About 70 scientists were working on a very busy project. All of them felt really desperate due to the pressure of work and the demands of their boss but everyone was loyal to him and did not think of quitting their job.
One day, one scientist came to his boss and told him, “Sir, I’ve promised to take my children to the exhibition going on in our township so I want to leave at 5:30 p. m.” His boss replied, “OK. You’re permitted to leave the office early today.”
The scientist started working. He continued his work after lunch. As usual, he got involved to such an extent that he looked at his watch only when he \felt he was close to completion. The time was 8:30 p. m. suddenly he remembered his promise to the children. He looked for his boss but he was not there. Having told him in the morning himself, he closed everything and left for home. Deep within himself, hw was feeling guilty for having disappointed his children. He reached home. The children were not there. His wife alone was sitting in the hall and reading magazines. The situation was explosive; any talk would boomerang on him. His wife asked him, “Would you like to have coffee or shall I straight away serve dinner if you are hungry?” The man replied, “If you would like to have coffee, I too will have but what about the children?” His wife replied, “You don’t know? Your boss came here at 5:15 p. m. and has taken them to the exhibition.”
What had really happened was the boss who gave him permission was observing him working seriously at 5:00 p. m. He thought to himself: this person will not leave the work, but he’s promised to take his children to the exhibition. So he took the lead in taking them there. The boss does not have to do it every time. But once it’s done, loyalty is established.
That is why all the scientists at Thumba continued to work under their boss even though the stress was extraordinarily huge. By the way ,can you boldly guess who the boss was? He was none other that the mastermind behind India’s successful nuclear weapons program, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, former president of India.
63．The scientist asked for an early leave because_____________.
A．he felt increasingly desperate about his work
B．he meant to accompany his wife at dinner
C．the task at hand was close to completion
D．he’d promised to take his kids to a show
64．The underlined sentence implies that the scientist thought his wife was___________.
A．dissatisfied with his coming home late
B．ready to serve dinner for him
C．grateful to his kind-hearted boss
D．delighted to see him back home
65．The boss took children to the exhibition__________.
A．when it was too late for the scientist to do so
B．because the scientist was absorbed in his work
C．because he also wanted to see what was on show
D．when the man’s wife asked him to do so
66．All the scientists stayed loyal to their boss____________ .
A．out of gratefulness for his thoughtfulness
B．because he had power over them
C．to learn how to live under pressure
D．every time he took the children to the show

Everyone would like to be a millionaire but can you imagine having over S 30 million and only being 20 years old? Britney Spears from Kentwood，a small town in Louisiana，is an international pop superstar with not only S 30 million but also a S 2 million house in LA．At her young age，she can look after her family financially all her life．
This year is a big year for Britney，she is currently on a 31 date tour of the US and every concert is a sell out．That means she plays in front of a crowd of around 18,000 every time．It’s a tiring schedule but brings great rewards．When touring，she goes to bed at around 1 a．m．and then has a lie-in until 1 p．m．or 2 p．m．the next day．Her philosophy (人生哲学) is to take care of the body and be relaxed but always make sure you work hard and have fun．
Spears is not satisfied with only touring and selling nearly 40 million records，so she decided to branch out into the movie business and try a bit of acting．She made an appearance in “Austin Powers 3” in 2002 and she filmed a teenage comedy that was released in 2003．In this movie，she had a starring role．The movie was her own concept and she picked the writer．
In spite of the fact that she has not enjoyed the same popularity as a pop singer so far，she insists on trying more roles．For Britney，acting is another way to express herself and she is enthusiastic about it all．If her movies are successful，her bank account is sure to grow by another few million dollars but she has been quoted as saying she does it for the love，not for money．
64．Tickets for Britney’s concert are ________．
A．booked in groups                         B．too expensive
C．not available                                D．all sold
65．The underlined word “you” in the second paragraph refers to _______．
A．a person in general                       B．a particular person
C．Britney herself only                      D．the reader
66．Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A．Though young，Britney is a superstar both on the stage and screen
B．While touring，Britney is so tired that she has to sleep more than usual．
C．The teenage comedy was based on Britney’s own ideas．
D．Britney will be even more wealthy with her movies successful．
67．According to Britney Spears，she works _______．
A．to be a great actress               B．for the enjoyment
C．to be more famous                        D．for the love of singing

Tsunami warning system is tested

If he, the founder of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, were alive, Thomas Jaggar would be proud of the U.S. tsunami warning system after Friday’s devastating earthquake in Japan sent a surge (大浪，汹涌) of ocean water dashing toward the West Coast.

● WASHINGTON — So many people surged to the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center website that it slowed to a crawl early Friday, unable to provide critical information to the public about the coastal impact in the U.S. of a massive earthquake in Japan.

McClatchy Washington Bureau — Mar 11 06:09 p.m.

● CHICAGO — A tsunami warning has been issued for the central and northern California coast and Oregon, the National Weather Service announced early Friday.

Chicago Tribune— Mar 11 06:07 a.m.

● HONOLULU — A tsunami warning was issued late on Thursday for Hawaii after an 8.9 magnitude earthquake struck in the Pacific near Japan, prompting state civil defense officials to order all coastal areas evacuated（把…撤出…）by 2 a.m. local time. Tsunami sirens (警报) began sounding at 9:59 p.m. on Thursday. They have sounded every hour since 11:15 p.m.

Alaska Tsunami Warning Center also issued a warning for much of the coasts of Alaska, Washington, Oregon and California.

Reuters via Yahoo! News — Mar 11 01:22 a.m.

● LOMPOC — Tsunami warning ‘a wake-up call’              

A tsunami warning that led to evacuations for coastal communities and campgrounds in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties Friday served as a successful trial for a more serious emergency, officials said after the danger passed.

The Lompoc Record — Mar 11 11:29 p.m.

● WELLINGTON — The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued a warning after an 8.9 magnitude earthquake struck in the Pacific near Japan, and it said the sea level readings confirm that a tsunami has been generated and was in effect for some Pacific islands — Hawaii, China’s Taiwan, the Philippines and Indonesia etc.

New Straits Times — Mar 11 07:48 a.m.

                                  — Reproduced by Yahoo Greenwich Meantime

1..

. A tsunami warning was issued for all the following states in the U.S. except for _____.

    A. Ohio         B. California           C. Oregon          D. Alaska

2..

 The underlined word “prompting” (in the fourth paragraph) most probably means _____.

A. promoting      B. advocating     C. urging         D. appealing

3..

According to the passage, the Pacific Tsunami warning was first reported by _____.

A. New Straits Times                    B. Reuters via Yahoo! News

    C. McClatchy Washington Bureau          D. Chicago Tribune

4..

In which city did the news agency issue a tsunami affecting for some other places apart from Japan and Hawaii?

A. LOMPOC.        B. WASHINGTON.      C. HONOLULU.    D. WELLINGTON.

【小题1】 She has great p      and will surely become very successful if
she is given the opportunity.                                  ___________
【小题2】Some dogs are trained to help people who are v     impaired.      ___________
【小题3】 When we are learning new things, it is important to make use of
p      knowledge.                                         ___________
【小题4】 There is no quick way of finding a cure for any disease; it is always
a process of trial and e    .                                   ___________
【小题5】It will take us an hour to get to the airport, a     for traffic delays.   ___________
【小题6】 If you try to look up every word you come across in a reading passage,
you will soon get s     and it will slow down your reading.        ___________
【小题7】 Do as you are told to, o     you will be in real trouble.            ___________
【小题8】 He worked hard for a while, but e     he got tired of trying so hard.   __________
【小题9】 The food in this restaurant is delicious and the prices are r     .      __________
【小题10】 Parents should face the fact that most children are of a     intelligence. __________

STAGE

1.We can learn from the text that________．

2.If a tourist wants to see a performance on March 15, he can call_______to book a ticket．

3.According to the text, which of the following statements is true?