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

阅读短文，然后根据其内容，从短文后的五个选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项（有一项为多余选项）。

Shopping is popular with many people around the world. They seem to find new ways to buy things every day. They visit shopping centers, order things through the mail, or buy things on the Internet.  1.

For young people, one of the most popular ways to shop is to use a vending machine (自动售货机). These machines offer all kinds of things and you can find them everywhere. In the USA, there are vending machines which sell CDs.  2.  The strangest product on sale from a vending machine is in Japan. Just put your coins in the vending machine Tokyo, press the button, and out comes a “kabutomushi”，that is, a black beetle（甲壳虫). You keep it as a pet!

Japan now has “Robosho”—a shop with no shop assistants, only robots. A robot reads your credit card(信用卡)and then gives you what you what. 3.   People are very surprised that the robots can serve them as well as shop assistants do.

Some shops in the UK are like social clubs for teenagers. Many of them have a café inside. The Youth Station has a large nightclub for teenagers under 18, with a DJ playing music in a room that hangs the ceiling. Sports Town has a big screen, where you can see live sports from around the world.  4.

--Is the man standing outside the teacher’s office Mr. Zhou?

    --No, it ______ be him. He has gone to Hong Kong for an academic conference.

     A. mustn’t           B. can’t            C. needn’t         D. couldn’t

Sydney is a young city. Its history goes back just over 200 years. But in Australia, it is the oldest city. It is also the country' s largest city. Sydney is the capital of New South Wales and the most popular city of Australia.

The climate of Sydney is very good. It' s not too cold during the winter and not too hot during the summer. The sky is blue, the air is fresh, and birds sing in the garden. People who live in Sydney seem to have an easy life style. They will tell you, "Don't worry. "

Many people think that Sydney is one of the most attractive cities in the world. It has many tall and modern buildings. Among them, Center point Tower is the tallest. Standing on the 305-metre(80 storeys)tower, you will have a great view of the city.

Sydney is famous for its deep harbor(港口). The harbor has many bays(湾) and beautiful surf beaches.? Among them, Bondi beach is the most popular.? Sydney Harbor is not only beautiful, it also serves as a large port. Ships carry wool, wheat and meat from Sydney to other countries.

People living in Sydney like to call themselves Sydneysiders. They are mostly friendly and easygoing. When they are not working, they love to have a good time at the beach, swimming and sailing.

1.Sydney is the???????? city in Australia.

A. youngest??????? B. largest????? C. coldest?????? D. hottest

2. It seems that people in Sydney have easy life because????????? .

A. the climate is very good

B. the sea is very beautiful

C. they are very rich

D. they always tell you, "Don't worry. "

3.What is true about the Center point?

A. It' s the tallest building in the world.

B. It's an old building.

C. You can see most of the city on it.

D. It' s 80-metre tall.

4. Australia is rich in???????? .

A. wool????????? B. wheat???????? C. meat????? D. all the above

5.What do you think of people in Sydney?

A. cool????????? B. busy?????????? C. shy?????? D. warm-hearted