Trapped on the 37th Floor

Melinda Skaar wasn't expecting any phone calls.Skaar was working late in her office at the First Interstate bank of California.By 10:45 that night she was almost ready to go home when the phone rang.

Picking it up,she heard a guard shouting.“There is a fire! Get out of there!”

Skaar didn’t panic.She figured that it was just a small fire.Her office building was huge.There were 62 floors and her desk was on the 37th floor.

Skaar called out to office mate Stephen Oksas.who also stayed late to work.But when they got to the hallway, they were met by a cloud of black smoke.Rushing back,Skaar shut the door and filled the space at the bottom of the door with her jacket to keep the smoke out.

Then they called 911.Before they could call their families,however, the line went dead.That meant that they were completely cut off from the outside world.All they could do was wait and hope someone would come to rescue them.

Minutes ticked by.Smoke began to float into the office.Soon it became hard for them to breathe.

Looking around,Skaar noticed a small workroom.It seemed to have cleaner air.So they crowded there.That helped for a while,but in time even the workroom was filled with deadly smoke.

Hopeless,they tried to break the windows,but the glass was not breakable.Everything they threw at just bounced back.

Defeated,they struggled back to the workroom.They felt weak and dizzy.Soon Skaar found Oksas had passed out.

As Skaar and Oksas lay near death,rescuers were rushing to find them.At last,at about 4 a.m.,firefighters found them.

Skaar and Oksas knew they were lucky to be alive.“Sunday is my birthday,”Skaar told a reporter. She would be turning 29.But she knew she had already got the best present possible—the gift of life.

1.What did Skaar and Oksas do when they were stopped by the fire?

A.They called their families.

B.They waited where they were.

C.They rushed back and shut the door.

D.They tried to run down the stairs.

2.The first sentence of the passage is to_________.

A.get the reader’s attention

B.introduce Skaar and Oksas

C.explain the cause of the event

D.tell the background information.

3.The following helped Skaar and Oksas survive the fire EXCEPT_______.

A.calling 911 for help

B.breaking the windows to get some fresh air

C.crowding in a small workroom for clean air

D.shutting the door and keeping the smoke out with a jacket

4.What can we conc1ude from Skaar’s action in the fire?

A.She is cleverer than Oksas.

B.She was trained as a firefighter.

C.She remained calm in the face of danger.

D.She had had the experience of being caught in fire.

Earlier this year,my oldest daughter got braces(矫正器)on her teeth,and let’s just say she did not go quietly into that dentist’s chair.Fear and hate pretty much describe the days leading up to her first appointment.

So when she finally walked out with shiny teeth,a sore(疼痛的)mouth and a broken spirit,I told her I was proud of her and took her to Ben &Jerry’s for an ice cream reward.Two weeks later,we returned to the scene of the crime.The dentist spent about 45 seconds checking her teeth before sending her on her merry way.Before I could start the car, she was placing her ice cream order.She was shocked when I told her that she wasn't going to get a reward every time we get her teeth checked.

Clearly,she’s not alone.According to some parenting experts,kids are easily addicted to a benefit—producing system of parental rewards and bribes—it’s not all ice creams,candies and cool toys.Some parents are offering their children prizes to just let them sit down and behave in a restaurant—or sleep in their own beds—or score a goal in the next soccer game.

While the experts agree that occasional awards are okay, the danger lies in the system’s overuse.Kids quickly gain a sense of entitlement(应得的权利),where they come to expect a big reward for every good thing that they do,no matter how small.To keep things in check,experts say parents should reduce the number of rewards they offer,make sure rewards match the behavior and explain the real benefits of behaving for the sake of behaving.

Have you used bribery or a reward system with your kids? Was it successful? Do your kids expect more because of that system?

1.The intended readers of the passage are_____.

A.children B.teachers C.doctors D.parents

2.What does the author mean by saying“the scene of the crime”?

A.He/she doubted whether the dentist was skilled.

B.He/she felt very sorry for his/her daughter’s illness.

C.His/her daughter suffered a lot from her illness.

D.His/her daughter had a bad feeling for the dentist’s.

3.Similar to the author's daughter,children__________.

A.are often troubled by bad teeth.

B.expect more reward from their parents.

C.are afraid to visit a dentist.

D.receive certain rewards when becoming i11.

4.Misguided by the parental reward system,children easily think_______.

A.their parents must be far richer than others’

B.they can be successful as long as they work hard.

C.they should benefit from their every desired behavior.

D.their parents will feel happy when they behave well.

完形填空

阅读下面短文,从短文后各题所给的四个选项A、B、C和D)中,选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Three boys and three girls boarded the bus to Fort Lauderdale, dreaming of golden beaches as the gray cold of New York disappeared behind them. They noticed an old man, who sat in front of them, dressed in a plain, ill-fitting suit, never ________ , and his dusty face ________ his age.

He was ________ in his seat like a stone, and the young people began to ________about him, trying to ________ his life and his age. Deep into the night, outside Washington, one of the girls went up to him and introduced herself. “Want some wine?” He took ________ the glass and drank.

Slowly and ________ he told his story. His name was Vingo, he had been in ________ in New York for the past four years, and now he was going home. “When I was in prison I wrote to my wife,” he said. “I told her that I was going to be away for a long time, and that if she couldn't ________ it, if the kids kept asking questions, if it ________ too much, she could just forget me, I'd understand.”

“Last week, knowing I would be ________, I wrote her again. We used to live in Brunswick and there's a big oak tree just as you come into town. I told her that if she would ________ me back, she should put a yellow handkerchief on the tree, and I'd ________ and come home with her. If she didn't ________ me, forget it, no handkerchief, and I'd go on through.”

“Wow,” the girl exclaimed. She told the others, and soon all of them put their faces against the window, waiting for the ________ of Brunswick.

Then Brunswick was ten miles, and then five. Then, suddenly, all of the young people were up out of their seats, screaming ________ , all except Vingo. Vingo sat there ________ , looking at the oak tree. It was almost ________ with yellow handkerchiefs, 20 of them, 30 of them, maybe hundreds, a tree that stood like a huge flag of ________ , blowing in the wind. As the young people shouted, the old man rose and ________ his way to the front of the bus to go home.

1.A. moving B. leaning C. stopping D. heading

2.A. proved B. masked C. betrayed D. abandoned

3.A. rooted B. annoyed C. relaxed D. alarmed

4.A. hear B. care C. wonder D. speak

5.A. bother B. describe C. imagine D. know

6.A. away B. in C. out D. over

7.A. terribly B. eagerly C. painfully D. casually

8.A. hospital B. prison C. company D. work

9.A. support B. believe C. stand D. ignore

10.A. lasted B. influenced C. cost D. hurt

11.A. hopeless B. convenient C. successful D. free

12.A. take B. refuse C. call D. write

13.A. get out B. get off C. get on D. get in

14.A. remember B. believe C. miss D. accept

15.A. entrance B. beauty C. existence D. approach

16.A. amazingly B. joyfully C. definitely D. desperately

17.A. shocked B. puzzled C. terrified D. depressed

18.A. covered B. surrounded C. spotted D. dotted

19.A. wishes B. welcome C. victory D. success

20.A. felt B. forced C. made D. pushed

  Some students think it difficult to learn English well. That's because they don't find the right way. I think reading is very important for students. The more you read,the better you’ll understand.

   Reading is helpful to listening,speaking and writing. If you often read English aloud,you’ll improve your listening. On the other hand,listening a lot can help you to read better. Reading English everywhere when you are free,if you wish. You can get a lot of knowledge when you read. Sometimes you need to express your ideas,you can either speak or write. That means you are using what you learned from reading. The same as Chinese,the more you read,the better you can write. If you want to remember something,you should read again and again.

   So from now on,you’d better do more reading. It's a good way to learn EngJish welJ.(江苏省盐城市景山 中学2013—2014学年八年级下学期期中考试英语试题)

() 6. Some students think it difficult to learn English well because.

   A. they don't work hard   B. they are afraid of English.

   C. they don't find the right way   D. they aren’t clever

() 7. Reading is helpful to.

   A. speaking   B. listening   C. writing   D. A. B & C

() 8. The writer thinks is a good way to learn English well.

   A. the better you write   B. doing more reading

   C. the more you remember   D. the more you write

() 9. In Chinese studying,the more you read, .

   A. the better you speak   B. the better you write

   C. the more you remember   D. the more you write

() 10. The title of this passage may be.

   A. English is important   B. Reading is helpful

   C. English is difficult   D. Reading is important

 0  132727  132735  132741  132745  132751  132753  132757  132763  132765  132771  132777  132781  132783  132787  132793  132795  132801  132805  132807  132811  132813  132817  132819  132821  132822  132823  132825  132826  132827  132829  132831  132835  132837  132841  132843  132847  132853  132855  132861  132865  132867  132871  132877  132883  132885  132891  132895  132897  132903  132907  132913  132921  151629 

违法和不良信息举报电话:027-86699610 举报邮箱:58377363@163.com

精英家教网