I am a taxi driver. One Monday morning, I had stopped at New York Hospital when I found a well-dressed man dashing down the steps. He was waving to me. I waited until he jumped into the cab. “ LaGuardia Airport, please,” he said.
As always, I wondered about my passenger. “ What do you do?” “ I am in the neurology department(神经内科) at the hospital.” For some unknown reason, I decided to ask for his help.
“ Could I ask a favor of you?” He didn’t answer. “ I have a son, 16. He’s doing well in school. He wants a job this summer. Is there any possibility that you might get him a summer job?” After a pause, he said, “ The medical students have a research project. Maybe he could fit in. Have him send me his school records.” He searched his pocket and handed me a card.
That evening, I pulled the card from my pocket. “ Robbie,” I announced proudly, “ this could be a summer job for you. Send him your school records.” He read it out loud, “ Fred Plum, New York Hospital.” “ Is this a joke?” he said in disbelief. After I shouted and threatened(恐吓) to cut off his pocket-money, Robbie promised to send off his grades the next morning.
Two weeks later, when I arrived home, my son handed me a letter from Plum. He was to phone Plum’s secretary for an interview.
Robbie got the job. The white coat he wore made him feel more important than he really was. As high school graduation neared, Plum was kind enough to write letters of recommendation(推荐) for universities. To our delight, Robbie was admitted to New York Medical College.
It never occurred to me that a stranger should change my son’s future.
1. Who does the underlined phrase “ a well-dressed man” in the first paragraph refer to?

A．The author.	B．Plum.
C．Robbie.	D．A patient.

2. The author threatened to cut off Robbie’s pocket-money probably because            .

A．he was tired after a day’s work

B．he didn’t earn enough money

C．Robbie was unwilling to work

D．Robbie didn’t believe what he said.

3. It can be inferred from the passage that Plum is            .

A．patient and selfless

B．generous and respectful

C．kind and helpful

D．wealthy and handsome

4. What message does the passage want to tell us?

A．A stranger may change your life.

B．One must be friendly to strangers.

C．A father should be responsible for his son.

D．Doctors may have a great effect on people.

There are some strange driving laws in different countries.

Countries	Laws
Vietnam	If you’re in Vietnam without a Vietnamese driver’s license, you risk a prison sentence of up to three years.
Russia	In Moscow, if your car is dirty enough to draw dust art, you will be fined about 2,000 rubles (about US 55 dollars). Worse yet, it’s illegal to wash your car by hand in public places – forcing you to take it to one of the few car wash facilities.
Thailand	Drivers – male or female – can’t drive shirtless whether it’s a car, bus, or a tuk-tuk cab.
France	France requires its drivers to carry a portable breathalyzer(便携式酒精测量仪) at all times when driving a car. The one-time breathalyzer cost around US 5 dollars, and if you don’t have one, you will be fined US 15 dollars.
Cyprus	Raising your hands in the car can get you fined of US 35 dollars. The law states a driver can be fined if the person “is in an irregular position inside the car or raises his hand from the steering wheel unnecessarily.”
Japan	Politeness isn’t just the culture in Japan; it is part of driving laws. Splashing(飞溅) a person by driving through a puddle（水坑) with your car will cost you over US 60 dollars. The country is also strict with its DUI (酒驾) laws – riding with or lending your car to a driver who gets caught drinking and driving can lead to a fine costing thousands of dollars.

5. Where should you go to wash your car when you are in Moscow?

A．The car wash facilities.	B．Any public place.
C．Your home.	D．The forest.

6. What can you get fined for in Cyprus?

A．Forgetting to carry a portable breathalyzer.

B．Not having a Cyprus driver’s license.

C．Putting your hands above your head.

D．Driving without a shirt.

7. If you are fined thousands of dollars in Japan, you may have been ________________.

A．in an irregular position in your car

B．sitting in a car with a drunk driver

C．splashing a person with mud

D．impolite to other drivers

8. This passage can most likely be found in __________.

A．a law document

B．a fashion magazine

C．an international newspaper

D．a book on interesting cultures

Parties and social gathering no longer excite us the same way they once did. This is not because of a lack of desire to socialize, but the mobile-phone.
At parties, more people are on their phones than on their drinks. According to a recent International Data Corporation Study, over half of all Americans have a smartphone and reach for it as soon as they wake up, keeping it in hand all day. In addition, too many people in society are using smartphones while driving and as a result, they get into car crashes. 34 percent of teenagers admit sending messages while driving, and they agree that sending messages is their number one driving interruption. People’s addiction(沉溺) to their smartphones is unbelievably becoming more important than the lives of themselves and others.
Just as drivers ignore the importance of focusing while on the road, many people also fail to recognize the importance of human communication. When with their friends, some people aimlessly check or send messages in front of a friend, which sends a message to that friend: the person I am texting is more important than you. In addition, relying on our smartphones to make friends does not give us the same advantage as being able to make new friendships in the real world. Face-to-face conversations will give us much stronger communication skills in the long run.
As many people risk their lives and the lives of people around them just to send a message or mindlessly check their messages, smartphones are in many ways more dangerous to people. The quality of this technology is preventing societal achievements and weakening the value of communication. Not only is the smartphone affecting our desire to communicate face to face, but it is also lowering society’s ability to communicate.
9. The purpose of the passage is to             .

A．call for an end to use the smartphone while driving

B．tell us to pay attention to communication skills

C．express a concern about the overuse of the smartphone

D．advise us to be careful about the addiction to face-to-face communication.

10. The second paragraph is developed by              .

A．giving examples	B．time order.
C．comparing facts	D．analyzing the effects

11. The author advises us to make new friends           .

A．by using smartphones	B．in a face-to-face way
C．in different ways	D．by writing letters.

12. Over-dependence on the smartphone leads to the fact that           .

A．parties and gathering limit their social circle.

B．people are more and more easy-going.

C．people’s communication skills are weakened.

D．face-to-face communication becomes more and more dangerous.

Even if trees cannot walk, they are still on the move.
In parts of the Arctic, entire forests are moving northward. Across the Arctic, temperatures are rising faster than anywhere else in the world. As that happens, the tree line that marks where forests stop and the treeless tundra(冻原) starts has been moving northward. Trees growing along the tree line must protect themselves from the cold wind. To do this, plants tend to grow horizontal(水平的) branches low to the ground. The energy it takes for trees to grow this way means they don’t have enough energy to make seeds.
But as Earth’s climate has been warming, trees no longer have to just grow horizontally. Many can instead grow up toward the sky. This takes less energy. This happens especially in places where white spruce(白云杉) grows. White spruce, which is a North American trees, is quite able to produce a lot of seeds, which can move long distances in the wind. When wind-blown seeds end up on the tundra beyond the tree line, they finally sprout(发芽) new trees. This explains how a forest can move. Of course, the process would work only if the tundra were warm enough. But in recent years, the whole planet has been warming.
New trees will provide shelter for some snow. Keeping the sun’s rays from making the white surface disappear. Instead, the trees absorb(吸收) the sun’s heat. This warms the air around. The extra warmth encourages even more trees to produce seeds. That further increases a forest’s ability to expand(扩展). What’s more, more trees will trap more snow, preventing much of it from being blown away. Snow can trap heat in the soil below, which encourages trees to grow. The recent rise of temperatures has helped more trees grow past the tree line. People worry about effects on the animals that depend on frozen conditions for food and shelter.
13. What is the main cause of the trees in the Arctic moving northward?

A．The reducing of northern tundra.

B．The rising temperature.

C．The cold and strong wind.

D．The rich resources in the north.

14. What does the underlined word “this” in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．To produce more seeds.

B．To move northward.

C．To respond to the climate change.

D．To protect themselves from the cold wind.

15. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A．New trees can trap the snow, which may make the soil colder.

B．The trapped snow prevents new trees from producing more seeds.

C．New trees can make the air around warmer.

D．New trees can bring more food and shelter to local animals.