The Great Fire of London started in the very early hours of 2 September, 1666. In four days it destroyed more than three-quarters of the old city, where most of the houses were wooden and close together. Over one hundred people became homeless, but only a few lost their lives.

The fire started on Sunday morning in the house of the King’s baker (面包师) in Pudding Lane. The baker, with his wife and family, was able to get out through a window into the roof. A strong wind blew the fire from the bakery (面包房) into a small hotel next door. Then it spread quickly into Thames Street. That was the beginning.

By eight o’clock three hundred houses were on fire. On Monday nearly a kilometer of the city was burning along the River Thames. Tuesday was the worst day. The fire destroyed many well-known buildings, old St Paul’s and the Guildhall among them.

Samuel Pepys, the famous writer, wrote about the fire, “People threw their things into the river. Many poor people stayed in their houses until the last moment. Birds fell out of the air because of the heat .”

The fire stopped only when the King finally ordered people to destroy hundreds of buildings in the path of the fire. With nothing left to burn, the fire became weak and finally died out.

After the fire, Christopher Wren, the architect (建筑师), wanted a city with wider streets and fine new houses of stone. In fact, the streets are still narrow, but he did build more than fifty churches, among them the mew St Paul’s

The fire caused great pain and loss, but after it London was a better place: a city for the future and not just of the past.

From the passage, we can learn that the fire began in ________.

A. a hotel　　　           B. the palace　　        C. Pudding Lane　　 D. Thames Street

The underlined word “family” in the second paragraph means ________.

A. wife and husband　　      B. wife and children　   C. home                  D. children

It seems that the writer of the text was most sorry for the fact that ________.

A. many famous buildings were destroyed

B. some people lost their lives

C. the birds in the sky were killed by the fire

D. the King’s bakery was burned down

Why did the writer cite (引用) Samuel Pepys?

A. Because Pepys was among those putting out the fire.

B. Because Pepys also wrote about the fire.

C. Because he wanted to give the reader a clearer picture of the fire.

D. Because he wanted to show that poor people suffered most.

How was the fire put out according to the text?

A. The King and his soldiers came to help.

B. Houses standing in the direction of the fire were pulled down.

C. All the wooden houses in the city were destroyed.

D. People managed to get enough water from the river.

Here is the Eight O’clock News.

…

Chinese people spent about 120 billion yuan during the first three days of the May Golden Week last year. This year it has increased to 140 billion yuan.

The children of Beijing No.2 Middle School sang with students from Toronto in Canada to celebrate the 20th anniversary. They had been sister schools since 1986. They spent about two weeks together in Beijing. They visited the Great Wall and the Summer Palace. They took a lot of photos in Beihai Park.

Have you ever got tired of heavy shopping bags? A new shopping assistant robot which was invented by a Japanese company could be the answer. The helpful robot can follow you around and carry several bags. The robot was tested at a shopping center in February 2006.

About 500 people from different countries were in the 2006 “Rock Paper Scissors (剪刀)” World Match in Canada. This event was founded in 1842. It is said that playing this game is fun, and also a good way to solve problems among people.

…

And now it’s time for Morning Music.

1.The students from Canada and Beijing No. 2 Middle School didn’t _________.

A．take photos                            B．visit places of interest

C．sing songs                             D．have a football match

2.Which of the following is NOT talked about in the news?

A．The robot can help with shopping bags.

B．A Japanese company invented the robot.

C．The robot was tested at a shopping centre.

D．There are such robots in people’s homes now.

3.The underlined word “anniversary” means_________.

A．birthday

B．yearly return of the date of an event

C．university

D．the new beginning of something important

4.Which of the following is a game?

A．Shopping assistant robot.                 B．May Golden Week.

C．Rock Paper Scissors.                     D．A visit to the school.

O. Henry was a pen name used by an American writer for short stories. His 36 name was William Sydney Porter. He was born in North Carolina in 1862. As a young boy he lived an exciting life. He did not go to school for very long, 37 he managed to 38 himself everything he needed to know. When he was about 20 years old, O. Henry 39 to Texas, where he tried different 40. He first worked on a newspaper, and then had a job in a bank. When some money went missing from the bank, O. Henry was believed to have 41 it. Because of that, he was sent to 42. During the three years in prison, he learned to 43 short stories. After he got out of prison, he went to New York and 44 writing. He wrote mostly about New York and the life of the poor there.

 Most of O. Henry's 45 are set in his own time, the early years of the 20th century. Many take place in New York City, and deal for the most part with ordinary 46: clerks, policemen, waitresses. O. Henry's short stories are well known 47 their wit, wordplay, warm characterization and clever twist endings. And his stories were 48 more playful and optimistic. People like his stories, 49 simple as the tales were, they would finish with a sudden change at the 50, to the reader's surprise.

1.  

A. real            B. middle           C. first               D.last

2.

 A. or             B.and               C. for                 D. but

3.

 A. learn          B.teach             C. allow               D. turn

4.

A. went            B. lived             C. stayed             D.left

5.

 A. stories         B. books             C. banks              D. jobs

6.

A. defended        B. stolen             C. preserved         D. reacted

7.  

A.prison           B.homeland         C. neighbourhood        D. jungle

8.

 A.read            B. write              C. tell                 D.take

9.

A. liked           B. believed          C. continued            D.stopped

10.

A. families        B.stories             C.fantasies             D. deeds

11.  

A.things           B. writers            C. people              D. readers

12.  

A. like            B. as                 C. to                  D. for

13.  

A.very             B.less                C. so                  D. much

14.

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

15.

A. end             B. last               C. first               D. beginning

　　Trudy, an American girl, tried swimming across the English Channel. That was August 6,1962. Her father had 1 her two things. One was not to pull her out of the water 2 she asked. The other was to give her a red sports 3 if she made it.

　　In gay spirits Trudy 4 out, swimming strongly. All the swimmers started at 7:09 in the morning. Her father and trainer were 5 along in a boat beside her.

　　At ten o'clock, rain began falling. At midday, Trudy trod (踩) water while 6 and eating a chicken leg. Then she started swimming again. The wind was 7 and the sea became rougher.

　　Late 8 the wind became even worse. The trainer decided it was 9 trying to finish. He called to Trudy to 10 .“No human being could do it in this 11 ,” he said,“It's stupid to go on.”

　　However, her father shouted,“Don't grab (抓住) her. Let her 12 .”

　　At seven o'clock the tides turned 13 her. It was more difficult to move ahead. But Trudy still swam on. She 14 victory was possible now, for the 15 coast was in sight.

　　It was getting dark. A sound could be heard over the 16 ; hundreds of car horns (喇叭) were cheering her on. With the remaining 17 , she finished the last 200 yards. At 18 p.m., Trudy got out of water. She had swum some 35 miles in 19 the 21-mile-wide Channel, 20 a strong storm. But she had made it in 14 hours and 30 minutes.

　　“Well, Pop,” she said to her father,“I guess I get my car this time, don't I?”

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阅读理解
A
At three a.m., Jack Mills was sitting at the controls of the mail train. The train was made up of 13 cars. At the end of the train, 71 mailmen sat sorting the mail. Inside the second car, there were only five mailmen and 128 bags full of five-pound notes. This train had run more than 100 years without being robbed(抢劫). At three minutes past three, Mills and his helper, David Whitby, saw a yellow warning light. They slowed the train, and then stopped. Whitby went to the telephone beside the track. It was out of order. Then he saw a man moving between the second and the third cars. Before Whitby cjould give a warning, he was knocked down by two men. Mills’ cars with all the mailmen had been disconnected by the robbers. At the bridge, the bags of money were unloaded from the train and thrown into waiting trucks. One of the robbers who obviously knew the schedules(时刻表) of all the trains kept looking at his watch. At 3:45 he said, “That will have to be enough.” The robbers drove away with more than 2,500,000 pounds.
1. The robbery took place______.
A. before 3:03                                                 B. in the early morning 
C. after three o’clock in the afternoon         D. after 3:45
2. The robbers_____ before the train stopped.
A. were all in the train                              B. forced Mills to stop the train
C. were waiting for the train to stop            D. ordered Mills to go on driving
3. Why didn’t the other mailmen help the mailmen in the second car when the robbery happened?
A. Because they were busy sorting the mail.
B. Because they didn’t want to help the mailmen in the second car.
C. Because the last eleven cars were separated from the front cars.
D. Because they knew nothing about the robbery.
4. One of the robbers kept looking at his watch because________.
A. he wanted to know the exact time           B. he enjoyed looking at his watch
C. he didn’t know when another train would come
D. they had to leave before another train came
5. Which of the following is NOT true?
A. The train was out of order.             
B. The telephone was put out of order by the robbers
C. Whitby had an assistant driver.       
D. The robbers carried the money away by truck.