A Simple Christmas Card

Abbie, shy and quiet, started tenth grade in a new school. It never occurred to her that she would be   1  . But soon she found herself dreaming of her old   2  . It had been small and friendly. This new school was much too  3 and unfriendly. Her new friend Tammy took advantage of her   4   by cheating her. She used her to do homework by pretending to need help, but left Abbie out of the fun she had.

Her parents were worried about her.   5  they were divorced(离婚), they thought she needed a friend badly.

Things   6  over the summer. Abbie often cried herself to sleep, believing that no one would ever love her enough to be her   7  . Abbie was thinking of   8  her life.

She started the eleventh grade and joined a Youth Group, hoping to make friends. People there seemed to   9  her, but on the inside they wished she’d stay out of their group. This only   10  Abbie closer to edge.

By Christmastime Abbie was so   11  that she was taking sleeping pills to help her sleep. On Christmas Eve, she   12  that she would jump off the local bridge. As she left her warm house, she decided to   13  her parents a note in the mailbox. When she pulled down the door to the mailbox, she saw a letter to her. She tore it open. A(n)   14  dropped out.

Dear Abbie,

I want to   15  for not talking with you sooner, but my parents are in the middle of a divorce, so I didn’t have a chance to talk with anyone. I was hoping you could help me with the   16  I have with divorced kids. I think we could become friends. See you at Youth Group on Sunday!

Merry Christmas!

Sincerely yours,

Wesley Hill

She   17  at the card for a while, reading it over and over again. “Become friends,” she smiled, realizing that someone   18 about her and wanted plain, quiet Abbie Knight as a friend. She felt so   19 .

She rushed back to her house and   20  Wesley.

1．A．angry                    B．stupid                  C．lonely                  D．nervous

2．A．class                     B．classroom            C．teachers              D．moments

3．A．dull                       B．cold                    C．strange                D．noisy

4．A．honesty                 B．kindness              C．knowledge           D．patience

5．A．Although               B．Since                  C．Before                 D．Unless

6．A．settled                   B．remained             C．worsened            D．developed

7．A．friend                   B．classmate            C．sister                  D．partner

8．A．living                    B．ending                 C．continuing           D．saving

9．A．recognize              B．believe                 C．excuse                D．welcome

10．A．sent                    B．pulled                  C．pushed                D．helped

11．A．weak                   B．tired                    C．upset                  D．noisy

12．A．decided               B．supposed             C．considered           D．hoped

13．A．mail                    B．send                    C．leave                   D．make

14．A．note                    B．card                    C．letter                   D．invitation

15．A．argue                  B．write                   C．call                     D．apologize

16．A．challenges           B．problems             C．suggestions         D．experiences

17．A．laughed               B．glanced               C．shouted               D．stared

18．A．worried               B．thought               C．talked                  D．cared

19．A．surprised             B．curious                C．special                D．confused

20．A．met             B．invited           C．visited            D．called

 

Everybody hates rats. But in the earthquake capitals of the world – Japan, Los Angeles, Turkey – rats will soon be man’s new best friends.

What happens after an earthquake? We send in rescue dogs. Why? Because they can smell people. Dogs save lives. They help rescuers to find living people. But dogs are big and they can’t get into small spaces. So now a new research project is using a smaller animal to save lives: the rat.

How does it work? First , the rat is trained to smell people. When this happens, the rat’s brain gives a signal（信号）.This is sent to a small radio on its back, and then the rescuers follow the radio signals. When rat’s brain activity jumps, the rescuers know that someone is alive. The rat has smelled that person.

Although there are already robots which can do this job, rats are better. Christian Linster at Cornell University, New York, says, “Robots’ noses don’t work well when there are other smells around. Rats are good at that. ” Rats can also see in the dark. They are cheaper and quicker to train than dogs, and unlike robots, they don’t need electricity!

The “rat project” is not finished, but Julie Ryan of International Rescue Corps in Scotland says, “It would be fantastic. A rat could get into spaces we couldn’t get to, and a rat would get out if it wasn’t safe.” Perhaps for the first time in history, people will be happy to see a rat in a building（but only after an earthquake, of course.）

1．In the world earthquake capitals, rats will bee man’s best friends because they can          .

         A．take the place of man’s rescue jobs

         B．find the position of people alive who are trapped in buildings

         C．serve as food for people alive who are trapped in buildings

D．get into small spaces

2．From the third paragraph we know the rescuers can judge a person is alive by          .

         A．the noise made by the rat

B．the rat’s unusual behaviour

         C．the signal sent by the radio on the rat’s back

D．the smell given off by the person

3．In doing rescue jobs,         .

        A．rats smell better than dogs

         B．dogs don’t need to be trained to smell people

         C．robots’ sense of smell can be affected by other smells around  

         D．rats can see in the dark and smaller than robots

4．Rats have all the following advantages except that         .

         A．they are more fantastic than other animals

         B．they are less expensive to train than dogs

         C．they don’t need electricity  

         D．they are small and can get into small places

5．After reading the passage we can know         .

         A．at present rats have taken the place of dogs in searching for people

         B．the “rat project” has been finished

         C．people are now happy to see a rat in a building

         D．now people still use dogs and robots in saving people

 

 

                           Everybody hates rats. But in the earthquake capitals of the world – Japan, Los Angeles, Turkey – rats will soon be man’s new best friends.

What happens after an earthquake? We send in rescue dogs. Why? Because they can smell people. Dogs save lives. They help rescuers to find living people. But dogs are big and they can’t get into small spaces. So now a new research project is using a smaller animal to save lives: the rat.

How does it work? First , the rat is trained to smell people. When this happens, the rat’s brain gives a signal（信号）.This is sent to a small radio on its back, and then the rescuers follow the radio signals. When rat’s brain activity jumps, the rescuers know that someone is alive. The rat has smelled that person.

Although there are already robots which can do this job, rats are better. Christian Linster at Cornell University, New York, says, “Robots’ noses don’t work well when there are other smells around. Rats are good at that. ” Rats can also see in the dark. They are cheaper and quicker to train than dogs, and unlike robots, they don’t need electricity!

The “rat project” is not finished, but Julie Ryan of International Rescue Corps in Scotland says, “It would be fantastic. A rat could get into spaces we couldn’t get to, and a rat would get out if it wasn’t safe.” Perhaps for the first time in history, people will be happy to see a rat in a building（but only after an earthquake, of course.）

71．In the world earthquake capitals, rats will become man’s best friends because they can          .

         A．take the place of man’s rescue jobs

         B．find the position of people alive who are trapped in buildings

         C．serve as food for people alive who are trapped in buildings

D．get into small spaces

72．From the third paragraph we know the rescuers can judge a person is alive by          .

         A．the noise made by the rat

B．the rat’s unusual behaviour

         C．the signal sent by the radio on the rat’s back

D．the smell given off by the person

73．In doing rescue jobs,         .

        A．rats smell better than dogs

         B．dogs don’t need to be trained to smell people

         C．robots’ sense of smell can be affected by other smells around

         D．rats can see in the dark and smaller than robots

74．Rats have all the following advantages except that         . w

         A．they are more fantastic than other animals

         B．they are less expensive to train than dogs

         C．they don’t need electricity

         D．they are small and can get into small places

75．After reading the passage we can know         .

         A．at present rats have taken the place of dogs in searching for people

         B．the “rat project” has been finished

         C．people are now happy to see a rat in a building

         D．now people still use dogs and robots in saving people

 

Everybody hates rats. But in the earthquake capitals of the world – Japan, Los Angeles, Turkey – rats will soon be man’s new best friends.

What happens after an earthquake? We send in rescue dogs. Why? Because they can smell people. Dogs save lives. They help rescuers to find living people. But dogs are big and they can’t get into small spaces. So now a new research project is using a smaller animal to save lives: the rat.

How does it work? First , the rat is trained to smell people. When this happens, the rat’s brain gives a signal（信号）.This is sent to a small radio on its back, and then the rescuers follow the radio signals. When rat’s brain activity jumps, the rescuers know that someone is alive. The rat has smelled that person.

Although there are already robots which can do this job, rats are better. Christian Linster at Cornell University, New York, says, “Robots’ noses don’t work well when there are other smells around. Rats are good at that. ” Rats can also see in the dark. They are cheaper and quicker to train than dogs, and unlike robots, they don’t need electricity!

The “rat project” is not finished, but Julie Ryan of International Rescue Corps in Scotland says, “It would be fantastic. A rat could get into spaces we couldn’t get to, and a rat would get out if it wasn’t safe.” Perhaps for the first time in history, people will be happy to see a rat in a building（but only after an earthquake, of course.）

1．In the world earthquake capitals, rats will bee man’s best friends because they can          .

       A．take the place of man’s rescue jobs

       B．find the position of people alive who are trapped in buildings

       C．serve as food for people alive who are trapped in buildings

D．get into small spaces

2．From the third paragraph we know the rescuers can judge a person is alive by          .

       A．the noise made by the rat

B．the rat’s unusual behaviour

       C．the signal sent by the radio on the rat’s back

D．the smell given off by the person

3．In doing rescue jobs,         .

      A．rats smell better than dogs

       B．dogs don’t need to be trained to smell people

       C．robots’ sense of smell can be affected by other smells around  

       D．rats can see in the dark and smaller than robots

4．Rats have all the following advantages except that         .

       A．they are more fantastic than other animals

       B．they are less expensive to train than dogs

       C．they don’t need electricity  

       D．they are small and can get into small places

5．After reading the passage we can know         .

       A．at present rats have taken the place of dogs in searching for people

       B．the “rat project” has been finished

       C．people are now happy to see a rat in a building

       D．now people still use dogs and robots in saving people

                           Everybody hates rats. But in the earthquake capitals of the world – Japan, Los Angeles, Turkey – rats will soon be man’s new best friends.

What happens after an earthquake? We send in rescue dogs. Why? Because they can smell people. Dogs save lives. They help rescuers to find living people. But dogs are big and they can’t get into small spaces. So now a new research project is using a smaller animal to save lives: the rat.

How does it work? First , the rat is trained to smell people. When this happens, the rat’s brain gives a signal（信号）.This is sent to a small radio on its back, and then the rescuers follow the radio signals. When rat’s brain activity jumps, the rescuers know that someone is alive. The rat has smelled that person.

Although there are already robots which can do this job, rats are better. Christian Linster at Cornell University, New York, says, “Robots’ noses don’t work well when there are other smells around. Rats are good at that. ” Rats can also see in the dark. They are cheaper and quicker to train than dogs, and unlike robots, they don’t need electricity!

The “rat project” is not finished, but Julie Ryan of International Rescue Corps in Scotland says, “It would be fantastic. A rat could get into spaces we couldn’t get to, and a rat would get out if it wasn’t safe.” Perhaps for the first time in history, people will be happy to see a rat in a building（but only after an earthquake, of course.）

71．In the world earthquake capitals, rats will become man’s best friends because they can          .  

       A．take the place of man’s rescue jobs

       B．find the position of people alive who are trapped in buildings

       C．serve as food for people alive who are trapped in buildings

D．get into small spaces

72．From the third paragraph we know the rescuers can judge a person is alive by          .

       A．the noise made by the rat

B．the rat’s unusual behaviour

       C．the signal sent by the radio on the rat’s back

D．the smell given off by the person

73．In doing rescue jobs,         .

      A．rats smell better than dogs

       B．dogs don’t need to be trained to smell people

       C．robots’ sense of smell can be affected by other smells around

       D．rats can see in the dark and smaller than robots

74．Rats have all the following advantages except that         . w

       A．they are more fantastic than other animals

       B．they are less expensive to train than dogs

       C．they don’t need electricity

       D．they are small and can get into small places

75．After reading the passage we can know         .

       A．at present rats have taken the place of dogs in searching for people

       B．the “rat project” has been finished

       C．people are now happy to see a rat in a building

       D．now people still use dogs and robots in saving people