Nearly two thousand years have passed since a census decreed by Caesar Augustus become part of the greatest story ever told. Many things have changed in the intervening years. The hotel industry worries more about overbuilding than overcrowding, and if they had to meet an unexpected influx, few inns would have a manager to accommodate the weary guests. Now it is the census taker that does the traveling in the fond hope that a highly mobile population will stay long enough to get a good sampling. Methods of gathering, recording, and evaluating information have presumably been improved a great deal. And where then it was the modest purpose of Rome to obtain a simple head count as an adequate basis for levying taxes, now batteries of complicated statistical series furnished by governmental agencies and private organizations are eagerly scanned and interpreted by sages and seers to get a clue to future events. The Bible does not tell us how the Roman census takers made out, and as regards our more immediate concern, the reliability of present day economic forecasting, there are considerable differences of opinion. They were aired at the celebration of the 125th anniversary of the American Statistical Association. There was the thought that business forecasting might well be on its way from an art to a science, and some speakers talked about newfangled computers and high-falutin mathematical system in terms of excitement and endearment which we, at least in our younger years when these things mattered, would have associated more readily with the description of a fair maiden. But others pointed to the deplorable record of highly esteemed forecasts and forecasters with a batting average below that of the Mets, and the President-elect of the Association cautioned that “high powered statistical methods are usually in order where the facts are crude and inadequate, the exact contrary of what crude and inadequate statisticians assume.” We left his birthday party somewhere between hope and despair and with the conviction, not really newly acquired, that proper statistical methods applied to ascertainable facts have their merits in economic forecasting as long as neither forecaster nor public is deluded into mistaking the delineation of probabilities and trends for a prediction of certainties of mathematical exactitude.

Taxation in Roman days apparently was based on

[A]. wealth. [B]. mobility. [C]. population. [D]. census takers.

The American Statistical Association

[A]. is converting statistical study from an art to a science.

[B]. has an excellent record in business forecasting.

[C]. is neither hopeful nor pessimistic.

[D]. speaks with mathematical exactitude.

The message the author wishes the reader to get is

[A]. statisticians have not advanced since the days of the Roman.

[B]. statistics is not as yet a science.

[C]. statisticians love their machine.

[D].computer is hopeful.

The “greatest story ever told” referred to in the passage is the story of

[A]. Christmas. [B]. The Mets.

[C]. Moses. [D]. Roman Census Takers.

The story begins with fishing.
Once a boy and his father went fishing before bass (a kind of special fish) season opened. They were fishing early in the evening, catching other fish with worms. Then the boy tied on a small silver lure (鱼饵) and put it into the lake. Suddenly he felt that something very big pulling on the lure. His father watched with admiration as the boy skillfully brought the fish beside the bank. Finally he lifted the tired fish from the water. It was the largest one he had ever seen, but it was a bass(the special fish).
The boy and his father looked at the big fish. The father lit a match and looked at his watch. It was 10 pm – two hours before the bass season opened. He looked at the fish, then at the boy. “You’ll have to put it back, son,” he said.
“Dad!” cried the boy, “There will be other fish,” said his father. “Not as big as this one,” cried the boy. He looked around the lake. No other fishermen or boats were in sight in the moonlight. He looked again at his father.
Even though no one had seen them, nor could anyone ever know what time he had caught the fish, the boy could tell from his father’s voice that the decision couldn’t be changed. He threw the huge bass into the black water. The big fish disappeared. The boy thought that he would never again see such a big fish.
That was 34 years ago. Today the boy is a successful architect in New York City. He often takes his own son and daughters to fish at the same place.
And he was right. He has never again caught such a large fish as the one he got that night long ago. But he does see that same fish … again and again … every time he has an ethical decision to make. For, as his father had taught him, ethics (伦理道德)are simple matters of right and wrong. It is only the practice of ethics that is difficult.
【小题1】 What happened when the big fish turned out to be a bass?

A．The boy threw the bass back into the water willingly.

B．The boy and his father discussed what to do with the big fish.

C．The father lit a match in order to check the time.

D．They worried other fishermen may discover what they had done.

【小题2】From the text we know that the father _____.

A．disliked the huge fish	B．was firm and stubborn
C．didn’t love his son	D．always disagreed with his son

【小题3】The successful architect went fishing with his children at the same place because _____.

A．they might catch a big fish there

B．he was taught a moral lesson there

C．it was a most popular fishing spot

D．their children enjoyed fishing there

【小题4】What does the story imply?

A．An ethical decision is always easy to make.

B．It is easy to say something, but difficult to do.

C．It’s hard to tell right from wrong sometimes

D．Fishing can help one to make right decisions

【小题5】What kind of the person the father is?

A．kind

B．honest

C．optimistic

D．satisfied

A group of travelers were having dinner in a restaurant .While they were eating fish, they began to tell stories about finding valuable stones inside fish .
An old man ,who had listened to their conversation quietly ,said at last ,”Now I’m going to tell you a true story of my own .When I was young ,I worked in a large company in London .As is usual with other young people ,I fell in love with a pretty girl .Soon we were engaged .Two months before our marriage ,I was suddenly sent to Edinburgh on business .My stay was a bit longer than I had expected .At last my work was done and I left for home .Before I left Edinburgh , I bought a nice diamond ring for my sweet-heart .On my way to London ,I was looking through a newspaper .It was then that I learned of my sweet-heart’s getting married to another man. I was so sad that I threw the diamond ring into the water. A few days later, when I was eating fish ,I bit on something very hard .What do you think it was?
“The diamond ring ,” shouted his friends . “No,” said the old man sadly ,It was a fish bone.
【小题1】The young man bought a diamond ring ______

A．soon after he started working in Edinburgh .

B．when he got engaged to his sweet-heart .

C．after her marriage.

D．when he was going to return.

【小题2】The man was very angry because _______

A．he threw away his diamond ring.

B．his sweet-heart had married someone else

C．he had been away longer than expected

D．a hard stone gave him a terrible pain

【小题3】The other travelers expected the old man to ____

A．get back the diamond ring

B．bite on a stone

C．find a fish bone

D．tell an interesting but untrue story.

One summer my friend and I decided to go to Italy for a holiday and we decided to travel there without going through a travel agency. You know, you would be submerged (淹没) in crowds of tourists and lose lots of opportunities to get familiar with the country more closely. We started to think over our trip and managed to come up with a free tour of Italy.

   The trip was not very long but it was still very impressive. We look forward to going there again! Of course, we spent lots of time arranging the trip, but it was well worth it! Of course I was afraid that something would go wrong and I was especially anxious about my visa, but everything went quite smoothly in the end.

   The most difficult part was getting a visa without an invitation. In the Italian consulate(领事馆), one must hand in some official paper proving that one has a hotel booked for oneself in order to get the visa. Then we had to solve the ticket problem. Airlines often sell cheap tickets and we bought ours far in advance. The next step was to book a hotel. We finally booked a hotel about thirty km away from the heart of Rome and it was the perfect choice for our trip.

   Every day we took a train that carried us to the heart of Rome. Our big house, which was surrounded by the forest, was a rare girl for the fresh air and absolute silence, beautiful views, hospitable (好客的) hosts, comfortable living conditions delighted us to no end. Besides this, we were very lucky that our mistress was Russian. She gave us a lot of advice that was of great use. She told us what transport to choose and where the best places to go.

    Don’t be afraid to arrange your trip by yourself. It’s not difficult! The only thing I'll say right now is that we really enjoyed traveling by ourselves. We walked with a map and a guide-book to wherever we wanted and we even met some of our fellow countrymen on the way just two or three times. So, if you're also planning a "single" trip, don't forget to take a Russian-Italian phrasebook as people in Italy prefer to speak in their native tongue.

1.Why does the author want to go to Italy again?

      A. He had a great time there.

    B. Italy has a lot of attractions.

    C. His friend invited him there.

    D. He didn't stay in Italy long enough.

2.What does the author think was the hardest in preparing for his Italian trip?

    A. Buying cheap airline tickets to Italy before the traveling

    B. Getting a visa without an invitation from the Italian consulate.

    C. Booking a comfortable hotel on his own in Rome.

    D. Solving the ticket problem far in advance.

3.In the fourth paragraph the author mainly explains

    A. the reason why he chose to live in the center of Rome

    B. the reason why the hotel he booked was the right choice

    C. what transport they chose to travel in their Italian trip

    D. the reason why the mistress gave them some advice

4.Which of the following questions has NOT been answered in the passage?

    A. Why did the author decide to go to Italy for a holiday for the first time?

    B. Why did the author decide not to follow a travel agency?

    C. How did the author prepare for his trip?

    D. What tools did the author use for his traveling?

5.From the text we can know the author

    A. enjoys traveling everywhere in the world

    B. likes being accompanied by tour guides

    C. advises us to arrange trips by ourselves

D. met with a lot of his countrymen in Italy     www..com                           

As a young girl growing up in the 1930s, I always wanted to fly a plane, but back then it was almost unheard of for a woman to do that. I got a taste of that dream in 2001, when my husband arranged for me to ride in a hot air balloon for my birthday. But the experience turned out to be very dull. Around that time, I told my husband that I wanted to skydive. So when our retirement community announced that they were having an essay competition and the topic was an experience of a lifetime that you wanted to have, I decided to write about my dream.
In the essay, I wrote about my desire to skydive, stating George Brush Sr. did it at age 80. Why not me? I was just 84 and in pretty good health. A year went by and I heard nothing. But then at a community party in late April 2009, they announced that I was one of the winners. I just couldn’t believe it. Inspired by this, I decided to realize my dream, even though some of my family members and my doctor were against it.
On June 11, 2009, nearly 40 of my family and friends gathered in the area close to where I would land while I headed up in the airplane. My instructor, Jay, guided me through the experience. The plane was the noisiest one I had ever been in, but I wasn’t frightened—I was really just looking forward to the experience. When we reached 13,000 feet, Jay instructed me to throw myself out of the plane. When we first hit the air, the wind was so strong that I could hardly breathe. For a second I thought, “What have I gotten myself into?” But then everything got calmer. We were in a free fall for about a minute before Jay opened the parachute（降落伞）, then we just floated downward for about five minutes. Being up in the clouds and looking at the view below was unlike anything I have ever felt—much better than the hot air balloon. I was just enjoying it.
Skydiving was really one of the greatest experiences of my life. I hope other people will look at me and realize that you don’t stop living just because you are 84 years old. If there’s something you want to experience, look into it. If it’s something that is possible, make it happen.
【小题1】What happened to the author in 2001?
A. She flew an airplane.
B. She entered a competition.
C. She went on a hot air balloon ride.
【小题2】The author mentioned George Bush Sr. in her essay to       .

A．make her argument persuasive

B．show her admiration for him

C．compare their health condition

D．build up her own reputation

【小题3】 How did the author feel immediately after she jumped out of the plane?

A．Excited.

B．Regretful.

C．Nervous.

D．Scared.

【小题4】What did the author enjoy most when she was skydiving?

A．The beautiful clouds.	B．The wonderful view.
C．The company of Jay.	D．The one-minute free fall.

【小题5】What is the best title of the passage?

A．Impossible is nothing.	B．A dream made come true.
C．An unforgettable skydiving.	D．I Went Skydiving at 84!