Last week, I bought an alarm system for about $ 450. It consisted of a control unit with three small units. I put the control unit in the sitting-room and fastened the other units by the front door, back door and living-room windows. The instructions told us to choose three numbers, so we chose 4, 9 and 1, the last three numbers of our telephone number.

Now I must explain how the alarm works:

l There is a power siren(警报器) in the control unit. It makes a very loud noise.

2 Each of the small units sends out beams or rays in different directions. If anything moves, it breaks a beam. This sends a signal to the control unit. The siren makes a noise which you can hear 50 meters away.

3. When we go to bed, I press the three buttons numbered 4, 9 and 1. Then we have 30 seconds to get out of the room before the alarm starts to work.

That night I slept soundly because I was sure that no burglar(夜贼) could get into our house. However, at about 2:10 a. m., I woke up and heard the siren. “There must be a burglar in the house,” Mary said. “What shall we do?”“I’ll go and see who’s there,” I said. “Stay here. Don’t make a noise.”I went downstairs quietly. When I reached the living-room, I switched on my torch and looked round the room. Then I turned the light on. I switched the siren off and searched the rooms downstairs. There was nothing wrong except that the back door was unlocked. I locked it, reset the alarm and went back to bed. About an hour later, the alarm started again. I jumped out of bed, fell over a chair in the dark and bumped into the bedroom door. Mary woke up and started hitting me with a torch. “Hey! Wait a minute!” I whispered. “It’s only me. I’m going downstairs to see what’s wrong.”I went down into the living-room and listened for a moment. The only sound I could hear was the siren. I turned on the light and then switched the siren off. As I did so, I glanced across at the curtains in front of the windows. I saw a house lizard (a kind of small animal) disappear behind the curtains.“Oh!” I said to myself. “That’s our burglar. ”When the lizard moved, it started the siren. I guessed that the alarm had been made in Europe, where there are no house lizards. Well. I won’t finish this story but if you want an alarm system free of charge, let me know. I’ll send you ours. We bought a dog this morning. It knows the difference between a lizard and a burglar.

1.The writer bought an alarm system to ________.

2.The purpose of the three units was to________.

3.If the writer set the alarm and remained in the room for more than half a minute, _______.

4.The purpose of the writer in writing the passage is to ________.

Any day we wish；we can discipline ourselves to change it a11．Any day we wish；we can open the book that will open our mind to new knowledge．Any day we wish；we can start a new activity．Any day we wish；we can start the process of life change．We can do it immediately，or next week，or next month，or next year．

We can also do nothing．We can pretend rather than perform．And if the idea of having to change ourselves makes us uncomfortable，we can remain as we are．We can choose rest over labor，entertainment over education，delusion(幻想)over truth，and doubt over confidence．The choices are ours to make．But while we complain about the effect，we continue to nourish(助长)the cause．

As Shakespeare uniquely observed，“The fault is not in the stars，but in ourselves．’’We created our circumstances by our past choices．We have both the ability and the responsibility to make better choices beginning today．

Those who are in search of the good life do not need more answers or more time to think things over to reach better conclusions. They need the truth .They need the whole truth .And the responsibility to nothing but the truth．

We cannot allow our errors in judgment，repeated every day，to lead us down the wrong path．

We must keep coming back to those basics that make the biggest difference in how our life works out．And then we must make the very choices that will bring life，happiness and joy into our daily lives .

And if I may be so bold to offer my last piece of advice for someone seeking and needing to make changes in their life—If you don’t like how things are，change it !You’re not a tree．You have the ability to totally transform every area in your life — and it all begins with your very own power of choice．

1.The first paragraph tells us that_________.

A．no one wants to be disciplined

B．we often need some new knowledge

C．taking activities does good to our health

D．we want to change all the time

2.We may conclude from the second paragraph that

A. whatever happens, we have to change ourselves

B. people tend to nourish the cause of bad results???

C. whether we change or not depends on ourselves

D. most choices we made are not good enough

3.From Shakespeare’s words，we know________.

A．it? is our duty to change for the better

B．we complain a lot about our past choices

C．sometimes we have to face the fate

D．we should believe in ourselves in life

4.In the author’s opinion，if。you want a good life，what you need most is_______.

A．self confidence??? B．good choices??? C．strong wills? D．the truth

One summer my friend and I decided to go to Italy for a holiday and we decided to travel there without going through a travel agency. You know, you would be submerged (淹没) in crowds of tourists and lose lots of opportunities to get familiar with the country more closely. We started to think over our trip and managed to come up with a free tour of Italy.
The trip was not very long but it was still very impressive. We look forward to going there again! Of course, we spent lots of time arranging the trip, but it was well worth it! Of course I was afraid that something would go wrong and I was especially anxious about my visa, but everything went quite smoothly in the end.
The most difficult part was getting a visa without an invitation. In the Italian consulate(领事馆), one must hand in some official paper proving that one has a hotel booked for oneself in order to get the visa. Then we had to solve the ticket problem. Airlines often sell cheap tickets and we bought ours far in advance. The next step was to book a hotel. We finally booked a hotel about thirty km away from the heart of Rome and it was the perfect choice for our trip.
Every day we took a train that carried us to the heart of Rome. Our big house, which was surrounded by the forest, was a rare girl for the fresh air and absolute silence, beautiful views, hospitable (好客的) hosts, comfortable living conditions delighted us to no end. Besides this, we were very lucky that our mistress was Russian. She gave us a lot of advice that was of great use. She told us what transport to choose and where the best places to go.
Don’t be afraid to arrange your trip by yourself. It’s not difficult! The only thing I'll say right now is that we really enjoyed traveling by ourselves. We walked with a map and a guide-book to wherever we wanted and we even met some of our fellow countrymen on the way just two or three times. So, if you're also planning a "single" trip, don't forget to take a Russian-Italian phrasebook as people in Italy prefer to speak in their native tongue.
【小题1】 Why does the author want to go to Italy again?

A．enjoys traveling everywhere in the world

B．likes being accompanied by tour guides

C．advises us to arrange trips by ourselves

D．met with a lot of his countrymen in Italy

One summer my friend and I decided to go to Italy for a holiday and we decided to travel there without going through a travel agency. You know, you would be submerged (淹没) in crowds of tourists and lose lots of opportunities to get familiar with the country more closely. We started to think over our trip and managed to come up with a free tour of Italy.

   The trip was not very long but it was still very impressive. We look forward to going there again! Of course, we spent lots of time arranging the trip, but it was well worth it! Of course I was afraid that something would go wrong and I was especially anxious about my visa, but everything went quite smoothly in the end.

   The most difficult part was getting a visa without an invitation. In the Italian consulate(领事馆), one must hand in some official paper proving that one has a hotel booked for oneself in order to get the visa. Then we had to solve the ticket problem. Airlines often sell cheap tickets and we bought ours far in advance. The next step was to book a hotel. We finally booked a hotel about thirty km away from the heart of Rome and it was the perfect choice for our trip.

   Every day we took a train that carried us to the heart of Rome. Our big house, which was surrounded by the forest, was a rare girl for the fresh air and absolute silence, beautiful views, hospitable (好客的) hosts, comfortable living conditions delighted us to no end. Besides this, we were very lucky that our mistress was Russian. She gave us a lot of advice that was of great use. She told us what transport to choose and where the best places to go.

    Don’t be afraid to arrange your trip by yourself. It’s not difficult! The only thing I'll say right now is that we really enjoyed traveling by ourselves. We walked with a map and a guide-book to wherever we wanted and we even met some of our fellow countrymen on the way just two or three times. So, if you're also planning a "single" trip, don't forget to take a Russian-Italian phrasebook as people in Italy prefer to speak in their native tongue.

1.Why does the author want to go to Italy again?

      A. He had a great time there.

    B. Italy has a lot of attractions.

    C. His friend invited him there.

    D. He didn't stay in Italy long enough.

2.What does the author think was the hardest in preparing for his Italian trip?

    A. Buying cheap airline tickets to Italy before the traveling

    B. Getting a visa without an invitation from the Italian consulate.

    C. Booking a comfortable hotel on his own in Rome.

    D. Solving the ticket problem far in advance.

3.In the fourth paragraph the author mainly explains

    A. the reason why he chose to live in the center of Rome

    B. the reason why the hotel he booked was the right choice

    C. what transport they chose to travel in their Italian trip

    D. the reason why the mistress gave them some advice

4.Which of the following questions has NOT been answered in the passage?

    A. Why did the author decide to go to Italy for a holiday for the first time?

    B. Why did the author decide not to follow a travel agency?

    C. How did the author prepare for his trip?

    D. What tools did the author use for his traveling?

5.From the text we can know the author

    A. enjoys traveling everywhere in the world

    B. likes being accompanied by tour guides

    C. advises us to arrange trips by ourselves

D. met with a lot of his countrymen in Italy     www..com                           

 In Africa, listening is a guiding principle .It’s a principle that’ been lost in the constant chat of the Western world .From my own past experience , I noticed how much faster I had to answer a question during a TV interview .It is as if we have completely lost the ability to listen .We talk and talk , and we end up frightened by silence .

Everywhere, people on the African continent write and tell stories. Even the nomads(流浪者)who still live in the Kalahari Desert are said to tell one another stories on their daylong wanderings, during which they search for roots and animals to hunt.

A number of years ago I sat down on a stone bench outside the Teatro Avenida in Maputo, Mozambique, where I worked as an artistic consultant. It was a hot day, and we were taking a break, hoping that a cool gentle wind would move past. Two old African men were sitting on that bench, but there was room for me, too. In Africa people share more than just water. Even when it comes to shade, people are generous.

I heard the two men talking about a third old man who had recently died. One of them said, “I was visiting him at his home. He started to tell me an amazing story about something that had happened to him when he was young. But it was a long story. Night came, and I decided that I should come back the next day to hear the rest. But when I arrived, he was dead.”

The man fell silent. I decided not to leave that bench until I heard how the other man would respond to what he’d heard. Finally he, too, spoke. “That’s not a good way to die—before you’ve told the end of your story.”

What separates us from animals is the fact that we are storytelling creatures and we can listen to other people’s dreams, fears, joys, sorrows, desires and defeats—and they in turn can listen to ours.

Many people make the mistake of confusing information with knowledge. They are not the same thing. Knowledge involves the interpretation of information. Knowledge involves listening.

Many words will be written on the wind and the sand, or end up in store. But the storytelling will go on until the last human being stops listening. Then we can send the great record of human out into the endless universe.

Who knows? Maybe someone is out there, willing to listen…

1.From the very beginning of the passage, we can know Europeans ________.

A. actually lose the ability to listen

B. seldom chat constantly with each other

C. feel frightened when they are alone and silent

D. tend to talk more and listen less

2. It can be inferred from the passage that if you are in Africa, you will _______.

A. suffer hot weather and lack of water      

B. be certainly helped when in trouble

C. often hear the stories told by strangers    

D. have no choice but to listen during a talk

3.According to the last three paragraphs, we can know _________.

A. no one knows exactly why Africans are willing to listen

B. information is hard to understand without interpretation

C. listening makes the difference between information and knowledge

D. the existence of humans’ recordings totally depends on the way of storytelling

4.The passage mainly talks about __________.

A. the experience of the author         

B. the art of listening in Africa

C. the importance of storytelling        

D. the life styles of Africans