New York City consists of five boroughs：Manhattan，Brooklyn，Queens，the Bronx and Staten Island．The population is about 7.5 million living in Manhattan．Manhattan，the center of the city，is on an island between the Hudson River and the East River．Most of the famous buildings such as the Empire State building and the United Nations building and other skyscrapers are in Manhattan．Some of its districts are Broadway，which has many theaters and cinemas；Fifth Avenue，with stores and apartments；Greenwich Village，where many artists and writers have lived and Central Park，with a small zoo and a skating rink．From Manhattan you have to cross to the other boroughs through a tunnel or over a bridge．The bridge from Brooklyn to Staten Island is the longest in the world．

New York is the second largest port in the world and it has two airports：Kennedy Internalional for internalional flights and La Guardia for flights inside the USA．Its temperature goes from very cold in winter（sometimes twenty degrees below zero）to very hot in summer （sometimes 40 centigrade）．The people who l ive there come from all over the world and speak realjy different languages：there are Germans and Poles as well as people from Greece，Scotland，Ireland．Hungary，Italy and Romania．People call one district“Little Italy”and another “Chinatown”．

1．What do we know about Manhattan?

    A．Manhattan is in the east of the city of New York．

    B．There are lots of high-rises in Manhattan。

    C．Manhattan is not a place for artists to live in．

    D．Manhattan is connected to the other parts of New York by highways．

2．If you want to see wonderful plays，you should go to_______．

    A．the Fifth Avenue                                      B．Central Park

    C．Broadway                                               D．the Empire State Building

3．According to the passage，which bridge is the longest in the world?

    A．The bridge between Manhattan and Brooklyn．

    B．The bridge between Staten Island and Brooklyn

    C．The bridge between Manhattan and Staten Island．

    D．The bridge between Broadway and Brooklyn．

4．One district of New York is called Chinatown because________

    A．it is part of China and is administered-by the Chinese government

    B．the main citizens there are mainly from Chinatown

    C．it is a district that has a large number of Chinese people

    D．it iS a district that is famous for Chinese

5．If you go from Italy，you are supposed to get to New York through _______Airport.

    A．Kennedy International                               B．La Guardia 

    C．either of the above two                             D．neither of the above two

Dear Volunteers，

The service you will provide to elderly individuals in Abilene as a Meals on Wheels volunteer is deeply appreciated. I want to take this opportunity to thank you for the many miles you will travel and all of the hours you will contribute to help make this one of the best programs in the entire state.

We have our staff members make a home visit before adding each person to the program and try to visit everyone at least once every year. That is hardly enough, and we depend on your contact a great deal! It is important that you report back when you do not get an answer to your knock on the door. The person inside may be hurt or ill. They may be in hospital or out of town and fail to inform us. If they are frequently absent, we may need to determine if they still need meals.

If you find someone with a medical emergency, please call 911 to request medical assistance, and then call the Meals on Wheels office. If you find someone who needs assistance other than for a medical emergency, please call the Meals on Wheels office at 6725050, and we will try to find the appropriate agency or individual to call.

Let us know when a certain person needs extra food. We have a food preparation room of shelf stable items to share with them. Please feel free to take a few magazines when you deliver meals. Many of those we serve cannot afford magazines and enjoy reading. If someone is interested in getting books from the Abilene Public Library, let us know. We can sign them up for the Books on Wheels program. Call if you smell gas strongly when you deliver meals, or if someone needs a space heater, a blanket, or an electric fan. Please convey all needs to us, and we will try to see that they are met. Some of the elderly people who we offer our service may have cancers, liver diseases, AIDS, etc. If you do not want to deliver meals to the people with certain types of health problems, such as these, please let us know.

Sincerely,

Betty L. Bradley, LBSW,

Executive Director

1.Why does the author write this letter?

2.What can we learn about the volunteers from the passage?

3.How does the author learn about the needs of the people served?

Do you know what really troubles me? For some reason, words with silent letters have always bothered me. For example, consider these words: know, design, island, school, wrist, naughty, and salmon. All of these words have at least one letter that is not typically pronounced, and these words are just a very small part of words with silent letters in them.
Some words are even worse, consider this word: colonel. Not only are some letters not pronounced, but letters that are not even there are pronounced.
Even foreign languages, especially French, are guilty of this needless complexity and confusion. I know there must be some main historical reasons why the words are spelled and pronounced the way they are, but that does not mean bad traditions must continue to survive. Especially if they are no longer logical.[来源:Z_xx_k.Com]
Unfortunately, there is very little that anyone can do for it, because there’s no group of people who can change or have the right to change the English language for everyone. However, the only thing we can do is make changes in the way we talk and write in hopes that it catches on. For example, I pronounce the letter “l” in salmon on purpose to make people annoyed and to sound more different or complicated. I even pronounce colonel the correct or French way.
I can only hope these two minor changes to the English language make sense to you, and you will help to keep up these minor changes forever in your everyday life.
【小题1】We can learn from the passage ________.

When a storm is coming, most people leave the area as quickly as possible and head for safety…But there are a few people who will get into their cars and go straight for the center of the storm．These people are willing to risk being killed by floods or 100-Kilometer- an-hour winds for the excitement of watching the storm close up．
　 “Storm chasing (追逐)”is becoming an increasingly popular hobby，especially in the Midwest of the United States, where there are frequent storms between March and July．A storm chaser begins the day by checking the Internet for the latest weather reports, and then drives up to l,000 kilometers to where the storm will be and waits for it to develop．
　  Although anyone can do it，storm chasing is extremely dangerous．The power of a big storm  can throw a cow into the air or destroy a whole house in seconds．Storm chasers are also often hurt in accidents caused by driving in a heavy rain．If you are a beginner, it is much safer to join a group for storm - chasing vacations during the storm season．
　  Even then，storm chasing is not all adventure and excitement．“Storm chasing is 95％driving，”says Daniel Lynch，who spends most of his summer storm-chasing．“Sometimes you
Can sit around for hours waiting for something to happen，and all you get is blue sky and a few light showers.”
　  However，for storm chasers，it is all worth it. “When you get close to a storm，it is the most exciting sight you will ever see in your life，”says Jasper Morley．“Every storm is an example of the power of nature．It is the greatest show on Earth．”
【小题1】For storm chasing，the first thing storm chasers do is to　　　 ．

任务型阅读 (共10小题; 每小题l分, 满分l0分)

Most people feel lonely sometimes, but it usually only lasts between a few minutes and a few hours.

This kind of loneliness is not serious. In fact, it is quite normal. For some people, though, loneliness can last for years. Now researchers say there are three different types of loneliness.

The first kind of loneliness is temporary. This is the most common type. It usually disappears quickly

and does not require any special attention. The second kind, situation—for example, family problem, the death of a loved one, or moving to a new place. Although this kind of loneliness can cause physical problems, such as headaches and sleeplessness, it usually does not last for more than a year.

The third kind of loneliness is the most severe. Unlike the second type, chronic（the opposite of

“temporary”）usually lasts more than two years and has no specific cause. People who experience habitual loneliness have problems socializing and becoming close to others. Unfortunately, many chronically lonely people think there is little or nothing they can do to improve their condition.

Psychologists agree that one important factor in loneliness is a person’s social contacts, for example,

friends, family members, co-workers, etc. we depend on various people for different reasons. For instance, our families give us emotional support, our parents and teachers give us guidance, and our friends share similar interests and activities. However, psychologists have found that, though lonely people may have many social contacts, they sometimes feel they should have more. They question their popularity.

Psychologists are trying to find ways to help habitually lonely people for two reasons: they are unhappy and unable to socialize and there is a connection between chronic loneliness and serious illness as heart disease, while temporary and situational loneliness can be a sad, and sometimes dangerous condition.

Loneliness and Diseases