第2篇

Feast On Turkey and Good Wishes at Thanksgiving

Four weeks ago US children dressed as monsters and asked for sweets．That was
Halloween．‘In a few weeks American houses will be red and green and filled with presents．For Christmas．
As if all this isn’t enough，on Thursday this week，America will enjoy another festival—Thanksgiving．
Children will have two days off school，shops will close and houses will be filled with families enjoying mountains of food． Every year, in Gainesville，Florida，all entire class celebrate Thanksgiving together．The class dresses up and puts on plays for their families．After the plays the families share a feast of traditional Thanksgiving foods like turkey and pumpkin pie．
Dean Foster, an 1 1-year-old boy will take part in this celebration．He said：‘I love Thanksgiving because it means time off school，lots of nice food and a happy family．’’
His brother Ben，nine，said：‘the best thing about Thanksgiving，is that when it is finished，it is time to start Christmas．’
But behind the food and the large amount of money spent there is another message．On Thursday evening，Dean and Ben’s family will make a basket and put it on the table as they eat their evening meal．
Each of them will write a 1ist of things that they are thankful for and place the paper in the basket．The family will read the pieces of paper and take time to thank God and each other for providing them with comfortable and happy lives．
Thanksgiving is a traditional festival that started in 1621，when the first pilgrims arrived in the US to start a new lire．After a hard year, they had a big autumn harvest．They held a feast and invited the native American Indians along to thank God for giving them enough food．
Many countries celebrate Thanksgiving．They often fall after the fields have been harvested and the crops collected for winter．

词汇：
turkey n．火鸡
pumpkin n．南瓜
pilgrim n．朝圣者
1．Thanksgiving：感恩节(11月的第四个星期四)
2．Halloween ：10月3 1日之夜(据传此时可见到鬼)
3．Christmas：圣诞节(12月25日)

1. On Halloween, children in the United States often dress up as
A)ghosts
B)players．
C)pilgrims．
D)visitors．

2．When are turkey and pumpkin pie eaten?
A)On Halloween．
B)On Thursday．
C)On Thanksgiving．
D)On Christmas Day．

3．Thanksgiving is the time for the American people to thank God for
A)looking after them．
B)providing them with comfortable and happy lives?
C)clothing them．
D)protecting them

4．Many children in the United States like Thanksgiving because
A)they call stay with their parents at home and eat a lot of nice food?
B)they can dress up like monsters．
C)they can put on plays．
D)they call visit American Indians．

5．The first pilgrims settled in the United States in
A)1621．
B)1620．
C)1622．
D)1619．

第3篇

Ford Abandons Electric Vehicles

The Ford motor company’s abandonment of electric cars effectively signals the end of the road for the technology，analysts say．
General Motors。and Honda’ceased production of battery．powered cars in 1 999, to focus on fuel cell and hybrid electric gasoline engines, which are more attractive to the consumer．Ford has now announced it will do the same．
Three years ago．the company introduced the Think City two—seater car and a golf cart called the THINK, or Think Neighbor．It hoped to sell 5，000 cars each year and 10，000 carts．But a lack of demand means only about l，000 of the cars have been produced，and less than 1。700 carts have been sold so far in 2002．
“The bottom line is we don’t believe that this is the future of environment transport for the mass market．”Tim Holmes of Ford Europe said on Friday．“We feel we have given electric our best shot”
The Think City has a range of only about 53 miles and up to a six-hour battery recharge time．General Motors’EVI electric vehicle also had a limited range。of about 100 miles．
The very expensive batteries also mean electric cars cost much more than petrol-powered alternatives．An electric Toyot~RAV4 EV vehicle costs over$42，000 in the US,compared with just $17，000 for the petrol version．Toyota and Nissan…are now the only major automanufacturers to produce electric vehicles．
“There is a feeling that battery electric has been given its chance．Ford now has to move on with its hybrid program“，and that is what we will be judging them on，”Roger Higman，a senior transport campaigner at UK Friends of the Earth，told the Environment News Service．
Hybrid cars introduced by Toyota and Honda in the past few years have sold well．Hybrid engines Offer Greater mileage than petrol—only engines , and the batteries recharge themselves. Ford says it thinks such vehicles will help it meet planned new guidelines“on vehicle emissions” in the U.S.
However,it is not yet clear exactly what those guidelines will permit．In June，General Motors and Daimler Chrysler won a court injunction，delaying by two years Californian legislation requiring car—makers to offer 100，000 zero-emission and other low—emission vehicles in the state by 2003．Car manufacturers hope the legislation will be rewritten to allow for more low--emission，rather than zero—emission，vehicles．
1． What have the Ford motor company．General Motor’s and Honda done concerning electric cars?
A)They have started to produce electric cars．
B)They have done extensive research on electric Cars
C They have given up producing electric cars．
D)They have produced thousands of electric Cars

2． According to Tim Holmes of Ford Europe，battery-powered cars
A)will be the main transportation vehicles in the future
B1 will not be the main transportation vehicles in the future．
C)will be good to the environment in the future
D)will replace petrol—powered vehicles in the future．

3. Which auto manufacturers are still producing electric vehicles?
A)Toyota and Nissan
B)General Motor’s and Honda
C)Ford and Toyota
D)Honda and Toyota

4．According to the eighth paragraph，hybrid cars
A)offer fewer mileage than petrol driven cars
B)run faster than petrol driven cars
C)run more miles than petrol driven cars
D)offer more batteries than petrol driven cars

5．Which of the following is true about the hope of car manufacturers according to the last paragraph?
A)Low-emission cars should be banned．
B)Only zero-emission cars are allowed to run on motorways．
C)The legislation will encourage car makers to produce more electric cars．
D)The legislation will allow more 10w．emission to be produced．