Valentine’s Day is named for Saint Valentine, an early Christmas churchman who helped young lovers. Valentine was killed for his Christian beliefs on February 14 more than 1700 years ago, but the day which 
is named after him is even earlier than that.
More than 2,000 years ago, the ancient Romans celebrated a holiday for lovers. As part of the celebration, girls wrote their names on pieces of paper and put them in a large container. Boys reached into the container and pulled one out. The girl whose name was written on the paper became his lover or sweet heart for a year.
Now, lovers still put their names on pieces of paper and they sent each other Valentine’s Day cards that tell of their love. Sometimes they also send gifts, like flowers or chocolate candies. Americans usually send these gifts and cards through the mail system. But some use another way to send this message. They have it printed in a newspaper. The cost is usually a few dollars. Some of the messages are simple and short, “Jane, I love you very much”. Others say more. This one, for example, “Dan, Roses are red. Violets are blue. I hope you love me as much as I love you. Forever, May.”
Most of the newspapers that print such messages are local, but USA Today is sold throughout the United S
tates and 90 other countries. This means someone can send a Valentine message to the lover in a far-away place almost anywhere in the world. These messages cost 80 dollars and more. An employee of USA Today says readers can have a small heart or rose printed along with their messages this year. Will this kind of Valentine’s Day message reach the one you love? Well, just make sure he or she reads the newspaper. When was the day named after Valentine?
| A．More than 1700 years ago before Valentine’s death. | B．More than 2, 000 years ago. |
| C．On February 14. | D．It is not mentioned in the passage. |
Which of the following is Wrong about the ancient Romans holiday in the text?
| A．Girls put paper with their names into a container. |
| B．Boys and girls became sweet hearts by chance. |
| C．Girls and boys chose life lovers in the holiday. |
| D．It was celebrated as a holiday for lovers. |
Now lovers celebrate Valentine’s Day _________.
| A．like what the ancient Romans did | B．by sending gifts to each other |
| C．by printing newspapers | D．by spending lots of money |
What can we learn from the text?
| A．The ancient Roman girls were more easy-going. |
| B．Valentine was killed for not helping the government. |
| C．USA Today helps readers to send roses with printed messages. |
| D．Valentine was honored for his Christian belief and warm heart. |
The text is written to _________.
| A．tell us something about Valentine’s Day | B．advertise for USA Today |
| C．tell us that Americans are open to express love | D．sell roses on Valentine’s Day |
At one time no one could travel on an English road faster than four miles an hour. That was the law until 1896. A man had to walk in front of a car which could not go faster than the man. At night the man had to carry a red lamp.
Once Charles Rolls brought a car from France to England, but he wanted to drive faster than four miles an hour. In order to have no trouble with the police, he had a talk with some of the police officers, who ordered their policemen to look the other way when the car came along the road. This was a good plan in the country, but not so easy to follow in the busy streets of London.
One night Rolls and some friends started from London on their journey to Cambridge. One of the men walked in front with the red lamp, but he walked as fast as he could. The police became very interested in walls and shop-fronts when they heard the car and not one of them saw it.
They reached a hill, but what a waste of time it was to drive down the hill at four miles an hour! Rolls was getting ready to jump into the car, but then he noticed a policeman who was not looking the other way. The slow car reached him.
“Good evening,” said the policeman, looking at the car.
“Good evening,” said Rolls, holding the lamp.
“One of these horseless things,” said the policeman, looking at it with interest.
“Yes,” said Rolls, and waited.
“I’ve often wanted a ride in one, but of course policemen can’t buy things like that.” He turned and looked hopefully in Rolls’s face.
“Jump in,” said Rolls.
“Thanks,” said the policeman, and did so. “Now,” he said, sitting down, “You can let it go just as you like down this hill. There isn’t another policeman on this road for a mile and a half.”The policemen were told “to look the other way” so that _______.
| A．they could watch the car coming from the other direction |
| B．Rolls’s car could go faster than four miles an hour |
| C．they could make sure no one was in the way |
| D．the car would not hit them on the road |
In what way did the policemen carry out the order from their officers?
| A．They greeted Rolls when the car came along. |
| B．They walked in front of the car with a red lamp. |
| C．They pretended to be attracted by something else. |
| D．They stood on duty every 1.5 miles along the road. |
The policeman who said “Good evening” to Rolls wanted to _______.
| A．teach Rolls a lesson |
| B．take a free ride home |
| C．have a talk with Rolls |
| D．have a car ride experience |
After the policeman jumped into the car, Rolls _______.
| A．dared not drive the car faster than he was allowed to |
| B．could drive as fast as he wished within a certain distance |
| C．could drive on any road he liked for the rest of the journey |
| D．drove his car as fast as he could down the hill to Cambridge |
One thinks of princes and presidents as some of the most powerful people in the world; however, governments, elected or otherwise, sometimes have had to struggle with the financial powerhouses called tycoons. The word tycoon is relatively new to the English language. It is Chinese in origin but was given as a title to some Japanese generals. The term was brought to the United States, in the late nineteenth century, where it eventually was used to refer to magnates who acquired immense fortunes from sugar and cattle, coal and oil, rubber and steel, and railroads. Some people called these tycoons “capitals of industry” and praised them for their contributions to U.S. wealth and international reputation. Others criticized them as cruel “robber barons”, who would stop at nothing in pursuit of personal wealth.
The early tycoons built successful businesses, often taking over smaller companies to eliminate competition. A single company that came to control an entire market was called a monopoly. Monopolies made a few families very wealthy, but they also placed a heavy financial burden on consumers and the economy at large.
As the country expanded and railroads linked the East Coast to the West Coast, local monopolies turned into national corporations called trusts. A trust is a group of companies that join together under the control of a board of trustees. Railroad trusts are an excellent example. Railroads were privately owned and operated and often monopolized various routes, setting rates as high as they desired. The financial burden this placed on passengers and businesses increased when railroads formed trusts. Farmers, for example, had no choice but to pay, as railroads were the only means they could use to get their grain to buyers. Exorbitant (过高的) goods rates put some farmers out of business.
There were even accusations that the trusts controlled government itself by buying votes and manipulating elected officials. In 1890 Congress passed the Sherman Antitrust. Act, legislation aimed at breaking the power of such trusts. The Sherman Antitrust Act focused on two main issues. First of all, it made illegal any effort to interfere with the normal conduct of interstate trade. It also made it illegal to monopolize any part of business that operates across state lines.
Over the next 60 years or so, Congress passed other antitrust laws in an effort to encourage competition and restrict the power of larger corporations. The Sherman Antitrust Act_______________.
| A．affected only the companies doing business within state lines |
| B．sought to eliminate monopolies in favor of competition in the market-place |
| C．promoted trade with a large number of nations |
| D．provides a financial advantage to the buyer |
One might infer from this passage that lower prices _________.
| A．are more likely to exist in a competitive market economy |
| B．usually can be found only in an economy based on monopolies |
| C．matter only to people who are poor and living below the poverty level |
| D．are regulated by the government |
It seems likely that many Americans____________.
| A．believed that the trusts had little influence over government |
| B．expected the wealthy magnates to share money with the poor |
| C．did little to build up American business |
| D．were worried that trusts might manipulate the government |
At one time it was the dream for many little girls to become a nurse．Today, however, America is facing its worst nurse shortage since World War I. Recently about 2, 000, 000 nurses are needed and 60 percent of all hospitals in the US have shortages large enough to threaten（=" say" that you will hurt somebody if they don't do what you want）the quality of care provided. The demand for nurses spreads widely throughout the nursing field.
What has become of these women in white? The answer lies in not one but several causes. One possibility is the fact that woman have greater career options （职业选择）. In the past, women who chose to work outside the home had two basic choices: nursing or teaching. Today, more women than ever are in the work force, but their options have greatly increased. There are women doctors, lawyers, firefighters and police officers. In fact, women today are found in nearly every field of work. Nursing has been left behind, as women move on to jobs with higher pay and greater status（地位）. A woman or man in the nursing field is often looked down upon as “merely a nurse”. Teachers may be also at fault. Many high school students are actually being steered（劝 导）away from nursing, told by teachers that they are “too bright to be a nurse”.
Americans are living longer than ever and requiring more medical attention. In fact, the number of elderly patients has almost doubled in the past twenty years. Obviously a larger population requires more nurses. AIDS and other diseases have caused more and more people to need nursing care. Usually fatal diseases mean long drawn - out hospital stay, that is to say, more nurses are needed to care for these patients. It is estimated that the demand for nurses will be doubled the supply in the coming ten years.Why is America facing its worst nurse shortage?
| A．Because the demand of nurses has been doubled. |
| B．Because more and more women prefer to be teachers and doctors. |
| C．Because women have been provided with many different jobs. |
| D．Because women no longer choose to be nurses. |
The passage tells us that high school teachers are at fault for________.
| A．not mentioning the worst nurse shortage in the US |
| B．introducing jobs with higher pay and greater status to their students |
| C．not asking the government to raise the nurses’ payment |
| D．persuading the students not to be nurses |
The author wrote this passage in order to________.
| A．describe the unequal treatment of women in the US |
| B．warn people to pay more attention to the nursing problem |
| C．tell us women’s free choice of jobs today |
| D．call on women not to be nurses |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．High school students think themselves too bright to be nurses． |
| B．Women in the US have greater career choice than those in other countries. |
| C．Of all the hospitals in the world 60 percent more nurses are badly needed. |
| D．Nursing used to be a popular job among women. |
If you see a person carelessly throw a cigarette to the ground, what are you likely to think?
If you hate people throwing things on the ground, you might think, “That person shouldn’t litter.” If you are a smoker, you might think, “I would sure like a cigarette right now.”
Most likely, though, you are not thinking, “That unused cigarette butt could be used to make something amazing!”
That is, unless you are a creative scientist. If you are, you may see potential—a possibility—where others simply see trash（垃圾）. That is just what has happened in South Korea.
The spirit of invention can hit at the strangest times and in the most unusual places. In South Korea, it happened near a trash can.
Kin Gil-Pyo is with the Seoul National University. He says he saw people throwing away cigarette butts, which got him thinking. He began wondering if something useful could be made from them.
He and other researchers found a way to convert cigarette butts into materials required for high-performance batteries.
Kim Gil-Pyo says they looked closely at used cigarette filters（滤嘴）, the parts of cigarettes smokers put into their mouths. Filters are made of a material called “cellulose acetate（醋酸纤维素）.”
Mr. Kim explains that cellulose acetate can be made into another material: carbon. The pieces of cellulose acetate, known as fibers, are changed through a one-step burning process. After this, they are turned into an energy storage material.
But why use carbon? Carbon has many qualities that seem to make it the perfect material. Carbon has a high surface area. It conducts electricity well. It also stays stable, unlikely to change, for a long time. And carbon does not cost a lot. All these qualities make it the most popular material for making super-capacitors（超级电容器）.
Super-capacitors are good at storing energy. They have high-power mass, or density(密度). They require only a short time for recharging. And they have a long lifecycle. Super-capacitors are used in products such as laptop computers and cell phones. They are also used in industrial energy converters, like wind turbine machines.
Combining carbon and super-capacitors seems like a perfect marriage.
Kim Gil-Pyo tells the Reuters News Agency that cigarette butts could affect the economy is a huge way. They could prove to be a low-cost source of carbon material. They are so cheap that smokers throw them to the ground. And you don’t get much cheaper than that.What may people think seeing a person throw a cigarette to the ground?
| A．That all depends. | B．He should be blamed. |
| C．It causes them to smoke. | D．The butts can be reused. |
Filters can be made into a material that.
| A．is used as the battery surface |
| B．can be turned into electricity |
| C．is very easy and costs nothing |
| D．can hold electricity energy well |
Super-capacitors made from carbon.
| A．need quite a long time to recharge |
| B．are comparatively very expensive |
| C．can easily carry an electrical current |
| D．can save a large quantity of electricity |
The story tells the readers the truth that.
| A．where there is a will, there is a way |
| B．the most useless is usually the most useful |
| C．ideas usually hit at the most unusual places |
| D．one person’s trash is another person’s treasure |
Last August, 1 traveled with a group of volunteers to Tres de Mayo, a small community near Tela，Honduras to help renovate（整修）a community centre, and I often could not help but think about the hardships they faced day to day, all factors considered to place children at risk for problems later in life．
During my stay there, I had plenty of opportunities to interact and work with local children．One young boy in particular，Javier, 17, stood out for me. Later I realized that his father had left a year earlier for the U.S , and the family had not heard from him since then. Lacking of money, his mother had to find work elsewhere, but unfortunately could not afford to take all four children, so Javier with his little brother was left behind.
Many of the children we met in Tres de Mayo were in similar situations. But the children tried their best to help out with the construction, and the building of this centre served as an important opportunity for them to learn from the adults·
I still remember the look in Javier’s eyes, as they welled up with tears when we told him we were leaving. One of the volunteers held him close, but it did little to console him，because he had already experienced so much loss, and it was hard to realize that our departure was adding to the list.
As I looked beyond Javier, I could see many men and women whom Javier looked up to, depended on, and gathered strength from. I did know that without parents to raise him, he was not left alone. Instead, the adults in the community took the responsibility for the care of their collective young.
In many north American cities we barely know our next door neighbors, let alone members of our community. How can people outside the family possibly play a central role in upbringing(养育)？What does the second Paragraph mainly talk about？
| A．Javier faced a number of challenges that put him at some risks． |
| B．Javier established good relationship with the author and his team． |
| C．Javier shared the same sufferings with other kids in Tres de Mayo． |
| D．Javier had to learn to be independent even since he was a little boy． |
When helping build the community centre, the children______．
| A．enjoyed staying with each other |
| B．enriched their social experiences |
| C．received education together with the adults |
| D．gained some benefits from the elders |
We can replace the underlined word “console” in the fourth paragraph with“______”.
| A．affect | B．comfort |
| C．inspire | D．Protect |
From the Passage，we can infer that the author is________.
| A．optimistic and ambitious |
| B．energetic and easy-going |
| C．considerate and responsible |
| D．determined and adventurous |