While small may be beautiful, tall is just plain uncomfortable it seems, particularly when it comes to staying in hotels and eating in restaurants.
The Tall Persons Club Great Britain (TPCGB), which was formed six months ago to campaign for the needs of the tall, has turned its attention to hotels and restaurants. Beds that are too small, shower heads that are too low, and restaurant tables with hardly any leg-room all make life difficult for those of above average height, it says.
But it is not just the extra-tall whose needs are not being met. The average height of the population has been increasing yet the standard size of beds, doorways, and chairs has remained unchanged.
“The bedding industry says a bed should be six inches larger than the person using it, so even a king-size bed at 6′6″ (6 feet and 6 inches) is falling short for 25% of men, while the standard 6′3″ bed caters for less than half of the male population.” Said TPCGB president Phil Heinricy, “seven-foot beds would work fine.”
Similarly, restaurant tables can cause no end of problems. Small tables, which mean the long-legged have to sit a foot or so away from them, are enough to make tall customers go elsewhere.
Some have already taken note, however. At Queens Moat Houses′ Caledoman Hotel in Edinburgh, 6′6″beds are now put in as standard after requests for longer beds from taller visitors, particularly Americans

1. 1.

   What is the purpose of the TPCGB campaign?

   1. A.
      To provide better services
   2. B.
      To rebuild hotels and restaurants
   3. C.
      To draw public attention to the needs of the tall
   4. D.
      To attract more people to become its members
2. 2.

   Which of the following might be a bed of proper length according to Phil Heinricy?

   1. A.
      7′2″
   2. B.
      7′
   3. C.
      6′6″
   4. D.
      6′3″
3. 3.

   What may happen to restaurants with small tables?

   1. A.
      They may lose some customers
   2. B.
      They may start businesses elsewhere
   3. C.
      They have to find easy chairs to match the tables
   4. D.
      They have to provide enough space for the long-legged
4. 4.

   What change has already been made in a hotel in Edinburgh?

   1. A.
      Tall people pay more for larger beds
   2. B.
      6′6″beds have taken the place of 6′3″beds
   3. C.
      Special rooms are kept for Americans
   4. D.
      Guest rooms are standardized

1. 1.

   If someone has an accident in the afternoon, you should ______.

   1. A.
      Phone 37499
   2. B.
      Ensure no one enters the danger area
   3. C.
      Report to the Police station at J J Thomson Ave
   4. D.
      Call an ambulance on 1-999
2. 2.

   Where do you think you can find this notice?

   1. A.
      In the Assembly area
   2. B.
      At the Fire station
   3. C.
      At the University
   4. D.
      At Turner Hospital
3. 3.

   Anytime you hear the fire alarm, you should ______.

   1. A.
      go to the Assembly area
   2. B.
      phone the Fire brigade on 37499
   3. C.
      use the red ‘break glass boxes’
   4. D.
      make sure the fire alarms aren’t being tested

Jenny，
I often think if I am as important to you as you are to me.
We had an unhappy time yesterday. I really felt sad after it and almost apologized (道歉) to you. However，you could still laugh and talk with others like nothing had happened. I suddenly realized that I was not that important to you. You didn’t even realize that I was angry and sad. What’s more，you even forgot my birthday this year.
Goodbye，my friend. I have closed my feeling toward you. It is sad to say goodbye，my friend. But it is meaningless for us to be friends any longer.
Lucy
Dear Lucy，
I’m sorry that I hurt you so much yesterday. But here is something I really need to tell you. I never thought the quarrel we had yesterday was as serious as you thought. I just felt tired and didn’t feel like going shopping. Susan and Lily are also my good friends. I couldn’t pretend (假装) not seeing them when they passed by. I also couldn’t let them know I was blue because of the quarrel. I didn’t want them to feel sad just because I was sad. I’m your best friend，but I don’t want to be your only friend. I don’t want to be with you all the time because sometimes I need to have my own time. I want to spend some time with my other friends and my brother. Please try to make more friends. You will feel much happier if you have more friends. And remember，I’m your best friend forever!
Jenny

1. 1.

   What’s the purpose of Lucy’s letter?

   1. A.
      To tell Jenny that she is really sorry for what happened yesterday
   2. B.
      To tell Jenny she doesn’t want to be friends with her any longer
   3. C.
      To ask Jenny not to be friends with Susan or Lily
   4. D.
      To ask Jenny if she means much to her
2. 2.

   What’s the cause of the quarrel yesterday?

   1. A.
      Jenny laughed and talked with others
   2. B.
      Jenny didn’t notice that Lucy was sad
   3. C.
      Jenny didn’t want to go shopping
   4. D.
      Jenny didn’t remember Lucy’s birthday
3. 3.

   In the letter，Jenny suggests Lucy should________

   1. A.
      make more friends
   2. B.
      leave her alone
   3. C.
      make friends with Susan and Lily
   4. D.
      spend more time with her family
4. 4.

   According to the passage，if we say someone is blue，we mean he/she is________

   1. A.
      angry
   2. B.
      sad
   3. C.
      kind
   4. D.
      happy
5. 5.

   After reading Jenny’s letter，we learn that________

   1. A.
      Jenny and Lucy are both students
   2. B.
      Lucy doesn’t know how to keep a healthy friendship
   3. C.
      A friend in need is a friend indeed
   4. D.
      Lucy is Jenny’s only friend

When an ant dies, other ants move the dead insect out. Sometimes, the dead ant get moved away very soon—within an hour of dying. This behavior is interesting to scientists, who wonder how ants know for sure—and so soon—that another ant is dead.
One scientist recently came up with a way to explain this ant behavior. Dong-Hwan Choe is a biologist. Choe found that Argentine ants have a chemical on the outside of their bodies that signals to other ants, “I’m dead—take me away.”
But there’s a twist to Choe’s discovery. Choe says that the living ants—not just the dead ones—have this death chemical. In other words, while an ant crawls around, perhaps in a picnic or home, it’s telling other ants that it’s dead.
What keeps ants from dragging away the living ants？Choe found that Argentine ants have two additional chemicals on their bodies, and these tell nearby ants something like, “Wait—I’m not dead yet.” So Choe’s research turned up two sets of chemical signals in ants: one says, “I’m dead,” and the other set says, “I’m not dead yet.”
Other scientists have tried to figure out how ants know when another ant is dead. If an ant is knocked unconscious, for example, other ants leave it alone until it wakes up. That means ants know that unmoving ants can still be alive.
Choe suspects that when an Argentine ant dies, the chemical that says “Wait-I’m not dead yet” quickly goes away. Once that chemical is gone, only the one that says “I’m dead” is left. “It’s because the dead ant no longer smells like a living ant that it gets carried to the graveyard, not because its body releases(释放) new unique chemicals after death,” said Choe. When other ants detect the “dead” chemical without the “not dead yet” chemical, they drag away the body.
Understanding this behavior may help scientists figure out how to stop Argentine ants from invading new places and causing problems. Choe would like to find a way to use the newly discovered chemicals to spread ant killer to Argentine ant nests.
The ants’ removal behavior is important to the overall health of the nest. “Being able to quickly remove dead individuals and other possible sources of disease is extremely important to all animals living in societies, including us,” says Choe. “Think about all the effort and money that we invest daily in waste management.”

1. 1.

   The underlined word “twist” in Paragraph 3 means             

   1. A.
      an unexpected change
   2. B.
      a clear mistake
   3. C.
      an important key
   4. D.
      a shocking conclusion
2. 2.

   Ants judge whether another one is dead or not depending on            

   1. A.
      the sense of taste
   2. B.
      the sense of smell
   3. C.
      the sense of touch
   4. D.
      the sense of sight
3. 3.

   The result of the research can be used to            

   1. A.
      kill troublesome pests
   2. B.
      solve the problem of endangered species
   3. C.
      prevent further expansion of the ants’ territory
   4. D.
      keep the balance of nature
4. 4.

   Why is it important to remove dead individuals?

   1. A.
      Because it is easier to manage the living
   2. B.
      Because it can save money to deal with the waste
   3. C.
      Because it can provide more space for the living
   4. D.
      Because it can keep the living from suffering disease
5. 5.

   What might be the best title of the text?

   1. A.
      Dead or living? It is easy to judge
   2. B.
      Pulling away the dead ants is a difficult task
   3. C.
      Ant nests have great undertaking capacity
   4. D.
      Leaving it alone or taking it away? Ants feel puzzled

All it took was a slice of Xinjiang cake to spark heated debates online over China's policy on ethnic（民族的）minorities .
Since Monday, qiegao (cut cake) has been a trending topic on Sina Weibo, China’s main Twitter-like microblogging service.
The cake was a reference to Xinjiang’s famed nut cake, sometimes known by its old Turkic name baklava, a popular pastry across Central Asia and the Middle East. In Xinjiang, they are sold by Uygur vendors（小贩）on tricycles who are known to charge dubious prices depending on the time and season.
The ethnic flare-up started after the Yueyang police from Hunan province posted a message on their official Weibo account. It reported a dispute in Pingjiang county over an overpriced piece of nut cake between a Xinjiang Uygur vendor and a villager named "Ling".
Villager Ling got into a fight with a Uygur due to a misunderstanding. The verbal dispute eventually escalated into a fight and then a mass fight. As a result, two people were injured and Xinjiang nut cakes worth about 160,000 yuan (US$25,000) were destroyed. The total damage was worth 200,000 yuan which included a broken motorcycle and injuries to people. Local police have detained（扣留） Ling. The 16 Uygur sellers were dully compensated and sent back to Xinjiang.
"Yueyang police incident" quickly became one of the most popular topics on Weibo. Yueyang police removed the post shortly after. As of Tuesday night, the topic was still amassing more than 66,000 hits.
The incident is just one of many similar cases of ethnic tensions across China, notably in Xinjiang province, where deeply entrenched social and racial frictions between the dominant ethnic Han Chinese and minority Uygur Muslims occasionally spark violence. Many Uygurs living in major Chinese cities are viewed by locals as thieves, crooks and even terrorists

1. 1.

   Which of the following is true?

   1. A.
      The dispute is between a Xinjiang Uygur vendor and a policeman
   2. B.
      Nut cake is a popular pastry across East Asia and the Middle East
   3. C.
      The prices of Baklava will change according to the time and season
   4. D.
      The demand of the 16 Uygur sellers were refused and they were sent back to Xinjiang
2. 2.

   How much did the broken motorcycle cost？

   1. A.
      160,000 yuan
   2. B.
      200,000 yuan
   3. C.
      40，000yuan
   4. D.
      We don’t know
3. 3.

   What’s the best title of the passage?

   1. A.
      World's most expensive baklava
   2. B.
      Ethnic tensions across China
   3. C.
      Pay attention to the Uygurs
   4. D.
      Misunderstanding caused by a fight
4. 4.

   What can we infer from the passage?

   1. A.
      Yueyang police are afraid of the Xinjiang Uygur vendor
   2. B.
      It’s not the only ethnic tension across China,
   3. C.
      Many Uygurs living in major Chinese cities are viewed by locals as thieves, crooks and even terrorists
   4. D.
      Villager Ling got into a fight with a Uygur due to a misunderstanding
5. 5.

   Where is this passage probably from?

   1. A.
      Microblogging
   2. B.
      Textbook
   3. C.
      Newspaper
   4. D.
      Article

Suppose you work in a big firm and find English very important for your job because you often deal with foreign businessmen. Now you are looking for a place where you can improve your English, especially your spoken English. Here are some advertisements(广告) about English language training from newspapers. You may find the information you need.
Global English Centre
l General English in all four skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
l 3-month (700 yuan), 6-month (1,200 yuan) and one-year (2,000) courses.
l Choice of morning or evening classes, 3 hours per day. Mon.~Fri.
l Experienced college English teachers.
l Close to city centre and bus stops.
Tel: 67605272
Add: 105 Zhongshan Road, 100082
Modern Language School
l Special courses in English for business, travel, banking, hotel management and office skills.
l Small classes (12~16 students) on Sat. & Sun. from 2:00~5:00 p.m.
l Native English teachers from Canada and USA.
l Language lab and computers supplied.
l 3-month course: 1,050 yuan; 6-month course: 1,850 yuan.
Write or phone: Modern Language School, 675 Park Road, 100056
Tel: 67353019
The 21^st Century English Training Centre
l We specialize in effective teaching at all levels.
l We offer morning or afternoon classes, both of which last three months and a half at a cost of 800 yuan.
l We also have a six-week TOEFL preparation class during winter and summer holidays.
l Entrance exams: June 1 and Dec. 1.
l Only 15-minute walk from city centre.
l Call 67801642 for more information.
The International House of English
l Three/Six-month English courses for students of all levels at a very low cost: 60 yuan for 12 hours per week, convenient (方便的) class hours:
9:00~12:00 a.m. and 2:00~5:00 p.m.
l A four-month evening programme for developing speaking skills (same cost as day classes).
l Well-trained Chinese and foreign teachers with experience in teaching English as a second foreign language.
l Free sightseeing and social activities.
l Very close to the Central Park.
For further information call 674322308

1. 1.

   You work from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. every day. Which school will you choose?

   1. A.
      Global English Centre and Modern Language School
   2. B.
      Global English Centre and The International House of English
   3. C.
      Modern English Centre School and The 21^st Century English Training Centre
   4. D.
      The 21^st Century English Training Centre and The International House of English
2. 2.

   The 21^st Century English Training Centre is different from the other three schools in that______.

   1. A.
      its teaching quality is better
   2. B.
      it is near to the city centre
   3. C.
      its courses are more advanced
   4. D.
      it requires an entrance examination
3. 3.

   You will probably prefer to go The International House of English because it______.

   1. A.
      offers free sightseeing and social activities
   2. B.
      has a special course in spoken English
   3. C.
      costs less than the other schools
   4. D.
      has native English teachers
4. 4.

   If you take the evening programme at The International House of English, you will pay______.

   1. A.
      60 yuan
   2. B.
      240 yuan
   3. C.
      720 yuan
   4. D.
      960 yuan

How often one hears children wishing they were grown-ups, and, old people wishing they were young again. Each age has its pleasures and its pains, and the happiest person is the one who enjoys what each age gives him without wasting his time in useless regrets.
Childhood is a time when there are few responsibilities(责任) to make life difficult. If a child has good parents, he is fed, looked after and loved, whatever he may do. It is impossible that he will ever again in his life be given so much without having to do anything in return. What’s more, life is always giving new things to the child——things that have lost their interest for older people because they are too well known. But a child has his pains: he is not so free to do what he wishes to do; he is repeatedly being told not to do something, or being punished for what he has wrongly done.
When a young man starts to earn his own living, he can no longer expect others to pay for his food, his clothes, and his room, but has to work if he wants to live comfortably. If he spends most of his time playing about in the way that he used to as a child, he will go hungry. And if he breaks the laws of society as he used to break the laws of his parents, he may go to prison. If, however, he works hard, keeps out of trouble and has good health, he can have the great happiness of building up for himself his own position in society

1. 1.

   According to Paragraph 2, the writer thinks that ______.

   1. A.
      life for a child is fairly easy
   2. B.
      a child is always loved whatever he does
   3. C.
      if much is given to a child, he must do something in return
   4. D.
      only children are interested in life
2. 2.

   The main idea of the passage is that ______.

   1. A.
      life is not enjoyable since each age has some pains
   2. B.
      young men can have the greatest happiness if they work hard
   3. C.
      childhood is the most enjoyable time in one’s life
   4. D.
      one is the happiest if he can make good use of each age in his life
3. 3.

   The paragraph following this passage will most probably discuss______.

   1. A.
      examples of successful young men
   2. B.
      how to build up one’s position in society
   3. C.
      joys and pains of old people
   4. D.
      what to do when one has problems in life

Not many people can say that they have lived in two totally different environments, and technically neither can I. I have lived in the same house in the same Connecticut town my whole life, but a lot of my childhood and teenage years have been spent visiting my family in New York City.
Wethersfield is a typical New England town, a small close community (社区) where almost everyone knows your name. My friends all go to the same high school and my parents are friendly with my friends’ parents. Most of my friends don’t realize what life is like outside this little town. Maybe every so often a few take a day trip to Manhattan or Boston, but none really knows what it’s like to live in an urban environment.
My parents are both from New York City and since they have siblings and friends who still live there, we visit a lot. From an early age I have been exposed to urban life. Jeff, one of my cousins, lives with his mother in a one-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn. He has never had his own room and has always been very much on his own. I don’t think any of my friends could understand how someone could live like that. www.zxxk.com
When I go to the city I see things I would never see in my hometown. I see poverty and people struggling to make a living. I observe a whole different pace; there, you’re just one guy living with millions of others who will never know your name.
I feel blessed to have experienced the lifestyles of two completely different places. I am grateful for the opportunities I have had. I feel that living in Wethersfield has given me a solid base in forming my character and the ability to deal in a close-knit society. On the other hand, my time spent in New York has exposed me to diverse cultural experiences. I feel that I would be comfortable in any environment and could make the best of any situation

1. 1.

   According to the author, most of his friends in the town______.

   1. A.
      have never experienced city life
   2. B.
      can only understand the rural life
   3. C.
      prefer the small close community
   4. D.
      know little about the real city life
2. 2.

   The underlined word “siblings” in paragraph 3 means______.

   1. A.
      schoolmates
   2. B.
      colleagues
   3. C.
      relatives
   4. D.
      parents
3. 3.

   The author’s life in New York has brought him______.

   1. A.
      his present character
   2. B.
      the social ability
   3. C.
      the comfort of city life
   4. D.
      diverse cultural experiences
4. 4.

   What could be the best title for the passage?

   1. A.
      A Small Town and a Big City
   2. B.
      A Man of Two Different Worlds
   3. C.
      Experience Various Environments
   4. D.
      Make the Best of Diverse Cultures

Disney’s cartoon, Finding Nemo, tells a touching story of a father called Martin and his son Nemo.
Martin loses his wife and an entire family of unhatched eggs to a huge shark. Only one fish egg remains, Nemo. Martin promises his dead wife that he will protect his young son at any cost. So, Martin becomes fearful of almost everything in the ocean. That makes him over protective-he hopes to keep his kid safe from the challenges that life presents. Martin’s nagging（唠叨）makes Nemo feel that he doesn’t need his dad telling him what to do.
So on his first day of school, Nemo and some friends swim to the edge of their coral reef, a place Martin always thinks is very dangerous. When Martin shouts at Nemo come back, Nemo refuses to listen to him and swim out to a boat in the distance. Suddenly, he gets caught by some divers. So begins Martin’s journey to find Nemo, who ends up in an aquarium in an office in Australia. Soon the worried father runs into Dory, a forgetful blue fish, who helps Martin find his son. Meanwhile, Nemo misses his father terribly. He soon hears that he will be given to an eight-year-old girl who likes to kill fish.
Can Martin find his son before it is too late?
Finding Nemo is a physical and mental journey. Martin overcomes his shyness and anxieties and Nemo discovers his own and his father’s hidden strengths. It celebrates the relationship between fathers and their sons.
The cartoon paints a sea world that is alive with color. All the characters are very human-like and have their own personalities.
Finding Nemo was released in the US on may 30, earning about US $70.6 million in just three days, it has set a new opening records for a cartoon

1. 1.

   What is the passage mainly about?

   1. A.
      How a father finds his son
   2. B.
      How to get home when getting lost
   3. C.
      A brief introduction to a cartoon film
   4. D.
      The love between a father and his son
2. 2.

   Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the second paragraph?

   1. A.
      Martin’s wife and most of his children died because of disease
   2. B.
      Martin is a coward that he is afraid of everything
   3. C.
      Nemo has grown up and doesn’t need his father’s protection any longer
   4. D.
      Martin loves his son so much that he becomes so protective
3. 3.

   It can be concluded according to the cartoon that ________

   1. A.
      Nemo has a wonderful journey after leaving his father
   2. B.
      Martin has met a lot of difficulties finding his son
   3. C.
      Nemo is really independent after leaving his father
   4. D.
      Nemo never needs any protection from his father
4. 4.

   What is the theme of the cartoon?

   1. A.
      We should always listen to our parents
   2. B.
      Parents should let their children have an independent life
   3. C.
      Parent should take care of their children in case they get lost
   4. D.
      Parental love is the greatest love in the world

Harry is eighteen now. He studies in a middle school. His parents like him very much and hope he can become a famous man. So they often tell him to study hard and they do all for him. They call him at six in the morning, after breakfast his father takes him to school in a car and in the afternoon, as soon as the young man comes back, the supper is ready. Of course, he never washes his clothes or goes to buy something in the shops.
　  Once, Harry’s father was sent to London on business. He would stay there for half a year. Leaving, he told his wife to take good care of their son. The woman had to get up earlier and did all what her husband did before. And two months later she was so tired that she was ill in bed. Now the young man got into trouble. He couldn’t do any housework. He had to do as his mother told him. Even he didn’t know where to get on the bus!
　  Yesterday Harry’s mother found his shoes were worn out and told him to buy a new pair in the shop. But he didn’t know how to choose. The woman had a sigh(叹息) and gave him a shoe pattern(鞋样) and told him to buy a pair of shoes himself. It’s Saturday today and Harry doesn’t go to school. With a policeman’s help, he found a shop. The shopkeeper was friendly to him. The man brought a lot of shoes and asked him to choose. When he was trying on a pair, suddenly he remembered something and took them off. The man was surprised and asked, “What’s the matter, young man?”
　“I’m sorry, I’ve left the shoe pattern at home!”

1. 1.

   _______ always does some housework in the morning

   1. A.
      Harry’s father
   2. B.
      Harry’s mother
   3. C.
      Harry
   4. D.
      Nobody
2. 2.

   Harry’s parents do all instead of him because _______

   1. A.
      he’s too young
   2. B.
      he has poor health
   3. C.
      he’s busy with his studies
   4. D.
      they hope he spends all time on studies
3. 3.

   The woman had to look after her son by herself because _______

   1. A.
      her husband wasn’t at home
   2. B.
      she was stronger than her husband
   3. C.
      she knew the young man well
   4. D.
      she was freer than her husband
4. 4.

   The woman told her son to buy a pair of shoes because _______

   1. A.
      she didn’t know what kind he needed
   2. B.
      she was busy with the housework
   3. C.
      something was wrong with her
   4. D.
      she wanted her son to do something himself
5. 5.

   In fact, _______

   1. A.
      Harry wanted his mother to buy shoes for him
   2. B.
      Harry didn’t believe in himself
   3. C.
      Harry wouldn’t listen to his mother
   4. D.
      Harry was strong enough to buy shoes for himself