D

Many Chinese have been greatly shocked by the traffic accident caused by the drunk driver Sun Weiming, who has killed five and injured some others in Chengdu, Sichuan. However, such a case is not rare.

   Today, the traffic accidents may have been regarded as a social problem. The car has killed and disabled more people in its brief history than any bomb or weapon ever invented. Much of the blood on the street flows actually from rude behavior of drivers who refuse to respect the legal and moral (道德的) rights of others. In fact, the enemies of society on wheels are rather harmless but just ordinary people acting carelessly, you might say. But it is a principle both of law and common morality that carelessness is no excuse when one's actions could bring death or damage to others. A minority of the killers go even far beyond carelessness that can be imagined.

   Researchers have estimated that as many as 80 percent of all automobile accidents can be attributed to the psychological condition of the driver. Emotional upsets can change drivers’ reactions incorrectly, slow their judgment, and make them blind to the dangers that might otherwise be evident. The experts warn that it is vital for every driver to make a conscious effort to keep his/her emotions under control.

   Yet the .irresponsibility; that accounts for much of the problem isn't only put upon drivers. Street walkers regularly ignore or break traffic regulations. They are blamed in most vehicle walker accidents, and many cyclists even believe that they are not subject to the basic rules of the road.

   Significant legal advances have been made towards safer driving in the past few years. Safety standards for vehicles have been raised both at the point of manufacture and through regular road inspections. In addition, speed limits have been lowered. Due to these measures, the accident rate has decreased. But the accident experts still worry because there has been little or no improvement in the way drivers behave. The only real and lasting solution, say the experts, is to make people believe that driving is a skilled task requiring constant care and concentration. Those who fail to do all these things present a threat to those with whom they share the road.

67. Traffic accidents may be regarded as a social problem because

   A. auto driving has become dangerous and harmful in today's society

   B. people usually pay no attention to law and morality when driving

   C. they have caused serious psychological problems among drivers

   D. the car has killed and disabled more people than any weapon in history

68. Who are NOT mentioned as being responsible for the road accidents?

   A. Careless bicycle--riders.             B. Careless people walking in the street.

   C. Irresponsible auto drivers.            D. Irresponsible auto manufacturers.

69. Discussing solutions to traffic accidents, the author seems to be

   A. doubtful and hopeless               B. angry and disappointed

   C. objective and concerned             D. anxious and annoyed

70. The author writes this passage to

   A. show his worries about drunk driving

   B. help protect street walkers from car accidents

   C. discuss traffic problems and possible solutions

   D. warn auto drivers to refuse drunk driving

For a few years, I have been wearing a ring on my right hand. It’s not always the   16   ring, but it’s always a ring that has  17  on it so that when I look at it, I’m   18   or reminded of something important. I have made a  19  of buying rings like this whenever I see one in a store. Sometimes I give them away as   20  to someone like Jennie.

    I first met Jennie in the   21   waiting room and we had talked several times. One night I sat down beside her and   22   how her son was doing because I knew that he was in very  23    condition. She told me that she didn’t know what to do any more because it seemed none of the   24  from the doctors was good. They weren’t at all sure her son was going to   25   the accident that had hurt him so badly. With  26  in her eyes she said, “They’re   27  my hope.”

    I knew then that it was 28  just a coincidence that I was wearing the ring that I had on that day. As she   29  to talk, I   30  slipped the ring off my finger and placed it in Jennie’s hand. I told her to wear it to remember that God loved her and He would be with her  31   all of this.   32  Jennie looked down at the ring, she got excited and then held it tightly,  33   the word written on the ring was “HOPE”.

    The last day I was at the hospital, I saw Jennie in the distance as I got on the lift. She   34  and held up the hand with the ring on it as she called out to me saying, “Look, I   35   have Hope!”

1.A．special            B．expensive        C．same             D．valuable

2.A．words              B．pictures         C．names            D．symbols

3.A．admired            B．encouraged       C．trusted          D．puzzled

4.A．plan               B．point            C．list             D．habit

5.A．gifts              B．prizes           C．awards           D．thanks

6.A．railway            B．school           C．hospital         D．airport

7.A．asked              B．explained        C．thought          D．found

8.A．favorable          B．normal           C．serious          D．excellent

9.A．advice             B．news             C．instructions     D．comfort

10.A．defeat            B．experience       C．predict          D．survive

11.A．apologies         B．tears            C．anger            D．doubt

12.A．keeping up        B．bringing down    C．cutting off      D．taking away

13.A．other than        B．rather than      C．more than        D．less than

14.A．continued         B．refused          C．attempted        D．started

15.A．cautiously        B．quietly          C．nervously        D．shyly

16.A．over              B．beyond           C．through          D．within

17.A．Until             B．While            C．Since            D．When

18.A．for               B．so               C．yet              D．and

19.A．shouted           B．waved            C．cheered          D．hesitated

20.A．ever  B．only C．still    D．Just

My father is a smart man. He spent many years of his life listening to people’s arguments, first as assistant district lawyer and then as a judge. My dad knows rubbish rhetoric when he hears it.
One of his favorite phrases is: “If you don’t have anything smart to say, then don’t say it at all.” Yet, for all of his legal training and life experience, he can’t help but keep talking about the Mega Millions jackpot.
We all know the odds(几率)of winning the jackpot this evening with one ticket are extraordinarily low ... 1 in 175, 711, 536, to be exact. Still, people go out and buy hundreds of tickets with the hopes of becoming wealthier beyond their dreams. Why? There are two possible explanations for this “irrationality”(不理智).
One idea is that the way we calculate odds in our heads has nothing to do with mathematical odds in the traditional sense. We don’t go to the mathematical odds table and say, “Well, this would be a terrible investment. I think I’m better off putting my money in the bank!” Rather, it has everything with the ability to picture an event happening.
My father, for instance, watches the news every night and sees people winning the lottery(彩票). Therefore, he thinks the chance of him winning the lottery is much higher than they actually are.
The second thought is that the expected effect of playing cannot be represented merely by the odds. My father and, I’m sure, others get a thrill from the mere idea of winning. He loves imagining what it would be like to actually win and losing doesn’t really affect him. Sure, he’s disappointed, but it’s “better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” When you combine the utility of thinking you can win with the utility of actually winning (no matter how small the chance of that occurring), it’s worth it for many people to spend the one dollar on a ticket.
My analysis is that both factors are at play in taking a chance on the lottery. My father and others really do underestimate the odds of winning, but the thrill of participation is not denied by a realistic assessment of the odds. Still, I would probably put my finger on the scale for the first explanation.
All told, a review of the odds of other events happening confirms that there just aren’t many events that occur with less frequency than your winning the Mega Millions jackpot. Look at the graph below, you may understand some:

In many ways, it’s like the lottery, something that features often on television and about which people fantasize, but that rarely happens.
So, when you watch, along with my Pa, to see if your lucky number is drawn this evening, keep in mind three things: that your number almost certainly won’t come up; that you are still going to have fun; and that, finally, a lot of other things are more likely to happen—but getting eaten by a shark isn’t one of them.
【小题1】It can be learned from the article that ________.

The Linguistic Habits of a New Generation

       In the year of 1914 a young girl named Monica Baldwin entered a convent（女修道院）,remaining there until 1941 when she returned to the outer world. During these twenty-eight years wars and revolutions had come and gone in Europe. Her uncle, Stanley Baldwin, had led his country for some time. Technical developments had changed the conditions of everyday life almost beyond recognitions, but all these events had left as a matter of fact untouched the small religious community to which she had belonged. In 1949 Miss Baldwin published her impressions of those bewildering（令人困惑的）years of her return to a world in which the motorcar had replaced the horse and carriage and where respectable women showed their legs and painted their faces.

       Yet it was not only these odd sights that surprised her, for she was more puzzled by what she heard. During a railway journey the term “luggage in advance” meant nothing to her, so in desperation she asked the porter to do as he thought best. Reading the newspapers made her feel very stupid, because the writers of reviews and leading articles used words and phrases such as Jazz, Hollywood, Cocktail and Isolationism. These and many others were quite incomprehensible to Miss Baldwin, who was really bewildered when friends said: “It’s your funeral or Believe it or not.” This is a rare and valuable reminder to the rest of us that the English language does not stand still. All language changes over a period of time for reasons which are imperfectly understood. Or rather since speech is really a form of human activity, it is more exact to say that each successive generation behaves linguistically in a slightly different manner from its predecessors（前辈，祖先）. In his teens the young man likes to show how up-to-date he is by the use of the latest slang（俚语）, but as the years go by some of his slang becomes standard usage and in any case he slowly grows less receptive（乐于接受的）to linguistic novelties（新颖，新奇）,so that by the time he reaches his forties he will probably be unware that some of the expressions and pronunciations now being used were frowned upon by his own parents. In this respect language is a little like fashions in people’s dress. The informal clothes of one generation become the everyday wear of the next, and just as young doctors and bank clerks nowadays go about their business in sports jackets, they are allowed into their normal vocabulary expressions which were once limited to slang and familiar conversation.

71．Miss Baldwin found the world totally changed because          .

       A．she had worked for a religious community for a long time

       B．she had been cut off from the rest of the world for many years

       C．the community where she lived had been in war for many years

       D．there had been too many technical developments

72．During a railway journey Miss Baldwin          .

       A．found the porter’s words hard to understand

       B．found her luggage too heavy to carry

       C．did not know how to talk with the porter

       D．had to ask the porter to look after her luggage

73．Young people like to use the latest slang because          .

       A．they feel it is easier to use

       B．they believe it will soon become standard usage

       C．they want to show they have caught up with the time

       D．they find it more powerful in expressing feelings

74．Miss Baldwin’s experience shows us that          .

       A．the English language has not changed much

       B．the English language has entirely changed

       C．language doesn’t change at all in the religious world

       D．language changes with the passage of time

75．By the time a man is forty, he will          .

       A．be speaking the same language as his parents do

       B．have changed his way of speaking

       C．not use the slang he liked to use when young

       D．be using less new slang in speech and writing

The Linguistic Habits of a New Generation

       In the year of 1914 a young girl named Monica Baldwin entered a convent（女修道院）,remaining there until 1941 when she returned to the outer world. During these twenty-eight years wars and revolutions had come and gone in Europe. Her uncle, Stanley Baldwin, had led his country for some time. Technical developments had changed the conditions of everyday life almost beyond recognitions, but all these events had left as a matter of fact untouched the small religious community to which she had belonged. In 1949 Miss Baldwin published her impressions of those bewildering（令人困惑的）years of her return to a world in which the motorcar had replaced the horse and carriage and where respectable women showed their legs and painted their faces.

       Yet it was not only these odd sights that surprised her, for she was more puzzled by what she heard. During a railway journey the term “luggage in advance” meant nothing to her, so in desperation she asked the porter to do as he thought best. Reading the newspapers made her feel very stupid, because the writers of reviews and leading articles used words and phrases such as Jazz, Hollywood, Cocktail and Isolationism. These and many others were quite incomprehensible to Miss Baldwin, who was really bewildered when friends said: “It’s your funeral or Believe it or not.” This is a rare and valuable reminder to the rest of us that the English language does not stand still. All language changes over a period of time for reasons which are imperfectly understood. Or rather since speech is really a form of human activity, it is more exact to say that each successive generation behaves linguistically in a slightly different manner from its predecessors（前辈，祖先）. In his teens the young man likes to show how up-to-date he is by the use of the latest slang（俚语）, but as the years go by some of his slang becomes standard usage and in any case he slowly grows less receptive（乐于接受的）to linguistic novelties（新颖，新奇）,so that by the time he reaches his forties he will probably be unware that some of the expressions and pronunciations now being used were frowned upon by his own parents. In this respect language is a little like fashions in people’s dress. The informal clothes of one generation become the everyday wear of the next, and just as young doctors and bank clerks nowadays go about their business in sports jackets, they are allowed into their normal vocabulary expressions which were once limited to slang and familiar conversation.

1．Miss Baldwin found the world totally changed because          .

       A．she had worked for a religious community for a long time

       B．she had been cut off from the rest of the world for many years

       C．the community where she lived had been in war for many years

       D．there had been too many technical developments

2．During a railway journey Miss Baldwin          .

       A．found the porter’s words hard to understand

       B．found her luggage too heavy to carry

       C．did not know how to talk with the porter

       D．had to ask the porter to look after her luggage

3．Young people like to use the latest slang because          .

       A．they feel it is easier to use

       B．they believe it will soon become standard usage

       C．they want to show they have caught up with the time

       D．they find it more powerful in expressing feelings

4．Miss Baldwin’s experience shows us that          .

       A．the English language has not changed much

       B．the English language has entirely changed

       C．language doesn’t change at all in the religious world

       D．language changes with the passage of time

5．By the time a man is forty, he will          .

       A．be speaking the same language as his parents do

       B．have changed his way of speaking

       C．not use the slang he liked to use when young

       D．be using less new slang in speech and writing