阅读下面短文，从每小题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出一个最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

　　Then mother managed to buy me some more paint and brushes, along with one or two drawing books and a pencil. This, of course, broadened my range of expression and allowed me to have a greater choice of subjects. After the first few weeks of uncertainty and awkwardness, I settled down contentedly with my new pastime(消遣). I painted every day upstairs in the back bedroom, completely by myself.

　　I was changing. I didn't know it then, but I had found a way to be happy again and to forget some of the things that had made me unhappy. Above all I learned to forget myself. I didn't miss going out with my brothers now, for I had something to keep my mind active, something to make each day a thing to look forward to.

　　I would sit on the floor for hours, holding the brush between my toes, my right leg curled up(蜷缩的) under my left, my arms held tightly at my sides, hands clenched(紧握)All my paint and brushes were around me, and I would get mother or father to pin the drawing paper to the floor with tacks(大头钉) to keep it steady. It looked like a very awkward position, with my head almost between my knees and my back as crooked as a corkscrew(瓶塞钻), but I painted all my best pictures this way, with the wooden floor as my only easel(画架).

　　Slowly I began to recover from my earlier depression. I had a feeling of pure joy while I painted, a feeling I had never experienced before and which seemed almost to lift me above myself.

1．Where does the passage come from?

[　　]

A．A letter describing the writer's family life.

B．An article recommending the teaching of painting to children.

C．A book telling the story of the writer's life.

D．A book explaining how to start painting.

2．What did the writer say about his new pastime?

[　　]

A．He only had the most basic equipment.

B．He drew his pictures before painting them.

C．He couldn't paint what he wanted to.

D．He needed some time to get used to it.

3．What happened to the writer as a result of taking up painting?

[　　]

A．He rediscovered feelings of happiness.

B．He stopped going out with his brothers.

C．He was able to express his unhappiness.

D．He decided he liked being on his own.

4．The writer got his parents to pin the drawing paper to the floor so that ________.

[　　]

A．he could put his paints and brushes on it

B．the floor would be protected from paint

C．the paper didn't move when he was painting

D．he could copy the pattern of the floor

5．Why did the writer paint sitting on the floor?

[　　]

A．He could carry on painting for hours.

B．His parents could help him with his painting.

C．There was no table or chair in the room.

D．He had difficulty moving his arms and legs.

阅读下面短文，从每小题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出一个最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

　　Robert Spring, a 19th-century forger, was so good at his profession that he was able to make his living for 15 years by selling false signatures of famous Americans. Spring was born in England in 1813 and arrived in Philadelphia in 1858 to open a bookstore. At first he succeeded in selling his small but real collection of early US autographs(亲笔签名).

　　Discovering his ability at copying handwriting, he began imitating(模仿) signatures of George Washington and Ben Franklin and writing them on the title pages of old books. To lessen the chance of being discovered, he sent his forgeries to England and Canada for sale and circulation.

　　Forgers have a hard time selling their products. A forger can't come near a respectable buyer but must deal with people who don't have much knowledge in the field. Forgers have many ways to make their work look real. For example, they buy old books to use the aged paper of the title page, and they can treat paper and ink with chemicals.

　　In Spring's time, right after the Civil War, Britain was still fond of the Southern states, so Spring invented a respectable maiden lady known as Miss Fanny Jackson, the only daughter of General “Stonewall” Jackson. For several years Miss Fanny's money problems forced her to sell a great number of letters and manuscripts belonging to her famous father. Spring had to work very hard to satisfy the demand. All this activity did not prevent Spring from dying in poverty(贫穷), leaving sharp-eyed experts the difficult task of separating his forgeries from the originals(原作).

1．Why did Spring sell his false autographs in England and Canada?

[　　]

A．Because there was a greater demand there than in America.

B．Because there was less chance of being discovered there.

C．Because Britain was Spring's birthplace.

D．Because the prices were higher in England and Canada.

2．After the Civil War, there was a great demand in Britain for ________.

[　　]

A．Southern money

B．signatures of George Washington and Ben Franklin

C．Southern manuscripts and letters

D．Civil War battle plans

3．Robert Spring spent 15 years ________.

[　　]

A．running a bookstore in Philadelphia

B．corresponding with Miss Fanny Jackson

C．as a forger

D．as a respectable dealer

4．According to the passage, forgeries are usually sold to ________.

[　　]

A．sharp-eyed experts

B．persons who aren't experts

C．book dealers

D．owners of old books

5．Who was Miss Fanny Jackson?

[　　]

A．The only daughter of General “Stonewall” Jackson.

B．A little-known girl who sold her father's papers to Robert Spring.

C．Robert Spring's daughter.

D．An imaginary person created by Spring.

阅读下面短文，从每小题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出一个最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

To: Deborah Lai (English teacher)

Mr. /Mrs. /Ms.: Wong

Telephoned　　Called in　　Wrote a note

To say: His daughter Angela will not be back at school until Thursday because she is sick. He would like to speak to you about the work she is missing. His phone number is 5895337.

Please:

Telephone　　Write a note　　Make time to see

Message taken by: Mrs. Lee

Date：Monday 12 August Time: 9:05 a.m.

1．Angela will be back at school on ________.

[　　]

2．Mr. Wong would like the teacher to ________.

[　　]

A．return his call

B．write him a letter

C．make an appointment to see him

D．telephone his daughter Angela

3．From this information it is possible to tell that Mr. Wong is a

[　　]

A．teacher in a nearby school.

B．man who takes messages at the school

C．father who cares about his daughter's progress

D．hard working business man

阅读理解

　　Much attention has been given in the media to the so-called information superhighway which is supposed to use computer and telecommunications technology to completely change the way Americans will be doing business and receiving information and entertainment at home in the future. There have been countless newspaper and magazine articles about it, television and radio discussions, meetings and conferences. However, according to a public opinion poll(民意测验), most Americans would say they never heard of it.

　　The people who conducted the poll didn't actually talk to most Americans, of course, but they did talk to 1, 255 people, and they say the result has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points. But even if it's off by three percentage points, it's still surprising. Two-thirds of Americans don't remember having heard of the information superhighway. And even among the 34 percent who have heard of it, most say that they have little understanding of what it is. But even though most of those who've heard of it don't know what it is, six out of ten of them say that they're for it.

　　It seems very unusual that people can admit that they don't know what something is and yet say they're for it, or against it, for that matter. It generally works out better when you find out what something is first and then decide whether you like it or not, rather than this business of liking something before finding out what it is. This is the way they judge everything these days. They are entitled to have an opinion about everything whether they know anything about it or not.

　　Unfortunately, the way political leadership works today, the so-called leaders read the polls to find out what the people want and here's a poll telling us that the people are ready to say what they want without knowing the first thing about it. This is the blind leading the blind. No wonder things are the way they are.

1．The text mentions all of the following media to cover information superhighway except ________.

[　　]

A．television discussions

B．meetings and conferences

C．newspaper cartoons

D．newspaper articles.

2．According to the text, which of the following is true?

[　　]

A．Most Americans don't really know what information superhighway is.

B．Two-thirds of Americans know a little about the information superhighway.

C．Most Americans have heard of information superhighway, but don't know what it is.

D．More than half of the Americans agree to the idea of information superhighway.

3．Which paragraph of the text shows the author's comment on people's judgment?

[　　]

4．The text is a criticism(批评) of ________ in the US.

[　　]

A．its mass media

B．its political leadership

C．its information superhighway

D．its general public

阅读理解

　　Money spent on advertising is money spent as well as any I know of. It serves directly to bring about a rapid sale of goods at reasonable prices, setting up a firm home market and making it possible to provide for export at good prices. By drawing attention to new ideas it helps greatly to raise standards of living. By helping to increase demand it causes an increased need for labor, and is therefore a nice way to fight unemployment. It lowers the costs of many services: without advertisements your daily newspaper would cost four times as much, the price of your television program would need to be doubled, and travel by bus or subway would cost more.

　　And perhaps most important of all, advertising provides a promise of reasonable value in the products and services you buy. Besides the fact that twenty-seven Acts of Parliament(国会) govern the terms of advertising, no regular advertiser dare produce anything that fails to live up to the promise of his advertisements. He might fool some people for a little while through misleading advertising. He will not do so for long, for the public has the good sense not to buy the poor goods more than once. If you see product frequently advertised, it is the proof I know that the product does what is promised for it, and that it has good value.

　　Advertising does more for the good of the public than any other force I can think of. There is one more point I feel I ought to touch on. Recently I heard a well-known television person declare that he was against advertising because it persuades rather than informs. He was telling us the real difference. Of course advertising tries to persuade.

　　If its message were nothing but information, that would be difficult to get more people to buy, for even the choice of the color of a shirt is a bit persuasive(有说服力的) －advertising would be so boring that no one would pay any attention. But perhaps that is what the well-known television person wants.

1．By the first sentence of the passage the writer means that ________.

[　　]

A．he is fairly familiar with the cost of advertising

B．everybody knows well that advertising is a waste of money

C．advertising costs more money than everything else

D．money on advertising is worth spending.

2．In the passage, which of the following is NOT included in the advantages of advertising?

[　　]

A．Getting greater fame.

B．Providing more jobs.

C．Raising living standards.

D．Reducing newspaper cost.

3．The writer thinks that the well-known TV person is ________.

[　　]

A．quite right in passing his judgment on advertising

B．interested in nothing but the buyers' attention

C．correct in telling the difference between persuasion and information

D．obviously unfair in his views on advertising

4．In the writer's opinion. ________.

[　　]

A．advertising can seldom bring material interest to man by providing information

B．advertising informs people of new ideas rather than wins them over

C．there is nothing wrong with advertising in persuading the buyer

D．the buyer is not interested in getting information from an advertisement

阅读理解

　　It is often difficult for a man to be quite sure how much tax he ought to pay to the government because it depends on so many different things; whether the man is married; how many children he has; whether he supports any relatives; how much he earns; how much interest he receives; how much he has spend on his house during the year, and so on, All this makes it difficult to decide exactly how much the tax is. But a certain artist was always very careful to pay proper amount.

　　One year, after posting his check as usual, he began to wonder if he had paid enough, and after a lot of work with a pencil and paper, he decided that he had not.

　　He was just writing another check to send to the tax-collector when the postman dropped a letter into the box at the front door. Opening it, the artist found inside it a check for five pounds from the tax-collector. The official explained that too much had been paid, and that therefore the difference was now returned to the taxpayer.

　　The artist was not only surprised, but he was worried. He therefore wrote to the official and said, “I thank you for your check for five pounds, but I think that, if you study the figures again, you will find that a mistake has been made.”

　　Several weeks later he received another check from the tax-collector, but this check was for forty-five pounds. The official said that he was sorry about the mistake, and hoped the matter was now settled.

1．According to the passage, the artist wrote to the tax-collector ________.

[　　]

A．to say sorry and admit his mistake

B．to say thanks and pointed out that the collector had made a mistake

C．to pay for the money he should have

D．to pay for the money he owed to the government

2．“Difference was now returned to the taxpayer,”“Difference” here means ________.

[　　]

A．extra money

B．reward

C．money for encouragement

D．payment

3．What's the title of the passage?

[　　]

A．Heavy Taxation

B．Surprised Taxpayer

C．Relation Between a Taxpayer And a Tax-collector

D．A Tax-collector's Job

4．From this passage, the author suggests that ________.

[　　]

A．an artist is always honest

B．a tax-collector is always careless

C．a. man should know how much the tax he ought to pay to the government exactly

D．tax is so difficult to deal with that even the tax-collector makes a mistake about it

阅读理解

　　Children start out as natural scientists, eager to look into the world around them. Helping them enjoy science can be easy; there's no need for a lot of scientific terms or expensive lab equipment. You' only have to share your children's curiosity(好奇). Firstly, listen to their questions. I once visited a classroom of seven-year-olds to talk about science as a job. The children asked me “textbook questions” about schooling, salary(薪水) and whether I liked my job. When I finished answering, we sat facing one another in silence. Finally I said, “Now that we're finished with your lists, do you have questions of your own about science?”

　　After a long pause, a boy raised his hand, “Have you ever seen a grasshopper(蚱蜢)eat? When I try eating leaves like that, I get a stomachache. Why?”

　　This began a set of questions that lasted nearly two hours.

　　Secondly, give them time to think. Studies over the past 30 years have shown that, after asking a question, adults typically wait only one second or less for an answer, no time for a child to think. When adults increase their “wait time” to three seconds or more, children give more logical(符合逻辑的), complete and creative answers.

　　Thirdly, watch your language. Once you have a child involved in a science discussion, don't jump in with “That's right” or “Very good”. These words work well when it comes to encouraging good behavior(行为). But in talking about science, quick praise can signal that discussion is over. Instead, keep things going by saying, “That's interesting” or “I'd never thought of it that way before”, or coming up with more questions or ideas.

　　Never push a child to “Think”. It doesn't make sense, for children are always thinking, without your telling them to. What's more, this can turn a conversation into a performance. The child will try to find the answer you want, in as few words as possible, so that he will be a smaller target(目标) for your disagreement.

　　Lastly, show; don't tell. Real-life impressions of nature are far, more impressive than any lesson children can learn from a book or a television program. Let children look at their fingertips through a magnifying glass(放大镜), and they'll understand why you want them to wash before dinner. Rather than saying that water evaporates(蒸发), set a pot of water to boil and let them watch the water level drop.

1．According to the passage, children are natural scientists, and to raise their interest, the most important thing for adults to do is ________.

[　　]

A．to let them see the world around

B．to share the children's curiosity

C．to explain difficult phrases about science

D．to supply the children with lab equipment

2．In the last sentence of the first paragraph, the word “lists” could best be replaced by ________.

[　　]

A．any questions

B．any problems

C．questions from textbooks

D．any number of questions

3．According to the passage, children can answer questions in a more logical, complete and creative way if adults ________.

[　　]

A．ask them. to answer quickly

B．wait for one or two seconds after a question

C．tell them to answer the next day

D．wait at least for three seconds after a question

4．The author mentions all of the following techniques for adults to share with their children's curiosity except that adults should ________.

[　　]

A．tell their children stories instead of reciting facts

B．offer their children chances to see things for themselves

C．be patient enough when their children answer questions

D．encourage their children to ask questions of their own

阅读理解

　　The man of many secrets－Harry Houdini－was one of the greatest American entertainers(艺人) in the theater last century. He was a man famous for his escapes from prison cells, from wooden boxes floating in rivers, from locked tanks full of water. He appeared in theaters all over Europe and America. Crowds came to see the great Houdini and his “magic” tricks.

　　Of course, his secret was not mad, or supernatural, powers. It was simply strength. He had the ability to move his toes as well as he moved his fingers. He could move his body into almost any position he wanted.

　　Houdini started working in the entertainment world when he was 17, in 1891. He and his brother Theo performed card tricks in a club in New York. They called themselves the Houdini Brothers. When Harry married in 1894, he and his wife Bess worked together as magician and assistant. But for a long time they were not very successful. Then Harry performed the first prison escape, in Chicago in 1898. Harry persuaded a detective to let him try to escape from the prison, and he invited the local newspapermen to watch.

　　It was the publicity(宣传) that came from this that started Harry Houdini's success. Harry had fingers trained to escape from handcuffs(手铐) and toes trained to escape from ankle chains. But his biggest secret was how he unlocked the prison doors. Every time he went into the prison cell, Bess gave him a kiss for good luck－ and a small skeleton key, which is a key that fits many locks, passed quickly from her mouth to his.

　　Harry used these prison escape to build his fame. He arranged to escape from the local prison of every town he visited. In the afternoon, the people of the town would read about it in their local newspapers, and in the evening every seat in the local theater could be full. What was the result? World-wide fame, and a name remembered today.

1．According to the passage, Houdini's success in prison escapes depends on ________.

[　　]

A．his special tricks and supernatural powers

B．his unusual ability and a skeleton key

C．his magic tricks and unhuman powers

D．his wisdom and magic tricks

2．In the fourth Paragraph the underlined word “this” refers to ________.

[　　]

A．his first prison escape

B．the year 1898

C．the publicity

D．Harry Houdini's success

3．It can be inferred from the passage that Houdini became famous ________.

[　　]

4．Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

[　　]

A．A Skeleton Key

B．A Man of Many Secrets

C．World-wide Fame

D．Great Escape

阅读下面短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

An earthquake shook the north-western coast of the United States, Thursday, the earthquake observatory in San Francisco reported today. There are no immediate reports of injuries or damages. The observatory said the earthquake was felt over an area of about ten miles along the United States coastline and probably originated (started) about one hundred miles out in the Pacific Ocean, east of the island of Nimi. The observatory also reported that more earthquakes can be expected to happen in the San Francisco area in the next several months, although the strength of the quakes cannot be told in advance.

1．Where did the earthquake originate according to the news?

[　　]

2．Which of the following is true in the news?

[　　]

A．The earthquake was serious.

B．New earthquakes are not expected.

C．An island was destroyed by the earthquake.

D．More earthquakes may happen in the San Francisco area in the next few months.

3．According to the news, what can be expected about the future quakes in the San Francisco area?

[　　]

A．They will be very strong.

B．They will happen along the coast

C．They will happen there of unknown strength.

D．They will happen 100 miles away.

阅读下面短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

　　The deserts of the world are not all covered with sand. Many of them have surfaces of rock or clay or small stones. They are not flat, either. They often have high hills and deep valleys. There is some plant life in many parts of the desert. There is a little rain in the desert, but it does not come regularly, and it does not fall often enough for most plants.

　　The deserts of the world are not uninhabited (not lived by people). People also live outside the oases(绿洲), but these people are not farmers. They have camels, goats, donkeys, sheep, etc. These animals can live on the desert plants and do not need much water.

　　The people of the desert have to move constantly from place to place. They must always look for grass or desert plants for their animals. They usually live in tents. When there is no more food for their animals, they fold up their tents, put them on their camels and donkeys, and move to another place. In good years, when there is enough food for their animals, they trade their skins and their goats and camel hairs with the people of the oases for wheat and fruit. But in bad years, when there is not enough food for animals, the people of the desert would attack the oases people. But they are also hospitable. No man in the desert would ever refuse to give a stranger food and water.

1．According to the passage, deserts are mostly made up of _______.

[　　]

2．The underlined word “hospitable” has the meaning of being _______.

[　　]

3．In the desert _______.

[　　]

A．it rains in spring only

B．it rains for a short time every month

C．there is some rain, but far from enough

D．the rainfall is just enough for the plants

4．People live ________.

[　　]

A．only inside the oases

B．only outside the oases

C．both inside and outside the oases

D．in places with regular rainfalls

5．From the passage we know that life ________.

[　　]

A．is hard in deserts

B．is happy in deserts

C．is impossible in deserts

D．in deserts is much better now