Here is the Nine O‘clock News：

 1. President Absul Krim of Syria says that the danger of war in the Middle East is greater now than for the past two years. His country does not want war， he says， but the Syrian people have waited too long for an end to the troubles with their neighbors. If war comes, says Mr. Krim, Syria will be ready.

2. Ben Kitson, a writer of stories and plays for children, has died at his home in California. Mr. Kitson was 82. His most famous book of stories, “The Gentleman‘s House” sells all over the world, in more than twenty-five languages.

3. Policemen in New York have gone on strike. Their leader Mr. Paul Angeli says that they will return to work only when they receive more money for working long hours and doing what Mr. Angeli calls “the most dangerous job in the city”.

4. It has been a good year on the farm. The warm, wet spring and the fine summer have been very good for all kinds of food plants. This means that fruits and vegetables will cost less in the shops this year.

5. MORE than 1,100 people committed suicide（自杀）in Beijing last year, and experts have been encouraging the capital to set up a mental health care system as soon as possible, local media reported last week. About 20 per cent of the people of Beijing live in unhealthy conditions, with 3 per cent of these suffering from affective disorder and 5 per cent reporting symptoms（症状）of depression, according to the Beijing Mental Health Service Centre.

The Syrian people _______.

A. are ready and waiting for war

B. are ready to wait another two years for war、

C. do not want war, but will be ready if it comes

D. are a great danger to peace in the Middle East

Mr. Kitson wrote _______.

A. plays and stories for children

B. 82 stories about his home in California

C. in more than twenty-five languages

D. books, and then sold them all over the world

As food plants have grown well， _______.

A. fruit and vegetables will be cheaper this year

B. there will be a warm, wet spring and a fine summer

C. food will be cheaper than it was in the spring

D. plants will be cheaper in the shops this year

What is the best title for the last pieces of news？

A. MORE than 1,100 people committed suicide（自杀）in Beijing last year.

B. About 20 per cent of the people of Beijing live in unhealthy conditions.

C. Beijing needs mental health care.

D. People living in Beijing suffer a lot.

She is quiet, soft-spoken and has a kind face and a strong heart. She is my mom, Lili.

When I was nine, Lili quitted her job and started her own business. She said she didn’t want to stay at home and work as a housewife: “It’s a waste of life.” Lili became so busy that she spent less and less time with me. She didn’t help me with my schoolwork. It was, in her words, “so that you can develop your independence”. We quarreled because she rarely showed up at parents’ meetings.

Like mother, like daughter. I have many things in common with Lili. I want everything to be under control. I want to be perfect and I don’t expect other people to help me. I push myself hard to achieve my goals.

After I started to go to high school, Lili and I were too busy to communicate much with each other.

In biology class I began to be depressed. When the teacher showed us a picture of a butterfly, I was scared and screamed. I had a vision of thousands of butterflies flying toward me.

That night I told Lili about it. The next morning, I saw that she had red eyes with black circles around them.

She took me to see a therapist (治疗师). Three hours later, the therapist told Lili that my life was like a wheel spinning (旋转) faster and faster and that was the reason for what had happened to me. I only realized it when my body couldn’t stand the pressure anymore. At these words, Lili burst into tears. “It’s all my fault, she’s just a kid and I didn’t have time to take care of her….”  To be honest, I had never seen Lili cry before.

After that, Lili began to spend more time at home, cooking and dragging me to do sports. I realized she was the one who would always be there when I was in real trouble. No mom is perfect, but she is the one who really cares about her kid.

1.Lili quitted her job and started her own business because _________.

2. We quarreled because __________.

3.What can we learn from the passage?

4. Which of the following statements is WRONG?

5. What is the best title for the passage?

Every December the radio station in my city makes a program in which all the poor children can send letters asking for some Christmas presents. One day, as I was   1 the radio, I decided to do something, so I asked four of my friends if they wanted to help a poor child. They   2 .

After several days, we learned about a   3  from a little child called Juan. In his letter, he   4  some blankets and some clothes and also wanted somebody to help his father   5  the house because it was in bad   6  .

We told the radio station that we wanted to  7 Juan. After that, we started to think about how to  8 all the money to buy all that Juan  9  . After 5 days, we collected much money and bought many things for Juan. We   10 bought some toys as a little   11  for Juan.

  12 , on December 22 the radio station gave a party in which all the children who asked for help were   13  , and all those helping these children.

In the party we  14  Juan. We played some games with him and gave him the   15   we prepared for hm. He was very excited and happy, so were my   16  and I.

That day was one of the most   17  days in my life, and I learned something   18  from it. Giving help to those in need is one of the most meaningful things that you can do   19   this makes you feel good and also makes the persons who you are helping   20 .

I am going to keep doing that all my life!

1.                A．thinking of      B．listening to      C．searching for  D．looking after

2.                A．agreed         B．refused         C．hesitated D．admitted

3.                A．note           B．telephone       C．message  D．letter

4.                A．asked for       B．cared about     C．looked at D．laughed at

5.                A．build           B．repair          C．rent D．buy

6.                A．choice         B．situation        C．condition D．place

7.                A．praise          B．visit            C．help D．teach

8.                A．save           B．collect          C．spend    D．keep

9.                A．lost            B．hated          C．needed   D．wasted

10.               A．hardly         B．also           C．never D．still

11.               A．surprise        B．change         C．promise   D．comfort

12.               A．Nearly         B．Suddenly       C．Immediately    D．Finally

13.               A．told           B．shown         C．invited    D．allowed

14.               A．forgot          B．met           C．ignored   D．caught

15.               A．presents        B．signals         C．plans D．tips

16.               A．parents        B．neighbors       C．friends    D．classmates

17.               A．difficult        B．official         C．peaceful   D．meaningful

18.               A．lucky          B．funny          C．important  D．interesting

19.               A．though         B．but            C．unless D．because

20.               A．happy          B．angry          C．peaceful   D．wealthy

It happened to me recently that I was telling someone how much I had enjoyed reading Barack Obama’s Dreams From My Father and how it had changed my views of the current US President. The person I was talking to agreed with me that it was, in his words, “a wonderfully written book.” However, he then proceeded to talk about Mr. Obama in a way that suggested he had no idea of his background at all. I sensed that I was talking to a book liar(说谎者)．

And it seems that he is not the only one. Clearly two thirds of people have lied about reading a book which they haven’t. In The World Book Day survey, Dreams From My Father is at number 9. The survey lists top ten books, and various authors, which people have lied about reading. As I’m not one to lie too often, I’ll admit here and now that I haven’t read the entire ten books. But I am pleased to say that I have read the book at number one, George Orwell’s 1984. I think it’s absolutely outstanding．

Asked why they lied, the most common reason was to impress someone they were speaking to. This could be difficult if the conversation became more in-depth!

The World Book Day survey also has some other interesting information in it. It shows that many people lie about having read classical works by Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Charles Dickens and so on. But when asked which authors they actually enjoy, they named JK Rowling, Jilly Cooper, and Stephen King. Forty-one percent of people asked admitted they turned to the back of the book to read the end before finishing the story．

So which books have you lied about reading —if any — and which is your favorite?

1.The main reason why people lie about reading is to __________.         

A．make fun of the listener                  B．impress the listener

C．please the listener                      D．interest the listener

2.The underlined word “proceeded” in the passage probably means“___________”.

A．wanted           B．happened         C．continued         D．stopped

3.What is the best title for the passage?

A．Are You A Book Liar?                     B．Readers Are All Liars

C．World Book Day                        D．Dreams From My Father