Trouve sat up on its back legs and growled(吼叫) the words, “How are you, Grandmamma?” The audience roared with laughter and clapped. Twenty-year-old Aleck gave the dog a morsel(一口) of food. His hard work had paid off. His dog could talk!

Aleck was fascinated with the different sounds of people’s speech. His father taught students who had a speech problem to improve their speech. Aleck paid close attention. Could an animal form sounds into words, too? He decided to experiment with Trouve, the family dog.

The easy part was teaching Trouve to growl whenever Aleck wanted. The little dog growled for a morsel of food.

Next Aleck moved the dog’s “lips” as it growled. It sounded like “ma mama”. Trouve learned quickly to stop the growling just as Aleck’s hand moved away. They practiced and practiced until the dog said “mama” perfectly.

Soon Aleck discovered more. If he pushed gently under the dog’s jawbone(下颌骨), it made the “ga” sound. If he pushed once and moved the dog’s lips twice, he could make the dog say, “ga mama.” With even more practice, it sounded like “grandmamma”. Whenever Trouve said “grandmamma”, Aleck gave the dog two treats, so Trouve loved the lessons.

Aleck tried to teach his dog to move its tongue so that Trouve could say more words. That didn’t work, but Aleck didn’t give up.

After many hours of practice, Trouve could say, “Ow ah oo ga-ma-ma?” This sounded just like “How are you, Grandmamma?”

Friends and neighbors traveled to see young Aleck and his amazing talking dog. Rumors spread that the dog could speak by itself, which wasn’t true. No matter how much Aleck tried, the dog was never able to move its lips without help.

Aleck’s full name was Alexander Graham Bell. He wanted to know more about the world all his life. He had many ideas. Some worked; others didn’t. But he kept trying—always learning. One of his inventions was something called the telephone.

Which of the following is TRUE of Aleck?

A. His father had an influence on him.

B. He had a talent for giving speeches.

C. He taught Trouve to talk in honor of his grandmother.

D. He carried out many experiments to improve people’s speech.

Trouve grew fond of practicing talking because _____.

A. it liked being together with Aleck

B. it was given some food for that

C. it would like to develop its potential（潜能）

D. Aleck treated it like one of the family

Which of the following words can best describe Aleck?

  A. Humorous.                     B. Naughty.      

C. Knowledgeable.                 D. Curious.

What contributes most to Aleck’s success in teaching the dog to talk?

  A. His own hard work.              B. His neighbor’s help.

C. His father’s encouragement.        D. The dog’s smartness.

According to the passage, how many statements are true?

  a. The audience was very excited to hear the dog growling the sound “ma”.

  b. The dog could understand Aleck’s sign.

  c. The dog could move its tongue successfully by itself.

  d. Aleck kept trying his ideas all the while.

  e. The only intention of Aleck’s is telephone.

  A. 2            B. 3            C. 4           D. 5

Who doesn’t love sitting beside a cosy fire on a cold winter’s night ? Who doesn’t love to watch flames (火苗) curling up a chimney? Fire is one of man’s greatest friends, but also one of his greatest enemies. Many big fires are caused by carelessness. A lighted cigarette thrown out of a car or train window or a broken bottle lying on dry grass can start a fire. Sometimes, though, a fire can start on its own. Wet hay (草) can begin burning by itself. This is how it happens: the hay starts to rot (腐烂) and begins to give off heat which is trapped inside it. Finally, it bursts into flames. That’s why farmers cut and store (贮存) their hay when it’s dry. 

    Fires have destroyed whole cities. In the 17th century, a small fire which began in a baker’s shop burnt down nearly every building in London. Moscow was set on fire during the war against Napoleon. This fire continued burning for seven days. And, of course, in 64 A.D. a fire burnt Rome. Even today, in spite of modern fire-fighting methods, fire causes millions of pounds’ worthy of damage each year both in our cities and in the countryside. It has been wisely said that fire is a good servant but a bad master .

The writer considers it ________ to sit beside a fire on a cold winter night .

       A. nice       B. dangerous       C. unhappy         D. painful

Which of the following describes the way how hay begins burning on its own ?

       A. wet hay ---- becomes dry ---- gives off heat ---- burns

       B. dry hay ---- gets too much heat from the sun ---- gives out heat --- starts to burn

       C. wet hay ---- begins to rot ---- gives out heat ---- starts to burn

       D. dry hay ---- gives off heat ---- starts to rot ---- starts to burn

Many big fires are caused __________ .

       A. by cigarette             B. by their own    

       C. by dry grass              D. by people’s carelessness

How many examples did the writer give to show fires can destroy the whole city ?

       A. One       B. Two       C. Three            D. Four

Which of the following statement is not true ?

       A. Fires still cause much damage now although there are modern fire - fighting

     methods .

       B. Fires cause less damage in the country than in the city .

       C. Fire can be man’s good friend and also great enemy .

       D. One should be careful not to throw a lighted cigarette everywhere .

根据对话内容，从对话后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。选项中有两项为多余选项。[来

—What can I do for you, sir?

—I bought this mobile last Saturday here in your shop. 1.

—What’s the matter with it?

—2.

—How long does it last?

—It can last only one day! Then, I’ll have to recharge it. Sometimes it just turns off by itself.

—It doesn’t seem to matter much. 3.

—I’d like you to return the money.

—4.We can repair the mobile for you.

—No, I hope you can change it for a new one of the same model at least.

—All right. 5.

A. I’m sorry, but we can’t.

B. But it doesn’t work well.

C. Is there anything wrong?

D. So what do you want us to do?

E. The battery doesn’t last long.[来源:Zxxk.Com]

F. We can change it for another one.

G. All right, don’t worry.

 

The   16   picked up the thermos and poured some hot water into the tea-cup and placed it on the small table in front of his  17   , who were a father and daughter, and put the lid on the cup with a clink．Apparently  18  of something, he hurried into the inner room, leaving the  19  on the table．His two guests heard a chest of drawers opening and a rustling （飒飒响声）．

       They  20  sitting in the living-room, the 10-year-old daughter, looking at the flowers outside the window．The father was just about to take his cup when the  21  came, right there in the living-room．Something was hopelessly broken．

       It was the thermos, which had fallen to the floor．The girl looked  22  her shoulder at once, startled （吓一跳）,  23  ．It was  24   neither of them had touched it, not even a little bit．

       The sound caused the host to rush back from the inner room．He looked at the  25  floor and blurted out, “It doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter!”

       The father started to say something．Then he muttered, “Sorry, I  26  it and it fell．”

       “ It doesn’t matter,” the host said．

       Later, when they left the house, the daughter said, “ Daddy, I saw your  27  in the windowpane （窗玻璃）．You were sitting perfectly  28  ．Why did you say…．”

The father  29  , “What then would you  30  as the cause of its fall?”

       “ It fell by itself．The floor is uneven （不平）．It wasn’t steady when Mr．Li put it there．”

       “It won’t  31  , girl．It sounds more  32   when I say I knocked it down．There are things people accept less the more you  33   them．The truer your story is, the less true it sounds．”

The daughter was  34  in silence for a while．Then she said, “ Can you  35   it only this way?”

       “Only this way,” the father said．

16．A．owner         B．host             C．guest            D．master

17．A．friends         B．neighbours         C．children           D．guests

18．A．knowing       B．remembering             C．hearing           D．thinking

19．A．thermos       B．cup               C．lid              D．tea

20．A．enjoyed       B．remained         C．imagined         D．hated

21．A．stranger        B．host             C．crash            D．noise

22．A．around         B．at               C．behind           D．over

23．A．staring        B．watching         C．shouting           D．crying

24．A．helpless       B．exciting          C．strange           D．terrible

25．A．broken        B．steaming         C．dirty             D．flooded

26．A．touched       B．used              C．hit              D．moved

27．A．face           B．shadow          C．reflection                D．action

28．A．calm          B．still             C．silent            D．straight

29．A．shouted        B．whispered        C．laughed           D．repeated

30．A．tell                 B．make            C．accept           D．give

31．A．do             B．suit               C．go              D．fit

32．A．comfortable    B．friendly          C．acceptable        D．agreeable

33．A．defend        B．support          C．discuss            D．argue

34．A．kept          B．shut             C．worried            D．lost

35．A．do             B．explain            C．make              D．manage

Investors soon will be able to own shares of Facebook stock. The world’s biggest social media network presented documents to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday. The documents are required before the company can make its initial public offering（首次公开募股）or IPO. A date for the stock sale has yet to be announced.
Experts say Facebook could raise about five billion dollars. That would be one of the biggest IPO sales ever. And it would be much bigger than Google’s first public stock sale in 2004. At that time, the Internet search company raised almost two billion dollars.
Facebook has 800 million users around the world. It is the second most visited website after Google. Now, experts say the social media network is in a position to become one of the most valuable Internet companies.
Stock expert Anupam Palit at Greencrest Capital says that among social media sites, Facebook is in a class by itself.
“It is the biggest company in this space and we believe what makes it very unique from every other company that went public last year in this space is that it is very, very profitable.” said Anupam Palit.
Early estimates place the total value of the social network between 75 and 100 billion dollars. That includes earlier investments by other companies. David Kirkpatrick wrote the book The Facebook Effect. He says Facebook’s IPO will be historic.
The stock sale could also make Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg one of the world’s youngest billionaires. He is only 27.
Investment companies are likely to buy Facebook stock first. But investment manager Jim O’Shaugnessy says that is not so bad. He says the prices of some IPO stocks are too high and fall not long after they first go on sale.
Recently, share prices of some Internet businesses have fallen after their stocks were first offered. For example, stocks of Linkedln, Groupon and Zynga, dropped in price by as much as 25% after going public.
There were similar questions eight years ago when Google first sold stock to the public. Today, Google is one of the world’s most valuable technology companies.
【小题1】Which of the following is true about Google?

A．Google’s first public stock sale began in 2005.

B．Google is the world’s most valuable company.

C．Google’s share price rose after its stock was first offered.

D．Google raised almost two billion dollars from its first public stock sale.

【小题2】According to the passage, we can know Facebook ________.

A．has 800 million users in the USA	B．has announced the date for its first stock sale
C．is the most visited website today	D．is the world’s biggest social media network

【小题3】We can infer from the passage that ________.

A．Facebook stock is being sold very well

B．Mark Zuckerberg will get much money from the stock sale

C．Mark Zuckerberg was only 27 when Facebook was founded

D．investment companies have bought many Facebook shares

【小题4】Which would be the best title for this passage?

A．Facebook and Its IPO	B．The Difference Between Facebook and Google
C．The Founder of Facebook	D．A Book Called The Facebook Effect