Bill Javis took over our village’s news-agency at a time of life when most of us only wanted to relax. He just thought he would like something but not too much to do, and the news-a??gency was ready-made. The business produced little enough for him, but Bill was a man who only wanted the simplicity and order and regularity of the job. He had been a long-serving sailor, and all his life had done everything by the clock.

Every day he opened his shop at 6:00 a. m. to catch the early trade; the papers arrived on his doorstep before that. Many of Bill’s customers were city workers, and the shop was convenient for the station. Business was tailing off by 10 o’clock, so at eleven sharp Bill closed for lunch. It was hard luck on anybody who wanted a paper or magazine in the after??noon, for most likely Bill would be down on the river bank, fishing, and his neatest competitor was five kilometers away. Sometimes in the afternoon-, the evening paper landed on the doorway, and at 4 o’ clock Bill reopened his shop. The evening rush lasted till seven, and it was worthwhile.

He lived in a flat above the ship, alone. Except in the very bad weather, you always knew where to find him in the af??ternoon, as I have said. Once, on a sunny afternoon, I walked home along the river bank from a shopping trip to the village. By my watch it was three minutes past four, so I was aston??ished to see Bill sitting there on his little chair with a line in the, water. He had no luck, I could, see, but he was making no effort to move. “What’s wrong, Bill?” I called out from the path.

For answer, he put a hand in his jacket and took out a big, golden object. For a moment I had no idea what it could be, and then it suddenly went off with a noise like a fire en??gine. Stopping the bell, Bill held the thing up and called back, "Ten to four, you see, and this is dead right. "

I had never known anyone carrying a brass alarm clock round with him before.

5. Bill Javis became a news-agent when ________.

A. he need the money.                         B. he decided to take things easy

C. he was quite an old man                 D. he gave up clock-repairing

6. Bill opened the shop so early in the day because ________.

A. he liked to do as much as possible before he went to work

B. the shop had to be open when the morning papers came

C. he was never sure of time

D. it was then that he did a lot of business

7. On that sunny afternoon, the writer was surprised when he saw Bill because ________.

A. he thought it was late for Bill to be still fishing

B. he thought Bill was ill, since he was not moving at all

C. Bill had not caught anything, and that seemed strange

D. Bill stayed in his flat

8. From the information given in the passage, who or what do you think was wrong?

A. The bell was; it must have gone off at the wrong time.

B. Bill was; he had dropped off to sleep.

C. The writer’s watch was fast.

D. Bill’s clock was wrong; it was old.

Passage Sixteen (Mules)

Although the top men in smuggling business must work together, most of a syndicate’s small fry, especially the mules, know only their immediate contacts. If caught there is little they can give away. A mule probably will not even know the name of the person who gives him his instructions, nor how to get in touch with him. Usually he even does not know the person to whom he has to make delivery. He will be told just to sit tight in a certain hotel or bar until someone contacts him. In this way if he is blown, coming through airport customs he cannot unwittingly lead agents to the next link in the chain. All the persons at the receiving end do is to hang around the airport among the waiting crowd, and see that the mule comes through safely. If he does not, he is dimply written off as a loss. To make identification of mules easier, several syndicates have devised their own “club ties” so that a mule wearing one can immediately be picked out.

Mules often receive careful training before embarking on their first journey. One Beirut organization, for example, uses a room with three airline seats in it. There the trainee mules sit for hours on end wearing weighted smuggling vests beneath their clothes, so that they become accustomed to standing up after a long flight in a natural way, and without revealing what they are carrying. An outfit in Brussels maintained a comfortable apartment where the mules could relax and get a firm grip on themselves on the night before their first journey; they were helped to dress before setting out for the airport in the morning. More often than not a courier will not know precisely where he is going or what flight number is until he is actually handed his tickets at the airport. This prevents the careless boast in some bar or to a girl friend the night before.

Mules occasionally run off with the goods to keep the profit themselves. As insurance against this, a syndicate often sends a high-up on the same plane to keep a wary eye on couriers, particularly new ones. Even then things can go badly wrong. One international currency smuggler who was having trouble getting money out of Britain was offered help by a group of men who said they were in a position to “fix thing” – for a fee of course. Foolishly, the smuggler agreed to accept their help. When he got to London’s Heathrow Airport, he handed over to one of the men a black suitcase containing nearly $90,000 in cash, destined for Frankfurt. Just to keep an eye on things, the smuggler went along on the same plane. When they landed at Frankfurt he was handed back his suitcase. He beat a straight path to the men’s toilet, opened the case, and found only old clothes. The courier had switched suitcase en route, but the smuggler could hardly run to the police and complain that “the man who was smuggling money out of England for me has stolen it.”

1.What is a “mule”?

A.A person who sends smuggling goods for a syndicate is called mule.

B.A person in charge of smuggling goods is called mule.

C.A person who makes delivery for a syndicate is called mule.

D.A person who receives instructions from a smuggler is called mule.

2.The sentence “if he is blown” in line (6) is closest in meaning to

A.if he is arrested.

B.if he is recognized, but not necessarily arrested.

C.if he is recognized and arrested.

D.if he runs away.

3.Why does the author give an example in the last paragraph?

A.To show how a smuggler is caught.

B.To show a smuggler is afraid of the police.

C.To show to keep a wary eye on couriers is useless.

D.To show mules may keep the profit for themselves.

4.how does a mule work?

A.Jointly.

B.Independently.

C.consciously.

D.Separately.

Not long ago the movie 2012 came into screen. The people were threatened by those scenes of destroying flood, severe earthquake, terrifying hurricane and constructions representing human civilization being destroyed and even swallowed by disaster. Luckily, they are just the director’s imagination, but the present situation is not heading a positive direction, either.

Take my own experience in Alaska as an example. Once I took a trip to the glacier. Along the way there stood signposts marking the snow lines of different years. They started from the foot of the mountain, but it was at the top when I finally saw melting glaciers(融化的冰川). My heart ached seeing the beautiful blue ice melting at every second.

Sad but true, they are the effects of global warming and the result of our human impact. Furthermore, each year the rising sea level will kill 56 million people, and that's about the population of the en tire Italy. According to studies, if the temperature keeps on rising like this, by the year 2050, some islands and coastal cities including New York, Shanghai, Tokyo and Sydney will be drowned in water.

Our fortune is in our own hands. It depends on us to shape our future, to reduce future human impact and find ways to form a peaceful relationship with our environment. Therefore, it's time for actions to be taken right now. Contribute a little to energy saving by using more efficient light bulbs and less hot water. Let recycle become our habit by thinking twice before throwing something away. Let us take public transportation as our first choice when going to a certain place. It might cost more time for now, but it' s to the benefit of a permanent future. Take care of every tree and grass around us by watering them or simply just avoid destroying them．

In a word, small drops of water make a big ocean. The earth does not belong to us. On the contrary, we belong to the earth. Please bear in mind that the earth is our home. It is our responsibility to build a brighter and better future of our planet and prevent what happened in the movie 2012 from becoming reality．                

1.Why does the author talk about the movie 2012 in the passage ?     

A．To give example．                      B．To lead into the topic．

C．To make prediction．                    D．To provide the evidence．

2.How did the author feel when he took a trip to the glacier?

A．Worried．        B．Puzzled．         C．Scared．          D．Bored．

3.It can be inferred from the third paragraph that          .

A．56 million people in Italy have been killed owing to the rising sea level

B．Some islands and coastal cities will be drowned in water by the year of 2050

C．Human being will be in danger if we don't take actions to prevent the global warming

D．It is certain that what happened in the movie 2012 will come into reality

4.According to the passage, you are advised to             .

A．drive our own private cars instead of taking buses to some place

B．recycle everything that is used

C．go to see the movie 2012 at once

D．work together to take good care of our planet

5.What does the author mean by saying "small drops of water make a big ocean"?

A．Think twice before taking action,

B．It's our duty to protect the ocean．

C．Everyone together can make a difference．

D．It's important to save every drop of water．

 

Not long ago the movie 2012 came into screen. The people were threatened by those scenes of destroying flood, severe earthquake, terrifying hurricane and constructions representing human civilization being destroyed and even swallowed by disaster. Luckily, they are just the director’s imagination, but the present situation is not heading a positive direction, either.
Take my own experience in Alaska as an example. Once I took a trip to the glacier. Along the way there stood signposts marking the snow lines of different years. They started from the foot of the mountain, but it was at the top when I finally saw melting glaciers(融化的冰川). My heart ached seeing the beautiful blue ice melting at every second.
Sad but true, they are the effects of global warming and the result of our human impact. Furthermore, each year the rising sea level will kill 56 million people, and that's about the population of the en tire Italy. According to studies, if the temperature keeps on rising like this, by the year 2050, some islands and coastal cities including New York, Shanghai, Tokyo and Sydney will be drowned in water.
Our fortune is in our own hands. It depends on us to shape our future, to reduce future human impact and find ways to form a peaceful relationship with our environment. Therefore, it's time for actions to be taken right now. Contribute a little to energy saving by using more efficient light bulbs and less hot water. Let recycle become our habit by thinking twice before throwing something away. Let us take public transportation as our first choice when going to a certain place. It might cost more time for now, but it' s to the benefit of a permanent future. Take care of every tree and grass around us by watering them or simply just avoid destroying them．
In a word, small drops of water make a big ocean. The earth does not belong to us. On the contrary, we belong to the earth. Please bear in mind that the earth is our home. It is our responsibility to build a brighter and better future of our planet and prevent what happened in the movie 2012 from becoming reality．                
【小题1】Why does the author talk about the movie 2012 in the passage ?     

A．To give example．	B．To lead into the topic．
C．To make prediction．	D．To provide the evidence．

【小题2】How did the author feel when he took a trip to the glacier?

A．Worried．

B．Puzzled．

C．Scared．

D．Bored．

【小题3】It can be inferred from the third paragraph that          .

A．56 million people in Italy have been killed owing to the rising sea level

B．Some islands and coastal cities will be drowned in water by the year of 2050

C．Human being w订l be in danger if we don't take actions to prevent the global warming

D．It is certain that what happened in the movie 2012 will come into reality

【小题4】According to the passage, you are advised to             .

A．drive our own private cars instead of taking buses to some place

B．recycle everything that is used

C．go to see the movie 2012 at once

D．work together to take good care of our planet

【小题5】What does the author mean by saying "small drops of water make a big ocean"?

A．Think twice before taking action,

B．It's our duty to protect the ocean．

C．Everyone together can make a difference．

D．It's important to save every drop of water．

Not long ago the movie 2012 came into screen. The people were threatened by those scenes of destroying flood, severe earthquake, terrifying hurricane and constructions representing human civilization being destroyed and even swallowed by disaster. Luckily, they are just the director’s imagination, but the present situation is not heading a positive direction, either.
Take my own experience in Alaska as an example. Once I took a trip to the glacier. Along the way there stood signposts marking the snow lines of different years. They started from the foot of the mountain, but it was at the top when I finally saw melting glaciers(融化的冰川). My heart ached seeing the beautiful blue ice melting at every second.
Sad but true, they are the effects of global warming and the result of our human impact. Furthermore, each year the rising sea level will kill 56 million people, and that's about the population of the en tire Italy. According to studies, if the temperature keeps on rising like this, by the year 2050, some islands and coastal cities including New York, Shanghai, Tokyo and Sydney will be drowned in water.
Our fortune is in our own hands. It depends on us to shape our future, to reduce future human impact and find ways to form a peaceful relationship with our environment. Therefore, it's time for actions to be taken right now. Contribute a little to energy saving by using more efficient light bulbs and less hot water. Let recycle become our habit by thinking twice before throwing something away. Let us take public transportation as our first choice when going to a certain place. It might cost more time for now, but it' s to the benefit of a permanent future. Take care of every tree and grass around us by watering them or simply just avoid destroying them．
In a word, small drops of water make a big ocean. The earth does not belong to us. On the contrary, we belong to the earth. Please bear in mind that the earth is our home. It is our responsibility to build a brighter and better future of our planet and prevent what happened in the movie 2012 from becoming reality．                
【小题1】Why does the author talk about the movie 2012 in the passage ?     

A．To give example．	B．To lead into the topic．
C．To make prediction．	D．To provide the evidence．

【小题2】How did the author feel when he took a trip to the glacier?

A．Worried．

B．Puzzled．

C．Scared．

D．Bored．

【小题3】It can be inferred from the third paragraph that          .

A．56 million people in Italy have been killed owing to the rising sea level

B．Some islands and coastal cities will be drowned in water by the year of 2050

C．Human being will be in danger if we don't take actions to prevent the global warming

D．It is certain that what happened in the movie 2012 will come into reality

【小题4】According to the passage, you are advised to             .

A．drive our own private cars instead of taking buses to some place

B．recycle everything that is used

C．go to see the movie 2012 at once

D．work together to take good care of our planet

【小题5】What does the author mean by saying "small drops of water make a big ocean"?

A．Think twice before taking action,

B．It's our duty to protect the ocean．

C．Everyone together can make a difference．

D．It's important to save every drop of water．