Back in my country, when I was a child, I used to go to “market day” with my mother. One day each week, farmers used to ___1___ their fruit and vegetables into the city. They ___2___ one street to all cars, and the farmers set up tables for their ___3___. This outdoor market was a great place to ___4___. Everything was fresher than produce in grocery stores because the farmers brought it in ___5___ after the harvest. My mother and I always got there early in the morning to get the ___6___ produce.

The outdoor market was a wonderful adventure for a small child, ___7___ was like a festival — full of colors and ___8___. There are red tomatoes, yellow lemons, green lettuce, peppers, grapes, onions. The farmers did their own ___9___. They all shouted loudly for ___10___ to buy their produce. “Come and buy my beautiful oranges! They’re juicy and delicious and full of vitamins to ___11___ your children healthy and strong!”

Everyone used to ___12___ with the farmers over the ___13___ of their produce. It was like a wonderful drama in a theatre; the buyers and sellers were the “___14___” in this drama. My mother was an ___15___ at this. First, she picked the freshest, most attractive tomatoes, for example. Then she asked the price. The seller told her.

“What?” she said. She looked very surprised. “ So ___16___?”

The seller looked terribly ___17___. “My dear lady!” he replied. “I’m a poor, ___18___ farmer. These are the cheapest tomatoes on the market!”

They always argued for several minutes before agreeing ___19___ a price. My mother took her tomatoes and left. Both buyer and seller were ___20___. The drama was over.

1. A. carry            B. take　        C. bring             D. fetch

2. A. opened　         B. closed　　     C. started　　             D. stopped

3. A. produce　       B. goods　　     C. food　　         D. product

4. A. buy           B. sell　　    C. bargain　　         D. shop

5. A. hurriedly       B. immediately    C. directly            D. straightly

6. A. best　　       B. finest　　     C. freshest            D. cheapest

7. A. who　          B. that　　　     C. which　　       D. what

8. A. voices          B. noises　　     C. sounds　　              D. accent

9. A. shopping       B. business　     C. shouting　        D. advertising

10. A. customers      B. producers　   C. themselves        D. sellers

11. A. keep              B. let　　      C. expect              D. make

12. A. argue          B. talk　　　     C. discuss　　          D. speak

13. A. order          B. price　　　   C. quality　　         D. form

14. A. viewers       B. listeners　      C. actors             D. directors

15. A. actress　       B. inventor　      C. advancer　         D. expert

16. A. wonderful      B. exciting       C. cheap　　　         D. expensive

17. A. injured　        B. hurt　　      C. damaged　         D. wounded

18. A. excellent        B. fair　　　     C. honest　　           D. easy

19. A. with           B. to　　　           C. in　　　　               D. on

20. A. disappointed　B. encouraged  C. satisfied　　　      D. tired

　　Lucky is the man who has no “skeleton in his closet”. When a man has done something in his life that he is ashamed of, that he wants to hide, he is said to have a “skeleton in his closet”. Some people may have more than one skeleton.

　　As we have noted many times, it is hard to find out how these expressions begin. Sometimes, we get some hard facts. But more often we have to depend on guesswork. And that is true of this phrase, which came from England.

　　Before 1932, English law did not permit a doctor to cut open a dead human body for scientific examination, unless it was the corpse(尸体) of an executed(处决) criminal.

　　But when it became legal, more and more doctors demanded skeletons for a more scientific study of medicine. It was helping in the advance of modern medicine. The demand had become so strong that men began to rob tombs and sell skeletons to doctors at high prices.

　　We are told that a doctor would usually buy just one skeleton for scientific study. It became very important in his work. But he had to keep it hidden because most people objected to keeping such a thing. As a rule, the doctor would keep his skeleton in some dark corner where it could not be seen, or hide it in a closet.

　　After a time, people began to suspect(怀疑) every doctor of hiding a skeleton in the closet. From this suspicion, the phrase “a skeleton in the closet” took on a broader, more general meaning to describe anything that a man wanted to keep others from discovering. It could be proof of a criminal act, or something much less serious. Well, that is one theory.

　　One writer, however, believes that the phrase might have come from something that really happened. It is his guess that a hidden closet in some old English country home may have turned up a real skeleton, clear proof of some old family shame or crime. Well, one man’s guess is as good as another. But this sounds like a story by the great French novelist, Balzac.

　　Baizac tells us of a man who suspected his wife of having a lover. The husband comes home by surprise. But she hears him and quickly hides her lover in the closet of her bedroom. He enters her room and asks her if she is hiding her lover. He says he will not open the door to the closet if she promises him there is no one there; He will believe her. She answers firmly that she is not hiding anyone in the closet.

　　The husband then begins to build a solid brick wall against the closet. His wife watches, knowing that her lover will never come out alive. But she will not change her story and admit her guilt.   

1. Which of the following situations is suitable for using the phrase “skeleton in the closet” ?

　　A. You have stolen something precious and don’t want it discovered.

　　B. You are a doctor and have to keep a skeleton for research.

　　C. If you have cut open a dead human body for scientific examination you should keep the skeleton secret.

　　D. You have done a crime or done something foolish, but you want to keep other from discovering it.

2. From the text we know that there are _______ theories about how the phrase “skeleton in the closet” came into being.

　　A. one 　　　　　      B. two 　　　　　      C. three 　　　　D. four

3. In Chinese the world “skeleton” means _______.

　　A. 尸体 　　　　　B. 标本 　　　　　C. 收藏 　　　　D. 骷髅

4. Which of the following is right according to the text?

　    A. In the 20th century, doctors realized the importance of anatomy(解剖) in the development of medicine.

　　B. The doctors of the ancient times liked to collect as many skeleton as possible.

　　C. The thieves stole skeletons from tombs in order to help the doctors.

　　D. It was legal that corpses of anybody were cut open for scientific examination in history.

5. From the story Balzac told we know that the wife’s lover must have become _______.

A. a corpse 　　　　B. a phrase 　　　　C. a skeleton 　　　D. a secret

The English language started about 1500 years ago in England. Three groups of people came to the country. They were the Angles, the Saxons, and the Jutes. These three groups brought their languages with them to England. After some time, the three languages became one new language—English. The name "English" comes from the Angles. They lived in most of England. "England" means "Angle Land" or "Country of the Angles".

　　The language that we speak today—Modern English—is not the same as the English that people used 1500 years ago, including Old English（before ll50）and Middle English（up till 1500）. That language—Old English—sounds different, and it has some different rules of grammar. There were only a few thousand words in Old English. But Modern English does come from Old English, and it is still like it in many important ways.

1.When did Modern English start?

A. About the year 1150.

B. Before the year 1500.

　　C. Between the 12th century and the 16th century.

　　D. About 1500 years ago.

2.How many languages did Old English come from?

　　A. One.　　　　　 B. Two.　　　　　C. Three.　　　　　D. Four.

3.Which language did the name "English" come from?

　　A. Modern English.　　 B. The Angles.  C. The Jutes.　　　　 D. The Saxons.

4.According to the passage, Modern English differs from Old English in ________.

　　A. grammar　　    B. pronunciation     C. words　　　　D. All of the above

5.Which of the following is TRUE?

　　A. Modern English has nothing to do with Old English.

　　B. Modern English has more words than Old English.

　　C. Modern English has a vocabulary（词汇量）twice as large as old English.

D. There is no difference between Old English and Middle English.

 

Behind our house is the start of a fascinating trail (小径). This trail is one of the old roads that wind through untold miles of forest. My 　1 , Beans, and I walk the trail frequently. Normally, Beans sniffs alongside the 2　 to follow the smell of a deer track or 3 some cause known only to him.

　 Beans is a white dog, quite handsome and very 　4　 . He not only understands what

we tell him, but also often makes sounds as if he were trying to 　5 back.

　 One morning, we took a different route, which led us to a(n) 　6　 trail. I was sure this trail would eventually lead us to our familiar 　7　 . But, no. We seemed to be far off course. After two hours, I suddenly realized that Beans probably 　8　 the way home. So I urged, "Beans, take me home." He ran down a new trail. But it merely led to an intersection (岔道口) of trails.

　 Soon it became 　9　 that we were getting nowhere. I began to picture the rest of the day in the 　10 , without food or drink. We had walked about ten miles. But Beans seemed totally 　11　 . The sniffing and exploring was going well for him.

　 Finally, we 　12 a crossroad near a highway. Lady Luck suggested I should turn left. We did and 13　 　reached a cottage beside a field. I knocked on the door and explained my situation to an old man. He laughed and then 14　 us home.

　 Since our adventure, I 15 that Beans probably knew all along how to get home.

He was just having too much fan exploring new trails.

1. A. deer	B. dog	C. lady	D. man
2 　 A. route	B. road	C. trail	D. way
3.　 A. imagine	B. consider	C. explore	D. present
4.　 A. smart	B. sweet	C. slow	D. shy
5. A. turn	B. kick	C. jump	D. speak
6 　 A. unfamiliar	B. similar	C. indifferent	D. changeable
7. A. driveway	B. path	C. crossroad	D. highway
8. A. knew	B. saw	C. showed	D. made
9. A. mysterious	B. ridiculous	C. fascinating	D. apparent
10. A. house	B. forest	C. field	D. cottage
11. A. unconcerned	B. unconscious	C. undecided	D. uncomfortable
12. A. left for	B. went off	C. came to	D. drove toward
13 A. punctually	B. frequently	C. formally	D. shortly
14. A. walked	B. drove	C. sent	D. carried
15. A. regretted	B. remembered	C. concluded	D. confirmed

  阅读下面 短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项A、B、C、D中选出能填入相应空白处的最佳选项。

The Mullah couldn’t break his word. That would be    1   for an important person in the village. He certainly    2   to sell his donkey for a dollar. So he said, “    3   me at the donkey fair (集市) on 　　4   . I shall sell her at that time. I shall    5   my donkey to the one who will treat her most    6   .”

Everybody was kind to animals in the village. So the Mullah    7   out a plan. He wanted to　　 8  his word and also to keep his donkey.

On the night before the donkey fair, the Mullah bought a piece of 　　  9   .No one had any idea why the Mullah should want that.

On Saturday, man and boy in the village came to the donkey fair.

They found a 　　 10   tied with a piece of rope　　 11  the tail of the Mullah’s donkey! Beside them stood the Mullah, who looked　　 12   .

“It is    13   , I’ll sell my donkey for a dollar,” said the Mullah. “Just one    14   , though, my donkey and my cat are very good friends. They must not be　　 15   . The kind man who    16   my donkey must buy my cat also.”

“How much is your cat?” asked many    17   .

“Oh, my cat is a very    18   animal,” said the Mullah. “Her father    19   a mouse for a king. Her mother caught a mouse for 　　10  .She is one of the finest cats. For such a great cat I want one hundred dollars”.

The men laughed, and gave up the idea of owning the donkey.

1．A. right　　　　  B. wrong　　　　   C. impossible　　　　　　 D. strange

2. A. didn’t want　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　    B. wanted

C. hadn’t decided　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　  D. intended

3. A. Meet　　　　   B. Pay　　　　　　  C. Talk　　　　　　  D. Help

4. A. tomorrow afternoon

B. the day after tomorrow

C. the evening

D. Saturday

5. A. give　　　　   B. take　　　　　　 C. sell　　　　    　　  D. show

6. A. cruelly　　　　 B. warmly　　　　  C. kindly　　　　    D. carefully.

7. A. put　　　　　　 B. thought　　　　    C. carried　　　　　　 D. made

8．A. say　　　　　　 B. keep　　　　　　   C. break　　　　　　   D. send

9．A. bread　　　　   B. paper　　　　　　   C. cloth　　　　　　   D. rope

10．A. cat　　　　　　  B. dog　　　　　　    C. cock　　　　　　  D. rope

11．A. with　　　　　　 B. on　　 　　　　　　C. to　　　　　　　　 D. around

12．A sad　　　　　　   B happy　　　　　　 C tired　　　　　　    D fine

13．A. a lie　　　　　　 B. true　　　　　　　　 C. real　　　　　　    D. a pity

14．A. matter　　　　 B. problem　　　　　　 C. thing　　  　　   D. question

15．A. killed　　　　  B. sold　　　　　　  C. beaten　　　　　　  D. parted

16．A. sees　　　　    B. buys　　　　　　   C. likes　　　　　　  D. wants

17．A. voices　　　　   B. sounds　　　　　　 C. noises　　　　　　   D. cries

18．A. pretty　　　　　　 B. cruel　　　　　　  C. strong　　　　　　   D. important

19．A. looked after　　   B. caught　　　　　　 C. drove　　　　　　   D. grasped

20．A. me　　　　　　 B. her father　　　　    C. the Queen　　　　　　 D. her