After her husband had gone to work, Mrs. Richards sent her children to school and returned to her bedroom on the second floor. She was too    1    to do any housework that morning,  2 in the evening, she was going to an unusual dress party with her husband. What she wanted to play was a    3    genie and as she had made that special dress of hers the night    4    she was anxious to    5    it on.    6    the dress was nothing but a big piece of white cloth,    7 would be very effective to make her look like a genie. After putting it on, Mrs. Richards went   8 happily. She wanted to find out    9    it would be comfortable to wear.

    Just as Mrs. Richards was entering the dining room, there was a    10    at the front door. She thought it    11    be the baker. She had told him to come straight in if    12    failed to open the door and leave the bread on the kitchen table. Now, not wanting to    13    the poor man, Mrs. Richards quickly    14    in the small storeroom under the stairs. She heard the front door open and entered a man. When Mrs. Richards    15    that it was the man from the Electricity Board (电业局) that came to read the meter (电表), she stepped out of the storeroom 16    and tried to explain the matter, but it was too late. The man let out a sharp    17    and jumped back several paces, his eyes and mouth    18    wide and both his hands raised.

    When Mrs. Richards first    19    and then ran after him, he ran away, shutting the door behind him with great    20    and noise.

    1．

A. nervous　　　　　　　　　　  B. tired

C. busy　　　　　　　　　　　　   D. excited

    2．

A. so　　　　　　　　　　　　　　  B. as

C. while　　　　　　　　　　　　  D. but

    3．

A. terrible　　　　　　　　　　    B. funny

C. cruel　　　　　　　　　　　　  D. fearless

    4．

A. ago　　　　　　　　　　　　    B. later

C. before　　　　　　　　　　    D. early

    5．

A. have　　　　　　　　　　　　   B. try

C. wear　　　　　　　　　　　　  D. dress

    6．

A. Though　　　　　　　　　　  B. As

C. If　　　　　　　　　　　　　　   D. When

    7．

A. that　　　　　　　　　　　　    B. this

C. it　　　　　　　　　　　　　　    D. which

    8．

A. downstairs　　　　　　　　  B. around

C. upstairs　　　　　　　　　　  D. out

    9．

A. how　　　　　　　　　　　　   B. why

C. that　　　　　　　　　　　　    D. whether

    10．

A. man　　　　　　　　　　　　   B. break

C. knock　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. stranger

    11．

A. should　　　　　　　　　　    B. must

C. would　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. might

    12．

A. she　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. he

C. it　　　　　　　　　　　　　　    D. someone

    13．

A. surprise　　　　　　　　　　  B. frighten

C. trouble　　　　　　　　　　    D. worry

    14．

A. stayed　　　　　　　　　　    B. came

C. rushed　　　　　　　　　　    D. hid

    15．

A. realized　　　　　　　　　　   B. knew

C. thought　　　　　　　　　　   D. got

    16．

A. presently　　　　　　　　　　 B. quickly

C. hurriedly　　　　　　　　　　 D. pleasantly

    17．

A. sound　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. noise

C. voice　　　　　　　　　　　　  D. cry

    18．

A. opened　　　　　　　　　　   B. kept

C. turned　　　　　　　　　　    D. closed

    19．

A. looked　　　　　　　　　　    B. sat

C. stood　　　　　　　　　　　　  D. walked

    20．

A. force　　　　　　　　　　　　  B. care

C. movement　　　　　　　　   D. action

 

After her husband had gone to work, Mrs. Richards sent her children to school and returned to her bedroom on the second floor. She was too    1    to do any housework that morning,  2 in the evening, she was going to an unusual dress party with her husband. What she wanted to play was a    3    genie and as she had made that special dress of hers the night    4    she was anxious to    5    it on.    6    the dress was nothing but a big piece of white cloth,    7 would be very effective to make her look like a genie. After putting it on, Mrs. Richards went   8 happily. She wanted to find out    9    it would be comfortable to wear.

    Just as Mrs. Richards was entering the dining room, there was a    10    at the front door. She thought it    11    be the baker. She had told him to come straight in if    12    failed to open the door and leave the bread on the kitchen table. Now, not wanting to    13    the poor man, Mrs. Richards quickly    14    in the small storeroom under the stairs. She heard the front door open and entered a man. When Mrs. Richards    15    that it was the man from the Electricity Board (电业局) that came to read the meter (电表), she stepped out of the storeroom 16    and tried to explain the matter, but it was too late. The man let out a sharp    17    and jumped back several paces, his eyes and mouth    18    wide and both his hands raised.

    When Mrs. Richards first    19    and then ran after him, he ran away, shutting the door behind him with great    20    and noise.

    1．

A. nervous　　　　　　　　　　  B. tired

C. busy　　　　　　　　　　　　   D. excited

    2．

A. so　　　　　　　　　　　　　　  B. as

C. while　　　　　　　　　　　　  D. but

    3．

A. terrible　　　　　　　　　　    B. funny

C. cruel　　　　　　　　　　　　  D. fearless

    4．

A. ago　　　　　　　　　　　　    B. later

C. before　　　　　　　　　　    D. early

    5．

A. have　　　　　　　　　　　　   B. try

C. wear　　　　　　　　　　　　  D. dress

    6．

A. Though　　　　　　　　　　  B. As

C. If　　　　　　　　　　　　　　   D. When

    7．

A. that　　　　　　　　　　　　    B. this

C. it　　　　　　　　　　　　　　    D. which

    8．

A. downstairs　　　　　　　　  B. around

C. upstairs　　　　　　　　　　  D. out

    9．

A. how　　　　　　　　　　　　   B. why

C. that　　　　　　　　　　　　    D. whether

    10．

A. man　　　　　　　　　　　　   B. break

C. knock　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. stranger

    11．

A. should　　　　　　　　　　    B. must

C. would　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. might

    12．

A. she　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. he

C. it　　　　　　　　　　　　　　    D. someone

    13．

A. surprise　　　　　　　　　　  B. frighten

C. trouble　　　　　　　　　　    D. worry

    14．

A. stayed　　　　　　　　　　    B. came

C. rushed　　　　　　　　　　    D. hid

    15．

A. realized　　　　　　　　　　   B. knew

C. thought　　　　　　　　　　   D. got

    16．

A. presently　　　　　　　　　　 B. quickly

C. hurriedly　　　　　　　　　　 D. pleasantly

    17．

A. sound　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. noise

C. voice　　　　　　　　　　　　  D. cry

    18．

A. opened　　　　　　　　　　   B. kept

C. turned　　　　　　　　　　    D. closed

    19．

A. looke
d
　　　　　　　　　　    B. sat

C. stood　　　　　　　　　　　　  D. walked

    20．

A. force　　　　　　　　　　　　  B. care

C. movement　　　　　　　　   D. action

 

Whether we find a joke funny or not largely depends on where we have been brought up．The sense of humour is mysteriously(神秘地)connected with national characteristics．A Frenchman ,for instance, might find it hard to laugh at Russian joke．In the same way, a Russian might fail to see anything amusing in a joke which would make an Englishman laugh to tears．

       Most funny stories are based on comic situations．In spite of national differences, certain funny situations have a worldwide request．No matter where you live, you would find it difficult not to laugh at, say ,Charlie Chaplin’s early films．However, a new type of humour, which stems largely from America, has recently come into fashion．It is called “sick humour”．Comedians base their jokes on tragic situations like violent (cause by force)death or serious accidents．Many people find this sort of joke distasteful．The following example of “sick humour” will enable you to judge for yourself．

A man who had broken his right leg was taken to hospital a few weeks before Christmas．From the moment he arrived there, he kept on pestering(纠缠) his doctor tell him when he would be able to go home．He was afraid of having to spend Christmas in hospital ．Though the doctor did his best, the patient’s recovery was slow．On Christmas day, however, the doctor consoled(安慰)him by telling him that his chances of being able to leave hospital in time for New Year celebrations were good．The man took heart and, sure enough , on New Year’s Eve he was able to hobble(跛行) along to a party．To compensate(补偿)for his unpleasant experiences in hospital , the man drank a little more than what was good for him．In the process, he enjoyed himself and kept telling everybody how much he hated hospitals．He was still mumbling something about hospitals at the end of the party when he slipped on a piece of ice and broke his left leg．

Whether you find “sick humour” funny or not will depend on ________．

       A．your having been brought up in America                           

B．the joke being related to a really comic situation

       C．your ability to see the funny side of an unpleasant event  

D．your ability to laugh until you cry

The man spent Christmas day feeling miserable because ________．

       A．the doctor had failed to cure him                 

B．he was not able to be with his friends

       C．being unable to walk, he did not enjoy the celebrations at the hospital

       D．he thought he might also miss the New Year’s Eve celebration

The point of the joke taken to explain “sick humour” is that ________．

       A．no sooner was the out of hospital than he had to go back in again．

       B．the man should not have said how much he hated hospitals

       C．the man would be unable to walk for the rest of his life  

D．the man had not got a leg to stand on

What can you learn from this story ?

       A．On New Year’s Eve, the man was able to walk properly to the party．

       B．At the party , he enjoyed himself but only drank a little．

       C．He had to go to hospital again though he hated it．

       D．The man got well soon because the doctor took good care of him．

One morning a few years ago, Harvard President Neil Rudenstine overslept．For this busy man, it was a sort of alarm: after years of non-stop hard work, he might wear himself out and die an early death．

Only after a week’s leave — during which he read novels, listened to music and walked with his wife on a beach — was Rudenstine able to return to work．

In our modern life, we have lost the rhythm between action and rest．Amazingly, within this world there is a universal but silly saying: “I am so busy．”

We say this to one another as if our tireless efforts were a talent by nature and an ability to successfully deal with stress．The busier we are, the more important we seem to ourselves and, we imagine, to others．To be unavailable to our friends and family, and to be unable to find time to relax — this has become the model of a successful life．

Because we do not rest, we lose our way． We miss the guide telling us where to go, the food providing us with strength, the quiet giving us wisdom．

How have we allowed this to happen? I believe it is this: we have forgotten the Sabbath, the day of the week — for followers of some religions — for rest and praying．It is a day when we are not supposed to work, a time when we devote ourselves to enjoying and celebrating what is beautiful．It is a good time to bless our children and loved ones, give thanks, share meals, walk and sleep．It is a time for us to take a rest, to put our work aside, trusting that there are larger forces at work taking care of the world．

Rest is a spiritual and biological need; however, in our strong ambition to be successful and care for our many responsibilities, we may feel terribly guilty when we take time to rest．The Sabbath gives us permission to stop work．In fact, “Remember the Sabbath” is more than simply permission to rest; it is a rule to obey and a principle to follow．

1．The “alarm” in the first paragraph refers to “_______”．

    A．a signal of stress                   B．a warning of danger

C．a sign of age                       D．a spread of disease

2． According to Paragraph 4, a successful person is one who is believed to _______．

A．be able to work without stress    

B．be more talented than other people

C．be more important than anyone else         

D．be busy working without time to rest

3．Some people feel guilty when taking time to rest because they _______．

A．think that taking a rest means lacking ambitions

B．fail to realize that rest is an essential part of life

C．fail to realize that religions force them to rest

D．think that taking a rest means being lazy

4．What is the main idea of this passage?

    A．We should balance work with rest．

B．The Sabbath gives us permission to rest．

C．It is silly for anyone to say “I am busy．”

D．We should be available to our family and friends．

About 6,000 doctors in the Philippines are studying to become nurses so they can find higher-paying jobs abroad, Health Secretary Francisco Duque says.

This was up from 2,000 doctors who studied to become nurses last year, Duque said．

The exodus of doctors and nurses had created a “threatening situation for our health care system” and a task force had been established to examine the potential impact, he said．

The team was working on a bill which would require doctors to practice in the Philippines for at least three to four years before they were able to work abroad．

“I think the problem really is the migration of doctors. We have so many nurses now, more than enough to fill up（vacancies）. But our doctors are leaving,” Duque said．

A study by the University of the Philippines had found that between 2000to 2003 more than 50,000 Filipino nurses went abroad to work. A doctor working in a government hospital in the Philippines earns only about 25,000 pesos（446 dollars） a month. A doctor could earn around 8,000dollars a month while working as a nurse overseas. Even lawyers, accountants and engineers are enrolling to brain as nurses.

Filipino nurses are in demand in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and even closer to home, such as in Singapore and Japan.

However, Health officials have warned the country faces a “medical apocalypse” if it continues to lose its health professionals to jobs abroad．

1. The word “exodus” in Para 3 can be probably explained by__   

   A．return of lots of people             B．leave of many people at one time

C．fight between different people       D．exchange of positions between people

2. Which of the following statements about the doctor in the Philippines is true?

   A．Many doctors started to study to become nurses this year.

   B．More than 50,000Filipino doctors went abroad to work between 2000to 2003.

   C．A doctor could earn as much as a nurse overseas in a government hospital at home.

   D．Many doctors went abroad because of the poor working conditions at home.

3. According to the passage, why do so many doctors leave to work abroad as nurses?

   A．Because they don’t like the working surroundings at home.

   B．Because they like to be nurses and live abroad．

   C．Because they can make much more money abroad．

   D．Because the government hospitals at home never value them.

4. What is the aim of this short passage?

   A．To criticize the Philippine government.

   B．To show pity on the doctors in the Philippines.

   C．To call on people to change their jobs and work as nurses.

   D．To call attention to the problems with lack of doctors in the Philippines.