Japanese people,who never miss a chance to be photographed,were lining up to get their pictures on a postage stamp．Vanity（虚荣）stamps with personal photographs went on sale for the first time in Japan as part of an international postage stamp exhibition．The customer’s photo was taken with a digital camera and then printed on stamp sheets,a process that takes about five minutes．Sold in a sheet of 10 stamps for $8．80,little more than the cost of lunch in Tokyo,each stamp printed a different scene from a traditional painting along with the photo．
The stamps can be used normally to mail a letter,and postal officials hope they will help encourage interest in letter writing in the Internet age．“Certainly e-mail is a useful method of communication,but letters are fun in a different way,”said Hatsumi Shimizu an official in the Post Ministry．“We want to show young people that letters can be fun too．”[
While similar stamp sheets appeared in Australia in 1999 and are now sold in some nations and territories,Japan’s fondness for commemorative photos is likely to make them especially popular here．Indeed,officials had prepared 1 000 sheets but they were sold out in less than 30 minutes．Although the stamps are currently only available as a special service during the exhibition,postal officials said they may start selling them on a regular basis in the future．The best title of this passage might be______．
| A．Never Miss a Chance to be Photographed |
| B．Your Own Face on a Postage Stamp |
| C．First Japanese Postage Stamps with a Photo |
| D．Letters are as Fun as E-mails |
By saying“little more than the cost of lunch in Tokyo”,the author really means______．
| A．this service is not very expensive |
| B．the cost of this service is very high |
| C．food in Tokyo is very dear |
| D．$8．80 is a very small amount of money |
The purpose of this activity is______．
| A．to make the international postage stamp exhibition more interesting |
| B．to make more stamps for normal use |
| C．to draw interest in writing letters |
| D．to satisfy Japan’s fondness of commemorative photos |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．Japanese people like to take photos． |
| B．This kind of stamps must be used to mail letters． |
| C．Japanese people can get this kind of stamps easily after the stamp exhibition． |
| D．This service is more popular in Japan than in other places． |
The city of Rome has passed a new law to prevent cruelty to animals. All goldfish bowls are no longer allowed and dog owners must walk their dogs.
This comes after a national law was passed to give prison sentences to people who desert cats or dogs.
“The civilization of a city can be measured by this,” said Monica Cirinna, the councilor (议员)behind the new law.
“It’s good to do whatever we can for our animals who in exchange for a little love fill our existence with their attention,” she told a Rome newspaper.
The newspaper reported that round bowls don’t give enough oxygen for fish and may make them go blind.
“Rome has tried to protect fish more than anywhere else in the world. It stands out for recognizing that fish are interesting animals who deserve our respect and compassion every bit as much as dogs and cats and other animals,” said Karin Robertson, a director of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
Last year a law was passed in Italy that gives people who desert pets big fines and prison sentences. Since then local governments have added their own animal protection rules.
The northern city of Turin passed a law in April to give pet owners fines of up to $598 if they do not walk their dogs three times a day.
The new law in Rome also says that owners mustn’t leave their dogs in hot cars or cut their dogs’ tails to make them look lovelier. The law also gives legal recognition to the “cat ladies” who feed homeless cats. The cats live all over the city from ancient ruins to modern office car parks.The new law passed in Rome will ________.
| A．help improve fishing environment |
| B．guarantee better conditions for goldfish |
| C．stop people from catching goldfish |
| D．discourage keeping goldfish at home |
People in Rome believe that the civilization of a city can be judged by its ________.
| A．exchanges with other cities |
| B．protection for ancient ruins |
| C．awareness of animal protection |
| D．recognition of animal lovers |
The underlined word “compassion” in Paragraph 6 is the closest in meaning to ________.
| A．pity | B．praise | C．support | D．popularity |
People may break the law in Turin if they ________.
| A．keep their dogs or cats in cars |
| B．feed homeless animals in car parks |
| C．raise their cats near ancient ruins |
| D．shut their dogs home all day long |
Generations of Americans have been brought up to believe that a good breakfast is essential to one’s life. Eating breakfast at the start of the day, we have been told, and told again, is as necessary as putting gasoline in the family car before starting a trip.
But for many people, the thought of food as the first thing in the morning is never a pleasure. So in spite of all the efforts, they still take no breakfast. Between 1977 and 1983, the latest year for which figures could be obtained(可获得的), the number of people who didn’t have breakfast increased by 33%—from 8.8 million to 11.7 million—according to the Chicago-based Market Research Corporation of America.
For those who dislike eating breakfast, however, there is some good news. Several studies in the last few years have shown that, for grown-ups especially, there may be nothing wrong with omitting(省略) breakfast. “Going without breakfast does not affect work,” said Arnold E. Bender, former professor of nutrition at Queen Elizabeth College in London, “nor does giving people breakfast improve work.”
Scientific evidence linking breakfast to better health or better work is surprisingly inadequate(不适当), and most of the recent work involves(涉及) children, not grown-ups. “The literature,” says one researcher, Dr Earnest Polite at the University of Texas, “is poor.” The main idea of the passage is _______.
| A．breakfast has nothing to do with people’s health |
| B．a good breakfast used to be important to us |
| C．breakfast is not as important to us as gasoline to a car |
| D．breakfast is not as important as we thought before |
For those who do not take breakfast, the good news is that _______.
| A．several studies have been done in the past few years |
| B．the omission of breakfast does no harm to one’s health |
| C．grown-ups have especially made studies in this field |
| D．eating little in the morning is good for health |
The underlined part “nor does giving people breakfast improve work” means _______.
| A．people without breakfast can improve their work |
| B．not giving people breakfast improves work |
| C．having breakfast does not improve work, either |
| D．people having breakfast do improve their work, too |
The word "literature" in the last sentence refers to _______.
| A．stories, poems, play, etc |
| B．written works on a particular subject |
| C．any printed material |
| D．the modern literature of America |
What is implied but not stated by the author is that _______.
| A．breakfast does not affect work |
| B．Dr Polite works at an institution of higher learning |
| C．not eating breakfast might affect the health of children |
| D．Professor Bender once taught college courses in nutrition in London |
An old woman walked into a clothes shop. She asked the salesgirl to let her have a look at a new dress, but the girl stood still behind the counter(柜台), taking no notice of the request. The old woman spoke to the girl again, raising her voice a bit, but still received no answer. The old woman looked at the girl and nodded to herself, “I am too old to see well. I can’t even tell a plastic model from a real girl!”
On hearing this, the salesgirl shouted to the old woman, “What? Did you call me a plastic model?” The old woman was greatly surprised. “Oh, dear me,” she said. “The model can speak!”What did the old woman go to the shop to do?
| A．To choose a dress. | B．To buy a dress for herself. |
| C．To show off her dress. | D．To pick a quarrel with the salesgirl. |
The salesgirl did not make a reply ________.
| A．because she didn’t see the old woman |
| B．because she didn’t think the old woman had enough money for a new dress |
| C．because she was too busy to notice the old woman |
| D．for some reason unknown in this story |
It was not until that woman spoke for the _______ time that the salesgirl said something.
| A．first | B．second |
| C．third | D．fourth |
When the old woman said, “I am too old to see well,” she _______.
| A．meant to say that she really had poor eyesight |
| B．wanted the salesgirl to excuse her |
| C．was simply telling a lie |
| D．was, in face, trying to make the salesgirl open her mouth |
What do you think the salesgirl would do on hearing this? She would ______.
| A．be too angry to say a word for a moment |
| B．run and tell the shop-owner about it |
| C．apologize to the old woman and do what she had been asked to do |
| D．turn back and cry |
We do not know exactly how many whales there are in the sea because we can’t count them. But we believe at the beginning of the eighteenth century there were 105,000 humpback whales and 120,000 right whales. At the beginning of the twentieth century there were 75,000 humpbacks and 80,000 rights.
Since 1900 their numbers have fallen very quickly. Between 1935 and 1950 the number of humpbacks fell from 20,000 to 10,000 and since 1950 the number has fallen to only 6,000. The number of right whales has fallen even faster. In 1935 there were 25,000. The number fell to 6,000 in 1950 and since 1950 the number has fallen to 4,000. Men have always been hunters. Thousands of whales have become victims(牺牲品). It’s time to do something to protect whales.Which of the following is true?
| A．We know the exact number of whales in the sea. |
| B．It’s easy for us to count whales in the sea. |
| C．We find it impossible to count whales in the sea. |
| D．We don’t want to know how many whales there are in the sea. |
The number of right whales has fallen _______.
| A．more slowly than that of humpback whales |
| B．faster than that of humpback whales |
| C．as slowly as that of humpback whales |
| D．as fast as that of humpback whales |
The passage is mainly about _______.
| A．the number of humpback whales |
| B．the number of right whales |
| C．hunting whales |
| D．the necessity of protecting whales |
◇ Share Flats Happy Valley big flat, 1 room ready for use immediately. Quiet and convenient, fully furnished, park view. $6, 800 including bills with maid. Female nonsmoker. No pet. Sara 25720836 or 10077809.
◇ Moving Sale 2 armchairs, red/brown at $400 each; coffee table, black, wood, $800; oil painting, big, $900; Tianjin carpet, green 3×7, $600; double bed, $500; mirror, big, square, $500; fridge, big, double-door, $1000; old pictures, $140, up, each; plants, big and small. Tel: Weekend, 2521-6011/Weekday, 2524-5867.
◇ Part-time Laboratory Assistant Wanted Required by busy electronics(电子) company to help with development of computer. Should have an electronics degree and some practical experience of working in an electronics laboratory. Hours 9:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Mon.-Fri. Fourteen days paid leave. Salary ￥6598-10230 dependent on experience. Letter of application to: Mrs. G Chan, NOVA ELECTRONICS, 45 Gordon Rd, Hung Hom Kowloon. The one who put on the first ad probably wants to _______.
| A．rent(租) a beautiful flat of her own in Happy Valley |
| B．find another lady to share the cost to rent a flat |
| C．share her room in a flat with whoever has no pet |
| D．take on a maid to look after herself and the flat |
according to the ads, you may _______.
| A．buy an old picture for $150 |
| B．call at 25720836 and see a beautiful park |
| C．buy two armchairs for $ 400 |
| D．hire a maid by paying $6 800 |
If you want to buy some old furniture, you should_______.
| A．get in touch with NOVA ELECTRONICS |
| B．call at 2524-5867 any day except Monday |
| C．do it before you move to another place |
| D．call at either 2524-5867 on Monday or 2521-6011 on Saturday |
Once you can get a part-time job in NOVA ELECTRONICS, _______.
| A．you have to work at least 4 hours a day |
| B．you should write a letter to Mrs. G Chan |
| C．you will be given 14 days off each year besides weekends |
| D．you will get no more than $6 598 each month |