No country in the world has more daily newspapers than the USA.　There are almost 2000 of them，as compared with 180 in Japan，164 in Argentina and 111 in Britain.　The quality（质量） of some American papers is quite high and their views are used all over the world.　Excellent newspapers like the Washington Post or the New York Times　have a powerful influence（影响） all over　the country.　However，the Post　and the New York Times　are not national newspapers in the sense that The Times is in Britain of Le Monde is in France，since each American city has its own daily newspaper.　The best of these give detailed（详细的）accounts of national and international news，but many tend to limit themselves to state or city news.?

Like the press（报刊） in most other countries，American newspapers report news from the “exciting” and “relaxing” to the serious.　They try to entertain people as well as give information，for they have to compete with the attraction of television.

Just as American newspapers try to satisfy all tastes，they also try to attract readers of all political parties.　A few news papers support extremist（极端主义者） groups on the far right and on the far left，but most daily newspapers try their best to attract middle-of-the-road Americans who are mainly moderate（温和的）.Many of these papers print materials by well?known journalists of different political and social views，in order to give a balanced picture.?

As in other countries American newspapers can be either responsible（负责任的） or irresponsible，but it is generally accepted that the American press serves its country well and that it has more than once exposed political scandals（丑闻），for example，the Watergate Affair（水门事件）.?

1.Which newspaper in the U.　K.　is national？?

A.?Le Monde.　　　　　　　 B.?Washington Post.?

C.?New York Times.　　　　　　 D.?The Times.?

2.Most American newspapers attract readers by carrying　　　　　 .?

A.　national news　　　　　 B.　local news?

C.　international news　　　　 D.　political news?

3.In order to win the competition with television，American newspapers have to　　　 .

A.　give information　　　 B.　give serious news?

C.　give entertainment news　　 D.　give national news?

4.Most daily newspapers attract moderate Americans by　　　　　 .?

A.　printing articles by well-known journalists of different views?

B.　supporting extremist groups?

C.　exposing political scandals?

D.　serving the country well?

— Is Mr. Smith rich?

— Yes, very rich. When he worked in ________town, he earned a lot. Now he has a big farm in ________ country.

A. at; the　　　　    B. /; /　　　　　　      C. /; the　　　　      D. the; /

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（十二生肖）. 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 （提名）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”.

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

　　A. sad　　　　　　B. confused       　C. serious　　　　 D. humorous

2. 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

3.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

4.Which diagram shows the structure（结构） of the passage?

　　　　　A 　　　　　　　　B 　　　　　　　C　　　　　　　　　 D

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有一项为多余选项。
A.　Goods for auction (拍卖) sales
　　B.　Definition of bidding
　　C.　Way to sell more goods by auction
　　D.　Auction sales in history
　　E.　Brief introduction to auctions
　　F.　Making a larger profit as an auctioneer
【小题1】______
Auctions are public sales of goods, conducted by an officially approved auctioneer. He asks the crowd assembled in the auction-room to make offers, or “bids”, for the various items on sale. He encourages buyers to bid higher figures, and finally names the highest bidder as the buyer of the goods. This is called “knocking down” the goods, for the bidding ends when the auctioneer strikes a small hammer on a table at which he stands.
【小题2】 ______
The ancient Roman probably invented sales by auction, and the English word comes from the Latin auction, meaning “increasing”. The Romans usually sold in this way the goods taken in war. In England in the eighteenth centuries, goods were often sold “by the candle”: a short candle was lit by the auctioneer, and bids could be made while it stayed alight.
【小题3】 ______
Practically all goods whose qualities vary are sold by auction. Among these are coffee, skins, wool, tea, furs, silk and wines. Auction sales are also usual for land and property, furniture, pictures, rare books, old china and similar works of art.
【小题4】 ______
An auction is usually advertised beforehand with full particulars of the articles to be sold and where and when they can be viewed by potential buyers. If the advertisement cannot give full details, catalogues are printed, and each group of goods to be sold together, called a “lot”, is usually given a number. The auctioneer need not begin with Lot 1 and continue in the order of numbers: he may wait until he notices the fact that certain buyers are in the room and then produce the lots they are likely to be interested in.
【小题5】 ______
The auctioneer’s services are paid for in the form of a percentage of the price the goods are sold for. The auctioneer therefore has a direct interest in pushing up the bidding as high as possible. He will not waste time by starting the bidding too low. He will also play on the opponents among his buyers and succeed in getting a high price by encouraging two business competitors to bid against each other.

   Mrs Leonard was round and pretty, with shining brown hair and warm, dark,   7   eyes. Everyone adored (敬重) her. But   8   came to love her more than I did. And for a   9   reason.

   The time came for the   10   tests given at our school. I could only just hear out of one ear, and was not   11  to reveal something else that would single   12   out as different. So I cheated.

   The “whisper test”   13   each child to go to the classroom door, turn sideways, close one ear with a finger,   14   the teacher whispered something from her desk,   15   the child repeated. Then the same for the other ear. Nobody checked how tightly the   16   ear was covered, so I only pretended to block mine.

   As  17   I was the last. But all through the testing I   18   what Mrs Leonard might say to me. I knew from previous years that the teacher   19   things like “The sky is blue.” Or “Do you have new shoes?”

   My   20   came. I turned my bad ear toward her,   21   the other just enough to be able to hear. I waited and then came the words that God had surely put into her mouth,   22   words that changed my life   23   .

   Mrs Leonard, the teacher I   24   , said softly, “I   25   you were my little girl.”

1　　 A. liked　　　　 B.　　  loved  　　　　  C.   hated　　　　 D expected

2.    A. lip 　　　　  B. ear　　　　　　    C.    finger　　     D. eyes

3.    A. broken       B.cut　　 　　　　　　C.   formed　　    D.killed

4.    A. very　　     B.much　　　　　　   C.   more　　　　  D.even

5.    A. strange　　   B.happy　　   　　   C.    sad　　　　    D.different

6.    A. inside    　　 B.with&nbtsp
;  　　　　　　 C.  as well as　　  D.outside

7.    A. surprised　　   B.smiling  　　　　   C.frightening　　 D.blind

8.    A. everyone　　   B.no one　　　　　　  C. anyone 　　   D.none  

9.    A. special　　　　 B.strange　　　　　　 C. usual　　　　  D.simple

10.   A. arithmetic算术  B.history　　　　　　 C.  hearing   　　 D.　　   blood

11.   A. excitedly　　   B.when   　　　　　　C. about  　　　　D.how

12.   A. me    　　　　B.Mrs Leonard　　　　 C.　　   us　　    　　 D.the pupils

13.   A. encouraged　　 B.persuaded　　  　　  C.required       D.agreed

14.   A. if　　　　　　 B.so　　　　　　　　  C.as if　　　　   D.While

15.   A. that　　　　   B.what   　　　　　　 C.　　   after　　　　   D.which

16.   A. untested　　   B.left　　   　　　　 C.bad　　       D.tested

17.   A. usually 　　   B.follows　　 　　　　 C.usual   　　   D.well

18.   A. examined　　  B.wondered　　    　　C.understood　　  D.noticed

19.   A. questioned　　 B.announced    　　  C.shouted    D.whispered

20.   A. teacher　　    B.time　　　　　　　　 C.opportunity　　 D.chance

21.   A. picking up　　 B.plugging up　　       C.closing　　　　 D.opening

22.   A. seven　　　　 B.some　　　　　　     C.several　　    D.lovely

23.   A. sometimes　　 B.    usually    　　　　 C.forever　　    D.all

24.   A. knew   　　  B.adored    　　　　   C.　　   realized   　　 D.spoke

25.   A. expect   　　 B.wish　　 　　　　　　C.wanted    　　 D.knew