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.
The Museum of Childhood is Australia’s most comprehensive collection of childhood items including toys , dolls , infant and school material .
Housed in a modern facility , the displays reflect Australian childhood experience over time including play , child rearing , orphanage childhood , and home , school , and war time experience .
There are many hands –on exhibits and education sessions including the famous ‘lesson’ in the 1920s One Teacher Bush Classroom .
The Museum also hosts national touring exhibitions and conducts special activities on Sundays and school holidays（ring for details ）.
Open: Tuesday- Friday 10am – 4pm , Sunday 10am – 4:30 pm , or by arrangement .
Special activities on Sundays as advertise .
Closed: Public holidays ,16 December-18 January .
Location: Edith Cowan University campus , Bay Road , Claremont (take bus 208 and alight at the Bay Road and Princess Road intersection . The Museum is 15 minutes’ walk from Claremont train station )
Tel :(08) 9442 1373 ; Fax ; (08 ) 9442 1314
1.On you can stay at the Museum until half past four .
A．Wednesday B．Friday C．Sunday D．Monday
2.If you want to attend a special activity , you’d better come on .
A．Monday B．Tuesday C．Saturday D．Sunday
3.When you come on December 20th , Friday ,you will find the Museum .
A．closed
B．holding special activities
C．not closed until 4:00
D．not closed until 4:30
4.The main purpose of the Museum of Childhood is to .
A．display toys , dolls , infant and school material
B．reflect Australian childhood experience over time
C．host national touring exhibition
D．tell you the famous ‘lesson’ in the 1920s
One hundred and thirteen million Americans have at least one bank-issued credit card. They give their owners automatic credit in stores, restaurants, and hotels, at home, across the country, and even abroad, and they make many banking services available as well. More and more of these credit cards can be read automatically, making it possible to withdraw or deposit money in scattered locations, whether or not the local branch bank is open. For many of us the “cashless society” is not on the horizon----it’s already here.
While computers offer these conveniences to consumers, they have many advantages for sellers too. Electronic cash registers can do much more than simply ring up sales. They can keep a wide range of records, including who sold what, when, and to whom. This information allows businessmen to keep track of their list of goods by showing which items are being sold and how fast they are moving. Decisions to reorder or return goods to suppliers can then be made. At the same time these computers record which hours are busiest and which employees are the most efficient, allowing personnel and staffing assignments to be made accordingly. And they also identify preferred customer for promotional campaigns. Computers are relied on by manufacturers for similar reasons. Computer analyzed marketing reports can help to decide which products to emphasize now, which to develop for the future and which to drop. Computers keep track of goods in stock, of raw materials on hand, and even of the production process itself.
Numerous other commercial enterprises, from theaters to magazine publishers, from gas and electric utilities to milk processors, bring better and more efficient services to consumers through the use of computers.
1.According to the passage, the credit card enables its owner to .
A. withdraw as much money from the bank as he wishes
B. obtain more convenient services than other people do
C. enjoy greater trust from the storekeeper
D. cash money where he wishes to
2.From the last sentence of the first paragraph we learn that .
A. in the future all the Americans will use credit cards
B. credit cards are mainly used in the United States today
C. nowadays many Americans do not pay in cash
D. it is now more convenient to use credit cards than before
3.The phrase “ring up sales” most probably means .
A. make an order of goods
B. record sales on a cash register
C. call the sales manager
D. keep track of the goods in stock
4.It can be inferred that .
A. computers will bring disaster
B. computer industry will not develop faster
C. computers will bring about more convenience to people’s life
D. None
完形填空
阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
What I noticed first about my new parrot, Chico, was that he couldn’t fly. His wings had been cut short and he was stuck on the ________ just like us humans. When the weather turned nice, I took Chico outside. I sat him on a branch of a tree, hoping to make him ________ . At first he seemed ________ . He walked back and forth on the branch looking anxious or nervous. He didn’t even flap his wings in an attempt to fly. Somehow he knew he was ________ .
One day Chico got especially excited . He paced back and forth and made an incredible amount of ________ . Then all of a sudden he stopped and let out an even louder scream. He started ________ flapping his wings for the first time ever － then he lifted off the ________ like a space shuttle! I was amazed and ________ . Little did I know his feathers had been growing back, and Chico had been ________ until the moment was ripe for escape!
Two days later Chico ________ . First I tried to trick him back with food, but he would not come near me. Then I took his ________ and put it away—still he would not come. Finally, I made him a firm promise that I would let him ________ every day the weather was nice if he did come back. ________ , he flew onto my shoulder.
From that day on, whenever the weather was good I would let him out early and he would fly around and be back before dark. The ________ lasted for two months before suddenly Chico became ________ . The vet said that he had been infected with a disease from the pigeons in the neighborhood. Within a few days he died.
I was very sad. The ________ crossed my mind that if I had not set him free to fly, he would be still alive. But what ________ is there in being a bird if you can’t fly?
Chico made his first break for ________ on a late Monday afternoon in April. When will you make yours? You too can take a ________ when the conditions are right, knowing you too, in your own way, were built to fly. If you don’t ________, what will be the purpose of your life?
1.A. floor B. earth C. scene D. road
2.A. smarter B. healthier C. happier D. stronger
3.A. disappointed B. determined C. frightened D. confused
4.A. incapable B. disabled C. wrong D. stupid
5.A. noise B. progress C. energy D. consideration
6.A. slowly B. gently C. madly D. gracefully
7.A. ground B. tree C. cage D. branch
8.A. moved B. shocked C. delighted D. excited
9.A. struggling B. pacing C. flying D. waiting
10.A. left B. returned C. survived D. recovered
11.A. cage B. feather C. chain D. food
12.A. in B. out C. off D. alone
13.A. As usual B. At that moment C. Once in a while D. At the same time
14.A. action B. attempt C. routine D. effort
15.A. active B. injured C. sad D. ill
16.A. fact B. concern C. thought D. detail
17.A. sense B. mistake C. interest D. problem
18.A. life B. freedom C. fun D. food
19.A. break B. holiday C. chance D. look
20.A. keep yourself busyB. cheer yourself upC. let yourself downD. set yourself free
If only you __________ him what I said! Everything would have been all right.
A. didn't told B. hadn't told
C. would not tell D. would have not told
