GU Zhaodi, 60, had taken water for granted for years. In fact, no one in the beautiful lake city of Wuxi, Jiangsu Province had bothered to spare a thought on water.
But all that changed dramatically overnight last month when taps in the city ran dry. Due to a blue-green algae(藻类) outbreak in Taihu Lake, China’s third largest freshwater lake and the source of drinking water for 4 million Wuxi residents(居民), water from the city’s taps became dark and smelly.
“I can’t believe there is no water for drinking, let alone cooking and washing,”said Ｇu.
The lake was blanketed with the algae, giving off a strong smell of rotting meat. A stone thrown into it took a long time to sink. Experts said that algae usually boom because of hot water and rich chemicals like phosphor(磷)in the water.
“High temperature and a lack of rain in the past few months helped the growth of algae,”said Zhang Lijun, an official from the State Environment Protection Administration. “However, pollution from human activity should be most blamed for the disaster.”
Taihu Lake is surrounded by many small factories, whichsprang up in the 1980s.Inthe 1990s,many foreign-funded(外资的) companies joined in. The industries prospered(繁荣)，Wuxi has grown into one of the wealthiest cities in East China.
But that came at the price of pollution. The lake was treated like a waste dump(垃圾堆)，with factories emptying industrial waste and untreated sewage(污水)into it.
Although, after the government's effort, life in the city has gone back to normal, the one-week crisis（危机）rang a bell for the government and local people.“It's time to rebuild the beauty of nature, or our lives will be at risk,”said Gu.
“A safe environment comes first. Economic growth will be nothing without fresh water to drink and clean air to breathe.” said China Daily.
【小题1】The following can help the blue green algae grow______

A couple of years ago, I received a $ 600 insurance dividend (保险股息).Sitting at the kitchen table, my wife and I discussed what we might do with the money. I realized now that the refrigerator overheard our talk. The very next day it went wrong. The repairman told us we needed a new unit. Cost:$600. Not long after that, we got a refund（赔偿金）from the shop, enough to pay for a trip to Mexico. “I’ve something to tell you,” I said to my wife in a low voice. “How about the living-room?” she suggested. I remembered the color TV set was there. “No, not there. Let’s go out.” I showed her the check as we stood on the driveway. We held each other excitedly and hardly noticed the rain. My car was parked within5 meters. I didn’t think anything about it at the time. As I started for the airport the next day, the car began making strange sounds. Changing the engine cost about $ 1, 000.

Then I looked through our financial records. I discovered that during the last ten years we spent all our “found money” repairing a hot water heater, a television and a stove.

I never mention money in front of our mechanical equipment. But if this article is published and I am paid for, the word processor（文字信息处理机）is going to go for sure. It’ll know.

1.What went wrong first as the writer’s?

   A. The refrigerator          B. The stove

   C. The TV set              D. The engine of the car

2. What has been repaired and still remains all right?

   A. The car                 B. The color TV set

   C. The stove               D. The hot water heater

3.Which statement is wrong according to the passage?

1. There are many pieces of modern equipment in the writer’s home
2. The writer often discusses with his wife on how to spend their money.
3. The writer has gone into a lot of trouble to repair his things
4. The writer’s refrigerator can overhear him

Three wishes

A man and his wife were very poor. They kept hoping for new clothes and good food. The man enjoyed eating, and he especially liked cakes. One night an old woman came to their house and told them she would let them have three wishes. They could wish for anything they wanted.

  The man had just finished eating a piece of bread for his dinner, but he was still hungry. He said, “I wish I had a big cake!”

  Suddenly a cake appeared on his plate.

  “You fool!” His wife cried. “You could have wished for a house full of wonderful food, but you wished for a cake. I wish that cake was on the end of your foolish nose! ”

  Immediately the cake stuck to the end of his nose.

  Then the man and his wife started blaming each other. “It’s your fault!” she man cried. “No, it’s your fault!” she answered. What could they do? The cake was still stuck to the husband’s nose.

  “Oh!” the wife cried. “I wish none of this had ever happened!”

  Immediately the cake was gone, and the man was saying, “I’m still hungry. How I wish I had some cakes! ”

But of course nothing happened.

. The man quarreled with his wife because ___.

A. he always enjoyed eating          

B. his wife hoped that he asked for a house

C. the cake stuck to the end of his nose according to his wife’s wish.

D. he didn’t want anything except cakes

The wrong statement of the following is ___.

A. the man made his wishes before dinner

B. the wife made two wishes, which worked

C. the wife wanted her husband to wish for more than a big cake

D. the man wished that the cake were not on his nose

 Why did the old woman not satisfy the man’s wish when he said he was still hungry and wanted some cakes?

A. Because the old lady was angry with them

B. Because this was the fourth wish.

C. Because the man had made this wish before.

D. Because the cake had been gone.

Hi guys! I’m Lucy the ladybird and while I’m very much of a lady, I’m not actually a bird but a glowing red bettle(甲虫)with decorative black spots.
I’m a friendly little bug, to be honest, and simply like to be close with my pals as long as they handle me very gently. I don’t bite humans but I do sink my teeth into aphids (蚜虫) which, unlike me, are very harmful to all the plants. I milk the aphids just like people do with cows and I milk them dry of all the sap (汁) they have got from your poor plants. I’m a real gardeners’ friend and love helping out around the place by pollinating (授粉) flowers, tidying up plants’ fallen leaves and helping to turn them into nice rich fertilizer to feed everything both above and below the soil, and naturally, being so attractive to look at, we are perfect living garden decorations.
One thing I can not tolerate is all that poisonous pollution from vehicles, garbage burning and other environmentally unfriendly acts that occur in the cities every single minute of the day and night. Pollution of any kind really chokes me to death, so these days, I only live in clean countryside areas, particularly cool ones where it rains and everything grows fresh and green from spring right through to autumn. In winter, when the weather is too cold for me to bear, then I find a nice place to sleep until the snow has gone and I can come back out to play.
Oh! I almost forgot to tell you that although I am not a bird I do have wings and can fly for short distances. So if you pick me up and let me run up and down your hands and arms, then please don’t frighten me by screaming if I suddenly decide to take off!
【小题1】What makes Lucy the Ladybird suffer most?

A．a self –introduction by a lady named Lucy

B．description of a ladybird’life

C．letter of praise for a gardener

D．a speech made by a woman on ladybirds

A German company was concerned about talks in Moscow trying to sell some 100 million dollars worth of equipment to a Russian State company. Talks went smoothly but differences remained. So Martin Bayer himself, the CEO of the German Company, decided to come to Moscow to head the talks. Besides caring about his business, the CEO wanted to go to Russia to hunt bears.
Martin Bayer was one of the greatest hunters of our time (and the Russians knew about it). He went to the Sahara more than hundred times and hunted lions, crocodiles; he hunted polar bears in the North Pole and tigers in the rain forests of India. But he had never hunted Russian bears.
So the Russians decided to organize a bear hunt for Mr. Bayer to sweeten the talks. This wasn't a simple task. Some people in the west still believe that bears may be found and seen everywhere in Russian cities just like squirrels may be seen in our back yards. This is not true. The closest place one may find bears in the wild is maybe 2,500 miles away from Moscow. However, a solution was quickly found. The Russian businessmen went to Moscow Circus（马戏团）and for $2,000 bought a very old bear. This bear used to amuse and amaze audiences in many countries for 30 years, but got and looked too old, and was retired.
“Be careful, the Russian bears are very dangerous, and frightening,” they told to Mr. Bayer. “If compared to the Russian bears, your African lions are nothing more than harmless cats.” The bear was brought to a forest 50 miles from Moscow and was left there. Mr. Bayer was told that bears were plentiful in that forest and that many cattle and even people had been eaten in the surrounding villages.
Meanwhile, an 18-year old female drove through the forest on a motorcycle and suddenly saw a bear (no bears had been seen in those places for 200 years). She was frightened, fell, left her helmet and her motorcycle and ran away.
Mr. Bayer was excited and ready to hunt. This could become the most successful part of his extraordinary hunting experience. The next moment Mr. Bayer saw a bear in a helmet driving on a motorcycle through the forest in front of him. The bear had a happy expression on his face, as he was doing something he had been doing in the circus for 30 years: circling on a motorcycle!
Mr. Bayer lives in a private mental institution near Hamburg happily ever after. The equipment was never sold to Russia. It was sold to Iraq instead.
1. Why did the Russians invite Mr. Bayer to hunt bears?
A. Russian bears are famous for their cruelty.
B. They managed to find a bear for hunting.
C. They expected the trade to be successful.
D. There was a bear in Moscow Circus.
2. Why did the Russians say “Be careful, the Russian bears are very dangerous, and frightening”?
A. To tell Mr. Bayer that many people had been killed by bears.
B. To make Mr. Bayer feel the hunting really challenging.
C. To warn Mr. Bayer to mind his safety while hunting.
D. To tell Mr. Bayer that the bear is really dangerous.
3. We can infer from the last paragraph that __________.
A. Mr. Bayer has gone ma   
B. the bear injured him badly
C. he has worked in a mental institution since then
D. the trade has gone smoothly between Russian and Iraq
4. Which would be the best title of the passage?
A. Mr. Bayer, a Brave Hunter     B. Russian Bears, Dangerous Animals
C. Don’t Hunt in Russia       D. Don’t Deal with the Russians