Elizabeth and I are 18 now, and about to graduate. I think about our elementary school friendship, but some memories have blurred(模糊). What happened that day in the fifth grade when Beth suddenly stopped speaking to me? Does she know that I’ve been thinking about her for seven years? If only we could go back, and discover what ended our relationship.
I have to speak with Beth. I see her sometimes, and find out school is “fine”. It’s not the same. It never will be. Someone says that she’s Liz now. what happened to Beth?
I can’t call her. Should I write? What if she doesn’t answer me? How will I know what she’s thinking?
Yes, I’ll write her a letter. These things are easier to express in writing. “Dear Be-,” no, “Dear Li-” no, “Dear Elizabeth,” I begin. The words flow freely, as seven-year-old memories are reborn. I ask her all the questions that have been left unanswered in my mind, and pray she will answer. I seal my thoughts in the perfect white envelope, and imagine Beth looking into the mailbox. Will she know why I’m writing? Maybe she once thought of writing the same letter.
As the mailman takes my envelope from me forever, I wonder if I’ve made the right decision. Do I have the right to force myself into Beth’s life again? Am I simply part of the past? I have taken the first stop. Beth has control of the situation now.
One day has passed. Are my words lying on the bottom of the post office floor.
Two days are gone. I’m lost in thought and don’t even hear the phone ring.
“Hello? It’s Elizabeth”
| A．She had a quarrel with the author in the fifth grade |
| B．She moved to another school in the fifth grade |
| C．She is now called Liz instead of Beth |
| D．She hasn’t seen the author for seven years |
| A．She is sure that Beth will not answer |
| B．She’s afraid that they’ll quarrel on the phone |
| C．She doesn’t know Beth’s telephone number |
| D．It is easier to express her feelings in writing |
| A．It’s up to Beth to decide what to do next |
| B．Beth is to be blamed for the ending of their friendship |
| C．Beth is in the same situation as the author is |
| D．The author is completely in the hands of Beth now |
| A．Beth answers her letter two day later |
| B．The letter doesn’t reach Beth at all |
| C．They make up their friendship |
| D．Beth refuses to make peace with her |
A guitarist was pleasantly surprised to hear from New York City police that his valuable guitar had been found．It disappeared almost a year ago when he got out of a taxi and forgot to take the guitar with him．Laurence Lennon，44，said he was running late that day．He was talking to his manager on his cellphone when he rushed out of the taxi．He said that he gave the driver ＄60 and told him to keep the change．He walked through the front doors of the concert hall，still talking on the phone to his manager．
Upon discovering his loss，Lennon used his cellphone to call the police．The policewoman asked him for the name of the taxi company，the number of the taxi，and the name of the driver．He said that she must have been joking．
She told Lennon that he could apply for a missing item report online. Lennon asked for address.
It was www.nypd.gov/toprotectandtoserve/haveaniceday．She told him that finding the guitar might take a couple of years for finding guitars was not as important as finding murderers and marijuana(大麻)smokers．Then she told him to have a nice day．
“This year has been depressing，”said Lennon．“I had to put off the recording of two new CDs．I’ve been using borrowed guitars．And I was losing hope of ever recovering my guitar．”
Lennon was reunited with his ＄100,000 guitar yesterday．The guitar had been discovered in the corner of a coffeehouse only two blocks from where Lennon had lost it．Lennon had offered a ＄10,000 reward for its return．He said he would give the reward to the coffeehouse owner，who had informed the police．Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Careless guitarist surprised |
| B．Valuable guitar found |
| C．Coffeehouse owner rewarded |
| D．Taxi driver still unknown |
By saying “she must have been joking” in Para 2，the guitarist probably means ．
| A．it was impossible for him to answer her questions |
| B．there must have been something she felt funny |
| C．she didn’t believe at all that he had lost his guitar |
| D．she must have felt that his behavior was funny |
In the policewoman’s opinion，finding the lost guitar．
| A．was not important at all |
| B．wouldn’t be done online |
| C．could be a long time hunting |
| D．only depended on the driver |
Which of the following NOT mentioned in the passage?
| A．Why the guitarist was in a hurry |
| B．What the police advised the guitarist to do |
| C．How the lost guitar affected its owner |
| D．How the guitar was moved to the coffeehouse |
King’s College Summer School
King’s College Summer School is an annual(每年的) training program for high school students at all levels who want to improve their English. Courses are given by the teachers of King’s College and other colleges in New York. Trips to museums and culture centers are also organized. This year’s summer school will be from July 25 to August 15.
More information is as follows:
| Application (申请) date ·Students in New York should send their applications before July 18, 2008. ·Students of other cities should send their applications before July 16, 2008. ·Foreign students should send their applications before July 10, 2008. |
Courses ·English Language Spoken English: 22 hours Reading and Writing: 10 hours ·American History: 16 hours ·American Culture: 16 hours |
| Steps ·A letter of self-introduction ·A letter of recommendation(推荐) ﹡ The letters should be written in English with all the necessary information. |
Cost ·Daily lessons: $200 ·Sports and activities: $100 ·Travels: $200 ·Hotel service: $400 ﹡You may choose to live with your friends or relatives in the same city. |
| Please write to: Thompson, Sanders 1026 King’ s Street New York, NY 10016, USA E-mail: KC-Summer-School@ yahoo, com |
You can most probably read the text in ________.
| A．a newspaper | B．a travel guide | C．a textbook | D．a telephone book |
Which of the following is true about King’ s College Summer School?
| A．Only top students can take part in the program. |
| B．King’ s College Summer School is run every other year. |
| C．Visits to museums and culture centers are part of the program. |
| D．Only the teachers of King’ s College give courses. |
If you are to live with your relatives in New York, you will have to pay the school __
| A．$200 | B．$400 | C．$500 | D．$900 |
What information can you get from the text?
| A．The program will last two months. |
| B．You can write to Thompson only in English. |
| C．As a Chinese student, you can send your application on July 14, 2008. |
| D．You can get in touch with the school by e-mail or by telephone |
I travel a lot, and I find out different “styles” (风格) of directions every time 1 ask “How can I get to the post office?”
Foreign tourists are often confused (困惑) in Japan because most streets there don’t have names; in Japan, people use landmarks (地标) in their directions instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, “Go straight down to the corner. Turn left at the big hotel and go past a fruit market. The post office is across from the bus stop.”
In the countryside of the American Midwest, there are not usually many landmarks. There are no mountains, so the land is very flat; in many places there are no towns or buildings within miles. Instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distances. In Kansas or Iowa, for example, people will say, “Go north two miles. Turn east, and then go another mile.”
People in Los Angeles, California, have no idea of distance on the map; they measure distance in time, not miles. “How far away is the post office?” you ask. “Oh,” they answer, “it’s about five minutes from here.” You say, “Yes, but how many miles away is it?” They don’t know.
It’s true that a person doesn’t know the answer to your question sometimes. What happens in such a situation? A New Yorker might say, ‘Sorry, I have no idea.” But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers “I don’t know.” People in Yucatan believe that “I don’t know” is impolite, They usually give an answer, often a wrong one. A tourist can get very, very lost in Yucatan!When a tourist asks the Japanese the way to a certain place they usually _________
| A．describe the place carefully |
| B．show him a map of the place |
| C．tell him the names of the streets |
| D．refer to recognizable(可辨认的) buildings and places |
What is the place where people measure distance in time?
| A．New York. | B．Los Angeles. | C．Kansas. | D．Iowa. |
People in Yucatan may give a tourist a wrong answer ________
| A．in order to save time | B．as a test | C．so as to be polite | D．for fun |
What can we infer from the text?
| A．It's important for travelers to understand cultural differences. |
| B．It's useful for travelers to know how to ask the way properly. |
| C．People have similar understandings of politeness. |
| D．New Yorkers are generally friendly to visitors. |
The summer I was ten, my mother decided to bring us to the world of art. My brother and I were not very excited when we realized what my mother meant. What she meant was not that we could take drawing classes or painting classes but that we would have to spend one afternoon a week with her at the Fine Arts Museum. Before each visit to the museum, she made us read about artists and painting styles(风格). It was almost as bad as being in school. Who wants to spend the summer thinking about artists when you could be with your friends at the swimming pool?
First we had to read about ancient Egyptians(古埃及人) and their strange way of painting faces and then go to look at them at the museum. My 12-year-old brother thought this was so funny, but I was not interested. Later we had to learn about artists in the Middle Ages who painted people wearing strange long clothing. We had to look at pictures of fat babies with wings and curly (鬈曲的) hair and with no clothes on flying around the edges of paintings. I certainly couldn’t see what was so great about art.
On our last visit to the museum, something happened when I saw a painting by a woman called Mary. In it, a woman was reading to a child. The colors were soft and gentle, and you could tell by the mother’ s expression how happy she was just to be with the child. I couldn’t stop looking at this painting ! I wanted to see every painting Mary had ever made! It was really worth looking at so many paintings to find a painter who could interest me so much.The aim of the mother’ s plan was to _________.
| A．take them to visit the museum |
| B．introduce them to the world of art |
| C．ask them to read about artists |
| D．show them different painting styles |
What was the writer’ s experience in the museum before the last visit?
| A．She came to feel her mother’ s love. |
| B．She liked many paintings. |
| C．She hardly enjoyed herself. |
| D．She could understand the pictures of fat babies. |
What made the writer go through a change that summer?
| A．One of Mary’s paintings. |
| B．A strange way of painting. |
| C．Artists in the Middle Ages. |
| D．Her mother’ s instruction. |
From the text, we can see _________.
| A．the importance of curiosity | B．the effect of art |
| C．the value of learning | D．the power of family education |
Almost everyone has seen someone speed read.They appear to skim the text and still have read and absorbed the content.The people who have studied speed reading techniques will still read at different speeds；however they will undoubtedly beat those without experience.
The best and most efficient way to learn to read fast is to join in classes，where speed reading skills will be explained clearly.
The advantage of courses is that students will be shown several different strategies showing them to choose the ones they find easiest to understand the material they are reading.
Students should try to learn all the strategies presented during their courses as, once these are mastered，they will see a dramatic improvement in their reading rate，after which they can choose their preferred style. Students will see the benefits of speed reading as soon as the techniques are applied to their main field of study.
A traditional education builds habits in reading which a good speed reading course will push aside，replacing with new techniques. A comprehensive course will also advise students how to become more efficient readers；hopefully this will also encourage the desire for self improvement as well as the desire to read.
Lecturers in speed reading will usually take the time to teach students the importance of preparing the environment they work in before they read a single work remember reading at speed is all about increasing the speed of comprehension not just the speed of reading! The satisfaction of reading faster and with better comprehension skills cannot be ignored；the techniques of speed reading increase the enjoyment of reading.Speed reading is a skill to be encouraged in each and every generation of new readers.What's the best title of this passage?
| A．Speed Reading Is an Important Skill |
| B．Speed Reading Brings You Pleasure |
| C．Better Attend a Special Class |
| D．Your Reading Skill Have to Be Improved |
What is the best way that readers can improve their speed reading according to the writer's opinion?
| A．To practice reading at different speeds. |
| B．To read fast without complete understanding. |
| C．To attend classes that teach speed reading. |
| D．To experience satisfaction by reading. |
How does the writer suggest readers learn the strategies provided by the class?
| A．They should choose one suitable strategy to improve speed reading. |
| B．They should choose the method suitable to their main field of study. |
| C．They must follow the instructions of their teachers. |
| D．They should try all of them in order to choose the suitable one. |
Which of the following can be inferred from the text?
| A．The aim of the reading course is only to increase the speed of reading. |
| B．The writer thinks little of the reading habits formed by traditional education. |
| C．The desire to read is the key factor to improve one's reading skill. |
| D．The speed reading course in designed for future generations. |