A story from the Bible tells of old Babylon, where the men decided to build a tower that would touch the sky．But God was unhappy, and he made them speak different languages．They couldn’t understand each other, so their dream never came true．

Yet the dream remains alive: if all men speak the same language, they can do anything．L．L．Zamenhof from Poland was among the men who pursue this dream．He developed Esperanto（世界语）between 1877 and 1885．

As the most successful man-made world language, it is spoken by over two million people around the world．Last month, the World Esperanto Congress（大会）, dealing with language rights, ended in Sweden．The 2004 conference will be held in Beijing．Most Esperanto speakers are in Central and Eastern Europe and in East Asia, particularly Chinese mainland．

Esperanto has two advantages．First, it’s easy．Each letter has exactly one sound and there are just 16 basic grammar rules．The second advantage is that it belongs to no one country．But Esperanto has only reached a small number of people compared with natural languages widely used around the world-such as English or Chinese．While these languages are deeply connected with their nations and cultures, Esperanto doesn’t have this background．

Will Esperanto really become a global language? It remains a question．

1.The writer tells us a story at the beginning to          ．

             A．explain why men have been making the effort to create a language shared by all

                   B．explain why men now speak different languages

                   C．show the relationship between man and God

                   D．prove that language is very important

2.What does the underlined word “pursue” in the second paragraph mean?

                   A．“Realize”．        B．“Work for”．     C．“Be against”． D．“Follow”．

3.What is the basic difference between Esperanto and English?

                   A．More people speak English than Esperanto．

                   B．Esperanto words are easier to spell．

                   C．Esperanto has fewer grammar rules．

                   D．Esperanto is not supported by any country or culture．

4.What does the story mainly talk about?

                   A．Advantages and disadvantages of Esperanto．

                   B．Men’s dream of sharing the same language．

                   C．The most successful planned language-Esperanto．

                   D．Comparison of Esperanto and other languages like English and Chinese．

A few days ago I got a call from my old college friend whom I haven’t seen for a very long time. The topic, which was about all the good old times that we had changed to a touching story when he started talking about his father.　　

His father’s declining health made him stay at the hospital. Because of his illness, his father suffered from insomnia (失眠) and often talked to himself. My friend, who had not been able to sleep for a few days as he had to keep watching his father’s condition, became irritated and told his father to keep silent and try to get some sleep. His father said that he really wanted to sleep well because he was very tired and told my friend to leave him alone in the hospital if he did not want to keep him company.　　

After his father finished talking, he fell unconscious (失去知觉). My friend was very sorry for speaking the ill words towards his father. My friend, whom I knew as a tough person, cried as a baby on the other end of the telephone. He said that from that moment on, he prayed every day, asking God to let his father wake up from his coma. He promised himself that whatever words came out from his father’s mouth after he regained his consciousness, he would gladly take them. His only hope for God was to give him a chance to rectify his past mistake.　　

Often, we complain when we have to accompany or watch over our parents for years, months, days, hours or even minutes. But do we realize that our parents keep us company and watch over us for as long as we (or they) live? From the day we were born to our adulthood, and even when deaths come to us, they are always at our side.

    Imagine how sad our parents will be when they hear a seemingly innocent word of “no” come out from our mouths. We can make promises to ourselves that from now on there will be no more complaints that come out from our mouths when we have to watch over or accompany our parents. No more complaints come out from our mouths when we feel that our parents have treated us like little children. There are so many unlucky ones who have neither fathers nor mothers. They long to have the things that we most complain about, but never have them.

    Actually, it takes only a second to think and light the lamp that will bring us to a place where peace is dwelling.

1.Which of the following word can be used to describe the writer’s friend?

A. Sad      B. Sorry      C. Regretful        D. Pitiful

2.What does the underlined word “rectify” mean in Para. 3?

A. put…right    B. recite…by heart   C. realize    D. recognize

3.What does the writer want to tell us in the passage?

A. Your parents will keep talking to themselves when they are old.

B. Be good to your parents when you still have the chance.

C. You will regret in your life if you don’t show your kindness to your parents.

D. It is not easy to take good care of sick old parents.

I was in the kitchen making lunch when I saw my six-year-old son, Billy, walking toward the woods. I could only see his back. He  56   to be walking with a great effort, trying to be as  57  as possible.

    A few minutes after he disappeared into the   58  , he came running toward the house again. I went back to making sandwiches,   59   that whatever task he had been doing was completed. Moments later,  60  , he was once again walking slowly toward the woods.

      61  curiosity, I walked out and followed him on his journey. He was  62   both hands in front of him as he walked, being  63   not to spill the water he held in them. I secretly walked   64   behind him as he went into the woods and I saw the most amazing  65  .

    Several large deer loomed in front of him. Billy walked right up to them. I almost  66   at him to get away. A huge male deer with elaborate（精美的）antlers was   67   close. But they didn’t even move as Billy   68  . And I saw a small deer lying on the ground, obviously suffering from   69  and extreme heat, lift its head  70   to drink the water cupped in my beautiful boy’s hands.

    It was on this day that I learned the true lesson of  71  . You know, we hadn’t had any rain for three months and our crops were   72 . As the tears that rolled down my face began to hit the ground, they were suddenly   73   by other drops. I looked up at the sky. It was  74   God was moved to weep. The rain came that day and saved our farm, just like the  75  of one little boy who saved another.

A. happened B. seemed       C. managed    D. intended

A. quickly    B. secret  C. smoothly    D. still

A. distance   B. yard    C. woods D. park

A. wondering      B. thinking         C. studying     D. doubting

A. eventually       B. actually         C. however     D. therefore

A. Within     B. Out of     C. Beyond      D. In spite of

A. holding   B. waving   C. surrounding      D. cupping

A. careful    B. worried      C. eager  D. prepared

A. away       B. close   C. out     D. off

A. scene       B. story   C. view   D. game 

A. fought     B. signed C. screamed    D. waited

A. hardly     B. dangerously     C. easily  D. nearly

A. ran away B. turned out        C. knelt down D. settled down

A. hunger    B. disease       C. thirst   D. injury

A. in turn     B. in silence        C. with appreciation      D. with difficulty 

A. suffering B. supporting       C. sharing       D. depending

A. dying      B. reducing         C. harvesting  D. growing

A. hidden     B. covered      C. joined D. caught

A. when       B. as if    C. because      D. that

A. wish B. dream C. action D. expectation

1 

One day, while a woodcutter was cutting a branch of a tree above a river. When he began crying, God appeared and asked him, "Why are you crying?"

The woodcutter told him that he had dropped his axe into water. God went down into the water and reappeared with a golden axe.

"Is this your axe?" God asked.

The woodcutter said "No."

God again went down and came up with a silver axe." Is this your axe?" God asked.

The woodcutter said "No."

God again went down and came up with a iron axe." Is this your axe?" God asked.

The woodcutter said "Yes."

God was pleased with the man's honesty and gave him all the three axes.

The woodcutter went home happily. One day while he was walking with his wife along the river, his wife fell into the river. W hen he began crying, God appeared and asked him, "Why are you crying?"

"My wife has fallen into water."

God went down into the water and came up with Jennifer Lopez.

"Is this your wife?" God asked him.

 "Yes." he said.

God was furious(狂怒的),"YOU CHEAT !Now I am going to curse you."

The woodcutter quickly said, “Forgive me my lord. It is a misunderstanding. IF I say 'No' to Jennifer Lopez, you will come up with Catherine Zeta Jones, If I also say 'No' to her, you will finally come up

With my wife and I will say, 'Yes.' Then you will give all the three to me .I am a poor man .I will not be able to look after all the three. So that's why I've to say 'Yes' "

【小题1】           Which of the following best describes the author's tone in telling the story?

A. Optimistic    B. Humoristic   C. Objective   D. Critical

【小题2】           The impression that the woodcutter makes on you is that he is -----

A. foolish but honest           B. foolish and honest

C. smart but honest            D. smart and honest

【小题3】           What can you infer about Jennifer Lopez and Catherine Zeta Jones?

A. They are the secret lovers of the woodcutter

B. They look much like the woodcutter's wife.

C. They are both rich women with a lot of gold and silver.

D. They are both popular with women, much worthy than his wife

One day, while a woodcutter was cutting a branch of a tree above a river. When he began crying, God appeared and asked him, "Why are you crying?"
The woodcutter told him that he had dropped his axe into water. God went down into the water and reappeared with a golden axe.
"Is this your axe?" God asked.
The woodcutter said "No."
God again went down and came up with a silver axe." Is this your axe?" God asked.
The woodcutter said "No."
God again went down and came up with a iron axe." Is this your axe?" God asked.
The woodcutter said "Yes."
God was pleased with the man's honesty and gave him all the three axes.
The woodcutter went home happily. One day while he was walking with his wife along the river, his wife fell into the river. W hen he began crying, God appeared and asked him, "Why are you crying?"
"My wife has fallen into water."
God went down into the water and came up with Jennifer Lopez.
"Is this your wife?" God asked him.
"Yes." he said.
God was furious(狂怒的),"YOU CHEAT !Now I am going to curse you."
The woodcutter quickly said, “Forgive me my lord. It is a misunderstanding. IF I say 'No' to Jennifer Lopez, you will come up with Catherine Zeta Jones, If I also say 'No' to her, you will finally come up
With my wife and I will say, 'Yes.' Then you will give all the three to me .I am a poor man .I will not be able to look after all the three. So that's why I've to say 'Yes' "
【小题1】Which of the following best describes the author's tone in telling the story?