1 . Three Boys and a Dad

Brad closed the door slowly as Sue left home to visit her mother. Expecting a whole day to relax, he was thinking whether to read the newspaper or watch his favourite TV talk show on his first day off in months. “This will be like a walk in the park.” he’d told his wife. “I’ll look after the kids, and you can go visit your mom.”

Things started well, but just after eight o'clock, his three little “good kids”---Mike, Randy, and Alex --- came down the stairs in their night clothes and shouted “breakfast, daddy.” When food had not appeared on within thirty seconds, Randy began using his spoon on Alex’s head as if it were a drum. Alex started to shout loudly in time to the beat(节拍) . Mike chanted “Where’s my toast, where’s my toast” in the background. Brad realized his newspaper would have to wait for a few seconds.

Life became worse after breakfast. Mike wore Randy’s underwear on his head. Randy locked himself in the bathroom, while Alex shouted again because he was going to wet his pants. Nobody could find clean socks, although they were before their eyes. Someone named “Not me” had spilled a whole glass of orange juice into the basket of clean clothes. Brad knew the talk show had already started.

By ten o'clock, things were out of control. Alex was wondering why the fish in the fish bowl refused his bread and butter. Mike was trying to show off his talent by decorating kitchen wall with his color pencils. Randy, thankfully, appeared to be reading quietly in the sitting room, but closer examination showed that he was eating apple jam straight from the bottle with his hands. Brad realized that the talk show was over and reading would be impossible.

At exactly 11:17, Brad called the daycare center(日托所).“I suddenly have to go into work and my wife is away. Can I bring the boys over in a few minutes?” The answer was obviously “yes” because Brad was smiling.

1. When his wife left home, Brad expected___________.

A．go out for a walk in the park

B．watch TV talk show with his children

C．enjoy his first day off the work.

D．read the newspaper to his children

2. Which of the following did Randy do?

A．Drawing on the wall	B．Eating apple jam
C．Feeding the fish	D．Reading in a room

3. Why did Brad ask the daycare center for help?

A．Because he wanted to clean his house.

B．Because he suddenly had to go to his office

C．Because he found it hard to manage his boys

D．Because he had to take his wife back home.

4. The text is developed ____________.

A．by space	B．by comparison
C．by process	D．by time

2 . They say there are three ways to experience the Grand Canyon; on foot, on mules(骡子) or by air. We chose the first. Up early, my husband and I and our three children couldn't wait to get started. We decided to walk along a lovely path named Bright Angel Trail.

As we set out, I was shocked at how narrow the path was. And I couldn't help noticing that the other tourists weren't like us. They had heavy backpacks, water bottles, and hats. But as usual we were dressed. As the sun rose higher, Arizona's famous heat seemed to roast us. There was no shade and our legs were aching. We decided to go back, with the girl on my back and the boys far behind. By the time we finally got back, our legs were like jelly.

The next day, after we'd had a long rest and a good breakfast, we were ready for another view of the Canyon—by air. After our last walk, this would be the easiest thing in the world.

We called to each other excitedly as the plane took off and circled around the Canyon. But the smiles on our faces disappeared as the pilot tossed(翻转) the plane around, pretending he was going to hit the ground. I shouted, "STOP, TAKE US BACK!" When we finally arrived back on land, once again our legs were like jelly. We hardly spoke as we drove back.

As I said, there are three ways to view the Grand Canyon. We never tried the mules, but personally I'd suggest a fourth: buy yourself a good magazine like National Geographic. That way, you can see the Canyon, without fear or tiredness.

1. Which of the following is true according to the second paragraph?

A．They made a careful preparation before the trip.

B．The children were more joyful than their parents.

C．Bright Angel Trail was not as lovely as they expected.

D．The summer heat prevented them from enjoying the view.

2. The underlined expression "Our legs were like jelly" probably means ______.

A．we were weak	B．we were unhappy
C．we were dissatisfied	D．we were disappointed

3. Which of the following best describes their Canyon trip by air?

A．It proved to be frightening.	B．It was more comfortable.
C．It turned out to be exciting.	D．It made each of them tired.

4. We can infer from the passage that ____.

A．experiencing the Canyon on mules would be the best way

B．one needs to dress less when visiting the Grand Canyon

C．the writer was not serious when she made the suggestion

D．the whole family narrowly escaped from the air accident

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1. How much will the magazine pay for a joke to be published?

A．$50.

B．$100.

C．$150.

D．$350.

2. If you want to share a story of your pets with the readers, you need to submit it to ________.

A．Anecdotes and Jokes	B．Smart Animals
C．Power of Love	D．My Story

3. A story showing people’s generosity should be emailed to the editor at ________.

A．juliet@sws.com	B．susan@sws.com
C．Audrey@sws.com	D．nanjc@sws.com

4. An inspiring story sent to the magazine should ________.

A．describe strange behaviour	B．contain less than 800 words
C．be real and original	D．be published before

4 . Last year more than one million Filipinos worked abroad as servants,nurses,sailors and in other difficult but low-paid jobs.Southeast Asians leave their poorer countries for their richer neighbours.
Many of these wage-earners return in the end.In the meantime,they send home huge amounts of money—in the Philippines’ case,over 10% of its GDP.Between January and November,the amount was up 18% on the same period of 2005.Poverty and unemployment are still high in the Philippines and other labour-exporting(劳务输出) countries.They would be far worse but for this outflow of bodies and inflow of dollars.As for those Asian countries that import(输入) labour,as in Europe,falling birth rates mean they are going to need more foreign workers.
On January 13th leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN) signed an agreement to help migrant(流动的) workers—with the realization that the flow of labour between their countries is a growing problem that they cannot blame on outsiders.A 2005 study showed that 8.4 million Southeast Asians worked outside their home countries,but this did not include the huge numbers of Indonesians doing so without papers.So the true total is probably rather higher.
Of the ten ASEAN countries,the Philippines,Indonesia,Myanmar,Cambodia,Vietnam and Laos export labour,Singapore and Brunei import it,and Thailand and Malaysia do both.Sziraczki of the UN’s International Labour Organization points out that,in the next ten years,the total labour force of the worker-exporting countries should grow by about a third.It makes sense to work on the problem before it gets out of control.
People in the receiving countries seem to be worried about competition for their jobs.Most Thais said their government should admit(准入) no more foreign workers,and a few thought otherwise.Even in Singapore,just over half of people are against admitting more foreign workers.Malaysians think that the increase in foreign workers has worsened crime rates(犯罪率).
1. It can be inferred from the case of the Philippines that______.

A．the country is Asia’s main source of migrant workers

B．labour exports lead to a 10% growth of its GDP

C．the outflow of labour helps solve its social problems

D．the country both exports and imports labour force

2. The flow of labour is a growing problem because______.

A．there is a greater flow of labour than reported

B．more Indonesians work abroad without papers

C．some countries suffer from low birth rates

D．the ASEAN is against admitting foreign workers

3. For the labour-importing countries,the flow of labour may lead to______.

A．higher birth rates

B．lower crime rates

C．greater money inflows

D．stronger job competition

4. The writer of the text seems to______.

A．support the flow of labour between countries

B．report fairly on the question of labour flow

C．express his worries over the ASEAN’s decision

D．regard the outflow of labour as a serious problem

5 . When former American President Bill Clinton travelled to South Korea to visit President Kim Young Sam,he repeatedly referred to the Korean president’s wife as Mrs.Kim.By mistake, President Clinton’s advisers thought that Koreans have the same naming customs as the Japanese. Clinton had not been told that,in Korea,wives keep their family names.President Kim Young Sam’s wife was named Sohn Myong Suk.Therefore,she should be addressed(称谓) as Mrs.Sohn.
President Clinton arrived in Korea directly after leaving Japan and had not changed his culture gears.His failure to follow Korean customs gave the impression that Korea was not as important to him as Japan.
In addition to Koreans,some Asian husbands and wives do not share the same family names.This practice often puzzles(使困惑) English-speaking teachers when talking with a pupil’s parents.They become puzzled about the student’s correct last name.Placing the family name first is common among a number of Asian cultures.
Mexican naming customs are different as well.When a woman marries,she keeps her family name and adds her husband’s name after the word de(of).This affects(影响) how they fill in forms in the United States.When requested to fill in a middle name,they generally write the father’s family name.But Mexicans are addressed by the family name of the mother.This often causes puzzlement.
Here are a few ways to deal with such difficult situations:don’t always think that a married woman uses her husband’s last name.Remember that in many Asian cultures,the order of first and last names is reversed(颠倒).Ask which name a person would prefer to use.If the name is difficult to pronounce,admit it,and ask the person to help you say it correctly.
1. The story of Bill Clinton is used to______.

A．improve US-Korean relations

B．introduce the topic of the text

C．describe his visit to Korea

D．tell us how to address a person

2. The word “gears” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to______.

A．action plans	B．naming customs
C．travel maps	D．thinking patterns

3. When a woman marries in Korea,she______.

A．continues to use her family name

B．uses her husband’s given name

C．shares her husband’s family name

D．adds her husband’s given name to hers

4. To address a married woman properly,you’d better______.

A．use her middle name

B．use her husband’s first name

C．ask her which name she likes

D．change the order of her names

6 . Did you know that women’s brains are smaller than men’s? The average women’s brain weighs 10% less than men’s. Since research has shown that the bigger the brain, the cleverer the animal, men must be more intelligent(聪明的) than women. Right? Wrong. Men and women always score similarly on intelligence tests, despite the difference in brain size. Why? After years of study, researchers have concluded that it’s what’s inside that matters, not just the size of the brain. The brain consists of   “grey matter” and
It has been suggested that smaller brain appears to work faster, perhaps because the two sides of the brain are better connected in women. This means that little girls tend to learn to speak earlier, and that women can understand sorts of information from different sources at the same time. When it comes to talking to the boss on the phone, cooking dinner and keeping an eye on the baby all at the same time, it’s women who come out on top every time.
There are other important differences between two sexes. As white matter is the key to spatial(空间的) tasks, men know better where things are in relation to other things. “A great footballer always knows where he is in relation to the other players, and he knows where to go,” says one researcher. That may explain one of life’s great mysteries: why men refuse to ask for directions … and women often need to!
The differences begin when fetuses(胎儿) are about mine weeks old, which can be seen in the action of children ad young as one. A boy would try to climb a barrier (障碍物) before him or push it down while a girl would attract help from others. These brain differences also explain the fact that more men take up jobs that require good spatial skills, while more women speech skills. It may all go back to our ancestors(祖先) ,among whom women needed speech skills to take care of their babies and men needed spatial skills to hunt, according to one research.
If all this disappoints you, it shouldn’t. “The brain changes throughout our lives according to what we do with it.” says a biologist.
1. Which of the following is true according to the first paragraph?

A．Women’s brain is 10% less than men’s

B．Grey matter plays the same role as white matter.

C．Grey matter controls thinking in the brain.

D．Both sexes have the same amount of white matter.

2. What can we infer from the second and third paragraphs?

A．Women prefer doing many things at a time.

B．Men do better dealing with one job at a time.

C．Women do not need to tell directions.

D．Men have weaker spatial abilities.

3. Which of the following do you agree with according to the fourth paragraph?

A．Young boys may be stronger than young girls.

B．More women take up jobs requiring speech skills

C．Women may have stronger feelings than men.

D．Our ancestors needed more spatial skills.

4. What is the writer’s attitude in writing this passage?

A．Defensive.

B．Persuasive.

C．Supportive.

D．Objective.

7 . Runners in a relay(接力) race pass a stick in one direction. However, merchants passed silk, gold, fruit, and glass along the Silk Road in more than one direction. They earned their living by traveling the famous Silk Road.
The Silk Road was not a simple trading network. It passed through thousands of citied and towns. It started from eastern China, across Central Asia and the Middle East, and ended in the Mediterranean Sea. It was used from about 200 B, C, to about A, D, 1300, when sea travel offered new routes(路线)　, It was sometimes called the world’s longest highway. However, the Silk Road was made up of many routes, not one smooth path. They passed through what are now 18 countries. The routes crossed mountains and deserts and had many dangers of hot sun, deep snow and even battles. Only experienced traders could return safe.
The Silk Road got its name from its most prized product. Silk could be used like money to pay taxes or buy goods. But the traders carried more than just silk. Gold, silver, and glass from Europe were much found in the Middle East and Asia. Horses traded from other areas changed farming practices in China. Indian merchants traded salt and other valuable goods. Chinese merchants traded paper, which produced an immediate effect on the West. Apples traveled from central Asia to Rome. The Chinese had learned to graft(嫁接)　different trees together to make new kinds of fruit. They passed this science on to others, including the Romans. The Romans used grafting to grow the apple. Trading along the Silk Road led to world-wide business 2,000 years before the World Wide Web.
The people along the Silk Road did not share just goods. They also shared their beliefs. The Silk Road provided pathways for learning, diplomacy(外交), and religion (宗教)
1. It’s probable that traders along the Silk Road needed         .

A．to remember the entire trade route	B．to know the making of products
C．to receive certain special training	D．to deal with a lot of difficulties

2. The Silk Road became less important because         .

A．it was made up of different routes	B．silk trading became less popular
C．sea travel provided easier routes	D．people needed fewer foreign goods

3. New technologies could travel along the Silk Road because people         .

A．learned from one another	B．shared each other’s beliefs
C．traded goods along the route	D．earned their living by traveling

4. What is the best title for the passage?

A．The Silk Road ; Past and Present	B．The Silk Road; East Meets West
C．The Silk Road; Routes Full of Dangers	D．The Silk Road; Pathways for Learning