After a terrible electrical accident, which caused him to become both blind and deaf, the whole world became completely dark and quiet for Robert Edwards for almost ten years. The loss of sight and hearing threw him into such sorrow that he tried a few times to put an end to his life. His family, especially his wife, did their best to tend and comfort him and finally he regained the will to live.
One hot summer afternoon, he was taking a walk with a stick near his house when a thunderstorm started all at once. He stood under a large tree to avoid getting wet, but he was struck by the lightning. Witnesses thought he was dead but he woke up some 20 minutes later lying face down in muddy water at the base of the tree. He was trembling badly, but when he opened his eyes, he could hardly believe what he saw: a plough and a wall. When Mrs. Edwards came running up to him, shouting to their neighbors to call for help, he could see her and hear her voice for the first time in nearly ten years.
The news of Robert regaining his sight and hearing quickly spread, and many doctors came to examine him. Most of them said that he regained his sight and hearing from the shock he got from the lightning. However, none of them could give a convincing answer as to why this should have happened. The only reasonable explanation given by one doctor was that, since Robert lost his sight and hearing as a result of a sudden shock, perhaps, the only way for him to regain them was by another sudden shock.
1. The reason for Robert’s attempts to kill himself was that ________.| A．he had to live in a dark and silent world | B．a terrible traffic accident happened to him |
| C．he was struck by the lightning once more | D．nobody in the world cared about him |
| A．Sheltering from the rain under a tree. | B．Driving a car. |
| C．Taking a walk with a stick. | D．Lying on the ground. |
| A．Robert’s wife sent for doctors immediately after the shock |
| B．many doctors came because Robert was badly injured |
| C．there was no accurate explanation for Robert’s recovery |
| D．a sudden injury in the head led to Robert’s recovery |
| A．Robert had been deaf and blind for nearly ten years. |
| B．Robert hid himself under the tree for 20 minutes. |
| C．Robert could hear his wife's shouting for help when he woke up. |
| D．The family's love helped Robert regain confidence to live. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】I was deeply moved by the kindness of an elderly flower seller at Sydney’s Central Station one evening.
I was feeling as cold as the winter winds quickening the steps of the people who buried chins (下巴) in scarves and hands deep into coat pockets. In many ways, 2018 had proven an arduous year. My teenage daughter had left home for university, my job of 23 years was no more, and a creative project I’d given my all to for years had also been suddenly called off. I also found out a person I considered a friend was far from it.
A year earlier, I’d dreamt about an earthquake. In the dream, a red light flashed inside a building and then the earth began to rock. Walls fell down on me as I ran into the open, feeling sorry for the people I hadn’t loved enough. Before I was buried completely by the falling world, I shouted, “Abuelo, ayúdame!” in my native Spanish, “Grandfather, help me!”
Now, with the very real aftershocks of a series of unexpected endings, I walked into a little flower shop to buy a gift for a friend. The gentleman at the shop looked at me and turned away for a moment, returning with a fragrant flower. “For you. You need to smile today,” he said in a rich and beautiful accent, offering me the flower with eyes full of care. It took all my strength not to cry. Then he gave me a grandfatherly hug that made me want to tell him everything.
Instead, I thanked him and headed for the train. “How did he know?” I wondered. For the first time in weeks, I felt hope.
1. The underlined word in the second paragraph means “________”.| A．puzzled | B．mixed | C．meaningful | D．hard |
| A．An earthquake that the author came across before. |
| B．The help that the author got from his grandfather. |
| C．A detailed description of the author’s dream. |
| D．The author’s sorry thoughts for the people he hadn’t loved enough. |
| A．A series of unexpected things. |
| B．The idea of sending a gift to a friend. |
| C．The gentleman in the flower shop. |
| D．The fragrant flowers in the shop. |
| A．Because the gentleman gave the author a grandfatherly hug. |
| B．Because the gentleman showed his concern for the author. |
| C．Because the gentleman at the shop sent him a fragrant flower. |
| D．Because the gentleman said some words in a rich and beautiful accent. |
【推荐2】On James Owen’s 70th birthday, he saw a video of himself walking slowly to the podium (讲台) where he was giving a talk. his feet hardly off the ground. “I looked like an old man. said Owen, who built a successful career on Wall Street. Even worse. he felt like an old man.
He was about 25 pounds overweight and he had chronic trouble with his back knees, and shoulders. But instead of giving in to age, Owen decided to set an ambitious five-year goal: He wanted to be pain-free,and he decided the way to get there was through exercise-even though at the time he couldn’t do a single push-up.
Owen began his new exercise plan by walking, though he started huffing and huffing after five minutes.But that didn’t discourage him. He kept at the walks every day, along with some stretching. Once he had those basics down, he started weight lifting and hired a personal trainer to teach him and design a routine he could follow on his own. The last piece was finding other activities he enjoyed, which turned out to be cycling and swimming.
In less than five years, Owen was able to do three sets of 50 push-ups each and walk for miles each day. And yes, he was free of aches and pains. “Aging well is only about 20 to 25 percent genes, and the rest is lifestyle,” he says.
Owen used his experience to write a book called Just Move:A New Approach to Fitness After 50, in which he details how older adults can safely get off the couch and add more movement to their lives. “Think of it as movement, not exercise, just get started,” he says. “The key is slow and steady progress.”
Now 81 and retired, Owen exercises an hour a day, six days a week. “It is the best investment I’ve ever made in my life,” he says.
1. Why did Owen decide to set a five-year goal?| A．To keep healthy. | B．To build a career. |
| C．To lose weight. | D．To give a talk. |
| A．Tough and discouraging. | B．Boring and painstaking. |
| C．Slow but productive. | D．complex but ineffective. |
| A．It’s better to get started earlier |
| B．Successful careers need investment |
| C．Genes play a key role in aging well |
| D．Lifestyle is vital for one’s health |
| A．Negative | B．Positive | C．Neutral | D．Indifferent |
【推荐3】Everybody has one of those days when everything goes wrong. This is what happened to Harry.
He got up one morning very late because he had forgotten to wind up (设定) his alarm clock. He tried to shave（刮脸）quickly and cut himself. When he got dressed he got blood all over his clean shirt, so he had to find another one. The only other shirt that was clean needed ironing（熨烫）, so he ironed it. While he was ironing it, there was a knock at the door. It was the man to read the electricity meter（电表）. He showed him where the meter was, said good-bye and found that the iron had burnt a hole in his shirt. So he had to wear the one with the blood on it after all. By this time it was very late, so he decided he couldn’t go to work by bus. He telephoned for a taxi to take him to work. The taxi arrived and Harry got in and began to read the newspaper.
In another part of the town, a man had killed a woman with a knife and was seen to run away in a taxi. When Harry’s taxi stopped outside his office, a policeman happened to be standing there. He saw the blood on Harry’s shirt, and took him to the police station. He was kept till 3 o'clock in the afternoon before the police were sure that he was not the man they wanted. When he finally arrived at the office at about four, his boss took a look at him and told him to go away and find another job.
1. Harry had _________________.| A．a lucky day | B．an unlucky day |
| C．a busy day | D．a good day |
| A．The iron had burnt a hole in his clean shirt. |
| B．The only other needed ironing. |
| C．He had only one shirt. |
| D．He cut himself and got blood all over his shirt. |
| A．his taxi stopped outside his office and a policeman happened to be there |
| B．there was blood on his shirt and he was in a taxi |
| C．a man killed a woman with a knife |
| D．the murderer was seen to run away in a taxi |
| A．he had been kept by the police | B．there was blood on his shirt |
| C．he was late for work | D．he had killed a woman |
【推荐1】There were already signs that Michael Jordan was very talented as a young boy. Harvest Smith, a good friend, played basketball with him every day then, and thought he was the best player on their ninth-grade team.
The summer after ninth grade, Jordan and Smith both went to the Pop Herring’s basketball camp to run for the high school team. All the other students looked much stronger than Jordan, because they were two or three years older than him. To Smith, it was quite clear that Jordan was better than him. But on that day the results were announced. Smith’s name was on the list. Jordan’s was not.
It was the worst day of Jordan’s young life. He kept reading the list, hoping that he had missed it, or that there was something wrong with the list. That day he went home and cried. “We knew Jordan was good,” Fred Lynch, a coach said later, “but we thought the jayvee (学校运动队第二队) was much better for him.” Jordan became the best player on the jayvee that year. There were matches in which he could get forty scores. He was so good that the jayvee matches became quite popular.
Smith found that Jordan had been very competitive before he was cut, and after that he seemed even more competitive than ever. His coaches found it, too. “One day, the jayvee had a match. When I came into the gym, the match was just ending up. Their scores fell behind a lot. All the other nine players had given up, but one kid still played very hard. It was Jordan, and I quickly learned he was always like that.”
Some time later, Laney High School had a very good basketball team, and its rising star was Michael Jordan.
1. Why did Jordan go to the Pop Herring’s basketball camp?| A．To stay with his best friend. | B．To join the high school team. |
| C．To prove he was the best player. | D．To be a rising basketball star. |
| A．His name wasn’t on the list of the high school team. |
| B．His friend was chosen by the high school team. |
| C．He was badly hurt when he played basketball. |
| D．There was something wrong with the name list. |
| A．Everyone on the team liked Jordan. | B．There were not any matches that year. |
| C．The jayvee matches became quite popular. | D．Jordan got all the scores in the matches. |
| A．Jordan got an overnight success. | B．Jordan was still on the jayvee some time later. |
| C．Jordan became a basketball star in the world. | D．Jordan was a member of the high school team. |
I was pretty shocked when I first stepped onto the campus. Well, it's not even really a campus. It's more like a district in a small town.
Harvard's main buildings are from the 18th century. They look very old and simple. You might even say they're a little shabby. They don't fit the modern idea of university at all. The buildings are surrounded by grass and trees, so I felt as if I had walked into a medieval castle. But when I looked across the street, busy shops and in-fashion students made me feel like I was in the 21st century again. It creates a strong contrast and brings a special atmosphere to the school.
Our tour guide Gary took us around and told us: "You see this grass field in the center of the school? Here is where they host their graduation ceremony. They just set up tents and benches and have a very simple ceremony. Unbelievable! Who would think the most talented students just graduate on the lawn?
I saw some students put a blanket on the grass and lie down to read a book. When I listened to the soft sound of pages turning, along with chirping of the birds, I felt very calm. There was no competitive feeling at all.
Harvard has the world's first computer in its science center and there are hundreds of high-end computers too. Its religion and the literature departments are also among the best. It is the perfect mix of tradition and new technology. It makes Harvard a very attractive place to study in.
I hope one day I'll attend my dream school—Harvard.
1. The article is mainly about_____________.
| A．the author's campus life in Harvard | B．the author's impression of Harvard |
| C．Harvard's old buildings | D．the academic system at Harvard |
| A．Harvard's mix of tradition and new technology |
| B．the classes held on beautiful lawns at Harvard |
| C．Harvard students not taking their graduation ceremony seriously |
| D．the feeling of not living in modern society on the campus |
| A．Harvard campus is actually a district of a big city. |
| B．There are no competitions at Harvard University. |
| C．Graduation ceremonies are not complex at Harvard. |
| D．All Harvard buildings date back to the 18th century. |
| A．Literature, arts, and law. | B．Religion, law and arts. |
| C．Literature, arts and computer science. | D．Religion, computer science and literature. |
【推荐3】I grew up in a remote mountain town in the Philippines. My family led a fairly idyllic life, raising goats and growing vegetables and fruits. My brothers and I would play in the nearby river and mountains, reading and doing all the fun things in the nature without worries.
Later I went to college abroad, and I would go back about once a year to visit. That’s when I started to notice changes in my hometown. I watched the river turn from clear to brown to black. Houses and farms replaced the trees. There was smog, and plastic garbage piled up. Seeing my childhood home go from a clean mountain town to a deforested, polluted, and overcrowded place really impacted me. Over time, I began to see my hometown as a place of unsustainable development.
While I worked on addressing deforestation with the United Nations in Indonesia, I vividly remembered seeing forests burned into black landscapes as far as the eye could see. Experiences like that have both terrified me and lit a fire within me to work harder. Thankfully, I began to see that there is another path. I saw success stories in places I worked-Indonesia, Costa Rica, Ecuador-places that are investing in nature and changing the culture and the mindset of what development looks like. I saw places realizing not only economic benefits-from, say, tourism—but also more benefits of ecosystem services.
The work of WWF and other organizations is critical in promoting success stories according to their local context. Each community, region, and country is different, so solutions must meet their different needs. Coming from a rural community in a developing country gave me a clear outlook on addressing ecology and sustainability issues and is something I carry with me in my work.
1. What does the underlined word “idyllic” in paragraph I mean?| A．Simple and peaceful. | B．Busy and noisy. |
| C．Quiet and boring. | D．Tough and tiring. |
| A．Smog and garbage in the city. |
| B．Beautiful rivers in different colors. |
| C．Houses and farms in foreign countries. |
| D．Damaged environment in his hometown. |
| A．Success stories he learned. | B．Economic benefits from tourism. |
| C．Some disasters he witnessed. | D．Slow development of his hometown. |
| A．Communities are faced with common challenges. |
| B．People have different outlooks on rural development. |
| C．Ecology issues should be addressed locally and differently. |
| D．Organizations play the most important role in sustainability. |
【推荐1】Whenever the sun dropped and the blue sky came up, my father and I used to climb the mountain near my house. Walking together, my father and I used to have a lot of conversations through which I learned lessons from his experiences. He always told me, “You should have goals like climbing the mountain.” Without the mountain-climbing that we both enjoyed, we couldn’t have enough time to spend together because my father was very busy. I really got a lot from the mountain-climbing. It gave me time to talk with my father and to be in deep thought as well as develop my patience.
Once we climbed a very high mountain. It was so challenging for me because I was only ten years old. During the first few hours of climbing, I enjoyed the flowers and trees, and the birds singing. But as time passed, I got a pain in both of my legs. I wanted to quit climbing. In fact, I hated it at that moment, but my father said to me, “You can always see a beautiful sky at the top of the mountain, but you can’t see it before you reach the top. Only there at the top, can you see all of the nice things, which is just like your life.”
At that time, I was too young to understand his words. But later after that, I got new hope and confidence. I found myself standing at the top of the sky, which was as clear as crystal(水晶).
1. Why couldn’t the writer and his father have enough time to spend together?| A．Because the writer was very busy. | B．Because both of them had no time. |
| C．Because they didn`t live together. | D．Because the writers father was very busy. |
| A．was hard | B．was enjoyable | C．was terrible | D．took too much time |
| A．though the writer was young, he could understand his father. |
| B．the writer didn’t reach the top of the mountain. |
| C．the writer was very successful in his life. |
| D．the writer suddenly felt he wasn’t a child any more. |
The idea had come to me as I listened to a talk on my car radio. The speaker was quoting (引用) a Biblical (圣经的) passage about husbands being thoughtful（体贴的） of their wives. Then he went on to say," Love is an act of will. A person can choose to love." To myself, I had to admit that I had been a selfish husband. Well , for two weeks that would change.
And it did. Right from the moment I kissed Evelyn at the door and said," That new yellow sweater looks great on you."
"Oh, Tom, you noticed," she said, surprised and pleased, maybe a little puzzled.
After the long drive, I wanted to sit and read. Evelyn suggested a walk on the beach. I started to refuse, but then I thought, "Evelyn's been alone here with the kids all the week and now she wants to stay with me. " We walked on the beach while the children flew their kites.
So it went. Two weeks of not calling the Wall Street firm where I am a director; a visit to the shell museum though I usually hate museums. Relaxed and happy, that's how the whole vacation passed, I made a new pledge to keep on remembering to choose love. There was
“What’s the matter?” I asked her.
“ Tom ,” se said in a voice filled with distress, “ do you know something I don’t?”
"What do you mean?"
"Well...that checkup(体检) I had several weeks ago...our doctor...did he tell you something about me? Tom , you've been so good to me... am I dying?"
It took a moment for it all to sink in. Then I burst out laughing.
"No, honey," I said, wrapping her in my arms. "You're not dying; I'm just staring to live."
1. In the first paragraph, "No ifs, ands or buts" probably means___.
| A．unnecessarily | B．unexpectedly | C．impossibly | D．unconditionally |
| A．with his family | B．with Evelyn | C．alone | D．with his children |
| A．she looked lovely in her new clothes |
| B．he had made a lot of money in Wall Street |
| C．he was determined to be a good husband |
| D．she was seriously ill |
| A．he praised her sweater, which puzzled her |
| B．she insisted on visiting a museum, which he hated |
| C．he knew something about her illness but didn't tell her |
| D．he was so good to her that she thought she must be dying |
| A．he is just beginning to understand the real meaning of life |
| B．he is just beginning to enjoy his life as a loving husband |
| C．he lived an unhappy life before and is now starting to change |
| D．he is beginning to feel regretful for what he did to his wife |
【推荐3】The moonlight poured in through the windows, lighting the room. Oliver was sitting at the table, totally absorbed in his book. Oliver was a book fan. He read books whenever he could. Grandma Agnes felt sorry for Oliver when she heard him talk enthusiastically about the books he read because they were poor. She knew the money she gave him for lunch was spent on those books instead.
The next day, on the bus, Oliver was reading his storybook again when he heard a noise and raised his eyes. He saw the bus driver shouting at a blind older woman. She explained to the driver that her daughter was ill in hospital, and that she forgot to bring her purse. The driver mistakenly believed that she was making excuses to avoid paying the bus ticket! Knowing she wouldn’t be able to persuade the driver, the older woman was about to get off the bus, when Oliver stepped in.
“I’ll pay for her fare, sir!” he said. Then Oliver helped the blind older woman into the seat next to him and paid her fare. When he returned to his seat, the woman said to him, “Thank you, little kid, you have a sweet voice!”
“I’m a big boy! And my name is Oliver, ” Oliver said proudly. “I’m Mary,” the older woman introduced herself and expressed her gratitude for helping her. Although Oliver had planned to use the money to buy the next book in the series he was reading, he couldn’t bear to see Mary in trouble.
They had a chat before Oliver’s stop arrived. Oliver liked Mary because she reminded him of the person he loved deeply. When he talked with her, she listened to him with the same patience as Grandma Agnes.
1. Why did Grandma Agnes feel sorry for Oliver?| A．She was too poor to buy him books. | B．She heard him talk about his lunch. |
| C．He spent too much time in reading. | D．He cared little about on his health. |
| A．By giving his seat. | B．By shouting at the driver. |
| C．By talking with her. | D．By buying her the ticket. |
| A．He is brave and moody. | B．He is lucky and creative. |
| C．He is helpful and generous. | D．He is kind and successful. |
| A．His Mum. | B．His grandma. | C．His sister. | D．His patient. |
