Here’ s an unusual story: a diamond ring

 was recently found in an egg. The    

magician, Liu Qian, discovered it, in front         

of an audience of millions at CCTV’ s Spring

Festival Gala. Liu’ s magic tricks have made the centuries-old art of magic fashionable once again, and made him the hottest magician in China.

As a seasoned young magician from Taiwan, Liu is popular worldwide for his magic shows. Countries he has performed in include the U

nited States, Japan, South Korea and the UK.

 Witnessing something impossible happen right before your eyes is the root of people’ s love for magic.

 Liu is known for his interaction(互动)with his audiences. He has a unique understanding of showmanship(演出技巧).

“It’ s actually thinking rather than one’ s manipulation（操作）skills; that is more important to achieving a successful magic show. We think carefully about how to design the shows creatively, to make them appear more interesting.  ”Liu said.

    Liu Qian’ s success dated back to his childhood. Born in 1976 in Taiwan, he found himself attracted to a magic toy in a shop when he was seven years old. At the age of 12, he won Taiwan’ s Youth Magic Contest, which was judged by the great American magician, David Copperfield.

Yet, Liu never planned on becoming a professional magician. He studied Japanese literature at university and only hoped to be an amateur  (业余的) magician in his spare time. However, his failure to find a proper job after graduation pushed him towards magic as a career.

    To refine his performing skills, he has performed on streets, roads and fields for passers-by, policemen and farmers.

     “Street shows are the biggest challenge for us magicians. We have to deal with unexpected situations and tough crowds, ” Liu said.

1.What does the underlined word  “seasoned ” in Paragraph 2 mean?

A. 季节性的        B. 刚出道的         C. 老练的         D. 职业的

2.The story is about_____.

A. how Liu Qian became China’ s hottest magician

B. why people love magic

C. what magic tricks are

D. how fashionable the magic is

3.People love to watch magic because_____.

A. they can’ t figure out the secret of magic

B. it arouses their curiosity

C. they love watching magicians make the impossible happen

D. it is a centuries-old art

4.Which of the following is the key reason that Liu Qian decided to make magic his career?

A. He was interested in magic when he was little.

B. He had won Taiwan’ s Youth Magic Contest.

C. He became an amateur magician in his spare time.

D. He couldn’ t find an acceptable job after graduation

5. From the story we know that______.

A. Liu Qian competed in many magic competitions

B. Liu Qian often invites audiences to be in his magic show

C. Liu Qian performs on streets in order to increase his fame

D. Liu Qian does street show to make money

“Who is Gogo?” Almost every pupil in Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan and Thailand will tell you: “Gogo is from outer space and is teaching children to speak and read English.”

Gogo has visited Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Thailand and Korea. Now he is in China’s mainland—“Gogo has Adventure with English” has been published by Addison Wesley Longman China Ltd (AWL).

The six level English course, full of exciting stories, educates and delights children at the same time. Gogo learns English from his friends, Tony and Jenny. The children will learn along with Gogo, enjoying all the fun he produces. Gogo has a warm place in every young learner’s heart wherever he goes.

A presentation (介绍) about Gogo was given by Beijing AWL Information Centre last November. All the pupils in Huijia School attended the presentation. A foreign teacher at Huijia later said, “The children were attracted by Gogo after only a 45-minute presentation. They remember a song taught by Gogo seven weeks later. Parents often ask me how they can help their children learn English and now there’s a programme I can direct them to.”

Clive Sawkins, Paul Price-Smiths and Gregg Schroeder worked closely at AWL to make sure that Gogo will become an easily recognized symbol (标志) of learning English wherever English is studied. “Gogo is our baby,” said Gregg. “It is very easy to get children going with Gogo.”

1. What is the passage mainly about?

A. Gogo visits Asian countries.    B. Gogo receives high praise.

C. Children love to learn with Gogo.D. AWL introduces Gogo.

2. It can be learned from the passage that Gogo is       .

A. an English teacher              B. an English boy

C. an English textbook?          D. a character in an English textbook

3. In what way is Gogo a great help to young learners?

A. He teaches them English through songs.

B. He teaches them English through adventure stories.

C. He helps them to remember English words.

D. He makes English lessons full of fun.

That“Monday morning feeling”could be a crushing pain in the chest which leaves you sweating and gasping for breath. Recent research from Germany and Italy shows that heart attacks are more common on Monday mornings and doctors blame the stress of returning to work after the weekend break.

　The risk of having a heart attack on any given day should be one in seven, but a six-year study helped by researchers at the Free University of Berlin of more than 2, 600 Germans showed that the average person had a 20 percent higher chance of having a heart attack on a Monday than on any other day.

　Working Germans are particularly not protected against attack, with a 33 percent higher risk at the beginning of the working week. Non-workers, by comparison, appear to be no more at risk on a Monday than any other day.

　A study of 11, 000 Italians proved 8 a. m. on a Monday morning as the most stressful time for the heart, and both studies showed that Sunday is the least stressful day, with fewest heart attacks in both countries.

　The finding could lead to a better understanding of what is the immediate cause of heart attacks, according to Dr Stefan Willich of the Free University. “We know a lot about long-term risk factors such as smoking and cholesterol（胆固醇）but we don’t know what actually causes heart attacks, so we can’t give clear advice on how to prevent them, ”he said.

　Monday mornings have a double helping of stress for the working body as it makes a rapid change from sleep to activity, and from the relaxing weekend to the pressures of work.

　“When people get up, their blood pressure and heart rate go up and there are hormonal（内分泌）changes in their bodies, ”Willich explained. “All these things can have an unfavorable effect in the blood system and increase the risk of a clot（血凝块）which will cause a heart attack.”

　“When people return to work after a weekend off, the pace of their life changes. They have a higher workload, more stress, more anger and more physical activities,”said Willich.

1.Monday morning feeling, as this passage shows, ________.

2.To protect people from a heart attack, doctors have paid much attention to ________.

3.It can be learned from this passage that the heart attack has something to do with all the following EXCEPT ________.

4.If the researchers give us some advice to avoid Monday morning feeling, what might it be?

Mr Brown was going away for a week. Before he left, he said to his son, "if anyone asks for me, you can tell him that your father has been out for doing something, and will be back in a week, then be sure to ask him to sit down for a cup of tea."

 "OK, Dad," said his son. But he was afraid his son couldn't remember this, he wrote these words down on a piece of paper and gave it to him. His son put it into his small pocket, took it out and looked at it now and then.

 Four days passed, but no one came to see his father. The boy thought that there was no man to come and that the piece of paper was of no more use for him, so he burnt it that evening.

 The next afternoon, someone knocked at the door. The boy opened it. A man was standing at the door and said, "Where is your father?" The boy put his hand into his pocket at once and looked for the piece of paper. He could not find it. He suddenly remembered he had burnt it, so he shouted, "No more."

 The man was very surprised. He asked, "No more? I met your father last week. When did it happen?"

 "Burnt yesterday evening."

1.Mr Brown told his son that _____.

A. he would be away from home for four days

B. he would be back in seven days

C. he would be back in a month

D. he liked a cup of tea

2. Mr Brown wrote the words down on ________.

A. the wall B. the door

C. a piece of paper D. his son's pocket

3. A man came to visit the boy's father on ________.

A. the second day B. the third day C. the fourth day D. the fifth day

4. What was burnt? ___________.

A.     The piece of paper B. Mr Smith C. The visitor D. The boy

American society is not nap (午睡)friendly . In fact , says David Dings , sleep specialist at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine , “There’s even a prohibition (禁止) against admitting we need sleep”. Nobody wants to be caught napping or found asleep at work . To quote a proverb : “Some sleep five hours , nature requires seven , laziness nine and wickedness(淘气的) eleven.”

The way not to fall asleep at work is to take naps when you need them . “We have to totally change our attitude toward napping ,” says Dr. William Dement of Stanford University , the godfather of sleep research .

Last year a national commission led by Dement identified(发现) an “American sleep debt” which one member said was as important as the national debt . The commission was concerned about the dangers of sleepiness : people causing industrial accidents or falling asleep while driving . This may be why we have a new sleep policy in the White House . According to recent reports , President Clinton is trying to take a half---hour snooze (瞌睡) every afternoon .

About 60 percent of American adults nap when given the opportunity . We seem to have “a mid afternoon quiet phase ,” also called “a secondary sleep gate .” Sleeping 15 minutes to two hours in the early afternoon can reduce stress and make us refreshed . Clearly , we were born to nap .

We superstars of snooze don’t nap to replace lost shut--eye or to prepare for a night shift . Rather , we “snack” on sleep ,whenever , wherever and at whatever time we feel like it . I myself have napped in buses , cars , planes and on boats ; on floors and beds ;and in libraries ,  offices and museums .

1.The research done by the Dement Commission shows that Americans     .

2.The purpose of this article is to     .

1. warn us of the wickedness of napping 

B. explain the danger of sleepiness

C. discuss the side effects of napping

D. convince the reader of the necessity of napping

3.The “American sleep debt”(Line 1 , Para .3) is the result of      .

1. the traditional misconception the Americans have about sleep
2. the new sleep policy of the Clinton Administration
3. the rapid development of American industry
4. the Americans’ worry about the danger of sleepiness

4.The second sentence of the last paragraph tells us that it is      .

1. preferable to have a sound sleep before a night shift
2. good practice to eat something light before we go to bed
3. essential (基本的) to make up for lost sleep
4. natural to take a nap whenever we feel the need for it