—Sorry, I’m late for work.

—Is that _______ you got stuck in a traffic jam again?

A. why　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. how　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. because　　　　　　　　　 D. when

　The way people hold to the belief that a fun - filled, pain free life equals happiness actually reduces their chances of ever attaining real happiness. If fun and pleasure are equal to happiness then pain must be equal to unhappiness. But in fact, the opposite is true: more often than not things that lead to happiness involve some pain.

　　As a result, many people avoid the very attempts that are the source of true happiness. They fear the pain inevitably brought by such things as marriage, raising children, professional achievement, religious commitment （预担的义务）, self - improvement.

　　Ask a bachelor（单身汉） why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying. If he is honest he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment. For commitment is in fact quite painful. The single life is filled with fun, adventure, excitement. Marriage has such moments, but they are not its most distinguishing features.

　　Couples with infant children are lucky to get a whole night’s sleep or a three - day vacation. I don’t know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe raising children. But couples who decide not to have children never know the joys of watching a child grow up or of playing with a grandchild.

　　Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations. It liberates time: now we can devote more hours to activities that can genuinely increase our happiness. It liberates money: buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless. And it liberates us from envy: we now understand that all those who are always having so much fun actually may not be happy at all.

According to the author, a bachelor resists marriage chiefly because ________ .

　　A. he is reluctant to take on family responsiblilities

　　B. he believes that life will be more cheerful if he remains single

　　C. he finds more fun in dating than in marriage

　　D. he fears it will put an end to all his fun adventure and excitement

　Raising children, in the author’s opinion is ________ .

　　A. a moral duty

　　B. a thankless job

　　C. a rewarding task

　　D. a source of inevitable pain

From the last paragraph, we learn that envy sometimes stems from ________ .

　　A. hatred　　　　　　　　　　　　B. misunderstanding

　　C. prejudice　　　　　　　　　　　D. ignorance

To understand what true happiness is one must ________ .

　　A. have as much fun as possible during one’s lifetime

　　B. make every effort to liberate oneself from pain

　　C. put up with pain under all circumstances

　　D. be able to distinguish happiness from fun

　　The big Town Hall clock was striking midnight when Frank began to cross the bridge. The dark night air was cold and slightly wet, and the street lamp gave little light.

　　Frank was anxious to get home and his footsteps rang loudly on the pavement（人行道）. When he reached the middle of the bridge he thought he could hear someone coming near behind him. He looked back but could see no one. However, the sound continued and Frank began to walk more quickly. Then he slowed down again, feeling shame at having acted so foolishly. There was nothing to fear in a town as quiet as this.

　　Just then, he heard short, quick steps closely behind him. By the time he reached the other side of the bridge, he could almost feel someone at his heels（脚后跟）. He turned round and there stood a man in a large overcoat. A hat pulled down over his eyes and very little of his face could be seen. Frank said something about the weather, trying to sound friendly and calm. The man did not answer but asked rudely where Oakfield House was. Frank pointed to a big house in the distance and the stranger continued his way.

　　Then Frank wondered why the stranger had wanted to find Oakfield House at such an hour.

　　He knew that the people who lived there were very rich. Almost without realizing what he was doing, he began following the stranger quickly. Then the man was soon outside the house and Frank saw him look up at the window. A light was still on and the man waited until it went out. When about half an hour had passed, Frank saw him climb noiselessly over the wall and heard him drop on the ground at the other side.

　　Now Frank realized what was going to happen. He walked quickly and silently across the street towards a telephone box on the comer.

(1) Frank was feeling shame at _________.

[　　]

A．having walked so quickly

B．having made a big noise at midnight

C．having been afraid

D．having been so anxious to go home

(2) Frank said something about the weather to the stranger because _____.

[　　]

A．he wanted to know what the weather would be the next day

B．he wanted to start a conversation

C．he was a very friendly person

D．he wanted to hide his nervousness

(3) The man dressed in a large overcoat was _________.

[　　]

A．very friendly

B．not polite at all

C．a visitor to Oakfield House

D．a police officer

(4) What did Frank think was going to happen？

[　　]

A．Someone was going to rob the house.

B．The stranger would get himself hurt.

C．The stranger would spend the night in the Oakfield House.

D．Somebody was going to make a telephone call.

阅读理解

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A，B，C和D）中选出最佳选项。

　　The producer appeared behind the recording studio window and smiled and waved to me like an old friend. And after I had read out a little test piece, he said,“That's fine, wonderful, Your voice is perfect, lovely, wonderful.”Then I read a longer passage in English about the delights of touring in Britain, and another about the delights of visiting

　　London, and both were“excellent”and“just right”, and I began to consider a job in radio. To be honest, I was fairly sure of myself though I lacked experience. Across the room in the Hamburg News Agency where we both worked, a friend named Peter Turner called to me, “I say, Mike, a man on the phone here wants someone to do a recording in English, and I'm booked up. Would you read something to him in English as a sort of test?”I did, and they said,“Perfect, lovely, wonderful…”Would I cane round?

　　It was after reading their passage in English in the studio that they noticed my vowel pronunciations were not altogether King's English, or even Prince Philip's, there was a larger silence than usual, then the voice said,“Fine, lovely, but you said the word ‘castle’with a short ‘a’. Could we have the passage again, please? But this time say ‘carsele’.”

　　This was easy. But then he noticed other differences in my pronunciation.

　　“It's my northern English accent,”I said, angry, because I had to apologize for it.

　　“Oh, I see…but Mr. Jamieson, we'll have to get it right, I'm afraid. The recording is for teaching English to German schoolchildren, and it must be spoken in the way it is taught in German schools.”

　　I read the passage again and again. But of course you cannot change the pronunciation of a lifetime in an hour. The studio men were in the state of having lost hope and underlined the vowels which caused me to feel angry, so that I'd remember them. Few, really. But because I had to concentrate(集中) on them, I made a lot of mistakes in my reading. Everyone got somewhat angry, so we all went out for a beer.

1．Broadcasting did not make Mike nervous ________.

[　　]

A．although he had never done any before

B．because he worked in a news agency

C．although the passage was long

D．because he was used to talking on the phone

2．What happened after Mike had done the recording a second time?

[　　]

A．They said nothing.

B．They could not understand one of the words.

C．They began to discuss Prince Philip's English.

D．They made him repeat it.

3．They wanted Mike to change his pronunciation because ________.

[　　]

A．German schoolchildren didn't like a northern accent

B．German schoolchildren were taught through recordings

C．it was different from the English taught in German schools

D．it was different from the English spoken in Germany

4．Why did Mike's reading of the passage get worse?

[　　]

A．He could not learn so many new sounds.

B．He was trying hard to get certain sounds right.

C．He needed a drink to clear his throat.

D．He was trying to do the recording in an hour.

Several different stories are told about the origin of Saint Valentine’s Day.One legend dates as far back as the days of the Roman Empire.According to the story,Claudius,the Emperor of Rome,wanted to increase the size of his army.He knew that it would be easier to get young men who were not married to join.Therefore he made a rule that no young man could marry until he had served a certain number of years in the army.

A priest(牧师) named Valentine broke the rule and secretly married a great many young people.Finally,Claudius found out about Valentine and put the priest in prison,where he remained until his death on February 14.

After his death,Valentine was made a saint(圣人),and the day of his death was named Saint Valentine’s Day.It became the custom for lovers to send each other message on this day.Now Saint Valentine’s Day is a time for people to send one another greeting of many kinds.

February 14,Valentine’s Day,is sweethearts’ day,on which people in love with each other express their tender(温柔的) emotions.

People sometimes put their love message in a heartshaped box of chocolates,or a bunch of flowers tied with red ribbons(带子).Words of letters may be written on the flower covered card,or something else.Whatever the form may be,the message is almost the same：”Will you be my Valentine?”

1.Valentine was put in prison because 　　　.

A.he secretly got married　　　　　　　　 B.he didn’t serve in the army

C.he married many young people secretly　　 D.he broke the laws

2.According to the rule,　　 .

A.no young men could get married unless they were old enough

B.young men could marry if they served in the army for several years

C.no one could get married without the emperor’s permission

D.young men could marry only in the army

3.This passage mainly tells us about 　　　.

A.how Valentine died　　　　　　　　 B.the Emperor of Rome

C.how Valentine’s Day is celebrated　　　　 D.the origin Valentine’s Day

4.February 14 is chosen as Valentine’s Day because 　　　.

A.lovers express their tender emotions on this day

B.people want to remember Valentine

C.people send one another greetings of many kinds on this day

D.people want to fix a date for lovers to express their emotionse