People living in the country enjoy several advantages that people living in the city cannot enjoy.
They are in close contact (接触) with nature. They make friends with trees and stones. They breathe fresh air. They fight with strong winds. They listen to the song of birds.
This contact with nature is good for health. There are many diseases that are common in the city, but are not to be found in the country, For example, near---sightedness is almost unknown to country people.
Because of the absence of cars, one can walk more freely in the country than in the city, There are no rules of the road nor traffic signs to obey.
People living in the country can easily get fresh vegetables, fresh fruit and fresh milk, and they get them at lower prices than in the city.
Country life is economical (节俭的) in other ways, too. There are practically no temptations to waste money.
Country people are mostly honest. They say what they mean, and make and keep promises with sincerity (诚意). They do not put on air (摆架子). They do not pretend to have those ridiculous (荒谬的) manners which are necessary in what we call polite society. What can’t country people often enjoy?
| A．Musical concerts. | B．Fresh air. |
| C．Song of birds. | D．Close contact with nature. |
What is probably more expensive in the country than in the city?
| A．Vegetables. | B．Beer. | C．Milk. | D．Fruit. |
What is NOT true of country life?
| A．The traffic accident rate is very high in the country. |
| B．Living in the country saves one a lot of money. |
| C．Country people enjoy better health than the city people. |
| D．Country people are honest. |
Your friends might be in Australia or maybe just down the road, but they are all just a few clicks away. Life has changed for millions of young people across the world who now make friends online. Whether you use chat-rooms, QQ, MSN or ICQ, you are a member of this group.
“I don’t often talk with my parents or grandparents, but I talk a lot with my old friends on QQ,” said Fox’s Shadow, the online name used by a girl student in China. “Most of my classmates use QQ after school.”
QQ is the biggest messaging service in China. A record from Tencent, the company which developed QQ, shows that 4 million people used it one Saturday night in October.
And probably Fox’s Shadow was one of them. “I log in on Friday nights, and Saturdays or Sundays when I feel everything around me boring. I usually spend about ten hours chatting online every week,” she said. “But I never talk with strangers, especially boys or men.”
Even though she likes chatting, she is careful about making friends with strangers online. “You don’t know who you’re talking to. You should always be careful about whom you believe in online.”
Many people would like to meet offline when they fee
l they have known someone very well. Fox’s Shadow once met one of her online friends face to face. It was a girl who was a football fan like herself and they went to a football match together.
A 16-year-old Beijing boy, named Bart Simon online, dislikes QQ users. “I used to chat on QQ, but I found that most people were talking about foolish things,” he said. Now he chats online in English, using MSN. “I only chat online because I’ve got friends in Japan, the US and Singapore,” he said. “I want to learn more about foreign cultures.” But he spends little time chatting on QQ as he sees it as a waste of time and money.
“If you are really addicted to it, sometimes you can’t give your mind to your lessons,” he said. “And friends in your real life are always more important than those so-called friends you meet online
.”From the passage, we know“…they are all just a few clicks away” means“”.
| A．it is wonderful to see your friends by clicking |
| B．it is popular to make friends online |
| C．it is possible to live much closer to your friends |
| D．it is easy and fast to get in touch with your friends |
Fox’s Shadow thinks QQ is.
| A．a good place to spend her time when bored |
| B．the biggest messaging service in China |
| C．a safe place to chat with strangers |
| D．the best place to make friends |
Which of the following sentences is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．All the people on QQ are talking about foolish things. |
| B．We should think more of our friends in real life. |
| C．We should be careful about boys or men online. |
| D．Chatting online is a waste of time and money. |
The underlined phrase means.
| A．turn on the computer | B．enter in QQ |
| C．surf the internet | D．make friends |
There is one language that is used in every country in the world. The people who use it are young and old, short and tall, thin and fat. It is everybody’s second language. It is easy to understand, although you can’t hear it. It is sign language.
When you wave to a friend who is across the street, you are using sign language. When you smile at someone, you are saying, “I want to be friendly”, but you are not using speech. You are using sign language. When you raise your hand in class, you are saying, “Please ask me. I think I know the correct answer.”
Babies who can’t talk can point at things. They are using sign language. A policeman who wants to stop traffic holds up his hands. He is using sign language.
Many years ago, a French priest, Charles Michel de Epee, became interested in education for deaf people. He invented a finger alphabet (字母表). It is still in use. People can make the sign for letters and spell words with their hands, and deaf people can read and understand them. Soon there were schools for the deaf in many countries. The only university for the deaf is Gallaudet College in Washington, D.C.
Today, in the United States, there are special TV news programs for deaf people. The newsreader tells the news in sign language. At the same time, the words appear on the TV screen.
The actors in the Theatre of Deaf don’t spell every word. Sometimes they use hand signs. When they put two hands together, it means sandwich. They can make a roof with their hands when they want to show a house. One finger in front 
of an actor’s mouth can mean quiet. You can talk to people who are behind windows that are closed. And when you go swimming with your friends, you can have conversations under water.
How many hand signs do you use every day? The passage is mainly about ______.
| A．a famous priest in France | B．the importance of sign language |
| C．an introduction to sign language | D．how to use sign language |
If you want to express the idea
that “I am very friendly” to someone, you will ______.
| A．raise your hand | B．put one hand onto the other |
| C．make a roof with your hands | D．smile to the person |
Which of the following about sign language is TRUE?
| A．It is a special language used in a few countries in the world. |
| B．It is a way to express one’s ideas without words. |
| C．It is only used by the deaf. |
| D．It can be heard. |
A large number of women in Western European countries wish that they were born men. The number is said as high as 60% in West Germany.
“Women often wish that they had the same chance as men have, and believe it is still men’s world,” said Dr James Holden, one of the scientists who did the study.
Anne Harper has a very good job for an international oil company. She also believes in “Women’ s Liberation(解放)”.
“I don’t wish that I were a man,” she says, “and I don’t think many women do. But I do wish that people would stop looking down upon us women. At work
, for example, we often do the work that men do but get paid less. There are still a lot of jobs that are usually the best ones and open only to men. If you’re a man, you have a much better chance of leading an exciting life. How many women pilots are there ... or engineers or scientists?”What can we learn from the first paragraph?
| A．60% women in West Germany wish that they were born men. |
| B．Most women in Western European countries wish that their babies were all boys. |
| C．60% Western European women wish that they were born men. |
| D．60% Western European women who wish that they were born men are from West Germany. |
“It is still men’s world.” means “______.”
| A．There’re more men than women in the world |
| B．There’re more men scientists or engineers than women scientists or engineers in the world |
| C．Women have not been given the same chance as men |
| D．Women cannot live without men |
Anne Harper considers that women should ______.
| A．live a better life than men | B．be really liberated |
| C．be well paid | D．get better jobs than men |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Usually the best jobs are not open to women. |
| B．Women are less paid than men for the same job. |
| C．There’re more men pilots, engineers and scientists than women ones. |
| D．Women are looked down upon because they’re the second-class citizens |
A few years ago I was shopping with a friend and his 12-year-old daughter in downtown San Francisco．A street musician，whom my friend happened to know from his own musician day，was playing the saxophone on a street corner．His name was Clifford，and he had attracted a large crowd with his performance．After he finished，my friend introduced him to me and his daughter．Clifford asked her if she played any instrument．When she replied that she was taking trumpet (小号) lessons and played in her junior high school band，he said，“That’s fine，little lady．Learn your instrument well and you can play anything．”Somehow these simple yet wise words struck me as suitable not only for a trumpet player but also for a reader．If you learn to read well，you can read anything you want—not just newspapers and magazines，but more difficult material like philosophy，film criticism，military history—whatever interests you as your confidence grows．You would not be limited in any way．If you have the vocabulary –or at least a good dictionary near at hand—you can pick up a book，concentrate on it, and make sense of the writer’s words．
In the United States，reading instruction often ends at elementary school，so students sometimes have difficulty as they progress through school．They must take their assignments，armed only with their elementary，school reading skills．The result，too often，is frustration (挫折) and loss of confidence．And the assigned reading in your college courses will be even greater than they were in high school．Developing Reading Skills is designed to accomplish several tasks：to show you the skills that will enable you to read with greater comprehension，to help you deal with reading assignment with confidence，and to teach you to become an active reader．The talk between the girl and Clifford serves as an introduction to．
| A．the importance of reading |
| B．the connection between playing instruments and reading |
| C．the necessity of learning to play an instrument |
| D．the variety of reading material |
It can be inferred from the story that．
| A．Clifford was good at playing the saxophone |
| B．the writer’s friend was once a street musician |
| C．the 12-year-old girl played the trumpet very poorly |
| D．Clifford was a good music teacher |
We can infer from the last paragraph that Developing Reading Skills．
| A．is directed to elementary school students | B．centers around vocabulary building skills |
| C．aims at helping students read better | D．offers elementary reading skills |
With good reading skills，you can．
| A．understand anything you read without difficulty |
| B．work out the writer’s meaning if only you concentrate on the book |
| C．understand what you read with the help of a good dictionary |
| D．Concentrate on whatever you read |
The Man of Many Secrets
Harry Houdini was one of the greatest American entertainers in the theater this century．He was a man famous for his escapes—from prison cells，from wooden boxes floating in rivers，from locked tanks full of water．He appeared in theaters all over Europe and America．Crowds came to see the great Houdini and his “magic”tricks．
0f course，his secret was not magic，or supernatural powers．It was simply strength．He had ability to move his toes as well as to move his fingers．He could move his body into almost any position he wanted．
Houdini started working in the entertainment world when he was 17，in 1891．He and his brother Theo performed card tricks in a New York club．They called themselves the Houdini brothers．When Harry married in 1894，he and his wife Bess worked together as magician and assistant，but for a long time they were not successful．Then Harty performed his first prison escape，in Chicago in 1898．Harry persuaded a detective to let him try to escape from the prison，and he invited the local newspaperman to watch．It was the publicity(名声)that came from this that started Harry Houdini’s success．
Harry had fingers trained to escape from handcuffs(手铐)and toes trained to escape from ankle chains，but his biggest secret was how he unlocked the prison doors．Every time he went into the prison cell，Bess gave him a kiss for good luck—and a small skeleton key，which is a key that fits many locks passed quickly from her mouth to his．
Harry used these prison escapes to build his fame．He arranged to escape from the local jail of every town he visited．In the afternoon the people of the town would read about it in their local newspapers．and in the evening every seat in the local theater would be full．What was the result? Worldwide fame，and a name remembered today．According to the passage，Houdini’s success in prison escapes depends on．
| A．his magic tricks and inhuman powers | B．his special tricks and a skeleton key |
| C．his unusual ability and skeleton key | D．his inhuman talents and magic tricks |
According to the passage，how did Houdini get the key which helped him unlock prison door?
| A．He took the key from his wife’s mouth． |
| B．His wife passed it to his hand while kissing him． |
| C．His wife gave it to him by a magic trick． |
| D．He got it in his mouth through a kiss by his wife． |
It can be inferred from the passage that Houdini became famous．
| A．when he was about 24 | B．when he was about 17 |
| C．after the year 1894 | D．before the year 1898 |