An old farmer lived on a farm with his young grandson. Each morning Grandpa was up early to read his Bhagavat Geeta. His grandson wanted to be just like him and tried to imitate him in every way he could.
One day the grandson asked, "Grandpa! I try to read the Bhagavat Geeta just like you but I don't understand it, What good does reading the Bhagavat Geeta do?"
The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and replied, "Take this coal basket down to the river and bring me back a basket of water."
The boy did as he was told, but all the water leaked out (漏出) before he got back to the house. The grandfather laughed and said, "You'll have to move a little faster next time," and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again. This time the boy ran faster, but again the same took place. He told his grandfather that it was impossible to carry water with a basket.
The old man said, " You're just not trying hard enough,"  So the boy again dipped the basket into the river and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty. he said, "See Grandpa, it's useless!"
"So you think it is useless?" The old man said, "Look at the basket."
The boy looked at the basket and for the first time realized that the basket was different. It had been transformed from a dirty old coal basket into a clean one inside and outside.
"You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, you will be changed, inside and out. That is the work of Krishna in our lives."
【小题1】We can learn from Paragraph 1 that the grandson_________.

A.was fond of reading
B.liked his grandpa very much
C.got up early to carry water every day
D.helped his grandpa on the farm
【小题2】According to the grandson,___________.
A.he enjoyed reading the Bhagavat Geeta
B.learning the Bhagavat Geeta was easy
C.he was not good at remembering anything
D.reading the Bhagavat Geeta was meaningless
【小题3】We can learn that by getting water with a basket, the grandson__________.
A.washed the dirt off the basket
B.kept some water for the future
C.was punished for what he had said
D.became stronger and cleverer
【小题4】The grandfather gave his grandson a lesson by_________.
A.telling him an interesting story
B.having a heated discussion with him
C.asking him to carry water with a basket
D.performing an experiment for him
【小题5】What would the grandson like to do in the future?
A.To help his grandpa carry water
B.To hold water with a bucket
C.To read the Bhagavat Geeta.
D.To remember everything in his life.

I bent down in the shade under a sixty-foot-tall cactus(仙人掌), waiting for them to appear. The time was eight thirty in the morning. For seven mornings I had come to the same distant spot in the Sonoran Desert, in southern Arizona. I was here to watch the roadrunner, a small fast-running bird.

I spotted two birds under a bush with red flowers. The roadrunners rushed out from under it. The birds moved rapidly on long skinny legs. Their feathers were brown and black. Their tails were seven inches long. Roadrunners use the tail for balance when running.

That day, the roadrunners performed a courtship(求婚)dance. They ran in wild circles. Suddenly, one stopped and stood still, its round eyes full of light. The second bird took hold of a small stick off the ground and presented it to the first, a gift serving as a symbol of their partnership.

    I returned to the spot each day, leaving bits of boiled chicken hoping they would return. Roadrunners eat snakes, lizards, mice, beetles, and spiders. Food is in short supply in the desert, so my offerings were welcome. The pair grew used to me.

    Soon after the pair finished building their nest six white eggs appeared in the nest bowl. In about three weeks, six roadrunner chicks, skin as black as coal, cried for food. Their parents brought food such as fence lizards and stink bugs. They fed their young until they were a month and a half old.

    Early one morning, a coyote(丛林狼)came around, nose to the ground, for fresh bird meat. The roadrunners fearlessly drove the coyote away, but it was soon back. After three attacks the coyote went away for good, tail between its legs.

    I stopped watching the nest when the little roadrunners, at two months of age, were ready to live on their own. It was hard to break away from “my roadrunner family.” Whenever I see a roadrunner now, rushing over the ground, I say hello to it as an old friend.

1.The author went to the Sonoran Desert to       .

   A. go on a tour of the desert

   B. carry out research into some animals in the desert

C. make an observation about a kind of bird

   D. enjoy an adventure in southern Arizona

2.What can we learn about roadrunners from the text?

A. They have short tails and legs.        

B. They move at a fast pace.

C. Their feathers are red and brown.      

D. They don’t like boiled chicken.

3.We can learn from the last but one paragraph that the roadrunners were        .

   A. brave         B. clever         C. easily-frightened         D. lazy

4.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

   A. How do roadrunners seek a partner?

B. My close friendship with roadrunners.

   C. Roadrunner family in the Sonoran Desert.        

D. How did I find roadrunners in Arizona?

 

         With alarming regularity, we read about oil tankers having accidents near land and the terrible consequences of the oil spills(泄露) on people, nature, and the environment.

        Millions of dollars have been used in developing special chemicals to help dismiss the spills and to clean up the animals, beaches, and land spoiled by the oil. Unfortunately, when many of these chemicals are used, more damage is caused to the environment, especially to lives in the sea.

         Of all of today’s environmental disasters, an oil spill may actually be one of the least serious. Although oil is poisonous, it is a natural material. In the end, it breaks down naturally. There are, of course, long-term effects, but it is usually more serious in the short term.

         Nature by itself works better than chemical materials, but when there is a spill we demand that governments act immediately with as much hi-tech knowledge as possible. In 1967 the tanker Torrey Canyon sank off the Sicily Isles near the coast of England and spilled 120,000 tones of oil into the ocean. If you go there today, you will find it hard to see any sign that it ever happened.

         Governments seem to accept the risk of transporting millions of tons of oil by ship every day so that we can fill up our cars and drive around and cause even more environmental damage. Interestingly, the biggest companies in the world produce cars, and the next biggest supply the gasoline to make them run!

         We should be thinking more about reducing our dependency on oil. Governments should be encouraging research into new technologies, such as cars run by solar power(太阳能), electricity, hydrogen, and so on. Much of this research has, in the past, been held back by the oil, gas, and coal.

         If the world’s millions of cars were 10% more efficient(高效的) — and the industry could easily produce cars at least twice as efficient — we would need many fewer tankers crossing the oceans each year. If this happened, the risks of oil spills would be reduced, and the air we breathe would be cleaner and fresher, too.

1.What is the passage mainly talking about?

A. Oil tanker accidents.                                        B. What oil pollution is.

C. Oil spills pollution.                                             D. How to reduce oil pollution.

2.How does the author support the idea that oil spills are not as serious as people believe?

A. By giving an example.                                      B. By making an argument.            

C. By giving a description.                                    D. By drawing a diagram.

3.What does the underlined word “risk” in Paragraph 5 refer to?

A. Transportation depending more on oil.                                                  

B. More environmental damage being caused.

C. Millions of tons of oil spilling into the sea.                                             

D. Poisonous oil breaking down naturally.

4.Which suggestion is made for reducing oil tank accidents according to the passage?

A. We should build safer oil tankers in the near future.

B. Tankers should not be allowed to sail near the coastlines.

C. We should develop new technologies to cut oil use.

D. Countries should build more oil pipelines under the sea.

 

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