The Attack on September 11th

       New York: When the first jet struck 1 World Trade Center at 8:48 am. on Tuesday, the people in 2 World Trade Center with a view of the instant damage across the divide had the clearest sense of what they ,too ,must do : get out first.

       Katherine Ilachinski ,who had been knocked off her chair by the blast of heat exploding from the neighboring tower ,was one of those . Despite her 70 years of age .Ms Ilachinski, an architect working on the 91st floor of 2 World Trade Center ,the south tower , went for the stairs. Twelve floors above her ,Judy Wein ,an executive (manager), screamed and set off ,too.

       But others up and down the 110 floors ,many without clear views of the damage across the way and thus unclear about what was happening, were not so sure. And the 18 minutes before the next plane would hit were ticking off.

       Amid the uncertainty about what was the best thing to do, formal announcements inside the south tower instructed people to stay put, assuring them that the building was sound and the treat was limited to the other tower.

       Some left ,others stayed .Some began to climb down and, when met with more announcements and other cautions（警告）to stop or return , went back up . The decisions made in those instants proved to be of great importance, because many who chose to stay were doomed（注定死亡）when the second jet crashed into the south tower, killing many and stranding（使某物留在）many more in the floors above where the jet hit.

One of those caught indecision was the executive at Fuji Bank USA.

Richard Jacobs of Fuji Bank left the 79^th floor with the other office workers, but on the 48^th floor they heard the announcement that the situation was under control. Several got in the lifts and went back up, two minutes or so before the plane crashed into their floor.

“I just don’t know what happened to them.” Mr, Jacobs said.

1．From the passage we know that the south tower was hit by the plane      .

       A．at 8:30                                                B．18 minutes earlier than the north tower

       C．at around 9:00                                     D．at 8:48

2．The underlined words “stay put” means          .

       A．stay in the building                               B．leave at once

       C．put everything back and then leave        D．keep silent

3．Which floor was hit by the second jet?

       A．the 91^st floor        B．the 103^rd floor      C．the 60^th floor       D．the 79^th floor

4．Fewer people would have died if         .

       A．more announcements had been made    

       B．people hadn’t used the lifts

       C．the incident had happened on a weekend

       D．the people had obeyed the official rules

Two Christmas traditions have come under attack in recent years from environmentalists: Christmas cards and Christmas trees.
Paper cards are seen as wasteful and, for some people, going card-free is another way of going green. They also argue that in a world of e-mail, Skype, Facebook and Twitter, people are in touch all the time anyway; they no longer need the yearly card that connects them with long lost friends. If you want to send Christmas greetings, there are free e-cards, which get the job done with no postage or wasted paper.
However, especially for people who didn’t grow up with e-mail, there is something missing from a Christmas e-mail. The first Christmas cards appeared in London in 1843 and were designed by the same man who had introduced the world’s first postage stamp three years earlier. His name was Sir Henry Cole.
They rose in popularity throughout the 20th century. Many people sent cards that were sold for charity. The most famous of these are the ones sold for UNICEF. In the UK this year, in the three weeks before Christmas, the post office expects to handle 100 million cards every day. Environmental awareness also means that nowadays many people recycle their cards; this helps raise money to plant more trees, as well as recreating more paper.
When we think of trees at Christmas, there is one that immediately springs(跃入)mind---the evergreen tree that people decorate with ornaments and place their presents under. The custom dates back almost a thousand years to Germany. Nowadays 33 to 36 million Christmas trees are produced in America and 50 to 60 million in Europe each year. Some trees are sold live with roots and soil so people can plant them later and reuse them next year.
Some people prefer artificial trees as they are reusable and much cheaper than their natural alternative. However, environmentalists point out that they are made from petroleum (石油) products and so have many pollution issues.
【小题1】What is the main idea of the article?

Two Christmas traditions have come under attack in recent years from environmentalists: Christmas cards and Christmas trees.

Paper cards are seen as wasteful and, for some people, going card-free is another way of going green. They also argue that in a world of e-mail, Skype, Facebook and Twitter, people are in touch all the time anyway; they no longer need the yearly card that connects them with long lost friends. If you want to send Christmas greetings, there are free e-cards, which get the job done with no postage or wasted paper.

However, especially for people who didn’t grow up with e-mail, there is something missing from a Christmas e-mail. The first Christmas cards appeared in London in 1843 and were designed by the same man who had introduced the world’s first postage stamp three years earlier. His name was Sir Henry Cole.

They rose in popularity throughout the 20th century. Many people sent cards that were sold for charity. The most famous of these are the ones sold for UNICEF. In the UK this year, in the three weeks before Christmas, the post office expects to handle 100 million cards every day. Environmental awareness also means that nowadays many people recycle their cards; this helps raise money to plant more trees, as well as recreating more paper.

When we think of trees at Christmas, there is one that immediately springs(跃入)mind---the evergreen tree that people decorate with ornaments and place their presents under. The custom dates back almost a thousand years to Germany. Nowadays 33 to 36 million Christmas trees are produced in America and 50 to 60 million in Europe each year. Some trees are sold live with roots and soil so people can plant them later and reuse them next year.

Some people prefer artificial trees as they are reusable and much cheaper than their natural alternative. However, environmentalists point out that they are made from petroleum (石油) products and so have many pollution issues.

1.What is the main idea of the article?

A．To introduce the history of two typical Christmas traditions.

B．To explain the debate about some Christmas traditions.

C．To analyze how two Christmas traditions grew in popularity.

D．To point out the problems caused by celebrating Christmas.

2.What does the underlined word “They” in the fourth paragraph probably mean?

A．Many people       B．Christmas e-mails    C．Postage stamps     D．Christmas cards

3.Some people suggest getting rid of paper cards because     .

a. they cannot be recycled         b. they are not environmentally friendly

c. they are mostly sold for charity  d. the e-cards have many advantages over them

e. they are not as necessary as they used to be for people

A．a, b, d            B．a, c, d             C．b, d, e            D．b, c, e

4.What can we conclude from the article?

A．The first Christmas cards were designed earlier than the world’s first stamps.

B．This year has seen a dramatic drop in Christmas card sales.

C．Environmentalists advise people to buy cards that are sold for charity.

D．Growing environmental awareness is encouraging people to recycle their cards.

5.Which of the following statements in TRUE according to the article?

A．There is always a wider Christmas tree market in America than in Europe.

B．The custom of decorating Christmas trees first appeared in Britain.

C．Some people prefer to buy live trees that can be reused next year.

D．Artificial trees are better than natural ones in all aspects.

Two Christmas traditions have come under attack in recent years from environmentalists: Christmas cards and Christmas trees.
Paper cards are seen as wasteful and, for some people, going card-free is another way of going green. They also argue that in a world of e-mail, Skype, Facebook and Twitter, people are in touch all the time anyway; they no longer need the yearly card that connects them with long lost friends. If you want to send Christmas greetings, there are free e-cards, which get the job done with no postage or wasted paper.
However, especially for people who didn’t grow up with e-mail, there is something missing from a Christmas e-mail. The first Christmas cards appeared in London in 1843 and were designed by the same man who had introduced the world’s first postage stamp three years earlier. His name was Sir Henry Cole.
They rose in popularity throughout the 20th century. Many people sent cards that were sold for charity. The most famous of these are the ones sold for UNICEF. In the UK this year, in the three weeks before Christmas, the post office expects to handle 100 million cards every day. Environmental awareness also means that nowadays many people recycle their cards; this helps raise money to plant more trees, as well as recreating more paper.
When we think of trees at Christmas, there is one that immediately springs(跃入)mind---the evergreen tree that people decorate with ornaments and place their presents under. The custom dates back almost a thousand years to Germany. Nowadays 33 to 36 million Christmas trees are produced in America and 50 to 60 million in Europe each year. Some trees are sold live with roots and soil so people can plant them later and reuse them next year.
Some people prefer artificial trees as they are reusable and much cheaper than their natural alternative. However, environmentalists point out that they are made from petroleum (石油) products and so have many pollution issues

1. 1.

   What is the main idea of the article?

   1. A.
      To introduce the history of two typical Christmas traditions
   2. B.
      To explain the debate about some Christmas traditions
   3. C.
      To analyze how two Christmas traditions grew in popularity
   4. D.
      To point out the problems caused by celebrating Christmas
2. 2.

   What does the underlined word “They” in the fourth paragraph probably mean?

   1. A.
      Many people
   2. B.
      Christmas e-mails
   3. C.
      Postage stamps
   4. D.
      Christmas cards
3. 3.

   Some people suggest getting rid of paper cards because     .
   a. they cannot be recycled         b. they are not environmentally friendly
   c. they are mostly sold for charity  d. the e-cards have many advantages over them
   e. they are not as necessary as they used to be for people

   1. A.
      a, b, d
   2. B.
      a, c, d
   3. C.
      b, d, e
   4. D.
      b, c, e
4. 4.

   What can we conclude from the article?

   1. A.
      The first Christmas cards were designed earlier than the world’s first stamps
   2. B.
      This year has seen a dramatic drop in Christmas card sales
   3. C.
      Environmentalists advise people to buy cards that are sold for charity
   4. D.
      Growing environmental awareness is encouraging people to recycle their cards
5. 5.

   Which of the following statements in TRUE according to the article?

   1. A.
      There is always a wider Christmas tree market in America than in Europe
   2. B.
      The custom of decorating Christmas trees first appeared in Britain
   3. C.
      Some people prefer to buy live trees that can be reused next year
   4. D.
      Artificial trees are better than natural ones in all aspects

British society is considered to be divided into three main groups of classes―the Upper Class, the Middle Class, and the Lower or Working Class. This is known as the Class system and it is important to know something about it if you want to understand British people and society. Most British people grow up with a deep knowledge and understanding of the class system even if they are not very conscious（意识到）of it. Most people know which class they belong to by the way they speak, their clothes, their interests or even the type of food they eat.

Social class is not only about behavior and attitudes. For example, although many upper class people are rich and may own a lot of land, having a lot of money does not make a person upper class. It is also important to come from a particular kind of family, have friends who are considered suitable, have been to a certain type of private school and speak with the right kind of accent. There are people who are poor but who do not think of themselves as working class, because their family background, education, political opinions, etc. are different from those of most working-class people. Many people do not like the class system but it is impossible to pretend that these differences do not exist or that British people do not sometimes form opinions in this way.

63．According to the passage, you cannot judge an Englishman’s social class by _________.

A．where he was born              B．the way he speaks

C．the clothes he wears             D．the interests he has

64．If an Englishman has much money, __________.

A．he belongs to the middle class

B．he must be a member of the upper class

C．he is not likely to be from the upper class

D．he may buy an upper class title with the money

65．What does the second paragraph mainly discuss? ________.

A．Many rich people do not belong to the upper class

B．Today many British people do not like the class system

C．Many poor people do not consider themselves as lower class

D．An Englishman’s social class is determined by many factors（因素）

66．According to the passage, the idea of the class system in Britain _________.

A．exists only in the mind of  foreigners       B．is deeply rooted in the British people

C．is now under severe attack                     D．is regarded as a long system