Mark Twain left school when he was twelve. He had little school education. In spite of this, he became the most famous writer of his time. He made millions of dollars by writing. His real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens, but he is better known all over the world as Mark Twain, his penname.

Mark Twain was born in 1835 and he was not a healthy baby. In fact, he was not ex­pected to live through the first winter. But with his mother’s care, he managed to survive. As a boy, he caused much trouble for his parents. He used to play jokes on all his friends and neighbors. He didn’t like to go to school, and he often ran away from home. He always went in the direction of the nearby Mississippi(密西西比河). He was nearly drowned nine times.

After his father’s death, Mark Twain began to work for a printer, who only provided him with food and clothing. Then, he worked as a printer, a river-boat pilot and later joined the army. But shortly after that he became a miner. During this period, he started to write short stories. Afterwards he became a full time writer.

In 1870, Mark Twain got married. In the years that followed he wrote many books including Tom Sawyer in 1876, and Huckleberry Finn in 1884, which made him famous, and brought him great fortune.

Unfortunately, Mark Twain got into debts in bad investments(投资) and he had to write large numbers of stories to pay these debts. In 1904, his wife died, and then three of his children passed away.

At the age of 70, his hair was completely white. He bought many white suits and neckties. He wore nothing but white from head to foot until his death on April 21, 1910.

1.In his childhood, Mark Twain, ________.

A．learned a lot at school

B．he often went swimming with other boys

C．his mother often worried about his safety

D．he often played games with other boys

2.Which of the following shows the right order about Mark Twain?

a. He became a miner.           b. He worked as a printer.

c. He got into debts.             d. His father died.

e. He became a full-time writer.    f. He joined the army.

A．a—d—b—c—e—f                      B．d—b—f—a—e—c

C．d—a—f—e—b—c                      D．c—b—d—f—e—a

3.In order to make a living, Mark Twain _______.

A．first worked as a printer

B．did many kinds of work

C．wrote stories in the beginning

D．joined the army after he worked in a mine

4.Before his death, Mark Twain _______.

A．became a white man                     B．was in low spirits

C．liked to buy all kinds of clothes             D．had nothing on

阅读下列新闻及相关信息，并按照要求匹配信息。请在答题卡上作答。若答案是E，则涂AB；若答案是F，则涂CD。

A.FIFA agrees on heavy punishments to stamp out racism
ZURICH: Soccer’s world governing body FIFA agreed on Thursday to punish acts of racism with heavy punishments including taking away points and disqualification from competitions.
B.England face uphill task in the third test
MUMBAI: England will fight against all the probabilities to prevent a second straight series defeat when they face India in the third and final test starting on Saturday.
C.Disease-free chickens hit the market
GUANGZHOU: The first group of 200,000 live, quality-assured chickens, which wear colored plastic rings around their feet, hit Guangzhou’s markets on Friday, at a time when the threat of bird flu has kept chickens off many menus.
D.Football bosses deny Schweinsteiger betting report
BERLIN: German football chiefs on Thursday made a strong statement of the wrong saying that a newspaper says that Bayern Munich star Bastian Schweinsteiger was the international footballer involved in a betting.
E.Zhangs to lead Chinese team at the world championships
Figure skaters Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao, whose heroic silver was a high point of last month’s Turin Winter Olympics, are ready to make China into pairs more noticeable at the world championships next week in Calgary.
F.Ministry looks to prevent soil from ruin
The two square meters of land covered with black soil that were once the pride of farmer Lei Guangsheng are now a problem without an easy solution.
请阅读下面的信息，了解五位成员的兴趣。然后进行信息匹配。
【小题1】Tony is very interested in agriculture, so he wants to know about something that is happening in the countryside.
【小题2】Collins focuses his attention on people’s health, so he would like to know what has happened in this field.
【小题3】Jesse likes sports very much. Next week the winter holidays will begin and he wants to see some great events happening in the following week.
【小题4】Jack takes great interest in collecting sportsmen’s personal information, especially about their bad behavior.
【小题5】Harry is a football fan. He often watches football games invented in old England. Now he needs to know some decision made by the organization.

 He is _____ careless a student that he often _____ some letters while writing.

Five years ago, David Smith wore an expensive suit to work every day.“I was a clothes addict（有瘾的人）”he jokes.“I used to carry a fresh suit to work with me so I could change if my clothes got wrinkled.” Today David wears casual（不经意的，随意的） clothes—khaki pants （裤子）and a sports shirt—to the office. He hardly ever wears a necktie.“I am working harder than ever.”David says,“and I need to feel comfortable.”

More and more companies are allowing their office workers to wear casual clothes to work. In the United States, the change from formal to casual office wear has been gradual. In the early 1990s, many companies allowed their employees to wear casual clothes on Friday（but only on Friday）.This became known as“dress-down Friday”or“casual Friday”.“What started out as an extra one-day-a-week benefit for employees has really become an everyday thing.”said business Maisly Jones.

Why have so many companies started allowing their employees to wear casual clothes? One reason is that it’s easier for a company to attract new employees if it has a casual dress code.” “A lot of young people don’t want to dress up for work,” says the owner of a software company,“so it’s hard to hire people if you have a conservative（保守的）dress code.”Another reason is that people seem happier and more productive when they are wearing comfortable clothes. In a study conducted by Levi Strauss and Company, 85 percent of employers said that they believe that casual dress improves employee morale（心境，士气）. Only 4 percent of employers said that casual dress has a negative influence on productivity. Supporters of casual office wear also argue that a casual dress code helps them save money. “Suits are expensive, if you have to wear one every day,”one person said. “For the same amount of money, you can buy a lot more casual clothes.”

1.David Smith refers to himself as having been“a clothes addict,”because      .

A．he often wore khaki pants and a sports shirt

B．he couldn’t stand a clean appearance

C．he wanted his clothes to look neat all the time

D．he didn’t want to spend much money on clothes

2.David Smith wears casual clothes now, because      .

A．they make him feel at ease when working

B．he cannot afford to buy expensive clothes

C．he looks handsome in casual clothes

D．he no longer works for any company

3.According to this passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．Company workers started to dress down about twenty years ago.

B．Dress-down has become an everyday phenomenon since the early 90s.

C．“Dress-down Friday”was first given as a favor from employers.

D．Many workers want to wear casual clothes to impress people.

4.In this passage, the following advantages of casual office wear are mentioned EXCEPT_______

A．saving employees’ money               B．making employees more attractive

C．improving employees’ motivation         D．making employees happier

     He wishes the holiday season would end already . His back aches , his red suit feels like a spacesuit , his cheeks have gone tight from smiling for 12 hours —and still the kids keep coming and coming , like ants at a picnic . As Christmas becomes more commercialized (商业化) across the U. S. and Canada , so must Santas . As the holiday begins earlier each year, so must its spokesmen .

     The questions from children these days are harder than ever . Now, with thousands of children expecting a father or mother serving in Iraq or Afghanistan , the questions are as heart-breaking as they are unanswerable . For example , “Can you please bring Daddy home from the war in time for Christmas morning ?”

     Santas also have a pretty good chance of getting sued (指控). A professional Santa Claus in Canada told a story : A Santa had a girl on his knee , and he commented , “You have nice eyes and nice hair .” The girl later said it was sexual harassment (骚扰) . When a Santa feels anxious , he often shows it in the same ways ordinary people do : The Santas were always seen to hang around at the dinner table when the show ended . Many of them just sleep in bed for several days and don’t see other children again .

56.In the first paragraph , “spokesmen” refers to        .

    A.businessmen                          B.political leaders

    C.organizers of the activities     D.Santa Clauses

57.The passage implies that the job of Santa Claus is        .

    A.well-paid     B.very hard     C.worth doing     D.dangerous

58.According to the third paragraph, Santas may sometimes be blamed for        .

    A.doing something against the law               B.hanging around the dinner table

    C.being lazy and sleeping in bed for days          D.not playing their roles as expected

59.What would be the best title for the passage ?

    A.Christmas : Not a Good Festival for Santas           B.Is Santa Claus Really Alive ?

    C.A Christmas Story                                          D.What Does Santa Claus Do for Children ?