阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　Acting legend Elizabeth Taylor has passed away．She leaves behind her own life-long movie of ups and downs, marriage and divorce, and sickness and recovery．The world of entertainment is mourning the death of the last classic movie star．Taylor died of congestive heart failure in Los Angeles at the age of 79．

　　Taylor's more than 50 movies included unforgettable portraits of innocence and of decadence, from the children's classic “National Velvet” to Oscar-winning transgressions in “Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? ” and “Butterfield 8”．

　　Fans gathered on Hollywood's Walk of Fame to pay tribute(讼词)to the actress．They placed tributes on her star and recalled about highlights of her career．Sandra, Hollywood, California, said, “Well, she just led an amazing life, and she went out with style．” Phil Schuman, Reporter of KTTV in Los Angeles, said, “Well, I mean, her whole life story：child star, remarkably beautiful, all the marriages, almost dying, then all of her great work with AIDS research, Michael Jackson's best friend．It's just a one-of-a-kind story, I think．”

　　Taylor was not only the most blessed actress, but also the most loyal of friends and defender of homosexuals in Hollywood．She won a special Oscar, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for her efforts to support AIDS research．“Is this something that we can bear? No．The AIDS crisis is not over．” Taylor once said．

　　Taylor's private life is also a legend．She was a star at age 12, a bride and a divorcee at 16, a superstar at 19 and a widow at 26．She has married 8 times．One of her former husbands, former U．S．Senator John Warner, 84, paid tribute to the late star during an event in Washington．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　The small unframed painting called “Fisherman” was signed by a little-known Italian artist, Maveleone(1669-1740)．When it was sold recently in New York for ＄27, 000, the seller, Mr．Oliver Pitt, was asked to explain how the picture had come into his possession．

　　Pitt said, “I didn't know it was so valuable．I'm not an art expert．Photography is my hobby．I bought ‘Fisherman’ in Italy in 1970 for ＄140．The picture was dirty, and I couldn't see the artist's signature．But anyway it wasn't the picture that I liked．I bought it because of the frame．”

　　“It's a most unusual frame, made of tiny, silvery sea-shells．They are set in such a way that they reflect perfect light onto the surface of a picture．I now have a photograph of my wife in that frame, and I'll never part with it．”

　　“When I returned to New York I showed the painting in its frame to a customs officer．I told him that I had paid ＄140 for it but admitted I didn't know its actual worth．The customs man valued it at ＄140, and I was asked to pay duty on that value．I did so, there and then．”

　　“Later, I took off the frame, and that uncovered Maveleone's signature．My wife suggested in fun that the painting might be a valuable one, so I cleaned it and put it up for sale．”

　　As a result of this explanation, Oliver Pitt had to appear in court．He was accused of knowingly making a false statement of the value of a picture so as to cheat the Customs Department．Pitt was not happy．“I told the truth as I knew it then, ” he said, “What else could I say? ”

　　And then the judge agreed with him．“The Customs Department is to be responsible, ” he said, “for making a true valuation of goods brought into the country, so that the correct amount of duty may be charged．Mr．Pitt did not cause or try to cause the mistake that was made．He paid the duty that was demanded．If, now, the Customs Department finds that its valuation was not correct, it cannot be allowed to have another try．Pitt is not guilty”．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　I really love my job because I enjoy working with small children and like the challenges and awards from the job．I also think my work is important．There was a time when I thought I would never have that sort of career．

　　I wasn't an excellent student because I didn't do much schoolwork．In my final term I started thinking what I might do and found I didn't have much to offer．I just accepted that I wasn't the type to have a career．

　　I then found myself a job, looking after two little girls．It wasn't too bad at first．But the problems began when I agreed to live in, so that I would be there if my boss had to go out for business in the evening．We agreed that if I had to work extra hours one week, she'd give me time off the next．But unfortunately, it didn't often work out．I was getting extremely tired and fed up, because I had too many late nights and early mornings with the children．

　　One Sunday, I was in the park with the children, and met Megan who used to go to school with me．I told her about my situation．She suggested that I should do a course and get a qualification if I wanted to work with children．I didn't think I would be accepted because I didn't take many exams in school．She persuaded me to phone the local college and they were really helpful．My experience counted for a lot and I got on a part-time course．I had to leave my job with the family, and got work helping out at a kindergarten．

　　Now I’ve got a full-time job there．I shall always be thankful to Megan．I wish I had known earlier that you could have a career, even if you aren't top of the class at school．

(1)

(2)

(3)

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。

　　What will people die of 100 years from now? If you think that is a simple question, you have not been paying attention to the revolution that is taking place in bio-technology(生物技术)．With the help of new medicine, the human body will last a very long time．Death will come mainly from accidents, murder and war．Today's leading killers, such as heart diseases, cancer, and aging itself, will become distant memory．

　　In discussion of technological changes, the Internet gets most of the attention these days．But the change in medicine can be the real technological event of our times．How long can humans live? Human brains were known to decide the final death．Cells(细胞)are the basic units of all living things, and until recently, scientists were sure that the life of cells could not go much beyond 120 years because the basic materials of cells, such as those of brain cells, would not last forever．But the upper limits will be broken by new medicine．Sometime between 2050 and 2100, medicine will have advanced to the point at which every 10 years or so, people will be able to take medicine to repair their organs(器官)．The medicine, made up of the basic building materials of life, will build new brain cells, heart cells, and so on-in much the same way our bodies make new skin cells to take the place of old ones．

　　It is exciting to imagine that the advance in technology may be changing the most basic conditional human existence, but many technical problems still must be cleared up on the way to this wonderful future．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

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。

　　Do you know of anyone who uses the truth to deceive(欺骗)? When someone tells you something that is true, but leaves out important information that should be included, he can give you a false picture．

　　For example, someone might say, “I just won a hundred dollars on the lottery(彩票)．It was great．I took that dollar ticket back to the store and turned it in for one hundred dollars! ”

　　This guy's a winner, right? Maybe, maybe not．We then discover that he bought ＄ 200 worth of tickets, and only one was a winner．He's really a big loser!

　　He didn't say anything that was false, but he left out important information on purpose．That's called a half-truth．Half truths are not technically lies, but they are just as dishonest．

　　Some politicians often use this trick．Let's say that during Governor Smith's last term, her state lost one million jobs and gained three million jobs．Then she seeks another term．One of her opponents says, “During Governor Smith's term, the state lost one million jobs! ” That's true．However, an honest statement would have been, “During Governor Smith's term, the state had a net gain of two million jobs．’’

　　Advertisers will sometimes use half-truths．It's against the law to make false statements so they try to mislead you with the truth．An advertisement might say, “Nine out of ten doctors advised their patients to take Yucky Pills to cure toothache．”It fails to mention that they only asked ten doctors and nine of them work for the Yucky Company．

　　This kind of deception happens too often．It's a sad fact of life： Lies are lies, and sometimes the truth can lie as well．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

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。

　　In my long years of teaching, I often ask my student to read the texts until they can recite(背诵)them, and I tell them that recitation is an important part of their homework．However, some of my students are tired of doing so, thinking that it is both hard and useless．They argue that it takes a long time to recite a text from memory and text itself never appears in a test paper．

　　In my opinion, it naturally takes time to recite a text, but it is worth doing so．When you are able to recite a text, you are sure to be familiar with the words and expressions．When you need them in reading or writing or doing exercises, they will come to your mind quickly, and so you will give quick response to all kinds of language situation．How can we say that it is useless?

　　Besides, many students complain that they soon forget what they were once able to recite．This is true, but you don't need to worry．While you are reading and forgetting the texts, your language level is being raised．Sure you don't remember your Chinese texts that you once read in the primary school, but now you are able to read novels and newspaper．So, recitation of the texts will help you improve your language ability．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

阅读理解

　　In recent years, especially during the 1960s, there was much discussion about “the brain drain(排干，流失)，” which dealt with the problem of students and learned people who left their own countries for other countries that offered better chances for study, research, and employment．For example, according to a report from U．N．, between 1962 and 1966 more than 50 percent of all engineering graduates of Iran and 14 percent of Iranian scientists left their country for work abroad．Over 30 percent of Chilean engineers and 15 percent of Turkish physicians also went to work in other countries．Probably the greatest brain drain occurred among young scientists who had gone abroad to study．Many of them had planned to return to their countries to teach but chose to remain in more industrialized nations where they were able to continue their work and their research in fields in which there were no job possibilities at home．The countries that attracted most of these scientists were the United States, Great Britain, Germany, France, Canada, and Australia．

　　Recent studies show that the brain drain to the United States may be decreasing．Many foreign scientists are going home again, and in some cases American scientists are leaving the United States for employment in other countries．The main reasons are that good jobs are becoming fewer here, money for national research has been sharply cut, and university fellowships reduced too．However, in the field of medicine the drain to the United States still goes on．Today more than one of every five American doctors is foreign-born, and several thousand foreign doctors immigrate to the United States each year．Over eighty countries have asked the State Department to send students who are skilled in important fields such as medicine back home when their study programs are over．

(1)

(2)

(3)

阅读理解

　　Most shoplifters agree that the January sales offer wonderful opportunities for the hard-working thief．With the shops so crowded and the staff so busy, it does not require any extraordinary talent to help you to take one or two little things and escape unnoticed．It is known, in the business, as “hoisting”．

　　But the hoisting game is not what it used to be．Even at the height of the sales, shoplifters today never know if they are being watched by one of those evil little balls that hang from the ceilings of so many department stores above the most desirable goods．

　　As if that was not trouble enough for them, they can now be filmed at work and obliged to attend a showing of their performance in court．

　　Selfridges was the first big London store to install closed-circuit videotape equipment to watch its sales floors．In October last year the store won its first court case for shoplifting using an evidence a videotape clearly showing a couple stealing dresses．It was an important test case which encouraged other stores to install similar equipment．

　　When the balls, called sputniks, first make an appearance in shops, it was widely believed that their only function was to frighten shoplifters．Their somewhat ridiculous appearances, the curious holes and red lights going on and off, certainly make the theory believable．

　　It did not take long, however, for serious shoplifters to start showing suitable respect．Soon after the equipment was in operation at Selfridges, store detective Brian Chadwick was sitting in the control room watching a woman secretly putting bottles of perfume into her bag．

　　“As she turned to go, ” Chadwick recalled, “she suddenly looked up at the 'sputnik’ and stopped．She could not possibly have seen that the camera was trained on her because it is completely hidden, but she must have had a feeling that I was looking at her．”

　　“For a moment she paused, but then she returned to counter and started putting everything back．When she had finished, she opened her bag towards the camera to show it was empty and hurried out of the store．”

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

阅读理解

　　As a parent you might never guess all the ways a good imagination benefits your child．It helps a preschooler：

　　Develop social skills

　　As children play pretend, they explore relationships between family members, friends and co-workers and learn more about how people interact．Playing doctor, they imagine how physicians care for their patients．Playing house, they learn more about how parents feel about their children．Imaginative play helps develop empathy for others．If children can imagine how it feels to be left out of a game or to lose a pet, they are better able to help those in need．They become more willing to play fair, to share, and to cooperate．

　　Build self-confidence

　　Young children have very little control over their lives．Imagining oneself as a builder of skyscrapers or a superhero defending the planet is empowering to a child．It helps them develop confidence in their abilities and their potential．

　　Boost intellectual growth

　　Using the imagination is the beginning of abstract thought．Children who can see a king's castle in a mound of sand or a delicious dinner in a mud pie are learning to think symbolically．This skill is important in school where a child will have to learn that numerals symbolize groups of objects, letters symbolize sounds, and so on．

　　Practice language skills

　　Kids who play pretend with their friends do a lot of talking．This helps boost their vocabulary, improve sentence structure and enhance communication skills．

　　Work out fears

　　Playing pretend can help children work out their fears and worries．When children role-play about the big, bad monster under the bed, they gain a sense of control over him and he doesn't seem quite so big or so bad．Imaginative play also helps kids vent confusing feelings they might have, such as anger toward a parent or rivalry(竞争)with a new sibling(兄弟姐妹)．

　　To encourage your youngster's imagination, read to him every day．Books offer children the opportunity to visit other worlds and create new ones of their own．

　　For generations children have enjoyed reading the story of Peter Pan because Peter takes them on fascinating adventures．Reader's Digest Young Families offers a beautiful vintage Disney edition of Peter Pan, which is an iParenting Media Award winner．Click here to find out how you can get this classic story along with 2 free books-Bambi and Pinocchio．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

阅读理解

　　I am a senior in high school．For four years I have been a member of the marching band at my school-four years of commitment to an organization of 150 kids, four teachers and 100 parents working from August to June of every school year．For four years, my mom has been there for me-never complaining and never receiving a “Thanks, mom．” My mom is pretty much a supermom and, unfortunately, it took me some seventeen years to realize it．

　　“Driver” is probably a more appropriate name for her．Every concert, every competition, every football game, my mom was there with a smile, and always stayed to watch．When she couldn't be there, she would be waiting for me when the bus pulled in to the school's parking lot．

　　She actually enjoyed arriving at the school at 10∶30 at night just for me to tell her that I was going out with my friends and that I needed twenty dollars instead of a ride home．Now that I'm a senior, I have my own car and drive myself to my football games and concerts．My mother still comes to watch me．Recently, my band was invited to play for a celebration．When the bus pulled up to the flagpole in front of my high school, I had the strangest feeling．Something was missing．I found myself nervously searching for my mom in the parking lot．I needed to tell her I didn't need a ride home; I was going out．I then realized my mother was at home and probably in bed．I never realized how much I took her for granted until she wasn't there．

　　When I got home that night, I woke her up and told her I loved her and I missed her．I told my mom that I really appreciated all the times she had driven me back and forth．I told her I was glad she embarrassed me all those times, because I knew that it just meant she loved me, too．My mom looked back at me with tears and a big smile．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)