Doomed beauties such as Cleopatra and Manilyn Monroe were far from alone in their misery. Very attractive people tend to form partnerships that are less stable and satisfying than those enjoyed by plain Janes.

According to research by Dr John Blaine of the University of Southern California, relationships between people whose professions largely depend on their appearances, such as models or actors, tend to end much faster than those between lawyers, doctors or students.

Blaine said the beautiful felt different from childhood. They are treated as special, which may create both arrogance and insecurity. All too often, beauty can be used as an alternative to education. Often they are pushed out of their class or town, told to go off and make their fortune in Hollywood or London and, when the majority fail, they have few talents to make a living.

Blaine added that beautiful people score poorly on the “big five” — the key factors American experts consider when helping distressed couples. These are neuroticism （神经质）, including anger andanxiety; extroversion （性格外向）; openness to new experiences; agreeableness; and conscientiousness （责任感）, or sticking by agreements they have made. Attractive people often see no reason to try to change until their looks start to fade.

Krista Sutherland, of the University of California Los Angeles, said partnerships that appeared to be perfect from the outside, such as the former “dream teams” of Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise or Hugh Grant and Elizabeth Hurley, where backgrounds and aspirations are often shared, did not necessarily lead to happiness.

1．What does the underlined sentence “Doomed beauties such as Cleopatra and Manilyn Monroe were far from alone in their misery.” mean?

A．Beautiful women always felt lonely.

B．Beautiful women were always alone.

C．Many beautiful women didn’t end up with a happy life.

D．Beautiful women always lived a happy life. 

2．The underlined phrase “plain Janes” in the passage refers to ________.

A．ordinary-looking women                            B．women called Jane

C．common people                                          D．attractive women        

3．We can infer in the passage that ________.

A．Hugh Grant and Elizabeth Hurley were a couple

B．Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise were very satisfied with their life

C．When they fail in Hollywood, the beautiful have little trouble in making a living

D．The marriage of the beautiful often last long

4．Which of the following is the best title?

A．Five key factors affecting the partnership.            B．Beauties are doomed to fail in love.

C．Beauties or common?                                         D．The beautiful are different.

I am one of the many city people who are always saying that given the choice we would prefer to live in the country away from the dirt and noise of a large city. If it weren’t for my job I would immediately move out for the open spaces and go back to nature．

    Cities can be frightening places. The majority of the population live in many tower blocks, noisy, dirty and impersonal. The sense of belonging to a community tends to disappear when you live fifteen floors up. All you can see from your window is sky, or other blocks of flats. Children become aggressive and nervous as they are shut up at home all day, with nowhere to play; their mothers feel isolated（孤立的）from the rest of the world. Strangely enough, in the past the residents（居民）of one street all knew each other, but nowadays people on the same floor in tower blocks don’t even say hello to each other．

    Country life, on the other hand, differs from this kind of isolated existence in that a sense of community generally binds the residents of small villages together. People have the advantage of knowing that there is always someone to turn to when they need help. But country life has disadvantages too. While it is true that you may be among friends in a village, it is also true that you are cut off from the exciting and important events that take place in cities. There’s little possibility of going to a new show or the latest movie. Shopping becomes a major problem, and for anything slightly out of the ordinary you have to go a long way to the nearest large town. The city people who leave for the country often can’t bear the stillness and quiet there．

What, then, is the answer? The country has the advantage of peace and quiet, but suffers from the disadvantage of being cut off; the city gives people a feeling of isolation, and constant noise can nearly drive you mad. But one of its main advantages is that you are at the center of things, and that life doesn’t come to an end at half-past nine at night. Some people have found a compromise （折衷） between the two: leave cities and move to villages within commuting （乘车往返） distance of large cities. It sounds great!

1．It seems that the writer prefers to live in the country mainly because ______．

A．the city is somehow polluted            B．the country folks are more friendly

C．one can get better sleep in the country         D．it’s hard for people to find jobs in the city

2．The biggest disadvantage of living in the country is that ______．

A．life there is inconvenient                       B．shopping is almost impossible

C．you can not see a movie or a show        D．life comes to an end at half past nine

3．As to which is better, city life or country life, the writer ______．

A．did some explanation                           B．made some comparison

C．described both of them vividly              D．talked a lot about his preference

4．The underlined word “binds” in the third paragraph is similar in meaning to ______．

A．attracts            B．drives              C．prevents            D．unites

阅读下列各小题, 根据括号内的汉语提示, 用句末内的英语单词完成句子。

1．A student from America said before she came she had heard many reports about how populous China is, but still _____________________ （这事超出她的想象）. （beyond）

2．You have to put in some extra work at night if you _____________（不想落后）.（leave）

3．All of us were tired out and in desperate need of water _____（还有300英里的路程要赶）. （with, go）

4．People in China hope to see nuclear technologies ______________________________ （应用于越来越多的领域） rather than wars. （apply）

5．We ________________________________________ （已经习惯了看到）stars arrested because of taking drugs. （accustomed）

6．China’s elite troops are having military training for the National Day Parade _____________________（为庆祝60周年）of the founding of the PRC．（celebrate）

7．Though ____________________________（食物快要吃完了）, the men are cheerful and confident. （run）

8．I know nothing about her____________________________（除了她是被抚养长大的以外）by her aunt. （except, bring）

9．More and more high school graduates from China ______________________（被录取）key universities overseas nowadays. （admit）

10．Under no circumstances __________________________________ （应该放弃） your dreams even if everybody goes far away from you. （give）

假设你是某中学高三（1）班班长李华，你们的口语教师Julie已完成教学任务，准备回英国。请你根据以下内容要点给Julie写一封e-mail，附上她与全班同学的合影，并代表全班同学对她表示感谢。要点：

       1．Julie上课的日子非常轻松愉快；

       2．Julie总是组织很多课堂活动，让大家积极参与；

       3．她教的Jazz Chant “Will I ever learn to speak English?” 让大家对讲英语充满信心；

       4．她经常说 “Never say you can’t” 给大家留下了深刻的印象；

       5．她用 “TEAM Spirit” 来鼓励大家交流和分享；

       6．希望她能再到中国来。

       注意：    1．词数为100左右；

               2．信的开头和结尾已为你写好（不计入你所写词数）。

Dear Julie,

       Time flies and we have to say goodbye because you are going back to Britain soon. I’d like to say thanks to you on behalf of the whole class for your teaching us so well.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

       By the way, I am attaching your picture with the whole class. Please do check it out.

                                                                  Yours,

                                                                   Li Hua

As is known, it was Hu Jintao, ____ president of our nation, who gave ____ lecture at the opening ceremony. 

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

My summer job wasn’t ____ fun, but it was ____ real learning experience for me.

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

--- Is there anything wrong with my heart?

--- ______ . Take it easy.

A．Nothing serious       B．That’s right       C．Don’t mind      D．Keep calm

Maria was thoroughly embarrassed, _____ her parents treated her like a child.

A．and        B．for       C．but        D．or

It is said that the price of that beach house, which you were looking forward to buying, has fallen ____ a further 200 dollars a square meter.

A．at        B．by       C．with       D．for

Two more hours, _______ we will finish the work.

A．or        B．so that          C．and         D．if