The new mayor of Hillsdale, Michigan, is a man of the people, ready to listen to their problems, but only until 6 p.m. Then he has to do his homework. Michael Sessions, 18, beat former mayor Douglas Ingles, 51, by just two votes and became the new mayor of Hillsdale. He is America's youngest mayor.

As Sessions was too young to enter the election in the spring of 2005, he registered- to vote on Sept. 22, one day after his 18-year-old birthday. The day after that he started his write-in campaign, which means he should persuade voters to remember his name and write it by hand on the voting ballots（选票）.

To help get his name known, Sessions earned＄700 by selling apples over the summer. He spent the money on posters and put them on the Hillsdale's lawns.

Sessions' month-long campaign included going door to door, explaining his ideas of the town's future in the kitchens of his neighbors. "They'd look at me, and say‘How old are you again? How much experience do you have?'And I say‘I'm still in high school', "he said. Sessions promised Hillsdale's voters he would renew local economy. “I was hopeful the whole time, ”he explained. One day he spent so long out on the streets knocking on the doors that he ended up in a hospital emergency room.

Sessions said that his schoolwork will not get in the way of his job as a mayor. “From 7:50 a.m. to 2:30p.m., I'11 be a student. From 3 to 6, I'11 be the mayor of Hillsdale," he said.

“He did a very brave thing that couldn't have been easy for him to do, "said Jack Vettel, a councilman in Hillsdale, a city of 8,200 about 75 miles southwest of Detroit. "He does care about this town. He's been here all his life. ”

Sessions will receive＄3, 600 a year during his four-year term, and will work out of his bedroom since the town does not provide the mayor with an office.

1.What is TRUE of Sessions' election campaign according to the text?

A．Sessions launched his election campaign on Sept. 22.

B．Sessions worked so hard that he once tried to persuade people in a hospital.

C．Sessions won the election campaign by a very close outcome.

D．Sessions felt disappointed when asked about his age and experience.

2.In order to gain more support from the voters Sessions had to do all these things EXCEPT＿.

A．put up posters'                         B．renew the economy

C．sell apples                             D．talk to neighbors in kitchens

3.What can we infer from the passage?

A．American mayors usually work from 3 p. m. to 6 p. m.

B．In America, young people are encouraged to get involved in politics.

C．All teenagers are allowed to enter political elections.

D．American mayors receive a salary of 3, 600 a year during their 4-year term.

4.Which of the following would best summarize the text?

A．Schoolboy becomes American's youngest mayor.

B．How to become a teenage mayor.

C．Hard work is the ticket to success.

D．Never too young to shake the world.

 

The British usually expect one or two snowfalls each year but the amount of snow rarely affects everyday life. However, this week Britain has had the worst snow it has seen in around 18 years. Some places had more than 30cm in a day.

The bad weather caused severe disruption. More than 3000 schools had to close as teachers and pupils were unable to get to school. School children weren’t too unhappy about it though as they headed out to play the snow, building snowmen, having snowball fights, sledging and some even snowboarding and skiing.

In London, bus services were withdrawn for a day and tubes and trains were cancelled. Major motorways in the country had to close. Many people were unable to get to work and it is thought the cost of this lost labor is around &1 billion (10 billion yuan) to businesses and the economy.

Anyone who wanted to leave the country had problems too. Runways were closed at all the UK’s major airports because of the amount of snow. Hundreds of flights were cancelled leaving some passengers stranded at airports.

So why is the UK so ill-prepared for snow? The mayor of London, Boris Johnson, explained that there aren’t enough snow –ploughs（铲雪机）and gritters（撒沙机）and it doesn’t make sense to buy such equipment when it snows so infrequently.

The south-east of England was the hardest hit at the beginning of the week but the snow is now moving northwards where the chaos continues.

More ice and snow is forecast throughout the week and the advice from travel and weather organizations is to stay indoors unless you really need to venture out!

1. Which of the following facts is FALSE according to the passage?

A．More than 3000 schools had to close for the heavy snow.

B．Major motorways in the country had to close for the bad weather.

C．Runways were closed at all the UK’s major airports for the amount of snow.

D．The government organized to clear the snow away with snow-ploughs and gritters.

2. What does the underlined phrase venture out probably mean in last paragraph?

A．go out                                B．search out

C．take no risks                           D．stay indoors

3. What can we learn from the passage?

A．School children seemed happy to head out to play in the snow though schools had to close.

B．The cost of the lost labor reached around 10 billion yuan to businesses and the economy.

C．Hundreds of flights couldn’t land because the runways were closed at major British airports.

D．Tubes and trains in London were cancelled, but drivers were still driving in main motorways.

4.What can we infer from the passage?

A．The heavy snow is what the British have been expecting for 18 years.

B．The heavy snow has been a very rare heavy one in the UK for 18 years.

C．The heavy snow doesn't please school children at all.

D．The government isn’t ill-prepared for snow.

5.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A．Harsh Winters Visit Britain

B．Heavy Snow Hits the UK

C．Bad Weather Causes Chaos Just in London

D．Heavy Snow Causes Disruption Only in Motorways

 

完形填空：（共20小题，每小题1.5分，满分30分）

阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Mitchell once had a very serious car accident. More than 65 percent of his  36  was burnt. He was unable to   37  a knife at dinner, or go to the bathroom without  38 . But Mitchell never believed he was    39 . “I am in charge of my own spaceship,” he said. “It’s my up or my down. I could   40   to see this situation as a defeat   41  a starting point.” Six months later Mitchell bought himself a plane and he was piloting it   42 .

Later he  43  with two friends and founded a food company that   44  to be Vermont’s second largest food company. Then four years   45  the car accident, the plane Mitchell was piloting crashed. The accident made Mitchell unable to walk anymore. “I   46  what was happening to me. What did I do to get this?”

Mitchell worked   47  day and night to regain as much independence as possible. He was elected Mayor of Crested Butte, Colorado. He   48  the town from mineral mining that would   49  its beauty and environment.

Although he had   50 looks and physical difficulties, Mitchell   51  flying and speaking in public. “Before I   52  walk, there were 10,000 things I could do,” Mitchell says, “Now there are 9,000. I can   53  cry for the 1,000 I lost or focus on the 9,000 I have. I tell people that I have had two big bad lucks in my life.   54  you think you also have bad lucks, you can step back, take a   55   view and have a chance to say, ‘Maybe that isn’t such a big deal after all.’ It’s not what happens to you; it’s what you do about it,”

36.	A. car	B. hand	C. head	D. body
37.	A. put up	B. take up	C. pick up	D. set up
38.	A. help	B. strength	C. spirit	D. pain
39.	A. burnt	B. defeated	C. touched	D. hurt
40.	A. choose	B. learn	C. come	D. manage
41.	A. and	B. but	C. or	D. so
42.	A. yet	B. again	C. ever	D. too
43.	A. appeared	B. cheered up	C. practiced	D. teamed up
44.	A. seemed	B. grew	C. happened	D. hoped
45.	A. after	B. before	C. till	D. from
46.	A. understand	B. asked	C. wondered	D. realized
47.	A. sadly	B. bravely	C. proudly	D. kindly
48.	A. took	B. accepted	C. changed	D. saved
49.	A. ruin	B. produce	C. attract	D. serve
50.	A. amusing	B. charming	C. shocking	D. moving
51.	A. stopped	B. continued	C. began	D. tried
52.	A. could	B. couldn’t	C. must	D. mustn’t
53.	A. only	B. still	C. thus	D. either
54.	A. Though	B. Unless	C. When	D. Since
55.	A. bigger	B. wider	C. louder	D. deeper

 

The Universal Autograph (名人签名) Collectors Club(UACC) has been serving the collector for over 25 years. Founded in 1965, the UACC began as a small group of Long Island. New York autograph collectors and has grown to be the largest collector’s organization of its kind.

   The UACC by its purpose is primarily an educational fellowship(联谊会) where knowledge and resources are shared with not only the membership, but also the public at large. By joining the UACC, you will be introduced to the fastest growing hobby in the world today.

   Autographs have been called “frozen moment in time” by some people. Probably the most personal thing that one person can give is his or her signature.

   In 1843, former President James Madison sent an autograph for a collection which the Princess Victoria was making. The future British Queen was only 15 years old at the time. Financier J.P. Morgan, Sr. began collecting when he was 16, and his son continued adding to the father’s collection. As the daughter of the Mayor of Boston, Rose Fitzgerald collected autographs, as did her son, John F. Kennedy. Franklin Roosevelt, Malcolm Forbes and Glenn Ford are a few more well-known autograph collectors. By collecting autographs, you become a curator(馆长) of history.

   Here are some of the best reasons to join the UACC.

   The UACC publishes The Pen and Quill, the highly regarded 64-page bimonthly journal with articles and news in all fields of autograph collecting. UACC members may place free ads in The Pen and Quill to express their wants or just swap with other members.

Writing for autographs to famous living people can also be interesting. The more interesting the letter, the better chance for an interesting reply.

The UACC also offers its members the opportunity to buy uncommon autographic materials at low prices. Meanwhile, it publishes low-cost reference works for its members.

Once you join the UACC, you will be added to our mailing list and will receive catalogs(目录) of autographs for sale by dealer members. The UACC has nearly 200 of the world’s most professional dealers as members. Each member provides contact information on our website, including mailing address, telephone numbers, e-mail-addresses, website address, etc. We always try to promote our dealer program and encourage collectors to always buy from these dealers.

1.Paragraph 4 is presented to inform you that __________.

A. autographs might be the most personal thing that one can give

B. the hobby started as early as the 19^th century

C. autographs have a long history and was popular even among great people

D. autographs reflect history and sometimes change history

2.What does the underlined word “ swap” probably mean?

A. write for autographs                                           B. exchange autographs

C. mail autographs                                                   D. sign autographs

3.Which of the following about the service offered by the UACC is NOT right?

A. It offers member a good way in which they can get what they need much easily.

B. A magazine is published every two months to help you know about the world’s hobby.

C. It offers collectors great deals on unusual autographs at reasonable prices.

D. It offers Internet service to make extra profits.

4.This passage is mainly__________

A. to encourage you to join the UACC

B. to tell you how interesting autograph collecting is

C. to tell you the fast development of the autograph collecting

D. to inform you where you can get an autograph

 

On May 29, 1973, Thomas Bradley, a black man, was elected mayor of Los Angeles. Los Angeles is the third largest city in the United States, with a population of three million. About sixteen percent of the city’s population are black.

News of this election appeared on the front pages of newspapers everywhere in the United States. Here is how one major newspaper reported the event:

LOS ANGELES ELECTS BRADLEY MAYOR UNSEATING YORTYBLACK WINS 56% OF VOTES

Bradley called his victory over Yorty “the fulfillment (实现) of a dream”. During his childhood and youth, people had kept telling him, “You can’t do this, you can’t go there, because you are a Negro.” Nevertheless he had won a decisive victory over a man who had been won 43.7 percent.

Los Angeles voters have had many opportunities to judge. Thomas Bradley had to form an opinion of him. The son of a poor farmer Texas, he joined the Los Angeles police force in 1940. During his twenty-one years on the police force he earned a law degree by attending school at night. He was elected to the city council (市政厅) ten years ago.

At the time of the Los Angeles election, three other American cities already had black mayors, but none of those cities had as large a population as Los Angeles. Besides, the percentage of blacks in those other cities was much larger. Cleveland, Ohio, had thirty-six percent black when Carl Stokes was elected mayor of Cleveland in 1967. In the same year Richard Hatcher was elected mayor of Cary. In Newark, New Jersey, sixty percent of the population were black when Kenneth Gibson was elected in 1970. Thus election of a black mayor in those cities was not very surprising.

In Los Angeles thousands of white citizens voted for Thomas Bradley because they believed he would be a better mayor than the white candidate(候选人). Bradley had spent forty-eight of his fifty-five years in Los Angeles. Four years ago Bradley lost mayoral election to Yorty. This time Bradley won.

In the author’s opinion, it was surprising that _______.

A. the whites would vote for a black mayor

B. a black mayor would be elected in such a large city

C. a black from a poor farmer’s family could be elected mayor of Los Angeles

D. there would be so many black mayors

From the passage we can infer that people ________.

A. voted for Bradley because of his black color

B. didn’t care much about his color when they voted

C. voted for him to give a chance to fulfill his dream

D. voted for Bradley because they trust him

Bradley hit the front page headline for _______.

A. he was the first black mayor in history

B. he was the first black mayor in the south of USA

C. he was the first black mayor of one of the largest cities in USA

D. a poor farmer’s son could also win an important election

From Bradley’s victory in the election we can see that ________.

A. blacks had equal rights as whites in the USA

B. black people’s situation began to be improving much more than before

C. one can be successful through hard work in the USA no matter what color he is

D. it is certain that someday the USA will have a black president