I’ll remember the first carnival（狂欢节）. 【小题1】. My parents came from Jamaica and they helped to start carnival. We had very little money, but we made costumers from old bits of material and feathers, and colourful masks. We decorated old lorries, so that we could ride on them through the streets. It took us six months to get ready.
But on the big day, all our hard work had been worth it. People of all ages, from babies to grandparents, black and white, danced together in the street. 【小题2】. The music was played on anything made of metal: it was very noisy.
There were people watching from the windows of every house. We ate all our favourite Jamaican food, washed down with beer.【小题3】– but carnival helps you forget the weather!
When the carnival got too big, those old streets became too narrow for such big crowds（人群）. Some people said they felt frightened by the large crowds and the noise. We were worried that carnival would be banned（禁止）. Then we found an answer – everything was moved to a wider and safer street. 【小题4】.

For many years, artists have flocked（聚集）to Paris, France, to paint or to learn to paint. Perhaps artists first went there because of the city's beauty. They went to paint pictures of the broad tree-lined streets, the great churches, and the graceful river bridges. The artists felt comfortable in Paris because the people of the city had always enjoyed art.  Paris had great art museums, filled with famous paintings and statues from many countries. And the people of Paris had always welcomed new ideas. In this city, artists felt free to experiment with new ways of painting. As soon as famous artists painted in Paris, students came to learn them. People came to buy paintings.  Men called art dealers（商人） set up galleries where paintings could be bought and sold.  Others kept shops that sold artists' paints and supplies. Students and the artists who were not yet famous could live in Paris for very little money. They learned by studying great art in the museums, and they learned from one another.  They held art fairs, hanging their paintings outdoors along the streets.

 Today, New York City and Florence, Italy, are also famous art centers.  But the world's principal art exhibits are still held in Paris.  Important judges of art live there.  Most of the new ways of painting that have started in the last hundred years began in Paris. So artists and art dealers still go to Paris because it is the world's leading art center.

（     ）6. Artists first went to Paris because _____.

A. it was very beautiful

           B. it was cheap to live there

C. there were a lot of streets, bridges and churches

 D. there were a lot of art museums

（     ）7. Artists still go to Paris now because _____.

      A. it is still very beautiful

      B. it is still cheap to live there

      C. there are more art museums

 D. it is the leading art center of the world

（      ）8. The main idea of the story is about _____.

      A. the world's most famous art center

     B. how to buy a painting in Paris

      C. the famous art centers of New York and Florence

 D. art museums and art dealers

（       ）9. The story leads us to believe _____.

 A. all artists who go to Paris will become famous

 B. the people of Paris have never liked new ideas

 C. people can buy fine paintings in Paris

 D. Paris is the most beautiful city in the world

（       ）10. The story makes us think _____.

 A. that Paris is famous for its artist's paints

B. that there is more than one way to paint

 C. that art fairs are held in galleries

 D. that few artists will go to Paris in the future

No Car Day was first started by 34 cities in France on September 22, 1998. It was started to protect the environment. By now, more than 1,000 cities around the world have had a No Car Day.

The first No Car Day in China was in Chengdu in 2001. Other cities including Taipei, Shanghai and Wuhan, also support the day.

In Beijing, more and more people are taking part in the activity. It asks drivers to leave their cars at home for one day each month and walk or ride a bike to work. It also calls on Beijingers not to use cars on June 5th (World Environment Day). The slogan(口号) for the day is, “ If we drive for one less day, we can have one more nice day.”

So far, more than 200,000 drivers have shown their support. “We can’t control the weather, but we can choose not to drive,” said Wu Zhonghua, a car club chairman. Beijing is trying to have 238 blue sky days this year. In the first quarter of 2007, Beijing only had 52 blue sky days. This was 11 days less than the number for the same period last year. Much of the dust comes from the desert, but cars cause most of the air pollution. We must do more for No Car Day.

1.No Car Day was started _______.

A. to save money                    B. to control the weather  

C. to make the air cleaner         D. to keep out dust from the desert

2.The No Car Day activity asks Beijing drivers _______.

A. to work hard to get fewer blue sky days

B. not to work on World Environment Day

C. to ride a bike or walk instead of driving to work once a month

D. to leave their cars at home for a week each month

3.When is World Environment Day?

A. On July 5th.                 B. On June 5th.  

C. On September 22nd.           D. On February 2nd.

4.Which of the following about No Car Day is WRONG?

A. It was started in France in September, 1998.

B. It was first started in China in 2001.

C. It is supported by over 1,000 cities around the world.

D. It was first started by a car club chairman in Beijing.

5.What can we infer(推断) from the passage?

A. More and more people in Beijing are joining car clubs.

B. People will have one more World Environment Day each month.

C. More and more people won’t drive on No Car Day in Beijing.

D. The car club chairman Wu Zhonghua won’t drive any more.

I was going to bed the other night when my wife told me that I had left the light on in the shed（储藏室）. She could see it from the bedroom window. As I looked for myself, I saw that there were thieves in the shed taking things. I phoned the police, but they told me that no one was in this area to help at this time, but they would send someone over as soon as they were free.

I said OK, hung up, and waited one minute, then phoned the police back, “Hello, I just called you a minute ago because there were thieves in my shed. Well, you don’t have to worry about them now because I’ve killed them all.”

Within five minutes there were six police cars in the area. Of course, they caught the thieves very quickly. One of the officers said: “I thought you said that you’d killed them!” I replied with “I thought you said there was nobody free!”

1.There were thieves in the        .

A. shed                  B. bedroom     C. kitchen     D. garden

2.The man        when he found the thieves.

A. caught them by himself                     B. called the police at once

C. did nothing but wait            D. killed them

3.The police said that        so they couldn’t come and help at first.

A. it was too far                                      B. the car was broken

C. they were all busy          D. it was too cold

4.The police        when the man called them again.

A. found it boring                                  B. took it serious

C. let it go                    D.have a rest

5.The thieves were        at the end of the story.

A. lost                 B. killed                  C. caught     D. away