Not many people can say they've been hit by a vehicle,but I can.I rode my bike to my daily____practice in a gym last summer.I crossed the street as the light____;however,a young woman____me with her fancy racing car. Like James Bond in a very____situation,I rolled across the hood(引擎罩)onto the other side of the car.You may wonder____a woman driver could be so careless.The truth is that the woman was on her phone while driving,so her ____was clearly drawn away from driving and caused the accident.

After assessing my____and believing that all my bones were undamaged in any way,I____and talked to the woman driver.I could tell she was obviously quite____,as was I.After assuring her of my well-being,we____ways.

____my surprisingly shabby bicycle,I went on my way.I rode into the____only 20 minutes late.Upon my arrival, my tennis coach and friends asked me why I was late.Nervously,I____the car accident.Everyone seemed to be far more____than I was.In fact,I____joked,saying that now I know how the squirrels feel after a nice escape.

After this____,I realize the importance of bike lanes and watching out for pedestrians.

Now as I drive,I always____for people on bikes so that they do not____the same fate(命运)that I did____,for all the bikers and runners out there,watch out for cars,as one small mistake could____an unforgivable mistake.

1.A. football B. tennis C. volleyball D. badminton

2.A. permitted B. broke C. appeared D. exploded

3.A. passed B. greeted C. hit D. met

4.A. romantic B. humorous C. awkward D. dangerous

5.A. how B. if C. when D. where

6.A. passion B. attention C. interest D. excitement

7.A. needs B. behaviors C. injuries D. conclusions

8.A. stood up B. walked away C. lay down D. blew up

9.A. rude B. cautious C. forgetful D. scared

10.A. parted B. cleared C. explored D. changed

11.A. Turning in B. Picking up C. Putting aside D. Giving away

12.A. garage B. parking lot C. gym D. bike store

13.A. avoided B. ignored C. prevented D. mentioned

14.A. grateful B. inspired C. anxious D. curious

15.A. still B. even C. just D. yet

16.A. attempt B. sacrifice C. exploration D. accident

17.A. look out B. work out C. come out D. set out

18.A. accept B. deserve C. suffer D. escape

19.A. Thus B. However C. Otherwise D. Also

20.A. repeat B. cause C. correct D. realize

When people today talk about a tiny house, they probably mean the trendy living space that‘s about the size of a shed (棚). But you would have to be five inches tall to live in the original tiny houses. Dollhouse(小房子),which have been around for several centuries, don’t offer shelter to real people, but they provide a vivid(生动的) experience of life in times and places both real and imaginary.

The National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., lets visitors time travel in this tiny world through ―Small Stories: At Home in a Dollhouse,” an exhibit that opened Saturday. Visitors can see twelve dollhouses from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, England, which contain amazing tiny furnishings. But those people who put together the exhibit also wanted visitors to know the characters inside.

“It’s 300 years of British homes told through their inhabitants (居民),” said Alice Sage, who is in charge of the London museum.

So as visitors look inside the Tate Baby House, a fancy townhouse from 1760, they can push a button to hear a young woman get a lecture from her mother on the proper way to run a home. In the Killer Cabinet house, a servant named Betsy complains about the problems of city life in the 1830s. “We’ve got the cat to keep the rats away,” she says.

That dollhouse was John Killer‘s gift to his wife and five daughters. The girls were allowed to play with the house, but they probably also learned a few lessons, Sage said.

“The kitchen of the house would have been the perfect way to teach the girls about the management of a home,” she said, noting the tiny dishes and pots.

Those who prefer a more modern look won't be disappointed. There are two rooms displaying a white dollhouse from 1935, an apartment house from the 1960s and a brightly colored 21st-century design.

The end of the exhibit shows how imaginative design sometimes works best in small spaces.

The Building Museum asked twenty-four artists, designers and architects from across the United States to each create a “dream room” from the past, present or future. Some of these unique small rooms were made using traditional furnishings, others from materials such as clay, insects, 3D-printing, and even peeps marshmallow candies!

1.Which of the following were on show Saturday?

A. A dozen dollhouses from England.

B. Some old shelters for poor people.

C. Some imaginary tiny furnishings.

D. A couple of fashionable living spaces.

2.What is the function of the characters inside the Museum?

A. Working as organizers of the exhibit.

B. Making the exhibit more attractive.

C. Providing good services for visitors.

D. Helping visitors understand dollhouses.

3.What can we learn about the Killer Cabinet house?

A. It was made up of 24 tiny rooms.

B. Its kitchen may have an educational purpose.

C. Its history dates back to the 17th century.

D. It was owned by a woman named Betsy.

4.What might be the best title of the passage?

A. An exhibit of dollhouses.

B. The history of dollhouses.

C. How to make a dollhouse.

D. Amazing tiny furniture.

Don’t you just hate it when you have to take an important phone call and you’re surrounded by potential eavesdroppers(潜在偷听者)? You either have to whisper or go outside to keep the conversation private, which is not good. Now Hushme aims to fix this problem by muffling your voice and making you look like Bane in the film Batman.

Hushme is a strange high-tech mask(口罩)that blocks the sound of the wearer’s voice so that people nearby can’t hear what is being said. It connects to your phone via Blucetooth and comes with a pair of earphones. When you get a private call, all you have to do is put the mask on and it will do the rest. The pair of thick pads over your mouth does a good job of muffling your voice, but to ensure nothing gets through. Hushme also has speakers that play a variety of sounds when you speak.

The Hushme mask, which comes in a variety of colors, can be worn around the neck, like a regular pair of earphones, and attaches in front of your mouth thanks to a couple of very powerful magnets(磁铁). It’s not yet clear how comfortable speaking with this Bane-like mask over your mouth really is, or how effective its speech muffling ability is, so we know so far is that it makes you look strange. The sound choices for covering your voice currently include wind, ocean, rain, birds, monkey, but new ones could be added in the future.

Advertised as the “world’s first voice mask for mobile phones’. Hushme was showed at CES. At the becoming of this year. Its makers plan to sell it by the end of this year. It will cost about $200.

1.Why does the author mention Bane in the first paragraph?

A. To show what Hushme looks like

B. To tell eavesdropping is impolite

C. To encourage readers to buy Hushme

D. To say Hushme will be popular in the future

2.What does the underlined word “muffling” in Paragraph 1 mean?

A. Blocking B. Recognizing

C. Changing D. Remembering

3.What is certain about Hushme?

A. Its popularity B. Its appearance

C. Its high standard for comfort D. Its speech muffling ability

4.What can we know about Hushme?

A. It can be bought in the market now

B. Its price is neither too high nor too low

C. Its speakers will be improved in the future

D. Its makers are confident about its market sales

Each time I see a balloon, my mind flies back to a memory of when I was a six-year-old girl. It was a rainy Sunday and my father had recently died. I asked my mom if Dad had gone to heaven. "Yes, honey. Of course." she said.

"Can we write him a letter?"

She paused, the longest pause of my short life, and answered, "Yes."

My heart jumped. "How? Does the mailman go there?" I asked.

"No, but I have an idea." Mom drove to a party store and returned with a red balloon. I asked her what it was for.

"Just wait, honey. You'll see." Mom told me to write my letter. Eagerly, I got my favorite pen, and poured out my six-year-old heart in the form of blue ink. I wrote about my day, what I learned at school, how Mom was doing, and even about what happened in a story I had read. For a few minutes it was as if Dad were still alive. I gave the letter to Mom. She read it over, and a smile crossed her face.

She made a hole in the corner of the letter where she looped the balloon string. We went outside and she gave me the balloon. It was still raining.

"Okay, on the count of three, let go. One, two, three."

The balloon, carrying my letter, darted upward against the rain. We watched until it was swallowed by the mass of clouds.

Later I realized, like the balloon, that Dad had never let his sickness get him down. He was strong. No matter what he suffered, he'd persevere, hang on, and finally transcend this cold world and his sick body. He rose into sky and became something beautiful. I watched until the balloon disappeared into the gray and white and I prayed that his strength was hereditary. I prayed to be a balloon.

1.When the girl asked her mother if they could write to her father, her mother ______.

A. found it easy to lie

B. thought her a creative girl

C. believed it easy to do so

D. felt it hard to answer

2.When the girl was told that she could send a letter to her father, she ______.

A. became excited

B. jumped with joy

C. started writing immediately

D. was worried that it couldn't be delivered

3.In the eyes of the author, what was the rain like?

A. An incurable disease.

B. An unforgettable memory.

C. The failures her father experienced.

D. The hard time her father had.

4.What would be the best title for the passage?

A. An unforgettable experience B. Fly to paradise

C. The strong red balloon D. A great father

Whenever anyone measures educational success, East Asian countries are always top scorers. But in a recent league table, a European country, Finland, was top of the class. South Korea was still in second place, though. Britain was at number 6.

In Korea the school day is long?typically 7 or 8 hours, followed by hours of private tutoring in the evenings. All_this_hothousing leaves Korean students so tired, they sometimes fall asleep in class next day. Worries about the effects of late night cramming (填鸭式) led the government to force cramming schools to close by 10 pm.Finnish children spend the least time in class in the developed world, often finishing just after lunch, with about one hour of homework a day. Private tuition is uncommon. The British and American school day is quite long in comparison, around 6 hours, and secondary school pupils do 2 or 3 hours of self?study a night.

The Korean education system, like many in Asia, is intensely competitive, with students even competing to get into the best cramming schools, to help them get ahead. Finnish education is far less cut?throat. Classes are all mixed ability, and there are no league tables. British schools again occupy the middle ground, with quite high levels of competition for places at university, and schools and universities battling to come top of league tables for everything from exam results to student satisfaction. Korea and Finland both do well, yet their education systems are so different.

However, there are some similarities in Korea and Finland. In those countries, teachers have high status in society, and education is very highly valued. Those attitudes can't change quickly. But it can be done. They might be the star pupils now, but until the 1970s, Finland's educational system was poor. Their thoroughly different approach to schooling has taken them to the top in just a generation.

1.The students spend the least time in school in ________.

A. the UK B. Finland

C. the USA D. Korea

2.The underlined phrase “all this hothousing” in Paragraph 2 probably refers to ________.

A. private evening tutoring

B. self?study at home

C. long?hour study

D. school study

3.From Paragraph 3, we can know that ________.

A. Finnish students are less stressed in study

B. there're also many cramming schools in Britain

C. students in Korea are the most competitive in Asia

D. British schools are less competitive than universities

4.According to the author, the key to improving education is ________.

A. the attitude

B. the schooling time

C. star pupils

D. new teaching approach

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