Do what you are told and don't ________ me.

1. A.
   argue with
2. B.
   argue against
3. C.
   argue for
4. D.
   argue into

I was eight when my neighbors got a TV. It was small and expensive, but that didn’t matter. IT WAS WONDERFUL. Everyone in the building came up to the fifth floor to see this latest wonder of the modern world. That was in 1948.

Soon, a lot of people got a TV, but not us. My parents didn’t think it was good for children. Being a good son, I didn’t argue with them. But I secretly watch TV—at my friends’ homes.

By 1955, televisions weren’t so expensive and were much larger. My parents still thought they were not good for us, but my sisters insisted, saying they were the only people in the neighborhood who didn’t have one. All their friends talked about certain programs and actors, but they couldn’t. Their friends laughed at them, which made them feel very unhappy. My youngest sister cried, saying she was never going back to school and that life without a TV wasn’t worth living. Nothing my parents said made her feel better. The next morning, without telling us, they went out and got a new TV.

When we were young our parents allowed us to watch TV for two hours a night. And we couldn’t watch until our homework was finished. But after a year or two, TV wasn’t exciting or new anymore. It became just another part of our lives like shoes or soap. My parents still had fears about TV. We were going to forget how to read, and TV was going to fill our minds with violence, they said.

Today people still argue about the value of TV. Nobody can deny the power of TV, which has a powerful influence on our lives. On average, Americans spend 30 hours a week watching TV. Is this influence good or bad? This is an unanswerable question indeed: It is hard enough to measure influence; and it is even harder to decide what is good and what isn’t. What is good, I suppose, is that many people are concerned about TV’s influence and that we have the power to change what we don’t like.

The people of Monhegan Island, 18 kilometers away off the coast of Maine, don’t have electricity, and they decided; once again, that they liked that way. Electricity, they think, would make life too easy and spoil their way of life. Maybe the young people wouldn’t want to go to town dances anymore. Maybe they would be more interested in staying at home and watching TV.

1.How old was the author, when their family got a TV?

A. About 15.      B. 8.               C. 18.              D. About 10.

2.The author’s parents finally decided to buy a TV because _______.

A. they wanted to meet their daughters’ needs .

B. the children couldn’t go to school without a TV

C. the sisters would like to be like their friends

D. they had to do as the youngest daughter told them to

3.The author thinks “to judge whether a TV’s influence is good or bad” is ________.

A. concerning     B. hard             C. meaningless       D. important

4.The last paragraph is written to show ________.

A. the disadvantage of TV

B. TV influences people a great deal

C. the advantage of TV

D. we can change what we don’t like

My grandmother was an iron－willed woman, the feared head of the family. When I was five years old, she invited some friends to her apartment for a party. __1__ the guests was a neighborhood big shot(大亨). They had a little girl about my age who was __2__ and very much used to getting her own way.

Grandmother spent a lot of time with the big shot and his family. She __3__ them the most important members of her social circle and tried hard to please them. At one point during the party, I __4__ my way to the bathroom and closed the door behind me. A minute or two later, the little girl __5__ the bathroom door and simply walked in. I was still sitting down. “Don't you know that little girls aren't __6__ to come into the bathroom when a little boy is using it！？” I shouted. The __7__ I had piled upon her shocked the little girl. Then she started to cry. She tearfully __8__ to her parents and my grandmother. Grandmother was waiting for me when I left the bathroom. I received the longest, sharpest __9__. After her scolding was over and I had been dismissed, the party __10__.

Twenty minutes later, all that changed. Grandmother walked by the bathroom and noticed a flood of water __11__ out from under the door. She __12__ the bathroom door and saw that the sink and tub were plugged(塞)up and that the taps __13__ at full blast(拧到最大). Everyone knew who did it. The guests quickly formed a __14__ wall around me, but Grandmother was __15__  angry that she almost got to me anyway.

My grandfather took me __16__ to the window. He was a kind and gentleman, full of wisdom and patience. __17__ did he raise his voice to anyone, and never did he __18__ his wife. He looked at me with much curiosity, __19__  angry or upset.

“Tell me，” he asked, “why did you do it？”

“Well, she shouted at me __20__，” I said earnestly. “Now she's got something to shout about.”

Grandfather didn't speak right away. He just sat there, looking at me and smiling. “Eric，” he said at last, “you are my revenge(复仇)．”

1. A. Between  B. Among  C. Around  D. Beside

2. A. spoiled  B. harmed  C. liked   D. concerned

3. A. imagined          B. told           C. evaluated           D. considered

4. A. made              B. found   C. pushed  D. wound

5. A. closed             B. opened   C. beat  D. tapped

6. A. expected        B. asked           C. supposed          D. told

7. A. happiness          B. depression       

C. embarrassment    D. anger

8. A. complained        B. apologized  

C. replied               D. referred

9. A. cry  B. blame  C. comment   D. demand

10. A. picked up         B. broke down      

C. carried on       D. took off

11. A. moving   B. stirring  C. floating  D. streaming

12. A. pushed open         B. pulled down 

C. shut up            D. knocked at

13. A. had gone               B. were going    

C. went                 D. had been going

14. A. productive       B. hard         

C. protective     D. rough

15. A. so       B. too        C. as       D. very

16. A. by his hand   B. by the hand  

C. by surprise      D. with anxiety

17. A. Often   B. Sometimes  C. Always   D. Rarely

18. A. argue with      B. talk with   

C. put up with           D. come to terms with

19. A. other than       B. instead of    

C. rather than      D. more than

20. A. for something   B. for nothing       

C. without doubt   D. with sympathy

Drinking Water: Bottled or From the Tap?

In America, people will include a case or two of bottled water when buying the week's groceries. When they are going to a soccer game or activity, it's common for them to grab a cold bottle of water out of the fridge with them．In fact, Americans buy more bottled water than any other nation in the world, about 29 billion bottles a year．

But all these plastic bottles use a lot of fossil fuels and pollute the environment．In order to make all the 29 billion bottles, producers use 17 million barrels of crude oil, which is enough to keep a million cars going for 12 months．

So why don't people drink water straight from the tap? Some people have a strong belief that bottled water is better than water out of the tap, but that's not necessarily true．In the US, the local governments make sure water from the tap is safe．There is also growing concern that chemicals in the bottles themselves may go into the water．

People love the convenience of bottled water．But maybe if they realized the problems it causes, they would try drinking from a glass at home or carrying water in a reusable steel container instead of plastic．

Some argue that plastic bottle recycling can help．Recycled bottles can be turned into items like carpeting or clothing．Unfortunately, only one in six bottles is recycled．The rest make it to landfills（垃圾填埋场）or end as trash in other places．Plastic bottles take hundreds of years for them to disintegrate．

Water is important for you, so keep drinking it．But think about how often you use water bottles, and see if you can make a change．

And yes, you can make a difference．Remember this: Recycling one plastic bottle can save enough energy to power a 60-watt light bulb for six hours．

1.Why do Americans prefer bottled water?

A．Bottled water is better than water from the tap．

B．Bottled water is cheaper than water from the tap．

C．Bottled water contains beneficial chemicals in it．

D．Bottled water is more convenient than water from the tap．

2.What does the underlined word "disintegrate" in the fifth paragraph probably mean_____ .

A．Be well recycled．                      B．Become less poisonous．

C．Break into small pieces．                 D．Go down below a surface．

3.The author's intention of writing this passage is to recommend Americans_____.

A．drink more water from the tap

B．send plastic bottles to landfills

C．use water bottles to power light bulls

D．buy bottles filled with water from the tap

Many trees in the Brackham area were brought down in the terrible storms that March. The town itself lost two great lime trees from the former market square. The disappearance of such striking features had changed the appearance of the town center entirely, to the annoyance of its more conservative inhabitants(居民).

Among the annoyed, under more normal circumstances, would have been Chief Inspector Douglas Pelham, head of the local police force. But at the height of that week's storm, when the wind brought down even the mature walnut tree in his garden, Pelham had in fact been in no fit state to notice. A large and healthy man, he had for the first time in his life been seriously ill with an attack of bronchitis.

When he first complained of an aching head and tightness in his chest, his wife, Molly, had tried to persuade him to go to the doctor. Convinced that the police force could not do without him, he had, as usual, ignored her and attempted to carry on working. Predictably, though he wouldn't have listened to anyone who tried to tell him so, this had the effect of fogging his memory and shortening his temper.

It was only when his colleague, Sergeant Lloyd, took the initiative (主动) and drove him to the doctor's door that he finally gave in. By that time, he didn't have the strength left to argue with her. In no time at all, she was taking him along to the chemist's to get his medicine and then home to his unsurprised wife who sent him straight to bed.

When Molly told him, on the Thursday morning, that the walnut tree had been brought down during the night, Pelham hadn’t been able to take it in. On Thursday evening, he had asked weakly about damage to the house, groaned (含糊不清地说) thankfully when he heard there was none, and pulled the sheets over his head.

It wasn't until Saturday, when the medicine took effect, his temperature dropped and he got up, that he realized with a shock that the loss of the walnut tree had made a permanent difference to the appearance of the living-room. The Pelhams’ large house stood in a sizable garden. It had not come cheap, but even so Pelham had no regrets about buying it. The leafy garden had created an impression of privacy. Now, though, the storm had changed his outlook.

Previously, the view from the living-room had featured the handsome walnut tree. This had not darkened the room because there was also a window on the opposite wall, but it had provided interesting patterns of light and shade that hid the true state of the worn furniture that the family had brought with them from their previous house.

With the tree gone, the room seemed cruelly bright, its worn furnishings exposed in all their shabbiness. And the view from the window didn’t bear looking at. The tall house next door, previously hidden by the tree, was now there, dominating the outlook with its unattractive purple bricks and external pipes. It seemed to have a great many upstairs windows, all of them watching the Pelhams' every movement.

“Doesn’t it look terrible?” Pelham whispered to his wife. But Molly, standing in the doorway, sounded more pleased than dismayed. “That's what I’ve been telling you ever since we came here. We have to buy a new sofa, whatever it costs.”

1.Why were some people in Brackham annoyed after the storm?

A．No market could be held.

B．The police had done little to help.

C．The town looked different.

D．Fallen trees had not been removed.

2.In the third paragraph, what do we learn about Chief Inspector Pelham’s general attitude to his work?

A．He finds it extremely annoying.

B．Не is sure that he plays an important role.

C．Не considers the systems are not clear enough.

D．He does not trust the decisions made by his superiors.

3. What aspect of the Pelhams’ furniture does “shabbiness” in paragraph 8 describe?

A．its condition.       B．its colour.          C．its position.        D．its design.

4.As a result of the storm, the Pelhams’ living-room _____.

A．was pleasantly lighter                    B．felt less private

C．had a better view                       D．was in need of repair

5.Why did Molly sound pleased by her husband’s comment?

A．It proved that he was well again.

B．She agreed about the tree.

C．She thought he meant the sofa.

D．It was what she expected him to say.