Eddie’s father used to say he’d spent so many years by the ocean, breathing seawater. Now, away from that ocean, in the hospital bed, his body began to look like a beached fish. His condition went from fair to stable and from stable to serious. Friends went from saying, “He’ll be home in a day,” to “He’ll be home in a week ” In his father’s absence, Eddie helped out at the pier(码头), working evenings after his taxi job.

         When Eddie was a teenager, if he ever complained or seemed bored with the pier, his father would shout, “What ? This isn’t good enough for you?” And later, when he’d suggested Eddie take a job there after high school, Eddie almost laughed, and his father again said, “What? This isn’t good enough for you?” And before Eddie went to war, when he’d talked of marrying Marguerite and becoming an engineer, his father said, “What? This isn’t good enough for you?”

         And now, regardless of all that, here he was, at the pier, doing his father’s labor.

         Parents rarely let go of their children, so children let go of them. They move on. They move away. It is not until much later, as the heart weakens, that children understand their stories, and all their accomplishments sit on top of the stories of their mothers and fathers, stones upon stones, beneath the waters of their lives.

         Finally, one night, at his mother’s urging, Eddie visited the hospital. He entered the room slowly. His father, who for years had refused to speak to Eddie, now lacked the strength to even try.

         “Don’t sweat it, kid,” the other workers told him. “Your old man will pull through. He’s the toughest man we’ve ever seen.”

         When the news came that his father had died, Eddie felt the emptiest kind of anger, the kind that circles in its cage.

         In the weeks that followed, Eddie’s mother lived in a confused state. She spoke to her husband as if he were still there. She yelled at him to turn down the radio. She cooked enough food for two. One night, when Eddie offered to help with the dishes, she said. “Your father will put them away.” Eddie put a hand on her shoulder. “Ma,” he said, softly, “Dad’s gone.”

         “Gone where?”

1. In Paragraph 4, the writer indicates that       .

A．Children like moving away from them parents

B．Children often feel regretful because they leave their parents

C．Children wouldn’t have achieved so much without their parents’ support

D．Children can never understand how much their parents have devoted to them   

2. The underlined sentence probably means “       ”.

A．Don’t give it up           B．Don’t worry about it

C．Don’t let him down             D．Don’t touch it

3. Which of the following shows the right order of the story?

a．Eddie’s father died.

b．Eddie worked as a taxi driver.

c．Eddie married Marguerite.

d．Eddie was bored with his father’s job.

A．bacd  B．dcab  C．bcda  D．dcba

4. From the last part of the passage, we learn that       .

         A．Eddie’s mother liked to listen to the radio

         B．Eddie often helped his mother wash the dishes

         C．Eddie and his wife lived in his mother’s apartment

         D．Eddie’s mother missed her husband so much that she was at a loss

 

 

    Supermarkets are trying out new computers that make shopping carts more intelligent(具备智能的). They will help shoppers find paper cups or toilet soap, and keep a record of the bill.

    The touch-screen devices(触摸屏装置) are on show at the Food Marketing Institute’s exhibition here this week, “These devices are able to create value and get you around the store quicker,” said Michael Alexander, manager of Springboard Retail Networks Inc., which makes a smart cart computer called the Concierge.

    Canadian stores will test the Concierge in July. A similar device, IBM’s “Shopping Buddy”, has recently been test-marketed at Stop & Shop stores in Massachusetts.

    Neither device tells you how many fat grams or calories are in your cart, but they will flash you with items on sale. The idea is to make it easier for people to buy, not to have second thoughts that maybe you should put something back on the shelf.

    “The whole model is driven by advertisers’ need to get in front of shoppers,” said Alexander. “They’re not watching 30-second TV ads anymore.”

    People can use a home computer to make their shopping lists. Once at the store, a shopper can use a preferred customer card to start a system(系统) that will organize the trip around the store. If you’re looking for toothpicks, you type in the word or pick it from a list, and a map will appear on the screen showing where you are and where you can find them.

    The device also keeps a record of what you buy. When you’re finished, the device figures out your bill. Then you go to the checker or place your card into a self-checkout stand and pay.

    The new computerized shopping assistants don’t come cheap. The Buddy devices will cost the average store about $160,000, and the Concierge will cost stores about $500 for each device.

1. The underlined word “they” (paragraph 1) refers to ______.

  A. supermarkets  B. shop assistants    C. shopping carts           D. shop managers

2. Which of the following is the correct order of shopping with computerized shopping carts?

  a. Start the system.                                               b. Make a shopping list.

  c. Find the things you want.                                  d. Go to a self-checkout stand.

  A. abdc                            B. bacd                        C. acbd                        D. bcad

3. We can learn from the last paragraph that ______.

  A. intelligent shopping carts cost a large sum of money

  B. the Concierge is cheaper than the Buddy devices

  C. shop assistants with computer knowledge are well paid

  D. average stores prefer the Concierge to the Buddy devices

4. What might be the most suitable title for the text?

  A. New age for supermarkets                 

B. Concierge and Shopping Buddy

  C. New computers make shopping carts smarter            

D. Touch-screen devices make shopping enjoyable

 

Supermarkets are trying out new computers that make shopping carts more intelligent(具备智能的). They will help shoppers find paper cups or toilet soap, and keep a record of the bill.

The touch-screen devices(触摸屏装置) are on show at the Food Marketing Institute’s exhibition here this week, “These devices are able to create value and get you around the store quicker,” said Michael Alexander, manager of Springboard Retail Networks Inc., which makes a smart cart computer called the Concierge.

Canadian stores will test the Concierge in July. A similar device, IBM’s “Shopping Buddy”, has recently been test-marketed at Stop & Shop stores in Massachusetts.

Neither device tells you how many fat grams or calories are in your cart, but they will flash you with items on sale. The idea is to make it easier for people to buy, not to have second thoughts that maybe you should put something back on the shelf.

“The whole model is driven by advertisers’ need to get in front of shoppers,” said Alexander. “They’re not watching 30-second TV ads anymore.”

People can use a home computer to make their shopping lists. Once at the store, a shopper can use a preferred customer card to start a system(系统) that will organize the trip around the store. If you’re looking for toothpicks, you type in the word or pick it from a list, and a map will appear on the screen showing where you are and where you can find them.

The device also keeps a record of what you buy. When you’re finished, the device figures out your bill. Then you go to the checker or place your card into a self-checkout stand and pay.

The new computerized shopping assistants don’t come cheap. The Buddy devices will cost the average store about $160,000, and the Concierge will cost stores about $500 for each device.

1. The underlined word “they” (paragraph 1) refers to ______.

A．supermarkets	B．shop assistants
C．shopping carts	D．shop managers

2. Which of the following is the correct order of shopping with computerized shopping carts?

a. Start the system.         b. Make a shopping list.

c. Find the things you want.   d. Go to a self-checkout stand.

A．abdc

B．bacd

C．acbd

D．bcad

3.We can learn from the last paragraph that ______.

A．intelligent shopping carts cost a large sum of money

B．the Concierge is cheaper than the Buddy devices

C．shop assistants with computer knowledge are well paid

D．average stores prefer the Concierge to the Buddy devices

4. What might be the most suitable title for the text?

A．New age for supermarkets

B．Concierge and Shopping Buddy

C．New computers make shopping carts smarter

D．Touch-screen devices make shopping enjoyable

 

  Windsurfing is a sport that combines sailing and surfing．In 1948，twenty-year-old Newman Darby first thought of using a handheld sail to contro1 a small boat．Darby did not apply for a patent(专利)for his design at first．However，he is recognized as the inventor of the first sailboard．

Californians Jim Drake，a sailor and engineer，and Hoyle Schweitzer，a surfer and skier received the patent for a sailboard．They called their design a windsurfer．The early windsurfer boards measured 3．5 meters long and weighed 60 pounds．Later in the l980s，Newman Darby did apply for and receive a design patent for a one—person sailboat．

  In the late l940s，Newman Darby found he could control a 3-meter-long sailboat and make turns even without a rudder(舵)．In l964 he designed the first universal joint(万向接头)to go along with a flat bottom sailing boat．This sailboard was equipped with a universal joint，a board and a kite—shaped free sail and thus windsurfing was born．

  Naomi Darby，Newman’s wife，was the first woman windsurfer and helped her husband build and design the first sailboard．She sailed while standing up，controlling the boat without the use of a rudder．She tilted(倾斜)the sail to change directions．This was something that had never been done before．

  Hoyle Schweitzer began producing sailboards in the early 1970s．The sport became very popular in Europe．By the late 1970s，windsurfing fever had Europe firmly in its grasp with one in every three families having a sailboard．

  The first windsurfing world championship was held in 1973．Windsurfing first became an Olympic sport for men in l984 and for women in l992．

1.Jim Drake and Hoyle Schweitzer received the patent for the design of      ．

    A．a sailboard called windsurfer    B．a kite—shaped free sail

    C．the first universal joint        D．a one—person sailboat

2.What can we learn from the text?  

    A．Hoyle Schweitzer was a sailor and Jim Drake was a surfer．

    B．Newman Darby’s wife supported him in his invention．

    C．Newman Darby was the first to tilt the sail to change directions．

    D．The first world windsurfing competition was held in the late l970s．

3.Which is the correct order of the following events?

  a．Newman Darby thought of controlling a boat with a handheld sail．

  b．Newman Darby received his design patent．

  c．Windsurfing became popular in Europe．

  d．Windsurfing became an Olympic sport for women．

  A．acbd    B．abcd    C．acdb     D．bacd

4.What is the main idea of the text?

  A．The invention of windsurfing． B．How windsurfing was popular in the world．

  C．The history of windsurfing．  D．How windsurfing became an Olympic sport．

 

 

Eddie’s father used to say he’d spent so many years by the ocean, breathing seawater. Now, away from that ocean, in the hospital bed, his body began to look like a beached fish. His condition went from fair to stable and from stable to serious. Friends went from saying, “He’ll be home in a day,” to “He’ll be home in a week.” In his father’s absence, Eddie helped out at the pier (码头), working evenings after his taxi job.

When Eddie was a teenager, if he ever complained or seemed bored with the pier, his father would shout, “What? This isn’t good enough for you?” And later, when he’d suggested Eddie take a job there after high school, Eddie almost laughed, and his father again said, “What? This isn’t good enough for you?” And before Eddie went to war, when he’d talked of marrying Marguerite and becoming an engineer, his father said, “What? This isn’t good enough for you?”

And now, regardless of all that, here he was, at the pier, doing his father’s labor.

Parents rarely let go of their children, so children let go of them. They move on. They move away. It is not until much later, as the heart weakens, that children understand: their stories, and all their accomplishments, sit on top of the stories of their mothers and fathers, stones upon stones, beneath the waters of their lives.

Finally, one night, at his mother’s urging, Eddie visited the hospital. He entered the room slowly. His father, who for years had refused to speak to Eddie, now lacked the strength to even try.

“Don’t sweat it, kid,” the other workers told him. “Your old man will pull through. He’s the toughest man we’ve ever seen.”

When the news came that his father had died, Eddie felt the emptiest kind of anger, the kind that circles in its cage.

         In the weeks that followed, Eddie’s mother lived in a confused state. She spoke to her husband as if he were still there. She yelled at him to turn down the radio. She cooked enough food for two. One night, when Eddie offered to help with the dishes, she said, “Your father will put them away.” Eddie put a hand on her shoulder. “Ma,” he said, softly, “Dad’s gone.”

         “Gone where?”

1.In Paragraph four, the writer indicates that __________.

A. Children like moving away from their parents

B. Children often feel regretful because they leave their parents

C. Children wouldn’t have achieved so much without their parents’ support

D. Children can never understand how much their parents have devoted to them

2. The underlined sentence “Don’t sweat it” (Para. 6) probably means __________.

A. Don’t touch it                                              B. Don’t give it up

C. Don’t let him down                                   D. Don’t worry about it

3.Which of the following shows the right order of the story?

a. Eddie’s father died.

b. Eddie married Marguerite.

c. Eddie worked as a taxi driver.

d. Eddie was bored with his father’s job.

A. dbca                        B. dcab                        C. bcda                        D. bacd

4.From the last paragraph, we learn that __________.

A. Eddie’s mother liked to listen to the radio

B. Eddie’s mother missed her husband so much that she was at a loss

C. Eddie and his wife lived in his mother’s apartment

D. Eddie often helped his mother wash the dishes