I fell in love with England because it was quaint (古雅)—all those little houses, looking terribly old-fashioned but nice, like dolls’ houses. I loved the countryside and the pubs, and I loved London. I’ve slightly changed my mind after seventeen years because I think it’s an ugly town now.

Things have changed. For everybody, England meant gentlemen, fair play, and good manners. The fair play is going, unfortunately, and so are the gentlemanly attitudes and good manners—people shut doors heavily in your face and politeness is disappearing.

I regret that there are so few comfortable meeting places. You’re forced to live indoors. In Paris I go out much more, to restaurants and nightclubs. To meet friends here it usually has to be in a pub, and it can be difficult to go there alone as a woman. The cafes are not terribly nice.

As a woman, I feel unsafe here. I spend a bomb on taxis because I will not take public transport after 10 p. m. I used to use it, but now I’m afraid.

The idea of family seems to be more or less non-existent in England. My family is well united and that’s typically French. In Middlesex I had a neighbour who is 82 now. His family only lived two miles away, but I took him to France for Christmas once because he was always alone.

1.The writer doesn’t like London because she ______.

A．has lived there for seventeen years

B．prefers to live in an old-fashioned house

C．is not used to the life there now

D．has to be polite to everyone she meets there

2.Where do people usually meet their friends in England?

A．In a pub.          B．In a cafe.          C．In a restaurant.     D．In a nightclub.

3.The writer took her neighbour to France for Christmas because he ______.

A．had never been to France                 B．was from a typical French family

C．didn't like the British idea of family          D．felt lonely in England

In 1891, a man named James Naismith was teaching physical education at a school in Springfield. One long, cold winter, he had to create a game for 18 young men to play indoors. So the Canadian-born Naismith wrote some rules.

Rule number one: “The ball may be thrown in any direction with one or both hands.” Two: “The ball may be batted in any direction with one or both hands (never with the fist).”

In all, there were 13 rules— the original rules of basketball. James Naismith is recognized as the inventor of basketball.

The National Association of Basketball Coaches established the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States in 1949. It opened in 1968 at Springfield College. A new, larger building opened in 1985. And, four years ago, the Hall of Fame moved into a newer building, just south of its former home. The new building increased the size by almost one hundred percent. 

Honors ring in Basketball Hall of Fame.

The Basketball Hall of Fame is a museum and entertainment center. It combines history with technology. And it tries to capture the energy and excitement of the game. In the Center Court area, for example, visitors can play interactive games of basketball and take part in skill competitions.

The Hall of Fame explores basketball at every level of the game. Visitors learn about professional basketball in the United States and other countries. They learn about women’s teams and how the game is played at the college level. They also learn about basketball for disabled people.

The Hall of Fame honors the best players, teams, coaches and officials in basketball. Earlier this month, six more honorees joined the more than 250 people in the Hall of Fame. The six new members are Geno Auriemma, Charles Barkley, Joe Dumars, Sandro Gamba, David Gavitt and Dominique Wilkins.

40. James Naismith is considered to be the forerunner of basketball mainly because ____.

A. he discovered the first basketball                

B. he created the earliest basketball games

C. he set up the Basketball Hall of Fame

D. he organized the earliest basketball games

41. From the passage, we can infer that ____.

A. the Hall of Fame only honors the best basketball players

B. James Naismith was employed as a coach in the Hall of Fame

C. visitors can compete with the professional players in the hall

D. a variety of basketball games are developed by the Hall of Fame

42. James Naismith made some rules in order to ____.

A. organize an indoor basketball game  

B. improve physical education at school

C. train his students for the Hall of Fame

D. invent the game of basketball for the young

43. The passage talks mainly about ____.

A. the Basketball Hall of Fame         B. the first basketball games

C. the original 13 basketball rules   D. the players in the Hall of Fame

Read the following text and choose the most suitable heading from A-F for each paragraph. There is one extra heading which you do not need.

A. Factors that influence reactions to pollutants

B. Possible sources of indoor air pollution

C. Ways to identify diseases with similar symptoms

D. Long-term effects after repeated exposure                            

E. A commonly-ignored health threat

F. Immediate symptoms and regular treatment

1.Most people are aware that outdoor air pollution can damage their health, but many do not know that indoor air pollution can also have significant health effects. Environmental Protection Agency studies indicate that indoor levels of pollutants may be 2-5 times, and occasionally more than 100 times, higher than outdoor levels. These levels of indoor air pollutants may be of particular concern because most people spend about 90％ of their time indoors.

2.There are many sources of indoor air pollution in any home. These include combustion sources such as oil, gas, coal, wood, and tobacco products; building materials and furnishings as diverse as deteriorated asbestos-containing insulation, wet or damp carpet, and cabinetry or furniture made of certain pressed wood products; products for household cleaning and maintenance, personal care, or hobbies; central heating and cooling systems and humidification devices; and outdoor sources such as radon, pesticides, and outdoor air pollution.

3.Immediate effects may show up after a single exposure or repeated exposures. These include irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, headaches, dizziness, and fatigue. Such immediate effects are usually short-term and treatable. Sometimes the treatment is simply eliminating the person's exposure to the source of the pollution, if it can be identified. Symptoms of some diseases, including asthma, hypersensitivity and fever, may also show up soon after exposure to some indoor air pollutants.

4.The likelihood of immediate reactions to indoor air pollutants depends on several factors. Age and pre-existing medical conditions are two important influences. In other cases, whether a person reacts to a pollutant depends on individual sensitivity, which varies tremendously from person to person. Some people can become sensitized to biological pollutants after repeated exposures, and it appears that some people can become sensitized to chemical pollutants as well.

5.Certain immediate effects are similar to those from colds or other viral diseases, so it is often difficult to determine if the symptoms are a result of exposure to indoor air pollution. For this reason, it is important to pay attention to the time and place the symptoms occur. If the symptoms fade or go away when a person is away from the home and return when the person returns, an effort should be made to identify indoor air sources that may be possible causes. 

The common cold is the world’s most widespread illness, which is plagues(疫病) that flesh receives.

The most widespread fallacy(谬误) of all is that colds caused by cold. They are not. They are caused by viruses(病毒) passing on from person to person. You catch a cold by coming into contact, directly or indirectly, with someone who already has one. If cold causes colds, it would be reasonable to expect the Eskimos to suffer from them forever. But they do not. And in isolated arctic regions explorers have reported being free from colds until coming into contact again with infected people from the outside world by way of packages and mail dropped from airplanes.

During the First World War soldiers who spent long periods in the trenches(战壕), cold and wet, showed no increased tendency to catch colds.

In the Second World War prisoners at the notorious Auschwitz concentration camp(奥斯维辛集中营), naked and starving, were astonished to find that they seldom had colds. At the Common Cold Research Unit in England, volunteers took part in Experiments in which they gave themselves to the discomforts of being cold and wet for long stretches of time. After taking hot baths, they put on bathing suits, allowed themselves to be with cold water, and then stood about dripping wet in drafty room. Some wore wet socks all day while others exercised in the rain until close to exhaustion. Not one of the volunteers came down with a cold unless a cold virus was actually dropped in his nose.

If, then, cold and wet have nothing to do with catching colds, why are they more frequent in the winter？Despite the most pains-taking research, no one has yet found the answer. One explanation offered by scientists is that people tend to stay together indoors more in cold weather than at other times, and this makes it easier for cold viruses to be passed on.

No one has yet found a cure for the cold. There are drugs and pain suppressors(止痛片) such as aspirin, but all they do is relieve the symptoms(症状).

1. The writer offered _______ examples to support his argument.

A. 4              B. 5              C. 6              D. 3

2. Which of the following does not agree with the chosen passage?

A. The Eskimos do not suffer from colds all the time.

B. Colds are not caused by cold.

C. People suffer from colds just because they like to stay indoors.

D. A person may catch a cold by touching someone who already has one.

3. Arctic explorers may catch colds when _______.

A. they are working in the isolated arctic regions

B. they are writing reports in terribly cold weather

C. they are free from work in the isolated arctic regions

D. they are coming into touch again with the outside world

4. Volunteers taking part in the experiments in the Common Cold Research Unit _______.

A. suffered a lot                       B. never caught colds

C. often caught colds                  D. became very strong

5. The passage mainly discusses _______.

A. the experiments on the common cold

B. the fallacy about the common cold

C. the reason and the way people catch colds

D. the continued spread of common colds

Frankenstein is one of the world’s most famous horror stories. It’s about a doctor who creates a new man from the body parts of dead people and brings it to life. But the experiment goes wrong and the monster(怪兽) kills the doctor and many others. The story has been read by millions since it was first published and in the last hundred years it has been made into dozens of movies. Many people are surprised to learn its writer was a 19-year-old woman, called Mary Shelley.

Mary was born into a rich London family in August 1797. She was educated by her parents and when she was 13 she decided to become a writer. In 1812, she met the famous writer Percy Shelley and they soon got married. Sadly for Mary, their first child died soon after birth in Italy. In her diary, Mary wrote about a dream：“I dreamt that my little baby came to life again---that it had only been cold and that we rubbed it before the fire and it lived.”

In 1816, Percy Shelley and 19-year-old Mary visited the poet Lord Byron at his home in Switzerland. Because of the bad weather they stayed indoors reading horror stories. On night, Byron asked everyone to write their own story. Mary thought of her dream and wrote the story of Frankenstein

Frankenstein was published when Mary was 21, and became a huge success. Many people didn’t think a 19-year-old woman could write so well and believed her husband was the real writer.

Although famous, Shelley’s life was full of sadness. Only one of her four children lived and in 1822 her husband died in a swimming accident. Mary was broken-hearted and decided not to marry again. She devoted herself to her child and continued to write until her death in 1851.

1.Where was Mary Shelley when she wrote the story Frankenstein ?

2.In which order do the following take place?

a. Bad weather made everyone stay indoors reading horror stories.

b. The story Frankenstein was first published.

c. Mary wrote about a dream in her diary.

d. Mary met the famous writer Percy Shelley.

e. Movies based on the story of Frankenstein were made.

3.How old was Mary Shelley when she died?