As a young girl, Margaret “Mattie” Knight never played with dolls, preferring to make toys for her brothers instead. In 1849, Knight went to work in a cotton factory where she witnessed a “shuttle,” a device that carries thread back and forth across a textile loom（纺布机）, fly off the machine when the thread broke, striking and killing a young boy about her own age.
The 12-year-old Knight developed a safety mechanism that made it impossible for a shuttle to leave the loom. The design was so effective, soon virtually every new power loom carried her invention, saving countless workers from injury or death. Being so young, she didn’t bother to patent the device, so she never received payment.
Knight wouldn’t make the same mistake later in life when she invented a machine that could produce flat-bottomed paper bags. Knight had built a small wooden model in her home, but she needed a metal version to show it could hold up to the stress of mass production. So she hired Charles Annan to make the full-sized machine for her, only to have him try to claim the patent for himself. When Knight sued（起诉）, Annan’s argument was that the design had to be his, because no woman could possibly understand the complex mechanics. Knight proved him wrong when she brought back her wooden prototype and explained how every part worked. She won the case in 1871, making her the second woman to hold an American patent. Over a hundred years later, her design is still used as the basis for many modern flat-bottom bag machines.
But that wasn’t the last the world heard of Mattie Knight. During her lifetime, she made about 90 inventions and received 26 patents, becoming one of the most productive female inventors of the 19th century. We can learn from Paragraph 1 that ________.
| A．Knight behaved like boys | B．Knight had an unhappy childhood |
| C．Knight did a poor job of making toys | D．Knight liked inventing things as a child |
What do we know about Knight’s first invention?
| A．It is still used today. | B．It brought her great profit. |
| C．It was made when he was 20. | D．It reduced injuries at textile plants. |
Knight sued Charles Annan because he _______.
| A．stole the wooden model for the machine she invented. |
| B．failed to make the full-sized machine for her |
| C．tried to patent her invention for himself |
| D．kept the metal version for himself |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．Mattie Knight’s fight for her patent | B．A great woman in the 19th century |
| C．“The female Edison”, Mattie Knight | D．Great inventions, great woman |
You speak, write a letter, make a telephone. Your words carry a message. People communicate（交际）with words. Do you think you can communicate without words? A smile on your face shows you are happy or friendly. Tears（眼泪）in your eyes tell others that you are sad.
When you put up your hands in class, the teacher knows you want to say something or ask questions. You shake（摇）your head, and people know you are saying "No". You nod（点头）and people know you are saying "Yes". Other things can also carry messages. For example, a sign at the bus helps you to know which bus to take. A sign on the door helps you where to go in or out. Have you ever thought that there are a lot of signs around you and that you receive messages from them all the time? People can communicate in many other ways. An artist can use his drawing to tell beautiful mountains, about the blue sea and many other things. Books are written to tell about all the wonderful things in the world and also about people and their ideas. Books, magazines（杂志）, TV, radio and films all help us communicate with others. They can help us to know what is going on in the world and what other people are thinking about.
81. People communicate ________.
| A．with words only | B．in many different ways |
| C．in letters and drawings | D．with smiles, tears and hands |
82. Signs can carry as many _________ as words.
| A．questions | B．examples | C．tears and smiles | D．messages |
83. Which of the following is not talked in the passage as ways of communication?
| A．books and magazines | B．TV and films | C．newspapers | D．radio |
84. Which of the following statements is WRONG ?.
| A．Communication helps us to learn what is happening in the world. |
| B．Communication helps us to understand other people better.. |
| C．A sign is also a way of communication.. |
| D．If you can’t speak, you can’t communicate.. |
85. The best title（题目）for this short passage is _________.
| A．Signs Carry Messages | B．The important Communication |
| C．Words, Signs and Drawing. Ways of Communication. | |
| D．We can only improve our listening skills step by step. |
Learners of English, especially self-taught learners may have trouble in understanding the speeches made by native speakers. The following ways might help improve your listening skills.
First of all, do things step by step. It is not good to listen to something beyond your level. Better choose a suitable course and start with the first book. Don’t go on to the second book until you are sure you understand the first one.
Secondly, keep studying one course. Don’t change books often. Never let your attention be attracted by another course just because it seems to be more popular.
Thirdly, listen to the English news over the radio from time to time. Better look through the news stories in Chinese-language newspapers first. That will make it easier for you to understand the English news on the radio.
Fourthly, if you have time, listen to some interesting stories in Special English from the V.O.A or other listening materials of the same level as those of your textbook.
76. What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．How to speak English correctly. | B．How to read fast. |
| C．How to improve your writing skills. | D．How to improve your listening skills. |
77. What does the underlined part “beyond your level” mean?
| A．Easy for you. | B．Too difficult for you. |
| C．Just all right for you. | D．Neither difficult nor easy for you. |
78. What should you do if you want to understand the English news on the radio?
A. Practise speaking very often.
B. Read the news stories in Chinese-language newspapers first.
C. Listen to some interesting stories in Special English from the V,O.A.
D. Ask others to explain it to you.
79. How many pieces of advice does the writer give?
| A．Four | B．Three. | C．Two. | D．Many. |
80. Which of the following is NOT right?
| A．English learners may have difficulty in understanding native English. |
| B．To improve our listening skills, we should choose popular courses from time to time. |
| C．Chinese-language newspapers are good for us to understand the English news on the radio.. |
| D．We can only improve our listening skills step by step. |
School uniforms are becoming more and more popular around the USA. That’s no surprise, because they have many benefits. They end the powerful social labeling（有力的社会标记）that comes from clothing. If all the students are dressed in the same way, they will not pay too much attention to their clothing and some of them will not be laughed at for wearing “wrong” clothes.
Some people are against the strict rule of school uniforms, but they don’t realize that students already accept a kind of rule--- wanting to look like just their friends. For students, the school uniforms remind them that their main task in school is to get education. Some parents are unhappy with uniforms, saying that school uniforms will affect their children’s “creativity”.
However, school uniforms that students wear don’t necessarily show their individuality (个性). And also the students have the rest days of the week to be as creative as they like. While they are in school, their jobs are to learn reading, writing, math and so on. Mastery (掌握) of those skills will be good for students to build up their creativity in every way.
71. The underlined word “benefits” means “___________” in Chinese.
| A．好处 | B．信息 | C．差异 | D．特征 |
72. From the passage, we can learn that school uniforms can _______________.
| A．make students laugh at others. | B．show students’ individuality. |
| C．help students keep their task in mind. | D．reduce parents’ economy pressure. |
73. The students’ main task at school is to ____________.
| A．study with their friends. | B．get education |
| C．learn English well. | D．make friends as many as possible. |
74. Some parents are unhappy about school uniforms because they ___________.
| A．don’t like school uniforms. |
| B．wouldn’t like to pay for school uniforms. |
| C．think that uniforms will affect students’ creativity. |
| D．students’ uniforms don’t look good. |
75. We can infer that students need to wear school uniforms __________.
| A．on weekdays | B．on weekend | C．in holiday | D．everyday. |
Bernice Gallego sat down one day this summer, as she does pretty much every day,and began listing items on eBay. She dug into a box and pulled out a baseball card. She stopped for a moment and admired the picture. “Red Stocking B. B. Club of Cincinnatti,” the card read, under the reddish brown color photo of ten men with their socks pulled up to their knees.
As a collector and seller, it’s her job to spot old items that might have value today. It’s what Bernice,72, and her husband, Al Gallego, 80, have been doing since 1974 at their California antique store.
This card, she figured, was worth selling on eBay. She took a picture, wrote a description and put it up for auction.She put a $10 price tag on it, deciding against $15 because it would have cost her an extra 20 cents. Later that night she got a few odd inquiries---someone wanting to know whether the card was real, someone wanting her to end the caution and sell him the card immediately.
The card is actually 139 years old. Sports card collectors call the find “extremely rare” and estimate the card could fetch five, or perhaps, six figures at caution.
Just like that, Bernice is the least likely character ever for a rare-baseball card story. “I didn’t even know baseball existed that far back,” Gallego says, “I don’t think that I’ve ever been to a baseball game.” The theory is that the card came out of a storage space they bought a few years back. It is not uncommon in their line of work to buy the entire contents of storage units for around $200.
When she met with card trader Rick Mirigian, she found out what the card was-----an 1869 advertisement with a picture of the first professional baseball team, the Cincinnatti Red Stocking.
“When I came to meet her and she took it out of a sandwich bag and she was smoking a cigarette, I almost fainted,” Mirigian says. “ They’ve uncovered a piece of history that few people will ever be able to imagine. That card is history. It’s like unearthing a Mona Lisa or a Picasso.”
67. What can we conclude from paragraph 3?
| A．Bernice had to pay some fees for her card on eBay. |
| B．Bernice wanted to end the caution that night. |
| C．Bernice decided to sell the card for $15. |
| D．eBay charged her 20 cents for the card. |
68. The underlined word “fetch” in paragraph 4 most probably means “_______”.
| A．go and bring | B．add up to | C．go down to | D．be sold for |
69. From the passage we may learn that _______.
| A．Bernice is a baseball fan |
| B．Bernice is the last person to purchase the rare-baseball card |
| C．Bernice unexpectedly became the owner of the rare-baseball card |
| D．Bernice didn’t realize the value of the card until she put it up for auction |
70. What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．A Surprisingly Valuable Discovery |
| B．The History of the Baseball Card |
| C．Bernice Gallego---A lucky collector |
| D．Sports Card Collectors |
Like most big projects, learning to manage your mother well is what you should do. Here are what I believe the best steps towards a better relationship with her. They are not necessarily surprising or revolutionary, but they have worked for many people. Try them.
Remember your mother’s age. As children, we often do not think of our mother as having an age. Even when we become conscious of her as an individual, age does not change our view; she is still our mother. Knowing our mother’s age, not just in numbers of years but in terms of her psychological and physical state, often helps us to understand her better.
Listen to your mother. I have found that sometimes the things my mother told me long ago are remarkably useful. If your mother knows that you respect her point of view, even if you do not share it, it will help her feel close to you.
Remember that your mother has a past. A key step in managing our relationship with our mother is to find out about her early life.In learning about our mother’s past, we know that it can encourage us to think about her whole life.
Ask your mother about your c
hildhood histo
ry. My grandparents died when I was young. If you are fortunate enough to have living family, think of your life as a jigsaw puzzle and ask as many questions as you can to put the picture together. Understanding your roots and your childhood can hel
p you know more clearly who you are, as part of a family which you share with your mother.
Remember that managing your mother is really about managing yourself. Taking any measure to managing our mother is the issue of how we manage ourselves. No matter how difficult we find her, it is important to remember that it is not her behavior itself that is causing us discomfort, but the way we feel about 
her behavior. We should follow the way of her life. At the heart of managing your mother is being able to accept your flawed self. Only then are you able to accept your mother-----with all her failings.
64. What does the underlined phrase “a jigsaw puzzle” mean?
| A．拼图玩具 | B．浏览迷宫 | C．填充字谜 | D．游戏人生 |
65. Which of the following is implied but not stated in the passage?
| A．You will have a better relationship with your mother if you respect her opinion. |
| B．Knowing your mother’s age is a useful piece of advice. |
| C．The key measure of managing our mother is how we manage ourselves. |
| D．It is unreasonable to expect our mother to change totally from the way she was brought up. |
66. The main purpose of writing the text is _______.
| A．to give information about how you think of your mother |
| B．to improve the relationship with your mother |
| C．to keep a sense of humor about your mother all day long |
| D．to accept your mother-----with all her failings |