Directions: Read the following passage. Answer the questions according to the information given in the passage and required words limit. Write your answers on your answer sheet.

Few places have as much ancient history and modern knowledge to offer to students as Egypt. In addition to being the site of many of the world’s greatest wonders, Egypt also hosts two major religious institutions. Al-Azhar University is one of the oldest Islamic institutions for higher studies. The head of Al-Azhar is traditionally regarded as the ruler of Sunni Muslims all over the world.

Al-Azhar University had long been known as the most archaic university in the world until 2004, when archaeologists unearthed the site of what was believed to be the first ever ivory tower in the world in the northern seaside city of Alexandria.

What the archaeological team found were 13 lecture halls that could accommodate up to 5,000 students each. These lecture halls are believed to be the University of Alexandria, home of famous Greek scholars like Archimedes and Euclid during the ancient city’s golden era.

This discovery shows that Egypt was a centre for education and learning in the early world civilizations. Its tradition of scholarship was evident even from the Pharaonic Age（法老时代）, which boasted engineering wonders such as the pyramids as well as the scientific wonder of mummies, all of which still exist tod ay.

During the Islamic Age, Egypt became the regional academic centre for Islamic study and Arabic language and literature. Her popularity with scholars from all over the world grew with the establishment of Al-Azhar University in Cairo, in 975.

Today, it remains a popular destination for international scholars, especially those from the Arab world, Africa, Asia and Europe, but like most modern Egyptian universities, Al-Azhar has been equipped with the latest technologies to cope with new demands from the modern world, and is an ideal place for students from all over the world.

Find in the passage a word closest in meaning to the underlined word “ archaic” .(one word)

Why has Al-Azhar been equipped with the latest technologies?(no more than 9 word)

What is the passage mainly about ?(no more than 6 word)

What is the writer’s purpose of writing this passage?(no more than 9 word)

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.

The man sitting opposite Robert was the Financial Controller. Everybody called him “the FC” for short. He made all the decisions about money. Robert needed some more. That was why he had to see him. The two men did not get on very well. In fact, they had always disliked each other.
“Your request is out of the question,” the FC said. Robert had difficulty in controlling himself, but he managed somehow. He explained that he wanted the money in order to make more programmes.
“And why do you want to do that?” the FC asked sharply. Again, Robert almost lost his temper. “Because more and more people are listening to my department’s programmes. There’s great demand for them,” he answered.
The FC did not seem to believe him. But Robert had a report on the numbers of listeners to all EBC programmes. The FC became less confident. Robert threw the report down on the table and told him to read it.
The FC looked at it in silence. The figures (数字) proved that he had been wrong, but he did not want to admit it. “Well,” he finally said, “I may have made a small mistake.” Robert noticed the word “may.” He got up to leave. But he had the feeling that he would get the money after all.
【小题1】In the story the Financial Controller was a person who was in charge of

— Why were you not at the concert last night?

    — I ______ a close game between Seattle Sonnies and Miami Bucks.

 A. watched        B. was watching  C. have watched     D. had watched

Old Computers Make for Unhappy Workers --- Survey
LONDON  (Reuters) ----- Dealing with the dissatisfaction of aging and unreliable office computers leads to workers' unhappiness and more sick leave, a survey showed on Wednesday.
A survey carried out by caro4free.net of over 2,700 European office workers from the UK, France and Germany found that workplace dissatisfaction increased greatly with the age of the computer equipment.
"We do know that job satisfaction is falling in Britain and most advanced nations," said Stephen White, a researcher from the Work Foundation. "The actual reasons for this are the subject of very heated discussion. It's certainly one interesting theory that technology may be the cause of this in some way," White added.
A quarter of these using outdated computers in Britain said they were "quite" or "very dissatisfied" with their everyday job compared to the percent of those who had enjoyed an advantage from up-to-date technology.
The survey also said that among workers dealing with outdated equipment, there was a 35 percent greater probability they would take six or more days of sick leave per year compared with the average worker. In France, where more workers use old computers, the probability jumped to 55 percent.
Results also showed that women in the three countries were more likely to be using outdated equipment. In the UK, where more workers have up-to-date computers than in the other countries surveyed, the number of women using old equipment doubled that of men.
White pointed out that there were two sides to this problem, saying that continuously having to deal with new technology and equipment can also be a source of worry. "Old and faulty equipment is a major cause of office dissatisfaction. There is no question about it; but you also have to say that the frequent change of equipment is also, or could be, a main cause of dissatisfaction."
【小题1】The underlined word "this" (paragraph 3) refers to ______.