A press report stating that Microsoft has restarted talks to buy Yahoo's search business for 20 billion U. S. dollars. "It has no basis in fact," the San Francisco Chronicle said on Monday.

The Times of London reported on Sunday that the deal under discussion would put former AOL CEO Jonathan Miller and Ross Levinsohn, a former president of Fox Interactive Media, in charge of Yahoo. The report also said executives (管理人员) at both companies had agreed to the broad terms of a deal.

In fact, there are no current talks between the two companies. The Chronicle quoted an executive at one of the firms who requested his name to be kept secret as saying. Furthermore, the 20-billion-dollar price mentioned in the Times of London article for Yahoo's search business appears questionable given that the market capitalization (资本总额) for all of Yahoo is 16 billion dollars, said The Chronicle.

Yahoo and Microsoft had had on-again, off-again talks over several months earlier this year about a 47. 5-billion-dollar takeover, and later a proposal focused only on Yahoo's search business. Discussions regarding both plans collapsed without an agreement.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has said repeatedly that he is no longer interested in buying all of Yahoo, but that he is open to some sort of partnership involving their respective search businesses.

Brad Williams, a Yahoo spokesman, said Sunday "We don't comment on rumors." Frank Shaw, a Microsoft spokesman, declined to comment.

Yahoo's shares have plummeted since Microsoft withdrew its 33-dollar-a-share acquisition offer earlier this year, leaving people to think that discussions would eventually be restarted. Yahoo's shares closed Friday at 11. 51 dollars, nearly one-third of the original offer.

1. From this passage, we can know that ______.

  A. Microsoft has given up buying all of Yahoo but its search business 

  B. Microsoft has already taken over the whole company of Yahoo

  C. the market capitalization for all of Yahoo is over $ 20 billion

  D. the market capitalization for all of Microsoft is only $ 6 billion

2. What is the author trying to convince readers of in the third paragraph?

  A. Yahoo and Microsoft are talking about takeover.

B. Microsoft is buying Yahoo’s search businesses for $ 20 billion.

C. Yahoo would like to sell its search businesses to another company.

D. There are no current talks between Yahoo and Microsoft.

3. What does the underlined word “plummet” in the passage most probably mean?

  A. develop rapidly      B. increase quickly      C. fall quickly     D. keep balanced

4. You can find this passage most probably in ______ .

  A. an entertainment website       B. an economical newspaper

  C. a sports magazine              D. a biological dictionary

A Strange Greeting, a True Feeling Last week I was invited to a doctor’s meeting at the Ruth hospital for incurables. In one of the wards a patient, an old man, got up shakily from his bed and moved towards me. I could see that he hadn't long to   1   , but he came up to me and placed his right foot close mine on the floor.

    “Frank！” I cried in astonishment. He couldn’t   2  , as I knew, but all the time   3   his foot against mine.

    My   4   raced back more than thirty years to the   5   days of 1941, when I was a student in London. The   6   was an air-raid shelter, in which I and about hundred other people slept every night. Two of the regulars were Mrs. West and her son Frank.

      7   wartime problems, we shelter-dwellers got to   8   each other very well. Frank West   9   me because he wasn’t   10  , not even at birth. His mother told me he was 37 then, but he had   11   of a mind than a baby has. His “  12  ” consisted of rough sounds——sounds of pleasure or anger and   13   more. Mrs. West, then about 75, was a strong, capable woman, as she had to be, of course, because Frank   14   on her entirely. He needed all the   15   of a baby.

    One night a policeman came and told Mrs. West that her house had been flattened by a 500-pounder. She   16   nearly everything she owned.

    When that sort of thing happened, the rest of us helped the   17   ones. So before we   18   that morning, I stood beside Frank and   19   my right foot against his. They were about the same size. That night, then, I took a pair of shoes to the shelter for frank. But as soon as he saw me he came running and placed his right foot against mine. After that, his   20   to me was always the same.

1．A．work         B．stay   C．live   D．expect

2．A．answer       B．speak C．smile        D．laugh

3．A．covering     B．moving     C．fighting    D．pressing

4．A．minds        B．memories  C．thoughts   D．brains

5．A．better         B．dark  C．younger          D．old

6．A．cave          B．place C．sight         D．scene

7．A．Discussing        B．Solving    C．Sharing           D．Suffering

8．A．learn from        B．talk to      C．help         D．know

9．A．needed      B．recognized       C．interested        D．encouraged

10．A．normal           B．common   C．unusual           D．quick

11．A．more       B．worse       C．fewer       D．less

12．A．word       B．speech      C．sentence          D．language

13．A．not          B．no     C．something       D．nothing

14．A．fed          B．kept  C．lived        D．depended

15．A．attention         B．control     C．treatment        D．management

16．A．lost         B．needed      C．destroyed        D．left

17．A．troublesome     B．unlucky    C．angry       D．unpopular

18．A．separated        B．went  C．reunited          D．returned

19．A．pushed     B．tried  C．showed           D．measured

20．A．nodding          B．greeting    C．meeting          D．acting

A characteristic of American culture that has become almost a tradition is to respect the self-made man — the man who has risen to the top through his own efforts, usually beginning by working with his hands. While the leader in business or industry or the college professor occupies a higher social position and commands greater respect in the community than the common laborer or even the skilled factory worker, he may take pains to point out that his father started life in America as a farmer or laborer of some sort.

       This attitude toward manual(体力的) labor is now still seen in many aspects of American life. One is invited to dinner at a home that is not only comfortably but even luxuriously (豪华地) furnished and in which there is every evidence of the fact that the family has been able to afford foreign travel, expensive hobbies, and college education for the children; yet the hostess probably will cook the dinner herself, will serve it herself and will wash dishes afterward, furthermore the dinner will not consist merely of something quickly and easily assembled from contents of various cans and a cake or a pie bought at the nearby bakery. On the contrary, the hostess usually takes pride in careful preparation of special dishes. A professional man may talk about washing the car, digging in his flowerbeds, painting the house. His wife may even help with these things, just as he often helps her with the dishwashing. The son who is away at college may wait on table and wash dishes for his living, or during the summer he may work with a construction gang on a highway in order to pay for his education. 

1. From paragraph 1, we can know that in America _________.

A. people tend to have a high opinion of the self-made man

B. people can always rise to the top through their won efforts

C. college professors win great respect from common workers

C. people feel painful to mention their fathers as labors.

2. According to the passage, the hostess cooks dinner herself mainly because _________.

A. servants in American are hard to get

B. she takes pride in what she can do herself

C. she can hardly afford servants

D. It is easy to prepare a meal with canned food

3. The expression “ wait on table” in the second paragraph means “_________”.

A. work in a furniture shop                 B. keep accounts for a bar

C. wait to lay the table                        D. serve customers in a restaurant

4. Which of the following may serve as the best title of the passage?

A. A Respectable Self-made Family             B. American Attitude toward Manual Labor

C. Characteristics of American Culture        D. The Development of Manual Labor

A

Insomnia is the inability to fall asleep or sleep restfully. It is a problem to nearly everyone at some time .A person may be awake for an hour in the middle of the night and then , next morning, feel that he hardly sleep all night Normally, worry about not getting enough sleep is the worst aspect of most insomnia. If insomnia is recurrent, however, it is important to find its causes and try to correct them, with the help of a doctor if necessary.

Any of a large number of simple factors may take it difficult for someone to fall asleep or remain asleep. His matters may be too soft or too hard. If there are too many blankets on a hot night, he may be too warm; if the bedclothes are too light he may feel cold during the night. If it is not dark enough, or too noisy, this may cause difficulty in sleeping. Eating shortly before going to bed also be responsible for insomnia. Stimulating drinks, such as tea or coffee, can also keep people awake.

Inability to fall asleep is sometimes a symptom of emotional or mental disorders. Insomnia may also be caused by pain and, very rarely, it can be a symptom of a physical disease.

The cause of insomnia may be easy to correct. The sufferer should check the mattress, bedclothes and bedroom temperature, and make any necessary changes. An eye mask keeps out the night and ear-plugs shut out sound. He should relax for an hour or two before bedtime, perhaps by reading a book; watching TV, or taking a warm bath. If he wakes during the night he should try turning on the light and reading for a while. Taking warm milk and a biscuit or two may be helpful. Above all, he should try not to worry about sleeplessness when someone is tied enough he nearly always falls asleep.

If necessary, a doctor may prescribe tranquillizers or sleeping pills. Take only the dosage he prescribes; any more is dangerous.

1. According to the writer, insomnia is ______.

[ A ] a rare problem                 [ B ] a sign of illness

[ C ] a common complaint            [ D ] a modern disease

2. People who have difficulty sleeping should sleep in_____.

[ A ] a light room                   [ B ] a dark room

[ C ] a cold room                   [ D ] a warm room

3. Insomnia need’t be taken seriously because_______.

[ A ] people can catch on sleep during the day.

[ B ] many people sleep far too much.

[ C ]it can easily be cured by doctors.

[ D ]it is cured naturally by tiredness.

4. The main cure for insomnia is_____.

[ A ] not to read too much at night

[ B ]not to eat too much for supper

[ C ] not to watch too much television

[ D ] not to get too anxious about sleeping

A Strange Greeting, a True Feeling Last week I was invited to a doctor’s meeting at the Ruth hospital for incurables. In one of the wards a patient, an old man, got up shakily from his bed and moved towards me. I could see that he hadn't long to   1   , but he came up to me and placed his right foot close mine on the floor.

 “Frank！” I cried in astonishment. He couldn’t   2  , as I knew, but all the time   3   his foot against mine.

My   4   raced back more than thirty years to the   5   days of 1941, when I was a student in London. The   6   was an air-raid shelter, in which I and about hundred other people slept every night. Two of the regulars were Mrs. West and her son Frank.

      7   wartime problems, we shelter-dwellers got to   8   each other very well. Frank West   9   me because he wasn’t   10  , not even at birth. His mother told me he was 37 then, but he had   11   of a mind than a baby has. His “  12  ” consisted of rough sounds——sounds of pleasure or anger and   13   more. Mrs. West, then about 75, was a strong, capable woman, as she had to be, of course, because Frank   14   on her entirely. He needed all the   15   of a baby.

One night a policeman came and told Mrs. West that her house had been flattened by a 500-pounder. She   16   nearly everything she owned.

When that sort of thing happened, the rest of us helped the   17   ones. So before we   18   that morning, I stood beside Frank and   19   my right foot against his. They were about the same size. That night, then, I took a pair of shoes to the shelter for frank. But as soon as he saw me he came running and placed his right foot against mine. After that, his   20   to me was always the same.

1．A．work            B．stay            C．live            D．expect

2．A．answer          B．speak         C．smile          D．laugh

3．A．covering        B．moving          C．fighting         D．pressing

4．A．minds         B．memories       C．thoughts        D．brains

5．A．better            B．dark           C．younger            D．old

6．A．cave             B．place          C．sight                  D．scene

7．A．Discussing        B．Solving      C．Sharing             D．Suffering

8．A．learn from         B．talk to        C．help               D．know

9．A．needed            B．recognized  C．interested          D．encouraged

10．A．normal            B．common    C．unusual          D．quick

11．A．more             B．worse        C．fewer                  D．less

12．A．word            B．speech       C．sentence           D．language

13．A．not               B．no          C．something         D．nothing

14．A．fed               B．kept        C．lived             D．depended

15．A．attention           B．control       C．treatment          D．management

16．A．lost               B．needed       C．destroyed          D．left

17．A．troublesome     B．unlucky      C．angry                  D．unpopular

18．A．separated        B．went          C．reunited                 D．returned

19．A．pushed          B．tried        C．showed                 D．measured

20．A．nodding          B．greeting      C．meeting            D．acting