We all remember seeing hitchhikers, standing by the side of the road, thumb, sticking out, waiting for a lift. But it is getting rare nowadays. What killed hitchhiking? Safety is often mentioned as a reason. Movies about murderous hitchhikers and real-life crime have put many drivers off picking up hitchhikers. That no single women picked me up on my journey to Manchester no doubt reflects the safety fear: a large, strangely dressed man is seen as dangerous.
But the reason may be more complex: hitchhiking happens where people don’t have cars and transport services are poor. Plenty of people still hitchhike in Poland and Romania. Perhaps the rising level of car ownership in the UK means the few people lift hitchhiking are usually considered strange. Why can’t they afford cars? Why can’t they take the coach or the train?
Three-quarters of the UK population have access to a car; many of the remainder will be quite old. The potential hitchhiking population is therefore small. Yet my trip proves it’s still possible to hitchhike. The people who picked me up were very interesting-lawyer, retired surgeon, tank commander, carpenter, man who live in an isolated farmhouse and a couple living up in the mountains. My conclusion is that only really interesting people are mad enough to pick up fat blokes in red, spotted scarves. Most just wanted to do someone a good turn; a few said they were so surprised to see a hitchhiker that they couldn’t help stopping.
The future of hitchhiking most likely lies with car-sharing organized over the Internet, via sites such as hitchhikers.org. But for now, you can still stick your thumb out (actually, I didn’t do much of that, preferring just to hold up my destination sign) and people-wonderful, caring, sharing, unafraid people-will stop.
In the UK, with its cheap coaches and reasonable rail service, I don’t think I’ll make a habit of it. But having enjoyed it so much, I’m ready now to do a big trip across Europe and beyond. In the 1970s a female friend of my wife’s hitchhiked to India. How wonderful it would be to have another go, though Afghanistan might be a challenge. I wish I’d got that tank commander’s mobile number.
【小题1】The author tried to hitchhike but was rejected by single women drivers because          .

A.they were not heading towards Manchester
B.they thought most hitchhikers were dangerous
C.hitchhiking had been handed and they didn’t want to break the law
D.he was a strong man in strange clothes who seemed dangerous
【小题2】Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
A.Movies have discouraged people from hitchhiking
B.Car ownership levels are lower in Romania than in the UK.
C.25% of UK people don’t have access to cars.
D.Increased car ownership has reduced the need for hitchhiking.
【小题3】The “fat blokes in red, spotted scarves” in Paragraph 3 most likely means    .
A.murderous hitchhikersB.friendly and talkative hitchhikers
C.typical hitchhikersD.strange hitchhikers like the author
【小题4】According to the author, future hitchhikers are more likely to                .
A.visit websites and find people to share cars with
B.stand by roads with their thumbs sticking out
C.stick out signs with their destinations written on
D.wait for some kind people to pick them up
【小题5】From the last paragraph, we know that the author         .
A.frequently hitchhikes in Britain
B.plans to hitchhike across Europe
C.thinks public transport is safer for travel
D.is going to contact the tank commander

We have two daughters: Kristen is seven years old and Kelly is four. Last Sunday evening, we invited some people home for dinner. I dressed them nicely for the party, and told them that their job was to join Mommy in answering the door when the bell rang. Mommy would introduce them to the guests, and then they would take the guests’ coats upstairs and put them on the bed in the second bedroom.
The guests arrived. I introduced my two daughters to each of them. The adults were nice and kind and said how lucky we were to have such good kids.
Each of the guests made a particular fuss over Kelly, the younger one, admiring her dress, her hair and her smile. They said she was a remarkable girl to be carrying coats upstairs at her age.
I thought to myself that we adults usually make a big “to do” over the younger one because she’s the one who seems more easily hurt. We do it with the best of intentions. But we seldom think of how it might affect the other child. I was a little worried that Kristen would feel she was being outshined. I was about to serve dinner when I realized that she had been missing for twenty minutes. I ran upstairs and found her in the bedroom, crying.
I said, “What are you doing, my dear?”
She turned to me with a sad expression and said, “Mommy, why don’t people like me the way they like my sister? Is it because I’m not pretty? Is that why they don’t say nice things about me as much?”
I tried to explain to her, kissing and hugging her to make her feel better.
Now, whenever I visit a friend’s home, I make it a point to speak to the elder child first.
【小题1】What were Kristen and Kelly asked to do last Sunday evening? (No more than 20 words.)
____________________________________________________________________
【小题2】Why did the guests praise Kelly so much rather than Kristen? (No more than 15 words.)
____________________________________________________________________
【小题3】The underlined expression “make a big ‘to do’ over” in Paragraph 4 means ________________. (No more than 5 words.)
【小题4】Why did Kristen feel sad and cry? (No more than 15 words.)
____________________________________________________________________
【小题5】In your opinion, how should adults treat children? (No more than 15 words.)
____________________________________________________________________

“Why do we shout in anger?” a saint (圣人) asked his disciples (门徒). “Why do people shout at each other when they are upset?”

His disciples thought for a while, and one of them said, “Because we    16    our calm, we shout for that.”

“But, why do you shout when the other person is    17    next to you?” asked the saint. “Isn’t it possible to speak to him or her with a soft    18   ? Why do you shout at a person when you’re angry?”

Disciples gave some other answers but none    19    the saint. Finally he explained, “When two people are angry at each other, their    20    distance a lot. To cover that distance they must shout to be able to hear each other. The angrier they are, the    21    they will have to shout to hear each other through that great distance.”

Then the saint asked, “What    22    when two people fall in love? They don’t shout at each other but talk softly, why? Because their hearts are very close and the distance between them is very    23   .”

The saint continued, “When they love each other even more, what happens? They do not speak loudly, only whisper and they get    24    closer to each other in their love. Finally they even need not whisper, they only    25    each other and that’s all. That is how close two people are when they love each other.”

The saint said finally, “When you argue, do not let your hearts get    26   , and do not say words that distance each other more, or there will come a day when the distance is so great that you will not   27    the path to return!”

1.A. miss                               B. lose                                   C. avoid                                 D. refuse

2.A. already                         B. yet                                     C. just                                    D. well

3.A. voice                    B. sound                               C. attitude                            D. manner

4.A. excited                         B. satisfied                            C. surprised                         D. persuaded

5.A. heads                            B. brains                               C. backs                                D. hearts

6.A. faster                            B. slower                              C. louder                              D. earlier

7.A. happens                       B. matters                   C. decides                            D. concerns

8.A. short                             B. long                                   C. easy                                  D. hard

9.A. never                            B. ever                                  C. too                                    D. even

10.A. look at                        B. take over                         C. turn away                         D. rely on

11.A. empty                         B. distant                              C. cold                                   D. lonely

12.A. build                           B. repair                               C. follow                               D. find

 

Since the beginning of the year, smog has covered parts of North China. In January, Beijing saw only five days without smog. The rising PM 2.5 readings terrified many people, and some health experts said that whenever the smog gets serious, hospitals receive more patients suffering acute respiratory(呼吸系统)and heart diseases.

Later, news of polluted underground water in some provinces scared people who wondered whether the water they drink is safe.

So the need to emphasize environmental protection while developing the economy is heard everywhere.

Smog especially is a common concern. Like a popular online post said, air may be the only thing that is equal for everyone, despite your income or vocation. People with higher incomes are able to drink only bottled spring water and eat only organic food by paying higher prices, but they breathe the same air as everyone else.

At a meeting on Monday, many Representatives have expressed their concerns about the air quality, too. One talked about his experience in Beijing. “After taking a taxi from the capital airport to my hotel, which took about an hour, I washed my nose and found the inside of my nose was black. We should ask ourselves this question: Why do we want to develop? It's for living a better life. Dirty air is definitely not a better life," he said.

China needs to develop its economy and invest(投资) in high-tech. Every Chinese wants a strong country. But without blue sky, clean water and safe food, the achievements in the economy will become meaningless. Space technologies are not to be developed for building a base on Mars so that one day all human beings can migrate to the red planet because they have destroyed Earth.

What the public wants is a strong and beautiful China. Former president Hu Jintao spoke at the 18th Party Congress last November saying that great efforts must be made to promote ecological progress and build a beautiful China. The words have shown the central government's resolution to address the environment issue.

1.The effect of smog doesn’t include.

A.the rising of PM 2.5 readings

B.more people suffering diseases

C.the increase of people’s income

D.patients increased in hospital

2.Why smog has become a common concern?

A.Because people have to pay higher prices.

B.Because nobody can avoid it.

C.Because we have to develop industry.

D.Because a popular online-post discussed it.

3.The underlined word “they” in paragraph 6 refers to.

A.human beings             B.other plants

C.space technologies    D.industrial development

4.From the last two paragraphs we can infer that.

A.high-tech can completely solve the problem of pollution

B.space technologies should be developed in a large scale

C.we can move to the Mars after the earth has been destroyed

D.we must protect the environment while developing economy

 

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