On a cool November afternoon in Fleming Island, Florida, Melissa Hawkinson, 41, was driving her five-year-old twins home from school when she saw a sudden splash in Doctors Lake just ahead. What was that? She thought. As she drove up to the scene, she saw a half-submerged car sinking about 30 yards offshore. “It was going down pretty quickly,” Hawkinson recalls. She stopped the car near the boat ramp and ran toward the water. Water is going to be cold, she thought.
She took off her vest and leather boots, got into the icy water, and swam to the car, where she found Cameron Dorsey, five, trapped into his car as the swirling water rose around him.
Hawkinson tried to open the door, but it was locked. So she pushed and pulled hard on the partially open window until she could reach through and unlock the door. She pulled the boy free, swam to shore, and handed him off to onlookers who were only watching them on a dock. The driver, the boy’s suicidal father, swam back to land on his own. Afterward, Hawkinson sat on the shore wrapped in a blanket. “For ten or 15 minutes, I couldn’t stop shaking,” she said.
There’s nothing visibly extraordinary about Melissa Hawkinson, an energetic stay-at-home mom with brown hair and a sweet smile. Yet something made her different from the dockside onlookers that day. Why do some people act quickly, willing to take a risk for a stranger? What makes them run toward danger rather than away from it? Hawkinson, the Granite Mountain Hotshots (能手，高手)---19 of whom lost their life this past summer in Arizona--- every hero who puts his or her life on the line to save another: what makes them brave?
Moreover, can bravery be learned, or is it a quality with which you are born? The answer is complex. Bravery taps the mind, brain and heart. It comes from instinct, training and sympathy. Today, neurologists, psychologists and other researchers are studying bravery, trying to uncover the mystery.
1.It can be learned from the passage that _______.
A. Melissa Hawkinson was a 41-year-old nurse
B. it was spring when the accident happened
C. Melissa Hawkinson was picking up her five-year-old son
D. Melissa Hawkinson was kind and courageous.
2.What conclusion can we draw from the third paragraph?
A. Not everyone was ready to risk saving the five-year-old boy..
B. The father committed suicide because of the divorce.
C. The father was saved in the end by Melissa Hawkinson.
D. No one else was available except Melissa Hawkinson.
3.How does the writer find other people on the dockside?
A. Warm and ready to help B. Thoughtful
C. Kind of cold-blooded D. Not skillful at swimming
4.What is the writer’s purpose of writing this passage?
A. To set us thinking what makes people brave.
B. To call on us to learn from such people as Hawkinson.
C. To remind people of risk while saving others.
D. To show people bravery can be learned.
You may not be aware, but digital currency (货币) is a big part of the Internet world. QQ Coins can buy you accessories (配饰) for your QQ images. More importantly, a new digital currency, Bitcoin, is bringing the world’s commerce online.
If you’re traveling, you can spend Bitcoins at restaurants and hotels listed at BitcoinTravel.com. In China, Bitcoins can be used to buy goods at about 134 online shops on Taobao. And at a café named 2nd Place in Beijing, you can even buy fresh coffee with Bitcoins.
So what makes Bitcoin so attractive to investors?
First of all, the Bitcoin system is not controlled by anyone. One central authority cannot make policies to change the value of Bitcoins. The fixed amount of Bitcoins also means they cannot lose value through inflation(通货膨胀), as all forms of paper money have done over time.
In addition, accounts in the Bitcoin system are anonymous and transparent. Users can set up an account easily and track every Bitcoin. All of these features seem to make Bitcoins immune(有免疫力的) from loss, but that is not entirely true.
“The value of Bitcoins can vary wildly as no central government makes the price of them steady. If the value drops suddenly, investors cannot get any compensation(赔偿),” Zhao Qingming, a senior researcher at China Construction Bank, told China Economic Weekly. And Bitcoins, unlike company shares, are not backed by any tangible funds, which also adds to their risk.
While China will not recognize the digital currency anytime soon, Xinhua said, lawmakers and officials at a hearing on Nov. 18 in the US made positive comments about Bitcoin.
Ben Bernanke, outgoing chairman of the Federal Reserve, told the Washington Post that “these types of creations, such as Bitcoin… may hold long-term promise, particularly if its system promote a faster, more secure and more efficient payment system.”
1.Bitcoin is ______.
A. actually exactly like QQ Coins
B. only used online
C. a new currency used both online and in real life
D a country’s new digital currency.
2.We can use Bitcoin to buy the following things except ______.
A. online goods B. goods at 134 online shops on Taobao
C. books in physical shops D. coffee at a café named 2nd Place
3.What is the disadvantage of Bitcoin?
A. the value of it can rise and fall wildly.
B. It cannot lose value through inflation.
C. Every bitcoin in your account can be followed.
D. It can even be used at some specific restaurants and hotels.
Fumbling with the buttons to find a good song while driving has been linked to increased risk of crashes, but is listening to music risky? “It depends on the music,” says a report published in the October issue of Accident Analysis & Prevention.
The study found teenage drivers who played their own music had significantly more traffic violations（违规） compared with background music designed by the researchers to minimize driving distractions, or no music.
Researchers at Ben-Gurion University in Israel recruited(招募) 85 drivers about 18 years old; just over half were male. The subjects were each assigned to drive six challenging road trips that were about 40 minutes long, accompanied by an experienced driving instructor. Music was played on four trips, two with selections from the drivers' playlists, mostly fast-paced vocals, and two with background music, which was a mixture of easy listening, soft rock and light jazz designed to increase driver safety. No music was played on two trips. Subjects rated their mood after each trip and in-car data recorders analyzed driver behavior and errors.
All 85 subjects committed at least three errors in one or more of the six trips; 27 received a warning and 17 required steering or braking by an instructor to prevent an accident. When the music was their own, 98% made errors; without the music, 92% made errors; and while listening to the safe-driving music, 77% made errors. Speeding, following too close, inappropriate lane use, one-handed driving and were the common violations.
The male subjects were more aggressive drivers and made more serious errors than female subjects. The teens played their own music at a very loud volume but significantly decreased the sound level when listening to the safe-driving music, researchers said. Mood ratings were highest on trips with driver-preferred music.
1.What is the key information the author wants to give in Paragraph 1?
A. Many drivers played their favorite music while driving.
B. Drivers shouldn’t search for the buttons to find a good song.
C. Song selection has nothing to do with increased risk of crashes.
D. Listening to certain types of music can increase drivers’ errors.
2.What does the underlined word “ subjects” refer to in this passage?
A. Something being discussed. B. People being written about.
C. People being tested. D. Areas of knowledge or study.
3.In the research, soft rock and light jazz are likely to _______.
A. increase drivers’ safety
B. add to the pleasure of driving
C. change drivers’ idea of safe driving
D. lower drivers’ guard against danger
4.It can be inferred from the passage that in the research ______.
A. the teens committed the most errors
B. the male were more skillful in driving
C. traveling with no music made the least errors
D. driver-preferred music increased the mood ratings
1.He told us an a________ story; it’s really interesting.
2.He finished the work a_________ of time.
3.Customs v_________ from country to country.
4.As is known to us all, the presence of water is f________________ to life on earth.
5.We have made great __________ (成就) since we carried out the policy of opening to the outside world.
6.The surface of the earth are divided into several _________(区域) which are called plates.
7.Children like ___________ (卡通画) very much.
8.Poets usually have great ____________. (想象力)
9.Pandora couldn’t help opening the box in time out of c____________.
10.The woman is buying a lot of new _____________ for her new apartment. (家具)
下面短文中有【10】处语言错误。请在有错误的地方增加、删除或修改某个单词。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(^)，并在其【下面】写上该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线(＼)划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在【该词下面】写上修改后的词。
注意：1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2．【只允许修改10处】，多者(从第11处起)不计分
After shopping, Mother and I went to a restaurant for lunch. I notice Mother looking at a nearby table
occupy by an elderly woman and young couple. They ate silently, and it was clearly that things were not
going well. As we left, Mother stopped on their table. "Excuse me," she said, put her arm around the
u
nhappy old woman. "You remind me so many of my mother. May I hug you?" The woman smiled happily
as she accepted to it. After we left, I said, "That was very nice of you, Mother. So I didn't think she looked
like Grandma." "Neither did me," said Mother cheerfully.
The next time you go into a bank, a store, or a supermarket, stop and listen. What do you hear? 1.
It’s similar to the music you listen to, but it’s not exactly the same. That’s because this music was especially designed to relax you, or to give you extra energy. Sometimes you don’t even realize the music is playing, but you react to the music anyway.
Quiet background music used to be called "elevator (电梯) music" because we often heard it in elevators. But lately we hear it in more and more places, and it has a new name "Muzak". About one-third of the people in America listen to "Muzak" everyday. The music plays for 15 minutes at a time, with short pauses in between. It is always more lively between ten and eleven in the morning, and between three and four in the afternoon, when people are more tired. 2.
If you listen to Muzak carefully, you will probably recognize the names of many of the songs. Some musicians or songwriters don’t want their songs to be used as Muzak, but others are happy when their songs are chosen. Why? 3.
Music is often played in public places because it is designed to make people feel less lonely when they are in an airport or a hotel. It has been proven that Muzak does what it is designed to do. Tired office workers suddenly have more energy when they hear the pleasant sound of Muzak in the background. 4. Supermarket shoppers buy 38 percent more groceries.
5. . They say it’s boring to hear the same songs all the time. But other people enjoy hearing Muzak in public places. They say it helps them relax
and feel calm. One way or another, Muzak affects everyone. Some farmers even say their cows give more milk when they hear Muzak!
【注意】：若选择答案【E】请在答题卡上涂黑【A+B】若选择答案【F】则请涂黑【C+D】
A. Some people don’t like Muzak.
B. The music gives them extra energy.
C. Music is playing in the backgr
ound.
D. Factory workers produce 13 percent more.
E. They get as much as $4 million a year if their songs are used.
F. Muzak is played in most of the big supermarkets in the world.
