“The Lord of the Rings”, one of the best sellers in the new millennium（千年）, was made up of three parts——“The Fellowship of the Ring”, “Two Towers”, and “The Return of the King”. Millions upon millions of people have read it in over 25 different languages, but fewer know about the author and the history of the composition of the creative masterwork.
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born in South Africa in 1892. His parents died when he was a child. Living in England with his aunt, Tolkien and his cousins made up his mind to play languages, a hobby that led to Tolkien’s becoming skilled in Welsh, Greek, Gothic, Old Norse and Anglo-Saxon.
After graduating from Oxford, Tolkien served in World War I. In 1917, while recovering from trench fever, he began composing the mythology（神话） for The Rings. As a professor of Anglo-Saxon in 1930s at Oxford, Tolkien was part of an informal discussion group called the Inklings, which included several writers. The group was soon listening to chapters of Tolkien’s imaginative work “The Hobbit”.
Hobbit was a name Tolkien created for a local people that could best be described as half-sized members of the English rural（乡村的）class. Hobbits live in hillside holes. One of them, Bilbo Baggins, looks for treasures with a group of dwarves（侏儒）. On the way, he meets the twisted, pitiful creature Gollum, from whom he sees a golden ring that makes the holder invisible.
One of Tolkien’s students persuaded her employer, publisher Allen & Unwin, to look at a draft（草稿）. The chairman of the firm, Stanley Unwin, thought that the best judge for a children’s book would be his ten-year-old son. The boy earned a shilling for reporting back that the adventure was exciting, and “The Hobbit” was published in 1937.
It sold so well that Unwin asked for a continuation. Over a dozen years later, in 1954, Tolkien produced “The Lord of the Rings”, a series of books so creative that they hold readers—new and old —after their publication.What can we learn from the text?
| A．Tolkien was quite familiar with Old English. |
| B．People know better about Tolkien himself than about his works. |
| C．“The Lord of the Rings” didn’t sell well in the last millennium. |
| D．Tolkien knew very well about different kinds of local languages in Africa. |
What can we learn about “Hobbit” that Tolkien created in his works?
| A．Hobbit was a race living in English downtown areas. |
| B．Hobbit was a group of people who were mostly dwarves. |
| C．Hobbit was a social group of people who lived in old castles. |
| D．Hobbit was a local people who were very tall and strong. |
Which of the following helped most in making “The Hobbit” published?
| A．One of Tolkien’s students. | B．Allen & Unwin. |
| C．Stanley Unwin’s son. | D．Bilbo Baggins. |
What is mainly discussed in the text?
| A．a famous professor at Oxford University. |
| B．A completely new masterwork in the new millennium. |
| C．“The Lord of the Rings” and its writer. |
| D．The power of the magic ring. |
Which of the following shows the right order of Mr J.R.R.Tolkien’s life experience?
a．He had his “The Hobbit” published.
b．He became a member of the lnklings.
c．He served in World WarⅠ
d．He became an undergraduate at Oxford.
e．His work “The Lord of the Rings” came to the world.
f．He moved to England to live with his aunt.
| A．f-d-b-c-a-e | B．d-f-c-a-b-e |
| C．f-c-d-b-e-a | D．f-d-c-b-a-e |
When you close your eyes and try to think of the shape of your own body, what you imagine (or rather, what you feel) is quite different from what you see when you open your eyes and look in the mirror. The image you feel is much vaguer（模糊的） than the one you see. And if you lie still, it is quite hard to imagine yourself as having any particular size or shape.
When you move, when you feel the weight of your arms and legs and the natural resistance of the objects around you, the “felt” image of yourself starts to become clearer. It is almost as if it were created by your own actions and the feelings they cause.
The image you create for yourself has rather strange proportions（部分）; certain parts feel much larger than they look. If you get a hole in one of your teeth, it feels enormous; you are often surprised by how small it looks when you inspect it in the mirror.
Although the “felt” image may not have the shape you see in the mirror, it is much more important. It is the image through which you recognize your physical existence in the world. In spite of its strange proportions, it is all one piece, and since it has a consistent right and left and a top and bottom, it allows you to locate new feelings when they occur. It allows you to find your nose in the dark and point to a pain.
If the felt image is damaged for any reason—if it is cut in half or lost as it often is after certain strokes （中风）which wipe out recognition of one entire side –these tasks become almost impossible. What is more, it becomes hard to make sense of one’s own visual appearance. If one half of the “felt” image is wiped out or injured, the patient stops recognizing the affected part of his body. It is hard for him to find the location of feelings on that side, and, although he feels the doctor’s touch, he locates it as being on the undamaged side.According to the passage the “felt” image the mirror image.
| A．is precisely the same as | B．is as clear as |
| C．often different from | D．is always much smaller than |
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．The felt Image is much more important because it helps you locate new feelings. |
| B．When you are in bed with your eyes closed, it is not easy to imagine your image. |
| C．When you move, the “felt” image of yourself starts to become clearer. |
| D．The “felt” image is not so important as the mirror image. |
If a man loses the ability to recognize his right side,.
| A．he can’t locate the doctor’s touch on his left side |
| B．he can’t locate the doctor’s touch on his right side |
| C．he loses his sense of touch on the left side |
| D．he loses feeling on both sides |
What is this passage mainly about?
| A．Stroke victims’ “felt” images |
| B．Stroke victims’ mirror images. |
| C．The importance of “felt” images |
| D．The importance of mirror images. |
PALO ALTO, California----"Switching off the television may help prevent children from getting fatter---- even if they do not change their diet or increase the amount they exercise," US researchers said last week.
A study of 192 third and fourth graders, generally aged eight and nine, found that children who cut the number of hours spent watching television gained nearly two pounds(0.9kg) less over a one-year period than those who did not change their television diet.
"The findings are important because they show that weight loss can only be the result of a reduction in television viewing and not any other activity," said Thomas Robinson, a pediatrician(儿科专家) at Stanford University.
"American children spend an average of more than four hours per day watching television and videos or playing video games, and rates of childhood being very fat have doubled over the past 20 years," Robinson said.
In the study, presented this week to the Pediatric Academic Societies‘ annual meeting in San Francisco, the researchers persuaded about 100 of the students to reduce their television viewing by one-quarter to one-third.
Children watching fewer hours of television showed a significantly smaller increase in waist size and had less body fat than other students who continued their normal television viewing, even though neither group ate a special diet or took part in any extra exercise.
"One explanation for the weight loss could be the children unstuck to the television may simply have been moving around more and burning off calories," Robinson said.
"Another reason might be due to eating fewer meals in front of the television. Some studies have suggested that eating in front of the TV encourages people to eat more," Robinson said.The author tries to tell us in the first two paragraphs that ________.
| A．children will get fatter if they eat too much |
| B．children will get thinner if they eat less |
| C．children will get fatter if they spend less time watching TV |
| D．children will get fatter if they spend more time watching TV |
According to the passage, the time American children usually spend on watching TV_____.
| A．is more than four hours a day |
| B．is less than four hours a day |
| C．doubled in the last twenty years |
| D．is more than on any other activities |
The time children spend on TV viewing every day is suggested to be about
| A．six hours | B．eight hours | C．three hours | D．one hour |
Why can watching TV increase kids’ weight according to the passage?
A. They usually eat more while watching TV.
B. They burn off fewer calories.
C. They change their diet while watching TV.
D. Both A and B.
The way people hold to the belief that a fun-filled，pain-free life equals happiness actually reduces their chances of ever attaining real happiness．If fun and pleasure are equal to happiness then pain must be equal to unhappiness．But in fact，the opposite is true：more often than not things that lead to happiness involve some pain．
As a result，many people avoid the very attempts that are the source of true happiness．They fear the pain inevitably brought by such things as marriage， raising children， professional achievement，religious commitment，self improvement．
Ask a bachelor （单身汉）why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying．If he is honest he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment．For commitment is in fact quite painful．The single life is filled with fun，adventure，excitement．Marriage has such moments，but they are not its most distinguishing features．
Couples with infant children are lucky to get a whole night’s sleep or a three-day vacation．I don’t know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe raising children．But couples who decide not to have children never know the joys of watching a child grow up or of playing with a grandchild．
Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations．It liberates time：now we can devote more hours to activities that can genuinely increase our happiness．It liberates money：buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless．And it liberates us from envy：we now understand that all those who are always having so much fun actually may not be happy at all．According to the author，a bachelor resists marriage chiefly because．
| A．he finds more fun in dating than in marriage |
| B．he believes that life will be more cheerful if he remains single |
| C．he is reluctant to take on family responsibilities |
| D．he fears it will put an end to all his fun adventure and excitement |
Raising children，in the author’s opinion，is．
| A．a moral duty | B．a thankless job |
| C．a source of inevitable pain | D．a rewarding task |
From the last paragraph，we learn that envy sometimes stems from．
| A．hatred | B．misunderstanding | C．prejudice | D．ignorance |
To understand what true happiness is one must．
| A．be able to distinguish happiness from fun |
| B．make every effort to liberate oneself from pain |
| C．put up with pain under all circumstances |
| D．have as much run as possible during one’s lifetime |
What is the author trying to tell us?
| A．It is important to make commitments． |
| B．One must know how to attain happiness． |
| C．Happiness often goes hand in hand with pain |
| D．It is pain that leads to happiness． |
People
People is America’s No．1 magazine about fascinating people．It’s a guide to who and what’s hot in the arts，science，business，politics，television，movies，books，music and sports．It is published weekly．
Publisher：The Time Inc．Magazine Company
Cover Price：＄211．47
Our Price：＄117．00
Issues：53 issues／12 months
Lucky
Lucky is the shopping magazine with the best buys，and the fashion tips you’ll need before you hit the stores．What makes Lucky really special is that it gets you the information you need before anyone else has it．
Publisher：Conde Nast Publications Inc．
Cover Price：＄35．40
Our Price：＄15．00
Issues：12 issues／12 months
Parents
The most trusted magazine for parents who want to raise smart，loving and self-confident children．Each issue has age-specific child-development guidance，advice on your child’s health and safety，and the best ways to encourage your child’s learning．
Publisher：Meredith Corporation
Cover Price：＄42．00
Our Price：＄9．97
Issues：12 issues／12 months
Entertainment
This magazine covers movies，television，music，Broadway stage productions，books，and popular culture．Unlike celebrity-focused magazines like People，its main concentration is on entertainment media and reviews．It’s intended for a more general audience．
Publisher：The Time Inc．Magazine Company
Cover Price：＄199．50
Our Price：＄38．95
Issues：57 issues／12 months Which of the following targets common readers?
| A．Lucky． | B．Entertainment． | C．Parents． | D．People． |
According to the passage，what makes Lucky so special?
| A．Its exclusive information related to shopping． |
| B．Its pictures of fashion stores． |
| C．The access it provides to bargains． |
| D．Its competitive price． |
Celebrity-focused magazines are probably ones focusing on．
| A．political events |
| B．festivals and celebrations |
| C．hot events and famous stars |
| D．television programs |
You’re most likely to find the above information．
| A．in an educational magazine |
| B．on a magazine club website |
| C．in a guide to magazines |
| D．in a magazine sales report |
costs the subscriber least．
| A．Lucky | B．Parents | C．People | D．Entertainment |
Are you a compulsive spender，or do you hold on to your money as long as possible? Are you a bargain hunter? Would you rather use charge accounts than pay in cash? Your answers to these questions will reflect your personality．According to psychologists，our individual money habits not only show our beliefs and values，but can also stem from past problems．
Experts in psychology believe that for many people，money is an important symbol of strength and influence．Husbands who complain about their wives’ spending habits may be afraid that they are losing power in their marriage．Wives，on the other hand，may waste huge amounts of money because they are angry at their husbands．In addition，many people consider money a symbol of love．They spend it on their family and friends to express love，or they buy themselves expensive presents because they need love．
People can be addicted to different things —for example，alcohol，drugs，certain foods，or even television．They are compulsive in their addictions，i．e．they must satisfy these needs to feel comfortable．In the same way，according to psychologists，compulsive spenders must spend money．
For people who buy on credit，furthermore，charge accounts are even more exciting than money：in other words，they feel that with credit，they can do anything．Their pleasures in spending enormous amounts are actually greater than those they get from the things they buy．
There is even a special psychology of bargain hunting．To save money，of course，most people look for sales，low prices，and discounts．Compulsive bargain hunters，however，often buy things that they don’t need just because they are cheap．They want to believe that they are helping their budgets，but they are really playing an exciting game：when they can buy something for less than other people，they feel that they are winning．Most people，experts claim，have two reasons for their behavior：a good reason for the things that they do and the real reason．
It is not only scientists，of course，who understand the psychology of spending habits，but also business people．Stores，companies，and advertisers use psychology to increase business：they consider people’s needs for love，power，or influence，their basic values，their beliefs and opinions， etc．in their advertising and sales methods．
Psychologists often use a method called “behavior therapy（疗法）”to help individuals solve their personality problems．In the same way，they can help people who feel that they have problems with money：they give them “assignments” If a person buys something in every store that he enters， for instance，a therapist might teach him self discipline in this way：on the first day of his therapy， he must go into a store，stay five minutes，and then leave．On the second day，he should stay for ten minutes and try something on．On the third day，he stays for fifteen minutes，asks the salesclerk a question，but does not buy anything．Soon he will learn that nothing bad will happen to him if he doesn’t buy anything，and he can solve the problem of his compulsive buying．If you use charge accounts，．
| A．you pay in cash |
| B．you pay less than you should |
| C．you pay with credit card |
| D．you pay more than you should |
Compulsive bargain hunters buy things for all the following reasons except that．
| A．the things they buy are cheap |
| B．they believe they can balance their budgets |
| C．they get psychological satisfaction |
| D．they really need the things they buy |
Behavior therapy in this case aims at．
| A．helping businessmen to increase their business |
| B．helping compulsive spenders to buy less |
| C．finding out how people will react if they are allowed to buy |
| D．finding out what people will do in front of a bargain |
The underlined word “those” in Paragraph 3 refers to．
| A．different things |
| B．their addictions |
| C．their pleasures |
| D．charge accounts |
From the passage we can conclude that．
| A．how you spend money reveals if you are psychologically healthy |
| B．money is a necessity and will bring you happiness if you have much |
| C．compulsive buying problems can be solved by taking some medicine |
| D．all businessmen understand well the psychology of customers |