I have happy memories of trips to Europe, but my trip to Romania was unique. My husband was born there, but his family sent him to study in Italy. He hasn’t seen his family since he was 16.
When we reached Bucharest, his family was waiting outside to greet us. After a lot of hugging, kissing, and crying, his family also embraced (拥抱) me, the American wife with two young children. They had great interest in me. Few Americans visited Romania at that time, and most Romanians had little chance to travel.His family loved our gifts. We made trips to the Black Sea and the Carpathian Mountains. Eating at outdoor cafes to the sound of gypsy violins was very different, but nothing was as unforgettable as family dinners.
Most Romanian homes had old-fashioned washing machines but no dryers. It was a hot summer. My husband’s relatives didn’t want to risk dirtying their clothes. Their solution was as simple as it was surprising: The women had dinner in their bras (文胸) and slips (衬裙). The men were shirtless. They all had jobs, so time was precious. Disrobing (脱去衣服) for dinner was a small inconvenience compared with the effort of doing laundry – at least in their household, and perhaps all across Romania. I washed my clothes by hand and hung them outdoors to dry. I, of course, having just met them, ate fully clothed.
On the last night of our three-week stay, we had a large family dinner. I was tired of washing my clothes. So I pulled my dress over my head and placed it on the chair behind me. The table applauded. Even with my poor Romanian, I understood that they were saying: “She’s part of our family now.”
| A．his family showed no respect for her at first |
| B．she intended to talk to his family in English |
| C．she got extra attention from his family for her nationality |
| D．she found that she hadn’t brought enough gifts for his family |
| A．Most of his family members didn’t travel a lot at the time. |
| B．Women in his family had dinner in only their underclothes. |
| C．Most of her husband’s relatives didn’t like doing laundry. |
| D．They had old-fashioned washing machines but no dryers at home. |
| A．the author disrobed for dinner as the family did |
| B．they just wanted to show their love for the author |
| C．the author could finally understand them easily |
| D．it was time for the author to give a speech |
Arthur Miller(1915—2005) is universally recognized as one of the greatest dramatists of the 20th century.Miller’s father had moved to the USA from AustriaHungary，drawn like so many others by the “Great American Dream”．However，he experienced severe financial hardship when his family business was ruined in the Great Depression of the early 1930s.
Miller’s most famous play，Death of a Salesman，is a powerful attack on the American system，with its aggressive way of doing business and its insistence on money and social status as indicators of worth.In Willy Loman，the hero of the play，we see a man who has got into trouble with this system.Willy is “burnt out” and in the cruel world of business there is no room for sentiment：if he can’t do the work，then he is no good to his employer，the Wagner Company，and he must go.Willy is painfully aware of this，and at a loss as to what to do with his lack of success.He refuses to face the fact that he has failed and kills himself in the end.
When it was first staged in 1949，the play was greeted with enthusiastic reviews，and it won the Tony Award for Best Play，the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award，and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.It was the first play to win all three of these major awards.
Miller died of heart failure at his home in Roxbury，Connecticut，on the evening of February 10，2005，the 56th anniversary of the first performance of Death of a Salesman on Broadway.Why did Arthur Miller’s father move to the USA?
| A．He suffered from severe hunger in his home country. |
| B．He was attracted by the “Great American Dream”． |
| C．He hoped to make his son a dramatist. |
| D．His family business failed. |
The play Death of a Salesman ________．
| A．exposes the cruelty of the American business world |
| B．discusses the ways to get promoted in a company |
| C．talks about the business career of Arthur Miller |
| D．focuses on the skills in doing business |
What can we learn about Willy Loman?
| A．He treats his employer badly. |
| B．He runs the Wagner Company. |
| C．He is a victim of the American system. |
| D．He is regarded as a hero by his colleagues. |
What is the text mainly about?
| A．Arthur Miller and his family. |
| B．The awards Arthur Miller won. |
| C．The hardship Arthur Miller experienced. |
| D．Arthur Miller and his bestknown play. |
A T-shirt a day has kept unemployment away for an American man who is making about ＄ 85,000 a year by selling advertising space on his shirt.
Jason Sadler,26,was once a former marketing expert from Florida. In 2008, he founded his own company, “I wear your shirt”,with the idea to wear a T-shirt supplied by any company and then use social media tools to develop the company. Sadler charges the “face value” of the day for his human billboard(广告牌)service. So January 1 costs ＄1,while December 31 costs ＄365. He said this may not sound like a lot, but it adds up to ＄66,795 a year if he sells out every day, which he did this year. He also sells monthly sponsorships (赞助) for ＄1,500,adding another ＄18,000 to his income.
“I walk around, take photos, wear the shirt all day... I blog about those photos. I put them up on Twitter. I change my Facebook introduction... and then I do a Youtube video. I made about ＄83,000 this year,” Reuters Television. The average U. S. income is about＄615 a week or about ＄ 32,000 a year,according to the U. S. government.
Sadler has already begun to plan for his year 2010. He is making services larger by hiring another person to wear a shirt a day on the west coast of the United States.What is Sadler’s “face value” of the day December 30?
| A．＄364. |
| B．＄365. |
| C．＄615. |
| D．＄1,500. |
It can be inferred that Sadler didn’t advertise on___________.
| A．Twitter |
| B．Facebook |
| C．Youtube |
| D．Reuters |
Jason Sadler has a new plan to___________for the year 2010.
| A．employ another person to replace him |
| B．start his business on the west coast |
| C．stay at home on the east coast |
| D．double the charge for the service |
The passage is mainly about___________in a new way.
| A．taking photos |
| B．writing blogs |
| C．making money |
| D．selling T-shirts |
Neil Armstrong took“one small step for man”when he stepped on the moon’s surface while worldfamous physicist Stephen Hawking took a “giant leap (跳跃)”for Earth’s physically disabled when he experienced eight rounds of weightlessness in what he saw as the first step in a personal goal to travel in space.
“It was amazing，”Hawking told reporters afterwards，using his wellknown computerized voice.“The zeroG part was wonderful，and the highG part was no problem.I could have gone on and on.I have long wanted to go into space，and the zerogravity flight is the first step towards space travel.”
Hawking is one of the bestknown scientists because of his bestselling works on the mysteries of black holes and the origins of the universe，and because of his increasing disability.He is almost completely paralyzed (瘫痪的) and can communicate only via facial gestures and a gesturecontrolled computer system.
Thursady’s flight was a test run to find out if Hawking is capable of a rocketpowered journey to the edge of outer space，perhaps aboard the spaceship now being developed for Virgin Galactic.That craft is due to enter service in 2009 or so，and taking such a flight would check off what Hawking has said is his“next step”．“He would have flown more if we let him，”said Noah McMahon，one of Hawking’s coaches.“He was all smiles all the time.”
Zero Gravity had originally planned to bring Hawking back to NASA’s Shuttle Landing Facility here after six upsanddowns.Hawking’s performance showed well for more tests.Zero Gravity Corp.cofounder Peter Diamandis said Hawking experienced the flight better than his physicians had expected.He noted that the four minutes Hawking spent in weightlessness was about as much time as he would spend in zeroG during a space flight.By saying“Stephen Hawking took a‘giant leap’” in the first paragraph，the writer means __________．
| A．ordinary people can not do what Hawking did |
| B．Stephen Hawking managed to jump by himself |
| C．it is not easy for a disabled person like Hawking |
| D．Hawking has finished almost all that is needed to do |
The underlined word“zeroG”in Paragraph 2 probably refers to __________．
| A．space travel |
| B．zerogravity |
| C．a personal goal |
| D．the first step |
Which of the following would the writer probably agree?
| A．Hawking was one of the workers in Zero Gravity Company. |
| B．McMahon was not satisfied with what Hawking did in this test. |
| C．Peter Diamandis bought a spaceship for Hawking to travel in space. |
| D．Hawking would spend in zeroG during a space flight for 4 minutes. |
The text mainly wants to tell us _________．
| A．Hawking takes a “giant leap”for Earth’s disabled |
| B．a spaceship will be sent into space before long |
| C．what Neil Armstrong had experienced in space |
| D．common people can also experience space flights |
A group of professional people asked a group of 4 to 8 yearolds this question，“What does love mean？”The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined.See what they think：
“When my grandmother got arthritis (关节炎)，she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore.So my grandfather does it for her all the time，even when his hands got arthritis too.That’s love.”Rebecca－age 8
“Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.”Chrissy－age 6
“Love is when my mummy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip (一小口) before giving it to him，to make sure the taste is OK.”Danny－age 7
“Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt，then he wears it every day.”Noelle－age7
“My mummy loves me more than anybody.You don’t see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.”Clare－age 6
“Love is when Mummy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is more handsome than David Beckham.”Chris－age 7
Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge.The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child.The winner was a fouryearold child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.Upon seeing the man cry，the little boy went into the old gentleman’s yard，climbed onto his lap (膝上)，and just sat there.When his mother asked him what he had said to the neighbor，the little boy said，“Nothing，I just helped him cry.”The children’s answers are mainly based on __________．
| A．their own stories |
| B．their family stories |
| C．what happened around them |
| D．how they viewed people around them |
How many children’s answers describe a happy marriage?
| A．Three. |
| B．Four. |
| C．Five. |
| D．Six. |
Sixyearold Clare feels __________．
| A．her father’s love for her |
| B．her grandparent’s love for her |
| C．her friends’love for her |
| D．her mother’s love for her |
According to Leo Buscaglia，the fouryearold boy __________．
| A．cheered his neighbour up in a unique way |
| B．gave love a special definition |
| C．comforted his neighbour in the most caring way |
| D．had a good understanding of his neighbour’s sadness |
The plan is for Kitty and Fido to go？Here’s what you need to know.,“Take_the_pet_for_a_few_short_rides_before_your_trip_so_it_gets_used_to_it，”says_Greg_Hammer.“You_can’t_take_your_pet_on_a_fourhour_trip_if_he’s_never_been_in_the_car_before.”,Make sure your cellphone number is on the pet’s collar，in case he gets lost.,Put it on his tags or write it on the collar in permanent marker.And have your vet inject your pet with a tiny microchip implant.If he loses his collar，rescue organizations will scan the back of his neck，see his personal identification number，and contact you.,RealSimple.com：Solutions to common pet problems,It’s the safest for passengers and your pets if cats ride in a carrier and dogs in a car harness or a crate，depending on what makes them most comfortable.“Pets that are out of their comfort zones can have behavior problems in the car，which can be dangerous while driving，”says Hammer.,Try not to let your dog ride with his head out of the window.,Beyond the danger of getting hit，“particles of dirt or debris can enter the eyes，ears，and noses，causing injury or infection，”says Hammer.,RealSimple.com: 8 things your pet shouldn’t eat,Make regular stops－every two hours for a puppy，every three to four hours for a cat or an adult dog－so your pet can take a walk on a leash (some cats enjoy a little leash walk)．,Feed your pet only lightly before getting in the car－pets can become carsick.Once you’ve stopped driving for the day，feed normally.,RealSimple.com：The top ten pet owner mistakes,Plan your pet’s typical feeding and walking schedule into your travel time.If your pet eats at midday，stop and give him a quick walk and a small meal.The underlined sentence shows __________．
| A．preparations for the trip are very important |
| B．it is difficult for pets to ride |
| C．take care when traveling with pets |
| D．a fourhour trip isn’t allowed for pets, |
How does the author think of a tiny microchip implant？
| A．Cheap. |
| B．Expensive. |
| C．Useful |
| D．Nice. |
Before you take your pets in the car，you’d better __________．
| A．make it fall asleep |
| B．feed it too much food |
| C．feed it in a normal way, |
| D．give it a little to eat |
What’s the best title for the passage？
| A．How to raise pets |
| B．How to take pets on road trips |
| C．How to solve common pet problems |
| D．How to correct pet mistakes |