本文介绍了美国邮政业的发展现状，是属于文化背景知识方面的选材．在高考试卷阅读理解题中有介绍美国飞机、地铁业发展现状的背景材料，这是极力提倡的选材，平时应多看这方面的原文材料，以扩展自己的知识水平．

　　Every town in the United Sates has a post office. Some are very small, and you may also find them in the corner of a shop. Others are large buildings. They are open five days a week and Saturday mornings. From Monday through Friday they are usually open from 8:30 to 4:30.

　　If you know how much the postage(邮资) is for your letter, you can buy stamps at any window. In some post offices you can buy stamps from machines. Stamps are sold at many different prices, from one cent(美分) to many dollars. 1f you are not sure how much postage is for your letter, you may ask the man or the woman in the post office for help. He or she will give you the stamps you need. If you are sending your letters far away, you should use airmail envelopes(航空信封). Remember that postage will be more expensive for a letter to be sent outside the country.

　　At a post office you can also buy postcards. A postcard is cheaper than a letter. Usually the price of postage for a postcard is about half that of a letter. The postcards that you buy at a post office do not have pictures. However, also they are not to be sent outside the country.

　　Letters are an easy and cheap way to keep in touch with people in many different countries.

1．The passage tells us that we can find ________ easily in the United States of America.

[　　]

2．The post offices in the United States are open ________.

[　　]

3．If you are not sure how much postage is for your letter, you can ________.

[　　]

A．go and buy stamps from the machine in the post office

B．send a cheap postcard instead of your letter

C．get in touch with somebody you know in the post office

D．ask the man or the woman in the post office for help

4．The price of postage for ________ is more expensive.

[　　]

A．a beautiful postcard

B．a letter written on envelope

C．a letter by airmail

D．a postcard with pictures

5．The passage tells us something about ________ in the USA.

[　　]

Whenever the sun dropped and the blue sky came up, my father and I used to climb the mountain near my house. Walking together, my father and I used to have a lot of conversations through which I learned lessons from his experiences. He always told me, “You should have goals like climbing the mountain.” Without the mountain-climbing that we both enjoyed, we couldn’t have enough time to spend together because my father was very busy. I really got a lot from the mountain-climbing. It gave me time to talk with my father and to be in deep thought as well as develop my patience.

Once we climbed a very high mountain. It was so challenging for me because I was only ten years old. During the first few hours of climbing, I enjoyed the flowers and trees, and the birds’ singing. But as time passed, I got a pain in both of my legs. I wanted to quit climbing, but my father said to me, “You can always see a beautiful sky at the top of the mountain, but you can’t see it before you reach the top. Only there can you see all of the nice things, which is just like your life.”

At that time, I was too young to understand his words. But later after that, I got to know the meaning of hope in life. I found myself standing at the top of the mountain, and the sky was as clear as crystal.

1. The passage tells us that mountain-climbing was ______ for the father and the son.

   A. hard             B. enjoyable            C. painful            D. comfortable

2. The underlined word “crystal” in the passage means _______.

A. 岩石            B. 火焰               C. 水晶              D.寒冰

3. Which of the following is the closest in meaning to the father’s words in the second paragraph?

A. You will get all you need at the top of the mountain.

B. The sky is always as clear as crystal.

C. You can find life is full of nice things.

D. Never give up half-way.

4. We can infer(推断) from the last paragraph that ______.

A. the writer was very successful in his life[来源:Z*xx*k.Com]

B. the writer reached the top of the mountain

C. though the writer was young, he could understand his father

D. the writer used to stop half-way when he climbed the mountain

5. The best title for the passage is ______.

A. Reaching the Top of the Mountain            

B. Standing at the Top of the Mountain

C. Conversations between Father and Son        

D. How to Get to the Top of the Mountain

“Last week was Road Safety Week at Jason’s school. All the students had to take part in a talk on road safety which was given by a police officer. The following is what the police officer said. ”“Most traffic accidents shouldn’t happen. They happen because people are careless. A frequent  cause of traffic accidents is speed. Some people drive too quickly. This means that if they have to stop suddenly, they cannot stop quickly enough to avoid （避免）hitting other vehicles （车辆）or people. You need to remember this when you are crossing the street or walking along the sidewalk. ”

“It’s not only drivers who cause accidents, however. People on foot－pedestrians, and bicycle riders often cause accidents, too. Pedestrians sometimes walk out into the street without looking. You should always look on both sides before stepping into the street. ” “Do any of you ride a bike? Bicycle riders can cause accidents by changing directions suddenly or without warning other road users. Before you turn left, for example, you should check behind you to make sure there aren’t any cars, trucks or buses coming. You should show with your left hand to tell that you want to turn left. You should not turn until the street is clear. ”

“The rules of the road are very simple. If we learn them and obey （遵守）them, we should not have accidents any more. ”

1.The main idea of the story is _______.

A. obeying the rules of the road can keep you from having accidents

B. it was Road Safety Week at Jason’s school

C. it’s not only drivers who cause traffic accidents

D. some people have accidents because they drive too quickly

2.Why do most traffic accidents happen?

A. Because people stop their cars suddenly.

B. Because people don’t know the rules.

C. Because people don’t care if they have an accident.

D. Because people are careless.

3.How can bicycle riders cause accidents?

A. By crossing the road without warning other road users.

B. By turning suddenly or without warning other road users.

C. By making sure there aren’t any cars coming.

D. By showing suddenly or without warning other road users.

4.The word “frequent”in the passage means ____ in Chinese.

A. 频繁的   B. 偶尔的   C. 所有的   D. 罕见的

5.Which of the following is the best title of this passage?

A. Road Safety Week      B. A Talk on Safety

C. Safety First           D. Safety and Accidents

1. —What did you do last night?

—I went to the c_____ with my friends. Hero was on.

2.If you want to go to other countries, you need to have a p_____.

3. Please speak quietly, the baby is a_____.

4.We came to r_____ that happiness is the most important thing in our life and work as we grow up.

5. He faced his illness with great c_____.

--- How ________ milk do you need to pour into the blender? --- Two glasses of, please.

     A. many         B. much         C. about            often