The car has many advantages. Above all, it offers people freedom to go where they want to go, when they want to go there. The basic purpose of a car is to get from point A to point B as cheaply, quickly, and safely as possible. However, to most people, cars are also personal dream machines that serve as symbols of power, success, speed, excitement, and adventure. In addition, much of the world’s economy is built on producing cars and supplying roads, services, and repairs for those cars. Half of the world’s paychecks are cars related. In the United States, one of every six dollars spent and one of every six nonfarm jobs are connected to cars or related industries, such as oil, steel, rubber, plastics, car services , and highway construction.

In spite of their advantages, cars have many harmful effects on human lives and on air, water, land, and wildlife resources. The car may be the most destructive machine ever invented. Riding in cars is one of the most dangerous things we do in our daily lives. Since 1885, when Karl Benz built the first car, almost 18 million people have been killed by cars. Every year, cars and trucks worldwide kill an average of 250,000 people. Half of the world’s people will be involved in the tragic car accident--- at some time during their lives.

In 1907, the average speed of horse-drawn cars through New York City was 18.5 kilometers per hour. Today, cars and trucks with the power of 100 to 300 horses travel very slowly along New York City streets at an average speed of 8 kilometers per hour.

Streets that used to be for people are now for cars. Pedestrians and bicyclists in the streets suffer a lot from noise, pollution, stress, and danger.

Cars are the largest source of air pollution. In the United States, they produce at least 50% of the country’s air pollution. What do you think should be done?

1．Which question is NOT answered in the passage?             

       A．How many people work in jobs related to the car industry?

       B．When was the first car built?

       C．Why are there so many car accidents every year?

       D．What effect do the cars have on the environment?

2．We can know from the passage that cars        .      

       A．play an important part in the world’s economy

       B．are becoming less dangerous

       C．will produce less air pollution in the future

       D．are the most dangerous machines ever invented

3．Which of the following statements can be inferred from the passage?      

       A．Today, there are no horse-drawn vehicles in New York City.

       B．It takes longer to get around New York City today than in the past.

       C．In 1907, the streets in New York City were wider and in better condition.

       D．People will use horse-drawn cars in the near future.

4．What would be the best title for the passage?

     A．Cars---Number One Killer                  B．The Effect of Cars on the Air

     C．Advantages and Disadvantages of cars        D．Cars---Status Symbol

B
He is a lesson to every boy who ever picked up a basketball and dreamed that it would change his life.
The lights were never brighter and the crowds were never bigger for a homegrown sports hero than they were a quarter-century ago for Ray Hall. But his athletic achievements, as impressive as they are, are to my mind not what is most admirable about the man.
Known as “Sugar Ray” in his teens, Hall was rated among the country’s top 25 high school basketball players. An inner-city kid from a solid family, Hall took on the challenge of lifting Canisius College — still recovering from its failure — back to respectability, rejecting more favorable offers. His status of a savior (救世主) brought more pressure than any 18-year-old should have to handle. However, I watched him mature into the player who led Canisius back to daylight.
After college Hall played professionally in Italy and Greece for over 10 years until a car accident at 32 ended his basketball career. The news that he would never play again shocked Hall but unlike so many others he was ready for life after basketball. When I met Hall — still fit at 46 — for lunch Monday, he wore a cut-sharp gray suit, designer tie and blazing white shirt that screamed Success. “That was always the question — when the cheers end, where do you go? Who do you turn to?” he said. “It starts and ends with that person in the mirror.”
Hall got the concept of academics-first from his parents. He graduated from Canisius a semester early. “No matter how good of an athlete you are, you are just one injury away from losing it all,” he said. “But if you take care of things academically, you are prepared until you leave this earth.”
For the past 14 years, he has been in a computer sales job at Ingram Micro. He married his college sweetheart. They have three kids and a nice house in the suburbs. He figured out early what others learn too late: Athletics is part of a journey, not the destination.
Congratulations, Ray, you made it. In more ways than one.          
【小题1】Ray was regarded as a savior because ________.

When the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, Leonard Bernstein gave a concert in Berlin, including Beethoven's Ode to Joy, with the word "Joy" changed to "Freedom" in the lyrics sung．The orchestra（管弦乐队）were drawn from both East and West Germany, as well as the United Kingdom, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States．

Freedom was in the air and it was not just for people． The wall between East and West Germany had also kept a large population of wild pigs within the eastern forests of Brandenburg．The wall's falling down made it easier for the big pigs—a very big one can weigh over 300 pounds—to leave the woodlands and walk into the town． Warm winters and easy access to food have helped the population increase． Now about 10,000 wild pigs walk around Berlin．

The nature of the beast has added to the boom（兴旺）．"The pigs are intelligent," says Marc Franusch, a spokesman for the Berlin forestry department． "They learn to use the neighborhoods．They get used to people, dogs, and traffic．"  

The wild pigs tend to travel in small groups and have been found searching rubbish and gardens, feeding their piglets（小猪）in the shadow of parked cars, and crossing busy roads．On average, the animals are involved in one traffic accident every day． And despite the fact that it's illegal, some Berliners have been known to give the pigs food．

Though wild pigs are protected under German law, the city's forestry department is permitted to kill 2,000 of the creatures every year, targeting mostly young adult animals in forests surrounding Berlin． Pigs within city limits are only shot if they make an immediate threat．No humans have yet been seriously wounded by them, but local dogs have been the victims of their tusks． "The forestry department is not aiming to get rid of the pigs," explains Franusch, "but we do have to reduce dangerous situations．"

1.The concert in the first paragraph is given to          ．

A．celebrate Bernstein's success              B．remind people of fighting for rights

C．show the artists' delight of life              D．express people's joy for freedom

2.The following factors contribute to the boom of wild pigs EXCEPT          ．

A．the Berlin Wall                         B．adequate food

C．their own nature                        D．warm winter

3.From the text we can know that          ．

A．in Berlin people can never kill any wild pig

B．it is against law to offer food to wild pigs

C．wild pigs each weigh more than three hundred pounds

D．traffic accidents are mainly caused by wild pigs in Berlin

4.The article mainly talks about           ．

A．why wild pigs in Berlin enjoy so much freedom

B．when wild pigs were united in Berlin

C．how wild pigs are living in Berlin

D．what damage wild pigs have done to Berliners

He is a lesson to every boy who ever picked up a basketball and dreamed that it would change his life.
The lights were never brighter and the crowds were never bigger for a homegrown sports hero than they were a quarter-century ago for Ray Hall. But his athletic achievements, as impressive as they are, are to my mind not what is most admirable about the man.
Known as “Sugar Ray” in his teens, Hall was rated among the country’s top 25 high school basketball players. An inner-city kid from a solid family, Hall took on the challenge of lifting Canisius College — still recovering from its failure — back to respectability, rejecting more favorable offers. His status of a savior (救世主) brought more pressure than any 18-year-old should have to handle. However, I watched him mature into the player who led Canisius back to daylight.
After college Hall played professionally in Italy and Greece for over 10 years until a car accident at 32 ended his basketball career. The news that he would never play again shocked Hall but unlike so many others he was ready for life after basketball. When I met Hall — still fit at 46 — for lunch Monday, he wore a cut-sharp gray suit, designer tie and blazing white shirt that screamed Success. “That was always the question — when the cheers end, where do you go? Who do you turn to?” he said. “It starts and ends with that person in the mirror.”
Hall got the concept of academics-first from his parents. He graduated from Canisius a semester early. “No matter how good of an athlete you are, you are just one injury away from losing it all,” he said. “But if you take care of things academically, you are prepared until you leave this earth.”
For the past 14 years, he has been in a computer sales job at Ingram Micro. He married his college sweetheart. They have three kids and a nice house in the suburbs. He figured out early what others learn too late: Athletics is part of a journey, not the destination.
Congratulations, Ray, you made it. In more ways than one

1. 1.

   Ray was regarded as a savior because ________

   1. A.
      he liked to take on challenges
   2. B.
      he helped his team to regain its glory
   3. C.
      he was faithful to his hometown city
   4. D.
      he fought hard against failure at a young age
2. 2.

   According to the writer, which of the following best describes Ray’s success?

   1. A.
      Unlike other athletes, he was academically superior
   2. B.
      He defeated his injury and returned to the playground
   3. C.
      He enjoys a successful job and a happy family
   4. D.
      He has gained impressive athletic achievements
3. 3.

   What’s the right order of the events related to Ray?
   a. He was rated among the best high school basketball players.
   b. He was in a car accident.
   c. He graduated from Canisius College.
   d. He started his computer sales job.
   e. He gave up his athletic career

   1. A.
      a, c, b, e, d
   2. B.
      a, c, e, b, d
   3. C.
      c, a, b, d, e
   4. D.
      c, a, e, b, d
4. 4.

   We can learn from the passage that ________

   1. A.
      Ray was from an academic family
   2. B.
      Ray was very mature in his teens
   3. C.
      Ray was once desperate facing the cruel reality
   4. D.
      athletics was not Ray’s final goal in life
5. 5.

   What was the writer’s intention in writing this passage?

   1. A.
      To describe the difficulties of being a professional athlete
   2. B.
      To explain the importance of choosing the right college
   3. C.
      To emphasize the need for a good education
   4. D.
      To warn against playing professional basketball

Tracy Wong is a well-known Chinese-American writer. But her writing ___36___ was something she picked up by herself. After her first ___37___, teaching disabled children, she became a part-time writer for IBM. ___38___, writing stories was simply a ___39___ interest. Tracy sent three of her stories to a publisher(出版商). ___40___, they immediately suggested that she put them together to make a single one long ___41___ and paid Tracy a $50,000 advance. “A pretty money,” said the publisher, “for ___42___ writer. ”

___43___ Tracy’s characters(人物) are interesting, her stories sometimes ___44___ readers uneasy: those about the supernatural. “My mother believed I could ___45___ the afterlife world,” she told a close friend. “She used to have me speak with my grandmother, who died many years ago. ”

“Can I? I don’t think I can,” Tracy said with a laugh. “But I do have ___46___when things come to me ___47___. ” Once, she was wondering how to complete a ___48___ set in ancient(古代的) China. ___49___the doorbell rang. It was a FedEx delivery man, with a copy of a book on Chinese ___50___. It came without her having ___51___it.

Though she has published 10 books, Tracy has remained ___52___ by her fame. She lives in the same ___53___ ___ she lived 27 years ago — although in a more comfortable home. There

s more room for ___54___in her life ’t just ___55___.

36. A. skill     B. experience  C. practice      D. method

37. A. duty     B. effort  C. job     D. task

38. A. Instead B. Normally   C. Certainly    D. Then

39. A. general B. deep   C. personal     D. lively

40. A. Interested     B. Anxiously   C. Seriously    D. Encouraged

41. A. film     B. story   C. program     D. article

42. A. a foreign      B. a popular    C. an unusual  D. an unknown

43. A. Now that     B. Even though     C. Just because       D. Except that

44. A. find      B. turn    C. leave   D. hold

45. A. make up      B. connect with      C. control       D. explain

46. A. events   B. chances      C. feelings      D. moments

47. A. for no reason       B. from a distance        C. by accident D. as gifts

48. A. description   B. pointing     C. scene  D. talk

49. A. Surprisingly B. Suddenly    C. Expectedly D. Fortunately

50. A. cooking       B. history       C. play    D. medicine

51. A. known  B. sent    C. realized      D. ordered

52. A. unchanged   B. excited       C. determined D. unmoved

53. A. life       B. city     C. house  D. way

54. A. success B. work   C. joy     D. variety

55. A. writing B. reporting    C. luck    D. fun