An idea that started in Seattle's public library has spread throughout America and beyond．The concept is simple：help to build a sense of community in a city by getting everyone to read the same book at the same time．In addition to encouraging reading as a pursuit （追求） to be enjoyed by all，the program allows strangers to communicate by discussing the book on the bus，as well as promoting reading as an experience to be shared in families and schools．The idea came from Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl who launched the"If All of Seattle Read the Same Book"project in 1998．Her original program used author visits，study guides and book discussion groups to bring people together with a book，but the idea has since expanded to many other American cities，and even to Hong Kong．In Chicago，the mayor appeared on television to announce the choice of To Kill a Mockingbird as the first book in the"One Book，One Chicago"program．As a result，reading clubs and neighborhood groups sprang up around the city．Across the US，stories emerged of parents and children reading to each other at night and strangers chatting away on the bus about plot and character．The only problem arose in New York，where local readers could not decide on one book to represent the huge and diverse population．This may show that the idea works best in medium-sized cities or large towns，where a greater sense of unity （一致）can be achieved．Or it may show that New Yorkers rather missed the point，putting all their energy and passion into the choice of the book rather than discussion about a book itself．Ultimately，as Nancy points out，the level of success is not measured by how many people read a book，but by how many people are enriched by the process，or have enjoyed speaking to someone with whom they would not otherwise have shared a word．28．What is the purpose of the project launched by Nancy？ ____ A．To invite authors to guide readers．B．To encourage people to read and share．C．To involve people in community service．D．To promote the friendship between cities．29．Why was it difficult for New Yorkers to carry out the project？ ____ A．They had little interest in reading．B．They were too busy to read a book．C．They came from many different backgrounds．D．They lacked support from the local government．30．According to the passage，where would the project be more easily carried out？ ____ A．In large communities with little sense of unity．B．In large cities where libraries are far from home．C．In medium-sized cities with a diverse population．D．In large towns where agreement can be quickly reached．31．According to Nancy，the degree of success of the project is judged by ____ ．A．the careful selection of a proper bookB．the growing popularity of the writersC．the number of people who benefit from readingD．the number of books that each person reads．

Not all sounds made by animals serve as language, and we have only to turn to that extraordinary discovery of echolocation (回声定位) in bats to see a case in which the voice plays a strictly practical role.To get a full appreciation of what this means we must turn first to some recent human inventions. Everyone knows that if he shouts near a wall or a mountainside, an echo will come back. The further off this solid obstacle, the longer time it will take for the return of the echo. A sound made by tapping on the main body of a ship will be reflected from the sea bottom, and by measuring the time interval between the taps and the receipt of the echoes the depth of the sea at that point can be calculated. So was born the echo-sounding equipment, now in general use in ships. Every solid object will reflect a soundThe main purpose of this passage is to____!A. describe that animals can make different soundsB. prove that animals voices can play practical rolesC. inspire the readers to make more inventionsD. startle the readers with some shocking facts

几道大专英语 懂的进 Reading Comprehension II How men first learnt to invent words is unknown; in other words,the origin of language is a mystery.All we really know is that men,unlike animals,somehow invented certain sounds to express thought and feelings,actions and things,so that they could communicate with each other; and that later they agreed upon certain signs,called letters,which could be combined to present those sounds,and which could be written down.Those sounds,whether spoken or written in letters,we call words. The power of words,then,lies in their associations-the thing they bring up before our minds.Words become filled with meaning for us by experience; and the longer we live,the more certain words recall to us the glad and sad events of our past; and the more we read and learn,the more the number of words that mean something increases. Great writers are those who not only have great thoughts but also express these thoughts in words which appeal powerfully to our minds and emotions.This charming and telling use of words is what we call literary style.Above all,the real poet is a master of words.He can convey his meaning in words which sing like music and which by their position and association can move men to tears.We should therefore learn to choose our words carefully and use them accurately,or they will make our speech silly and vulgar.（238） 1.The origin of language is ______. A.a problem not yet solved B.a matter that is hidden or secret C.a question with no answer D.a legend handed down from the past 2.What is true about words? A.They are used to express feelings only.B.They are simply sounds. C.They can not be written down.D.They are mysterious. 3.The real power of words lies in their ______. A.properties B.characteristics C.representative function D.peculiarity 4.By “association”,the author means ______. A.a special quality B.an appearance which is puzzling C.a joining of ideas in the mind D.a strange feature 5.Which of the following statements about the real poet is NOT true? A.He is no more than a master of words. B.He can convey his ideas in words which sing like music. C.His style is always charming. D.He can move men to tears.

阅读单选根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。Children's Games in Ancient ChinaUnlike the children nowadays, the children during ancient times didn't have smart phones, iPads or computers to entertain themselves.(1)______. Let's take a brief look at them.Kicking stone ballsDuring the Qing Dynasty, kicking a stone ball around was a popular sport in the northern part of China, and it was often played in the winter to keep warm. Stones were carved into small balls and kicked along with feet.Playing hide-and-seekHide-and-seek is a traditional game for children, popular around the nation. Even nowadays, many children like playing it. There are two ways to play. One way is covering a child's eyes while other kids run around to tease(逗)him.(2)______.Flying kitesKites have quite a long history. The earliest kites were made of wood, instead of paper. Nowadays, the three most famous kites are the Beijing kite, Tianjin kite and Weifang kite.(3)______. For example, the swallow-shaped kite is a well-known Beijing style.(4)______The closest thing to watching a film or television for entertainment during ancient times was going to see a shadow play. Folk artists control puppets behind the screen, narrating stories and accompanied by music.Setting off fireworksFireworks have a history of more than 2,000 years. It is said that there was a beast named Nian in ancient China.(5)______. After gunpowder was invented, it gradually replaced the bamboo joints. Fireworks are still set of during Chinese Spring Festival.A Watching shadow playsB. Each of them has a special styleC. Different materials are used to make the kiteD. Shadow plays were the popular entertainment in ancient timesE. Instead, they came up with interesting games to play in their childhoodF. To scare off the beast, people burnt bamboo joints to make them explodeG. The other way is that one child must try to find those who have hidden awayStephen Hawking died at the age of 76 on March 14, 2018. Hawking is known as the most famous physicist(物理学家) after Einstein. Hawking was born in Oxford, England, on January 8, 1942. During his life, he married twice, and had three children. When he was a kid, Hawking went to school in St. Albans—a small city near London. Although he did well, he was never top of his class. After leaving high school, Hawking went first to Oxford University to study physics, and then he went to Cambridge University to study the universe(宇宙). At the age of twenty, Hawking started noticing that something was wrong with him. Later, he went to the hospital and doctors said that he would die before he was 23. But Hawking didn't give up. In 1988, Hawking completed his book A Brief History of Time. In the book, he talked about many things, like the universe, the big bang(宇宙大爆炸) and the black hole.(1)At which university did Hawking study physics?A.Oxford University. B.St Albans University. C.ambridge University. D.London University.(2)Hawking first felt there was something wrong with his body when he was ___.A.21 B.22 C.12 D.20(3)Which of the following is NOT true?A.Hawking was a very famous physicist.B.Hawking married but didn’t have children.C.Hawking was born in Oxford, England in 1942.D.octors said Hawking would die before he was 23.(4)The passage is mainly about ________.A.Hawking’s lifeB.Hawking’s studyC.why Hawking got illD.how Hawking became famousMobile phones help us easily find people anywhere at any time. A mobile phone can include many things, such as games, music and Internet access (互联网接入). Today, 4.6 billion people around the world have mobile phones, according to CBS News. However, mobile phones may cause cancer, according to the World Health Organization. In a 2010 study, people who used a mobile phone for 10 years or more were more than twice as likely to get brain cancer, according to CNN. "I think it is a good idea to give the public some kind of warning that long﹣term exposure (暴露) to radiation (辐射) from your mobile phone could possibly cause cancer, " told Dr. Henry Lai. Lai is a scientist of bioengineering (生物工程) at the University of Washington who has studied radiation for more than 30 years. These suggestions may help you reduce your risk of cancer: 1.Use a headset (耳机) or speaker. Headsets give out much less radiation than phones. Some headsets give out low﹣level radiation. However, you should take the headset off your ear when you're not talking to anyone. Using your phone with a speaker will also make it safer. 2.Listen more, talk less. Your iphone gives out radiation when you talk or text, but not when you're listening or getting messages. Listening more and talking less can lower the risk of cancer. 3.Hold the phone away from your body. Hold the phone away from your body when you're talking, not against your ear.Also, don't keep it in your pocket. 4.Choose texting over talking. Phones, give out less radiation to send texts than to carry a person's voice. Texting also keeps radiation away from your head. 5.Poor signal? Stay off the phone. A poor signal means that the phone needs to give out more radiation to work. Make and take calls when your phone has a strong signal.(1)The study from 2010 showed that________.A.people should use mobile phones for no more than 10 yearsB.people who don't use mobile phones will not get brain cancerC.the longer people use mobile phones, the more likely they are to get brain cancerD.the more mobile phones people have, the more likely they are to get brain cancer.(2)Which is NOT true about the suggestions mentioned in the passage?________A.Some headsets don't give out radiation.B.It's not good to carry mobile phones in pockets.C.Texting is better than making phone calls.D.on't make calls when the signal is weak..(3)The passage mainly talks about________.A.the development and advantages of mobile phonesB.the reason why mobile phone radiation causes cancerC.the best ways to use mobile phones to communicateD.how to protect ourselves from mobile phone radiation.There are lots of dangerous and terrible insects in Northeastern India, but the tree﹣bees are the most terrible. They are killers. Unlike most bees which will sting (叮咬) you only if they are disturbed (打扰), tree﹣bees will attack you in thousands for no reason. And they will chase (追赶) you for your life. Walking along a dusty road while I was on holiday there last year. I found myself, without the least warning, the centre of such an attack. The air above me suddenly became thick with bees. Though it was hot, I went cold all over. Until then I had never heard of Indian tree﹣bees, but I had recently seen a film called "The Angry Swarm", which was about killer﹣bees. I began running to the village about half a mile away, but I was soon covered from head to foot with bees. I drove them away with my hands, only to make room for others. Each time I opened my mouth for breath, more bees entered my mouth, until it was stung to twice its usual size and I could hardly breathe. When I reached the village, I found some workers building a house. I ran towards them for help. But as soon as the workers saw the bees with me, they ran for safety at top speed. Soon my eyes had completely closed. I fell into a pile of brick dust. I pushed myself wildly down into it until my head and shoulders were covered. And then I tried hard to get out of the dust, the angry bees made a new attack on me. I was tired out and ran weakly about in circles. Soon I lost my consciousness (意识). Later I learned that two quick﹣minded villagers ran to a pile of dry grass and quickly surrounded (包围) me with a thick wall of fire and smoke until the bees were driven away. They stayed with me, taking stings out of my body for the next three hours until a doctor came and gave me further treatment.(1)What can we infer (推断) from the second paragraph?________A. The temperature went down at that time.B. The air suddenly became thick because of the dust.C. The writer knew Indian tree﹣bees were the most dangerous.D. The writer felt scared when he was surrounded by tree﹣bees..(2)In which order did the following things happen to the writer?________a. He tried to drive away the bees but failed. b. He was surrounded with a thick wall of fire and smoke. c. He was tired out and lost consciousness later. d. He watched a film named "The Angry Swarm". e. He was attacked by tree﹣bees while taking a walk.A. e﹣a﹣c﹣b﹣d B. d﹣e﹣a﹣c﹣b C. e﹣b﹣a﹣d﹣c D. d﹣e﹣a﹣b﹣c.(3)Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?________A. Tree﹣bees often attack people in large numbers.B. Tree﹣bees can be driven away by fire and smoke.C. Tree﹣bees do not give up easily when they attack people.D. Tree﹣bees will not attack people unless they are disturbed.

The new system,designed to _ air pollution from factories,will be put to use soon.A. curlB. curbC. clipD. closet

We ________ certain livings as birds not because they have long legs or short legs，but because they all have feathers．（ ）A. thinkB. classifyC. lookD. divide

Most young people enjoy some form of physical activity． It may be walking， cycling or swimming， or in winter， skating or skiing． It may be a game of some kind， football， hockey， golf or tennis． It may be mountaineering． Those who have a passion for climbing high and difficult mountains are often looked upon with astonishment． Why are men and women willing to suffer cold and hardship， and to take risks on high mountains？ This astonishment is caused probably by the difference between mountaineering and other forms of activity to which men give their leisure． Mountaineering is a sport and not a game． There are no man-made rules， as there are for such games as golf and football． There are， of course， rules of a different kind which it would be dangerous to ignore， but it is this freedom from man-made rules that makes mountaineering attractive to many people． Those who climb mountains are free to use their own methods． If we compare mountaineering and other more familiar sports， we might think that one big difference is that mountaineering is not a "team game"． We should be mistaken in this． There are， it is true， no "matches" between teams of climbers， but when climbers are on a rockface linked by a rope on which their lives may depend， there is obviously team work． The mountain climber knows that he may have to fight forces that are stronger and more powerful than man． He has to fight the forces of nature， his sport requires high mental and physical qualities． A mountain climber continues to improve in skill year after year． A skier is probably past his best by the age of thirty， and most international tennis champions are in their early twenties． But it is not unusual for a man of fifty or sixty to climb the highest mountains in the Alps． They may take more time than younger men， but they probably climb with more skill and less waste of effort， and they certainly experience equal enjoyment．（1）Which of the following can be the best title for the passage？______A． Differences between Golf and Mountaineering．B． Sports and Games．C． Mountaineering．D． Why are so many people crazy about mountaineering？（2）The mountaineering can also be called a team sport because______．A． mountain climbers usually compete in groupsB． mountaineers depend on each other while climbingC． mountaineering climbers are free to use their own rules to climbD． mountaineering is a sport not a game（3）The biggest difference between golf and mountaineering lies in______．A． team gameB． enjoymentC． ageD． rules（4）In the author's opinion， one of the most important reason why so many people enjoy mountaineering is that______．A． there are no man-made rules for mountaineersB． mountaineering is a sport and not a gameC． it is one of the most dangerous sportsD． mountaineering bring us more enjoyment than other sports.

DI tried not to be biased，but I had my doubts about hiring Stevie.His social worker assured me that he would be a good，reliable busboy.But I had never had a mentally handicapped employee.He was short，a little fat with the smooth facial features and thick－tongued speech of Down's Syndrome(唐氏综合症)．I thought most of my customers would be uncomfortable around Stevie so I closely watched him for the first few weeks.I shouldn't have worried.After the first week，Stevie had my staff wrapped around his fat little finger，and within a month my regular truck customers had adopted him as their official truck stop mascot(吉祥物)．After that，I really didn't care what the rest of the customers thought of him.He was like a 21－year－old in blue jeans and Nikes，eager to laugh and eager to please，but fierce in his attention to his duties.Every salt and pepper shaker was exactly in its place，not a coffee spill was visible when Stevie got done with the table.Our only problem was persuading him to wait to clean a table until after the customers were finished.Over time，we learned that he lived with his mother，a widow who was disabled after repeated surgeries for cancer.Money was tight，and what__I__paid__him__was__probably__the__difference__between__them__being__able__to__live__together__and__Stevie__being__sent__to__a__group__home.That's why the restaurant was a gloomy place that morning last August，the first morning in three years that Stevie missed work.He was at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester getting a heart surgery.His social worker said that people with Down's Syndrome often have heart problems at an early age so this wasn't unexpected，and there was a good chance he would come through the surgery in good shape and be back at work in a few months.A ripple of excitement ran through the staff later that morning when word came that he was out of surgery，in recovery，and doing fine.Frannie，the head waitress，did a little dance when she heard the good news.Belle Ringer，one of our regular trucker customers，stared at her and asked，“OK，Frannie，what was that all about？”“We just got word that Stevie is out of surgery and going to be okay.”“I was wondering where he was.I had a new joke to tell him.What was the surgery about？”Frannie quickly told Belle Ringer and the other two drivers about Stevie's surgery，then sighed: “Yeah，I'm glad he is going to be OK，” she said.“But I don't know how he and his Mom are going to handle all the bills.From what I hear，they're barely getting by as it is.” Belle Ringer nodded thoughtfully，and Frannie hurried off to wait on the rest of her tables.After the morning rush，Frannie walked into my office.She had a couple of paper napkins in her hand and a funny look on her face.“What's up？” I asked.“I cleared off that table where Belle Ringer and his friends were sitting after they left，and I found this was folded and put under a coffee cup.”She handed the napkin to me，and three 20 bills fell onto my desk when I opened it.On the outside，in big，bold letters，was printed “Something For Stevie”．That was three months ago.Today is Thanksgiving，the first day Stevie is supposed to be back to work.His social worker said he had been counting the days until the doctor said he could work.I arranged to have his mother bring him to work，met them in the parking lot and invited them both to celebrate his day back.I led them toward a large corner booth.I could feel and hear the rest of the staff following behind as we marched through the dining room.We stopped in front of the big table.Its surface was covered with coffee cups，and dinner plates，all sitting slightly bent on dozens of folded paper napkins.“First thing you have to do，Stevie，is clean up this mess，” I said.Stevie looked at me，and then at his mother，then pulled out one of the napkins.It had “Something for Stevie” printed on the outside.As he picked it up，two 10 bills fell onto the table.Stevie stared at the money，then at all the napkins peeking from beneath the tableware，each with his name printed on it.I turned to his mother.“There's more than 10，000 in cash and checks on that table，all from truckers and trucking companies that heard about your problems.‘Happy Thanksgiving！’”Well，it got really noisy about that time，with everybody hollering and shouting，and there were a few tears，as well.But you know what's funny?While everybody else was busy shaking hands and hugging each other，Stevie，with a big，big smile on his face，was busy clearing all the cups and dishes from the table.55．Why did the author have doubts about hiring Stevie? A．Stevie was not that reliableB．Stevie was mentally disabled.C．Stevie was too short and fat.D．Stevie was bad－tempered.56．According to the story，which of the following sentences is true?A．Stevie made customers uncomfortable. B．Stevie couldn't fix his attention on his work.C．Stevie often spilled coffee out of cups. D．Stevie usually cleaned the table too early.57. By saying the underlined sentence in Para.3，the author meant that the money she paid Stevie ________．A．could help Stevie out of the money trouble.B．couldn't thoroughly solve Stevie's problem.C．could make a great difference to Stevie's life.D．couldn't send Stevie to a group home.58．Why did Frannie sigh after she got word that Stevie would be OK ?A．She was worried that the owner would fire Stevie.B．She was worried about Stevie's health.C．She was worried about Stevie's finance problem.D．She was worried that no one would help Stevie.59．Why did the author ask Stevie to clean up the mess on the table after he returned?A．It was Stevie's duty to clean the table.B．The table was so dirty that it needed cleaning.C．Stevie would find the money that was given to him.D．She wanted to congratulate Stevie on his coming back.60．Stevie was popular among the staff and customers in the restaurant because of ________．A．his special appearance.B．his hard work and optimism.C．his funny speeches and actions.D．his kind－hearted behaviours.