Bend over, take a deep breath and drink some water! This is just one of the hundreds of tips you might get if you have the hiccups(打嗝). Hiccups are so mysterious. We really don’t know why they start and why they stop.
Everyone has a favorite cure for a case of the hiccups. Some people think that a good scare is necessary to get well. Others eat a teaspoon of sugar. Still others drink a glass of water with a knife in it.
An American man named Jack O’Leary claimed to have hiccupped 160 million times over a period of eight years. He tried 60,000 cures, but none of them worked. Finally he prayed to Saint Jude, the saint of Hopeless cases, and his hiccupping stopped immediately.
It took a British plumber eight months to cure his hiccups. People from all over the world wrote him letters with suggestions for getting well. He tried them all, but the hiccups continued. Finally, he drank a “secret’’mixture someone had sent him. By that evening his hiccups were gone. Why did these cures work for these two men? No one really knows. But people who have studied many cases of hiccups have an idea. Hiccups usually go away if you believe in the cure.
________might be the best cure for hiccups.
| A．Special pills | B．A spoonful of salt | C．Cold water | D．What you believe in |
The plumber spent________in stopping his hiccups.
| A．4 hours | B．2 days | C．8 months | D．8 years |
According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
| A．We know why the hiccups start, but we don’t know how to stop them. |
| B．Saint Jude is an expert in curing the hiccups. |
| C．The British plumber drank a secret mixture given by an experienced doctor and then became well. |
| D．Some people think that a good scare is a cure for a case of hiccups. |
What is the main idea of this passage?
| A．Different ways to stop hiccups | B．What makes hiccups happen |
| C．How to get hiccups | D．Jack O’Leary’s hiccups |
Scientists are closely concerned with the structure of buildings and with the quality of building materials. The World health Organization (WHO) observes that the introduction of air conditioning and energy conservation (保护) measures have been accompanied by growing problems of indoor air quality. Some pollutants arise from insulation (隔音) products, some from moving cars, and others from modern housing materials. As many Europeans spend up to 90% of their lives in buildings, the health effects of the indoor climate are very important.
Some construction materials, including fiberboard, insulation foams and certain glues for man-made wood floor boards, for example, give out organic products such as formaldehyde (甲醛). Heat and humidity increase the release of formaldehyde and the gas seriously harms the eyes. Paint, lacquer, etc. can also release dangerous gas into indoor air.
Construction materials can cause serious damage, especially when they contain asbestos（石棉）. Asbestos is naturally present in rock formations worldwide. It belongs to a family of mineral substances made up of solid, non-combustible（非易燃品） fiber. These properties make asbestos a highly sought-after construction material. As early as 1931, however, public health officers in the United Kingdom revealed the connection between breathing in asbestos dust and such diseases as lung cancer.
The land on which a building is sited may also contribute to pollution. Some kinds of granite or similar rocks contain traces of radium. As it breaks down, this naturally radioactive element produces some kind of radioactive gas that goes through tiny cracks in walls, floors and building materials, and makes its way into the building and the rooms. The better the homes are insulated, the more is the dangerous gas in indoor air. The main effect of this dangerous gas on health is to increase the risk of lung cancer.
53．What is the main idea of the passage?
A．Some building materials pollute indoor air.
B．Some factors cause indoor air pollution.
C．Asbestos can cause lung cancer.
D．The land on which houses are built contributes to indoor pollution.
54．Why are Europeans particularly concerned with building materials?
A．Lots of building materials there are radioactive.
B．They stay home up to 90% of their lives.
C．They have a high rate of lung cancer.
D．They spend most of their time indoors.
55．Why is asbestos a sought-after building material?
A．It is a kind of insulation foam.
B．Asbestos will not give out dangerous gas.
C．This material is not easy to catch fire.
D．It is rarely present in rock formations.
56．Why should we be careful about the land on which a building is to be sited?
A．To determine whether the land is firm enough for a building to be sited on.
B．To make sure that the land contains no radioactive material.
C．To make certain that the land releases no formaldehyde or other gases.
D．To check whether it contains any combustible materials.
Editor’s notes: AWL is well known for its dictionaries and English language teaching materials. Some readers have written in to ask us for the latest information on high quality books on English, so here we introduce two texts that aim to improve spoken English fluency.
Let’s speak (Beginner)
By Bev Dusuya, Naoko Ozeki and Kevin Bergman
ISBN: 962001359X
Speak Up(Pre-Intermediate)
By Bev Kusuya, Nako Zeki
ISBN: 0583338050
“Teach the students about your culture and help them talk about their own.” How often are these worthy goals kept from being achieved by the limitations of your beginner level learners? Students at all levels want to talk about culture.
Topics include food, shopping, sports, fashion, the roles of men and women, health, music, and many more.
These are all chosen from surveys of over 15,000 students about their own interests in cross-cultural communication.
“Let’s Speak” and “Speak Up” share a special but excellent way that allows all students to take part in.
The series has questions which start thinking and then help collect opinions about personal topics. Conversation practice is provided by ready to use (现成的)models of basic exchanges on the topic. Also, the cultural information presented in the series comes in the form of interesting, relevant（相关的）facts and ideas from other countries through listening tasks and Culture Quiz exercises.
Team activities in books provide lively problem solving games to enable sharing and comparison of cultural values.
“Let’s Speak” is fit for entry level students of all ages. “Speak Up” provides for the needs 
of higher level beginners, offering the same careful listening and speaking help, but with slightly more open ended discussion.
For any information about AWL’s books, please get in touch with the following addresses:
Beijing Addison Wesley Longman Information Center
Room 2306, FLTRP Beijing
19 Xi San Huan Beilu, Beijing 100081
Tel: (010)68917488 (010) 68917788
Fax: (010) 68917499
E-mail: zrh@public.bat.net.cn
49．In the sentence “Teach the students about your culture and help them talk about their own”, “your culture” here means the culture of ____________.
A．the English native speakers B．the English learners
C．the readers of the two books D．the readers of the newspaper
50．Which of the following are mentioned about the two books in the passage above?
a．publisher b．titles c．content d．writers
e．prices f．pages g．book number
A．a,b,d,f B．a,c,d,g C．b,c,d,e D．b,c,e,f
51．The two books have in common everything EXCEPT____________.
A．the same interesting topics
B．the same level of learners
C．proper ways to excite the learners to talk
D．right kinds of activities for cultural communication
52．The passage above is probably taken from the____________section in a newspaper.
A．EDUCATION B．NEWS
C．ENTERTAINMENT D．BOOKSHELF
How many people have I met who have told me about the book that they have been planning to write but have never yet found the time? Far too many.
This is Life, all right, but we do treat it like a rehearsal (排演) and, unhappily, we do miss so many of its best moments.
We take jobs to stay alive and provide homes for our families, always making ourselves believe that this style of life is mere
ly a temporary state of affairs along the road to what we really want to do. Then, at 60 or 65, we are suddenly presented with a clock and several grandchildren and we look back and realize that all those years waiting for Real Life to come along were in fact real life.
In America they have a saying much laughed at by the English：“Have a nice day!” They speak slowly and seriously in their shops, hotels and sandwich bars. I think it is a wonderful phrase, reminding us, in effect, to enjoy the moment: to value this very day.
How often do we say to ourselves, "I'll take up horse-riding (or golf, or sailing) as soon as I get a higher position," only to do none of those things when I do get the higher position.
When I first became a reporter, I knew a man who gave up a very well paid respectable job at the Daily Telegraph to go and edit a small weekly newspaper. At the time I was astonished by what appeared to me to be his completely abnormal (反
常的) mental state. How could anyone turn his back on Fleet Street in central London for a small local area？I wanted to know.
Now I am a little older and possibly wiser, I see the sense in it. In Fleet Street the man was under continual pressure. He lived in an unattractive London suburb and he spent much of his life sitting on Southern Region trains.
45．The first paragraph of the passage tells us that____________.
A．we always try to find some time to write a book
B．we always make plans but seldom fulfill them
C．we always enjoy many of life's best moments
D．we always do what we really want to do
46．The underlined phrase "turn his back on" (
paragraph 6) most probably means____________.
A．leave for B．return to C．give up D．rely on
47．The man ( paragraph 6) left his first job partly because he was____________.
A．in an abnormal state B．under too much pressure
C．not well paid D．not respected
48．What is probably the best title for the passage?
A．Provide Homes For Our Family B．Take Up Horse-riding
C．Value This Very Day D．Stay Alive
第二部分：阅读理解（共25小题，第一节，每题2分，第二节每题1分，满分45分）
第一节：阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
How men first learnt to invent words is unknown; in other words, the origin of language is a mystery. All we really know is that men, unlike animals, somehow invented certain sounds to express thoughts and feelings, actions and things, so that they could communicate with each other; and that later they agreed upon certain signs, called letters. These letters could be combined to represent those sounds, and which could be written down. Those sounds, whether spoken, or written in let
ters, we call words.
The power of words, then, lies in their associations---the things they bring up before our
|
minds. Words become filled with meaning for us by experience, and the longer we live, the more certain words recall to us the glad and sad events of our past; and the more we read and learn, the more the number of words that mean something to us increases. Great writers are those who not only have great thoughts but also express these thoughts in words which appeal powerfully to our minds and emotions. This charming and telling use of words is what we call literary style. Above all, the real poet is a master of words. He can convey his meaning in words which sing like music and which by their position and association can move men to tears. We should therefore learn to choose our words carefully and use them accurately, or they will make our speech silly and vulgar(粗俗的).
41．Which is TRUE about the origin of language?
the events of our past
EXCEPT that____________.
（6）------中偏难题
Most people feel lonely sometimes, but it usually only lasts a few minutes or a few hours．This kind of loneliness is not serious．In fact, it is quite normal．For some people, though, loneliness can last for years．Psychologists （心理学家） are studying this phenomenon in an attempt to better understand long-term loneliness．These researchers have already identified three different types of loneliness.
The first kind of loneliness is temporary．This is the most common type．It usually disappears quickly and does not require any special attention．The second kind, situational loneliness, is a natural result of a particular situation------for example, the death of a loved one, or moving to a new place．Although thi
s kind of loneliness can cause physical problems, such as headaches and sleeplessness, it usually does not last for more than a year．Situational loneliness is easy to understand and to predict.
The third kind of loneliness is the most severe．Unlike the second type, chronic （慢性的） loneliness usually lasts more than two years and has no specific cause．People who experience habitual loneliness have problems socializing．Unfortunately, many chronically lonely people think there is little or nothing they can do to improve their condition.
Many researchers agree that the loneliest people are between the ages 18 and 25, so a group of psychologists decided to study a group of college students．They found that more than 50% of the students were situationally lonely at the beginning of the term as a result of their new circumstances, but had adjusted after a few months．Thirteen percent were still lonely after seven months due to shyness and fear．They felt very uncomfortable meeting strangers, even though they understood that their fear was not reasonable．The situationally lonely students overcame their loneliness by making new friends, but the chronically lonely remained unhappy because they were afraid to do so.
Psychologists are trying to find ways to help habitually lonely people for two reasons．First of all, they are unhappy and unable to socialize．Secondly, researchers have found a connection between chronic loneliness and serious illnesses such as heart disease．While temporary and situational loneliness can be a normal, healthy part of life, chronic loneliness can be a very sad, and sometimes dangerous, condition．
1．The passage mainly talks about _______.
A．the subjects of psychology B．the study on loneliness
C．the interests of psychologists D．the treatment of loneliness
2．All of the following are true EXCEPT that _______.
A．situational loneliness can cause physical problems
B．temporary loneliness does not need special attention
C．chronic loneliness can cause problems in socializing
D．37% of the students can overcome loneliness easily
3．The underlined word “adjusted” in paragraph 4 means “________”.
A．had no trouble understanding others B．got used to the new situation
C．changed themselves slightly D．improved their health
4．Psychologists want to help the habitually lonely people because _______.
A．they are college students
B．they are sad and dangerous
C．they intend to communicate with others
D．they may have mental and physical problems