A major earthquake rocked Haiti at 4:53 pm local time on Jan.12, 2010, killing possibly thousands of people but no official figure has been released so far.

The quake, which struck about 15km (10 miles) south-west of the capital, Port-au-Prince, was quickly followed by two strong aftershocks. In the space of a minute, numerous buildings fell down. A five-story U.N. building was also brought down by the 7.3 magnitude quake, the most powerful to hit Haiti in more than 200 years according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

As night fell, the whole city is in total darkness. You can see thousands of people sitting in the streets with nowhere to go. There are people running, crying, screaming. Describing the earthquake as a "catastrophe", Haiti’s president said the cost of the damage could run into billions.

Haiti became the first independent Caribbean state in the early 19th century. Haiti's location, history and attracting climate once made it a tourist hot place. However, decades of poverty, environmental pollution and violence have left it as the poorest nation in the Americans. It has suffered a lot, including four hurricanes and storms in 2008 that killed hundreds.

41. The great earthquake happened to the _______ of the capital city.

   A. south-west          B. north-west      C. south-east     D. north-east

42. What can we infer from the underlined sentence?

A. People in Port-au-Prince don’t like to light on.

B. The earthquake happened in the evening.

C. Electricity in the city was cut off that night.

D. There are no lights at all in Port-au-Prince.

43. Which statement about Haiti is NOT true?

A. Haiti became an independent state in the early 19th century.

B. Haiti belongs to Americas, just like Canada, America and so on.

C. At one time, tourism was important to the economy of Haiti.

D. Haiti is a country where such strong quakes often take place.

Giving Back

Fair Way

The Westborough High School golf team had taken the official photos with the state prize. The other teams, disappointed, were on the bus heading home. And then Westborough instructor Greg Rota noticed something wrong x>n one of the score cards. A 9 had been recorded as a 7. They were not the state prize winner; Wobum High had won. "No one would have known," said Wobum's instruc??tor, Bob Doran. For Rota, it wasn't a difficult decision: "The prize wasn't ours to take."

Coin Stars

"College students are lazy, but they also want to help," says University of Pennsylvania graduate Dana Hork. So she made it easy, placing cups in rooms where students could leave their spare coins, and handing out cups to first-year students to keep in their rooms. Her " Change for Change" effort has collected $40,000 for charities 慈善机构）, which were decided upon by students.

Never Forgotten

A school in Massachusetts received a $ 9.5 million check from Jacques LeBermuth. But it took offi??cials several days of digging to discover his connection to the school. Records showed the LeBermuth came from Belgium and studied in the school in the 1920s. When his family fell on hard times, he was offered free room and board. LeBermuth became a trader, owned shares of AT&T and lived off the earnings until he died, at age 89.

60. What did Greg Rota probably do in the end?

       A. Took photos of Doran.

       B. Had a meeting with Doran.

       C. Returned the prize to the organizer.

       D. Apologized to Wobum High School.

61. Greg Rota's decision shows that he was _______.

       A. honest               B. polite                C. careful               D. friendly

62. The underlined word "Change" in the second paragraph means _______.

       A. Idea            B. Decision      C. Cups                D. Coins

63. What did the school officials do after receiving the check from Mr. LeBermuth?

       A. They tried to find out why he gave them the money.

       B. They went to Belgium to pay their respects to him.

       C. They dug out the records that were buried underground.

       D. They decided to offer their students free room and board.

64. Jacques LeBermuth gave the money to the school because _______.

       A. the school asked for it                

       B. he had no need for that much money

       C. the school had helped him in the past  

       D. he wanted to be remembered by the students

One of my. next-door neighbor is a sweet 92-year-old Polish lady. A few days ago, I came back from a trip. As I was  16 . my clothes in my room, I heard a(n)  17  , frantic(发疯的) knock on the door. It was 10:30 pm, and I wasn’t sure who it could be. I went downstairs and  18  the peephole, and saw that it was our sweet next-door neighbor.

I quickly  19  the door, and she seemed really distressed and kept  20 , Please help me. I need your help. The fire alarm won’t go off. Please help me.” I  21  told her that everything would be okay, and  22  her to her house to see what was going on  23  the fire alarm.

She  24  that the alarm had been going on and off inconsistently(反复无常的) for the past two hours, and that her  25  to call her daughter to come and fix it was fruitless. So I took a chair from her dining room table,  26  it, and looked at the tire alarm.

After twisting the fire alarm off, I blew into it, because sometimes  27  causes it to make strange noises. She seemed  28  but was literally shaking out of fear. I asked her  29  she was okay, and she said she was  30  , so I gave her a hug. I felt her shaking in my embrace, and held her  31  for a few minutes until she stopped shaking and sighed a breath of relief.

We then  32  and talked for ten minutes, until I felt that she was okay. and safe to sleep. She was so generous with  33  for being with her, but I thanked her for  34  me that hugs are indeed good tools! So, sometimes, a(n)  35  hug is a good and powerful way to hold someone going through a difficult period.

1.A. collecting           B. designing                         C. unpacking                        D. setting

2.A. constant             B. flexible                    C. rhythmic                          D. impressive

3.A. looked through          B. made out                         C. cut off                               D. turned to

4.A. closed                          B. moved                              C. locked                              D. opened

5.A. thinking              B. repeating                         C. complaining           D. screaming

6.A. frequently                   B. briefly                               C. immediately           D. roughly

7.A. required            B. accompanied                  C. inspected                         D. observed

8.A. for                       B .to                                       C. by                             D. with

9.A. predicted                    B. warned                   C. mentioned                       D. proved

10.A. attempt            B. suggestion                       C. responsibility                  D. permission

11.A. pressed            B. revolved                          C. crashed                            D. climbed

12.A. power                         B. dust                                   C. paper                                D. switch

13.A. determined               B. terrified                           C. relieved                           D. devoted

14.A. when                          B. how                                   C. why                                   D. if

15.A. afraid                          B. tired                                  C. sleepy                               D. pleased

16.A. casually                      B. tightly                               C. automatically                   D. abruptly

17.A. broke down               B. sped up                            C. sat down                          D. turned around

18.A. suffering                   B. regret                              C. shame                    D. gratitude

19.A. advising            B. reminding                       C. encouraging                   D. advocating

20.A. simple                        B. special                             C. official                             D. sudden

The United States is one of the few countries in the world that has an official day on which fathers are honored by their children. On the third Sunday in June, fathers all across the United States are given presents, treated to dinner or otherwise made to feel special.

However, the idea for creating a day for children to honor their fathers began in Spokane, Washington. A woman by the name of Sonora Smart Dodd thought of the idea for Father’s Day while listening to a Mother’s Day sermon① in 1909. Having been raised by her father, Henry Jackson Smart, after her mother died, Sonora wanted her father to know how special he was to her. It was her father that made all the parental sacrifices② and was, in the eyes of his daughter, a selfless and loving man. Sonora’s father was born in June, so she chose to hold the first Father’s Day celebration in Spikane, Washington on the 19th of June, 1910.

In 1924 President Calvin Coolidge declared the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day. Roses are the Father’s Day flowers: red to be worn for a living father and white if the father has died.

When children can’t visit their fathers or take them out to dinner, they send a greeting card. Traditionally, fathers prefer greeting cards that are not too sentimental③. Most greeting cards are too special so fathers laugh when they open them. Some give heartfelt thanks for being there whenever the child needed Dad.

Notes:

① sermon  v.  布道

② sacrifices  n.  牺牲

③ sentimental  adj.  感伤的

1. The United States is special in Father’s Day because ______.

  A. many people celebrate the day                B. only America celebrates the day

  C. America makes it an official day              D. all men are honored in America

2. At first, Father’s Day was fixed on June 19th because ______.

  A. Sonora honored her father on her father’s birthday

  B. Sonora’s birthday was June 19

  C. it was decided by the president at that time

  D. her mother died on June 19

3. How many years has passed before Father’s Day became an official day since the father’s day was celebrated?

  A. 4     B. 10      C. 14     D. 24

4. According to the passage, on Father’s Day,  ______.

  A. people will wear the same flowers to honor their fathers

  B. only daughters wear red flowers to honor their fathers

  C. children must go home to honor their fathers

  D. fathers are often honored in different ways

5. According to the passage, we can infer that Henry Jackson Smart ______.

  A. was very kind to anyone

  B. did a lot for his daughter

  C. was the first father honored in 1924

  D. always help others by giving money

I do a lot of management training each year for the Circle K Company. Among the 21 we discuss in our classes is the 22 of quality employees（雇员）

“What has caused you to stay 23 enough to become a manager?" I asked. After a while a new manager took the 24 and said slowly, "it was a baseball glove.”

Cynthia said she used to 25 a Circle K clerk job as an interim (时临的.) one while she looked for something 26 . On her second day behind the counter, she received a (an) 27 from her nine-year-old son, Jessie. He 28 a baseball glove for the little League. She 29 that as a single mother, money was 30 , and her first check would have to go for paying 31.

When Cynthia arrived for work the next morning, Partircia, the store manager asked her to come to her small office and handed her a box. “I overheard you 32 to your son yesterday,” she said, “and I know that it is 33 to explain things to kids. This is a baseball glove for Jessie. I know you have to pay bills 34 you can buy gloves. You know we can’t 35 good people like you as 36 as we would like to; but we do 37 and I want you to know how 38 you are to us.”

The thoughtfulness, empathy (同情) and love of the store manager show vividly that people 39 more how much a( n) 40 cares than how much he pays.