Hi Hongbo,

I’m so glad to read about the changes talking place in your city. It’s really good news that you can travel by subway in Xi’an, though there’s only one line there. Here in London we have twelve lines. By the way, we don’t use the word “subway” here. It’s American English. We call it “the Underground”, instead.

The London Underground is very famous. It’s famous for several reasons. First of all, part of the underground railway today is the oldest in the world, which opened in 1863. Secondly, the London Underground is also the first line to have electric trains, in 1890. Thirdly but not the last, the London Underground is the second largest metro system in the world, after the Shanghai Metro. There are 270 stations in the Underground and it has 402 kilometres of tracks(轨道). What’s more, the city of London itself helps make the transportation system famous! I’ve got a few photos to help you build a clear picture of the Underground in my city. They are together with this mail.

In your email, you also said workers were building more lines. I’m sure your city is developing fast. Maybe you can send me a few photos of your city today. I really want to see the changes taking place there. I’m happy for you to live there in an ancient city with such a new look!

So much for now. I’ll write soon again. Best wishes!

1.Where is the writer from？

A．From London      B．From Shanghai      C．From Xi’an.       D．From New York

2.The second paragraph mainly tells us        ?

A．when the first subway was opened in the world.

B．when the London Underground first used electric trains

C．why the London Underground is the oldest subway in the world.

D．why the London Underground is famous in the world

3.In the email, the words “subway”, “underground”, and “metro” mean   .

A．three different things                    B．two different things

C．almost the same thing                    D．nothing like each other

4.What does the writer want Hongbo to do?

A．To buy a good book about Xi’an for him.

B．To send him a few photos of Xi’an.

C．To post him some postcards of Xi’an.

D．To tell him more about Xi’an subway.

----Do you think I should get a good guidebook when I am travelling in Beijing?
----Yes, of course. _____, you also need a good camera and comfortable shoes.

A Charlotte, N.C., man was charged with first-degree murder of a 79-year-old woman whom police said he scared to death. In an attempt to evade policemen after a bank robbery, the Associated Press reports that 20-year-old Larry Whitfield broke into the home of Mary Parnell. Police say he didn’t touch Parnell but that she died after suffering a heart attack that was caused by terror. Can the guy be held responsible for the woman’s death? Prosecutors(公诉人) said that he can under the state’s murder rule, which allows someone to be charged with murder if he or she causes another person’s death while committing or fleeing from a severe crime like robbery—even if he or she doesn’t kill someone on purpose.

But, medically speaking, can someone actually be frightened to death? We asked Martin Samuels, chairman of the neurology department at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

Absolutely, no question about it.

The body has a natural protective method called the fight-or-flight response(战或逃反应), which was originally described by Walter Cannon，the chairman of Harvard University’s physiology department from 1906 to 1942. If, in the wild, an animal is faced with a life-threatening situation, the autonomic nervous system responds by increasing heart rate, increasing blood flow to the muscles, and slowing digestion, among other things. All of this increases the chances of succeeding in a fight or running away from an aggressive beast. This process certainly would be of help to primitive humans. However, in the modern world there is obvious decline of the fight-or-flight response.

The autonomic nervous system uses the chemical messenger to send signals to various parts of the body to activate the fight-or-flight response. This chemical is toxic in large amounts; it damages the organs such as the heart, lungs, liver and kidneys. It is believed that almost all sudden deaths are caused by damage to the heart. There is almost no other organ that would fail so fast as to cause sudden death. Kidney failure, liver failure, those things don’t kill you suddenly.

By the way, any strong positive or negative emotions such as happiness or sadness can cause the same result. There are people who have died in intercourse or in religious passion. There was a case of a golfer who hit a hole in one, turned to his partner and said, “I can die now”, and then he dropped dead. For about seven days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon there was an increase of sudden cardiac death among New Yorkers.

1. Why the Charlotte, N.C., man was charged?

A. Because he threatened the policemen to kill an old woman.

B. Because he caused an old woman’s terror and she died.

C. Because he beat an old woman and caused her heart attack

D. Because he murdered an old woman while robbing a bank.

2. Which of the following about the fight-or-flight response is true?

A. The fight-or-flight response was raised and proved by Martin A. Samuels.

B. It is a natural protective method that can’t be found in all creatures but humans.

C. The ancient humans had a superior fight-or-flight response than modern ones.

D. The fight-or-flight response is beneficial to both our actions and organs.

3.What activity can we infer is less likely to damage the organs?

A. Winning a big lottery.                   B. Missing a dead family.

C. Watching a horror movie.                 D. Listening to a sweet song.

4. The purpose of the passage is_________.

A. to explain why people will die of a heart attack

B. to offer some advice on protecting us from heart failure

C. to compare different kinds of feelings to cause a death

D. to show strong emotions can cause a sudden death

From the time each of my children started school, I packed their lunches. And in each lunch, I  11  a note. Often written on a napkin (餐巾), it might be a thank-you for a  12  moment, a reminder of something we were happily expecting, or a bit of     13  for the coming test or sporting event.

In early grade school they  14  their notes. But as children grow older they becomes self-conscious(有自我意识的), and 15  he reached high school, my older son, Marc, informed me he no longer  16  my daily notes. Telling him that he no longer needed to  17  them but I still needed to write them, I  18  until the day he graduated.

Six years after high school graduation, Marc called and asked if he could move  19  for a couple of months. He had spent those years well, graduating from college,   20  two internship (实习) in Washington, D.C., and   21  , becoming a technical assistant in Sacramento,  22  short vacation visits, however, he had lived away from home. With his younger sister leaving for college, I was   23   happy to have Marc back. Since I was  24  making lunch for his younger brother, I    25  one for Marc, too. Imagine my   26  when I got a call from my 24-year-old son,   27  his lunch.

“Did I do something   28 ? Don’t you love me  29  ,Mom?” were just a few of the questions he threw at me as I 30  asked him what was wrong. “My note, Mom,” he answered. “Where’s my note?”

1.                A．carried         B．found          C．included  D．held

2.                A．difficult         B．special         C．comfortable   D．separate

3.                A．congratulation   B．improvement    C．explanation    D．encouragement

4.                A．loved          B．answered       C．wrote    D．examined

5.                A．lately          B．by the way      C．by the time    D．gradually

6.                A．received        B．understood      C．enjoyed  D．collected

7.                A．copy           B．read           C．take D．send

8.                A．held up         B．gave up         C．followed  D．continued

9.                A．out            B．home          C．to college D．to Sacramento

10.               A．organizing      B．planning        C．comparing D．completing

11.               A．hopefully       B．finally          C．particularly D．certainly

12.               A．Because of      B．Instead of       C．Except for D．As for

13.               A．especially       B．immediately     C．equally    D．generally

14.               A．once          B．again          C．still   D．even

15.               A．packed         B．fetched        C．bought    D．filled

16.               A．fear           B．surprise        C．anger D．disappointment

17.               A．waiting for      B．worrying about   C．caring for  D．asking about

18.               A．wrong         B．funny          C．strange    D．smart

19.               A．any more       B．enough         C．once more D．better

20.               A．interestingly     B．bitterly         C．politely    D．laughingly

The basic meaning of“pet”is an animal we keep for emotional (情感的) rather than economic reasons. A pet animal is __1__ as a companion, and we all need companions to keep as feeling happy.__2__ pets offer more than mere(only) companionship: they invite us to love and be loved. Many __3__ feel their pets understand them, for animals are __4__  to sense anger and sorrow. Often a cat or dog can comfort us __5__ when human words don't help. We feel loved, too, by the way pets __6__ us for a home, for food and drink. Dogs __7__， look up to their owners,  __8__ makes them feel important and needed.

A pet can be something __9__ to each member of the family, another baby to the mother, a sister or brother to a(n) __10__ child, a grandchild to the elderly, but for all of us pets provide __11__ and companionship. It has __12__ been suggested that tiny pets __13__  be sent as companions to astronauts  on space ships, to help reduce the stress (紧张) and __14__ of space flights.

In this Plastic Age, when most of us live in large cities, pets are particularly important for __15__. A pet in the family keeps people in __16__ with the more natural，animal world. Seeing an animal give birth brings understanding of the naturalness of childbirth, and seeing a pet __17__ helps a child to cope with sorrow. Learning to __18__ a pet helps a child to grow up into a loving adult who feels __19__ toward those dependent on them. Rightly we teach children to be good to their pets. They should learn, too, that pets are __20__ for us human beings.

1. A. known  B. looked upon  C. treated  D. kept

2. A. But     B. However  C. So  D. Otherwise

3. A. masters  B. owners  C. bosses  D. hosts

4. A. slow    B. quick  C. easy  D. difficult

5. A. in time  B. on time  C. at times  D. at no time

6. A. depend on  B. live on  C. wait on  D. look on

7. A. especially  B. hardly  C. hopefully  D. entirely

8. A. it  B. who  C. which  D. what

9. A. dangerous  B. necessary  C. the same  D. different

10. A. single    B. only  C. separate  D. alone

11. A. loss     B. love  C. trouble  D. pleasure

12. A. ever      B. even  C. never  D. probably

13. A. would   B. could  C. should  D. must

14. A. loneliness  B. distance  C. darkness  D. weight

15. A. housewives      B. children

C. grown－ups     D. relatives

16. A. connection  B. conversation

C. touch  D. love

17. A. die  B. suffer  C. cry  D. fight

18. A. pay for  B. ask for  C. call for  D. care for

19. A. comfortable     B. suitable

C. valuable        D. responsible

20. A. fit  B. good  C. expensive  D. bad