Time was running out, and Mark Dickinson wasn't sure whether he'd get to see his dying 2－year－old grandson one last time. A long line at Los Angeles International Airport's security checkpoint had kept him from getting to his gate on time.
His grandson Caden would be taken off life support in a matter of hours in Denver, Colorado, with or without his grandfather's presence, according to CNN affiliate KABC.
“I was kind of panicking because I was running late, and I really thought I wasn't going to make the flight，” Dickinson told KABC.
That's when a pilot from Southwest Airlines stepped up and held the flight at the gate until Dickinson arrived. The pilot was standing by the air bridge waiting for him when Dickinson arrived in socks, so rushed that he just grabbed his shoes at security and ran through the terminal.
“I told him, ‘Thank you so much. I can't tell you how much I appreciated that.’ And he said, ‘No problem. They can't leave without me anyway，’”Dickinson told KABC.
Authorities say Dickinson's grandson, Caden Rodgers, suffered a head injury after his mother's boyfriend threw him across the room. The boyfriend reportedly told police he was drunk and high on marijuana(大麻) at the time. The child later died and the boyfriend has been charged with first－degree murder, according to the Aurora Sentinel.
Thanks to the pilot, Dickinson made it to Colorado in time to say goodbye to his grandson. Most airlines would punish any staff member who holds up a flight, according to consumer advocate Christopher Elliott, who broke the story of the sympathetic pilot on his blog. However, a Southwest spokeswoman said the pilot's actions were praiseworthy.
“You can't hold a plane for every late customer, but I think we would all agree that these were extenuating(可以原谅的) circumstances and the pilot absolutely made the right decision，” Southwest spokeswoman Marilee McInnis said. “I don't think you could ask for a better example of great service for our customers.”
【小题1】According to the passage, which is the correct order of the following events?
a. The pilot held the plane for Dickinson.
b. People read the story of the pilot on the Internet.
c. Caden suffered a head injury.
d. Dickinson was waiting in line at the security checking point.
d. Marilee McInnis praised the pilot's actions.

People often view the “last” moments of an event positively simply because they signal the end of an experience, say experts.

University of Michigan researchers found that even if an experience is painful or negative, but ends on a good note, people will consider it to be positive.

“Endings are powerful,” said Ed O’Brien, a graduate student in the Department of Psychology at the University of Michigan.

O’Brien and colleague Phoebe Ellsworth, the Frank Murphy Distinguished Professor of Law and Psychology, conducted a chocolate tasting experiment with 52 college students to test the theory.

Volunteers could taste five different Hershey’s Kisses chocolates—milk, dark, cream, caramel and almond – but did not know in advance how many pieces they would eat or the type. Participants rated how much they enjoyed the chocolate and described each flavor so that the researchers could record the order in which the randomly (随机的) selected treats were eaten.

Volunteers were assigned to the “next” or the “last ” condition by chance.

In the “next” condition, the experimenter said “Here is your next chocolate” before offering each chocolate, including the fifth.

For the “last” condition, the experimenter said “Here is your last chocolate” before offering  the fifth chocolate.

These participants rated the fifth chocolate more enjoyable than volunteers in the “next” condition.

As predicted, participants who knew they were eating the final chocolate of a taste test enjoyed it more.

In fact, when asked to pick their favorite chocolate, the majority of “last” participants chose the fifth – even though the flavor of the fifth was randomly chosen.

They also rated the overall experience as more enjoyable than volunteers who thought they were just eating one more chocolate in a series.

O’Brien says these findings may have far-reaching implications. For example, the last book or film in a series or the last speaker in a symposium (研讨会) may receive unwarranted praise.

The last job applicant, meanwhile, may look more qualified.

1.Which of the following is TRUE about the experiment?

A．The majority of “last” participants chose the almond flavor as their favorite.

B．Some participants enjoyed the experiment more because the last flavor tasted better.

C．The result would be different if researchers had used another brand of chocolate.

D．Some participants didn’t know it was their last chocolate when offered the fifth one.

2.What does the underlined word “unwarranted” in the second-to-last paragraph mean?

A．Fake.             B．Unwanted.         C．Unreasonable.      D．Insincere.

3.Which of the following is the best title for the article?

A．“Last” is the best.

B．Why “last” matters most.

C．It is the last step that is the hardest.

D．He who laughs last laughs best.

People often view the “last” moments of an event positively simply because they signal the end of an experience, say experts.
University of Michigan researchers found that even if an experience is painful or negative, but ends on a good note, people will consider it to be positive.
“Endings are powerful,” said Ed O’Brien, a graduate student in the Department of Psychology at the University of Michigan.
O’Brien and colleague Phoebe Ellsworth, the Frank Murphy Distinguished Professor of Law and Psychology, conducted a chocolate tasting experiment with 52 college students to test the theory.
Volunteers could taste five different Hershey’s Kisses chocolates—milk, dark, cream, caramel and almond – but did not know in advance how many pieces they would eat or the type. Participants rated how much they enjoyed the chocolate and described each flavor so that the researchers could record the order in which the randomly (随机的) selected treats were eaten.
Volunteers were assigned to the “next” or the “last ” condition by chance.
In the “next” condition, the experimenter said “Here is your next chocolate” before offering each chocolate, including the fifth.
For the “last” condition, the experimenter said “Here is your last chocolate” before offering  the fifth chocolate.
These participants rated the fifth chocolate more enjoyable than volunteers in the “next” condition.
As predicted, participants who knew they were eating the final chocolate of a taste test enjoyed it more.
In fact, when asked to pick their favorite chocolate, the majority of “last” participants chose the fifth – even though the flavor of the fifth was randomly chosen.
They also rated the overall experience as more enjoyable than volunteers who thought they were just eating one more chocolate in a series.
O’Brien says these findings may have far-reaching implications. For example, the last book or film in a series or the last speaker in a symposium (研讨会) may receive unwarranted praise.
The last job applicant, meanwhile, may look more qualified.
【小题1】Which of the following is TRUE about the experiment?

    Do you know of anyone who uses the truth to deceive(欺骗)?When someone tells

you something that is true，but leaves out important information that should be includ—ed。he can give you a false picture．

    For example，someone might say，“I just won a hundred dollars on the lottery(彩

票)．It was great．I took that dollar ticket back to the store and turned it in for one hun—dred dollars!”

   This guy's a winner，right? Maybe，maybe not．We then discover that he bought

 $ 200 worth of tickets，and only one was a winner．He’S really a big loser!

  He didn’t say anything that was false，but he left out important information on

purpose．That’s called a haIf-truth．Half truths are not technically lies，but they are

just as dishonest．

    Some  politicians often use this trick．Let’s  say that during Governor Smith’s last

term，her state lost one million jobs and gained three million jobs．Then she seeks an

 other term．One of her opponents(对手)says，“During Governor Smith’s term，the

 state lost one million jobs!” That’s true．However，an honest statement would have

 been，“During Governor Smith's term，the state had a net gain of two million jobs．’’

    Advertisers(广告商)will sometimes use half—truths．It’s against the law to make

false statements so they try to mislead you with the truth．An advertisement might say，

“Nine out of ten doctors advised their patients to  take Yucky Pills to cure toothache．”It fails to mention that they only asked ten doctors and nine of them work for the Yucky

Company．

  This kind of deception happens too often．It’s  a sad fact of life：Lies are lies，and

sometimes the truth can 1ie as well．

  69．How much did the lottery winner lose?

      A．one hundred dollars．           B．Two hundred dollars．

      C．Three hundred dollars．         D．Four hundred dollars．

70．We may infer that the author believes people should

     A．buy lottery tickets if possible       B．make use of half—truths

     C．be careful about what they are told   D．not trust the Yucky Company

71．What do the underIined words“net gain”in Paragraph 5 mean?

    A．final increase                     B．big advantage

    C．1arge share                      D．total number

72．What can we know from the example of the Yucky Pill advertisement?

    A．False statements are easy to see through．

    B．Half-truths are often used to mislead people．

    C．Doctors like to act in advertisements．

    D．Advertisements are based on facts．

73．How many examples does the writer give to show how the truth is used to de—

    eeive?

A．One．    B．Two．    C．Three．  D．Four．

74．Which of the following is true according to the passage?

   A．Using half truths is against the law．

   B．Technically，half truths are in fact lies．

   C．Yucky Pills is a very good medicine for toothache．

   D．Governor Smith did a good job during her last term．

75．Which of the following best expresses the main idea of the passage?

   A．He’s really a big loser!

   B．Sometimes the truth can lie as well．

   C．Advertisers will sometimes use half truths．

   D．It’s against the law to make false statements．

　　Farmer Ed Rawlings smiles as he looks at his orange trees. The young oranges are growing well in Florida's weather. Warm sunshine and gentle rains, along with Ed Rawlings' expert care, will produce a good crop of oranges this year.

　　But Ed has to fight against Florida's changeable winter weather. In January and February, temperatures can destroy Ed's entire orange, crop. Having farmed in Florida for the past 35 years, Ed Rawlings is prepared for the frosts(霜). When temperatures drop below freezing， Ed tries to save his crop by watering his orange trees. The water freezes and forms a thin layer (层)of ice on the trees. Strange as it may sound, this thin layer of ice actually keeps the fruit warm.

　　What happens is simple. When the trees are watered, the water loses heat and becomes ice. The warmth of the heat it loses is sucked in by the fruit and keeps its temperature at a safe level. Ed Rawlings has effectively used this method(方法)to save many orange crops.

　　But Ed still faces some difficulties. The trees should be watered at the exact moment the temperature drops to the freezing point. Also, just the right quantity of water must be used. Too much water can form a thick layer of ice that will break the trees' branches. Another difficulty is that wind blows away the heat. So Ed has to worry about not only when but also how often his trees should be watered, and how much water should be used.

　　Computer technology may help Ed Rawlings with some of these worries. With equipment, air and soil temperatures and wind speed can be measured. The information is fed into a computer which can tell when temperatures drop to freezing. The computer can correctly decide the quantity of water to be used and how frequently the trees should be watered. Ed Rawlings will find looking after his orange trees a lot easier with the help of a computer, and we'll all have the benefits(or advantages)of computer-age oranges.

1. The passage is mainly about _____ .

A.a farmer's expert care for his orange trees 

B. the different uses of computers

　C. growing oranges in Florida's changeable weather

　D. different ways of frost protection

2. Ed tried to protect his crop by _____ .

　A. using a wind machine to drive away the cold air

　B. equipping his orange trees with a computer

C. watering it at the proper time 

D. picking his fruit at the first sign of frost

3. In the writer's eyes, computers _____ .

A.are too expensive for small farmers

B. can be a valuable tool for the farmer

　C. can be used to help oranges grow bigger    

　D. cannot take the place of the farmer's experience and judgement

4. Which of the following is NOT NECESSARY for Ed Rawlings to do?

　　A. He should water the orange trees as soon as the temperature drops to the

　　　 freezing point.

　　B. He should decide the quantity of water for the orange trees.

　　C. He has to water the orange trees more often in January and February.

　　D. He has to judge how often he should water the orange trees.

5. According to the passage, the computer technology can _____ .

A.get rid of the need for frost protection 

B. help the farmer get a better harvest

　C. tell the farmer why outdoor temperature changes

D. prevent the temperature from dropping to the freezing point