Could you imagine your parents choosing your husband or wife for you? And can you imagine not setting eyes on him or her until your wedding day? This situation is common in India, the Middle East and many parts of Africa．Marriage customs around the world often differ from our own．We don’t realize that people in other places often get married in very different ways and with different motives．

       In many countries, marriage is a practical matter．A marriage provides a safe and stable home for the husband and wife．It also joins two families, which benefits the couple’s parents and makes them happy．Marriage also brings children, making sure the couple will be taken care of in old age．Because a marriage is important for the whole family, some cultures don’t let young people choose whom to marry．

       Just as there are many different reasons for marriage, there are also many different wedding rituals．Every culture has its own ways of bringing good luck to the happy couple．In a typical Western wedding, the bride seeks good luck by wearing “something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue”．Something old represents the past．Something new represents success in the future．Something borrowed reminds the bride she can get help from her friends and family．And something blue reminds her to be true to her husband．

       In Poland, one wedding tradition is not only lucky, but also very practical．The wedding guests pin money to the bride’s dress while she is dancing．The money is meant to bring luck and to help the young couple build their new life．In Bermuda, the young couple plants a tree in the yard of their new home．Once they move in, they take good care of the tree and make it grow．The planting of the tree is a good metaphor（比喻） for marriage．A truly good marriage is something that grows with care．

1.Which of the following statements does NOT support the idea that marriage is a practical matter?

       A．The couple may have a safe home through their marriage．

       B．The parents had better help their children choose whom to marry．

       C．A marriage benefits the couple’s parents and makes them happy．

       D．A marriage brings children who will take care of the couple when they are old．

2.The underlined word “rituals” （Para．3） means 　　　．

       A．forms　   B．customs   C．traditions　      D．ceremonies

3.Although cultures differ in different countries, one thing in common when a young couple gets married is that 　　　．

       A．people wish them to take care of each other

       B．people wish them to get practical benefits from the marriage

       C．people wish them to have good luck in their new life

       D．people wish them to make money at the wedding ceremony

4.Which of the following statements best summarizes（总结） the subject of this passage?

       A．People across the world get married in different ways and for different reasons．

       B．Every culture has its own ways of bringing good luck to the young couple．

       C．A truly good marriage is something that grows with care．

       D．In many countries, marriage is a practical matter．

 

阅读理解

阅读下列短文，从每题所给四个选项(A，B，C和D)中，选出最佳选项．

　　Every day millions of letters go from one country to another. Letters mailed in Italy are received in Japan. Letters mailed in Canada are received in Africa. On the letters are many different kinds of stamps, bought in different countries.

　　The Universal Postal Union helps each letter get to the right place as quickly as possible. It sets up roles about the size and weight of letters, postcards and small packages (包裹). It has rules that all countries must follow about international postal rates(费用).

　　One hundred years ago, international mail did not move so smoothly. One country did not always accept another country's letters. Letters from some countries were too large to fit into the mailboxes of other countries. Letters traveled by many different routes(路线). Some were lost along the way.

　　Sometimes the person who sent the letter could pay only part of the postage. The person receiving the letter had to pay the rest.

　　The United States was the first to suggest that all countries work together to settle the questions of international mail. In 1947, men from twenty-four countries met in Switzerland to form the Universal Postal Union. Today, more than 120 nations belong to this union. From its office in Switzerland, the union helps the mail to move safely and quickly around the world.

1．From the story we can infer that ________.

[　　]

A．mail is important to all countries

B．not enough letters are sent all over the world

C．all the letters must go to Switzerland first

D．all stamps look exactly the same

2．The Universal Postal Union was formed ________.

[　　]

A．to help move mail quickly around the world

B．to give many men a chance to work

C．to help men meet in Switzerland

D．to look for the lost letters along the way

3．Which statement does this passage lead you to believe?

[　　]

A．Countries around the world need each other's help.

B．Most people do not put enough postage on letters.

C．It is not possible for letters to get lost on the way.

D．Some of the letters are too large to be put into the mailbox.

4．The underlined word“postage”in this passage means ________.

[　　]

A．money paid when you buy a stamp

B．money spent on an envelope

C．the charge for carrying a letter by post

D．the pay postman receives for his work

5．This passage is mainly about ________.

[　　]

A．different kinds of stamps in different countries

B．an organization that makes rules

C．international mail

D．the size and weight of letters

 

    请阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项的标号涂黑。

　　Eleven-year-old Angela had something wrong with her nervous system(神经系统）.She was unable to 1. In fact, she could hardly make any  2.Although she believed that she had a 3chance of recovering, the doctors said that 4, if any, could come back to normal after getting this disease. Having heard this, the little girl was not  5. There, lying in her hospital bed, she  6that no matter what the doctors said, her going back to school was  7.

    She was moved to a specialized health center, and whatever method could be tried was used. Still she would not  8. It seemed that she was  9.The doctors were all fond of her and taught her about  10that she could make it. Every day Angela would lie there,  11doing her mental exercise.

    One day,  12she was imagining her legs moving again, it seemed as though a miracle(奇迹）happened: The bed began to  13!“Look, what I'm doing! Look! I can do it! I moved! I moved!" she  14.

    Of course, at this very moment everyone else in the hospital was  15. More importantly, they were running  16safety.

    People were crying, and equipment was  17. You see, it was an earthquake. But don't 18that to Angela. She has  19that she did it ,just as she had never doubted that she would recover. And now only a few years later, she's back in school. You see, to such a person who can  20the earth, such a disease is a small problem, isn't it?

1.A. see            B. hear             C. talk             D. walk

2.A. progress       B. difference       C. movement     D. achievement

3.A. poor           B. good             C. little           D. special

4.A. few           B .all          C. some             D. most

5.A. satisfied      B. delighted        C. surprised        D. discouraged

6.A. insisted       B. sighed       C. feared       D. promised

7.A. true           B. doubtful         C. certain      D. impossible

8.A. get up         B. give up      C. turn up      D. stand up

9.A. disappointed   B. proud        C. troubled         D.  undefeatable

10.A. thinking      B. expecting        C. pretending       D. imagining

11.A. sadly             B. madly        C. carefully        D. faithfully

12.A. as            B. since            C. after            D. before

13.A. fly           B. move             C. roll             D. speak

14.A. jumped        B. wondered         C. screamed         D. recovered

15.A. frightened        B. pleased      C. touched      D. encouraged

16.A. in            B. by           C. for          D. with

17.A. rising        B. falling      C. missing      D. gathering

18.A. tell          B. do           C. give             D. show

19.A. noticed       B. supposed         C. believed         D. discovered

20.A. push          B. shock        C. shake            D. save

 

完形填空

　　Have you ever been in a meeting while someone was making a speech and realized suddenly that your 1 was a million miles away? You probably felt 2 and made up your mind to pay attention and never daydream again. Most of us, from earliest school 3 , have been told that daydreaming is a waste of time.

　　“On the contrary,”says L. Giambra, an expert in psyschology,“daydreaming is quite 4 Without it, the mind couldn’t get done all the 5 it has to do during a normal day. You can’t possibly do all your thinking with a conscious mind. 6 , your unconscious mind is working out problems all the time. Daydreaming then may be one 7 in which the unconscious and conscious 8 of mind have silent dialogue.”

　　Early experts in psychology paid no attention to the importance of 9 , or even considered them harmful. At one time daydreaming was thought to be a cause of some mental 10 . They did not have a better understanding of daydreams 11 the late 1980s. Eric Klinger, a professor of psychology, is the writer of the book Daydreaming Klinger says,“We 12 now that daydreaming is one of the main ways that we, 13 our lives, learn from our experiences, and plan for our future. Daydreams are really a reflection (反映) on the things we 14 or the things we long for in life.”

　　Daydreams are usually very simple and 15 , quite unlike sleep dreams, which may be 16 to understand. it’s easier to gain a 17 understanding of your life by paying close attention to your daydreams than by trying to examine your sleep dreams carefully. Daydreams help one 18 the difficult situations in life and find out a possible way for dealing with them.

　　Daydreams cannot be predicted (预见). They move off in 19 directions, which may be creative and full of useful ideas. For many famous artists and scientists, daydreams were, and are, a main source of creative energy.

　　So next time you catch 20 daydreaming, don’t stop . Just pay attention to your dreams. They may be more important than you think.

1．

[　　]

2．

[　　]

3．

[　　]

4．

[　　]

5．

[　　]

6．

[　　]

7．

[　　]

8．

[　　]

9．

[　　]

10．

[　　]

11．

[　　]

12．

[　　]

13．

[　　]

14．

[　　]

15．

[　　]

16．

[　　]

17．

[　　]

18．

[　　]

19．

[　　]

20．

[　　]

What he said made us deeply _____.

　　A. move　　　B. moved  C. moving　　D. being moved