When Shakespeare was twenty-one, he went to London to try his fortune in that great city, and a very interesting place was the London of his day.
There was the famous London Bridge and St. Paul’s Cathedral, and palaces and markets and long streets full of shops.
Then, too, there were the daily crowds where people from all over the world could be seen. Knights，scholars and the highwayman (拦路强盗）or thief，who had been infamous for his clever robberies, passed by each other. Here, also, were noblemen dressed in gold, from Italy and Spain and France; slaves from Spanish America, sea captains and ministers, soldiers and servants—all held by chance or interest within the gray walls which circled London, and whose gates gave welcome to as strange a crowd as could be found in the world.
Into this curious crowd came Shakespeare, quick to see and eager to learn. And before long all these strange sights were as familiar to him as the faces of his own town’s residents. Each one told its story to him so plainly that, as before he had learned the secrets of the fields and woods, so now he learned men and men’s interests that make up the great world.
And he learned these lessons so well that when he came to write his plays, he made such use of them as no writer ever made before or since; for it is the use of this knowledge of the world, combined with his own genius, that makes Shakespeare the greatest dramatist that has ever lived.
1. Which of the following best describes Shakespeare?

A．Shakespeare got inspiration to write from his hometown, London.

B．Shakespeare was eager to make friends with the noblemen in London.

C．Shakespeare became the greatest dramatist owing to his own genius.

D．Shakespeare was good at observing and learning from the daily life.

2. What does the word “one” in paragraph 5 refer to?

A．Face.

B．Sight.

C．Crowd.

D．Resident

3. The passage probably comes from______．

A．an announcement	B．an advertisement
C．a textbook.	D．a poster

Is it possible to persuade mankind to live without war? War is an ancient custom which has existed for at least six thousand years. It was always evil and usually foolish, but in the past the human race managed to live with it. Modern skill has changed this. Either man will stop war, or war will stop man. For the present, it is nuclear weapons that cause the greatest danger, but bacteriological( 细菌的 ) or chemical weapons may, before long, offer an even greater threat. If we succeeded in stopping war, there would be no danger for us. To do this, we need to persuade mankind to look upon international questions in a new way, not by contests of force, in which the victory goes to the side which is most skillful in massacre (大屠杀 ),but by judging in accordance with agreed rules of law. It is not easy to change old mental habits, but this is what must be attempted.
There are those who say that the adoption of this or that ideology (意识形态)would prevent war. I believe this to be a complete error. All ideologies are based upon beliefs without proof which are, at best, doubtful, and at worst, totally false. Those people who believe them are willing to go to war in support of them.
The movement of world opinion during the past two years has changed very largely such as we can welcome. It has become a common belief that nuclear war must be avoided. Of course, very difficult problems remain in the international world, but the spirit in which they are being approached is a better one than it was some years ago. It has begun to be thought, even by the powerful men who decide whether we shall live or die, that agreements should be reached even if both sides do not find these agreements wholly satisfactory. It has begun to be understood that the important conflict nowadays is not between East and West, but between Man and the bomb.
4. From the first paragraph we can know that __ __.

A．dangerous weapons are forbidden in modern society

B．we may face greater threat from weapons

C．man’s idea of victory has changed

D．dangerous weapons can stop war

5. From the passage we can know ______.

A．it is impossible to live without war

B．war will be stopped by modern skill

C．war must be stopped if man wants to survive

D．the difference between East and West will cause war

6. The author believes that the only way to stop war is to____.

A．take possession of stronger weapons

B．let the stronger side take over the world

C．settle international issues through agreements

D．destroy bacteriological and chemical weapons

7. Which of the following words can best describe the author’s feeling in writing this passage?

A．Disappointed.

B．Doubtful.

C．Worried.

D．Hopeful.

In the past ten years, America’s National Basketball Association (NBA) has grown increasingly dependent on the rest of the world to supply players.
When Michael Jordan and Larry Bird won gold in Barcelona in 1992, the Americans were praised for teaching the world how to play basketball. This season, however, 20 percent of NBA name lists will be filled by non-Americans. NBA commissioner David Stern happily embraces the trend. On a visit to Paris in October, Stern outlined his view for the future, which is likely to see Europe hosting NBA games by 2010.
The NBA is now planning to take China by storm.
“Our experience in China has been that it is going to be explosive in its growth,” said Stern. The strategy（战略，策略） in China is television. “We’ve made 14 deals in China with local and national networks on cable and satellite.” The success of Chinese centre Yao Ming has paved the way for the NBA marketing blitz in China. The NBA, which is broadcast in more than 200 countries in 42 languages, will put that to the test in October 2004 when the Houston Rockets play two pre-season games against the Sacramento Kings in Beijing and Shanghai. The NBA knows that it needs a global market to compensate for tough times on home soil.
“It doesn’t matter where the players come from, all the NBA teams now know that they have to find internationally,” said Terry Lyons, the NBA’s vice-president of international public relations. “It has increased the level of competition here.” As Frenchman Tony Parker and Argentine Emanuel Ginobili showed in winning championship rings with the San Antonio Spurs last season, many people can earn the respect of their American peers. Others, such as the Houston Rockets’ Chinese centre Yao Ming — number one draft pick in 2002 — and the Detroit Pistons’ 18-year-old Serb Darko Milicic — number two overall in this year’s draft — are icons（偶像）in-waiting. It is the last revolution — the rest of the world teaching the US how to play basketball.
8. It can be inferred from the passage that______________.

A．European countries will host the 2004 NBA games

B．Yao Ming is to play two pre-season games in NBA

C．the part played by the foreign players in NBA will be great

D．Michael Jordan is still playing a very important role in NBA

9. What does NBA intend to do in China now?

A．NBA intends to overcome all the Chinese teams

B．NBA intends to help Chinese teams develop well

C．NBA intends to make China its “marketing center”

D．NBA intends to broadcast the NBA’s live basket games in China

10. When the writer talked of “home soil”, he was referring to        _.

A．the USA

B．native Americans

C．the NBA training center

D．farms in the States

11. Which of the following can be used as the best title for the passage?

A．The Non-American Basketball Players

B．More Foreign Players to join the NBA

C．NBA Is Making Big Progress

D．NBA Is Coming to China

What does it mean to cry over a book? “I’m a reader who did not weep,” Ruth Graham, a well-known critic, wrote. “Does this make me heartless? Or does it make me a grown-up?”

Tears have played a surprisingly important part in the history of the novel. Readers have always asked about the role that emotion plays in reading: What does it mean to be deeply moved by a book? Which books are worthy objects of our feelings?

In different times, people answered those questions in different ways. In the early eighteenth century, when the novel was still a new form, crying was a sign of readers’ virtue. “Sentimental” novels, full of touching scenes, gave readers an occasion to exercise their “finer feelings.” Your tear proved that you were likely to feel the suffering of others.

At that time, sentimental novels were hugely popular, but also easy to attack. Tears, after all, had no necessary connection to actual virtue, and they could be not true. As the critic John Mullan points out, by the end of the eighteenth century, the word “sentimental” had acquired a new meaning - “addicted to low emotion” - bringing it closer to the meaning that it has for us today.

In the nineteenth century, the meaning of tears evolved in two different directions. Some writers sought to waken “higher” feelings in their readers: Victorian sentimentalists wrote touching scenes in an effort to inspire social and political reform. However, the “sensation” novel, a different type of Victorian best-seller, showed that tears could be enjoyable in themselves. Sensation novels were the leaders of the modern thriller and mystery. Heavy on secrets, and madness, they were known for creating physical “sensations” in their readers - trembling, a fast beating heart, and tears. But these were tears without moral purpose or effect.

Today’s debate about crying while reading looks back on all of this history. The debate, in fact, is about why books matter to us, and what reading is “for.” Talking about what makes us cry is a way of talking about ourselves.

12. What was people’s attitude towards crying over novels in the early 18th century?

A．Doubtful.

B．Positive.

C．Uncaring.

D．Worried.

13. From the passage we can know that “sensation” novels _________.

A．aimed for social and political reform

B．helped understand others’ suffering

C．consisted of many touching scenes

D．tended to amuse the readers

14. The author presents this text mainly ________.

A．by providing examples

B．by making comparisons

C．by following the order of time

D．by following the order of importance

15. What’s the best title for the text?

A．Sentimental novels & sensation novels

B．Crying while reading through centuries

C．The history of the novel

D．Why books matter to us