We now think of chocolate as sweet, but once it was bitter. We think of it as a candy, but once it was a medicine. Today, chocolate can be a hot drink, a frozen dessert, or just a snack. Sometimes it is an ingredient in the main course of a meal. Mexicans make a hot chocolate sauce called mole and pour it over chicken. The Mexicans also eat chocolate with spices like chili peppers.
Chocolate is a product of the tropical cacao tree. The beans taste so bitter that even the monkeys say “Ugh!” and run away. Workers must first dry and then roast the beans. This removes the bitter taste.
The word “chocolate” comes from a Mayan word. The Mayas were an ancient people who once lived in Mexico. They valued the cacao tree. Some used the beans for money, while others crushed them to make a drink.
When the Spaniards came to Mexico in the sixteenth century, they started drinking cacao too. Because the drink was strong and bitter, they thought it was a medicine. No one had the idea of adding sugar. The Spaniards took some beans back to Europe and opened cafes. Wealthy people drank cacao and said it was good for the digestion.
In the 1800s, the owner of a chocolate factory in England discovered that sugar removed the bitter taste of cacao. It quickly became a cheap and popular drink. Soon afterwards, a factory made the first solid block of sweetened chocolate. Later on, another factory mixed milk and chocolate together. People liked the taste of milk chocolate even better.
Besides the chocolate candy bar, one of the most popular American snacks is the chocolate chip cookie. Favorite desserts are chocolate cream pie and of course an ice cream sundae with hot fudge sauce.
【小题1】It was ______that discovered sugar could remove the bitter taste of cacao.

A．the workers in the chocolate factory	B．the Spaniards
C．the people in England	D．the owner of a chocolate factory.

【小题2】According to the passage which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．Nobody had the idea of adding sugar until the sixteenth century.

B．The word “chocolate” comes from a Mexican word.

C．The beans taste so bitter that even the monkeys like them.

D．Workers must dry and roast the beans to remove the bitter taste.

【小题3】It can be inferred from the passage that___________.

A．chocolate can be a hot drink, a frozen dessert, or a candy bar
B．Mexicans like chocolate very much	C．chocolate is a product of the cacao tree
D．people liked the taste of chocolate mixed with milk

【小题4】Which is the right time order of the events regarding chocolate?
a. Chocolate became a cheap and popular drink in England.
b. A factory made the first solid block of sweetened chocolate.
c. The Spaniards started drinking cacao.
d. It was found that sugar removed the bitter taste of cacao.
e. A factory mixed milk and chocolate together.

A．a-b-c-d-e

B．c-d-e-b-a

C．c-d-a-b-e

D．c-d-b-e-a

The small unframed painting called “Fisherman” was signed by a little-known Italian artist, Maveleone (1669-1740). When it was sold recently in New York for $27,000, the seller, Mr. Oliver Pitt, was asked to explain how the picture had come into his possession.
Pitt said, “I didn’t know it was so valuable. I’m not an art expert. Photography is my hobby. I bought ‘Fisherman’ in Italy in 1970 for $140. The picture was dirty, and I couldn’t see the artist’s signature. But anyway it wasn’t the picture that I liked. I bought it because of the frame. ”
“It’s a most unusual frame, made of tiny, silvery sea-shells. They are set in such a way that they reflect perfect light onto the surface of a picture. I now have a photograph of my wife in that frame, and I’ll never part with it.”
“When I returned to New York I showed the painting in its frame to a customs officer. I told him that I had paid $140 for it but admitted I didn’t know its actual worth. The customs man valued it at $140, and I was asked to pay duty on that value. I did so, there and then. ” 
“Later, I took off the frame, and that uncovered Maveleone’s signature. My wife suggested in fun that the painting might be a valuable one, so I cleaned it and put it up for sale.”
As a result of this explanation, Oliver Pitt had to appear in court. He was accused of knowingly making a false statement of the value of a picture so as to cheat the Customs Department.
Pitt was not happy. “I told the truth as I knew it then,” he said, “What else could I say?”
And then the judge agreed with him. “The Customs Department is to be responsible,” he said, “for making a true valuation of goods brought into the country, so that the correct amount of duty may be charged. Mr. Pitt did not cause or try to cause the mistake that was made. He paid the duty that was demanded. If, now, the Customs Department finds that its valuation was not correct, it cannot be allowed to have another try. Pitt is not guilty”.
【小题1】When Oliver Pitt bought the picture, ________.

A．it was unframed	B．Maveleone signed the deal
C．he suggested that it was valuable	D．it was the frame that attracted him

【小题2】 From the passage we can infer that if Maveleone had been a well-known artist,        _.

A．the painting would have cost much more than $ 140

B．he wouldn’t have sold his painting

C．the customs officer wouldn’t have been cheated

D．Pitt wouldn’t have had the intention to buy any of his paintings

【小题3】 Pitt took off the frame probably in order to        _.

A．clean the painting to put it up for sale

B．look for the artist’s signature

C．use it for his wife’s photograph

D．find the painting’s true value

【小题4】Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the story?  

A．In the end Pitt was asked to pay the correct amount of duty.

B．In the end Pitt sold the frame of the painting at an even higher price.

C．In the end the Customs Department had no right to revalue the painting.

D．In the end Pitt’s wife was regarded as an expert because of her wise suggestion.

It was a Sunday and the heavy storm had lasted all night.The morning after the storm,though, was beautiful:blue skies, warm air and a calm, inviting sea touching the shore gently. My father realised it was a good day for fishing and invited my sister and me to go with him.I was only 14 and fishing had never been my thing, but I decided to go all the same. I’m so glad I did.
On the road to the harbour we could see the terrible destruction on the coast,but the harbour itself was in fairly good shape.After all,it was protected by the arms of a bay that had only one tiny channel to the sea.As we got on board,we noticed two big humps (脊背) in the distance.
On approaching them, we saw it was a mother whale with her baby. We couldn’t believe it ——there aren’t any whales along the coast here.The storm must have driven them across the ocean into the bay, in which the still water was so badlly polluted that nothing could survive.
The little baby whale——actually as big as our boat——was obviously stuck and could not move.The mother dived under the water and came up suddenly, making big whirlpools(漩涡) and waves. “She’s trying to help her baby, but on the wrong side,”my father said. At this point, my father moved our boat in a semicircle to the other side and, heading the boat towards the baby whale, pushed it gently. With our several gentle pushes the big hump turned over and disappared under water.Then it swam up right beside its mum.They struggled in their desperate attempts to escape but missed the exit and started heading in the wrong direction.We hurried up to the whales and tried to lead them towards the bay channel. Showly, they let us lead them, some-times rising from the water right beside us to breathe——and to give us a trusting look with those huge eyes. Once they hit their first part of clean water flowing straight from the sea, the mum gave us a wave with her tail and off they swam into the distance.
In the excitement, it had felt like only a few minutes, but we had been with those wonderful animals for almost an hour and a half. That was the simple and lasting beauty of the day. Nearly four decades later, I still look back fondly to that golden day at sea.
【小题1】 The author says “I’m  so glad I did ” because __________.

A．he witnessed the whole process of fishing

B．he enjoyed the beauty of the calm sea

C．he experienced the rescue of the whales

D．he spent the weekend with his family

【小题2】 The harbour survived the storm because of ____________.

A．the shape of the harbour	B．the arms of the bay
C．the still water in the channel	D．the long coast line

【小题3】 The mother whale failed to help her baby because__________.

A．she had stayed in the polluted water for too long

B．the whirlpools she had made were not big enough

C．she had no other whales around to turn to for help

D．the waves pushed her baby in the wrong direction

【小题4】 What is the theme of the story?

A．Saving lives brings people a sense of happiness.

B．Fishing provides excitement for children.

C．It’s necessary to live in harmony with animals.

D．It’s vital to protect the environment.

I once had my Chinese MBA students brainstorming on “two-hour business plans”. I separated them into six groups and gave them an example: a restaurant chain. The more original their idea, the better, I said. Finally, five of the six groups presented plans for restaurant chains. The sixth proposed a catering(餐饮) service. Though I admitted the time limit had been difficult, I expressed my disappointment.
My students were middle managers, financial analysts and financiers from state-owned enterprises and global companies. They were not without talent or opinions, but they had been shaped by an educational system that rarely stressed or rewarded critical thinking or inventiveness. The scene I just described came in different forms during my two years’ teaching at the school. Papers were often copied from the Web and the Harvard Business Review. Case study debates were written up and just memorized. Students frequently said that copying is a superior business strategy, better than inventing and creating.
In China, every product you can imagine has been made and sold. But so few well-developed marketing and management minds have been raised that it will be a long time before most people in the world can name a Chinese brand.
With this problem in mind, partnerships with institutions like Yale and MIT have been established. And then there’s the “thousand-talent scheme”: this new government program is intended to improve technological modernization by attracting top foreign-trained scientists to the mainland with big money. But there are worries about China’s research environment. It's hardly known for producing independent thinking and openness, and even big salary offers may not be attractive enough to overcome this.
At last, for China, becoming a major world creator is not just about setting up partnerships with top Western universities. Nor is it about gathering a group of well-educated people and telling them to think creatively. It’s about establishing a rich learning environment for young minds. It’s not that simple.
【小题1】Which of the following scenes is NOT considered as lack of creation?

A．Papers were often downloaded from the Internet.

B．Students often said that copying is a preferable business strategy.

C．Case study debates were written up as well as recited.

D．Students combine knowledge and critical thoughts to solve a problem.

【小题2】The underlined word “scheme” in the forth paragraph means         .

A．timetable

B．theme

C．project

D．policy

【小题3】We can infer from the passage that ___________.

A．China can make and sell any product all over the world

B．high pay may not solve the problem of China’s research environment

C．cooperation with institutions has been set up to make a Chinese brand

D．the new government program are aimed at encouraging imagination

【小题4】Which is the best title of the passage?

A．Look for a New Way of Learning	B．Reward Creative Thinking
C．How to Become a Creator	D．Establish a Technical Environment

I was walking along the main street of a small seaside town in the north of England looking for somewhere to make a phone call. My car had broken down outside the town and I wanted to contact the AA Company. Low grey clouds were gathering across the sky and there was a cold damp wind blowing off the sea which nearly threw me off my feet every time I crossed one of the side streets. It had rained in the night and water was dripping from the bare trees that lined the street. I was glad that I was wearing a thick coat.
There was no sign of a call box, nor was there anyone at that early hour whom I could ask. I had thought I might find a shop open selling the Sunday papers or a milkman doing his rounds, but the town was completely dead. The only living thing I saw was a thin frightened cat outside a small restaurant.
Then suddenly I found what I was looking for. There was a small post office, and almost hidden from sight in a dark narrow street. Next to it was the town’s only public call box, which badly needed a coat of paint. I hurried forward, but stopped in astonishment when I saw through the dirty glass that there was a man inside. He was fat, and was wearing a cheap blue plastic raincoat. I could not see his face and he didn’t raise his head at the sound of my footsteps.
Carefully, I remained standing a few feet away and lit a cigarette to wait for my turn. It was when I threw the dead match on the ground that I noticed something bright red trickling from under the box call door
【小题1】 At what time was the story set?

A．An early winter morning	B．A cold winter afternoon
C．An early summer morning	D．A windy summer afternoon

【小题2】 Which of the following words best describe the writer’s impression of the town?

A．cold and frightening	B．dirty and crowded
C．empty and dead	D．unusual and unpleasant

【小题3】 The underlined word “ trickling” in the last paragraph means_______________

A．rushing out suddenly	B．shining brightly
C．flowing slowly in drops	D．appearing slowly

【小题4】 Why didn’t the man raise his head when the writer came near?

A．He was annoyed at being seen by the writer.

B．He was angry at being disturbed by the writer.

C．He was probably fast asleep.

D．He was probably murdered.

  I still remember the days when l was a youthful student in an engineering school．I lived a casual life，without caring about the future．I smoked，drank with friends and made girl friends．Little did I realize that casualness would certainly lead to loss．
Two years had passed and l was staring down a report card that highlighted FAII in more than half the subjects．I didn’t care，at least not till my dad found out about it．You see．I studied in India and unlike the United States where the students are expected to finance their own education，my dad financed me．
Then came the day when my dad found out my habit of smoking．He lost his temper but he just told me，“Son，your allowance is cut in half from this moment on”．It hit me like a roundhouse kick（回旋踢） from Bruce Lee．I was jolted（震摇）out of my bones！I couldn’t comprehend how to pay off the debts that I had accumulated in college．I owed everybody money：the grocery store，the bars．the restaurants，my friends，etc．I was living a life filled with credit．
When I went back to college，I knew that if I don’t change the way I live my life I won’t be able to pay everybody off．So I decided to make some changes．drastic changes．I quit smoking，cut off from my friends who led me down the wrong road，starting hanging out in libraries and reading my engineering books．
One year later，I went from a miserable failure to a magna curn laude（优等成绩）．Life was never the same again．This incident made me know that anything is possible if you take action and do something about it，however small or large．Even today it still motivates me when I feel that l’m about to lose or give up．It reminds me that I can do it！
【小题1】The author wrote this text with the purpose of       ．

A．introducing his university life to the teenage readers

B．showing you can overcome any difficulty if you take action

C．calling on the readers not to develop bad habits in college

D．introducing his university life to the teenage readers

【小题2】The author didn’t care about his study until     ．

A．he was in heavy debt he couldn’t bear	B．he decided to give up smoking
C．his allowance was cut in half	D．he entered the engineering school

【小题3】The underlined sentence in the last paragraph means that the author     ．

A．removed his bad habits and didn’t lead a casual life

B．never hung out with his friends but studied all day

C．began to live a happy life due to his good grades

D．paid off his debt and life wasn’t hard for him any more

【小题4】Which of the following statements is TRUE？

A．The author did well in making good friends in the school．

B．The author made great progress with the help of his friends．

C．Students were encouraged to do part-time jobs in Indian schools．

D．Students tended to earn money for college expenses in America．

The 92-year-old, thin, calm and proud lady, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock, even though she is nearly blind, moved to a nursing home today.
Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the hall of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready.
As she walked slowly to lift, I provided a true description of her tiny room, including the old sheets(床单) that had been hung on her window. “I love it.” She said with the happiness.
“Mrs. Jones, you haven’t seen the room…. Just wait..”  “That doesn’t matter.” She replied. “ Happiness is something you decide ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged. It is how I arrange my mind, I have already decided to lobe it. It is a decision I make every morning when I wake up. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I will focus on the new day and all the happy memories I’ve stored away.” She went on to explain, “Old age is like a bank account(帐户). You put what you have in. So, my advice to you would be to put in a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories. Thank you for your part in filling my memory bank.” And with a smile, she said, “All my memories are happy ones.”
Mr. Jones was always happy in the nursing home and she died at the age of 108.
【小题1】 We can infer from the passage that the writer_____________.

A．is one of Mrs. Jones children

B．is a relative of Mrs. Jones

C．works in the nursing home

D．is the owner of the nursing house

【小题2】 The room in which the old lady will live ____________.

A．isn’t in good condition

B．is fairly big

C．is very comfortable

D．is equipped with new furniture

【小题3】 Which of the following words can best describe Mrs. Jones?

A．Proud	B．Pleasant
C．Loyal	D．Honest

【小题4】 The author intends to tell us_________________.

A．why the lonely woman was happy

B．what a nursing home was alike

C．how to live a long life

D．how to lead a happy life

Driving to a friend's house on a recent evening, I was attracted by the sight of the full moon rising just above my friend’s rooftops. I stopped to watch it for a few moments, thinking about what a pity it was that most city people? Myself included? Usually miss sights like this because we spend most of our lives indoors.
My friend had also seen it. He grew up living in a forest in Europe, and the moon meant a lot to him then. It had touched much of his life.
I know the feeling. Last December I took my seven-year-old daughter to the mountainous jungle of northern India with some friends. We stayed in a forest rest-house with no electricity or running hot water. Our group had campfires(篝火) outside every night, and indoors when it was too cold outside. The moon grew to its fullest during our trip. Between me and the high mountains lay three or four valleys. Not a light shone in them and not a sound could be heard. It was one of the quietest places I have ever known, a bottomless well of silence. And above me was the full moon, which struck me deeply.　　  
Today our lives are filled with glass, metal, plastic and fibre-glass. We have televisions, cell phones, pagers, electricity, heaters and ovens and air-conditioners, cars, computers.
Struggling through traffic that evening at the end of a tiring day, most of it spent indoors, I thought: before long, I would like to live in a small cottage. There I will grow vegetables and read books and walk in the mountains. I may become an old man there, and wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled and measure out my life in coffee spoons. But I will be able to walk outside on a cold silent night and touch the moon.
【小题1】The best title for the passage would be______.

A．Touched by the moon

B．The pleasures of modern life

C．A bottomless well of silence

D．Break away from modern life

【小题2】 The writer felt sorry for himself because________.

A．there was too much pollution

B．he seldom enjoyed the fullest moon outsides

C．he didn’t adapt to modern inventions

D．there were too many accidents on the road

【小题3】What impressed the writer most in the mountainous jungle of northern India?

A．No modern equipment	B．Complete silence.
C．The nice moonlight	D．The high mountains

【小题4】 Modern things (Paragraph 4) are mentioned mainly to______.

A．show that the writer likes city life very much

B．tell us that people greatly benefit from modern life

C．explain that people have fewer chances to enjoy nature

D．show that we can also enjoy nature at home through them

【小题5】 The author wrote the passage to_______.  

A．express the feeling of returning to nature

B．show the love for the moonlight

C．advise modern people to learn to live

D．want to share the idea of longing for modern life

I heard many parents complaining that their teenage children are rebelling. I wish it were so. At your age you ought to be growing away from your parents. You should be learning to stand on your own two feet. But take a good look at the present rebellion. It seems that teenagers are taking the same way of showing that they disagree with their parents. Instead of striking out boldly on their own, most of them are clutching (紧握) at one another’s hands for reassurance.
They claim they want to dress as they please. But they all wear the same clothes. They set off in new directions in music. But somehow they all end up huddled (聚在一起) round listening to the same record. Their reason for thinking or acting in thus-and-such a way is that the crowd is doing it. They have come out of their cocoon (蚕茧) into a larger cocoon.
It has become harder and harder for a teenager to stand up against the popularity wave and to go his or her own way. Industry has firmly carved out a teenage market. These days every teenager can learn from the advertisements what a teenager should have and be. And many of today’s parents have come to award high marks for the popularity of their children. All this adds up to a great barrier for the teenager who wants to find his or her own path.
But the barrier is worth climbing over. The path is worth following. You may want to listen to classical music instead of going to a party. You may want to collect rocks when everyone else is collecting records. You may have some thoughts that you don’t care to share at once with your classmates. Well, go to it. Find yourself. Be yourself. Popularity will come — with the people who respect you for who you are. That is the only kind of popularity that really counts.
【小题1】 In this passage, the author wants to tell _______.

A．readers to try to be popular with people around

B．teenagers to try to pursue their real selves

C．parents to try to control and guide their children

D．people to try to understand and respect each other

【小题2】The author disapproves of rebelling teenagers _______.

A．growing away from their parents	B．turning to their friends for help
C．walking a new way on their own	D．following the popularity trend

【小题3】The phrase “a larger cocoon” at the end of the second paragraph refers to _______.

A．the distractive and variable society	B．the popularity wave in the society
C．the parental care and love	D．the dazzling music world

【小题4】What does the author think of advertisements?

A．Convincing.

B．Instructive.

C．Influential.

D．Authoritative.

【小题5】According to the author, what might happen when a teenager stands up against the popularity wave and follows his/her own path?

A．He/She gains valuable popularity.	B．He/She loses good friends.
C．He/She faces all kinds of criticism.	D．He/She falls behind the time.

"But Ijust paid 1．69 for this bottle of wine last week．How is it that the price is 2.25?"
There are at least three things going on that have caused the price of wine to rise．All haveto do with the supply and demand factors of economics．
The first factor is that people are drinking more wine than ever before．This demand formore wine has increased wine sales in America at the rate of 15 percent a year．
The second factor is that the supply of wine has stayed relatively the same, which meansthat the same number of bottles is produced each year．Wine producers are trying to open upnew land to grow more grapes．But in at least three wine producing areas of the world-France,Germany, and California --- new vineyards（葡萄园）will not be useable in the near future．Wines are produced in other countries, such as Italy, Spain, and Portugal, as well as Argentine,Australia, Austria, and Chile．And these wines will be seen more often on the American market．But none of these countries will be able to fill the good wines．
The third factor is that costs of wine production are soaring．The workers who make wineare asking for more money, and the machinery needed to press the grapes is becoming moreexpensive．
When the demand for something is greater than the supply, prices go up．When productioncosts, meaning the price of labor and machinery rise, the producer adds this increase to theprice of the wine．For these reasons, that bottle of wine now costs 2．25 instead of 1．69．
【小题1】What is the main idea of this passage?

A．Every year people drink more wine．

B．Countries won't be able to fill the demand for good wines．

C．The prices of things go up when the demand for them is greater than the supply．

D．The supply of wine will always be less than demand．

【小题2】This passage is written to      ．

A．describe where wine is produced

B．persuade people drink more beer

C．explain why the price of wine is rising

D．describe why wine is a favorite drink to many Americans

【小题3】Theunderlined word "soaring" means"___ .

A．adding quickly	B．reducing fast
C．demanding badly	D．increasing fast