Five years after they disappeared, lost jewels belonging to the wife of a US ambassador to the Netherlands were found.
Dawn Arnall had already received an insurance payout for her loss. However, the misplaced gems had been found and held for safe keeping by a hotel she stayed in. staff were unaware that the jewels were worth $ 9m.
The world is full of forgetful people. A man in the English town of Reading even left a sausage casserole in a bus. The dish ended up in the Lost Property Office until it was recovered by his mother, eager for her dinner.
A walker in the Lake District had his food in his mouth but … what about his teeth? After climbing a hill in 2007, David Packer stopped for a chocolate bar. He took his false teeth out, wrapped them up in a tissue and just forgot about them. It took more than a year for the walker to be reunited with them.
Over the past 78 years passengers on London’s transport network have left behind items including human skulls and gas masks from World War II. Since 1934, staff have handled an average of 200 000 items a year. Recently they have used computers to try to track down their owners.
But if you find something and can’t locate the rightful owner, is it finders keepers? It depends on what’s found and how, says John Spencer, professor of law at the University of Cambridge.
“If you pick up a coin, you can keep it unless you saw someone drop it, as you wouldn’t be able to find the owner by taking reasonable steps.”
If it’s a larger sum, you should report it to the police but if the item has been abandoned, the property is yours. One man’s loss is another man’s gain!
Dawn Arnall is mentioned in the first two paragraphs to .
| A．attract readers’ attention to the jewellery |
| B．introduce the topic |
| C．make a summary |
| D．get people think |
Judging from the examples given in the third, fourth and fifth paragraphs, people can be .
| A．generous | B．experienced |
| C．forgettable | D．honest |
What does the underlined part in the sixth paragraph mean?
| A．It depends on the law whether to keep something you find. |
| B．One man’s loss is another man’s loss too. |
| C．It’s immoral to keep something that doesn’t belong to you. |
| D．Whoever finds something can keep it. |
Few of us haven’t read Cinderella, the story of a young woman living in poverty who meets the prince of her dreams. Some might not want to admit it, but there is a hidden Cinderella in everyone’s heart—we all wish we could achieve recognition or success after a period of obscurity(默默无闻)or neglect. 
Mary Santiago has that secret dream, too. Her story is featured in Another Cinderella Story, a film set in a US high school.
Mary is shy but loves to dance. Compared with other girls, she is invisible. However, her world changes completely when a famous teenage pop singer, Joey Parker, appears.
Joey is everything the rest of the boys in her class are not—kind, handsome and desirable. Mary and Joey’s paths cross at a ball. They meet and fall in love with each other. But when Mary has to rush back home, she leaves behind her MP3 player, which becomes the only clue Joey has to find the girl of his dreams. Of course, there is a wicked(邪恶的)stepmother, who turns out to be Dominique Blatt and she takes in Mary after her dancer mother dies. Dominique treats Mary like a maid and does everything she can to make sure Mary doesn’t get into the top dance school. Her two daughters are equally determined to stop Joey falling for Mary, even if that means embarrassing her.
The story, though it mostly follows Cinderella, does add a few modern day twists to the classic fairy tale. Refreshingly, the film, unlike many high school films, does not focus on looks, although the actors are all beautiful. There is also a lot less materialism in Another Cinderella Story than in many similar movies.
“The movie takes the fairy tale Cinderella as its jumping off point, ”writes movie critic Amber Wilkinson. “The focus is firmly on following your dream. ”The first paragraph is mainly to .
| A．build interest and lead us to Mary’s secret dream |
| B．remind us why Cinderella is popular all the years |
| C．inform us of the main topic of the whole passage |
| D．tell us how interesting the fairy tale Cinderella is |
In the movie, Mary Santiago is the main character who .
| A．is brave in expressing her love |
| B．is attended to badly by the stepmother |
| C．has a dream of meeting a prince |
| D．is embarrassed by the pop singer |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Joey is just like other boys in Mary’s class. |
| B．Mary’s mother influences her a lot in singing. |
| C．Not many people have a dream to be realized. |
| D．The MP3 player helps Joey in finding Mary. |
The passage is mainly .
| A．an introduction to a film |
| B．a review about a film |
| C．an essay about dreams |
| D．an advertisement of Cinderella |
According to the passage, Another Cinderella Story .
| A．follows Cinderella with nothing new |
| B．pays more attention to the looks of the actors |
| C．encourages young people to follow their dreams |
| D．focuses more on materialism than other films |
Do you suppose Darwin, one of the greatest scientists of all time, really did foolish experiments? Or did he do experiments that were so simple and basic that other people just thought they were foolish? 
Sometimes, people think they already know the answer to a question or the solution to a problem. Sometimes, they really do know an answer or a solution, but without thinking they are important.
Charles Darwin didn’t settle for(满足于)just thinking he knew something. And, he believed all things could be important however simple they seemed to be.
Suppose you drop sheets of paper that are of exactly the same size and shape. If you drop them at the same time in the same place, they will fall in the same way. Now make one of the sheets of paper into a tight little ball and let it drop along with the other sheets. What happens? You have done an experiment that is so simple that you might think it couldn’t be worth anything.
But this simple experiment is important. It explains part of our present-day understandings of physics, ideas that were worked out long ago by Galileo and Newton. And these understandings set aside some of ancient Greek physics.
Scientists sometimes stop to look at very simple things and to think very hard about them. Even the simplest idea, which we might think is foolish, can shake the foundations of science. The passage tells us that Charles Darwin .
| A．was a great English scientist |
| B．always liked doing the experiments that others thought difficult |
| C．thought even the simplest thing was important |
| D．didn’t get well with others |
The underlined phrase “set aside” most probably means .
| A．throw away | B．store up |
| C．put to use | D．realize |
The author of the passage tries to .
| A．convince us that Charles Darwin, Galileo and Newton are the greatest scientists in the world |
| B．draw the conclusion that basic sciences are simple things |
| C．prove that two sheets of paper, with the same size and shape, will fall at the same speed |
| D．draw our attention to everyday happenings around us |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．Darwin really did foolish experiments. |
| B．According to some people Darwin did foolish experiments. |
| C．It is believed by all the people that things could be important though they seemed to be simple. |
| D．Galileo and Newton worked out ancient Greek physics. |
Living in a modern society has its advantages and disadvantages. One disadvantage is that you often have to live closer to other people than you would like to. Sometimes, your neighbors make noise that you are not comfortable with.
The best way to solve this problem is to talk with your neighbor first. You should be very polite and ask your neighbor if he knows how thin the walls of your homes are. This way doesn’t criticize(批评)his behavior; it simply points out that he may not realize how far his sound travels. Tell him that you know that sometimes you make noise as well, but that you do your best to keep it down. Often this will solve the problem right away, but sometimes the neighbor may become angry.
If your neighbor becomes angry with you, there are some more steps you can take. You might write a letter to the neighborhood committee. Make sure you write down the source of the noise and the time in the letter. They will review the situation and decide whether your neighbor is out of line. Some noise is considered to be reasonable, even if it bothers you. So you may prepare a good pair of earplugs(耳塞).
Even if your neighbor makes too much noise, you don’t have to live your life in discomfort. It’s always a good idea to be friendly with your neighbors. You may clean the rubbish in front of his door. He’s sure to appreciate behavior like this and be more open to your suggestions about noise level. What is the first step to deal with the noisy neighbor?
| A．To buy a good pair of earplugs. |
| B．To offer suggestions to the neighbor. |
| C．To ask the neighborhood committee for help. |
| D．To tell the neighbor how bad his behavior is. |
The underlined word “reasonable” in the third paragraph probably means“ ”.
| A．terrible | B．loud | C．proper | D．unpleasant |
What should be written in the letter to the neighborhood committee?
| A．How to punish your noisy neighbor. |
| B．Where and when the noise appears. |
| C．How to make the noise less in the neighborhood. |
| D．What problems the noise causes to your life. |
What does the last paragraph mainly talk about?
| A．You should control your noise as well. |
| B．You can live comfortably even if there is noise. |
| C．Your neighbor may be friendlier than you think. |
| D．You should build good relationship with your neighbor. |
The author wrote this passage to tell us .
| A．why we should get on well with neighbors |
| B．how to relax ourselves in a modern society |
| C．what we should do with our noisy neighbor |
| D．how to become known among neighbors |
At first sight the planet Mars(火星)does not appear very welcoming to any kind of life. It has very little oxygen and water, the temperature at night is below 50 degrees and winds of 100 miles(161 kilometers)per hour cause severe dust storms. However, the surface of the planet seems to show that water flowed across it at some time in the past, and it is believed that there would be enough ice at the poles to cover the planet with water if it melted. Although there is no life on the Mars now, some scientists think there may have been some form of life a long time ago. At that time, the planet had active volcanoes(火山); the atmosphere was thicker and warmer; and there was water. In fact, in some ways the Mars may have been similar to the Earth, where life exists. 
Some people believe that the Mars could support life in the future if the right conditions were produced. The first step would be to warm the planet using certain gases which trap the Sun’s heat in the planet’s atmosphere. With warmth, water and carbon dioxide, simple plants could begin to grow. These plants could slowly make the Mars fit to live on. It is judged that the whole process might take between
100, 000 and 200, 000 years. In the meantime, people could begin to live on the planet in a special closed environment. They would provide a lot of useful information about conditions on the Mars and the problems connected with living there. According to the passage, the planet Mars has no on it.
| A．winds | B．dust |
| C．mountains | D．animals |
It is believed that on the Mars now .
| A．there is a large amount of ice at the poles |
| B．there is a thicker and warmer atmosphere |
| C．there are some kinds of simple plants |
| D．there are many active volcanoes |
What is the topic of Paragraph 2?
| A．Certain gases should be used to warm the Mars. |
| B．Plants should be grown to make the Mars fit to live on. |
| C．The Mars could support life on right conditions in the future. |
| D．People could live on the Mars in a special closed environment. |
The most suitable title for the passage is .
| A．No Life on the Mars |
| B．Study of the Mars |
| C．The Possibility of Life on the Mars |
| D．Future Conditions on the Mars |
Comera is the only place in the world which has a whistle(口哨)language. We do not know how and why it began because we do not know the complete history of the island. But we can certainly imagine the reasons for the beginning of the whistle language. There are many deep valleys on the island. A person on one side of valley cannot easily shout to a person on the other side. But he can whistle and be heard from four miles away, and the record is seven miles. The people who live on the island usually have good teeth, and this helps them to whistle well. They must also have good ears so that they can hear other whistlers.
We can understand why the whistle language continues. It is very useful on the island, and quite easy to learn. When somebody is hurt or ill, the whistle language takes the place of the telephone. If the sick person is a long way from the town, boys and men pass the news from one to another. A boy guarding cattle on a hillside whistles to a man fishing from his boat. The last one is able to describe the trouble fully and exactly to the doctor in town. People help each other in the same way when a car breaks or a cow is lost.
The whistle language is hundreds of years old, and probably it will continue to live for hundreds of years more. Radio and TV often kill the special ways of speaking in the different parts of a country. But on Comera island you are nobody if you cannot whistle. Perhaps soon after TV arrives on the island, the people there will be whistling the news and other facts and opinions. If a person on Comera island is ill, .
| A．others will phone the doctor in town |
| B．the whistle language will pass the news to the doctor |
| C．his family will take him to the doctor |
| D．people will take him to the hospital |
From the passage we know radio and TV at that time.
| A．killed the special ways of speaking |
| B．whistled all the news and opinions |
| C．helped Comera people to communicate |
| D．did not appear on Comera island yet |
Comera island is special in that .
| A．it attracts visitors every year |
| B．no visitors have ever been there |
| C．people there have special ears to hear whistles |
| D．people there use the whistle language to communicate with each other |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．It is not easy for a person to live on Comera island if he cannot whistle. |
| B．The whistle language can only be found on Comera island. |
| C．The whistle language has been used for hundreds of years on the island, but will not be used any longer. |
| D．The record shows that one best whistler can be heard by others seven miles away. |