Mi Lan loves to buy clothes from Taobao. It saves time and sometimes you can find really cheap goods.

After a recent online shopping, Mi took photos of some of her most satisfying goods and put them to a lifestyle forum(论坛) on Tianya.cn. The 25-year-old hadn’t expected it would be the beginning of a nightmare.

The returning message Mi received were unacceptable. “You call this fashion? How old are you? 50?” read one message. Another accused(谴责) Mi of advertising for these clothes: “Get out of here with your ugly goods! Don’t waste people’s time!” Yet another message questioned Mi’s money situation, saying the clothes looked cheap but that even poor people should have a better fashion sense.
     “I just wanted to share my online shopping experience,” said a deeply red-faced Mi, who deleted her photos from the website the next day. “But now I’ve lost confidence in my image. None of my friends told me before that I dressed in bad taste. Why are people so unkind online?”
     Why? We used to think that people are rude online because of hiding behind anonymous(匿名) situation, we feel like we can get away with anything. But since the rise of social networking sites, we are not as anonymous as we used to be.
     Still, rudeness goes everywhere. Sina’s Weibo, for example, requires users to register(注册) with their real name, yet people do not shy away from using dirty words whenever they disagree with each other. It is worse with some famous people and so-called “public stars”, some of who might even use personal attacks(攻击). Politeness and good manners do not get you noticed on weibos, but strangest and most impolite words will.
     Scientists and researchers have tried to find out why we do wrong things when using social websites. According to a Wall Street Journal article, recent research suggests that visiting social networking sites brings down our self-control.

This is because most of us present a beautified image of ourselves on Facebook or Weibo. This good image and the encouragement we get from good words uplift our self-respect.
     But when we are too proud of ourselves, we might show poor self-control. It’s a bit like drinking: wine might make us feel good, but too much wine harms our minds and makes us lose our self-control. Many people forget that they’re speaking out loud when they communicate online, especially when posting from a smart phone.

 56. What happened to Mi Lan?

A. She got attacked on the Internet.

B. Her photos were well-received on the Internet.

C. She got her first experience in shopping on line.

D. Her advertisement on the Internet was not successful.

57. What does the word "nightmare" in paragraph 2 mean?

A. An exciting experience.

B. An unforgettable experience.

C. A bad dream or something bad.

D. A beautiful dream people have at night.

58. What can we infer from the passage?

A. Shopping on line has many benefits.

B. Mi Lan is a girl fond of sharing with others.

C. Many people often forget they’re speaking out aloud online.

D. Some people are trying to get noticed by using rudeness.

59. The writer wants to tell us that____.

A. shopping online is getting more and more popular

B. visiting social networking sites may lower our self-control

C. people are rude online because of hiding behind anonymous

D. people always use dirty words whenever they disagree with each other

In a small village in England about 150 years ago, a mail coach (邮车) was standing on the street.  Around the coach many people were talking to one another about it.  Mail coach did not come to that village so often in those days.  People had to pay a lot of money to get a letter.  The person who sent the letter did not have to pay.  The person who got the letter had to pay the postage (邮资).  “Here?s a letter for Miss Alice Brown,” said the mailman.  Everyone turned to a girl of about eighteen who was standing by the coach.  “I?m Alice Brown,” she said in a low voice.  The mailman gave her the letter.  Alice looked at the envelope for a minute, and then handed it back to the mailman.  “I’m sorry I can?t take it,” she said.  “I don?t have enough money to pay the postage. ” The people standing around were very sorry for the girl.  They were silent for a while.  Then a gentleman came up to the mailman and paid the postage for Alice’s letter.  When the gentleman gave her the letter, she said with a smile, “Oh, thank you very much, sir.  This letter is from the young man I’m going to marry.  His name is Tom.  He went to London to look for work.  He has to get enough money for our marriage (结婚).  I’ve waited a long time for this letter, but now don’t need it.  I don’t have to open the envelope because there is nothing inside. ” “Really?” the gentleman said in surprise.  “How do you know that?” “He told me that he would put some signs on the envelope.  Look, sir, this cross in the corner means that he is well, and this circle means he has found work.  That’s very good news. ” The gentleman was Sir Rowland Hill.  He did not forget Alice and her letter.  “The postage to be paid by the receiver has to be changed,” he said to himself.  He thought and thought for many years.  At last he had a good plan.  “The postage has to be much lower,” he said.  “What about a penny (便士) for a letter? And the person who sends the letter pays the postage.  He has to buy a stamp and put it on the envelope. ” “A good idea!” people said when they heard of his plan.  The Government decided to adopt (采纳) the plan.  The first postage stamp was put out in 1840.  It was called the “Penny Black”.  It had a picture of the Queen on it

1. 1.

   The first postage stamp was made ________

   1. A.
      in England
   2. B.
      in America
   3. C.
      by Alice
   4. D.
      in 1910
2. 2.

   The girl handed the letter back to the mailman because ______

   1. A.
      she did not know whose letter it was
   2. B.
      the letter had already told her what she wanted to know
   3. C.
      she could not pay the postage
   4. D.
      the gentleman promised to pay the postage for her
3. 3.

   When the girl returned the letter to the mailman _________

   1. A.
      the people around her felt sorry for her
   2. B.
      the people thought that the girl was too poor
   3. C.
      none of them wanted to pay the postage for her
   4. D.
      the people was angry with the girl
4. 4.

   Alice knew how Tom was getting from the signs on the envelope because _________

   1. A.
      Tom had told her what the signs meant before leaving for London
   2. B.
      Alice was clever and could guess the meaning of the signs
   3. C.
      Alice had put the signs on the envelope herself
   4. D.
      Tom had put the signs as Alice had told him to
5. 5.

   The idea of using stamps was found by ______

   1. A.
      the government
   2. B.
      Sir Rowland Hill
   3. C.
      Alice Brown
   4. D.
      Tom

Can you tell me the way to the post office?         

Mr. Johnson lives outside the town. He works in a post office. His wife is often ill and six children __26____ at school. He works hard but he is often short of __27____. In the end of every month his family are always__28____.
One afternoon, on his way home, it suddenly began to __29____. When he got home, he was wet through. He hurried to go __30____ after supper and his wife washed the clothes and shoes for him. __31____ she went to bed, she brought the clothes into the room but __32____ the shoes. The next morning Mr. Johnson couldn’t find his shoes. His wife found a pair of __33____ shoes under the bed for him. Then he went to __34____ and told the policeman about it.
“I __35____ ten dollars for my shoes, sir,” said the man. “Look! I have to __36____ such a pair of worn-out shoes!”
Several days later the police __37____ a thief and found the shoes. They were as worn-out as the __38____ which Mr. Johnson was wearing.
“You’ve fooled us, Mr. Johnson,” said a policeman. “The shopkeeper told me a pair of new shoes like them __39____ only seven dollars!”
“You’re right, ,sir,” said Mr. Johnson. “I’ve __40____ them for five years and I had them mended six times. And I paid three dollars to the shoemaker for mending them!”