阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　The Peales were a famous family of American artists．Charles Willson Peale is best remembered for his portraits of leading figures of the American Revolution．He painted portraits of Franklin and Jefferson and over a dozen of George Washington．His life-size portrait of his sons Raphaelle and Titian was so realistic that George Washington reportedly once tipped his hat to the figures in the picture．

　　Charles Willson Peale gave up painting in his middle age and devoted his life to the Peale museum, which he founded in Philadelphia．The world's first popular museum of art and natural science mainly covered paintings by Peale and his family as well as displays of animals in their natural settings．Peale found the animals himself and found a method to make the exhibits more lifelike．The museum's most popular display was the skeleton(骷髅)of a huge, extinct elephant, which Peale unearthed on a New York farm in 1801．

　　Three of Peale's seventeen children were also famous artists．Paphaelle Peale often painted still lives of flowers, fruit, and cheese．His brother Rembrandt studied under his father and painted portraits of many noted people, including one of George Washington．Another brother, Rubens Peale, painted mostly landscapes and portraits．

　　James Peale, the brother of Charles Willson Peale, specialized in miniatures(小画像)．His daughter Sarah Miriam Peale was probably the first professional female portrait painter in America．

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　　Like many people you may be dreaming of a career as a rock and roll star．There are two ways to go about getting one．First there is the traditional(传统的)way．Find some friends and form a group．Learn to play the guitar or the drums．Write your own songs．Spend hours arguing about the band name．then go out on the road．

　　The next step is to spend a year or two touring．If you are any good, the crowds will get bigger．In the end an artist from a record(唱片)company may come to a show．If he or she likes you, there may be a deal(交易)．This is the path traditionally followed by bands in the music industry．Success means fame and wealth．And failure gives you some interesting stories to tell your children．

　　Over the last few years a different path to success has become known．Boy bands like Boyzone and girl bands like Spice Girls don't come together on their own．They are created by managers and record companies．Their image(形象)is strictly controlled．Professional(专业)song writers usually write their music．This is a convenient arrangement(安排)and the public seems to love the result．

　　Though boy and girl bands have become very popular recently, there is a long tradition of making music in this way．In the early 1960's an American businessman called Berry Gordy founded Motown Records．Motown is short for “motor town”．The record company was based in the city of Detroit, where thousands of African-Americans had moved to work in the car industry．They brought with them a cultural tradition of writing and performing music．This style later became known as “soul music”．Berry Gordy was a diamond miner．Motown stars were not just given songs to sing．They were also taught how to dress well and speak properly．

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　　Milk was one of the main foods of people long before history was written．It will probably keep on being one as long as there are animals that give milk．

　　Even the word “milk”is very old．It comes from Sanskrit(梵文),one of the oldest languages known to man．A very old picture of milking has been found．It was drawn more than five thousand years ago．

　　In the years long ago, people got their milk from their own animals．But later new inventions made the milk industry a big business．In 1851 Gail Borden found a way to take some of the water out of milk．This made it keep much longer．Four years later, Louis Pasteur introduced a way to kill the bacteria(细菌)in milk．Next, a special milk bottle was made．This was followed by the invention of machines that could fill bottles with milk．

　　These discoveries had a great effect on the milk industry．They meant that milk could be stored longer．

　　Some people believe that milk drinking will become less popular than it has been．But remember how long milk has been an important food and think of many ways in which it is useful．It seems safe to say that milk industry will always be important．

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　　Started in 1636, Harvard University is the oldest of the many colleges and universities in the United States, Yale, Princeton, Columbia and Dartmouth were opened soon after Harvard．They were all started before the American Revolution made the thirteen colonies(殖民地)into states．

　　In the early years, these schools were much the same．Only young men attended colleges．All the students studied the same subjects, and everyone learned Latin, Greek and Hebrew．Little was known about the science then, and one kind of school could teach everything that was known about the world．When the students graduated(left school), most of them became ministers or teachers．

　　In 1682, Harvard started a medical school for young men who wanted to become doctors．Later lawyers could receive their training in Harvard's law school．In 1825, Harvard began teaching modern languages, such as French and German, as well as Latin and Greek．Soon it began teaching American history．

　　Special colleges for women were started．New state universities, began to teach such subjects as farming, engineering and business．Today, there are many different kinds of colleges and universities．Most of them are divided into smaller schools that deal with special fields of learning．There is so much to learn that one kind of school cannot offer it all．

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The train was already half an hour late．I had to arrive in Vienna at 7∶15 in time to catch the 7∶20 train to Paris, but there was no hope of that now．I told my problem to the conductor．He advised me to get off two stops before Vienna Station and take a taxi．When the time came, he even helped with my bag．He wished me good luck as I jumped off．A few minutes later I was racing towards the center of the city in a taxi．It was almost 7∶25 when we stopped outside the station．I paid the driver quickly, picked up my bag and hurried inside．“Paris train?”was all I had time to say to the official I saw．You can see how I felt when he pointed to a train that was just moving out of the station．

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　The more we do a thing, the more we tend to like doing it; and if we do not continue to do it, we feel uncomfortable．This is called the force of habits, and the force of habits should be fought against．

　　Habits, whether good or bad, are gradually formed．When a person does a certain thing, he is driven by some unseen force to do the same thing repeatedly; then a habit is formed．Once a habit is formed, it is difficult, and sometimes impossible, to get rid of ．It is therefore very important that we should pay great attention to the formation of habits．Children often form bad habits, some of which remain with them as long as they live．Older persons also form bad habits as long as they live, and sometimes become ruined by them．

　　There are other habits which, when formed in early life, are of great help．Many successful men say that much of their success has something to do with certain habits in early life, such as early rising, honesty and so on．

　　Among the habits which children should not form are laziness, lying, stealing and so on．They are all easily formed habits．Unfortunately, older persons often form bad habits, which should have been avoided．

　　We should keep from all these bad habits, and try to form such habits as will be good for others and ourselves．Remember： Habits cure habits．

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　Thousands of years ago, birthdays were considered special days．On birthdays, the bad spirits were able to harm you and change your life．It was believed that the only way to solve the problem was to have your friends and family around you, so that good wishes and presents would keep the bad spirits away．Also, noisemakers were thought to be used at parties as a way of scaring away the evil spirits．

　　The custom of lighting candles was created by people believing that the gods lived in the sky．By lighting candles and torches, they were sending a signal or prayer to the gods, so they could be answered．Blowing out the candles and making a wish were thought to be another way of sending a signal or a message．

　　This is how the way we celebrate our birthdays came about．But different cultures celebrate in different ways．

　　The birthday story in the Bible(圣经)that we know best is about the birth of the Christ in Bethlehem(地名：伯利恒)．For nearly 2000 years since that day, the Christian world has been honoring this birth．The day many Englishmen celebrate is, of course, Christmas．There are other references to birthday parties．King Pharaoh celebrated his birthday by making a feast for his court followers．That was over 4000 years ago．The story of King Herod tells that on his birthday he made a supper for his lords, high captains and other special friends in Galilee(地名：加利利)．

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　Good afternoon, and welcome to England．We hope that your visit here will be a pleasant one．Today, I would like to draw your attention to a few of our laws．

　　The first one is about drinking．Now, you may not buy alcohol in this country if you are under 18 years of age, nor may your friends buy it for you．

　　Secondly, noise, Enjoy yourselves by all means, but please don't make unnecessary noise, particularly at sight．We ask you to respect other people who may wish to be quiet．

　　Thirdly, crossing the road．Be careful．The traffic moves on the left side of the road in this country．Use pedestrian crossings and do not take any risk when crossing the road．

　　My next point is about litter(throwing away wasted material in a public place)．It is an offence to drop litter in the street．When you have something to throw away, please put it in your pocket and take it home, or put it in a litter bin．

　　Finally, as regards smoking, it is against the law to buy cigarettes or tobacco if you are under 16 years of age．

　　I'd like to finish by saying that if you requires any sort of help or assistance, you should get in touch with your local police station, who will be pleased to help you．

　　Now, are there any questions?