A few days ago we – that’s me and the husband – took a cab to the station. Chat with the driver fell to the wrong of cyclists, and the misunderstanding of the road rules. So far as the rules of the road go, there seems to be one basic principle: when you are driving a car you hate bikes, when you are riding a bike you hate cars (and I guess walkers hate everyone). 

There is an obvious difference of viewpoint built in here. It wasn’t until I started to drive a car (almost 20years after I had first rode a bike) that I actually realized that you could not see a cyclist at night without lights. In fact I now want to shout at late night cyclists without lights(like motortists once did at me): “You’ll get killed, sunshine, I can’t see you.”

The problem is that cyclists do ride headlong into danger. It's not just not having lights. It’s biking on pavements (and so threatening to injure a load of innocent walkers in the process) and biking down one-way streets the wrong way.

I admit that I do bike the wrong way down a one-way street sometimes. My feeble(软弱无力) defense is that I try always to do it as if I know I was doing wrong. That is slowly, with an apologetic look on the face, and ready to get off at any minute. I can’t bear the guys(一伙人) (usually, but not always it is guys) who do it as if they owned the place, and at high speed.

So cyclists are not entirely innocent. But they are among the disadvantaged groups, because the bottom line is that a car or a lorry can kill a cyclist and not the other way around.

1.When did the writer realize the danger for late night cyclists without lights?

A. Not until she became a driver herself.

B. Not until she had driven a car for 20 years.

C. After she was shouted at by a motorist.

D. After she was once knocked down by a group of guys.

2.When the writer biked the wrong way down a one way street, she felt_________.

A. angry            B. guilty   C. innocent                    D. proud

3.Which group is most likely to face danger according to the writer?

A. walkers         B. passers-by     C. cyclists          D. motorists

4.What can we learn about the writer?

A. She often took a cab with her husband.

B. She has been a motorist for over 20 years.

C. She used to ride a bike without lights at night.

D. She often biked the wrong way down a one way street.

 

When a storm is coming, most people leave the area as quickly as possible and head for safety. But there are a few people who will get into their cars and go straight for the center of the storm. These people are willing to risk(冒…危险)being killed by floods or 100-kilometer-an-hour winds for the excitement of watching the storm close up.

“Storm chasing(追逐)” is becoming an increasingly popular hobby(喜好), especially in the Midwest of the United States, where there are frequent storms between March and July. A storm chaser begins the day by checking the Internet for the latest weather reports, and then drives up to 1,000 kilometers to where the storm will be and waits for it to develop.

Although anyone can do it , storm chasing is extremely dangerous. The power of a big storm can throw a cow into the air or destroy a whole house in seconds. Storm chasers are also often hurt in accidents caused by driving in a heavy rain. If you are a beginner, it is much safer to join a group for storm-chasing vacations during the storm season.

Even then, storm chasing is not all adventure and excitement. “Storm chasing is 95% driving,” says Daniel Lynch, who spends most of his summer storm-chasing. “Sometimes you can sit around for hours waiting for something to happen, and all you get is blue sky and a few light showers.”

However, for storm chasers, it is all worth it. “When you get close to a storm, it is the most exciting sight you will ever see in your life,” says Jasper Morley. “Every storm is an example of the power of nature, It is the greatest show on Earth.”

1.For storm chasing, the first thing storm chasers do is to          .

A head straight for the center of the storm  B. get into the car for safety

C. wait patiently for the storm to develop.  D. collect information about a coming storm

2. Beginners of storm chasing are advised             .

A. not to drive in a heavy rain     B. to do it in an organized way

C. not to get too close to a storm    D. to spend more time on it in summer

3. By saying “it is all worth it” in the last paragraph, the author means that             .

A. storm chasing costs a lot of money  B. storm chasing is worth hours of waiting

C. efforts in storm chasing are well paid  D. a storm presents the greatest show on Earth

4. What can we learn from the text?

A. Sometimes storm chasers get nothing but disappointment

B. Many storm chasers get killed in the storms.

C. Storm chasing is becoming popular around the world.

D. Storm chasing is only fit for young people.

 

Sharks have lived in the oceans for over 450 million years, long before dinosaurs appeared. There are now about 360 species of sharks, whose size, behavior, and other characteristics differ widely.

Every year, we catch and kill over 100 million sharks, mostly for food and for their fins. Dried shark fins are used to make shark fin soup, which sells for as much as $50 a bowl in fine Hong Kong restaurants. Other sharks are killed for sport and out of fear. Sharks are vulnerable(易受伤的) to overfishing because it takes most species 10 to 15 years to begin reproducing and they produce only a few offspring（后代）.

Influenced by movies and popular novels, most people see sharks as people-eating monsters. This is far from the truth. Every year, a few types of shark injure about 100 people worldwide and kill about 25. Most attacks are by great white sharks, which often feed on sea lions and other marine（海洋的） mammals. They sometimes mistake human swimmers for their normal prey, especially if they are wearing black wet suits.

If you are a typical ocean-goer, your chances of being killed by an unprovoked（非受挑衅而发生的）attack by a shark are about 1 in 100 million. You are more likely to be killed by a pig than a shark and thousands of times more likely to get killed when you drive a car.

Sharks help save human lives. In addition to providing people with food, they are helping us learn how to fight cancer, bacteria, and viruses. Sharks are very healthy and have aging processes similar to ours. Their highly effective immune system allows wounds to heal quickly without becoming infected, and their blood is being studied in connection with AIDS research.

Sharks are among the few animals in the world that almost never get cancer and eye cataracts（白内障）. Understanding why can help us improve human health. Chemicals taken from shark cartilage（软骨）have killed cancerous tumors in laboratory animals, research that someday could help prolong your life.

Sharks are needed in the world’s ocean ecosystems. Although they don’t need us, we need them. We are much more dangerous to sharks than they are to us. For every shark that bites a person, we kill one million sharks.

1.Which of the following is NOT a reason why people kill sharks?

A．People kill sharks for food.

B．People kill sharks for sport.

C．People kill sharks out of fear.

D．People kill sharks because they often attack swimmers.

2.According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true?

A．There are many different species of sharks, but only a few of them are dangerous to humans.

B．Sharks never get ill.

C．Sharks are a valuable resource for human.

D．Sharks play an important role in the ocean ecosystem.

3.It can be inferred from the passage that _______.

A．movies have given people the wrong impression of sharks

B．most sharks are dangerous to humans

C．sharks will attack anyone who is wearing black

D．it is dangerous to swim in the ocean

4.The underlined word “prolong” in the last but one paragraph means ______.

A．save             B．protect           C．lengthen          D．improve

5.The best title for the passage would be _______.

A．Are Sharks Dangerous?                   B．Sharks And Humans

C．Sharks: Humans’ Friends                D．Sharks Help Save Human Lives

 

 

When a storm is coming, most people leave the area as quickly ad possible and head for safety. But there are a few people who will get into their cars and go straight for the center of the storm. These people are willing to risk(冒…危险)being killed by floods or 100-kilometer-an-hour winds for the excitement of watching the storm close up.

“Storm chasing(追逐)” is becoming an increasingly popular hobby(喜好), especially in the Midwest of the United States, where there are frepuent storms between March and July. A storm chaser begins the day by checking the Internet for the latest weather reports, and then drives up to 1,000 kilometers to where the storm will be and wits for it to develop.

Although anyone can do it , storm chasing is extremely dangerous. The power of a big storm can throw a cow into the air or destroy a whole house in seconds. Storm chasers are also often hurt in accidents caused by driving in a heavy rain. If you are a beginner, it is much safer to join a group for storm-chasing vacations during the storm season.

Even then, storm chasing is not all adventure and excitement. “Storm chasing is 95% driving,” says Daniel Lynch, who spends most of his summer storm-chasing. “Sometimes you can sit around for hours waiting for something to happen, and all you get is blue sky and a few light showers.”

However, for storm chasers, it is all worth it. “When you get close to a storm, it is the most exciting sight you will ever see in your life,” says Jasper Morley. “Every storm is an example of the power of nature, It is the greatest show on Earth.”

1.For storm chasing, the first thing storm chasers do is to          .

A. head straight for the center of the storm

B. get into the car for safety

C. wait patiently for the storm to develop

D. collect information about a coming storm

2.Beginners of storm chasing are advised             .

A. not to drive in a heavy rain

B. to do it in an organized way

C. not to get too close to a storm

D. to spend more time on it in summer

3.By saying “it is all worth it” in the last paragraph, the author means that             .

A. storm chasing costs a lot of money

B. storm chasing is worth hours of waiting

C. efforts in storm chasing are well paid

D. a storm presents the greatest show on Earth

4.What can we learn from the text?

A. Sometimes storm chasers get nothing but disappointment

B. Many storm chasers get killed in the storms.

C. Storm chasing is becoming popular around the world

D. Storm chasing is only fit for young people.

 

When a storm is coming, most people leave the area as quickly as possible and head for safety. But there are a few people who will get into their cars and go straight for the center of the storm. These people are willing to risk(冒…危险)being killed by floods or 100-kilometer-an-hour winds for the excitement of watching the storm close up.

“Storm chasing(追逐)” is becoming an increasingly popular hobby(喜好), especially in the Midwest of the United States, where there are frequent storms between March and July. A storm chaser begins the day by checking the Internet for the latest weather reports, and then drives up to 1,000 kilometers to where the storm will be and waits for it to develop.

Although anyone can do it , storm chasing is extremely dangerous. The power of a big storm can throw a cow into the air or destroy a whole house in seconds. Storm chasers are also often hurt in accidents caused by driving in a heavy rain. If you are a beginner, it is much safer to join a group for storm-chasing vacations during the storm season.

Even then, storm chasing is not all adventure and excitement. “Storm chasing is 95% driving,” says Daniel Lynch, who spends most of his summer storm-chasing. “Sometimes you can sit around for hours waiting for something to happen, and all you get is blue sky and a few light showers.”

However, for storm chasers, it is all worth it. “When you get close to a storm, it is the most exciting sight you will ever see in your life,” says Jasper Morley. “Every storm is an example of the power of nature, It is the greatest show on Earth.”

For storm chasing, the first thing storm chasers do is to          .

A head straight for the center of the storm  B. get into the car for safety

C. wait patiently for the storm to develop.  D. collect information about a coming storm

Beginners of storm chasing are advised             .

A. not to drive in a heavy rain     B. to do it in an organized way

C. not to get too close to a storm    D. to spend more time on it in summer

By saying “it is all worth it” in the last paragraph, the author means that             .

A. storm chasing costs a lot of money  B. storm chasing is worth hours of waiting

C. efforts in storm chasing are well paid  D. a storm presents the greatest show on Earth

What can we learn from the text?

A. Sometimes storm chasers get nothing but disappointment

B. Many storm chasers get killed in the storms.

C. Storm chasing is becoming popular around the world.

D. Storm chasing is only fit for young people.