Sir,
Just over six months ago, I saw an advertisement in the Morning Mail for a set of the complete works of William Shakespeare. Your company, Cosmo books Ltd., offered this set (eight books of plays and two books of poetry) at what was claimed to be a ‘remarkable’ price: fifteen pounds and fifty pence, including postage and packing. I had wanted a set of Shakespeare’s plays and poems for some time, and these books, in red imitation leather, looked particularly attractive; so I sent for them.
Two weeks later, the books arrived, together with a set of the complete works of Charles Dickens which I had not ordered. So I returned the Dickens books to you, with a cheque for fifteen pounds and fifty pence for the works of Shakespeare. Two more weeks passed. Then there arrived on my door step a second set of the works of Shakespeare, the same set of novels by Dickens and a six book set of the plays of Moliere, in French. Since I do not read French, these were of no use to me at all. However, I could not afford to post all these books back to you, so I wrote to you at the end of August of last year, instructing you to come and collect all the books that I did not want, and asking you not to send any other books until further notice.
You did not reply to that letter. Instead you sent me a bill for forty two pounds, and a set of the plays of Schiller, in German. Since then, a new set of books has arrived every two weeks, the works of Goethe, the poems of Milton, the plays of Strindberg; I hardly know what I have. The books are still all in their boxes, in the garage, and my car has to stand in the rain outside.
I have no room for any more books, and even if I read from now until the Last Judgment, I should not finish reading all the books that you have sent me.
Please send no more books, send no more bills, send no more angry letters demanding payment. Just send one large lorry and take all the books away, leaving me only with the one set of the complete works of Shakespeare for which I have paid.
Yours faithfully,
SIMON WALKER
【小题1】Simon Walker wrote the letter to ________

Driving to a friend’s house on a recent evening, I was attracted by the sight of the full moon rising just above my friend’s rooftop. I stopped to watch it for a few moments, thinking about what a pity it is that most city people --- myself included --- usually miss sights like this because we spend most of our lives indoors.

My friend had also seen it. He grew up living in a forest in Europe, and the moon meant a lot to him then. It had touched much of his life.

I know the feeling. Last December I took my seven-year-old daughter to the mountainous jungle of northern India with some friends. We stayed in a forest rest house with no electricity or running hot water. Our group had campfires outside every night, and indoors when it was too cold outside. The moon grew to its fullest during our trip. Between me and the high mountains lay three or four valleys. Not a light shone in them and not a sound could be heard. It was one of the quietest places I have ever known, a bottomless well of silence. And above me was the full moon, which struck me deeply.

Today our lives are filled with glass, metal, plastic and fiber-glass. We have television,

cell phones, pagers, electricity, heaters and ovens and air-conditioners, cars, computers.

Struggling through traffic that evening at the end of a tiring day, most of it spent indoors, I thought, “Before long, I would like to live in a small cottage. There I will grow vegetables and read books and walk in the mountains. And perhaps write, but not in anger. I may become an old man there, and wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled and measure out my life in coffee spoons. But I will be able to walk outside on a cold silent night and touched the moon.”

1.The best title for the passage would be _________.

A．Touched by the Moon                    B．The Pleasures of Modern Life

C．A Bottomless well of Silence               D．Break away from Modern life

2.The writer felt sorry for himself because __________.

A．there was too much pollution.

B．he failed to see the fullest moon.

C．he didn’t adapt to modern inventions

D．there were too many accidents on the road.

3.What impressed the writer most in the mountainous jungle of northern India?

A．No modern equipment.                   B．Complete silence.

C．The nice moon.                         D．The high mountain.

4.Modern things are mentioned mainly to ___________.

A．show that the writer likes city life very much.

B．tell us that people greatly benefit from modern life.

C．explain that people have less chances to enjoy nature.

D．show that we can also enjoy nature at home through them.

5.The author wrote the passage to __________.

A．express the feeling of returning to nature.

B．show the love for the moonlight.

C．advise modern people to learn to live.

D．want to communicate longing for modern life.

Hidden in our subconsciousness(潜意识）is a perfect mental picture.  We see ourselves on a long trip that goes across the continent. We are traveling by train. Out the windows, we think in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways,  of children waving at a crossing , of cattle feeding on a distant hillside, of smoke pouring from a power plant, or row upon row of corn and wheat, of flat lands and valleys, of mountains and rolling hills, of city skylines and village halls.

But uppermost in our minds is the final destination.  On a certain day at a certain hour, we will pull into the station. Bands will be playing and flags waving. Once we get there, so many wonderful dreams will come true and the pieces of our lives will fit together like a completed jigsaw puzzle. How restlessly we pace the aisles, condemning(谴责）the minutes for loitering(虚度）— waiting, waiting,  waiting for the station.

"When we reach the station, that will be it!”we cry. "When I’m 38." "When I buy a new 450SL Mercdes Benz!""When I put the last kid through college.""When I have paid off the debt!" "When I get a promotion.""When I reach the age of rement, I shall live happily ever after!"

Sooner or later, we must realize there is no station, no one place to arrive at once and for all. The true joy of life is the trip. The station is only a dream.It constantly outdistances us.

"Relish(appreciate) the moment" is a good motto,  actually it isn’t the burdens of today that drive man mad. It is the regret over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow. Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of today.

So stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles. Instead, climb more mountains, eat more ice cream, swim more rivers,  watch more sunsets, laugh more and cry less. Life must be lived as we go along. Then the station will come soon enough.

1.

Why does the author describe the mental picture?

     A. To lead us into a perfect world.     B. To let people enjoy the scenery.

     C. To introduce an actual trip of his.   D. To compare it to our life’s journey.

2.

 How do people feel when they’re on their trip?

     A. Puzzled.    B. Happy.    C. Relaxed.      D. Impatient.

3.

 What does the author mean by "Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of

today" in Line 2 Paragraph 5?

   A. Regret and fear are responsible for the loss of today.

   B. We must be careful of the two thieves: regret and fear.

   C. Regret and fear stop us from enjoying our present life.

   D. We’re frequently challenged by the two: regret and fear.

4.

Why does the author write the passage?

A. To teach us a good lesson.       

B. To tell us the right attitude to life.

C. To advise us to forget our worries.

D. To stop us wandering along the aisles.

It is well known that the Japanese people’s love of fish is almost as a bee’s interest in honey．As fish populations were decreasing, fishing companies were forced to fish further and further away from the shore．Then they had a big challenge－how to keep the fish fresh for longer．So they decided to keep the fish stored in freezers on the boats．But the public did not like frozen fish．So again the fishing companies had a new bigger challenge．What they decided to do was to have fish tanks on their boats．After catching fishes, they would put them in the tanks and keep them living there until they got back to shore．But in this protected environment, lacking predators (掠食者)，the fish stopped moving around．The Japanese public felt these dull fish did not taste fresh, which had an unpleasant effect upon sales．Once again the fishing companies had an even bigger challenge

Stop for a minute! Before we go any further, I would like to ask “What are your challenges? How do you handle an unexpected challenge?” May I think it this way that you should try to attack your challenges? Conquer（战胜） them with a Swiss army knife．Take the most proper and simple tool that you can adopt to deal with your situation.

Now back to our story．How did the Japanese finally figure out the fresh fish problem？Sharks! You might think the same．Sharks were caught and put into the tanks with other fishes．Don’t sharks eat fish? Well, they do eat a few fish, but they did also keep more fish active and alert (警觉的)．The fish stay fresh because they are challenged.

Now, try to keep yourself fresh by finding your own shark to offer yourself a challenge in your own business and career.

The main reason for the fishing company to fish in the far sea was that         .

       A．the fish resource near the shore was on the decrease

      B．the fishes farther away from the sea tasted fresher       

       C．people would prefer eating fresh fishes to less fresh ones

       D．it was getting harder and harder to keep fishes fresh

From the text we can learn that           .

       A．Japanese people love honey as much as a bee does

       B．the fish kept in tanks didn’t sell well because of their taste

       C．the fish stored in the protected environment tasted the best

       D．the fish kept in tanks didn’t taste fresh because they died before reaching the restaurant

The underlined part of the last paragraph means “            .”

       A．If you went fishing, you might do as the fishing companies did

       B．Try to find a big shark, and you will meet your challenge

      C．To succeed in life, you should always be ready to meet challenges

       D．Sharks are usually compared to the challenges in people’s life

The purpose for the author to write the passage is to        .

       A．tell the readers “no pains, no gains”

       B．tell the readers how the Japanese keep the fish fresh

       C．advise readers to look for challenges to make progress

       D．advise readers to find something difficult to do

We trust you ; only you can          him to give up smoking .

   A. suggest                  B．attract                C．advise                D．persuade