I was waiting for a phone call from my agent. He had left a message the night before, telling me that my show was to be cancelled. I called him several times, but each time his secretary told me that he was in a meeting and that he would call me later. So I waited and waited, but there was still no call. Three hours passing by, I became more and more impatient. I was certain that my agent didn't care about my work, and he didn't care about me. I was overcome with that thought. I started to shout at the phone, "Let me wait, will you? Who do you think you are?"
At that time I didn't realize my wife was looking on. Without showing her surprise, she rushed in, seized the phone, tore off the wires, and shouted at the phone, "Yeah! Who do you think you are? Bad telephone! Bad telephone!" And she swept it into the wastebasket.
I stood watching her, speechless. What on earth?
She stepped to the doorway and shouted at the rest of the house, "Now hear this! All objects in this room -- if you do anything to upset my husband, out you go!"
Then she turned to me, kissed me, and said calmly, "Honey, you just have to learn how to take control." With that, she left the room.
After watching a crazy woman rushing in and out, shouting at everything in sight, I noticed that something in my mood had changed. I was laughing. How could I have trouble with that phone? Her antics helped me realize I had been driven crazy by small things. Twenty minutes later my agent did call. I was able to listen to him and talk to him calmly.Why did the author shout at the telephone?
| A．He was mad at the telephone. |
| B．He was angry with his agent. |
| C．He was anxious about his wife. |
| D．He was impatient with the secretary. |
What did the author's wife do after she heard his shouting?
| A．She said nothing. | B．She shouted at him. |
| C．She called the agent. | D．She threw the phone away. |
What made the author laugh?
| A．His own behavior. |
| B．His wife's suggestion. |
| C．His changeable feelings |
| D．His wife's sweet kiss. |
What does the underlined word "antics" refer to?
| A．Smart words. | B．Unusual actions. |
| C．Surprising looks. | D．Anxious feelings. |
Ed Viesturs grew up in Rockford, Illinois, where the tallest thing on the ground was the water tower. But on Thursday, Viesturs became the only American to climb to the top of the world’s 14 highest mountains.
His last hike was up Mount Annapurna, in Asia’s snowcapped Himalayas. At 26,545 feet, its top is the 10th highest in the world. It is the mountain that inspired him to start climbing.
“It seems to be the most difficult, the most dangerous,” said Viesturs. “There’s no simple way to climb it. There are threatening avalanches (雪崩) and ice falls that protect the mountain.”
In high school, Viesturs read French climber Maurice Herzog’s story of climbing the icy Annapurna. Herzog’s story was of frostbite (冻伤) and difficulty and near-death experiences. Viesturs was hooked right away.
Viesturs got his start on Washington’s Mount Rainier in 1977, guiding hikes in the summer. Fifteen years ago, he set out to walk up to the world’s highest tops. Finally, he’s done.
The pioneering climber talks about mountains as if they were living creatures that should be treated with respect. “You have to use all of your senses, all of your abilities to see if the mountain will let you climb it,” said Viesturs. “If we have the patience and the respect, and if we’re here at the right time, under the right conditions, they allow us to go up, and allow us to come down.”
What’s next for a man who can’t stop climbing? “I’m going to hold my wife and kids and enjoy the summer,” says Viesturs. But for a man who has climbed the world’s 14 tallest mountains, he will probably soon start another adventure. The author used Viestures’ words in Paragraph 6 to support an opinion that .
| A．mountain climbing is a dangerous sport |
| B．mountains should be regarded as living creatures |
| C．mountain climbing needs more skills than physical energy |
| D．those who like mountain climbing won’t stop climbing |
The underlined word “hooked” in Paragraph 4 can be replaced by ________.
| A．frightened | B．discouraged | C．interested | D．upset |
What’s the next probable plan of Viestures?
| A．Stopping climbing and staying with his family. |
| B．Climbing to the top of the world’s 14 tallest mountains again. |
| C．Writing down the experiences about his adventure. |
| D．Climbing another one of the highest mountains. |
Studies show that walking several times a week can lower, or reduce, the danger of many diseases. Walking also can help you lose weight.
Fast walking is good for the heart. It lowers the blood pressure. Researchers say walking can reduce the danger of suffering a heart attack by as much as fifty percent.
Studies have shown that walking for thirty minutes a day can delay and possibly prevent the development of Type Two Diabetes. It can prevent diabetes among people who are overweight and at danger for the disease.
Studies show that women who walk and take calcium reduce their danger of thinning of the bones. Walking also helps lower the pain of arthritis in areas where bones are joined by strengthening the muscles around the bones.
Walking several times a week is a good way to control your weight and even lose body fat. Studies show it also helps lower feelings of sadness.
Experts say walking is one of the safest ways to exercise. There is a low danger of injuries. So it is good for people who are starting an exercise program for the first time and for older people.
A walking program is easy to start. You should wear loose clothes and good shoes. Shoes designed for walking are best.
How fast should you walk? You should be breathing hard while you are walking. Yet, you should be able to
talk.
Let your arms move back and forward at your sides while you walk. The title of the passage probably is ______.
| A．Walking | B．Feelings of Sadness | C．Weight | D．Diseases |
“Walking is one of the safest ways to exercise” means ______.
| A．walking is easy to start | B．there’s a low danger of injuries |
| C．walking is good for heart | D．walking can prevent the development of diseases |
Walking helps reduce the following EXCEPT_________.
| A．the danger of many diseases | B．weight | C．sad feelings | D．money for shoes |
According to the passage, walking ________.
| A．is the safest way to all of the people | B．is a good way to reduce the danger of many diseases |
| C．can cure the disease of heart attack | D．can help put on weight |
Valencia is in the east part of Spain. It has a port on the sea, two miles away on the coast. It is the capital of a province that is also named Valencia.
The city is a market center for what is produced by the land round the city. Most of the city’s money is made from farming. It is also a busy business city, with ships, railways, clothes and machine factories.
Valencia has an old part with white old buildings, colored roofs, and narrow streets. The modern part has long, wide streets and new buildings. Valencia is well known for its parks and gardens. It has many old churches and museums. The university in the center of the city was built in the 13th century.
The city of Valencia has been known since the 2nd century. In the 8th century it was the capital of Spain. There is also an important city in Venezuela named Valencia. From the text, how many places have the name Valencia?
| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
What is the main difference between the two parts of the city?
| A．The age of the buildings. | B．The parks and gardens. |
| C．The number of people. | D．The churches and museums. |
When was Valencia the most important city in Spain?
| A．In the 2nd century. | B．In the 8th century. | C．In the 13th century. | D．In the 20th century. |
What is Valencia famous for?
| A．Its seaport. | B．Its university. |
| C．Its churches and museums. | D．Its parks and gardens. |
The main income of the city of Valencia is from its _____.
| A．markets | B．businesses | C．factories | D．agriculture |
EVENTS
Long March exhibit
The Shanghai History Museum is putting on an exhibition to mark the 60th anniversary of the Long March. On show are more than 220 photos and 40 items that explain with pictures how the communist Red Army drew back from its besieged(被围困的) bases in Jiangxi Province and fought its way to northern Shanxi Province in the mid-1930s. Explanations are all in Chinese. The show will end on November 20.
Time: 10:00 am-4:00 pm
Address: 1286 Hongqiao Road
Admission: 8 yuan for Chinese /15 yuan for foreigners
Thai elephants
Eight elephants from Thailand are entertaining visitors at Changfeng Park by riding bikes, playing basketball, balancing on a beam, dancing and blowing a mouthorgan. People are encouraged to have a tug-of-war(拔河比赛)with the animals or lie on the ground and have the elephants walk over them. The elephants give three shows a day at 9:30 am, 3:30 pm and 8:00 pm and there is an additional show at l:30
pm at weekends. The show will end on November 15.
Address: 189 Daduhe Road
Admission: 30-40 yuan
Dancing dolphins
Dolphins jumping from the water to touch a ball, swaying their bodies to music, kissing people and doing math by tapping their tails have made the dolphin arum in Peace Park an attraction for children. Seals and sea lions also perform.
Hours: 10:30 am, 4:00 pm, and 7:30 pm
Admission: 20 yuan for adults and 10 yuan for children.If you go to visit the Long March exhibit with an
Australian, how much will you pay altogether for the admission?
| A．16 yuan. | B．23 yuan. | C．30 yuan. | D．20 yuan. |
At the exhibition, you will see ______.
| A．many articles written by famous writers |
| B．many things left by the Red Army |
| C．books on the Long March |
| D．many photos and pictures about the Long March |
Which of the following is NOT done by the Thai elephants?
| A．Riding bicycles. | B．Blowing a mouth-organ. |
| C．Doing math. | D．Having a tug-of-war with people. |
The dolphin atrium in Peace Park is a hall where you can see ______.
| A．not only dolphins but also seals and sea lions perform |
| B．only dolphins perform |
| C．only seals and sea lions perform |
| D．only seals perform |
Dancing dolphin performance will began in _____.
| A．11:00am | B．14:00 | C．18:00 | D．19:30 |
It looks like a mobile phone, but the service is much cheaper. It acts like a mobile phone, but only in your own city. Beyond the city walls, it’s useless.
“Little Smart”, also called “xiaolingtong”, has always been compared to mobile phones. But actually, it is more like one of those cordless phones(无绳电话) used around the home. The only difference is that this one reaches much further than from the bathroom to the living room. It can travel across an entire city.
Cheap costs are the main reason for the success of Little Smart. It costs 25 yuan a month for the line and about 0.1 yuan per minute to use. A mobile phone, on the other hand, can cost four or five times as much. What’s more, unlike mobile phones, there’s no fee(费) for incoming calls. So these low charges have attracted many users.
But, Little Smart is not really that smart. Users often complain about its bad voice quality. And there are not as many stations to pick up its signals as there are for mobiles. “I couldn’t receive a phone call if I was on a bus,” said Li Ping, a user in Hangzhou. “It worked fine when I stood still, but there were breaks in signal when I was moving.”
Scientists are trying to make Little Smart more user-friendly. Messaging and Internet access(接入) have been added to the service. And the latest Little Smart handset even has color screen.Why is Little Smart popular in China?
| A．It looks like a mobile phone. | B．The service is much cheaper. |
| C．There is no fee for incoming calls. | D．All of the above. |
How is the charge of Little Smart?
| A．About 10 fen per minute to use. |
| B．It costs four or five times more than a mobile phone. |
| C．It only costs 25 yuan each month. |
| D．There’s no fee for calls. |
Why are users not satisfied with Little Smart?
| A．They can’t hear each other clearly out of the city. |
| B．There are so few stations for Little Smart to pick up its signals. |
| C．When you use it, you must stand up. |
| D．The charges are low. |
The underlined word “handset” in the last paragraph means “______”.
| A．the hand bag | B．telephone | C．service | D．mobile phone |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．It’s wrong to say that Little Smart is smart. |
| B．Scientist are trying to make Little Smart smaller. |
| C．Little Smart will be better than today. |
| D．People will change Little Smart into a mobile phone. |