题目内容
—She________great importance to regular exercise.
B. attracts
C. attaches
D. applies
We all remember seeing hitchhikers, standing by the side of the road, thumb, sticking out, waiting for a lift. But it is getting rare nowadays. What killed hitchhiking? Safety is often mentioned as a reason. Movies about murderous hitchhikers and real-life crime have put many drivers off picking up hitchhikers. That no single women picked me up on my journey to Manchester no doubt reflects the safety fear: a large, strangely dressed man is seen as dangerous.
But the reason may be more complex: hitchhiking happens where people don’t have cars and transport services are poor. Plenty of people still hitchhike in Poland and Romania. Perhaps the rising level of car ownership in the UK means the few people lift hitchhiking are usually considered strange. Why can’t they afford cars? Why can’t they take the coach or the train?
Three-quarters of the UK population have access to a car; many of the remainder will be quite old. The potential hitchhiking population is therefore small. Yet my trip proves it’s still possible to hitchhike. The people who picks me up were very interesting-lawyer, retired surgeon, tank commander, carpenter, man who live in an isolated farmhouse and a couple living up in the mountains. My conclusion is that only really interesting people are mad enough to pick up fat blokes in red, spotted scarves. Most just wanted to do someone a good turn; a few said they were so surprised to see a hitchhiker that they couldn’t help stopping.
The future of hitchhiking most likely lies with car-sharing organized over the Internet, via sites such as hitchhikers. org. But for now, you can still stick your thumb out (actually, I didn’t do much of that, preferring just to hold up my destination sign) and people—wonderful, caring, sharing, unafraid people—will stop.
In the UK, with its cheap coaches and reasonable rail service, I don’t think I’ll make a habit of it. But having enjoyed it so much, I’m ready now to do a big trip across Europe and beyond. In the 1970s a female friend of my wife’s hitchhiked to India. How wonderful it would be to have another go, though Afghanistan might be a challenge. I wish I’d got that tank commander’s mobile number.
【小题1】The author tried to hitchhike but was rejected by single women drivers because .
| A.they were not heading towards Manchester |
| B.they thought most hitchhikers were dangerous |
| C.hitchhiking had been banned and they didn’t want to break the law |
| D.he was a strong man in strange clothes who seemed dangerous |
| A.Movies have discouraged people from hitchhiking |
| B.Car ownership levels are lower in Romania than in the UK. |
| C.25% of UK people don’t have access to cars. |
| D.Increased car ownership has reduced the need for hitchhiking. |
| A.murderous hitchhikers | B.friendly and talkative hitchhikers |
| C.typical hitchhikers | D.strange hitchhikers like the author |
| A.visit websites and find people to share cars with |
| B.stand by roads with their thumbs sticking out |
| C.stick out signs with their destinations written on |
| D.wait for some kind people to pick them up |
| A.frequently hitchhikes in Britain |
| B.plans to hitchhike across Europe |
| C.thinks public transport is safer for travel |
| D.is going to contact the tank commander |
Sharks have lived in the oceans for over 450 million years, long before dinosaurs appeared. There are now about 360 species of sharks, whose size, behavior, and other characteristics differ widely.
Every year, we catch and kill over 100 million sharks, mostly for food and for their fins. Dried shark fins are used to make shark fin soup, which sells for as much as $50 a bowl in fine Hong Kong restaurants. Other sharks are killed for sport and out of fear. Sharks are vulnerable(易受伤的) to overfishing because it takes most species 10 to 15 years to begin reproducing and they produce only a few offspring(后代).
Influenced by movies and popular novels, most people see sharks as people-eating monsters. This is far from the truth. Every year, a few types of shark injure about 100 people worldwide and kill about 25. Most attacks are by great white sharks, which often feed on sea lions and other marine(海洋的) mammals. They sometimes mistake human swimmers for their normal prey, especially if they are wearing black wet suits.
If you are a typical ocean-goer, your chances of being killed by an unprovoked(非受挑衅而发生的)attack by a shark are about 1 in 100 million. You are more likely to be killed by a pig than a shark and thousands of times more likely to get killed when you drive a car.
Sharks help save human lives. In addition to providing people with food, they are helping us learn how to fight cancer, bacteria, and viruses. Sharks are very healthy and have aging processes similar to ours. Their highly effective immune system allows wounds to heal quickly without becoming infected, and their blood is being studied in connection with AIDS research.
Sharks are among the few animals in the world that almost never get cancer and eye cataracts(白内障). Understanding why can help us improve human health. Chemicals taken from shark cartilage(软骨)have killed cancerous tumors in laboratory animals, research that someday could help prolong your life.
Sharks are needed in the world’s ocean ecosystems. Although they don’t need us, we need them. We are much more dangerous to sharks than they are to us. For every shark that bites a person, we kill one million sharks.
【小题1】Which of the following is NOT a reason why people kill sharks?
| A.People kill sharks for food. |
| B.People kill sharks for sport. |
| C.People kill sharks out of fear. |
| D.People kill sharks because they often attack swimmers. |
| A.There are many different species of sharks, but only a few of them are dangerous to humans. |
| B.Sharks never get ill. |
| C.Sharks are a valuable resource for human. |
| D.Sharks play an important role in the ocean ecosystem. |
| A.movies have given people the wrong impression of sharks |
| B.most sharks are dangerous to humans |
| C.sharks will attack anyone who is wearing black |
| D.it is dangerous to swim in the ocean |
| A.save | B.protect | C.lengthen | D.improve |
| A.Are Sharks Dangerous? | B.Sharks And Humans |
| C.Sharks: Humans’ Friends | D.Sharks Help Save Human Lives |
You might say that Barack Obama was elected President of the US because h
e knows how to give a good speech. In 2004, the little-known Obama gave a speech at the Democratic national Convention(民主党全国会议). It was a great speech---poetic, and inspiring. The people who heard it would remember it for a long time.
Since 2004, Obama has written and delivered thousands of speeches. These are usually praised for two reasons: he treats the audiences like intelligent adults, and he is able to express difficult ideas in a straightforward, natural way.
Before becoming President, Obama was a lawyer, a college professor, and a successful writer---his two memoirs have become best-sellers. The skills he needed to succeed in
his previous jobs have also contributed to his success as a speechmaker.
As a lawyer, Obama learned how to make strong, convincing arguments. As a professor, he learned how to explain complex subjects in ways that helped students understand without boring them. As a writer, he learned how to use language to have a powerful influence on his audience.
Secret weapons of Obama
Writing team: Obama has a team of people who write his speeches. The writers chat with Obama for hours about what he wants to say. They listen to recordings of past presidential addresses and seek advice from advisers. Obama usually edits and rewrites the drafts several times.
Make fun of the guests: Obama starts his speech by gently making fun of his guests. His opening lines attract the audiences’ attention while giving them an opportunity to relax and laugh at themselves and each other.
Making fun of himself: Obama laughs at his past mistakes and is never afraid of showing them to the public.
Obama delivers speeches to audiences large and small. He can make his audiences laugh or cry. His speeches are always thoughtful, well written, and just right for each occasion.
【小题1】.. The third and fourth paragraphs mainly talk about _____.
| A.why Obama’s speeches are praised | B.how Obama acquired his speaking ability | C.what subjects Obama’s speeches about | D.Obama’s success as a writer and a lawyer |
| A.usually starts with some famous sayings | B.sometimes turns his speech into a song |
| C.sometimes shares a joke with the audience | D.is very strict most of the time |
| A.Obama won the election campaign. | B.Obama is a brilliant speechmaker |
| C.Obama had taken a couple of jobs. | D.Obama is good at writing. |
In a recent class I was asked “What is a short story?” My first answer was that it was something that could be read in one sitting and brought an illumination(启示)to the reader, sudden and golden like sunlight cracking(破裂, 砸开) through a heavy cloud. I went on to say that in my opinion a “real” short story was closer to poetry than to a novel.
Here are some definitions of the short story. My favorite is Benet's: “something that can be read in an hour and remembered for a lifetime”. One writer said, “The theme of a novel won't fit into the framework of a short story; It's like trying to squeeze a large painting done on a wall into the frame of a miniature (微型画)。 And as in a miniature painting, the details need to be sharp. ”
The short story is an example of one aspect of human nature. Often a character undergoes some event, something that offers him or her change. This is why it’s said that short stories usually “say something ”, often a small something, but sometimes delivered with such accuracy that the effect is strongly felt, even a life-moment for some readers, something similar to a religious experience or to witnessing a never-to-be-repeated scene in nature.
Ok, let’s form a definition here: A short story is an account, rarely over 10, 000 words or below 500 words-more commonly 1, 500 to 5, 000 words-a single-sitting read, but with enough time and weight to move the reader. It is narrow and focused to produce an effect through the story, most commonly through events affecting some change in an individual.
Writer Isabelle Allende once wrote: “Novels are, for me, adding up details, just work, work, work, then you're done. Short stories are more difficult-they have to be perfect, complete in themselves. ”
【小题1】The writer of the passage is probably a ______.
| A.poet | B.painter | C.teacher | D.student |
| A.at most 10, 000 words | B.below 500 words | C.over 5, 000words | D.around 2, 000 words |
| A.experiences | B.discovers | C.discusses | D.appreciates |
| A.Novels are too long for us to read. |
| B.Short stories are too short for us to read. |
| C.Short stories have more details than novels. |
| D.Short stories are more perfect and difficult than novels. |
| A.How Do You Write a Short Story? | B.What Exactly Is a Short Story? |
| C.Is a Short Story Similar to Poetry? | D.Are Short Stories Perfect and Complete? |