Tristan da Cunha, a 38 –square –mile island, is the farthest inhabited island in the world, according to the Guinness Book of Records. It is 1,510 miles southwest of its nearest, St. Helena, and I, 950 miles west of Africa. Discovered by the Portuguese admiral (上将) of the same name in 1506, and settled in 1810, the island belongs to Great Britain and has a population of a few hundred.

Coming in a close second –and often wrongly mentioned as the most distant land –is Easter Island, which lies 1,260 miles east of its nearest neighbor, Pitcairn Island, and 2,300 miles west of South America.

The mountainous 64 –square –mile island was settled around the 5th century,supposedly by people who were lost at sea. They had no connection with the outside world for more than a thousand years, giving them plenty of time to build more than 1,000 huge stone figures, called moai, for which the island is most famous.

On Easter Sunday, 1722, however, settlers from Holland moved in and gave the island its name. Today, 2,000 people live on the Chilean territory (智利领土). They share one street, a small airport, and a few hours of television per day.

It can be learned from the text that the island of Tristan da Cunha ________.

A. was named after its discoverer

B. got its name from Holland settlers

C. was named by the British government

D. got its name from the Guinness Book of Records

Which of the following is most famous for moai?

A. Tristan da Cuha.  B. Pitcairn Island.  C. Easter Island.  D. St. Helena.

Which country does Easter Island belong to?

A. Britain.   B. Holland.   C. Portugal.   D. Chile.

People who put a smiley face at the end of a message, in an attempt to show feeling, show no feeling. I wish there was a symbol for two fingers in the air.
I had some bad news this week. My manager informed me of this news via email. It was like hearing about the death of a loved one via pigeon. Bad news should only ever be delivered face to face or voice to voice.
We seem to celebrate our numerous methods of communication, but really there is no communication at all. I talk to my plants more than I talk to my neighbors, I get text messages that take me three hours to read because they’re written like this: “Hi, I ope you av a gr8 day. Call me La8tr.” I had an email from someone this week that read, “Da ut ov 2day are really annoying me!” Ut? I had to say this 20 times before I understood it. Youth has now become ut. Haven’t we taken enough from them—now we have to take their letters?
I had an email recently from a girl who used to live over the road from me as a child. She wrote, “Hi Shazia, howz u? Im sure u used 2 live across the road from me. We sumtimes played tennis 2 gever at the park and you was in your eliment. I am married now wif 3 daughters.” Then, to my horror, she ended the email with: “Im now teachin in Leeds. Luv Clare.”
Teaching? With English like this. It’s like saying you’re a train driver when you’ve never seen a train. It was like reading modern Morse code.
Getting bad news via email makes it seem so much worse than it actually is. Just a few lines, no emotion, no comfort, not really an explanation. Just a few cold hard words. It’s an excuse. Just write a few words and the problem of delivering it is no longer yours. A close friend recently told me she was very happy to announce she was getting married—and made the announcement by email. I don’t know how she didn’t fall off her chair with excitement while writing it. If you are really happy or really sad to announce something important, wouldn’t you like a human reaction? Some euphoria, elation, tears, a punch in the face?
I receive long text messages every day with information and explanations that I don’t bother reading. They’re boring, and annoy me. In the time it took someone to write me three laborious texts, they could have called, spoken to me, made some tea. People who put a smiley face at the end of a sentence, in an attempt to show feeling, show no feeling. I wish there was a symbol for two fingers in the air, because that’s the one I’d send back.
The telegram has been responsible for reporting world-shattering events when there were very few other options(选择权). Now we have options, and people opt for the least humane one. My mum, in an attempt to get down with the ut of today, asked me to teach her to text. Now she constantly texts me in block capitals, so it looks as if she is still angry and annoyed with me after all these years.
People don’t even write by hand any more. My doctor prints out prescriptions from his computer; even my mechanic prints out a receipt. I get typed Christmas cards and my friends send me emails. I get very excited when hand-written letters come through my door, only because they rarely do.
When I was at school, the girls used to write letters to each other, even though we sat side by side and spoke to one another all day. I think it was a way of expressing private things we were afraid to say when we were 14 and too shy. We used to write things like, “You are my best friend, can’t wait to sit next to you in math.”
I miss the personal method of communication. Once the pen was mightier than the sword, now it seems the keyboard is mightier than the pen.
【小题1】We can learn from paragraph 3 and paragraph 4 that the writer wants to say ________.

A.the spelling mistakes in the messages make her very annoyed
B.only writing letters will bring friends and neighbors much closer
C.she talks to plants more because no one shares her joys and sorrows
D.gestures and the pen can express a lot more than the cold keyboard
【小题2】According to the writer, which of the following can support her opinion?
A.She has been separated from all his classmates many years.
B.No doctors write prescriptions by hand because of computers.
C.In communication, we should write more letters than send messages.
D.Less shy than school girls, boys rarely write letters to their friends.
【小题3】According to the passage, we can conclude that ________.
A.the writer is a person full of emotions and treasures friendship and affections
B.the writer becomes excited when she gets priceless gifts from other people
C.her classmates would write to each other because they couldn’t send messages
D.people put a smiley face at the end of a message just to show they are happy
【小题4】What message is conveyed in the passage?
A.The writer wastes much time in reading many rubbish text messages every day.
B.Few people can write letters well in modern society owing to texting messages.
C.Now people are too busy to communicate with each other face to face often.
D.The writer prefers personal communication rather than electronic equipment.
【小题5】Why does the writer mention the telegram?
A.Because she thinks the annoyance of reading text messages is originated from it.
B.Because we have more options to keep in touch with each other than ever before.
C.Because advanced technology partly takes the blame for lacking the human touch.
D.Because she thinks humans today become colder with the development of society.
【小题6】Which of the following best describe the tone of this passage?
A.Optimistic.B.Critic.C.Sympathetic.D.Pessimistic.

She is widely seen as proof that good looks can last forever. But, at nearly 500 years of age, time is catching up with the Mona Lisa.
The health of the famous picture, painted by Leonardo da Vinci in 1505, is getting worse by the year, according to the Louvre museum(卢浮宫博物馆)where it is housed.
“The thin, wooden panel on which the Mona Lisa is painted in oil has changed shape since experts checked it two years ago,” the museum said. Visitors have noticed the changes but repairing the world’s most famous painting is not easy. Experts are not sure about the materials the Italian artist used and their current chemical state.
Nearly 6 million people go to see the Mona Lisa every year, many attracted by the mystery of her smile. “It is very interesting that when you’re not looking at her, she seems to be smiling, and then you look at her and she stops,” said Professor Margaret Livingstone of Harvard University. “It’s because direct vision(视觉)is excellent at picking up detail, but less suited to looking at shadows. Da Vinci painted the smile in shadows.”
However, the actual history of the Mona Lisa is just as mysterious as the smile. Da Vinci himself loved it so much that he always carried it with him, until it was eventually sold to France’s King Francis I in 1519.
In 1911, the painting was stolen from the Louvre by a former employee, who took it out of the museum hidden under his coat. He said he planned to return it to Italy. The painting was sent back to France two years later.
During World War II, French hid the painting in small towns to keep it out of the hands of German forces.
Like many old ladies, the Mona Lisa has some interesting stories to tell.
【小题1】The underlined sentence in the first paragraph means the Mona Lisa ________.

A.is losing its value
B.is being damaged after so many years
C.is getting more valuable with years passing
D.will rot away
【小题2】Experts haven’t any repairs on the Mona Lisa because______.
A.it is now in a poor chemical state
B.they don’t know how to replace the wooden panel
C.they don’t have the materials Da Vinci used
D.they are afraid it will be done further damage.
【小题3】The smile of the Mona Lisa can only be seen_______.
A.by indirect vision
B.at a distance
C.by direct vision
D.in shadows
【小题4】From the last paragraph, we can infer that______.
A.many interesting stories have been written about the Mona Lisa
B.people are interested in the stories about the Mona Lisa.
C.some mysteries still remain to be solved about the Mona Lisa.
D.Many more stories will be told about the Mona Lisa.

She is widely seen as proof that good looks can last forever. But, at nearly 500 years of age, time is catching up with the Mona Lisa.

The health of the famous picture, painted by Leonardo da Vinci in 1505, is getting worse by the year, according to the Louvre museum(卢浮宫博物馆)where it is housed.

“The thin, wooden panel on which the Mona Lisa is painted in oil has changed shape since experts checked it two years ago,” the museum said. Visitors have noticed the changes but repairing the world’s most famous painting is not easy. Experts are not sure about the materials the Italian artist used and their current chemical state.

Nearly 6 million people go to see the Mona Lisa every year, many attracted by the mystery of her smile. “It is very interesting that when you’re not looking at her, she seems to be smiling, and then you look at her and she stops,” said Professor Margaret Livingstone of Harvard University. “It’s because direct vision(视觉)is excellent at picking up detail, but less suited to looking at shadows. Da Vinci painted the smile in shadows.”

However, the actual history of the Mona Lisa is just as mysterious as the smile. Da Vinci himself loved it so much that he always carried it with him, until it was eventually sold to France’s King Francis I in 1519.

In 1911, the painting was stolen from the Louvre by a former employee, who took it out of the museum hidden under his coat. He said he planned to return it to Italy. The painting was sent back to France two years later.

During World War II, French hid the painting in small towns to keep it out of the hands of German forces.

Like many old ladies, the Mona Lisa has some interesting stories to tell.

1.The underlined sentence in the first paragraph means the Mona Lisa ________.

A.is losing its value

B.is being damaged after so many years

C.is getting more valuable with years passing

D.will rot away

2.Experts haven’t any repairs on the Mona Lisa because______.

A.it is now in a poor chemical state

B.they don’t know how to replace the wooden panel

C.they don’t have the materials Da Vinci used

D.they are afraid it will be done further damage.

3.The smile of the Mona Lisa can only be seen_______.

A.by indirect vision

B.at a distance

C.by direct vision

D.in shadows

4.From the last paragraph, we can infer that______.

A.many interesting stories have been written about the Mona Lisa

B.people are interested in the stories about the Mona Lisa.

C.some mysteries still remain to be solved about the Mona Lisa.

D.Many more stories will be told about the Mona Lisa.

 

The church seems cold this morning, even after all the people, friends and family, fill the benches. I sit here in silence, in shock and denial. This was not supposed to happen. What about our dreams, or our plans? We were going to raise our children, travel the world, and grow old together. I’m only 37, a typical housewife. I don’t know if I can do all this alone – two children, no father. What do I do or say?

The faces of so many people confuse me as they come to pay their last respects. Some have real sorrow; I can see it in their eyes. The others seem to just say, “I told you so.” Those famous last words: I – told – you – so. How I can’t stand them. And the pointing fingers as so – called family and so – called friends pick me out of the crowd for others to see. I want to scream and wake up but I can’t do anything but sit there. How can they be so blind? I fell in love with a man. Love knows no boundaries.

He was a good man, hardworking, caring and kind. He was retired form the Navy and a gentleman. He was sensitive to others’ needs, the kind of man that knew what to do or say, how to humor any situation and calm everyone’s fears. I remember our first child was a big surprise to both of us. I remember when I told him the news. He fell off his chair, saying over and over in disbelief, “But I’m almost sixty.” After a few months he started planning our next and even doing his famous little dance whenever he discussed the idea.

A man, thirty years older than I , lies in a coffin. Flowers, the American flag and his VFW comrades surround him, paying tribute (颂词) to him as the man he really was. And I sit alone here, with our two children, in silence, praying that this cold morning at church is only a nightmare (梦魇) and I will awake to his loving arms again.

Our son, our first born, his joy and pride, sits to the right of me seeming just as confused as me. I look over at him. How he looks like his father – blonder hair, tall and skinny – even his Irish temperament (气质) and that naughty look in his eyes. He’s wearing his father’s watch. It’s too big for him but he refused to take it off. I know he’ll keep it safe. Our second, the little angel and Daddy’s little girl, lays in her stroller (婴儿车) in the aisle, sound asleep. She’ll never remember the man she called Da”.

1.The man passed away, leaving his dearest woman to bring up their two children, the elder of whom is a boy of about          .

       A.1                        B.3                        C.7                        D.9

2.The last paragraph, which is italicized, does not lie where it originally was. It’s better for it to go back          .

       A.between para. 1 and para. 2                  B.between para. 2 and para. 3

       C.between para. 3 and para. 4                  D.to the very front

3.We can infer from the passage that         .

       A.the woman’s family were against her marriage to the man

       B.none of the people there showed real sympathy to the woman

       C.the woman did something wrong

       D.the family had lived a happy life before the man died

4.In paragraph 3, the underlined word “our next” means          .

      A.our next dance                                    B.our next news

       C.what for us to do next     D.our next baby

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