On Saturday nights, A.J.Coston doesn’t get a lot of sleep. Usually three or four times a night, a loud bell rings, a red light flashes, and he has to jump out of his bed. That’s because he’s a weekend volunteer firefighter（消防员）with Loudoun County Fire and Rescue Station 13 in Northern Virginia. During the week, he lives at home with his mom, dad and sister and does his main job which is going to high school.

“I have always wanted to get into firefighting since I was a little kid watching fire trucks go by,” he says. “One day on the Internet I noticed that Loudoun County offered a junior firefighter program.” He was only 16, but he got it.

Fighting fires is dangerous work. Firefighters never stop practicing the skills they need to stay safe. Once Coston learned those skills, he was allowed to work inside burning buildings.

“Teamwork is most important,” he says. “It’s the whole team that puts the fire out.”

Firefighters feel great about helping people. “My most unbelievable call was probably the time four kids were struck by lightning,” says Coston. He will be off to college next fall, building on his dream job. “I’ll get my degree in emergency（紧急情况） medical care. and then work in a fire and rescue company for a while. I want to be a flight doctor on a helicopter in the end, but I will never forget the days as a firefighter. These are my unforgettable experiences,” he says.

Coston can’t sleep well on Saturday nights because _____.

   A. he has to work part-time at weekends

   B. he has some sleeping problems

   C. he has to do his job as a volunteer firefighter

   D. he always worries that there may be a fire

What do we learn about Coston from the passage?

   A. He doesn’t like studying at school.          B. He will go to college next year.

   C. He dreams to be a great hero one day.        D. He is only sixteen years old.

In Coston’s opinion, what is the key thing in putting out a fire?

   A. Skills.         B. Teamwork.              C. Courage.           D. Equipment.

All of the following are true EXPECT that _____.

A. Coston wanted to be a firefighter when he was a kid

   B. Coston tried several times before he became a volunteer firefighter

   C. firefighters feel proud that they can help people

   D. firefighters have to practice skills all the time to stay safe

On September 22, 2007, 108 Chinese cities took part in Car-Free Day, a global event held every year, for the first time.

   China became the world’s second-largest auto market and third-largest car-maker in 2006. It has also become the second-largest greenhouse gas producer in the world, and is rapidly catching up with the United States. In this sense, China’s participation will greatly promote the Car-Free Day movement.

   The number of cars on the road is going up rapidly in China. In Beijing, about 1,000 new cars are added to the streets on an average day.

   Cars certainly offer people plenty of freedom to move around. But in many Chinese cities, appearance of too many cars has turned into a major problem. Getting stuck in traffic jams is an everyday experience for drivers.

   Even worse is the environmental impact（影响）caused by cars. According to a national report, on a “smog day”, 79 percent of the air pollution is caused by cars.

   The growing number of traffic accidents is another problem. Over 100,000 people die from traffic accidents every year in China, which is by far the highest number of road deaths in the world.

   108 cities’ participation in Car-Free Day shows growing public concern about the traffic and environmental problems caused by cars.

   On this day, all cars were banned from running in selected areas of the participating cities. People were encouraged to walk, cycle and use public transport. According to experts, the carbon monoxide in the atmosphere produced by cars was reduced by 3,000 tons on Car-Free Day.

   With cleaner air and smoother traffic flow on the day, more cities will hopefully want to join the event next year. And more people might share the hope that Car-Free Day is not just on September 22, but a possibility 365 days of the year.

From the passage, we can know that China ______.

A. has the world’s highest number of road deaths

B. has the world’s largest auto market

C. is the world’s largest greenhouse gas producer

D. is the world’s second-largest car-maker

Which of the following is discussed in the passage?

A. The causes of car growth in China.  

B. The effects of car growth in China.

C. The history of World Car-Free Day. 

D. The popularity of World Car-Free Day.

On Car-Free Day in 2007, 108 cities in China ______.

A. didn’t allow people to drive   

B. didn’t have air pollution

C. called on people to drive less  

D. called on people to drive freely

Car-Free Day in China will ______.

A. be held all the year round

B. stop air pollution and traffic jams

C. attract more people to join in

D. reduce the production of cars

PITTSBURGH, Sept. 7 — At 26, many people haven’t even decided on a career. Luke Ravenstahl, cashing in on his family’s political tradition, is already the mayor of Pittsburgh, the youngest mayor of any major city in the country. Although mayors elsewhere have been younger, Jeff Dunkel was 18 in 2001 when he was elected mayor of Mount Carbon, small towns in New York, and elsewhere have also elected teenagers as mayors. But, Tallahassee, is the only other city with a population over 100,000 that has had a mayor as young as Mr. Ravenstahl. A supporter of Mr. Ravenstahl said concerns about Mr. Ravenstahl’s age would dissipate once the city saw his work ethic.

 But now comes the hard part. As he strives to be taken seriously and take charge of a city only recently back from the brink of bankruptcy, the baby-faced mayor said that even the smallest decisions felt weighty, even what to wear in the Steelers game matters.

And another pressing issue is to strengthen the city’s economy. Pittsburgh has lost all its mills, nearly half its population and much of its downtown commercial district in the last several decades. “But Pittsburgh has 50,000 college students, and our challenge is to figure out how to retain them and to increase downtown development.” He said.

But one of the biggest uncertainties is how long he will remain in office. According to the city charter, Mayor Ravenstahl’s term will not expire until November 2009. Some city lawyers, however, have argued that he must face the electorate next year. And residents in Pittsburgh are still withholding judgment on him. Deli, Jimmy Cvetic, a sandwich shop owner, said “I call him Cool Hand Luke. He’ll be all right, but he’s going to need a cool hand to get through this.”

Mayor Ravenstahl said he was still coming to terms with the challenge he faced.

41. About Luke Ravenstahl, which of the following statements is correct?

He is the youngest mayor in the U.S.A.

His family background has contributed to his successful political career.

His young age has won support from media and young voters.

He will be mayor of Pittsburgh at least until 2009.

42. The underlined word “dissipate” in the first paragraph probably means________.

A. disappear                 B. appear                      C. spread               D. reduce

43. What can you infer from the article about Pittsburgh?

A. It is a small town in New York famous for steel mills.

B. It has always enjoyed prosperous economic success.

C. Many young college students there are the new hope of the district.

D. It is a major city in the U.S.A with a population slightly smaller than 100,000.

44. Where can you find this article?

A. A magazine      

B. A brochure about politicians

C. A newspaper

D. An advertisement about some mayor candidates

45. What kind of Challenges will not Luke Ravenstahl cope with?

A. Distrust from his citizens                      B. pressure from other outstanding young majors

C. economical standstill of his city              D. decreasing population in his city

A famous study was done in a school by a professor from a university．At the start of the school year，the teachers were given the names of five children．They were told that these five were the most excellent students in the class．But the fact was that these students were only average，and they were not the best students at all．Well，guess what? At the end of the year，all the five average students scored among the highest in the class．
What made these average students change so much to become top students? The only difference was the change in their teachers’ attitude．Because the teachers believed that these five kids were the top students，they expected more from them．And so these five average students began to believe and expect more from themselves．So they worked harder to do as well as they could．
Do you know? If you expect the best from people，they’ll usually want to give you their best．A great leader said，“Treat a person just how he appears to be on the outside，and you’ll make him even worse．But treat a person like he’s already a success，and you’ll help make him the best he can be．”
Like the true story of 7-year-old Johnny，his teacher got so angry with him that one day she said，“Johnny，you’re the naughtiest(最顽皮的) boy in this class．I’m sure you’ll never change．”The next year Johnny had a new teacher．And on the first day of class，she met with Johnny after school and said，“Johnny，I’ve heard a lot about you! But do you know that I don’t believe a word of it．”And every day after that，this new teacher treated Johnny as if he was one of the smartest students even when Johnny did naughty things．Later on，Johnny became a school leader．Because that’s the power of our belief and attitude toward children．
1．The professor started his research by ________．
A．telling the five students to work harder than ever before
B．teaching the five children himself
C．telling the teacher the five students were the best in the class
D．asking the five children to find a new teacher
2．The five average students became top students mainly because of ________．
A．the professor’s study     B．the change in the professor’s attitude
C．the teachers’ hard work   D．the change in the teachers’ attitude
3．Why did the writer tell us the story of 7-year-old Johnny?
A．To show the importance of encouragement．
B．To show that the boy was clever enough．
C．To let us know the famous boy．
D．To let us know how good his new teacher was．
4．According to the story，we can learn that ________．
A．the research began at the end of the school year
B．the students scored highest only because they worked hard
C．if you expect the most from people，you’ll get the least
D．little Johnny liked his new teacher very much
5．What does the passage mainly tell us?
A．If you want to get more，you should have new teachers．
B．Attitude and belief can change a person．
C．A professor’s study can help you score highest．
D．Only teachers can make you a top student．

Cities alarmed by deaths and injuries of pedestrians are taking efforts to make crosswalks safer for people on foot, especially seniors and children who need more time to cross streets.
A pedestrian is killed in a traffic accident in the USA every 110 minutes; one is injured every nine minutes, according to official data. Crosswalks can be especially dangerous for the elderly. Among people 70 and older, 36% of pedestrian deaths in 2006 occurred in crosswalks, compared   with 21% of those younger than 70, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
The Federal Highway Administration(FHWA) advise that next year states increase by nearly 15% the amount of  time traffic lights provide for pedestrians to cross the street after the flashing orange hand appears.
FHWA spokesman Doug Hecox says reasons for the change include an aging population that needs more time to cross, health-conscious Americans walking more, children encouraged to walk to prevent getting overweight and high gas prices pushing people to walk instead of drive.
Pedestrian deaths went down by 12% from 5,449 in 1996 to 4,784 in 2006, Bur among those in 2006, 471 were killed in crosswalks, down slightly from 488 ten years earlier, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration(NHTSA) says.
【小题1】Which of the following is true according to the text?