One day when I was driving on the freeway, I noticed all the way there were large dividing walls, which had been built between it and the road running parallel to it, for noise reduction (减少) and a sense of separation. The purpose was to create a sense of privacy (隐私) for people on the other side.

This got me thinking: How often do we put up mental barriers that keep us distant from others? Lifting the artificial barriers that keep us apart can offer opportunities to express our goodwill and create better relationships. If we can do like this, maybe our life will be a little different.

There is a little post office in a nearby town, and since it is closer to me than the post office in my own town, I go there. One day, with many people jammed into the little building, a man came hurrying in to mail a letter, and the girl at the counter saw he had too little postage on it. She told him he needed 2 more cents. Obviously he was a little at a loss. He had hurried over from his office, and didn’t have any money on him or time to stand in line. He was going to run back to get the needed money and wait in line again, but he hurried to get the letter mailed in the first place.

As we were watching him, one woman volunteered a two-cent stamp, and the whole line became very quiet. It was a beautiful moment. The man hesitated for a little while and asked her if she was sure, and she assured him she was fine with giving him the stamp. He offered to go back to his office to get the two cents, and she told him not to bother.

It was a small thing, but it meant something to both of the people involved, and to the rest of us. We aren’t a yard that needs defining or a freeway that needs barriers. We are human beings who can contribute to each other’s wellbeing by taking time to pay attention and interact. After all, we are all parts of a whole living in society.

1.The purpose of the first paragraph is to __________.

A. summarize the main idea

B. give detailed information

C. tell readers the author’s opinion

D. introduce the topic

2.What happened after the man being told he needed two more cents?

A. The man went back to his office immediately.

B. The man turned to a lady for help.

C. A woman offered a stamp to the man.

D. The man waited in line patiently.

3.What can we learn about the author?

A. She pays too much attention to privacy.

B. She believes people should participate in the world around them.

C. She confuses real barriers with false ones.

D. She insists all small things always have the greatest meaning.

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

A. Artificial Barriers                                      B. Unnecessary Separation

C. An Unforgettable Experience                 D. The Kindness of People

Once there was a man who lied to eat mangoes. One day he decided to get the sweetest mango from the very top of the tree. Mangoes which are exposed to the sun the most are the sweetest.

So he climbed up to the top, where the branches were thin. He managed to pick up a few sweet reddish fruits, but, in an attempt to climb down, he slipped and started falling towards the ground. Fortunately, he caught the branch as he was falling and remained helplessly hanging on the tree. Then he started to call nearby villagers for help. They immediately came with a ladder and sticks, but could do little to help him.

Then after some time one calm and thoughtful person arrived - a well-known sage who lived in a simple hut nearby. People were very curious to see what he would do, as he was famous in solving many people’s problems in the area and sometimes very complicated ones.

He was silent for a minute and then picked up a stone and threw it at the hanging man.

Everybody was surprised. The hanging mango lover started to shout: What are you doing?! Are you crazy? Do you want me to break my neck?”  The sage was silent. Then he took another stone and threw it at the man. The man was very angry: “If I could just come down, I would show you!”

That’s what everybody wanted - that he came down. But how? Now everybody was tense, as to what would happen next! Some wanted to chastise the sage, but they didn’t. The sage picked another stone and threw it again at the man, even more forcefully. Now the man on the tree was enraged and developed a great determination to come down and take revenge.（复仇）

He then used all his skill and strength and somehow reached the branches which were safe to start going down. And he made it! Everybody was amazed.

However, the rescued man found the sage gone. He stood there, realizing that the man really sed him because he induced（引诱）him to try his best and save himself.

“I should be thankful and not angry.”

1.From the story we know that the sweetest mango must be the one        .

A．on the very top of the a tree

B．hidden in the middle of a tree

C．on the tree for the longest time

D．exposed to sunlight less often

2.What happened after he had picked a few sweet reddish mangoes?

A．He slipped and fell to the ground suddenly.

B．He was climbing down quickly but carefully.

C．He remained hanging helplessly on the tree.

D．He shouted loudly for help but no one helped.

3.How did the man feel when the sage hit him with a stone?

A．He was nervous.                        B．He kept silent.

C．He felt surprised.                       D．He was angry.

4.What do you think motivated the man to climb down?

A．Courage.          B．Revenge.          C．Carefulness.       D．Assistance.

5.What does the story imply?

A．Anger saves one’s life.                  B．Wisdom does count.

C．Skill and strength count.                  D．Anger is the biggest enemy.

Los Angeles June 14, 2006 – Hollywood actress Daryl Hannah was arrested yesterday after spending two weeks sitting in a walnut tree on an urban farm a few kilometers from downtown Los Angeles. She was one of 40 people, including celebrities from the music and movie world, who were protesting at the proposed destruction of the 14 – acre farm. Police officers cut away branches from the tree and used a fire engine to reach Ms Hannah and her co – protester, environmentalist John Quigley. The two of them raised their fists in defiance（反抗）as they were removed.
Protesters, some of whom had chained themselves to concrete –filled barrels（桶），said that it was essential to keep the farm operating, as it provided food for hundreds of poor families in the area. About 350 people grow produce and flowers on the farm, which has been there for more than a decade and is situated in an inner –city area surrounded by warehouses and railroad tracks. However, the local authority recently approved plans for the area to be cleared and redeveloped for the construction of a huge new warehouse.
Ms Hannah, 45, star of films such as Splash and Kill Bill was not thrilled about being arrested. “But I felt it was important to show my support for the people,” she said. “This farm should be a model for sustainable (可持续的) urban agriculture. It needs to be replicated, not eradicated.”
The record length for a tree protest is held by a woman called Julia Hill, who remained on top of a 30-metre-high redwood tree in Northern California for 738 days from December 1997 to December 1999. She was successful in saving the tree and those around it from destruction. Ms Hill was also at the Los Angeles urban farm project this week, but her presence failed to stop the inevitable (不可避免的). No sooner had the protesters been removed than earth-moving machines moved in and began to clear the land.

1.The Beijing-Shanghai High Speed Railway was put into operation at the end of __, 2011.

A．June             B．July              C．August            D．September

2.Shanghai Disneyland will open ___________.

A．on April 8, 2011                        B．in 2012

C．on May 8, 2012                         D．in 2016

3.Which of the following is TRUE about Shanghai Disneyland?

A．A 10-kilometer-long river goes in the middle of the park.

B．There will be many Chinese characters.

C．It is the same as the others.

D．It opened 5 years ago.

4.In order to keep the road safe, European Commission wants to

A．make buses and taxis go slowly.

B．fit buses and taxis with "black boxes".

C．make the police find out what happened.

D．find out what "black boxes" can do.

5.According to the news, we can learn___________

A．Now we are able to enjoy a Disney Park in Shanghai.

B．The black boxes can help the police predict what will happen.

C．The passenger volume can reach 380 million a year.

D．“The most beautiful teacher” Zhang Lili is our good example.

D
Equipped only with a pair of binoculars(双筒望远镜) and ready to spend long hours waiting in all weathers for a precious glance of a rare bullfinch(红腹灰雀), Britain’s birdwatchers had long been supposed to be lovers of a minority sport. But new figures show bird-watching is fast becoming a popular pastime, with almost three million of us absorbed in our fluttering feathered friends.
Devoted birdwatchers, those prepared to travel thousands of miles for sighting of a rare Siberian bird, are fast being joined by a new breed of follower whose interest is satiated by watching a few finches(雀科鸣鸟) on a Sunday walk or putting up a bird-box in the back garden.
“Almost three million UK birdwatchers is certainly possible if you include everyone with only a casual interest,” Stephen Moss said in his newly published book.—A bird in the Bush: a Social History of Birdwatching — which records the pursuit from the rich Victorian Englishman’s love of shooting rare birds to the less offensive observational tendencies of birdwatchers today.
Television wildlife programmes have helped to fuel the new trend. Last summer, BBC 2’s Britain Goes Wild was a surprise success. It pulled in three million views and led to bird-houses selling out across the UK as 45,000 people promised to put up a box.
Birdwatchers networking system first came to the attention of the nation in 1989, when a birdwatcher caught sight of the first Vermivora chrysoptera—a golden-winged songbird from North America—to be seen in Britain. He put a message out on the network service Birdline, and the next day 3,000 birdwatchers proved the full pull of a truly rare bird as they visited the Tesco car park in Kent., where it had settled. Today, birdwatchers can log on to www.birdline.co.uk or have news of the latest sighting texted to their phones.
“Multimillion-pound spending on binoculars, bird food and boxes point to the increasing numbers of birdwatchers.” Said David Croack, the editor of Bird Watching magazine “The number of people involved is so big that they have great potential to influence government decisions affecting the environment.”
68. The word “satiated” in paragraph 2 can best be replaced by “______”.
A. affected                   B. shared     C. satisfied     D. narrowed
69. What happened after the message of seeing a Vermivora Chrysoptera was put on the network?
A. Birdwatchers helped the rare bird settle in Kent.
B. Large numbers of birdwatchers went to view the bird.
C. Many birdwatchers logged on to the website for details.
D. Birdwatchers showed their determination to protect the rare bird.
70. Which of the following CANNOT be true according to the passage?
A. Television wildlife programmes started the popular pastime of birdwatching.
B. The network service has contributed to the rapid development of birdwatching.
C. Birdwatching in Britain was long considered a sport with a small group of followers.
D. The current situation of birdwatching may promote the protection of the environment.
71. The passage mainly tells us about _______ in UK.
A. the history of birdwatching.                B. a growing passion for birdwatching
C. the impact of media on birdwatching          D. birdwatching as a popular expensive sport