There are two types of people in the world．Although they have equal degree of health and wealth and other comforts of life, one becomes happy, the other becomes unhappy．This arises from the different ways in which they consider things, persons, events and the resulting effects upon their minds．

　　People who are to be happy fix their attention on the convenience of things．The pleasant parts of conversation, the well prepared dishes, the goodness of the wine, the fine weather．They enjoy all the cheerful things．Those who are to be unhappy think and speak only of the opposite things．Therefore, they are continually dissatisfied．By their remarks, they sour the pleasure of society, offend (hurt) many people, and make themselves disagreeable everywhere．If this turn of mind was founded in nature, such unhappy persons would be the more to be pitied．The intention of criticizing and being disliked is perhaps taken up by imitation．It grows into a habit, unknown to its possessors．The habit may be strong, but it may be cured when those who have it realize its bad effects on their interests and tastes．I hope this little warning may be of service to them, and help them change this habit．

　　Although in fact it is chiefly an act of the imagination, it has serious results in life since it brings on deep sorrow and bad luck．Those people offend many others; nobody loves them, and no one treats them with more than the most common politeness and respect．This frequently puts them in bad temper and draws them into arguments．If they aim at getting some advantages in social position or fortune, nobody wishes them success．Nor will anyone start a step or speak a word to favor their hopes．If they bring on themselves public objections, no one will defend or excuse them, and many will join to criticize their wrongdoings．These should change this bad habit and be pleased with what is pleasing, without worrying needlessly about themselves and others．If they do not, it will be good for others to avoid any contact with them．Otherwise, it can be disagreeable and sometimes very inconvenient, especially when one becomes mixed up in their quarrels．

1．The phrase “sour the pleasure of society” most probably means________．

[　　]

A．have a good taste with social life

B．make others unhappy

C．tend to scold others openly

D．enjoy the pleasure of life

2．We can infer from the passage that________．

[　　]

A．we should pity all such unhappy people

B．such unhappy people are dangerous to social life

C．people can get rid of the habit of unhappiness

D．unhappy people cannot understand happy persons

3．If such unhappy persons insist on keeping the habit, the author suggests that people should________．

[　　]

A．prevent any communication with them

B．show no respect and politeness to them

C．persuade them to recognize the bad effects

D．quarrel with them until they realize the mistakes

4．In this passage, the writer mainly________．

[　　]

A．describes two types of people

B．laughs at the unhappy people

C．suggests ways to help the unhappy people

D．tells people how to be happy in life

　　A good book for children should simply be a good book in its own right, says Mollie Hunter．Born and brought up near Edinburgh, Mollie has devoted her talents to writing primarily for young people．She firmly believes that there is always and should always be a wider audience for any good book whatever its main market is．In Mollie's opinion it is necessary to make full use of language and she enjoys telling a story, which is what every writer should be doing．If you aren't telling a story, you're a very dead writer indeed, she says．With the chief function of a writer being to entertain, Mollie is indeed an entertainer．I have this great love of not only the meaning of language but of the music of language, she says．This love goes back to early childhood．I've told stories all my life．I had a school teacher who used to ask us what we would like to be when we grew up and, because my family always had dogs, and I was very good at handling them, I said I wanted to work with dogs, and the teacher always said “Nonsense, Mollie, dear, you'll be a writer．” So finally I thought that this woman must have something, since she was a good teacher and I decided when I was nine that I would be a writer．

　　This childhood intention is described in her novel, A Sound of Chariots, which although written in the third person is clearly autobiographical (自传体的) and gives a picture both of Mollie's ambition (理想) and her struggle towards its achievement．Thoughts of her childhood inevitably (不中避免的) brought thoughts of the time when her home was still a village with buttercup meadows and strawberry fields sadly now covered with modern houses．“I was once taken back to see it and I felt that somebody had laid dirty hands all over my childhood．I'll never go back,” she said．“Never．”

　　“When I set one of my books in Scotland,” she said．“I can recall my romantic feelings as a child playing in those fields, or watching the village blacksmith at work．And that's important, because children now know so much so early that romance can't exist for them, as it did for us．”

1．What does Mollie Hunter feel about the nature of a good book?

[　　]

A．It should not aim at a narrow audience．

B．It should be attractive to young readers．

C．It should be based on original ideas．

D．It should not include too much conversation．

2．In Mollie Hunter's opinion, which of the following is one sign of a poor writer?

[　　]

A．Being poor in life experience．

B．Being short of writing skills．

C．The weakness of description．

D．The absence of a story．

3．What do we learn about Mollie Hunter as a young child?

[　　]

A．She didn't expect to become a writer．

B．She didn't enjoy writing stories．

C．She didn't have any particular ambitions．

D．She didn't respect her teacher's views．

4．In comparison with children of earlier years, Mollie feels that modern children are________．

[　　]

A．more intelligent

B．better informed

C．less eager to learn

D．less interested in reality

5．What's the writer's purpose in this text?

[　　]

A．To describe Mollie Hunter's most successful books．

B．To share her enjoyment of Mollie Hunter's books．

C．To introduce Mollie Hunter's work to a wider audience．

D．To provide information for Mollie Hunter's existing readers．

　　Tom Dyson tried to find out what his new machine could do．One day he fixed the small box to a flowering plant that was growing in a pot．He didn't say anything at all, but he began to think some cruel thoughts．“I'm going to cut off these flowers．They're getting old and ugly．So I'll cut them off．”

　　The needle on the machine climbed quickly from zero to 8, then 10, 12, 15．It stopped at 17．The plant was in trouble! Something was worrying it．Was it fear or sadness? The thought of being cut? The flowers bent their heads．They suddenly looked old and tired, and Tom felt sorry for them．“No, no!” he cried．“I won't cut you．You're my friends．I just want you to grow and be lovely．I'll take you outside, into the sunshine．You'll like that, won't you?”

　　The flowers lifted their heads slowly and seemed to smile at him．The needle returned to zero．Tom put away the machine, picked up the plant, and walked outside．It was very nice in the garden that morning．All plants enjoy their owner's love and care and kindness．They know the sound of their ．voice．They also seem to understand people's thoughts．So if you have flowers of your own, think about them with love．They will return your kindness in the only way they can; they will grow strong and beautiful．

1．Choose the right order of the events given in the passage．

a．The needle pointed to 17．

b．Tom felt sorry for the flowers．

c．Tom thought of cutting off the flowers．

d．The flowers looked old and tired．

e．Tom fixed the machine to a plant．

f．Tom took the plant outside．

g．The needle returned to zero,

h．Tom cried, I won't cut you．

[　　]

2．The only way in which plants can show their love is ________．

[　　]

A．enjoying their owner's love

B．growing nicely

C．holding up their heads

D．smiling at their owners

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

[　　]

A．Tom wanted to cut off the flowers with a knife．

B．Tom said nothing, but the flowers could understand him．

C．The machine didn't work properly and Tom felt sad．

D．The flowers were getting bad looking and refused to grow．

　　An unlucky Singaporean thief picked up six years of hard labor after the unique (独特地) ring of the mobile phone he stole led police straight to him．Pretending to be a police detective, Rahman Magundario robbed two teenagers in a park, told them to turn their backs and stole the $ 140 phone, court documents show．If he had chosen another target (目标) in the mobile mad city state, he might have got off the hook．His number was up a short while later when the victim (受害人) heard the characteristic tune he had programmed into the phone．An unsuspecting buyer, who paid $ 70 in a coffee shop for what he thought was Magundario's mobile, pointed police to the thief．The 39-year-old was sentenced for threatening the teenagers and pretending a police officer．He got six years of corrective training, a court official said．It's worse than a prison sentence．

1．The police caught the thief without any difficulty mainly because________．

[　　]

A．the buyer pointed police to the thief

B．the thief pretended a police officer

C．the ring of the stolen mobile phone was different from that of others

D．the thief robbed two teenagers in a park

2．It can be learned from the text that Magundario________．

[　　]

A．stole the phone for money

B．sold the mobile phone for its unique ring

C．pretended a police officer because he looked like a policeman

D．was sentenced six years in prison

3．What can be inferred from the story?

[　　]

A．Many people in the city have mobile phones．

B．The thief would rather pick up six years of hard labor．

C．The thief would have escaped being caught if he hadn't sold the stolen phone．

D．The police recognized the thief when they heard the ring．

4．By saying his number was up a short while later, the writer means________．

[　　]

A．the thief knew the mobile phone number soon afterwards

B．the thief lost his luck before long

C．the thief forgot the mobile phone number a moment later

D．someone dialed the mobile phone number soon

　　The use of the word imitation reminds me that we ought to make some more comments on the risk of people imitating what they see on the screen in the way of crime or violence．First there was always a risk of children acting out scenes which could be dangerous．For example, I remember a woman who was head of a middle school telling me that she had happened to look out of her window when the children were in the playground and had seen them putting a small boy on a chair with a rope round his neck and the rope over the branch of a tree; fortunately she was in time to get there before the child was hung．I remember a film in particular in which the hero who was imprisoned had escaped by electrocuting (电死) his guard, the technique of doing this being shown in detail．This was the kind of scene which we could cut for these reasons．

　　Every time I gave a talk in a prison someone used to mention the French film Rififi made by Jules Dassin in 1954．This remarkable film showed in great detail a robbery of a jeweller's shop, the robbery lasting about half an hour and being backed only by natural sound, one of the most brilliant film sequences (连续镜头) of all time．I remember our discussions at the time．We thought that the robbery experienced and skilled criminals could possibly imitate it; we believed therefore that it was relatively safe．When talking in prisons some years later I learned that there had been several robberies in which the techniques had been copied, so perhaps we were wrong．

1．The writer thinks that________．

[　　]

A．the details of the criminal technique should be kept

B．the details of the crime should not be shown on the screen

C．children should not imitate what they saw on the screen

D．it was dangerous to imitate what they had seen on the screen

2．What was the writer's attitude towards the film in which the hero had escaped by electrocuting the guard?

[　　]

A．The writer kept the same opinion

B．The writer was strongly against it．

C．The writer thought the film had some value．

D．The writer did not show his/her attitude．

3．Parents in prison agreed to film checking because ________．

[　　]

A．they did not want their children to follow suit (学样)

B．the crime on screen could be imitated without difficulty

C．they were forced to do it

D．they thought this was the best way to guarantee film quality

4．All the following statements about Rififi are true EXCEPT________．

[　　]

A．that the robbery shown needs experience and skills．

B．That natural sound could be heard in the film

C．That the film showed the technique in detail

D．That the technique of the robbery could not possibly be imitated

5．It can be inferred from the passage that________．

[　　]

A．it is hard for the children to tell the differences between real life and the imaginary

B．only the people in prison supported film checking

C．only children imitated what they had seen on the screen

D．the writer used to advise the details of crime should be shown

　　Have you ever wondered why certain people always say they are lucky? Some scientists say the secret of being born lucky is a summer birthday．May babies are the most likely to enjoy a lifetime of good fortune, as a study of 40,000 people has found．

　　The time of year you are born has a lasting influence on optimism (乐观) and whether people think they are lucky, British and Swedish scientists said．

　　May is the luckiest month to be born in, with half of those born then considering themselves lucky．October is the least lucky month, with only 43 per cent claiming (声称) good fortune．

　　The study adds to evidence that luck is not all down to chance, but is also affected by a person's attitude．Another research has shown that whether people think themselves lucky depends more on having a “glass half-full” (instead of half-empty) approach to life, than on success．

　　Professor Richard Wiseman, who led the study, said: “Something is influencing how people feel about their luck．People create their own luck through their attitude towards life．”

　　“Luck is a psychological phenomenon (心理现象) and not a matter of blind chance．”

　　“One theory is that the temperature at the time of birth might influence the development of the brain,” he said．“People born in winter are more likely to suffer from depression (抑郁症)．”

　　He said another possible reason is that mothers may be in a bad mood during winter, which influences their babies．

　　The researchers said their findings were based on statistics only, and would not be true for everyone．

1．The birthday may influence the attitude towards life because ________．

[　　]

A．the timing of the birthday decides how fortunate you will be

B．mothers may feel differently in different seasons, and their moods influence their babies

C．The timing of the birthday decides how successful you will be

D．The timing of the birthday influences how you feel about your luck

2．Having a “glass half-full” approach to life is a ( an) ________ attitude．

[　　]

3．Which of the following is NOT correct according to the passage?

[　　]

A．People born in summer are probably more optimistic than those born in winter．

B．Optimism can bring about more opportunities．

C．Depression may harm one's physical health．

D．The temperature at the time of birth is the only reason for good fortune．

4．The passage suggests that ________．

[　　]

A．all the people born in May have good fortune

B．all the people born in October have bad fortune

C．those born in summer reported themselves luckier than those born in winter

D．the finding of lucky birthdays was proved by scientific experiments

　　The 12-month bloody conflict has been a nightmare (噩梦) in the lives of thousands of Israelis (以色列人) and Palestinians (巴勒斯坦人)．Khalaf is one of them．Although she was born in fear of bombs and attacks, finally her parents make a painful decision to send her back to the US．

　　“I wanted so much to stay here and to go to university here,” she said．“I'm afraid of leaving my home and my parents．But here, the bloody attack is not going to end soon．”

　　The war has broken the dreams of a generation raised in peace．

　　In the 1990s Israeli and Palestinian leaders were moving towards an agreement to end the long-lasting fight over territory (领土) and the ownership of the Holy City Jerusalem．This gave the new generation hope for a peaceful future．

　　But now, at the Friends School in Ramallah, attended by children of rich English-speaking Palestinian families, only 300 pupils started the new school year, while last year there were 480．

　　According to a recent report, 28 per cent of Israelis aged from 18 to 28 have considered leaving the country in the past 6 months．

　　To have a safe future, we have no other choice but to go abroad, a 16-year-old Israeli boy said．

　　Not only does the future of the young generation lie in another place, but also the adults in both Palestine and Israel don't see any hope in their own countries．

1．Khalaf s parents wouldn't like to send her back to the US, would they?

[　　]

2．Why did the new generation have hope for a peaceful future?

[　　]

A．The two sides settled their problems．

B．The two sides fought against each other．

C．The two sides moved towards an agreement in the 1990s．

D．The two sides reached a final agreement．

3．Which is TRUE according to the news report?

[　　]

A．Khalaf has lived in the Palestine since she was born．

B．Khalaf has lived in the US since she was one year old．

C．Khalaf has lived in the Palestine since she was one year old．

D．Khalaf has never been to the US．

　　When Charles Stratton was five, he stopped growing．His mother took him to see the famous showman．P．T．Barnum thought a small person would be the perfect addition to his show．He hired Charles' parents along with him, and they traveled around the world together．

　　He gave the two-foot-tall Charles a new name, general Tom Thumb．He taught Tom how to sing, dance, act, and tell jokes．When he felt Tom was ready to perform on stage, he made up ads．To stir up great interest, he said that Tom was eleven years old and had come from England．

　　During the show, Tom fought battles pretendedly with tall people．He also danced upon a wooden plate held by a person who was eight feet tall．

　　Tom's act was very popular and brought in a lot of money．By the time Tom was an adult, he had grown very rich．He had become a billionaire at the age of twenty-five．

　　Fortunately for Tom, Mr．Barnum added more little people to his show, and Tom became lucky in love as well．One of the little people was Lavinia Warren, a school teacher．Tom was able to win her love, and they married．

　　The ceremony and reception were the talk of the town．They were attended by many rich and famous people and by about two thousand guests．Crowds filled the streets of New York to have a look at their tiny wedding carriage．The couple even met with President Abraham Lincoln on their honeymoon, just before going to live in Tom's house in Connecticut．

　　Their wedding, which took place during the Civil War,

provided a welcome escape from the sad problems of war．Not willing to let this bit of sunshine fade, communities throughout the country sponsored (主办) “Tom Thumb” weddings．In these weddings, small boys and girls, all dressed up, went through marriage ceremony for fun．

1．“Talk of the town” means ________．

[　　]

A．it was in the newspaper

B．people spread mean rumors (谣言) about it．

C．it was the most popular thing happening

D．it was discussed in a city meeting

2．What does the author think about Tom Thumb's wedding?

[　　]

A．People gave it too much of their attention．

B．It helped people cheer up in a dark time．

C．It was funny and ridiculous．

D．Tom and Lavinia were stupid．

3．Which of the following is the best clue (线索) to the fact that Tom．was smart?

[　　]

A．He became a billionaire at twenty-five．

B．He learned how to sing, dance, and act at a very young age．

C．He met with President Lincoln during his honeymoon．

D．He married a school teacher．

4．It was very funny when Tom danced on a wooden plate held by a person who was eight feet tall because________．

[　　]

A．the wooden plate would make it sound as if Tom were tap dancing．

B．it made Tom feel taller．

C．the eight-foot-tall man was the only tall person Tom trusted

D．the difference between them would make Tom look even smaller

5．What is the main idea of the last paragraph?

[　　]

A．Weddings always make people feel full of sunshine．

B．People are always disappointed during wartime．

C．Entertainment can serve an important purpose．

D．People should be married when they are small children．

　　In the past ten years, America's National Basketball Association (NBA) has grown increasingly dependent on the rest of the world to supply players．

　　When Michael Jordan and Larry Bird won gold in Barcelona in 1992, the Americans were praised for teaching the world how to play basketball．This season, however, 20 percent of NBA rosters (花名册) will be filled by non-Americans．NBA commissioner David Stern happily embraces the trend．On a visit to Paris in October, Stern outlined his vision for the future which is likely to see Europe hosting NBA games by 2010．

　　The NBA is now planning to take China by storm．

　　“Our experience in China has been that it is going to be explosive in its growth,” said Stern．The strategy (战略) in China is television．“We've made 14 deals in China with local and national networks on cable and satellite．” The success of Chinese centre Yao Ming has paved the way for the NBA marketing blitz in China．The NBA, which is broadcasted in more than 200 countries in 42 languages, will put that to the test in October 2004 when the Houston Rockets play two pre-season games against the Sacramento Kings in Beijing and Shanghai．The NBA knows that it needs a global market to compensate for tough times on home soil．

　　“It doesn't matter where the players come from, all the NBA teams now know that they have to scout (揽得) internationally,” said Terry Lyons, the NBA's vice-president of international public relations．“It has increased the level of competition here．”As Frenchman Tony Parker and Argentine Emanuel Ginobili showed in winning championship rings with the San Antonio Spurs last season, many people can earn the respect of their American peers (同行)．Others, such as the Houston Rockets' Chinese centre Yao Ming number one draft pick in 2002 and the Detroit Pistons' 18-year-old Serb Darko Milicic number two overall in this year's draft are icons (偶像) in-waiting．It is the ultimate revolution the rest of the world teaching the US how to play basketball．

1．According to the report, ________．

[　　]

A．Michael Jordan is still playing a very important role in NBA

B．the part played by the foreign players in NBA will be great

C．Yao Ming is to play two pre-season games in NBA

D．European countries will host the 2004 NBA games

2．The underlined phrase take China by storm means that ________．

[　　]

A．NBA intends to make China its “marketing center”

B．NBA is planning to set up some training centers in China

C．there'll be a big storm when NBA comes to China to play against the Sacramento Kings

D．the NBA's live basket games will be broadcasted on all the TVs in China

3．What seems to be the biggest change that is happening to NBA?

[　　]

A．NBA is expecting more foreign players to join the league．

B．China's rapid development in sports affects NBA．

C．Yao Ming has taken the place of Michael Jordan．

D．The NBA will stop teaching the world how to play basketball．

4．When the writer talked of “home soil”, he was referring to ________．

[　　]

5．Which of the following can be used as the best title for the passage?

[　　]

A．The Non-American Basketball Players

B．NBA Is Coming to China

C．The Foreign Ties That Bind the NBA

D．NBA Is Making Big Progress

　　ENGLAND coach Sven-Goran Eriksson faces an anxious wait to see if David Beckham will be available for England's Euro 2004 qualifier against Turkey on October 11．Beckham injured his right foot in Real Madrid's 0-2 loss to Valencia on Saturday in Madrid．He landed heavily on his foot, bruising the instep, after the studs of his left boot caught in the turf as he took a free-kick late in the game．

　　CHINA'S hope of snatching its first-ever ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) tide was dashed on Sunday as Zhu Ben-qiang and Zeng Shaoxuan were beaten 2 － 6, 4－6 by Australia's Wayne Arthurs and Paul Hanley in the doubles final of the Shanghai Heineken Open．But the event was a historic achievement for China anyway, as prior to it, no Chinese player had made it to the final of an ATP tour event．“We need more time to get used to the way foreign players play,” said 22-year-old Zeng．“We are still young, which means we have many opportunities to improve ourselves,” he said．

1．Valencia is the name of ________．

[　　]

2．Who are tennis players?

[　　]

A．Zhu Benqiang and Arthurs．

B．Eriksson and Zeng Shaoxuan．

C．Zhu Benqiang and Beckham．

D．Beckham and Zeng Shaoxuan．

3．The underlined word instep in Paragraph 1 means________．

[　　]

4．Which of the following statements is WRONG?

[　　]

A．Australian players won the game．

B．China's players joined in the ATP games for the first time．

C．It is likely that David Beckham will not attend England's Euro in 2004．

D．The two Chinese tennis players haven't lost heart．