A month after Hurricane Katrina, I returned home in New Orleans. There lay my house, reduced to waist-high rains, smelly and dirty. Before the trip, I'd had my car fixed. When the office employee of the garage was writing up the bill, she noticed my Louisiana license plate. "You from New Orleans?" she asked. I said I was, "No charge." She said, and firmly shook her head when I reached for my wallet. The next day I went for a haircut, and the same thing happened. As my wife was studying in Florida, we decided to move there and tried to find a rental house that we could afford while also paying off a mortgage on our ruined house. We looked at many places, but none was satisfactory. We'd began to accept that we'd have to live in extremely reduced circumstances for a while, when I got a very curious e-mail from a James Kemmedy in California. He'd read some pieces I'd written about our sufferings for state, the online magazine and wanted to give us ("no conditions attached") a new house across the lake from New Orleans. It sounded a good to her return, but I replied, thinking him for his exceptional generosity, then we to go back. Then the University of Florida offered to let him house to me. While he want to England on his one year, paid leave. The rent was rather reasonable. I mentioned the poet's offer to James Kemdedy, and the next day he sent a check covering our entire rent for eight months. Throughout this painful experience, the kindness of strangers has done much to bring back my faith in humanity. It's almost worth losing you wordy possessions to be reminded that people really when given had a channel. The garage employee's attitude toward the author was that of_. A) unconcern B) sympathy C) doubt D) tolerance
B
It seems that some people go out of their way to get into trouble.That's more or less what happened the night that Nashville Police officer Floyd Hyde was on duty. "I was on the way to a personal-injury accident in West Nashville.As I got onto Highway 40,blue lights and sirens going.I fell in behind a gold Pontiac Firebird that suddenly seemed to take off quickly down the highway.The driver somehow panicked at the sight of me.He was going more than a hundred miles an hour and began passing cars on the shoulder." But Hyde couldn't go after him.Taking care of injured people is always more important than worrying about speeders,so the officer had to stay on his way to the accident.But he did try to keep the Firebird in sight as he drove,hoping another nearby unit would be able to step in and stop the speeding car.As it turned out,keeping the Firebird in sight was not that difficult.Every turn the Pontiac made was the very turn the officer needed to get to the accident scene. Hyde followed the Pontiac all the way to his destination .At that point he found another unit had already arrived at the accident scene.His help wasn't needed.Now he was free to try to stop the driver of the Firebird,who by this time had developed something new to panic about. "Just about that time," Hyde said,"I saw fire coming out from under that car,with blue smoke and oil going everywhere.He'd blown his engine.Now he had to stop." "After I arrested him.I asked him why he was running.He told me he didn't have a driver's license ." That accident cost the driver of the Firebird plenty---a thousand dollars for the new engine---not to mention the charges for driving without a license,attempting to run away,and dangerous driving. The driver of the Firebird suddenly speeded down the highway because_. A) he was racing with another driver on the road B) he realized he had to hurry to the accident scene C) he thought the police officer wanted to stop him D) he wanted to overtake other cars on the shoulder
C
Q: LONDON -- Life for Cathy Hagner and her three children is set to permanent fast-forward. Their full school day and her job as a lawyer's assistant are busy enough. But Hanger also has to take the two boys to soccer or hockey or basketball while dropping off her daughter at piano lessons or Girl Scout Club. Often, the exhausted family doesn't get home until 7 pm. There is just time for a quick supper before homework. In today's world, middle-class American and British parents treat their children as if they are competitors racing for some finishing line. Parents take their children from activity to activity in order to make their future bright. It seems that raising a genius has become a more important goal than raising a happy and well-balanced child. "Doctors across the country are reporting a growing number of children suffering from stomachaches and headaches due to exhaustion and stress," says child expert William Doherty of the University of Minnesota. Teachers are dealing with exhausted kids in the classroom. It's a very serious problem. Many children attend after-school clubs by necessity. But competitive pressures also create an explosion of activities. They include sports, language, music and math classes for children as young as four. "There is a new parenting trend under way which says that you have to tap all your child's potential at a young age; otherwise you will let him down," says Terry Apter, a Cambridge-based child and adolescent psychiatrist . "It isn't entirely new: there have always been pushy parents. But what was previously seen as strange behaviour is now well accepted." British parents, as the writer described in this passage, _ . A) treat their children as sports players B) pay no attention to their children's lessons C) bring up their children in a simple way D) give their children little time to develop freely
A: D
(Q).
Aside from doing schoolwork and studying, American students must also participate in various extra-curricular activities. Many students get involved in their communities by doing volunteer work at various local organizations. In fact, the school I attend even requires students to perform a certain number of hours of volunteer work per semester. It is part of our study hall grade, as well as a graduation requirement. There are many places to do volunteer work in the community. Some of my classmates volunteer at the local animal shelter, the community table (which provides free meals for needy families), charity stores, and many others. Finding a suitable place to volunteer usually depends on what's available, as well as personal interests. For example, a friend of mine who enjoys swimming volunteers at the recreation center to teach young children how to swim. With all these options out there, I ended up doing most of my volunteer work at a school library and a non-profit bookstore called Friends of the Library. This bookstore sells donated books at cheap prices, and all the profits made are donated to the local library. I thought it was very fitting that I do my volunteer work at a library and a bookstore, because reading has always been very important to me. I love working in the bookstore now, because every sale we make helps our public library expand, and gives it the funds needed to purchase new books. I think everyone should have the opportunity to read, and that we each should do our part to help those who don't have the chance. There is a charity event, called One Book for A Window of Opportunity, in which Chinese students can donate a book to the children of the poor village Fangmaping. They don't have a lot of resources, so reading can be a challenge. To find out more about this event, please visit: http://bbs.enfamily.cn/thread-739278-1-1.html. The writer chose to do volunteer work at _ . A) a local animal shelter B) a charity store C) a recreation center D) a library and a bookstore
(A).
D