The Truth Can Set You Free

I recently got pulled over for speeding not far from my new home in Virginia. I hadn’t been paying attention, and I had driven a few miles an hour over the speed limit.

“Can I see your license and registration?” the police officer asked me. I pulled both out for him, and he saw my Pittsburgh address on my Pennsylvania driver’s license.

“What are you doing here?” he asked. “Are you with the army?”

“No, I’m not.” I answered. I explained that I had just moved to Virginia, and I hadn’t had time to re-register yet.

“So what brings you here?”

He had asked a direct question. Without thinking very hard, I gave him a direct answer. “Well, officer,” I said, “since you’ve asked, I have cancer. I have just months to live. We’ve moved down here to be close to my wife’s family.”

“So you’ve got cancer,” he said flatly. He was trying to figure me out. Was I really dying? Was I lying? He took a long look at me. “You know, for a guy who has only a few months to live, you sure look good.”

He was obviously thinking: “Either this guy is pulling one big fat line on me, or he’s telling the truth.” He was trying to question my honesty without directly calling me a liar. And so he had forced me to prove that I was being honest.

“Well, officer, I know that I look pretty healthy. I look great on the outside, but the tumors(腫瘤)are on the inside.” And then, I don’t know what possessed me, but I just did it. I pulled up my shirt, showing the operational scars.

He looked at my scars. He looked in my eyes. He now knew he was talking to a dying man. Well, he wasn’t taking this any further. He handed me back my license. “Do me a favor.” he said, “Slow down from now on.”

The awful truth had set me free. As he went back to his police car, I had a realization. I had been one of those gorgeous blondes (金發(fā)美女) who could bat her eyelashes and get out of tickets. I drove home under the speed limit, and I was smiling like a beauty queen.

1.The author was stopped by the police officer because ______.

A. he didn’t have a license

B. he forgot to re-register

C. he was seriously ill

D. he drove too fast

2.The author moved to Virginia probably because ______.

A. he was homesick

B. he served in the army there

C. Virginia had better hospitals

D. his family could be better cared for

3.On hearing about the author’s cancer, the police officer ______.

A. said it was an excuse

B. doubted his honesty

C. showed sympathy for him

D. asked him to show his scars

4.It can be inferred from the passage that the author was ______.

A. optimistic B. adventurous

C. dishonest D. romantic

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科目:高中英語 來源:2016屆遼寧省大連市高三10月月考英語試卷(解析版) 題型:閱讀理解

Plan on traveling around the USA this summer. If you need help in arranging the trip, or want ideas about where to go and what to do, there are a number of outstanding websites that can make your American dream come true.

www.byways. org

The National Scenic Byways Program covers l50 memorable roads. Some are natural routes, such as Route l along the California coast. Others focus on history(such as Route 6) or man-made attractions (the Las Vegas Trip). For each, you are provided with a map, told the route’s length and how long is allowed, and given detailed suggestions on sights and stop-offs.

www. oyster. com

This is the best website for reviews of hotels in US cities and resorts. The reviews are impressively thorough--covering locations, rooms, cleanliness, food and so on. Importantly, these are not promotional photos by the hotels, but more honest and revealing ones taken by inspectors. Search facilities are excellent. From the 243 hotels reviewed in the New York, you can narrow down what you are looking for by locations, facilities and styles, or just pick out a selection of the best.

www. 101usaholidays. co. uk

This is the latest offering that features l01 holiday ideas to the USA. It’s an impressively diverse selection, ranging from touring in the footsteps of Martin Luther King to a golfing break in Arizona and a cycling and wine—tasting trip in California’s Napa Valley. Narrow down what you are looking for--whether by price, region, theme and who will be traveling--and then just the photos of the relevant holidays remain on view. It’s a really clever design.

www. mousesavers. com

Walt Disney World in California can make dreams come true, but the price is not affordable for the majority of people.

So turn to long established Mousesavers. com, dedicated to giving big discounts on tickets, hotels and dining at Walt Disney World. The website also offers general money—saving tips, suggestions for cheap and free stuff and brief coverage of other Florida and California theme parks.

1.If you are going to the USA for the man-made attractions, you can drive along________.

A.Route l B.Route 6

C.the Las Vegas Trip D.the California coast

2.Why are the photos of the hotels in US cities and resorts real in www. oyster. com?

A.Because they were taken by customers who once lived there.

B.Because there are comments of customers on each photo.

C.Because there are qualifications of the authority.

D.Because they are taken by inspectors of the website.

3.Travel ideas for a big family with kids and the old are available at .

A.http://byways. org B.www. oyster. com

C.www. 101 us holidays. co. uk D.www. mouse savers. com

4.Where does the text probably come from?

A.A news report.

B.A tourist brochure.

C.A culture journal.

D.A health column

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科目:高中英語 來源:2015-2016學(xué)年廣東清遠(yuǎn)第一中學(xué)實驗學(xué)校高二10月月考英語試卷(解析版) 題型:閱讀理解

My father had returned from his business visit to London when I came in, rather late, to supper. I could tell at once that he and my mother had been discussing something. In that half-playful, half-serious way I knew so well, he said," How would you like to go to Eton?"

"You bet, "I cried quickly catching the joke. Everyone knew it was the most expensive, the most famous of schools. You had to be entered at birth, if not before. Besides, even at 12 or 13, I understood my father. He disliked any form of showing off. He always knew his proper station in life, which was in the middle of the middle class, our house was medium-sized; he had avoided joining Royal Liverpool Golf Club and went to a smaller one instead; though once he had got a second-hand Rolls-Royce at a remarkably low price, he felt embarrassed driving it, and quickly changed it for an Austin 1100.

This could only be his delightful way of telling me that the whole boarding school idea was to be dropped. Alas! I should also have remembered that he had a liking for being different from everyone else, if it did not conflict(沖突)with his fear of drawing attention to himself.

It seemed that he had happened to be talking to Graham Brown of the London office, a very nice fellow, and Graham had a friend who had just entered his boy at the school, and while he was in that part of the world he thought he might just as well phone them. I remember my eyes stinging(刺痛)and my hands shaking with the puzzlement of my feelings. There was excitement, at the heart of great sadness.

"Oh, he doesn't want to go away," said my mother, "You shouldn't go on like this.” "It's up to him," said my father. "He can make up his own mind.”

1.The house the writer's family lived in was _______ .

A. the best they could afford

B. right for their social position

C. for showing off

D. rather small

2.His father sold his Roils-Royce because _______ .

A. it made him feel uneasy

B. it was too old to work well

C. it was too expensive to possess

D. it was too cheap

3.What was the writer's reaction to the idea of going to Eton?

A. He was very unhappy. B. He didn't believe it.

C. He was delighted. D. He had mixed feelings.

4.We can know from the passage that _______ .

A. Children who can go to Eton are very famous

B. Children can go to Eton if they will

C. It is very difficult for a child to get admitted by Eton

D. Children don't have the right to decide whether they will go to Eton

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科目:高中英語 來源:2014-2015學(xué)年北京市高三上學(xué)期第一次月考英語試卷(解析版) 題型:閱讀理解

C

High school dropouts earn an average of $9,000 less per year than graduates. Now a new study denies a common belief why they quit. It’s much more basic than flunking out(不及格).

Society tends to think of high school dropouts as kids who just can’t make it. They are lazy, and perhaps not too bright. So researchers were surprised when they asked more than 450 kids who quit school about why they left.

“The vast majority actually had passing grades and they were confident that they could have graduated from high school.”John Bridgeland, the executive researcher said. About 1 million teens leave school each year. Only about half of African-American and Hispanic(美籍西班牙的)students will receive a diploma, and actually all dropouts come to regret their decision. So, if failing grades don’t explain why these kids quit, what does? Again, John Bridgeland:“The most dependable finding was that they were bored.”“They found classes uninteresting;they weren’t inspired or motivated. They didn’t see any direct connection between what they were learning in the classroom to their own lives, or to their career aspirations.”

The study found that most teens who do drop out wait until they turn sixteen, which happens to be the age at which most states allow students to quit. In the US, only one state, New Mexico, has a law requiring teenagers to stay in high school until they graduate. Only four states: California, Tennessee, Texas and Utah, plus the District of Columbia, require school attendance until age 18, no exceptions. Jeffrey Garin, another researcher, says raising the compulsory attendance age may be one way to keep more kids in school.

“As these dropouts look back, they realize they’ve made a mistake. And anything that sort of gives these people an extra push to stick it out and see it through to the end, is probably helpful measure.”

New Hampshire may be the next state to raise its school attendance age to 18.But critics say that forcing the students unwilling to continue their studies to stay in school misses the point—the need for reform. It’s been called for to reinvent high school education to make it more challenging and relevant, and to ensure that kids who do stick it out receive a diploma that actually means something.

1.Most high school students drop out of school because_______.

A. they have failing grades

B. they take no interest in classes

C. they are mistreated

D. they are lazy and not intelligent

2.According to the passage, which state has a law requiring school attendance until they graduate?

A. New Hampshire

B. Utah

C. New Mexico

D. The District of Columbia

3.The underlined words“stick it out”probably means“________”.

A. complete schooling

B. solve the problem

C. love having classes

D. believe in themselves

4.In the last paragraph, the writer is trying to________.

A. analyze the reason why students quit school

B. suggest raising the compulsory attendance age

C. raise awareness of reforming high school education

D. wish to make laws to guarantee no dropout

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科目:高中英語 來源:2014-2015學(xué)年北京市西城區(qū)高三一模考試英語試卷(解析版) 題型:閱讀理解

Things Your Pilot Won't Tell You

You may not be getting the airline you paid for.

You may go to an airline website and buy a ticket, and get onto an airplane that has a similar name painted on it, but half the time, you're really on a regional (地方的) airline.The regionals aren't held to the same safety standards as the majors: their pilots aren't required to have as much training and experience, and the public doesn't know that.

—Captain at a major airline

If you're a nervous flier, book a morning flight.

The heating of the ground later causes bumpier (顛簸的) air, and it's much more likely to thunderstorm in the afternoon.

—Jerry Johnson , pilot, Los Angeles

The smoothest place to sit is often over or near the wing.

The bumpiest place to sit is in the back.If you're in the middle, you don't move as much.

—Patrick Smith, pilot, and author of Cockpit Confidential

Sit in the front if you want fresher air.

The general flow of air in any airplane is from front to back.So if you're really concerned about breathing the freshest possible air or not getting too hot, sit as close to the front as you can.Planes are generally warmest in the back.

—Tech pilot at a regional airline, Texas

You never know where the safest seat is.

There is no safest place to sit.In one accident, the people in the back are dead; in the next, it's the people up front.

—John Nance, aviation safety analyst and retired airline captain, Seattle

I've been struck by lightning twice.

Most pilots have.Airplanes are built to take it.You hear a big boom and see a big flash and that's it.You're not going to fall out of the sky.

—Charlotte, pilot for a regional earner,.North Carolina

People don't understand why they can't use their cell phones.

Well, what can happen is 12 people will decide to call someone just before landing, and I can get a false reading on my instruments saying that we are higher than we ideally are.

—Jim Tilmon, retired American Airlines pilot, Phoenix

1.Jerry Johnson advises nervous fliers to ______.

A.sit in the back

B.fly in the morning

C.fly with major airlines

D.a(chǎn)void flying in bad weather

2.The best seats for those who need fresh air are ______.

A.in the front B.in the middle

C.in the back D.near the wing

3.Passengers' use of cellphones before landing is likely to ______.

A.increase the risk of being struck by lightning

B.make it difficult for pilots to control the plane

C.cause the instruments of the plane to break down

D.a(chǎn)ffect pilots' judgment about the height of the plane

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科目:高中英語 來源:2014-2015學(xué)年北京市海淀區(qū)高三下學(xué)期期中練習(xí)英語試卷(解析版) 題型:書面表達(dá)

假設(shè)你是紅星中學(xué)高二(1)班的學(xué)生李華,請根據(jù)以下四幅圖的先后順序,為?坝⒄Z園地”寫一篇短文,記述寒假期間你在中國國家博物館做志愿講解員的經(jīng)歷。

注意:1.詞數(shù)不少于60。

2.短文的開頭已給出,不計入總詞數(shù)。

During this winter vacation, I worked as a volunteer guide in the National Museum of China.

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科目:高中英語 來源:2014-2015學(xué)年北京市海淀區(qū)高三上學(xué)期期末考試英語試卷(解析版) 題型:閱讀理解

Everyone procrastinates.We put things off because we don’t want to do them, or because we have too many other things on our plates.Putting things off—big or small—is part of being human.

But procrastination does have consequences.When your procrastination leaves you feeling discouraged, it is time to take action, and one of the best ways to get rid of it is to make an un-schedule.

An un-schedule is a weekly calendar of all the ways in which your time is already accounted for.You consider not only your timed commitments such as classes and meetings, but also your untimed activities such as meals, exercise, time with friends, and the like.Once you have made your un-schedule, you may be able to see your time is often filled with more activities than you realize, for instance, that you really don’t have five hours to spend writing on the night before your paper is due.Procrastinators’ views of time tend to be unrealistic, and the un-schedule can help you outline a realistic plan.By planning accordingly, you will not only get a better night’s sleep, you may also end up with a better paper.

The un-schedule might also be a good way to get started on a larger project, such as a term paper or an honors paper.You may think that you have “all semester” to get the writing done, but if you really map out how much time you have available to write on a daily and weekly basis, you will see that you need to get started sooner, rather than later.In addition, the un-schedule may reveal especially busy weeks or months, which will help you budget time for long-term projects.

Perhaps most importantly, the un-schedule can help you examine how you spend your time.You may be surprised at how much time you spend watching television, and decide to make a change.It’s especially important that you build time for fun activities into your un-schedule.Otherwise, you will procrastinate in order to steal time for relaxation.

You can also use the un-schedule to record your progress towards your goal.Reward yourself for your small successes.Seeing what you’ve achieved will help reinforce(強化)the productive behavior, and you will feel more motivated in the following process.

As you explore ways to conquer procrastination, don’t expect overnight transformation.You developed the habit over a long time; you aren’t going to stop magically.But you can change the behavior, bit by bit.If you start to make an un-schedule now, you will eventually develop new habits.

1.From Paragraph 2, we can know that procrastinators __________.

A.usually have sleeping problems

B.tend to be unrealistic in daily life

C.spend more time in doing exercise

D.often fail to notice untimed activities

2.Which of the following statements best reflects an un-schedule?

A.“Now I have more time for fun.”

B.“I can start my big project later.”

C.“I’ll treat myself to a movie for my progress.”

D.“I’m going to have more time to finish my paper.”

3.According to the writer, people need to make an un-schedule because of their __________.

A.interests in doing things differently

B.determination to try out new things

C.inability to manage time properly

D.lack of concentration on a project

4.The author writes the passage to __________.

A.show concerns

B.offer suggestions

C.express dissatisfaction

D.make comments

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科目:高中英語 來源:2016屆湖北襄陽老河口高級中學(xué)高二下期末英語試卷(解析版) 題型:閱讀理解

Why do people feel so rushed? Part of this is a perception (認(rèn)知) problem. Generally, people in rich countries have more free time than they used to. This is particularly true in Europe, but even in America free time has been inching up. Women's paid work has risen a lot over this period,but their time in unpaid work,like cooking and cleaning, has fallen even more significantly, thanks in part to dishwashers, washing machines and microwaves, and also to the fact that men shift themselves a little more around the house than they used to.

The problem, then, is less how much time people have than how they see it. Ever since a clock was first used at a workplace to record labor hours in the 18th century, time has been understood in relation to money. Once hours are financially quantified (量化), people worry more about wasting, but tend to save or use them more profitably. When economies grow and incomes rise, everyone's time becomes more valuable. And the more valuable something becomes, the rarer it seems.

Once seeing their time in terms of money, people often grow stingy with the former to maximize the latter. Workers who are paid by the hour volunteer less of their time and tend to feel more upset when they are not working.

The relationship between time, money and anxiety is something Gary Becker noticed in America's post-war boom years. "If anything, time is used more carefully today than a century ago," he noted in 1965. He found that when people are paid more to work, they tend to work longer hours, because working becomes a more profitable use of time. So the rising value of work time puts pressure on all time. Leisure time starts to seem more stressful, as people are forced to use it wisely or not at all.

1.Women's time in unpaid work has fallen partly because ______.

A. men's ability to support a family has been improved

B. men's involvement in housework has increased

C. women's leisure time was taken up by heavy housework

D. women become more skilled at household equipment

2.From the second paragraph, we learn that ______.

A. labor hours were recorded with a clock

B. people haven't realized the value of time

C. more work hours bring in more money

D. The rise of incomes makes time less valuable

3.The underlined phrase grow stingy with can probably be replaced by "______".

A. refuses to delay

B. intend to kill

C. try to accumulate

D. hesitate to spend

4.According to Gary Becker, what causes people feel anxious about time?

A. The wrong way of time being spent.

B. People's willingness to work hard.

C. The increasing value of work time.

D. More and more leisure time.

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科目:高中英語 來源:2014-2015學(xué)年北京市東城區(qū)普通校高三11月聯(lián)考英語試卷(解析版) 題型:單項填空

________ around the Water Cube,we were then taken to see the Bird’s Nest.

A.Having shown B.To be shown

C.Having been shown D.To show

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