A man accused of failing to return more than 700 children’s books to five different libraries in the county was released from prison after a book publisher agreed to post his bond (保释金) of $1,000. The publisher said, “There’s a story here. This is a man who loves books. He just can’t let go of them. He hasn’t stolen a single book. So what’s the crime? We think that Mr Barush has a story to tell. We plan to publish his story.”

    When asked why he didn’t return the books, Mr Barush said, “Well, how could I? They became family to me. I was afraid to return them, because I knew that kids or dogs would get hold of these books and chew them up, throw them around, tear the pages, spill soda on them, get jam and jelly on them, and drown them in the toilet.”

    He continued, “Books are people, too! They talk to you, they take care of you, and they enrich you with wisdom, humor and love. A book is a guest in my home. How could I kick it out? I repaired torn pages. I dusted them with a soft clean cloth. I turned their pages so they could breathe and get some fresh air.”

    “Every week I reorganized them on their shelves so they could meet new friends. My books were HAPPY books. You could tell just by looking at them. Now they’re all back in the library, on the lower shelves, on the floors, at the mercy of all those runny-nosed kids. I can hear them calling me! I need to rescue them. Excuse me. I have to go now.”

1.Why was the man put into prison?

A. Because the book publisher persuaded the police to do so.

B. Because he stole 700 children’s books from the five different libraries.

C. Because he refused to return the books that he had borrowed.

D. Because he wanted to publish his story.

2.How did the man treat books?

A. He treated them as real people.           

B. He treated them as his own children.

C. He treated them as his furniture.          

D. He treated them as his job.

3.From the passage we can learn that the man is _____.

A. a thief  B. a writer  C. crazy about books  D. unfortunate

4.What is mainly talked about in this passage?

A. A funny thief who loves stealing books.

B. A person who refuses to return borrowed books and wants to look after them.

C. A person who is crazy about books so he keeps stealing them from the library.

D. A person who may have some mental problems.

If you are ever lucky to be invited to a formal dinner party in Paris，remember that the French have their own way of doing things, and that even your finest manners may not be “correct” by French custom．For example，if you think showing up promptly（迅速地）at the time given on the invitation，armed with gifts of wine and roses，complimenting（称赞）your hostess on her cooking，laughing heartily at the host’s jokes and then leaping up to help the hostess will make you the perfect guest，think again．

Here Madame Nora Chabal，the marketing director of the Ritz Hotel in Paris，explained how it works．

The first duty of the guest is to respond to the invitation within 48 hours．And，the guest may not ask to bring a guest because the hostess has chosen her own．

Flowers sent ahead of schedule are the preferred gift．They may also be sent afterwards with a thank–you note．It is considered a very bad form to arrive with a gift of flowers vase when she is too busy to do with that．

See，that’s the logic！The type of flowers sent has a code of its own，too．One must never send chrysanthemums(菊花)because they are considered too humble(谦卑)for occasion．Carnations（康乃馨）are considered bad luck，and calla（马蹄莲）are too reminiscent（令人联想）of funerals（葬礼）．A bouquet of red roses is a declaration of romantic intent．Don’t send those unless you mean it，and never to a married hostess．And though the French love wine，you must never bring a bottle to a dinner party．Why？It’s as if you feared your hosts would not have enough wine on hand，and that’s an insult（侮辱）．You may，however，offer a box of chocolates which the hostess will pass after dinner with coffee．

If an invitation is for eight o’clock，the considerate guest arrives at a quarter past eight．Guests who arrive exactly on time or early are mere thoughtless ones who are not giving the hostess those last few minutes she needs to deal with details and crises．

1.Which of the following is right about sending gifts？

2.What does the word “considerate” in the last paragraph mean？

3.If you are invited to a French dinner, the correct custom is to ______.

4.What is the passage mainly about？

Two traveling angels(天使) stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the guest room. Instead the angels were given a space in the cold basement. As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied: “Things aren’t always what they seem.”
The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor but very hospitable(好客的) farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had, the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night’s rest. When the sun came up the next morning, the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their only income, lay dead in the field.
The younger angel was very angry and asked the older angel, “How could this happen?” Why did you not watch out for the cow? The first man had everything, yet you watched over his house,” she accused. “The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you did not help.”
“Things aren’t always what they seem,” the older angel replied. “When we stayed in the basement, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so greedy and unwilling to share his good fortune, I asked God if I could seal(封口) the wall so he couldn’t find it. Then last night as we slept in the farmer’s bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I asked God if the angel could take the cow instead. Things aren’t always what they seem.”

1. 1.

   Why did the older angel repair the hole for the rich family?

   1. A.
      Because she didn’t like the greedy owner.
   2. B.
      Because she wanted to save the gold for the poor.
   3. C.
      Because the basement was too cold to stay in.
   4. D.
      Because she believed that one should always be ready to offer help.
2. 2.

   In paragraph two, “the pair” refers to_____________.

   1. A.
      The poor couple
   2. B.
      the rich couple
   3. C.
      the guests
   4. D.
      the angels
3. 3.

   The story tries to tell the reader that_________________.

   1. A.
      angels are always ready to help the poor
   2. B.
      sometimes things are not what they seem
   3. C.
      angels are always ready to help the rich
   4. D.
      the young should always learn from the old.

Tayka Hotel De Sal

Where: Tahua, Bolivia

How much: About $95 a night

Why it’s cool: You’ve stayed at hotels made of brick or wood, but salt? That’s something few can claim．Tayka Hotel de Sal is made totally of salt—including the beds (though you’ll sleep on regular mattresses (床垫) and blankets)．The hotel sits on the Salar de Uyuni, a prehistoric dried-up lake that’s the world’s biggest salt flat．Builders use the salt from the 4,633-square-mile flat to make the bricks, and glue them together with a paste of wet salt that hardens when it dries．When rain starts to dissolve the hotel, the owners just mix up more salt paste to strengthen the bricks.

Green Magic Nature Resort

Where: Vythiri, India

How much: About $240 a night

Why it’s cool: Ridding a pulley(滑轮)-operated lift 86 feet to your treetop room is just the start of your adventure．As you look out of your open window—there is no glass!—you watch monkeys and birds in the rain forest canopy．Later you might test your fear of heights by crossing the handmade rope bridge to the main part of the hotel, or just sit on your bamboo bed and read．You don’t even have to come down for breakfast—the hotel will send it up on the pulley-drawn “elevator”.

Dog Bark Park Inn B&B

Where: Cottonwood, Idaho

How much: $92 a night

Why it’s cool: This doghouse isn’t just for the family pet．Sweet Willy is a 30-foot-tall dog with guest rooms in his belly．Climb the wooden stairs beside his hind leg to enter the door in his side．You can relax in the main bedroom, go up a ffew steps ot the loft in Willy’s head, or hang out inside his nose．Cotta “go”(想要方便一下)? Although you have a full private bathroom in your quarters, there is also a toilet in the 12-foot-tall fire hydrant outside.

Gamirasu Cave Hotel

Where: Ayvali, Turkey

How much: Between $130 and $475 a night.

Why it’s cool: This is caveman cool! Experience what it was like 5,000 years ago, when people lived in these mountain caves formed by volcanic ash．But your stay will be much more modern．Bathrooms and electricity provide what you expect from a modern hotel, and the white volcanic ash, called tufa, keeps the rooms cool, about 65℉in summer．(Don’t worry—there is heat in winter.)

1.Which of the following about Tayka Hotel de Sal is true?

      A．The hotel is the cheapest among the four mentioned.

      B．Everything in the hotel is made of salt.

      C．It is on an island in the Pacific Ocean.

      D．It is located on a prehistoric lake.

2.What is the similarity of the four hotels?

      A．Being expensive.  B．Being beautiful. C．Being natural.      D．Being unique.

3.What does the underline part “Sweet Willy” refer to?

      A．The building of Dog Bark Park Inn B&B.

      B．The name of a pet dog of the hotel owner.

      C．The name of the hotel.

      D．The name of the hotel owner.

4.Which of the hotel makes you have a feeling of living in the far past?

      A．Tayka Hotel De Sal                              B．Green Magic Nature Resort

      C．Dog Bark Park Inn B&B                     D．Gamirasu Cave Hotel

5.What may be the purpose of the writer writing the passage?

      A．To show his wide knowledge.               B．To introduce some interesting hotels.

      C．To develop business in tourism.             D．To attract attention from the readers.

While small may be beautiful，tall is just plain uncomfortable it seems，particularly when it comes to staying in hotels and eating in restaurants.

The Tall Persons Club Great Britain (TPCGB)，which was formed six months ago to campaign for the needs of the tall，has turned its attention to hotels and restaurants.Beds that are too small，shower heads that are too low，and restaurant tables with hardly any leg?room all make life difficult for those of above average height，it says.

But it is not just the extra?tall whose needs are not being met.The average height of the population has been increasing yet the standard size of beds，doorways，and chairs has remained unchanged.

“The bedding industry says a bed should be six inches larger than the person using it，so even a king?size bed at 6′6″ (6 feet and 6 inches) is falling short for 25% of men，while the standard 6′3″ bed caters for less than half of the male population，” said TPCGB president Phil Heinricy，“Seven?foot beds would work fine.”

Similarly，restaurant tables can cause no end of problems.Small tables，which mean the long?legged have to sit a foot or so away from them，are enough to make tall customers go elsewhere.

Some have already taken note，however.At Queens Moat Houses’ Caledonian Hotel in Edinburgh，6′6″ beds are now put in as standard after requests for longer beds from taller visitors，particularly Americans.????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? (2011·新课标全国，B)

1.What is the purpose of the TPCGB campaign?

A．To provide better services.

B．To rebuild hotels and restaurants.

C．To draw public attention to the needs of the tall.

D．To attract more people to become its members.

2.Which of the following might be a bed of proper length according to Phil Heinricy?

A．7′2″.? B．7′.? C．6′6″.? D．6′3″.

3.What may happen to restaurants with small tables?

A．They may lose some customers.

B．They may start businesses elsewhere.

C．They have to find easy chairs to match the tables.

D．They have to provide enough space for the long?legged.

4.What change has already been made in a hotel in Edinburgh?

A．Tall people pay more for larger beds.

B．6′6″ beds have taken the place of 6′3″ beds.

C．Special rooms are kept for Americans.

D．Guest rooms are standardized.