A rat looked through a crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife opening a package. What food might it contain? But he discovered that it was a rattrap (捕鼠夹）.
Going back to the farmyard, the rat started to give a warning.
The rat turned to the pig and told him:“There is a rattrap in the house, a rattrap in the house!”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Rat,” said the pig, “I can only say this is something terrible to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered with it.”
The rat turned to the cow. But the cow said, “Like wow, Mr. Rat? A rattrap? I am in danger, Huh?”
The rat returned to the house, head down and dejected. So the rat had to face the farmer's rattrap alone.
That very night, a sound was heard throughout the house, like the sound of a rattrap catching its prey (猎物). The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught.In the darkness, she did not notice that it was a poisonous snake whose tail had been caught by the trap. The snake bit her.The farmer rushed her to hospital. She returned home with a fever. Everyone knows that a fever could be treated with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his knife to the farmyard for the soup. However, his wife's sickness continued.
The farmer's friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer killed the pig. But she didn't get well. Finally, she died, and so many people came for the last sight that the farmer had the cow killed to provide meat for all of them.
So the next time you hear that someone is facing a problem and think that it does not concern you, remember that the whole farmyard is at risk when there is a rattrap in the house.From the passage we know that ______.
| A．the pig helped the rat get rid of the trap |
| B．the cow strongly believed in what the rat said |
| C．no animals showed concern over the rat's warning |
| D．the snake was killed immediately after being caught |
The underlined word ‘‘dejected” is the closest in meaning to _______.
| A．disappointed | B．surprised | C．irritated | D．excited |
We can learn from the article that _______.
| A．the farmer had planned to kill the rat |
| B．the rat was very clever in avoiding the trap |
| C．the farmer's wife got good treatment in hospital |
| D．the rat had expected what would happen to the pig and cow |
What message does the story intend to pass?
| A．We should mind our own business. |
| B．Everything is related to something else. |
| C．We'd better treat animals in a friendly way. |
| D．The farmer couple and their friends are all foolish. |
“Reconstituted” families are more and more common in the UK.
Steve and Debbie got married in 2001 and had two children，Lily and Alex.Unfortunately，Steve and Debbie’s marriage didn’t work out and they got divorced in 2006.The children live with Debbie.In 2008，Debbie remarried.Her new husband，Martin，has three children from his previous marriage and they visit Debbie，Martin，Lily and Alex at weekends.In addition，Debbie is pregnant with her third child.She’s expecting a boy who will be a halfbrother to Lily and Alex and also to Martin’s three other children.
Confused？Debbie’s family arrangements might have seemed strange 30 years ago but nowadays this kind of “reconstituted” family is increasingly common in the UK.Almost half of all marriages in Britain end in divorce and over 40% of marriages are remarriages.More than 10% of all British children live with one birth parent and a stepparent—a parent who isn’t their biological mother or father.The traditional “nuclear” family of two parents and their children is not so traditional any more.
What does all of this mean for parents in these “reconstituted” families？“There are difficulties and challenges，” says Debbie.“Different families have different routines and it can be difficult for children to move between their two families.Birthdays and holidays can be tricky.Where do the children go？Who should they spend their time with？Also，when my children are naughty it can be difficult for Martin to tell_them_off.Things that might be simple in a traditional family can be a bit more complicated.”
And how about the children？Martin’s eldest child，Ella，is 12.“I like my two families，” she says.“I live with my mum but visit my dad quite often and I’m happy that my mum and dad get along OK.They’re not married any more but it’s good that they can still be friends.” Of course divorce and separation are never easy but many families in the UK are finding ways to make family life work in new ways.Why did Steve and Debbie get separated?
| A．They couldn’t support the children. |
| B．They couldn’t get along well. |
| C．They were both out of work. |
| D．They had serious economic problems. |
We can learn from the text that a “nuclear” family ________.
| A．has two birth parents and their children |
| B．has two birth parents and only one child |
| C．is traditional but complicated |
| D．doesn’t have any children |
What do the underlined words “tell them off” in Paragraph 4 most probably mean?
| A．make them annoyed | B．send them to school |
| C．let out their secrets | D．talk angrily to them |
What’s the text mainly about?
| A．The difference between “marriage” and “remarriage”． |
| B．More and more people get divorced in the UK. |
| C．“Reconstituted” families are becoming more and more in the UK. |
| D．The marriage situation is becoming severe. |
Men can be beautiful too，right?
China is going to host the 18th World University Student Beauty Contest in Guangzhou this December.This year for the first time the contest will include a male section.Students from over 130 countries will compete for Mr and Miss Beauty.The contest is one of the most respected beauty contests in the world.It was copied by the United Nations University (an international university belonging to the United Nations) in 1986.
Stick to studying
Li Yining，an economics professor at Peking University，said that he would not encourage students to try their luck in the stock market (股市)．“They should stress study，” Li said in his speech at Beijing Foreign Studies University.When asked，the professor said he expected house prices in Beijing to continue to rise.Li thinks the government should provide more affordable houses for lowlevel income people.
Campus cinema
Students at over 100 universities will have a digital cinema on campus after the National Day holiday.The 21st Century Digital Film on Campus Project was launched at the end of September.The ticket will cost 3－8 yuan，rather than 30－40 yuan at cinemas in town.Students often download movies online or watch DVDs.Now they can enjoy original films in the digital cinema.The digital cinema will show a variety of films besides Hollywood blockbusters (好莱坞大片)．
Getting practical
All 12,000 graduates from vocational school in Shanxi Province have landed a job，according to the provincial government.In the past five years， it is estimated that over 95 percent of the professional school graduates have found jobs.However，the number for university graduates is 70 percent.Some employers said that they prefer professional school graduates who learned something more practical in school and expected lower salaries than university students.In the third part，the underlined word “launched” may mean________.
| A．started | B．ended | C．told | D．mentioned |
Where can the material be chosen from?
| A．A novel. | B．A newspaper. | C．An advertisement. | D．A fashion magazine. |
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．More than 130 countries will take part in the 18th World University Student Beauty Contest. |
| B．The ticket for a digital film on campus will cost 38 yuan. |
| C．In the past five years，over 95 percent of the university graduates have found jobs in Shanxi Province. |
| D．Over 100 universities will take part in the 21st Century Digital Film on Campus Project. |
Professor Li thinks that________.
| A．the house prices in Beijing will keep going up |
| B．the students should try their luck in the stock market |
| C．the government can do nothing about the housing problem |
| D．the students should not only pay attention to study |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．In Shanxi Province，the professional school graduates are less popular with employers than university graduates recently. |
| B．The digital cinema will only show Hollywood blockbusters. |
| C．The graduates from universities can put what they learned into practice more easily. |
| D．No men competed in the World University Students Beauty Contest before this year |
Does Fame Drive You Crazy?
Although being famous might sound like a dream come true, today’s star, feeling like zoo animals, face pressures that few of us can imagine. They are at the center of much of the world’s attention. Paparazzi (狗仔队) camp outside their homes, cameras ready. Tabloids (小报) publish thrilling stories about their personal lives. Just
imagine not being able to do anything without being photographed or interrupted for a signature.
According to psychologist Christina Villareal, celebrities — famous people — worry constantly about their public appearance. Eventually, they start to lose track of who they really are, seeing themselves the way their fans imagine them, not as the people they were before everyone knew their names. “Over time,” Villareal says, “they feel separated and alone.”
The phenomenon of tracking celebrities has been around for ages. In the 4th century B.C., painters followed
Alexander the Great into battle, hoping to picture his victories for his admirers. When Charles Dickens visited
America in the 19th century, his sold-out readings attracted thousands of fans, leading him to complain (抱怨)
about his lack of privacy. Tabloids of the 1920s and 1930s ran articles about film-stars in much the same way that modern tabloids and websites do.
Being a public figure today, however, is a lot more difficult than it used to be. Superstars cannot move about without worrying about photographers with modern cameras. When they say something silly or do something
ridiculous, there is always the Internet to spread the news in minutes and keep their “story” alive forever.
If fame is so troublesome, why aren’t all celebrities running away from it? The answer is there are still ways to deal with it. Some stars stay calm by surrounding themselves with trusted friends and family or by escaping to remote places away from big cities. They focus not on how famous they are but on what they love to do or whatever made them famous in the first place.
Sometimes a few celebrities can get a little justice. Still, even stars who enjoy full justice often complain about how hard their lives are. They are tired of being famous already.It can be learned from the passage that stars today .
| A．are often misunderstood by the public |
| B．can no longer have their privacy protected |
| C．spend too much on their public appearance |
| D．care little about how they have come into fame |
What is the main idea of Paragraph 3?
| A．Great heroes of the past were generally admired. |
| B．The problem faced by celebrities has a long history. |
| C．Well-known actors are usually targets of tabloids. |
| D．Works of popular writers often have a lot of readers. |
What makes it much harder to be a celebrity today?
| A．Availability of modern media. |
| B．Inadequate social recognition. |
| C．Lack of favorable chances. |
| D．Huge population of fans. |
What is the author’s attitude toward modern celebrity?
| A．Sincere. | B．Sceptical. |
| C．Disapproving. | D．Sympathetic. |
Commuters (上下班往返的人) who drive to work will face a parking charge of up to ￡350 a year.Ministers are backing a workplace parking charge which will come into force in Nottingham in 2013 and is likely to be adopted across the country.The scheme will see firms with more than ten parking places for staff charged ￡350 a year for each space in two years.
Employers would be free to pass on the charge to their staff—meaning it would effectively be a tax on driving to work.The scheme aims to reduce traffic by preventing unnecessary car journeys and raise funds to improve public transport，but critics say it is just an excuse for councils to fill their coffers (金库)．
Some ten million Britons drive to work each day，and the British Chambers of Commerce says the new charge could total ￡3.4 billion a year if rolled out nationwide.
Already some firms in Nottingham have threatened to leave the city，where 40,000 commuters use their cars to get to work.A spokesman said the scheme was nothing more than a tax on jobs.“It is very unfair to discriminate against those employers who have parking spaces，which get vehicles off the streets，” he said.“And these charges apply around the clock，which is especially unfair on shift workers who rely on their cars because public transport is not available.This is more about increasing the government’s income than reducing traffic.”
However，Transport Minister Sadiq Khan gave the plan an official approval during a visit to Nottingham. The council says the tax will raise as much as ￡100 million over ten years—one fifth of the cost of a new transport system for the city.
Another transport spokesman Theresa Villiers said the tax would have a devastating impact on businesses struggling to cope with the economic decline.
But Richard Hebditch of the Campaign for Better Transport said the tax would raise money to invest in better transport.“We put forward the idea of workplace parking taxes as a fairer way to raise money to invest in the future local transport services.We are pleased that the people of Nottingham will be the first to benefit.”Supporters argue that the scheme________.
| A．can help improve the parking conditions for the staff |
| B．should be applied to ail commuters driving to work |
| C．is certain to be carried out despite the objections |
| D．will relieve traffic pressure and improve public transport |
According to the objectors，the scheme is unfair for________.
| A．the firms with parking lots |
| B．the workforce without cars |
| C．the employees parking their cars on the streets |
| D．the staff driving to work in the daytime |
Which word can best describe Theresa Villiers’s attitude towards the scheme?
| A．Neutral. | B．Negative. |
| C．Understanding. | D．Positive. |
It can be inferred from the passage that________.
| A．many firms are willing to pay the charges for their staff |
| B．the public transport in Nottingham is in great need of improvement |
| C．the author believes Britons will benefit from the scheme |
| D．those firms with more commuters will leave Nottingham |
In 1943, when I was 4, my parents moved from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, to Fairbanks, Alaska, where adventure was never very far away.
We arrived in the summer, just in time to enjoy the midnight sun. All that sunlight was fantastic for Mom's vegetable garden. Working in the garden at midnight tended to throw her timing off, so she didn't care much about my bedtime.
Dad was a Railway Express agent and Mom was his clerk. That left me in a mess. I usually managed to find some trouble to get into. Once I had a little Are going in the dirt basement of a hotel. I had tried to light a barrel（桶） of paint but couldn't really get a good fire going. The smoke got pretty bad, though, and when 1 made my exit, a crowd and the police were there to greet me. The policemen took my matches and drove me
Mom and Dad were occupied in the garden and Dad told the police to keep me, and they did! I had a tour of the prison before Mom rescued me. 1 hadn't turned 5 yet.
As I entered kindergarten, the serious cold began to set in. Would it surprise you to know that I soon left part of my tongue on a metal handrail at school?
As for Leonhard Seppala, famous as a dog sledder (驾雪橇者), I think I knew him well because I was taken for a ride with his white dog team one Sunday. At the time I didn't realize what a superstar he was, but I do remember the ride well. I was wrapped (包裹) heavily and well sheltered from the freezing and blowing weather.
In 1950, we moved back to Coeur d'Alene, but we got one more Alaskan adventure when Leonhard invited us eight years later by paying a visit to Idaho to attend a gathering of former neighbors of Alaska.What can be inferred about the author's family?
| A．His father was a cruel man. | B．His parents didn't love him. |
| C．His parents used to be very busy. | D．His mother didn't have any jobs. |
What happened when the author was 4?
| A．He learned to smoke. | B．He was locked in a basement. |
| C．He was arrested by the poli | D．He nearly caused a fire accident. |
Which of the following is true?
| A．Leonhard was good at driving dog sleds. |
| B．The author spent his whole childhood in Alaska. |
| C．Leonhard often visited the author's family after 1950. |
| D．The author suffered a lot while taking the dog sled in Alaska. |
What is the author's purpose of writing the text?
| A．To look back on his childhood with adventures. |
| B．To describe the extreme weather of Alaska. |
| C．To express how much he misses Leonhard. |
| D．To show off his pride in making trouble. |