I HEAR America beeping(嘟嘟响)．

 Beep，says my cellophane when it gets a text message．

  Beep，says my microwave oven when my sandwich  is warmed up． 

 Sometimes  I long for a natural sound：a bird singing，dog barking，children laughing， anything to drown out  the maddening beeps that have become the soundtrack(配乐)to modern life．

  My cellophane? It isn’t enough that its ring tone offerings seem to stretch from  “annoymg” toextremely “annoying”． It also has to beep whenever someone texts messages me． 

The microwave? A bell rings when it's finished heating my food．But is that enough? No．If I don’t rush to it right away, it starts beeping，like an impatient child tugging(用力拉) at my sleeve(袖子)．

 The smoke detector(探测器) is the worst offender．When its batteries are in need of replacement，it 1ets out a series of chirps．The things that don’t beep buzz(嗡嗡响)．And for some reason，beeping and buzzing is beneath them，they clear their throats and perform a symphony． Like my TV, each time I turn it on, it performs an aria(咏叹调)：La di da di dum．Salutions! Here I am! Same thing when I turn it off: La di da di dum．Good bye, kind sir! Until the next time

But at 1east I know where each of these sounds is coming from．That isn’t always the case．For weeks, my wife and I were awoken in the night by a beeping．There，in the stillness， we went through the possible suspects．Could we have a text message? Could it be any of the devices(装置)able to make a sound? Curling iron, rice cooker, smoke detector, TV set，clock radio．．．

The only way to tell was to chase the sound down ，but no sooner  would we pull on our bathrobes than the beeping would stop. We didn’t hear it every night but often enough that we would climb into bed wondering whether our sleep  would be interrupted by that maddening sound，that beep．

  Finally,early one morning，my wife found it：in the study,under a desk，a big plastic cube that was plugged into the wall．It was an uninterruptible power supply that we’d inherited(继承)from my wife’s mother．We’d never known it was capable of speech． 

I think it just wanted someone to talk to.

14．What does the writer truly mean by saying“I hear America beeping”?

A．American people like devices that beep．

B．Americans are crazy about sending text messages．

C．In modern society people are dependant on technology．

D．The soundtrack to modern life is no longer natural．

15．Why couldn’t the author and his wife find the source of the noise in their house in the beginning?

A．There were too many devices for them to check．

B．They were unwilling to get up at midnight．

C．They had never known that thing could beep too．

D．The noise didn’t come every day．

16．After reading this passage，we can probably tell the author    ．

   A．enjoys being surrounded by beeps  B．has a touch of humor in his writing

C．tries to avoid using anything that beeps

D．understands the beeping is designed to be user-friendly

Why do people play football? It’s a(n)  __16__ game and it’s dangerous too. Twenty-two men fight __17__ ninety minutes to make  __18__ many goals as they can. They get __19__ black eyes and broken bones than they do for points. Football players must be mad. And __20__ do people watch football? They __21__ be mad too. They certainly __22__ and scream like __23__. I’m afraid __24__ near a football field when they are playing a game. The crowds are __25__.
I’d __26__ stay at home and watch TV. But what happens when I turn it   __27__ ? They are showing a football game. So I turn on the radio. What do I __28__? The __29__ football scores. And what do I see when I open a newspaper? Pictures of football players, interview with __30__ players, and scores of football games.
　

【小题15】

A．basketball B．volleyball C．tennis D．football

Why do people play football? It’s a(n)  __16__ game and it’s dangerous too. Twenty-two men fight __17__ ninety minutes to make  __18__ many goals as they can. They get __19__ black eyes and broken bones than they do for points. Football players must be mad. And __20__ do people watch football? They __21__ be mad too. They certainly __22__ and scream like __23__. I’m afraid __24__ near a football field when they are playing a game. The crowds are __25__.

I’d __26__ stay at home and watch TV. But what happens when I turn it   __27__ ? They are showing a football game. So I turn on the radio. What do I __28__? The __29__ football scores. And what do I see when I open a newspaper? Pictures of football players, interview with __30__ players, and scores of football games.

　1.A. stupid        B. funny         C. exciting             D. wonderful

　2. A. for            B. by             C. in                  D. against 

　3. A. so             B. to             C. as                  D. very 

　4. A. much               B. many              C. most                D. more 

  5. A. why       B. when            C. where              D. which

  6. A. mustn’t      B. must         C. can’t                D. can

　7.  A. cry           B. laugh               C. run                  D. shout 

　8.  A. gentlemen        B. ladies              C. madmen           D. madams 

  9.  A. of going      B. for going   C. going              D. to be going 

　10.A. angry       B. dangerous  C. sad                   D. tired 

　11. A. rather        B. better               C. like               D. fairly 

　12. A. off            B. down               C. up                  D. on 

　13.A. listen               B. listen to     C. hear                D. hear of 

　14.A. late           B. latest         C. later                D. lately 

　15.A.  basketball   B. volleyball    C. tennis            D. football

I've tried to explain compound interest to my eight - year - old daughter. When I have finished it, she summarizes back to me, "So, you are saying if I put $ 100 in the bank, when I turn sixteen the bank will give me $ 200?" She has already grasped more of the concept than I understood at her age, but she couldn't clearly understand that until she sees them in action.
One day I gave her a Ziploc bag with a handful of pennies and told her over the course of a week I wanted her to give me a penny a day. I would deposit the penny in " The Bank of Dad" and compound interest would begin to accumulate the day she deposited the penny. At the end of the week we would check her bank balance.
Each day my daughter handed over one penny at the breakfast table and I deposited it in her bank. I gave her a "receipt" for her deposit and explained that she needed to keep up with the receipts to see how much money she had added to her account. In an effort to make this a little more realistic, I deposited a penny from my own piggy bank every other day to give her an additional four pennies at the end of the week.
On Sunday evening we gathered receipts and confirmed she had deposited seven pennies in "The Bank of Dad. " Then I opened the old film container and counted out its contents—all eleven pennies. "Hey, there are four extra pennies in there!" I explained that her original seven pennies had grown to eleven pennies because every couple days the bank paid her a penny for letting them use her money—that's interest. She paused and asked, "Dad, what would happen if you deposited like a hundred million pennies in the bank?
1．We can learn from Paragraph 1 that ____.
A．the writer' s daughter understood compound interest better than him
B．the writer wanted her daughter to understand compound interest
C．the writer' s daughter understood compound interest very well
D．the writer' s daughter grasped the exact meaning of compound interest
2．Which of the following is TRUE according to Paragraph 2?
A．The writer' s daughter got a handful of pennies from her father.
B．The writer got compound pennies from "The Bank of Dad".
C．The writer placed one penny in "The Bank of Dad" each day.
D．Compound interest would begin to increase at the end of the week.
3．Each day the writer’s daughter ____.
A．got a penny from her father        B．received interest from her father
C．deposited a penny in her piggy bank    D．handed over one penny to her father
4．What can we infer from the passage?
A．"The Bank of Dad" paid the girl a penny each day as interest.
B．The father used a good way to show his daughter about interest.
C．There were eleven pennies in the old film container in total.
D．The writer's daughter was very puzzled with compound interest.
5．Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
A．How to Deposit Pennies in "The Bank of Dad"．
B．Welcome to Deposit Money in the Bank.
C．How to Teach Compound Interest to Kids.
D．A Good Relationship between Father and Kid.

I've tried to explain compound interest to my eight - year - old daughter. When I have finished it, she summarizes back to me, "So, you are saying if I put $ 100 in the bank, when I turn sixteen the bank will give me $ 200?" She has already grasped more of the concept than I understood at her age, but she couldn't clearly understand that until she sees them in action.

One day I gave her a Ziploc bag with a handful of pennies and told her over the course of a week I wanted her to give me a penny a day. I would deposit the penny in " The Bank of Dad" and compound interest would begin to accumulate the day she deposited the penny. At the end of the week we would check her bank balance.

Each day my daughter handed over one penny at the breakfast table and I deposited it in her bank. I gave her a "receipt" for her deposit and explained that she needed to keep up with the receipts to see how much money she had added to her account. In an effort to make this a little more realistic, I deposited a penny from my own piggy bank every other day to give her an additional four pennies at the end of the week.

On Sunday evening we gathered receipts and confirmed she had deposited seven pennies in "The Bank of Dad. " Then I opened the old film container and counted out its contents—all eleven pennies. "Hey, there are four extra pennies in there!" I explained that her original seven pennies had grown to eleven pennies because every couple days the bank paid her a penny for letting them use her money—that's interest. She paused and asked, "Dad, what would happen if you deposited like a hundred million pennies in the bank?

1．We can learn from Paragraph 1 that ____.

A．the writer' s daughter understood compound interest better than him

B．the writer wanted her daughter to understand compound interest

C．the writer' s daughter understood compound interest very well

D．the writer' s daughter grasped the exact meaning of compound interest

2．Which of the following is TRUE according to Paragraph 2?

A．The writer' s daughter got a handful of pennies from her father.

B．The writer got compound pennies from "The Bank of Dad".

C．The writer placed one penny in "The Bank of Dad" each day.

D．Compound interest would begin to increase at the end of the week.

3．Each day the writer’s daughter ____.

A．got a penny from her father         B．received interest from her father

C．deposited a penny in her piggy bank     D．handed over one penny to her father

4．What can we infer from the passage?

A．"The Bank of Dad" paid the girl a penny each day as interest.

B．The father used a good way to show his daughter about interest.

C．There were eleven pennies in the old film container in total.

D．The writer's daughter was very puzzled with compound interest.

5．Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

A．How to Deposit Pennies in "The Bank of Dad"．

B．Welcome to Deposit Money in the Bank.

C．How to Teach Compound Interest to Kids.

D．A Good Relationship between Father and Kid.