Americans love cars．They go everywhere in them．8 5％of people in the US go to and from work by car. And most adults have driving licenses．Why does this car culture exist?

How it started

America’s love of cars started after the war(战争)when soldiers returned home from World War II to rebuild their lives．They borrowed money from the government to buy houses and cars which became the symbols of status(地位)．The more money they had，the bigger their cars were．

Making of roads

During the war，President Eisenhower noticed what good roads Germany had．He decided to build new four-lane(四车道)roads in America．He said if something happened suddenly，the two-lane roads wouldn’t be able to carry all the cars that would suddenly leave the cities．Car and oil companies liked his idea and building started．

Car lover

Not just teenagers are crazy about cars．Some Americans love their cars so much that they paint their cars beautifully .These are called Art Cars．Every April there is an activity in Houston，Texas，where they show their cars．

Pollution

Cars have polluted the environment．American President Bush refused a worldwide law that is against pollution．Many countries were angry about it．Bush said he had to think of the American economy(经济)and all the American people that make money from cars．Factories say they want to make cars that pollute less．But others say making cars that pollute less will never be as good as having fewer cars．

1.When did Americans begin to love cars?   

A．Before the new two-lane roads were built．

B．After World War II．

C．During World War II．

D．Before World War II．

2.New four-1ane roads were build _______.

A．in Germany                            B．by car and oil companies

C．in America                            D．when something suddenly happened

3.The underlined word “building” here means “the building of _______”． 

A．companies        B．soldiers’ lives     C．houses           D．roads

4.What were other countries’ feelings about Bush’s decision?  

A．They agreed with him．                  B．They showed anger to it．

C．They paid no attention to it.                D．The passage doesn’t tell us.

5.What does the last sentence  mean? 

A．It’s better to have fewer cars．

B．It’s better to make cars that pollute less．

C．It’s easier to make cars that pollute less．

D．It’s easier to make people have fewer cars．

 

Sally was a student in a small town. It was going to her mother’s birthday. She wanted to buy her a present that would be nice and useful but not e       1.  .

She went s     2.  after a quick and simple lunch. After she looked for about forty minutes, she found a shop that was selling cheap umbrellas, and she d   

      3.   to take a black one. She thought, “Mom can carry it when she is wearing clothes of  a       4.  color.” So she bought a lovely black umbrella and took it to school with her until her classfinished. On her way home on the train she felt h   

 5.. So she went to the buffet car (餐车). She left the umbrellaon her s    6. . But when she returned, it had gone. Sally began to cry. The orher passengers felt very sorry for her and asked what the matter was. She told them the black umbrella she bought for her mother had gone, and she had to get off at the next station. After the three passengers h    7. this , they asked her for her mother’s  a    8. so that they could send the umbrella to her if someone took it by mistake (弄错) and brought it b     9..

And now a week passed. Sally got a letter from her mother. It said, “Thank you very much for your lovely g   10., but why do you send me three black umbrellas?”

 

One day when some government officials were rebuilding a barn(谷仓), they found a mouse hole in a corner and they used smoke to force the mice inside the hole to come out. A while later they indeed saw mice running out, one after another. Then, everyone thought that all the mice had ran away. But just as they began to clean up, they saw two mice squeezing(挤)out at the mouth of the hole. With some efforts, the mice finally got out. However, it was strange that after they came out of the hole, they did not run away immediately. Instead, one ran after the other near the mouth of the hole. It seemed that one was trying to bite the tail of the other.

Everyone was puzzled, so they stepped nearer to take a look. They realized that one of the mice was blind and could not see anything, and the other was trying to allow the blind mouse to bite on his tail so that he could pull the blind one with him to run away.

After seeing what happened, everyone was silent and lost in thought. During the meal time, the group of people sat down in a circle and started to chat about what happened to the two mice.

One serious American official said: "I think the relationship between those two mice was that of king and guard." The others thought for a while and said: "That was why!"

A smart French said: "I think the relationship between those two mice was that of husband and wife." Again the others thought for a while, and all felt it meaningful.

A Japanese said: "I think the relationship between those two mice was that of mother and son." Once again the others thought for a while, and felt this was more reasonable. So they expressed agreement another time.

At that moment, one Chinese asked: "Why did those two mice have to have a certain relationship?"

Suddenly, the group looked back at the Chinese and didn't say any words. The American official, the French and the Japanese who had spoken earlier all lowered their heads in shyness, and did not dare to answer.

In fact, the true love is not built on friendship, loyalty(忠诚) or blood relationship. Instead, it is based on no relationship.

1.Neither of the two mice ran away immediately because_______.

A．one was trying to help the blind one         B．one was biting the other

C．the mouth of the hole was too small         D．they were not afraid of smoke

2.Why did they lower their heads in shyness according to the passage?

A. Because they did not dare to answer.

B. Because they regretted(后悔)driving a poor blind mouse away.

C. Because they had mistaken the relationship of the mice.

D, Because they did not express themselves much better.

3.It is clear that_______.

A．all the mice came out of the hole easily

B．each of the people understood the relationship differently

C．the people wanted to kill the mice with smoke

D．the people knew one of the mice was blind at the first sight

4.The best title for the passage is_______.

A．Two lovely mice     B．Help produces love  C．Love is all         D．Friends in need

 

从方框中选出单词，用它们的适当形式填空，是短文意思正确通顺（每词只能用一次）

help  please  money  sell  right   wrong   one   they   so   teach   but   high

George Wilson was the owner of a watch shop .One day he told his son James, “I will  1   you all I know about watches .” For the  2 few weeks , James looked after the front of the shop . He wored hard and was 3  to the customers( 顾客). George was very 4  with him.

After about six months , James said to his father, “Is there anything else you want to teach me?”

“Yes,” said George , “ It’s time for me to teach you how to make  5 ..”

“I know that ,”said James, “You buy watches at one price and sell them at a  6   price.That’s how we get so much money .”

“That’s ture . 7  we don’t make most of the money from it .” He picked up a watch from the counter (柜台). “What do you think of this watch?”

“That’s a cheep watch . We can only get a few dollars from 8  it .”

“You are 9, my son ,” George said , “Those cheap ones get us more money than any other watch in the shop.”

“I don’t understand,” James said .

“Becausa they are really cheap , they are always breaking, and we make our money from fixing 10.”

 

根据下面的对话情景，在每个空白处填上一个合适的句子，使对话的意义连贯、完整。

 ( After the graduation ceremony, Tan Li and Wu Qian are talking about their summer vacation plans on the playground. ) Tan Li = T  Wu Qian = W

T: Hey, Wu Qian.  Our junior high scnool life has come to an end.  What are you going to do this summer vacation?

W: 1.                The scenery there is very bea4utiful.

T: Sounds great.  Is considered as the Treasure Island of China  Where will you go?'

W: I'll go to Sun Moon Lake and other tourist attractions. 2._____________

T: NO. I've never been there before. 3._________________________

W: By ship.  It is a little slow but interesting.

T: 4.______________________________

W: In half a month.

T: 5.____________________________

W: Thank you.