As De Witt Wallace lay in bed recovering from injuries that he unfortunately came by in World War I, he found there was a wealth of interesting information to read. Realizing few people would have the time to get through all this information, he knew exactly what to do. In 1920, this young American submitted a sample magazine containing shortened articles to publishers across America. However, all turned him down.

     Undeterred, De Witt and his new bride Lila Bell Acheson published the first issue of Reader’s Digest in February 1922. Working from home, the Wallaces printed 5,000 copies, which were sold by mail to 1,500 people and priced at 25 cents. From these humble beginnings grew the world’s most widely–read magazine.

     The magazine became popular and, by 1935, sales topped one million. In 1938, the first international edition was published in the United Kingdom. During World War Ⅱ, editions were published for the first time in Latin America and Sweden. After the war Reader’s Digest moved into Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, South Africa and Switzerland. In 1950, Reader’s Digest published its shortened Books (now known as Select Editions in Australia). In 1959, music, the first non–print product line, was introduced. In 1962, Reader’s Digest revolutionized direct mail by introducing easy–to–enter Sweepstakes and a year later the first Reader’s Digest general book was published. In 1986, video was added to the Reader’s Digest product line.

   In 1973, the Wallaces gave up active management of Reader’s Digest. De Witt died in 1981, aged 91; Lila in 1984, aged 94. With no heirs(继承人) to the Wallace empire to take control, Reader’s Digest became a public company in the early 1990s and is now headed by a Chief Executive Office and Chairman of the Board.

What is the purpose of De Witt Wallace creating the earliest magazine?

       A．To become wealthy.            B．To offer people information.

       C．To heal the wounds from the war.   D. To turn down uninteresting stories.

When did De Will make his first trial of the magazine?

       A．Before World War I.   B．In 1920.   C．In 1922.   D．In 1935.

What is mainly talked about in the first two paragraphs?

       A．The first issue of Reader’s Digest.

       B．The first trial of De Witt Wallace’s dream.

       C．De Witt Wallace’s character and marriage.

       D．The humble beginnings of Reader’s Digest.

Which of the following is the right order for the history of Reader’s Digest?

     a．The Select Edition came out.

       b．The Wallaces retired from the management of Reader’s Digest.

       c．The magazine sold over million copies.

       d．The product line was improved by means of videos.

       e．Editions in other languages were published.

       A．c — e — a — b — d                    B．e — a — c — b — d

       C．c — e — a — d — b                    D．a — c — e — d — b

What can be known about Reader’s Digest from the passage?

       A．Reader’s Digest only published shortened or general books.

       B．After World War ⅡReader’s Digest was published all over the world.

       C．Reader’s Digest was first private–owned and later public–owned.

       D．Reader’s Digest has always been headed by a Chief Executive Office

Visiting a new place can be a scary experience for a lot of people because it could include speaking in a language that most people are not comfortable with ---- English. So how can you keep away form this kind of situation? Learn how to speak English fluently. Here are 4 English speaking tips you must know to become a more confident English speaker.

1. Listen first.

One of the best English speaking tips is to listen carefully to understandable English EVERY DAY. Most people turn to textbooks to study English grammar rules, but you cannot learn the correct English pronunciation of the words merely by reading them. You do not need to learn grammar in detail because this can prevent you from speaking English fluently.

Instead, listen to how native English speakers pronounce and observe their mouth movements. Also watch English shows and movies to build on your English accent and improve your vocabulary.

2. Practice makes perfect.

Studies show that you’ll probably spend three months of practice every day in order to have strong mouth muscles. Read aloud in English for 15 to 20 minutes a day in front of the mirror, which helps in accent reduction and improves your English communication skills.

Also, practice with your friends and family. Talking with a good English speaker can help improvise (即兴发挥) your usage of words and formation of sentences.

3. Think in English.

One of the most effective English speaking tips is to think in English. What most English learners do in the early stages of learning is that they think of what they have to say in their native language, translate and then say it in English. This can be mentally tiring.

If your goal is to speak English fluently, you need to learn “thinking” in English. Make up the sentences in English as you think about them before saying them. With practice, you will be able to respond automatically in English.

4. Be more confident.

All these English speaking tips will be in vain if you are not that confident in your English speaking skills. It is quite natural to commit errors when learning a new language.

Try to relax if you’re speaking in English. When you speak at a normal speed, you’ll discover that you will be able to pronounce the words correctly and people will understand you. Most of the time, the person you are talking to is not even aware of your errors.

In a word, learning English does not happen overnight. It takes a lot of time, effort and practice. Don’t get too frustrated and never give up. Follow these English speaking tips and practice daily. Soon, you would learn to speak English fluently as if it is your own language.

English speaking tips you must know

III. 阅读(共两节，满分40分)

第一节阅读理解(共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分)

阅读下列短文，从媒体所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

In Stockholm, the Swedish Academy has chosen the British author Doris Lessing for the 2007 Nobel Prize in Literature.

The selection of Doris Lessing for a Nobel was popular among the hundreds of journalists gathered for the announcement in Stockholm.

Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy Horace Engdahl said with skepticism, fire and visionary power Lessing has subjected a divided civilization to scrutiny.

Doris Lessing was born in 1919 in Persia - modern-day Iran - to British parents, moving as a child with her family to southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, where she stayed in school only to the age of 14.

A year after moving to London, she published her first novel in 1950. The Grass is Singing examines unbridgeable racial conflict in colonial Africa through the eyes of a white farmer's wife and her black servant.

A member of the British Communist Party during the 1950s and a campaigner against nuclear arms and South African apartheid, Lessing was for years banned from that country and from Rhodesia.

Her literary breakthrough came in 1962 with publication of The Golden Notebook, seen by many, though not necessarily Lessing, as a pioneering work of modern feminism. A disjointed study of the mind of the main character, Anna Wulf, the novel explores her thoughts about Africa, politics and communism, relationships with men and sex, and Jungian analysis and dream interpretation.

Lessing's themes shifted to psychology in her works from the 1960s, and by the 1970s she was fascinated with the Islamic mystic tradition of Sufism. Her turn toward science fiction with the Canopus series in the early 1980s was not warmly received by traditionalist critics, but she has continued to win new readers and numerous literary awards, including the David Cohen British Literary Prize and the Companion of Honour from the Royal Society of Literature, both in 2001.

Following the announcement, the Horace Engdahl told VOA why he was personally so pleased with Lessing's selection.

"She is one of the truly great writers - of novels, short stories, fiction and non-fiction," Engdahl said. "She is one of the few writers who have had the courage to uphold the principle of equality between the male and female experience, and she has given the impulse to numbers of other women writers. And she is really the mother of a school that is one of the most important in our contemporary literature."

At 87, Doris lessing is the oldest Nobel Literature laureate since the first prizes were awarded in 1901. Each Nobel Prize is this year accompanied by a check for approximately $1.4 million.

41. How old was Doris Lessing when she published her first novel?

A. 14            B. 26           C. 31                D. 50

42. Which of the following about The Grass is Singing is true?

A. It is mainly about racial conflict between the whites and the blacks in the US.

B. The main characters are a white farmer’s wife and her black servant.

C. It was published in Africa.

D. It was Doris Lessing’s most famous novel.

43. We can infer from the passage that __________.

A. Journalists are very interested in the election of Doris Lessing’s for Nobel Prize.

B. Doris Lessing regard The Golden Notes as a pioneering work of feminism.

C. Doris Lessing has written about many different subjects.

D. Many writers have the courage to stick to the equality between the male and female experience.

44. The underlined word school in the last paragraph but one means________.

A. institution for educating children

B. college or university

C. department of a university 

D. group of writers, thinkers

45. Which of the following can be the best title of this passage?

A. Doris Lessing wins Nobel Prize for literature

B. The greatest British female writer

C. The oldest Nobel Prize winner

D. 2007 Nobel Prize announced in Stockholm

American society is not nap (午睡)friendly . In fact , says David Dings , sleep specialist at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine , “There’s even a prohibition (禁止) against admitting we need sleep”. Nobody wants to be caught napping or found asleep at work . To quote a proverb : “Some sleep five hours , nature requires seven , laziness nine and wickedness(淘气的) eleven.”

The way not to fall asleep at work is to take naps when you need them . “We have to totally change our attitude toward napping ,” says Dr. William Dement of Stanford University , the godfather of sleep research .

Last year a national commission led by Dement identified(发现) an “American sleep debt” which one member said was as important as the national debt . The commission was concerned about the dangers of sleepiness : people causing industrial accidents or falling asleep while driving . This may be why we have a new sleep policy in the White House . According to recent reports , President Clinton is trying to take a half---hour snooze (瞌睡) every afternoon .

About 60 percent of American adults nap when given the opportunity . We seem to have “a mid afternoon quiet phase ,” also called “a secondary sleep gate .” Sleeping 15 minutes to two hours in the early afternoon can reduce stress and make us refreshed . Clearly , we were born to nap .

We superstars of snooze don’t nap to replace lost shut--eye or to prepare for a night shift . Rather , we “snack” on sleep ,whenever , wherever and at whatever time we feel like it . I myself have napped in buses , cars , planes and on boats ; on floors and beds ;and in libraries ,  offices and museums .

The research done by the Dement Commission shows that Americans     .

A. don’t like to take naps 

B. are terribly worried about their national debt

C. think that lack of enough sleep causes many accidents 

D. have caused many industrial and traffic accidents

The purpose of this article is to     .

warn us of the wickedness of napping 

B. explain the danger of sleepiness

C. discuss the side effects of napping

D. convince the reader of the necessity of napping

The “American sleep debt”(Line 1 , Para .3) is the result of      .

the traditional misconception the Americans have about sleep

the new sleep policy of the Clinton Administration

the rapid development of American industry

the Americans’ worry about the danger of sleepiness

The second sentence of the last paragraph tells us that it is      .

preferable to have a sound sleep before a night shift

good practice to eat something light before we go to bed

essential (基本的) to make up for lost sleep

natural to take a nap whenever we feel the need for it

The amount of usable water has always been of great interest in the world. ___36___ springs and streams sometimes means control,  particularly in the ___37___ areas like the desert. The control is possible even without possession of large areas of ___38___ land. In the early days of the American West,  gun fights were not ___39___ for the water resources (资源). And laws had to be ___40___ to protect the water rights of the ___41___ and the use of the water resources accordingly.

42___ is known to us all,  there is not ___43___ water in all places for everyone to use as much as he likes. Deciding on the ___44___ of water that will be used in any particular period

45___ careful planning,  so that people can manage and use water more ___46___. Farmers have to change their use of or demand for water ___47___ the water supply forecast (预报).

The ___48___ water supply forecast is based more on the water from the ___49___ than from the below. Interest is ___50___ in the ways to increase rainfall by man-made methods,  and to get water from the winter snow on mountain ___51___. With special equipment,  some scientists are studying the ways in which the mountain snow can be ___52___,  and with the help of a repeater station,  they send the ___53___ data (数据) to the base station. The operator at the base station can get the data at any time by ___54___ a button. In the near future,  the forecast and use of water ___55___ probably depend on the advance knowledge of snow on mountains,  not of water underground.

36. A. Using   B. Holding     C. Owning      D. Finding

37. A. dry       B. distant C. deserted     D. wild

38. A. fine      B. beautiful    C. rich    D. farming

39. A. unlawful      B. unacceptable      C. unpopular   D. uncommon

40. A. made    B. designed     C. signed D. written

41. A. winners       B. settlers       C. fighters      D. supporters

42. A. That     B. It C. What  D. As

43. A. plentiful      B. enough       C. any     D. much

44. A. type     B. quality       C. amount      D. level

45. A. requests       B. requires      C. means D. suggests

46. A. effectively   B. easily  C. conveniently      D. actively

47. A. leading to    B. due to C. owing to    D. according to

48. A. correct  B. further       C. average      D. early

49. A. clouds  B. sky     C. air      D. above

50. A. raising  B. rising  C. building     D. lasting

51. A. rocks    B. tips     C. cops    D. trees

52. A. taken care of       B. made use of       C. piled up     D. saved up

53. A. picked  B. produced    C. used    D. gathered

54. A. touching      B. knocking    C. pressing     D. turning

55. A. might   B. can     C. will    D. should