I’m a pig, and my son is a rabbit. I have snakes for daughters, and my wife, believe it or not, is a dragon! Do I live in a zoo? No, of course not! I am talking about Chinese zodiac signs. Depending on the year of your birth, each person has an animal for a sign. That’s why I am a pig and my wife is a dragon. If you, like me, were born in the year of the pig, then you are brave, thoughtful and loyal. The year of the pig is filled with good fortune.

　　Now let’s take a closer look at this interesting animal.

　　Pigs were first raised by man about 9,000 years ago, and are still a very common farm animal in many parts of the world. We don’t just use pigs for their meat — almost every part of the animal is used. The hair is used for artists’ brushes. The fat is used to make floor wax, rubber and plastics.

　Pigs have also been important in the world of entertainment. In 1995 the film ‘Babe’ starred a loveable talking pig as its main character. The film won an Oscar and was nominated for 6 more. In England you can even go to watch pig racing. A farmer, Rob Shepherd, has been raising money for charity by holding pig races on his farm. The events have been very successful. People don’t just want to eat pigs, it seems!

　Pigs also play an important role in the English language. For example, if someone says that he will travel to the sun one day, you can say “pigs might fly!” to him. Hungry? Well then, you can “pig out” and eat lots of food. And what if someone rescues you? Well, you can say that they “saved your bacon”.

44. The writer wrote the first paragraph in a ______ tone.

　　A. sad　　　　　　B. confused

　　C. serious　　　　 D. humorous

45. We may know from the passage that ______.

　　A. people in England like pigs more than other animals

　　B. pigs are more useful than ordinary people imagine

　　C. pigs are the first animals raised by man

　　D. more people don’t want to eat pigs now

46. The underlined sentence “pigs might fly!” in the fifth paragraph means “______”.

　　A. What you have just said is impossible

　　B. Pigs are great animals

　　C. I don’t understand your words

　　D. I can’t agree with you more

47. Which diagram shows the structure of the passage?

The way people hold to the belief that a fun-filled, and pain-free life equals happiness actually reduces their chances of ever attaining real happiness. If fun and pleasure are equal to happiness then pain must be equal to unhappiness. But in fact, the opposite is true: more often than not things that lead to happiness involve some pain.

As a result, many people avoid the very attempts that are the source of true happiness. They fear the pain inevitably(不可避免的) brought by such things as marriage, raising children, professional achievement, religious commitment (义务), self - improvement.

Ask a bachelor(单身汉) why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying. If he is honest he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment. For commitment is in fact quite painful. The single life is filled with fun, adventure, excitement. Marriage has such moments, but they are not its most distinguishing features.

Couples with infant children are lucky to get a whole night’s sleep or a three - day vacation. I don’t know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe raising children. But couples who decide not to have children never know the joys of watching a child grow up or of playing with a grandchild.

Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations. It liberates time: now we can devote more hours to activities that can genuinely increase our happiness. It liberates （解放）money: buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless. And it liberates us from envy: we now understand that all those who are always having so much fun actually may not be happy at all.

1.According to the author, a bachelor resists marriage chiefly because _______ .

A. he is reluctant to take on family responsibilities

B. he believes that life will be more cheerful if he remains single

C. he finds more fun in dating than in marriage

D. he fears it will put an end to all his fun adventure and excitement

2.From the last paragraph, we learn that envy sometimes stems from ________ .

A. hatred　　 B. misunderstanding　??? C. prejudice　　D. ignorance

3.What is the author trying to tell us?

A. Happiness often goes hand in hand with pain.

B. One must know how to attain happiness.

C. It is important to make commitments.

D. It is pain that leads to happiness.

阅读理解

　　On June 17, 1744, the officials from Maryland and Virginia held a talk with the Indians of the Six Nations. The Indians were invited to send boys to William and Mary College. In a letter the next day they refused the offer as follows:

　　We know that you have a high opinion of the kind of learning taught in your colleges, and that the costs of living of our young men, while with you, would be very expensive to you. We are certain that you mean to do us good by your suggestion; and we thank you heartily. But you must know that different nations have different ways of looking at things, and you will therefore not be displeased if our ideas of this kind of education happen not to be the same as yours. We have had some experience of it. Several of our young people were formerly brought up at the colleges of the northern provinces; they were taught all your sciences; but, when they came back to us, they were bad runners, and they knew little little of every means of living in the woods...they were totally good for noting.

　　We are, however, not the less obliged by your kind offer, though we refuse to accept it; and to show our grateful sense of it, if the gentlemen of Virginia will send us a dozen of their sons, we will take care of their education, teach them in all we know, and make men of them.

（1）The passage is about ______ .

[　　]

A. the talk between the Indians and the officials

B. the colleges of the northern provinces

C. the educational values of the Indians

D. the problems of the Americans in the mid-eighteenth century

（2）The Indians' chief purpose in writing the letter seems to be to _____ .

[　　]

A. Politely refuse a friendly offer

B. express their opinions on equal treatment

C. show their pride

D. describe Indian customs

（3）According to the letter, the Indians believed that ______ .

[　　]

A. it would be better for their boy to receive some schooling

B. they were being hurt by the offer

C. they knew more about science that the officials

D. they had a better way of education young men

（4）Different from the officials' view of education, the Indians thought _____ .

[　　]

A. young women should also be educated

B. they had different objects of education

C. they taught different branches of science

D. they should teach the sons of the officials first

（5）The mood of the letter as a whole is best described as ______ .

[　　]