Mark Twain left school when he was twelve. He had little school education. In spite of this, he became the most famous writer of his time. He made millions of dollars by writing. His real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens, but he is better known all over the world as Mark Twain, his penname.

Mark Twain was born in 1835 and he was not a healthy baby. In fact, he was not ex­pected to live through the first winter. But with his mother’s care, he managed to survive. As a boy, he caused much trouble for his parents. He used to play jokes on all his friends and neighbors. He didn’t like to go to school, and he often ran away from home. He always went in the direction of the nearby Mississippi(密西西比河). He was nearly drowned nine times.

After his father’s death, Mark Twain began to work for a printer, who only provided him with food and clothing. Then, he worked as a printer, a river-boat pilot and later joined the army. But shortly after that he became a miner. During this period, he started to write short stories. Afterwards he became a full time writer.

In 1870, Mark Twain got married. In the years that followed he wrote many books including Tom Sawyer in 1876, and Huckleberry Finn in 1884, which made him famous, and brought him great fortune.

Unfortunately, Mark Twain got into debts in bad investments(投资) and he had to write large numbers of stories to pay these debts. In 1904, his wife died, and then three of his children passed away.

At the age of 70, his hair was completely white. He bought many white suits and neckties. He wore nothing but white from head to foot until his death on April 21, 1910.

1.In his childhood, Mark Twain, ________.

A．learned a lot at school

B．he often went swimming with other boys

C．his mother often worried about his safety

D．he often played games with other boys

2.Which of the following shows the right order about Mark Twain?

a. He became a miner.           b. He worked as a printer.

c. He got into debts.             d. His father died.

e. He became a full-time writer.    f. He joined the army.

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

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

3.In order to make a living, Mark Twain _______.

A．first worked as a printer

B．did many kinds of work

C．wrote stories in the beginning

D．joined the army after he worked in a mine

4.Before his death, Mark Twain _______.

A．became a white man                     B．was in low spirits

C．liked to buy all kinds of clothes             D．had nothing on

If a person forgets names , places or facts —and has trouble with everyday things like reading or shopping —it may not mean you are getting old . It could be Alzheimer’s disease . So it’s important to see a doctor as soon as you can .

There is no cure for Alzheimer’s . But a drug called ARICEPT has been used by millions of people to help their symptoms (症状).

In studies , ARICEPT has been proved to work for Alzheimer’s . It has helped people improve their memory over time . It has also helped them to keep doing everyday things on their own .

Ask your doctor if ARICEPT is right for you or your loved one . It is the Number One drug for Alzheimer’s in the world . The sooner you know it’s Alzheimer’s , the better ARICEPT can help .

ARICEPT is good for many but may not be good for everyone . Some people may experience not sleeping well , feeling very tired , or not wanting to eat . In studies , these side effects weren’t serious at all and went away over time . Some people taking ARICEPT may feel light-headed . In this case you should tell your doctors because your condition may get worse .

1. If one suffers from Alzheimer’s ,           .

   A．he can’t do everyday things on his own

   B．he has trouble with his memory

   C．he often forgets things because he is old    

   D．he can’t move about

2. What is ARICEPT ?

   A．A medicine to cure Alzheimer’s

   B．A medicine to delay signs of aging .

   C．A medicine to cure brain damage .

   D．A medicine to reduce the symptoms of Alzheimer’s .

3.One who is taking ARICEPT should go to see a doctor if he        .

   A．feels like a drunken man          B．feels tired out

   C．has no desire to eat D．can’t fall asleep

阅读下列新闻及相关信息，并按照要求匹配信息。

A.FIFA agrees on heavy punishments to stamp out racism

ZURICH: Soccer’s world governing body FIFA agreed on Thursday to punish acts of racism with heavy punishments including taking away points and disqualification from competitions.

B. England face uphill task in the third test

MUMBAI: England will fight against all the probabilities to prevent a second straight series defeat when they face India in the third and final test starting on Saturday.

C. Disease-free chickens hit the market

GUANGZHOU: The first group of 200,000 live, quality-assured chickens, which wear colored plastic rings around their feet, hit Guangzhou’s markets on Friday, at a time when the threat of bird flu has kept chickens off many menus.

D. Football bosses deny Schweinsteiger betting report

BERLIN: German football chiefs on Thursday made a strong statement of the wrong saying that a newspaper says that Bayern Munich star Bastian Schweinsteiger was the international footballer involved in a betting.

E.Zhangs to lead Chinese team at the world championships（锦标赛）

Figure skaters Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao, whose heroic silver was a high point of last month’s Turin Winter Olympics, are ready to make China into pairs more noticeable at the world championships next week in Calgary.

F.Ministry looks to prevent soil from ruin

The two square meters of land covered with black soil that were once the pride of farmer Lei Guangsheng are now a problem without an easy solution.

请阅读下面的信息，了解五位成员的兴趣。然后进行信息匹配。

1.Tony is very interested in agriculture, so he wants to know about something that is happening in the countryside.

2.Collins focuses his attention on people’s health, so he would like to know what has happened in this field.

3.Jesse likes sports very much. Next week the winter holidays will begin and he wants to see some great events happening in the following week.

4.Jack takes great interest in collecting sportsmen’s personal information, especially about their bad behavior.

5.Harry is a football fan. He often watches football games invented in old England. Now he needs to know some decision made by the organization.

Love, success, happiness, family and freedom——how important are these values to you? Here is one interview which explores the fundamental questions in life.

Question: Could you introduce yourself first?

Answer: My name is Misbah, 27 years old. I was born in a war-torn area. Right now I’m a web designer.

Q: What are your great memories?

A: My parents used to take us to hunt birds, climb trees, and play in the fields. For me it was like a holiday because we were going to have fun all day long. Those are my great memories.

Q: Does your childhood mean a lot to you?

A: Yes. As life was very hard, I used to work to help bring money in for the family. I spent my childhood working, with responsibilities beyond my age. However, it taught me to deal with problems all alone. I learnt to be independent.

Q: What changes would you like to make in your life?

A: If I could change something in my life, I’d change it so that my childhood could have taken place in another area. I would have loved to live with my family in freedom. Who cares whether we have much money, or whether we have a beautiful house? It doesn’t matter as long as I can live with my family and we are safe.

Q: How do you get along with your parents?

A: My parents supported me until I came of age. I want to give back what I’ve got. That’s our way. But I am working in another city. My only contact with my parents now is through the phone, but I hate using it. It filters(过滤)out your emotion and leaves your voice only. My deepest feelings should be passed through sight, hearing and touch.

1.In Misbah’s childhood,         .

A．he was free from worry

B．he liked living in the countryside

C．he was fond of getting close to nature

D．he often spent holidays with his family

2.What did Misbah desire most in his childhood?

A．A colorful life.                          B．A beautiful house.

C．Peace and freedom.                     D．Money for his family.

3.How would Misbah prefer to communicate with his parents?

A．By chatting on the Internet.                B．By calling them sometimes.

C．By paying weekly visits.                   D．By writing them letters.

4.If there were only one question left, what would it most probably be?

A．What was your childhood dream?

B．What is your biggest achievement?

C．What is your parents’ view of you?

D．What was your hardest experience in the war?

My newly-rented small apartment was far away from the centre of London and it was becoming essential for me to find a job，so finally I spent a whole morning getting to town and putting my name down to be considered by London Transport for a job on the underground. They were looking for guards，not drivers．This suited me．I couldn’t drive a car but thought that I could probably guard a train，and perhaps continue to write my poems between stations．The writers Keats and Chekhov had been doctors．T.S. Eliot had worked in a bank and Wallace Stevens for an insurance company．I’d be a subway guard．I could see myself being cheerful，useful，a good man in a crisis. Obviously I’d be over qualified but I was willing to forget about that in return for a steady income and travel privileges-those being particularly welcome to someone living a long way from the city centre．

The next day I sat down，with almost a hundred other candidates，for the intelligence test．I must have done all right because after about half an hour’s wait I was sent into another room for a psychological test．This time there were only about fifty candidates．The interviewer sat at a desk．Candidates were signaled forward to occupy the seat opposite him when the previous occupant had been dismissed，after a greater or shorter time．Obviously the long interviews were the more successful ones．Some of the interviews were as short as five minutes．Mine was the only one that lasted a minute and a half．

I can remember the questions now：“Why did you leave your last job?”“Why did you leave your job before that?”“And the one before that?”I can’t recall my answers，except that they were short at first and grew progressively shorter．His closing statement，I thought，evealed(揭示)a lack of sensitivity which helped to explain why as a psychologist，he had risen no higher than the underground railway．“You’ve failed the psychological test and we are unable to offer you a position．”

Failing to get that job was my low point．Or so I thought，believing that the work was easy．Actually，such jobs—being a postman is another one I still desire—demand exactly the sort of elementary yet responsible awareness that the habitual dreamer is least qualified to give．But I was still far short of full self-understanding．I was also short of cash．

【小题1】The writer applied for the job chiefly because         .

       A．he wanted to work in the centre of London

       B．he could no longer afford to live without one

       C．he was not interested in any other available job

       D．he had received some suitable training

【小题2】The writer thought he was overqualified for the job because         .

       A．he often traveled underground

       B．he had written many poems

       C．he could deal with difficult situations

       D．he had worked in a company

【小题3】The length of his interview meant that         .

       A．he was not going to be offered the job

       B．he had not done well in the intelligence test

       C．he did not like the interviewer at all

       D．he had little work experience to talk about

【小题4】What does the writer realize now that he did not realize then?

       A．How unpleasant ordinary jobs can be

   B．How difficult it is to be a poet

       C．How unsuitable he was for the job

       D．How badly he did in the interview

【小题5】What’s the writer’s opinion of the psychologist?

       A．He was very aggressive

       B．He was unhappy with his job

       C．He was quite inefficient

       D．He was rather unsympathetic