1It was a nice house, but _______ too small for a family of live.
A. rarely       B. fairly      C. rather        D. pretty

When Mike told me he was leaving I felt like a vase which had just broken. There were pieces of me all over the tidy floor. He kept talking, telling me why he was leaving,1it was for the best, I could do better, it was his2and not mine. I had heard it before many times and yet somehow was still hurt; perhaps one cannot3such pain.
He left and I tried to4my life. I filled the kettle (水壶), put it on to boil, took out my old red cup and5the coffee powder falling into the bone china. Somehow when the kettle piped its finishing warning, I6not to hear it. That’s what Mike’s leaving had been like, sudden and with a(n)7end. I would rather just 8in uncertainty than have things finished. I laughed at myself. Just about a cup of coffee, I must be getting 9.
And yet it was a young woman who10back at me from the mirror, a young woman full of11and hope, a young woman with bright eyes just waiting to see the world.12, there are more important things. More important than13, I insist to myself firmly. The lid goes back on the coffee just like closing on the whole Mike experience.
He didn’t14my dreams as I feared that night.15, I am flying far across fields and woods,16on those below me. I fly free until I meet another bird who flies with me in perfect harmony. I realize with some17that there is a bird out there for me, there is another person, not necessarily a lover perhaps just a18, but there is someone out there who is my soul mate. I think about being a broken19again and realize that I have gathered myself back together, what Mike has is 20a little part of my time in earth, a little understanding of my physical being. He has merely, a little piece of me.

1. 1.
   1. A.
      complaining
      
   2. B.
      suggesting
      
   3. C.
      explaining
      
   4. D.
      whispering
2. 2.
   1. A.
      business
      
   2. B.
      fault
      
   3. C.
      luck
      
   4. D.
      reason
3. 3.
   1. A.
      pass
      
   2. B.
      defend
      
   3. C.
      feel
      
   4. D.
      ease
4. 4.
   1. A.
      get close to
      
   2. B.
      get on with
      
   3. C.
      get away with
      
   4. D.
      get down to
5. 5.
   1. A.
      watched
      
   2. B.
      made
      
   3. C.
      let
      
   4. D.
      wanted
6. 6.
   1. A.
      announced
      
   2. B.
      decided
      
   3. C.
      pretended
      
   4. D.
      concluded
7. 7.
   1. A.
      optimistic
      
   2. B.
      sceptical
      
   3. C.
      splendid
      
   4. D.
      unpleasant
8. 8.
   1. A.
      wander
      
   2. B.
      move
      
   3. C.
      keep
      
   4. D.
      take
9. 9.
   1. A.
      mad
      
   2. B.
      old
      
   3. C.
      nervous
      
   4. D.
      uncertain
10. 10.
    1. A.
       flashed
       
    2. B.
       swung
       
    3. C.
       stared
       
    4. D.
       pointed
11. 11.
    1. A.
       promise
       
    2. B.
       delight
       
    3. C.
       dilemmas
       
    4. D.
       conflicts
12. 12.
    1. A.
       Therefore
       
    2. B.
       Besides
       
    3. C.
       Finally
       
    4. D.
       Constantly
13. 13.
    1. A.
       friendship
       
    2. B.
       life
       
    3. C.
       love
       
    4. D.
       health
14. 14.
    1. A.
       visit
       
    2. B.
       have
       
    3. C.
       reject
       
    4. D.
       spin
15. 15.
    1. A.
       Deliberately
       
    2. B.
       Meanwhile
       
    3. C.
       Thus
       
    4. D.
       Instead
16. 16.
    1. A.
       taking off
       
    2. B.
       looking down
       
    3. C.
       breaking away
       
    4. D.
       getting over
17. 17.
    1. A.
       sorrow
       
    2. B.
       worry
       
    3. C.
       relief
       
    4. D.
       doubt
18. 18.
    1. A.
       friend
       
    2. B.
       bird
       
    3. C.
       dream
       
    4. D.
       job
19. 19.
    1. A.
       heart
       
    2. B.
       vase
       
    3. C.
       mirror
       
    4. D.
       cup
20. 20.
    1. A.
       mostly
       
    2. B.
       hardly
       
    3. C.
       usually
       
    4. D.
       only
       

I had once helped a friend of mine run a watermelon stall. I noticed something interesting. Almost every buyer would lift the melon up to their ear，smartly tap it, apparently trying to listen to something. I wondered what they expected to hear.

Finally I could no longer hold back my curiosity and made bold to ask a customer—an elderly gentleman—about this. Hearing my question，he roared with laughter. Then he replied in a self­mocking(自嘲)tone.“Young lady，I have been doing this for more than fifty years. All I know is that everybody would stare at you as if you were a fool if you just pick up the melon and leave！”

Not long after that，my watermelon stall friend unexpectedly sent me an invitation for her wedding，which really surprised me. I asked her, “How come you are seized by a sudden desire to get married? I don't remember ever hearing you mention that yon've got a boyfriend.” She answered while counting money，“Everyone has to get married anyway，so it is better to get married sooner than later.”

I could think of no word to refute(反驳)her. It seems that everybody is living for everybody else and has forgotten the need of their own heart. It may be safe and save a lot of worries by following others' suit in doing things. The use of We or Us will give one a steady and sure sense of pride. But using the pronoun “I” would often give one a guilty conscience.

I find all these things somewhat funny. We have got used to taking cue from(模仿) others and follow their suit. In turn，we also take it for granted that we should judge the right and wrong of others by our own standard. As a matter of fact，this massive practice is still wrong though we all follow others' suit like this, but we feel at ease and, justified simply because this is the way of us, and so we can have an easy conscience because this has been practiced by so many people.

1.The writer probably feels that it is ________.

A．necessary for the buyer to tap the watermelon

B．foolish of the buyers to buy watermelon without tapping it

C．funny that the buyers will tap the watermelons when buying them

D．wise of the elderly gentleman to tap watermelons before buy them

2.The writer uses the example of her friend's decision of getting married to show that ________.

A．her friend took no account of others's feeling

B．her friend decided to marry just to follow the crowd

C．her friend was a person who has strong personality

D．everybody in the world should marry for  others

3.Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?

A．It may be safe to follow others' suit in doing things.

B．I was surprised to receive my friend's invitation for her wedding.

C．My experience of helping my friend run a watermelon stall was interesting.

D．The use of We or I will give speakers themselves quite different senses.

4.Which word can replace the underlined word“justified”in the last paragraph?

A．Reasonable.       B．Embarrassed.     C．Ashamed.        D．Nervous.

5.In which section of a magazine can you read the passage?

A．Art and Life          B．Sport and Health

C．Culture and Society    D．Science and Technology

Last year, two days after Christmas, we kicked China out of the house. Not the country obviously, but bits of plastic, metal, and wood with the words “Made in China”. We kept what we already had, but stopped bringing any more in. because it had coated our lives with toys, and useless stuff. Sometimes I worried about jobs sent overseas, but price triumphed over virtue at our house. We couldn’t resist what China was selling.

But on that dark Monday last year, an unease feeling washed over me as I sat on the sofa. It wasn’t until then that I noticed a fact: China was taking over the place.

It stared back at me from the empty screen of the television. I spied it in the pile of tennis shoes by the door. It glowed in the lights on the Christmas tree and watched me in the eyes of a doll lying on the floor, I slipped off the couch and sorted gifts into two piles: China and non-China. The count came to China, 25, the world, 14. Christmas, I realized, had become a holiday made by the Chinese. Suddenly I wanted China out.

I persuaded my husband, and on Jan. 1 st, we started a-year-long household embargo on Chinese imports. The idea wasn’t to punish China. And we didn’t fool ourselves into thinking because we wanted to measure how far it had pushed in. We wanted to know what it would take in time, money, and worry to kick our China habit!

In the spring, our 4-year-old son started a campaign to support “China things”. “It’s too long without China,” he cried. He kept at me all day. I have discovered for myself that China doesn’t control every aspect of our daily lives, but if you take a close look at the underside of boxes in the toy department, I promise it will give you pause. “When we can buy China things again? Let’s never stop.” My son said.

After a year without China I can tell you this: You can still live without it, but it’s getting costlier by the day. And a decade from now I may not be brave enough to try it again.

1. The best title for the text could be _______.

A．China Free Living: A Trouble One

B．A Year without “Made in China”

C．Why I Choose “Made in China”

D．“Made in China”: Good or Bad

2. According to the passage, why did the author stop bringing in things “Made in China”?

A．Because she wanted to bring back job opportunities for her natives.

B．Because she has a strong sense of nationalism against “Made in China”.

C．Because she wanted to learn what life would be like without “Made in China”.

D．Because too much stuff made in China was take over her house.

3. The Underlined word “embargo” in the forth paragraph means ________.

A．reaction                              B．ban

C．restriction                             D．cancellation

4.The writer’s purpose in writing this passage is ________.

A．to tell the readers an interesting experience

B．to describe the trouble facing a housewife

C．to explain the importance of Chinese goods

D．to show the difficulty without Chinese goods

Happy April Fool’s Day! In celebration of the day, we have put together a list of some of the greatest hoaxes (恶作剧) in history. They are the lies that have been designed for innocent people who are ready to believe them.

INSTANT COLOR TV

In 1962 there was only one TV channel in Sweden, and it broadcast in black and white. The station’s Kjell Stepson, appearing on the news to announce that thanks to a newly developed technology, all viewers could now quickly and easily transform their existing sets to display color reception. All they had to do was pull a nylon (尼龙) stocking over their TV screen, and they would begin to see their favorite shows in color. Reportedly, hundreds of thousands of people, were taken in. Actual color TV transmission only started to appear in Sweden on April 1, 1970.

SAN SERRIFFE

In 1977 the British newspaper The Guardian published a special seven–page supplement(增刊) in honor of the tenth anniversary of San Serriffe, a small republic located in the Indian Ocean. A series of articles affectionately asked for more information about the beautiful holiday spot. Few noticed that every thing about the island was made up.

NIXON FOR PRESIDENT

In 1992 American National Public Radio’s Talk of the Nation program announced that, Richard Nixon, in a surprise move, was running for President again. His new campaign slogan was, “ I didn’t do anything wrong, and I won’t do it again.” Accompanying this announcement were audio clips(片断) of Nixon delivering his election speech. Listeners responded immediately to the announcement, flooding the show with calls expressing shock and anger. Only during the second half of the show did the host John Huckleberry reveal that the announcement was a practical joke. Nixon’s voice was copied by comedian Rich Little.

1.Which of the following  countries is NOT mentioned in the text?

A．India             B．The UK            C．The United States   D．Sweden

2.Who worked as a host on the radio?

A．Kjell Stepson       B．Rich Little         C．Richard Nixon      D．John Huckleberry

3.When did the small republic San Serriffe come into being?

A．In 1962           B．In 1977           C．In 1992           D．Never

4.Where can we probably read this article?

A．In the ad.          B．In a magazine       C．In a novel         D．In a news report