In old times, man considered lightning to be one of the great mysteries(神秘事物)of nature. In fact a single flash of lightning 1. 6 kilometers long has enough electricity to light one million lamps.
The American scientist, Benjamin Franklin, was the first to suggest that lightning is in fact electricity formed between the earth and clouds high above. It happened in 1752. In the same year, he also built the first lightning rod(避雷针)to protect buildings from being struck by lightnings.
Modern science has discovered that lightning is very strong and powerful. A lightning between a cloud and the earth may be as long as 13 kilometers, and travels at a speed of 30 million meters per second. Scientists have the opinion that there are about 2, 000 million flashes of lightning per year. In the United States alone, it kills almost one person per day. The safest place to be in during an electrical storm is a closed car. Outside, one should go close to low ground for cover and not stop under a tree. Also one should stay out of water and away from metal fences. Inside a house people should keep away from open doorways and windows and not touch wires or metal things. From this passage we know lightning is_______ .
| A．one of the great mysteries of nature |
| B．electricity high above the earth |
| C．a kind of light |
| D．the sound from the clouds |
In the US _______.
| A．every person can see lightning every day |
| B．at least one person is killed by lightning every day |
| C．there are about 6 million flashes of lightning per year |
| D．about one person per day dies from lightning |
During a lightning storm, it would be best if you _______.
| A．stand under a tree | B．go outside | C．stay in a closed car | D．stop near windows |
A lightning rod can _______.
| A．prevent accidents caused by lightning |
| B．stop lightning |
| C．protect buildings from being washed away |
| D．delay the coming of lightning |
It was raining as I got off the train in Nashville, Tennessee. I was tired so I went straight to my hotel.
A big, heavy man was walking up and down in the hotel lobby. Something about the way he moved made me think of a hungry dog looking for a bone. He had a big, fat, red face and a sleepy expression in his eyes. He introduced himself as Wentworth Caswell – Major Wentworth Caswell – from “a fine southern family”. Caswell pulled me into the hotel’s barroom and yelled for a wai
ter. We ordered drinks. While we drank, he talked continually about himself, his family, his wife and her family. He said his wife was rich. He showed me a handful of silver coins that he pulled from his coat pocket.
By this time, I had decided that I wanted no more of him. I said good night.
I was born in the south myself. But I live in New York now. I write for a large magazine. My boss had asked me to go to Nashville. The magazine had received some stories and poems from a writer in Nashville, named Azalea Adair. The editor liked her work very much. The publisher asked me to get her to sign an agreement to write only for his magazine.
I left the hotel at nine o’clock the next morning to find Miss Adair. It was still raining. As soon as I stepped outside I met Uncle Caesar. He was a big, old black man with fuzzy gray hair. Uncle Caesar was wearing the strangest coat I had ever seen. It must have been a military officer’s coat. It was very long and when it was new it had been gray. But now rain, sun and age had made it a rainbow of colors. Only one of the buttons was left. It was yellow and as big as a fifty cent coin.
Uncle Caesar stood near a horse and carriage. He opened the carriage door and said softly, 
“Step right in, sir. I’ll take you anywhere in the city.”
“I want to go to 861 Jasmine Street,” I said, and I started to climb into the carriage. But the old man stopped me. “Why do you want to go there, sir?”
“What business is it of yours?” I said angrily. Uncle Caesar relaxed and smiled. “Nothing, sir. But it’s a lonely part of town. Just step in and I’ll take you there right away.”
861 Jasmine Street had been a fine house once, but now it was old and dying. I got out of the carriage.
“That will be two dollars, sir,” Uncle Caesar said. I gave him two one-dollar bills. As I handed them to him, I noticed that one had been torn in half and fixed with a piece of blue paper. Also, the upper right hand corner was missing.The narrator （故事的叙述者）got to Nashville probably _______.
| A．in the morning | B．at noon | C．in the afternoon | D．in the evening |
The narrator didn’t like Caswell mainly because of ________.
| A．his appearance | B．his family | C．the way he talked and behaved | D．his wife |
The publisher told the narrator to go to Nashville ______.
| A．to get a writer to sign an agreement for his magazine |
| B．to collect some stories and poems from a writer |
| C．to look for good writers for his magazine |
| D．to visit his old friend Azalea Adair |
Uncle Caesar’s strange coat ________.
| A．was worn by a military officer |
B．was a new gray coat |
| C．was an old yellow raincoat | D．had only one button left |
From the question “Why do you want to go there, sir?”, we guess that Uncle Caesar _______.
| A．wanted to know why the narrator wanted to go there |
| B．knew the place and was concerned about the narrator |
| C．would charge two dollars for taking the narrator there |
| D．must have lived in the neighbourhood before |
In the 1880s, people drank John Pemberton’s tonic to cure headaches. It wasn’t a very popular drink, and he sold only about a dozen drinks a day. That’s why Pemberton was willing to sell the rights to his medicinal drink. The buyer, Asa Griggs Candler, paid just $ 2,300 for the rights to Coca-Cola. Today, Coca-Cola (or Coke) is worth billions of dollars. It controls 50 percent of the world market in soft drinks.
How did Coca-Cola become so popular? One answer is that Asa Candler was a very clever businessman. He was one of the first people to use mass marketing. How did he do this? First, he made his product unique. When he bought the rights to Coca-Cola, it came in ordinary bottles. It looked like every other drink on the market. To make Coca-Cola look different, Candler modernized the bottles. He also made an eye-catching logo for his products. When other companies tried to imitate Coca-Cola’s name, Candler took them to court.
In addition to the unique bottle and logo, Candler spent a lot of time and money advertising his product. He used advertising to make a powerful image of Coca-Cola in the minds of his customers. He gave away free bottles of Coke. He put the name of his drink on pencils, trays, Japanese fans, matches, and many other things. Then he gave the things to people for free. He advertised Coca-Cola in the newspaper and painted the words “Drink Coca-Cola” on the sides of buildings and barns. By 1902, Coca-Cola was the best known product in the United States.
Candler was also able to make memorable advertisements. They often had catchy slogans such as “The Pause That Refreshes.” He also used famous athletes to advertise his product. They helped people to think of Coca-Cola as a delicious drink for everyone.
Today, businesses all over the world use mass marketing, but the makers of Coke were the first. Candler bought the rights to Coca-Cola from _______.
| A．the inventor of a medicinal drink | B．a well-known businessman |
| C．a doctor | D．a carpenter |
The underlined sentence in paragraph 2 implies that __________.
| A．he invited people from other companies to attend a court ball |
| B．he shared Coca-Cola’s name with other companies after they went back from the court |
| C．he played basketball with people from other companies on the basketball court |
| D．he took legal action to those who wanted to copy Coca-Cola’s name |
Candler used slogans to advertise his product. Slogans are _______.
| A．popular music | B．free products | C．memorable phrases | D．simple things |
By using mass marketing, Asa tried many ways EXCEPT _______.
| A．making Coca-Cola look different |
| B．paying $ 2,300 for the rights to Coca-Cola |
| C．advertising Coca-Cola a powerful image in the minds of the customers |
| D．using famous athletes to advertise his product |
The passage is mainly to _______.
| A．explain that it is easy to use mass marketing |
| B．advice people to spend a lot of money and time on mass marketing |
| C．tell how Asa changes Coca-Cola into a worldwide business by using mass marketing |
| D．describe different ways of using mass marketing |
Americans use many expressions with the word “dog”. People in the United States love their dogs and treat them well. They take their dogs for walks, let them play outside and give them good food and medical care. How
ever, dogs without owners to care for lead a different kind of life. The expression “to lead a dog’s life” describes a person who has an unhappy existence.
Some people say we live in a dog-eat-dog world. That means many people are competing for the same things, like good jobs. They say that to be successful, a person has to work like a dog. This means they have to work very, very hard. Such hard work can make people dog-tired. And, the situation would be even worse if they became sick as a dog.
Still, people say every dog has its day. This means that every person enjoys a successful period during his or her life. To be successful, people often have to learn new skills. Yet, some people say that you can never teach an old dog new tricks. They believe that older people do not like to learn new things and will not change the way they do things.
People who are unkind or uncaring can be described as meaner than a junkyard dog. Junkyard dogs live in places where people throw away things they do not want. Mean dogs are often used to guard this property. They bark or attack people who try to enter the property. However, sometimes a person who appears to be mean and threatening is really not so bad. We say his bark is worse than his bite.
Doghouse provide shelter but they can be cold and lonely in the winter. Husbands and wives use this doghouse term when they are angry at each other. For example, a woman might get angry at her husband for coming home late or forgetting their wedding anniversary. She might tell him that he is in the doghouse. However, the husband may decide that it is best to leave things alone and not create more problems. He might decide to let sleeping dogs lie.
Dog expressions also are used to describe the weather. The dog days of summer are the hottest days of the year. A rainstorm may cool the weather. But we do not want it to rain too hard. We do not want it to rain cats and dogs.The passage tells us something about________.
| A．dogs and their life | B．the expressions that describe dogs |
| C．the meaning of expressions with the word “dog” | D．the structures of dog expressions |
By saying _______, we compare people to dogs in bad ways.
| A．“meaner than a junkyard dog” | B．“to work like a dog” |
| C．“teach an old dog new tricks” | D．“as sick as a dog” |
By saying ________, we mean every person enjoys a successful period in life.
| A．“he lives in a dog-eat-dog world” | B．“he leads a dog’s life” |
| C．“he is in the doghouse” | D．“every dog has its day” |
If we advise the others to leave things alone and not create more problems, we say_______.
| A．“become sick as a dog” | B．“rain cats and dogs” |
| C．“let sleeping dogs lie” | D．“stay in the doghouse” |
It has been really hot these days, as _______.
| A．it rains cats and dogs | B．we are having the dog days of summer |
| C．we’re leading a dog’s life | D．we’re in the dog’s house |
| Thursday, January 3 |
|
| Book a Librarian One-on-One Computer or Internet Training Session |
Location：Main Library Training Center(5th F1．) Address：100 Larkin St．(at Grove) Library Sponsored Public Program Event Time：4 p．m．－6 p．m． Description： Do you need personalized help Using a computer or the Internet? During the month of January，the library is offering limited one-on-one training sessions(培训课程)．Sessions are limited to 30 minutes and require signing up in advance．Call(415)557-4400 to book an appointment or for more information． |
| Friday, January 4 |
|
| Beyond Journal Writing for Teens |
Location：Main Library Paley Rm．(3rd F1．) Address：100 Larkin St．(at Grove) Library Sponsored Public Program Event Time：4 p.m.--- 5：30 p.m. Description： In this nine-week(January 4 through February 29)class，you will have the opportunity to develop and share your writing (poetry, biography and more) in a supportive group led by a Writers Corps teacher．Open to teen writers aged 13-19． For information，communicate with Betsy Levine，Teen Librarian，at (415)557-4497 or Dmail blevine@sipI．org． |
| Tuesday, January 8 |
|
| Power Panels and Films by World Savvy |
Location：Main Librarv Koret Auditorium Address：100 Larkin St．(at Grove) Library Sponsored Public Program Event Time：5 p．m．-8 p．m． Description: World Savvy，The Global Film Initiative team up to take you on a world tour through explorations of art，media and film．Come and share how film and media affect youth，education and our global community at large．To book a position，communicate with Jennifer Collins at(415)557—4268 or jennifercollins@sfpl.org． |
| Wednesday, January 9 |
|
| Business Counseling Sessions |
Location：M ain Library(Fourth Floor Business Center)Address：100 Larkin St．(at Grove) Library Sponsored Public Program Event Time：10 a．m．-3 p．m． Description： SCORE—Service Corps of Retired Executives(行政人员)offers free，one-hour business counseling(咨询)sessions from 10 a．m．to 3 p．m． To schedule an appointment with a SCORE counselor, call(415)744-6827．Cosponsored by the Business，Science and Technology Center． |
．If a boy wants to improve the skill of writing poems he can call．
| A．(415) 744-6827 | B．(415)557-4268 |
| C．(415) 557-4497 | D．(415)557-4400 |
Who would be most likely to attend the event on Wednesday, January 9？
| A．A science teacher | B．A retired worker． |
| C．A school headmaster． | D．A supermarket owner． |
Which event doesn’t need booking in advance?
| A．One-on-One Computer or Internet Training Session. |
| B．Beyond Journal Writing for Teens. |
| C．Power Panels and Films by World Savvy. |
| D．Business Counseling Sessions. |
As we all know，it was Thomas Jefferson who wrote the Declaration of Independence (独立宣言)．He wrote it in two weeks，and after a few changes，it was accepted by the Congress．As a result，he became famous in America's history．
Born in Virginia，Thomas Jefferson，a brilliant student at school and almost talented lawyer later，was much interested in politics.
Jefferson was elected Governor of Virginia in 1779，and he was sent to France as the Representative of the American Government in 1784．Sixteen years later，at the age of 57，he was elected president after Washington and Adams．
Far from a handsome man，he was is tall with long arms and big hands．Jefferson，who was an amusing talker in conversation，but a poor speaker，was generally good-natured．
Jefferson was regarded as a defender(捍卫者)of freedom Of America．As a president，he protected the right of speech．Interestingly enough，in his eight years as president，：Jefferson never said “No” to a bill(议案)!which the Congress had passed．He did a lot in organizing the new University of Virginia．
Thomas Jefferson died on July the fourth，1826，the fiftieth anniversary of America’s independence．Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
| A．Thomas Jefferson | B．Lincoln | C．Washington | D．Adams |
We are most likely to read this passage in．
| A．a daily newspaper | B．a popular advertisement |
| C．a history book | D．an important notice |
Which of the following statements about Jefferson’s personality is true?
| A．He was a shy and slow learner when he was at school． |
| B．He was not an easy person to get along with at all |
| C．He was not only very talented but also very handsome． |
| D．He was an amusing talker，but not good at speaking in public． |
Jefferson’s greatest contribution in America’s history is that．
| A．he was for the right of free speech |
| B．he was sent to France as the Representative |
| C． he wrote the Declaration of Independence |
| D．he organized the new University of Virginia |
Thomas Jefferson was elected president of the United States in the year of .
| A．1779 | B．1784 | C．1800 | D．1826 |