1 . 阅读短文，掌握其大意，然后从方框中所给的词中选最恰当的 10 个，并用其适当形 式填空，并将答案填写到答题卡的相应位置。每个词只限用一次。

but, south, house, build, cook, rich, become, money, even, anyone

Why are so many British people interested in historical (历史的) television programs like Downton Abbey ( 《唐顿庄园》) ? Maybe because they want to see how both     1     and poor people lived years ago. Or is it because they like looking at the beautiful buildings people lived in—the country     2    ?

Downton Abbey is not a real place,     3     the house they used for the program is real.

Highclere Castle in the     4     of England was a castle (城堡) 900 years ago, but in the 9th century (世纪), people changed (改变) it into a house.

Why did people     5     country houses? Probably because they wanted other people to see how much money they had. These houses often had lots of furniture(家具) and paintings, as well as servants (佣人)     6    , clean and look after the family and guests (客人).

But as we know from the story of Downton, the     7     of the families who lived in these houses did not last.

Today, many country houses are open to     8    . People pay money to take a look inside.

Some of the houses were sold and     9     hospitals, schools, hotels, and     10     prisons (监狱).

And some are used for making films and TV programs like Downton Abbey.

2 . Today making a phone call is as common as having a glass of water, but when telephones were invented over 140 years ago, people believed that they were dangerous.

In 1876, electricity was still little understood and many people died when working with electricity, so most people didn’t accept that it was safe to hear a human voice through the phone. In fact, they thought that it might kill them.

Alexander Bell and his assistant Thomas Watson has no such fears. On the morning of March 10, 1876, Bell sent Thomas to the next room. Then, Bell spoke into his invention. “Mr. Watson, come here. I want to see you.” These simple words changed the world forever. Mr. Watson did hear these words on his receiving machine in the next room and he quickly ran to tell the good news to Bell. Can you imagine the excitement in the lab that day?

However, it took a few more years for the talking machine to win people’s hearts. At first Bell had to help people overcome the fears about electricity. He also had to convince people that there was a need for such a machine. We can laugh at this now, but in 1876, people seriously asked, “But what use could it possibly have?”

Today, as we walk along a busy street talking with friends on the phone, it’s hard to believe that not long ago telephones were thought to be dangerous and useless. Our world has surely changed, hasn’t it?

1. How did Mr. Watson probably feel when he heard Bell’s words?

A．Worried.

B．Excited.

C．Upset.

D．Angry.

2. What can we learn from the third paragraph?

A．The experiment (实验) took place on a spring day.

B．Bell and Thomas were always in the same room.

C．Mr. Watson was one of Bell’s closest friends.

D．The laboratory was filled with people every day.

3. The underlined word “convince” means “_________”.

A．make...talk about

B．make...think why

C．make...believe

D．make...know when

4. It took many years for the telephone to win people’s hearts because _________.

A．people think it was too heavy	B．people didn’t have enough money to buy it
C．people preferred to talk face to face	D．people thought it was dangerous and useless

3 . Libraries give kids a quiet and safe place to read and learn. For over 100 years, libraries have played an important role in Americans’ education. But how are these book-filled buildings changing with the times? You may be surprised to find out.
Benjamin Franklin famously founded America’s first lending library in 1731. But the public library system got its biggest development in the American history in the late 1800’s. Businessman Andrew Carnegie donated millions of dollars to help build free public libraries across the country. Between 1886 and 1919, Carnegie’s donations helped build 1,679 new libraries.
Carnegie believed that libraries could offer the chances to Americans, young and old. He knew that the more libraries there were, the more people would have opportunities to read and use books, speeches and news.
If you can easily find a public library in your community, you’ll get more chances. After all, the United States has 9,225 public libraries. Today, libraries keep growing. Seven tenths of the libraries have free Internet. It provides much more information and opportunities to ask for jobs online.
Libraries are also teaching kids about the fun of reading. The new program Read! Build! Play! adds reading into playtime. As kids listen to a book that is being read aloud, they use Legos (乐高积木) to build images(图像)from the story happily. Today’s libraries are always looking for creative programs to bring people into the library.
Benjamin Franklin once said, “The doors of wisdom are never shut.” As long as the doors of public libraries are open, what he said is most certainly correct!
1. How many public libraries have free Internet in the US now?

A．2767.

B．6458.

C．9225.

D．1679.

2. What is the right order of the following statements?
①The public library system in America developed fast.
②The first lending library was founded.
③Libraries provide information and chances to ask for job online.
④Libraries try to bring people into the library by using creative programs.

A．②①③④

B．②③④①

C．③④①②

D．①②③④

3. What does the last paragraph mainly tells us?

A．Libraries have played an important role in Americans’ education.

B．Public libraries in the US should never close the doors.

C．The writer doesn’t agree with Benjamin Franklin.

D．Libraries help people to open the doors of wisdom.

4. What would be the best title for the passage?

A．The Libraries in the World

B．Libraries And Opportunities

C．Libraries Teach Kids to Read And Learn

D．The Development of the American Libraries

4 .
In many countries, tattoos are in fashion (时尚). On TV you can often see a famous actor or musician with a tattoo on his arm or foot. Many sports players have them, too. In the US, tattoos are very popular. Forty percent of Americans aged between 26 and 40 have a tattoo, and 60 percent of customers in US tattoo parlors are women. These people are often professional people like doctor, teachers and lawyers.
However, tattoos are not modern. In fact, they are very old in human history. For example, archaeologists (考古学家) found a human in ice from 5,000 years ago. He had 57 tattoos on his back, ankles, legs, knees and feet. Tattoos were used for many different reasons. In ancient Egypt, people got tattoos because they were “beautiful”. But in ancient Rome, tattoos were negative (负面的) and put on criminals and prisoners. In India, tattoos were religious (宗教的).
In the 16^th and 17^th century, European sailors (船员) arrived on the islands of Polynesia. They saw tattoos for the first time. The people on the islands had tattoos on their shoulders, chests, backs and legs. Often the tattoos were of animals or natural features like a river or a mountain. The European sailors liked them and made their own tattoos, so the idea traveled to Europe. Tattoos in Polynesia are still important today. They show information about a person’s history, their island or their job.
So is there a connection (联系) between traditional tattoos and fashionable tattoos? And can you call tattoos a fashion? Chris Rainier is an expert in tattoos and his book Ancient Marks has photos of tattoos from all over the world. He thinks people in modern societies often have tattoos because they are a connection to the traditional world. But tattoos aren’t a fashion like clothes or a haircut because you can’t put them on and take them off again like a jacket or a hat. They are permanent (永久的) and for life.
1. When were tattoos brought to Europe?

A．5,000 years ago.	B．60 years ago.
C．Until recently.	D．In the 16th and 17th century.

2. What does the underlined word “parlors” mean?

A．School.	B．Stores.
C．Hospitals.	D．Theaters.

3. What’s the writer’s opinion about tattoos?

A．Tattoos are religious in modern societies.

B．Tattoos connect tradition with fashion.

C．Tattoos are a fashion among famous people.

D．Tattoos show information about a person’s hobby.

4. What would be the best title for the passage?

A．Tattoos' History.

B．Tattoos in Polynesia.

C．Tattoos on a Human in Ice.

D．Tattoos in Fashion and for Life.