If you see a group of people dancing and singing on the street or in the railway station, you don't need to feel surprised．They are a flash mob （快闪族）, which is a group of people who come together suddenly in a public place, do something unusual for a brief period of time, and then quickly break up．They are usually organized with the help of the Internet or other digital communication network．At a predetermined time, they gather and perform some distractions（消遣） such as waving their hands and exchanging books, Then, they quickly break up before the police can arrive．Using mobile phones, the flash mob can change its location if the first one has been replaced for any reason．
Bill Lasik, senior editor of Harper’s Magazine, organized the first flash mob in Manhattan in May 2003 and the first successful flash mob came together on June 3, 2003 - after the first attempt was foiled at Macy's department store．Lasik claimed that the activity was designed to make fun of hipsters （起时髦的人）, and call attention to the cultural atmosphere．
Flash mob gatherings can sometimes shock people．Such an activity might seem amusing and untrue, but it also might frighten people who are not aware of what is taking place．Undoubtedly, flash mobs can serve as good political tools in any direction．They also have great economic potential, such as using flash mobs to advertise a product．
The flash mob is now becoming more and more popular．People use it to do many things．For example, in 2009, Michael Jackson's fans took part in a flash mob to remember him．Hundreds of his fans gathered singing and dancing Michael's famous song "Beat It" together．Flash mobs give people from all walks of life an opportunity to come together to create a memory．The undefined word "foiled" in Paragraph 2 can be replaced by _ 。
| A．forgotten | B．prevented |
| C．announced | D．confirmed |
What can you learn about the flash mob from the passage?
| A．The flash mob usually breaks up quickly for lacking enough time． |
| B．Once the place for the activity is determined, it can't be changed． |
| C．The flash mob can be made use offing many fields just for fun． |
| D．It gives people the chance to come together to do something unusual． |
The main purpose of the passage is __________.
| A．to entertain | B．to encourage |
| C．to inform | D．to persuade |
The writer's attitude towards the flash mob is__________.
| A．negative | B．favorable |
| C．objective | D．doubtful |
根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
Invitation
A woman came out of her house and saw three old men with long white beards sitting in her front yard. She thought they were hungry and invited them in to have something to eat.
They refused because her husband was out.
71“Go to tell them I am home and invite them in!” The woman went out and invited them in. “We do not go into a House together,” they replied. “Why is that?” she wanted to know.
One of the old men explained: “His name is Wealth,” he said pointing to one of his friends, and said pointing to another one, “He is Success, and I am Love.” Then he added, “Now go in and discuss with your husband which one of us you want in your home.”
The woman went in and told her husband what was said. Her husband was overjoyed. He said “ 72Let him come and fill in our home with wealth!”
His wife disagreed. “My dear, why don’t we invite Success?” Their daughter-in-law was listening from the other corner of the house. She jumped in with her own suggestion: “Would it not be better to invite Love? 73”
The woman went out and asked the three old men, “Which one of you is Love? Please come in and be our guest.”
Love got up and started walking toward the house. 74Surprised, the lady asked Wealth and Success: “I only invited Love. Why are you coming in?”
The old men replied together: “If you had invited Wealth or Success, the other two of us would’ve stayed out, but since you invited Love, wherever he goes, we go with him. 75”
| A．The other two also got up and followed him. |
| B．Our home will then be filled with love! |
| C．In the evening when her husband came home, she told him what had happened. |
| D．They were very happy to be invited. |
E.Wherever there is Love, there is also Wealth and Success!
F.He loved money badly.
G.Let us invite Wealth.
It seems that the Englishman just cannot live without sports of some kind. A famous French humourist once said that this is because the English insist on behaving like children all their lives. Wherever you go in this country you will see both children and grown-ups knocking a ball about with a stick or something, as if in Britain men shall always remain boys and women girls! Still, it can never be bad to get exercise, can it?
Taking all amateur（业余）and professional sports in Britain into consideration, there can be no doubt that football is at the top of the list. It is called soccer in the United States. The game originated in Britain and was played in the Middle Ages or even earlier, though as an organized game, or “association football”, it dates only from the beginning of the 19th century.
The next is rugby, which is called “football” in the United States. It is a kind of football played by two teams of fifteen players rather than eleven. The rugby, in which an oval-shaped ball is used can be handled as well as kicked. It is a pretty rough game.
In summer, cricket is the most popular sport. In fact, it has sometimes been called the English national game. Most foreigners find the game rather slow or even boring, but it enjoys great popularity among the British.
Tennis rates high on the list, too. It was introduced into England from France in the 15th century, but it was from England that it spread to practically every country in the world.
Table-tennis or “ping-pong” surely is not played on a great scale as it is in China or in Japan. Basketball and volleyball were introduced into Britain during the late 19th century from America and are gaining popularity. Horse-back riding, swimming, rowing and golf all attract a lot of people.The main purpose of paragraph one is to tell us that the English_______.
| A．are all sports lovers | B．behave like children |
| C．like to kick a ball around | D．can remain young all their lives |
According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true about football and rugby?
| A．They differ in the shape of the ball |
| B．They are played by different numbers of players |
| C．They both can be handled |
| D．They both can be kicked |
From the second and the third paragraph, we know that_____.
| A．Americans love football most of all |
| B．British people love rugby most of all |
| C．Americans and British people may call the same thing differently |
| D．football originated in Britain in the 18th century |
How clean are the nation’s homes?
According to a survey by CIF, there’s room for improvement all over Britain.
Love or hate it — cleaning your home is one job you simply can’t ignore（忽视）. But that’s not to say everyone spends the same amount of time or effort on making their places spotless. A new survey by CIF— experts on making tough cleaning jobs easier—— shows that when it comes to washing windows or cleaning the oven（烤箱）,where you live in the UK it may show how much effort you put into the task.
BATHROOM
25% of men have never cleaned the toilet — but those in Wales are the worst. Nearly four in 10 Welsh men said they never cleaned anywhere in the house. Hate cleaning the shower head? You’re not alone — a quarter of a million Brits say the same. 20% of Scots regard window-cleaning as their most hated job.
KITCHEN
36% of people in the south-east say cleaning the cooker is their hated task. 68% of those in the north-east spend more than six hours a week cleaning their homes — especially the kitchen — in sharp contrast to the 49% of Welsh and West Country folk, who put their hands up to cleaning for under an hour.
BEDROOM
18% believe cleaning starts here: that’s the percentage of women who clean wearing their dressing gowns. 51% of women in the north-west may be staying in bed and giving their husband a cuddle（拥抱）—as a thank-you for helping them clean. In other places, there are far fewer helpful men.
LIVING ROOM
32% of women in the north-east turn up the stereo to help make the dusting more fun. Almost six in 10 women agree, however, that cleaning is seriously energetic exercise.
SHIFT THE DIRT WITH CIF
It’s no secret that the right cleaning products will cut cleaning time and effort in half— and no one knows that better than How Clean Is Your house? Presenters Aggie Mackenzie and Kim Woodburn. For solutions（解决办法）to all your cleaning needs, here are some of CIF’s top tips:
·Stop a lot of build-up on your shower head—give it a quick squirt（喷洒）with CIF bathroom spray once a week.
·Stainless steel（不锈钢）tools seem to need endless cleaning. The CIF Wild Qrchid Qxy-Gel-it lifts dirt easily and leaves the kitchen smelling fresh and clean.
·Cooking outside? CIF cream will get your barbecue（烤架）spotlessly clean, ready for those long, lazy summer evenings. Perfect!The main purpose of this passage is to ______.
| A．tell us the results of a certain survey |
| B．advertise a certain product |
| C．advise men to do more cleaning housework |
| D．tell us which is the hardest job at home |
It can be concluded from the survey that people in different parts of Britain______.
| A．have different views on house cleaning |
| B．spend different amounts of time and effort on house cleaning |
| C．like to do different kinds of housework |
| D．have different ways to do housework |
According to the survey,______ spend the most time cleaning their homes.
| A．the Welsh | B．people in the north-west |
| C．people in the south-east | D．people in the north-east |
CIF in the passage probably refers to ______.
| A．an organization doing research on housework |
| B．a group of experts who give advice on doing housework |
| C．a company providing advice and products on cleaning |
| D．a company providing cleaning services |
Have you ever posted letters to your friends or parents? If so, you must have put stamps on the letters before you sent them. But, how did people receive letters before stamps were invented, and who came up with the idea of using stamps?
In the past, stamps and envelopes were not used. When people wanted to send a letter, they would close the paper with a seal（封印）. The person who got the letter had to pay for it. Because costs at that time were very high, most people refused to accept letters. In fact, the sender would often place secret marks on the outside of the letter. The person who was sent the letter would read the secret message. Then, they would refuse to accept the letter and did not have to pay for it.
In Britain, Sir Rowland Hill introduced the “Post Office Reforms” in 1837. He decided that letters could go to any place in the country for a penny even if the letter had to go far away. The cost was to be paid by the sender of the letter. Payment was recorded by placing a small piece of coloured paper on the letter, the stamp! On May 6,1840, the first stamp called the “Penny Black” was born. Because the stamp was printed in black, the stamp became known as the “Penny Black”. This is now the world’s most famous stamp. This new system spread fast. The best title for this passage should be______
| A．The First Stamp. | B．How Stamp Was First Made |
| C．Why the First Stamp Was Made | D．When Was Stamp First Made |
Before stamps were used,______ would pay for the letter.
| A．the sender | B．the receiver | C．the government | D．no one |
The first stamp was made______.
| A．more than 160 years ago | B．more than two centuries ago |
| C．less than 100 years ago | D．about 100 years ago |
Which of the following is true about the first stamp of China?
| A．It was made much earlier than the first stamp of the US |
| B．The stamp had a snake on it |
| C．The stamp couldn’t be found now |
| D．The stamp had a picture of a dragon on it |
My husband and children think they are very lucky that they are living and that it’s Christmas again. They can’t see that we live on a dirty street in a dirty house among people who aren’t much good. But Johnny and children can’t see this. What a pity it is that our neighbours have to make happiness out of all this dirt. I decided that my children must get out of this. The money that we’ve saved isn’t nearly enough.
The McGaritys have money but they are so proud. They look down upon the poor. The McGarity girl just yesterday stood out there in the street eating from a bag of candy（糖果）while a ring of hungry children watched her. I saw those children looking at her and crying in their hearts; and when she couldn’t eat any more she threw the rest down the sewer（下水道）. Why, is it only because they have money? There is more happiness than money in the world, isn’t there?
Miss Jackson who teaches at the Settlement House isn’t rich, but she knows things, she understands people. Her eyes look straight into yours when she talks with you. She can read your mind. I’d like to see the children be like Miss Jackson when they grow up.This passage mainly suggests that the writer ______.
| A．is easy to get along with |
| B．is unhappy with the life they are living |
| C．is good at observing and understanding |
| D．is never pleased with her neighbours |
What do you think of the McGarity girl?
| A．She is proud and hungry | B．She is selfish and cruel |
| C．She is lonely and friendless | D．She is unhappy and misunderstood |
In this text, the writer tries to tell us that______.
| A．money is the key to everything |
| B．the more money you have, the less happy you’ll be |
| C．there is something more important than money |
| D．when talking to people we should look into their eyes |
Pick out the one that does NOT describe the writer’s view on money.
| A．Why, is it only because they have money? |
| B．There is more to happiness than money. |
| C．Miss Jackson isn’t rich, but she knows things |
| D．The money we have saved isn’t nearly enough |