That little “a” with a circle curling around it that is found in E – mail addresses is most commonly referred to as the “at” symbol.

Surprisingly though, there is no official, universal name for this sign. There are dozens of strange terms to describe the "@" symbol.

Before it became the standard symbol for electronic mail, the "@" symbol was used to represent the cost of something or how heavy something is. For instance, if you purchased 6 apples, you might write it as 6 apples "@" $1.10 each.

With the introduction of e-mail came the popularity of the "@" symbol. The "@" symbol or the "at sign" separates a person's online user name from his mail server(服务器) address. For instance, joe@uselessknowledge.com. Its widespread use on the Internet made it necessary to put this symbol on keyboards in other countries that have never seen or used the symbol before. As a result, there is really no official name for this symbol.

The actual origin of the symbol remains a mystery. History tells us that the @ symbol came from the tired hands of the Middle Ages. During the Middle Ages before the invention of printing machines, every letter of a word had to be copied with great efforts by hand for each copy of a published book. The monks that performed these long, boring copying duties looked for ways to reduce the number of individual strokes (笔画) per word for common words. Although the word “at” is quite short to begin with, it was a common enough word in text and documents so that those monks thought it would be quicker and easier to shorten the word “at” even more. As a result, the monks changed the shape of “t” into a circle to surround “a”, thus leaving out two strokes in the spelling “t”. 

45．Which of the following is the best title of the passage?

         A．How “at” developed into @.     B．How @ came into being.

         C．How monks invented @.   D．How people wrote the cost of something.

46．Who knows the origin of @?

         A．Nobody      B．Monks        C．Apple buyers      D．Internet users

47．Which is NOT the reason for the monks to spell “at” as @?

         A．Though “at” is short, it was used very often.

         B．The monks wanted to be quicker and easier with their copying.

         C．The monks wanted to invent a new word.

         D．Copying work was long and boring for them.

48．According to the paragraph , which is TRUE about the symbol of @ today?

         A．When you are online, you must use the @ symbol.

         B．Kittly 163.com@is an email address.

         C．In countries where @ is used, governments have given it an official name.

         D．It is likely to find the @ symbol on computer keyboards worldwide.

He doesn’t believe in the _______ of God

A．life              B．faith              C．existence         D．exhibition

Like most people, I was brought up to look upon life as a process of getting. It was not until in my late thirties that I made this important      : giving-away makes life so much more exciting. You needn’t worry if you       money.

        This is how I      with giving-away. If an idea for improving the window display of a neighborhood store     in my mind, I step in and make the     to the storekeeper. If an accident takes place, the     of which I think the local police could use, I     him up and tell him about it, though I am not in     here. I found a rule about this world is to give     getting something back, though the     often comes in an unexpected form.

         One Sunday morning the local post office delivered an important special letter to my home, though it was     to me at my office. I wrote the postmaster a note of     . More than a year later I needed a post-office box for a new business I was     . I was told at the window that there were     boxes left, and that my name would have to go on a long     list. As I was about to be      , the postmaster appeared in the     . “Wasn’t it you that wrote us that letter a year ago about delivering an      delivery to your home?” I said it was. “Well, you certainly are going to have a box in this post office      we make one specifically for you. You don’t know what a letter like that means to us. We usually get     but complaints.”

1.A. difference     B. research                 C. speech                    D. discovery

2.A. earn                     B. lack                          C. spend                      D. steal

3.A. experienced      B. connected              C. cooperated            D. experimented

4.A. strikes                  B. flashes                     C. happens                  D. attempts

5.A. appeal                 B. request                   C. suggestion              D. demand

6.A. story                    B. damage                   C. challenge                D. material

7.A. call                       B. hold                         C. cheer                      D. pick

8.A. possession          B. trouble                    C. place                       D. charge

9.A. plus                      B. without          C. for          D. before

10.A. process             B. goal                          C. return           D. concern

11.A. replied              B. addressed              C. driven                     D. brought

12.A. invitation          B. apology                   C. complaint               D. appreciation

13.A. discussing         B. providing                C. applying                  D. starting

14.A. enough             B. extra                        C. no                            D. other

15.A. admitting          B. relating          C. buying                     D. waiting

16.A. positive             B. shocked                  C. discouraged          D. optimistic

17.A. doorway           B. window                   C. home                       D. yard

18.A. unfamiliar         B. unexpected           C. unknown                D. uncertain

19.A. in case               B. now that                 C. even if                     D. rather

20.A. nothing             B. something              C. anything                 D. everything

.

That little “a” with a circle curling around it that is found in E – mail addresses is most commonly referred to as the “at” symbol.

Surprisingly though, there is no official, universal name for this sign. There are dozens of strange terms to describe the "@" symbol.

Before it became the standard symbol for electronic mail, the "@" symbol was used to represent the cost of something or how heavy something is. For instance, if you purchased 6 apples, you might write it as 6 apples "@" $1.10 each.

With the introduction of e-mail came the popularity of the "@" symbol. The "@" symbol or the "at sign" separates a person's online user name from his mail server(服务器) address. For instance, joe@uselessknowledge.com. Its widespread use on the Internet made it necessary to put this symbol on keyboards in other countries that have never seen or used the symbol before. As a result, there is really no official name for this symbol.

The actual origin of the symbol remains a mystery. History tells us that the @ symbol came from the tired hands of the Middle Ages. During the Middle Ages before the invention of printing machines, every letter of a word had to be copied with great efforts by hand for each copy of a published book. The monks that performed these long, boring coping duties looked for ways to reduce the number of individual strokes (笔画) per word for common words. Although the word “at” is quite short to begin with, it was a common enough word in text and documents so that those monks thought it would be quicker and easier to shorten the word “at” even more. As a result, the monks changed the shape of “t” into a circle to surround “a”, thus leaving out two strokes in the spelling “t”. 

58．Which of the following is the best title of the passage?

A．How “at” developed into @.   B．How @ came into being.

C．How monks invented @. D．How people wrote the cost of something.

59．Which is NOT the reason for the monks to spell “at” as @?

A．Though “at” is short, it was used very often.

B．The monks wanted to be quicker and easier with their copying.

C．The monks wanted to invent a new word.

D．Copying work was long and boring for them.

60．According to paragraph 5, which is TRUE about the symbol of @ today?

A．When you are online, you must use the @ symbol.

B．Kittly 163.com@is an email address.

C．In countries where @ is used, governments have given it an official name.

D．It is likely to find the @ symbol on computer keyboards worldwide.

阅读理解

　　The United States covers a large part of the North American continent. Its neighbors are Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. Although the United States is a big country, it is not the largest in the world. In 1964, its population was over 185,000,000.

　　When this land first became a nation, after winning its independence(独立)from England, it had thirteen states. Each of the states was represented(代表)on the American flag by a star. All these states were in the eastern part of the continent. As the nation grew towards the west, new states were added and new stars appeared on the flag. For a long time, there were 48 stars. In 1959, however, two more stars were added to the flag, representing the new states of Alaska and Hawaii.

　　Indians were the first people of the land which is in now the United States. There are still many thousands of Indians now living in all parts of the country. Sometimes it is said that the Indians are“the only real Americans”. Most Americans, come from all over the world. Those who came first in greatest numbers to make their homes on the eastern coast of North America were mostly from England. It is for that reason that the language of the United States is English and that its culture and customs are more like those of England than those of any other country in the world.

1．Which of the following is true?

[　　]

A．America is the largest country in the world.

B．The population of America is larger than that of any other country in the North American continent.

C．America covers most part of the North American continent.

D．Mexcio is to the north of Canada.

2．The first thirteen states were in the ________ of the United States.

[　　]

3．The United States didn’t have ________ states until ________.

[　　]

A．thirteen; 1959

B．fifty; 1959

C．fifty; this land first became a nation

D．fifty; 1964

4．Why is English the language of America?

[　　]

A．English is the Indians’ native language.

B．Most Americans come from all over the world.

C．Most of the people who first came to live in America were from England.

D．Canada is America’s nearest neighbor.

5．Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

[　　]

A．The States of America.

B．The Language of America.

C．The United States of America.

D．The Culture and Customs of America.