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Many of us already know about several American superstitions（迷信）. Having a black cat cross your path, walking under a ladder, and breaking a mirror are all bad luck. In addition, there are many other superstitions that are worth knowing. Understanding them will keep you safe from evil spirits —if you believe in such things —and impress your American friends when you mention them.
Like the superstitions in other cultures, American superstitions often involve the things important in daily life, such as health, numbers, and marriage. For example, have you ever had a cough that would not go away? According to one American superstition, you should take a piece of your hair and put it between two slices of buttered bread. Next, feed this hair sandwich to a dog and say, “Eat well, you hound, may you be sick and I be sound.” This will trick the evil spirits and help your cough. It will also raise some eyebrows if you try it.
In American superstitions, the number three is very important. Often, Americas will say, “All things come in threes.” Three is lucky because it represents the traditional family: mother, father, and child. Therefore, gifts, letters, and guests will often arrive at your home in groups of three. However, it is also possible for bad events, like accidents and funerals, to come in threes as well.
Another time people pay attention to superstitions is when they get married. During a wedding, brides must wear or carry “something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue”. The old and borrowed things will bring luck to the person who gives them to the bride. The new and blue things will bring good fortune to the bride herself. The next time someone you know is getting married, be sure to recite this phrase.
As it would be unlucky to discuss one more superstition, we will wind things up here. Keep your fingers crossed, and stay lucky!
The passage is most probably entitled .

A．American’s Bad Luck	B．Cross-culture and Superstitions
C．American Superstitions	D．Daily Life in Superstitions

The underlined sentence in the second paragraph “It will also raise some eyebrows if you try it.” means .

A．when you try it, the dog will raise its eyebrows.

B．you will make people surprised when you try this trick

C．only if you raise your eyebrows can the trick work

D．you will believe in the trick after you try it

In American’s view, the number three is a(n) number.

A．lucky

B．unlucky

C．special

D．ordinary

On the wedding, the bride often uses old and borrowed things so as to .

A．save some money for the wedding

B．bring good luck to the people who give them to the bride

C．give the good luck to the bride herself

D．pass the bad luck to others

After reading the passage, we may feel it is written in a tone.

A．formal

B．serious

C．humorous

D．critical

In white shirt, blue pants, black cloth shoes and two pigtails (辫子), Jingqiu gives off an air of great “pure beauty” in Zhang Yimou’s new movie Under the Hawthom Tree.《山揸树之恋》
The film tells the story of the sad romance of Jingqiu and a handsome young man named Laosan. Set at the end of the “cultural revolution” (1966-1976), the pair manage to fall in love although they come form different political environments.
Before it was released, moviegoers speculated (推测) on just what this “pure beauty” could be. Director Zhang complained of how long it had taken him to find the right girl for the part of Jingqiu—a character so innocent that she believes simply lying on the same bed with a man will make her pregnant.
It was 18-year-old Zhou Dongyu who stood out from the crowd. According to Zhang, Zhou has “eyes that are clear like a fountain on a mountainside”. Born of an ordinary worker’s family, the Shijiazhuang girl was in her final year of high school and working hard for a place in an art college.
While some teenagers consider such “pure beauty” illusory (虚幻的), others believe that it speaks of something soulful.
Purity is all about the innocence that shines through from within, thinks 16-year-old Tan Mengxi of Nanjing.
“Being pure can be simple, not having complicated thoughts and being inexperienced. However, it doesn’t mean an ignorant or naive (天真的) person. So, a person is pure in his or her nature if he or she is always enthusiastic and able to deal with difficult matters independently. This purity doesn’t pass with time,” she said.
What image does Jingqiu give to audiences in the movie Under the Hawthorn Tree?

A．A simple girl.

B．A pure girl.

C．A romantic girl.

D．A silent girl.

What kind of girl looks pure according to the passage?

A．A girl in red shirt, blue pants, black leather shoes and two pigtails.

B．A girl has eyes that are clear like a fountain on a mountainside.

C．A girl who was born into an ordinary worker’s family.

D．A girl wears accessories and make-up.

What’s the opinion of Tan Mengxi about purity?

A．It is of whether someone is ignorant or naive.

B．Being pure can be simple, not having complicated thoughts and being inexperienced.

C．It is of whether someone is always enthusiastic.

D．Purity is a matter of internal quality and doesn’t pass with time.

Which do you think is the best title for the passage?

A．What makes a pure girl?

B．A debate on the movie Under the Hawthorn Tree

C．Opinions on the character Jingqiu

D．It’s hard to find the character Jingqiu

When did the story in the movie happen？

A．In the 1960s	B．In the 1980s
C．In the 1970s	D．In the 1990s.

THIS was the year the Earth struck back.
Earthquakes, heat waves, floods, volcanoes, super typhoons, snow storms, landslides and droughts killed at least a quarter of a million people in 2010 – the deadliest year in more than a generation. More people were killed worldwide by natural disasters this year than have been killed in terrorism attacks in the past 40 years combined.
"It just seemed like it was back-to-back and it came in waves," said Craig Fugate, who heads the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency. It handled a record number of disasters in 2010.
And we have ourselves to blame most of the time, scientists and disaster experts say.
Even though many catastrophes have the ring of random chance, the hand of man made this a particularly deadly, costly, extreme and weird（古怪的） year for everything from wild weather to earthquakes.
Poor construction and development practices conspire to make earthquakes more deadly than they need be. More people live in poverty in vulnerable（脆弱的） buildings in crowded cities. That means that when the ground shakes, the river breaches, or the tropical cyclone hits, more people die.
Disasters from the Earth, such as earthquakes and volcanoes "are pretty much constant," said Andreas Schraft, vice president of catastrophic perils for the Geneva-based insurance giant Swiss Re. "All the change that's made is man-made."
The January earthquake that killed well more than 220,000 people in Haiti is a perfect example. Port-au-Prince has nearly three times as many people - many of them living in poverty - and more poorly built shanties than it did 25 years ago. So had the same quake hit in 1985 instead of 2010, total deaths would have probably been in the 80,000 range, said Richard Olson, director of disaster risk reduction at Florida International University.
In February, an earthquake that was more than 500 times stronger than the one that struck Haiti hit an area of Chile that was less populated, better constructed, and not as poor. Chile's bigger quake caused fewer than 1,000 deaths.
Climate scientists say Earth's climate also is changing, bringing extreme weather, such as heat waves and flooding.
In the summer, one weather system caused oppressive heat in Russia, while farther south it caused flooding in Pakistan that inundated 161,200 square kilometers, about the size of Wisconsin. That single heat-and-storm system killed almost 17,000 people, more people than all the worldwide airplane crashes in the past 15 years.
Scientists have calculated that the killer Russian heat wave—setting a national record of 43.9℃—would happen once every 100,000 years without global warming.
What is responsible for the most human deaths in 2010?

A．Natrual disasters.	B．Terrorist attacks.
C．Poor buildings.	D．Too rapid developrnent.

According to Andreas Schraft, .

A．earthquakes are happening more often because of human beings

B．earthquakes are causing more damage because of human beings

C．stronger houses should be built to limit storm damage

D．Port—au—Prince is now overpopulated

The main point of the article is to

A．list the natural disasters that occurred in 2010

B．give the details of some natural disasters of 2010

C．warn that more natural disasters are to strike

D．blame humanity for not helping those affected by the disasters

Each time I see a balloon, my mind flies back to a memory of when I was a six-year-old girl. It was a rainy Sunday and my father had recently died. I asked my mom if Dad had gone to heaven. "Yes, honey. Of course." she said.
"Can we write him a letter?"
She paused, the longest pause of my short life, and answered, "Yes."
My heart jumped. "How? Does the mailman go there?" I asked.
"No, but I have an idea." Mom drove to a party store and returned with a red balloon. I asked her what it was for.
"Just wait, honey. You'll see." Mom told me to write my letter. Eagerly, I got my favorite pen, and poured out my six-year-old heart in the form of blue ink. I wrote about my day, what I learned at school, how Mom was doing, and even about what happened in a story I had read. For a few minutes it was as if Dad were still alive. I gave the letter to Mom. She read it over, and a smile crossed her face.
She made a hole in the corner of the letter where she looped (缠绕) the balloon string. We went outside and she gave me the balloon. It was still raining.
"Okay, on the count of three, let go. One, two, three."
The balloon, carrying my letter, darted upward against the rain. We watched until it was swallowed by the mass of clouds.
Later I realized, like the balloon, that Dad had never let his sickness get him down. He was strong. No matter what he suffered, he'd persevere, dart up, and finally transcend (超越) this cold world and his sick body. He rose into sky and became something beautiful. I watched until the balloon disappeared into the gray and white and I prayed that his strength was hereditar. I prayed to be a balloon.
When the girl asked her mother if they could write to her father, her mother _________.

A．felt it hard to answer	B．thought her a creative girl
C．believed it easy to do so	D．found it easy to lie

When the girl was told that she could send a letter to her father, she _________.

A．jumped with joy	B．became excited
C．started writing immediately	D．was worried that it couldn't be delivered

In the eyes of the author, what was the rain like?

A．An incurable disease.	B．An unforgettable memory.
C．The hard time her father had.	D．The failures her father experienced.

What would be the best title for the passage?

A．An unforgettable experience	B．The strong red balloon
C．Fly to paradise	D．A great father

A TAXI driver taught me a million dollar lesson in customer satisfaction and expectation. Inspiring speakers charge thousands of dollars to give his kind of training to corporate directors and staff. It cost me only a ＄12 taxi ride.
I had flown into Dallas just for the purpose of calling on a client. Time was important and my plan included a quick turn – around trip from and back to the airport. A clean taxi pulled up.
The driver rushed to open the passenger door for me and made sure I was comfortably seated before he closed the door. As be got in the driver’s seat, he mentioned that the neatly folded Wall Street Journal next to me for my use. He then showed me several tapes and asked me what type of music I would enjoy.
Well! I looked around for a “Candid Camera!” Wouldn’t you? I could not believe the service I was receiving! I took the opportunity to say, “Obviously you take great pride in you work. You must have a story to tell.”
“You bet,” he replied, “I used to be in Corporate America. But I got tired of thinking my best would never be good enough. I decided to find my right position in life, somewhere I could feel proud of being the best I could be.
I knew I would never be a rocket scientist, but I love driving cars, being of service and feeling like I have done a full day’s work and done it well. I evaluated my personal property and, I became a taxi driver!
One thing I know for sure, to be good in my business I jus have to meet the expectations of my passengers. But, to be GREAT in my business, I have to EXEED the customer’s expectations! I like the sound of being ‘great’ better than just being ‘average’. ”
Did I tip him big time? You bet!
The taxi driver taught me a great life lesson: Go an extra mile when providing any service to others. And there is no good or bad job you can make any job good.
What lesson did the author learn from the taxi driver?

A．How to make the best use of time.

B．How to do better in the service business.

C．How to turn an interest into your career.

D．How to become a motivational speaker.

Why did the author look around for a “Candid Camera”?

A．Because he was afraid he would be photographed in the cab.

B．Because he was worried what the driver could be up to.

C．Because he was amazed by the way the driver was treating him.

D．Because he wasn’t interested in the tapes offered by the driver

It can be inferred from the story that .

A．the taxi driver couldn’t accept just being average

B．the author was anxious to get back to meet a client

C．when the author waited for a taxi at the airport, he was not in a rush

D．the taxi driver loved to play his favorite music during rides

According to the story, the taxi driver .

A．was dissatisfied wit his present job

B．was once often reward

ed for being a model worker

C．enjoyed offering his customers more than they expected

D．was forced to become a taxi driver to support his family

A．The living room.	B．The bedroom.
C．The dining room.	D．The kitchen.

A．Floor.	B．Entrance.
C．Size.	D．Windows.