We won’t drown(溺水)if we remember these rules：

　　·Never swim alone．

　　·Never swim at a beach if there is no lifeguard．

　　·Never swim after a meal or when you feel hungry．

　　·Never depend on rings, floats or other swimming aids(help)．You may lose them and they may let you sink．

　　·Do not stay in the water too long, especially if it is cold．

　　·Before you dive, be sure that the water is deep enough and that you will not hit anybody．

　　·Never go out in a boat if you can’t swim or if you are not wearing a life jacket．

　　If you get into difficulty, this is what you should do：

　　·Keep calm．Save your strength and your breath．

　　·Try to float on your back or tread(踩)water．To tread water, move your feet as if you are climbing some stairs．

　　·Raise your right arm for help．Remember：A red flag means that it is dangerous for all swimmers to enter the water．A blue flag means that it is dangerous for children and weak swimmers to enter the water．

(1)

(2)

　　A cowboy wears a big hat and rides a strong horse under the wide, open skies of the American West．He can rope a cow and jump from the top of a building onto a waiting horse．He is a man of few words, a man of lonely independence and complete freedom．That is the motion picture image of an American cowboy, but not all the images are true．

　　A real cowboy of the old west was simple a farm worker who rode a horse．He worked twelve or fourteen hours a day．The work was dirty, tiring and not well-paid．He usually worked with eight or ten other men．He rarely carried a gun．Cowboys played a huge part in the folk culture of the United States．Yet the golden time for the cowboys lasted only thirty years from 1865 to 1895．That was when cattle farming grew to be a big business．New ways to keep meat fresh had created a great demand for beef cattle．At the same time, railroads had been built across much of the country．Cattle farming could raise cattle at low cost in the west and sent them east by rail．The main job of the cowboys was to move the cattle to the nearest railroad．This was done in the hot months of summer．The cowboys rode along the road behind a huge herd of cattle．Some newspaper reporters went west．They discovered the cowboys and began to write about them．Artists drew pictures of cowboys for magazines．Authors wrote stories and books about brave, lonely cowboys．Cowboys quickly became a sensation．

　　You can still find cowboys in the United States．Today there are about one million of them．But the life of the cowboys has changed greatly since the late 1800s．Modern cowboys still ride horses, but they also use trucks and helicopters．Most modern cowboys are young men, but today you can find cowgirls too．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

　　For the first time in Hong Kong’s history an entertainer(艺人)has been written into middle school text books．He is considered one of the best actors in Hong Kong．Yes, he is Chow Yun-fat．

　　The example of his long hard struggle for success has been used in a chapter in a Hong Kong middle school textbook．Using his experience, students can learn to make the most of their time and to grab(抓住)every opportunity(机会)to succeed．

　　On hearing about this, Chow said happily,“I really hope that my experiences can make young people understand that one should not be afraid of difficulties and setbacks(挫折)，for they are the only way to success．”

　　Indeed, Chow has traveled a long and difficult path to reach his success．In 1955, he was born into a poor family in Hong Kong．When he was 17, he had to leave school．He worked in a number of jobs－as a postman, camera salesman and taxi driver．These experiences paved the way for him to play all kinds of roles late in life．

　　Chow broke into the film industry in the late 1970s．He was one of the hardest working actors and starred in a number of popular TV dramas and files including Shanghai Bund(《上海滩》)and A Better Tomorrow．Since 1985, he has won many Awards including Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards and Hong Kong File Awards(香港金像奖)．

　　In 1995, he went to Hollywood．Although he was already in his 40s．He had to learn English．He even put chopsticks in his mouth to practice pronouncing certain sounds．

　　His film, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, began to gain him more fame and recognition around the world．In 1998, the mayor of Chicago set aside January 12 as“Chow Yun-fat Day”．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

　　Jack Evans quarreled with his neighbour, Ellen Brown．Mrs．Brown had a dog．Jack did not like dogs．He wanted Mrs．Brown to give away or sell her dog, but she refused．

　　“I’ll take you to court if you don’t,”he said．

　　Mrs．Brown laughed at him．She was not worried．

　　Jack thought,“I must talk to a lawyer, but lawyers are expensive．I don’t want to waste my money．I will waste it if I don’t win my case against Mrs．Brown and her dog．”

　　Then Jack had an idea．There was a young lawyer in the town．He did not have much work．Not many people knew about him．“I’ll visit him,”Jack thought．“He needs work．”He visited the young lawyer in his office．“I need some advice,”he said．

　　“Certainly,”the young lawyer said．“What is your problem?I am here to help you．”

　　“Good．I want to take my neighbour to court．However, I will pay for your advice only if you think I will win the case in court．”

　　The lawyer was not pleased by this suggestion．However, he had very little work．Here was a chance to get some．

　　“All right,”he said．“I agree．I will listen to your problem．I will give you honest advice．You will pay me only if I think you can win in court．”

　　Jack told him about the problem．The lawyer listened carefully．Sometimes he made notes．When Jack finished, the lawyer sat back in his chair and said,“You will win your case．I have no doubt about it．May I take your case to court?”

　　Jack stood up and walked towards the door．“No, thank you,”he said．“I will not take it to court．”

　　“What about my fee?”the lawyer asked．“You have to keep your promise．”

　　“I am keeping my promise,”Jack said．“I will not win in court．You see, I did not tell you my case．I told you Mrs．Brown’s．”

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

　　Read the following advertisement and answer the questions below according to the table．

　　(p/t＝part time; stenographer速记员；exp＝experienced; req’d＝required)

(1)

(2)

(3)

阅读理解

　　Devin, who was the first-born by 30 seconds, might be described as the trouble-maker．Michael, who plays the keyboard and paints is known as the artistic one, while Elliot is considered as the smartest．Shira is the most friendly sister, and Iran is known for having the most common sense．The hardest part about being a quintuplet(五胞胎)，they say, is finding privacy．

　　On the opposite side, they also develop well and healthy in the midst of the constant tumult(吵闹)in the home they call“Camp Pisner”．

　　“There’s always somebody going through the same thing at the same time,”says Iran．

　　“And you always have somebody to talk to,”adds Shira．“It’s like a friend because they’re the same age and you are going through the same problems．”

　　With rich treatments and multiple births becoming more common, the Pisner kids offered some advice for raising children from multiple births．

　　“Don’t dress your kids alike,”suggested Michael．“Take it one step at a time,”said Iran, knowing that his parents did just that．“Don’t get too far ahead．”Shira, the only girl in the bunch, said,“Make sure you treat them as individuals．”And Elliot added,“When it comes to school, don’t put them all in the same class．”

(1)

(2)

(3)

　　When Lew Alcindor was 13, and obviously still growing, a group of schools began offering him scholarships(奖学金)．The Alcindors decided to send their only child to Power Memoria Academy, a small school on Manhattan’s West Side．

　　At Power, Alcindor came under the control of Coach Jack Donohue, a strict young man who already gained his fame as one of the best coaches in the city．Donohue brought Alcindor along slowly．As a first year student, the boy was not able to do much but wave his long skinny arms and shoot a basket now and then．But by the second year, when he was 15 years old and nearly 7 feet tall, Alcindor was quick and skillful enough to make the high school All-American team and to lead Power to an undefeated season．

　　From then on he simply got better．Some rival coaches(对方教练)used to take their teams quickly away from the floor before Power warmed up so that their players would not see him any sooner than they had to．Wearing size 16D shoes and sucking a lollipop(棒棒糖)，Alcindor would loosen up by starting his leaping lay-ups(擦板球)．Then he would casually shoot the ball with either hand, to the delight of the fans．

　　When reporters and photographers began to follow Alcindor closely, Donohue protected his boy firmly．He simply ordered Lew to talk to no member of the press, and this suited Lew fine．He was not comfortable talking to grown-ups, perhaps because he towered over them．Discouraged photographers began following him in secret as though he were an easily-frightened giraffe．Once after ducking into a subway to escape, Alcindor told a friend that it was all becoming like policemen and robbers．“People want you not for yourself,”Donohue warned him,“but because you’re a basketball player．Don’t forget that．”

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

　　In 1837, the historian Carlyle made the first recorded use of the word“queue”(排队)．He spoke of the French and their“habit of standing in a queue”．Forty years later Paris was the best place to wait in line．

　　However, queuing became popular in Britain too．The Second World War was the golden age of queuing, and people joined any line in the hope that it was a queue for something to buy．This was the source of many Second World War jokes：

　　Shopkeeper to customer：Excuse me, Miss, are you pregnant(怀孕)?

　　Customer：Well, I wasn’t when I joined the queue．

　　Today, according to research in America, we(in Britain)can spend up to 5 years of our lives queuing－as compared to twelve months looking for things we have lost．But things may be changing．

　　Many people no longer have the patience to stand in a queue．The law of the jungle(丛林)has begun to operate at bus stops, with people using their arms to push others out of the way．

　　One way to make life easier is to introduce“queue management”．Customers at supermarket cheese counters can now take a ticket with a number which appears on a screen when it is their turn．And while they wait for their number, they can do a bit of shopping．

　　In some booking offices there is also a system telling customers how long they may have to wait before they are served．

　　One of the latest technical progress is the use of an electronic scanner(电子识别器)which can read all the contents of your shopping basket or trolley in just a few seconds．If these become popular, queuing in supermarkets may become a thing of the past．

　　But some people just like queuing．One man queued all night for Harrods famous January sale, and then returned home for breakfast at nine o-clock the next morning without going into the shop．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

　　Do you have any strong opinion on co-educational or single-sex schools?

　　A supporter of co-educational schools would probably say that schools should be like the societies they belong to．In Hong Kong, men and women mix socially on a day-to-day basis．In many fields men are even likely to have female bosses．It is, therefore, desirable that boys and girls grow up together, go to school together, and prepare themselves for a society that does not value sexual separation．

　　Some would go on to argue further that growing up with members of the opposite sex is important for personal development．Regular contact(接触)can remove the strange ideas about the opposite-sex and lead to more natural relationships．Single-sex conditions are seen as leading to more extreme opinions, and possibly even as encouraging homosexuality(同性恋)，though there is no proof that this is the case．

　　Those who are against coeducation often also fix their attention on the sexual side．Some parents fear that close contact with members of the opposite sex is dangerous for teenagers．They want their children to be attentive to their studies．Such parents feel uncomfortable with modern ways and the free mixing of the sexes．

　　A stronger argument comes from research into school results．Girls grow up earlier than boys, tend to be more orderly and are likely to be better at languages．In a mixed class, boys who might do well in a single-sex class become discouraged and take on the rule of troublemaker．Certainly in the UK this situation has greatly alarmed(惊动)the government for it to be encouraging co-educational schools to have some single-sex classes．In the UK the best schools are all single-sex, strongly suggesting that co-education is not the best answer．This may, however, not be as simple as it looks．It may simply be that the famous old schools that attract the best students happen to be single-sex, rather than that being single-sex makes them better schools．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

Reading comprehension(阅读理解)

　　When I was small and my grandmother died, I couldn’t understand why I had no tears．But that night when my dad tried to cheer me up, my laugh turned into crying．

　　So it came as no surprise to learn that researchers believe crying and laughing come from the same part of the brain．Just as laughing has many health advantages, scientists are discovering that so, too, does crying．

　　Whatever it takes for us to reduce pressure is important to our emotional(情感的)health, and crying seems to study found that 85 percent of women and 73 percent of men report feeling better after crying．

　　Besides, tears attract help from other people．Researchers agree that when we cry, people around us become kinder and friendly and they are more ready to provide support and comfort．Tears also enable us to understand our emotions better; sometimes we don’t even know we’re very sad until we cry．We learn about our emotions through crying, and then we can deal with them．

　　Just as crying can be healthy, not crying－holding back tears of anger, pain or suffering－can be bad for physical(身体的)health．Studies have shown that too much control of emotions can lead to high blood pressure, heart problems and some other illnesses．If you have a health problem, doctors will certainly not ask you to cry．But when you feel like crying, don’t fight it．It’s a natural－and healthy－emotional response(反应)．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)