Read the passage carefully． Then answer the questions or complete the statements in the fewest possible words．
Hidden deep in our subconscious is an idyllic（牧歌般的，田园诗式的）vision． We see ourselves on a long trip that spans the continent． We are traveling by train． Out the windows, we drink in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways, of children waving at a crossing, of cattle grazing on a distant hillside, of smoke pouring from a power plant, of row upon row of corn and wheat, of flatlands and valleys, of mountains and rolling hillsides, of city skylines and village halls． But uppermost in our minds is the final destination． On a certain day at a certain hour, we will pull into the station． Bands will be playing and flags waving． Once we get there, so many wonderful dreams will come true and the pieces of our lives will fit together like a completed jigsaw puzzle． How restlessly we pace the aisles, damning the minutes for hanging around—waiting, waiting, waiting for the station． “When we reach the station, that will be it!” we cry． “When I’m 18．”; “When I buy a new 450SL Mercedes Benz!”; “When I put the last kid through college．”; “When I paid off the mortgage!”; “When I get a promotion．”; “When I reach the age of retirement, I shall live happily ever after!” Sooner or later, we must realize there is no station, no one place to arrive at once and for all． The true joy of life is the trip． The station is only a dream． It constantly outdistances us． “Relish（享受）the moment” is a good motto, especially when coupled with Psalm 180: 24: “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it．” It isn’t the burdens of today that drive men mad, it is the regrets over yesterday and fear of tomorrow． Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of today． So stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles． Instead, climb more mountains, eat more ice cream, go barefoot more often, swim more rivers, watch more sunsets, laugh more, cry less． Life must be lived as we go along． The station will come soon enough．
（Note: Answer the questions or complete the statements in NO MORE THAN TWELVE WORDS．）What does the author of this passage compare life to?
______________________________________________________________________________． Hidden in the uppermost part of our minds is________________________________．
Life is made dull and boring by______________________________________
According to the author, what is the true meaning of life?
___________________________________________________________________________
基础训练篇（23）
There was once a teacher in a village. He was a man named Goldsmith. He was a kind-hearted man. He was always poor (1)___________. He taught himself (2)___________, so sometimes people called him Doctor Goldsmith. One day a poor woman asked Mr. Goldsmith to go and see her husband, because he was very ill and couldn’t get up. Mr. Goldsmith did (3)____________. He found that the family needed help very much. The man had been out of work for a long time, but he was not (4)__________. He was just hungry because there was no food in his house.
“Come to my room this (5)_________”said Mr. Goldsmith to the woman, “I will give you some medicine for your husband.”
In the evening the woman came. Mr. Goldsmith gave her a little paper box.
“(6)__________is the medicine,” he said.” Take it and it will (7)_________ your husband a great deal of good, but don’t open the box until you get home.”
“What are the directions for (8) _________ it?” asked the woman.
“You will find them inside the box.” he answered.
When the woman (9)_______________ home, she sat down by her husband’s side, and they opened the box. They found it was full of money. And on the top were the (10)______________(direction)：“TAKE IT WHEN YOU NEED IT.”
Goldsmith had given all the money he had.
基础训练篇（22）
Dear Lifeline,
I shall be getting married (1)_______ August. My mother wants me to have a white wedding in (2)_________, because I am the only daughter, and she wants me to have the kind of wedding that she had. I, on the other (3)____________, should like to have a simple wedding (4)____________ a small party (5)______________ for immediate family and close friends. I don’t want my parents (6)___________ go to a lot of expense just for one day; I’d rather they spent the money (7)__________ things that my husband and I will need, that will last us for many years.
Do you agree (8) ____________ me that this is a (9)_____________ (reason) point of view ? Can you think of a way in which I might persuade my parents (10) _____________ think as I do?
Yours,
Money-Conscious
基础训练篇（21）
Bassanio fell in love (1) Portia, but he couldn’t ask her to marry him (2) he was poor. He had to borrow some money (3) ______ his friend Antonio, a merchant of Venice. Antonio had no money then. He went to Shylock, a cruel and (4) ______ (greed) money-lender. Shylock agreed to lend him the money on condition that he would cut a pound of his flesh (5) ______ he couldn’t repay him within three months.
Unfortunately Antonio’s ships were lost (6) sea. (7) ______ (know) that Antonio probably had to die, Portia asked Bassanio to go to see his friend at once. She dressed herself (8) as a lawyer and turned up at the court. She let Shylock cut just one pound of flesh (9) ______ Antonio, no more, no less, no drop of blood, otherwise he (10) ______ lose all his money. Her clever idea saved Antonio and made Shylock give half of his money to Venice.
基础训练篇（20）
Once upon a time there was a rich merchant 1 __ _____ had four wives. He loved the 4th wife the most. He took great care of her and gave her nothing 2__________ the best. He also loved the 3rd wife very much. He was very 3 __ (pride) of her and always wanted to show off her to his friends. He also loved his 2nd wife. She is __4 ___________very considerate person, always patient and in fact is the merchant’s close friend. __5___________ the merchant faced some problems, he always turned to his 2nd wife and __6____________ would always help him out and tide(帮助渡过) him 7__________ difficult times. Now, the merchant’s 1st wife is a very loyal partner and has made great 8___________ (contribute) in maintaining his wealth and business as well as 9____________ (take) care of the household. _10 ________, the merchant did not love the first wife and although she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice of her.
基础训练篇（19）
We are all busy talking about and 1. (use) the Internet, but how many of us know 2. history of the Internet?
Many people are 3. (surprise) when they find that the Internet was not set up in the 1960s.At that time, computers were large 4. expensive. Computer networks didn’t work well. If one computer in the network broke 5. , then the whole network stopped. So a new network system had to be set up. It should be good enough to be used by many different computers. If part of the network was working, information could be sent 6. another part. In this way the computer network system would keep on 7. (work) all the time.
The Internet was only used by the government in the 1960s, but in the early 1970s, universities, hospitals and banks were allowed to use it too. However, computers were still very expensive and the Internet was difficult to use. 8. the start of 1990s, computers became cheaper and easier to use. Scientists had also developed software that made “surfing” the Internet more 9. (convenience).
Today it is easy to get online and it is said that millions of people use the Internet every day. 10. (send) emails is more and more popular among students.
The Internet has now become one of the most important parts of people’s life.