Years after throwing a bottle-up note into a lake for a class project and just one year after his death, a man’s childhood message was found and returned to his mother.

Eleven years ago, a then 10-year-old boy, Joshua Baker, wrote the message, folded and put it in an empty container, his mother, Maggie Holbrook said. He died last February in a motor vehicle accident in California. He had recently returned after a serving in the Middle East as a US marine.

“ I think he was just letting us know he was OK and keep doing what we are doing ,” Holbrook said.

The message surfaced in White Lake in late April, just days after the 11^th anniversary of its being thrown into the lake. It was found by one of Baker’s closest friends, Steve Lieder, she said. Lieder and two friends were chatting near the lake when Lieder looked down and saw the bottle. He broke it open and found the note inside.

“My name is Joshua Baker. I am 10. If you find this, put it on the news. The date is 4/16/95.”

They immediately took it to Holbrook, who said she is now having the note preserved and will display it in her home.

She can remember when her son wrote the message for the school project. She said she always wondered why he didn’t put it in the nearby Wolf River, which has a much stronger current（水流）.

“I still remember the day he wrote it,” Holbrook said. “ I couldn’t understand why he threw it in the lake. No one would never see it again. Now I know.”

1. What was Joshua Baker when he died in motor vehicle accident in California?

A．An official

B．A soldier

C．A worker

D．A teacher

2. Who found the bottle according to the passage?

A．Joshua Baker’s mother	B．A fisherman
C．Joshua Baker’s friend	D．Joshua Baker’s mother’s friend

3.What does the underlined sentence mean?

A．The mother believes his son is still living with her in the house.

B．The mother thinks his son will come to see her one day

C．The mother thinks it’s foolish to throw the note in the lake

D．The mother thinks the bottle is her son’s gift only left to her after his death

4.Which of the following statements is correct according to the passage?

A．The man threw the bottle into the lake without any purpose.

B．The man didn’t put the bottle into the nearby river because it had a strong current.

C．Not until recently did his mother understand why he put the bottle into the lake instead of the nearby river.

D．The man made the bottle-up note so as to let his parents know he was OK.

5.The best title for this passage would be ____.

A．A man’s Bottle Message Found After His Death

B．A Ridiculous and Unbelivable Bottle Message

C．A Strange Bottle-up Note Appearing In a Lake

D．An Important Childhood Message 11 Years After His Death

 

Mr. Reese was born in a big city. His father had several companies and got a lot of money. He could give his son all the young man wanted. He was busy with his business and never asked him how he got along with his studies. So the boy spent most time in the restaurants or cinemas. Of course he was weak at his lessons and learned nothing at school. He made many friends but none of them was good and when they knew he came from a rich family, they began to teach him to gamble(赌博). Of course he lost much money.

　　Now Mr. Reese was twenty and finished middle school. He could not do anything. But his father didn't mind it until one day he found the young man had sold one of his companies. He became so angry that he made him leave his house. The young man couldn't gamble any longer. His friends made him pay his debt. He had to ask his mother to help him and the woman often gave him some money. But one evening his father happened to find it. The old man stopped his wife from doing so. They began to fight in the room. The young man brought out a knife and killed his father. His mother helped him to run away, but soon after that he was caught and sentenced(判刑)to death.

　　It was a cold and wet day. Suddenly it began to rain hard when Mr. Reese was being sent to the execution ground(刑场). Soon both he and the soldiers were wet through. He said angrily,“Bad luck! I shall be shot in such bad weather!”

　　“Don't complain(抱怨), brothers” said one of the soldiers. “You're luckier than us all. We'll have to go back to the city after that!”

1.Old Reese never wanted to know about his son's studies because _________.

A．he was sure his son was good at his lessons

B．he spent all his energies on his business

C．he knew nothing about the education

D．his wife looked after their children

2.The bad young men taught Young Reese to gamble in order _________.

A．to play with him

B．to spend spare time

C．that the could get much money from him

D．that they could find jobs in his father's companies

3.Old Reese became angry because _________.

A．him son had learned nothing at school

B．his son was weak at all his lessons

C．his son couldn't do anything in the companies

D．his son had lost one of his companies

4.Mr. Reese complained _________.

A．he was sentenced to death

B．he would be shot

C．he went to the execution ground on foot

D．he would be shot in bad weather

 

Britain’s oldest man made his first visit to London yesterday at the age of 110. Mr. John Evans had never found the time or the money-to make the trip from his home near Swansea. But, when British Rail offered him an all-expenses-paid birthday trip to the capital, he just could not refuse.
Until yesterday he had never been far from home, except for one trip to Aberdeen. Mr. Evans, who spent 60 years working as a miner in South Wales, almost made the journey to London once before, at the turn of the century. "There was a trip to the White City but it was ten shillings (1 shilling =" 1/20" pound) return from Swansea—too much I thought. All my money went to the family then." he said.
During the next two days Mr. Evans will be taken on a whistle-stop tour of London to see the sights. Top of his list is a visit to the Houses of Parliament(国会).
The only arrangement he does not care for is the wheelchair provided to move him about if he gets tired. "I don’t like the chair business--people will think I am getting old," he said.
His secret for a long and healthy life has been well publicized--no alcohol, no cigarette and no anger. Before setting off from Swansea with his 76-year-old son, Amwel, he quipped," I’m glad to see they’ve given me a return ticket. "
【小题1】It was reported that Mr. Evans’s healthy long life was to a certain extent due to his ______.

A．wine drinking

B．proper smoking

C．mild temper

D．sense of humor

【小题2】 Which of the following statements is true?

A．A single trip from Mr. Evans’s home to the White City used to be ten shillings.

B．The first place for Mr. Evans to visit is the Houses of Parliament.

C．He appreciated people’s arrangement of a wheelchair during his visit.

D．Mr. Evans once made the journey to London at the turn of the century.

【小题3】The word "quip" in the last sentence most probably means _______.

A．to make a witty remark	B．to express a happy message
C．to make a wish	D．to tell a joke

【小题4】What might be the best title for this passage?

A．110-Year-Old Tourist	B．Secret for Long and Healthy Life
C．Free Return Ticket	D．Sightseeing in London

I met the old man at a cafe. “Did you hear the radio news yesterday?” he asked me. “No,” I replied. “Anything exciting?”“Exciting? NO! Something very sad. A group of hungry dogs killed and ate my best friend.”?
“Oh, dear!” I cried. “How did it happen?”“He was working on the hillside when the dogs attacked him. When he didn't return, I went to the hillside and found…”“His body?” I asked. The old fellow drank half of his coffee. “No. I told you they were hungry dogs, didn't I? The big bones were lying every where. But they found this.” He pushed open a match box he was holding in his hand. In it was a man's thumb, lying on some white bloody material.?
“This is my friend's right thumb. The dogs ate the rest of him”. The old man began to cry. He finished his coffee quickly and left the cafe. I drank mine and called the waiter. “I'll pay the gentleman's bill. His poor friend—how terrible!”“You've heard the news?” The waiter laughed. “Sure. There's a hole in the bottom of the match box. He put his own thumb through the hole. The blood is red ink, I believe. Is the story worth a cup of coffee, sir?”“But he held the box in his right hand.”“Yes, but listeners look into the box. They just can't take their sight off that terrible thing.”“And when he tells the story, he gets free cup of coffee!” I said, laughing. “Yes, sir, but only from strangers who come to this town, and, of course, he does us no harm!”?
【小题1】 We can learn from this passage ________.?

A．the writer came to the cafe for the first time?

B．the old man made a living by telling jokes in the cafe?

C．the writer had known about the old man before?

D．what had happened to his best friend made the old man mad?

【小题2】 Having heard the old man's story, the writer _______ .?

A．couldn't help laughing immediately?	B．showed great mercy upon him?
C．didn't believe him at all?	D．bought the old man another cup of coffee?

【小题3】 It turned out that the thumb in the match box was actually __________.?

A．the right thumb of his best friend?

B．the thumb he stole from the dead body of an unknown person?

C．something made of bloody white materials?

D．his own right thumb?

【小题4】The waiter hadn't let out the truth of the old man's story earlier because _______ .

A．he was nobody but the best friend of the old man?

B．the old man wouldn't pay for his coffee if he did ?

C．the waiter hadn't seen through the old man's trick?

D．the old man helped the cafe in some way?

【小题5】 As suggested by the passage, what might happen in the end?      ??

A．The writer refused to pay the old man's bill.?

B．The writer decided to make the trick known to the public.?

C．More strangers would hear the old man's story.?

D．The old man wouldn't visit the cafe any more.

LONDON - A British judge on Thursday sentenced a businessman who sold fake(假冒的) bomb detectors(探测器) to 10 years in prison, saying the man hadn't cared about potentially deadly consequences.
It is believed that James McCormick got about $77.8 million from the sales of his detectors - which were based on a kind of golf ball finder - to countries including Iraq, Belgium and Saudi Arabia.
McCormick, 57, was convicted(判罪) of cheats last month and sentenced Thursday at the Old Bailey court in London.
"Your cheating conduct in selling a great amount of useless equipment simply for huge profit promoted a false sense of security and in all probability materially contributed to causing death and injury to innocent people," Judge Richard Hone told McCormick. "you have neither regret, nor shame, nor any sense of guilt."
The detectors, sold for up to $42,000 each, were said to be able to find such dangerous objects as bombs under water and from the air. But in fact they "lacked any grounding in science" and were of no use.
McCormick had told the court that he sold his detectors to the police in Kenya, the prison service in Hong Kong, the army in Egypt and the border control in Thailand.
"I never had any had results from customers," he said.
【小题1】Why was McCormick sentenced to prison?

A．He sold bombs.	B．He caused death of people.
C．He made detectors.	D．He cheated in business.

【小题2】 According to the judge, what McCormick had done _______.

A．increased the cost of safeguarding

B．lowered people's guard against danger

C．changed people's idea of social security

D．caused innocent people to commit crimes

【小题3】Which of the following is true of the detectors?

A．They have not been sold to Africa.

B．They have caused many serious problems.

C．They can find dangerous objects in water.

D．They don't function on the basis of science.

【小题4】It can be inferred from the passage that McCormick _______.

A．sold the equipment at a low price

B．was well-known in most countries

C．did not think he had committed the crime

D．had not got such huge profit as mentioned in the text