Could you imagine your parents choosing your husband or wife for you? And can you imagine not setting eyes on him or her until your wedding day? This situation is common in India, the Middle East and many parts of Africa．Marriage customs around the world often differ from our own．We don’t realize that people in other places often get married in very different ways and with different motives．

       In many countries, marriage is a practical matter．A marriage provides a safe and stable home for the husband and wife．It also joins two families, which benefits the couple’s parents and makes them happy．Marriage also brings children, making sure the couple will be taken care of in old age．Because a marriage is important for the whole family, some cultures don’t let young people choose whom to marry．

       Just as there are many different reasons for marriage, there are also many different wedding rituals．Every culture has its own ways of bringing good luck to the happy couple．In a typical Western wedding, the bride seeks good luck by wearing “something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue”．Something old represents the past．Something new represents success in the future．Something borrowed reminds the bride she can get help from her friends and family．And something blue reminds her to be true to her husband．

       In Poland, one wedding tradition is not only lucky, but also very practical．The wedding guests pin money to the bride’s dress while she is dancing．The money is meant to bring luck and to help the young couple build their new life．In Bermuda, the young couple plants a tree in the yard of their new home．Once they move in, they take good care of the tree and make it grow．The planting of the tree is a good metaphor（比喻） for marriage．A truly good marriage is something that grows with care．

Which of the following statements does NOT support the idea that marriage is a practical matter?

       A．The couple may have a safe home through their marriage．

       B．The parents had better help their children choose whom to marry．

       C．A marriage benefits the couple’s parents and makes them happy．

       D．A marriage brings children who will take care of the couple when they are old．

The underlined word “rituals” （Para．3） means 　　　．

       A．forms　   B．customs   C．traditions　      D．ceremonies

Although cultures differ in different countries, one thing in common when a young couple gets married is that 　　　．

       A．people wish them to take care of each other

       B．people wish them to get practical benefits from the marriage

       C．people wish them to have good luck in their new life

       D．people wish them to make money at the wedding ceremony

Which of the following statements best summarizes（总结） the subject of this passage?

       A．People across the world get married in different ways and for different reasons．

       B．Every culture has its own ways of bringing good luck to the young couple．

       C．A truly good marriage is something that grows with care．

       D．In many countries, marriage is a practical matter．

New Annotated Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
Price: ￡28.00
Publication Date: 30/11/2006
Publisher’s description:
Collect Doyle’s fifty-six classic short stories, arranged in the order in which they appeared in late-nineteenth-and-early-twentieth-century book editions, in a set complemented by four novels, editor biographies of Doyle, Holmes, and Watson as well as literary and cultural details about Victorian society.
Breaking Ground by Daniel Libeskind
Price: ￡16.00
Publication Date:11/10/2006
Brief description:
This is a book about the adventure life that can offer each of us if we seize it, and about the powerful forces of tragedy, memory and hope. For Daniel Libeskind, life’s adventure has been through architecture, which he has found has the power to reshape human experience. Although often relating to the past, his buildings are about the future. This biology of one man’s journey brings together history, personal experience, our physical environment and a fresh international vision.
In the Shadow of No Towers by Art Spiegelman
Price: ￡16.00
Publication Date:02/09/2006
Brief description:
On 11^th September 2001, Art Spiegelman raced to the world Trade Center, not knowing if his daughter Nadja was alive or dead. Once she was found safe---in her school at the foot of the burning towers---he returned home, to mediate(反省) on the trauma(创伤), and to work on a comic strip(连环漫画). In the Shadow of No Towers is New Yorker Art Spiegelman’s extraordinary account of “the hijacking(劫机) on 9.11 and the following hijacking of those events” by America.
Light on Snow by Anita Shreve
Price: ￡14.00
Publication Date:07/10/2006
Publisher’s description:
This is the 11^th novel by Anita Shreve, the critically accepted bestseller. A moving story of love and courage and tragedy and of the ways in which the human heart always seeks to heal itself.
Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv
Price: ￡20.99
Publication Date:11/08/2006
Brief description:
Camping in the garden, riding bikes through the woods, climbing trees, picking wildflowers, running through piles of autumn leaves… these are the things childhood memories are made of. But for a whole generation of today’s children the pleasures of a free-range childhood are missing, and their indoor habits contribute to obesity, attention disorder and childhood depression. This book shows how our children have become increasingly distanced from nature, why this matters and how we can make a difference. Richard Louv is chairman of the Children and Nature Network and co-chair of the National Forum on Children and Nature. He is the author of seven other books and has written for newspapers and magazines including the New York Times and the Washington Post.
【小题1】Who is the writer of the latest book published among the four books?

       Could you imagine your parents choosing your husband or wife for you? And can you imagine not setting eyes on him or her until your wedding day? This situation is common in India, the Middle East and many parts of Africa．Marriage customs around the world often differ from our own．We don’t realize that people in other places often get married in very different ways and with different motives．
In many countries, marriage is a practical matter．A marriage provides a safe and stable home for the husband and wife．It also joins two families, which benefits the couple’s parents and makes them happy．Marriage also brings children, making sure the couple will be taken care of in old age．Because a marriage is important for the whole family, some cultures don’t let young people choose whom to marry．
Just as there are many different reasons for marriage, there are also many different wedding rituals．Every culture has its own ways of bringing good luck to the happy couple．In a typical Western wedding, the bride seeks good luck by wearing “something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue”．Something old represents the past．Something new represents success in the future．Something borrowed reminds the bride she can get help from her friends and family．And something blue reminds her to be true to her husband．
In Poland, one wedding tradition is not only lucky, but also very practical．The wedding guests pin money to the bride’s dress while she is dancing．The money is meant to bring luck and to help the young couple build their new life．In Bermuda, the young couple plants a tree in the yard of their new home．Once they move in, they take good care of the tree and make it grow．The planting of the tree is a good metaphor（比喻） for marriage．A truly good marriage is something that grows with care．
【小题1】Which of the following statements does NOT support the idea that marriage is a practical matter?

A．The couple may have a safe home through their marriage．

B．The parents had better help their children choose whom to marry．

C．A marriage benefits the couple’s parents and makes them happy．

D．A marriage brings children who will take care of the couple when they are old．

A．People across the world get married in different ways and for different reasons．

B．Every culture has its own ways of bringing good luck to the young couple．

C．A truly good marriage is something that grows with care．

D．In many countries, marriage is a practical matter．

She had been shopping with her Mom in Wal­Mart. She must have been 6 years old. It was　31　outside. We all stood just　32　the door of the Wal­Mart.

Her voice was so sweet for the　33　waiting.“Mom, let’s run through the rain,” she said.

“What？” Mom asked.

“Let’s run through the rain！” She　34　.

“No, honey. We’ll wait until it　35　down a bit,” Mom replied.

This young child waited about　36　minute and repeated,“Mom, let’s run through the rain.”

“We’ll get soaked if we do,” Mom said.

“No,we won’t, Mom. That’s not what you said this morning,” the young girl said as she　

　37　her Mom’s arm.

“This morning？When did I say we could run through the rain and not get　38　？”

“Don’t you remember？When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said,‘If God can get us　39　this, he can get us through anything！’”

The entire crowd became dead silent. I  40  you couldn’t hear anything but the rain. We all stood silently. Mom  41  and thought for a moment about what she would say.

“Honey, you are absolutely right. Let’s run through the rain. If we get wet, maybe we just need  42  ,” Mom said. Then off they ran.

We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they  43  past the cars. They held their shopping  44  over their heads just in case. They got soaked. But they were  45  by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the  46  to their cars. And yes, I did. I ran. I got wet. I needed washing. Circumstances or people can take away your  47  possessions, they can take away your money, and they can take away your   48  .But no one can ever take away your precious  49  . So, don’t forget to  50  time and take the opportunities to make memories every day!

1.A.quarrelling                   B．pouring                 C．snowing                         D．trembling

2.A.beside                            B．behind                          C．inside                            D．outside

3.A.annoying             B．interesting                  C．appreciating                  D．expecting

4.A.answered             B．declared               C．repeated                       D．announced

5.A.brings B．comes                          C．cuts                                 D．slows

6.A.a more        B．other                              C．an another                    D．another

7.A.pulled B．hit                                  C．pushed                           D．dragged

8.A.hurt           B．wet                                C．wounded                       D．slipped

9.A.off                                  B．over                               C．through                          D．in

10.A.recalled                       B．swore                            C．promised                       D．observed

11.A.suffered                     B．walked                          C．wept                              D．paused

12.A.washing                      B．bathing                      C．showering                     D．watering

13.A.rushed      B．flew                             C．walked                          D．drove

14.A.goods       B．supplies                         C．bags                               D．packages

15.A.suspected B．challenged                 C．ordered                        D．followed

16.A.route        B．way                      C．path                               D．direction

17.A.physical                     B．mental                            C．spiritual                          D．material

18.A.health      B．relative                          C．friendship                     D．happiness

19.A.presents                   B．prizes                    C．memories                      D．chances

20.A.take                                   B．gain                             C．kill                         D. keep

That predatory population increase to control other animals has long been known. Many years ago, the Hudson’s Bay Company records revealed that the fox population went up and down about a year after rabbit population had gone up and down.

Sometimes a situation occurs in which the predatory population is reduced to a level below which nature can readily replace. On Valcour Island in Lake Champlain, a costly campaign resulted in the elimination（消除）of predatory animals only to have birds and small animals increase for four years afterward. Then, lacking predator control, nature resorted to disease to cut down these populations.

Jamaica had an example of nature’s persistence in providing animals for existing habits. Sugar planters, about 75 years ago, imported mongooses（狐猴）to control rats. The mongooses killed off the rats, kids, puppies, and wildlife. Eventually, food became scarce and the mongoose’s population declines.

1. The fact that the number of predators has much to do with that of other animals 　　  .

A. is not recent knowledge　　　　　　　　　　　　　　    B.has just been learned

C.hasn’t been proved yet　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　  D.is not important now

2. When predator control fails, nature brings animal population into balance by       .

A. eliminating the number of predators

B.seeking the help of disease to reduce other animals

C.increasing the number of other animals

D.replacing the number of predators immediately

3. When the mongooses killed off the rats they 　　  .

A. became problems themselves　　　　　　　　　　　　 B.ate the sugar crop

C.attacked humans　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　   D.had nothing to eat

4. It is implied in this passage that 　　  .

A. sugar planter imported mongooses to control rats

B.man should never kill animals

C.man has complete control over nature

D.to upset the balance of nature can be troublesome