D

To us it seems so natural to put up an umbrella to keep the water off when it rains．But actually the umbrella was not invented as protection against rain．Its first use was as a shade against the sun．

Nobody knows who first invented it, but the umbrella was used in very ancient times．Probably the Chinese were the earliest to use it in the eleventh century BC．We know that the umbrella was used in ancient Egypt and Babylon as a sunshade．And there was a strange thing connected with its use: it became a symbol of honor and authority．In the Far East in ancient times, the umbrella was allowed to be used only by royalty or by those in high offices．

In Europe, the Greeks were the earliest to use the umbrella as a sunshade．And the umbrella was allowed in common use in ancient Greece．But it is believed that the earliest persons in Europe to use the umbrella as protection against rain were the ancient Romans．

During the Middle Ages, the use of the umbrella practically disappeared．Then it appeared again in Italy in the late sixteenth century．And again, it was considered a symbol of power and authority．In around 1680, the umbrella appeared in France and later on in England．

By the eighteenth century, the umbrella was used against rain throughout most of Europe．Umbrellas have not changed much in style during all this time, though they have become  much lighter in weight．It wasn’t until the twentieth century that women’s umbrellas began to be made in a whole variety of colors．

1.The first use of umbrella was as ______________．

A．protection against rain                   B．shade against the sun

C．a symbol of power and authority            D．a symbol of honor and authority

2.In Europe, the umbrella was first used against rain ___________．

A．in Greece         B．in Rome           C．in England         D．in France

3.From the text, we can infer that _________．

A．the umbrella changed much in style in the eighteenth century．

B．no one knows why the umbrella was used in very ancient times．

C．once ordinary people had no right to use umbrellas．

D．during the Middle Ages the umbrella was common in Europe．

4.This passage talks mainly about ____________．

A．when and how the umbrella was invented．

B．why the umbrella was so popular in Europe．

C．the development of the umbrella．

D．the history and use of the umbrella．

B

ON March 17 there will be an explosion of green across the World in celebration of St Patrick’s Day．The Irish traditionally wear green on this day, as the color is associated with Ireland．

But there are others, non-Irish，who use the occasion to make jokes about the Irish．They use the stereotype(成见)of the Irish as hot-tempered(脾气暴躁的)drinkers，who love to fight and will do anything to avoid a day's work．

However, today the Irish are more often admired for their musical talent and many other abilities．It’s no accident that many of today's most popular music groups，such as singer Enya and rock band U2，are Irish born and bred．Lonely Planet readers even ranked Ireland in 2007 as the friendliest country in the world．

So where did the negative Irish stereotype come from? From the 19th century when it was a bad time to be Irish．

Ireland then was poverty-stricken and starving．Many Irish moved to the United States to escape famine, but there they had to compete---occasionally with their fists for jobs and housing with other immigrant groups，such as the Italians．It was on the US’ streets that the Irish earned their reputation for street fighting．

The stereotype of the Irish as big drinkers may be unfair, but Ireland can boast(为……自豪) its fair share of famous drinks．It was the Irish after all who created one of the world’s best-loved beers，Guinness．

65．What is the story mainly about?

A．How the Irish earned their reputation．

B．The festival-St Patrick’s Day．

C．Jokes about the Irish people．

D．Famous Irish stereotype and the truth．

66．Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?

A．St Palrick’s Day is celebrated nowhere else but Ireland．

B．Modern Irish show no interest in drinking alcohol．

C．Part of the stereotype about the Irish is that they are lazy．

D．Irish people usually get hot-tempered when laughed at．

67．Where did the negative Irish stereotype come from?

A．From their everyday behavior toward other people．

B．From the behavior of Irish immigrants to America in the 19th century．

C．From the historical record of 19th century Ireland．

D．From most people’s impression of Irish people

                                     D

To find out how the name Canada came about, we must go back to the 16th century. At that time, the French dreamed of discovering and controlling more land across the world. In 1535 Francois I, King of France, ordered a navigator (航海家) named Jacques Cartier to explore the New world and search for a passage to India.

Cartier first arrived at the Gulf of the St. Lawrence, which he wanted to explore. He did not know

what to expect but he hoped that this Gulf was just an arm of the ocean between two islands. If it

was, he would soon be on his way to the Far East. So he sailed upwards along the St. Lawrence

River. However, instead of reaching Asia he arrived at Quebec or Stadacona, as the Indians called

it. It was at this point that the term “Canada” entered the country’s history. Clearly the word

“Canada” came from an Indian word “Kanata”, which means village. Cartier first used it when he

referred to Stadacona or Quebec. What a huge “village” Canada is!

57. What was Cartier ordered to do?

A. To build a new country                  

B. To find the New World

C. To get in touch with the American Indians   

D. To know more about America and find a new way to Asia

58. When Cartier reached the Gulf of St. Lawrence he hoped ________.

A. he had got to the Far East             B. it was a water way to the New World

C. it was a water way to the Far East       D. he had sailed into the Pacific

59. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Quebec and Stadacona were tow islands.    

B. The Indian language for village is Stadacona.

C. Quebec and Stadacona were two villages in Canada. 

D. Stadacona was what the Indians called Quebec.

60. Canada was first used to refer to __________.

A. Asia     B. the New World       C. a village         D. Quebec

D

To what degree can a computer achieve intelligence (智力)? The answer to this question may lie in a newly-developed US computer program called Smarter Child and the Internet．

If you ran into Smarter Child online , you would be surprised at this kid’s huge memory．It can recite many facts． For example , Smarter Child knows every baseball player in every team this season．

He knows every word in the dictionary and the weather in every major city areas across the US．However , if you ask Smarter Child other questions , you get stranger answers．A question about Smarter Child’s age returns． “One year, 11 days, 16 hours, 7 minutes, and 47 seconds!” Asking where he lives gets , “In a clean room in a high-tech building in California．”

Smarter Child uses the vast information on the World Wide Web as his memory bank．To answer questions about spelling , for instance , Smarter Child goes to American Heritage Dictionary online．For the weather , he visits www．intellicast．com．

Some scientists believe that by joining the many systems of the Internet , an artificial being with the combined knowledge of , say , Albert Einstein, Richard Nixon and Britney Spears could be born．However if Smarter Child wants to think and learn on his own like the boy-computer David in the movie A．I．, Artificial Intelligence , he must overcome two problems．

The first is that computers find it difficult to read web pages because the files are labeled in different ways．That’s why programmers need to tell Smarter Child where to look for the weather．It would be a much more difficult task to let him find it himself．

Another problem is that while Smarter Child can process (处理) information more exactly and faster than any human , he lacks common sense—a basic grounding of knowledge that is obvious to any young child．

67．From the text we can infer that www．intellicast．com is a website___________．

       A．which is specially designed to help Smarter Child

       B．where we people can find Smarter Child

       C．where weather forecasts are made

       D．which is about artificial intelligence

68．It is probably most difficult for Smarter Child to_______．

       A．tell us how to spell a difficult word

       B．tell us how the American government is run

       C．provide us with a famous poem by Shakespeare

       D．learn how to tell right behaviors from wrong ones。

69．Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?

       A．Smart Child has his own memory bank big enough for all kinds of information．

       B．A．I．Artificial Intelligence is probably the name of a film about a boy-computer．

       C．Smart Child can recognize different files and find information needed on his own．

       D．We have similar product now which has the knowledge of Einstein , Nixon and Spears．

70．Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

       A．A New Web Child       B．Smarter Child

       C．The Future of Internet    D．Intelligence Development

C

Of all the websites，one that has attracted attention recently is myspace.com．Most of this attention has come from the media and tells every reason why the website should be shut down．The threat of internet predators（窃掠者）is indeed a tough reality，but shutting down the site is not the answer．If myspace.com were shut down，another site would quickly take its place．Therefore，the right way is to teach teens how to use the site safely and educate them about who may be predators and how to avoid them.

The key to staying safe on the Internet is to make sure that your profile（个人资料）is secure．The simplest way is to change the privacy setting on your profile to “private”, which protects your information so that only the people on your friend list can view it．Although this is effective，it is not perfect．Predators can find ways to view your profile if they really want to，whether through hacking in or figuring out their way onto your friend list．Thus，you should never post too much personal information．Some people actually post their home and school addresses，date of birth，and other personal information, often letting predators know exactly where they will be and when．The most information that is safe is your first name and province．Anything more is basically inviting a predator into your life.

Another big issue is photos. I suggest completely skipping photos and never posting a photo of a friend online without asking permission．

Most importantly, never，under any circumstances，agree to a real-life meeting with anyone you meet online．No matter how well you think you know this person, there are no guarantees that they have told the truth．But you could feel free to chat with people you meet on the site, but just remember that not everyone is who they say they are．Hopefully，the next time you edit your profile，you’ll be more informed about the dangers of internet predators and take the steps to defend yourself.

50．Kids can avoid web predators successfully by_________.

A．attracting more public attention

B．shutting down the website “myspace . com”

C．showing the kids ways to try other sites

D．recognizing and getting away from them

51．The safest basic personal information that you can share online is_________.

A．your home address and birthday    B．school address and your first name

C．your first name and province       D．your province and cell phone number

52．We can learn from the passage that_____.

A．not everybody you meet on line is honest and reliable

B．it is not acceptable to post a photo of a friend on line

C．it is not safe by chatting with grown-ups on the website

D．only you and your friends can view your personal profile

53．What could be the best title of this passage?

A．Personal Safety                B．Web Safety for teens

C．Web Hackers in the past         D．Predators’ Tricks