For hundreds of years, Japan has been hit, from time to time, by tsunamis（海啸）, which are caused by earthquakes or underwater volcanoes. The story of the boy Yuuki is the story of such a disaster.

Yuuki lived with his family in a seaside village, below a small mountain. One day, as he played on top of the mountain, Yuuki felt a small earthquake but it was not strong enough to frighten anybody. Soon after, however, Yuuki noticed the sea darken and begin running away from the shore very fast, leaving behind wide areas of beach that had never been seen before.

Yuuki remembered reading that just before a terrible tsunami, the sea suddenly and quickly rolls backward. He ran to the beach, warning the villagers who had gathered to admire the new beach land.

But no one listened. They laughed at him and continued playing in the new sand.

Desperate, Yuuki could think of only one thing to do. He lit a tree branch, raced to the rice fields and began burning the harvested rice. Then he called out, “Fire! Fire! Everyone run to the mountain! Now!”

When everyone reached the mountain top, a villager cried out, “Yuuki is mad! I saw him set the fire.” Yuuki hung his head in shame, but said nothing as the villagers screamed at him.

Just then, someone shouted, “Look!”

In the distance a huge dark wave of water was speeding towards the shore. When it hit the shore, it destroyed everything.

On the mountain everyone stared at the village ruins in terror.

“I'm sorry I burned the fields,” said Yuuki, his voice trembling.

“Yuuki,” the village chief answered. “You saved us all.”

The villagers cheered and raised Yuuki into the air. “We were going to celebrate our rice harvest tonight,” said one, “but now we’ll celebrate that we’re all still alive!”

1. Where was Yuuki when the earthquake struck?

2.In what order did the following events take place?

a.Yuuki ran to the rice fields.

b.The villagers paid no attention to Yuuki’s word.

c.Yuuki went to warn the villagers.

d.The village was in ruins.

e.The people were screaming at Yuuki.

3.How did Yuuki save the villagers from the disaster?

4.What were the people planning to do before the tsunami struck their village?

O. Henry was a pen name used by an American writer of short stories. His real name was William Sydney Porter. He was born in North Carolina in 1862. As a young boy he lived an exciting life. He did not go to school for very long, but he managed to teach himself everything he needed to know. When he was about 20 years old, O. Henry went to Texas, where he tried different jobs. He first worked on a newspaper, and then had a job in a bank. When some money went missing from the bank, O. Henry was believed to have stolen it. Because of that, he was sent to prison. During the three years in prison, he learned to write short stories. After he got out of prison, he went to New York and continued writing. He wrote mostly about New York and the life of the poor there. People liked his stories, because simple as the tales were, they would finish with a sudden change at the end, to the readers’ surprise.

   In which order did O. Henry do the following things?

a. Lived in New York.

b. Worked in a bank.

c. Traveled to Texas.

d. Was put in prison.

e. Had a newspaper job.

f. Learned to write stories.

A. e, c, f, b, d, a                         B. c, b, e, d, a, f

C. e, b, d, c, a, f                         D. c, e, b, d, f, a

People enjoyed reading O. Henry’s stories because _____.

A. they had surprise endings                B. they were easy to understand

C. they showed his love for the poor            D. they were about New York City

What do we know about O. Henry before he began writing?

He was well-educated.

He was very good at learning.

He was devoted to the poor.

He was not serious about his work.

   Where did O. Henry get most material for his short stories?

A. His life inside the prison.              B. The newspaper articles he wrote.

C. The city and people of New York.     D. His exciting early life as a boy.

B
When the population of the port town began to suffer from poisoning, the police came to find the cause of the poison．They thought someone was poisoning the people on purpose but no one knew how it was possible．Soon people took the position that the pork was poisoned．It was a popular food everyone ate and it could have possibly made everyone sick．Anyone who had possession of pork would throw it out．Even the poorest of the poor wouldn’t eat pork．Signs were posted on poles and letters were sent to everyone to warn people of the pork．Shortly afterwards, even policemen in high positions were also getting sick．
Soon it became political and popular．Politicians rushed to the town to talk about politics and promised how they would find the solution if they were elected．Everyone was so sick that they didn’t care about politics．Everyone was in a position where he or she didn’t know what to do anymore．They went to the post office to mail posts out asking for help．The poor town didn’t know how to deal with the situation．
One day, a well-known scientist from New York came to the town with a huge box containing many instruments and his possessions．He went to pools and the port and made measurements．He was quiet and polite．Then one day he made a speech at a newspaper meeting-room to announce his findings．
“I am sorry to say your water supply is so heavily polluted; it is poisoned．I know who has been poisoning you all for such a long time．It is you who have been poisoning yourselves with pollution．A great deal of rubbish has been thrown into the water day after day．No one here has taken good care of the environment．It is no wonder all of you have been sick．” Shocked at the news, the people present were lost in thought．
59．Which is the correct order of the facts described in the story?
a．  People suffered from poisoning． b．Politicians came to make promises．
c．  People began to realize the real cause．       d．Pork was thrown away．
e．  The water there was polluted．     f．A scientist came to check the water．
A． e, a, d, b, f, c        B．e, a, d, c, f, b
C． a, e, b, d, c, f        D．f, c, d, b, e, a
60．Which of the following statements is correct?
A．Everyone was so sick of politics that they didn’t care about those politicians．
B．According to the scientist from New York, not all the population in the town have taken good care of the environment．
C．The reason why the people in the town got sick was that they ate the pork poisoned by the heavily polluted water．
D．if the people in the town hadn’t polluted the water supply, they would not have suffered from poisoning or sickness．
61．After reading the passage, we can infer that ________
A．politicians took every chance to make themselves elected
B．pork was the main food of the people in the town
C．people in the town were not well-educated
D．even some police officers were getting ill

The saying that children don’t like reading any more has been proved untrue. A new study finds that 75 percent of kids between five and 17 say that although they love technology, they still want to read books．

       The Kids & Family Reading Report also says that 62 percent of kids prefer reading printed books rather than those on a computer．At the same time, those who search an author’s website or use the Internet to find books by a particular author, are more likely to read books for fun every day．

       The study also once again proves that the time kids spend reading books for fun decreases after the age of eight and continues to drop through the teen years．The report is a follow-up to a 2006 study．But this time the focus is on the role of technology and when kids’ interest in reading starts to drop．

       “Despite the fact that after the age of eight more children go online daily than read for fun daily, high frequency Internet users are more likely to read books for fun every day,” says Heather Carter, a writer of the report．

       One in four kids between five and 17 say they read books for fun every day and more than half of kids say they read books for fun at least two to three times a week．One of the key reasons kids say they don’t read more often is that they have trouble finding books they like - a requirement that parents underestimate(低估)．

       The study also finds that parents have a strong influence on kids’ reading, but only about half of all parents begin reading to their kids before their first birthday．The percent of children who are read to every day drops from 38 percent among five-to eight-year-olds to 23 percent among nine-to 11-year-olds - exactly the same time that kids’ daily reading for fun starts to drop．

       “Parents’ engagement in their child’s reading from birth all the way through the teen years can have a great influence on how often their children read and how much they enjoy reading,” adds Carter．

1.What can we learn from the text?

       A．Children don’t like reading any more after the age of 8.

       B．Most children like reading as well as going online.

       C．All kids like reading e – books instead of printed ones.

       D．Most children like going online instead of reading.

2.It can be inferred from the passage that        .

       A．the study of kids’ reading has been made before

       B．most parents begin reading to their kids from their birth

       C．all kids like to get information using the Internet

       D．nowadays all children still like to read books

3.Which of the following is true according to the text?

       A．The kids who often go online don’t like reading books.

       B．Parents should teach their kids reading from an early age.

       C．Sometimes it is difficult for kids to get the books they like.

       D．When kids get older, parents spend more time with them.

4.According to the text,        contributes a lot to children’s interest in reading.

       A．the Internet             B．parents’ engagement

       C．short supply of books      D．new technology

5.What’s the best title of the passage?

       A．Do kids still like reading?       B．Kids’ interest in reading drops

       C．New technology on kids’ reading    D．Parents’ influence on kids’ reading

    Riding a London subway, a person from China will notice one major difference; in London, people do not look at each other. In fact, eye contact is avoided at all time. That's not rudeness— people are just too busy to bother looking.

Busy doing what, you ask? Well, they're certainly not using the time for a moment of quiet reflection（沉思）.Nor are they reading a book. New techology has replaced quiet habits. Today the only acceptable form of book on the London Underground is an e-book.

Apple must earn a fortune from London commuters（乘车上下班的人）. Since the launch of the iPhone in 2007, over 40,000-yes, that's 40,000-"apps"(programs downloaded for the iPhone)have been designed.

Commuters love them because they are the perfect time-filler. One "app"，called iShoot, is a game that features tanks. Another one, Tube Exits, tells passengers where to sit on the train to be closest to the exit of their destination（目的地）. ISteam clouds the iPhone screen when you breathe into the microphone. You can then write in the "steam" on your phone screen.

For those without an iPhone, another Apple product, the iPod, may be the distraction（消遣）of choice. It's not just teenagers who "plug in" to their music-iPods are a popular way to pass the time for all ages.

And if games, e-books and music aren't enough to keep you occupied. Then perhaps you would prefer a film? The development of palm（掌上）DVD technology means many commuters watch their favorite TV show or film on the way to work. With all this distraction, it's amazing that people still remember to get off the train.

People in London do not make eye contact on the subway because they are busy     .

   A．going to work          

B．reading books    

   C．thinking private thoughts 

   D．playing games, reading e-books, listening to music or watching films

In Paragraph 4, the underlined word “them” refers to “        ”.

       A．habits       B． “apps”    C．iPhones    D．films

Those who like war games can download      to their iPhones.

   A．iShoot           B．Tube Exits     C．iSteam     D．iPod

The underlined word "occupied" in the last paragraph probably means     .

   A．delighted       B．busy            C．amused        D．controlled

The article tells us that      .

   A．London commuters are unfriendly to strangers

   B．Apple has earned a lot of money from selling 40,000 apps

   C．technology is changing the way London commuters spend their traveling time

   D．with all the new time-fillers, London commuters often forget to get off the train.