We were standing at the top of a church tower. My father had brought me to this spot in a small town not far from our home in Rome. I wondered why.

“Look down, Elsa,” father said. I gathered all my courage and looked down. I saw the square in the center of the village. And I saw the crisscross (十字形) of twisting, turning streets leading to the square. “See, my dear,” father said gently. “There is more than one way to the square. Life is like that. If you can’t get to the place where you want to go by one road, try another.”

Now I understood why I was there. Earlier that day I had begged my mother to do something about the awful(糟糕的) lunches that were served at school. But she refused because she could not believe the lunches were as bad as I said.

When I turned to father for help, he didn’t say anything. Instead, he brought me to this high tower to give me a lesson. By the time we reached home, I had a plan.

At school the next day, I secretly poured my luncheon（午餐）soup into a bottle and brought it home. Then I asked our cook to serve it to mother at dinner. The plan worked perfectly. She swallowed one spoonful and sputtered（喷溅出）” The cook must have gone mad！” Quickly I told her what I had done, and Mother stated firmly that she would take up the matter of lunches at school the next day!

In the years that followed I often remembered the lesson father taught me. I began to work as a fashion designer two years ago. I wouldn’t stop working until I tried every possible means to my goal. Father’s wise words always remind me that there is more than one way to the square.

1.The author’s father took her to the top of a church tower to _____. 

A．enjoy the beautiful scenery of the whole town

B．find out how many ways lead to the square

C．inspire her to find out another way to solve her problem

D．help her forget some unpleasant things earlier that day

2.What did the author want her mother to do earlier that day?

A．Do something delicious for lunch.

B．Taste her awful lunch.

C．Dismiss the mad cook.

D．Speak to the school about lunch.

3.By sharing her own experiences, the author tries to tell us ____________.

A．when one road is blocked, try another

B．how bad the lunch of her school is

C．how wise her father is

D．about the church tower near her home

 

请认真阅读下面对话，并根据各题所给首字母的提示，在标有题号的右边横线上写出一个英语单词的完整、正确形式，使对话通顺。

A: I plan to go to Taiwan for my summer holidays. Li Jun, since you come from Taiwan, can you t__________ me something about it?

B: Certainly. Taiwan is the largest i___________ in China.

A: What's the w____________ like there?

B: It's nearly the s_________ as that in Fuzhou, sometimes very hot in summer. But you can taste all kinds o________ delicious fruits.

A: What p_______ of interest should. I visit?

B: Taiwan is f_______ for Mount All and Riyuetan. And you shouldn't miss the hot springs(温泉) there.

A: It s_________ really interesting and exciting. I can't w__________ to fly there.

B: hope you'll have a great time.

A: Sure. T___________ a lot! .

Now let us look at how we read. When we read a printed text, our eyes move across a page in short, jerky movement. We recognize words usually when our eyes are still when they fixate. Each time they fixate, we see a group of words. This is known as the recognition span or the visual span. The length of time in which the eyes stop ---the duration of the fixation ----varies considerably from person to person. It also varies within any one person according to his purpose in reading and his familiarity with the text. Furthermore, it can be affected by such factors as lighting and tiredness.

Unfortunately, in the past, many reading improvement courses have concentrated too much on how our eyes move across the printed page. As a result of this misleading emphasis on the purely visual aspects of reading, numerous exercises have been devised to train the eyes to see more words at one fixation. For instance, in some exercises, words are flashed on to a screen for, say, a tenth or a twentieth of a second. One of the exercises has required students to fix their eyes on some central point, taking in the words on either side. Such word patterns are often constructed in the shape of rather steep pyramids so the reader takes in more and more words at each successive fixation. All these exercises are very clever, but it’s one thing to improve a person’s ability to see words and quite another thing to improve his ability to read a text efficiently. Reading requires the ability to understand the relationship between words. Consequently, for these reasons, many experts have now begun to question the usefulness of eye training, especially since any approach which trains a person to read isolated words and phrases would seem unlikely to help him in reading a continuous text.

1.The time of the recognition span can be affected by the following facts except ________ .

A. the length of a group of words.

B. lighting and tiredness.

C. one’s familiarity with the text.

D. one’s purpose in reading.

2.The author may believe that reading ______.

A. demands an deeply-participating mind.

B. demands more mind than eyes.

C. requires a reader to take in more words at each fixation.

D. requires a reader to see words more quickly.

3.What does the author mean by saying “but it’s one thing to improve a person’s ability to see words and quite another thing to improve his ability to read a text efficiently.” in the second paragraph?

A. The reading exercises mentioned can’t help to improve an efficient reading.

B. The reading exercises mentioned has done a great job to improve one’s ability to see words.

C. The ability to see words is not needed when an efficient reading is conducted.

D. The reading exercises mentioned can’t help to improve both the ability to see or comprehend words.

4.Which of the following is NOT true?

A. The emphasis on the purely visual aspects is misleading.

B. The eye training will help readers in reading a continuous text.

C. The visual span is a word or a group of words we see each time.

D. Many experts began to question the efficiency of eye training.

5.The tune of the author in writing this article is ________.

　　A. pessimistic  B. optimistic   C. critical  D. neutral

 

Technology is making life easier for some dairy farmers．They use robotic systems to milk their cows．Cows are trained to follow a series of paths that lead to milking stations．Only one cow at a time can enter a station．

Once inside，the cow is rewarded with food．As the cow eats，a  robotic arm cleans and connects the animal to the milking machine．A few minutes later，milking is complete．The gate is opened，the cow is released and the next cow enters．

The robotic systems are designed to operate 24 hours a day．The cows get to decide when they want to be milked．Cows are milked an average of about three times a day．Some are milked four to six times a day．

The cows wear collars around their necks that identify them to the system．A computer keeps records on their eating and milking．A cow is released from the station if the computer decides it should not be milked．

The automated system also measures the temperature and color of freshly produced milk．Milk is thrown away if it does not pass the tests．

Professor Plaut believes the systems will appeal（吸引） especially to the next generation of farmers．She means young people who are more interested in technology and less interested in working all the time on the farm．Still，she says the price of robotic milking systems will continue to limit their use．

Doug and Tina Suhr have more than 100 cows on their family farm．Last year it became the fourth farm in southeast Minnesota to get a robotic milking system．A recent story in a local agricultural newspaper said the first robot cost 175 000 dollars．The second cost 150 000．

Doug told AgriNews that wages that would have been paid for one employee in five years will pay for one robot．He says the increase in milk production reaches a high of more than six kilograms per cow per day．

1.From the first paragraph，we can infer________．

A．the robotic system is designed to reduce labor

B．cows can be raised by robots in the future

C．robots direct cows into milking stations

D．cows are kept clean by robots on some farms

2.Besides milking cows，the robotic system also can______．

A．adjust the temperature of milking stations

B．judge the quality of fresh milk

C．improve the appetite of cows

D．keep fresh milk for two weeks

3.Why is the robotic system not popular now?

A．Because young people have no interest in it．

B．Because it is difficult to learn how to use it．

C．Because people can’t afford to buy it．

D．Because it usually causes the waste of milk．

4.According to Doug，what is the wage of an employee?

A．150 000～170 000．                    B．750 000．

C．150 000～30 000．                     D．30 000—32 000

5.The best title for the passage may be_________．

A．Letting robot milk your cow               B．Milking cows by hand

C．Improving the quality of milk               D．Drinking fresh milk every day

 

London--A morning train rides away, across the channel. English kids discuss the Liverpool's football team in a Paris pub.

Some Parisians have started to travel to work in London.

In the 19th century, Charles Dickens compared the two cities, London and Paris, in A Tale of Two Cities. These days, it might be A tale of One City.

As there are few jobs at home over recent years, perhaps 250,000 Frenchmen moved across the channel. With an undersea tunnel, they could travel between cities in three hours. The European Union freed them from immigration and customs.

Paris, rich in beauty, is more stylish. But London feels more full of life, and more fun until the pubs shut down.

“For me, the difference is that London is real, alive,” said Trevor Wheeler, a financial expert.

Chantal Jaouen, a professional designer, agrees. “I am French, but I’ll stay in London,” she said.

There is, of course, the other view. Julie Lenoux is a student who moved to London two years ago. “I think people laugh more in Paris,” she said.

“Both cities have changed beyond recognition,” said Larry Collins, an author and sometimes a Londoner. Like most people who know both cities well, he finds the two now fit together comfortably. “I first fell in love with Paris in the 1950s. Things are so much more ordered, and life is better.”

But certainly not cheaper. In some parts of London, rents can be twice those on Avenue Foch in Paris.

Deciding between London and Paris requires a lifestyle choice. Like Daphne Benoit, a French journalism student with perfect English, many young people are happy to be close enough so they don’t have to choose. “I love Paris, my little neighborhood, the way I can walk around a centre, but life is too organized,” she said. “In London, you can be whoever you want. No one cares.”

It can be inferred that ___________.

A．Paris and London are the two biggest cities in the world

B．In the 19th century, Dickens told his stories in the two cities

C．London and Paris used to be separated

D．Liverpool is a big city in France

According to this passage, which of the following is TRUE?

A．People feel it difficult to find a job in Paris.

B．People can't travel to London without a passport.

C．Living in France is more expensive than in London.

D．People can find any job in London.

The underlined phrase in Para 9 most probably means “_____________”

A. beyond one’s imagination

B. so much that people don’t know them well again

C. so little that people still know them well

D. to people’s satisfaction

What’s the meaning of the last two sentences?

A．People can do everything in London.

B．People will feel lonely in London.

C．People in London enjoy living in different ways.

D．People in London enjoy a lawless life.