Despite the fact that it has never been seen almost everyone is familiar with the legendary

unicorn(独角兽). Descriptions of unicorns have been found dating from ancient times. The great philosopher Aristotle theorized that there were two types of unicorn--- the so-called Indian Ass and the Oryx, a kind of antelope. Unicorns are often used in the logo of a noble family, town council or university as their special sign. Even Scotland is represented by a unicorn.

According to the legend, anyone attempting to catch a unicorn had to be extremely cautious

as it has a reputation for being very fierce. A clever trick suggested by unicorn-trappers, in order to catch this magnificent beast without being hurt by its horn, was for the hunter to stand in front of a tree and then to move quickly behind it as the unicorn charged. Hopefully, the creature could then be captured when its horn was stuck in the tree.

When hollowed out and used as a drinking-cup, the unicorn’s horn was said to have the power to offer protection against person. It was believed that nobody could be harmed-by drinking the contents of a unicorn’s horn. Right up until the French Revolution in 1789, the French court was said to have used cups made of “unicorn” horn in order to protect the king. In addition, the horn was said to have medicinal value, so much so that it could be sold for more than ten times the price of the same weight of gold. What, then, was “unicorn” horn? We know at times the rhino(犀牛) was confused with this legendary creature. A drinking-cup supposedly made of “unicorn” horn was discovered to be made of the horn of a rhino.

1.Which of the following is TRUE of the unicorn?

2.To catch a unicorn, the unicorn-trappers had to try all of the following EXCEPT ____.

3.The last paragraph is mainly about ____.

4.In the last paragraph, the word “unicorn ” is in quotation marks (引号)because _____.

       Laptop computers are popular all over the world．People use them on trains and airplanes, in airports and hotels．These laptops connect people to their workplace．In the United States today, laptops also connect students to their classrooms．

       Westlake College in Virginia will start a laptop computer program that allows students to do schoolwork anywhere they want．Within five years, each of the 1500 students at the college will receive a laptop．The laptops are part of a ＄10 million computer program at Westlake, a 110-year-old college．The students with laptops will also have access to the Internet．In addition, they will be able to use e-mail to “speak” with their teachers, their classmates, and their families．However, the most important part of the laptop program is that students will be able to use computers without going to computer labs．They can work with it at home, in a fast-food restaurant or under the trees-anywhere at all!

       Because of the many changes in computer technology , laptop use in higher education, such as colleges and universities, is workable．As laptops become more powerful, they become more similar to desktop computers．In addition, the portable computers can connect students to not only the Internet, but also libraries and other resources．State higher-education officials are studying? how laptops can help students．State officials are also testing laptop programs at other universities, too．

       At Westlake College, more than 60 percent of the staff use computers．The laptops will allow all teachers to use computers in their lessons．As one Westlake teacher said, “ Here we are in the middle of Virginia and we’re giving students a window on the world．They can see everything and do everything．”

The main purpose of the laptop program is to give each student a laptop to ________．

       A．use for their schoolwork    B．access the Internet

       C．work at home             D．connect them to libraries

Why is the word “speak” in the second paragraph in quotation marks（引号）?

       A．They don’t really talk．        B．They use the computer language．

       C．Laptops have speakers．       D．None of the above reasons is correct．

Which of the following is true about Westlake College?

       A．All teachers use computers．      B．1500 students have laptops．

       C．It is an old college in America．  D．Students there can do everything．

A window on the world? in the last paragraph means that students can ________．

       A．attend lectures on information technology

       B．travel around the world

       C．get information from around the world

       D．have free laptops

Read the following text and choose the most suitable heading from the list A-F for

each paragraph.  There is one extra heading which you do not need.

1.          

It's something that most of us find annoying. We're on our way home after a hard day at school and trying to have a quiet chat with a classmate or get in a little reading, when our peace is disturbed by someone screaming into their cell phone: "I'M ON THE BUS !"

2.          

A survey published last week suggests Americans do not like the impolite use of today's electronic communication gadgets. Besides noisy phone users, sending and receiving e-mails while in company are also as very poor manners, reports MSNBC.com.

3.         

One of the practices that participants in the survey most objected to was the use of phones, iPods and other devices during religious festivals. Some 90 per cent of those surveyed thought this was insensitive and disrespectful.

4.       

The website quotes Dr Genevieve Bell, conductor of the survey and director of Intel's User Experience Group as saying: "Theses are issues about common sense." But she believes that the rights and wrongs of the public use of technology are still in the process of formation.

5.       

    The survey does suggest, according to MSNBC, that most Amencans accepted that the technologies are a fact of modern life. They had nothing against the use of laptops and cell phones in bathrooms. And an electronic thank-you note was just as acceptable as a handwritten one.

Who’s in control of your life? Who’s pulling your strings? For the majority of us，it’s other people—society，colleagues，friends，family or our religious community．We learned this way of operating when we were very young，of course．We were brainwashed．We discovered that feeling important and feeling accepted was a nice experience and so we learned to do everything we could to make other people like us．As Oscar Wilde puts it，“Most people are other people．Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions，their lives a mimicry，their passions a quotation．”

 So when people tell us how wonderful we are，it makes us feel good．We long for this good feeling like a drug—we are addicted to it and seek it out wherever we can．Therefore，we are so eager for the approval(赞同)of others that we live unhappy and limited lives，failing to do the things we really want to．Just as drug addicts and alcoholics live worsened lives to keep getting their fix(一剂毒品)，we worsen our own existence to get our own constant fix of approval．

But，just as with any drug，there is a price to pay．The price of the approval drug is freedom—the freedom to be ourselves. The truth is that we cannot control what other people think．People have their own agenda，and they come with their own baggage and，in the end，they’re more

interested in themselves than in you．Furthermore，if we try to live by the opinions of others，we will build our life on sinking sand．Everyone has a different way of thinking，and people change

their opinions all the time．The person who tries to please everyone will only end up getting exhausted and probably pleasing no one in the process．

So how can we take back control? I think there’s only one way—make a conscious decision to stop caring what other people think．We should guide ourselves by means of a set of values—not values imposed from the outside by others，but innate values which come from within．If we are driven by these values and not by the changing opinions and value systems of others，we will live a more authentic，effective，purposeful and happy life．

1.．What Oscar Wilde says implies that         ．

A．we have thoughts similar to those of others

B．most people have a variety of thoughts

C．other people’s thoughts are more important

D．most people’s thoughts are controlled by others

2.．What does the author try to argue in the third paragraph?

A．Changing opinions may cost us our freedom．

B．We may lose ourselves to please others．

C．We need to pay for what we want to get．

D．The price of taking the drug is freedom．

3.．It can be concluded from the passage that          ．

A.  it’s better to do what we like

B．we shouldn’t care what others think

C．we shouldn’t change our own opinions

D．it’s important to accept others’ opinions

 4.．The author tries to persuade the readers to accept his arguments mainly by      

    A．analyzing causes and effects          B．providing examples and facts

    C．discussing questions                      D．making suggestions

Who’s in control of your life? Who is pulling your string? For the majority of us, it’s other people—society, colleagues, friends, family or our religious community. We learned this way of operating when we were very young, of course. We were brainwashed. We discovered that feeling important and feeling accepted was a nice experience and so we learned to do everything we could to make other people like us. As Oscar Wilde puts it, “Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry(模仿), their passions a quotation.”

So when people tell us how wonderful we are, it makes us feel good. We long for this good feeling like a drug. Therefore, we are so eager for the approval of others that we live unhappy and limited lives, failing to do the things we really want to. Just as drug addicts and alcoholics live worsened lives to keep getting their fix (一剂毒品). We worsen our own existence to get our own constant fix of approval.

But, just as with any drug, there is a price to pay. The price of the approval drug is freedom—the freedom to be ourselves. The truth is that we cannot control what other people think. People have their own agenda, and they come with their own baggage and, in the end, they're more interested in themselves than in you. Furthermore, if we try to live by the opinions of others, we will build our life on sinking sand. Everyone has a different way of thinking, and people change their opinions all the time. The person who tries to please everyone will only end up getting exhausted and probably pleasing no one in the process.

So how can we take back control? I think there’s only one way—make a conscious decision to stop caring what other people think. We should guide ourselves by means of a set of values---not values imposed（强加）from the outside by others, but innate values which come from within. If we are driven by these values and not by the changing opinions and value systems of others, we will live a more authentic, effective, purposeful and happy life.

1.What Oscar Wilde says implies that _____________.

A. we have thoughts similar to those of others

B. most people have a variety of thoughts

C. most people’s thoughts are controlled by others

D. other people’s thoughts are more important

2.What does the author try to argue in the third paragraph ?

A. We may lose ourselves to please others.

B. Changing opinions may cost us our freedom.

C. We need to pay for what we want to get.

D. The price of taking drugs is freedom.

3. In order to live a happy, effective and purposeful life, we should _________.

A. care about others’ opinions and change opinions all the time

B. guide ourselves by means of values from the outside

C. persuade others to accept our opinions

D. stick to our own values

4.It can be concluded from the passage that __________.

A. we shouldn’t care what others think     B. it’s better to do what we like

C. we shouldn't change our own opinions   D. it’s important to accept others’ opinions