There are over one million superstitions(迷信), and most people believe at least one or two of　them.
Many people are superstitious about numbers. They think that there are lucky numbers and unlucky numbers.
The number 13 is often considered unlucky. In some parts of the world, buildings have no 13th floor and streets have no houses with the number 13. In Japan, "4" is considered unlucky because in Japanese the word "four" is pronounced the same as the word "death" .
Japanese never give gifts of four knives, four napkins, or four of anything.
What are the lucky numbers? Seven is a lucky number in many places, and "8" is considered a lucky number in Japan and China. In China, businesses often open on August 8, and many couples register to get married at eight past eight on August 8.
Superstitions about numbers are so widespread that some people--called numerologist--make a living by giving advice about numbers.
In 1937, when the Toyoda family of Japan wanted to form a car company, they asked a numerologist if "Toyoda" would be a good name for the company. The numerologist said it would not be. He explained that "Toyota" would be a better name for the company. The family took his advice. As a result, millions of people drive "Toyota" and not "Toyoda" .
There are many other kinds of superstitions. There are superstitions about eating, sleeping, sneezing and itching(抓痒). There are superstitions about animals and holidays and horseshoes.
There are even superstitions about superstitions. Those superstitions will tell people how to reverse bad luck.
When the Japanese bump heads, they immediately bump heads again. According to a Japanese superstition, the first-bump means their parents will die, but the second bump "erases" the first bump         
To reverse bad luck in general, people turn around three times, turn their pockets inside out, or put their hats on backwards.
In the United States, baseball players sometimes wear their caps backwards when their team is losing. It looks silly, but the baseball players do not mind if it helps them win the game.   
【小题1】It can be inferred that superstitions about numbers are           .

When I was eight years old, I had a big accident. I get scared even now when I think about that time. There were many people skating near my house, and seeing them skate so wonderfully, I couldn’t wait to have a try, just a piece of cake, I thought .
I went with a friend who was very skillful. He spent a long time teaching me how to skate , but I still didn’t learn much , which made him very angry. Finally , he left me and skated all around. I skated alone and soon got bored because I kept falling down so I took off my skates and just walked around on the ice in my shoes. It was cold and my feet were frozen.
Suddenly, I stepped on something that was not hard. What was it ? It was a weak place in the ice . When I stepped there, I sank under the ice. I thought that I was going to die, but I did my best to grab something to get out from under the ice. I would have climbed out myself by grabbing the edge of the ice, but at that time I was only a child of eight . I cried out.
Fortunately, someone helped me. He grabbed my arms and pulled me up. Those several minutes seemed a year to me. I thanked him. At that time, my friend came back. I was annoyed at him because he was supposed to take care of me, but he didn’t. He was embarrassed. When I took a taxi home, the taxi driver was surprised and asked what had happened. I didn’t want to say anything because I was tired and scared. Since then, I have never touched skating.
【小题1】At first the writer thought that skating _________________.

Here in Alaska, the wolf almost disappeared a few years ago, because hunters were killing hundreds of them for sport. However, laws were passed to protect the wolves from sportsmen and people who catch the animals for their fur. So the wolf population has greatly increased. Now there are so many wolves that they are destroying their own food supply.
A wolf naturally lives on animals in the deer family. People there also hunt deer for food. Many of the animals have been destroyed by the very cold winters recently and by changes in the plant life there. When the deer can’t find enough food, they die.
If the wolves continue to kill large numbers of deer, the deer will disappear some day. And the wolves will, too. So we must change the life cycles there. If we killed more wolves, we would save them from starving. We also save deer and some farm animals.
In another northern state, wolves attack cows and chickens for food. Farmers want the United States government to send a team of scientists to study the problem. They believe it is necessary to kill wolves in some areas and to protect them in places where there is a small population.
【小题1】In Alaska, laws have been passed to ____.

In America, when people say “man’s best friend”, they don’t mean another person. Instead, they are talking about a lovely animal：A dog! These words show the friendship between people and animals. Dogs and other pets can give happiness to people’s lives. Some people regard their pets as their children. A few even leave all their money to their pets when they die!
Animals can help people, too. Dogs can be taught to become the “eyes” for a blind person or “ears” for a deaf people. Scientists have found that pets help people live longer! They make people happier, too. Because of that, animals are brought into hospitals for “visit”.
Americans hold “Be---Kind-to-Animals Week” in the first week of May. Pets shows are held during the week. Even if you don’t live in America, you, too, can do this. How? First, think about how animals make your life richer. If you have a pet, take more time this week to play with it. Remember to give it delicious food. Also, be sure to keep your pet from those unwanted babies.
f you don’t have a pet, be kind to animals around you. For example, if you see a street dog, don’t kick it or throw things at it. Instead, just leave it alone, or better yet, make friends with it. If others around you do bad things to an animal, try to stop them. As people, we must protect animals who can’t speak for themselves.
【小题1】 “A few even leave all their money to their pets when they die!” means that__________

C 
People have sailed （航行）the world in quite small boats . It is not an easy thing to do. Sometimes the weather gets bad. That can be the end of everyone in it. Accidents can happen easily and quickly .
One family once had an accident with some big fish. The fish swam under their boat and bit（咬）holes in it. Sea water came in, of course , and the boat soon sank （下沉）. However, these people had another smaller boat----a life-boat, and they all got into that. They lived and hoped for many days. They ate and slept, and they always hoped…At last a ship found them .
How do people live in a very small life-boat? Perhaps for weeks or months? They must be strong in every way . They must have hope----they must want to live: But you cannot eat and drink hope.
You cannot drink sea water: Drink a lot of sea water and you will quickly die . Sailors （水手）can drink rain water. They must catch rain water in their boat. They must also catch fish and birds for food . Life-boats do not often carry a cooker, so the sailors cannot cook their food. Raw （生的）fish and bird-meat is not very nice . But in a life-boat the sailors must eat raw food, or they will die.
What do people think about in a life-boat? They think about land , a warm bed, dry clothes , fresh water and food , food , food .
11．When sailors' boat sinks, their life-boat gives them ______.  
A．food         B．beds        C．rain water        D．hope
12．One family once had an accident at sea, because ______       
A．their boat was caught in bad weather
B．the boat knocked against a rock and sea water came in
C．some fish bit through the bottom（底部）of their boat
D．none of them knew how to sail the sea
13．Sailors can catch ______ for food and drink at sea in a life-boat .    
A．rain water                                     B．fish and birds
C．both sea water and rain water         D．both A and B
14．Life-boats do not often carry a cooker, which is ______.  
A．something used for cooking  B．food for cooking
C．a large basin  D．a person who cooks food
15．Which of the following is NOT TRUE?       
A．Sailing around the world in quite small boats is not easy.
B．All the food sailors have in a life-boat is cooked fish and bird-meat.
C．Anyone who drinks a lot of sea water will die .
D．No one can live for weeks in a life-boat unless he is strong and wants to live .