Reading is very important. World Book Day falls on April 23 every year. It encourages people, especially teenagers, to discover the pleasure of reading. It is also the day to honor (尊敬) great writers.
Many countries celebrate (庆祝) World Book Day. On that day, millions of school children can buy books at a much lower price than usual in any bookstore in England. It has been done every year since 1998. World Book Day is also celebrated in China. Wen Jiabao, Premier of China, is an avid reader. He does lots of reading every day though he is very busy. On World Book Day 2009, he called on (号召) people to do more reading. Wen suggested that young people should spend more time reading. “Books can not change the world, but people can change the world by changing themselves through reading,” he said.
Reading helps us become more knowledgeable and smarter. Reading helps us to follow the latest developments of science and technology (技术). Reading gives us information about other cultures and places in the world. Reading is also one of the most important ways to learn a foreign language like English. We all know that it is difficult to learn everything in the classroom, for example, the ways English people are living and working today can be learnt by reading.
Books, magazines, newspapers and other kinds of reading materials can help us to know more about the outside world. Therefore, it is necessary for us to spend time reading every day.
【小题1】When is World Book Day?   

It was a quiet village in which there was a military camp. It was far from the towns and cities and there were some high mountains around. Of course it was a good place for training the new soldiers. But it was difficult for the young men to go outside. Mr. White, an officer of forty, was strict with them and he hardly let them leave the camp.

　　Once Mr. White was ill in bed. He couldn't work, so a young officer, Mr. Hunt, began to train the new soldiers instead of him. He knew the young men well and let nine soldiers go to the nearest town to have a holiday. But night fell and none came back to the camp. He was worried about it and stood at the gate. It was five to twelve when Mr. Hunt decided to go to the town and see what was happening with the young men. He started the car quickly and set off. At that moment the nine soldiers came back. It seemed they were all drunk. Of course they found the officer was angry.

　　"I'm sorry, sir," said the first soldier. "I left the town on time. But something was wrong with my bus on my way here. I had to buy a horse and made it run fast. Bad luck! It died and I had to run back."

　　And the other seven soldiers said they were late for the same reasons. It was the last soldier's turn. He said, "I'm sorry, sir. I got on a bus on time, but…"

　　Having heard this, the officer became even angrier and stopped him at once. He called out, "If you say something was wrong with your bus, I'll punish you at once!"

　　"No, no, sir," said the young man. "My bus was all right, but their horses were in the way!"

1.The military camp was built in the village to _______.

A．stop the soldiers going to towns

B．stop the soldiers meeting their friends

C．train the new soldiers

D．make the young men live quietly

2.The nine soldiers returned to the camp late because _______.

A．something was wrong with their buses

B．their horses died on the way back

C．it took them much time to run back

D．they all had drunk much in the town

3.The underlined phrase in the way in the last paragraph means ______.

A．stopping somebody from moving

B．getting drunk

C．standing on the road

D．running very fast

完形填空

Once, in a small village, lived a family with eight children. Two of the children loved   1  very much, but the family was so poor that it was impossible to send   2   of them to study at the art college at the same time. After many discussions, the two boys finally   3   a plan. They would toss(抛) a coin. The loser would go  4 into the mines (煤矿) and, with his earnings(赚得的钱),   5  his brother studying at the college. Then, when the brother who won the toss finished his studies, after four years, he would support the other brother studying at the   6  
James won the toss and Jack went down into the mines. James worked with all his heart and his paintings were much   7  than those of most of his teachers, and by the time he   8  , he was beginning to make a lot of money for his paintings.
  9  James returned, the family held a big dinner for his great success. Soon after the meal began, James  10 up from his seat to drink a toast (举杯祝酒) to his dear   11    He said, "Jack, now you can go to the art college and your   12   will come true. I will take care of you. "
But Jack said   13  , "Brother, the four years in the mines has done too much to my hands, so it' s too   14   Now I can' t even hold a glass. "
To show his great love and respect, James drew his brother' s hands with   15  towards the sky.
He called his drawing "The Praying Hands", which became very famous years later.

阅读下列短文，从每小题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳选项。
Mr Black works in a hospital (医院). As a good  1 , the people in the town like him. He’s often  2 to the patients (病人) and looks them over    carefully.  3  he’s always busy and has little time to rest.
One morning Mr Black got to the hospital and saw there was a fat woman in the  4 . He called her into his office and asked, “  5 , madam ?”
“It was my birthday yesterday, sir”, said the woman. “My husband gave me a  6 . But I couldn’t push my way in (挤进) it.”
“  7 , madam,” said Mr Black, “You must lose some weight (减肥). You’ll be able to  8 your coat, if you do all that I say.”
“You’re  9 , sir,” said the rich woman. “He bought me not a coat, but an expensive  10 .”

Many years ago, a rich man found that someone wan taking valuable things from his house. He locked all the doors and all the windows .Still the things went. It must be one of the servants! How could he catch the servant? He thought of a good plan.
Late one evening. When it was dark, he called all the servants together, “There is a thief in the house, but I know how to catch him.”He said.”In the next room there is a square box. In that box there is a chicken which is magic. Each of you must go into the room alone. It is quite dark in the room. You must feel your way to the table and press the first finger of your right hand on the top of the box. If you are not the thief, nothing will happen. If you are the thief, the chicken will make such a loud sound that everyone in the house will hear it.”Some of the servants said that they did not want to do this. They were frightened of the magic chicken. But the man said that they must do what he said. If they had done nothing wrong. They had nothing to fear.
So the servants went into the dark room one at a time, while the rest listened carefully. Soon everyone had been in the room. but the chicken made no sound.”Good “said the man.”Now I know who the thief is! The servants looked very surprised.“Show me your right hands! The chicken did not make a sound for a very good reason. There is no chicken in the box at all! But the top of the box was covered with paint. You all have paint on your fingers, except for one person. That person is the thief, and he was afraid to put his finger on the box.”He pointed to one of the servants.”Your finger is clean! You are the thief!”
【小题1】Were the rich man call all the servants together?
A. Yes, they were.  B. No, they weren’t.   C.I don’t know.
【小题2】When did the rich man call all the servants together?
A. In the morning B. In the afternoon C. In the evening
【小题3】 Did the rich man catch the thief at last?
A. Yes, he did B. No, he didn’t   C. He gave up the plan
【小题4】 Which of the following is NOT true?
A. There was paint on the box.
B. All of the servants touched the box.
C. All of the servants went into the dark room
【小题5】 What do you think of the rich man?
A. Brave.   B. Clever   C. Friendly.