"Extra? Extra！Gasoline hits four dollars a gallon!”

??? No one will really be shocked一except, perhaps, the old-timers who tell about the good old days when gas was three gallons for a dollar, and people drove around "just for the fun of it".

As a matter of fact; the price of gas has been rising fast and steadily for several years, and many adjustments have already been made.

??? There was, for a time, considerable unemployment in the auto industry, and three quarters of the garages and service stations have gone out of business. However; the bicycle and motor-scooter business has flourished（兴旺); and many people have found employment there: Now that Federal Motors has brought out its new Lilliput, which travels forty miles on a gallon, the auto business is picking up again. The factories that haven't switched over to two-wheel transportation are working on their new smaller models. There is talk, too, about bringing out new steam and electric automobiles that will be just as economical as the old cars.

??? In the meantime, streetcars are gradually replacing buses all over the country because of the greater economy of electric power. And many people who have seldom used public transportation are now riding the streetcars while their automobiles rust（生锈）in their garages. There's no market at all for their big, luxurious cars, for only the wealthy can now afford to operate them. Many people are now shopping in their own neighborhood, and small businesses are thriving.

??? Ministers, educators, and editorial writers are pointing out that there has been a great improvement in family life. Families now stay at home more for their fun, and children and parents are becoming better acquainted. The stores report a booming business in parlor games, hobby materials, books, musical instruments and albums.

??? People have lost their pale indoor look. The revival of the lost art of walking has brought a healthy pink back to many a cheek. This return to the heels has revolutionized the clothing styles; people now need to be ready for all kinds of weather:

??? These conditions, however, may not last. Already our clever chemists are at work on new synthetic fuels which, they say, will put us right back where we were一on wheels. Shall w e wish them success or not?

1.Which of the following is NOT a result of the gas price rising?

A. More people prefer to travel on public transportation which costs less than driving cars.

B. People return to the traditional exercise of walking, which helps them to look healthier.

C. People shop in nearby stores without having to drive, so small businesses are declining.

D. The auto industry has been forced to develop new models which are more economical.

2.The purpose of writing this passage is＿．

A. to show the chain reaction of the rising gas price

B. to discuss whether it's necessary to work on new fuels

C. to warn people not to use too much gasoline

D. to picture what life will be like if gas runs out

3.What is the best title for this passage?

A. New fuels on the way

B. Cars or bicycles, that is a question

C. End of the good old days

D. From wheels to heels

I was dirty, smelly, hungry and somewhere beneath all that, suntanned（皮肤晒黑）．It was the end of an Inter-Rail holiday．My body couldn’t take any more punishment．My mind couldn’t deal with any more foreign timetables, currencies or languages．

“Never again,” I said, as I stepped onto home ground．I said exactly the same thing the following year．And the next, all I had to do was buy one train ticket and, because I was under twenty-five years old, I could spend a whole month going anywhere I wanted in Europe．Ordinary beds are never the same once you’ve learnt to sleep in the passage of a train, the rhythm rocking you into a deep sleep．

    Carrying all your possessions on your back in a rucksack（背包）makes you have a very basic approach to travel, and encourages incredible wastefulness that can lead to burning socks that have become too anti-social （不合群的），and getting rid of books when finished．On the other hand, this way of looking at life is entirely in the spirit of Inter-Rail, for common sense and reasoning can be thrown out of the window along with the paperback book and the socks．All it takes to achieve this carefree attitude is one of those tickets in your hand．

  Any system that enables young people to travel through countries at a rate of more than one a day must be pretty social．On that first trip, my friends and I were at first unware of the possibilities of this type of train ticket, thinking it was just an inexpensive way of getting to and from our chosen camp-site in southern France．But the idea of non-stop travel proved too attractive, for there was always just one more country over the border, always that little bit further to go．And what did the extra miles cost us? Nothing．

    We were not completely uninterested in culture．But this was a first holiday without parents, as it was for most other Inter-Railers, and in organizing our own timetable we left out everything except the most viable sights．This was the chance to escape the guided tour, an opportunity to do something different．I took great pride in the fact that, in many places, all I could be bothered to see was the view from the station．We were just there to get by, and to have good time doing so．In this we were not different from most of the other Inter-Railers with whom we shared passage floors, food and water, money and music．

    The excitement of travel comes from the sudden reality of somewhere that was previously just a name．It is as if the city in which you arrive never actually existed until the train pulsing at the station and you are able to see __it__ with your own tried eyes for the first time．

1．At the end of his first trip , the writer said “ Never again” because_____

A．he fell ill．

      B．he disliked trains

      C．he was tired from the journey

      D．he had lost money

2．What does the writer mean by “ this way of looking at life” in Paragraph3?

      A．Worrying about your clothes

B．Throwing unwanted things away．

C．Behaving in an anti-social way

D．Looking after your possessions

3．Why did the writer originally buy an Inter-Rail ticket?

      A．To get to one place cheaply．

      B．To meet other young people．

      C．To see a lot of famous places

      D．To go on a tour of  Europe．

4．What the writer liked about traveling without his parents was that______．

A． he could see more interesting  places

B．he could spend more time sightseeing

C．he could stay away from home longer

D．he could make his own decisions

5．What does the underlined word “it” in the last sentence of Paragraph 6 refer to?

A．A name                 B．The city                      C．The train               D．The station

Pop music is the name for various popular，commercial music．It originated in the USA and spread through the whole world during the 1950s and 60s．It is widely liked by the young people．The best known early form of pop music was “rock’n’ roll”; another was “blues”. A more recent development is “folk rock”．Pop music has taken the place of native music in many parts of the world．It has caused the number of people for “jazz” music to become much smaller than in the 1950s and earlier, and it has now began to rule music stage productions．It is a big industry．
Much pop music is without artistic value, but the work of some pop singers e.g. the Beatles, Bob Dylan, the group like Pink Floyd and Crosby, Still and Nash, is on a higher musical level. And there is still great interest in it today. Pop music concerts and festivals are held all over the world.
【小题1】 In this passage the underlined word "originated" means _______.

A．Not all the pop music is without artistic value.	B．Much pop music is on a high musical level.
C．Pop music is high artistic.
D．No pop music is on a high musical level.

Pop music is the name for various popular，commercial music．It originated in the USA and spread through the whole world during the 1950s and 60s．It is widely liked by the young people．The best known early form of pop music was “rock’n’ roll”; another was “blues”. A more recent development is “folk rock”．Pop music has taken the place of native music in many parts of the world．It has caused the number of people for “jazz” music to become much smaller than in the 1950s and earlier, and it has now began to rule music stage productions．It is a big industry．

 Much pop music is without artistic value, but the work of some pop singers e.g. the Beatles, Bob Dylan, the group like Pink Floyd and Crosby, Still and Nash, is on a higher musical level. And there is still great interest in it today. Pop music concerts and festivals are held all over the world.

1. In this passage the underlined word "originated" means _______.

A. got around   B. began  C. invented  D. reached

2. According to the text, the number of people for “jazz” in the 1950s and earlier was

     it is today.

A. much greater than  B. as small as   C. as greater as   D. much smaller than

3. All of the following forms belong to pop music except       .

A. blues        B. rock’n’ roll     C. jazz    D. folk rock

4. Which of the following is TRUE?

B. Much pop music is on a high musical level.

C. Pop music is high artistic.

D. No pop music is on a high musical level.

My father doesn’t know how to express love. It is my mum that makes everyone happy and calm in our family; while Daddy only works day and night, never looking us in the face. But Mum makes a wrongdoing list of us for Daddy scolding us. She was a spy!

Once, I stole a candy. Daddy asked me to put it back and told the shopkeeper I would like to carry loads for her. Well, Mum told him I was jut a child.

I broke my leg on the playground. It’s still Mum that held me tightly in her warm arms. Daddy drove us right to emergency room. He was asked to move the car away for that space was for ambulance. Daddy got angry, “What do you think of it? A touring car?”

On my birthday party, it was, again, my mum that took over the cake for me. And my dad was busy with blowing balloons and setting the table and doing the housework.

While looking over our album, my friends always ask, “What does your father look like?” God knows. He photos others all the time. So there are many photos of my mum and me, pretty and lovely photos.

And I still remembered the day when dad taught me riding. I asked him not to let his hands away, but he did the opposite. And I certainly fell onto the ground. I got angry and decided to get on the bike and rode. But he smiled again.

Mum wrote every letter to me while I was in college. He, except checks, did write a letter, but extremely short, just a few words, saying, “Without your playing on the lawn, my son, my lawn grows prettier than before.”

Every time I phoned, it seemed that he wanted to talk, but he would say, “I will get your mum.”

On the day of my wedding, Mum cried as if we would never meet again, while dad went out with a nasal sound.

From very young, I heard him saying, “Where have you been?” “When do you go home?” “Did you get oil for your car?” “…” Dad really knows nothing about showing love. Unless…

Maybe he showed while I didn’t notice.

68．From the first and second paragraphs, we can infer that ______.

A. it was the daddy that was in charge of his children’s education

B. the children were all afraid of their father so they had to be cute

C. the writer’s parents loved their children, at the same time, they were strict with them

D. the writer’s mom was like a spy who reported what the children did to the father

69．According to Paragraph Six, we know the father ______.

A. was not patient when he taught the writer riding

B. might want his son to learn riding through independent practice

C. used a wrong way of teaching his child riding

D. might want to see his child fall off the bike

70．Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A. The dad scolded the writer for having damaged the lawn.

B. The dad had no single photo of his own in the album.

C. The dad posted checks to the writer while he was in college.

D. The dad got excited when participating in the writer’s wedding.