There's a man in the habit of hitting me on the head with an umbrella. At first I couldn't stand it；now I'm used to it.

    I don't know his name. I know he's average in appearance，wears a gray suit，and has a common face. One hot morning，when I was sitting on a tree­shaded bench in Palermo Park，reading the paper，suddenly I felt something touch my head. It was the very same man who now，as I'm writing，keeps striking me with an umbrella.

    On that occasion I turned around filled with anger. He just kept on hitting me. I asked him if he was crazy. He didn't even seem to hear me. Then I threatened to call a policeman. Calmly，cool as a cucumber，he stuck with his task. After a few moments of hesitation，and seeing that he was not about to change his attitude，I stood up and hit him on the nose. The man fell down. But he immediately got back on his feet，obviously with great effort，and without a word again began hitting me on the head with the umbrella. His nose was bleeding and，at that moment，I felt sorry for him. I felt regret for having hit him so hard. After all，the man wasn't exactly hitting me；he was merely tapping me lightly with his umbrella，not causing any pain at all. Of course，those taps were extremely bothersome. As we all know，when a fly lands on your forehead，you don't feel any pain；what you feel is annoyance. Well then，that umbrella was one huge fly that kept landing on my head time after time.

    Convinced that I was dealing with a madman，I tried to escape. But the man followed me，wordlessly continuing to hit me. So I began to run(I should point out many people run as fast as I do). He took off after me，trying to land a blow. The man was out of breath so that I thought，if I continued to force him to run at that speed，he would drop dead right then and there.

1.When the man began to strike the author with an umbrella, the author________.

    A. became angry                     B. called the police

    C. turned around and escaped            D. turned around and fought back

2.The author would most probably agree that the man was ________.

    A. deaf                             B. blind

    C. dead                             D. mad

3.The author felt sorry for the man because________.

    A. the man formed a bad habit of beating others

    B. he hit the man so hard that his nose bled

    C. the man couldn't catch up with him

    D. there was a fly on the man's head

4. It can be learned from the passage that the man ________.

    A. shouted loudly while hitting the author

    B. wanted to tell the author something

    C. ran after the author breathlessly

    D. acted as if he were a fly

There was great excitement on the planet of Venus (金星) . Venusian scientists managed to land a satellite on the planet Earth, and it has been sending back signals as well as photographs ever since.

The satellite was directed into an area known as Manhattan, named after the great Venusian astronomer Professor. Manhattan, who first discovered it with his telescope 20000 light years ago.

Because of excellent weather conditions and extremely strong signals, Venusian scientists were able to get valuable information as to feasibility (可行性) of a manned flying saucer landing on Earth. A press conference was held at the Venus Institute of Technology.

"We have come to the conclusion, based on last week's satellite landing," Prof. Zog said, "that there is no life on Earth."

"How do you know this?" the science reporter of the Venus Evening Star asked.

"For one thing, Earth's surface in the area of Manhattan is made up of solid concrete and nothing can grow there. For another, the atmosphere is filled with carbon monoxide (一氧化碳) and other deadly gases and nobody could possibly breathe this air and survive."

"What does this mean as far as our flying saucer program is concerned?"

"We shall have to take our own oxygen with us, which means a much heavier flying saucer than originally planned."

"Are there any other dangers that you discovered in your studies?"

"Take a look at this photo. You see this dark black cloud hovering (盘旋) over the surface of Earth? We don't know what it is made of, but it could give us a lot of trouble and we shall have further tests before we send a Venus Being there."

"Over here you will notice what seems to be a river, but the satellite findings indicates it is polluted and the water is unfit to drink. This means we shall have to carry our own water, which will add even greater weight to the saucer."

"If all you say is true, won't this set back the flying saucer program several years?"

"Yes, but we shall continue as soon as the Grubstart gives us the added funds(资金)." Profession. Zog replied.

1.According to the passage, the Venusian scientists succeeded in getting important information about _____.

A. the feasibility of landing a satellite on Earth

B. the possibility of making a first-rate flying saucer

C. the feasibility of sending a Venus Being to Earth

D. the possibility of directing a flying saucer into Manhattan 

2.Why will the Venusian have to take their own oxygen with them when they carry out their flying saucer program because _____. 

A. they need it in their way to the planet of Earth

B. the Earth's atmosphere is filled with deadly gases

C. there is a low level of oxygen for Venusians

D. there is no air on the planet of Earth 

3.It can be inferred from the passage that ______. 

A. landing a manned flying saucer on Earth will be carried out soon

B. Venusians will land on Earth to help to stop serious pollution

C. it’s unnecessary to land a manned flying  saucer on Earth at present

D. pollution on Earth makes it impossible for Venusians to survive there

4.Where can you probably read such a passage?. 

A. In a popular magazine.          B. In a fairy tale.

C. In an observation journal        D. In science fiction

Lee Humberg, district manager for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, is the man in charge of figuring out how to remove the flocks (群) of 15,000 to 20,000 Canada geese(大雁) that could strike planes flying in and out of the New York area. The Port Authority, the agency that manages airport in New York and New Jersey, estimates that there have been as many as 315 bird strikes annually in the past 30 years.

    Bird strikes have been a hot topic since a US Airways jet suffered a “double strike” and made an emergency landing on the Hudson River in January 2009. All 155 passengers were rescued safely and the flight was called “Miracle on the Hudson”. The plane finally ended up at the Carolinas Aviation Museum. The next major bird strike may not have such a happy ending.

    To thin the flocks, Humberg and his team have tracked down goose nests and killed eggs with corn oil. They’ve also terrified the birds with dogs, remote-controlled boats and kites that look like eagles. But the only method that effectively decreases the goose population is the one that angers animal lovers the most: gassing hundreds at a time.

    “If all you are doing is goose harassment (骚扰) every day, it’s very frustrating, because you are just playing Ping-Pong with the birds,” Humberg told New York magazine. “It’s basically an arms race to come up with the tools to deal with them.”

    Now New York City plans to send the geese captured to Pennsylvania to be cooked and distributed at food banks as meals for the poor. That might just be a fate better than flying into a 747 engine.

1.What can we learn form Humberg?

    A. He does research on geese’s living conditions.

    B. He makes efforts to protect wild birds.

    C. He deals with the danger of birds at airports.

    D. He tries to find newer and safer airlines.

2.Why was the flight called “Miracle on the Hudson”?

    A. It suffered a “double strike”.         B. It arrived at a plane museum.

    C. It only caused a few deaths.         D. It succeeded in landing on a river.

3.By saying “you are just playing Ping-Pong with the birds”, Humberg means ______.

A. It’s interesting to fight with the birds

B. It’s a skill-needed race against the birds

C. you can’t defeat the bird in the end           

D. you should live with birds peacefully

4.It can be inferred from the passage that ______.

    A. Canada geese can fly as high as planes

    B. New York airlines are in poor management

    C. bird strikes happen once a week on average

    D. the poor may also benefit from Humberg’s work

One night last February, a seventeen-year-old Duffy drove home along a winding road, he saw a strange light thrown against the tree. “I knew it wasn’t the moon”, he said. “I drive this road all the time and I notice little things out of place.”
Duffy stopped his car and got out to examine. Below him far down in the deep valley lay a broken car with its headlights on. Thirty minutes earlier, a man had driven off the edge of the road, which has no guardrail. His car fell and rolled end over end, landing on its top more than two hundred feet below.
Duffy rushed to call for help, then returned and got down to reach the injured driver. Snow covered the valley and the temperature was below freezing. After struggling back up the cliff, Duffy took off his jacket and shirt and wrapped the injured man in time, along with the blankets from his car.
Life-saving deeds are starting to become usual action for Duffy, the oldest of seven children. When he was 12, he saved his ten-year-old brother from drowning. Two years ago, his three-year-old sister ate rat poison, and Duffy cleaned out her mouth, make her drink milk to protect her stomach and called doctors.
“We have tried to teach the children good values, and it looks like we have got some reward for it.” His father says.
【小题1】 The strange light came from ________.

My husband and I insisted that our children were old enough to clean their rooms and make their beds. But they thought   11  . My complaints, even self-justified（自有道理）  12  , were always landing on   13   ears. Very often a whole hour’s scolding would end up with their   14   into tears. I felt very frustrated. I realized I needed to   15   my method of “mothering”.

One day when they were at school, I spent some time tidying their rooms. On their desks, in plain  16  , I left the cards: “Dear Bill(the other card was   17   to Sarah), your room was messy this morning and I’m sure you like it clean. Love, the Room Fairy.”  18   arriving back, the children were   19   excited to receive the little note from the Room Fairy. The next day, their rooms were fairly tidy. Sure enough, there was another note from the Room Fairy   20   

for them, thanking them for their nice “gift” of a clean room and   21   asking them to play a certain violin  22  . Each day, thank-you notes would be written differently to keep the ideas   23  ．

         Sometimes the Room Fairy would propose a little   24  : “If you can finish your homework and go over your lessons before dinner, I’d like to watch a particular television program with you tonight.” Sometimes some colored markers or other little items would be left in   25   of well-done jobs the day   26  .

  27   I can’t remember how long “the Room Fairy” continued leaving her love notes. When they were age appropriate, we used various versions of Post-Its （贴条）. The bathroom mirror became the   28   centre of our home. Appointments, notices about visiting relatives, lesson schedules, and changes in plans could be   29  .

We all benefited from and  30   the idea of sharing reminders and daily details of life through notes. I believe the true advantage of the Room Fairy notes survives in our frequent and enjoyable communication．

1.A.differently          B.positive          C.negative      D. same

2.A.shouting      B. crying   C. persuading    D. beating

3.A. side           B. neither        C.deaf   D. either

4.A.crying         B.bringing             C.droping D. bursting

5.A.addict B. adopt    C.access   D. adjust

6.A.sentence    B. words          C. speech D. sight

7.A.sent         B. addressed     C.delivered      D. read

8.A.As     B.On C. In          D. At

9.A.more than  B. rather than C.less than            D. other than

10.A.asking        B. praying C. waiting  D. expecting

11.A.gently       B. friendly          C.politely  D. toughly

12.A.music        B. piece            C.song            D. tone

13.A.respectable   B. uninteresting        C.incredible             D. fresh

14.A.suggestion         B. question       C.challenge      D. advice

15.A.response          B. answer         C.praise   D. honor

16.A.ahead        B. before  C. over     D. ago

17.A.though      B. Even so C.Even if D. Actually

18.A.memory           B. main     C. life             D. reminder

19.A.sent          B. posted  C.struck   D. hanged

20.A.appreciated      B. learned          C. shared               D. thanked