English idioms(习语)are widely used,especially in the spoken language. Here are some examples for you. Do you know what they mean? By the skin of your teeth

  If you just succeed in doing something and come very close to failing，people might say you do it "by the skin of your teeth". For example, you pass a test by just a few points or win a match by a little bit.

  Ask for the moon

  If someone tells you not to ask for the moon,they mean you can't ask for something that you cannot get or have，or try for something impossible. On cloud nine

This expression is used to describe how you feel when something good happens to you,such as when you win first prize in a competition，when you get an A in an exam，or when you receive a nice present from your parents which you want to get so much.

  Sick as a dog

  If you are feeling very ill,you may have used this expression. Dogs eat everything they find,which means they may easily get sick. So when people say that you are "sick as a dog"， don't feel strange or even angry because they don't mean to offend(冒犯)you.

  Have your heart in your mouth

  This expression means that you're really scared or nervous about something. The ancient Greek poet Homer used the expression when he wrote the famous poem The Iliad，and people have been using it ever since.

(   ) 1. Which of the following is NOT an example of doing something " by the skin of your teeth"?

A.     You won the first prize in the five-kilometer race,only one second faster than the one right after you.

B.     You were made monitor of your class by 31 votes(选票)to 30.

C.     You passed the English exam very easily since it was not difficult at all.

D.     You caught the train just before it was about to leave.

(   ) 2. When somebody gets a light fever, we say he is      

A. sick as a dog    B. sick as a parrot

C. not well    D. not sick

(   ) 3. When we say a person is "on cloud nine"，he or she will probably be very      

A. sad    B. happy

C. kind    D. smart

(   ) 4. What is the purpose of the passage?

A.     To test how much readers know about the English language.

B.     To encourage readers using English idioms.

C.     To tell readers the meanings of some English idioms.

D.     To tell readers how the above English idioms started being used.

 The Voice of America began during the World War II，when Germany was broadcasting a radio program to get international 1 American officials believed they should 2 the German broadcast with words that they thought were the facts of world events. The first VOA news report began with words in 3 " The 4 may be good or bad，but we shall tell you the truth.”Within a week,other VOA 5 were broadcasting in Italian, French and English.

After the World War ended in 1945, some Americans felt VOA's 6 had to be changed, 7 the Soviet Union(苏联)became enemy of America. They wanted to 8 So?viet listeners. Then VOA began broadcasting in Russian.

  In the early days VOA began adding something new to its broadcast that was 9 "Music USA",Another new idea came along in 1959. VOA knew that many listeners did not know 10 English to completely understand its 11 English broadcast. So VOA 12a simpler kind of English, 13 uses about 1,500 words and is spoken 14 , Of course, it is special English.

  In the 15 of most VOA listeners，the most 16 program is the news report. News from around the 17 fly into the VOA news room in Washington 24 hours a day. It comes from VOA reporters in 18 cities and also from other 19 like BBC. VOA writers and editors use these materials to 20 news reports，which are being broadcast in 43 languages.
(   ) 1. A. knowledge    B. culture C. support    D. information

(   ) 2. A. match    B. answer     C. join    P. interrupt

(   ) 3. A. time    B. short      C. English    D. German

(   ) 4. A. news    B. announcement  C. effects    D. opinions

(   ) 5. A. stations    B. news    C. announcers    D. programmes

(   ) 6. A. language    B. position   C. purpose    D. result

(   ) 7. A. imagining    B. supposing C. considering    D. fearing

(   ) 8. A. reach    B. satisfy      C. attract    D. interest

(   ) 9. A. known    B. reported    C. called    D. decided

(   ) 10. A. American    B. British    C. standard    D. enough

(   ) 11. A. normal    B. fast         C. official    D. informal

(   ) 12. A. invented    B. discovered    C. borrowed    D. found

(   ) 13. A. it         B. who          C. which    D. that

(   ) 14. A. slowly    B. formally      C. normally    D. loudly

(   ) 15. A. place        B. course         C. opinion    D. advice

(   ) 16. A. difficult    B. important    C. favorite     D. common

(   ) 17. A. world       B. country        C. universe    D. city

(   ) 18. A. all         B. major       C. famous    D. various

(   ) 19. A. broadcasts    B. forms     C. newspaper    D. countries

(   ) 20. A. write        B. announce      C. get    D. prepare

朋友是人生中不可缺少的组成部分。或许因此，现在很多中学生沉溺于网上交友。假定你是李华,请你给某中学生英语报写一封信，求证此举是否正确。内容应包括下列要点：

注意：

1. 词数120左右;

2. 书信的开头和署名巳给出，但不计入总词数。

making friends online网络交友   introversive adj.内向的   neglect忽略Dear Sir or Madam,

Nowadays many middle school students are addicted to making friends online. . .

Yours sincerely, Li Hua

 The medical world is gradually realizing that the quality of the environment in hospitals may play a significant role in the process of recovery from illness.

  As part of a nationwide effort in Britain to bring art out of the galleries(画廊)and into pub?lic places, some of the country's most gifted artists have been called in to change older hospitals and to soften the hard edges of modern buildings. Of the 2 ， 500 National Health Service hospitals in Britain, almost 100 now have significant collections of modern art in corridors(走道)，waiting areas and treatment rooms.

  These recent initiatives(new plans) owe a great deal to one artist,Peter Senior, who set up his studio at a Manchester Hospital in Northeastern England during the early 1970s. He felt the artist had lost his place in modern society, and that art should be enjoyed by a wider audience.

  A common hospital waiting room might have as many as 5 ，000 visitors each week. What a better place to hold regular exhibitions of art and paintings，in the outpatients waiting area of the Manchester Royal Hospital in 1975. Believed to be Britain's first hospital artist,Senior was so much in demand that he was soon joined by a team of six young art school graduations.

  The effect is striking. Now in the corridors and waiting rooms, the visitor experiences a full view of fresh colors, playful images and restful courtyard.

  The quality of the environment may reduce the need for expense when a patient is recovering from an illness. A study has shown that patients who had a view onto a garden nee?ded half the number of strong painkillers compared with patients who had no view at all or only a brick wall to look at.

(   ) 5. What does the author mean by using the phrase "to soften the hard edge of modern buildings" in the second paragraph?

A.     To hold exhibitions of art and paintings in hospitals.

B.     To tear down the old hospital and build a new one.

C.     To decorate hospitals with art collection.

D.     To paint the walls of hospitals in soft colors. 

(   ) 6. What is true about Peter Senior?

E.      A famous doctor in Manchester Hospital and a gifted artist.

F.      Britain's first hospital artist and a patient in Manchester Royal Hospital.

G.     One of the six young art school graduations.

H.     A gifted artist and a pioneer introducing art into hospitals.
(   ) 7. According to Peter Senior,we can infer that      

A.     modern hospitals have a lot of patients

B.     art is hot appreciated by a large number of people in modern society

C.     patients should be encouraged to learn painting

D.     artists can not find their positions in modern society 

(   ) 8. What does the last paragraph suggest?

A.    The improvement of hospital environment may help the patients recover from illness.

B.     The improvement of hospital environment may be more effective than the medical treatment.

C.     The hard wall of the hospital worsens the patients.

D.    The patients would suffer from no pain at all after they had a longer view onto the garden.

  Many people turn to doctors or self-help books，but they ignore a powerful thing that could help them fight illness;their friends.

  Researchers are only now starting to pay attention to the importance of friendship in health. A 10-year Australian study found that old people have a large circle of friends. A 2007 study showed an increase of nearly 60 percent in the risk(危险)for obesity(肥胖)among people whose friends gained weight. And last year,Harvard researchers reported that strong social ties could improve brain health as we age.

  "In general, the role of friendship in our lives isn't well realized," said Rebecca, a professor at the University of North Carolina. " Friendship has a bigger effect on our psychologi?cal(心理的)health than family relationships.”

  While many friendship studies are about the close relationships of women, some research shows that it can do good to men too. In a six-year study of 736 middle-aged men,having friendships reduces the risk of heart attack. Only smoking was as important a risk factor(因素) as having little social support.

  Exactly why friendship has such a big effect isn't entirely clear. While friends can send a sick person to the hospital or pick up medicine, the advantages go well beyond physical help. Friendship clearly has a big psychological effect. " People with stronger friendships feel like there is someone they can turn to，" said Karen，a doctor. " The message of these studies is that friends make your life better.”

(   ) 1. The three studies in Paragraph 2 show that      

A.     old people need friends the most

B.     friends can help us lose weight

C.     social ties(关系)are connected to health

D.     more friends make us healthier

(   ) 2. What do Rebecca's words in Paragraph 3 mean?

A. Friendship has no effect on people's physical health.

B.     What people need most is friends.

C.     Friendship is more important than family relationship.

D.    The value of friendship hasn't been fully understood.

(   ) 3. The author mentioned smoking in the text to discuss      

A. the cause of heart attack    B. the risk of having no friends

C. smoking is bad for men    D. friends' influence on habits

(   ) 4. What would be the best title of the text?

A.     Friends Are the Best Medicine

B.     Friends Are as Important as a Family

C.     Having Good Friends Leads to a Longer Life

D.     Friendship Makes People Happy

 It was at 6 a. m. that I arrived in the hospital kitchen. "Hi,I'm Janet. " I tried to sound cheerful，although I already knew that it was 1 to work with Rose.

  Rose,a middle-aged woman, stopped what she was doing and 2 me over her glasses. I could tell from her expression that she wasn't 3 to see a student worker.

  "What do you want me to do? 4 the coffee?" Rose  5  and went away. I filled the pot with cold water and began making coffee when Rose suddenly  6  and took over， " That's not the 7 to make coffee. " I was 8 as I just followed the steps our supervisor(视导员) showed us.

  9 I did pleased her. All morning her eyes missed nothing and her words 10 me. Totally tired, I came home late that afternoon. Fighting back 11 ，I thought of my situation alone in my room. Should I see if my supervisor would change my 12   ？But I didn't want to  13   。Then I had the answer―I needed to 14 her.

  Working with Rose the next morning，I 15 her sharp words and did things in her way as much as possible. Things began to 16 over the next few days. She became 17 to me. As I worked with this 18 woman, I listened to her―something no one else had done.

  I never 19 Rose again after that summer, but I still remember her. That summer I learned a 20 that love is the best way to turn an enemy into a friend.
(   ) 1. A. useful    B. interesting C. strange    D. difficult

(   ) 2. A. smiled at    B. shouted at   C. looked at    D. cared about

(   ) 3. A. sad    B. happy    C. eager    D. interested

(   ) 4. A. Start    B. Serve     C. Buy    D. Find

(   ) 5. A. nodded    B. bent     C. spoke    D. stood

(   ) 6. A. agreed    B. decided    C. appeared    D. calmed

(   ) 7. A. time       B. way        C. place    D. student

(   ) 8. A. worried    B. excited    C. bored    D. shocked

(   ) 9. A. Nothing    B. Something    C. Anything    D. Everything

(   ) 10. A. attracted    B. hurt     C. moved    D. taught

(   ) 11. A. kindness    B. worry      C. pride    D. tears

(   ) 12. A. mind       B. project      C. work    D. tool

(   ) 13. A. get down    B. give in      C. go away    D,come up

(   ) 14. A. notice    B. trust      C. show         D. love

(   ) 15. A. enjoyed    B. judged      C. ignored    D. considered

(   ) 16. A. change    B. happen      C. worsen    D. better

(   ) 17. A. helpful    B. friendly     C. angry    D. grateful

(   ) 18. A. lonely    B. young       C. strong    D. kind

(   ) 19. A. refused    B. mentioned     C. saw    D. called

(   ) 20. A. word        B. way        C. story    D. lesson

10. It was      cost the boy a lot of time he ought to have spent on his lessons, (play)

正是玩电脑游戏花费了那个男孩大量本该花在学习上的时间。

9. This is the first time that I      such a great difficulty, (go)

这是我第一次经历这么大的困难。

8. You don't know how terrible it is_____________________________ • (ignore)

你不知道被人忽视有多么糟糕。

7. It is a pity that you didn't       (get)

很遗憾你没有通过考试。