Every part of the United States has special celebrations, depending on the particular（独特的）national groups that live in the area．In Hawaii, there are many people of Asian ancestry（祖先）. The Asians left rich traditions behind. Today, Hawaiians honor the memory of their ancestors with special feasts and festivals.

　　For people of Japanese ancestry in Hawaii, the O-bon Festival is a special occasion. The ceremonies honor dead relatives and friends and are an important part of the Buddhist（佛教）religion as practiced in Japan. They take place in July and August on Oahu, the main island of Hawaii. People gather in the courtyards of Buddhist temples, dressed in traditional clothes called kimonos. To the music of drums and flutes（长笛）, men and women perform their native folk dances. In the evening there are further ceremonies at the seashore. People place paper lanterns（灯笼）on tiny wooden boats, which stand for the souls of the dead. They set hundreds of these boats in the water and watch as they float out over the dark ocean. The lights guide the souls to a peaceful sleep in the waters until the next year when they will be honored again.

　　Chinese-Hawaiians hold the Moon Festival to honor the memory of their ancestors and their native land. The Moon Festival occurs in August on the night of the full moon. Unlike the Japanese festival, the Chinese celebration is a simple family occasion. Family members gather in a garden or large open-air space in the light of the moon. They drink tea and feast on delicious moon-shaped cakes. By recalling this event in the Moon Festival, the Chinese people help to keep their native tradition alive and their family ties strong.

(1)The main idea of the passage is about ________ .

[　　]

A．the cultures and festivals of the United States

B．Hawaiian feasts and festivals

C．the O-bon Festivals

D．the Moon Festival in Hawaii

(2)The word“kimono”in paragraph 2 probably means ________ .

[　　]

A．a kind of Japanese-style clothes

B．a kind of dress for religious occasion

C．a kind of dress dressed by women

D．a kind of clothes dressed by the Hawaiians

(3)We may infer from paragraph 2 that the O-bon Festival is ________ .

[　　]

A．a serious occasion because people are very sad for the dead

B．an enjoyable occasion because there is a lot of entertainment

C．an interesting occasion with beautiful paper lanterns and wooden boats

D．a serious occasion, but people do not feel sad

(4)The Moon Festival in Hawaii is different from the O-bon Festival in that ________.

[　　]

　　As you look up at the moon, you can use a simple trick （戏法）to find out if it's waxing or waning. We can tell the moon is waxing when it's on its way to becoming full. We can tell the moon is waning when it's losing silver each night.

　　Here's the trick. Look at the moon, and draw an imagining line where the centre would be if the moon were full. Start at the bottom, and draw the line up the middle and past the top of the moon. The line and the lit side of the moon will form either a lower case of “b” or “d”.

　　The “b” stands for “baby”. The baby moon is on its way to full moon phase （阶段）. It will appear to grow each night until it is perfectly round.

　　The “d” stands for “dying”. The dying moon is headed toward the new moon phase. It will seem to become smaller each night until it can no longer be seen in the sky.

　　As the moon travels round the earth the moon appears to change shape. But in fact, the sun is simply lighting up different parts of the moon.

　　No matter what phase the moon is in, you can use this trick. Every time, you'll find that you're right about what the moon will do next.

(1) When the moon is on its way to becoming full, we can tell ________.

[　　]

A．the moon is waning

B．the moon is dying

C．the moon is waxing

D．the moon won't appear

(2) When the moon is waning. The moon ________.

[　　]

A．will lose silver each night

B．will disappear in the sky

C．will become bigger and bigger

D．will become smaller and smaller

(3) What kind of the moon will appear to grow each night until it is perfectly round?

[　　]

A．The dying moon.

B．The waning moon.

C．The baby moon.

D．The moon of the night of every month.

(4) Which of the following statements is NOT true?

[　　]

A．The moon travels round the earth.

B．The earth travels round the sun.

C．The moon never changes its shape.

D．The sun is lighting up different parts of the moon.

(5) The best title of the passage is ________.

[　　]

A．The Moon Is Waxing

B．The Dying Moon and the Baby Moon

C．The Moon Is Waning

D．What Will the Moon Do Next

　　Students who say they never or hardly ever used dictionaries often speak English well but usually write poorly, because they make many mistakes.

　　The students who use dictionaries most do not learn especially well either. The ones who look up every new word do not read fast. Therefore they do not have time to read much. Those who use small two-language dictionaries have the worst problems. Their dictionaries often give only one or two words as a translation of English, but one English word often has many translations in a foreign language and one foreign word has many translations in English.

　　The most successful students are those who use large college edition dictionaries with about 100,000 words but do not use them too often. When they are reading, these students first try to get the general idea and understand new words from the context （上下文）. Then they reread and use the dictionary to look up only key words that they still do not understand. They use dictionaries more for writing. If they are not sure how to spell a word, or divide it into syllables （音节）, they always use a dictionary. Also, if they think a noun might have an unusual plural form or a verb might have an unusual past form, they check these in a dictionary.

(1) The writer tends to （倾向） think that________.

[　　]

A．choose a good dictionary, and you'll succeed in learning English

B．dictionaries are not very necessary to the students who learn English

C．it is very important for students to use good dictionaries properly

D．using dictionaries very often can't help to improve writing

(2) Judging from the passage, which of the following is WRONG?

[　　]

A．Dictionaries have little effect on learning to speak English.

B．No matter what new words you meet while reading, never use dictionaries.

C．Small two-language dictionaries have serious defects （缺陷）.

D．Reading something for the first time, you'd better not use dictionaries.

(3) This article mainly tells us________.

[　　]

A．that students shouldn't use small two-language dictionaries

B．what were the defects of small two-language dictionaries

C．why students should use large college edition dictionaries

D．what dictionary students should choose and how to use it

(4) The function （作用） of the first sentence in the third paragraph is________.

[　　]

A．to form a connecting link between the preceding （前面的） and the following

B．to raise the main point of the third paragraph

C．to end the subject talked about in the first two paragraphs

D．to change the subject to talk about something else

(5) Which is NOT mentioned （提到） in this article?

[　　]

A．How to make good use of a dictionary.

B．When to use a dictionary.

C．How to improve spoken English.

D．How to practise reading fast.

　　I'm afraid we have to accept the fact that criminals are getting younger all the time, but unfortunately the offences they commit are becoming proportionately more serious. I only wish we didn't have to admit this but, in doing so we must first ask ourselves what's wrong with our society that our children apparently couldn't care less about law and order. The days of the sneak thief who stole a couple of apples off a barrel or nicked a packet of sweets from a chain store are virtually over. I had occasion to say this to a young offender the other day. “Sweets from a chain store?” be said, “You must be joking. That's kid's stuff.” I may add that he was aged eleven. In other words, today's young criminals would find it laughable to risk being caught for petty theft of this description. They've got enough money in their pockets to buy the sweets they want, anyway. I think we have come to the point where it's all too easy to put the blame on anyone but ourselves. Faced as they are with a society that frequently rejects them on the grounds of colour, race or low academic ability, these children turn to crime as a means of boosting their self-esteem. Nurtured on films and TV glamorising the role of the criminal, they are quick to identify with these anti-heroes. It is a matter of increasing concern to the police and magistrates that the Children and Young Persons Act, 1969, is becoming inadequate to deal with the rise in juvenile delinquency. Because the emphasis has been placed on the cause and treatment of their delinquency, rather than on old-fashioned methods of punishment, the children themselves are well aware that there is very little that can be done to prevent them continuing to mug, vandalise and in some case even cause the death of those they choose to terrorise. I don't like the look of this situation any more than you do. In our own interests and in those of our children and grandchildren, we cannot continue to take the “it's nothing to do with me” attitude we have adopted for so long. We must unite in a common demand for harsher and more disciplined methods against these young offenders.

(1) The question“Sweets from a chain store?”mean whether ________.

[　　]

A．he wanted some sweets from a chain store

B．he was caught while stealing sweets from a chain store

C．the days of stealing sweets from a chain store were over

D．stealing sweets form a chain store was illegal

(2) Today's young criminals wouldn't commit such offences as stealing some fruit because ________.

[　　]

A．they are afraid of being caught on the spot

B．people will laugh at them

C．they have enough money to buy them

D．it is not worth the risk

(3) According to the author, the reason why some youngsters tend to commit crimes is, psychologically speaking, that ________.

[　　]

A．they are often rejected on the grounds of race, colour or education

B．they don't know what they are doing is against the law

C．they think it the only way of showing their self-respect

D．both A and C

(4) In dealing with juvenile delinquency, the author is apparently in favor of ________.

[　　]

A．severe punishment once used in the past

B．showing great concern about our children

C．more patient methods in reforming young offenders

D．treating every young offender as our own child

　　Alex Harley was born in the northeast of New York in 1921, but he spent most of his early life with his mother's family in southern Tennessee. His grandmother told him stories about their family. Their history, she said, began with Toby. He was a slave from Africa and his name was Kunta.

　　Alex Harley went to school and then to college. In 1939, he joined the US coastguard. As he was a black his job was to wait on table and wash dishes. In his spare time, be learned to write stories. He served in the coastguard for 20 years. After he retired（退休）, he put all his time into writing.

　　Alex Harley remembered the stories his grandmother had told him. He began to study his family history. After a lot of research, Harley decided that Toby was probably Kunta Kinte of the West African Mandingo people, who was caught near the village of Juffure on the Gambia River. He was sold as a slave in Annapolis, Maryland in 1767. Then Harley made a trip to Gambia and talked with a history expert in Juffure. The African historian made his conclusion stronger.

　　Alex Harley wanted to tell the experiences of the black people in 18th-and-19th-century America. He spent 10 years researching and writing his family story for the book Roots. It was published in 1976. It won a special Pulitzer Prize. A few years later, a film series（连续剧）based on Harley's book was shown on American television.

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

(2) When did Harley learn to write stories?

[　　]

(3) Which conclusion did he draw after doing a lot of research?

[　　]

A．Toby was a history expert.

B．Toby's hometown was near the Gambia River.

C．Toby was an African historian.

D．Toby's hometown was Annapolis.

(4) Which of the following might have happened after watching Roots on TV?

[　　]

A．Every American began to talk about their family history.

B．None of Americans began to talk about their family history.

C．Many Americans became interested in researching their family History.

D．Only the black people became interested in researching their Family history.

　　The dictionary is often used merely to determine the correct spelling of words, or to find out the accepted pronunciation. But such use is perhaps not the most important from an intellectual point of view. Dictionaries may, however, have social importance. It is often a matter of some concern to the person using the dictionary that he should not suggest to others, by misspelling a word in a letter, or mispronouncing it in conversation, that he is not educated.

　　Yet, despite familiarity with the dictionary, the average person is likely to have many wrong ideas about it, and no real concept of how to use it profitably, or interpret it correctly. For example, it is often believed that the mere presence of a word in a dictionary is evidence that it is acceptable in good writing. Though most dictionaries have a system of marking words as obsolete （废弃的）, or in use only as slang（俚语）, many people, more especially if their use of a particular word has been challenged, are likely to conclude, if they find it in a dictionary, that it is accepted as being used by writers of established reputation. This would certainly have been true of dictionaries a hundred years ago. For a long time after they were first firmly established in the eighteenth century, their aim was to include only what was used by the best writers, and all else was suppressed, and the compiler frequently claimed that his dictionary contained no “low” words. Apparently this aspect of the dictionary achieved such importance in the mind of the aver age person that most people today are unaware of the great change which has taken place in the compilation of present-day dictionaries.

(1) Dictionaries may have social importance in that ________.

[　　]

A．they are often a matter of some concern to a person

B．their users do not want others to know the dictionaries

C．misspellings often appear in letters

D．misspellings would mean that the person is not educated

(2) One of the wrong ideas the average person has about the dictionary is that ________.

[　　]

A．no one is actually familiar with dictionaries

B．words in a dictionary are taken from good writings

C．he has little idea of how to use it profitably

D．people know little about how dictionaries interpret words

(3) From an intellectual point of view, ________.

[　　]

A．the dictionary should not be used to determine correct spelling

B．to determine correct spelling is not the most important use of a dictionary

C．dictionaries have social importance

D．the accepted pronunciation is not as important as the correct spelling

(4) We can infer from this passage that present day dictionaries ________.

[　　]

　　The wedding took place in a Birmingham hotel. The bride and her father arrived in a new black American sports car. Her father looked nervous and uncomfortable in front of the cameras. The bride wore a silk wedding dress. She smiled nervously at the waiting photographers and went to a room on the first floor where she met her future husband for the very first time.

　　Carla Germaine and Greg Cordell were the winners of a radio station's competition. The aim of the competition was to find two strangers prepared to marry without having met each other. Miss Germaine, 23, is a model. Mr Cordell, 27, is a TV salesman. They were among the two hundred people who entered for a peculiar “experiment” or gazed by BMRB radio in Birmingham, England. Greg and Carla were among eight finalists who were interviewed live on radio. They took a lie detector（测谎仪）test and the station also spoke to their friends and family about their personalities. The competition judges included an astrologer（占星家）who declared that they were suited.

　　The couple celebrated their wedding with a wedding breakfast and a party for 100 guests in the evening, but not everyone shared their joy, Miss Germaine's parents are reported to be less than delighted.

　　Organizations, including the marriage guidance service related, have criticized the marriage. As one person put it, “We have enough problems getting young people to take marriage seriously without this. Marriage should always be about love.”

　　The couple are now on a Caribbean honeymoon followed by journalists, Their other prizes include a year's free use of a wonderful apartment in the centre of Birmingham, and a car. But will it last?

(1) What did the couple's parents react to the wedding?

[　　]

A．The bride's mother shared their joy.

B．The bride's father felt uncomfortable about the wedding.

C．The bridegroom's parents were quite delighted.

D．The bride's parents were not that joyful.

(2) Some experts believe that ________.

[　　]

A．marriage without the couple's meeting each other first ends up in divorce

B．young people nowadays are too careless about marriage

C．taking a lie detector test can not solve all the marriage problems

D．most young people take marriage seriously except this couple

(3) One of the prizes for the couple is ________.

[　　]

A．to spend their honeymoon wherever they like

B．to use an apartment free for some time

C．to have a wedding dress free

D．to own an American sports car

(4) Which of the following is the best title of the passage?

[　　]

　　WASHINGTON--Almost 13 per cent of Americans still live in poverty in spite of a slight decrease in their number last year and a rise in average household income, the Census Bureau（统计局）reported last week.

　　Last year, the poverty rate dropped to 12.7 per cent of the population from 13.3 per cent the year before, and the common household income rose for the fourth year running.

　　According to the US government, poverty is described exactly as people who earn US $13,003 a year for a family of three, and US $ 16,600 a year for a family of four.

　　The number of those living in poverty fell from 35.6 million in 1997 to 34. 5 million in 1998--but that number is still high in the light of（考虑……的因素）the growing economy, which has seen the largest peacetime growing in history since US President Bill Clinton took office over six years ago.

　　One reason for the continued high poverty rate is immigration, according to Steve Camarota with the Centre for Immigration Studies.

　　His figures show the total number of immigrants living in poverty has tripled over the last 19 years from 2.5 million to 7.5 million in 1998.

　　Clinton took the chance to declare the country's strong financial health, saying it has “helped lift millions of hardworking families out of poverty.”

　　“The best news is that these gains finally are being shared with all groups in America, from the wealthiest to the poorest,” he told reporters at the White House.

　　But the Census report showed that while white households saw their incomes rise 3 per cent from 1997--1998 to a record US $424,000, African-American families held steady at an average US $ 254,000 annually.

　　Hispanic households had a 4.8 per cent increase to US $ 28,300 a year for the period.

(1) From the first paragraph, we get to know that in the last few years ________.

[　　]

A．American families have become richer

B．American families have become poorer

C．most American families have enjoyed a better life

D．most American families have suffered a lot

(2) In America, poor families ________.

[　　]

A．have more people than others

B．live in the countryside with more children

C．live in big cities with more children

D．get money below a certain specified（规定）“amount”

(3) The word “tripled” in the sixth paragraph means “________”.

[　　]

(4) What Clinton said means that ________.

[　　]

A．he would support the poor over the world

B．he would be president forever

C．he had done well as a president

D．he would make the poor richer

　　If you are ever lucky to be invited to a formal dinner party in Paris, remember that the French have their own way of doing things, and that even your finest manners may not be “correct” by French custom. For example, if you think showing up promptly at the time given on the invitation, armed with gifts of wine and roses, complimenting your hostess on her cooking, laughing heartily at the host's jokes and then leaping up to help the hostess will make you the perfect guest, think again.

　　Here Madame Nora Chabal, the marketing director of the Ritz Hotel in paris, explained how it works.

　　The first duty of the guest is to respond to the invitation within 48 hours. And, the guest may not ask to bring a guest because the hostess has chosen her own.

　　Flowers sent in advance are the preferred gift. They may also be sent afterwards with a thank-you note. It is considered a very bad form to arrive with s gift of flowers in hand there by forcing the hostess to deal with finding a vase when she is too busy to do that. See, that's the logic! The type of flowers sent has a code of its own, too. One must never send chrysanthemums because they are considered too humble a flower for occasion. Carnations are considered bad luck, and calla lilies are too reminiscent（令人联想）of funerals（葬礼）. A bouquet of red roses is a declaration of romantic intent. Don't send those unless you mean it, and never to a married hostess. And though the French love wine, you must never bring a bottle to a dinner party. Why, it's as if you feared your hosts would not have enough wine on land, and that's an insult. You may, however, offer a box of chocolates which the hostess will pass after dinner with coffee.

　　If an invitation is for eight o'clock, the considerate guest arrives at 8:15. Guests who arrive exactly on time or early are mere thoughtless ones who are not giving the hostess those last few minutes she needs to deal with details and

crises, The “correct” guest arrives between 15 to 20 minutes after the hour because dinner will be served exactly 30 minutes past the time on the invitation.

(1) Which of the following statements is right according to the French custom?

[　　]

A．When you receive an invitation, reply to it within two days. You'd better send flowers in advance.

B．Arrive exactly on time at the dinner party.

C．Bring a bottle of good wine to the dinner party.

D．Telephone to ask if you could bring a good friend to the party.

(2) Which of the following is right about sending flowers?

[　　]

A．If someone is dead, send chrysanthemums or calla lilies.

B．If someone is ill in hospital, send carnations.

C．If you are invited to a dinner party, send red roses to the hostess.

D．If you are in love with someone, send red roses.

(3) If you are in love with someone, send red roses, what should you do?

[　　]

A．Bring a bouquet of flowers when you go to the party.

B．Send a bouquet of flowers afterwards with a thank-you note.

C．Bring a bottle of wine instead of a bouquet of flowers.

D．The hostess will never mind of you send flower or not.

(4) What is the passage mainly about?

[　　]

A．How to hold a dinner party.

B．How to send flowers.

C．Good manners at a French dinner party.

D．Different countries have different manners.

　　Every thing living on earth--each plant and animal--needs other living things. Nothing lives alone. Most animals must live in a group, and even a tree or a plant grows close together with others of the same kind. Sometimes one living thing hunts another, one eats and the other is eaten. Each kind of life eats another kind of life in order to live, and together they form a food chain. Some food chains are simple, others are complicated. But all have. two things in common--all food chains began with the sun, and all food chains become broken up if one of the links disappears.

　　All life depends on energy from sunlight. Only plants can use this energy directly. Their leaves are little factories that use sunlight to make food from water and things in the soil and air.

　　Plants in turn feted all other living things. Animals can only use the sun's energy after it has been changed into food by plants. Some animals feed directly on plants, others eat smaller animals. Meat-eating animals are only eating plants indirectly.

　　What about human beings? We are members of many food chains. We eat wheat, rice, vegetables, fruit and so on. We also eat meat and drink milk. This means the sun's energy passes through plants to animals before it reaches us.

　　Nature is a great thing. Any food chain always produces enough for each of its members if it is left alone. When there isn't enough food for any link in the chain, some of its members die off. So the balance is always kept.

　　But men often break up the food chain and do great harm net only to one plant or animal, but also to all the links in the chain. People make seas and rivers dirty. They destroy whole forests and kill many kinds of wild animals birds. When a river becomes dirty, the fish cannot be eaten. Men eat the fish and get strange diseases. In some places men have no fish to eat any more because the fish have died off. Each form of life is linked to all others. Breaking, the links puts all life in danger.

(1) How does everything living on earth live?

[　　]

A．Each plant can live alone.

B．Each animal can live alone.

C．Everything living on earth cannot live without needing other living things.

D．If living things want to live they must kill each other.

(2) How do all food chains break? All food chains are broken if ________.

[　　]

A．one kind of animal is eaten up

B．one kind of plant is destroyed

C．one kind of animal eats another

D．one of the links is destroyed

(3) How is food for plants made? Food for plants is made ________.

[　　]

A．from water

B．from the air in the sky

C．from the soil

D．from water and things in the soil and air

(4) Which living things can use energy directly?

[　　]

(5) Why is all life in danger? Because ________ break up the food chains.

[　　]