People who traveled in the past had to put up with many discomforts which we do not have nowadays, and of course they traveled far more slowly. Roads were bad indeed and you often found you could not get along at all because of the mud. In dry weather many places were thick in dust and when it was stormy, trees might fall across the road and it was nobody’s business to clear them away.

Ordinary people traveled on foot or on horseback, but everyone who could afford it kept a private coach. There were public coaches too. called “stage coaches” because long journeys took several days and were done in stages, with stops over night at inns. Some stage, coaches ran only in the summer months. Others all the year around. They were very slow and crowded and passengers often became in on the way because of the swaying (摇晃).

Break downs were frequent, since many roads were not smooth. So a coach might very easily turn right over. Early in the century coach and wagon builders were encouraged to put very wide wheels on their vehicles. So that these might level the roads a little. But many people complained of this since it slowed travel down a good deal.

Most travelers during the 18th century wrote bitterly about the state of the roads. One visitor to Sussex took six hours to travel nine miles in his coach; another wrote to a friend that on time of his journeys “almost every mile was marked by the overturn of a carriage”.

Which of the following mainly prevented people from travelling fast in the past?

A. Falling trees    B. Thick dust

C. Muddy road    D. Many discomforts

The underlined word “them” in the first paragraph refers to _____.

A. the discomforts     B. the blocked roads

C. the dusty places     D. the fallen trees

Public coaches were called “stage-coaches” because ______. 

A. the long journey was broken into several parts

B. they were slow and crowded

C. they stopped for meals at inns

D. they served public people only

The sentence “almost every mile was marked by the overturn of a carriage” suggests that ______.

A. the coaches were of poor quality

B. the writers liked to describe the road bitterly

C. the road condition was really poor

D. travelling about in the past was extremely slow


B
At 3,500 metres, La Paz, Bolivia, is the highest capital in the world.Many roads are in bad condition and accidents are frequent.One road in particular, is considered the most dangerous in the world.On one side there is a sudden drop, which is so great that anyone inside the vehicle is lucky to survive.
But thanks to one man, the death toll (人数) has fallen.Timoteo Apaza is a man who lives in a village near the most dangerous part of the road, known as "the Devil's Bend".Timoteo has an unusual job — he is a human traffic signal.Every morning he stands on the bend and directs the traffic.When two vehicles approach from opposite directions, they can't see each other, but they can see Timoteo.Actually no one pays him to do the job.Sometimes drivers give him a tip so that he has just enough money to live on.But often they just pass by, taking the human traffic signal for granted.
So why does he do it? Before Timoteo volunteered to direct the traffic, he had been a driver.Then one day he was driving a lorry load of bananas when he came off the road at a bend and fell three hundred metres down the mountain.Somehow he survived, but was in hospital for months.Then, a few years later, he was called out in the night to help pull people out of a bus crashed at the Devil's Bend.This last experience had a profound effect on Timoteo.He realized that he was lucky to be alive himself, and felt that it was his mission in life to help others.So every morning, week in, week out, from dawn to dusk, Timoteo takes up his place on the bend.
60.Where does Timoteo work?                                                    
A.In a small mountainous village.   B.At the busiest part of a road.              
C.On a farm growing bananas.      D.At the side of a dangerous road.
61.The road is so dangerous mainly because ______.                              
A.it is steep and in bad condition        B.it is high up in the mountain                
C.there is heavy traffic                D.it is often very foggy
62.What does Timoteo get for his job?                                              
A.No payment at all.
B.A small salary from the government.              
C.A small amount of money from some drivers.
D.An award from the local people.
63.Why does Timeteo voluntarily direct the traffic?                                    
A.He loves to be a traffic policeman.     
B.He feels it his duty to help the drivers.
C.He isn't qualified to do anything else. 
D.He can't drive the lorry any more.

Societies all over the world name places in similar ways. Quite often there is no official naming ceremony but places tend to be called names as points of reference by people. Then an organized body steps in and gives the place a name. Frequently it happens that a place has two names: One is named by the people and the other by the government. As in many areas, old habits died hard, and the place continues to be called by its unofficial name long after the meaning is lost.

Many roads and places in Singapore are named in order that the pioneers will be remembered by future generations. Thus we have names such as Stamford Road and Raffles Place. This is in keeping with traditions in many countries —in both the West and the East.

Another way of naming places is naming them after other places. Perhaps they were named to promote friendships between the two places or it could be that the people who used to live there were originally from the places that the roads were named after. The mystery is clearer when we see some of the roads named in former British bases. If you step into Selector Airbase you will see Piccadilly Circus —obviously named by some homesick Royal Air Force personnel.

Some places were named after the activities that used to go on at those places. Bras Basah Road is an interesting example, “Base Basah” means “wet rice” in Malay(马来语). Now why would anyone want to name a road “Wet Rice Road”? The reason is simple. During the pioneering days, wet rice was laid out to dry along this road.

A few roads in Singapore are named by their shapes. There is “Circular Road” for one. Other roads may have part of their names to describe their shapes, like “Paya Lebar Crescent”. This road is called a crescent(月牙) because it begins on the main road, makes a crescent and comes back to join the main road again.

1.What does the underlined phrase “die hard” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?

A.Change suddenly.

B.Change significantly.

C.Disappear mysteriously.

D.Disappear very slowly.

2.Which of the following places is named after a person?

A.Raffles Place.                          B.Selector Airbase.

C.Piccadilly Circus.                        D.Paya Lebar Crescent.

3.What can be inferred from the passage?

A.Some place names in Singapore are the same as in Britain.

B.Some places in Singapore are named for military purposes.

C.The way Singaporeans name their places is unique.

D.Young Singaporeans have forgotten the pioneers.

 

A 16-year-old South Dakota boy who became lost while hunting and spent 16 hours alone in the Black Hills National Forest says he was scared but still managed to make a survival plan.

Austin DuVall, of Rapid City, became lost on Nov.3 while hunting with his father. He ran after a deer, and soon found himself alone. “I ran after a deer, but I didn’t get it,” he said. “Then I was really lost.”

He had only his hunting rifle(步枪) and the clothes he was wearing. He had no food or water and had nothing that could help him find his way to safety. “I knew that no one could hear me. I decided to just sleep and get up in the morning and find safety,” he said.

Austin climbed up on a rock and slept through the night. Then he awoke and relied on skills he learned in a hunter safety course. He followed a stream to an occupied cabin. The couple there called his parents and cooked him a breakfast. “ It’s probably one meal I’ll never forget for the rest of my life,” he said.

After DuVall’s disappearance, a lot of emergency officials and more than 100 volunteers went searching for him. “He wasn’t sitting there waiting for someone to come and find him,” said his father, Steve DuVall. “We didn’t find him; he found himself.”

Mike Kintigh, regional supervisor for the Game, Fish & Parks Department, said one or two hunters will go missing each year, but rarely for more than 24 hours. “We’re a little bit unique in the Black Hills as it’s hard to get lost for a very long time. That’s because we’ve got so many roads here compared to the Rocky Mountains,” Kintigh said. “You can certainly spend a very uncomfortable night in the woods like Austin did.”

1.After Austin realized he lost his way, he ___.

A.was very nervous but excited

B.cried aloud for help

C.tried to find a safe place

D.decided to sleep in the wild

2. Who saved Austin according to his father?

A.The couple in the cabin.

B.Emergency officials.

C.Volunteers.

D.Himself.

3.From what Mike Kintigh said, we learn that _______.

A.if someone gets lost in the Rocky Mountains, it is hard to find a way out

B.too many people go missing in the Black Hills every year

C.the rescue team is skillful enough to find the lost people in less than 24 hours

D.people who are lost in the Black Hills have to spend a night in the woods

 

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