The flag, the most common symbol of a nation in the modern world, is also one of the most ancient. With a clear symbolic meaning, the flag in the traditional form is still used today to mark buildings, ships and other vehicles related to a country.

The national flag as we know it today is in no way a primitive artifact. It is, rather, the product of thousands of years’ development. Historians believe that it had two major ancestors, of which the earlier served to show wind direction.

Early human beings used very fragile houses and boats. Often strong winds would tear roofs from houses or cause high waves that endangered travelers. People’s food supplies were similarly vulnerable. Even after they had learned how to plant grains, they still needed help from nature to ensure good harvests. Therefore they feared and depended on the power of the wind, which could bring warmth from one direction and cold from another.

Using a simple piece of cloth tied to the top of a post to tell the direction of the wind was more dependable than earlier methods, such as watching the rising of smoke from a fire. The connection of the flag with heavenly power was therefore reasonable. Early human societies began to fix long pieces of cloth to the tops of totems (图腾) before carrying them into battle. They believed that the power of the wind would be added to the good wishes of the gods and ancestors represented by the totems themselves.

These flags developed very slowly into modern flags. The first known flag of a nation or a ruler was unmarked: The king of China around 1,000 B.C. was known to have a white flag carried ahead of him. This practice might have been learned from Egyptians even further in the past, but it was from China that it spread over trade routes through India, then across Arab lands, and finally to Europe, where it met up with the other ancestor of the national flag.

1. The underlined word “ vulnerable” in paragraph 3 means _______.

　　A. easy to damage　　                B. likely to be protected

　　C. impossible to make sure of　　       D. difficult to find

2.The earliest flags were connected with heavenly power because they _______.

　　A. could tell wind direction　　         B. could bring good luck to fighters

　　C. were believed to stand for natural forces D. were handed down by the ancestors

3.What does the author know of the first national flag?

　　A. He knows when it was sent to Europe.  B. He doubts where it started.

　　C. He thinks it came from China.   　　  D. He believes it was made in Egypt.

4.What will the author most probably talk about next?

　　A. The role of China in the spread of the national flag.

　　B. The importance of modern flags.

　　C. The use of modern flags in Europe.

　　D. The second ancestor of the national flag.

Andy was born with a developmental(发展的disorder. The two sides of his brain were not        normally together. The right side of his        could not communicate with the left.  At the age of three, it was      for him to walk, speak, and play. He could only echo (重复) back a few words, and walked        while someone held each of his hands.

Then came the     . He attended an all-day center where he       every unimaginable treatment. He struggled, sometimes in        , to get stronger. Andy hated it when his parents would       him there in the

mornings. However, they       —against all odds(逆境)—that he would grow up to live a       healthy life. They believed it for themselves, and for Andy.

It      .Today Andy is a successful 13-year-old high school student and has won the gold medal for his math competition. His _____ has been nothing short of a wonder. He receives special help with a few things, but _____ his friends in all the activities he loves. Andy overcame a lot of      to move from adversity (逆境) to victory.  

Ask yourself: “What are the seeds of       hidden in my struggles today? If I get up when I      , what will that make possible tomorrow? ”

阅读理解　　 

　　Some people do not like anything to be out of place, they are never late for work; they return their books to the library on time; they remember people's birthday and they pay their bills as soon as they arrive. Mr Dodds is such a person.

　　Mr Dodds works in a bank, and lives alone. The only family he has were in the next town: his sister lives there with her husband, and her son, Mark. Mr Dodds does not see his sister, or his family, from one year to the next, but he sends them Christmas cards, and he has not forgotten one of Mark's seventeen birthdays. Last week Mr Dodds had quite a surprise. He drove home from the bank at the usual time and drove neither too slowly nor too fast; he parked his car where he always parked it, out of the way of other cars, and he went inside to make his evening meal. At once, there was a knock at the door. Mr Dodds opened the door to find a policeman standing at the door.

　　“What have I done wrong?”Mr Dodds asked himself.“Have I driven on the wrong side of the road? Has there been some trouble at the bank? Have I forgotten to pay an important bill?”

　　“Hello, Uncle”said the policeman,“My name's Mark.”

1．Mr Dodds sees his sister ________.

[　　]

2．Mr Dodds ________.

[　　]

A．has forgotten more than one Mark's birthday

B．has not sent Mark anything on his seventeenth birthday

C．always sends a Christmas card on Mark's birthday

D．always sends Mark something on his birthday

3．When he heard a knock at the door, he was ________.

[　　]

4．Mr Dodds was surprised that ________.

[　　]

A．a policeman visited him

B．Mark came to see him

C．he had forgotten Mark's birthday

D．someone was knocking at the door

5．Which of the following best describes the writer's attitude towards Mr Dodds? ________.

[　　]

A．Mr Dodds always insists on his opinion

B．Mr Dodds is not strict in his work

C．Mr Dodds never makes a mistake

D．Mr Dodds does not care about others

The student had answered: “Take the barometer to the top of the building, fasten a    5  

rope to it,   6    the barometer to the street, and then bring it up,   7    the length of the rope. That’s the    8   .”

I pointed out that the student really have a strong case for full credit(学分) ,since he had answered the question   9    and correctly, but the answer did not prove competence(能力)  in physics. I   10    that the student have another try. I gave the student six minutes, with the   11    that his answer should show some    12   of physics. His answer reads:

“Take the barometer to the top of the building and lean    13    the edge of the roof. Drop the barometer,   14    its fall with a stop watch. Then using the formula s=1/2at²,calculate the height of the building.”

I gave the student    15    full credit.

Before I left, the student said he had   16    answers. “But,” said the student,   17    the best way is to knock at the superintendent’s(管理者)  door. When he    18    ,you say: “Mr. Superintendent, here I have a(n)    19    barometer. If you will tell me the height of the building, I will    20   you this barometer.”

1. A. tick　　    　　    B. zero　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. mark　　    　　　　  D. comment

2. A. score　　　　    B. praise　　　　　　　　　　   C. reward　　    　　　　　　  D. prize

3. A. change　　　　   B. raise　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. determine　　　　 D. find

4. A. care　　　　 　　  B. aid 　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. effort　　　　 　　　　　　  D. improvement

5. A. strong　　　　  B. big 　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. beautiful　　    　　 D. long

6. A. lower　　　　    B. drop 　　　　　　　　　　   C. carry　　　　  　　  D. place

7. A. covering　　　　 B. folding　　　　　　　　　　 C. measuring　　　　 D. imagining

8. A. height　　　　  B. width 　　　　　　　　　　　　    C. size　　　　  　　    D. weight

9. A. perfectly　　　　 B. completely　　　　　　   C. seriously  　　      D. carefully

10. A. demanded　　   B. required 　　　　　　　　 C. insisted　　　　 　　 D. suggested

11. A. warning　　　　 B. advice 　　　　　　　　   C. order　　　　 　　    D. point

12. A. wisdom　　　　 B. technology　　　　　　　　　　 C. knowledge　　　　 D. gift

13. A. on　　　　  　　 B. over 　　　　　　　　　　   C. against　　　　      D. beyond

14. A. stopping　　    B. observing　　　　　　　　 C. timing　　　　 　　  D. watching

15. A. almost　　　　 B. still 　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. simply　　　　      D. hardly

16. A. some　　        B. other　　　　　　　　　　    C. two　　    　　　　   D. no

17. A. interestingly　　 B. surprisingly　　　　　　  C. probably　　　　    D. strangely

18. A. opens　　　　   B. shouts 　　　　　　　　    C. stares　　　　 　　　　　　  D. answers

19. A. fine　　　　 　　 B. large 　　　　　　　　　　   C. interesting　　      D. attractive

20. A. give　　　　    B. lend 　　　　　　　　　　    C. sell　　　　  　　　　 D. show