The trend in everyday conversation is to use grandiose(夸大的) words. “Outstanding”is new “good,” “amazing” is the new “OK,” and “huge” is the new “big”.

    I was in a restaurant in Washington D．C．last weekend and every question I asked was answered with exaggeration．

    Me：How is the salmon?

    Sever：Fantastic!

    Me：Does it come with rice?

    Sever：Absolutely!

    Would a “good” and a “Yes” have been enough? Of course!

    My father is an average-sized man．He hasn’t gained weight or height for the past 30 years. Therefore, his size remains the same．However，in the same amount of time，his T-shirt size has gone from small to medium to large to extra large．

    The reason for the exaggerated word is clear：we are bored with our lives．We want the next—next thing now．Immediately!

    And we also want others to think that we still care，that we can still be delighted，that we know that everything is just great．Even when deep inside we know it can’t be．Everything can’t be great．

    I’m not a scientist，so many methods of proof leave little to be desired，or a lot to be desired，or an immensity(无限)．   

    Listen to the voices around you．Listen to your own voices．There is nothing on the radio that is good or bad，weather is either beautiful or horrible．

    Listen，the next time when someone asks you something and you agree，because when you could simply say “yes”, instead you will say “absolutely’’or “without doubt”or “Oh，yeah，unquestionably---absolutely without doubt. ”

    Have people forgotten what it is like to be OK? Simply OK with what they have and who they are?If everything is outstanding，if everything is the most amazing thing ever，is anything ever amazing at all?

1. By telling his experience in the restaurant，the author intends to __________.

    A. show his interest in exaggerated words

    B. prove that exaggerated words are widely used

    C. blame the restaurant for using exaggerated words

    D. tell us the food in the restaurant is extremely good

2. What do we know about the author’s father?

    A. He has gained height and is now a tall man．

B. He likes following the fashion in clothing．

C. His weight is getting greater and greater．

D. The size of his T-shirt is described in exaggerated words．

3. So many people like using exaggerated words because __________.

    A. they are not satisfied with being normal

    B. they don’t want to be looked down upon by others

    C. they want to be different from others

    D. they are brave in telling their true feelings

4. According to the passage，if you approve of something，you’d better say “ _______”.

    A. fantastic        B. perfect         C. OK       D. absolutely

Vicki Larrieux, a 22-year-old student from Portsmouth, says she is unable to keep a healthy diet because she is frightened of vegetables. She survives on a diet of meat, potatoes, cereals（谷类食品）and apples but refuses even a single slice of carrot on her plate. She suffers from sweating and panics at the slightest sight of a carrot or a pea.

   “I have always had a fear of vegetables. Even as a child I used to freak out if some carrots or a few peas were on my plate.” She said. “But as it continued into adult life, I started to think it might not just be a dislike for vegetables but an actual phobia（恐惧症）. Every time I see vegetables, not just on my plate, but anywhere, I would get feelings of panic and my heart would beat faster.”

   Miss Larrieux’s condition makes trips to the supermarket or eating out at a restaurant with her boyfriend a major problem. It is an unpleasant experience for her to go to the supermarket. Luckily, her boyfriend is very understanding and does his best to comfort her.

   A spokesman for phobia charity Anxiety UK says that around 13 percent of British people suffer a phobia of some form, there are treatment available（有效的）including medication and self-help groups for all manner of phobias.

1. Larrieux eats the following as a daily diet EXCEPT______.

A. meat        B. potatoes        C. peas       D. cereals

2. The underlined part “freak out” in Paragraph 2 means “_________”.

A. feel scared       B. get interested

C. feel relaxed      D. get sad

3. According to the passage, Larrieux’s fear for vegetables _____.

A. was found out recently            B. is a kind of phobia

C. makes her famous                   D. makes her hard to get along with

4. What do we know from the passage?

A. Only a few people around the world suffer from phobias

B. Larrieux is not confident about her future

C. Larrieux’s boyfriend doesn’t like meat

D. Phobia can be treated.

 We believe _____ Shanghai we’ll see in the year 2010 will be quite _____ different city from what it is now.

       A. 不填；a                 B. the; a                             C. the; the             D. 不填；不填

. His sister left home in 1998, and_______since.

A. had not been heard of         B. had not heard of

C. has not been heard of         D. has not heard of

It is well known that the Japanese people’s love of fish is almost as a bee’s interest in honey. As fish populations were decreasing, fishing companies were forced to fish further and further away from the shore. Then they had a big challenge－how to keep the fish fresh for longer. So they decided to keep the fish stored in freezers on the boats. But the public did not like frozen fish. So again the fishing companies had a new bigger challenge. What they decided to do was to have fish tanks on their boats. After catching fishes, they would put them in the tanks and keep them living there until they got back to shore. But in this protected environment, lacking predators (掠食者)，the fish stopped moving around. The Japanese public felt these dull fish did not taste fresh, which had an unpleasant effect upon sales. Once again the fishing companies had an even bigger challenge ...

Stop for a minute! Before we go any further, I would like to ask “What are your challenges? How do you handle an unexpected challenge?” May I think it this way that you should try to attack your challenges? Conquer them with a Swiss Army knife. Take the most proper and simple tool that you can adopt to deal with your situation.

Now back to our story. How did the Japanese finally figure out the fresh fish problem？Sharks! You might think the same. Sharks were caught and put into the tanks with other fishes. Don’t sharks eat fish? Well, they do eat a few fish, but they did also keep more fish active and alert (警觉的) The fish stay fresh because they are challenged.

Now, try to keep yourself fresh by finding your own shark to offer yourself a challenge in your own business and career.

1.The main reason for the fishing company to fish in the far sea is that_________.

       A. the fish resource near the shore was decreasing

      B. the fishes farther away from the sea tasted fresher         

C. people would prefer eating fresh fishes to less fresh ones

       D. it was getting harder and harder to keep fishes fresh

2.The relationship between fishes and sharks is similar to that between_________in nature.

       A. dogs and cats                  B. monkeys and mosquitoes  

       C. wolves and antelopes              D. children and lions

3.The underlined part of the last paragraph means “_________.”

       A. If you went fishing, you might do as the fishing companies did

       B. Try to find a big shark, and you will meet your challenge

      C. To succeed in life, you should always be ready to meet challenges

       D. Sharks are usually compared to the challenges in people’s life

4.The purpose for the author to write the passage is to_________.

       A. tell the readers “no pains, no gains”

       B. tell the readers how the Japanese keep the fish fresh

       C. suggest readers looking for challenges to make progress

       D. advise readers to find something difficult to do

七．课文填空（共10空；每空1分，满分10分）

71．Xiaowen was born without the _______ to use her legs and has no _______ below the waist.

72. Today there are many o _________ for disabled people to develop their _________ , live a rich life and make a __________ to society.

73. __________ is not about getting high test scores, having a high IQ or being smart. _________, it seems that creative thinking, ___________ is one of the most ________ skills in society, is a _________ of habits.

The games _______ the young men competed were difficult.

  A. in which        B. which           C. that              D. in that

 The CDs are on sale！Buy one and you get ______ completely free.

A. other B. others C. one D. ones

. While he was investigating ways to improve the telescope, Newton made      discovery which completely changed          man’s understanding of color.

A. a; /              B. a; the            C. /; the           D. the; a

 ---Which of the two computer games did you prefer?

   --- Actually I didn’t like ___________.

A. both of them   B. none of them   C. either of them   D. neither of them