On Nov.18th, 1908, three men went up in a balloon (气球). They started early in London. The headman
was Augusta Gaudron, and the other two men were Tannar and Maitland. They had a big balloon and they
were ready for a long way.
     Soon they heard the sea. They were carrying the usual rope (绳子), and it was hanging down from the
basket of the balloon. At the end of the rope they had tied a metal box. This could hold water, or it could be
empty. So they were able to change its weight (重量). It was for use over the sea. They were also carrying
some bags of sand. After the sun rose, the balloon went higher. It went up to 3,000 metres, and the air was
very cold. The water in the balloon became ice. Snow fell past the men's basket, and they could see more
snow on the ground. The men tried to throw out some more sand; but it was hard. They tried to break the
icy sand with their knives, but it was not easy. The work was slow and they were still falling, so they had to
drop some whole bags of sand. One of them fell on an icy lake and made a black hole in the ice.
     At last they pulled the box into the basket. It was still snowing; so they　climbed to get away from the
snow. They rose to 5,100 metres! Everything became icy. They were so cold that they decided to land.
They came down in Poland heavily but safely. They had travelled 1,797 kilometers from London!

1. Three men flew in balloon ______.

A. for nearly 1,800 kilometers
B. to another city
C. to visit Poland
D. more than a century ago

2. The metal box was used for ______.

A. carrying the bags of sand
B. keeping drinking-water
C. carrying ropes of the basket
D. changing weight

3. When the balloon went up higher, ______.

A. the temperature of the balloon began to fall
B. They saw the sun go down
C. They made a hole in the basket with their knives
D. They could see a black hole on the ground

4. The balloon landed ______.

A. in London　　
B. on the sea 　　
C. on a lake 　　
D. in a foreign country

5. Which of the following is NOT true?

A. The three men started their journey before the sun rose.
B. The balloon began to go up when they threw bags of sand out of the basket.
C. When they pulled the box into the basket, the balloon began to climb up.
D. The three men had to land because they felt cold.

     A famous foreign company in China wanted a Clerk for its public relation department (公安部).
     A beautiful girl with a master's degree (硕士学位) went through a lot of challenges and her name was on
the list. In the final stage she faced an interview together -with another girl. Both of them were outstanding,
not only in looks but also in education. 
    The girl was successful in the interview. It seemed that she would get the chance. At last the examiner
asked her, "Can you come to the office next Monday?" Shocked by the unexpected question, the beautiful girl
couldn't make a decision at the moment, so she said, "I have to talk with my parents before I give an answer."
The examiner felt surprised but said calmly, "If so, let' s wait till you are ready."
    The next day, the girl came to tell the examiner that her parents had agreed to let her begin work next
Monday. But the examiner said regretfully (遗憾地), "Sorry, another suitable candidate (选手) has got the job.
You had better try another place. "The beautiful girl was surprised. She asked for an explanation and was told,
"What is needed here is a person who knows her own mind." 
    That was how a good opportunity right under the nose of a beautiful girl ran away.

1. The beautiful girl wanted to ask her parents for advice because           .

A. she didn't like the job
B. she didn't expect the examiner would ask such a question
C. she didn't want to answer the question
D. her parents would be angry if she didn't ask them

2. We can learn from the passage that           .

A. the company lost its best clerk
B. no girl got the job
C. the other girl who failed at the last interview might get the job
D. the examiner was very pleased with the girl

3. The examiner regarded            as the most important.

A. one's own decision
B. one's knowledge
C. a person's age
D. a person' s beautiful looks

4. The underlined phrase "right under the nose of" probably means           .

A. 就在鼻子下
B. 想要得到的
C. 没有把握的
D. 就在眼前的

5. The best title (标题) for the passage above might be           .

A. Make Decisions With Your Parents
B. A Successful Interview
C. Use Your Own Mind
D. A Good Opportunity

     On Tuesday morning, Harry saw an ad in a window. It said, "Wanted. The best salesman in the world.
Top Pay."
     Harry thought he was a great salesman and went to ask for the job. "I'm the best salesman in the world"
he said to the manager (经理), "Give me the job."
     "You must prove (证明) you are the best." the manager said.
     "Ok, I will." Harry answered.
     "Good." The manager took a box of sweets out of his desk. "Last week I bought a thousand boxes of
sweets. If you can sell them all before the end of the week, you can have the job." said the manager. 
     "That's easy." Harry said. He took the boxes of sweets and left. 
     Every day and all day, he went from shop to shop,trying to sell the boxes of sweets.He couldn't sell one.
The sweets were too bad for him to sell. At the end of the week he went back to the manager. "I'm sorry,
sir." He said, "I was wrong about myself. I'm not the best salesman in the world.but I know who is."
     "Oh? Who?" said the manager.
     "The person who so1d you a thousand boxes of these sweets."

1. Harry went to ask for the job because he was _____ himself at first.

A.afraid of
B.wrong with
C.sure of
D.worried about

2. Harry wanted to get the job, he would have to _____.

A.buy all the sweets from the manager
B.sell out all the sweets in a flew days
C.eat up all the sweets.
D.sell the sweets on the Sunday

3. Choose the right order of this story.
    ① Harry went to ask for the job.
    ② Harry told the manager who the best seller was.
    ③ Harry saw all ad in a window.
    ④ Harry went to sell the sweets.

A.①一②一③一④
B.④一③--②一①
C.③一①一④一②
D.③--④一①一②

4. From the story we can see that _____.

A.Harry didn't get the job
B.Harry was a good seller
C.the manager was a good seller
D.the ad was a good one

5. According to the story,which of the following is RIGHT?

A.Harry sold some sweets.
B.The sweets were too expensive.
C.Harry was not clever at all.
D.The sweets were too terrible.

     It was a cold, dark night in November, and it was raining. It was six o'clock and people were going home
from work. Diana left her bank in a hurry, but she wasn't going home. She was driving to her friend Daniel's
house to have dinner.
     A. Suddenly she hit something in the road. She stopped, and got out of the car. It was a cat, but it was
dead. So she got back in the car.
     B. Diana went on with her drive. She looked in the mirror and saw a black truck behind her. It was very
near. She began to feel a little afraid. It was following her! Then the seven o'clock news started on the radio.
"The police are looking for a murderer (杀人犯) who ran away from a North London prison last night. He is
very dangerous …" Now Diana was really afraid.
     C. At ten to seven, Diana was driving along the Turner Road. Her friend Daniel was a farmer and he lived
30km north of London. She was listening to the radio, and beginning to free herself after a hard day at the
office.
     D. When the doorbell rang, Daniel was making dinner. He heard Diana shouting, quickly took his gun, and
ran to the door. At that moment, the black truck stopped next to Diana's car. A tall man got out. It was Daniel's
father.
     E. She began to drive fast, but the truck drove faster, too. It was right behind her. She left the Turner Road
but the black truck followed her. Now Diana was terrified (害怕). At last she arrived at Daniel's farm. She ran
up to the house and rang the doorbell. "Help, help, Daniel," she shouted.

1.____________ 2.____________ 3.____________ 4.____________ 5.___________

    One day a poor man was cutting a big piece of wood (木头) near a river. Suddenly his old axe (斧子) fell into
the water. He felt very sad because he lost his only axe. Then all at once a beautiful fairy (仙女) came out and
asked the man what was the matter. 
    "I have lost my axe." he said, "It fell into the water when I was cutting the wood." 
    The fairy showed him a gold axe and asked, "Is that yours?" 
    "No." said the man.
    The fairy then showed him a silver (银) axe and asked again, "Is this yours?" 
    "No." again answered the man.
    Then she showed him the old axe.? 
    "Yes, that is mine." called out the happy man. 
    "I know it well enough." said the fairy, "I only wanted to see if you would tell me the truth, and now I'll give
you the gold axe and the silver axe besides (包括) your own one."
(     ) 1. The man was poor, he had nothing but an old axe.
(     ) 2. The old axe fell into the river when the man was cutting the wood.
(     ) 3. The fairy asked the man if he lost a gold axe, then the man said "No".
(     ) 4. When he saw his own axe, the man was very happy.
(     ) 5. At last, the man had two axes.

    Today is Jane's birthday. It is seven o'clock. Everything was ready. On the table, there are many different
kinds of food. And in the middle of the table, there is a very big cake. Jane is looking at it, and feels excited.
"Why didn't they come by then? I told them to come at seven." Jane said to her mother worriedly. One, two,
three ... Twenty-five minutes passed. But no one came. Jane ran to the door and opened it. No one was there.
When it was half past seven, the doorbell rang. Jane opened the door quickly. "Happy birthday to you!" they
said. And they gave some flowers to Jane. After that, they ate the big cake, apples, oranges, pears, beef and so
on. They sang and danced happily. At ten they went home. They all felt tired but happy.?
1. Were Jane's friends all at Jane's home at seven?
                                                                             
2. What's in the middle of the table?
                                                                             
3. When did Jane's friends come?
                                                                             
4. What did they give to Jane?
                                                                             
5. Did they have a good time?