Here’s an unusual story: a diamond ring was recently found in an egg. The magician（魔术师）, Liu Qian, discovered it, in front of an audience of millions at CCTV’s Spring Festival Gala. Liu’s magic tricks have made the centuries old art of magic fashionable once again, and made him the hottest magician in China.
As a seasoned young magician from Taiwan, Liu is popular worldwide for his magic shows. Countries he has performed in include the United States, Japan, South Korea and the UK.
Witnessing something impossible happen right before your eyes is the root of people’s love for magic.
Liu is known for his interaction(互动) with his audiences. He has a unique understanding of showmanship (演出技巧).
“It is actually thinking, rather than one’s manipulation(操作)skills, that is more important to achieving a successful magic show. We think carefully about how to design the shows creatively, to make them appear more intriguing(吸引人的),”Liu said.
Liu Qian’s success dates back to his childhood. Born in 1976 in Taiwan, he found himself attracted to a magic toy in a shop when he was seven years old. At the age of 12, he won Taiwan’s Youth Magic Contest, which was judged by the great American magician, David Copperfield.
Yet, Liu never planned on becoming a professional magician. He studied Japanese literature at university and only hoped to be an amateur（业余的） magician in his spare time. However, his failure to find a decent(体面的)job after graduation pushed him towards magic as a career.
To refine（升华） his performing skills, he has performed on streets, roads and fields, for pedestrians(路人), policemen and farmers.
“Street shows are the biggest challenge for us magicians. We have to deal with unexpected situations and tough crowds,” Liu said. Why do people love to watch magic?
| A．Because Liu Qian is known for his interaction with his audiences. |
| B．Because people love watching magicians make the impossible happen. |
| C．Because people want to know the secret of the magic. |
| D．Because people are curious about everything. |
Which word in the following is close to the underlined word “seasoned”?
| A．Handsome. | B．Growing. | C．Fruitful. | D．Experienced. |
What is the key reason that Liu Qian decided to make magic his career?
| A．He was good at magic when he was young. |
| B．He had won Taiwan’s Youth Magic Contest. |
| C．He couldn’t find a decent job after graduation. |
| D．He became an amateur magician in his spare time. |
The passage is mainly about .
| A．why Liu Qian plays magic well |
| B．what magic tricks are |
| C．why people love magic |
| D．how Liu Qian became China’s hottest magician |
Habits, whether good or bad, are gradually formed. When a person does a certain thing again, he is driven by some unseen force to do the same thing repeatedly, then a habit is formed. Once a habit is formed, it is difficult, and sometimes impossible, to get rid of. It is therefore very important that we should pay great attention to the formation of habits. Children often form bad habits, some of which remain with them as long as they live. Older persons also form bad habits lasting as long as they live, and sometimes become ruined by them.
There are other habits which, when formed in early life, are of great help. Many successful men say that much of their success has something to do with certain habits in early life, such as early rising, honesty and so on.
Among the habits which children should not form are laziness, lying, stealing and so on. These are all easily formed habits. Unluckily older persons often form habits which could have been avoided.
We should keep away from all these bad habits, and try to form such habits as will be good for ourselves and others. ____ are formed litde by little.
| A．Good habits |
| B．Bad habits |
| C．Both good habits and bad habits |
| D．Either good habits or bad habits |
The underlined word "them" in the first paragraph refers to "____"
| A．bad habits | B．good habits | C．bad children | D．other persons |
Generally speaking, it's difficult for one _____ and easy for them _____ which should be avoided.
| A．to form bad habits; to form good habits |
| B．to form good habits; to form bad habits |
| C．to form good habits; to get rid of had habits |
| D．to get rid of bad habits: to form good habits |
Why should we pay much attention to the formation of habits?
| A．Because a man can never get rid of a habit. |
| B．Because we are forced to do them again and again. |
| C．Because habits are of great help to every one of us at present. |
| D．Because it's hard and sometimes even impossible to throw away bad habits. |
According to the passage, early rising _____.
| A．has something to do with success |
| B．is an easily formed habit |
| C．is such a habit as should have been avoided |
| D．is such a habit as won't be kept |
We can slow down aging. That is the message Dr. Shen Ziyin wants to give the world. And the Chinese doctor claims that he has found an answer to the problems of aging. His solution is a herbal medicine（草药）to slow the process of aging.
Dr. Shen Ziyin has been trained in Western medicine. At the same time he studied traditional Chinese medicine. And, he has been working for the past forty years to put together the best of both and find a cure for aging. He has taken a hint from the ancient Chinese medicine system called “Shen”.
According to Shen, it is the kidney（肾脏）which adjusts the functioning of the body as well as its aging process. It is responsible for the level of activity that the human bodies go through. Studies conducted by Dr. Shen show that herbal medicine based on the Shen system slows the aging process, says a report in the Telegraph newspaper. We notice that when people grow old, they have reduced strength, loss of hair, backache, weakness, wrinkles and so on. This happens because when people grow old, their bodies produce T-cells. These T-cells contain a particular substance called Fas. Fas makes the cells in the body destruct themselves.
So the only way to slow down aging is to slow the production of T-cells in the body. This can happen if people eat low calorie food. Then the body is not active enough to produce extra T-cells. But, is going hungry all the time a good price to pay for staying young? This is where Dr. Shen’s herbal medicine comes in. But how effective it will be, only time can tell. How did Dr. Shen find the solution to the problem of aging?
| A．By studying Western medicine. |
| B．By learning traditional Chinese medicine. |
| C．By combining both Western and Chinese medicine. |
| D．By doing research on both Western and Chinese people. |
What plays the most important role in keeping people young according to Shen?
| A．Medical treatment. |
| B．Positive life attitude. |
| C．People’s good kidney. |
| D．Level of people’s activity. |
The reason why people become old is that.
| A．their bodies produce T-cells |
| B．they become weaker and weaker |
| C．they have reduced strength, loss of hair |
| D．their bodies are unable to fight diseases |
We can probably learn from the passage that.
| A．producing more low calorie food allows people to keep young |
| B．it remains unknown how effective Dr. Shen’s herbal medicine is |
| C．people should try to quicken the production of T-cells in the body |
| D．the more Chinese herbal medicine people drink, the better for health |
As the summer time approaches, more and more commercials and advertisements can be seen on the mass media encouraging students to join English study tours abroad. The purpose of these tours is to provide students with an opportunity to learn English in a native speaking environment and use English in real situations. Parents always believe that their children will automatically speak good English after attending these study tours. However, for me, as an English major and former participant of many English study tours, I find these summer tours ineffective.
Parents who send their children abroad for a summer to study English usually believe that the native speaking environment, including the courses, teachers, and host families, can help their children to learn English better. This might be true if the students really study hard and they really get an all-English environment. But the fact is that, most of the time, the tour part is more important than the study part. Although these tours take place in foreign countries, students are rarely exposed in an all-English environment. You will find that, in the morning classes, Taiwanese students would like to stick together and speak Chinese with each other, even though there are some students from other countries. In the afternoon, the students go on a sightseeing excursion with their companions from Taiwan; they speak Chinese of course. In the evening, when students return to the host families, they would stay in their room and share the day with their roommate, another Taiwanese student. People who speak the same language with you is like a log（原木）in the ocean when living in a foreign country where you can not express yourself well, so that you would naturally stick with them. This is especially true with children.
Another unrealistic expectation parents have for these tours is that the experience of living abroad can make their children more independent and mature. However, maturity does not come overnight. It takes time and practice. The most important of all is that they need a good mentor（顾问）. None of these exist in the study tours. Which of the following is the most important thing for children who study in an English environment according to the writer?
| A．Host families. | B．Hard work. | C．Courses. | D．Teachers. |
The underlined word “mature” in the last paragraph probably means.
| A．active | B．free | C．outgoing | D．grown-up |
What’s the author’s attitude towards the English study tours abroad?
| A．Doubtful. | B．Negative. | C．Positive. | D．Neutral. |
6-Day Trek（艰苦跋涉）in the Highland National Parks
Destinations: Saigon—Cat Tien National Park—Buon Ma Thuot—Lak Lake—YokDon National Park
Estimated trekking time: Average 4-5 hours／day
Summary: This trip is ideal for those who love trekking in natural forests. From the southern part of Vietnam up to the central highlands, you will cross through two national parks. There will be opportunities to see wildlife and challenge yourself physically at a moderate（中等的）level.
Indulge yourself in the beauty of nature, escape from the hustle and bustle of the city, rediscover yourself in the natural world and refresh both mind and body.
Highlights:
·Private tour
·Walk through the forest to a fascinating and beautiful wetland area. If you are lucky, you may be able to see many different kinds of animals using only binoculars（双筒望远镜）.
·Night time wildlife-spotting excursion（远足）
·Elephant riding
Includes:
·Travel insurance
·Private transportation
·English-speaking guide
·Guest house-twin shared room
·Meals as indicated in the itinerary
·Elephants
·Canoe
·Mineral water
·Entrance fees & all permits
Excludes:
·Surcharges for other guides in other languages, festival season and peak season surcharges, which will be advised at time of booking
·Visa
·Gong show（80 USD／show）
·Tips
·Personal expensesDuring the tour, visitors will trek throughnational parks.
| A．2 | B．3 | C．4 | D．5 |
In the forest, tourists will be able to.
| A．ride elephants |
| B．have barbeques with natives |
| C．play with wild animals |
| D．race in canoes |
Visitors may have to pay extra fees for.
| A．permits | B．a Gong show |
| C．meals and water | D．an English-speaking guide |
This advertisement is especially targeting visitors.
| A．from other countries |
| B．who love wildlife |
| C．who enjoy country life |
| D．interested in hiking in forests |
I once did a year of voluntary service in a residential home for people with learning disabilities. It was set in an English village deep in the countryside, quite different from my home in Sweden. One of my fellow volunteers, a girl from Tanzania, seemed a little unhappy, so I asked what the problem was. She told me she had a friend back home who had financial difficulties and maybe it was impossible for her to complete her university courses.
So this friend of mine had sent all her money to Tanzania to support her friend! This meant that she didn't have much food to eat and no money to go anywhere outside the village.
I was so touched and I felt I had to do something. So, during my next trip to one of the nearby towns I walked into a shop. I didn’t have much money left myself but I thought I'd buy her an extra box of chocolate we both liked and some rice. I started talking to the woman（also a volunteer）working in the shop and eventually told her about my friend.
The woman looked at me, amazed. “Does she eat pasta?” she asked. “Yes,” I replied. She immediately started loading a bag with pasta, cookies, and other things until the bag was full. “Give her this for me. It’s my treat!’’ I couldn’t believe it but accepted with happiness. As I left the shop to go home with my unexpected bag of food, I asked the woman her name. “Just Gloria,” she said.
Imagine my friend’s face when I arranged the gifts on my kitchen table and fetched her from her room to see! I had never seen her so happy! A few weeks later she found Gloria in the shop and thanked her in person.
These two extraordinary women really showed me what true kindness and compassion（同情）are, and the impression will stay with me for the rest of my life!The underlined word “it” in Paragraph 1 probably refers to.
| A．the shop |
| B．the writer's home |
| C．the residential home |
| D．a year of voluntary service |
Why did the girl from Tanzania seem a little unhappy?
| A．Because she had to stop her voluntary work. |
| B．Because she had no money to buy food or other things. |
| C．Because she had spent all her money on food and clothes. |
| D．Because her friend in Tanzania maybe had to quit school for lack of money. |
Why did the writer help the girl from Tanzania?
| A．Because the writer was a volunteer. |
| B．Because they lived in the same room. |
| C．Because the writer was moved by her kind act. |
| D．Because the writer didn’t wish she went hungry. |
From the text, we know that.
| A．the writer was from England |
| B．the writer was a university student from Tanzania |
| C．Gloria was from Sweden and was very kind to the writer |
| D．the writer volunteered to help people with learning disabilities |