I was very disappointed not to be able to go to the jazz concert last Friday. The announcement in the paper said that you could buy tickets at the theater box office in Richland Hills any day between 10:00 and 4:00. Since I work from 9 o’clock to 5:30, the only time I could go to the theater was during my 45-minute lunch break. Unfortunately, the theater is on the other side of the town, and the bus service between my office and Richland Hills is not very good. But if you are lucky, you can make the round trip in 45 minutes. Last Monday, I stood at the bus stop for fifteen minutes waiting for a bus. By the time I saw one come around the corner, there was not enough time left to make the trip—so I gave up and went back to the office. The same thing happened on Tuesday, and again on Wednesday. On Thursday, my luck changed. I got on a bus right away and arrived at the theatre in exactly twenty minutes. When I got there, however, I found a long line of people at the box office. I heard one man say he had been waiting in line for over an hour. Realizing I would not have enough time to wait in line, I caught the next bus and headed back across the town. By Friday I realized my only hope was to make the trip by taxi. It was expensive, but I felt it would be worth hearing the concert. The trip by taxi only took 10 minutes, but it felt like an hour to me. When I got to the theatre, I was relieved to see that nobody was waiting in line. The reason, I quickly discovered, was that they had already sold all the tickets.The writer is probably ______.
| A．a worker | B．a college teacher |
| C．a boss of a company | D．a secretary |
He learned ______ that there would be a concert last Friday.
| A．from his friends | B．from one of his colleagues |
| C．over the radio | D．from the newspaper |
He could go and buy the ticket ______.
| A．any day before work hours | B．both before and after work hours |
| C．only during lunch time | D．on Saturday and Sunday |
The word “relieved” in the last two sentences may best be replaced by “______”.
| A．surprised | B．pleased | C．puzzled | D．sorry |
The story is about ______.
| A．a good concert |
| B．someone enjoying a good concert |
| C．someone trying to buy concert tickets for his friends |
| D．someone failing to buy the concert ticket |
At the beginning of my 8:00 a.m. class one Monday at UNLV（拉斯维加斯内华达大学）, I cheerfully asked my students how their weekend had been. One young man said that his weekend had not been very good. The young man then proceeded to ask me why I always seemed to be so cheerful.
His question reminded me of something I’d read somewhere before: “Every morning when you get up, you have a choice about how you want to approach life that day,” I said to the young man. “I choose to be cheerful.”
“Let me give you an example,” I continued. “In addition to teaching here at UNLV, I also teach out at the community college in Henderson. One day a few weeks ago I drove to Henderson. I exited the freeway and turned onto College Drive. But just then my car died. I tried to start it again, but the engine wouldn’t turn over. So I put my flashers on, grabbed my books, and marched down the road to the college.”
“As soon as I got there, the secretary in the Provost’s office asked me what had happened. ‘This is my lucky day’, I replied, smiling.”
“Your car breaks down and today is your lucky day?” She was puzzled, “What do you mean?”
“I live seventeen miles from here. I replied. My car could have broken down anywhere along the freeway. It didn’t. Instead, it broke down in the perfect place: off the freeway, within walking distance of here. I’m still able to teach my class, and I’ve been able to arrange for the tow truck to meet me after class. If my car was meant to break down today, it couldn’t have been arranged in a more convenient fashion.”If you want to be cheerful you should ___________.
| A．try to succeed in doing everything | B．try to please your boss every day |
| C．earn a lot of money by working | D．choose to be cheerful every day |
The underlined phrase “turn over” in the third paragraph means “________”
| A．roll over | B．work normally | C．stopped suddenly | D．move around |
According to this passage we can infer that the teacher’s car broke down ____.
| A．near UNLV | B．along the highway |
| C．near Henderson | D．at the community college |
Which one of the following is TRUE?
| A．The teacher taught not only at UNLV but also at the community college. |
| B．That was the teacher’s lucky day because the teacher liked walking. |
| C．The teacher always hoped that the car would break down often. |
| D．The young man was sad because his car broke down. |
Recently some American scientists have given a useful piece of advice to people in industrialized nations．They say people should eat more of the same kind of food eaten by humans living more than 10,000 years ago．
The scientists say that the human life has changed greatly．Our bodies have not been able to deal with these changes in lifestyle and this had led to new kinds of sicknesses．So they are called "diseases of civilization"．Many cancers and diseases of the blood system are examples of such diseases.
Scientists noted that people in both the Old Stone Age and the New Stone Age enjoyed very little alcohol or tobacco, probably none．However, a change in food is one of the main differences between life in ancient times and that of today.
Stone Age people hunted wild animals for their meat, which had much less fat than domestic ones．They ate a lot of fresh wild vegetables and fruits．They did not have milk or any other dairy products, and they made very little use of grains．We eat six times more salt than our ancestors．We eat more sugar．We eat twice as much fat but only one third as much protein and much less vitamin C.
But scientists say that we would be much healthier if we eat much the same way the ancient people did, cutting the amount of fatty, salty and sweet food.
| A．Stone Age people lived a simple life. B．But today, we enjoy eating a lot of these. C．In that case, they would live much healthier. D．Ancient people also got lots of physical exercise. E．These new sicknesses were not known in ancient times. F．People today probably don't want to live like our ancestors. G．Modern people used to suffer from "diseases of civilization". |
Man has always wanted to fly. Some of the greatest men in history have thought about the problem. One of these, for example, was the great Italian artist, Leonardo da Vinci. In the sixteenth century he made designs for machines that could fly. But they were never built.,
Throughout history, other less famous men have wanted to fly. An example was a man in England 800years ago. He made a pair of wings from chicken feathers. Then he fixed them to his body and jumped into the air from a tall building. He did not fly very far. He fell to the ground and broke every bone in his body.
The first real step took place in France in 1783. Two brothers, the Mongolfiers, made a very large “hot air balloon”. They knew that hot air rises. Why not fill a balloon with it? The balloon was made of cloth and paper. In September of that year, the King and Queen of France came to see the balloon. They watched it carry the very first air passengers into the sky. The passengers were a sheep and a chicken. We do not know how they felt about the trip. But we do know that the trip lasted 8 minutes and that the animals landed safely. Two months later, two men did the same thing. They rose above Paris in a balloon of the same kind. Their trip lasted twenty-five minutes and they traveled about 8 kilometers. Leonardo da Vinci .
| A．said that man would fly in the sky one day |
| B．built a kind of machine which never flew |
| C．drew many beautiful pictures of the birds |
| D．made designs of flying machines |
Eight hundred years ago an Englishman .
| A．made a kind of flying machine |
| B．tried to fly with wings made of chicken feathers |
| C．wanted to build a kind of balloon |
| D．tried to fly on a large bird |
In fact, the Englishman who tried to fly .
| A．lost his life | B．flew only 8 minutes |
| C．was not wounded | D．succeeded in flying |
The very first air passengers in the balloon were.
| A．the King and Queen | B．two Frenchmen |
| C．two animals | D．the Mongolfiers |
Some people are pessimistic(悲观的)when they think about the future. They say that, a hundred years from now, we will have used up most of the earths resources. We will have made our seas so dirty that we will not be able to eat fish from them. There will be so many people in the world that we will have to use all the countryside for housing; there will be no farmland left.
Other people have a different idea about the future. In their view, the city of the future will be a huge pyramid-shaped(金字塔形的) building, which will be floating on the surface of the sea. About 5,000 families will live there, and there will also be schools, shops in it.
In a hundred years’ time, people will not need to use oil. They will heat their homes with power from the sun.
Think of space. Perhaps a station will be set up on the moon; people will be able to visit the moon as tourists. They may even spend their holidays in space, travelling from planet to planet.
What an interesting picture!
Many people don't think about the future. “I don't care. I’ll be dead. ”they say. But it is our duty to care because the world of a hundred years’ time will be the world of our children’s and their children after them. How many viewpoints are discussed here about the future?
| A．Two | B．Three | C．Four | D．Five |
In the pessimistic view, people will in a hundred years ’time.
| A．have to use power from the sea |
| B．have to live on the moon |
| C．be able to grow food on the sea |
| D．find it difficult to live on the earth |
Where will people live in the future in the optimistic view?
| A．On the moon | B．On the sea | C．In pyramids | D．On other planets |
The writer of the article seems to agree .
| A．with those who look at the bright side of the future |
| B．with those who take a pessimistic view about the future |
| C．with those who won’t trouble their heads about the future |
| D．to none of these viewpoints |
Word Power
Author（s）: Kaplan $13,95
You'll never be at a loss for words again．Energize your vocabulary with must-know everyday words that are the essentials of a good vocabulary, engaging lessons to help you use words in text, hot words often found on tests, tips to help you figure out new words, roots, and more．
Grades: 8 & up Ages: 13 & up
Word Smart Junior
Author（s）: Russell Stauffer $ 17．95
Now this is the way to add new words to your vocabulary! Word Smart Junior will make you laugh so much．You'll be amazed that you've just learned more than 120 fascinating and very useful words! Parents, teachers, and friends will marvel at your eloquence （口才）!
Grades: 3-5 Ages: 8-10
Grammar Smart Junior
Author（s）: Marcia Reynolds $ 16．85
Do you quake when your teacher says, "Now it's time for grammar"? Do your verbs agree with your subjects?
Fear no more! A big Hollywood producer and a famous movie star will help you learn all those nasty （讨厌的） elements of grammar．You'll be amazed at how quickly you learn, and how much fun it can be．You'll finally know your grammar backwards and forwards and you'll never have to worry about it again．
Grades: 7-9 Ages: 12-14
Grammar Smart: An Audio Guide to Perfect Usage
Author（s）: Julian Fleisher $ 12．68
The words you use say a lot about you ．．．but the way you put them together says even more．Your grammar makes an immediate and lasting impression on your teachers, and even your friends．So don't make the mistake of thinking that grammar is too complicated．We've created Grammar Smart to help you write and speak with clarity and confidence．
Grades: 6-8 Ages: 11-13If a ten-year-old boy wants himself to be admired because of his speech ability, he may buy ____．
| A．Word Power |
| B．Word Smart Junior |
| C．Grammar Smart Junior |
| D．Grammar Smart: An Audio Guide to Perfect Usage |
By saying "You'll finally know your grammar backwards and forwards", the writer means "_____"．
| A．You will be clearly familiar with grammar |
| B．You will know the history of grammar |
| C．You will know the make-up of grammar |
| D．You will learn about the future of grammar |
The four books are all about ____．
| A．fiction and mysteries | B．parenting and teaching |
| C．literature and arts | D．language study |