Passage 1
Dream in Heart
On the first day of school our professor introduced a new classmate—a wrinkled little old lady—to us.Her name was Rose,and she was eighty-seven years old.
After class Rose and I walked to the Student Union Building and shared a chocolate milk-shake.She told me she always dreamed of having a college education and now she was getting one.We became instant friends.Every day for the following months,we would leave class together and talk nonstop.I was always attracted,listening to this “time machine” as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.
Rose became famous and easily made friends wherever she went.She tended to be highly motivated,responsible,and deeply involved in class participation.In spare time she had someone hang out or go to bars with.She even participated in some form of athletic activity.She said that extra-curricular activities could form a vital part of her experience,creating unique chances for friendship and learning.
At the end of the term we invited Rose to speak at our football meal.A little embarrassed,she leaned into the microphone and simply said,“I’m sorry I’m so nervous.” As we laughed,she cleared her throat and began,“We do not stop playing because we are old;we grow old because we stop playing.There is a huge difference between growing old and growing up.If you’re nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year,you will turn twenty.If I’m eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year,I will turn eighty-eight.Anybody can grow older.It’s non-optional but that doesn’t take any talent or ability.The idea is to grow up by always finding the chance in change.In this way the elderly don’t have regrets for what they did,but rather for things they did not do.” Rose concluded her speech by courageously singing The Rose.She challenged us to study the words of the song and lived them out in daily lives.
At the year’s end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago.One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep.Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in honor of the wonderful woman who taught us by example that it’s never too late to be all you can possibly be.
1.Why does the author compare Rose to the “time machine” in Paragraph 2?
A.To stress her old age and knowledge of life.
B.To describe the close friendship between them.
C.To show that she always enjoyed her active life.
D.To explain why she took on a challenge in college.
2.Rose was invited to speak at the football meal most probably because .
A.she was a great football fan
B.she was the smartest student
C.she tried hard to achieve her dream
D.she became more educated than the others
3.We can learn that Rose agreed with the idea that .
A.growing old means growing up
B.it takes talent and ability to grow up
C.receiving high education helps to be courageous
D.one grows old at the same time when he grows up
4.The passage is intended to .
A.provide an example for the elderly
B.discuss how to grow up quickly
C.tell the importance of attending college
D.inspire the readers to live up to lives
Passage 2
On a college camping trip,curiosity about waves and sand caused Rob Thieler to study shorelines around the world.Thirty years later and now a U.S.Geological Survey research geologist,Thieler,is combining science and smartphone technology to help study an endangered bird,the Atlantic Coast piping plover.
The piping plover is a shorebird that breeds(繁殖)along the Atlantic Coast,the Great Lakes and the Great Plains.Rising sea levels associated with climate change,as well as increased the development in their beach habitats(栖息地),threatening the species(物种).To help track changes in piping plovers’ habitats,Thieler developed a free app called iPlover in 2012.This is a marked change from the typical way scientists collect data,which involves gathering information using specialized equipment or writing in notebooks and then putting into spreadsheets.
Since releasing iPlover,scientists have gathered data across 1500 km of breeding range.That equals about a third of the distance across the U.S.,which is a large area to cover for only two thousand breeding pairs of piping plovers on the east coast.Instead of having to travel and spend days at each site,a number of cooperators in the field use the app to collect and send data,allowing scientists to gather data more efficiently.It also allows them to collect data at the same time during each breeding season,providing a better picture of changes that happen over longer periods of time.And fast,centralized access means scientists can look at data quickly to get a real-time idea of where and how piping plovers are using their habitats.
While iPlover is used by trained field staff,other apps are not.The U.S.Geological Survey’s web-based “iCoast—Did the Coast Change?” invites citizen scientists to identify coastal changes by comparing bird’s eye-view photographs taken before and after storms.All the information scientists and citizen scientists alike collect helps federal and state agencies create policy plans for addressing climate change impacts (影响) worldwide.
1.What can we know about the piping plover?
A.Its behaviour is changing.
B.Its habitat is growing bigger.
C.Its living environment is becoming worse.
D.Its breeding is limited to the Atlantic Coast.
2.Why did Thieler develop iPlover?
A.To study shorelines across America.
B.To advance information technology.
C.To find out global climate change.
D.To monitor changes of piping plover habitats.
3.Which of the following benefits the shorebirds?
A.The camping equipment.
B.Research on smartphones.
C.The changeable coast.
D.Progress in technology.
4.What would be the best title of the text?
A.Protecting Endangered Shorebirds.
B.Rob Thieler,a Creative Scientist.
C.IPlover,Tool for Training Field Staff.
D.Differences Between IPlover and ICoast.
