The holiday shopping season is once again upon us.The super malls and smaller shopping centers will all be packed as hurried Americans search for the perfect gift.The crooks and thieves that prey upon innocent shoppers are well aware of this fact.

　 Even if you don’t involve yourself with holiday gift buying，you could end up a victim of theft.Thieves do not distinguish the holiday shopper from the everyday shopper.Thieves only know that there are more potential targets of opportunity at this time of year.

　 They also know that many people are complacent (不以为然的) about personal safety issues year round.They’ll factor in the belief that many people take on added stress this time of year while running from store to store with so much to do and so little time to do it.Shoppers who might normally consider personal safety an afterthought push it back even further as they try to negotiate their way through the month of December.College students are not an exception to the rule!

　 As a member of our university community，you’re also easily influenced by the dangers of mall shopping this time of year.Take a minute and picture any of the local area malls.Close your eyes and think about the overflowing parking lots and the crowds moving around.The sights，sounds and distractions all can lull you into a state of personal safety complacency.

　 Aside from the shoplifters who steal merchandise from store shelves are the thieves who perpetrate (犯) snatch and grab crimes.And this is the sort of crime that you’re most vulnerable to，especially when you find yourself carrying a large number of shopping bags and packages.However，as is the case with most other types of criminal behavior，there are a number of crime prevention measures you can take to lessen or stop your chances of becoming a victim.So take the time to read and then put into practice the following holiday shopping tips.

1.The author is most probably　　　　 .

　 A.a newspaper reporter

　 B.a novelist

　 C.a member of university community

　 D.a police spokesman

2.What does the underlined word “They” in Paragraph 3 refer to?

　 A.Shoppers. 　　　　　　　　　 B.Thieves.

　 C.Personal safety issues.　　　　　　 D.College students.

3.Why is a person more likely to become a victim of theft during holiday shopping?

　 A.Because he often has much to buy.

　 B.Because he often does shopping in a hurry.

　 C.Because there are crowds of shoppers.

　 D.All of the above.

4.What is the writer’s purpose in writing this passage?

　 A.To tell readers different kinds of crimes.

　 B.To make readers aware of holiday shopping dangers.

　 C.To give advice on selecting the perfect gift.

　 D.To introduce American public security situation.

5.Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?

　 A.Holiday Shopping Safety

　 B.Suitable Shopping Places

　 C.Personal Safety During Holidays

　 D.How to Identify a Thief

”I hope the dialogue,”said the spokesman,”　　 between the two presidents next week will give us some active signals.”

A、making　　 B、to make　　 C、to be made　　　 D、made

Thousands of dead red-winged blackbirds fell from the sky in an Arkansas town on New Year’s Eve after massive injuries, tests by Arkansas officials concluded on Monday. Some 5,000 birds mysteriously fell from the sky in Beebe, Arkansas after dark on New Year’s Eve. “The birds suffered from acute physical injuries leading to internal hemorrhage（大量出血） and death. There was no sign of infectious disease,” the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission said in a statement. The birds were otherwise healthy, it said.
One theory is that birds were frightened by New Year's fireworks and flew into buildings or other objects. “Loud noises were reported shortly before the birds began to fall from the sky,” the statement said, adding that blackbirds have poor night vision and seldom fly at night.
　　Another theory was that severe weather such as lightning accounted for the loud noises but this was discounted because the violent weather had already left the area. “We’re leaning more toward a stress event," said Arkansas Game and Fish Commission spokesman Keith Stephens.
The commission also is trying to determine what caused the deaths of up to 100,000 fish over a 20-mile stretch of the Arkansas River near a dam in Ozark, 125 miles west of Beebe. The fish were discovered on December 30. Stephens said the commission expected results on the fish tests in probably a month. Since almost all the fish were one species -- bottom-feeding drum, Stephens said, the test was very important. Stephens also said: “The events do not appear related.” Both that section of the river and the air at the site of the bird deaths were tested for toxins(毒素). Beebe is a town of about 4,500 people located 30 miles northeast of the state capital.
【小题1】What is NOT the probable reason why the dead red-winged blackbirds fell from the sky?

HOUSTON (Reuters) — Houston tops a U.S. magazine’s annual fattest cities list for the fourth time in five years, with four other Texas cities in the top 25.

　　Fast food restaurants — Houston has twice the national average number — are partly to blame for the dishonor, Men’s Fitness editor-in-chief Neal Boulton said.

　　“Americans work long hours, don’t take vacations, and when they’re faced with the worst food choices, they indulge (沉溺于) in those,” he said.

　　High humidity, poor air quality and some of the nation’s longest commute (每天去上班的路程) times also helped Texas’ most populous city unseat Detroit, the 2003 heavy weight champion, the magazine said.

　　Houston Mayor Bill White, who has worked with a major food company to develop healthy food products and the city’s public schools to improve lunch menus, called the report “mostly ungrounded and nonsense.”

　　“On the other hand, it calls attention to real issues the mayor is trying to deal with,” his spokesman, Frank Michel, said.

　　The magazine said it looked at factors such as the number and types of restaurants, park space, air quality, weather and the number of health clubs.

　　Philadelphia, Detroit, Memphis, Tennessee, and Chicago followed Houston on the seventh edition of the fat list. Texas cities Dallas, San Antonio, Fort Worth and El Paso were in the top 14, which Boulton said was no surprise.

　　“It’s pure big indulgence, just living big, and that’s part of the culture,” said Boulton.

　　Seattle ranked as the fittest city. Austin and Arlington, a Dallas-Fort Worth suburb, were the only Texas cities on the fit list. Austin was 19th and Arlington 22nd out of 25.

What decides the magazine’s annual fattest list?

       A. The size of fat population.       B. The number of fast food restaurants.

       C. The economic growth rate of the state.    D. Things related to unhealthy ways of life.

Which city topped 2003 fattest cities list?

　    A. Houston.         B. Dallas.          C. Detroit.   D. Philadelphia.

By saying “living big” (in Paragraph 9), Boulton means people _________.

       A. are growing fatter                B. are living wastefully

　    C. eat too many fatty foods           D. are spending too much time working

Which of the following is best supported by the text?

       A. Texas has the most fat cities in the U.S.

       B. Bill White is happy with the newspaper report.

       C. People in Texas are the most hardworking in the U.S.

       D. Most school children in Houston have weight problems.

　　A train sped up through the countryside at 60 mph as a“traveller”relaxes with his newspaper. But this is no businessman taking it easy—the driver of the passenger express（快车）is doing the reading.

　　A Sunday Express reader caught this Virgin employee on film as the train sped through Derbyshire on its way to Plymouth from Newcastle.

　　Virgin，which has come under repeated criticism over their rail service, yesterday fired the driver after being shown the photograph. A spokesman said an inquiry（调查）was under way to make sure exactly what he was doing and why he appeared to have taken his eyes off the track ahead.

　　The picture comes in the week that the public inquiry into the Southall rail disaster, which claimed seven lives, heard that the driver at the centre of that case had earlier been spotted with his feet on the control button of his cab.

　　Larry Harrison，who worked for Great Western Trains，drove through two warning signals before crashing at 60 mph into a waiting train.

　　The reader who took this picture was standing on a bridge outside Chesterfield early one summer’s evening. He said，“I only realized what I’d got when I had the pictures developed. I couldn’t believe it.”

　　“As far as I could see，there was no one else in the cab with the drive，unless they were hiding, The person with the paper open was certainly sitting in the driver’s normal seat.”

　　The photographer works on the railways and does not want to be named，but he added，“I’ve seen many drivers with their feet on the control panel but I’ve never seen them reading papers like this. There is an automatic warning system and driver’s safety device which reminds him when he passes yellow and red signals. But you should never take your eyes off the track and rely only on sounds because you could have unexpected objects on the line or suddenly have speed limits given.”

63．Who is the“traveller”mentioned in the first paragraph？

A．A train driver. 　　　　　　B．A businessman.

C．A passenger. 　　　　　　　 D．A newspaper reader.

64．The train ______________when the picture was taken.

A．was driving to Plymouth

B．was ready for a picture

C．had seven people on it

D．crashed into another train

65．Who took the picture of the driver of the passenger express？

A．A professional photographer.

B．A newspaper reporter.

C．Another train driver.

D．A member of the railway staff.

66．According to what we have read，we may find this passage most probably______________.

A．at a train station

B．from a news report

C．from a driver’s safety guide

D．from the police inquiry