Mistrust Mars Zhengzhou Ride-share Effort

More than 300 private car owners from a central Chinese city volunteered to offer free rides to citizens to ease crowded public transportation, but many local people didn't accept the offer for fear of being cheated.

The ride-share program was begun in October in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan Province, when Ye Zhantong, a private car driver, started to gather volunteers to offer the free service. The drivers tied a green silk ribbon (丝带) on the car to differentiate themselves from unlicensed taxi drivers. But the free rides haven't been popular among the public as increasing reports of dishonesty have dried up many local citizens' trust towards strangers.

Ye said some of the volunteers have dropped out after they felt their kind intention was being questioned. Passersby walking in heavy rainfall or passengers who missed a bus would remain silent and walk away when the volunteers would stop and offer a ride.

“It's so common that people give us the cold shoulder, and sometimes, take our kindness as ill will,” said one of Ye's volunteers, identified as Binge. “Many would even say: 'Let's get out of here quickly to avoid being cheated by him.'” Some commenters on Weibo explained why they hesitated to participate in a ride-share program. “Trusting a stranger might bring huge risks. I can't take the risk,” one Internet user wrote.

Some said Ye's group wasn't authorized, and cheaters pretending to be kind drivers might volunteer. They suggested traffic authorities issue rules to regulate, protect and promote ride-share programs.

61. The ride-share cars were driven by _____ drivers.

A. licensed taxi         B. unlicensed taxi          C. private car               D. specially-trained

62. Some of the ride-share car drivers _____ .

A. were forced to join Ye’s group                   B. once behaved dishonestly

C. offered free rides only to acquaintances             D. have left Ye’s group

63. The free rides haven't been popular among the public because _____.

A. people often have enough time to wait         B. some think the drivers are cheaters

C. there are many taxies available                    D. many people choose to save money

64. Which correctly explains the expression “give sb. the cold shoulder”?

A. To be unfriendly to sb. .                                   B. To help sb. unwillingly.

C. To sit silently beside sb. .                          D. To try hard to support sb. .

65. The underlined word “mar” in the title possibly means “ _____”.

A. make sth. work the way it should                     B. make sth. less attractive or enjoyable

C.       help sth. to develop or increase                  D. damage sth. so badly that it no longer exists

Did you know that women’s brains are smaller than men’s? The average women’s brain weighs 10% less than men’s. Since research has shown that the bigger the brain, the cleverer the animal, men must be more intelligent(聪明的) than women. Right? Wrong. Men and women always score similarly on intelligence tests, despite the difference in brain size. Why? After years of study, researchers have concluded that it’s what’s inside that matters, not just the size of the brain. The brain consists of “grey matter” and “white matter” while men have more of latter, the amount of “thinking” brain is almost exactly the same in both sexes.
It has been suggested that smaller brain appears to work faster, perhaps because the two sides of the brain are better connected in women. This means that little girls tend to learn to speak earlier, and that women can understand sorts of information from different sources at the same time. When it comes to talking to the boss on the phone, cooking dinner and keeping an eye on the baby all at the same time, it’s women who come out on top every time.
There are other important differences between two sexes. As white matter is the key to spatial(空间的) tasks, men know better where things are in relation to other things. “A great footballer always knows where he is in relation to the other players, and he knows where to go,” says one researcher. That may explain one of life’s great mysteries: why men refuse to ask for directions … and women often need to!
The differences begin when fetuses(胎儿) are about mine weeks old, which can be seen in the action of children ad young as one. A boy would try to climb a barrier (障碍物) before him or push it down while a girl would attract help from others. These brain differences also explain the fact that more men take up jobs that require good spatial skills, while more women speech skills. It may all go back to our ancestors, among whom women needed speech skills to take care of their babies and men needed spatial skills to hunt, according to one research.
If all this disappoints you, it shouldn’t. “The brain changes throughout our lives according to what we do with it.” says a biologist.
【小题1】Which of the following is true according to the first paragraph?

One day at the day care centre（日间托儿所）I watched a mother try to pick up her daughter. The girl wanted to go to McDonald’s. The mother replied, “Susie, not tonight. Maybe we can go tomorrow.”. Susie  16 dropped to the floor, kicking and screaming. “I want to …”
Her mother tried to  17  Susie’s tantrum（发脾气）. Finally her mother  18 . I was surprised that we could have almost anything we wanted by throwing a tantrum.
That day my mother 19 me up early because we were going to a department to do the shopping for 20  Day. I was excited to see a toy telephone. Looking lovingly 21 at my mother, I asked, “Can I have that telephone?”
She replied, “Baby, not now, but  22 you are a good girl, maybe Santa Clause will 23 you.” “But Mama, I want that telephone right now,” I said. My mother’s eyes   24 and her hand tightened（紧握）on mine. “Becky, you   25 have that telephone today, and if you  26 you can have a spanking（打屁股）.”
We were standing in the long   27 ,and I knew from my experience that it was now or   28 . So I lay down on the ground and began screaming, “I want that telephone.” Tired Christmas   29 looked as my mother calmly said, “Becky, you’d better get up by the   30 of three or else.” “One…Two…Three.” But I was   31 in full tantrum. Then she lay down beside me on the   32
and began screaming, “I want a new car, I want some jewellery, I want…”
  33 , I stood up. “Mama, stop, Mama, get up,” I tearfully 34 .
She stood up. The others waiting began to laugh. The next thirty minutes was complete  35 for me. Then one parent said to me with a smile, “I bet you’ll never try that again”.     

Range
At present，there are five network firms---China Telecom，China Unicom，Jitong Communications，China Netcom and China Mobile---that are allowed to operate IP services in China．Each company has its advantages in service.
Charge
As the Ministry of Information Industry co-ordinates，the charges of IP calls of the five companies are the same，0.30 yuan per minute for DDD calls．4．80 yuan per minute for IDD calls，2.50 yuan for calls from the mainland to Hong Kong，Macao，and Taiwan，and 1.50 yuan from Shenzhen to HK，Zhongshan and Zhuhai to Macao．IP callers don’t enjoy discounts on holidays．
China Telecom has the widest coverage．All cities in China with telephone access and most countries in the world are open to China Telecom’s IP card．
China Unicom’s IP card can reach 29 cities nationwide and more than 130 countries and regions worldwide．Jitong IP can access(接通)12 cities in China and over 70 countries and regions worldwide．
China Netcom’s IP card can reach 14 cities in China and 149 countries and regions in the world.
China Mobile’s IP card is open to only six cities nationwide but can access more than 200 countries and regions worldwide.
Voice quality
China Telecom realizes its IP service by the public Intermet,therefore net congestion(拥挤)and voice delay may sometimes disturb conversations.The other four companies have their private data networks，which help to increase transmission speeds and improve voice quality.
Other services
China Telecom，Jitong and China Mobile offer account transfer services．Users can transfer the remaining sum of money on one card to another card.
Jitong and Netcom Link their services with bank cards．One can enjoy IP’s service without an IP card．Bank card users can make IP phone calls with their bank card numbers，so they needn’t buy new IP cards and remember the new numbers again and again．
As for customer service，China Telecom，China Unicom and China Mobile provide free hot line service，while Jitong and Netcom charge for their services.
【小题1】Which of the following is mentioned in the passage?   

I was 15. She looked like she was over 70. But on that day. I think she understood me more than anyone else.
Walking into the church that Sunday was hard. I had never let anyone see me cry. But I knew I would cry that day .My grandfather was suddenly ill .The doctors said he might not live much longer. Everyone in my family was crying .Grandpa was the sweetest man in the world .Why was he leaving us?
There weren't many people at church that day. One of them was an old lady sitting at the end of my row. She was smiling. I closed my eyes and prayed for my grandfather to get better. Soon, my eyes were full of tears. I opened my eyes and saw a hand in front of me. It was giving me a tissue(纸巾)。
The old lady was sitting next to me, smiling. She didn't say a word. She just gave me a tissue and a smile. I tried to thank her, but only tears came out. Then she took my hand. I looked into her eyes. They were clear and blue, and they make me feel peaceful. Her smile said to me :I am with you. Everything will be OK. I closed my eyes again. When I opened them, she wasn't there. I left the church but still couldn't find her. I never saw her again.
My grandfather died the next week. We all cried a lot. But when I thought of that old lady's warm smile, I felt a little better.
How did she know how I was feeling ? I wish I could see her again, to say thank you.
【小题1】According to Paragraph 2, what made the whole family cry ?