When I was at university, I studied very hard. But a lot of my friends did very little work. Some did just enough to pass exams. Others didn’t do quite enough. Fred Baines was one of them. He spent more time drinking in the Students’ Union than working in the library. Once, at the end of the term, we had to take an important test in chemistry. The test had a hundred questions. Beside each question we had to write “True” or “False”. While I was studying in my room the night before the test, Fred was watching television. Fred usually worried a lot the night before a test. But that night he looked perfectly calm. Then he told me of his plan. “It’s very simple. There are a hundred questions and I have to get fifty correct to pass the test. I’ll take a coin into the examination room. I haven’t studied a chemistry book for months, so I’ll just toss the coin. In that way, I’m sure I’ll get half the questions right.” The next day, Fred came cheerfully into the examination room. As he sat tossing a coin for half an hour he marked down his answers. Then he left half an hour before the rest of us. The next day, he saw the chemistry professor in the corridor.
“Oh good,” he said, “Have you got the results of the test?”
The professor looked at him and smiled.
“Ah, it’s you, Baines, just a minute.”
Then he reached into his pocket and took out a coin. He threw it into the air, caught it in his hand and looked at it.
“I’m terribly sorry, Baines,” he said, “You failed!” Fred often went to the Students’ Union where he ________ .
| A．worked extra hours | B．enjoyed himself in the bar |
| C．borrowed books | D．attended a few lectures |
This time Fred expected to get ________ .
| A．an excellent mark | B．a low mark | C．his usual mark | D．the pass mark |
The chemistry professor ________ .
| A．didn’t mark the test papers correctly |
| B．tossed a coin when he marked test papers |
| C．knew about Fred’s method |
| D．thought Fred’s method was good |
According to the text, we can know working hard is ________ .
| A．unnecessary | B．valuable | C．useless | D．a waste |
Do dogs understand us?
Be careful what you say around your dog．It might understand more than you think．
A border collie named Rico recognizes the names of about 200 objects, say researchers in Germany．The dog also appears to be able to learn new words as easily as a 3-year-old child．Its word-learning skills are as good as those of a parrot or chimpanzee．
In one experiment, the researchers took all 200 items that Rico is supposed to know and divided them into 20 groups of 10 objects．Then the owner told the dog to go and fetch one of the items and bring it back．In four tests, Rico got 37 out of 40 commands right．As the dog couldn't see anyone to get clues, the scientists believe Rico must understand the meanings of certain words．
In another experiment, the scientists took one toy that Rico had never seen before and put it in a room with seven toys whose names the dog already knew．The owner then told Rico to fetch the object, using a word the dog had never heard before．
The correct object was chosen in seven out of ten tests, suggesting that the dog had worked
out the answer by process of elimination（排除法）．A month later, Rico remembered half of the new names, which is even more impressive．
Rico is thought to be smarter than the average dog．For one thing, Rico is a border collie, a breed （品种）known for its mental abilities．In addition, the 9-year-old dog has been trained to fetch toys by their names since the age of nine months．
It's hard to know if all dogs understand at least some of the words we say．Even if they do, they can't talk back．Still, it wouldn't hurt to sweet-talk your dog every now and then．You might just get a big, wet kiss in return!
1．From paragraph 2 we know that __________．
A．animals are as clever as human beings
B．chimpanzees have very good word-learning skills
C．dogs are smarter than parrots and chimpanzees
D．dogs have similar learning abilities as 3-year-old children
2．Both experiments show that_____________．
A．Rico is smart enough to get all commands right
B．Rico can recognize different things including toys
C．Rico has developed the ability of learning mathematics
D．Rico won't forget the names of objects once recognizing them
3．Which of the following statements is true?
A．Rico has a better memory partly because of its proper early training．
B．The purpose of the experiments is to show the border collie's mental abilities．
C．The border collie is world-famous for recognizing objects．
D．Rico is born to understand its owner's commands．
4．What does the writer want to tell us?
A．To train your dog． B．To talk to your dog．
C．To be careful with your dog． D．To be friendly to your dog．
第二部分阅读理解（共20小题：每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、 D和E）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Scott Langteau has this message for kids: Spend less time playing video games．
It’s a message that many a mom and dad have tried to impress upon many a youngster （and some not-so-youngsters） who spend perhaps a bit too much time with game controllers in hand．
But the 40-year-old Langteau isn’t a parent．He’s experienced at video games — one who played producer on three “Medal of Honor” games and co-founded his own game development company．
Langteau has just published a children’s book called “Sofa Boy,” which tells the story of a kid who spends too much time sitting on the couch with controller held in hand and the rather terrible consequences that follow．
It’s a fairy tale plucked straight from Langteau's own experiences as a lad with a fondness for video games and his own bouts with a bit of game addiction．But first, Langteau would like to make one thing clear: “I’m not saying that you shouldn’t play video games．I think video games are great, I think they do great things for kids．Instead, Langteau says his book is all about a little something called “moderation．（克制）”
_“It’s_about_being_well_rounded,” he says．“Just like with anything else, we all need to make sure that there’s a variety in what we do．”
Video gamers can be rather bad-tempered when it comes to accepting criticism about their favorite entertainment．And understandably so．After all, most people who go around talking about the dangers of playing video games tend to be outsiders — people who don’t play video games and certainly don’t understand that they can be a valuable and healthy form of entertainment．
But Langteau and “Sofa Boy” seem to be in a unique position to deliver a message of gaming moderation that the young game-savvy masses might actually listen to．After all, this is a
man who understands what it means to be a kid with a passion for games．His early experience has taught him a lesson．
1．Scott Langteau published “Sofa Boy” to_____________．
A．share his great skills on games
B．warn kids against game addiction
C．tell about his fairy tale as a kid
D．deliver a message for games
2．We can learn from the passage that____________．
A．Langteau advises the young to play games within limits
B．Langteau advises the young not to play games
C．playing video games ruins the future of kids
D．playing video games is of no benefit to kids
3．By saying “It’s about being well rounded” Langteau thinks____________．20090506
A．games do great things for kids
B．gamers are usually fat and round
C．games should be viewed from all sides
D．gamers are to blame for their behaviors
4．What topic will be discussed in the following paragraph?
A．His idea to create “Sofa Boy”．
B．His great achievement in games as a kid．
C．His hard times to set up his game company．
D．His enthusiasm for games when he was a small boy．
A thief returned a mobile phone and thousands of yuan he had stolen from a woman after receiving 21 text messages from her, a local newspaper reported.
Pan Aiying, a Chinese teacher at Wutou Middle School in Qihe County, in East China’s Shandong Province, didn’t think her text messages would help to get her belongings(财物) back.
A young man riding a motorcycle robbed her of her bag, in which there was her mobile phone, bank cards and 4,900 yuan, as she was riding her bicycle home on Saturday evening.
Pan said at first she considered calling the police, but then decided to try to persuade（说服）the young man to return her bag. Pan called her lost phone with her friend’s, but couldn’t get through. So she began sending messages.
“Hey, I’m Pan Aiying, a teacher from Wutou Middle School. You must be going through a difficult time. If so, I will not blame you.” Wrote Pan in her first text message, which got no answer. “Keep the 4,900 yuan if you really need it, but please return the other things to me. You are still young. To make mistakes is human. Correcting your mistake is more important than anything.” Pan wrote in another message.
She gave up hope after sending 21 text messages without any answer and planned to call the police the next morning. However, as she left her home on Sunday morning, Pan found her stolen bag lying in the courtyard. Nothing was lost.
“Pan: I am sorry. I made a mistake. Please forgive me. You are so kind even though I stole from you. I’ll correct my ways and be an honest person,” said a letter left with the bag.
1. Where was Pan Aiying robbed?
A. In the school. B. At home. C. In the courtyard. D. on her way home
2. Why didn’t Pan Aiying call the police at first?
A. Because she thought the police wouldn’t help her.
B. Because it was too late at that time.
C. Because she wanted to communicate with the thief first.
D. Because her friend asked her not to.
3. How long was Pan Aiying’s bag missing?
A. About two days. B. About 12 hours.
C. About one day and a half. D. About 24 hours.
4. From the news we can learn that ____________.
A. the young man would not steal any more
B. Pan Aiying didn’t give up hope after sending 21 text messages
C. the young man would pay a visit to Pan Aiying personally
D. Pan Aiying teaches English in a middle school in Shandong Province
Every year when the Italian artist Michelangelo’s (1475－1564) birthday comes around, computer users all over the world are filled with fear and use their computers with care. Some may even choose not to turn on their computers on March 3rd. All this fear and care are just because a deadly computer virus(病毒) is ready to cause damages on that day.
What’s a computer virus then? Why do people get so afraid of it?
A computer virus is, in fact, a little program that is put into other programs and that does something bad. It is called a virus because, like any real-life viruses such as AIDS virus, it reproduces(繁殖) itself. And when these programs are run, the virus is brought to life. It hides itself in your computer system waiting for the right moment to make damages. And at the same time it keeps producing itself by copying itself onto other programs.
The Michelangelo virus waits until the artist’s birthday comes around, and then it will wake up to do very bad things like destroying you files. So next time when you turn on your computer, look out for computer viruses!
1. The Italian artist Michelangelo_______.
A. was born six centuries ago B. was born on March 3rd, 1475
C. died six centuries agoD. died on March 3rd, 1564
2. Why are computer users full of fear on March 3rd? Because_________.
A. it is the birthday of a famous Italian artist
B. a kind of computer virus will come on that day
C. a deadly computer virus called “ the Michelangelo virus” will wake up and then cause damages to computers on that day
D. something will easily go wrong with computers
3. In fact, a computer virus is_______.
A. a program which can help the computer avoid something dangerous.
B. a kind of real-life virus
C. a kind of virus like AIDS virus
D. also a kind of program which is placed into other programs and which makes damages
4. In fact, a computer virus is ready to cause damages_________.
A. any day B. only on March 3rd
C. on Fridays D. only on some famous artists’ holidays
The best way to improve your reading ability is, of course, to read. The student must make a real effort to improve his speed, and if necessary his comprehension, with each exercise. Too many students read passages passively（被动的） and without judgment: they simply start at the first word and read through to the end. You should read a passage actively, selectively（选择地） and purposely. You must believe that you indeed have the ability to read faster and understand, and that you will.
Reading, like everything else in life, is best done when you’re relaxed. The key to improve it is concentration. You must be willing to break some old habits and form new ones. Extra body movement, such as turning the head from side to side, pointing at the line with a finger or pencil, or moving the lips, should be stopped immediately. Reading is mostly a mental process(大脑活动过程) and body movement helps neither speed nor comprehension. Then you should see words as part of a whole sentence or paragraph, not just in isolation(孤立), This is why a slow, word-by-word student often understands far less, or misses much of the joy and excitement of reading.
The student must learn to improve reading skills on their own, and not just when a teacher is looking over his shoulder. Reading improvement takes discipline（纪律） and effort. Don’t give up.
1. According to the author, how should we not read a passage?
A. actively B passively. C. purposely D. selectively
2. You may conclude that whether you can improve your reading depends on________.
A. your attitude B. your good habits of reading
C. discipline D. all of the above
3. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. When reading, you’d better point at the line with a pencil.
B. When reading, you should turn your head from side to side.
C. When reading, you should pay attention to basic unit of meaning, that is a phrase or sentence that contains an idea.
D. Body movement will help you to improve reading.
4. The best title for this passage is___________.
A. Reading FasterB. Understanding Better
C. How to Improve Your ReadingD. Don’t Give Up