I've always loved pigeons(鸽子). Some years ago I managed to persuade my wife to let me buy a few and start   16  them myself. They cost a lot of money and so it spoilt(破坏) our 17 a bit, but my wife never actually stopped me so I  18  carried on. I learnt so much about them that I could  19 a good racer anywhere and I bought some beauties. My pigeons won some top races, and I even began to make a bit of   20 .

You see, people are prepared to pay big prices if they get to know that your pigeons are 21 big prizes.

My wife had been changing her  22  to the pigeons over the last year or two anyway. She was quite   23  of all the prizes we’d won. Then there was the travelling, which she liked. You see some one has to take the pigeons a  24  way off and set them free. Some of the   25  were really nice. I never travelled. I used to like to wait at home and see them come in. They’ve got this wonderful sense of  26 , which can bring them back home so quickly. They’d flown hundreds of miles sometimes   27  storms or against strong winds. And there they’d come, tiny white birds against the great   28 . Then I'd watch them  29  round and come down onto the landing shelf. I'd look at my watch and think, “My goodness, that’s a good  30 . ”And I'd take off the little leg ring and push it through the machine to  31  what time he’d arrived. Then my wife would  32 up and say, “Has he arrived yet?” Then we would work out if we’d won   33 .

Then last year we had a   34 ! All of them got some sort of flu and  35 . It was terrible. I had to burn them all. We lost a fortune, of course.

1.	A．racing B．feeding C．tending D．flying

 

2.	A．dream B．work C．marriage D．hobby

 

3.	A．just B．even C．almost D．hardly

 

4.	A．notice B．learn C．imagine D．recognize

 

5.	A．living B．fun C．money D．change

 

6.	A．losing B．winning C．giving D．making

 

7.	A．subject B．decision C．relation D．attitude

 

8.	A．proud B．fond C．careful D．sure

 

9.	A．different B．1ong C．short D．far

 

10.	A．distances B．activities C．trips D．movements

 

11.	A．direction B．sight C．hearing D．touch

 

12.	A．over B．across C．with D．through

 

13.	A．heaven B．mountain C．cloud D．sky

 

14.	A．turn B．dance C．circle D．whistle

 

15.	A．fly B．time C．day D．1ook

 

16.	A．write B．record C．count D．memorize

 

17.	A．come B．show C．phone D．cheer

 

18.	A．again B．finally C．only D．accidentally

 

19.	A．disadvantage B．chance C．problem D．disaster

20..

A．flew

B．died

C．cured

D．lost

 

Kids will often ignore your requests for them to shut off the TV, start their chores (杂事), or do their homework as a way to avoid following your directions. Before you know it, you’ve started to sound like a broken record as you repeatedly ask them to do their assignments, clean their room, or take out the trash. Rather than saying, “Do your chores now,” you’ll be more effective if you set a target time for when the chores have to be completed. So instead of arguing about starting chores, just say, “If chores aren’t done by 4 p. m., here are the consequences.” Then it’s up to your child to complete the chores. Put the ball back in their court. Don’t argue or fight with them, just say, “That’s the way it’s going to be.” It shouldn’t be punitive (惩罚性的) as much as it should be persuasive. “If your chores aren’t done by 4 p. m., then no video game time until chores are done. And if finishing those chores runs into homework time, that’s going to be your loss.” On the other hand, when dealing with homework, keep it very simple. Have a time when homework starts, and at that time, all electronics go off and do not go back on until you see that their homework is done. If your child says they have no homework, then they should use that time to study or read. Either way, there should be a time set aside when the electronics are off.

When a kid wears his iPod or headphones when you’re trying to talk to him, make no bones about it；he is not ignoring you, he is disrespecting you. At that point, everything else should stop until he takes the earplugs out of his ears. Don’t try to communicate with him when he’s wearing headphones—even if he tells you he can hear you. Wearing them while you’re talking to him is a sign of disrespect. Parents should be very tough about this kind of thing. Remember, mutual respect becomes more important as children mature.

1.According to the passage, it seldom happens that________.

A．kids turn a deaf ear to their parents’ requests

B．parents’ directions sound like a broken record

C．children are ready to follow their parents’ directions

D．parents are unaware of what they are repeating to their kids

2.Parents will be able to deal with their child more effectively if they ________.

A．avoid direct ways of punishment

B．make him do things at their request

C．argue and fight with their child

D．allow their child to behave in his own way

3.When the kid is doing his homework, parents________.

A．should provide him with a good learning environment

B．can do whatever they like

C．can stay aside watching TV

D．must switch off the power

4.It can be inferred from the passage that________.

A．parents should take off their headphones when trying to have a talk with their child

B．it will make no difference that a kid is wearing his earplugs while talking to his parents

C．parents shouldn’t give in to their kid when he shows no sign of respect

D．kids’ purposely talking to their parents with iPod gives them a sense of power and control

5.The main idea of the passage is________.

A．that respecting each other is more important than anything else

B．how kids behave to ignore and disrespect their parents

C．that children should make choices and decisions on their own

D．how parents can deal with their kid’s behavior effectively

 

A round of applause, please, for the Indian man who recently sang for 80 hours straight, setting a new Guinness world record. It’s an impressive feat, to be sure, but let’s just hope he still has a voice. According to Indian newspapers, Rajesh Burbure has been told to keep silent for several days so his vocal cords (声带) can heal.

It was reported that Burbure and his family are in a celebratory mood. “It’s a proud moment for all of us,” his wife told DNAIndia.com.

I, on the other hand, am unable to share their enthusiasm. Don’t get me wrong: I hope the 35-year-old Burbure lives forever, sells a million records and becomes an international celebrity. But his record–singing for 80 hours straight–is about as meaningful as most of the other curious but crazy feats listed in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Granted , I’m not qualified to speak on the subject. I’ve got no world records to my name– and I never expect to have any. Then again, maybe I am qualified to speak for those of us who have better things to do than train for years to sing an 80-hour medley (混合曲) of pop songs.

But let’s not just pick on poor Burbure. He’s not the only person chasing meaningless accolades. The Guinness Book of World Records is full of the names of people who at one time grew the longest hair, or built the biggest bicycle, or baked the largest cheesecake.

To all of these enterprising (有进取心的) souls I ask, simply, “What was it all for?”

Congratulations! For all of your painstaking effort, you became a footnote in a thick book that no one reads, except for you and the person who will eventually surpass you–with one more hour of singing, a few more centimeters of steel or a few more pounds of cheese.

After all, records are made to be broken.

1.From the text, we can learn that the author         .

        A．has no Guinness records, so he admires Burbures’ feat

         B．feels it is a pity he was not invited to share the happiness with the Burbures

         C．thinks singing for 80 hours straight is completely meaningless

         D．is quite worried about Burbure’s vocal cords

2.Before someone wins a Guinness record, he or she has to         .

         A．become an international celebrity

         B．know all about Guinness record

         C．practice a great deal

         D．bear great stress for fear of injury

3.We can infer from the article that        .

         A．after the 80 hours of singing, Burbure could no longer speak

         B．Burbure’ wife didn’t support his attempt to make a Guinness record

         C．many have criticized Burbure for his stupid behavior

         D．challenging a Guinness record may be harmful to the health

4.The author’s attitude to the Guinness world records mentioned in the passage is         .

         A．positive                                                              B．impressed

         C．negative                                                            D．touched

5.What is the best title for the passage?

         A．What Was the Point?

         B．Records Are Made to be Broken

         C．A New Indian Guinness Record

         D．The Guinness Book Is Boring

 

—Would you mind my _______ your speech?

—Not at all. Go ahead.

A．record           B．to record          C．recording         D．of recording

 

The popular Korean male artist Rain swept through Asia recently, gaining popularity among both male and female fans. 36 his popularity, Pepsi(百事可乐), which did not 37 to offer any Korean artist the opportunity to be one of its ambassadors (大使), has changed their mind. They now have 38  Rain to be its new “blue blood(蓝血家族)” and have offered him a high price.

For the past two years, Pepsi has 39 an enormous amount of money in signing up world popular mega stars to be the company’s ambassadors. They 40 soccer star David Beckham, Taiwan popular Idols F4, Jay Chou, Hong Kong star Edison Chen, Nicholas Tse, Louis Koo etc. Now with the 41  rising of Korean star Rain, Pepsi was quick to put him on its 42.

According to sources, Pepsi has recently sent a(an) 43 to Korea to discuss details with Rain and they are about to 44 a contract. When a reporter called Ms Li to verify this matter, she didn’t deny it, and 45 that “At this point, we can’t reveal anything”. Also according to sources, Pepsi will be the sponsor of Rain’s October 46 in Hong Kong, but Rain’s Hong Kong manager Ms Chan Ka Ying 47 , “At this moment, it’s not 48 to talk about this. There will be an announcement shortly!”

49 the old Chinese saying goes: “One mountain cannot be ruled by two tigers”, Pepsi has somehow created an internal 50  between Rain and Jay Chou. Rain’s popularity is rising and he has the 51 “single eye-lid” feature as Jay, whose status has somehow been 52. There’s a rumour that the skin product brand DHC is intending to 53  their ambassador from Jay to Rain, in order to capture the Korean, Japanese, Chinese 54.

Rain’s recent Beijing concert was a tremendous hit, 55 in “Korean Fever” in Mainland China.

1.	A．Thanks for B．Due to C．According to D．Based on

 

2.	A．target B．point C．aim D．intend

 

3.	A．accepted B．invited C．adopted D．approved

 

4.	A．spent B．depended C．cost D．paid

 

5.	A．contain B．include C．cover D．enclose

 

6.	A．up-to-date B．new C．modern D．recent

 

7.	A．schedule B．record C．list D．program

 

8.	A．manager B．artist C．boss D．representative

 

9.	A．sign B．mark C．get D．keep

 

10.	A．supplied B．increased C．joined D．added

 

11.	A．concert B．show C．display D．exhibition

 

12.	A．recognized B．responded C．reacted D．acknowledged

 

13.	A．comfortable B．pleasant C．convenient D．relaxed

 

14.	A．As B．When C．After D．While

 

15.	A．struggle B．competition C．fight D．conflict

 

16.	A．same B．alike C．different D．similar

 

17.	A．infected B．effected C．affected D．caused

 

18.	A．exchange B．vary C．shift D．switch

 

19.	A．markets B．shops C．malls D．stores

 

20.	A．resulting B．causing C．leading D．directing