Elizabeth and I are 18 now, and about to graduate．I think about our elementary-school friendship, but some memories have blurred （模糊）．What happened that day in the fifth grade when Beth suddenly stopped speaking to me? Does she know that I've been thinking about her for seven years? If only we could go back, and discover what ended our relationship．

    I have to speak with Beth．I see her sometimes, and find out school is "fine"．It's not the same．It never will be．Someone says that she's Liz now．What happened to Beth?

    I can't call her．Should I write? What if she doesn't answer me? How will I know what she's thinking?

    Yes, I'll write her a letter．These things are easier to express in writing．" Be-," no, " Li-," no, " Elizabeth," I begin．The words flow freely, as seven year old memories are reborn．I ask her all the questions that have been left unanswered in my mind, and pray she will answer．I seal my thoughts in the perfect white envelope, and imagine Beth looking into her mailbox．Will she know why I'm writing? Maybe she once thought of writing the same letter．

    As the mailman takes my envelope from me forever, I wonder if I've made the right decision．Do I have the right to force myself into Beth's life again? Am I simply part of the past? I have taken the first step．Beth has control of the situation now．

    One day has passed．Are my words lying on the bottom of the post office floor?

    Two days are gone．I'm lost in thought and don't even hear the phone ting．

    "Hello? It's Elizabeth．"

1.What can we learn about Beth?

    A．She had a quarrel with the author in the fifth grade．

    B．She moved to another school in the fifth grade．

    C．She is now called Liz instead of Beth．

    D．She hasn't seen the author for seven years．

2.Why does the author decide to write a letter instead of calling?

    A．She is sure that Beth will not answer．

    B．She's afraid that they'll quarrel on the phone．

    C．She doesn't know Beth's telephone number．

    D．It is easier to express her feelings in writing．

3.Which of the following the author might NOT mention in her letter?

    A．Their elementary-school friendship．

    B．Her future plan after graduation．

    C．Her expectations for Beth's reply．

    D．The questions about the endings of their friendship．

4.What might happen at the end of the story?

    A．Beth answers her letter two days later．

    B．The letter doesn't reach Beth at all．

    C．They make up their friendship．

    D．Beth refuses to make peace with her．

Elizabeth and I are 18 now, and about to graduate．I think about our elementary-school friendship, but some memories have blurred （模糊）．What happened that day in the fifth grade when Beth suddenly stopped speaking to me? Does she know that I've been thinking about her for seven years? If only we could go back, and discover what ended our relationship．
I have to speak with Beth．I see her sometimes, and find out school is "fine"．It's not the same．It never will be．Someone says that she's Liz now．What happened to Beth?
I can't call her．Should I write? What if she doesn't answer me? How will I know what she's thinking?
Yes, I'll write her a letter．These things are easier to express in writing．" Be-," no, " Li-," no, " Elizabeth," I begin．The words flow freely, as seven year old memories are reborn．I ask her all the questions that have been left unanswered in my mind, and pray she will answer．I seal my thoughts in the perfect white envelope, and imagine Beth looking into her mailbox．Will she know why I'm writing? Maybe she once thought of writing the same letter．
As the mailman takes my envelope from me forever, I wonder if I've made the right decision．Do I have the right to force myself into Beth's life again? Am I simply part of the past? I have taken the first step．Beth has control of the situation now．
One day has passed．Are my words lying on the bottom of the post office floor?
Two days are gone．I'm lost in thought and don't even hear the phone ting．
"Hello? It's Elizabeth．"
【小题1】What can we learn about Beth?

While reading a story on 20-somethings complaining about how the economy was ruiningg their life plans, I couldn’t help but think the 20-somethings sounded like a bunch of spoiled who grew up expecting everything to be easy for them. As a 20-something myself, certainly share their disappointment : my husband and I probably won’t be able to buy a house until we’re in our 40s, and we two are burdened by student loans(贷款). But why should it be any different? Being young persons in America, shouldn’t they take up all of the challenges and opportunities that this country offers?

Consider some of these views shared in the story: Jennifer, 29, owner of a two-bedroom apartment with her husband, worries that she won’t be able to have children for at least a decade because they can’t afford to buy a house yet.

I read that, and I thought what planet she is living on where you need to own a house in order to have kids? Has she ever visited a developing country, or even downtown areas in this one? Home ownership is a luxury(奢华), not a fertility requirement.

A 26-year-old in the story is disappointed that he can’t afford to get a Ph. D in literature. Well, that sounds a bit like expressing disappointment that no one will pay you to write poetry on the beach in Thailand for five years.

Yes, it’s sad that these young people feel so lost. But I think the problem is their extremely high expectations, not economic reality. Beth Kobliner, author of Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties, says that she thinks people’s expectations grew up at a time when everyone’s wealth appeared to be increasing, Their parents probably saw their home values rise along with their investments. “So you have people who have grown up in an environment where people had great expectations of what living well means,” says Kobliner.

This recession(经济衰退) will certainly play a role in forcing those expectations into more realistic group. In the meantime, it seems a lot better for our mental health to focus on being grateful---for our one-bedroom apartments, for living in modern cities, or perhaps just for being able to eat three meals a day---than on longing for some kind of luxury life.

1.. What makes the author think the 20-somethings sound like a bunch of spoiled children?

2.. The underlined word “fertility” in paragraph 3 probably means“_____”.

3.. Which of the following is NOT mentioned about the complaints of the 20-somethings?

4.. What’s the Kobliner’s attitude towards the 20-somethings with high expectations?

5.What is the best title for this passage?

A migraine（偏头痛）can cause disabling pain. People may not feel back to normal for hours or even days. Migraines are most common among young adults and middle-aged people. In the United States, about eighteen percent of women and six percent of men report having migraines.

People who suffer from migraines can find that different “triggers（诱因）”in different people may get a headache started. Stress can act as a trigger. So can chocolate in some people. Many migraine sufferers say hot weather and low barometric pressure（大气压）can act as triggers. But researchers say they do not have much scientific evidence of that — until now.

 In a new study, a team examined the medical records of seven thousand hospital patients. The patients had visited the emergency room at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts, because of a headache. More than two thousand of them had been found to have a migraine.

 The team then compared those records to weather conditions in the twenty-four hours before the hospital visits. For every increase of five degrees centigrade in air temperature, the patients had a seven and one-half percent higher risk of migraine. Decreases in barometric pressure two to three days before the visit also appeared to trigger headaches.

 The researchers found no evidence that air pollution influenced headaches. But they could not rule out the possibility of a smaller effect.

 A separate study has found that age, gender and where a person has extra body fat may affect the risk of migraine. It found that overweight people between the ages of twenty and fifty-five may have a higher risk. On average, those who were larger around the middle were more likely to have migraines than those of the same age with smaller waistlines.

 The study involved twenty-two thousand people. It was led by Lee Peterlin. She says early results suggest that losing weight in the stomach area may help younger people who experience migraines, especially women.

41. From the first paragraph, we can infer a migraine can ________.

A. make people unable to walk

B. prevent people acting normally

C. cause people to leave home for days

D. get people to suffer from mental disorder

42. The underlined word “that” in Paragraph 2 refers to ________.

A. chocolate acting as a trigger

B. stress acting as a trigger

C. hot weather and low barometric pressure acting as triggers

D. high air pressure acting as a trigger

43. According to the passage, headaches are influenced least by ________.

A. body weight                  B. barometric pressure

C. air temperature                  D. air pollution

44. In the opinion of Lee Peterlin, a person who has a migraine should ________.

A. avoid gathering fat in the stomach area

B. eat more sweet food every day

C. stay warm in good weather

D. keep away from noisy places

45. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Overweight people may have a lower risk of migraines.

B. Weather is linked to migraines.

C. Migraines are a headache for many people.

D. Women suffer more migraines than men do.