Here’s an unusual story: a diamond ring was recently found in an egg. The magician（魔术师）, Liu Qian, discovered it, in front of an audience of millions at CCTV’s Spring Festival Gala. Liu’s magic tricks have made the centuries old art of magic fashionable once again, and made him the hottest magician in China.
As a seasoned young magician from Taiwan, Liu is popular worldwide for his magic shows. Countries he has performed in include the United States, Japan, South Korea and the UK.
Witnessing something impossible happen right before your eyes is the root of people’s love for magic.
Liu is known for his interaction(互动) with his audiences. He has a unique understanding of showmanship (演出技巧).
“It is actually thinking, rather than one’s manipulation(操作)skills, that is more important to achieving a successful magic show. We think carefully about how to design the shows creatively, to make them appear more intriguing(吸引人的),”Liu said.
Liu Qian’s success dates back to his childhood. Born in 1976 in Taiwan, he found himself attracted to a magic toy in a shop when he was seven years old. At the age of 12, he won Taiwan’s Youth Magic Contest, which was judged by the great American magician, David Copperfield.
Yet, Liu never planned on becoming a professional magician. He studied Japanese literature at university and only hoped to be an amateur（业余的） magician in his spare time. However, his failure to find a decent(体面的)job after graduation pushed him towards magic as a career.
To refine（升华） his performing skills, he has performed on streets, roads and fields, for pedestrians(路人), policemen and farmers.
“Street shows are the biggest challenge for us magicians. We have to deal with unexpected situations and tough crowds,” Liu said.
【小题1】Why do people love to watch magic?

A．Because Liu Qian is known for his interaction with his audiences.

B．Because people love watching magicians make the impossible happen.

C．Because people want to know the secret of the magic.

D．Because people are curious about everything.

【小题2】Which word in the following is close to the underlined word “seasoned”?

A．Handsome.

B．Growing.

C．Fruitful.

D．Experienced.

【小题3】What is the key reason that Liu Qian decided to make magic his career?

A．He was good at magic when he was young.

B．He had won Taiwan’s Youth Magic Contest.

C．He couldn’t find a decent job after graduation.

D．He became an amateur magician in his spare time.

【小题4】The passage is mainly about         .

A．why Liu Qian plays magic well

B．what magic tricks are

C．why people love magic

D．how Liu Qian became China’s hottest magician

Prince Charles yesterday promised to reduce the royal impact on the environment through sweeping changes to his personal lifestyle and official schedule. The prince will replace carbon-heavy private jets and helicopters with scheduled flights and train services.
The move came as Prince Charles urged business leaders to publish the environmental pact(条款、协议) of their activities.
He said, “Few accountants and business decision-makers ask, ‘How much of our critical natural resource is left? How many miles of polar ice cap has our business helped melt this year? By how many inches have we raised sea levels? How many species have we put at risk? How many homes will be flooded, how many people will die of thirst or starvation because of our activities? ’ These are not comfortable questions, but, by God, they need to be asked.”
He added, “At the moment these costs do not appear in anyone’s books… Yet they are real, they are incurred now and in a relatively short time, the damage being caused may be beyond remedy.” He said the world was “running up the biggest global credit card debt in history, but with little or no thought for how the bill will ever be paid”.
Flanked by the prime minister and business and community leaders at St James’ Palace, the prince said his new “accounting for sustainability” project would give consumers the power to choose products that caused less damage to the planet.
Duchy Originals, the prince’s food company, is taking steps to work out how much carbon dioxide and other green-house gas are emitted in growing, processing and distributing its products. The changes to the prince’s travel arrangements announced yesterday are part of a wider review of the carbon footprint associated with activities at all three of his residences. Clarence House in London, Highgrove and Birkhall on the Balmorals estate, as well as the activities of his 21 personal and 105 full-time staff. Measures include a review of electricity use, commuter and other staff travel and are intended to identify further reductions in carbon dioxide emissions. The review will report in June , when Clarence House will announce annual targets to reduce carbon emission.
【小题1】How does Prince Charles feel about business leaders in terms of environmental protection?

A．Dissatisfied.	B．Disappointed.
C．Doubtful.	D．Impatient.

【小题2】In response to Prince Charles’ calls, Duchy Originals will ______.

A．make as much green food as possible

B．cut down its cost

C．figure out its greenhouse gas emission

D．continue its greenhouse gas emission

【小题3】The underlined phrase in paragraph 4 probably refers to ______.

A．the great amount of waste produced by industry

B．the high cost of industry in their producing process

C．the great amount of debts of the royal family

D．the great damage caused to the environment

【小题4】What would be the best title for the passage?

A．Prince Charles promised Greener Royal Lifestyle

B．Better Late than Never

C．Prince Charles and His Concern for Environment

D．The Royal Family Has a Role to Play in Environment Protection

When Jackie Robinson walked onto Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York, on April 15, 1947, he changed baseball forever. As the first African American to play in the Major League in modern times, many believe he changed the country forever.
Robinson was born in 1919. He lived in a time when rules controlled what African Americans could do. He was a top athlete, playing football, basketball and baseball. But playing for a major League team was off limits to Robinson because of his race.
Branch Rickey, president and manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, signed (和……签约) Robinson in 1947. He believed that Robinson not only had the skills, but the courage to face the challenge of becoming modern baseball’s first black player.
It wasn’t easy. Robinson sometimes faced boos (嘘声) from fans. But he became a star, anyway. In 1962, he became the first African-American player chosen to enter the Baseball Hall of Fame. In 2005, he was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal, the highest award Congress can give to an American.
By breaking baseball’s color barrier (肤色障碍), Robinson opened the door for many to follow his footsteps, not only in baseball, but in other areas of life as well. After he stopped playing the game, Robinson worked as a manager for a coffee company. He wrote a newspaper column (专栏). He also  started a bank.
【小题1】Before Jackie Robinson, no African-American players could __________.

A．play baseball

B．play in the Major League

C．play football and basketball

D．watch Major League games

【小题2】According to Branch Rickey, Jackie Robinson was __________.

A．poor but clever	B．unlucky but confident
C．proud and strong	D．brave and skilled

【小题3】We can know that Jackie Robinson’s story __________.

A．changed many Africans’ ideas

B．had an effect on many black people’s lives

C．encouraged black people to fight with whites

D．started a hot discussion about the color barrier

【小题4】Which of the following is NOT what he once did?

A．a newspaper column writer	B．a banker
C．a university teacher	D．a manager in a company

Madame de Stael says that only the people who can play with children are able to educate them. For success in training children, the first condition is to become a child oneself. It means to treat the child as really one’s equal, that is, to show him the same consideration, the same kind of confidence one shows to an adult. It means not to affect the child to be what we ourselves want him to become, but to be affected by the impression of what the child himself is; not to treat the child with cheating, or by force, but with the seriousness and true love suitable to his own character.
Not leaving the child in peace is the greatest problem of present methods of training children. Parents do not see that during the whole life, the need of peace is never greater than in the years of childhood, an inner peace under all outside liveliness.
But what does a child experience? Corrections, orders, interference（干涉）, the whole livelong day. The child is always required to leave something alone, or to do something different, to find something different, or want something different from what he does, or finds, or wants. He is always guided in another direction from the true inner will that is leading him. All of this is caused by our so-called enthusiasm in directing, advising, and helping the child to become the same model produced in one assembly line（流水线）. Understanding, the deepest characteristic of love, is almost always absent.
To bring up a child means carrying one’s soul in one’s hand; it means never placing ourselves in danger of meeting the cold look on the face of the child. It means the truth that the ways of injuring the child are limitless while the ways of being useful to him are few. How seldom does the educator remember that the child, even at four or five years of age, has already had a sharp feeling! The smallest mistrust and unkindness, the least act of injustice, leave wounds that last for life in the heart of the child. While, on the other hand, unexpected friendliness and kindness make quite as deep an impression on those soft senses.
【小题1】The passage mainly talks about _______.

A．misleading zones and right ways in educating children

B．current problems in training children

C．what should be taught to children

D．the importance of educating children

【小题2】Children, according to the passage, are experiencing _______.

A．corrections, orders and peace

B．orders, interference and peace

C．interference, orders and corrections

D．peace, guide and praise

【小题3】If you were a parent, which of the following methods is TRUE according to the text?

A．You could treat your children not so seriously for they don’t understand many things.

B．You could train your children as you wish them to be since you are parents.

C．You should sometimes leave your children in peace as they wish in their childhood.

D．You should correct your children immediately if their behavior is not what you want.

【小题4】We may conclude that the author believes people should _______.

A．play with the children with enthusiasm all day long just to please them

B．try to give an order, advice and suggestions to their children at any time

C．treat their children just as the way they treat an adult in their daily life

D．regard their children as an equal to them and have understanding of the inner peace of them

Victor’s hobby was collecting stamps. He had stamps from many countries, like England, Canada and China. On his birthday, can you guess what people gave him? That’s right—stamps.
Victor’s favorite stamps came from France. He had almost every stamp from 1954 to 2004. He only needed one. That was a 1974 special edition*. It was very hard to find.
He looked for it everywhere. He asked his friends and relatives to help him. But nobody could find the stamp. It made Victor very sad.
“Don’t worry. Never give up,” his father said to him. “If you have enough patience, you’ll find it one day.”
“I hope so,” Victor said.
Victor also liked writing. He had a pen friend in France. They wrote to each other every month. Victor’s pen friend, Phillip, usually used new stamps to send letters. Sometimes, his mother gave him stamps to use. Once Phillip’s mother gave him a big, green stamp. It looked old. When Victor received the letter, he was very surprised. On the envelope, he looked carefully at the stamp. It was the 1974 special edition stamp. Victor was so happy. He told his sister, his mother and his father.
“You see,” his father said. “You did find your stamp. So, it’s good to have two things in life. ”
“What are they?” Victor asked.
“Friends and patience.” He answered.
【小题1】It was very difficult for Victor to find a special French stamp of _________.

A．1954

B．1974

C．1994

D．2004

【小题2】Who owned the special edition stamp at the very beginning?

A．Phillip.

B．Phillip’s mother.

C．Victor.

D．Victor’s father.

【小题3】The passage mainly tells us that ________ is（are）important to people.

A．a happy family	B．a good hobby
C．relatives and friendship	D．friends and patience

One day, while a woodcutter was cutting a branch of a tree above a river. When he began crying, God appeared and asked him, "Why are you crying?"
The woodcutter told him that he had dropped his axe into water. God went down into the water and reappeared with a golden axe.
"Is this your axe?" God asked.
The woodcutter said "No."
God again went down and came up with a silver axe." Is this your axe?" God asked.
The woodcutter said "No."
God again went down and came up with a iron axe." Is this your axe?" God asked.
The woodcutter said "Yes."
God was pleased with the man's honesty and gave him all the three axes.
The woodcutter went home happily. One day while he was walking with his wife along the river, his wife fell into the river. W hen he began crying, God appeared and asked him, "Why are you crying?"
"My wife has fallen into water."
God went down into the water and came up with Jennifer Lopez.
"Is this your wife?" God asked him.
"Yes." he said.
God was furious(狂怒的),"YOU CHEAT !Now I am going to curse you."
The woodcutter quickly said, “Forgive me my lord. It is a misunderstanding. IF I say 'No' to Jennifer Lopez, you will come up with Catherine Zeta Jones, If I also say 'No' to her, you will finally come up
With my wife and I will say, 'Yes.' Then you will give all the three to me .I am a poor man .I will not be able to look after all the three. So that's why I've to say 'Yes' "
【小题1】Which of the following best describes the author's tone in telling the story?

A．Optimistic

B．Humoristic

C．Objective

D．Critical

【小题2】The impression that the woodcutter makes on you is that he is -----

A．foolish but honest	B．foolish and honest
C．smart but honest	D．smart and honest

【小题3】What can you infer about Jennifer Lopez and Catherine Zeta Jones?

A．They are the secret lovers of the woodcutter

B．They look much like the woodcutter's wife.

C．They are both rich women with a lot of gold and silver.

D．They are both popular with women, much worthy than his wife

Jessica Alba rebelled(叛离) from her "strict" parents when she was just five. The 29-year-old actress admits her Catholic(天主教) education made her want to "break away" from her mother Catherine and father Mark.
She explained: "It's always been weird(古怪的) because I grew up in a very traditional, Catholic household. My parents were very strict but I broke away from that at an early age. I was a feminist（女权主义者） when I was five. These days, I am much more independent but I still respect their beliefs."
As Jessica has grown older she has learnt to accept her parents' views, but still considers herself an independent woman.
In her latest film 'Machete' Jessica gets to stab(刺) a love rival in the eye with her stiletto heels（鞋后跟）, something she thoroughly enjoyed.
She said: "Walking in 3in heels wasn't as much fun as putting one in someone's eye. It was 104 degrees where we were shooting in Texas and they were not comfortable."
Jessica - who has a two-year-old daughter Honor with husband Cash Warren - is regularly referred to as one of the world's most beautiful women, but she doesn't think of herself as "sexy".
She added in an interview with the Metro newspaper: "I don't really pay attention to that sexy image. It just goes with the character in the movie. At the end of the day, it's all a part of selling a product."
【小题1】Jessica Alba called herself feminist because ___.

A．she didn’t like living with her parents

B．she was brought up in a very poor family

C．she was often against her parents

D．she refused the training and education during her childhood by her parents

【小题2】From this passage we know that ___.                       

A．Jessica is a very cruel woman who enjoys hurting others

B．Jessica acted strangely in her children

C．Jessica’s parents believe in Catholic

D．Jessica rebelled her family because she hated Catholic

【小题3】This passage is mainly about ___.               

A．a rebellious movie star Jessica

B．a weird woman

C．an interview with a newspaper

D．a rebellious heart

【小题4】Which of the following statements is not true according to the passage?          

A．Although she is a rebellious woman, she still respects her parents’ beliefs

B．She likes her characters in the movie

C．She cares more about her sexy image because she is very proud of her beauty

D．She got married and has a daughter.

Famous as “the king of chefs and the chef of kings,” Auguste Escoffier helped raise the position of cooking from a laborer’s task to an artist’s job. Escoffier was born on October 28, 1846, in the small village of Villeneuve-Loubet, near Nice, France. Among the key figures in the boy’s life was his father, who worked primarily as a blacksmith（铁匠）. His grandmother, an enthusiastic cook, was perhaps more responsible than anyone for introducing the boy to an appreciation of the delights of cooking.
Young Escoffier attended the local school until age 12, upon which time his father thought it necessary that the boy learn a trade. In school he had shown a talent for drawing, yet he was told to regard this art only as a hobby, and to find his career in a more practical profession. Thus his father took him to Nice in 1859, where he would work as an apprentice（学徒）in his uncle’s restaurant, the respectable Le Restaurant Francais.
At Le Restaurant Francais, Escoffier was not treated as the close relative of the boss. Rather, he experienced a classically demanding apprenticeship. For this strictness of training he would later, in his memoirs（回忆录）, express gratefulness. During this time Escoffier also attended night school, and had to deal with his studies as well as the demands of a promising career.
When Escoffier was 19 and had taken on yet more responsibilities in his uncle’s restaurant, a customer recognized his skills and offered him work in Paris. This was the owner of Le Petit Moulin Rouge, one of the finest restaurants in Paris, where Escoffier was to become a sous-chef, ranking below the head chef. After three years in this position, he rose to the level of head chef, wearing the respected chef’s hat.
【小题1】It was his __________ who first influenced Escoffier to be interested in cooking.

A．father

B．mother

C．uncle

D．grandmother

【小题2】We can infer that as a schoolboy, Escoffier might hope to be __________.

A．a chef

B．a businessman

C．an artist

D．a blacksmith

【小题3】According to Paragraph 3, Escoffier __________.

A．was badly treated by his uncle

B．showed great interest in writing

C．disliked working as an apprentice

D．was thankful for the strict training

【小题4】Which of the following can best describe Escoffier?

A．Hard-working.

B．Honest.

C．Warm-hearted.

D．Modest.

【小题5】What is the text mainly about?

A．How to become a chef in France.

B．The influence of Auguste Escoffier.

C．What an apprentice is required to do.

D．The early life of a famous French chef.

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 rooftop. I stopped to watch it for a few moments, thinking about what a pity it is 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 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 fiber-glass. We have television, 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. And perhaps write, but not in anger. 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 touched 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 failed to see the fullest moon.

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 moon.	D．The high mountain.

【小题4】Modern things 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 less 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 communicate longing for modern life.

He almost didn’t see the old lady, stranded on the side of the road, but even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front her Mercedes and got out.
Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn’t look safe; he looked poor and hungry. He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt.
He said, “I am here to help you, ma’am. Why don’t you wait in the car where it’s warm? By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson.”
Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt.
As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was just passing through. She couldn’t thank him enough for coming to her aid.
Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. The lady asked how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She already imagined all the awful things that could have happened, had he not stopped. Bryan never thought twice about being paid. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were many people who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way.
He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed, and Bryan added, “And think of me.”
He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight.
【小题1】This story most probably took place_______.

A．in a garage

B．on a highway

C．in a busy street

D．near a gas station

【小题2】When the man approached the old lady, the first thing he did was to______.

A．ask what was wrong with her car

B．get the old lady out of her car

C．change her tire as soon as possible

D．make her know he wanted to help her

【小题3】The underlined part in Paragraph 6 suggests that________.

A．the old lady had got ready to pay the man

B．the old lady was grateful to the man

C．the man had a lot of difficulty changing the tire

D．the man didn’t stop changing the tire

【小题4】Which of the following words can best describe the man?

A．Warm-hearted and sensitive.

B．Careful and serious.

C．Thoughtful and helpful.

D．Generous and open-minded.

【小题5】It can be inferred from the last paragraph that ______________.

A．the man was happy after helping the old lady

B．the man received a lot of money from the old lady

C．the man made the old lady feel cold and depressed

D．the man felt extremely frustrated all the way home