Bamboo is one of the nature’s most surprising plants. Many people call this plant a tree, but it is a kind of grass.
Like other kinds of grass, a bamboo plant may be cut very low to the ground, but it will grow back very quickly. A Japanese scientist recorded one bamboo plant that grew almost 1.5 meters in 24 hours! Bamboo grows almost everywhere in the world except Europe. There are more than 1,000 kinds of bamboo that grow around the world on both mountains and plains(平原).
Not all bamboo looks the same. Some bamboo plants are very thin. They may only grow to be a few centimeters wide while others may grow to more than 30 centimeters across. This plant also comes in different colors, from yellow to black to green.
Many Asian countries have been using bamboo for hundreds of years. They often use bamboo for building new buildings. As a matter of fact, the cables(绳索) that hold up the hanging bridge across the Min River in Sichuan are made of bamboo. The bridge has been in use for more than 1,000 years, and is still holding strong.
In Africa, engineers are teaching poor farmers how to find water using bamboo. These African countries need cheap ways to find water because they have no money, and their fields often die from no rain and no water. It seems that bamboo is one of the best things they can use. Bamboo pipes and drills(钻) can help to make the poor thirsty fields to be watered. How is bamboo like grass?
| A．It is thin and easy to cut. |
| B．It grows everywhere. |
| C．It grows quickly after its cut short. |
| D．It is short and green. |
The sentence “while others may grow to more than 30 centimeters across.” means “Some other bamboo plants may grow to be very _______.”
| A．short | B．strong |
| C．thick | D．tall |
From the text we know ______.
| A．most people call bamboo plant trees |
| B．a bamboo plant may grow 4.5 meters in three days |
| C．the bamboo plant changes its colors when it grows |
| D．a bridge held by bamboo cable was built thousands of years ago |
Why did the engineers teach the poor farmers in Africa to make use of bamboo?
| A．Because it is cheap. |
| B．Because it is colorful. |
| C．Because it drills fast. |
| D．Because it is used by Asians. |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．There are many different kinds of bamboo with different colors. |
| B．Cables made of bamboo can last for over a thousand years. |
| C．Bamboo can be used for buildings, bridges and watering projects(工程). |
| D．Bamboo plants are able to grow well in any part of the world. |
A young father was visiting an old neighbor. They were standing in the old man's garden, and talking about children. The young man said，"How strict should parents be with their children?" The old man pointed to a string（绳子）between a big strong tree and a thin young one. "Please untie （解开）that string，" he said. The young man untied it, and the young tree bent （弯）over to one side. "Now tie it again, please，" said the old man，" but first pull the string tight so that the young tree is straight again. "
The young man did so. Then the old man said，" There, it is the same with children. You must be strict with them, but sometimes you must untie the string to know how they are getting on. If they are not yet able to stand alone, you must tie the string tight again. But when you find that they are ready to stand alone, you can take the string away. " The story is about __________.
| A．how to take care of young trees |
| B．how strict parents should be with their children |
| C．how the young father should get on with his old neighbor |
| D．ho to tie and untie the string |
The young man untied the string __________.
| A．in order to throw it away |
| B．so that both of the trees would grow straight |
| C．only to find that the thinner one bent over to one side |
| D．in order to let the old man teach him |
At last the old man told the young man __________.
| A．that he should be strict with his children if they could not yet stand alone |
| B．that he should always be strict with his children |
| C．that he should be hard on them |
| D．that he should tie his children until they are ready to stand alone |
In the story the relation （关系）of the big strong tree to the thin one is like that of __________.
| A．the young father to the old neighbor |
| B．parents to their children |
| C．the old neighbor to the children of the young father |
| D．grown ups to their parents |
The Healthy Habits Survey （调查）shows that only about one third of American seniors have correct habits. Here are some findings and expert advice.
1. How many times did you brush your teeth yesterday?
• Finding ： A full 33% of seniors brush their teeth only once a day.
• Step ： Remove the 300 types of bacteria in your mouth each morning with a battery-operated toothbrush. Brush gently for 2 minutes at least twice a day.
2. How many times did you wash your hands or bathe yesterday?
• Finding ： Seniors, on average, bathe fewer than 3 days a week. And nearly 30% wash their hands only 4 times a day-half of the number doctors recommend.
• Step ： We touch our faces around 3，000 times a day-of-ten inviting germs （病菌）to enter our mouth, nose, and eyes. Use toilet paper to avoid touching the door handle. And, most important, wash your hands often with hot run-ning water and soap for 20 seconds.
3. How often do you think about fighting germs?
• Finding ： Seniors are not fighting germs as well as they should.
• Step ： Be aware of germs. Do you know it is not your toilet but your kitchen sponge （海绵）that can carry more germs than anything else? To kill these germs, keep your sponge in the microwave for 10 seconds. What is found out about American seniors?
| A．Most of them have good habits. |
| B．Nearly 30% of them bathe three days a week. |
| C．All of them are fighting germs better than expected. |
| D．About one third of them brush their teeth only once a day. |
Doctors suggest that people should wash their hands __________.
| A．twice a day |
| B．three times a day |
| C．four times a day |
| D．eight times a day |
Which of the following is true according to the text?
| A．We should keep from touching our faces. |
| B．There are less than 300 types of bacteria in the mouth. |
| C．A kitchen sponge can carry more germs than a toilet. |
| D．W should wash our hands before touching a door handle. |
The text probably comes from __________.
| A．a guide book |
| B．a popular magazine |
| C．a book review |
| D．an official document |
The booking notes of the play "The Age of Innocence"：
Price： $10
BOOKING
There are four easy ways to book seats for performance ：
-in person
Hie Box Office is open Monday to Saturday，10 a. m. -8 p. m.
-by telephone
Ring 01324976 to reserve your tickets or to pay by credit card（Visa, MasterCard and Amex accepted）
-by post
Simply complete the booking form and return it to Global Theatre Box Office.
-on line
Complete the online booking form at wwww. Satanfiedtheatre. com
DISCOUNTS：
Saver ： $2 off any seat booked any time in advance for per-formances from Monday to Thursday. Savers are available for children up to 16 years old, over 60s and full-time students.
Supersaver ： half-price seats are available for people with disa-bilities and one companion. lt is advisable to book in advance. There is a maximum of eight wheelchair spaces available and one wheel-chair space will be held until an hour before the show.
Standby：best available seats are on sale for $6 from one hour before the performance for people eligible （suitable） for Saver and Supersaver discounts and thirty minutes before for all other custom-ers.
Group Bookings ： there is a ten percent discount for parties of twelve or more.
School ： school parties of ten or more can book $ 6 standby tickets in advance and will get every tenth ticket free.
Please note ： we are unable to exchange tickets or refund money unless a performance is cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. If you want to book a ticket, you CANNOT __________.
| A．go to the Box Office on Sundays |
| B．ring the booking number and pay for the tickets by credit card |
| C．use the Internet |
| D．complete a booking form and post it to the Box Office |
According to the notes, who can get $2 off?
| A．The people who book the tickets on Fridays. |
| B．An 18-year-old teenager. |
| C．A 55-year-old woman. |
| D．A 20-year-old full-time college student. |
If you make a group booking for a group of 14 adults, how much should you pay?
| A．$120. |
| B．$126. |
| C．$140. |
| D．$150. |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．There are only 8 wheelchair spaces in the theatre. |
| B．A school party of 15 students should pay $90 for the standby tickets. |
| C．A group of 12 persons can get 10 percent discount. |
| D．The audience can't refund money if the performance is on show. |
If you don't want people to know too much about you, then you had better keep your fridge contents secret, according to a British market research document released last week.
Researchers peered （凝视）into the fridges of 400 people in Britain and compared the contents with the owners' lifestyles. They claim to be able to classify the nation's people by fridge contents.
They say those people can be separated into five categories ：nutrition nerds （no social sense），food faddist （whatever's in style），martyr（苦行者）mums, fast food fanatics（狂热分子）and restaurant regulars.
Nutrition nerds care much about what they put into their bodies. Their fridges are stocked with fruit, vegetables and healthy meat. People in this category tend to be highly organized and usually work in law or accountancy （会计学）. The vast majority is single, but if they have a partner, that person will be similar.
A fridge full of vitamins-enriched juices implies its owner works in media or fashion. They tend not to eat the foods they buy. Known as the food faddist, they just want to be seen as purchasing the latest important things.
A fridge filled with everything from steak to frozen fish suggests the martyr mum. Her fridge tends to be stocked with every kind of product, except what she herself would want. This fridge hints at difficulty balancing family and work life.
Fast food fanatics always buy mineral water or soda pop （汽水）. The nearest they will get to fresh fruit is tomato sauce. Their fridges hint at someone who works hard and plays hard, also, someone who is not into long term planning.
Finally, a fridge filled with nothing more than a bottle of white wine and some sparkling mineral water implies an owner who is single, lives in a big city and enjoys the finer things in life. The fridge is empty because this person regularly eats in restaurants. What can we know from the first two paragraphs?
| A．Some researchers are fond of staring at other people's fridges. |
| B．People don't want others to know about their secrets. |
| C．The food you put in the fridge has something to do with your personality. |
| D．There are mainly five kinds of lifestyles among British people. |
According to the passage, people who belong to food faddist __________.
| A．don't care much about money when buying things |
| B．will try their best to stay healthy |
| C．often stay up late to finish their job |
| D．prefer to ask others about what to do next |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．"Nutrition nerds" are always organized and successful in their jobs. |
| B．"Food faddists" like to stock their fridges with all kinds of vitamins. |
| C．"Martyr mums" care themselves more than others. |
| D．"Fast food fanatics" usually do not stock their fridges with fresh fruit. |
What will those who often dine out put in the fridge?
| A．All kinds of food they like. |
| B．Only something to drink. |
| C．Fruit, vegetables and meat. |
| D．Food rich in vitamins. |
What is this passage mainly about?
| A．What people store in their fridges. |
| B．Fridge contents and its owner's secret. |
| C．What we should store in our fridges. |
| D．How to keep our fridge contents secret. |
They sit by the door waiting for me. And while I may speak more about the narrowness of my very limited life than their real worth, just the fact that they're sitting there, waiting for me, makes me happy.
I speak, of course, of my wonderful, brilliant, intelligently designed, calf-high rubber boots. They are a piece of industrial genius（杰作）. They are real and vibrant（活力的），and make my life more worth living.
My rubber boots are real and they do not fail me. I slip them on over my socks at a moment's notice. They go on easily. My feet feel joyful like the wagging（摇摆）tail of a dog waiting for its walk. My feet know they are safe.
I step outside the house and nothing can stop me the late season snowstorm, the pool of standing water at the bottom of my doorsteps that will never give off, the mud and dirt this season brings. My feet are warm and dry and happy. And so am I.
My boots are modest. They make no promise they can't keep. I found them at one-third the price of the long boots I looked at longingly for years. Mine are American-made and inexpensive and unattractive and brown and solid. They are now three years old and still look new. I know I will have them forever. I will die with them on. They are homely and they are wonderful.
My rubber boots make me braver and kinder and more generous. Yes, I will get the mail. Yes, I will get the newspaper. Yes, I will walk the dog. Yes to the garbage. Yes. Yes. Yes. I have rubber boots, good strong rubber boots-and I am not afraid. We can infer from the passage that __________.
| A．the writer has a small life circle |
| B．it must be very cold in winter where the writer lives |
| C．the writer enjoys the dog wagging its tail |
| D．the boots are designed by an industrial talent |
Which of the following is mentioned in the last two paragraphs?
| A．The writer is a postman by occupation. |
| B．The writer will wear the boots all his life. |
| C．The writer bought the boots out of curiosity. |
| D．The boots are good-looking, old and American made. |
Which is the right order of the writer's developing the passage?
a. He feels at home in the boots.
b. His feet feel safe.
c. They bring him happiness.
d. His life is meaningful.
e. He feels very fearless.
f. They warm his feet and keep wet out.
| A．a-c-b-e-d-f |
| B．c-d-e-f-b-a |
| C．a-c-b-f-d-e |
| D．c-d-b-f-a-e |
The writer writes the passage in order to __________.
| A．tell his daily life |
| B．advertise rubber boots |
| C．praise the objects ordinary but reliable |
| D．attach the importance to happiness and safety |