Several different stories are told about the origin of Saint Valentine’s Day.One legend dates as far back as the days of the Roman Empire.According to the story,Claudius,the Emperor of Rome,wanted to increase the size of his army.He knew that it would be easier to get young men who were not married to join.Therefore he made a rule that no young man could marry until he had served a certain number of years in the army.

A priest(牧师) named Valentine broke the rule and secretly married a great many young people.Finally,Claudius found out about Valentine and put the priest in prison,where he remained until his death on February 14.

After his death,Valentine was made a saint(圣人),and the day of his death was named Saint Valentine’s Day.It became the custom for lovers to send each other message on this day.Now Saint Valentine’s Day is a time for people to send one another greeting of many kinds.

February 14,Valentine’s Day,is sweethearts’ day,on which people in love with each other express their tender(温柔的) emotions.

People sometimes put their love message in a heartshaped box of chocolates,or a bunch of flowers tied with red ribbons(带子).Words of letters may be written on the flower covered card,or something else.Whatever the form may be,the message is almost the same：”Will you be my Valentine?”

1.Valentine was put in prison because 　　　.

A.he secretly got married　　　　　　　　 B.he didn’t serve in the army

C.he married many young people secretly　　 D.he broke the laws

2.According to the rule,　　 .

A.no young men could get married unless they were old enough

B.young men could marry if they served in the army for several years

C.no one could get married without the emperor’s permission

D.young men could marry only in the army

3.This passage mainly tells us about 　　　.

A.how Valentine died　　　　　　　　 B.the Emperor of Rome

C.how Valentine’s Day is celebrated　　　　 D.the origin Valentine’s Day

4.February 14 is chosen as Valentine’s Day because 　　　.

A.lovers express their tender emotions on this day

B.people want to remember Valentine

C.people send one another greetings of many kinds on this day

D.people want to fix a date for lovers to express their emotionse

In this modern world, we rush around all day, doing things, talking, sending and reading messages. We are always on ,always conected, always thinking, always talking. There is no  36 for stillness.
And when we are  37 to be still because we’re in line for something, or waiting at a doctor’s appointment, or on a bus or train, we often  38 something to do. Some will play with mobile devices, other will read something. Being still isn’t something we’re  39 .
This comes at a   40 : we lose that time for  41 , for observing and listening. We lose peace.
And   42 yet: sometimes too much action is worse than no action at all. You can run around crarily, but get  43 done.
Take a moment to think about  44 you spend your days. Are you constantly rushing around? Are you constantly reading and answering  45 checking on the news and the latest tream of information? Are you always  46 through your schedule?
Is this how you want to spend your  47 ? If so, peace be with you. If not, take a moment to be   48 . Don’t think about what you have to do, or what you’ve done already.   49 be in the moment.
Then after a minute or two of doing that, consider your life, and how you’d  50 it to be. See your life with less moveanent, less doing, less rushing. See it with more stillness, more consideration, more  51 .
Then be that vision.
It’s prerty simple: all you have to do is sit still for a little bit each day.   52 you’re gotten used to that, try doing less each day. Breathe when you feel yourself moving too  53 . slow down. Be present. Find happiness now, in this moment, instead of   54 for it.

I travel a lot, and I find out different “styles” of directions every time I ask “How can I get to the post office?”

Foreign tourists are often confused(困惑) in Japan because most streets there don’t have names; in Japan, people use landmarks(地标) in their directions instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, “Go straight down to the corner. Turn left at the big hotel and go past a fruit market. The post office is across from the bus stop.”

In the countryside of the American Midwest, there are not usually many landmarks. There are no mountains, so the land is very flat; in many places there are no towns or buildings within miles. Instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distances. In Kansas or Iowa, for example, people will say, “Go north two miles. Turn east, and then go another mile.”

People in Los Angeles, California, have no idea of distance on the map; they measure distance in time, not miles. “How far away is the post office?” you ask. “Oh,” they answer, “it’s about five minutes from here.” You say, “Yes, but how many miles away is it?” They don’t know.

It’s true that a person doesn’t know the answer to your question sometimes. What happens in such a situation? A New Yorker might say, “Sorry, I have no idea.” But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers “I don’t know.” People in Yucatan believe that “I don’t know” is impolite. They usually give an answer, often a wrong one. A tourist can get very, very lost in Yucatan!

When a tourist asks the Japanese the way to a certain place, they usually ______.

   A. describe the place carefully        B. show him a map of the place

   C. tell him the names of the streets  D.refer to recognizable buildings and places

What is the place where people measure distance in time?

   A. New York..         B. Los Angeles.             C. Kansas.             D. Iowa.

People in Yucatan may give a tourist a wrong answer ______.

   A. in order to save time                     B. because of honesty

   C. so as to be polite                           D. for fun

What can we infer from the text?

   A. It’s important for travelers to understand cultural differences.

   B. It’s useful for travelers to know how to ask the way properly.

   C. People have similar understandings of politeness.

   D. New Yorkers are generally friendly to visitors.

Once upon a time，there was a father and a son.The son was very rude and often hurt others’feelings with bitter words.So he had no friends and got more and more fretful(烦躁的)day by day.The father had been trying to persuade him to change his bad manner but father’s efforts made no difference on the wild son.

One day，the father got an idea.He set up a wooden board and called his son over and gave him a hammer and a box of nails.He told the young man to hammer a nail every time when he had a quarrel.The son did so.After a day，he himself saw the board was filled with nails whose quantity was so huge which looked so ugly that he was shocked and finally made up his mind to be a nice guy.The father suggested he pull out one nail every time when he checked his bad temper and avoided talking impolitely.He did that.When the last nail was drawn out the son was so excited that he couldn’t help showing the board to his father.However，his cheer trailed_away and slowly he grew frustrated(沮丧的)while he was staring at the board which was actually as disagreeable as a water?sapped (被水侵蚀的)stone deep on the seabed.The father pointed to the holes left in the board and told him that sometimes the hurt just like the holes stuck in one’s mind forever.The boy cried and regretted being such an impudent(轻浮的)guy.Since then，he was polite and kind and made a lot of friends，and turned happily.

1．Many people didn’t like the son because he used to ________ them.

A．beat 　　　　　B．hurt　　　　　　 C．fight with 　　 D．laugh at

2．At first the son was ________ to listen to his father.

A．happy 　　　　 B．sorry　　　　　　 C．ready 　　　　　D．unwilling

3．Why did the father tell his son to hammer a nail?

A．Because his son had nothing to do.

B．Because his son liked to have a quarrel.

C．In order to change his son’s bad manner.

D．In order to love his son.

4．What does the underlined phrase“trailed down”mean?

A．减弱 　　　　　B．放过 　　　　　 C．抛开 　　　　 D．出轨

5．What’s the best title of the passage?

A．The Father and the Son　　　　　　　 B．The Son Had Quarrels with Others

C．A Great Father　　　　　　　　　　　 D．How a Father Taught His Son

第二节   完形填空（共20小题，每小题1.5分，满分30分）
Be careful of those who use the truth to deceive (cheat). When someone tells you something that is true, but  36  important information that should be included, he can create a false  37  .
For Example, a man once told me, “I just won a hundred dollars on the  38  . It was great. I   39  that ticket back to the store and turned it in   40  one hundred dollars!”
This guy is a winner, right? May be, may be not. Then  41  I discovered that he bought two hundred tickets, and only one was a  42  . He was  43  a big loser!
He didn’t say anything that was false,  44  he left out important information  45  . That’s called a half—truth. Half—truths are not technically  46  , but they are just as dishonest.
Untrustworthy candidates in political campaigns often use this  47  . Let’s say that during Governor Smith’s last term, her  48  lost one million jobs and gained three million jobs. Then she sought another  49  . One of her opponents put an ad saying, “During Governor Smith’s term, the state lost one million jobs!” That’s  50  . However, an honest statement would have been quite different.
Advertisers will sometimes use half—truths. It’s  51  the law to make false claims, so they  52  to mislead you with the truth. An ad  53  blow its own horn, “Nine out of ten doctors lend Yucky Pills to cure nose pimples.” It fails to mention that they only ask ten  54  , and nine of them work for the Yucky Corporation.
This kind of  55  deception happens too often. It’s a fact of life: lies are lies, but sometimes the truth can lie as well.
36. A. makes out           B. leaves out                 C. tries out            D. puts out
37. A. chance            B. expression            C. impression     D. translation
38. A. spot                    B. lab                           C. competition          D. lottery
39. A. took                   B. turned                  C. went                 D. looked
40. A. with                   B. as                               C. like                   D. for
41. A. later                   B. formerly                  C. hardly           D. generally
42. A. loser                   B. winner                        C. shame           D. surprise
43. A. wrongly                 B. usually                  C. really                D. right
44. A. since                  B. what’s more                 C. therefore           D. but
45. A. on purpose      B. by accident        C. in time                 D. at first sight
46. A. chats                  B. lies                          C. failures             D. consequences
47. A. fair                       B. court                        C. trick             D. entry
48. A. company             B. fellow                  C. country             D. state
49. A. term                   B. cooperation                 C. election             D. service
50. A. boring                B. shocking                  C. true                  D. wrong
51. A. for                        B. against                        C. through             D. across
52. A. regret         B. forget              C. fail                   D. try
53. A. must                   B. need                        C. should           D. might
54. A. customers           B. patients                    C. reporters           D. doctors
55. A. attractive            B. critical                        C. fair                   D. Sad