Johnny Smith was a good math student at a high school. He loved his computer. He came home early every day, then he worked with it till midnight. But Johnny was not a good English student, not good at all. He got an F in his English class. One day after school Johnny joined his computer to the computer in his high school office. The school office computer had the grades of all the students: the math grades, the science grades, the grades in arts and music, and the grades in English. He found his English grade. An F! Johnny changed his English grade from an F to A. Johnny' parents looked at his report card. They were very happy.
"An A in English!" said Johnny's Dad. "You're a very clever boy, Johnny."
Johnny is a hacker. Hackers know how to take information from other computers and put new information in. Using a modem, they join their computers to other computers secretly. School headmasters and teachers are worried about hackers. So are the police, for some people even take money from bank computer accounts and put it into their own ones. And they never have to leave home to do it! They are called hackers.Johnny changed his English grade with the computer in _______.
| A．the classroom | B．the school office |
| C．a bank near his house | D．his own house |
When Johnny's parents saw the report, they were happy because _______.
| A．Johnny was good at math |
| B．Johnny loved computers |
| C．Johnny could join one computer to another |
| D．they thought Johnny was not poor in English any longer |
Who are worried about hackers in the story?
| A．Johnny's parents. |
| B．School headmasters, teachers and the police. |
| C．The police. |
| D．School headmasters and teachers. |
What should the hackers know well, do you think, after you read this story?
| A．Information. | B．Back computer accounts. |
| C．Computers. | D．Grades. |
The last paragraph is about _______.
| A．Johnny | B．computers |
| C．hackers | D．modem |
To us it seems so natural to put up an umbrella to keep the water off when it rains, But actually the umbrella was not invented as protection against the rain, Its first use was as a shade against the sun! Nobody knows who first invented it, but the umbrella was used in very ancient times. Probably the first to use it were the Chinese in the eleventh century BC.
We know that the umbrella was used in ancient Egypt and Babylon as a sunshade. And there was a strange thing connected with its use: it became a symbol of honor. In the Far East in ancient times, the umbrella was allowed to be used only by those in high office.
In Europe, the Greeks were the first to use the umbrella as a sunshade. And the umbrella was in commonly used in ancient Greece. But it is believed that the first persons in Europe to use the umbrella as protection against the rain were the ancient Romans.
During the Middle Ages, the use of the umbrella practically disappeared. Then it appeared again in Italy in the late sixteenth century. And again it was considered as a symbol of power. By 1680, the umbrella appeared in France and later in England.
By the eighteenth century, the umbrella was used against rain throughout most of Europe. Umbrellas have not changed much in style during all this time, though they have become much lighter in weight. It wasn’t until the twentieth century that women’s umbrellas began to be made, in a whole variety of colors.Which of the following statements is not true about the umbrella?
| A．No one exactly knows who the inventor of the umbrella was |
| B．The umbrella was first invented to be used as protection against the sun. |
| C．The umbrella changed much in style in the eighteenth century |
| D．In Europe, the Greeks were the first to use the umbrella as a sunshade. |
A strange feature of the umbrella’s use is that it was used as__________.
| A．protection against rain |
| B．a shade against the sun |
| C．a symbol of honor and power |
| D．women’s decoration (装饰) |
In Europe, the umbrella was first used against the rain_____________.
| A．during the Middle Ages |
| B．by the eighteenth |
| C．in Rome |
| D．in Greece |
This passage talks mainly about_______________.
| A．when and how the umbrella was invented |
| B．why the umbrella was so popular in Europe |
| C．the development of the umbrella |
| D．The history and use of the umbrella |
John Milton was born in 1606. His father expected him to enter the church of England, but Milton wanted to be a poet. At twenty-nine Milton set off for a travel on the continent. He traveled in France, Switzerland and Italy, winning the friendship of many artists and scientists, including Galileo, the famous Italian scientist who suffered for his discovery in prison. In 1639, he was planning to go on this journey when the news reached him of the break between the king and Parliament（国会）. Milton returned to England immediately, and put himself into the struggle against the king, for which he had long been prepared. During the Civil war, Milton worked as the spokesman of the revolution. By the beginning of 1652, Milton had become completely blind, yet he didn’t stop fighting. After the Restoration（复辟）, his books were burnt, and he himself avoided being killed because of his blindness.
John Milton was not only a brave revolutionary but also a great poet. His famous poem Paradise Lost（失乐园） was an immediate success. But, for its publication （being published）, Milton received only 18 pounds. He died in 1671.Milton set off for a travel on the continent here “continent” means ________.
| A．Asia | B．Europe | C．America | D．Africa |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．In 1635 Milton made friends with many artists and poets |
| B．Milton was put in prison for his discovery. |
| C．Paradise Lost was popular and was a hit at that time. |
| D．Milton was determined to be a poet because he didn’t like churches. |
Milton would have been killed if ________________.
| A．he had been the spokesman of the revolution |
| B．his books hadn’t been burnt |
| C．he hadn’t written the poem Paradise Lost |
| D．he hadn’t been completely blind |
Many years ago, when I was fresh out of school and working in Denver, I was driving to my parents’ home in Missouri for Christmas. I stopped at a gas station（加油站） about 50 miles from Oklahoma City, where I was planning to stop and visit a friend. While I was standing in line at the cash register（收款台）, I said hello to an older couple who were also paying for gas.
I took off, but had gone only a few miles when black smoke poured from the back of my car. I stopped and wondered what I should do. A car pulled up behind me. It was the couple I had spoken to at the gas station. They said they would take me to my friend’s. We chatted on the way into the city, and when I got out of the car, the husband gave me his business card.
I wrote him and his wife a thank-you note for helping me. Soon afterward, I received a Christmas present from them. Their note that came with it said that helping me had made their holidays meaningful.
Years later, I drove to a meeting in a nearby town in the morning. In late afternoon I returned to my car and found that I’d left the lights on all day, and the battery（电池） was dead. Then I noticed that the Friendly Ford dealership—a shop selling cars—was right next door. I walked over and found two salesmen in the showroom.
“Just how friendly is Friendly Ford?”I asked and explained my trouble. They quickly drove a pickup truck to my car and started it. They would accept no payment, so when I got home, I wrote them a note to say thanks. I received a letter back from one of the salesmen. No one had ever taken the time to write him and say thank you, and it meant a lot, he said.The underlined words“took off”in Paragraph 2 mean_________．
| A．turned off | B．moved off |
| C．put up | D．set up |
What happened when the author found smoke coming out of his car?
| A．He had it pulled back to the gas station． |
| B．The couple sent him a business card. |
| C．The couple offered to help him. |
| D．He called his friend for help. |
The battery of the author’s car was dead because ___________．
| A．something went wrong with the lights |
| B．his meeting lasted a whole day |
| C．he forgot to turn off the lights |
| D．he drove too long a distance |
By telling his own experiences, the author tries to show ________．
| A．how to write a thank-you letter |
| B．how to deal with car problems |
| C．the kind-heartedness of older people |
| D．the importance of expressing thanks |
One morning, Ann’s neighbor Tracy found a lost dog wandering around the local elementary school. She asked Ann if she could keep an eye on the dog. Ann said that she could watch it only for the day.
Tracy took photos of the dog and printed off 400 FOUND fliers（传单）, and put them in mailboxes. Meanwhile, Ann went to the dollar store and bought some pet supplies, warning her two sons not to fall in love with the dog. At the time, Ann’s son Thomas was 10 years old, and Jack, who was recovering from a heart operation, was 21 years old.
Four days later Ann was still looking after the dog, whom they had started to call Riley. When she arrived home from work, the dog threw itself against the screen door and barked madly at her. As soon as she opened the door, Riley dashed into the boys’ room where Ann found Jack suffering from a heart attack. Riley ran over to Jack, but as soon as Ann bent over to help him the dog went silent.
“If it hadn’t come to get me, the doctor said Jack would have died,” Ann reported to a local newspaper. At this point, no one had called to claim the dog, so Ann decided to keep it.
The next morning Tracy got a call. A man named Peter recognized his lost dog and called the number on the flier. Tracy started crying, and told him, “That dog saved my friend’s son.”
Peter drove to Ann’s house to pick up his dog, and saw Thomas and Jack crying in the window. After a few moments Peter said, “Maybe Odie was supposed to find you, maybe you should keep it.”What did Tracy do after finding the dog?
| A．She looked for its owner |
| B．She gave it to Ann as a gift. |
| C．She sold it to the dollar store. |
| D．She bought some food for it. |
How did the dog help save Jack?
| A．By breaking the door for Ann. |
| B．By leading Ann to Jack’s room. |
| C．By dragging Jack out of the room. |
| D．By attending Jack when Ann was out. |
For what purpose did Peter call Tracy?
| A．To help her friend’s son. |
| B．To interview Tracy |
| C．To take back his dog. |
| D．To return the flier to her. |
What can we infer about the dog from the last paragraph?
| A．It would be given to Odie. |
| B．It would be kept by Ann’ family. |
| C．It would be returned to Peter. |
| D．It would be taken away by Tracy. |
Japanese students work very hard but many are unhappy. They feel heavy pressures from their parents to do well in school. Most students are always being told by their parents to study harder so that they can have a wonderful life. Though this may be good ideas for those very bright students，it can have very bad results for many students who are not quick enough at learning.
Unfortunately, a number of students killed themselves. Others are after comfort in using drugs. Some do bad things with trouble-makers and turn to crime. Many of them have tried very hard at school but have failed in the exams and have disappointed their parents. Such students feel that they are less important and leave school before they have finished their study.
It is surprising that though most Japanese parents are worried about their children, they do not help them in any way. Many parents feel that they are not able to help their children and that it is the teachers' work to help their children. To make matters worse, a lot of parents send their children to special school called juku-cram schools. These schools are open during the evening and on weekends, and their only purpose is to prepare students to pass exams, they do not try to educate students in any real sense of the real world. It thus comes as a shock to realize that almost three quarters of the junior or high school population attend these cram schools.
Ordinary Japanese schools usually have rules about everything from the students' hair to their clothes and things in their school bag. Child psychologists now think that such strict rules often lead to a feeling of being unsafe and being unable to fit into society. They regard the rules as being harmful to the development of each student. They believe that no sense of moral values is developed and that students are given neither guidance nor training in becoming good citizens.A lot of Japanese students are unhappy at school because_______.
| A．they work very hard |
| B．they find they can't do well at school |
| C．they feel unimportant |
| D．they are under too much pressure |
Because of their failure at school, some students take drugs to _______.
| A．kill themselves | B．seek comfort |
| C．disappoint their parents | D．make trouble |
In juku-cram schools students_________．
| A．are taken good care of by the teachers |
| B．feel no pressure |
| C．are trained to pass exams |
| D．can learn a lot of useful things |
In ordinary Japanese schools,______________ ．
| A．there are strict rules | B．students feel safe |
| C．students can do anything | D．learning is not important |