The most frightening words in the English language are, “Our computer is down.” You hear it more and more when you are on business. The other day I was at the airport waiting for a ticket to Washington and the girl in the ticket office said, “I’m sorry, I can’t sell you a ticket. Our computer is down.”

“If your computer is down, just write me out a ticket.”

“I can’t write you out a ticket. The computer is the only one allowed to do so.”

I looked down on the computer and every passenger was just standing there drinking coffee and staring at the black screen. Then I asked her, “What do all you people do?”

“We give the computer the information about your trip, and then it tells us whether you can fly with us or not.”

“So when it goes down, you go down with it.”

“That’s good, sir.”

“How long will the computer be down?” I wanted to know.

“I have no idea. Sometimes it’s down for 10 minutes, sometimes for two hours. There’s no way we can find out without asking the computer, and since it’s down it won’t answer us.”

After the girl told me they had no backup(备用) computer, I said. “Let’s forget the computer. What about your planes? They’re still flying, aren’t they?”

“I couldn’t tell without asking the computer.”

“Maybe I could just go to the gate and ask the pilot if he’s flying to Washington, ” I suggested.

“I wouldn’t know what gate to send you to. Even if the pilot was going to Washington, he couldn’t take you if you didn’t have a ticket.”

“Is there any other airline flying to Washington within the next few hours?”

“I wouldn’t know, ” she said, pointing at the dark screen. “Only ‘IT’ knows. ‘It’ can’t tell me.”

By this time there were quite a few people standing in lines. The word soon spread to other travelers that the computer was down. Some people went white, some people started to cry and still others kicked their luggage.

1.The best title for the article is _______.

2.What could the girl in the ticket office do for the passengers without asking the computer?

3.Why do you think they had not a backup computer?

4.The last paragraph suggests that _______.

As an English saying goes, “Laughter is the best medicine.” Until recently, few people took the saying seriously. Now however, doctors have begun to look into laughter and the effects it has on the human body. They have found that laughter really can improve people’s health.

Tests were carried out to study the effects of laughter on the body. People watched funny films while doctors checked their heart, blood pressure, breathing and muscles. It was found that laughter has similar effects to physical exercise. It increases blood pressure, makes the heart beat quicker and makes people breathe deeper; it also works several groups of muscles in the face, the stomach, and even the feet. If laughter exercises the body, it must be beneficial.

Other tests have shown that laughter appears to be able to reduce the effect of pain on the body. In one experiment doctors produced pain in groups of students who listened to different radio programs. The group that tolerated (忍耐) the pain for the longest time was the group which listened to a funny program. The reason why laughter can reduce pain seems to be that it helps to produce a kind of chemical in the brain which diminishes both stress and pain.

As a result of these discoveries, some doctors in the United States now hold laughter clinics, in which they help to improve their patients’ condition by encouraging them to laugh. They have found that even if their patients do not really feel like laughing, making them smile is enough to produce beneficial effects similar to those caused by laughter.

1.Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?  

A．Laughter can make people breathe deeper

B．Laughter can make you become old quickly.

C．Laughter helps to reduce pain.

D．Laughter, just like physical exercise, is good for our body.

2.The underlined word “diminishes” in the third paragraph means “_________”.  

A．delays            B．prevents          C．increases          D．reduces

3.Why do doctors hold laughter clinics? 

A．Because they want to earn more money.

B．Because they think they will help the patients recover from illnesses.

C．Because they want to improve their patients’ health.

D．Because they want their patients to laugh more.

4.According to the author, we should __________ in our life. 

A．laugh as much as possible                 B．watch more funny films

C．smile all the time                        D．spend time in the laughter clinics

5.What would be the best title for this passage?  

A．Both laughter and physical exercise are good for health.

B．Laughter clinics can help patients improve their condition.

C．Laughter can reduce the effect of pain.

D．Laughter is the best medicine.

第三部分:阅读理解（共20小题；每题2分，满分40分）

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项的标号涂黑。

It happened to me recently that I was telling someone how much I had enjoyed reading Barack Obama’s Dreams From My Father and how it had changed my views of the current US President． The person I was talking to agreed with me that it was, in his words,“a wonderfully written book ．”However, he then proceeded  to talk about Mr Obama in a way that suggested he had no idea of his background at all． I sensed that I was talking to a book liar．

And it seems that he is not the only one． Clearly two thirds of people have lied about reading a book which they haven’t ． In The World Book Day survey, Dreams From My Father is at number 9． The survey lists top ten books, and various authors, which people have lied about reading． As I’m not one to lie too often, I’ll admit here and now that I haven’t read the entire ten books． But I am pleased to say that I have read the book at number one, George Orwell’s 1984． I think it’s absolutely outstanding．

Asked why they lied, the most common reason was to impress someone they were speaking to ． This could be difficult if the conversation became more in-depth !

The World Book Day survey also has some other interesting information in it． It shows that many people lie about having read classical works by Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Charles Dickens and so on. But when asked which authors they actually enjoy, they named JK Rowling, Jilly Cooper, and Stephen King (ah, the big sellers, in other words)． Forty-one percent of people asked admitted they turned to the back of the book to read the end before finishing the story．

So which books have you lied about reading—if any—and which is your favourite?

1．The main reason why people lie about reading is to         

A．make fun of the listener     B．impress the listener

C．please the listener          D．interest the listener

2．The underlined word“proceeded”in the passage probably means“         ”

A．wanted   B．happened    C．continued    D．stopped

3．What does The World Book Day survey show?

A．Nearly half of the people surveryed didn’t read through a whole classical book．

B．People don’t like Dreams From My Father and George Orwell’s 1984

C．Few people lie about having read classical works by Jane Austen．

D．People usually enjoy reading books by Charles Dickens．

4．What is the best title for the passage?

A．Are You A Book Liar?    B．Readers Are All Liars

C．World Book Day        D．Dreams From My Father,

根据下列各句句意和空白之后的汉语提示词，在答题卡指定区域的横线上写出对应单词的正确形式，每空只写一词。

1.He is an        （诚实）boy.

2.We are         （关心）for the future of our company.

3.        （在之前）to the meeting we had discussed the matter among ourselves.

4.          （不幸地），I didn’t pass the exam.

5.This old table is a very valuable piece of        （家具）.

6.The road is so         （狭窄的）that two cars can’t pass.

7. We must devote every effort to helping those        （无家可归的）children.

8.Nowadays the black and white TV set has been        （代替）with the colour TV set.

9.Alexander Bell           （发明）the telephone 100 years ago.

10.In my         （经验）,very few people really understand the problem.

Most children now chat daily either online or through their mobile phones. They are connecting to a huge number of other children all over the world. Some are shy “in real life” but are confident to communicate with others online; others find support from people of their own age on relationship issues, or problems at home.

    Sometimes the online world, just like the real world, can introduce problems, such as bullying or arguments. Going online is great fun, but there are also a few people who use the Internet for offensive (冒犯性的) or illegal aims. Children must be made aware of both the good things and the dangers.

    To keep children safe your management must cover the family computer. Just as you decide which TV pro-grams are suitable, you need to do the same for the websites and chat rooms your children visit. Remind your children that online friends are still strangers. Re-minding them of the risks will keep them alert (警惕).

    Computer studies are part of schoolwork now, so it’s likely that your children may know more than you do. We get left behind when it comes to the latest gad-gets and the interactive areas of websites, like chat rooms and message boards, which are especially strange. The language of chat is strange to many parents, too. Chatters love to use abbreviations (缩写) such as: atb — all the best, bbfn — bye bye for now, cul8er — see you later, gr8 — great, Idk — I don’t know, imbl — it must be love, kit — keep in touch, paw — parents are watching, lol — laugh out loud, xlnt — excellent!

    It seems like another language, and it is!

1.The passage is meant for ______.

A. children         B. parents   C. teachers     D. net bar owners

2.Which of the following will the author probably agree with?

A. The Internet is not good for children.

B. The chat language is strange to adults.

C. Children shouldn’t chat so much online.

D. The Internet is a good place for children.

3.The purpose of writing this passage is to advise ______.

A. people not to use the net language in real life

B. children not to meet online friends freely

C. teachers to have students study on computers

D. parents to protect their children from online dangers

4.In order to keep children safe online, you’d better ______.

A. choose suitable websites and chat rooms for them

B. teach them to use correct net words

C. surf the Internet together with them

D. forbid them to use the Internet

5.If you stand beside him when your son is chatting about something secret online, he may use ______.

A. bbfn       B. lol      C. paw          D. cul8er