Do you know insurance? Buying insurance(保险)is a 1 by which people can protect themselves against large losses. Protection against fire is one kind of insurance. Large numbers of people pay 2 sums of money 3 an insurance company. Although thousands of people have paid for fire insurance, only 4 will lose their homes by fire. The insurance company will pay for these homes 5 the sums of money it has collected.

　　The first modern fire insurance company was 6 in London, England, in 1666. A great fire had just 7 most of the city, and people wanted protection against 8 losses. The first company 9 rapidly. 10 other companies were founded in other areas.

　　Benjamin Franklin helped form the first fire insurance company in America in 1752.He also 11 a new kind of insurance for 12 The new insurance would offer protection against the loss of crops 13 storms.

　　In 1759, Benjamin Franklin helped start 14 new insurance company in America. This company, which offered 15 insurance, collected some money 16 from many different men. 17 a man died, his family was given a large sum of money. Today, this company is still in business.

　　Over the years, 18 have been benefited(受益)from many new kinds of insurance when they have suffered from 19 accidents as car and plane crashes. Today almost everyone has 20 kind of insurance.

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Music died here last spring, or rather, it was killed by members of the school committee who ignored the importance of music and drama as part of the high-school curriculum.

The committee decided that teaching students how to take a standardized test is more important than a curriculum in which students can explore their interests in the arts as well as academics. Because the school system is running out of funding, it needs to make sure that students pass the mastery test or even more money will be lost. If students fail the state standardized test，it is not the fault of drama and music classes—they are failing because the “academic” classes are not sufficient.

It is painful to think of how many students will be discouraged from singing, acting, and playing instruments because school programs are no longer offered. Many families cannot afford private music lessons，and many potential musicians and artists may not find their calling if they are not exposed to it in school. The fact that the school committee thinks the arts are not worth the investment will certainly make some students believe the arts are not worth their time or support and the cycle will continue.

Teaching for a test does not shape students into complete，well-rounded people. It blocks the natural sense to create and express feelings through art—there is more to life than the analytical thinking that math and English provide. What happens after a test? Sure, a student might graduate, but they will have limited knowledge—certainly not a good preparation for the real world.

1.Music and drama are not included in the high-school curriculum mainly because ________.

A．the school committee pays no attention to them

B．the school is afraid of losing financial support

C．the students are not interested in both of them

D．the state standardized test is more important

2.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．The sufficiency of the classes determines students' performance in the mastery test.

B．Quite a few students are discouraged from learning music and art in today's school system.

C．Students can be musicians and artists only if they can afford private music lessons.

D．The school committee completely influences students' attitude towards the arts.

3.We can learn that music and art can ________.

A．motivate students in creativity and expression

B．make students round-shaped people in future

C．provide students with analytical thinking

D．prevent students graduation from high school

4.The best title of the passage can be ________.

A．“Who killed music and drama？”

B．“Can curriculum go without music？”

C．“Why is music so important？”

D．“How to prepare for the real world？”

In 1977, a dead author of detective stories saved the life of a 19-month-old baby in a most unusual way. The author was Agatha Christie, one of the most successful writers of detective stories in the world.

In June 1977, a baby girl became seriously ill in Qatar, near Saudi Arabia. Doctors were unable to find out the cause of her illness with confidence, so she was sent to Hammersmith Hospital in London. She was then only semi-conscious (半清醒状态) and on the "Dangerously Ill" list. A team of doctors hurried to examine the baby only to discover that they, too, were confused by the very unusual symptoms (症状). While they were discussing the baby's case, a nurse asked to speak to them.

"Excuse me," said Nurse Marsha Maitlan, "but I think the baby is suffering from thallium poisoning. (铊中毒)"

"What makes you think that?" Dr. Brown asked. "Thallium poisoning is extremely rare."

"A few days ago, I was reading a novel called A Pale Horse by Agatha Christie," Nurse Maitlan explained. "In the book, somebody uses thallium poison, and all the symptoms are described. They're exactly the same as the baby's."

"You're very thoughtful and you may be right," another doctor said. "We'll carry out some tests and find out whether it's thallium or not."

Tests showed that the baby had indeed been poisoned by thallium, a rare metallic substance used in making special glass. Once they knew the cause of the illness, the doctors were able to give the baby the correct treatment. She soon recovered and was sent back to Qatar. Later it was reported that the poison might have come from an insecticide (杀虫剂) used in Qatar.

1.The one who first suggested the correct cause of the baby's illness was _____.

2.The baby was sent to London because _____.

3.As far as we can tell from the passage, Agatha Christie _____.

4.It seems likely from the passage that the baby's illness had something to do with _____.

5.When the baby was sent to the hospital in London, her case was considered to be _____.

　　Do you know insurance （保险）? Buying insurance is a 1 by which people can protect themselves 2 large losses. Protection against fire is one kind of insurance. Large numbers of people pay 3 sums of money 4 an insurance company. Although thousands of people have paid for fire insurance, only 5 will lose their homes by fire. The insurance company will pay for these homes 6 the sums of money it has collected.

　　The first modern fire insurance company was 7 in London, England, in 1666. A great fire had just 8 most of the city, and people wanted to protect against 9 losses. The fire company grew rapidly. 10 other companies were founded in other areas.

　　Benjamin Franklin helped form the first fire insurance company in America in 1752. He also 11 a new kind of insurance for 12 . The new insurance would offer protection against the loss of crops 13 storm.

　　In 1759 , Benjamin Franklin helped start 14 new insurance company in America. This company , which offered 15 insurance , collected some money 16 from different men. Although a man died , his family was given a large sum of money. Today , this company is 17 in business.

　　Over the years, people have 18 from many new kinds of insurance when they have suffered from 19 accidents as car and plane crashes. Tomorrow , almost everyone has 20 kind of insurance.

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I hear____ boys in your school like playing football in their spare time, though others prefer basketball.