Mistakes don’t just happen; they occur for a reason. Find out the reason, and then making the mistake becomes ______.

A. favorable        B. precious          C. essential      D. worthwhile

.

That little “a” with a circle curling around it that is found in E – mail addresses is most commonly referred to as the “at” symbol.

Surprisingly though, there is no official, universal name for this sign. There are dozens of strange terms to describe the "@" symbol.

Before it became the standard symbol for electronic mail, the "@" symbol was used to represent the cost of something or how heavy something is. For instance, if you purchased 6 apples, you might write it as 6 apples "@" $1.10 each.

With the introduction of e-mail came the popularity of the "@" symbol. The "@" symbol or the "at sign" separates a person's online user name from his mail server(服务器) address. For instance, joe@uselessknowledge.com. Its widespread use on the Internet made it necessary to put this symbol on keyboards in other countries that have never seen or used the symbol before. As a result, there is really no official name for this symbol.

The actual origin of the symbol remains a mystery. History tells us that the @ symbol came from the tired hands of the Middle Ages. During the Middle Ages before the invention of printing machines, every letter of a word had to be copied with great efforts by hand for each copy of a published book. The monks that performed these long, boring coping duties looked for ways to reduce the number of individual strokes (笔画) per word for common words. Although the word “at” is quite short to begin with, it was a common enough word in text and documents so that those monks thought it would be quicker and easier to shorten the word “at” even more. As a result, the monks changed the shape of “t” into a circle to surround “a”, thus leaving out two strokes in the spelling “t”. 

58．Which of the following is the best title of the passage?

A．How “at” developed into @.   B．How @ came into being.

C．How monks invented @. D．How people wrote the cost of something.

59．Which is NOT the reason for the monks to spell “at” as @?

A．Though “at” is short, it was used very often.

B．The monks wanted to be quicker and easier with their copying.

C．The monks wanted to invent a new word.

D．Copying work was long and boring for them.

60．According to paragraph 5, which is TRUE about the symbol of @ today?

A．When you are online, you must use the @ symbol.

B．Kittly 163.com@is an email address.

C．In countries where @ is used, governments have given it an official name.

D．It is likely to find the @ symbol on computer keyboards worldwide.

I remember my first Christmas party with Grandma．I remember the day when my big sister dropped the bomb: “There is no Santa Claus,” she laughed．“Even dummies know that!”

　　I fled to Grandma because I knew she always told me  21 ．After I told her everything, she said “No Santa Claus? Don’t believe it. Now,  22 your coat, and let’s go.”

　　“Go? Go where?” I asked．

　　“Where” 23  to be the General Store．As we walked through its doors, Grandma   24 me ten dollars．That was a lot in those days．“Take this money and buy something for  25 needs it．I’ll wait for you in the car．”

　　The store seemed big and  26 , full of people hurrying to finish their Christmas shopping．For a few moments I just stood there, 27  , holding that bill, wondering what to buy, and who on earth to buy it for．

　　Suddenly I thought of Bobbie who sat right behind me．I remembered he didn’t have a coat．I fingered the bill with growing  28 ．I would buy Bobbie a coat．

　　“Is this a Christmas present for someone?” the lady behind the   29  asked me kindly, as I laid my ten dollars down

　　“Yes,” I replied shyly．“It’s…for Bobbie.”

　　The nice lady smiled at me．I didn’t get any  30 , but she put the coat in a bag and wished me a Merry Christmas．

　　That evening, Grandma helped me  31  the coat and wrote, “To Bobby, From Santa Claus” on it．Then she  32 me over to Bobbie’s house．

　　Grandma parked down the street from Bobbie’s house, and she and I crept 33 and hid in the  34 ．Then Grandma gave me a sign．“All right, Santa Claus, get going．”

　　I took a deep 35 , dashed for his front door, threw the present down, pounded his doorbell and flew back to the safety．Together we  36 breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to open．Finally it  37 , and there stood Bobbie．

Forty years haven’t dimmed the thrill of those  38 spent shivering, beside my grandma, in Bobbie’s bushes． 39 ,  I realized: Santa was alive and well, and we were  40  his team．

1.                A．the reason      B．many things      C．stories   D．the truth

2.                A．put on         B．put away        C．put up    D．put down

3.                A．used           B．turned out      C．found out D．turned up

4.                A．lent           B．took           C．paid D．handed

5.                A．anyone         B．whomever       C．someone who  D．those who

6.                A．crowded        B．varied          C．noisy D．convenient

7.                A．satisfied        B．confused        C．curious   D．amazed

8.                A．worry          B．disappointment   C．happiness D．excitement

9.                A．counter        B．desk           C．shelf D．goods

10.               A．money         B．gifts           C．change    D．encouragement

11.               A．make          B．wrap           C．undo D．design

12.               A．drove          B．took           C．led   D．asked

13.               A．quickly         B．painfully        C．nervously  D．noiselessly

14.               A．bushes         B．darkness        C．doorway   D．car

15.               A．courage        B．look           C．step D．breath

16.               A．waited         B．whispered      C．crept D．stood

17.               A．came          B．sounded        C．did   D．appeared

18.               A．moments       B．days           C．time D．people

19.               A．Today          B．That year       C．That night  D．Since then

20.               A．on            B．for            C．at    D．of

Mistakes don’t just happen；they occur for a reason. Find out the reason，and then making the mistake becomes________.

D

Time spent in a bookshop can be most enjoyable, whether you are a book—lover or merely go there to buy a book as a present. You may even have entered the shop just to find shelter from a sudden shower. Whatever the reason, you can soon become totally unaware of your surroundings.

The desire to pick up a book with an attractive dust jacket is irresistible, although this method of selection ought not to be followed, as you might end up with a rather dull book.

You soon become interested in some book or other, and usually it is only much later that you realize you have spent far too much time there and must dash off to keep some forgotten appointment—without buying a book, of course.

This opportunity to escape the realities of everyday life is, I think, the main attraction of a bookshop. There are not many places where it is possible to do this. A music shop is very much like a bookshop. You can wander round such places to your heart’s content. If it is a good shop, no assistant will approach you with the inevitable greeting:“Can I help you, sir?” You needn’t buy anything you don’t want. In a bookshop an assistant should remain in the background until you have finished browsing. Then, and only then, are his services necessary. Of course, you may want to find out where a particular section is, but when he has led you there, the assistant should retire discreetly(谨慎地) and look as if he is not interested in selling a single book.

You have to be careful not to be attracted by the variety of books in a bookshop. It is very easy to enter the shop looking for a book on, say ancient coins and to come out carrying a copy of the latest best-selling novel and perhaps a book about brass—rubbing—something which had only slightly interested you up till then. This volume on the subject, however, happened to be so well illustrated and the part of the text you read proved so interesting that you just had to buy it. This sort of thing can be very dangerous. Apart from running up a huge account, you can waste a great deal of time wandering from section to section.

63.The underlined phrase “dust jacket” means_______.

A.a kind of clothes                        B.a paper cover of a book

C.a dusty book                            D.a title of a book

64.You may spend too much time in a bookshop because_______.

A.the dust jackets are very attractive

B.you start reading one of the books

C.it is raining outside

D.you have to make sure you won’t buy a dull book as a present

65.In a good bookshop_______.

A.all the books there are interesting       B.the assistant greets you in a warm way

C.your heart is satisfied                D.you feel that you are in a music shop

66.The best title for this passage may be_______.

A.The Attraction of Bookshops          B.How to Spend Your Time

C.Bookshops and Their Assistants       D.How to Select Books