Michael Jordan told me not to mention this until the season was over and I promised him at that time. Now I think it's time. Early last season, I wrote a column about an act of kindness I had seen Jordan do to a disabled child outside the Stadium. After it _ ,I got a call from a man in the western suburbs. He said, "I read what you wrote about Jordan, but I thought I should tell you another thing I saw." Here it comes, I thought. It always does. Write something nice about a person, and people call you up to say that the person is not so nice. A few weeks later Jordan and I were talking about something else before a game, and I brought up what the man had said. Was the man right? Has Jordan really been talking to those two boys in that poor and dirty neighborhood? "Not two boys," Jordan said, "but four." And he named them. He said four names. And what did they talk about? "Everything," Jordan said. "I've asked to see their grades so that I can check whether they're paying attention to their schoolwork. If it turns out one or two of them may need teaching, I make sure they get it." It's just one more part of Michael Jordan's life, one more thing that no one knows about, one more thing Jordan does right. The NBA season is over now, and those boys have their memories. So do I! When the expert reviewers begin to turn against Jordan, as they surely will, I'll think about those boys under the streetlight, waiting for the man they know to come, for someone they can depend on. Which of the following is NOT the reason why the author wrote this passage? A) He would like to keep the promise he had made. B) He thought it was time to help the disabled children. C) He hated to see Jordan become someone else's target. D) He was impressed by Jordan's deeds for the ordinary poor.
B
When we talk about superstitious beliefs , the beliefs associated with Friday the 13th , no doubt , deserve a special mention . In fact , such is the fear associated with this date that people just can't seem to stick to their daily routine on this day . The data from Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute suggests that somewhere around 17 to 21 million Americans are affected by the fear associated with this day , i.e. the combination of Friday and 13 . Even worse , the financial losses caused on this day amounts to as much as US$800 million every year . As we flipped through the pages of history , we realized that Friday the 13th bears the brunt of bad luck associated with number 13 , the unluckiest number , and Friday , the unluckiest day of the week . Number 13 has always been considered unlucky , mainly as a result of it being associated with various occurrences in mythology . While some associate it with the instance of Norse mythology , in which the god of joy and gladness - Balter , was killed in a dishonest manner by Loki - the god of discord and mischief , who was the 13th guest , others associate it with the Last Supper , in which the 13th guest was Judas , who betrayed Jesus to his enemies for 30 pieces of silver . Similarly , Friday has also been a sign of bad luck to many people , with incidents like Jesus being crucified on this unfaithful day , contributing to this belief . It is also widely believed that Cain killed Able on this very day of the week . The fear of Friday the 13th is known as friggatriskaidekaphobia and paraskevidekatriaphobia , the former combining the words frigga , meaning Friday , and triskaidekaphobia , meaning the phobia of number 13 . Over the period , the belief that Friday the 13th is an unlucky day has just become one of the most widely accepted superstitions , which consequently causes much blind panic and unreasonable fear in the world . What is the passage mainly about? A) The psychology of superstition B) The history of a common superstition C) The origins of Friday the 13 th D) Influences of Friday the 13 th
C
Q: The British usually expect one or two snowfalls each year but the amount of snow rarely affects everyday life. However, this week Britain has had the worst snow it has seen in around 18 years. Some places had more than 30cm in a day. The bad weather caused severe disruption. More than 3000 schools had to close as teachers and pupils were unable to get to school. School children weren't too unhappy about it though as they headed out to play the snow, building snowmen, having snowball fights, sledging and some even snowboarding and skiing. In London, bus services were withdrawn for a day and tubes and trains were cancelled. Major motorways in the country had to close. Many people were unable to get to work and it is thought the cost of this lost labor is around &1 billion (10 billion yuan) to businesses and the economy. Anyone who wanted to leave the country had problems too. Runways were closed at all the UK's major airports because of the amount of snow. Hundreds of flights were cancelled leaving some passengers stranded at airports. So why is the UK so ill-prepared for snow? The mayor of London, Boris Johnson, explained that there aren't enough snow -ploughs and gritters and it doesn't make sense to buy such equipment when it snows so infrequently. The south-east of England was the hardest hit at the beginning of the week but the snow is now moving northwards where the chaos continues. More ice and snow is forecast throughout the week and the advice from travel and weather organizations is to stay indoors unless you really need to _ ! What can we learn from the passage? A) School children seemed happy to head out to play in the snow though schools had to close. B) The cost of the lost labor reached around 10 billion yuan to businesses and the economy. C) Hundreds of flights couldn't land because the runways were closed at major British airports. D) Tubes and trains in London were cancelled, but drivers were still driving in main motorways.
A: A
"Avoid the rush hour" must be the slogan of large cities all over the world. Wherever you look it's people, people, people. The trains which leave or arrive every few minutes are packed. The streets are so crowded; there is hardly room to move on the pavements. It takes ages for a bus to get to you because the traffic on the roads has almost come to a standstill. Even when a bus does at last arrive, it's so full, it can't take any more passengers. The smallest unexpected event can bring about conditions of complete chaos. The strange thing is not that people stand these conditions, but that they actually choose them in preference to anything else. Large modern cites are too big to control. People living there are forced by their environment to take a wholly unnatural way of life. They lost touch with the land and rhythm of nature. It is possible to live in such an air-conditioned existence in a large city that you can hardly tell the season. A few flowers in a public park may remind you that it is spring or summer. All the simple, good things of life like sunshine and fresh air are hard to find. Even the distinction between days and nights is lost. The funny thing about it all is that you pay dearly to live in a city. The demand for accommodation is so great that it is often impossible for ordinary people to buy a house of their own. The cost of living is also very high. Just about everything you buy is likely to be more expensive than it would be in the country. Besides, the crime rate in most cities is very high. If you think about it, they're not really fit to live in at all. Can anyone really doubt that the country is what man was born for and where he truly belongs? What is the passage mainly about? A) It's crazy to choose to live in a large city B) City life can be very disagreeable C) Country life is better than city life D) Conditions of cities should be changed
A