I made a pledge (誓言) to myself on the way down to the vacation beach cottage. For two weeks I would try to be a loving husband and father. Totally loving. No ifs, ands or buts.

The idea had come to me as I listened to a talk on my car radio. The speaker was quoting a Biblical（圣经的）passage about husbands being thoughtful of their wives. Then he went on to say, “Love is an act of will. A person can choose to love.” To myself, I had to admit that I had been a selfish husband. Well, for two weeks that would change.

And it did. Right from the moment I kissed Evelyn at the door and said, “That new yellow sweater looks great on you.”

“Oh, Tom, you noticed,” she said, surprised and pleased. Maybe a little puzzled.

After the long drive, I wanted to sit and read. Evelyn suggested a walk on the beach. I started to refuse, but then I thought, “Evelyn’s been alone here with the kids all week and now she wants to be alone with me.” We walked on the beach while the children flew their kites.

So it went. Two weeks of not calling the Wall Street firm where I am a director; a visit to the shell museum though I usually hate museums. Relaxed and happy, that's how the whole vacation passed. I made a new pledge to keep on remembering to choose love.

There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment, however. Evelyn and I still laugh about it today. On the last night at our cottage, preparing for bed, Evelyn stared at me with the saddest expression.

“What’s the matter?” I asked her. k*s5u

“Tom,” she said in a voice filled with distress (悲痛), “do you know something I don’t?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well…that checkup（体检）I had several weeks ago…our doctor…did he tell you something about me？Tom, you’ve been so good to me…am I dying?”

It took a moment for it all to sink in. Then I burst out laughing.

“No, honey,” I said, wrapping her in my arms. “You’re not dying; I’m just starting to live.”

1.

 From the story we may infer that Tom drove to the beach cottage __________.

A. with his family   B. with Evelyn  C. alone            D. with his children

2.

During the two weeks on the beach, Tom showed more love to his wife because __________.

A. she looked lovely in her new clothes

B. he had made a lot of money in his Wall Street firm

C. he was determined to be a good husband

D. she was seriously ill

3.

The author says, “There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment.” What was the one thing that went wrong?

A. He praised her sweater, which puzzled her.   

B. She insisted on visiting a museum, which he hated.

C. He knew something about her illness but didn’t tell her.

D. He was so good to her that she thought she must be dying.

4.

By saying “I’m just starting to live,” Tom means that __________.

A. he is just beginning to understand the real meaning of life

B. he is just beginning to enjoy life as a loving husband

C. he lived an unhappy life before and is now starting to change

D. he is beginning to feel regret for what he did to his wife before

Thousands of years ago, birthdays were considered special days. On birthdays, the bad spirits were able to harm you and change your life. It was believed that the only way to solve the problem was to have your friends and family around you, so that good wishes and presents would keep the bad spirits away. Also, noisemakers were thought to be used at parties as a way of scaring away the evil spirits.

The custom of lighting candles was created by people believing that the gods lived in the sky. By lighting candles and torches, they were sending a signal or prayer to the gods, so they could be answered. Blowing out the candles and making a wish were thought to be another way of sending a signal or a message.

This is how the way we celebrate our birthdays came about. But different cultures celebrate in different ways.

The birthday story in the Bible（圣经） that we know best is about the birth of the Christ in Bethlehem（地名：伯利恒）. For nearly 2000 years since that day, the Christian world has been honoring this birth. The day many Englishmen celebrate is, of course, Christmas. There are other references to birthday parties. King Pharaoh celebrated his birthday by making a feast for his court followers. That was over 4000 years ago. The story of King Herod tells that on his birthday he made a supper for his lords, high captains and other special friends in Galilee (地名：加利利).

1. According to the passage, good wishes and presents given by one’s friends and family on his birthday can _____________________.

A. cheer him up                           B. prove that he’s a popular person

C. bring him a big fortune                   D. push bad spirits away

2. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A. The custom of lighting candles originated with the gods.

B. The gods celebrate their birthdays by lighting candles.

C. People send messages to the gods by lighting or blowing out the candles.

D. The gods will help people realize their dreams on their birthdays.

3. The two ancient kings’ ways of celebrating their birthdays show__________________.

A. how great the two kings were

B. how different cultures celebrate in different ways

C. the two kings’ excellent cooking skills

D. that their court followers were awarded the special honors

4. The passage is mainly about __________________.

A. the functions of the noises made on birthdays.

B. how to scare away the bad spirits on birthdays

C. the origin of a famous day Christmas

D. how birthdays came about

I made a pledge (发誓) to myself on the way down to the vacation beach cottage. For two weeks I would try to be a loving husband and father. Totally loving .  No ifs, ands or buts.

The idea had come to me as I listened to a talk on my car radio. The speaker was quoting (引用) a Biblical (圣经的) passage about husbands being thoughtful（体贴的） of their wives. Then he went on to say," Love is an act of will. A person can choose to love." To myself, I had to admit that I had been a selfish husband. Well , for  two weeks that would change.

And it did. Right from the moment I kissed Evelyn at the door and said," That new yellow sweater looks great on you."

"Oh, Tom, you noticed," she said, surprised and pleased, maybe a little puzzled.

After the long drive, I wanted to sit and read. Evelyn suggested a walk on the beach. I started to refuse, but then I thought, "Evelyn's been alone here with the kids all the week and now she wants to stay with me. " We walked on the beach while the children flew their kites.

So it went. Two weeks of not calling the Wall Street firm where I am a director; a visit to the shell museum though I usually hate museums. Relaxed and happy, that's how the whole vacation passed, I made a new pledge to keep on remembering to choose love. There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment, however. Evelyn and I still laugh about it today. Last night at our cottage, preparing for bed, Evelyn stared at me with the saddest expression.

“What’s the matter?” I asked her.

“ Tom ,” se said in a voice filled with distress, “ do you know something I don’t?”

"What do you mean?"

"Well...that checkup(体检) I had several weeks ago...our doctor...did he tell you something about me? Tom , you've been so good to me... am I dying?"

It took a moment for it all to sink in. Then I burst out laughing.

"No, honey," I said, wrapping her in my arms. "You're not dying; I'm just staring to live."

1.In the first paragraph, "No ifs, ands or buts" probably means___.

A. unnecessarily     B. unexpectedly    C.   impossibly    D. unconditionally

2.From the story we may infer that Tom went to the beach cottage___.

A. with his family    B. with Evelyn     C. alone            D. with his children

3.During the two weeks on the beach, Tom showed more love to his wife because___.

A. she looked lovely in her new clothes

B. he had made a lot of money in Wall Street

C. he was determined to be a good husband

D. she was seriously ill

4.The underlined words "one thing" in the passage refer to the fact that___.

A. he praised her sweater, which puzzled her

B. she insisted on visiting a museum, which he hated

C. he knew something about her illness but didn't tell her

D. he was so good to her that she thought she must be dying

5.By saying "I'm just starting to live", Tom means that___.

A. he is just beginning to understand the real meaning of life

B. he is just beginning to enjoy his life as a loving husband

C. he lived an unhappy life before and is now starting to change

D. he is beginning to feel regretful for what he did to his wife

下面文章中有5处需要添加小标题。请从以下选项（A、B、C、 D、E 和 F）中选出符合各段意思的小标题，并在答题纸上将相应选项的标号涂黑。选项中有一项是多余选项。

A. Lack of stone images also reflects religious belief.

B. Art is a good means to know about people’s faith.

C. Artists express their feelings and opinions in their works.

D. People know more about our culture through learning art history.

E. Art is by all means relevant to history.

F. Art history provides information of different places and people.

1.____________________________

A study of art history might be a good way to learn more about a culture than it is possible to learn in general history classes. Most typical history courses concentrate on politics, economics and war. But art history focuses on much more than this because art reflects not only the political values of a people, but also religious beliefs, emotions, and psychology.

2.____________________________

In addition, information about the daily activities of our ancestors---or of people very different from our own---can be provided by art. In short, art expresses the essential qualities of a time and a place, and a study of it clearly offers us a deeper understanding than what can be found in most history books.

3.____________________________

In history books, objective information about the political life of a country is presented; that is, facts about politics are given, but opinions are not expressed. Art, on the other hand, is subjective: it reflects emotions and opinions. The great Spanish painter Francisco Goya was perhaps the first truly “political” artist. In his well-known painting The Third of May 1808, he criticized the Spanish government for its misuse of power over people. Over a hundred years later, symbolic images were used in Pablo Picasso’s Guernica to express the horror of war. Meanwhile, on another continent, the powerful paintings of Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueiros---as well as the works of Alfredo Ramos Martins---depicted（描述）these Mexican artists’ deep anger and sadness about social problems.

4.____________________________

In the same way, art can reflect a culture’s religious beliefs. For hundreds of years in Europe, religious art was almost the only type of art that existed. Churches and other religious buildings were filled with paintings that depicted people and stories from the Bible. Although most people couldn’t read, they could still understand biblical（圣经的）stories in the pictures on church walls.

5.____________________________

By contrast, one of the main characteristics of art in the Middle East was (and still is) its absence of human and animal images. This shows the Islamic belief that statues are unholy. Something else can be more religiously symbolic in history.

下面文章中有5处需要添加小标题。请从以下选项（A、B、C、 D、E 和 F）中选出符合各段意思的小标题，并在答题纸上将相应选项的标号涂黑。选项中有一项是多余选项。
A. Lack of stone images also reflects religious belief.
B. Art is a good means to know about people’s faith.
C. Artists express their feelings and opinions in their works.
D. People know more about our culture through learning art history.
E. Art is by all means relevant to history.
F. Art history provides information of different places and people.
【小题1】____________________________
A study of art history might be a good way to learn more about a culture than it is possible to learn in general history classes. Most typical history courses concentrate on politics, economics and war. But art history focuses on much more than this because art reflects not only the political values of a people, but also religious beliefs, emotions, and psychology.
【小题2】____________________________
In addition, information about the daily activities of our ancestors---or of people very different from our own---can be provided by art. In short, art expresses the essential qualities of a time and a place, and a study of it clearly offers us a deeper understanding than what can be found in most history books.
【小题3】____________________________
In history books, objective information about the political life of a country is presented; that is, facts about politics are given, but opinions are not expressed. Art, on the other hand, is subjective: it reflects emotions and opinions. The great Spanish painter Francisco Goya was perhaps the first truly “political” artist. In his well-known painting The Third of May 1808, he criticized the Spanish government for its misuse of power over people. Over a hundred years later, symbolic images were used in Pablo Picasso’s Guernica to express the horror of war. Meanwhile, on another continent, the powerful paintings of Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueiros---as well as the works of Alfredo Ramos Martins---depicted（描述）these Mexican artists’ deep anger and sadness about social problems.
【小题4】____________________________
In the same way, art can reflect a culture’s religious beliefs. For hundreds of years in Europe, religious art was almost the only type of art that existed. Churches and other religious buildings were filled with paintings that depicted people and stories from the Bible. Although most people couldn’t read, they could still understand biblical（圣经的）stories in the pictures on church walls.
【小题5】____________________________
By contrast, one of the main characteristics of art in the Middle East was (and still is) its absence of human and animal images. This shows the Islamic belief that statues are unholy. Something else can be more religiously symbolic in history.