Americans: Restless? Illiterate(没文化的) ?

    Americans are queer people: they can’t rest. They have more time, more leisure, shorter work hours, more holidays, and more vacations than any other people in the world. But they can’t rest. They rush up and down across their continent as tourists; they move about in great herds to conferences; they search the wilderness; they flood the mountains; they keep the hotels full. But they can’t rest. The scenery rushes past them. They learn it. Battles and monuments are announced to them on a tour bus. They hear them, but they don’t get them. They never stop moving; they rush up and down as Shriners, Masons, Old Graduates, Bankers—they are a new thing each day, always rushing to a reunion or something. So they go on rushing about till eventually the undertaker (殡葬工) gather them to the grave.

    Americans are queer people: they can’t read. They have more schools, and better schools and spend more money on schools and colleges than all Europe. But they can’t read. They print more books in a year than the French print in ten. But they can’t read. They cover their country with one hundred thousand tons of Sunday newspapers every week. But they don’t read them. They’re too busy. They use them for fires and to make more paper with. They buy eagerly thousands of new novels at two dollars each. But they read only page one. Their streets are full of huge signs. They won’t look at them. Their streetcars are filled with advertising; they turn their eyes away. Transparent colors, cart wheels, and mechanical flares whirl and flicker in the crowded streets at night. No one sees them. Tons of letters pour into the mail boxes, through the houses, and down the garbage cans. No one reads them.

The underlined word “queer ” means ___________.

A. difficult    B. strange  C. forgetful    D. friendly

According to the text, when do the Americans stop rushing about ?

A. When they are to allowed to.     B. Where they feel tired and sleepy

C. When they are seriously ill in bed   D. When they stop breathing eventually

The Americans know the places of battles and monuments ___________.

A. when they are on the tour bus    B. by driving there in person

C. from books and magazines D. from their friends and co-workers

Why does the writer write this passage?

A. To tell people the Americans are illiterate

B. To prove the Americans to be a queer nation

C. To give the readers information about USA

D. To make fun of the American way of life

用Book6 Modules5-6和Book 7 Modules1-2所学单词的适当形式填空

1.My parents are _____________ (厌恶 ) at the violence in the film.

2._____________（陪伴）by Hammond’s two grandchildren, they are sent on a tour through Jurassic Park in computer-controlled cars.

3.Many questions have a__________ from the recent changes in law.

4.“For the Fallen” can be seen on war m_______________ in many parts of the world.

5.All ______________(全体职员) of the company are eligible (有资格)for being promoted.

6.They have ______________ (犯罪)many horrible crimes against the Chinese people.

7.As a child, Chamberlain had _____________(各种各样的) health problems.

8.I have to say, the h ______________ of the year was the senior prom.

9.Afterwards , we went and had an _____________(巨大的)breakfast in a nearby hotel.

10.During the Easter vacation, I went on a short school ________(滑雪) trip to the Rocky Mountains.

I bent down in the shade under a sixty-foot-tall cactus（仙人掌）, waiting for them to appear. The time was eight thirty in the morning. For seven mornings I had come to the same distant spot in the Sonoran Desert, in southern Arizona. I was here to watch the roadrunner, a small fast-running bird.
I spotted two birds under a bush with red flowers. The roadrunners rushed out from under it. The birds moved rapidly on long skinny legs. Their feathers were brown and black. Their tails were seven inches long. Roadrunners use the tail for balance when running.
That day, the roadrunners performed a courtship（求婚）dance. They ran in wild circles. Suddenly, one stopped and stood still, its round eyes full of light. The second bird took hold of a small stick off the ground and presented it to the first, a gift serving as a symbol of their partnership.
I returned to the spot each day, leaving bits of boiled chicken hoping they would return. Roadrunners eat snakes, lizards, mice, beetles, and spiders. Food is in short supply in the desert, so my offerings were welcome. The pair grew used to me.
Soon after the pair finished building their nest six white eggs appeared in the nest bowl. In about three weeks, six roadrunner chicks, skin as black as coal, cried for food. Their parents brought food such as fence lizards and stink bugs. They fed their young until they were a month and a half old.
Early one morning, a coyote（丛林狼）came around, nose to the ground, for fresh bird meat. The roadrunners fearlessly drove the coyote away, but it was soon back. After three attacks the coyote went away for good, tail between its legs.
I stopped watching the nest when the little roadrunners, at two months of age, were ready to live on their own. It was hard to break away from “my roadrunner family.” Whenever I see a roadrunner now, rushing over the ground, I say hello to it as an old friend.
【小题1】The author went to the Sonoran Desert to       .

      Officials say an elephant has killed an American woman and her baby while the family was on a tour in Kenya．Kenya Wildlife Service official Michel Kipkeu said Sharon Brown，39, was holding her one-year-old daughter when they were trampled (踩踏) by the elephant Monday．Melia van Laar, owner of the castle Forest Hotel，where the family was walking with a guide about 2 kilometers from the hotel when an elephant came out from the bush at full speed．The father of the family is a teacher in Naiobi．Friends and colleagues held funeral services Wednesday．

      From world leaders on the White House lawn to people at the bus stop，the common handshake is the universal greeting of peace and kindness．But young people are kissing goodbye to traditional social etiquette (礼节)，killing off the handshake, researchers say．The custom is seen as too formal by many, who prefer to touch fists or blow an air kiss instead．Nearly 74 percent of adults shake hands less than they used to — and only 45 percent of under-25s use the greeting．But many prefer no physical contact at all, a side effect of the growing fear of diseases，according to the survey of 1,000 people．

      The growing mountain of e-waste will cause great environmental damage if no new strategies are produced to deal with the discarded televisions, mobile phones and computers，the UN Environment Program (UNEP) study said．Electronic waste is piling up around the world at a rate estimated at 40 million tons a year．China produces 2.6 million tons of electronic waste a year,  second only to the United States with 3.3 million tons, it said．LNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said the globe was ill-prepared to deal with the explosion of electronic products over the past decade．

What’s the main idea of the 1paragraph?

      A．Tour in Kenya                                           

B．Kenya wildlife Service          

C．A one-year-old girl trampled by an elephant        

D．American mother, baby killed by elephant in Kenya

Yong people wave goodbye to handshakes because     

      A．they prefer physical contact

      B．many young people think handshaking is too formal

      C．they prefer to touch fists or blow an air kiss

      D．they are not accustomed to handshaking

What ean be inferred from passage three?

      A．America ranks first in producing e-waste a year

     B．China produces 2.6 million tons of electronic waste a year

      C．the globe was ill prepared to deal with the explosion of electronic products

      D．The growlng mountain of e-wasted won’t cause great environmental damage．

The underlined word“discarded”means      

      A．disliked               B．deserted               C．scarred                   D．scared

The passages are most likely to appear in a/an       

     A．brochure              B．science book        C．newspaper            D．magazine

Running like the wind, roaring like thunder, tigers have long been feared and respected as a king of the animal world．But last week a report said that there are no more than 30 wild tigers left in south China．

    This was the conclusion of a team of scientists from China's State Forestry Administration and the World Nature Fund．

    The South China tiger, also known as the Chinese tiger, is native to southern China．In the 1950's, there were over 4000 tigers found in mountain forests in the country．But due to the destruction of their natural habitat and uncontrolled hunting, it has been pushed on to the list of the world's top ten most endangered species．

    Sixty-six of the big cats can be found in the cages of a dozen zoos around China．But they are nothing like their wild cousins．They have lost their natural skills such as hunting and killing．If they were set free they could not look after themselves．

    "Breeding has damaged the quality of the species", said Pei Enle, deputy director of the Shanghai Zoo．

    To reintroduce the species into the wild, the country started a programme to send five to ten young tigers to South Africa．Four of them have already arrived．Progress has been made as two elder tigers have recovered some of their instincts（本能）and can hunt wild animals by themselves at the African base．

    " South Africans are very experienced in reintroducing big animals to the wild．The country has very good natural conditions for the tigers to learn in", said Lu Jun, office director of the National Wildlife Research and Development Center．" We tried in Fujian Province, but it was not successful as there was not a complete eco-chain（生物链） and there was a lack of space．"

The tigers should return to China in 2007 when the reservations in Fujian are ready．

1．What is the main reason for the South China tiger becoming one of the world's top ten most endangered species?

    A．Because it has lost its natural instincts．        B．Because there is not a complete eco-chain．

    C．Because there is no space for it．                 D．Because uncontrolled hunting has destroyed its natural living conditions．

2．How is the programme of sending several tigers to South Africa getting on?

    A．Its effect still remains to be seen．

    B．Two tigers can already compete with their wild cousins．

    C．Some of the tigers are already on the road to recovering their natural skills．

    D．The tigers should be able to recover their instincts completely by 2007．

3．By saying " but they are nothing like their wild cousins", the writer means that ______．

    A．they are no longer feared by other wild animals

    B．they don't know how to hunt or kill

    C．a complete change has resulted in the species because of breeding

    D．to reintroduce them into the wild has become an urgent task

4．What is the purpose of sending young tigers to South Africa?

    A．To help the tigers recover their ability to live in the wild．

    B．To provide them with a better environment．

    C．To get the tigers to go on a tour．

    D．To find a complete eco-chain for them．

5．Which one is not the reason for South Africa being chosen as the training place?

    A．Because the tigers can hunt wild animals by themselves at the African base．

    B．Because South Africans are skilled at dealing with the tigers．

    C．Because there is a complete eco-chain and enough space there．

    D．Because the country has good natural conditions for the tigers to learn in．