Tim Richter and his wife, Linda, had taught for over 30 years near Buffalo, New York--he in computers, she in special education. "Teaching means everything to us," Tim would say. In April1998, he learned he would need a heart operation. It was the kind of news that leads to some serious thinking about life's purpose.

      Not long after the surgery, Tim saw a brochure describing Imagination Library, a program started by Dolly Parton' s foundation (基金会) that mailed a book every month to children from birth to age five in the singer's home town of Sevier, Tennessee.“I thought, maybe Linda and I could do something like this when we retire," Tim recalls.  He placed the brochure on his desk, "as a reminder."

      Five years later, now retired and with that brochure still on the desk, Tim clicked on imagination library .com. The program had been opened up to partners who could take advantage of book and postage discounts.

The quality of the books was of great concern to the Richters. Rather than sign up online, they went to Dollywood for a look-see. “We didn’t want to give the children rubbish,” says Linda. The books-reviewed each year by teachers, literacy specialists and Dollywood board members-included classics such as Ezra Jack Keats’s The Snowy Day and newer books like Anna Dewdney’s Llama Llama series.

     Satisfied, the couple set up the Richter Family Foundation and got to work. Since 2004, they have shipped more than 12,200 books to preschoolers in their in their area. Megan Williams, a mother of four, is more than appreciative: “This program introduces us to books I’ve never heard of .”

  The Richters spend about ＄400 a month sending books to 200 children. “Some people sit there and wait to die,” says Tim. “Others get as busy as they can in the time they have left.”

1.

What led Tim to think seriously about the meaning of life?

A. His health problem.                       B .His love for teaching.

C.The influence of his wife.                   D .The news from the Web.

2.

What did Tim want to do after learning about Imagination Library?

A.Give out brochures.                        B .Do something similar.

C. Write books for children                    D. Retire from being a teacher.

3.

According to the text, Dollly Parton is           .

A. a well-known surgeon                     B. a mother of a four-year-old

C. a singer born in Tennessee                  D .a computer programmer

4.

Why did the Richters go to Dollywood?

A. To avoid signing up online.

B. To meet Dollywood board members.

C. To make sure the books were the newest.

D. To see if the books were of good quality.

5.

What can we learn from Tim’s words in the last paragraph?

A. He needs more money to help the children.

B. He wonders why some people are so busy.

C. He tries to save those waiting to die.

D. Hconsiders his efforts worthwhile.

（2011·山东卷）B

     Tim Richter and his wife, Linda, had taught for over 30 years near Buffalo, New York--he in computers, she  in special education. "Teaching means everything to us," Tim would say. In April1998, he learned he would need a heart operation. It was the kind of news that leads to some serious thinking about life's purpose.

      Not long after the surgery, Tim saw a brochure describing Imagination Library, a program started by Dolly Parton' s foundation (基金会) that mailed a book every month to children from birth to age five in the singer's home town of Sevier, Tennessee. “I thought, maybe Linda and I could do something like this when we retire," Tim recalls.  He placed the brochure on his desk, "as a reminder."

      Five years later, now retired and with that brochure still on the desk, Tim clicked on imagination library .com. The program had been opened up to partners who could take advantage of book and postage discounts.

The quality of the books was of great concern to the Richters.  Rather than sign up online, they went to Dollywood for a look-see. “We didn’t want to give the children rubbish,” says Linda. The books-reviewed each year by teachers, literacy specialists and Dollywood board members-included classics such as Ezra Jack Keats’s The Snowy Day and newer books like Anna Dewdney’s Llama Llama series.

Satisfied, the couple set up the Richter Family Foundation and got to work. Since 2004, they have shipped more than 12,200 books to preschoolers in their in their area. Megan Williams, a mother of four, is more than appreciative: “This program introduces us to books I’ve never heard of .”

  The Richters spend about ＄400 a month sending books to 200 children. “Some people sit there and wait to die,” says Tim. “Others get as busy as they can in the time they have left.”

62.What did Tim want to do after learning about Imagination Library?

A. Give out brochures.                        B .Do something similar.

C. Write books for children                    D. Retire from being a teacher.

63.According to the text, Dollly  Parton is           .

A. a well-known surgeon                     B. a mother of a four-year-old

C. a singer born in Tennessee                  D .a computer programmer

64.Why did the Richters go to Dollywood?

A. To avoid signing up online.

B. To meet Dollywood board members.

C. To make sure the books were the newest.

D. To see if the books were of good quality.

65.What can we learn from Tim’s words in the last paragraph?

A. He needs more money to help the children.

B. He wonders why some people are so busy.

C. He tries to save those waiting to die.

D. He considers his efforts worthwhile.

D

　　Build the highway and watch the town grow.At first a few shops appear and maybe a restaurant.Then a hotel opens. Eventually new house are built. A village is born.

　　This is also how the virtual world has developed. Think of the Internet as the road carrying information between two computers.Think of the World Wide Web as the village. At first it is just a place on the virtual road where travelers meet. More travelers come bringing new kinds of information. New travelers come bringing new kinds of information.New villages are started.

　　Every willage has a founder.Tim Berners-Lee is the man who wrote the software programme that led to the foundation of the Word Wide Web.How did he get the idea? He tells us on his own web site. "One of the things computers were not able to do was store in formation from different sources. The dream behind the Web is of a common space in which we communicate by sharing information."

　　In 1991 his programmmes were placed on to the Internet.Everyone was welcome to use them.

　　Tim Berners-Lee could have followed the Microsoft route by forming a company to sell the programmes he invented. Or he could have joined another company. But in his view the Web is a language,not a pproduct. Charging a gee for using his programmes would have slowed the growth of the Web.And other companies would make similar products to compete. Instead of one World Wide Web there would be several smaller Webs. Each would use incompatible (不相容的) software. They Web is valuable because it uses a common computer language to reach people and share information. Competing webs would lose this value.Imagine if somebody sent you a bill every time you spoke a world of English.

　　In 1994 Tim Berners-Lee formed the World Wide Web Consortium,or W3C.More than 200 leading companies and laboratories are represented by W3C. Together they make sure that everyone, no matter what their equipment or solftware,can work equally on the Web.

　　"The Web can help people to understand the way that others live and love. It helps us understand the humanity of people," he says.

　　68.The writer's purpose in writing the first two paragraphs is to ______.

　　　A.give us some idea of the Internet

　　　B.give us some idea of the Web

　　　C.tell us how the idea of Web started

　　　D.tell us the idea of the Web is wonderful

　　69.Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web in order to _____

　　　A.place his programmers on the Internet

　　　B.stop smaller webs appearing

　　　C.help people to form a web site

　　　D.let people share all kinds of information

　　70.According to the text,the disadvantage of competing webs is that they would ______.

　　　A.slow the development of the Web

　　　B.destroy the whole web system

　　　C.lose the value of information

　　　D.waste a lot of money

It has been more than twenty years since pioneering British computer programmer, Sir Tim Berners Lee, created the World Wide Web. But could he have ever imagined how much the web would change our lives? And would he approve of how some British students are taking advantage of his invention?

Universities and exam boards around the UK are becoming increasingly concerned with the rising number of cases of plagiarism, many of which are facilitated (助长) by the Internet access.

In the UK most school and university students complete coursework throughout the academic year which contributes toward their final mark. In many cases coursework makes up the main part of the qualification. Since coursework is completed in the students’ own time it cannot be monitored by teachers in the same way as an exam.

Derec Stockley, director of examinations in the UK, explains, “Plagiarism affects coursework more than anything else, and in the cases that come to our attention, more and more are linked to the Internet.”

At a university level recent reports suggest that plagiarism has evolved from separate cases of individual cheating to systematic and even commercial operation. Students can now pay for bespoke essays to be written for them by experts.

It is estimated that the market in online plagiarism is now worth 200 million pounds a year. Every month more and more websites offering to write student’s essays for them appear on the Internet.

Barclay Littlewood, owner of Degree Essays UK employs 3,500 specialist writers and charges between 120 pounds and 4,000 pounds per essay. However, Mr. Littlewood refutes the accusation that he is helping students to cheat.

1.What dose the underlined word “plagiarism” in Paragraph 2 mean in the passage?

2.Which of the following statements is mentioned by the author?

3.It can be inferred from the text that the author seems to _____.

4.The paragraph following the passage will most probably be about_____.

(2013·高考四川卷，B)On a sunny day last August，Tim heard some shouting.Looking out to the sea carefully，he saw a couple of kids in a rowboat were being pulled out to sea.

Two 12?year?old boys，Christian and Jack，rowed out a boat to search for a football.Once they’d rowed beyond the calm waters，a beach umbrella tied to the boat caught the wind and pulled the boat into open water.The pair panicked and tried to row back to shore.But they were no match for it and the boat was out of control.

Tim knew it would soon be swallowed by the waves.

“Everything went quiet in my head，”Tim recalls(回忆)．“I was trying to figure out how to swim to the boys in a straight line.”

Tim took off his clothes and jumped into the water.Every 500 yards or so，he raised his head to judge his progress.“At one point，I considered turning back，” he says.“I wondered if I was putting my life at risk.”After 30 minutes of struggling，he was close enough to yell to the boys，“Take down the umbrella！”

Christian made much effort to take down the umbrella.Then Tim was able to catch up and climb aboard the boat.He took over rowing，but the waves were almost too strong for him.

“Let’s aim for the pier(码头)，”Jack said.Tim turned the boat toward it.Soon afterward，waves crashed over the boat，and it began to sink.“Can you guys swim？”he cried.“A little bit，”the boys said.

Once they were in the water，Tim decided it would be safer and faster for him to pull the boys toward the pier.Christian and Jack were wearing life jackets and floated on their backs.Tim swam toward land as water washed over the boys’faces.

“Are we almost there？”they asked again and again.“Yes，”Tim told them each time.

After 30 minutes，they reached the pier.

1.Why did the two boys go to the sea?

A．To go boat rowing.

B．To get back their football.

C．To swim in the open water.

D．To test the umbrella as a sail.

2.What does “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A．The beach. B．The water.

C．The boat. D．The wind.

3.Why did Tim raise his head regularly?

A．To take in enough fresh air.

B．To consider turning back or not.

C．To check his distance from the boys.

D．To ask the boys to take down the umbrella.

4.How did the two boys finally reach the pier?

A．They were dragged to the pier by Tim.

B．They swam to the pier all by themselves.

C．They were washed to the pier by the waves.

D．They were carried to the pier by Tim on his back.