As the College Entrance Examination is drawing nearby, some students would rather expect
good luck than to make every effort to study．They think success results good luck．Whether they can be admitted to key universities depend on luck．However, others insist that diligence is a mother of success．Only by working hard can they achieve what they want．Since they fail sometimes, they don’t give up, for they believe that success lies in our own hands．As for me, I’m in favor of the latter opinion．Luck doesn’t come alone．It goes hand by hand with hard working．Sometimes, some students are lucky enough to succeed, but such luck won’t last long because it is not basing on their own abilities．

If there is one thing I’m quite sure about, it is that in a hundred years from now we still be reading newspapers. Not those newspapers are a necessity. Even now some people get most of the news from the television or have the radio switched on in the background or in the car. Many buy a paper only on Saturday or Sunday. But for most people a newspaper has become a habit passed down from generation to generation.
The basic British character won’t change, and one of the characteristics of the British is that we don’t much like talking to each other when we get up. So what better way is there to keep yourself thinking in the morning than to wrap yourself in a newspaper?
Over the past couple of centuries, human beings have developed a close relationship with the newspaper. It has become as natural as breathing or enjoying the sun. And it is not just the British who love newspapers. On suburban trains in Calcutta, for instance, just one person in the whole car will buy a newspaper and read aloud the best bits to his fellow passengers, much to everybody’s enjoyment.
The nature of what is news may change. What essentially (本质上) makes news is what affects our lives and the big political stories, the coverage of the wars, earthquakes and other disasters, will continue much the same. I think there will be more coverage of scientific research, though. It’s already happening in areas that may directly affect our lives, like genetic engineering. In the future I think there will be more coverage of scientific explanations of why we feel as we do, whether it’s love or depression. We develop a better understanding of how the brain operates and what our feelings really are.
It’s quite possible that in the next century newspaper will be transmitted electronically from the national equivalents of Fleet Street (伦敦的舰队街，以报馆集中而著称) and printed out in our own homes. In fact, I’m pretty sure that that is how it will happen in future. You’ll be probably selecting from a menu, making up your own bespoke newspaper by picking out the things you want to read and say. You might even have an intelligent screening device (装置) to do the job for you.
I think people have got it wrong when they talk about the competition between the different media. They actually have a relationship, feeding off each other. It was once predicted that television would kill off newspapers, which hasn’t happened. What is read on the printed page is more enduring (持久的) than pictures on a flickering screen or sound lost in the sky. And as for the Internet, it’s never really satisfying to read something just on a screen.
【小题1】The author of the passage is most probably from _______________.

The other day my aunt paid me a visit. She was overjoyed. “I got the highest mark in the mid-term examination!” She said. Don’t be surprised! My aunt is indeed a student, exactly, a college student at the age of 45.

“Compared with the late 70s,” she says, “now college students have many doors.” I was shocked when she first told me how she had had no choice in her major. Look at us today! So many doors are open to us! I believe there have never been such abundant opportunities for self-development as we have today. And my aunt told me that we should reach our goals by grasping all these opportunities.

The first door is the opportunity to study different subjects that interest us. My aunt was happy to study management, but she could also attend lectures on ancient Chinese poetry and on Shakespearean drama. As for myself, I am an English major, but I may also go to lectures on history.

The second door is the door to the outside world. Learning goes beyond classrooms and national boundaries. I have many fellow international classmates, and I am applying to an exchange program with a university abroad. As for my aunt, she is planning to get an MBA degree in the U.K.

The third door is the door to life-long learning. Many of my aunt’s contemporaries say she’s amazingly up-to-date for a middle-aged woman. She simply responds, “Age doesn’t matter. What matters is your attitude. I don’t think I’m too old to learn.” Yes, she is right. Since the government removed the age limit for college admissions, there are already some untraditional students, sitting with us in the same classrooms. Like them, my aunt is old but young in spirit with incredible energy and determination.

The doors open to us also pose challenges. For instance, we are faced with the challenge of a balanced learning, the challenge of preserving our fine tradition while learning from the West, and the challenge of learning continuously while carrying heavy responsibilities to our work and family. So, each door is a test of our courage, ability and judgment, but with the support of my teachers, parents, friends and my aunt, I believe I can meet the challenge head on.

1.Which of the following words can best replace the “door” in the passage?

A．challenge         B．knowledge         C．learning           D．opportunity

2.What made the writher’s aunt overjoyed?

A．Having a chance to visit the writer

B．Having lots of choices in subjects

C．Getting the highest score in her exam

D．Getting admission to a university

3.Which of the following statements will the writer’s aunt agree with?

A．No pains, no gains.

B．Failure is the mother of success.

C．One is never too old to learn.

D．Rome isn’t built in a day.

4.The following word can be used to describe the writer’s aunt EXCEPT __________.

A．fashionable        B．traditional         C．energetic         D．determined

5.Which chart shows the correct structure of the passage?

假定你是Jack，你的中国朋友李华作为交换生刚到英国学习不久，他被邀请参加一个英国家庭的家庭宴会，他不知道该如何做才合适，请你给他通过电子邮件提出一些建议：
1. 穿着要精干    2. 按时到达  3. 带上小礼物（一瓶酒，一盒巧克力或鲜花 
4. 就餐时要注意礼貌举止，不要喝太多的酒，不要大声喧哗
5. 就餐后不要逗留太久         6. 一两天后给主人写答谢信
注意：1.词数100左右；可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
2. 文章开头和结尾已经给出，不计入总字数。
Dear Li Hua,
How is it going? Glad to receive your letter again. As for the family dinner party, I will give you some advice as follows.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________
Yours sincerely
Jack

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从第31至第40小题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

Dear Mr. Takashhi,

I am writing to apologize for any misunderstandings that occurred when I showed you around Beijing the other day. I noticed that you were a bit   31  when I put the business card you gave me in my   32  without looking at it. And   33  did not know why you kept making an OK sign and why you   34  so many things. After reading a magazine article, I know that Japanese people give out their business cards   35  they greet others and they would like others to look at their cards carefully. So I should have read your   36  before I put it in my pocket. And I also know why you bought so many things   37 . Because gift-giving is expected in Japan and on a trip, you must bring back lots of   38 . As for the OK sign, I now know it is a request for small change.

I feel very sorry for not having known these   39  habits earlier. I hope you can forgive me for all these misunderstandings. I hope   40  our next meeting will be happier.

Yours sincerely,

Li Hualing

1. A. pleased       B. upset            C. excited          D. encouraged

2. A. hand          B. box              C. watch            D. pocket

3. A. I             B. you              C. we               D. nobody

4. A. made          B. saw              C. bought           D. eat

5. A. unless        B. before           C. after            D. when

6. A. faces         B. books            C. cards            D. clothes

7. A. there         B. here             C. home             D. everywhere

8. A. gifts         B. photos           C. pictures         D. sweets

9. A. strange       B. rare             C. unusual          D. cultural

10. A. which        B. that             C. when             D. where