Every town in the United States has a post office . Some are very small , and you may also find them in the corner of a shop . Others are larger buildings . They are open five days a week and on Saturday mornings . From Monday through Friday they are usually open from 8:30 to 4:30 . 
If you know how much the postage (邮资) is for your letter , you can buy stamps at any window. In some post offices you can buy stamps from machines . Stamps are sold many different prices , from one cent (美分) to many dollars . If you are not sure how much postage is for you letter , you may ask the man or the woman in the post office for help . he or she will give you the stamps you need . If you are sending your letter far away , you should use airmailenvelopes (航空信封) . Remember that postage will be more expensive for a letter to be sent outside the country.
At a post office you can also buy postcards . A postcard is cheaper than a letter . Usually the price of postage for a postcard is about half that of a letter . The postcards that you buy at a post office do not have pictures . However ,also they are not to be sent outside the country .
Letters are an easy and cheap way to keep in touch with people in many different countries .
| A．post offices | B．large buildings |
| C．small shops | D．different banks |
| A．At 9:00 on Sunday morning | B．At 12:00 on Tuesday. |
| C．At 5:00 on Friday afternoon | D．At 8:00 on Monday morning. |
| A．go and buy stamps from the machine in the post officesend a cheap postcard instead of your letter |
| B．get in touch with somebody you know in the post office |
| C．ask the man or the woman in the post office for help |
| D．Call your friends for help. |
| A．a beautiful postcard | B．a letter written on envelope |
| C．a letter by airmail | D．a postcard with pictures |
| A．the post office | B．the postage |
| C．letters | D．postcards |
While it is common for restaurant owners to connect with their customers，a restaurant owner in the U．S．is taking it to a whole new level．Tim Harries gives out free hugs（拥抱）to every customer at the end of each meal．
The atmosphere （气氛）at his restaurant"Tim's Place"is so positive（积极的）that customers often call it the"World's friendliest restaurant"．
．"Tim's Hug"is in fact an item on the menu described as a"love"treat．Tim's hugs are doubly special because of everything he has achieved．The 26一year﹣old is probably the only Down syndrome sufferer（唐氏综合症患者）in the U．S．to own a restaurant，but he has several other things to be proud of﹣﹣he's a skillful special Olympian，an excellent sailor，and all experienced fisherman．He was also chosen as Homecoming King and Student of the Year in high school!So when a man like Tim hugs you，it is sure to be a special and unforgettable experience
When Tim expressed interest in opening a restaurant，Keith，a small businessman himself，supported him．Tim hired other people to manage the place and do the cooking，and he introduced the idea of free hugs．He realized that people want to feel at home at a restaurant．That is why he included"love"as all ite on the menu．Customers can order the free hug from Tim，and even if they don't，he'll probably hug them anyway．
The restaurant has been around sinc 2010，and Tim has given out over 19，000hugs in the past five years﹣﹣he keeps count using a special Hug Counter．Many customers love visiting"Tim's Place"．"I've been coming here once a week．"said Michelle Garth﹣Jones，a regular customer．"I love local restaurants，and this specil one has a story that stays with you．"
29．Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage？
A．Customers prefer to feel relaxed at a restaurant．
B．Unless you order Tim's Hug，he will not hug you．
C．As soon as you enter Tim's Place，you will get a warm hug．
D．Michelle Garth﹣Jones loves listening to the story in the restaurant．
30．Which of the following words can best describe Time Harris？
A．Humorous
B．Creative
C．Serious
D．Curious
31．What may be the best title for this passage？
A．Tim's Achievements
B．A Special Experience
C．A Down Syndrome Sufferer
D．The World's Friendliest Restaurant．
When was the last time you saw three men running down a forest trail（小径）in the rain wearing flipflops（拖鞋）？That's what my friend Brandon，Josh and I were doing last autumn．We were looking for a waterfall（瀑布）．We didn't have much time to get to the waterfall and back，so we were running．We were wearing flip﹣flops to prevent our shoes getting dirty．
It was raining，but lightly．It kept us cool as we climbed over giant stones and through a shallow（浅的）stream．We followed red arrows（箭头）and crossed that stream several times，walking on toward the promised waterfall．Time was not on our side，howevr，and we were forced to turn around．As we started back，we looked at the shallow stream we had just crossed．Where did this rushing river come from？That was when we realized a flash flood was around!
In the few minutes the water rose at a fast speed．Now there were no big stones tobe seen﹣only what looked like lumps（隆起）covered with rushing water．We had no choice but to move our way back carefully in the rushing water﹣in flip﹣flops．We had crossed the stream not once or twice，but six times in search of a waterfall that we never even reached!
With most of the crossings，we needed each other's help if we didn't want to be washed away by water．Wet all over，we felt relaxed after we made the last crossing．
"My dad always told me to keep off a river when travelling in the rain．"Josh said as we hurried back down the path．
"Why didn't you tell us that earlier？"I laughed．
"Would it have made a difference？"came the reply．
He had a point．
26．Why were there no big stones to be seen in the stream when they came back？
A．The big stones were moved away by someone else．
B．They were runningtoo fast to notice the big stones．
C．The big stones were covered with rushing water．
D．The big stones were washed away by rushing water．
27．Why didn't they find the waterfall in the end？
A．Because they were short of time．
B．Because they were wearing flip﹣flops．
C．Because Josh kept warning thm not to go any further．
D．Because the flood prevented them from going forward．
28．We can infer（推断）from the passage that the writer and his friends ．
A．were crazy about outdoor activities
B．made full preparations before the trip
C．crossed rushing water easily in the end
D．had much experience in travelling in the rain．
Every living thing on Earth is either a plant or an animal，right？Wrong!Many organisms（有机体）in our world are neither．Some of them float through the air，and some lie hidden in the ground．They do not need sunlight to survive，and if the weather becomes too cold，they can become inactive until conditions improve．
What are these？They are called fungi（菌类），and you see them almost every day．Many kinds of fungi seem disgusting，such as the green black things that appear on the food which are left too long in the refrigerator．But other kinds are not so bad．For example，the yeast that is used to make bread and mushrooms （蘑菇） are both fungi．
What makes fungi different from plants and animals？An animal can move around by itself．Fungi get around too，but they don't have feet，wings，or tails．They have to wait for wind or some other outside force to move them．Plants are different from fungi because they have chlorophyll（叶绿素）．It helps them make food from the energy in sunlight．Fungi do not have chlorophyll．
Some fungi are bad，while others are not．Some fungi cause diseases，such as athlete's foot，which makes feet uncomfortable．Other kinds of fungi can be used to make medicies，which have saved many lives．
Fungi clean up more than wounds，though．They are the world's first recyclers．Without fungi，our world would be a mess．Since fungi cannot make their own food as plants do，they must get their food elsewhere．Many fungi get their food from dead plants．They break them down and turn them into soil．The fungi get a meal，and the world gets a housecleaning．
23．What does the underlined word"disgusting"most probably mean？
A．strong
B．unpleasant
C．active
D．small
24．According to the passage， ．
A．fungi can move everywhere by themselves
B．fungi are unable to survive in cold conditions
C．some fungi can make food from the energy in sunlight．
D．some fungi are useful to humans and the environment
25．Where can you most probably find this passage？
A．In a social report．
B．In a biology book．
C．In ageography magazine．
D．In a farming book．
It was last January， when I'd just finished a charity（慈善） and was on the train back home， that I put down my phone and started writing thank﹣you notes to people who had helped，
When I got off the train， I felt amazingly good． The next day，I wrote more thank﹣you and the same feeling of happiness hit me again． I suddenly had the idea： Why not keep on doing this for every day of the year？
To keep on task， I decided to pick out a different theme for each month． January was charity．February would be neighbors， I decided， And I thought of a number of names right away： the owner of our local bookstore， who let me and my little son in before the store opened and offered to play his favorite songs； our babysitter， who dropped off a bag of old board games for our kids to play， …
While writing the notes， I realized how often I had spent my time on the phone moving from app to app， appreciating（欣赏） other people's lives． Writing thank﹣you notes allowed me the time to do something different， paying more attention to my own life．
In the following months， I wrote to my friends， doctors， teachers and parenting role models． In July， my "food" month， I wrote to Julie，who used to cook at my favorite restaurant．It went like this：
Dear Julie，
I've been finding myself missing you lately． Thank you for hosting and cooking beautiful and thoughtful food． Jake and I will never forget when you sent out biscuits shaped into the number VI for our sixth anniversary（周年纪念日）．We talk about it every year．
Thank you． We miss you．
Love，
Gina
I was happy to receive a note back from her． Julie replied，"I don't think I've ever received such a touching letter before， I' m going through a hard time right now， and this helps．"
On December 31，I wrote my last card ﹣ to Jake， my husband，and our two kids．And I took a picture of us， so I could remember the feeling welling up inside me． Gratitude．
（1）The underlined word "this" in Paragraph 2 means ．
A． writing thank﹣you notes
B． putting the phone away
C． taking the train back home
D． raising money for charity
（2）How did Julie most probably feel after reading the note from Gina？
A． Shy and surprised．
B．Pleased and relaxed．
C． Nervous and excited．
D． Moved and encouraged．
（3）The theme of the December notes might be ．
A． photos
B． family
C． holidays
D． community
（4）What did Gina get by doing her task according to the passage？
A． Many thanks from her neighbors．
B． More time to appreciate her own life．
C． More help from people around her．
D． Happy moments to be with her friends．
（5）The best title for the passage can be ．
A． My Thank You Year
B． An Amazing Trip
C． Happiness inside Us
D． Important People in Our Life
Whenever I'm invited to somebody's house for the first time， I'll take a close look at their bookshelves．What they keep on their shelves，in my eyes，is a reflection（反映） of their personal tastes and interests．The books on a bookshelf tell the story of a life．
My own shelves are a kind of roadmap through my life， telling a chronological tale． First up come my favorite childhood reads， like Watership Down and His Dark Materials． The collection then moves on to teenage things I read in school ﹣ Nineteen Eight﹣Four， The Handmaid's Tale and A Clockwork Orange． Finally， we come out of full﹣time education and enter the real world， and this part is a reflection of my professional（职业的） life， from the first exciting days of work experience to the present．
If you pointed to any book on my shelves， I could name the year I got it， where I was working，and probably where I was living at the time．
___▲____It is an easy way to get to know about his hopes， dreams and interests． And a big part of that story is how we arrange（排列） our books， and get on with them． It's such a personal thing，different from each other． Some want to be with their books in every room， others have them on
shelves， behind glass or simply lining their floors． Each home has a story to tell through the way they live with their books．
It's often said that what we read says something about who we are． The way we fill our bookshelves might also send a message about ourselves． From the pile of books on your bedside table to your well﹣organized shelves， whether we notice it or not， our book collections are telling a story before a single page has been turned．
（1）The book son the writer's own shelves are organized according to ．
A． their prices
B． their writers
C． his personal interests
D． the periods of his life
（2）Which of the following is the best sentence to fill in the blank in Paragraph 4？
A． Every book is worth reading．
B． Each bookshelf holds a special dream．
C． Book collections tell so much about a person．
D． The books a person reads depend on his choices，
（3）The writer seems to agree that ．
A． we'd better not put our books on the floor
B． the way we arrange our books shows our tastes
C． the books at our bedside are usually more important
D． we Can know about a person by reading the message he sends
（4）It can be learned from the passage that the writer is probably ．
A． a book lover
B． a story teller
C． a shelf collector
D． a fashion designer