One bitterly cold day, a snowstorm blew into our area. Needing firewood, I quickly set out with my best friend, Bruce, to look for a tree to cut down. I was glad to have Bruce along. Cutting down a tree in a snowstorm can be dangerous. So it was important to have a friend who could warn me of dangers.

   When I chose a big 23-meter-tall tree and prepared to cut it down, my best friend suddenly warned me, “Don’t cut down that tree! It’s too close to the power line!” I wasn’t sure about it. So I decided to disregard his warning. I wanted to finish the job quickly and go home. So I began cutting down the tree. When the tree fell, there was no longer any doubt that my friend was right.

   The tree caught the power line, bringing it to the ground. I considered cutting the tree off the line. After all, electricity can’t travel through wood, so I could safely remove the tree. As I reached out my finger to touch the tree, pain ran up my arm and through my head. I had been shocked!

   After I returned home and told my mother what had happened, she quickly called the power company. Workers from the power company soon arrived on the scene. One of them asked if I had touched the tree, and when I told him I had, his face turned pale.

“You should have been killed,” he said.

So why am I still alive? It was my boots that saved my life.

Within two hours, the workers removed the tree. Soon the snowstorm calmed down—but not my mother.

Even though she was glad I wasn’t hurt, my mother was well serious with me. After all, I shouldn’t have brushed off my friend’s warning.

Through this experience, I learned that it’s important to listen to people who offer a different perspective(观点). Taking the time to listen might actually save a lot of time and trouble. It certainly would have kept me from getting the “shock of my life”.

The underlined word “disregard ” in the second paragraph means “________”.

  A. pay no attention to     B. take notice of       C. consider    D. follow

In spite of Bruce’s warning, the author still cut the tree because ________.

  A. he was sure there would be nothing to happen

  B. he wasn’t sure whether Bruce was right and was anxious to go home

  C. he didn’t hear his friend’s warning at all because of the blowing wind

  D. he was angry with his friend and didn’t want to listen to him

The author wrote the passage mainly to _______.

  A. give an account of one of his terrible experiences

  B. make us know it’s important to listen to people who offer a different perspective (观点) through his experience

 C. tell us not to cut trees down any more

  D. remind us to be careful while working

Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

  A. But for his boots, the writer would have died.

  B. The writer regretted having brushed off his friend’s warning.

  C. The writer knew nothing about electricity.

  D. When the tree was cut down, the writer realized his friend was right

As a reader,I,as many other book lovers do,often leave with a long sigh after visiting a bookstore.The prices printed on book jackets keep reminding me how thin my wallet is.

The price of books is now so high that I hesitate before buying a book I love.Many people feel the same way.But I remember that only a few years ago,when I was a college student,I bought several books almost every month,using what was left out of the living expenses sent by my parents,and that was not more than 200 yuan.

But now that I am working and the money I earn is only used to support my own expenses,I find I can’t afford many good books.

There is a saying,“Book lovers have no money,but rich people have no feelings for books.” This is exactly the case.Sometimes I wonder about who the books are published for,especially those books with beautiful hard covers.

It is said that usually,the listed price is more than twice as much as the book’s cost and we can see high profits from selling books.But now there is a contradiction.On one hand,readers who want to buy books aren’t able to,while on the other hand,publishers and sellers suffer from the large stockpiles of unsaleable books being stored in their warehouses.This situation is also a disadvantage to intellectual property right protection because many books of bestsellers are sold at a lower price at some book stands.

The key to resolve the problem is to cut the price to an acceptable level to both sellers and consumers.

I wish sincerely that in the near future common readers like me could buy the books we want without worrying about the high prices too much.

46.The first paragraph of this article tells us that________.

A.the prices of some books are too high

B.many readers are too poor to buy expensive books

C.the writer is one of those who can’t afford to buy books

D.all the above are correct

47.The writer ________at college.

A.often bought books when studying

B.was very rich when studying

C.was living a very simple life

D.hesitated to buying anything but books

48.“Book lovers have no money,but rich people have no feelings for books.” means________.

A.those who like reading maybe have not enough money to buy books

B.those who don’t want to study otherwise are very rich

C.everything in the world has been changed to its opposite

D.both A and B

49.From the fifth paragraph,we can see________.

A.publishers shouldn’t have set the prices of books so high

B.booksellers can hardly earn their living by selling books

C.it’s no good for publishers and sellers if the prices are too high

D.the high prices of books were set by many factors

50.The writer of this article wished________.

A.the prices of books could be acceptable

B.the prices of books would be low

C.the prices of books would be lowered down soon

D.he could buy books without worrying about the prices

E

An old sea captain was often seen opening a small locked box, and looking inside. The crew’s curiosity grew and, on the day he retired, they rushed to cut the lock. There they found a sheet of paper that read, “Left—port(左舷). Right--- starboard(右舷).”

Are you afraid to make a mistake? If you made mistakes recently, maybe you need to hear about Roy Riegels.

The story is told about Roy and the 1929 Rose Bowl championship football game between Georgia Tech and the university of California. Shortly before halftime, Roy Riegels made a huge mistake. He got the ball for California and somehow became confused and started running in the wrong direction! One of his teammates tackled(抢断) him after he had run 656 yards, just before he would have scored for the opposing team. Of course, Georgia Tech gained a distinct(明显的) advantage through the error.

After the first half was over, Riegels sat in a corner, put his face in his hands and wept.

Coach Nibbs Price struggled with what to do with Roy. He finally looked at the team and said simply, “Men, the same team that played the first half will start the second.”

All the players except Roy went to the field. Though the coach looked back and called to him again, he remained seated in the corner. Coach Price went to him and said, “Roy, didn’t you hear me?”

“Coach,” he said, “I can’t do it. I’ve ruined you; I’ve ruined the school; I’ve ruined myself.”

But the coach Price put his hand on Riegels’ shoulder and said,” Roy, get up and go on back; the game is only half over.”

Roy Riegels went back and those Tech men will tell you that they have never seen a man play football as well as Roy Riegels played that second half.

The next time you make a mistake, it might be good to remember the ABC method.

A—Acknowledge(admit) your error and accept responsibility for it. Don’t try to fix the blame on other people or circumstances(客观环境). When you fix the blame, you never fix the problem.

B—Be gentle with yourself. The game is only half over. This is not the first mistake you ever made, nor will it be the last. You are still a good and caring person. Besides, later you may laugh at the mistake, so try to lighten up a bit now.

C—Correct it and move on. Correcting mistakes may also mean to amends(弥补过错),if necessary.

Now, go make your mistakes. And if you practice the ABC method, you’ll live to laugh about many of them.

67. The old captain kept a sheet of paper to_____.

A. give his men a lesson

B. arouse his crew’s curiosity

C. prove he was a good captain

D. tell “port” and “starboard” apart

68. From the passage we learn Coach Price______.

A. insisted on replacing Roy

B. decided to punish Roy after the match

C. criticized Roy for his serious mistake

D. encouraged Roy to finish the match

69. How was Riegels’ performance in the second half?

A. Very disappointing  B. Rather excellent  C. Fairly ordinary  D. Quite bad

70. The ABC method_____.

A. advised you to try to forget mistakes

B. helps you deal with mistakes 

C. helps find out the causes of mistakes

D. advised you to be strict with yourself.

 

For 52 years my father got up every morning at 5:30 am, except Sunday, and went to work. He returned home at 5:30 pm, for dinner at 6:00 pm. I never remember my father having a night out with his children. All he asked from me as a daughter was to hold his hammer while he repaired something, just so we could have some time to talk to each other.

For 22 years, after I left home for college, my father called me every Sunday. Nine years ago, my father, 67 years old, spent three days painting my house. He asked me to hold the paint brush for him and talk to him. But I was too busy and I could not take the time to hold the paint brush, or talk to my father.

Five years ago, my father spent five hours making a swing(秋千)for my daughter. Again, all he asked me to do was to give him a glass of tea, and talk to him. But again, I had some clothes to wash, and the house to clean.

On January 16, 1996, my father telephoned me as usual, this time from my sister’s home in Florida. I had to get to church, and I cut the conversation short.

The call came at 4:40 pm. That day, my father was in hospital in Florida. I got on an airplane immediately, and on the way, I made up my mind that when I arrived, I would make up for the lost time, and have a nice long talk with him.

I arrived in Florida at 1:00 am, but my father had passed away at 9:12 pm. This time it was he who did not have time to talk, or time to wait for me.

1.

When the author was young, her father ______.

A. was busy with his work               B. disliked his children 

C. often talked to his children         D. never cared about his children

2.

 How old was the author’s father when he made a swing for his granddaughter?

A. 45.         B. 67.      C. 71.           D. 76.

3.

When painting the house, the father asked the author to hold a paint brush because ______.

A. he wanted to make his work easy        

B. he was too old to work all by himself

C. he just wanted his daughter to help him

D. he wanted to have a talk with his daughter

4.

The underlined phrase “passed away” in the last paragraph probably means “______”.

A. arrived       B. lost       C. left        D. died

 

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