Long ago, in days of the Roman Empire, people used to believe a god of farmings called “Saturn”. They believed that Saturn could make the weather good or bad, and that he had the power to control how much rain would fall.

Before a Roman farmer would plant his fields, he would try to get Saturn to give him good weather. He believed that if he killed an animal for Saturn, that would make Saturn happy. Then Saturn would make sure that the weather was good.

Not only did the people name a planet after Saturn but they also name a day of the week after him. They called this day “Saturni dies”, Latin words which mean “day of Saturn”. In English those words became Saturday.

6. What was Saturn believed to be in charge of?

  A. Rainfall.    B. The power of nature.   C. Farming.    D. Days in a week.

7. Why did a Roman farmer kill an animal before planting his fields?

Because      .

  A. killing an animal would bring him good luck

  B. Saturn enjoyed eating animals

  C. Saturn was happy to see animals being killed

  D. he wanted to please Saturn so that Saturn would make the weather good for his planting

8. Which of the following is NOT TRUE?

  A. Saturn is also the name of planet.

  B. The Roman people used to believe Saturn to be their god.

  C. Saturn was named for the last day of the week.

  D. Saturn had three meanings.

9. What’s the aim of the author in writing this passage?

  A. How the Romans worshipped (崇拜) Saturn.

  B. Why the Romans believed in Saturn.

  C. The different meanings of the word Saturn.

  D. How Saturday got its name.

A kind of little cars may some day take the place of today’s ones. If everyone drives such cars in the future, there will be less pollution in the air. There will also be more space for parking cars in cities, and the streets will be less crowded. Three such cars can fit in the space now needed for one car of the usual size.

The little cars will cost much less to own and to drive. Driving will be safer, too, as these little cars can go only 65 kilometers an hour.

The cars of the future will be fine for getting around the city, but they will not be useful for long trips. Little cars will go 450 kilometers before needing to stop for more gasoline.

If big cars are still used along with the small ones, two sets of roads will be needed in the future. Some roads will be used for the gig, fast cars and other roads will be needed for the slower small ones.

There is much pollution in the air today because ___________.

A. people drive big cars

B. people drive little cars

C. the cars go 65 kilometers an hour

D. the cars can go 450 kilometers an hour

The usual size of cars today is _______ that of the future cars.

A. much smaller than               B . much the same as

C. three times as large as             D. a little larger than

Which of the following is NOT true?

Big cars cost more to own and to drive

Big cars are not useful for long trips

The cars of the future will be smaller than today’s cars.

Small cars are slower than big cars.

The street will be less crowded because ______________.

A there will be fewer cars in the future

B. driving future cars will be safer

C. there will be fewer passengers in the street

D. future cars will be much smaller

Two sets of roads may be needed in the future because_________.

there will be too many cars in the future    

more and more people will get around a city

bit cars and little cars may be used along with each other

it looks more beautiful to have two sets of roads

Long queues at cinemas buying hot tickets for blockbusters(巨片) will become rare as Beijing residents will be able to order film tickets via cell phone networks in a month.

       Film ticket circulation service on cell phone, also called the “Green channel of film tickets ordering”, is aiming at lowing the cost of ticket circulation and easing the ticket distribution pressure on such popular film-watching days as summer and winter vacations or Valentine’s Day.

       “People log onto the net through cell phones, then choose cinema seats, watch trailers, browse information for new films and read cinema introductions,” said Guan Zheng, the publicity chief of Xingmei Digital Media Company Ltd., the service provider.

       “Film fans can enjoy various discount prices if they order tickets via cell phones,” Guan said.

       Meanwhile, the cell phone ticket circulation platform provides subscribers general mobile phone services like jokes, videos, flashes, phone ring downloads and games.

       The service is about to be put into trial at the Beijing-based Xingmei International Cinema for a month before being putting into use at other cinema chains both in and outside Beijing, as the service is going to be improved through gradual expansion, said Guan.

       China’s film industry that is being restored has seen more and more enthusiastic moviegoers. Up to the end of 2009, China has had more than 5,000 specialized cinemas, among which there are 2,243 modern cinemas with 3, 668 silver screens and 56 cinema chains.

       Currently, many people buy film tickets on the Internet or by phoning the cinema’s ticket office or simply queuing at the cinema gate. More people want to buy tickets on popular days like May Day holiday, National Day holiday or Valentine’s Day. Yet the inefficient ticket circulation system contributes the most to the failure.

What can we learn from the passage?

       A. The price of the ticket ordered via cell phone will be lower.

       B. Ordering tickets through the net can get good seats.

       C. Few people would like to watch films on the net.

       D. More and more people like to watch films on the net.

What does the underlined part “watch trailers” in the third paragraph mean?

       A. You can watch films after downloading them.

       B. You can watch commercial ads free of charge.

       C. You can watch short ads for new movies.

       D. You can watch films on the net at home.

What does the passage imply?

       A. The service is only intended to put into use at the cinema in Beijing for a month.

       B. China’s film industry saw the decreasing number of moviegoers by the end of 2009.[

       C. The traditional ticket selling system makes it hard to get film tickets on popular days.

       D. The green channel of tickets ordering is aiming at provides general mobile phone services..

The best title for the passage would probably be ________.

       A. Rare Beijingers to watch films on the net

       B. Few Beijingers to buy film tickets in line

       C. Beijingers to watch films via cell phone

       D. Beijingers to order film tickets via cell phone

If you are a male and you are reading this, congratulations: you are a survivor. According to statistics, you are more than twice as likely to die of skin cancer than a woman, and nine times more likely to die of AIDS. Assuming you make it to the end of your natural term, about 78 years for men in Australia, you will die on average five years before a woman.

There are many reasons for this, typically, men take more risks than women and are more likely to drink and smoke but perhaps more importantly, men don’t go to the doctor.

“Men aren’t seeing doctors as often as they should,” says Dr. Gullotta, “This is particularly so for the over-40s, when diseases tend to strike.”

Gullotta says a healthy man should visit the doctor every year or two. For those over 45, it should be at least once a year.

Two months ago, Gullotta saw a 50-year-old man who had delayed doing anything about his smoker’s cough for a year.

“When I finally saw him it had already spread and he has since died from lung cancer,” he says, “Earlier detection and treatment may not have cured him, but it would have prolonged his life.”

According to a recent survey, 95% of women aged between 15 and early 40s see a doctor once a year, compared to 70% of men in the same age group.

“A lot of men think they are invincible(不可战胜的),” Gullotta says. “They only come in when a friend drops dead on the golf course and they think, “Geez, if it could happen to him, __________.”

Then there is the ostrich approach, “some men are scared of what might be there and would rather not know,” says Dr. Ross Cartmill.

“Most men get their cars serviced more regularly than they service their bodies,” Cartmill says. He believes most diseases that commonly affect men could be addressed by preventive check-ups.

“Regular check-ups for men would inevitably place strain(紧张) on the public purse,” Cartmill says. “But prevention is cheaper in the long run than having to treat the diseases. Besides, the ultimate cost is far greater: it is called premature death.”

Why does the author congratulate his male readers at the beginning of the passage?

A. They are more likely to survive serious diseases today.

B. Their average life span has been considerably extended.

C. They have lived long enough to read this article.

D. They are sure to enjoy a longer and happier life.

What is the most important reason why men die five years earlier on average than women according to the author?

A. men drink and smoke much more than women

B. men don’t seek medical care as often as women

C. men aren’t as cautious as women in face of danger

D. men are more likely to suffer from fatal diseases

Which of the following best completes the sentence “Geez, if it could happen

to him, _______”?

A. it could happen to me, too

B. I should avoid playing golf

C. I should consider myself lucky

D. it would be a big misfortune

What does Dr. Ross Cartmill mean by “the ostrich approach”?

A. a casual attitude towards one’s health conditions

B. a new therapy for certain psychological problems

C. refusal to get medical treatment for fear of the pain involved

D. unwillingness to find out about one’s disease because of fear

A lot of management training each year for Circle K Corporation, a national chain of convenience stores. Among the topics we address in our course is the retention（保护力） of quality employees-a real challenge to managers when you consider the pay scale（标准）in the service industry. During these discussions, I ask the participants（参加者）, “What has caused you to stay long enough to become a manager?” Some time back a new manager took the question and slowly, with her voice almost breaking, said, “It was a ＄19 baseball glove.”

Cynthia told the group that she originally took a Circle K clerk job as an interim（临时的） position while she looked for something better. On her second or third day behind the counter, she received a phone call from her nine-year-old son, Jessie. He needed a baseball glove for Little League. She explained that as a single mother, money was very tight, and her first check would have to go for paying bills. Perhaps she could buy his baseball glove with her second or third check. When Cynthia arrived for work the next morning, Patricia, the store manager, asked her to come to the small room in the back of the store that served as an office. Cynthia wondered if she had done something wrong or left some part of her job incomplete from the day before. She was concerned and confused.

Patricia handed her a box. “I overheard you talking to your son yesterday,” she said, “and I know that it is hard to explain things to kids. This is a baseball glove for Jessie because he may not understand how important he is, even though you have to pay bills before you can buy gloves. You know we can’t pay good people like you as much as we would like to; but we do care, and I want you to know you are important to us.”

The thoughtfulness, empathy and love of this convenience store manager demonstrates vividly that people remember more how much an employer cares than how much the employer pays. An important lesson for the price of a Little League baseball glove.

Among many of the problems in the service industry, talked about in this passage, is         .

       A．how to ensure his employees’ high pay

       B．how to attract more customers

       C．how to look carefully after the employees

       D．how to keep the good employees from leaving

Although a new manager, Cynthia would do her job well in keeping quality employees because she         .

       A．had mastered all the courses for the manager

       B．had already formed good relationship with the employees

       C．know the way how to deal with her employees

       D．had her own personal experience

This passage shows us that to run a business well it is necessary for managers to let their employees know         .

       A．how much they can get for their job.

       B．what good positions they can get later

       C．they are very necessary to the business  

       D．they are nice as well as useful

The story told in this passage tells us that employees care about         .

       A．only how large a pay they can get

       B．love from the managing people rather than only money

       C．if their children could be properly taken care of

       D．what position they can be offered