The history of newspapers is an often-dramatic chapter of the human experience going back some six centuries.In Renaissance Europe handwritten newsletters circulated(发行) privately among merchants,passing along information about everything from wars and economic conditions to social customs and “human interest” features.The first printed newspaper appeared in Germany in the late 1400s in the form of news pamphlets(小册子) or broadsides.

In the English-speaking world,the earliest predecessors(前身) of the newspaper were corantos,small news pamphlets produced only when some event worthy of notice occurred.The first successively published title was The Weekly News of 1622.The first true newspaper in English was the London Gazette of 1666.  

In America the first newspaper appeared in Boston in 1690,entitled Public Occurrences.Published without official permission,it was immediately suppressed(查禁).Its publisher was arrested,and all copies were destroyed.The first successful newspaper was the Boston News-Letter,begun by postmaster John Campbell in 1704.By the eve of the Revolutionary War,some two dozen papers were issued at all the colonies.At the war’s end in 1783 there were forty-three newspapers in print. The Bill of Rights in 1791 at last guaranteed freedom of the press,and America’s newspapers began to take on a central role in national affairs.By 1814 there were 346 newspapers.

In the 1830s,advances in printing and papermaking technology led to an explosion of newspaper growth—the emergence(出现) of the “Penny Press”;it was now possible to produce a newspaper that could be sold for just a cent a copy.The cheap newspaper helped people to get more interesting reading materials easily.In 1850,there were 2526 different papers.By the 1910s,all the basic features of the modern newspaper had emerged.

Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A.Handwritten newsletters came out publicly in Renaissance Europe.

B.The first printed newspaper was seen about six hundred years ago.

C.The first successively published newspaper in the English-speaking world was corantos.

D.In America the first newspaper was successful as soon as it appeared.

What does the underlined phrase “Penny Press” in the last paragraph mean?

A.People can press pennies easily.

B.People can produce newspapers with little cost.

C.It is a penny factory.

D.The name of the press owner is Penny.

What is the main reason for newspapers in the USA increasing so fast in the 1830s?

A.The pass of the Bill of Rights in 1791.

B.Newspapers began to take on a central role in national affairs.

C.Advances in printing and papermaking technology.

D.All the basic features of the modern newspaper had emerged

Which of the following is NOT a newspaper?

A. Public Occurrences.

B. The Boston News-Letter.

C. The Bill of Rights.

D. The London Gazette.

E

Governments and health officials around the world continued to take steps Tuesday against the outbreak of swine flu that has killed scores of people in Mexico and spread to the U.S., Europe and possibly Asia.

By early Tuesday, the swine flu outbreak in Mexico had caused in 152 deaths and more than 1,600 illnesses. So far, at least 113 cases have been proved worldwide, including 64 in the United States; six in Canada; 11 in New Zealand and two each in Spain the United Kingdom and Israel. None has yet resulted in death.

The World Health Organization on Monday raised its alert level from three to four on its six-level scale. The move means the U.N. agency has determined that the virus can transmit

from human to human.

"In this age of global travel, where people move around in airplanes so quickly, there is no region to which this virus could not spread," said Fukuda, assistant director-general of the WHO.

Governments around the world struggled to prevent further outbreak. Some, like China and Russia, banned pork imports from the United States and Mexico. U.S. President Barack Obama said the outbreak was a cause for concern, not for alarm. The government urged travelers to avoid non-essential travel to Mexico.

The latest WHO report listed only seven proved swine flu deaths in Mexico but it was not clear why there was the discrepency.

Mexico City has closed all schools until at least May 6 to help curb(control) the spread of swine flu and ordered 35,00 public venues to close or serve only takeaway meals. In addition, bars, clubs, movie theaters, pool halls, gyms, sport centers and convention halls have been told to close until May 5. Armed police officers are also guarding hospitals in Mexico City while roads and schools in the city of 20 million people are deserted. Officials also have talked about shutting down the bus and subway systems.

57.How many people were found catching swine flu in Spain?

A. 2.                     B. 11.             C. 6.                     D. 64.

58.When learning the outbreak of swine flu, the WHO was ____.

A. calm          B. nervous      C. shocked      D. careful

59. Fukuda’s words suggest that _____.

A. he likes travel by air

B. global travel hasn’t been affected

C.this virus can spread quickly because of global travel

D. planes must be forbidden to take to prevent swine flu

60.The last paragraph mainly tells us _____.

A. Mexico has taken measures to control swine flu

B. Mexico City is too dangerous to live in

C. the normal life in Mexico has been changed

D. people in Mexico are badly in need of help

Twenty years ago, I drove a taxi for a living. One night I went to pick up a passenger at 2:30 AM. When I arrived to collect, I found the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window.

I walked to the door and knocked, "Just a minute," answered a weak, elderly voice.

After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her eighties stood before me. By her side was a small suitcase.

I took the suitcase to the car, and then returned to help the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the car.

She kept thanking me for my kindness. "It's nothing," I told her. "I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated."

"Oh, you're such a good man." She said. When we got into the taxi, she gave me an address, and then asked, "Could you drive through downtown?"

"It's not the shortest way," I answered quickly.

"Oh, I'm in no hurry," she said. "I'm on my way to a hospice(临终医院). I don't have any family left. The doctor says I don't have very long."

I quietly reached over and shut off the meter(计价器).

For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked, the neighborhood where she had lived, and the furniture shop that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.

Sometimes she'd ask me to slow down in front of a particular building and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

At dawn, she suddenly said, "I'm tired. Let's go now."

We drove in silence to the address she had given me.

"How much do I owe you?" she asked.

"Nothing." I said.

"You have to make a living," she answered. "Oh, there are other passengers," I answered.

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto earth tightly. Our hug ended with her remark, "You gave an old woman a little moment of joy."

The old woman chose to ride through the city in order to ______.

A. show she was familiar with the city    B. let the driver earn more money

C. see some places for the last time       D. reach the destination on time

The taxi driver did not charge the old woman because he ______.

A. shut off the meter by mistake             B. had received her payment in advance

C. was in a hurry to take other passengers     D. wanted to do her a favor

What can we learn from the story?

A. Giving is always a pleasure.      B. An act of kindness can bring people great joy.

C. People should respect each other.  D. People should learn to appreciate others' concern.

John H. Johnson was born in a black family in Arkansas City in 1981. His father died in an accident when John was six. He was reaching the high school age, but his hometown offered no high school for blacks.

Fortunately he had a strong—willed caring mother. John remembered that his mother told him many times, “Son, you can be anything you want really to be if you just believe.” She told him not to depend on others, including his mother. “You have to learn success” she said. “All the people who work hard don’t succeed, but the only people who do succeed are those who work hard.”

These words, came from a woman with less than a third grade education. She also knew that believing and hard work don’t mean everything. So she worked hard as a cook for two years to save enough to take her son, who was then 15, to Chicago.

Chicago in 1933 was not the promised land that black southerners were looking for. John’s mother and stepfather could not find work. But here John could go to school, and here he learned the power of words--as an editor of the newspaper and yearbook at Du Sable High School. His wish was to publish www..coma magazine for blacks.

While others discouraged him, John’s mother offered him more words to live by “Nothing beats a failure but a try.” She also let him pawn（典当） her furniture to get the $ 500 he needed to start the Negro magazine.  

It is natural that difficulties and failures followed john closely until he become very successful. He always keeps his mother’s words in mind:” Son, failure is not in your vocabulary!” Now John H. Johnson is one of the 400 richest people in America--worth  $150 million.

What does the story mainly want to show us?

A. The key to success for blacks. 

B. The mental support John’s mother gave him.

C. The importance of a good education.

D. How John H. Johnson became successful.

Why did John’s mother decide to move to Chicago?

  A. Because his father died when John was very young.

  B. Because life was too hard for them to stay on in their hometown.

  C. Because John needed more education badly.

  D. Because there were no schools for Negroes in their hometown.

Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

  A. John’s mother didn’t believe in or depend on others.

  B. John’s mother believed one would succeed without working hard.

  C. John’s mother thought one could be whatever one wanted to be.

  D. John’s mother thought no one could succeed without working hard.

What does the underlined sentence “Nothing beats a failure but a try.” in Passage 5 mean?

  A. No failure can be beaten unless you try.

  B. If you try, you would succeed.

  C. A try is always followed by a failure.

  D. A failure is difficult to beat, even if you try. 

A man once said how useless it was to put advertisements in the newspapers. "Last week," said he, "my umbrella was stolen from a London church. As it was a present, 1 spent twice its worth in advertising, but didn't get it back."

   "How did you write your advertisement?" asked one of the listeners, a merchant.

   "Here it is," said the man, taking out of his pocket a slip cut from a newspaper. The other man took it and read, "Lost from the City Church last Sunday evening a black silk umbrella. The gentleman who finds it will receive ten shillings on leaving it at No l0 Broad Street."

   "Now," said the merchant, "I often advertise, and find that it pays me well. But the way in which an advertisement is expressed is of extreme importance. Let us try your umbrella again, and if it fails, I will buy you a new one."

    The merchant then took a slip of paper out of his pocket and wrote: "If the man who was seen to take an umbrella from the City Church last Sunday evening doesn't wish to get into trouble, he will return the umbrella to No. 10 Broad Street. He is well-known."

This appeared in the paper, and on the following morning, the man was astonished when he opened the front door. In the doorway lay at least twelve umbrellas of all sizes and colors that had been thrown in and his own was among them. Many of them had notes fastened to them saying that they had been taken by mistake, and begging the loser not to say anything about the matter.

This is a story about_______.

   A. how a man lost and found his umbrella   

B. how to make an effective advertisement

   C. how to find lost things                    

D. how to put an advertisement in the newspaper

"If it fails, I will buy you a new one "suggested that______.

   A. he was rich enough to afford an umbrella          B. he was quite sure of his success

C. he was not sure he would get the umbrella back            D. he was ready to help others

The result of the first advertisement was that______.

   A. the man got his umbrella back    B. the man wasted some money advertising

   C. the man found his umbrella D. someone found his umbrella

According to the first advertisement, anyone who_____ would receive ten shillings.

   A. left the umbrella in the City Church   B. found the umbrella at No. I 0 Broad Street

   C. gave the message to the man          D. left the umbrella at No. 10 Broad Street