Why was the Bastille important to the citizens of Paris? The building of the Bastille had been started in 1370 under CharlesⅠ. By the seventeenth century it had stopped to be important for defense. Cardinal(红衣主教)Richelieu turned it into a prison.

    It was not an ordinary prison for common crimes. Huge doors closed only on enemies of the King. The Bastille’s workings(运行，管理) were secret. Prisoners were taken to it in closed carriages. Soldiers on guard duty had to stand with their faces to the wall. No talking was allowed. Worst of all, a prisoner never knew if he would be there a day, a week, a year, or forever. Only the King’s letter could set him free.

    Over the years the number of the people thrown into the Bastille by the King’s letter had become smaller. By the time of its fall, most of the prisoners were writers who had written against the wrong deeds of the government. Voltaire, the famous French writer, spent a year there in 1717-1718, and another 12 days in 1726.

    For those who believed in free speech and free thinking, the Bastille stood for everything bad and unfair. The day it was broken into, only seven prisoners were found inside. However, the Bastille was hated by the people. It made one think of the King’s complete power.

1. Who would be sent into the Bastille by the King’s letter?

A. Those who had broken the law.

B. Those who had done wrong deeds in the government.

C. Those who were thought to be harmful to the King himself.

D. Those who had written against the wrong deeds of the government.

2. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A. Prisoners and the guards on duty were not allowed to see each other.

B. Soldiers on guard duty had to walk around from time to time.

C. Only the King could put people in, or let them out, as he wanted.

D. None of the prisoners knew how long he would be there.

3. What did people think of the Bastille?

A. They thought it was not important since they found a few prisoners in it.

B. They thought it was something unfair to be used to punish writers.

C. They thought it shouldn’t be kept as a secret at all.

D. They thought it was the worst enemy against freedom.

4. The writer of this passage mainly wants to________________.

A. tell us a story that happened in the Bastille

B. prove the importance of the Bastille to the King’s power

C. tell about some interesting characters in the history

D. show us the inner workings of the Bastille

    There was a time when, if a lady got into a crowded bus or train, a gentleman would immediately stand up and offer his seat. But now, things are different. Today a gentleman will probably look out of the window, or if he feels a bit shy, hide behind his newspaper. Either way, the lady will have to stand until someone else gets off.

    You can’t entirely blame men for this change in manners, though. Gone are the days when women could be referred to as weakers without causing trouble. A whole generation of women has grown up demanding(要求) equality(平等) with men, not just equality in jobs or education, but in social life. Hold a door open for some women and you are likely to get an angry lecture on treating women as weakers unable to open doors for themselves. Take a girl out for a meal and she’ll probably insist on paying her share(份额) of the bill. On second thoughts, that is perhaps not a bad idea.

    It’s no wonder that men have given up some ways of politeness and consideration(考虑) which they used to show towards women. On the other hand, the man’s active politeness is perhaps slowly being replaced by true consideration for the needs and feelings of women, so that men can see women as equal human beings, rather than as weakers or something that can be used to please(取悦) men.

1.　　   Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A.　　  Gentlemen are considered impolite nowadays if they do not offer their seats to a standing woman.

B.　　  A good gentleman who doesn’t give his seat to a standing woman should be blamed.

C.　　  Today women do not enjoy the politeness shown actively to her by men but they considered it pleasant in the past.

D.　　 In order to be equal with men, women have to stand in a bus or train.

2.　　   A woman may get angry if a man holds a door open for her because________________.

A.　　  she doesn’t like him to pay too much attention to all her needs

B.　　  women enjoy opening the door themselves

C.　　  she feels herself treated as a weaker

D.　　 she thinks it impolite for a man to do so

3.　　   What do women really need today?

A.　　  Men’s active politeness and consideration.

B.　　  Men’s true consideration for the needs and feelings of women.

C.　　  Trying to win men’s favor.

D.　　 Men’s good manners such as offering their seats and opening the door, etc.

4.　　   The writer most probably is________________________.

A.　　  a man who thinks the changes are reasonable

B.　　  a woman who wants equality

C.　　  a man who doesn’t agree with the changes today

D.　　 a woman who doesn’t agree with the changes today

For a 400-year-old art form, operas had a bad fame: overweight actresses singing the words which are hard to understand in one of those romance languages you were supposed to learn in high school. And with tickets costing as much as $145 a performance, operagoers also have a certain appearance in people’s mind: rich, well-dressed and old.

    But now opera companies around the country are loosening their ties and kicking off their shoes in an attempt to bring the opera to the audience (观众) it needs to keep it alive, the young and not-so-rich.

    Opera producers have found that to attract this crowd, they need to make the opera closer to common people. That means no formal suits, old-styled theatre or bank-breaking ticket prices. And because young people don’t or won’t come to the opera, companies are bringing the opera to them, giving performances in such usual places as parks, libraries and public schools.

    The Houston Grand Opera’s choice is the public library, where it performs “mobile operas”, shortened versions (剧本) of child-friendly operas. This summer’s production is Hansel & Gretel. By performing smaller versions of large productions, producers are able to make people interested while keeping costs at a reasonable level. The San Francisco Opera, which will be celebrating its 75th anniversary (周年) this year, is staging Cinderella free of charge, keeping costs down by employing students from its Young Artists’ Training Program.

1. Which is the main idea of this passage?

A.　　  Opera is famous for its long history.

B.　　  Opera is only performed for rich people.

C.　　  Young people are not interested in opera.

D.　　 Opera companies are trying to keep opera alive.

2. The underlined phrase “loosening their ties and kicking off their shoes” means ______.

A.　　  breaking up the old rules　　  　　    B. changing the formal suits

  C.  making the audience at ease　　   D. advertising themselves

3. Opera companies prefer to perform short versions because _______.

A.　　  it is hard to find long versions

B.　　  short versions are easy to perform

C.　　  they can perform in public libraries

D.　　 they can make people come to opera

4. The San Francisco Opera Company employs student actors in order to _______.

A.　　  celebrate its 75th anniversary    　　 B. reduce the cost

  C.  attract young people　　　　       D. make Cinderella popular

5. From the passage we can infer that _______.

A.　　  the tickets for operas are very expensive

B.　　  operas are performed in a difficult language

C.　　  operas are not so popular an art form today

D.　　 students enjoy performing operas very much  

The Three Gorges Dam(三峡大坝) ，the largest dam in the world, is also the largest engineering project on the surface of the earth. It aims to make the mother of all floods, the Yangtze River, into a tame river, make electricity and power much of eastern and central China with his 18 200 megawatts(兆瓦) electricity. It will create a huge, deep water lake, and make it possible for 10 000 ton ocean going ships to sail 1 500 miles inland from the Pacific to the city of Chongqing with its 15 million people, making it the world’s largest seaport. Construction has already started. The dam will be about 6 860 feet wide and 611 feet high, at a spot called Sandouping near Yichang.

It is obvious that such a grand project will do a great deal of good. The most important is flood control. By building a dam instead of new coal plants to meet its growing demand for electricity. China will give off much less poisonous gases into the air.

However, some scientists don’t agree to the project. They say that Chongqing and dozens of other cities along the river will put much waste into the reservoir(水库) ,which can do harm to people, fish, and other living things that depend on the river. Sedimentation(沉积) ,the damage of a breach(决口) are problems, too.

The Three Gorges Dam could be considered, when it is finished in 2009,a new eighth wonder of the world as to size alone.

1. Which is not the purpose to build such a huge dam?

A. To make electricity.　　　　　　　　    B. To prevent floods.

C. To improve navigation. 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. To make it a wonder.

2. Where does the dam lie?

A. Near Chongqing.　　　　 　　　　　　　　　　    B. Near Yichang.

C. In Chongqing.　　　　 　　　　　　　　　　　　   D. In Wuhan.

3. Some scientists fear that when the dam is built,__________.

A. the balance of nature may be proved

B. large ships will destroy the dam

C. the Yangtzi River may be too crowded

D. the river might be polluted

4. According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT right?

A. China will depend on the Yangtzi River, the third largest river in the world, for electricity.

B. Some scientist have considered the effects on the environment after the dam is set up.

C. It will take many years to build the dam because people want to see whether it will be safe and strong enough.

D. Chongqing will become the largest seaport in the world when the dam is finished.

“Get out of plane,” Justin shouted, Teddu and he dropped to the ground…

When Kathy and Victor reached the edge of the meadow, flames(火焰) were shooting more than five meters into the air.

Kathy couldn’t believe what she was seeing. One glance told her they needed medical attention immediately. She questioned Justin，“Is there anyone in the plane?”

“No,” he said.

“Where are you able to radio for help?”

“There was no time.”

“I’m a long distance runner,” Kathy said, “I’ll go for help.” Looking at the two seriously injured men, she said, “It may take me several hours to get out.” She started out.

When she was 23,Kathy set a woman’s course record in a marathon. She had run 42 kilometers. But now she was running the race of her life. She had nearly 30 kilometers of hard wilderness to cover to get help.

Kathy had been running for more than two hours. This was far back into the wilderness. The trail(=path) grew vague(=not clearly seen, felt, understood). She stopped to take a quick compass(指南针) reading. She had run for more than 20 kilometers. Her heart fell, her muscles(肌肉) aching.

Finally she saw her car in the distance.

She jumped into the car and sped away. She reached a holiday house and called the police.

During the wait, she walked around, relaxing her legs and drinking water. It took almost two hours for a helicopter(直升飞机) to reach her at the trail head. They needed her for one more task.

1. “But now she was running the race of her life.” What does this sentence mean in the story?

A. She was running to set a new record.

B. She couldn’t depend on Victor this time.

C. She had narrow escape.

D. She was running for the lives of others.

2. Why did she walk around, relax her legs and drink water?

A. Because she wanted to regain lost energy.

B. Because she was too tired.

C. Because she felt thirsty.

D. Because nothing else could be done then.

3. What do you think Kathy’s final task was?

A. Giving the injured food and drinks.

B. Taking them to the nearest hospital.

C. To show the police the crash site.

D. To go back to put the big fire.

4. Kathy stopped to have a look at her compass because__________.

A. she had lost her way

B. of the wilderness

C. she didn’t trust her memory

D. the trail grew vague

The year is 2094. It has been announced that a comet(彗星) is heading towards the Earth. Most of it will miss our planet, but two pieces will probably hit the southern half of the Earth.

On 17 July, a piece four kilometers wide enters the Earth’s atmosphere with a massive explosion. About half of the piece is destroyed, but the remaining part hits the South Atlantic at 200 times the speed of sound. The sea boils and a huge hole is made in the sea bed. Huge waves are created and spread outwards from the hole. The wall of water, a kilometer high, rushes towards Southern Africa at 800 kilometers an hour. Cities on the African coast are totally destroyed and millions of people are drowned.

Before the waves reach South America, the second piece of the comet lands in Argentina. Earthquakes and volcanoes are set off in the Andes mountains. The shock waves move north into California and all around the Pacific Ocean. The cities of Los Angeles, an Francisco and Tokyo are completely destroyed by earthquakes. Millions of people in the southern half of the earth are already dead, but the north won’t escape for long. Because of the explosions, the sun is hidden by clouds of dust, temperatures around the world fall to almost zero. Crops are ruined. The sun won’t be seen again for many years. Wars break out as countries fight for food. A year later, no more than 10 million people remain alive.

Could it really happen? In fact, it has already happened more than once in the history of the Earth. The dinosaurs were on the Earth for over 160 million years. Then 65 million years ago they suddenly disappeared. Many scientists believe that the Earth was hit by a piece of object in space. The dinosaurs couldn’t live through the cold climate that followed and they died out. Will we meet the fame end?

1. What is mainly described in the passage?

A. A historic discovery.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　   B. An event in imagination.

C. A research on space.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　  D. A scientific adventure.

2. When the first piece hits the South Atlantic, it causes__________.

A. an earthquake  　　   　　　　　　　　　　　　    B. damages to cities

C. an Earth explosion　　　　 　　　　　　   　　D. huge waves

3. Why can’t the northern half of the earth escape for long?

A. Because the land is covered with water.

B. Because the light and heat from the sun can not reach the earth.

C. Because people there can not live at the temperature of zero.

D. Because wars break out among countries.

4. By giving the example of dinosaurs, the author tries to prove__________.

A. animals could not live in the cold climate

B. what happened 65 million years age was an invented story

C. the human beings will die out in 2094

D. the Earth could be hit by other objects in space

My teenage son Karl became withdrawn after his father died. As a single parent, I tried to do my best to talk to him. But the more I tried, the more he pulled away. When his report card arrived during his junior year, it said that he had been absent 95 times from classes and had six falling grades for the year. At this rate he would never graduate. I sent him to the school adviser, and I even begged him. Nothing worked.

One night I felt so powerless that I got down my knees and pleaded for help. “Please, God, I can’t do anything more for my son. I’m at the end of my rope. I’m giving the whole thing up to you.”

I was at work when I got a phone call. A man introduced himself as the headmaster. “I want to talk to you about Karl’s absences.” Before he could say another word, I choked up and all my disappointment and sadness over Karl came pouring out into the ears of this stranger. “I love my son but I just don’t know what to do. I’ve tried everything to get Karl to go back to school and nothing has worked. It’s out of my hands.” For a moment there was silence on the other end of the line. The headmaster seriously said, “Thank you for your time,” and hung up.

Karl’s next report card showed a marked improvement in his grades. Finally, he even made the honor roll. In his fourth year, I attended a parent-teacher meeting with Karl. I noticed that his teachers were astonished at the way he had turned himself around. On our way home, he said, “Mum, remember that call from the headmaster last year?” I nodded. “That was me. I thought I’d play a joke but when I heard what you said, it really hit me how much I was hurting you. That’s when I knew I had to make you proud.”

1. By saying “Karl became withdrawn”, the author means that the boy changed entirely and __________.

A. preferred to stay alone at home

B. lost interest in his studies

C. refused to talk to others

D. began to dislike his mother

2. There was silence on the other end of the line because__________.

A. the speaker was too moved to say anything to the mother

B. the speaker waited for the mother to finish speaking

C. the speaker didn’t want the mother to recognize his voice

D. the speaker was unable to interrupt the mother

3. The sentence “…he even made the honor roll” means that “__________”.

A. he was even on the list to be praised at the parent-teacher meeting

B. he was even on the list of students who made progress in grades

C. he was even on the list of students who had turned themselves around

D. he was even on the list of the best students at school

4. What is the main idea of this passage?

A. Children in single-parent families often have mental problems.

B. Mother’s love plays an important role in teenagers’ life.

C. Being understood by parents is very important to teenagers.

D. School education doesn’t work without full support from parents.

Email has brought the art of letter writing back to life, but some experts think the resulting spread of bad English does more harm than good.

Email is a form of communication that is changing, for the worse, the way we write and use language, say some communication researchers. It is also changing the way we interact(交流)  and build relationship. These are a few of the recently recognized features of email, say experts, which should cause individuals and organizations to rethink the way they use email.

“Email has increased the spread of careless writing habits,” says Naomi Baron, a professor of linguistics(语言学) at an American university. She says the poor spelling, grammar, punctuation and sentence structure of emails reflect(反映)  a growing unconcern about the way we write.

Baron argues that we shouldn’t forgive and forget the poor writing often shown in email. “The more we use email and its tasteless writing, the more it becomes the normal way of writing,” the professor says.

Others say that despite its poor writing, email has finished what several generations of English teachers couldn’t: it has made writing fashionable again.

“Email is a critical new communication technology,” says Ian Lancashire, a professor of English at Toronto University.

“It fills the gap between spoken language and the formal methods of writing that existed before email. It is the purest form of written speech.”

Lancashire says email has the mysterious ability to get people who are usually scared by writing to get their thought flowing easily onto a blank screen. He says this is because of e-mail’s close similarity to speech. “It’s like a circle of four or five people around a campfire,” he says.

Still, he accepts that this new-found freedom to express themselves often gets people into trouble. Emails sent in a day almost exceed(超过)  the number of letters mailed in a year. But more people are recognizing the content of a typical email message is not often exact.

1. From what Baron says in the third paragraph we can see that__________.

A. careless people use email more than careful people

B. email requires people to change their native language

C. professors in universities don’t need to use email

D. people communicate by email full of mistakes

2. What does the underlined word “it”(in Paragraph 4)  refer to?

A. The poor writing. 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. Email.

C. The good writing. 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　    D. A new communication technology.

3. In Lancashire’s opinion, email is a wonderful technology because__________.

A. it can be useful all over the world

B. it is the fastest way to communicate

C. we can express ourselves in a free way

D. we can save a lot of paper

4. This passage mainly shows us that__________.

A. people should stop using email to communicate

B. experts hold different opinions about email writing

C. Americans only use email to communicate

D. email makes people lose interest in English

5. Which of the following is Not true about email?

A. It is changing the way of communication.

B. It is used more than letters in the US.

C. It helps us write better.

D. It causes was to write more.

Although American informality is well known, many new visitors think that it indicates a lack of respect. This is especially true in the business world. Americans often use first names upon meeting a stranger and do not always shake hands. They often just smile and say “Hi” or “Hello” rather than using more formal hand shake. It is good to remember that to an American such an informal greeting really means the same thing as a more formal hand shake some place else.

Similarly, Americans do not usually give special farewell or hand shake to each person who they leave a party or business meeting. They will often just wave goodbye to the whole group or perhaps say, “Well, so long everybody, I will see you tomorrow.” They then will leave. No hand shakes.

Americans seem either totally hurried and hard-working or totally informal and at ease. Often you will see men working at office desks without their suit coats and ties. They may lean far back in their chairs and even put their feet up on the desk while they talk on the telephone. This is not meant to be rude. Once Americans leave the busy streets, they are easy and informal.

1. According to the author, Americans are __________.

A. impolite　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　  B. too informal

C. rude to others　　　　　　　　　　　　　　  D. none of the above

2. On meeting a stranger in the business world, Americans __________. 

A. often use a more formal hand shake

B. often give a smile and say “Hi”

C. do not use the stranger’s first name

D. shake hands with the strangers

3. Which of the statements is Not True?

A. Americans usually say “Good-bye” at the end of a party.

B. Americans do not seem to use “Good- bye” when they leave a business meeting.

C. As they are used to informality, Americans leave a party by waving to the whole group.

D. To Americans, “well, so long” is the same as “good-bye”.

4. In the third paragraph, the author gives some examples to suggest that__________.

A. Americans are hurried and hard-working, but they are easy and informal

B. Americans are not hard-working

C. Americans are too hurried to be polite

D. Americans are at ease either in the busy streets or in their office

5. The best title for the passage may be__________.

A. Be Polite

B. Manners in Different Countries

C. How to Greet People

D. American Informality

“Life is speeding up. Everyone is getting unwell.” This may sound like something someone would say today. But in fact, it was written by an unknown citizen who lived in Rome in AD 53.

We all love new inventions. They are exciting, amazing(惊人的) and can even change our lives. Every week, School Edition carries a story on Page 6 of some great new invention. Remember the smart home, the magic see-through-coat and robots searching Mars?

 But have all these developments really improved the quality of our lives?

You are rushing to computer to finish your homework. Suddenly the computer goes blank and you lose all your work. Now you have to stay up all right to get it done. How calm and happy do you feel?

 Inventions have speeded up our lives so much that they often leave us feeling stressed and tired. Why do you think people who live far away from noisy cities, who have no telephones, no cars, not even any electricity often seem to be happier? Perhaps because they lead simpler lives.

Our family in the UK went “back in time” to see what life was like without all the inventions we have today.

 The grandparents, with their daughter and grandsons Benjamin, ten and Thomas, seven, spent nine weeks in a 1940s house.

They had no washing machine, microwave, computer or mobile phones.

The grandma Lyn, said, “It was hard physically, but not mentally.”

She believed life was less materialistic(物质享受的) . “The more things you have, the more difficult life becomes,” she said.

The boys said they fought less. Probably they said, because there was less to fight over, such as their computer. Benjamin also noticed that his grandmother had changed from being a “trendy, beer-drinking granny, to one who cooked things”.

Here are some simple ways to beat the stress often caused by our inventions!

(1) Don’t be available all the time. Turn off your mobile phone at certain times of the day. Don’t check your emails every day.

(2) Don’t reply to somebody as soon as they leave a text message just because you can. It may be fun at first, but it soon gets annoying(烦人的) .

(3) Make sure you spend more time talking to your family. Set aside one evening a week when you don’t turn on the television. Play cards and chat instead.

(4) Get a low-tech hobby. Every day, do something in the old fashioned way, such as walking to have a face-to-face meeting instead of using the email or telephone, or making a birthday card.

1. The writer uses the quote(引语)  at the beginning of the story to __________.

A. share a truth about life

B. tell us what was like long ago

C. point out that whatever time you live in, you experience some big problems and they may be the same

D. make us wonder what causes such a thing to happen

2. Why did the family choose to spend some time in a 1940s house?

A. Because they loved to live simple lives.

B. Because they were curious about how people lived without modern inventions.

C. Because they were troubled by modern inventions.

D. Because living in a different time would be a lot of fun for them.

3. The writer gives the example of “a family in UK back in time” to __________.

A. show the new inventions also bring people some problems

B. show the life in the past is better than that of today

C. explain why new inventions are so useful

D. test the life without new inventions is terrible

4. What do you think the underlined word “available” in the first suggestion offered by the writer means?

A. Able to be found by others. 　　　　　　　　　　   B. Online.

C. Free. 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. Busy.

5. According to the passage, the writer seems to think that__________.

A. technology brings us nothing but bad effects

B. technology sometimes makes people feel stressed and tired

C. the problems that technology brings can not be avoided

D. human beings are still not able to deal with the problems that the technology brings