阅读理解。
The freezing Northeast hasn’t been a terribly fun place to spend time this winter, so when the chance came for a weekend to Sarasota, Florida, my bags were packed before you could say “sunshine”. I left for the land of warmth and vitamin C(维生素C), thinking of beaches and orange trees. When we touched down to blue skies and warm air, I sent up a small prayer of gratefulness. Swimming pools, wine tasting, and pink sunsets(at normal evening hours, not 4 in the afternoon) filled the weekend, but the best part - particularly to my taste, dulled by months of cold- weather root vegetables- was a 7 a.m. adventure to the Sarasota farmers’ market that proved to be more than worth the early wake-up call.
The market, which was founded in 1979, sets up its tents every Saturday from 7:00 am to 1 p.m., rain or shine, along North Lemon and State streets. Baskets of perfect red strawberries; the red-painted sides of the Java Dawg coffee truck; and most of all, the tomatoes: amazing, large, soft and round red tomatoes.
Disappointed by many a broken, vine-ripened(蔓上成熟的) promise, I’ve refused to buy winter tomatoes for years. No matter how attractive they look in the store, once I get them home they’re unfailingly dry, hard, and tasteless. But I homed in, with uncertainty, on one particular table at the Brown’s Grove Farm’s stand, full of fresh and soft tomatoes the size of my fist. These were the real deal- and at that moment, I realized that the best part of Sarasota in winter was going to be eating things that back home in New York I wouldn’t be experiencing again for months.
Delighted as I was by the tomatoes in sight, my happiness deepened when I learned that Brown’s Grove Farm is one of the suppliers for Jack Dusty, a newly opened restaurant at the Sarasota Ritz Carlton, where - luckily for me - I was planning to have dinner that very night. Without even seeing the menu, I knew I’d be ordering every tomato on it.
1. What did the author think of her winter life in New York?
A. Exciting. B. Boring.
C. Relaxing. D. Annoying.
2. What made the author’s getting up late early worthwhile?
A. Having a swim. B. Breathing in fresh air.
C. Walking in the morning sun. D. Visiting a local farmer’s market.
3. What can we learn about tomatoes sold in New York in winter?
A. They are soft. B. They look nice.
C. They taste great. D. They are juicy.
4. What was the author going to that evening?
A. Go to a farm. B. Check into a hotel.
C. Eat in a restaurant. D. Buy fresh vegetables.
阅读理解。
Monthly Talks at London Canal Museum
Our monthly talks start at 19:30 on the first Thursday of each month except August. Admission is at normal charges and you don’t need to book. They end around 21:00.
November 7th
The Canal Pioneers, by Chris Lewis. James Brindley is recognized as one of the leading early canal engineers. He was also a major player in training others in the art of canal planning and building. Chris Lewis will explain how Brindley made such a positive contribution to the education of that group of early “civil engineers”.
December 5th
Ice for the Metropolis, by Malcolm Tucker. Well before the arrival of freezers, there was a demand for ice for food preservation and catering, Malcolm will explain the history of importing natural ice and the technology of building ice wells, and how London’s ice trade grew.
February 6th
An Update on the Cotsword Canals, by Liz Payne. The Stroudwater Canal is moving towards reopening. The Thames and Severn Canal will take a little longer. We will have a report on the present state of play.
March 6th
Eyots and Aits -Thames Islands, by Miranda Vickers. The Thames has many islands. Miranda has undertaken a review of all of them. She will tell us about those of greatest interest.
Online bookings:www.canalmuseum.org.uk/book
More info: www.canalmuseum.org.uk/whatson
London Canal Museum
12-13 New Wharf Road, London NI 9RT
www.canalmuseum.org.ukwww.canalmuseum.mobi
Tel:020 77130836
1.When is the talk on James Brindley?
A. February 6th. B. March 6th.
C. November 7th. D. December 5th.
2. What is the topic of the talk in February?
A. The Canal Pioneers.
B. Ice for the Metropolis
C. Eyots and Aits- Thames Islands
D. An Update on the Cotsword Canals
3. Who will give the talk on the islands in the Thames.
A. Miranda Vickers B. Malcolm Tucker
C. Chris Lewis D. Liz Payne
阅读理解。
My color television has given me nothing but a headache. I was able to buy it a little over a year ago because I had my relatives give me money for my birthday instead of clothes that wouldn’t fit. I let a salesclerk fool me into buying a discontinued model. I realized this a day later, when I saw newspaper advertisements for the set at seventy-five dollars less than I had paid. The set worked so beautiful when I first got it home that I would keep it on until stations signed off for the night. Fortunately, I didn’t get any channels showing all-night movies or I would never have gotten to bed.
Then I started developing a problem with the set that involved static(静电) noise. For some reason, when certain shows switched into a commercial, a loud noise would sound for a few seconds. Gradually, this noise began to appear during a show, and to get rid of it, I had to change to another channel and then change it back. Sometimes this technique would not work, and I had to pick up the set and shake it to remove the sound. I actually began to build up my arm muscles(肌肉) shaking my set.
When neither of these methods removed the static noise, I would sit helplessly and wait for the noise to go away. At last I ended up hitting the set with my first, and it stopped working altogether. My trip to the repair shop cost me $62, and the sit is working well now, but I keep expecting more trouble.
1. Why did the author say he was fooled into buying the TV set?
A. He got an older model than he had expected.
B. He couldn’t return it when it was broken.
C. He could have bought it at a lower price.
D. He failed to find any movie shows on it.
2. Which of the following an best replace the phrase “signed off” in paragraph 1?
A. ended all their programs B. provided fewer channels
C. changed to commercials D. showed all-night movies
3. How did the author finally get this TV set working again?
A. By shaking and hitting it B. By turning it on and off
C. By switching channels D. By having it repaired
4. How does the author sound when telling the story?
A. Curious B. Anxious
C. Cautious D. Humorous
阅读理解。
I am Peter Hodes , a volunteer stem cell courier. Since March 2012, I’ve done 89 trips—of those , 51 have been abroad. I have 42 hours to carry stem cells（干细胞）in my little box because I’ve got two ice packs and that’s how long they last. In all, from the time the stem cells are harvested from a donor(捐献者) to the time they can be implanted in the patient, we’ve got 72 hours at most. So I am always conscious of time.
I had one trip last year where I was caught by a hurricane in America. I picked up the stem cells in Providence, Rhode Island, and was meant to fly to Washington then back to London. But when I arrived at the check-in desk at Providence, the lady on the desk said:“Well, I’m really sorry, I’ve got some bad news for you—there are no flights from Washington.” So I took my box and put it on the desk and I said:“In this box are some stem cells that are urgently needed for a patient-please, please, you’ve got to get me back to the United Kingdom.” She just dropped everything. She arranged for a flight on a small plane to be held for me，re-routed(改道)me through Newark and got me back to the UK even earlier than originally scheduled.
For this courier job, you’re consciously aware that in that box you’re got something that is potentially going to save somebody’s life.
1. Which of the following can replace the underlined word “courier” in Paragraph1?
A. provider B. delivery man
C. collector D. medical doctor
2. Why does Peter have to complete his trip within 42hours?
A. He cannot stay away from his job too long.
B. The donor can only wait for that long.
C. The operation needs that much time.
D. The ice won’t last any longer.
3. Which flight did the woman put Peter on first?
A. To London. B. To Newark.
C. To Providence. D. To Washington.
阅读理解。
Grandparents Answer a Call
As a third-generation native of Brownsville, Texas, Mildred Garza never planned to move away. Even when her daughter and son asked her to move to San Antonio to help with their children, she politely refused. Only after a year of friendly discussion did Ms. Garza finally say yes. That was four years ago. Today all three generations regard the move as a success, giving them a closer relationship than they would have had in separate cities.
No statistics show the number of grandparents like Garza who are moving closer to adult children and grandchildren. Yet there is evidence suggesting that the trend is growing. Even President Obama’s mother-in-law, Marian Robinson, has agreed to leave Chicago and move into the White House to help care for her granddaughters. According to a study by grandparents. Com, 83 percent of the people said Mrs. Robinson ’s decision will influence grandparents in the American family. Two-thirds believe more families will follow the example of Obama’s family.
“In the 1960s we were all a little wild and couldn’t get away from home far enough for fast enough to prove we could do it on our own,”says Christine Crosby, publisher of Grand , a magazine for grandparents.“We now realize how important family is and how important it is”to be near them, especially when you’re raising children.”
Moving is not for everyone. Almost every grandparent wants to be with his or her grandchildren and is willing to make sacrifices, but sometimes it is wiser to say no and visit frequently instead. Having your grandchildren far away is hard, especially knowing your adult child is struggling, but giving up the life you know may be harder.
1. Why was Garza’s move a success?
A．It strengthened her family ties.
B．It improved her living conditions.
C．It enabled her to make more friends.
D．It helped her know more new places.
2. What was the reaction of the public to Mrs. Robinson’s decision?
A．17% expressed their support for it.
B．Few people responded sympathetically.
C．83% believed it had a bad influence.
D．The majority thought it was a trend.
3. What did Crosby say about people in the 1960s?
A．They were unsure of themselves.
B．They were eager to raise more children.
C．They wanted to live away from their parents.
D．They had little respect for their grandparents.
4. What does the author suggest the grandparents do in the last paragraph?
A. Make decisions in the best interests of their own.
B. Ask their children to pay more visits to them.
C. Sacrifice for their struggling children .
D. Get to know themselves better.
阅读理解。
Bad news sells. If it bleeds, it leads. No news is good news, and good news is no news. Those are the classic rules for the evening broadcasts and the morning papers. But now that information is being spread and monitored(监控) in different ways, researchers are discovering new rules. By tracking people’s e-mails and online posts, scientists have found that good news can spread faster and farther than disasters and sob stories.
＂The ‘if it bleeds’ rule works for mass media,＂ says Jonah Berger, a scholar at the University of Pennsylvania. ＂They want your eyeballs and don’t care how you’re feeling. But when you share a story with your friends, you care a lot more how they react. You don’t want them to think of you as a Debbie Downer.＂
Researchers analyzing word-of-mouth communication — e-mails, Web posts and reviews, face-to-face conversations — found that it tended to be more positive than negative(消极的), but that didn’t necessarily mean people preferred positive news. Was positive news shared more often simply because people experienced more good things than bad things? To test for that possibility, Dr. Berger looked at how people spread a particular set of news stories: thousands of articles on The New York Times’ website. He and a Penn colleague analyzed the ＂most e-mailed＂ list for six months. One of his first findings was that articles in the science section were much more likely to make the list than non-science articles. He found that science amazed Times’ readers and made them want to share this positive feeling with others.
Readers also tended to share articles that were exciting or funny, or that inspired negative feelings like anger or anxiety, but not articles that left them merely sad. They needed to be aroused(激发) one way or the other, and they preferred good news to bad. The more positive an article, the more likely it was to be shared, as Dr. Berger explains in his new book, ＂Contagious: Why Things Catch On.＂
1. What do the classic rules mentioned in the text apply to?
A. News reports． B. Research papers．
C. Private e-mails． D. Daily conversations．
2. What can we infer about people like Debbie Downer?
A. They’re socially inactive．
B. They’re good at telling stories．
C. They’re inconsiderate of others．
D. They’re careful with their words．
3. Which tended to be the most e-mailed according to Dr. Berger’s research?
A. Sports news． B. Science articles．
C. Personal accounts． D. Financial reviews．
4. What can be a suitable title for the text?
A. Sad Stories Travel Far and Wide．
B. Online News Attracts More People．
C. Reading Habits Change with the Times．
D. Good News Beats Bad on Social Networks．
