One thousand dollars a month is not a fortune but would help cover my living _______.

A.bills             B.expenses          C.prices                D.charges

 If Newton lived today,he would be surprised by what_____in science and technology.

A.had discovered                            B.had been discovered

C.has discovered                            D.has been discovered

 The final score of the basketball match was 93∶94.We were only_____beaten.

A.nearly                B.slightly              C.narrowly          D.lightly

 The seaside here draws a lot of tourists every summer.Warm sunshine and soft sands make_____it is.

A.what              B.which             C.how               D.where

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

Roberta appeared on the stage.She took a deep breath and began to   1.Now she was Portia,a strong-willed   2in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice.The theater was filled with people.She was speaking with a power she had never before experienced,the words flowing

3from her.

4.Roberta had never acted in her life before the audition(选拔试演).She  5being in front of other people.She was very   6at school.She had never thought she was good enough at anything to  7much attention.She stayed mostly to herself,making  8friends.She had excellent grades,   9she always thought that something was missing.

Two weeks before the audition,Roberta’s mother had heard about it and   10her to join in.

“I can’t think of anyone else better suited to   11the part.Remember all the plays you used to act out for us?”

Roberta looked down.“I’m not interested.”

Her mother wouldn’t let the   12drop.“You’re just a little scared(害怕).Everyone gets scared.You know you   13do it.The trick is to look past the   14to find the love of what you’re doing.”

So Roberta had made an appointment(预约)with the head of the Drama Club.She had read the play and found herself excited by the  15of speaking such rich words.In secret she practiced Portia’s part,  16the lines by repeating them over and over.It wasn’t hard;she  17every minute of it.Every time she spoke the words,she had a new  18of the lines,as if Shakespeare had written Portia on many levels.

On the day of the audition,she   19two of Portia’s famous speeches for the auditors.When she had finished,the head of the Drama Club announced the   20was hers.

1.A.sing                B.dance            C.speak             D.report

2.A.member          B.actress               C.player                D.character

3.A.weakly          B.rapidly               C.smoothly          D.slowly

4.A.At first            B.In fact               C.After all         D.In all

5.A.hated           B.enjoyed           C.appreciated           D.regretted

6.A.honest          B.shy               C.polite                D.patient

7.A.avoid           B.focus             C.pay               D.attract

8.A.few             B.a few             C.several               D.many

9.A.or              B.so                    C.for               D.but

10.A.forced         B.requested         C.encouraged            D.reminded

11.A.accept         B.play              C.offer             D.learn

12.A.role               B.matter                C.interest              D.grade

13.A.can                B.must              C.may               D.should

14.A.anger          B.pain              C.sadness               D.fear

15.A.purpose            B.way               C.idea              D.importance

16.A.memorizing                         B.organizing

C.checking                              D.improving

17.A.disliked           B.loved             C.expected          D.bore

18.A.consideration                          B.description

C.selection                             D.understanding

19.A.practiced          B.planned           C.performed         D.delivered

20.A.part               B.play              C.speech                D.position

The city of Rome has passed a new law to prevent cruelty to animals.All goldfish bowls are no longer allowed and dog owners must walk their dogs.

This comes after a national law was passed to give prison sentences to people who desert cats or dogs.

“The civilization of a city can be measured by this,”said Monica Cirinna,the councilor(议员)behind the new law.

“It’s good to do whatever we can for our animals who in exchange for a little love fill our existence with their attention,”she told a Rome newspaper.

The newspaper reported that round bowls don’t give enough oxygen for fish and may make them go blind.

“Rome has tried to protect fish more than anywhere else in the world.It stands out for recognizing that fish are interesting animals who deserve(值得)our respect and compassion every bit as much as dogs and cats and other animals,”said Karin Robertson,a director of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Last year a law was passed in Italy that gives people who desert pets big fines(罚款)and prison sentences.Since then local governments have added their own animal protection rules.

The northern city of Turin passed a law in April to give pet owners fines of up to $598 if they do not walk their dogs three times a day.

The new law in Rome also says that owners mustn’t leave their dogs in hot cars or cut their dogs’ tails to make them look lovelier.The law also gives legal recognition to the “cat ladies”who feed homeless cats.The cats live all over the city from ancient ruins to modern office car parks.

1.The new law passed in Rome will        .

A.help improve fishing environment

B.guarantee better conditions for goldfish

C.stop people from catching goldfish

D.discourage keeping goldfish at home

2.People in Rome believe that the civilization of a city can be judged by its         .

A.exchanges with other cities

B.protection for ancient ruins

C.awareness of animal protection

D.recognition of animal lovers

3.The underlined word“compassion” in Paragraph 6 is the closest in meaning to        .

A.pity              B.praise                C.support               D.popularity

4.People may break the law in Turin if they         .

A.keep their dogs or cats in cars

B.feed homeless animals in car parks

C.raise their cats near ancient ruins

D.shut their dogs home all day long

Charles Blackman:Alice in Wonderland

An Exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria(NGV),Australia

10 June-12 August 2007

Venue(地点)         The Ian Potter Centre

Admission           Free entry

Charles Blackman is famous for his beautiful paintings of dreams.In 1956,he heard for the first time Lewis Carroll’s extraordinary tale of Alice in Wonderland—the story of a Victorian girl who falls down a rabbit hole,meets a lot of funny characters and experiences all kinds of things.At that time,Blackman’s wife was suffering from progressive blindness.The story of Alice moving through the strange situations,often disheartened by various events,was similar to his wife’s experiences.It also reflected so much of his own life.All this contributed to the completion of the Alice in Wonderland paintings.

Illustrator Workshop

Go straight to the experts for an introductory course in book illustration(插图).The course includes an introduction to the process of illustration and its techniques,workshop exercises and group projects.

Dates Sunday 17 June&Sunday 5Aug,10 am-1pm

Venue Gas Works Arts Park

Wonderful World

Celebrate the exhibition and Children’s Book Week with special activities just for the day,including a special visit from Alice and the White Rabbit.

Date Sunday 24 June,11 am-4 pm

Venue Exhibition Space,Level 3

Topsy-Turvy

Visit the exhibition or discover wonderful curiosities in artworks in the NGV Collection and make a magic world in a box.Alice and the White Rabbit will be with you.Walt Disney’s Alice in Wonderland will be screened.

Dates Sunday 8,15,22,29 July,and Tuesday 24-Friday 27 July,12 noon-3pm

Venue Theatre,NGV Australia

Drawing Workshop

Distortions of scale(比例失真)can make artworks strange but interesting.Find out how Charles Blackman distorted scale in his paintings to create a curious world,then experiment with scale in your own drawings.More information upon booking.

Date Friday 27 July,10:30 am-3 pm

Venue Foyer,Level 3

1.Charles Blackman’s paintings come from         .

A.his admiration for Lewis Carroll

B.his dream of becoming a famous artist

C.his wish to express his own feelings

D.his eagerness to cure his wife’s illness

2.Which two activities can you participate in on the same day?

A.Illustrator Workshop and Wonderful World.

B.Illustrator Workshop and Drawing Workshop.

C.Wonderful World and Topsy-Turvy.

D.Topsy-Turvy and Drawing Workshop.

3.To understand the Alice in Wonderland paintings,you should go to         .

A.Exhibition Space,Level 3                  B.Gas Works Arts Park

C.Theatre,NGV Australia                 D.Foyer,Level 3

4.Activities concerning children’s books are to be held         .

A.on June 24,2007                           B.on July 15,2007

C.on July 27,2007                           D.on August 5,2007

I recently turned fifty,which is young for a tree,midlife for an elephant,and ancient for a sportsman.Fifty is a nice number for the states in the US or for a national speed limit,but it is not a number that I was prepared to have hung on me.Fifty is supposed to be my father’s age,but now I am stuck with this number and everything it means.

A few days ago,a friend tried to cheer me up by saying,“Fifty is what forty used to be.”He had made an inspirational point.Am I over the hill?People keep telling me that the hill has been moved,and I keep telling them that the high-jump bar has dropped from the six feet I once easily cleared to the four feet that is impossible for me now.

“You’re not getting older,you’re getting better,”says Dr.Joyce Brothers.This,however,is the kind of doctor who inspires a second opinion.

And so,as I approach the day when I cannot even jump over the tennis net,I am moved to share some thoughts on aging with you.I am moved to show how aging feels to me physically and mentally.Getting older,of course,is obviously a better change than the one that brings you eulogies(悼词).In fact,a poet named Robert Browning considered it the best change of all:

Grow old along with me!

The best is yet to be.

Whether or not Browning was right,most of my first fifty years have been golden ones,so I will settle for what is ahead being as good as what has gone by.I find myself moving toward what is ahead with a curious blend(混合)of both fighting and accepting my aging,hoping that the philosopher(哲学家)was right when he said.“Old is always fifteen years from now.”

1.The author seems to tell us in Paragraph 1 that         .

A.time alone will tell

B.time goes by quickly

C.time will show what is right

D.time makes one forget the past

2.When the author turned fifty,people around him         .

A.tried to comfort him

B.got inspirations from him

C.were friendlier with him

D.found him more talkative

3.The author considers his fifty years of life         .

A.peaceful          B.ordinary          C.satisfactory          D.regretful

4.We can infer from the passage that         .

A.the old should lead a simple life

B.the old should face the fact of aging

C.the old should take more exercise

D.the old should fill themselves with curiosity

In meditation(冥想),people sit quietly and focus their attention on their breath.As they breathe in and out,they attend to their feelings.As thoughts go through their minds,they let them go.Breathe.Let go.Breathe.Let go.

According to a recent study at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre,Massachusetts,three months of training in this kind of meditation causes a marked change in how the brain allocates(分配)attention.It appears that the ability to let go thoughts that come into mind frees the brain to attend to more rapidly changing things and events in the outside world.Expert meditators are better than other people at catching such fast-changing stimuli(刺激),like facial expressions.

The study provides evidence for changes in the workings of the brain with mental training.People can learn and improve abilities of all sorts with practice,everything from driving to playing the piano.The study has shown that meditating is good for the brain.It appears to reduce pressure and promote a sense of well-being.

In an experiment,17 volunteers with no meditation experience in the experimental group spent three months meditating 10 to 12 hours a day.A control group also with no meditation experience meditated for 20 minutes a day over the same period.Both groups were then given the tests with two numbers in a group of letters.As both groups looked for the numbers,their brain activity was recorded.

Everyone could catch the first number.But the brain recordings showed that the less experienced meditators tended to grasp the first number and hang onto it,so they missed the second number.Those with more experience gave less attention to the first number,as if letting it go,which led to an increased ability to grasp the second number.This shows that attention can change with practice.

Just ask Daniel Levsion,who meditated for three months as part of the study.“I’m a much better listener,”he said.“I don’t get lost in my own personal reaction to what people are saying.”

1.The underlined word“them”in Paragraph 1 refers to         .

A.feelings          B.minds             C.people                D.thoughts

2.Meditators manage their daily tasks better because they         .

A.are given less pressure

B.allocate their attention better

C.have more stimuli for life

D.practice them more frequently

3.In the experiment,volunteers doing meditation for longer hours         .

A.were more likely to catch both of the numbers

B.were used to memorizing numbers in groups

C.usually ignored the first number observed

D.paid more attention to numbers than to letters

4.The study proves that         .

A.meditation improves one’s health

B.brain activity can be recorded

C.human attention can be trained

D.meditators have a good sense of hearing

When we think of leadership,we often think of strength and power.But what are these really,and how do they operate?

Leadership today is not about forcing others to do things.If this is even possible,it is short-term,and tends to backfire.If you order someone to do something against their will,they may do it because they feel they must,but the anger they feel will do more harm in the long-term.They will also experience fear.

Fear causes the thinking brain to shut down,making the person unable to function at his or her best.If they associate you with this emotion(情绪) of fear,they will become less functional around you,and you will have succeeded in not only shooting yourself in the foot,but possibly making a very good employee or partner unable to perform effectively.Fear has no place in leadership.

The way we influence people in a lasting way is by our own character and our understanding and use of emotion.We can order someone to do something,which may be part of the work day;or we can employ them at the emotional level,so they become fully devoted to the projects and provide some of their own motivation(积极性).Today’s work place is all about relationships as a human being as well as a worker.Everyone produces just a bit more for someone they like.Leaders understand the way things work.They know the pay check is not the single most motivating factor(因素)in the work life of most people.

The true strength of leadership is an inner strength that comes from the confidence of emotional intelligence—knowing your own emotions,and how to handle them,and those of others,Developing your emotional intelligence is the single best thing you can do if you want to develop your relationships with people around you,which is the key to the leadership skills.

1.An employee may have a feeling of fear in the work place when         .

A.he is forced to do things

B.he cannot work at his best

C.he feels his brain shut down

D.he thinks of his work as too heavy

2.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A.People tend to associate leadership with fear.

B.Working conditions affect people’s physical health.

C.Good relationship is the key to business success.

D.Smart people are more functional in the work place.

3.To positively influence employees,a leader should first of all         .

A.provide better suggestions

B.develop his own personality

C.give his employees a pay raise

D.hide his own emotion of fear

4.Good leadership is mainly seen in a leader’s ability to         .

A.provide a variety of projects for employees

B.help raise employees’ living standards

C.give employees specific instructions

D.deal wisely with employees’ emotions