NEW YORK (AP) — The investigation into the disappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patz has gone through decades and countries, from basements to rooftops and seemingly everywhere in between.

No one has ever been charged criminally — and the little boy with sandy brown hair and a toothy grin was declared dead in 2001.

This week, the six-year-old boy who went missing from the Soho area of New York City in 1979 is back in the news. Police and the FBI are investigating a possible lead into the 33-year-old case of Etan Patz, the first missing child to appear on the side of a milk box.

The child disappeared on the way to school on the morning of May 25, 1979. It was the first time he was allowed to walk the two blocks to the bus stop alone.

A tip seemed to have led officials to the basement of a building on the corner of Prince and Wooster streets, about a block and a half from where Etan had lived with his family.

The name Etan Patz has become a hot topic on Twitter as people weigh in on the case. Shirley Brady noted: “As mom to a 6 years old in Soho, it’s still held out by locals as cautionary tale (警示故事).” Another wrote, “Boy who disappeared on his way to school in 1979 has been REOPENED! Crazy.” One wondered, “Why is FBI and NYPD searching for a kid that disappeared in 1979?”

Good question. This is a case that Stuart Gra Bois, as an assistant U.S. lawyer under Rudolph Giuliani, followed for years. It became the most famous missing-person case in New York City, turned a nationwide spotlight on missing children, and created headlines around the globe. No one was ever stated guilty of the crime.

The case led to the creation of National Missing Children’s Day, marked on May 25, the day the blond-haired, blue-eyed child went missing.

The case has even pointed to a suspect, charged with child molester (猥褻者) Julio Antonio Ramos, who is currently in prison. Patz’s babysitter had been dating the man, and Ramos did know the kid, but has denied taking him away.

New evidence in the case suggests another suspect who lived in the apartment at the time: a local handyman named Othniel Miller, who gave Etan $1 for helping him the night before the disappearance.

The man’s name had come up in an earlier investigation, but he was a friend of the Patz family, and the NYPD did not follow the lead.

Investigators plan to be at the site, 127 B Prince St., which is now a Lucky Brand jeans store, for the next two to three days to search for human remains. The Associated Press reports that the excavation (挖掘) has been the result of a recently ordered review of the case by Manhattan’s police. 

1.We can learn from the first three paragraphs that ________.

A．The 6-year-old missing boy was found by the side of a milk box

B．Police and the FBI have not been following the case of Etan Patz for 33 years

C．The investigation into the disappearance of boy has worked fruitlessly for decades

D．Etan Patz went missing from the Soho area of New York city in 1979 and died in 2001

2.What does the underlined phrase “weigh in on the case” mean?

A．ignore the case                         B．feel stressed on the case

C．reopen the case                        D．begin to discuss the case

3.What was a possible cause of reopening the case of Etan Patz?

A．Local lawyers strongly demanded the reopening of the case.

B．The Associated Press reported the result of the review of the case.

C．New evidence appeared which led officials to the basement of a building.

D．Local people realized the importance of the case without criminal being charged.

4.Which of the following statements is true in the text?

A．The National Missing Children’s Day was created on May 25, 1979.

B．The search for human remains will be carried out at 127 B Prince Street.

C．The NYPD didn’t follow the lead of Julio Antonio for he had been dating Patz’ babysitter.

D．Othniel Miller, a local handyman assisted Etan and gave him $1 before the disappearance.

5.We can learn from the passage that ________.

A．People air the same view about the case on the Internet

B．People reject the reopening of the case of the missing boy

C．The missing-person case still has a long-lasting influence on people

D．Twitter is the only place for people to discuss about missing-person cases

 

 

四、閱讀理解 （2分×15=30分）閱讀下列短文,從每題所給的A、B、C和D項(xiàng)中，選出最佳選項(xiàng)。

Talk about a real-life hero! Ten-year-old Larry Champagne from St. Louis，Missouri, hit the brake (剎車) on a runaway school bus. He saved himself and 20 other kids on board from disaster.

It all happened in one terrible accident. On the way to school, the bus driver, Ernestine Blackman, suddenly fell ill. Seeing the car was running away, the other kids started to scream, but Larry ran to the front and stopped the bus.

“At first I thought, ‘We’re going to die,’” says Larry, “but after I pressed the brake, I felt safe.”

Larry’s speedy reaction made news all over the country. He appeared on TV shows as a hero. The bus company gave Larry a big gift. His school hung a medal of honor around his neck.

“My grandmother always tells me to do what’s right,” says Larry. He thanked his brother, Jerrick, 9, who “helped me get the bus driver up” during the emergency（緊急情況）. How did he know how to stop the bus? Larry is something of a mechanic（機(jī)械師）. He helps his grandfather work on his old truck. “He gets his hands dirty,” says his grandfather. One thing is for certain: Larry knows where to find the brakes.

1. What did Larry do to save the runaway bus?

A. He parked it for the sleeping bus driver. 

B. He helped all the kids climb out through the windows.

C. He dialed 911.              D. he pressed the brake.

2. When did Larry finally feel safe?

A. When the kids finally stopped screaming.        B. When the police officers arrived.

C. Once he pressed the brake, and the bus stopped.   D. When the bus driver started driving again.

3. Larry got the following as praise for his hero action Except            .

A. appearing on TV shows                                   B. a scholarship from his school

C. a big gift from the bus company                    D. a medal of honor

4. Larry thanked his brother Jerrick for             .

A. helping him get the bus driver up                           B. helping him work on his old truck

C. teaching him how to find the brake              D. teaching him how to stop the bus

5. The underlined sentence“Larry is something of a mechanic” tells us that               .

A. Larry’s job is a mechanic                                 B. Larry knows something about machines

C. Larry is a robot                                                   D. Larry knows nothing about machines

 

The passengers on the subway who caught a glimpse of me may have thought I was strange. In particular a gentleman sitting opposite me was always staring at me, looking at the cheese bread on the floor in front of me and then staring back at me. A passenger probably dropped it by mistake and got off at a previous stop, but the gentleman might not think so. “Next stop, St. Patrick Station” — my stop was quickly coming up. I had few minutes to either take the cheese bread, which nobody else was claiming, or left it there.

In those few minutes I felt my pride getting in the way. “What would others on the subway think of me if I took the cheese bread? Would they think that I was poor and hungry? Would they think that I was stealing?” The ignorant thing to do was say “yes” to any of those self-imposed questions. Actually, they were just my own thoughts. Though I would leave the subway, walk a block to my office, get settled at my desk, and sit comfortably in my office for the whole day, I couldn’t get rid of the enormous sense of guilt and regret.

My thoughts once pushed me towards pride and ignorance, but finally I had to admit I was wrong. This missing cheese bread could be a gift for a homeless person who suffered from cold and hunger. So why not overcome a little bit of my pride and pass along so much kindness?

Just as the doors opened at my stop, I grabbed the cheese bread and left the subway. It felt awesome, but I didn’t care if people were looking at me or what they were thinking. Instead of going directly to my office as usual, I walked a few more blocks up to Queen’s park, where I often saw a homeless man sitting outside. I always wanted to give him something, but only today I walked toward him, who wrapped himself in a sleeping bag. I was full of satisfaction, and so did the homeless man, I thought.

1.The gentleman kept staring at the author because _______.

A.  he wanted to talk to the author

B.  he might think the author dropped the bread

C.  the author appeared too nervous

D.  the author was going to get off

2.The underlined word “self-imposed” in paragraph 2 probably means “_______”.

A. easily obtained              

B. strongly supported

C. deliberately created         

D. completely unaccepted

3.Why did the author grab the cheese bread when he got off?

   A. He noticed that no one was looking at him.

   B. He didn’t want to see the cheese bread to go to waste.   

   C. He remembered a homeless man at that very moment.  

 D. He valued kindness more than his own pride.

 

The opening scene of The King’s Speech was, in a word, terrifying. The moment King George VI—wonderfully played by Colin Firth—stepped up to the microphone at Wembley Stadium, a rush of nervousness came over me. It took me back to my school days, standing at my desk, having to read aloud to the class. I whispered to my wife, Jill, “A stutterer(口吃者) wrote this screenplay(劇本).

   I grew up with a stutter, really afraid of trying to get through simple sentences—knowing that I would then, or later, be laughed at. I still remember the reading when I was in 7^th grade at St. Helena’s: “Sir Walter Raleigh was a gentlemen…” I remember reciting, “Sir Walter Raleigh was a gentlemen.” The school teacher said, “Master B-B-B-Biden! What’s that word?” She wanted me to say gentlemen. But by then, I had learned to put my sentences into bite-size pieces and I was reading it: “gentle”｜breath｜“man”.

   Ninety-nine percent of the time, the teachers were great. I never had professional treatment but a couple of teachers taught me to put a regular rise and fall in my tone of speaking, and that’s why I spent so much time reading poetry. But even in my small, boys’ prep school, I got nailed in my class with the nickname Joe Stutterer. You get so desperate, you’re so embarrassed. I actually went and stood by the side of my house once, with a small round stone in my mouth, and tried to talk. Jill always thought I was kidding until she saw the movie and saw King George did the same thing.

   King George relied on the support his wife and the help of Lionel Longue, who, in describing working with other stutterers, said, “My job was to give them confidence in their voices and let them know that a friend was listening.” I was lucky enough to have more than a couple of Lionels in my life. Nobody in my family ever—ever—made fun of me or tried to finish my sentences. My mother would say, “Joey, you cannot let stuttering define you.” And because of her and others, I made sure it didn’t.

   Through hard work and determination, I beat my stutter in high school. I even spoke briefly at my graduation ceremony in 1961—the most difficult speech of my life. My fight against shyness and embarrassment at my early age has developed my ability to understand others’ feelings as Vice President of the country in public life. I still mark up all of my speeches the say way Firth’s character does in the movie, pencil-marking every line to remind myself to stop, to breathe, to pause—to beat back my stuttering as best as I can. I don’t stutter anymore, and most people who know me only late in my life are shocked that I ever did.

   By capturing exactly how a stutter feels, The King’s Speech has shown millions of people how much courage it takes for a stutterer to stand up and speak. Equally important, it has shown millions who suffer from the pain that it can be overcome, we are not alone, and with the support of those around us, our deepest fears can be conquered.

1.The writer whispered to his wife, “A stutterer wrote this screenplay”, because __________.

A. he desired to release his secret to his wife

B. he was reminded how it was as a stutterer on such occasions

C. he thought Colin Firth had a wonderful performance in the film

D. he wanted to make his wife realize why the film was so popular

2.What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 imply?

A. The writer would have a good fortune to get help from many people.

B. The writer should realize he had to stand up from his pain and defeat it

C. The writer could get enough confidence under his mother’s help

D. The writer must be happy that everyone in his family did not laugh at him.

3.What message is conveyed in the passage?

A. Whatever pain and fear we have, we can defeat them if we try hard.

B. The similar stories of the writer and King George VI gains great admiration.

C. The suffer we had at our early age will have a heavy influence on our future life.

D. Stuttering is such a pain for children that we should give help and encourage them.

 

An increase in students applying to study economics (經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)) at university is being attributed to （歸因于）the global economic crisis (危機(jī)) awakening a public thirst for knowledge about how the financial system works.  

Applications for degree courses beginning this autumn were up by 15% this January, according to UCAS, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service. A spokesman for the Royal Economic Society said applications to do economics at A-level were also up.  

Professor John Beath, the president of the society and a leading lecture at St Andrews University, said his first-year lectures which are open to students from all departments—were drawing crowds of 400, rather than the usual 250.  

“There are a large number of students who are not economics majors, who would like to learn something about it. One of the things I have done this year is to relate my teaching to contemporary events in a way that one hasn’t traditionally done. ” He added.   

University applications rose 70% last year. But there were rises above average in several subjects. Nursing saw a 15% jump, with people’s renewed interest in careers in the pubic sector（部門）, which are seen as more secure in economic crisis.  

A recent study showed almost two thirds of parents believed schools should do more to teach pupils about financial matters, and almost half said their children had asked them what was going on, although a minority of parents felt they did not understand it themselves well enough to explain.  

Zack Hocking, the head of Child Trust Funds, said: “It’s possible that one good thing to arise from the downturn will be a generation that’s financially wiser and better equipped (使…有能力) to manage their money through times of economic uncertainty.”

1.Professor John Beath’s lectures are            .  

A．given in a traditional way

B．connected with the present situation

C．open to both students and their parents

D．warmly received by economics

2. Careers in the public sector are more attractive because of their        .

A．greater stability	B．higher pay
C．fewer applications	D．better reputation

3.In the opinion of most parents ,           .  

A．economics should be the focus of school teaching

B．more students should be admitted to universities

C．the teaching of financial matters should be strengthened.

D．children should solve financial problems themselves

4.According to Hocking , the global economic crisis might make the youngsters_____.

A．wiser in money management

B．have access to better equipment

C．confident about their future careers

D．get jobs in Child Trust Funds

5.What’s the main idea of the text?

A．Universities have received more applications.

B．Economics is attracting an increasing number of students

C．college students benefit a lot from economic uncertainty

D．parents are concerned with children’s subject selection.