The Banquet has been described as a loose adaptation(节选)of "Hamlet", featuring royal conflicts(冲突) and revenge（复仇）which is set in 10th century China. The new Emperor (Ge You) has usurped(篡夺) the throne（帝位）by murdering the previous Emperor. He marries the Empress (Zhang Ziyi), wife of the previous Emperor and stepmother to the Crown Prince (Daniel Wu).
At first, the Empress seeks only to protect herself, but as the new Emperor grows suspicious(疑心) of all those around him, she realizes that only by helping the Crown Prince kill him can she hope to survive. Together with the Chief Minister (Ma Jingwu)，she tries to carry out this plot, but when the Prince is destroyed by hesitation, she thinks out a new plan and seeks the throne for herself. As the plot move towards its climax(高潮), the Emperor calls for a plentiful royal banquet, where each will seek the end of their enemies.
The Banquet differs from Hamlet in that it does not focus on the prince, but examines the feelings of each character. According to director Feng Xiaogang: "If Hamlet is about a prince who must make a choice involving life and death, then The Banquet is about how each character must face a choice of life or death... All are motivated by desire, but as soon as they have begun their plans must grow more extreme, and they move step-by-step towards the abyss(深渊)... They do not intend evil, but turn to it out of self-preservation and ever-growing ambition（野心）."
1. As far as we can tell from the text, the Empress ________.
A. She is just the wife of the new Emperor.
B. She is the later mother of the Crown Prince.
C. She helps her own son to kill the Emperor.
D. She takes the place of the Emperor finally.
2. The author wants to tell us the following EXCEPT that _______.
A. The new Emperor feels doubt about the affairs around him.
B. The Empress does all she could to survive herself.
C. The Crown Prince shows uncertainty in action.
D. The new Emperor owns the authority all the way.
3. Feng Xiaogang’s words imply（暗示）that ___________.
A. The Banquet is about royal conflicts.
B. The Banquet’s characters are full of desire.
C. The Banquet involves life and death.
D. The Banquet is different from the Hamlet.
4. Which of the following is the best title for this text?
A. The Banquet differs from the Hamlet.
B. The main characters in the play.
C. The plot（情节）of the Banquet.
D. The ambition of each character.
Too much TV-watching can harm children’s ability to learn and even reduce their chances of getting a college degree, new studies suggest in the latest effort to examine the effects of television on children.
One of the studies looked at nearly 400 northern California third-graders. Those with TVs in their bedrooms scored about eight points lower on math and language arts tests than children without bedrooms TVs.
A second study, looking at nearly 1,000 grown-ups in New Zealand, found lower education levels among 26-year-olds who had watched lots of TV during childhood. But the results don’t prove that TV is the cause and don’t rule out that already poorly motivated youngsters(年轻人)may watch lots of TV.
Their study measured the TV habits of 26-year-olds between ages 5 and 15. Those with college degrees had watched an average of less than two hours of TV per weeknight during childhood, compared with an average of more than 2½ hours for those who had no education beyond high school.
In the California study, children with TVs in their rooms but no computer at home scored the lowest, while those with no bedroom TV but who had home computers scored the highest.
While this study does not prove that bedroom TV sets caused the lower scores, it adds to accumulating findings that children shouldn’t have TVs in their bedrooms. According to the California study, the low-scoring group might ______.
| A．have watched a lot of TV |
| B．not be interested in math |
| C．be unable to go to college |
| D．have had computers in their bedrooms |
What is the researchers’ understanding of the New Zealand study results?
| A．Poorly motivated 26-year-olds watch more TV. |
| B．Habits of TV watching reduce learning interest. |
| C．TV watching leads to lower education levels of the 15-year-olds. |
| D．The connection between TV and education levels is difficult to explain. |
What can we learn from the last two paragraphs?
| A．More time should be spent on computers. |
| B．Children should be forbidden from watching TV. |
| C．TV sets shouldn’t be allowed in children’s bedrooms. |
| D．Further studies on high-achieving students should be done. |
What would be the best title for this text?
| A．Computers or Television |
| B．Effects of Television on Children |
| C．Studies on TV and College Education |
| D．Television and Children’s Learning Habits |
Millions of youngsters across Europe could suffer permanent hearing loss after five years if they listen to MP3 players at too high a volume for more than five hours a week, EU scientists warned.
The scientists’ study, requested by the European Commission, attacked the concept of “leisure noise,” saying children and teenagers should be protected from increasingly high sound levels---with loud mobile phones also coming in for criticism（批评）.
“There has been increasing concern about exposure from the new generation of personal music players which can reproduce sounds at very high volumes without loss of quality,” the Commission, the EU’s executive arm, said in a statement.
“Risk for hearing damage depends on sound level and exposure time,” it said. More and more young people were exposed to the great threat(威胁)that leisure noise posed to hearing, it said.
Commission experts said that between 50 and 100 million people listen to portable music players on a daily basis.
If they listened for only five hours a week at more than 89 decibels(分贝), they would already be beyond EU limits for noise allowed in the workplace, they said. But if they listened for longer periods, they risked permanent hearing loss after five years.
The scientists calculated the number of people in that risk category at between five and 10 percent of listeners, meaning up to 10 million people in the European Union.
Sales of personal music players have soared in EU countries in recent years, particularly of MP3 players.
"I am worried that so many young people ... who are frequent users of personal music players and mobile phones at high acoustic levels, may be unknowingly damaging their hearing ," she said in the statement.Which of the following can be the best title of the article?
| A．Youngsters across Europe: suffer permanent hearing loss. |
| B．MP3 players: sell best but do harm to youngsters |
| C．The scientists’ study: requested by the EU |
| D．EU warns youth: turn your MP3 players down! |
This passage is most likely to be taken from a _________.
| A．textbook | B．medical report |
| C．teen magazine | D．governmental newspaper |
The underlined part in the forth paragraph most probably means________.
| A．were uncovered | B．felt | C．realized | D．were faced with |
From the passage we know that________.
| A．besides the high sound levels, scientists also criticized loud mobile phones. |
| B．if one listened for 5 hours more a week at 100 decibels, he would risk permanent hearing loss. |
| C．it is only the level of the sound that can do damage to hearing. |
| D．the scientists said there were 5-10 percent of MP3 listeners risking hearing loss around the world. |
Natural ways of keeping time
In ancient times, people had to use the sun and the moon to tell time. They got up when the sun came up and worked in the fields until the sun went down.
Man-made things
The sand clock is made of two glass balls joined by a narrow neck. The top ball was filled with sand. The sand slowly moved through the neck into the bottom ball. People knew how much time had passed when all the sand had fallen to the bottom ball.
People also made the water clock. They made a small hole near the bottom of a pot. Then they filled the pot with water. Markings inside the pot showed how much time passed as the water dripped (滴) out of the hole.
Nature’s Clocks in Living Things
◆Animals’ Body Clock
Animals do not need clocks to know time. They have a way of telling time by their bodies. Birds know when to fly to warmer places before winter. Some animals know when to keep more food for the cold winter months. Some fish know when it is time to move up the river and lay eggs.
◆Plants have their own clocks
Plants also have their own clocks to keep time. Plants know when to open flowers or when to drop their leaves.
◆The Body Clock in Human Beings
People also have their own body clocks. When we get used to our lives, our body clocks can be very accurate (准确的). It can tell us when it is time to wake up. It can also tell us when to eat or to go to sleep.How could an ancient farmer know when to go back home in the daytime?
| A．By looking at the moon. | B．By looking at the stars. |
| C．By looking at the sun. | D．By feeling whether tired or not. |
How many kinds of living things with nature’s clocks are mentioned here?
| A．2. | B．3. | C．5 | D．6. |
From the passage, we know what man-made things have in common is that_______.
| A．both of them have a hole. | B．both of them are designed with glass balls. |
| C．both of them can be used only once. | D．both of them tell time in the same way |
Green is an important color in nature. It is the color of grass and the leaves on trees. It is also the color of most growing plants. 
Sometimes, the word green means young, fresh and growing. Sometimes, it describes something that is not yet ripe or finished. For example, a greenhorn is someone who has no experience, who is new to a situation. In the fifteenth century, a greenhorn was a young cow or ox whose horns(角) had not yet developed. A century or so later, a greenhorn was a soldier who had not yet had any experience in battle. By the eighteenth century, a greenhorn had the meaning it has today—a person who is new in a job. 
Someone who has the ability to grow plants well is said to have a green thumb. The expression comes from the early nineteen hundreds. A person with a green thumb seems to have a magic touch that makes plants grow quickly and well. You might say that the woman next door has a green thumb if her garden continues to grow long after your plants have died.
The Green Revolution is the name given some years ago to the development of new kinds of rice and other grains. The new plants produced much larger crops. The Green Revolution was the result of hard work by agricultural scientists who had green thumbs.
Green is also the color used to describe the powerful feeling, jealousy(嫉妒). The green-eyed monster is not a frightening creature from outer space. It is an expression used about four hundred years ago by British writer William Shakespeare in his play “Othello”. It describes the unpleasant feeling a person has when someone has something he wants. A young man may suffer from the green-eyed monster if his girlfriend begins going out with someone else. Or, that green-eyed monster may affect your friend if you get a pay rise and she does not. Greenhorn now refers to ____.
| A．a person who is new in a job | B．a new solider |
| C．a young horse | D．None of above |
A person who has a green thumb is a person ____.
| A．who is good at growing plants | B．whose thumbs are in green color |
| C．whose garden is greener than others’ | D．who is younger than his neighbors |
The author is actually talking about ____.
| A．colors | B．language | C．politics | D．agriculture |
Several years ago, I read a book Your Money or Your Life, written by Joe Domingguez and Vicki Robin. The major theme of the book is the idea that if you want to cut your spending, you’ll have to begin by stopping trying to impress other people.
The authors divide people into two groups : people whose opinions you care about, and people whose opinions you don’t care about one way or another. It’s easy to stop caring about people whose opinions you don’t care about. Who cares what they think ? As long as you’re not doing something truly immoral —— something that might potentially create a negative reputation for you —— it doesn’t matter what they think.
But shouldn’t you impress other people whose opinions you do care about ? Anyway, they are people you want to meet : customers, friends and family.
The answer is that you don’t need to impress those people with expensive, shiny things. The relationship you’ve built with them —— or you’re going to build with them —— is based on you, not on the material items. They’ll either like you for you or they won’t.
To put it simply, take care of the basics. Keep yourself clean. Keep your weight under control. Wear reasonable clothing. Work on your communication skills. If you have them covered, you don’t need to invest time and money in impressing other people.
Coming to this realization is incredibly valuable. It drops your clothing budget. It drops your automobile budget. It drops your electronics budget. It drops your housing budget. You don’t need a shiny car, an iPhone, or a＄50 haircut.
Yes , you may actually still want one or two of these things, but the impetus(动力) comes from what your personal values 
are, not what other people around you seem to value or what marketing messages you receive.
For some people, it seems impossible. Their social cues come from advertising-laden media and from friends who also get their cues from advertising-laden media.They believe they need a slick cellphone and ＄100 casual clothes. Their self-worth revolves around that little burst they get from impressing others.
People should learn to break through that situation. In short, don’t play socially by the tiring old rules that revolve around needing to impress people. Instead, spend your time on things that bring real value to you and give real value to others.
66. Which of the following behaviours is “immoral”according to the second paragraph ?
A. Caring about other people’s opinion. B. Dropping your clothing budget.
C. Copying existing works. D. Obeying the tra
ffic rule. 67. To build relationship with others, you should pay attention to the following EXEPT _______.
A. dressing casually B. learning about weight control
C. improving communication skills D. being a tidy person
68. As for people we care about, what does the author advise us to do ?
A. To impress them in a proper way. B. To buy them special gifts.
C. To spare more time to be with them. D. To impress them with shiny things.
69. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage ?
A. An iPhone is totally unnecessary in our life.
B. Your family members’opinions are always worth caring about.
C. Learning how to impress others helps people save money.
D. You should always be aware of what other people around you seem to value.
70. What is the best title for the passage ?
A. Whose opinions do you care about ? B. Two different groups of people.
C. My favorite book : Your Money or Your Life D. Stop trying to impress other people.