Only after the straight-talking repairman handed me the bill and waved goodbye did I finally acknowledge the painful truth: Our 20-year-old clothes dryer was not going to last.
I turned to my husband. “He says we’re throwing good money after bad,” I sighed. “I think he’s right.”
“When do you want to go shopping for a new one?” my husband asked.
I glanced out the window, admiring the sunlight dancing on the big-leaf maples（枫叶） in our backyard. Perfect drying weather. Suddenly, I recalled my mother hanging laundry on a clothesline during my childhood. My sister and I had played hide-and-seek among the sweet-smelling sheets waving in the wind.
I suddenly had a plan. After the wash cycle, we covered the maples with damp blue jeans, shirts, socks and towels. The only things that didn’t go outside were my underpants. And I persuaded my shameless husband to let his big boxer shorts(男式平角短裤) stay indoors, too.
There is a secret pleasure to hanging laundry outdoors. It is the perfect excuse to get up from the computer. While checking on the laundry in the backyard, I could commune(亲近) not only with cotton T-shirts, but also my cats. I could watch cautious deer run through the yard with their young, listen to nervous squirrels in trees and observe a family of wild turkeys by the road. I returned to my desk refreshed.
And, except for the sandpaper feel of sun-dried bath towels, the drying method was a complete success. When autumn came, I’d scan the horizon each day to evaluate the chances of sun-drying. One morning I saw rain clouds. I had a load of wet clothes in my arms and no place to put them.
I found my husband. Together we hung laundry throughout the house.
Then my husband gave me a hug and a smile. “I think it’s time to buy a dryer…” he said, “… like, today.”
“Good idea,” I said, just as the infamous Oregon rain started.
Our sun-dried laundry habit was finished for the season. Why did the author want to try sun-drying?
a. Her husband insisted.
b. She wanted to cut expenses.
c. Their dryer wasn’t working.
d. She had good childhood memories of using a clothesline.
| A．b c | B．c d | C．a c d | D．b c d |
What could the straight-talking repairman have said to the author?
| A．“Continue to use it even if it is old.” |
| B．“You should have taken better care of your dryer.” |
| C．“You shouldn’t have wasted money on repairing your dryer.” |
| D．“Just buy a new dryer even if it’s very expensive.” |
What was the biggest benefit that sun-drying brought to the author besides dry clothes?
| A．She loves sun-dried bath towels. |
| B．She felt healthier and closer to nature. |
| C．She could bathe in the sunshine, too. |
| D．It gave her a break from her housework. |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the article?
| A．The author has stopped sun-drying since autumn started. |
| B．The author later became fed up with the trouble of hanging up her clothes. |
| C．The author listened to weather reports every day when autumn came. |
| D．The author realized sun-drying was seasonal and thus had its disadvantages |
Shopping is not as simple as you may think! There are all sorts of tricks at play each time we reach out for that particular brand of product on the shelf． Colouring, for example, varies according to what the producers are trying to sell．Health foods are packaged （包装） in greens, yellows or browns because we think of these as healthy colours．Ice cream packets are often blue and expensive goods, like chocolates, are gold or silver．
When some kind of pain killer was brought out recently, researchers found that the colours turned the customers off because they made the product look weak and ineffective．
Eventually, it came on the market in a dark blue and white package—blue because we think of it as safe, and white as calm． The size of a product can attract a shopper．But quite often a bottle doesn’t contain as much as it appears to．
It is believed that the better-known companies spend, on average, 70 per cent of the total cost of the product itself on packaging!
The most successful producers know that it’s not enough to have a good product．The founder of Pears soap, who for 25 years has used pretty little girls to promote （推销） their goods, came to the conclusion: “Any fool can make soap, but it takes a genius to sell it．”Which of the following may trick a shopper into buying a product according to the text?
| A．The cost of its package． | B．The price of the product． |
| C．The colour of its package． | D．The brand name of the product． |
The underlined part “the colours turned the customers off”（in Par A．3 ） means that the colours _____．
A．attracted the customers strongly B．had weak effects on the customers
C．tricked the customers into shopping D．caused the customers to lose interestWhich of the following is the key to the success in product sales?
| A．The way to promote goods． | B．The discovery of a genius． |
| C．The team to produce a good product． | D．The brand name used by successful producers． |
Which of the following would be the best title for this text?
| A．Choice of Good Products | B．Disadvantages of Products |
| C．Effect of Packaging on Shopping | D．Brand Names and Shopping Tricks |
If the world were a village of 1,000 people it would include:
• 584 Asians
• 124 Africans
• 95 Eastern and Western Europeans
• 84 Latin Americans
• 55 former Soviets （including Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians, and other national groups）
• 52 North Americans
• 6 Australians and New Zealanders
The people of the village would speak:
• 165 Mandarin
• 86 English
• 83 Hindu/Urdu
• 64 Spanish
• 58 Russian
• 37 Arabic
The above list covers the mother tongues of only half the village．
One-third of the people in the village are children, and only 60 are over the age of 65．Just under half of the married women in the village have access to modem equipments．
This year 28 babies will be born．Ten people will die, 3 of them for lack of food, 1 from cancer．Two of the deaths will be of babies born within the year．With the 28 births and 10 deaths, the population of the village next year will be 1,018．
In this village of 1,000 persons, 200 people receive 75 percent of the income; another 200 receive only 2 percent of the income．
About one-third have access to clean, safe drinking water．
Of the 670 adults in the village, half can not read nor write．
The village has a total yearly budget, public and private, of over $3 million—$ 3 ,000 per person if it is distributed evenly．Of the total $3 million:
$ 181,000 goes to weapons and warfare
$ 159,000 to education
$ 132,000 to health care
These weapons are under the control of just 100 of the people．The other 900 are watching them with deep anxiety, wondering whether they can learn to get along together．Which of the following is true about Mandarin according to the text?
| A．Nearly one-third of Asian people speak Mandarin in the village． |
| B．About 8．25 per cent of the people speak Mandarin in the village． |
| C．About 16．5 per cent of the people speak Mandarin in the village． |
| D．Nearly all the Mandarin-speaking people are from Asia in the village． |
Which of the following problems is NOT mentioned in the text?
| A．Poverty． | B．Education． | C．Environment． | D．Marriage． |
The underlined part “have access to” （in Para. 4） means_____．
| A．use | B．buy | C．produce | D．try |
The last sentence in the text implies that most of the people long for _____．
| A．a peaceful world | B．good education |
| C．better health care | D．a life without anxiety |
I fell in love with England because it was quaint （古雅）—all those little houses, looking terribly old-fashioned but nice, like dolls’ houses．I loved the countryside and the pubs, and I loved London．I’ve slightly changed my mind after seventeen years because I think it’s an ugly town now．
Things have changed. For everybody, England meant gentlemen, fair play, and good manners．The fair play is going, unfortunately, and so are the gentlemanly attitudes and good manners—people shut doors heavily in your face and politeness is disappearing．
I regret that there are so few comfortable meeting places．You’re forced to live indoors．In Paris I go out much more, to restaurants and nightclubs．To meet friends here it usually has to be in a pub, and it can be difficult to go there alone as a woman．The cafes are not terribly nice．
As a woman, I feel unsafe here．I spend a bomb on taxis because I will not take public transport after 10 p．m．I used to use it, but now I’m afraid．
The idea of family seems to be more or less non-existent in England. My family is well united and that’s typically French．In Middlesex I had a neighbour who is 82 now．His family only lived two miles away, but I took him to France for Christmas once because he was always alone．The writer doesn’t like London because she ______．
| A．is not used to the life there now |
| B．has lived there for seventeen years |
| C．prefers to live in an old-fashioned house |
| D．has to be polite to everyone she meets there |
Where do people usually meet their friends in England?
| A．In a cafe． | B．In a restaurant． | C．In a nightclub. | D．In a pub． |
The underlined part “it” （in Par A．4） refers to______．
A．a taxi B．the money C．a bomb D．public transportThe writer took her neighbour to France for Christmas because he ______．
| A．felt lonely in England | B．had never been to France |
| C．was from a typical French family | D．didn't like the British idea of family |
The oldest forms of medicine are enjoying a comeback. Modern holistic medicine（整体医学） is an approach that treats the whole patient, not just the disease. It is a way to maintain good health rather than cure illness. The most important influences on today’s holistic medicine are ancient Chinese medicine and Indian Ayurvedic medicine, both of which promoted whole body health.
Holistic medicine usually combines diet, physical exercise and meditation, together with other alternative techniques such as massage（按摩）and acupuncture（针炙）. Herbal treatment, a practice of treating illness by using plants, is influenced by the writings of Culpeper as well as Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine. Homeopathy（顺势疗法）is one of the forms of holistic medicine which is widely practiced in Europe and the USA. Homeopathy began in Germany in the early 1800s, when Samuel Hahnemann bescribed how very tiny doses（剂量）of a drug had an effect on his patients. According to Hahnemann, the more the drug was diluted（稀释）, the stronger its effects. The substance selected would produce similar effects to the disease itself if given in large doses. In the UK homeopathy is regarded as a non-traditional but just about acceptable treatment.
Meditation and contemplation have an important role in holistic medicine. They were brought to Europe by Indian teachers who combined Indian Ayurvedic medicine with Western beliefs. Transcendental meditation（超脱静坐）is one of the best known of these techniques. People repeat words inside their head to reach a state of deep relaxation.
The holistic movement has made many doctors look at the whole patient, not just the disease. Life-style, emotional problems an
d diet are just some of the factors that can affect a person’s health. Holistic medicine emphasizes good diet, exercise and fresh air, all of which contribute to health.Some clinics now offer holistic medicine along with traditional treatments, so that their patients can choose a combination of treatments that suits them. One problem with holistic medicine is that it is difficult for people to be sure a doctor is reliable. To solve this, many countries want alternative doctors to form professional bodies.Modern holistic medicine centers upon____________.
| A．curing a disease | B．herbal treatment |
| C．continuous development | D．keeping patients healthy |
Which of the following does NOT belong to holistic medicine?
| A．massage | B．meditation | C．a balanced diet | D．a knee operation |
The principle of homeopathy is that___________.
| A．the large doses of medicine that will not be harmful will take better effect |
| B．the disease will be cured sooner by taking larger doses of medicine |
| C．a small thinner dose of medicine will be more effective |
| D．the doses of medicine depend on how serious the illness is |
Which is the best title of the passage?
| A．Holistic Medicine | B．Traditional Medicine Returns |
| C．History of Medicine | D．Combination of Treatments Works |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Relaxation is the key of holistic treatment. |
| B．Holistic medicine needs to become more trustworthy. |
| C．Holistic treatment is more beneficial than traditional treatments. |
| D．Holistic medicine will become the most welcome treatment soon. |
Wednesday, October 29,2008.
The United States federal government had two young men in the state of Tennessee arrested on October 22 on unknown charges.
In court documents published on Monday, it came to light that the men had discussed attacking an African – American school and killing 14 of them.
Another crime was about planning to murder Presidential candidate Barack Obama. According to their affidavits (口供), the suspects’ “final act of violence” would be like this: when
they attacked Obama they would wear white suits and top hats and drive “their vehicle as fast as they could toward Obama shooting at him from the windows.”
The two suspects are Paul Schlesselman, 18, of West Helena, Arkansas and Daniel Cowart, 20, of Bells, Tennessee. According to the court papers, they met last month over the Internet through a friend. Schlesselman and Cowart are believed to share “very strong views” about White Power.
Schlesselman listed “being racist” as his occupation on his MySpace page. He further wrote: “I'm white. I'm proud. I get angry. I like guns.”
Cowart also had a MySpace page on which photos of guns were presented under a heading of “My Guns”. On his page he wrote, “Better to die quick fighting on your feet than to live forever begging on your knees.”
Some have questioned the pair's ability to carry out the charged plan, but authorities have been very concerned about Obama as the first black presidential candidate from a major party.
“We honestly don't know if they had the ability or the skill to carry out the kind of plan that they talked about.” said Malcolm Wiley, of the United Satates Secret Service in an interview with The New York Times. “But we take any threat seriously no matter how big or how small it is.”
Cowart and Schlesselman are scheduled to appear before a judge on Thursady. The passage is mainly about____________.
| A．Americans’ attitudes towards Barack Obarma | B．two young men planning to commit violence |
| C．the violence in the United States | D．the disadvantages of the Internet |
From the passage, we can know that the two young men_________.
| A．shot 14 students in an African – American school | B．came from the state of Tennessee |
| C．were proud of Barack Obama | D．have not been sentenced yet |
Which of the following shows the right order of the events?
a．The two suspects were arrested.
b．The two suspects will be tried in the court.
c．Cowart set up his MySpace page on the Internet.
d．Malcolm Wiley was interviewed by The New York Times.
| A．a; b; c; d | B．d; c; b; a | C．c; a; d; b | D．c; a; b; d |
What can we infer from the news?
| A．Most of the white people in the United States don’t like Barack Obama. |
| B．The two young men planned to shoot President Barack Obama. |
| C．The two young men were innocent in fact. |
| D．The two young men strongly believed that the president should be a white man |