The United States will hold local, state and national elections this Tuesday. It seems that the Democrats (民主党) may be in a position to end Republican control of one or both houses of Congress.

Seventy percent of the fifty states will elect governors (地方长官). If the Democrats win four more of these than they have now, the Republicans would also lose their majority at the state level.

So both parties are fighting hard. Elections in America bring a flood of political advertising, especially on television. These messages are often negative (消极的) or attack ads.

Americans traditionally say they dislike negative ads, but political experts say these ads often work. In many cases, the candidates likely to gain from negative ads say that their own campaigns (活动) were not involved. Outside groups or national party committees often pay for these ads. Some are about issues, like a candidate’s position on the war in Iraq or immigration. But political ads increasingly seem to be attacking candidates personally.

Some political watchers say this year’s election has brought more negative ads than ever before. Whether this is true remains to be proven.

But some ads have made news, like a Republican National Committee ad against Harold Ford. The ad was based on the fact that last year he attended a Super Bowl party held by the men’s magazine Playboy. The ad showed an actress with bare shoulders saying she met him at the Play boy party. "Harold, call me," she says.

The ad might have seemed humorous, except that the woman is white and Mr. Ford is black.

63. The underlined word "some" in the fourth paragraph refers to ______.

A. campaigns        B. Ads       C. groups or party committees       D. candidates

64. About political ads, the author ______.

A. doesn’t show his own opinion

B. thinks they are negative

C. considers them fair

D. disagrees with them

65. The author mainly discusses ______.

A. American elections

B. the ads campaign behind American elections

C. negative ads in the US

D. political advertising on TV

We would have called a taxi yesterday if Harold ______us a ride home.

   A. didn't offer  B. wouldn't offer  C. hasn't offered   D. hadn't offered

We would have called a taxi yesterday if Harold ________ us a ride home.

1. A.
   didn’t offer
2. B.
   wouldn’t offer
3. C.
   hasn’t offered
4. D.
   hadn’t offered

It was the old lady’s eightieth birthday. She was sure Myra wouldn’t forget her mother’s birthday, even if she was busy. After all, eighty was a special birthday. Perhaps Myra might come. Even if Myra did not come, she would send a present. The old lady was sure of that. Two spots of colour brightened her cheeks. She was excited like a child.
Mrs. Morrison had brought a card and a bunch of flowers when she came to do the breakfast. Mrs. Grant downstairs had made a cake. Johnnie, the little boy next door, was now up with her with a packet of sweets.
“I guess you’ll get lots and lots of presents, ” he said. “I did last week when I was six.”
What would she like? A pair of slippers, perhaps. A blue new cardigan(羊毛衫). Or a table lamp. Or a little clock, with clear black numbers. So many lovely things.
She stood by the window, watching. The postman turned round the corner on his bicycle. Her heart beat fast. Johnnie had seen him too and ran to the gate.
“Granny, granny, ” Johnnie returned. “I’ve got your post!”
He gave her four envelopes. Three were from old friends. The fourth was in Myra’s writing.
“No parcel(包裹), Johnnie?”
“No, granny.”
Almost reluctantly, she tore the fourth envelope open. Folded in the card was a check. Written on the card was a message: Happy Birthday—Buy yourself something nice with the check, Myra and Harold.
The six-figure check fell to the floor like a bird with a broken wing. Slowly the old lady bent to pick it up. Her present, her lovely present. With trembling fingers she tore it into little bits.
【小题1】As can be inferred from the passage, _______.

A．the old lady lived alone in a flat away from her daughter

B．the friends sent the old lady many lovely presents by post

C．Myra was stopped by her husband from seeing her mother

D．the neighbours cared little about the old lady in daily life

Betty and Harold have been married for years .But one thing still puzzles (困扰) old Harold .How is it that he can leave Betty and her friend Joan sitting on the sofa ,talking ,go out to a ballgame ,come back three and a half hours later ,and they’re still sitting on the sofa ? Talking ?

What in the world ,Harold wonders ,do they have to talk about ?

Betty shrugs .Talk ? We’re friends .

Researching this matter called friendship ,psychologist Lillian Rubin spent two years interviewing more than two hundred women and men .No matter what their age ,their job ,their sex ,the results were completely clear :women have more friendships than men ,and the difference in the content and the quality of those friendships is “marked and unmistakable .”

More than two –thirds of the single men Rubin interviewed could not name a best friend. Those who could were likely to name a woman .Yet three-quarters of the single women had no problem naming a best friend ,and almost always it was a woman .More married men than women named their wife/husband as a best friend ,most trusted person ,or the one they would turn to in time of emotional distress （感情危机）.“Most women ,”says Rubin ,“identified （认定） at least one ,usually more ,trusted friends to whom they could turn in a troubled moment ,and they spoke openly about the importance of these relationships in their lives .”

“In general,”writes Rubin in her new book ,“women’s friendships with each other rest on shared emotions and support ,but men’s relationships are marked by shared activities.” For the most part ,Rubin says ,interactions （交往）between men are emotionally controlled –a good fit with the social requirements of “manly behavior .”

“Even when a man is said to be a best friend ,”Rubin writes ,“the two share little about their innermost feelings .Whereas a woman’s closest female friend might be the first to tell her to leave a failing marriage ,it wasn’t unusual to hear a man say he didn’t know his friend’s marriage was in serious trouble until he appeared one night asking if he could sleep on the sofa .”

1.What old Harold cannot understand or explain is the fact that     .

2.Rubin’s study shows that for emotional support a married woman is more likely to turn to     .

3.Which of the following statements is best supported by the last paragraph ?

4.The research done by psychologist Rubin centers around________ .