As a palace, the Tower of London．was a great place to live．As a prison, it, wasn’t so nice ——especially since so many prisoners lost their heads．Today tourists can explore 5the Tower in the
United Kingdom．Here are some reasons why the Tower was and still is a cool place．
Ravens（渡鸦） are like superheroes．
Well, sort of．Legend says if the ravens that live on the Tower grounds ever leave, the Tower will fall apart．No one knows when the ravens first showed up, but Charles II took the legend so seriously that in the 1670s he gave an official order that six ravens be kept there all the time．Today
there are still always six．
You might have lived at a zoo．
In 1204, King John kept a collection of animals, including lions and elephants．About 50 years later, King Henry III received a polar bear．the bear was kept on a piece of rope so it could fish from the Thames River that flows by the Tower．
If you lived at the Tower today, your mom or dad might be in charge．
The 35 Yeoman Warders（伦敦塔卫士）and their families are among the few still allowed to live at the Tower．Established in 1509 a;? bodyguards! for the king, today they give tours and  manage the day-to-day details of the Tower．They’re called "beefeaters," possibly because their job once allowed them to eat beef from the king’s; table．
You need a secret password at night．
Called the "Word," the password changes every 24 hours and is a must-have to enter the Tower
after hours．It’s written on a piece of paper and delivered to the Yeoman on duty for, the night．
You could find buried gold．
In 1662, a goldsmith（金匠） named John Barfcstead supposedly hid more than $40,000 worth of stolen gold somewhere on．the Tower grounds．Many have searched for the gold, but it has never
been found．
【小题1】Charles II decided to keep six ravens in the Tower probably because ____,．         ;

Once a circle lost a piece of its own. The circle wanted to be whole, so it went around looking for its missing piece. But because it was incomplete（不完整的）, it could only roll very slowly. It enjoyed the flowers and the sunshine along the way. It talked with worms. It found lots of different pieces, but none of them fit. So it left them all by the side of the road and kept on looking for the missing piece.

Then one day the circle found a piece that fit perfectly. It put the missing piece into itself. It could be whole, with nothing missing. It was so happy and began to roll. Now that it was a perfect circle, it could roll very fast, too fast to see flowers or talk to worms. It realized how different the world was when it rolled so quickly. It felt so sad that it stopped, left its found piece by the side of the road and rolled away slowly.

Sometimes we are perfect when we lost something. A man who has everything is a poor man in some ways. He will never have hopes, dreams or something better. He will never know someone is loving him or someone is giving him something he has always wanted or never had.

We couldn’t be perfect, but we must be brave enough to love, strong enough to forgive, kind enough to share happiness with others and clever enough to know there is enough love around us and then we can always live a wonderful time in our lives.

1.The circle rolled very slowly because it __________.

2.After it was whole again and rolled fast, the circle __________.

3.If a man owns everything, he’ll be __________ in some ways.

4.The story mainly tells us that __________

As a palace, the Tower of London．was a great place to live．As a prison, it, wasn’t so nice ——especially since so many prisoners lost their heads．Today tourists can explore 5the Tower in the
United Kingdom．Here are some reasons why the Tower was and still is a cool place．
Ravens（渡鸦） are like superheroes．
Well, sort of．Legend says if the ravens that live on the Tower grounds ever leave, the Tower will fall apart．No one knows when the ravens first showed up, but Charles II took the legend so seriously that in the 1670s he gave an official order that six ravens be kept there all the time．Today
there are still always six．
You might have lived at a zoo．
In 1204, King John kept a collection of animals, including lions and elephants．About 50 years later, King Henry III received a polar bear．the bear was kept on a piece of rope so it could fish from the Thames River that flows by the Tower．
If you lived at the Tower today, your mom or dad might be in charge．
The 35 Yeoman Warders（伦敦塔卫士）and their families are among the few still allowed to live at the Tower．Established in 1509 a;? bodyguards! for the king, today they give tours and  manage the day-to-day details of the Tower．They’re called "beefeaters," possibly because their job once allowed them to eat beef from the king’s; table．
You need a secret password at night．
Called the "Word," the password changes every 24 hours and is a must-have to enter the Tower
after hours．It’s written on a piece of paper and delivered to the Yeoman on duty for, the night．
You could find buried gold．
In 1662, a goldsmith（金匠） named John Barfcstead supposedly hid more than $40,000 worth of stolen gold somewhere on．the Tower grounds．Many have searched for the gold, but it has never
been found．

1. 1.

   Charles II decided to keep six ravens in the Tower probably because ______．         ;

   1. A.
      he loved animals a lot
   2. B.
      he believed ravens helped protect the Tower
   3. C.
      he wanted to train the ravens to watch the prisoners
   4. D.
      he thought the Tower was a cool place for the ravens to live
2. 2.

   According to the passage, the Yeoman Warders ______．

   1. A.
      have to part from their families to work at the Tower
   2. B.
      are currently working as bodyguards for the king
   3. C.
      sometimes serve as tour guides
   4. D.
      are fond of eating beef
3. 3.

   Which of the following is TRUE about the Tower of London?

   1. A.
      King Henry III kept lions and elephants in it．
   2. B.
      It stands on the bank of the Thames River．
   3. C.
      Nobody is allowed to enter it at night．
   4. D.
      It is also used as a prison nowadays．

MEXICO CITY: A jetliner from the beach resort of Cancun was briefly hijacked as it landed in Mexico City on Wednesday. The hijackers released all passengers shortly before federal police stormed the plane, and the crew emerged unharmed moments later.

Police, who did not fire a single shot, led as many as eight handcuffed men away from the airplane, which was isolated at the end of a runway in an area designed for emergencies. The hijackers’ motive was unclear, though Mexican news media initially identified them as Bolivians demanding to speak with Mexican President Felipe Calderon.

US, French and Mexican citizens were among the 112 passengers and crew on Aeromexico Flight 576, according to a US official who had been briefed on the situation. The official was not authorized to discuss the case and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Mexico’s transportation and communications secretary, Juan Molinar, said there was no bomb on the airplane, although some passengers said one of the hijackers held a package that resembled an explosive device, and a bomb squad (拆弹小组) was later seen near the airplane.

He did not immediately identify the hijackers or speculate on their motive.

“Various people who participated in the act have been detained and we are investigating,” Molinar said.

The attorney general’s office said it was opening an investigation into terrorism and kidnapping but did not specify how many people could be charged.

Mexican news media initially reported the hijackers were Bolivian, but Bolivia’s ambassador to Mexico, Jorge Mancilla, said Mexican authorities had no evidence that was the case. Mancilla said sources told him they could be Colombian or Venezuelan. Several passengers told reporters they did not notice a non-Mexican accent.

    Passenger Rocio Garcia told the Televisa network that the pilot made an announcement after landing in Mexico City that the airplane was being hijacked. Passengers said the hijackers never communicated with them directly.

“These were scary moments,” she said.

    She said she saw one of the hijackers whom she described as a well-dressed, older man.

    “He looked fine, like a normal passenger,” she said.

    Passenger Daniel Hernandez said he saw a hijacker carrying a Bible.

From the first paragraph we can conclude that _________.

A. the hijackers just wanted to play a trick on the police

B. the hijackers didn’t prepare for their action

C. the hijackers surrendered before the police fired

D. the hijackers lost their way at the last moment

From what Juan Molinar said we can learn that _________.

A. police were still trying to identify a possible bomb

B. passengers succeeded in stopping the explosion

C. a frightening bomb was found later on the airplane

D. several Mexicans were involved in the hijacking

What may be the first step taken when the hijacked plane landed?

A. They gave a sudden attack at the hijackers.

B. They kept the plane away from other planes.

C. They asked the crew to control the hijackers.

D. They abandoned the plane at the end of the runway.

The hijackers, as some passengers described, _________.

A. were good at bargaining with the police        

B. were all well-dressed American old men

C. all came from Colombia or Venezuela           

D. stayed calm and appeared noble, educated

 (08·江苏D篇)

It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams. There,I n the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.

Over the phone, his mother told him,“Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday.”Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.

“Jack, did you hear me?”

“Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It’s been so long since I thought of him.

I’m sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago,”Jack said.

“Well, he didn’t forget you. Every time I saw him he’d ask how you were doing.

He’d reminisce(回忆) about the many days you spent over ‘his side of the fence’ as he put it,”Mom told him.

“I loved that old house he lived in,”Jack said.

“You know, Jack,after your father died, Mr.Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man’s influence in your life,”she said.

“He’s the one who taught me carpentry. I wouldn’t be in this business if it weren’t for him.He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important...Mom, I’ll be there for the funeral,”Jack said.

Busy as he was,he kept his word.Jack caught the next flight to his hometown.Mr.Belser’s funeral was small and uneventful.He had no children of his own,and most of his relatives had passed away.

The night before he had to return home,Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time,which was exactly as he remembered.Every step held memories.Every picture,every piece of furniture...Jack stopped suddenly.

“What’s wrong,Jack?”his Mom asked.

“The box is gone,”he said.

“What box?”Mom asked.

“There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk.I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside.All he’d ever tell me was ‘the thing I value most’,”Jack said.

It was gone.Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it,except for the box.He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it.

“Now I’ll never know what was so valuable to him,”Jack said sadly.

Returning to his office the next day,he found a package on his desk.The return address caught his attention.

“Mr.Harold Belser”it read.

Jack tore open the package.There inside was the gold box and an envelope.

Jack’s hands shook as he read the note inside.

“Upon my death,please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett.

It’s the thing I valued most in my life.”A small key was taped to the letter.His heart racing,and tears filling his eyes,Jack carefully unlocked the box.There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch.Running his fingers slowly over the fine cover,he opened it.

Inside he found these words carved:“Jack,thanks for your time!Harold Belser.”

“Oh,my God! This is the thing he valued most...”

Jack held the watch for a few minutes,then called his assistant and cleared his appointments for the next two days.“Why?”his assistant asked.

“I need some time to spend with my son,” he said.

66.Why did Jack think Mr.Belser died years ago?

A.College and career prevented him from remembering Mr.Belser.

B.Jack was too busy with his business and family to think about Mr.Belser.

C.Jack was too busy realizing his dreams to think about Mr.Belser.

D.His present busy life washed away his childhood memories.

67.Jack’s mother told him on the phone about Mr.Belser EXCEPT that         .

A.Mr.Belser often asked how Jack was doing

B.Mr.Belser’s funeral would take place on Wednesday

C.Mr.Belser had asked for Jack’s mailing address

D.Mr.Belser had pleasant memories of their time together

68.Why did Belser send Jack his gold watch?

A.Because he was grateful for Jack’s time with him.

B.Because he had no children or relatives.

C.Because he thought he had to keep his word.

D.Because Jack had always wanted it during his childhood.

69.Why did Jack say he needed some time to spend with his son?

A.He was very tired of his work and wanted to have a good rest.

B.He had promised to spare more time to stay with his son.

C.He had missed his son and his family for days.

D.He came to realize the importance of the time with his family.

70.Which of the following is the most suitable title for this passage?

A.The Good Old Times

B.What He Valued Most

C.An Old Gold Watch

D.The Lost Childhood Days