To support his sick wife and earn a paycheck, a 61-year-old Iowa man named Steve Simon sometimes walks 35 miles to his job as an overnight gatekeeper. Simon said that he leaves his basement apartment in a small town at about 3:30 p.m. to get to the Lakesside hotel and Casino in Osceola where he begins to work at 11:00 p.m. for $9.07 per hour. His wife suffered a stoke nine years ago and some days there just isn’t enough money to put gas in the couple’s 2002 car. Moving closer to his job would likely mean paying more than he now does in monthly rent—$400.

Family and a job are “the two most important things I can think of,” Simon said, explaining why he walks to his job. He and his wife, Renee, adopted their now 22-year-grandson, Steven, who has been unemployed since January.

Although some people along the route do stop to offer him a lift, they often drop him off about 8 miles from home. But Simon doesn’t seem to mind. He describes the walking route as “picturesque(风景如画的)” and sounds like he enjoy passing the cows and fields along the way. He’s done the walk in all kinds of weather, including snow. It’s a little dangerous because trucks frequent Interstate highway 35, whizzing (飞驰) past him at 70 miles per hour.

Simon story has a familiar ring. Last month there were storied written about a Detroit man named James Robertson who for years has been walking 21 miles roundtrip through city streets to and from his factory job. The media attention got Robertson $350,000 from a GoFundMe campaign and a new car. We wonder what the Internet holds for Simon.

1.Simon walks 35 miles to his job mainly ________.

A. to attract others’ attention

B. to keep healthy and strong

C. to accompany his sick wife

D. to save money for his family

2.What do we know about Simon’s walking route?

A. It is pretty boring.

B. There are high buildings.

C. It is full of fun and danger.

D. There are only a few regulars.

3.James Robertson is mentioned because ________.

A. his story inspired Simon

B. he donated money to Simon

C. he is quite familiar with Simon

D. his experience is similar to Simon’s

Some houses are designed to be smart. Others have smart designs. An example of the second type of house won an Award of Excellence from the American Institute of Architects.

Located on the shore of Sullivan's Island off the coast of South Carolina, the award-winning cube-shaped beach house was built to replace one smashed to pieces by Hurricane Hugo 10 years ago. In September 1989, Hugo struck South Carolina, killing 18 people and damaging or destroying 36,000 homes in the state.

Before Hugo, many new houses built along South Carolina's shoreline were poorly constructed, and enforcement of building codes wasn't strict, according to architect Ray Huff, who created the cleverly-designed beach house. In Hugo's wake, all new shoreline houses are required to meet stricter, better-enforced codes. The new beach house on Sullivan's Island should be able to resist a Category 3 hurricane with peak winds of 179 to 209 kilometers per hour.

At first sight, the house on Sullivan's Island looks anything but hurricane-proof. Its redwood shell makes it resemble "a large party lantern" at night, according to one observer. But looks can be deceiving. The house's wooden frame is reinforced with long steel rods to give it extra strength.

To further protect the house from hurricane damage, Huff raised it 2.7 meters off the ground on timber pilings—long, slender columns of wood anchored deep in the sand. Pilings (桩) might appear insecure, but they are strong enough to support the weight of the house. They also elevate the house above storm waves. The pilings allow the waves to run under the house instead of running into it. "These swells of water come ashore at tremendous speeds and cause most of the damage done to beach-front buildings," said Huff.

Huff designed the timber pilings to be partially concealed by the house's ground-to-roof shell. " The shell masks the pilings so that the house doesn't look like it's standing with its pant legs pulled up, " said Huff. In the event of a storm surge, the shell should break apart and let the waves rush under the house, the architect explained.

1.After the tragedy caused by Hurricane Hugo, new houses built along South Carolina's shore line should ________.

A. be easily reinforced

B. look smarter in design

C. satisfy higher building standards

D. be designed in the shape of cubes

2.Huff raised the house 2.7 meters off the ground on timber pilings in order to ________.

A. withstand peak winds of about 200 km/hr

B. make stronger pilings deep in the sand

C. break huge sea waves into smaller ones

D. prevent water from rushing into the house

3.The main function of the shell is ________.

A. to strengthen the pilings of the house

B. to give the house a better appearance

C. to protect the wooden frame of the house

D. to slow down the speed of the swelling water

4.It can be inferred from the passage that the shell should be ________.

A. fancy-lookingB. water-proof

C. easily breakableD. extremely strong

Every day my husband parked his car in the same open-air car park in Zimbabwe. On this particular day, he had been running to his car with a pile of office papers under his arm. As he opened the car door, he suddenly lost control of his body. He felt a stabbing pain in his arm, and became totally breathless and lost consciousness. As he fell down, half in, half out of the car, his last thought was “what a way to die”.

A young woman getting into her own car in the deserted car park noticed what was going on and at once ran to my husband’s aid, trying to bring his life back. Realizing time was important, she tried to move my husband to her car, calling the guard at the gate.

Fearing an ambulance would take too long to arrive, she felt it better to get to the hospital as quickly as she could. She raced through traffic lights sounding her car’s horn and rushed into the hospital, calling out, “I have an unknown man here who I think is having a heart attack.”

Having realized he was in capable hands, the woman returned to the car park, found his keys on the ground, collected his papers and piled them in the car. Having seen my husband come out of a certain building each day, the security guard thought he knew where he worked. The young woman managed to locate his colleagues and they in turn contacted my niece, who waited for me to return home so she could break the news to me.

After careful tests it turned out that my husband’s disease had nothing to do with heart. We were naturally eager to find the kind stranger who had come to his aid. After some weeks we discovered where the young woman worked. She was overjoyed when my husband walked into her office with a huge bouquet (束) of flowers. She said she required no thanks, and preferred to remain anonymous (匿名的).

We now live in a different country, but each Christmas my husband remembers her act of kindness and sends a gift. We regard every day of his life as a bonus, all thanks to this kind stranger.

1.From the passage, we can infer that _______.

A. a heart attack hit the writer’s husband suddenly

B. there were few people in the park that day

C. the young woman was at a loss at first

D. the woman was fined for breaking the traffic lights

2.Who told the writer the news of her husband’s illness?

A. The young woman.

B. The security guard.

C. The colleague of her husband.

D. The writer’s niece.

3.What might be the most suitable title for the passage?

A. The Gift of Life

B. An Act of Gratitude

C. The Attack of a Disease

D. The Story of a Young Woman

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