He had travelled thousands of miles in the hope of earning some money，but 18-year-old Lin Kongming never knew danger was waiting for him.

He and six other migrant workers from Fujian Province spent 36 hours in Iraq as international hostages（人质）. But luckily，they were set free last Tuesday morning，unharmed by the people who had taken them hostage.

After hard work by Chinese diplomats（外交官）in the region the Iraqi kidnappers（绑架者）agreed to hand them over to a local religious group.“The friendly relations between the Chinese and Iraqi peoples have played a key role in the release of the hostages,”said Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan. China refused to join the US-led coalition（联军）in the Iraq war.

Since April 4，over 60 hostages from 12 countries，including America，Italy and Japan，have been taken in Iraq. Some have been released, others were killed.

The Iraqi resistance groups have started taking foreigners hostage in an attempt to force the US-led troops out of their country. As a result，many foreigners have left，fearing the situation will get worse. Some nations are also considering removing their troops from Iraq. Thailand has ordered its forces not to leave their camp and may bring them home before September as originally planned. New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark is considering similar action.

But Dan Senor，spokesman for the US-led coalition in Baghdad，said that it would not negotiate（谈判）with “terrorists or kidnappers” to get hostages released.

The seven workers from Fujian were set free mainly because ______.

A. they were too poor to pay anything

B. kidnappers didn’t know they were Chinese

C. China didn’t take sides with the US-led coalition

D. kidnappers were friendly to the Chinese

Why did the Iraqi resistance groups start to take foreigners hostage？

A. To show their anger towards the occupation of foreign troops.

B. To tell the world they would fear nothing.

C. To make foreign armies leave their country.

D. To resist the American troops.

The author mentioned Dan Senor to show the US ______.

A. wouldn’t give in to Iraqi terrorists or kidnappers

B. had enough power to station in Iraq

C. wouldn’t give up unless it could get something

D. had no plan to bring its troops home

The passage mainly tells us ______.

A. the hostage crises in Iraq

B. foreigners were not welcome in Iraq

C. the Chinese hostages were set free

D. keeping away from Iraq is a wise choice

Between the two parts of the concert is an interval, ___the audience can buy ice-cream.

1. A.
   When
2. B.
   Where
3. C.
   that
4. D.
   which

Children lie on couches or sit on floors, nearly hypnotized(迷住) by all kinds of messages coming from the television. This scene has become all too familiar. Increasingly, young children are adopting a watching-TV lifestyle, at s stage in life when activity is important to their growth. Furthermore, family time is being destroyed by too much TV time. Here are some facts you need to know:

   *Research shows that children spend between five and six hours per day watching TV, and they go to bed before having any communication with other family members.

   *Time spent in front of a screen is reducing the amount of time children spend sleeping.

   *The more time a youth spends in front of a screen, the more likely he or she is to be overweight.

   Experts(专家) offer the following advice to parents on how to stop their children from becoming addicted to television:

   *Do not put a TV in a child’s bedroom.

   *Make meal time, family time -----turn off the TV during a family meal time. Better yet, remove the TV from the eating area.

   *Make TV time active time by doing simple exercise during advertisement breaks.

   *Help your kids be clever TV watchers by teaching them to recognize a sales trick in advertisements(广告).

   *Create family memories by planning fun activities instead of always watching TV with your family.

   *_______. Limit your own TV watching to less than two hours per day. The best way to learn is to follow; this is especially true for children.

Which fact is not mentioned(提到) as a result of watching TV in this passage?

   A. Family time has been destroyed.

   B. Children who watch too much TV are often overweight.

   C. Children spend less time sleeping because of watching TV.

   D. Children’s study can be badly influenced if they watch too much TV.

Which of the following is one piece of advice given in this passage?

   A. Parents should teach children to judge TV advertisements.

   B. TV should be removed from homes that have children.

   C. The family should watch TV together while eating.

   D. Parents should not allow children to watch TV.

The sentence in the blank in the last advice should be “_______”.

   A. Be a good role model              B. Limit children’s TV time

   C. TV time should not be over 2 hours.  D. Watching too much TV is bad for children

I began working in journalism(新闻工作)when I was eight. It was my mother’s idea. She wanted me to “make something” of myself, and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition.

With my load of magazines I headed toward Belleville Avenue. The crowds were there. There were two gas stations on the corner of Belleville and Union. For several hours I made myself highly visible, making sure everyone could see me and the heavy black letters on the bag that said THE SATURDAY EVENING POST. When it was suppertime, I walked back home.

“ How many did you sell, my boy?” my mother asked.

“ None.”

“ Where did you go?”

“ The corner of Belleville and Union Avenues.”

“ What did you do?”

“ Stood on the corner waiting for somebody to buy a Saturday Evening Post.”

“ You just stood there?”

“ Didn’t sell a single one.”

“ My God, Russell!”

Uncle Allen put in, “ Well, I’ve decided to take the Post.” I handed him a copy and he paid me a nickle(五分镍币). It was the first nickle I earned.

Afterwards my mother taught me how to be a salesman. I would have to ring doorbells, address adults with self-confidence(自信), and persuade them by saying that no one, no matter how poor, could afford to be without the Saturday Evening Post in the home.

One day, I told my mother I’d changed my mind. I didn’t want to make a success in the magazine business.

“ If you think you can change your mind like this,” she replied, “ you’ll become a good-for-nothing.” She insisted that, as soon as school was over, I should start ringing doorbells, selling magazines. Whenever I said no, she would scold me.

My mother and I had fought this battle almost as long as I could remember. My mother, dissatisfied with my father’s plain workman’s life, determined that I would not grow up like him and his people. But never did she expect that, forty years later, such a successful journalist as me would go back to her husband’s people for true life and love.

Why did the boy start his job young?

  A. He wanted to be famous in the future.

  B. The job was quite easy for him.

  C. His mother had high hopes for him.

  D. The competiton for the job was fierce.

From the dialogue between the boy and his mother, we learn that the mother was _______.

  A. excited B. interested     C. ashamed    D. disappointed

What did the mother do when the boy wanted to give up?

  A. She forced him to continue.       B. She punished him.

  C. She gave him some money.       D. She changed her plan.

What does the underlined phrase “this battle”(last paragraph) refer to?

  A. The war between the boy’s parents.

  B. The arguing between the boy and his mother.

  C. The quarrel between the boy and his customers.

  D. The fight between the boy and his father.

What is the text mainly about?

  A. The early life of a journalist.

  B. The early success of a journalist.

  C. The happy childhood of the writer.

  D. The important role of the writer in his family.