To the Editor,

    I have been reading your newspaper, the Hometown Gazette, for the past two years, ever since I moved to Smithville. We moved here from New York City, so I am accustomed(习惯的) to reading excellent newspapers such as The New York Times . In fact, we still have the Times delivered on Sundays. The entire family enjoys reading the recipes（食谱） in the magazine, as well as the Styles section.

The Times is great, but the Gazette is another story. I’ve never read an article that doesn’t contain at least three or four spelling or grammatical errors. For instance, in last week’s issue you misspelled the word “secretary”, used a singular verb with a plural noun, and used “it’s” as a possessive (所有格). And that was just in the lead story! In case you never went to elementary school, “it’s” means “it is ”.It’s also a possessive adjective!

It’s a pity that this tiny little hick(乡下) town has only one newspaper, because I’d like to have an alternative(替换物) to the rag you publish. I find it hard to believe your news stories. If you can’t spell correctly. How can you get your facts right?

I’ve been meaning to get this off my chest for some time. Please cancel my subscription(订阅). And buy yourself a dictionary.

                                                    Sincerely,

                                                    Jane Z, Jones

Which phrase from the passage shows the writer’s prejudice(偏见)?

   A. get this off my chest

   B. three or four spelling or grammatical errors

   C. tiny little hick town

   D. reading the recipes in the magazine

The author’s tone in this passage can best be described as                 

   A. happy        B. angry       C. sympathetic(同情的)         D. objective

Which statement of the following is not true according to the passage?

   A. The writer once lived in New York City, so he was used to reading the Times.

   B. The entire family enjoys reading the Styles section in the mafazine.

   C. The writer has long been planning to express his dissatisfaction with the local newspaper

   D. It is obvious that the editors of the newspaper are not very careful about their work.

Travel can be a lifesaver. But in today’s economy (经济) with airlines adding new fees almost daily and ticket prices sharply on the rise, many have written off travel as too expensive. However, with a few saving tricks and a little research, there are still lots of great deals to be had on airline tickets and more.

Early Bird Gets the Deal.

Travel experts say that there are certain times of day when more deals are available. Airfares can change three times a day as airlines adjust their prices to fill up flights. Early morning is when the fares tend to be lowest.www.zxxk.com

What Wouldn’t a Business Traveler do?

Flying when business travelers don’t can save you big money. Most business travelers fly on Mondays and Fridays, so Tuesday and Wednesday are the best days. Airlines will usually lower their prices on these days to aggressively try and fill empty seats.

Fly to popular places at unpopular times. The slowest time of the year for travel is in the Fall between Labor Day and Thanksgiving. Again, to try and fill more empty seats, the airlines will lower prices and offer better deals to get people to fly during this time of the year.

Package Deals

Many times the best deals on airfare can be found as part of a package rate. Most travel sites have package rates available. Often, the entire package (hotel, airfare, rental car) is cheaper than just the plane ticket on another site. Even if you don’t need the rental car, with the money you’ve saved on the flight, you can afford to take a taxi. These deals are especially good on last minute bookings.

With a little inside knowledge and some good timing, you can get yourself a steal on a ticket to the vacation you thought was out of reach.

1.Which would be the best title for the text?

A. Tips on Vocation Travelling

B. Advice for Business Travelers

C. The Effect of Economy on Airlines

D. Tricks of Finding the Cheapest Flights

2.Many people have to cancel their travel plan because they _____.

A. have no saving tricks                  B. consider economic reasons

C. seldom do research                                   D. can’t have great deals

3.Which of the following can be filled in the blank in the text?

A. Fly to popular places.

B. Don’t Miss the Holydays.

C. Better Avoid the Crowds.

D. Lose No Chance for Travelling.

4.What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A. Saving tricks can make the seemingly impossible vacation possible.

B. Inside knowledge and good timing help you to steal tickets from airlines.

C. Vacation will be out of reach without inside knowledge and good timing.

D. Who thinks the vacation is out of reach never grasps the tricks of saving.

第二部分阅读理解（共20小题，每小题2分，满分40分）
A
Being the boss might mean more money and challenging work but it can also cause damage to physical and mental well-being, according to a Canadian study.
For years studies have shown people in lower-status jobs generally have higher rates of heart disease and other illnesses and die earlier than those in higher-status positions while job authority has shown no relationship with workers’ health.
But University of Toronto researchers, using data from 1,800 US workers, found the health of people in higher positions is affected by work as they are more likely to report conflicts with co-workers and say work disturbs their home life.
However, the positive aspects of having a power position at work, such as higher status, more pay and greater independence, seemed to cancel out the negative aspects when it came to people’s physical and psychological health.
These latest findings, reported in the journal Social Science & Medicine, suggest that the advantages and disadvantages authority positions basically cancel each other out, giving the general impression that job authority has no health effects.
For the study, the researchers surveyed participants about various aspects of their work, life and well-being. Job authority was judged based on whether a person managed other employees and had power over hiring, firing and pay.
Physical health complaints included problems like headaches, body aches, heartburn and tiredness. Psychological complaints included sleep problems, difficulty concentrating and feelings of sadness, worry and anxiety.
“This isn’t to suggest that having authority is ‘bad’—in fact, we show it has benefits ... but it is important to identify the negative sides and deal with them.” researcher Scott Schieman said.  
Schieman said conflicts with co-workers or involvement of work into home life may destroy at physical and mental well-being by creating stress.
“These are key stressors that can tax individuals’ ability to function effectively,” Schieman said.
56. Work will have a negative effect on job authority’s health probably because __________.
A. they are not fit for their work
B. they have power over hiring and pay
C. they are faced with severe competition
D. they don’t get on well with their co-workers
57. Most people don’t see that bosses have health effects because __________.
A. their health problems are not serious enough to see
B. they have enough money to keep themselves healthy
C. their problems are quite different from those of workers  
D. the advantages and disadvantages of their status work against each other
58. From the passage we can infer that the study aims to _________.
A. warn people not to be a boss for ever
B. remind the boss to deal with the bad effects of their work
C. show that having authority is harmful to one’s health
D. prove that being a boss can benefit a lot 
59. The best title for this passage might be ________.
A. Lower-status can affect health                    B. Authority can affect health
C. Positive aspects of a power position            D. Disadvantages of being a boss

请阅读下面一篇文章，并按照要求匹配信息。注意：E=AB  F=AC  G=AD

On Monica & Hitesh's wedding day, Monica's mother gave her a newly opened bank saving passbook(银行存折) with $1000 deposit amount. Mother: “Monica, take this passbook.   1    When something happy and memorable happens in your new life, put some money in. Write down what it’s about next to the line. When you look back after years, you can know how much happiness you’ve had. ” 2    This was what they did after a certain time:

----- 7 Feb: $100, first birthday celebration for Hitesh after marriage

-----1 Mar: $300, salary raise for Monica

-----20 Mar: $200, vacation trip to Bali

----- 15 Apr: $2000, Monica got pregnant

-----1 Jun: $1000, Hitesh got promoted… and so on…

3    They didn't talk much. They regretted that they had married the nastiest person in the world....

One day Monica talked to her Mother: “Mom, we can’t stand it anymore. We agree to divorce. I can’t imagine how I decided to marry this guy!!! ” Mother: “Sure, girl, that's no big deal. Just do whatever you want if you really can’t stand it. But before that, do one thing first. Remember the saving passbook I gave you on your wedding day? Take out all money and spend it first.     4    ”

Monica thought it was true. So she went to the bank, waiting at the queue and planning to cancel the account. While she was waiting, she took a look at the passbook record. She looked, and looked, and looked.     5    Her eyes were then filled with tears. She left and went home, putting the passbook back to the safe.

A. However, after years, they started fighting and arguing for unimportant things.

B. Keep it as a record of your marriage life.

C. They had saved much money when they retired.

D. Then the memory of all the previous joy and happiness just came up her mind.

E. Monica and her husband both thought it was a great idea.

F. Remember the saving passbook her mother gave her on the wedding day.

G. You shouldn't keep any record of such a poor marriage.

Visitors were still paying 20 yuan to hug Lele and have their photos taken yesterday despite a ban that forbids any such sontact with a wild animal. The ban was introduced more than a week ago.

“The city zoo broke the law and should be prohibited,” said an official at the State Forestry Administration.

The administration notice last Monday clearly bans contact with wild or captive animals, the abuse of wild or captive animals for performance purposes and any improper business related to wild animal products.

“Close contact with the chimp is the only bit that breaks the ban and we will end that soon,” said Beijing Zoo spokeswoman Ye Minxia yesterday.

“The chimpanzee performance can’t stopped overnight as we have a contract with a company scheduled to terminate at the end of this year,” she said.

“The zoo is negotiating with the company in the hope of terminating it sooner,” Ye said. She refused to answer directly whether the chimp photo sessions were still ongoing yesterday, instead, saying. “It’s very likely we will cancel it tomorrow.”

Zoo staff confirmed photos were taken yesterday, one employee saying 2-year-old Lele “works” form 10am to 3pm daily, according to the Leagl Mirror.

Such activities not only damage the mental and physical health of the animals, but also risk the safety of visitors, according to the official website of the State Forestry Administration where the notice was released.

“A pet male chimpanzee bit and attacked 55-year-old Chala Nash, causing serious injuries to her face, neck and hands at her friend’s home in Stamfor, Connecticut on February 16th last year,” CNN reported. The friend, Sandra Herold, called the police, who shot 14-year-old Travis many times after he also attacked an officer.”

“Putting a blue T-shirt on a wild animal and training it to bare its teeth and parade for visitors might not enhance that already-troubled image of Chinese animal protection,” the State Forestry official warned. “Some zoos even hit animals and promote themselves with commercials involving animal abuse, ” he said.

“Too much focus on the profits too often results in improper treatment of animals, contributing to their early and unnatural deaths,” the notice stated.

Where can people most probably find the article?

       A．In research reports.  B．In newspapers.

       C．In science fictions.   D．In book reviews. 

What do we learn about Lele?

       A．It’s used to make money.       B．It is hit by the people.

       C．It attacked its owners.     D．It died unnaturally.

What would be the best title of the article?

       A．Zoos Disobey National Ban    B．Profit-making Zoos

       C．Animals in Danger           D．Animal Abuse