You’re finishing up your history homework when your cell phone rings. You’ve got 30 minutes to reach head-quarters, get your equipment packed and receive your task. There’s a lost hiker in the mountains near the edge of town. Your task: find the missing person; provide emergency medical treatment, if necessary; and be prepared to operate 48 hours on your own with only the supplies you carry.

Sounds like some kind of film’s plot? Not if you’re a member of the Arapahoe teen rescue patrol in the suburbs of Denver. About 25 teen guys and girls are active members of this search, rescue and emergency organization, and they know firsthand that you don’t have to be an adult to save lives.

These 9th-through-12th graders are the real deal when it comes to emergency services. In fact, they’re the only teen-commanded patrol in the nation. Sure they have adult advisers to turn to if necessary, but in the field it’s a teen patrol officer calling the shots — sometimes even giving direction to adults.

Members are trained in rock-high-angle，swift-water and avalanche rescue (雪崩施行营救), winter and alpine operation , wilderness life support and emergency care, among other skills. They also regularly ride along with the local fire and police departments, providing support such as security details and evidence searching.

When asked what qualities make a good patrol member, founder and president Stan Bush named good physical conditioning and an interest in helping people. “We put in lots and lots of hours helping people in trouble,” he says. “So if a person is not really interested in doing that kind of thing, he won’t last as a member.”

1.In the first paragraph, the author describes ______.

A. a plot in some kind of film                                 B. a teen patrol member’s life

C. an emergency rescue                                                  D. a lost hiker in trouble

2.Which of the following is NOT true about the Arapahoe teen rescue patrol?

A. They are trained to have many special skills.

B. They also work with local firemen and policemen.

C. They turn to adults for help sometimes.

D. They think they can save lives only when growing up.

3.If you want to become a good rescue patrol member, you must ______.

A. be strong and interested in offering help

B. be a 9th-through-12th grader

C. finish your history homework first

D. spend many hours helping people first

4.What would be the best title for the passage?

A. What qualities make a good patrol member?

B. The Arapahoe teen rescue patrol

C. How to become a rescue patrol member

D. Skills a rescue patrol member needs

My mother, Marisol Torres, came with her family to Australia in the early 1960s. Then my parents’ marriage ended and Mum began the study of precious stones. Her interest in opals (猫眼石) took her to the New South Wales remote town of Lightning Ridge. There were no luxuries (奢华的享受), but she was closer to nature and had a chance to find black opals and make some money.

My mother was beautiful with dark hair and brown eyes, but she was also quiet and shy. Early in the Ridge years, she kept to herself, but later, she started going to the neighbourhood centre to make friends.

It was her dream to mine, but her get-rich-quick thinking was unrealistic. She was cheated and she was never very successful. But she kept a sense of humour and a charming smile.

Then, just as friendships began to blossom, she was diagnosed with cancer and had to return south for treatment. She had the intention of cooking Spanish food as special treat for her Ridge friends, but died too soon. In her honour, my aunt, Marisa, and I fulfilled her desire when we visited the Ridge in March last year.

People who mine the Ridge come from a cross section of society, from lawyers to travels. Looks don’t mean much: it can be hard to tell who is millionaire and who is poor. Opals attracted Sebastian and Hanna Deisenberger to Lightning Ridge. They planned a two-year stay, but became permanent residents.

Then there’s Neil Schellnegger, 45, who moved to the area with his parents when he was a child. He lives with his son, Luke. Luke is a shy 19-year-old boy who enjoys helping his dad. They haven’t had much luck over the past couple of years, but their passion for opals conquers disappointment. They love the peaceful lifestyle.

Danny Hatcher, 38, is a second-generation miner and president of the Lightning Ridge Miners’ Association. He is an optimistic man, driven by the desire to find the perfect opal. “It’s magic,” he explains. “Once you start opal mining you don’t want to do anything else… There is always the potential for finding a million dollars. Nothing beats it.”

It’s a place where dreams --- spiritual or material --- can be fulfilled; a place, for one last bet in life.

1.What made the author’s mother go to Lightning Ridge?

A．The luxurious life there.                  B．Her new marriage there.

C．Her interest in opals.                     D．Her passion for nature. .

2.After the author’s mother died, she fulfilled her desire by __________.

A．treating her mother’s Ridge friends with Spanish food

B．writing a biography about her whole life

C．decorating her house in Lightning Ridge

D．finding a lot of black opals in Lightning Ridge

3.We know from the passage that _________.

A．the rich and the poor can be distinguished by their looks

B．Luke is a successful miner, just like his father

C．Sebastian is planning to leave Lightning Ridge

D．Danny Hatcher’s parents were miners in Lightning Ridge

4.Lightning Ridge is a place where dreams can be fulfilled because __________.

A．there are precious stones and life is peaceful

B．there are people from all walks of life

C．there are rich people who can help poor people

D．there is a lot of gold hidden in the ground

5.What is the author’s purpose of giving Neil Schellnegger and Danny Hatcher as examples?

A．To show the magic power of opal mining.

B．To tell people it isn’t always hard to mine opals.

C．To warn people not to take up this kind of job.

D．To persuade people to look for more resources for the country.

下面短文中有10处语言错误。请在有错误的地方增加、删除或修改某个单词。
增加：在缺词处加上一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写上修改后的词。
注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从11处起）不计分。
In a summer night in Taiwan, Xiao Hong was going on her way to school happily then
suddenly she felt the street was strong shaking. The trees were torn up and many buildings were leaned down to the ground. Even a car was destroyed by the fallen buildings. She was knocked down by a tree before she knew. Two doctors carried him to safety and she was settled down in a tent for treatment. After some time, she had got over. Seeing such many goods from the
mainland of China and other countries, she believed all the destroyed houses would be built.

The quality of drinking water in Shanghai will meet European Union standard by 2010 and, a decade later, citizens in Shanghai will drink the best water in the world.

These were the goals set out by the Shanghai Water Authority. With the city’s population expected to increase only slightly and the economy to boom by 2020, Chen Yin, and official with the water authority, said Shanghai’s water consumption will not increase from its present amount.

Zhang Yue, director of the Urban Construction Division under the Ministry of Construction, said, “Shanghai is the first city in the country to publicize these ambitions. They will not be easy to achieve.”

He said water saving will help keep the sustainable development of China’s economy.

Saving one cubic meter of water means saving the city’s infrastructure（基础设施）costs by 10,000 Yuan. Last year, Shanghai saved 300 million cubic meters of water either from readjustment of industrial structure or the employment of new technology.

 “The aim is to arouse public awareness of the seriousness of water shortages,” Chen said. “The abundant surface water and amount of rain of the city are so misleading that they result in improper use of water.”

Shanghai lacks drinkable water. The Huangpu River, which supplies 80 percent of the city’s drinkable water, is nearing exhaustion.

The city, therefore, has been exploring new sources from the Yangtze River and growing forests along it to conserve quality water.

Besides penning regulations, the authority is popularizing technology among the public to efficiently cut the amount of water used.

At present, the city has 600，000 family toilets, each using 13 liters of water per flush. These are to be renovated（整修）to use only 9 liters of water per flush.

The authority is renovating the first 200 toilets for households – at a cost of 40 Yuan each.

In three years, all the toilets will be renovated, which saves the city nearly 15 million Yuan every year in water conservation.

Another task the city is engaged in is the treatment of sewage（污水）to improve the water environment.

At present the city can only treat 44 percent of its daily 5.04 million tons of waste water. To meet the total demand, 27 more sewage treatment factories are to be established with an estimated investment of 18 billion Yuan.

1.People in Shanghai get their daily water mainly from         now.

A．the underground         B．the rain

C．the Yangtze River         D．the Huangpu River

2.According to the passage, some people have the wrong opinion of using water because      .

A．the renovating of family toilets will save plenty of water

B．about half of waste water has been treated already

C．advanced technology makes people use water as much as possible

D．there is plenty surface water and large amount of rain at present

3.The authority is renovating the first 200 toilets for households to          .

A．make people’s living more convenient

B．improve people’s living standards

C．ease employment pressure         

D．meet the total demand of water

4.Which group of measures are all mentioned in the passage to save water?

a．improve drinking water quality    b．change some industrial structure

c．introduce or use some new technology      

d．speed the economic development of Shanghai

e．renovate some family toilets        f．build more sewage treatment factories

A．a, b, c, d      B．b, c, e, f       C．b, c, d, e      D．a, b, e, f

5.We can infer from the passage that          .

A．the boom of economy will need a larger amount of water in the future

B．citizens today in Shanghai drink the best quality of water in the world

C．not everyone today in Shanghai is aware of water shortage

D．all the family toilets will be renovated to save water within 3 years

I hadn’t even got a chance to enter the store before an African American woman approached me and asked if I would help her return an item. The item she had   36  was intended for her daughter, but she had already received a   37 one. The lady   38  to exchange the item for something else in the store but she was told she needed an ID   39  the deal could not take place. 

I went to the   40  with the woman so we could use my ID. The sales associate immediately started  41  her of asking the first   42  person she saw to help her. Although that was   43 , I didn’t understand why it   44 . After all, not everyone is given the opportunity to   45  an ID in this country. 

Then, we asked to speak with a manager, who explained that there was no   46  to return the item without a receipt and then went on to say the woman could not   47  she purchased the item.   

“  48 I, a young white female, were to enter the store and request you to make an exchange without a receipt, I would not be   49  the privilege — as I have proof from the past.” I said. He must have realized at that moment what he had done, because he   50  to exchange the item.

There are many valuable lessons in the story. The first is to help a stranger in need. I   51  when the woman asked for my help, but   52  in my head I asked myself, “Why not? What valid   53  do I actually have?” I had none, so I helped her. 

The second lesson is not to judge a book by its   54 . The woman looked poor, but she   55  _ the same treatment as anyone else does.

1.                A．purchased      B．shown          C．lost  D．mended

2.                A．same          B．popular         C．similar    D．different

3.                A．managed       B．wanted         C．refused   D．promised

4.                A．for            B．or             C．and  D．so

5.                A．counter        B．department      C．market   D．window

6.                A．warning        B．informing       C．reminding D．accusing

7.                A．fair            B．familiar         C．impossible     D．random

8.                A．wrong          B．true           C．reasonable    D．meaningful

9.                A．mattered       B．happened       C．passed   D．worked

10.               A．leave          B．pay            C．find  D．obtain

11.               A．request        B．place          C．way  D．need

12.               A．answer         B．prove          C．support   D．admit

13.               A．Unless         B．And           C．Instead    D．If

14.               A．ordered        B．asked          C．denied    D．given

15.               A．agreed         B．prepared       C．failed D．remembered

16.               A．struggled       B．wondered      C．hesitated  D．nodded

17.               A．totally          B．gradually       C．hardly D．quickly

18.               A．feelings        B．goals           C．reasons   D．ideas

19.               A．design         B．cover          C．content   D．price

20.               A．deserved       B．required        C．received  D．appreciated