1 . I always felt sorry for the people in wheelchairs. Some people, old and weak, cannot get around by themselves. Others seem perfectly healthy, dressed in business suits. But whenever I saw someone in a wheelchair, I only saw a disability, not a person.Then I fainted (晕倒) at Euro Disney due to low blood pressure.This was the first time I had ever fainted, and my parents said that I must rest for a while after First Aid. I agreed to take it easy but,as I stepped towards the door, I saw my dad pushing a wheelchair in my direction. Feeling the colour burn my cheeks, I asked him to wheel that thing right back to where he found it.
I could not believe this was happening to me. Wheelchairs were fine for other people but not for me, as my father wheeled me out into the main street, people immediately began to treat me differently.Little kids ran in front of me, forcing my father to stop the wheelchair suddenly. Bitterness set in as I was thrown back and forth. “Stupid kids ... they have perfectly good legs. Why can’t they watch where they are going?” I thought. People stared down at me, with pity in their eyes. Then they would look away, maybe because they thought the sooner they forgot me the better.
“I’m just like you!” I wanted to scream. “The only difference is that you’ve got legs and I have wheels.
People in wheelchairs are not stupid. They see every look and hear each word. Looking out at the faces, I finally understood: I was once just like them. I treated people in wheelchairs exactly the way they did not want to be treated. I realised it is some of us with two healthy legs who are truly disabled.
1. Facing the wheelchair for the first time, the author .| A．felt curious about it |
| B．got ready to move around in it right away |
| C．thought it was ready for her father |
| D．refused to accept it right away |
| A．life is the best teacher |
| B．people often eat their bitter fruit |
| C．life is so changeable that nobody can predict |
| D．one should never do to others what he would not like others do to him |
| A．How to Get Used to Wheelchairs |
| B．Wheelchairs Are as Good as Two Legs |
| C．People with Two Legs Are Truly Healthy |
| D．The Difference Between Healthy People and the Disabled |
2 . Sammie Welch was traveling with her three-year-old son Ryan from Birmingham to Plymouth last Thursday. She tried to keep him entertained on the three-and-a-half-hour journey. “He was eating his dinner! We were laughing at the fact that he kept calling his grapes strawberries,” Ms Welch said. “We were playing together and I was trying to keep him quiet. He normally gets quite bored and rowdy on the train. So I was doing my best to entertain him as much as I could.”
After finishing his dinner, the boy tell asleep on the seat next to her mother. When a man boarded the crowded train, the mother pulled her son onto her lap (大腿). So the man could sit down. Ms Welch, an unemployed IT technician, made her son move for another passenger. After a few minutes, an unknown stranger walked past and handed Ms Welch a note and money before getting off the train straight away. In the note, the passenger called himself “Man on the train at table with glasses and hat”.He praised the mother’s behaviour and left her £5 to buy herself a drink.
Ms Welch, 23, who comes from Crewe but now lives in Plymouth, said she didn’t find out the stranger’s name and created a Facebook page to find him. “I never had the chance to thank him as he got off. And I couldn’t move due to my son being asleep on me,” She wrote on the social networking site. “I don’t think what I have done is a big matter. I would love to have the opportunity to thank this man personally. So I hope this message could help me find him.”
1. What was the aim of Ms Welch’s playing with Ryan?| A．Teaching the right name of grapes. | B．Feeding him as much as possible. |
| C．Making him feel fun on the train. | D．Letting him learn something new. |
| A．upset | B．smart |
| C．lucky | D．noisy |
| A．Because he wanted her seat. | B．Because she gave her drink to strangers. |
| C．Because she made room for another passenger. | D．Because she pulled her son on the table. |
3 . Money Doesn’t Buy Happiness
As part of the environmental group on campus, my friends and I recently invited a recent college graduate, Colin Davis, to lecture about his deeds in climate change.
Davis graduated from Trinity College last spring. Despite a tempting (诱人的) internship (实习期) from Goldman Sachs that thousands of people dream about. Davis chose to ride a bike across the US to interview environmental experts.
Davis wasn’t a born environmentalist. To prove his bike ride, he had to find a “trendy (新潮的), sexy and good cause”. The cause was climate change. But Davis became more concerned than ever about this issue after the cross-country bike ride. He read hundreds of books on climate change and environmental consulting. Now, he works for non-profitable organizations and serves as a consultant for energy efficiency.
One of his messages during his talk, “shopping with a moral in mind” occurred in my mind again and again throughout the day.
Facing two similar products in a market, do we stop and read the back before throwing the product into our cart (推车)? We all live in a fast-paced society, but it doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t take a minute to choose a product that’s safer for our bodies and better for the environment. Davis made me know how important it is to be a smart consumer, by supporting organic (有机的) food and green products instead of only looking at the brands.
With little age gap and his unique way of presenting serious messages in a light tone, Davis captured the attention of most non “hardcore (中坚的) environmentalists” students. Davis said. “Working for a good cause makes me feel better than being an investment (投资) banker.”
1. The bike ride across the US ________.| A．realized Davis’s long-time dream of finding out more about climate change |
| B．had Davis regretting refusing the internship from Goldman Sachs |
| C．made Davis all the more fascinated by the issue of climate change |
| D．satisfied Davis because he had made it trendy and profitable |
| A．one should be a smart consumer by calculating the product’s value against price |
| B．we should stop and read the instructions about calories or health ingredients |
| C．we should choose more environment-friendly products |
| D．it’s a good point to buy brand products |
| A．nowadays American young people prefer working for a good cause to a high-paid company |
| B．Davis did a great job in raising environmental awareness |
| C．you have to be rich enough to support organic food |
| D．brand products are not always quality products |
4 . My mother is 92. Unless I have to be out of town, each week I take my mother to do her
Last week she walked up to the store, but when she went to pay for her groceries, she was
At this store, people
My mother was so
So, whoever you are, thank you for the random act of
| A．exercise | B．housework | C．cooking | D．shopping |
| A．reward | B．medicine | C．company | D．shelter |
| A．return | B．collet | C．order | D．buy |
| A．short | B．cautious | C．wrong | D．concerned |
| A．aim | B．way | C．advice | D．reason |
| A．weight | B．things | C．mask | D．glasses |
| A．raise | B．add | C．bring | D．switch |
| A．show up | B．call in | C．check out | D．sit down |
| A．store | B．select | C．deliver | D．bag |
| A．stranger | B．cashier | C．friend | D．doctor |
| A．looked for | B．talked about | C．threw away | D．put back |
| A．receipt | B．soap | C．cash | D．bottle |
| A．asked | B．waited | C．cared | D．searched |
| A．repay | B．trust | C．recognize | D．help |
| A．luck | B．chance | C．gift | D．turn |
| A．surprised | B．amused | C．touched | D．convinced |
| A．in case | B．even if | C．as though | D．so that |
| A．energy | B．money | C．space | D．time |
| A．faith | B．courage | C．kindness | D．honor |
| A．made her day | B．changed her mind | C．caught her eye | D．met her demand |
5 . Jenifer Mauer has needed more willpower than the typical college student to pursue her goal of earning a nursing degree. That willpower bore fruit when Jennifer graduated from University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and became the first in her large family to earn a bachelor's degree.
Mauer, of Edgar, Wisconsin, grew up on a farm in a family of 10 children. Her dad worked at a job away from the farm, and her mother ran the farm with the kids. After high school, Jennifer attended a local technical college, working to pay her tuition(学费), because there was no extra money set aside for a college education. After graduation, she worked to help her sisters and brothers pay for their schooling.
Jennifer now is married and has three children of her own. She decided to go back to college to advance her career and to be able to better support her family while doing something she loves: nursing. She chose the UW-Eau Claire program at Ministry Saint Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield because she was able to pursue her four-year degree close to home. She could drive to class and be home in the evening to help with her kids. Jenifer received great support from her family as she worked to earn her degree: Her husband worked two jobs to cover the bills, and her 68-year-old mother helped take care of the children at times.
Through it all, she remained in good academic standing and graduated with honors. Jennifer sacrificed(牺牲)to achieve her goal, giving up many nights with her kids and missing important events to study. ''Some nights my heart was breaking to have to pick between my kids and studying for exams or papers,'' she says. However, her children have learned an important lesson witnessing their mother earn her degree. Jennifer is a first-generation graduate and an inspiration to her family-and that's pretty powerful.
1. What did Jennifer do after high school?| A．She helped her dad with his work. |
| B．She ran the family farm on her own. |
| C．She supported herself through college. |
| D．She taught her sisters and brothers at home. |
| A．To take care of her kids easily. | B．To learn from the best nurses. |
| C．To save money for her parents. | D．To find a well-paid job there. |
| A．Her health. | B．Her time with family. |
| C．Her reputation. | D．Her chance of promotion. |
| A．Time is money. | B．Love breaks down barriers. |
| C．Hard work pays off. | D．Education is the key to success. |
6 . I am an active playgoer and play-reader, and perhaps my best reason for editing this book is a hope of sharing my enthusiasm for the theater with others. To do this I have searched through dozens of plays to find the ones that I think best show the power and purpose of the short play.
Each play has a theme or central idea which the playwright(剧作家) hopes to get across through dialogue and action. A few characters are used to create a single impression growing out of the theme. It is not my intention to point out the central theme of each of the plays in this collection, for that would, indeed, ruin the pleasure of reading, discussing, and thinking about the plays and the effectiveness of the playwright. However, a variety of types is represented here. These include comedy, satire, poignant drama, historical and regional drama. To show the versatility(多面性) of the short play, I have included a guidance play, a radio play and a television play.
Among the writers of the plays in this collection, Paul Green, Susan Glaspell, Maxwell Anderson, Thornton Wilder, William Saroyan, and Tennessee Williams have all received Pulitzer Prizes for their contributions to the theater. More information about the playwrights will be found at the end of this book.
To get the most out of reading these plays, try to picture the play on stage, with you, the reader, in the audience. The houselights dim(变暗). The curtains are about to open, and in a few minutes the action and dialogue will tell you the story.
1. What do we know about the author from the first paragraph?| A．He has written dozens of plays. | B．He has a deep love for the theater. |
| C．He is a professional stage actor. | D．He likes reading short plays to others. |
| A．Stating the plays’ central ideas. | B．Selecting works by famous playwrights. |
| C．Including various types of plays. | D．Offering information on the playwrights. |
| A．Control their feelings. | B．Apply their acting skills. |
| C．Use their imagination. | D．Keep their audience in mind. |
| A．A short story. | B．An introduction to a book. |
| C．A play review. | D．An advertisement for a theater. |
7 . It was just after sunrise on a June morning. “Nicolo,” whose real name cannot be
When Nicolo retired and went to live in Sicily, he
“That’s the garden in our picture,”Nicolo’s son told his father. They
| A．attached | B．allocated | C．exposed | D．submitted |
| A．finished | B．delayed | C．considered | D．tried |
| A．attended | B．reserved | C．cancelled | D．run |
| A．shown | B．found | C．kept | D．hidden |
| A．nice | B．familiar | C．useful | D．real |
| A．battled | B．debated | C．discussed | D．bargain |
| A．held | B．left | C．registered | D．brought |
| A．chosen | B．received | C．ordered | D．moved |
| A．missed | B．failed | C．taken | D．led |
| A．concrete | B．unusual | C．unappealing | D．natural |
| A．appreciated | B．touched | C．researched | D．witnessed |
| A．painter | B．designer | C．author | D．actor |
| A．expected | B．surprised | C．anxious | D．ready |
| A．room | B．kitchen | C．hall | D．garden |
| A．apparently | B．confidently | C．eventually | D．temporarily |
| A．owned | B．borrowed | C．sold | D．stole |
| A．collected | B．cleaned | C．framed | D．studied |
| A．suitably | B．actually | C．rightly | D．specifically |
| A．girl | B．artist | C．family | D．police |
| A．copies | B．originals | C．models | D．presents |
8 . We have all heard how time is more valuable than money, but is it possible to have too much time?
I
When I got into college, things
One day I
would lose his
So, try
| A．remember | B．admit | C．understand | D．expect |
| A．watched | B．loved | C．coached | D．played |
| A．in person | B．right away | C．up close | D．in case |
| A．occurred | B．existed | C．changed | D．mattered |
| A．extra | B．difficult | C．valuable | D．limited |
| A．safety | B．achievement | C．emergency | D．direction |
| A．burden | B．relief | C．risk | D．habit |
| A．pushing | B．dismissing | C．setting | D．calling |
| A．hanging out | B．staying up | C．stepping up | D．showing off |
| A．met | B．helped | C．viewed | D．hired |
| A．raising | B．wasting | C．demanding | D．making |
| A．safe | B．important | C．boring | D．rewarding |
| A．with | B．without | C．for | D．within |
| A．luckily | B．hardly | C．hopefully | D．simply |
| A．childhood | B．college | C．town | D．business |
| A．quit | B．found | C．accepted | D．kept |
| A．ability | B．chance | C．drive | D．way |
| A．coming across | B．filling up | C．giving up | D．belonging to |
| A．message | B．story | C．saying | D．fact |
| A．brilliant | B．busy | C．optimistic | D．curious |
9 . A couple of weeks ago, my friend offered to sell some of our things for us. I thought it was a good opportunity to
The night before the
We put a price of $10 on it, but it didn't sell.So，after the sale was
Later that evening when I told my son how much money he had made at the sale, he was very
| A．clean | B．check | C．display | D．design |
| A．look for | B．go through | C．show off | D．deal with |
| A．refused | B．agreed | C．wrote | D．lied |
| A．trip | B．show | C．sale | D．decision |
| A．weak | B．small | C．new | D．thin |
| A．rode | B．found | C．watched | D．felt |
| A．doubted | B．knew | C．told | D．thought |
| A．time | B．chance | C．place | D．shape |
| A．also | B．never | C．still | D．hardly |
| A．ahead | B．on | C．near | D．over |
| A．said | B．repeated | C．copied | D．expressed |
| A．jumping | B．standing | C．walking | D．shouting |
| A．barely | B．usually | C．really | D．always |
| A．something | B．anything | C．everything | D．nothing |
| A．calm | B．scared | C．excited | D．disappointed |
| A．when | B．if | C．why | D．how |
| A．smile | B．worry | C．leave | D．cry |
| A．enjoyed | B．lost | C．bought | D．made |
| A．hear | B．understand | C．remember | D．think |
| A．interest | B．money | C．use | D．price |
