I am not a heavy drinker, but I like the        glass of wine.

sit down, Emma . You will only make yourself more tired,        on your feet.

It is fairly common in Africa for     a group of musicians surrounded by others who also join in the performances.

My cellphone looked quite similar to Alice’s , but it cost       hers.

—Robert , I failed again!

—Don’t worry .You’ll get chosen for the team.        .

阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出一个可以填入空白处的最佳选项）。

Children find meanings in their old family tales．

When Stephen Guyer’s three children were growing up, he told them stories about how his grandfather, a banker,   1  all in the 1930s, but did not lose sight of what he valued most. In one of the darkest times   2  his strong-minded grandfather was nearly  3  , he loaded his family into the car and   4   them to see family members in Canada with a   5  , “there are more important things in life than money”.

The   6  took on a new meaning recently when Mr. Guyer downsized to  7   house from a more expensive and comfortable one. He was  8     that his children, a daughter, 15, and twins, 22, would be upset．To his surprise, they weren’t.  9     , their reaction echoed (共鸣) their great-grandfather’s．What they 10   was how warm the people were in the house and how  11    of their heart was accessible.

Many parents are finding that family stories have surprising power to help children

  12   hard times. Storytelling experts say the phenomenon reflects a growing   13    in telling tales, evidenced by a rise in storytelling events and festivals.

A university   14   of 65 families with children aged from 14 to 16 found kids’ ability to 15  parents’ stories was linked to a lower rate of anger and anxiety.

The  16  is telling the stories in a way children can 17   . We’re not talking here about the kind of story that  18  , “ When I was a kid, I walked to school every day uphill both ways, barefoot in the snow.” Instead, we should choose a story suited to the child’s 19 , and make eye contact (接触) to create “a personal experience”. We don’t have to tell children 20   they should take from the story and what the moral is.

Flying over a desert in an airplane, two scientists looked down with trained eyes at trees and bushes．After an hour's flight, one of the scientists wrote in his notebook, "Look here for probable metal." Walking across hilly ground, four scientists reported, "This ground should be searched for metals." From an airplane over a hilly wasteland a scientist sent back by radio one word "Uranium".

None of the scientists had X-ray eyes: they had no magic powers for looking down below the earth's surface．They were merely putting to use one of the newest methods of locating minerals in the ground -- using trees and plants as signs that certain minerals may lie under the ground on which the trees and plants are growing.

This newest method of searching for minerals is based on the fact that minerals deep in the earth may affect the kind of bushes and trees that grow on the surface.

At Watson Bar Creek, a mineral search group gathered bags of tree seeds．Boxes were filled with small branches from the trees．Roots were dug and put into boxes．Each bag and box was carefully marked．In a scientific laboratory the parts of the forest trees were burned to ashes and tested．Each small part was examined to learn whether there were minerals in it.

Study of the roots, branches and seeds showed no silver．But there were small amounts of gold in the roots and a little less gold in the branches and seeds．The seeds growing nearest to the tree trunk had more gold than those growing on the ends of the branches.

If the trees indicated that there was no gold in the ground, the scientists wouldn't spare money to pay for digging into the ground.

1.Scientists were flying over a desert or a hilly wasteland or a mountain region to _____.

2.The study of trees, branches and roots indicated that ______.

3.Which of the following is NOT mentioned as part of a tree that can help the searchers?

4.Which of the following might be the best title for this passage?

IELTS: international English language testing system

Introduction: The IELTS is jointly managed by the University of Cambridge Local Examination Syndicate (剑桥大学考试委员会), the British Council (英国文化委员会) and IDP Education Australia (澳洲教育国际开发署)

Why more and more people are taking the IELTS test?

The IELTS test is widely recognized by the colleges, universities and other academic institutions of Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom. More and more universities and colleges in the US are also accepting an IELTS result as a language requirement for application to degree courses.

IELTS is accepted by many important organizations, such as the New Zealand Immigration Bureau, the Australian Immigration and Cultural Department, the Canadian Immigration Bureau, the Australian Medical Council and the British Medical Association (总会).

Choice of two test types

There are two test models: Academic and General Training. The candidate must select the one suitable to his/here purpose for taking the test.

Academic: for candidates who want to apply for undergraduate or postgraduate courses.

General Training: for candidates who take IELTS for immigration purpose, training programmes, or work experience.

If you have any questions about which type to take, consult the Examinations Services staff at the British Council offices.

Content

The test is composed of four papers: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. The first three papers must be taken at one sitting on one day, and the speaking paper may be taken up to two days later. Usually in China, the Listening paper is taken on a Saturday morning, followed by the Reading paper, and then Writing paper. The Speaking test is usually taken on the Saturday afternoon or on the following Saturday. Candidates must complete all four papers in order to obtain an overall score.

1.How many organizations is IELTS managed by?

2.Why are more and more people taking the IELTS test?

3.What kind of candidates should choose Academic test?

4.In China, what’s the test order?

A．Reading, writing, speaking, listening.

B．Reading, speaking, listening, writing.

C．Listening, reading, writing, speaking.

Creativity(创造性)is the key to a brighter future, say education and business experts. Here is how schools and parents can encourage this important skill in children.

　     If Dick Drew had listened to his boss in 1925, we might not have a product that we now think of as very important: a new type of tape. Drew worked for the Minnesota Mining Company. At work he developed a kind of material strong enough to hold things together. But his boss told him not to think more about the idea. Finally, using his own time, Drew improved the tape, which now is used everywhere by many people. And his former company learned from its mistake. Now it encourages people to spend 15 percent of their work time just thinking and developing new ideas.

　     Creativity is not something one is just born with, nor is it necessarily an indicator of high intelligence. Just that a person is highly intelligent does not mean that he uses it creatively. Creativity is the matter of using the resources one has to produce new ideas that are good for something.

　     Unfortunately, schools have not tried to encourage creativity. With strong attention paid to test results and the development of reading, writing and mathematical skills, many educators give up creativity for correct answers. The result is that children can give back information but can't recognize ways to use it in new situations. They may know the rules correctly, but they are unable to use them to work out practical problems.

　     It is important to give children choices. From an early age, children should be allowed to make decisions and understand their results. Even if it's choosing between two food items for lunch, decision-making helps thinking skills. As children grow older, parents should let their children decide how to use their time or spend their money, but not help them too much if they make the wrong decision. The child may have a hard time, but that is all right. This is because the most important characteristic of creative people is a very strong desire to find a way out of trouble.

1.What did the company where Dick Drew worked learn from its mistake?

improving new ideas.

2.Creativity is something ______.

3.Why don’t schools try to encourage creativity?

4.What should the parents do when their children decide how to spend their money?

How can you hear your friends’ voices when they are far away and you can’t make a long—distance call? Besides the web camera system with your computer, we have a new high-tech way to solve the problem and ease your pain of missing them.

The Japanese company Combiwith created a system—“talking picture”. It makes people in pictures speak!

The “talking picture” has a special pen. It is actually a pen-shaped scanner. It can scan information in special—made pictures. A connected player will then play the information out loud.

First, you need to take a picture and record what you want to say with the company. The company will then make special barcodes(条形码) onto your picture(you can’t see those codes). Those codes are your voice and your words. When you hold up the pen to scan your picture with barcodes, a player connected to the pen will start to play. It plays things you’ve recorded. That way the invention makes the “you” in the picture speak!

Do you want your friends and families talking out of pictures? Have them make pictures like that, and you can hear them whenever you want, only with the “talking picture” system. The system can play messages for up to 12 minutes.

“The pictures would be useful for those who hope to hear the voice of someone living far away,” said Mayumi Fuji, a spokeswoman for the company. “Grandparents, for example, longing to know about their grandchildren, would be happy to hear their voice when they see the picture,” Fuji said.

But it is troublesome to go to the company for taking a special picture first. And, it is much more expensive than using a telephone. The photo with barcodes costs between 17,040 and 17,990 yen(日元)(160 and 169 dollars). The larger picture you want, the more you pay.

Now, just raise a finger, lonely people can have their loved ones speak out of pictures. But, whether the “talking picture” is practical or not, let’s wait and see.

1.What does “talking pictures” mean according to this article?

2.If you want to make a talking picture, you need to ________.

3.Which of the following is NOT true accordingly?

4.What is the attitude of the author?