Late one morning in 20 1 2,headed for lunch in San Francisco,I drove towards one of the toll booths .I heard loud music.It sounded like a party,or a Michael Jackson concert.I looked around.No other cars with their windows open.I looked at the toll booth.Inside it,a young man was dancing. "What are you doing?"I asked. "I'm having a party,"he said. "What about the rest of the people?"I looked over at other booths:nothing moving there. "They're not invited." I had a dozen other questions for him,but somebody in a big hurry to get somewhere started punching his horn behind me and I drove off.But I made a note to myself'.Find this guy again.There's something in his eyes that says there's magic in his toll booth. Months later I did find him again,still with the loud music,still having a party. Again I asked."What are you doing?" He said."I remember you from the last time.I'm still dancing.I'm having the same party." I said."Look.What about the rest of the people" He said."Stop.Do you see other people there?"He pointed down the row of toll booths."Everyday, they just get in the booths,stay for eight hours,do the same motions.Brain is on hold,dead on the job.But I am enjoying my life and I'm going to be a dancer someday." Sixteen people are dead on the j ob,and the seventeenth,in nearly the same situation,finds out another way to live.He and I did have lunch later, and he said. "I don't understand why anybody would think my job is boring.I have a comer office,glass on all sides.I can see the Golden Gate,San Francisco.the Berkeley hills.Half of the western people have vacations here while I can stay here every day and practise dancing for the future success.'' At the first time,the writer only asked the young man two questions because _ . A) the writer was in a hurry B) the young man didn't answer the question C) the writer was in the way of others D) the writer found the young man was busy
C
Over the centuries the French have lost a number of famous battles with the British. However, they've always felt superior in the kitchen. France has for centuries had a reputation for cooking excellence, and Britain for some of the worst cooking in the world. But according to a recent survey, _ In the survey, 71% of the Britons said they cook at home every day, while only 59% of the French said they cook daily. British home cooks spend more time cooking each week and also produce a greater variety of dishes than French home cooks. The reaction in London was predictably enthusiastic. British food has greatly improved since the 1990s. Once upon a time, the menu for many family meals would have been roast beef, potatoes and over-cooked vegetables, but not now. Home cooks are experimenting with the huge range of ingredients now available in British supermarkets and are preparing all kinds of new dishes, using the cookbooks that sell millions of copies every year. As a result, there's much more diversity in British food now, compared to French food, which tends to be very traditional. Some French people say that the survey did not show the whole picture. They agree that during the week French women don't cook as much as they used to because most of them work and don't have much time. They tend to buy ready-made or frozen dishes, but many of them make up for it on the weekend. There's also a difference between Paris and the country-side. It's true that people in Paris don't cook much, but elsewhere, cooking is still at the heart of daily life. For many French people, opinions about British food have not changed. When Bernard Blier, the food editor at a magazine, was asked about British food, he replied: "I don't go out of my way to try it. It is not very refined. You can say that I'm not a fan at all." According to the passage, nowadays British people _ . A) cook less at home than the French every day B) no longer eat roast beef and over-cooked vegetables C) are more willing to try cooking all kinds of new foods D) buy more cookbooks than French people do
C
Q: You may have seen a lot of frogs, but if you haven't, you must have heard about frogs. However, have you heard about a frog that can kill a person? These small brightly colored amphibians live in the tropical rain forests of Central and South America. They are best known for their ability to kill persons even though they are no more than 2 inches long. If we touch their poisonous skin without proper protection (such as gloves), we may die! For animals of this size that can be so deadly, they are certainly one of the world's most poisonous animals! Who are they? They are poison arrow frogs or, simply, poison frogs. Poison frogs acquired their name from the Indians. The Indians catch and kill many of these frogs before hanging them upside down over a campfire. As the frogs get hot, the poison drips out of their skin. The Indians collect the poisonous liquid in a bottle and dip the tips of their arrows into the bottle. Once the tips are dried, they are ready to be used for their arrows for hunting. There are about 170 different types of poison arrow frogs in the world. Though most species have bright markings, either in stripes or patches, on their black bodies, some just wear noticeable single-colored coats. Their shocking skin colors-usually in yellow, red, green, blue or orange-serve as a warning sign to other animals. The sign simply says," Stay away or pay with your life!" They certainly do not bluff. Which of the following best explains the last sentence of the passage? A) Poison frogs don't want to kill others. B) Poison frogs do not just scare others. C) Poison frogs want to stop others from coming near. D) Poison frogs just pretend to be dangerous animals.
A: B
Q: Studies show that laughter is something that makes you feel calm or relaxed for both physical and psychological wounds though it may seem futile to laugh in the face of pain and fear. When Dan Rather interviewed comedian Bill Cosby just one week after his son, Ennis, was killed, Cosby said, "I think it is time for me to tell people that we have to laugh. You can turn painful situations around through laughter. If you can find humor in anything, you can survive it." Call it a flashlight for dark times: laughter just seems to adjust attitude better than anything else. Inspirational speaker Steve Rizzo recalls a TV interview with an injured firefighter a few days after 9.11.The man had fallen more than 30 stories in one of the towers and had broken a leg. Everyone was crying, and the reporter asked, "How is it that you've come out of this alive?" He looked at her and without missing a beat, said, "Look, lady, I'm from New York and I'm a firefighter; that' all you need to know." "Everyone laughed and though the laughter was only a couple of seconds," says Rizzo. "Sometimes that's all you need to catch your second breath. Laughter gives you that couple of seconds. You're sending a message to your brain, and the message is: If you can still laugh even a little among the pain, you are going to be OK." Of course, there is a difference between laughing off a serious situation and laughing off the fear that results. The firefighter was doing the latter, states Rizzo, the author of Becoming a Humorous Being, and so should we. "If there is anything we have learnt from 9.11, it's how precious life really is," she says. "We have to send a message that our spirit won't die. One important thing that unites us is our ability to laugh." From the passage, we can know that Americans are_. A) really inspired after 9.11 B) hardly united after 9.11 C) nearly surprised by 9.11 D) greatly hurt by 9.11
A: D