My father had returned from his business visit to London when I came in, rather late, to supper. I could tell at once that he and my mother had been discussing something. In that half-playful, half-serious way I knew so well, he said," How would you like to go to Eton?"
"You bet, "I cried quickly catching the joke. Everyone knew it was the most expensive, the most famous of schools. You had to be entered at birth, if not before. Besides, even at 12 or 13, I understood my father. He disliked any form of showing off. He always knew his proper station in life, which was in the middle of the middle class, our house was medium-sized; he had avoided joining Royal Liverpool Golf Club and went to a smaller one instead; though once he had got a second-hand Rolls-Royce at a remarkably low price, he felt embarrassed driving it, and quickly changed it for an Austin 1100.
This could only be his delightful way of telling me that the whole boarding school idea was to be dropped. Alas! I should also have remembered that he had a liking for being different from everyone else, if it did not conflict（冲突）with his fear of drawing attention to himself.
It seemed that he had happened to be talking to Graham Brown of the London office, a very nice fellow, and Graham had a friend who had just entered his boy at the school, and while he was in that part of the world he thought he might just as well phone them. I remember my eyes stinging（刺痛）and my hands shaking with the puzzlement of my feelings. There was excitement, at the heart of great sadness.
"Oh, he doesn't want to go away," said my mother, "You shouldn't go on like this.” "It's up to him," said my father. "He can make up his own mind.”The house the writer's family lived in was _______ .
| A．the best they could afford |
| B．right for their social position |
| C．for showing off |
| D．rather small |
His father sold his Roils-Royce because _______ .
| A．it made him feel uneasy |
| B．it was too old to work well |
| C．it was too expensive to possess |
| D．it was too cheap |
What was the writer's reaction to the idea of going to Eton?
| A．He was very unhappy. | B．He didn't believe it. |
| C．He was delighted. | D．He had mixed feelings. |
We can know from the passage that _______ .
| A．Children who can go to Eton are very famous |
| B．Children can go to Eton if they will |
| C．It is very difficult for a child to get admitted by Eton |
| D．Children don't have the right to decide whether they will go to Eton |
Today we’ll talk about reading．When we read a text，our eyes move across a page in short，quick movements．We recognize words usually when our eyes still fixate（停留，凝视）．Each time they fixate，we see a group of words．This is known as the recognition span or the visual span（视幅）．The length of time for which the eyes stop varies from person to person．It also varies within any parson according to his purpose in reading and his familiarity with the text．In addition，it can be affected by such factors as lighting and tiredness．
Unfortunately，in the past，many reading improvement courses have concentrated too much on how our eyes move across the page．As a result of this misleading emphasis（强调）on the purely visual aspects of reading，many exercises have been designed to train the eyes to see more words at one fixation．For example，in some exercises，words are flashed on to a screen for a tenth of a second．One of the exercises has required students to fix their eyes on some central point，taking in the words on either side．Such word patterns are often formed in the shape of pyramids（金字塔），so the reader takes in more and more words at each successive（连续的）fixation．All these exercises are very clever，but it' s one thing to improve a person’s ability to see words and quite another thing to improve his ability to read a text efficiently．Reading requires the ability to understand the relationship between words．Consequently，for these reasons，many experts have now begun to question the usefulness of eye training，especially since any approach which trains a person to read isolated（孤立的）words and phrases would seem unlikely to help him in reading a continuous text．The time of the recognition span can be affected by the following factors except _______．
| A．1ighting and tiredness |
| B．the length of a group of words |
| C．one’s purpose in reading |
| D．one’s familiarity with the text |
The author may believe that reading ______________．
| A．requires a reader to take in more words at each fixation |
| B．requires a reader to see words more quickly |
| C．demands a deeply-participating mind |
| D．demands more eyes than mind |
What does the author mean by the underlined sentence in the second paragraph?
| A．The ability to see words is not needed for an efficient reading． |
| B．The reading exercises mentioned are useless for reading． |
| C．The reading exercises mentioned can’t help improve reading． |
| D．The reading exercises mentioned have done a great job so far． |
Which of the following is NOT true? _______________．
| A．The visual span is a word or a group of words we see each time |
| B．Many experts began to question the efficiency of eye training |
| C．The emphasis on the purely visual aspects is misleading |
| D．The eye training will help readers in reading a continuous text |
The tune of the author in writing this text is _________________．
| A．critical | B．neutral |
| C．supportive | D．optimistic |
Starting in 1972，the National Park Service established a policy for forest fires called Natural Burn．It was acknowledged that some forest fires，such as those which were caused by lighting were necessary for forests to maintain（保持）balanced ecosystems，so the fire should be allowed to burn．However， a big fire in Yellowstone National Park in 1988 caused this policy to be abandoned since the fire was initially（最初）allowed to burn yet soon out of contro1．As a result，the fire of 1988 destroyed much of Yellowstone，which is America’s oldest and most beloved national park．Massive areas of plants were destroyed，and large empty spaces and acres of burned and blackened trees greeted visitors．The rivers and streams were choked with ash，and the ecosystem of the park was changed beyond repair．
In addition，great numbers of animals were killed by the fires that burned out of control．The fires were driven by high winds，moving as many as ten miles a day．Many small animals died in the flames．The fires’rapid advances gave the wildlife little chance to escape．Even today，few of these small forest animals have returned to live in the park．In the years immediately following the fires，the numbers of visitors declined．rapidly．No one was interested in seeing a blackened and treeless park on vacation．Yellowstone had previously been famous for its amazing views and unique geological formations such as the geyser（喷泉）Old Faithful．But now its reputation as America's wonder is damaged permanently．Natural Burn was adopted because some forest fires were __________
| A．hard to put out |
| B．started by lightning |
| C．good for the balance of nature |
| D．approved by National Park Service |
The big fire in Yellowstone in 1988 __________．
| A．became out of control at first |
| B．brought the natural burn policy to an end |
| C．was allowed to burn continuously |
| D．destroyed the park completely |
Why were so many animals killed in the big fire?
| A．Because winds were blown from high places． |
| B．Because the animals moved only ten miles a day． |
| C．Because the animals lived in lower places． |
| D．Because strong winds contributed to the fire a lot． |
Yellowstone was famous for its _________．
| A．rare animals |
| B．unique plants |
| C．beautiful scenery |
| D．1ittle streams |
The text probably comes from _________．
| A．a geography magazine |
| B．a news report |
| C．a commercial ad |
| D．a science fiction |
Everyone gathered around and Paddy read out loud, slowly, his tone growing sadder and sadder．The little headline said: BOXER RECEIVES LIFF SENTENCE.
Frank Cleary, aged 26, professional boxer, was today found guilty of the murder of Albert Gumming, aged 32, laborer, last July．The jury(陪审团) reached its decision after only ten minutes, recommending the most severe punishment to the court．It was, said the Judge, a simple case．Cumming and Cleary had quarreled violently at the Harbour Hotel on July 23rd and police saw Cleary kicking at the head of the unconscious Gumming．When arrested, Cleary was drunk but clear-thinking.
Cleary was sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labour．Asked if he had anything to say, Cleary answered, “Just don’t tell my mother.”
“It happened over three years ago,” Paddy said helplessly．No one answered him or moved, for no one knew what to do．“Just don’t tell my mother,” said Fee numbly(麻木地)．“And no one did! Oh, God! My poor, poor Frank!”
Paddy wiped the tears from his face and said．“Fee, pack your things．We’ll go to see him.”
She half-rose before sinking back, her eyes in her small white face stared as if dead．“I can't go,” she said without a hint of pain, yet making everyone feel that the pain was there．“It would kill him to see me．I know him so well—his pride, his ambition．Let him bear the shame alone, it’s what he wants．We’ve got to help him keep his secret．What good will it do him to see us?”
Paddy was still weeping, not for Frank, but for the life which had gone from Fee’s face, for the dying in her eyes．Frank had always brought bitterness and misfortune, always stood between Fee and himself．He was the cause of her withdrawal from his heart and the hearts of his children．Every time it looked as if there might be happiness for Fee, Frank took it away．But Paddy’s love for her was as deep and impossible to wipe out as hers was for Frank.
So he said, “Well, Fee, we won’t go．But we must make sure he is taken care of．How about if I write to Father Jones and ask him to look out for Frank?”
There was no excitement in the eyes, but a faint pink stole into her cheeks．“Yes, Paddy, do that．Only make sure he knows not to tell Frank we found out．Perhaps it would ease Frank to think for certain that we don’t know.” Paddy cried because he thought ___________.
| A．Frank did kill someone and deserved the punishment |
| B．Frank should have told Fee what had happened |
| C．what had happened to Frank was killing Fee |
| D．Frank had always been a man of bad moral character |
The underlined sentence “She half-rose before sinking back…” in Paragraph 6 shows that___________.
| A．Fee was so heart-broken that she could hardly stand up |
| B．Fee didn’t want to upset Paddy by visiting Frank |
| C．Fee couldn’t leave her family to go to see Frank |
| D．Fee struggled between wanting to see Frank and respecting his wish |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．The jury and the judge agreed on the Boxer’s Sentence of Life Imprisonment. |
| B．The police found Gumming unconscious, heavily struck by Frank. |
| C．The family didn’t find out what had happened to Frank until 3 years later. |
| D．Frank didn’t want his family to know the sentence to him, most probably out of his pride. |
What is Frank and Paddy’s probable relationship with Fee?
| A．Frank is Fee’s son and Paddy is Fee’s brother. |
| B．Frank is Fee’s son and Paddy is Fee’s husband. |
| C．Frank is Fee’s brother and Paddy is Fee’s lover. |
| D．Frank is Fee’s lover and Paddy is Fee’s husband. |
Humans may not have landed on Mars (火星) just yet, but that isn’t stopping a European company from devising a plan to send four people to the Red Planet within the next few years．This project, called Mars One, aims to send a small group of people to Mars in 2022 and eventually establish a permanent colony on the planet.
“Everything we need to go to Mars exists,” said Mars One co-founder Bas Lansdorp in March 2014．“We have the rockets to send people to Mars, the equipment to land on Mars, the robots to prepare the settlement for humans．For a one-way mission, all the technology exists.” Yet the four astronauts chosen for the trip will be stuck on Mars—forever．And despite Mars One’s thorough planning, there are a number of challenges that may prevent the mission from ever taking place．The biggest road block could be the mission's huge cost ($6 billion)．However, Lansdorp is confident that Mars One will be able to fund the project by selling the broadcast rights for the mission and subsequent experiences living on the planet.
Those broadcast rights will also play a part in helping to select the people who will be sent to Mars．Lansdorp said the company will hold a selection process similar to a reality show．Lansdorp is expecting at least 1 million applications from people around the world．In addition to the cost, several other potential problems could inhibit (阻止) the mission to Mars.
“It’s even more challenging to send people there with life support, with food, with air, with all the other things like books, entertainment, means of communication and of providing for their own resources for a long stay on Mars,” said Adam Baker, senior lecturer in space engineering at Kingston University in London．“The size of the rockets you’d need to do this would be absolutely colossal.”According to Project Mars One, humans could send four people to Mars within the next ________years.
| A．seven | B．eight | C．ten | D．six |
According to Bas Lansdorp, which of the following is NOT TRUE?
| A．Robots are prepared for the settlement for humans. |
| B．He could not come up with the fund for Mars One. |
| C．We humans have the rockets to send people to Mars. |
| D．The equipment is ready for humans to land on Mars. |
The word “colossal” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to ___________.
| A．very large |
| B．very small |
| C．medium |
| D．average |
Which of the following is an appropriate title for this passage?
| A．Ready for a Round Trip to Mars |
| B．Ready for a Short Visit to Mars |
| C．Ready for a One-way Trip to Mars |
| D．Ready for a Walk on Mars |
IKEA is the world’s largest furniture retailer, and the man behind it is Ingvar Kamprad, one of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs．Born in Sweden in 1926, Kamprad was a natural businessman．As a child, he enjoyed selling things and made small profits from selling matches, seeds, and pencils in his community．When Kamprad was 17, his father gave him some money as a reward for his good grades．Naturally he used it to start up a business—IKEA.
IKEA’s name comes from Kamprad's initials (I.K.) and the place where he grew up (‘E’and ‘A’)．Today IKEA is known for its modern, minimalist furniture, but it was not a furniture company in the beginning．Rather, IKEA sold all kinds of miscellaneous goods.
Kamprad’s wares included anything that he could sell for profits at discounted prices, including watches, pens and stockings.
IKEA first began to sell furniture through a mail-order catalogue in 1947．The furniture was all designed and made by manufacturers near Kamprad’s home．Initial sales were very encouraging, so Kamprad expanded the product line．Furniture was such a successful aspect of the business that IKEA became solely a furniture company in 1951.
In 1953 IKEA opened its first showroom in Almhult, Sweden．IKEA is known today for its spacious stores with furniture in attractive settings, but in the early1950s, people ordered from catalogues．Thus response to the first showroom was overwhelming: people loved being able to see and try the furniture before buying it．This led to increased sales and the company continued to thrive．By 1955, IKEA was designing all its own furniture.
In 1956 Kamprad saw a man disassembling(拆卸) a table to make it easier to transport．Kamprad was inspired．The man had given him a great idea: flat packaging．Flat packaging would mean lower shipping costs for IKEA and lower prices for customers．IKEA tried it and sales soared．The problem was that people had to assemble furniture themselves, but over time, even this grew into an advantage for IKEA．Nowadays, IKEA is often seen as having connotations(内涵) of self-sufficiency．This image has done wonders for the company, leading to better sales and continued expansion.
Today there are over 200 stores in 32 countries．Amazingly, Ingvar Kamprad has managed to keep IKEA a privately-held company．In 2004 he was named the world’s richest man．He currently lives in Switzerland and is retired from the day-to-day operations of IKEA．IKEA itself, though, just keeps on growing.The author states in Paragraph 6 that flat packaging___________.
| A．needs large space to assembly furniture |
| B．is a business concept inspired by Kamprad |
| C．helps reduce transportation costs |
| D．makes the company self-sufficient |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Ingvar Kamprad is the richest man in the world. |
| B．IKEA is the world’s largest furniture retailer. |
| C．The advantage of IKEA’s furniture is dissembling. |
| D．Ingvar Kamprad established IKEA and led it to great success. |
What is the author’s attitude towards IKEA’s future according to the last paragraph?
| A．Indifferent | B．Optimistic |
| C．Doubtful | D．Pessimistic |
The passage is developed primarily in terms of ___________.
| A．order of events |
| B．analysis of a process |
| C．examples that illustrate(阐释) a problem |
| D．comparison and contrast |