Passage Eighteen (Strictly Ban smoking)

If you smoke and you still don’t believe that there’s a definite link between smoking and bronchial troubles, heart disease and lung cancer, then you are certainly deceiving yourself. No one will accuse you of hypocrisy. Let us just say that you are suffering from a bad case of wishful thinking. This needn’t make you too uncomfortable because you are in good company. Whenever the subject of smoking and health is raised, the governments of most countries hear no evil, see no evil and smell no evil. Admittedly, a few governments have taken timid measures. In Britain for instance, cigarette advertising has been banned on television. The conscience of the nation is appeased, while the population continues to puff its way to smoky, cancerous death.

You don’t have to look very far to find out why the official reactions to medical findings have been so lukewarm. The answer is simply money. Tobacco is a wonderful commodity to tax. It’s almost like a tax on our daily bread. In tax revenue alone, the government of Britain collects enough from smokers to pay for its entire educational facilities. So while the authorities point out ever so discreetly that smoking may, conceivable, be harmful, it doesn’t do to shout too loudly about it.

This is surely the most short-sighted policy you could imagine. While money is eagerly collected in vast sums with one hand, it is paid out in increasingly vaster sums with the other. Enormous amounts are spent on cancer research and on efforts to cure people suffering from the disease. Countless valuable lives are lost. In the long run, there is no doubt that everybody would be much better-off if smoking were banned altogether.

Of course, we are not ready for such a drastic action. But if the governments of the world were honestly concerned about the welfare of their peoples, you’d think they’d conduct aggressive anti-smoking campaigns. Far from it! The tobacco industry is allowed to spend staggering sums on advertising. Its advertising is as insidious as it is dishonest. We are never shown pictures of real smokers coughing up their lungs early in the morning. That would never do. The advertisement always depict virile, clean-shaven young men. They suggest it is manly to smoke, even positively healthy! Smoking is associated with the great open-air life, with beautiful girls, true love and togetherness. What utter nonsense!

For a start, governments could begin by banning all cigarette and tobacco advertising and should then conduct anti-smoking advertising campaigns of their own. Smoking should be banned in all public places like theatres, cinemas and restaurants. Great efforts should be made to inform young people especially of the dire consequences of taking up the habit. A horrific warning – say, a picture of a death’s head – should be included in every packet of cigarettes that is sold. As individuals, we are certainly weak, but if governments acted honestly and courageously, they could protect us from ourselves.

1.Why do a few governments take timid measures toward smoking?

A.because they are afraid of people.

B.Because diseases cost a lot.

C.Because they are afraid of the cutting down of their revenue.

D.Because they are afraid of manufacturers.

2.The tone of this passage is

A.critical.

B.ironical.

C.distaste.

D.amusing.

3.What does the sentence “because you are in good company” mean?

A.you are backed by the government.

B.You are not alone.

C.You have good colleagues.

D.Governments are blind to evils of smoking too.

4.What is the best title of this passage?

A.World Governments should conduct serious campaigns against smoking.

B.World governments take timid measures against smoking.

C.smoking is the most important source of income to many countries.

D.tobacco industry spends a large sum of money on medical research.

第二卷

第一节 单词拼写（共10 小题，每题1分，满分10分）

56. Don’t be___________(泄气).Failure is the mother of success

57.The year of 2008___________(目睹了) the great success of the Olympic Games in Beijing.

58.Martin Luther King led a struggle for political rights,_________(平等) and freedom..

59.Premier Wen Jiabao __________(强调 ) the importance of developing China’s education at the meeting .

60.There was a ____________(惊恐的) look on his face hearing the roar of the wind.

61.TV plays have a great e__________ on people’s daily life.

62. The film is b___________ on her true story.

63.There is no a_______ to the house from the main road.

64.He could’nt resist the v___________ of the strong  wind and had to be back to his lonely house.

65.I tried to p___________ him to give up playing computer games, but it’s no use.

2. — Do you know anything about that man?

— No. I know nothing about him _______ I read in the newspaper yesterday.

A.besides        B. except when     C. except for              D. except what

35. Global oil prices ______ sharply in the past two years.

       A. have been risen          B. have arisen        C. have risen       D. have raised

B

I went over my grandmother’s house today and she didn’t have time for me. You see, the lady’s husband downstairs died and my Grandmother wanted to make some cookies for her. My grandmother did not analyze (分析) how the lady treated her, or if the lady needed any cookies, or even if the lady would like the cookies. She didn’t think how much the lady has done for her. She simply began baking.

My Grandmother turned 94 last week and this I believe is her secret to life. My grandmother is generous (慷慨) and hard-working in a way that is rare for our time. She lives by a simple belief: if someone needs your help, you help. Never mind all the analyzing and thinking whether the person deserves or appreciates the help. My grandmother doesn’t sit around thinking about who might be making use of her: she simply does what is needed.

At 94, she is busy in life. She is making a blanket for a new great grandchild, and worried that I don’t have enough kitchen towels for my home. She is bringing soup to a sick neighbor, and teaching the new wife of her cousin (who is 88) how to cook Italian food.

My grandmother had every right to give up, but she didn’t — and amazingly life did bring her good things, like a husband with twinkling blue eyes who was much ahead of his time and believed that men should do an equal amount of cooking and cleaning in the home, three beautiful children (my father and two aunts), 22 grandchildren, and five great grandchildren. My grandmother is not afraid to give someone she barely knows a bowl of soup. She never keeps herself out of the world.

61. The reason why my grandmother made cookies for the lady downstairs is that ________.

A. she thought the lady was too busy

B. she would make them as thanks to her

C. she thought she should do something for the lady at the special time

D. they had had an agreement before

62. In the writer’s opinion, ________.

A. my grandmother has a secret way of living

B. my grandmother does everything on careful consideration

C. few people are as generous as my grandmother now

D. my grandmother will get something in return

63. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A. My grandmother cares for her children even some strangers.

B. My grandfather does not treat women in an unfair way.

C. This is a family in which there are nearly 30 people now.

D. My grandmother never keeps everything for herself.

64. We may infer from the text that the writer ________.

A. thinks his grandmother is living a tired life

B. thinks his grandmother is doing what she should do

C. thinks his grandmother should not be so kind

D. is proud of his grandmother

D

One day newly wedded Nancy lost her ring while helping to plant potatoes. Friends were called and the field was searched long but in vain. Later, when the pottoes were harvested, Everyone looked out for the ring but it remained lost. Another year came round and all the farmers working in the field kept their eyes open. The following year was the same. And year after year, whoever had business in the field aways had Nancy’s ring in his mind.

Then the farm changed hands but it went no farther than to cousins. So the memory of the lost ring remained alive until thirty-eight years had passed. Then came a spring day when a man was ploughing the field behind a pair of horses. Even after thirty-eight years he still looked out for the ring, and knew just which part of the field Nancy had lost it in. At this time, when he came there, he found it .He picked it up, put it carefully into his pocket, left his horse, and ran all the way down to the village and placed it into Nancy’s hand.

76.How did Nancy come to lose her ring?

A.She lost it while helping to harvest tomatoes in the field

B.She lost it while watering the plants in the field.

C.She lost it while working in the field.

D.She lost it while helping to plant potatoes in the field.

77.What was done so that the lost ring could be found?

A.Friends were asked to join in the search.

B.The field was searched for a long time.

C.Ｄogs were called to look for it.

D.Both A and B

78.Why did people keep looking for the ring even after the farm changed hands?

A.It was a very expensive ring

B.They all wanted to solve the mystery.

C.They all loved Nancy.

D.Everybody wanted to have this ring.

79.What did the ploughman do after finding the ring?

A.He picked it up and put it in his pocket.

B.He ran back to tell everybody in the village.

C.He placed it in a secret spot.

D.He returned it to the owner.

80.What can you infer from the story?

A.The ring was invaluable.

B.People on the farm were honest and helpful.

C.The ring’s mysterious disappearance was the work of supernatural power.

D.Nancy no longer expected that her ring would be found again.

25. Though he is still a child, he has already read _____ 1,000 books.

A. so much as  B. as many as  C. as much as  D. so many as

27. ---- Mr. Wang got the first prize in the singing competition last week.

---- Oh. That’s what he ______ for years.

A.had been expecting B. has expected   C. expected          D. has been expecting

29. ______ many people, he prefers classical music to pop.

A. In common    B. In common with  C. Out of common with   D. Out of common

18．The old couple don’t know what to do with their son, who drinks___________every day.

       A．heavily     B．seriously   C．hardly      D．Badly