It was a Sunday and the heavy storm had lasted all night. The morning after the storm, though, was beautiful: blue skies, warm air and a calm, inviting sea touching the shore gently.
My father realized it was a good day for fishing and invited my sister and me to go with him. I was only 14 and fishing had never been my thing, but I decided to go all the same. I’m so glad I did.
On the road to the harbour we could see the terrible destruction on the coast, but the harbour itself was in fairly good shape. After all, it was protected by the arms of a bay that only one tiny channel to the sea. As we got on board, we noticed two big humps(脊背)in the distance.
On approaching them, we saw it was a mother whale with her baby. We couldn’t believe it—there aren’t any whale along the coast here. The storm must have driven them across the ocean into the bay, in which the still water was so badly polluted that nothing could survive.
The little baby whale actually as big as our boat was obviously stuck and could not move. The mother dived under the water and came up suddenly, making big whirlpools(漩涡)and waves. “She’s trying to help her baby, but on the wrong side,” my father said. At this point, my father moved our boat in a semicircle to the other side and, heading the boat towards the baby whale, pushed it gently. With several gentle pushes the big hump turned over and disappeared under water. Then it swam up right beside its mum. They struggled in their desperate attempts to escape but missed the exit and started heading in the wrong direction. We hurried up to the whales and tried to lead them towards the bay channel. Slowly, they let us lead them, sometimes rising from the water right beside us to breathe and to give us a trusting look with those huge eyes. Once they hit their first part of clean water flowing straight from the sea, the mum gave us a wave with her tail and off they swam into the distance.
In the excitement it had felt like only a few minutes, but we had been with those wonderful animals for almost an hour and a half. That was the simple and lasting beauty of the day. Nearly four decades later, I still look back fondly to that golden day at sea.
【小题1】The author says “I’m so glad I did.”(in Para.2)because_______.

A device that stops drivers from falling asleep at the wheel is about to undergo(接受) testing at Department of Transport laboratories and could go on sale within 12 months.

????????????? The system, called driver Alert, aims to reduce deadly road accidents by 20%--40% that are caused by tiredness. Airline pilots can also use it to reduce the 30% of all pilot-error accidents that are related to fatigue（疲劳）.

????????????? Driver Alert is based on a computerized wristband. The device, worn by drivers or pilots gives out a sound about every four minutes during a car journey. After each sound the driver must respond by squeezing the steering wheel(方向盘). A sensor in the wristband detects this pressing action and measures the time between the sound and the driver’s response.

????????????? Tiredness is directly related to a driver’s response time. Usually, a watchful driver would take about 400 milliseconds to respond, but once that falls to more than 500 milliseconds, it suggests that the driver is getting sleepy.

?? In such cases the device gives out more regular and louder sounds, showing that the driver should open a window or stop for a rest. If the driver’s response continues to slow down, the sounds become more frequent until a nonstop alarm warns that the driver must stop as soon as possible.

????????????? The device has been delivered to the department’s laboratories for testing. If these tests, scheduled for six months’ time, are successful, the makers will bring the product to market within about a year.

1.How should a driver respond to the sounds from Driver Alert?

A. By sounding a warning. ????????????? ?????????????

B. By touching the wristband.

C. By checking the driving time. ?????????????

D. By pressing the steering wheel.

2.We can learn from the text that the driver needs to stop for a break when his response time is ________

A. about 400 milliseconds ????????????? ????????????? B. below 500 milliseconds

C. over 500 milliseconds ????????????? ????????????? D. about 4 minutes

3.When the driver gets sleepy while driving, Driver Alert ______.

A. moves more regularly ????????????? ????????????? ?????????????

B. stops working properly

C. opens the window for the driver ?????????????

D. sounds more frequently and loudly

4.According to the text, Driver Alert ______.

A. aims to reduce tiredness-related accidents

B. has gone through testing at laboratories

C. aims to prevent drivers from sleeping

D. has been on sale for 12 months

It was a Sunday and the heavy storm had lasted all night. The morning after the storm, though, was beautiful: blue skies, warm air and a calm, inviting sea touching the shore gently.

    My father realized it was a good day for fishing and invited my sister and me to go with him. I was only 14 and fishing had never been my thing, but I decided to go all the same. I ’m so glad I did.

    On the road to the harbour we could see the terrible destruction on the coast, but the harbour itself was in fairly good shape. After all, it was protected by the arms of a bay that only one tiny channel to the sea. As we got on board, we noticed two big humps(里脊）in the distance.

    On approaching them, we saw it was a mother whale with her baby. We couldn’t believe it---there aren’t any whales along the coast here. The storm must have driven them across the ocean into the bay, in which the still water was so badly polluted that nothing could survive.

    The little baby whale--- actually as big as our boat-- was obviously stuck and could not move. The mother dived under the water and camp up suddenly, making big whirlpools(旋涡）and waves. “ she’s trying to help her baby, but on the wrong side,” my father said. At this point , my father moved our boat in a semicircle to the other side and, heading the boat towards the baby whale, pushed it gently. With our several gentle pushes the big hump turned over and disappeared under water. Then it swam up right beside its mum. They struggled in their desperate attempts to escape but missed the exit and started heading in the wrong direction. We hurried up to the whales and tried to lead them towards the bay channel. Slowly, they let us lead them, sometimes rising from the water right beside us to breathe---and to give us a trusting look with those huge eyes. Once they hit their first part of clean water flowing straight from the sea, the mum gave us a wave with her tail and off they swam into the distance.

    In the excitement it had felt like only a few minutes, but we had been with those wonderful animals for almost an hour and a half. That was the simple and lasting beauty of the day. Nearly four decades later, I still look back fondly to that golden day at sea.

1.The author says “ I’m so glad I did”(in Para.2) because_________

A. he witnessed the whole process of fishing

B. he enjoyed the beauty of the calm sea

C. he spent the weekend with his family

D. he experienced the rescue of the whales

2. The harbour survived the storm owing to____________

A. the shape of the harbour

B. the arms of the bay

C. the still water in the channel

D. the long coast line

3. The mother whale failed to help her baby because___________

A. she had stayed in the polluted water for too long.

B. the whirlpools she had made were no big enough.

C. the waves pushed her baby in the wrong direction.

D. she had no other whales around to turn to for help

4.What is the theme of the story?

A. Fishing provides excitement for children.

B. It’s necessary to live in harmony with animals.

C. It’s vital to protect the environment.

D. Saving lives brings people a sense of happiness.

阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Using All Your Strength
A young boy was walking with his father along a country road. When they came across a large tree branch   11  the pathway, the boy asked, “Do you think I could   12  it?”
His father answered, “If you use all your strength, I am sure you can.”
The boy tried   13  to lift, pull and push the branch, but it wouldn’t budge.  14 , he said, “Dad, you were wrong. I can’t do it alone.”
“Try again,” his dad said.
This time, as the boy struggled, his father   15    him. Together they pushed the   16  
aside.
“Son, the first time you didn’t use all your strength,” his father said. “You didn’t ask me to help.”
This is a valuable   17 . There are many things we can’t do alone, but that doesn’t mean we can’t get them done. We are   18      by resources that can be mobilized (调动) to help us
  19  our goals including family, friends and faith.
Sometimes we   20  to ask for help because of   21  or stubbornness. Sometimes we think it is a sign of   22  to admit we need a hand. Sometimes we don’t even   23      
asking for help. Whatever the reason is, it is a waste.
It’s   24  that we learn to use all our strength. This includes inner resources such as discipline, courage, and even love. It also includes   25  resources. Just as we should be willing to help others, we should be willing to ask others for help.
【小题1】.

A．politeness

B．slightness

C．kindness

D．weakness

October 15th is Global Handwashing Day．Activities are planned in more than twenty countries to get millions of people in the developing world to wash their hands with soap．
Experts say people around the world wash their hands but very few use soap at so-called critical moments．These include after using the toilet, after cleaning a baby and before touching food．
Global Handwashing Day is the idea of the Public-private Partnership for handwashing with soap．The goal, they say, is to create a culture of handwashing with soap．The organizers say all soaps are equally effective at removing disease-causing germs．They say the correct way to wash is to wet your hands with a small amount of water and cover them with soap．Rub it into all areas, including under the fingernails．Then, wash well under running water．Finally, dry your hands with a clean cloth．
The Partnership says soap is important because it increases the time that people spend washing．Soap also helps to break up the dirt that holds most of the germs．And it usually leaves a pleasant smell, which increases the chances that people will wash again．
It also says that washing hands with soap before eating and after using the toilet could save more lives than any medicine．It could help reduce cases of diarrhea, which is the second leading cause of child deaths, killing more than one and a half million children a year, by almost half．
【小题1】What does the author intend to tell us in the passage?