Eighty-year-old retired tailor, James McKay, spent Saturday night in jail after 1 thirty-year-old Keith
Smith over the head 2 his walking stick. McKay"s wife, Laurence told us that while McKay is usually a
3 person, he had been 4 to this act of violence by getting wet just once too often.
Smith lives above the McKays and it appears that not only is he a keen gardener, he is also a 5 collector.
Unfortunately for him, the water he sent over his balcony every day ended up on the McKay"s, or too often,
on the McKays 6 .
"For the last fortnight, since Smith moved into the flat above us, we have hardly dared to go to our 7 ,"
said Laurene. She added, that it wasn"t so much the water falling onto their balcony from Smith watering his
plant 8 bothered them, it was more the way he cleaned his fish tanks. "We"d be 9 there happily reading
our newspapers, when 10 so much water would come from above that we"d be as wet as if we"d 11 with
our clothes on! Neither could we get rid of the 12 of fish!"
And on Saturday evening it was just too 13 . "It was James"s birthday," explained Laurene, "and I"d made
him a birthday cake. The candles were a great sight as you can imagine, but James didn"t get to blow them
out." 14 , Smith emptied one of his larger tanks over his balcony and both the McKays and the cake were wet
15 . Rarely had Laurene seen McKay move so fast. "I couldn"t 16 him. He was up there in a flash. It was
the fastest I"d seen him move since 1964."
Smith is not going to take things further with the police. He has also promised to change his 17 from now
on. And what of James McKay? 18 he left the police station, a large crowd of supporters sang him, "Happy
Birthday 19 the most exciting birthday 20 !" said the cheerful old man. "The best since my adolescence I"d
say!" |
( )1. A. hitting
( )2. A. by
( )3. A. quiet
( )4. A. accustomed
( )5. A. fish
( )6. A. themselves
( )7. A. bathroom
( )8. A. which
( )9. A. sitting
( )10. A. regularly
( )11. A. swum
( )12. A. taste
( )13. A. little
( )14. A. Otherwise
( )15. A. over
( )16. A. stop
( )17. A. views
( )18. A. While
( )19. A. Sincerely
( )20. A. before | B. tapping
B. with
B. sensitive
B. driven
B. seed
B. itself
B. balcony
B. what
B. exercising
B. suddenly
B. watered
B. smell
B. soon
B. Besides
B. across
B. blame
B. attitude
B. Since
B. Impossibly
B. already | C. pushing
C. through
C. stubborn
C. taken
C. plant
C. herself
C. bedroom
C. that
C. sleeping
C. precisely
C. showered
C. feeling
C. late
C. Instead
C. through
C. ignore
C. minds
C. Until
C. Previously
C. ever | D. touching
D. via
D. peaceful
D. attracted
D. newspaper
D. himself
D. kitchen
D. whether
D. eating
D. unconsciously
D. drowned
D. sense
D. much
D. Consequently
D. down
D. stand
D. ways
D. As
D. Definitely
D. since | | 阅读理解。 | One day in January, my uncle, my cousin and I decided to go hunting. We left by car in the afternoon. It
was a Range Rover with four-wheel drive. It took us three hours to get there. After we arrived at 5:15 p. m.,
we fixed the tent, then made coffee and had a short rest. After that, we went hunting, using a falcon (猎鹰).
We spent two hours without finding anything. On our way back to the camp, my cousin saw a rabbit. I
removed the falcon"s head cover and let go of the aggressive falcon. When the rabbit saw the falcon, it ran
fast, but my falcon was a professional hunter. He flew up and came down to trick the rabbit. After two
minutes, the rabbit was caught. We took it back to the camp to cook our dinner. We ate the delicious food,
drank Arabic coffee, and sat around the fire talking until 10:30 p.m.
We left the camp the next day at 7 o"clock in the morning. We went north. However, around 10:00 a.m.
our car got stuck in the sand! We spent about three hours trying to pull out the ear without any progress.
Finally, we decided to walk. As it was hard for an old man or a young boy to walk more than 40km in the
desert, I decided to get help myself. I took a bottle of water with me and started to walk south alone. I knew
the way well, but it was a long way in the sand. I walked more than four hours without stopping.
When I felt so tired and thirsty, I stopped to rest. I drank all the water and slept for around two hours.
When I got up, it was dark. I continued to walk south. I was worried about my uncle and cousin. Suddenly,
I met a Bedouin man who was riding his camel. He took me to his house. When I had had enough rest, I
asked him to take me to the road where I found a car, It took me to the city to get help. I had one day to get
back to my uncle and cousin. When I got back to them, they were so happy because I had gotten help and
they were able to see me again. | | 1. Which word can best describe the first evening of their hunting trip? | A. Adventurous.
B. Enjoyable.
C. Stressful.
D. Exhausting. | | 2. How did the writer finally get out of the desert? | A. He was picked up by a car.
B. A camel took him to the road.
C. A passer-by Bedouin helped him.
D. His uncle and cousin found and rescued him. | | 3. What can be inferred from the story? | A. It"s an easy job to walk 40km in the desert.
B. The author loved to go hunting with his family.
C. The hunting trip is much longer than expected.
D. To hunt in the desert one must train a falcon well. | | 完形填空。 | Shortly after my daughter Julia-Ann was born, I started a loving tradition that I know others (with whom
I have subsequently shared this special plan) have also started. Every year, on her 1 , I write an Annual
Letter to my daughter. I 2 it with funny anecdotes (轶事, 趣闻) that happened to her that year, hardships
or 3 , issues that are 4 in my life or hers, world events, my 5 for the future, miscellaneous (各种各样
的) thoughts, etc. I add 6 the letter photographs, presents, report cards and many 7 types of mementos
(纪念品) that would certainly have otherwise 8 as the years passed.
I keep a 9 in my desk drawer in which, all year long, I place things that I want to 10 in the envelope
containing her next Annual Letter. Every week, I make short notes of what I can think 11 from the week"s
events that I will want to 12 later in the year to write in her Annual Letter. 13 her birthday approaches, I
take out that folder and find it 14 with ideas, thoughts, poems, cards, treasures, stories, incidents and
memories of all sorts-many of which I have already forgotten-and 15 I then 16 transcribe (抄写) into that
year"s Annual Letter.
Once the letter is written and all the 17 are inserted into the envelope, I seal it. It then becomes that year"s
Annual Letter. On the envelope I always write "Annual Letter to Julia-Ann from her daddy on the 18 of her
birthday to be opened when she is 21 years old." It is a time capsule of love from every different year of her
life, to her as an adult. It is a gift of 19 memories from one generation to the next. It is a 20 record of her
life written as she was actually living it. | ( )1. A. schooling
( )2. A. open
( )3. A. disappointments
( )4. A. little
( )5. A. predictions
( )6. A. on
( )7. A. other
( )8. A. lasted
( )9. A. envelope
( )10. A. seal
( )11. A. of
( )12. A. help
( )13. A. Although
( )14. A. running
( )15. A. then
( )16. A. eagerly
( )17. A. goods
( )18. A. occasion
( )19. A. exciting
( )20. A. temporary | B. party
B. fill
B. joys
B. possible
B. gifts
B. up
B. another
B. happened
B. bag
B. include
B. about
B. give
B. When
B. quarrelling
B. when
B. curiously
B. jewels
B. time
B. interesting
B. permanent | C. birthday
C. end
C. sadness
C. usual
C. reasons
C. with
C. all
C. disappeared
C. box
C. wish
C. over
C. recall
C. What
C. filling
C. which
C. sadly
C. pearls
C. moment
C. loving
C. cautious | D. record
D. tell
D. treatments
D. important
D. hobbies
D. to
D. any
D. met
D. folder
D. pay
D. for
D. mind
D. Who
D. overflowing
D. how
D. willingly
D. treasures
D. year
D. confusing
D. powerful | | 阅读理解。 | In March 2008, Joe Ryan got a notice from a billing agency for a hospital near Denver, Colorado. The
hospital wanted payment for surgery totaling ＄41,188. Ryan had never set foot in that hospital. Obviously
there was some mistake. "I thought it was a joke," says Ryan.
But when he called the billing agency, nobody laughed. Someone, who"s also named Joe Ryan, using
Ryan"s Social Security number, had indeed been admitted for surgery. He figured clearing this up would
take just a few phone calls.
Two years later, Ryan continues to suffer from the damage to his credit rating and still doesn"t know
if his medical record has been cleared of wrong information.
Joe Ryan was the victim of a little-known but frightening type of consumer cheating that is on the rise:
medical identity theft, which involves using your name to get drugs, expensive medical treatment and even
cheating insurance payments.
As Ryan discovered, money isn"t the half of it. When someone steals your name to receive health care,
his medical history becomes part of your record and setting the record straight can be extremely difficult.
That"s because, in part, the information is handed out among dozens of caregivers, from doctors to medicine
stores, insurance companies and labs.
"I wanted to help straighten this out," says Ryan, "so I went to the hospital, and they had a three-inch-
thick record for me, but they wouldn"t let me see it. I showed them my ID, and they said that"s not Joe
Ryan"s signature. Well, of course not! They had other guy"s signature."
Ryan had fallen into a victim"s Catch-22 situation: If your record doesn"t appear to be yours, your may
not have the right to read it, much less change it.
Ryan"s next step was a visit to the police department. But the police said that there was not much they
could do, that the local law enforcement has little experience with medical ID theft, and that cases like this
can end up being considered a civil matter. | | 1. The billing agency sent Joe Ryan a notice to _____. | A. play a joke on him for medical treatment
B. inform him of the payment for his surgery
C. correct the mistakes about payment for his surgery
D. clear up the wrong information in his medical record | | 2. Joe Ryan at first thought his problem was _____. | A. easy to settle
B. difficult to settle
C. impossible to solve
D. unnecessary to solve | | 3. The number of medical identity theft cases in the United States is _____. | A. increasing
B. decreasing
C. countable
D. changeable | | 4. An even worse consequence of medical ID theft is _____. | A. some trouble in obtaining insurance payment
B. a big loss of money and damage to credit rating
C. the widely spread medical information of the victim
D. the difficulty in changing the wrong medical history | | 阅读理解。 | Laura Edmonds has a look of horror on her face as she turns to look out the airplane window.
It"s not the threat of terrorism that worries her, but rather the possibility of mechanical failure. She says
she imagines the plane plunging to the ground because the engines may fall off. So every few minutes she
glances out the window to make sure they"re still attached.
It is a fear that has gripped her for 18 years, since her wedding day. Since then she has tried drugs and
cocktails to make it through flights. But, she says, they"ve been no help in easing her anxiety.
She has dragged her family on the train from Connecticut to Florida, insisted on long drives and tried to
avoid flying at all costs. Even when friends fly, Edmonds says she worries, counting the hours till they arrive
at their destination.
It"s been three years since Edmonds has stepped on a plane.
Yet here she is now, 20,000 feet above the ground on board a turbo-prop that"s enroute from New York"s
LaGuardia Airport to Baltimore-Washington International Airport in Maryland. She is hoping this is the flight
that will overcome her fear.
"I feel the seat. I feel the seat against my arm. I feel my hands," recites Edmonds, her eyes still closed.
She is attempting to change her mind, one of several so-called "strengthening exercises" she recently
learned from a video course designed to overcome fear of flying. The idea is to focus on the moment, rather
than the abstract.
Former Pan Am"s (泛美航空公司) pilot Tom Bunn is president of the company that produced the videos
that instruct passengers in the basic mechanics of flying and teaches them to control their thoughts.
Before boarding the U.S. Airways flight, Edmonds presents a letter from Bunn to the flight attendant
asking to speak with the captain. The pilot gladly obliges, telling her he"s been flying for more than two decades
and assuring her, "You"re going to be fine. We"re going to take good care of you."
When the flight attendant offers drinks, Edmonds places her cup of water on the tray table and studies it,
tangible evidence that the plane is barely shaking.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are approaching Baltimore," announces the flight attendant. Edmonds is relying
heavily on Bunn"s coping strategies during the 90-minute flight. But she"s coping. As the wheels touch down,
Edmonds" face lights up. | | 1. Laura Edmonds has a fear of flying because _____. | A. she once experienced a mechanical failure
B. a mechanical failure often appears in her mind
C. she is good at imagining a terrible situation
D. air crashes often happen in her hometown | | 2. The underlined word "gripped" in the third paragraph means _____. | A. seized firmly
B. hurt seriously
C. cheated simply
D. treated carefully | | 3. From this passage it can be inferred that _____. | A. every seat in planes is equipped with video
B. passengers on board always feel nervous
C. nervous passengers in flying can get help from Bunn"s company
D. travel by train is safer than travel by plane | | 4. Laura"s overcoming the fear of flying is mostly owed to _____. | A. airline"s comfort
B. her counting the hours on board
C. a letter from Bunn
D. her defeating herself | 最新试题
热门考点
|
|