20 and 40 minutes. The wedding party enters the church while the wedding march is played. The bride carrying a bouquet enters last with her father who will "give her away". The groom enters the church from a side door. When the wedding party is gathered by the altar, the bride and groom exchange vows. It is traditional to use the words "To have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part". Following the vows, the couple exchange rings. Wearing the wedding ring on the fourth finger of the left hand is an old custom.
  After the ceremony there is often a party, called a "reception" which gives the wedding guests an opportunity to congratulate the newlyweds.
The car in which the couple leaves the church is decorated with balloons, streamers and shaving cream. The words "Just Married" are painted on the trunk or back window. The bride and groom run to the car under a shower of rice thrown by the wedding guests. When the couple drives away from the church, friends often chase them in cars, honking and drawing attention to them. And then the couple go on their honeymoon.
【小题1】 What’s the main idea of the passage?

A.Introducing the kinds of wedding in the USA
B.introducing the whole procedure of the wedding in the USA
C.Introducing the traditional wedding ceremony in the USA
D.Introducing a forgetful wedding party in the USA
【小题2】Which of the following sentences is true?
A.In American ,before a couple are married, they never get engaged.
B.It is an old custom to wear the wedding ring on the fourth finger of the right hand.
C.They don’t invite the relatives who live far away to the wedding party.
D.The couple will go on their honeymoon on the very wedding day.
【小题3】Which is the last but one step of the wedding ceremony?
A.The bride carrying a bouquet enters with her father who will "give her away"
B.t he bride and groom exchange vows
C.the couple exchange rings
D.The wedding party enters the church while the wedding march is played

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