Paper-cutting is a very typical visual art of Chinese handicrafts(手工艺品)．It originated from the 6th century when women used to paste the silver cuttings onto their hair．Later, they were used during festivals to decorate gates and windows．After hundreds of years'development, now they have become a very popular means of decoration among country people, especially women．
The main cutting tools are simple：paper and scissors or a cutting knife, but clever and skillful craftspeople are really good at cutting in the theme of daily life．When you look at items made in this method carefully, you will be amazed by the true expressions of the figure's, emotion and appearance, or natural plants and animals'diverse gestures．Patterns of flowers display the beautiful petals(花瓣), pied magpies show their tiny feathers, and others such as a married daughter returning to her parents'home, or young people paying a New Year call to their grandparents．
It is easy to learn about cutting a piece of paper, but very difficult to master it with perfection．One must grasp the knife in an upright fashion and press steadily on the paper with some strength．Flexibility is required but any hesitation or wiggling will lead to imprecision or damage the whole cutting．Cutters stress the cutting lines in several styles．They attempt to carve a circle like the moon, a straight line like a stem of wheat, a square like a brick, and jaggedly like the beard．
People find hope and comfort in expressing wishes with paper cuttings．For example：for a wedding ceremony, red paper cuttings are a traditional and required decoration on the tea set, the dressing table glass, and on other furniture．A big red paper character 'Xi'(happiness)is a traditional must on the newlywed's door．Upon the birthday party of a senior, the character 'Shou'represents long life and will add delight to the whole celebration; while a pattern of chubby(胖乎乎的)children holding fish signifies that every year they will be rich in wealth．
(1)
The main idea of the passage is ________．
[ ]
A．
to help people find hope and comfort in paper cuttings
B．
to persuade people to use paper-cuttings to decorate their rooms
C．
to teach people how to make paper-cuttings
D．
to make a general introduction of paper-cutting
(2)
The words “pied magpies” underlined in Paragraph 2 mean ________．
[ ]
A．
people who are good at carving tiny feathers
B．
a kind of bird
C．
a kind of pie
D．
something magical
(3)
From Paragraph 3 we can infer that ________．
[ ]
A．
paper cutting should be made without hesitation
B．
it is easy for anyone to learn about paper cutting
C．
it is hard for a person to be a master in paper-cutting
D．
any wiggling will lead to imprecision in paper cutting
(4)
According to the text, which of the following statements is NOT true?
[ ]
A．
Now paper-cuttings have become a very popular means of decoration．
B．
A pattern of chubby children holding fish signifies a senior will have a long life．
C．
Paper cuttings are used in wedding ceremonies, the birthday party of a senior and festivals．
D．
You can find the theme of daily life in paper cuttings．
Taiwan police cannot decide whether to treat it as an extremely clever act of stealing or an even cleverer cheat(诈骗)．Either way, it could be the perfect crime(犯罪)，because the criminals are birds homing pigeons!
The crime begins with a telephone message to the owner of a stolen car：if you want the car back, pay up．Then, the car owner is directed to a park, told where to find a bird cage and how to attach money to the neck of the pigeon inside．Carrying the money in a tiny bag, the pigeon flies off．
There have been at least-four such pigeon pick-ups in Changwa．What at first seemed like the work of a clever stay-at-home car thief, however, may in fact be the work of an even lazier and more inventive criminal mind－one that avoids(避免)not only collecting money but going out to steal the car in the first place．Police officer Chen says that the criminal probably has pulled a double trick：he gets money for things he cannot possibly return．Instead of stealing cars, he lets someone else do it and then waits for the car-owner to place an ad(启事)in the newspaper asking for help．
The theory is supported by the fact that, so far, none of the stolen cars have been returned．Also, the amount of money demanded under 3,000 Taiwanese dollars seems too little for a car worth many times more．
Demands for pigeon-delivered money stopped as soon as the press reported the story．And even if they start again, Chen holds little hope of catching the criminal．“We have more important things to do,” he said．
(1)
After the car owner received a phone call, he ________．
[ ]
A．
went to a certain pigeon and put some money in the bag it carded
B．
gave the money to the thief and had his car back in a park
C．
sent some money to the thief by mail
D．
told the press about it
(2)
The “lazier and more inventive” criminal refers to ________．
[ ]
A．
the car thief who stays at home
B．
one of those who put the ads in the paper
C．
one of the policemen is Changwa
D．
the owner of the pigeons
(3)
The writer mentions the fact that “none of the stolen cars have been returned” to show ________．
[ ]
A．
how easily people get fooled by criminals
B．
what Chen thinks might be correct
C．
the thief is extremely clever
D．
the money paid is too little
(4)
The underlined word “they” in the last paragraph refers to ________．
[ ]
A．
criminals
B．
pigeons
C．
the stolen cars
D．
demands for money
(5)
We may infer from the text that the criminal knows how to reach the car owners because ________．
[ ]
A．
he reads the ads in the newspaper
B．
he lives in the same neighborhood
C．
he has seen the car owners in the park
D．
he has trained the pigeons to follow them
阅读理解：
Knowing the best way to study will help you to be a better student．By using your time properly, you can do your homework more quickly．Learning to stuady is not difficult．
The first thing to remember is that you must be willing to learn．It doesn't mean that you must always like the subject．It does mean, however, that you must be willing to do whatever is necessary to learn．Try to understand why it is important and how it will help you now and later to do and learn other things．Knowing mathematics facts will be useful in your whole life．Knowing how to spell makes any kind of writing easier．Sometimes a subject that you think is going to be uninteresting will be exciting when you begin to work at it and understand it more clearly．Learning things can be fun if you are willing to work with them．
Here's some advice for you：have a certain time each day and a quiet place with good lighting for study, so that you can concentrate(集中)on your study without interruptions(中断，打断); have everything ready before you sit down to study-a dictionary, paper, a pen and books; be sure you understand what you should learn before you start; read carefully and pay special attention to the most important things; when memorizing(记忆), first find out the main parts and then recite(背诵)the whole thing; check your homework after you finish it：never forget the importance of review and preview．
(1)
The main idea of the text is ________．
[ ]
A．
to prove that learning is not difficult
B．
to make the readers be interested in study
C．
to tell the importance of self-teaching
D．
to tell the students how to study well
(2)
The first thing to remember in studying is that ________．
[ ]
A．
you must like the subject
B．
you must follow the teacher
C．
you must enioy learning
D．
you must study hard
(3)
What does the underlined word“preview”mean?
[ ]
A．
To go over．
B．
To review again．
C．
To view in advance．
D．
To discuss．
(4)
Which of the following is NOT the advice given in the text?
[ ]
A．
To put a pen, paper and books beside you before study．
