I paid a visit to Cambridge last January.  Though the trip took me 5 hours and it rained the whole day with strong winds there, the town deserved a visit.

    The bus started at 6:10 a. m. It stopped at 4 airports before we finally arrived，which wasted more time than we expected. Tired with long sitting，one passenger stood up to relax his numbed legs. The driver asked him to sit down but in vain. So he pulled up and said seriously, “Either you get off or sit down.” To him, safety is the first policy.

    Cambridge consists of over thirty colleges. The oldest part of the university was built in the 13th century while the newest was founded in the mid 1960s.The number of the students is so great that many students live in lodgings（出租房）and move into college for their final year.

    Cambridge is called a university town because there is no clear separation between the university buildings and the rest of the city. The university is not just one part of the town；it is all over the town. The heart of Cambridge has shops，pubs，and supermarkets，but most of it is university-colleges，departments，libraries，clubs and other places for university staff and students. Students fill the shops，cafes，banks and churches，making these as well part of the university.

    With over 10,000 undergraduates and postgraduates, the town is a busy place indeed. Students here are not allowed to keep cars. If you happen to be walking in the street during a break，better stop a moment to avoid the boiling sea of bicycles hurrying in all directions，carrying students from one college or lecture room to another.

1.The writer believed that the trip took more time because of________

    A. bad weather                          B. unexpected stops of the bus

    C. one passenger                         D. an accident on the way

2.Why is Cambridge called a university town？

    A. It has 10，000 undergraduates and postgraduates.

    B. There are over thirty colleges in the town.

    C. All the students and staff live in the town.

    D. The university and town are fully combined.

3.It can be inferred that most Cambridge students take _______as their first means of transport.

A. boats          B. cars               C. bicycles          D. buses

At five he was collecting old newspapers to make money. And when he was 15 he signed his schoolmates up to start a baby-sitting circle.

Now 20, third-year Cambridge University student, Peter Blackburn is managing director of a company with a £ 30,000 plan. And he thinks it will make more than $15,000 by next summer. He set up Peter Blackburn Ltd last year to bring out a new, color term-planner that now students all over the UK are using.

"I felt that most of the planners going around were pretty unimaginative," he says, "I believed that I could do a better job and decided to have a go".

Blackburn admits that he is putting far more effort into business than his computer studies course at university. While fellow students are out with their friends, he keeps in touch with his business office in Lancashire by movable phone. Before he set up the company he spent one holiday preparing a plan that would persuade his bank to lend him money.

"Most students work hard for a good degree because they believe that will help them get a job to support themselves," he says "I work hard at my company, because that is what will support me next year, after I leave college."

Friends believe that Blackburn will make £ 1 million within 5 years. He is not quite so sure, however. "There's a lot to be done yet," he says.

1.Choose the right order of the facts given in the passage.

a. He spent his holiday preparing a plan.   b. He collected newspapers.

c. He set up his own company.           d. He asked the bank for money.

e. He set up a babysitting circle.

2.When he was quite young, Blackburn _______ .

3.The underlined expression in the fourth paragraph "have a go," here means _______ .

4.In spite of（尽管） a college student, Blackburn _______ .

5.Which of the following best explain why Blackburn works hard at his company?

Marriages improve after children grow up and move out，according to an academic study, which suggests an “empty nest” is not always a bad thing.

Popular wisdom has it that parents’ relationships may suffer once their young fly the coop, because they feel they have lost their purpose in life.However, a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, has found that many couples actually feel happier when their children leave home because they are able to enjoy spending time together.

In total,123 American mothers born in the 1930s were tracked for 18 years and asked to rate their satisfaction levels shortly after marrying, when they were bringing up babies, once their children reached their teenage years and finally at age 61, when almost all had “empty nests”．

Although not all said they were happier in general, most claimed their marriages had improved since their children had left home. Researchers believe this is not just because the spouses were spending more time together, but because they were able to enjoy each other’s company more.

One of the participants in the study，which is published in the journal Psychological Science，said：“Once the kids grow up...there’s some of that stress removed...that responsibility removed，so things are a little more relaxed.”

Psychologist Sara Gorchoff，who carried out the investigation，said: “The take­home message for couples with young children is ‘hang in there’．” Her co­author Oliver John added：“Don’t wait until your kids leave home to schedule quality time with your partner.”

However, Dr Dorothy Rowe，from the British Psychological Society，said the effects of living in an “empty nest” will depend on the parents’ relationship with their children.“If you’re just waiting for them to leave home so you can get on with your life，then of course you’ll be pleased to see them go,” she said, “But if you’ve built your life around your children you’ll be terribly lonely.For some parents，their world falls apart when their children leave.”

1.It is commonly believed that___________.

A．marriages improve after children leave home

B．an “empty nest” is always a happy thing

C．parents’ relationships may suffer once their young grow up and move out

D．parents will be pleased after their children leave home

2.When did many couples feel happier according to the study?

A．At age 61, when almost all had “empty nests”.

B．Shortly after marrying.

C．Once their children reached their teenage years.

D．When they were bringing up babies.

3.Marriages improve after children fly the coop not because___________.

A．many couples are able to spend time together

B．many couples are able to enjoy each other’s company

C．things are a little more relaxed

D．many couples needn’t work at all

4.The author of the passage tends to agree that____________.

A．parents should build their life around their kids

B．parents should schedule quality time with each other before kids leave home

C．parents’ relationship with their kids has no effect on marriages at all

D．parents should be pleased to see their kids leave home

When I was a baby, I entertained you and made you laugh. Whenever I was “bad”, you'd shake your finger at me and ask, “How could you?”--but then you'd give up, and roll me over for a belly scratch and I believed that life could not be any more perfect.

My housetraining was a long process, because you were terribly busy, but we worked on that together. We went for long walks, runs in the park and car rides. We stopped for ice cream. I took long naps in the sun waiting for you to come home at the end of the day.

Gradually, you began spending more time at work and on your career, and more time searching for a human mate. Eventually, you fell in love. She, now your wife, is not a dog person, but I still welcomed her into our home. I was happy because you were happy. Then the human babies came along and I shared your excitement, I was fascinated by their pinkness, how they smelled, and I wanted to mother them too. Your wife was afraid I would bite them. But nevertheless, as they began to grow, I became their friend.

Now, you have a new job in another city and you and they will be moving to an apartment that does not allow pets. You've made the right decision for your “family”, but there was a time when I was your only family.

I was excited about the car ride until we arrived at the dog pound. It smelled of dogs and cats, of fear, of hopelessness. You filled out the paperwork and said, “I know you will find a good home for her.” They shrugged and gave you a pained look. The children were in tears as they waved me goodbye. And “How could you?” were the only three words that swept over my mind.

Is it better to live with hope or without hope? At first, whenever anyone passed my pen (围栏), I rushed to the front, hoping it was you, that you had changed your mind and that this was all a bad dream.

My beloved master, I will think of you and wait for you forever. I hope you receive more faithfulness from your family than you showed to me.

1.Who tells this story?

         A. A dog.          B. A child.                            C. A dog's owner.      D.A dog trainer

2.Why did the dog's owner take his dog to the pound?

         A. He had a newborn baby.                           B. His wife did not like the dog.

         C. He was moving into a new building.              D. He thought the dog too troublesome.

3.Which is true about the dog when it lived at the pound?

         A. It hoped to be adopted by another family.           B. It continued to love its former owner.

         C. It did not trust humans any more.              D. It was excited about the pound.

4.What is the theme of the story?

         A. Be ready for changes.                             B. Never expect too much.

         C. Never complain about your life.                  D. Be faithful to those who love you.

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项。

A

“I sometimes get up at three or four in the morning and I surf the net.”

“I often check my e-mail forty times a day.”

“I often spend more than three hours during one time on the net.”

“I spend more time in chat rooms(聊天室) than with my ‘real-1ife’ friends.”

Do you know any people like these? They are part of a new addiction(瘾) called Internet addiction. Internet addicts spend at least thirty to forty hours online every week. The use of the Internet can be an addiction like drug(毒品) use. People lose control(控制)of the time they spend on the Internet

For example, one college student was missing for several days. His friends were worried, and they called the police. The police found the student in the computer lab: he was surfing the net for several days straight.

Studies show that about 6 to 10% of Internet users become addicted. And people worry about the teens because the Internet is changing the playing field for some of them.They spend more time in cyberspace than in the real world of friends and family.

Is “surfing the net” a hobby or an addiction for you? You may have a problem if

you have these symptoms(症状):

●You do not go to important family activities or you do not do school work because you like to spend hours on the Internet.

●You can’t wait for your next online time.

●You plan to spend a short time online, but then you spend several hours.

●You go out with your friends less and less.

◆根据以上短文内容，然后从每题所给的四个选项中选择最佳选项。

1.What does the beginning of the passage tell us?

A. How to become an Internet addict.    

B. What an Internet addict usually does.

C. Where to find an Internet addict.         

D. Why to write this passage.

2.How does the writer describe the addicts’ use of Internet?

A. It is something like keeping drugs.    

B. It is a way of producing drugs.

C. It is like taking drugs.         

D. It is terrible to imagine.

3.Why do people worry about the teens?

A. The teens are wasting too much money.

B. They used to work on the Internet.

C. The playing field of the teens will disappear.

D. More and more of the teens wil1 become addicted to the Internet.

4.The example in the passage shows that _______.

A. Internet problems are more serious among college students

B. Internet addicts usually stay in the computer lab without sleep

C. Some of the Internet users have already been seriously addicted

D. The police often help to find those Internet addicts.

5.What is the writer trying to tell us at the end of the passage?

A. Don’t be addicted to the Internet.

B. Go to family activities more often.

C. Do things as you have planned

D. Stay with your parents as often as possible.