It was 9:00 am already! Richard had to leave for work! Before leaving he hurriedly looked at the newspaper and stood still! Is he seeing it right? He rubbed his eyes and saw again… Yes,it was his name in the obituary (讣告)! He threw the paper in the bin and screamed.
Richard started to recollect. He remembered that last night when he went to bed he had a chest pain and he was rushed to hospital. Then he went into a sound sleep. But what happened after that?
He could suddenly see his living room filled with people… all in tears; his mom, his wife and his children. He also saw his best friend, the one he had a serious misunderstanding a few days ago. He wanted to say “Sorry” to him… but now no one could hear his voice.
He wondered how he could tell his mom that he felt so thankful to have her in his life! He wanted to tell his children how much he loved them. He wanted to tell his wife how much he loved her; he felt sorry to have hurt her sometimes.
Richard started crying and pleading to God for one LAST chance! “God, one last chance, please”, shouted Richard and opened his eyes.
Oh, this was a dream!
He woke up; looked around everywhere. He was on his bed; his wife lay beside him, deep in sleep. Richard whispered in her ears, “You are the best thing to have ever happened to me!”
He went up to the window, looking outside. Yes, everything was just the way he has been knowing so long. He decided to meet up his friends and clear all misunderstandings; he also decided to tell everyone who mattered to him all that has remained unsaid so far!When Richard saw his name in the newspaper, he felt _________.
| A．sad | B．worried | C．regretful | D．shocked |
Richard felt sorry to his wife because _________.
| A．he hurt her sometimes |
| B．he misunderstood her |
| C．they had a quarrel the other day |
| D．he didn’t love her |
After the dream, Richard would probably _________.
| A．demand an apology from his friend |
| B．express appreciation and thanks to his friend |
| C．be on good terms with his friend again |
| D．break up with his friend |
The writer of the story mainly tells us that _________.
| A．misunderstanding between friends is common |
| B．we should tell our family how much we love them |
| C．getting along well with friends is important |
| D．we need to see a doctor when having a chest pain |
I’m writing to complain about the service offered by your company.
I told your service department on November 21 that my washing machine needed repairing, Your service engineers have since been here four times—on December 1l, December 19, December 25 and January 5．The problem was found out on the first visit and the wrong parts were brought by different engineers on the two next visits. The correct part was fitted by the first engineer on the fourth visit.
In short, my complaints are:
a．I had to wait three weeks for an engineer to call and nearly two months for the machine to be repaired.
b．The engineers who called on December 19 and December 25 had been given wrong information by the company, which made me take two half days off unnecessarily.
c．The first and fourth visits lasted a total of thirty minutes. But in the invoice （发票）, I have to pay for four visits of four hours’ work. I will not be paying the invoice for their mistakes and I do hope to receive your answers to these complaints.
Yours,
Robert WhiteRobert’s main purpose in writing to the company is to tell the company ________.
| A．how its service department is operating |
| B．how its different engineers came for the repair |
| C．that all of the engineers didn’t give him any help |
| D．that he refuses to pay the company for their mistakes |
The first of Robert’s complaints is that________.
| A．it took him three weeks to have the machine repaired |
| B．it took him nearly sixty days to get his machine repaired |
| C．it had been almost two months before the first engineer came |
| D．it took the engineer 3 weeks to find out something wrong with the machine. |
The second and third engineers brought the wrong parts because________.
| A．the company didn’t tell them exactly what they should do |
| B．the company didn't tell them where the correct parts were |
| C．they were not sure about whether the machine worked or not |
| D．they hadn’t been told where the right parts should be fitted. |
It can be inferred from the letter that Robert promises to pay for________.
| A．three hours’ work | B．half an hour’s work |
| C．an hour’s work | D．four hours’ work |
A shopkeeper sent his son to learn about the secret of happiness from the wisest man in the world. The boy walked a long way, and finally came upon the beautiful castle where the wise man lived.
On entering the main room of the castle, the boy was quite surprised: tradesmen coming and going, people chatting in the corners, and a small orchestra playing soft music. The wise man talked with everyone, and the boy had to wait for two hours before it was his turn.
The wise man listened carefully to the boy’s explanation of why he had come, but told him that he didn’t have time just then to explain the secret of happiness. He suggested that the boy look around the palace and return in two hours.
“Meanwhile, I want to ask you to do something,” said the wise man, handing the boy a teaspoon that held two drops of oil. “As you wander around, carry this spoon with you without allowing the oil to spill.”
The boy began to walk up and down stairs of the palace, keeping his eyes fixed on the spoon. After two hours, he returned to the wise man.
“Well,” asked the wise man, “Did you see the Persian tapestries（挂毯）in the hall? Did you see the garden that took the master gardener ten years to create?” The boy was embarrassed, and replied that he had observed nothing. His only concern had been not to spill the oil.
“Then go back and observe the wonders
of my world,” said the wise man. The boy picked up the spoon and returned to his exploration of the palace. This time he observed all of the works of art on the ceilings and the walls. When he returned, he described in detail everything he had seen.
“But where are the drops of oil?” asked the wise man. Looking down at the spoon he held, the boy saw that the oil was gone.
“Well, there is only one piece of advice I can give you,” said the wise man. “The secret of happiness is to see all the wonders of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon.”When the boy arrived at the castle, he .
| A．received a warm welcome from the wise man |
| B．had already missed his chance to talk to the wise man |
| C．didn’t expect to see so many people around |
| D．was shown around the palace by the local people |
The wise man gave the boy two tasks in order to .
| A．teach him the secret of happiness |
| B．show him how to observe the wonders in the world |
| C．make him learn from his mistakes |
| D．let the boy enjoy his palace and garden |
We can infer from the article that “the drops of oil on the spoon” probably refer to ______
| A．the beauty of nature |
| B．the fortune a person owns |
| C．the responsibilities of a person |
| D．the great opportunities in life |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the article?
| A．The wise man was satisfied with the way the boy performed the second task |
| B．It took the wise man about 10 years to finish his garden. |
| C．The wise man wasn’t paying much attention to the boy at first. |
| D．The boy took no notice of the surroundings during his first task. |
The Atlantic Ocean is one of the oceans that separate the Old World from the New. For centuries it kept the America from being discovered by the people of Europe.
The Atlantic Ocean is only half as big as the pacific, but it is still very large. It is more than 4,000 miles (6,000 km) wide where Columbus crossed it. Even at its narrowest it is about 2,000 miles (3,200 km) wide.
There is so much water in the Atlantic that it is hard to imagine how much there is. But suppose no more rain fell into and no more water was brought to it by rivers. It would take the ocean about 4,000 years to dry up. On the average the water is a little more than 2 miles (3.2 km) deep, but in some places it is much deeper. The deepest spot is near Puerto Rico. This "deep" measures 30,246 feet --- almost six miles (9.6 km).
Several hundred miles eastward from Florida there is a part of the ocean called the Sargasso Sea. Here the water is quiet, for there is little wind. Today the Atlantic is a great highway. It is not, however, always a smooth and safe one. Storms sweep across it and pile up great waves. Icebergs float down from the Far North across the paths of ships. We now have such fast ways of travelling that this big ocean seems to have grown smaller. Columbus sailed for more than two months to cross it. A fast modern steamship can make the trip in less than four days. Airplanes fly from New York to London in only eight hours and from South America to Africa in four!From the third paragraph, we can learn that ______ .
| A．the Atlantic will dry up in 4,000 years' time |
| B．no river flows into the Atlantic ocean |
| C．it's hard to imagine how much water there is in the Atlantic ocean |
| D．the Ocean floor is rather flat |
Suppose it's February 27th, 2000. You take a steamship to cross the Atlantic to North America, when will you probably get there?
| A．On March 2nd | B．On March 3rd |
| C．On February 28th | D．In eight hours' time |
What can you learn from the last paragraph of the passage ?
| A．The Atlantic has grown smaller than it used to be. |
| B．The Atlantic had grown wider than it used to be. |
| C．Fast ways of travelling make the ocean grow smaller. |
| D．Fast ways of travelling make the ocean seem to grow smaller. |
Nodira, 18, lives in the Tashkent region of Uzbekistan. She was born with a rare disease and is now paralyzed(瘫痪) from the waist down. Her life is confined to a wheelchair but her dreams know no such boundaries. Her hopes for the future include attending university, riding in her father’s car and being able to walk like other children.
Nodira, which means ‘unique’ in Uzbek, is one of five children in a poor family. Every morning, after reciting her prayers, Nodira feeds the hens and goats from her wheelchair. The rest of her day is spent knitting for other people and helping her mother with the household chores.
Nodira has never been to school because it is too far from her home and inaccessible for her wheelchair. A local teacher used to come and tutor her at home and, as a result, she was able to finish third grade. After that, her parents moved to another town and the tutor could not visit as much.
Despite the many difficulties in Nodira’s life she is lucky to be living with 
her family. The stigma(羞辱) attached to the children living with disabilities, combined with the lack of wheelchair access in schools and the economic difficulties faced by many Uzbek families, have led many parents to place children with disabilities in special institutions.
These days, Nodira does homework exercises at home and reads as much as she can. Still, it is unlikely that she will be able to finish her primary education, much less attend university. While missing out on an education is a great disappointment to Nodira, her greatest wish, for a true friend, can still come true. “What I want more than anything is a friend who also has a disability,” she says. “Somebody will not feel sorry for me or make fun of me, and will understand what my life is like.”The underlined sentence in the first paragraph probably means “_____”.
| A．her dreams will help her desert her wheel chair |
| B．her dreams are never limited by her disability |
| C．she often dreams of moving freely without a wheel chair |
| D．she never dreams of recovering from her disability |
Nodira does all the following every day EXCEPT _____.
| A．give food to some animals |
| B．to make clothes from woolen or cotton thread |
C．drive cars designed  for the disabled |
| D．help with the housework |
The underlined word “tutor” in the 3rd paragraph can be replaced by “_____”.
| A．educate | B．visit | C．treat | D．comfort |
What Nodira wants most is ______.
| A．to go to university |
| B．to walk on her own feet |
| C．to finish her primary education |
| D．to find a true friend |
In the office of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, there is a picture of Catherine the Great, the legendary Russian Empress. When asked why she has the picture, Merkel says, “She was a strong woman”. Many say the same of Merkel.
The most powerful woman in the world, according to US Forbes magazine, was in China last week. She came to discuss trade and environmental issues with China’s top leaders. Germany’s first woman leader is known as a brave and practical statesman(政治家). Even since her time at school, she had the habit of getting everything in order. Every day before doing her homework she would clean the desk and think about what to do next. “I prefer a long time for full preparations to make my decision. But once I decide, I will stand up for what I believe,” Merkel said.
Perhaps it was good habits that helped her do well in her studies. At 32, she got a doctorate (博士学位) in physics and then she worked as a researcher.
However, the life of a scholar couldn’t put off her love of politics. While working in labs, Merkel took time off to read political books and at last joined a political party. “Her calmness helped her stand out in the party. She could always find a way out while others felt hopeless,” said one of her old friends.
In her first big political job as Minister for the Environment in 1994, her scientific background proved very useful. In 2005 she became Germany’s youngest chancellor since the second World War.
Now half way through her four-
year term, the 53-year-old woman has made a name for herself both in Germany and abroad. At the EU summit in 2005 when France quarreled with Britain over the EU budget(预算), some people believed the EU was close to breaking down. But Merkel didn’t give up. She shuttled(穿梭) between the heads of the two powers and had them reached an agreement.
“Strength comes from composure(镇定) and courage. Many people say I am a strong woman. But I would rather say I have perseverance,” said Merkel.Why does Merkel put a picture of Catherine the Great on the wall of her office?
| A．Because Catherine the Great is beautiful. |
| B．Because Merkel wants to be a strong woman too. |
| C．Because Merkel likes the drawing skill of it. |
| D．Because it is very expensive. |
What is the correct order of the following events?
a. became the German Chancellor
b. got a doctorate in physics and then she worked as a researcher
c. join a political party
d. visit China
e. take part in the EU summit
f. as Minister for the Environment
| A．bcafde | B．cbfdae | C．bcfaed | D．cbfaed |
Which statement is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Merkel usually is hurry to make a decision when facing difficulties. |
| B．At the EU summit in 2005, the relationship between French and Britain was in tension. |
| C．Merkel is a well-known leader all over the world. |
| D．She is outstanding because of her calmness. |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．An excellent lecturer | B．Germany’s iron lady |
| C．The change of a scholar | D．The youngest chancellor |