Each year there is an increasing number of cars on roads and streets as millions of new cars and trucks are produced. One out of every six Americans works at putting together the parts of cars, driving trucks, building roads or filling cars and trucks with gas.  

Most Americans would find it hard to imagine what life would look like without cars.  . The polluted air becomes poisonous and dangerous to health.

  . That’s what several of the large car factories have been trying to do. But to build a clean car is easier said than done. Progress in this field has been slow.

Another way is to take the place of the car engine by something else.   . Many makers believe that it will take years to develop a practical model that pleases man.

To prevent the world from being polluted by cars, we’ll have to make some changes in the way many of us live. Americans, for example, have to cut down on the number of their total cars. They are encouraged to travel and go to work by bicycle. Bicycling is thought to help the air clean. But this change does not come easily. A large number of workers may find themselves without jobs if a car factory closes down.  .

Although cars have led us to a better life, they have also brought us new problems.

A.Thus the problem of air pollution would become less important than that of unemployment.

B. Americans know cars very well.

C. However, some have realized the serious problems of the air pollution that is caused by cars.

D. One way to get rid of the polluted air is to build a car that does not pollute.

E. However, the number of vehicles has continued to increase in recent years.

F. Americans won’t live without cars!

G. Inventors are now working on steam cars as well as electric cars.

Are you looking for something fun and would you like to help others in your spare time? Then join us to be a volunteer! We’re a non-profit (赢利的) organization. We have volunteer jobs of all ages. Anyone, from twelve-year-old children to people in their seventies can become a volunteer.
You can help people in many ways. Schools need help with taking care of children while parents are working. Hospitals need volunteers to look after children while their parents are seeing a doctor. Animal lovers can help take care of those dogs and cats without homes. There is something for everyone.
“As a volunteer, I don’t want to get anything. Seeing the children’s happy faces, I’m happy, too.” Said Carlos Domingo, an old woman of 62. “I often played computer games in my spare time before. Now I help older people learn how to use computers.” said another volunteer at the age of 18.
If everyone helps out a bit, we’ll have a better world to live in. Interested? Call us 1-800-555-5756 or visit our website: www.activol.com.
【小题1】When do the volunteers help others?

A．In their spare time.

B．At weekends

C．On weekdays.

D．In the evenings.

【小题2】_____ can be a volunteer.

A．Children

B．Old women

C．Anyone aged 12-70

D．Young people

【小题3】Volunteers want to get _______ when they help others.

A．money

B．computers

C．everything

D．nothing

【小题4】Carlos Domingo does volunteer work with ______.

A．animals

B．children

C．computers

D．older people

【小题5】We can read such a passage ______.

A．in a newspaper

B．in a storybook

C．in a picture book

D．in a textbook

In Yemen, you always see one type of vehicle on the road: the water truck.They travel mountain roads and cross deserts to bring Yemenis the goods more valuable than oil.It is one that only the rich can afford, with the supply regularly being cut off.Others must rely on scarce rain or charity to  fight thirst.
Experts say Yemen is going to be the first country in the world to run out of water.The capital, Sanaa, will run out of drinking water as early as 2025，says a report by the World Bank.
Hannan, an 18­year­old from Lahej, said that only the rich could prepare for cuts in supply.“In a good week we’ll have a water supply all week but then the following week there will be water only for a day or two, ” she said.
She and her husband, a factory worker, pay 3,000 riyals (99 yuan) for a week’s supply of water from a touring water truck when the taps run dry.With an income of only 20,000 riyals (660 yuan) a month，this means the family often spend half their money on water.
“There are a lot of people who can’t afford it and they have to rely on their neighbors to help，” she said.
The average person in Yemen survives on one­fifth of what the World Health Organization considers to be enough water.
In Taiz, in the south，tap water is available only once every 45 days.In the mountainous Malhan district in the north，women and children climb a 1,500­m mountain to collect water from a spring, often in the small hours to avoid long queues.
Yemen is located in Southwest Asia，bordering the Arabian and Red Sea.Yemeni people have lived on scarce water supplies for thousands of years but that problem has been made serious by conflict in the area，the fast­growing population and the use of water to grow a drug called qat.With one of the world’s highest rates of population growth—3.46 percent, Yemen is the poorest Arab country.
The government is considering desalinating (淡化) seawater，but this would be expensive and it may now be too late.The only other solution is to cut down on farming, but that means importing even more food.
【小题1】The passage aims to________.

A．analyze the reasons why Yemen lacks water

B．suggest some solutions to the water issue in Yemen

C．present how serious the water problem is in Yemen

D．encourage the world to help Yemenis who are suffering from water shortages

【小题2】When Hannan said that only the rich could prepare for cuts in supply，she meant that________.

A．rich people drank more water than the poor

B．rich people could buy water from the water trucks if there was a water supply cut

C．she had a rich neighbor who often helped her during water supply cuts

D．the rich were not affected by water supply cuts

【小题3】Which of the following may be a reason why Yemen is short of water?

A．The country has had no rain for a long time.

B．The population of Yemen is growing fast.

C．The government has failed to reduce farming.

D．People can’t afford the water from government water trucks.

【小题4】The best title for the passage is “________”．

A．Never take water for granted

B．The water truck—the commonest sight in Yemen

C．The first country to run out of water in the world

D．No water for Yemen

"He who can have patience can have what he wants," said Benjamin Franklin. They say patience is a virtue (美德) seldom found in women and never in men. This may or may not be true, but it's fair to say that there is nobody on the earth who couldn't benefit from more patience.

Patience is necessary for success.

It is said that "all good things come to those who wait". Many of the great scientists have remarked that their scientific discoveries came only through patient perseverance (坚持). Edison said, "Genius was 99% perspiration and only 1% inspiration." Patience teaches us to value the effort and not just the success. It is a mistake to think that happiness can only be obtained through achievements.

Patience brings peace of mind.

When we desire certain outcomes (结果), we'll have no peace of mind. Even if one desire is filled, the nature of desire is that more will appear in its place. There is no end to human desires. Patience means we will work with an attitude of detachment (超然).

Patience can transform suffering into joy.

Throughout life we suffer injustice; the best healer is patience. Through being patient and accepting our situation, it's quite possible for our suffering to be transformed.

Sri Chinmoy said, "If failure has the strength to turn your life into bitterness itself, then patience has the strength to turn your life into the sweetest joy."

1.Whose saying supports the idea that patience makes a person joyful?

A. Franklin's          B. Edison's         C. Chinmoy's         D. Einstein's

2.In the writer's opinion, _____ .

A. human desires will easily be filled

B. patience is a virtue seldom found in a person

C. happiness can only be obtained through success

D. patience is the best medicine of suffering

3.How is the whole passage organized?

A. General-detail-general.                    B. General-detail.

C. Detail-general-detail.                                 D. Detail-general.

4.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A. We All Need Patience                       B. Patience Means Success

C. Benefits of Patience                        D. We Should Not Be patient

 

Do you want to live with a strong sense of peacefulness, happiness, goodness, and self-respect? The collection of happiness actions broadly categorized as “honor” help you create this life of good feelings.

Here is an example to show how honorable actions create happiness.

Say a store clerk fails to charge us for an item. If we keep silent, and profit from the clerk’s mistake, we would drive home with a sense of mean excitement. Later we might tell our family of friends about our good fortune. On the other hand, if we tell the clerk about the uncharged item, the clerk would be grateful and thank us for our honesty. We would leave the store with a quiet sense of honor that we might never share with another soul.

Then, what is it to do with our sense of happiness?

In the first case, where we don’t tell the clerk, a couple of things would happen. Deep down inside we would know ourselves as a type of thief. In the process, we would lose some peace of mind and self-respect. We would also demonstrate that we cannot be trusted, since we advertise our dishonor by telling our family and friends. We damage our own reputations by telling others. In contrast, bringing the error to the clerk’s attention causes different things to happen. Immediately the clerk knows us to be honorable. Upon leaving the store, we feel honorable and our self-respect is increased. Whenever we take honorable action we gain the deep internal rewards of goodness and a sense of nobility.

There is a beautiful positive cycle that is created by living a life of honorable actions. Honorable thoughts lead to honorable actions. Honorable actions lead us to a happier existence. And it’s easy to think and act honorably again when we’re happy. While the positive cycle can be difficult to start, once it’s started ,it’s easy to continue. Keeping on doing good deeds brings us peace of mind, which is important for our happiness.

1.According to the passage, the positive action in the example contributes to our ______.

A．self-respect                           B．financial rewards

C．advertising ability                       D．friendly relationship

2.The author thinks that keeping silent about the uncharged item is equal to ______.

A．lying             B．stealing           C．cheating          D．advertising

3.The underlined phrase “bringing the error to the clerk’s attention” means ______.

A．telling the truth to the clerk

B．offering advice to the clerk

C．asking the clerk to be more attentive

D．reminding the clerk of the charged item

4.How will we feel if we let the clerk know her mistake?

A．We’ll be very excited.

B．We’ll feel unfortunate.

C．We’ll have a sense of honor.

D．We’ll feel sorry for the clerk.

5.Which of the following can be the best title of this passage?

A．How to Live Truthfully

B．Importance of Peacefulness

C．Ways of Gaining Self-respect

D．Happiness through Honorable Actions