Jeanne Calment, a French woman, became a record breaker on 17 October of 1995, when at the age of 120 years and 238 days, she became the longest-lived human being on record. A Japanese man died in 1986 at the age of 120 years and 237 days.

Jeanne Calment lives in a small old people’s home in the south of France; her husband, her only child and her grandson have all died. She is nearly blind and deaf and is always in a wheelchair, but her doctor describes her as being more like a 90-year-old in good health than someone of 120. She still has a lively sense of humor. When asked on her 120th birthday what she expected of the future, she replied: A very short one. She also remarked that she thought the good Lord had forgotten all about her. 

So what is the key to a long life? According to some doctors, diet, exercise and no smoking are the three important factors. Jeanne Calment has followed two of the tips. She has always eaten a healthy diet, and she used to do exercises every day until she broke her leg at the age of 115. However, until recently she drank two glasses of strong red wine a day, and she does smoke (now only a little). Besides, Jeanne Calment might have got very good genes from her parents. Her father lived to the age of 94 and her mother to 86. 

A local lawyer bought her house when she was 80 under an agreement that he would pay her some money every year until her death. It must have seemed a good move at that time, but so far the lawyer has paid her at least three times the value of the house. Every year on her birthday Jeanne Calment sends him a card saying:

Sorry, I’m still alive!

How does Jeanne Calment feel about her old age?

A. She is miserable and unhappy.

B. She is cheerful and humorous.

C. She would like to live much longer.

D. She feels she is going to die very soon.

Jeanne Calment has a long life because of _______.

A. smoking only a little every day

B. her giving up smoking and drinking

C. drinking two glasses of strong red wine every day

D. the good genes from her parents, a healthy diet and some exercises

According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?

  A. The Japanese man died earlier than Jeanne Calment by one day.

  B. Jeanne Calment is tired of living so long a life.

  C. Jeanne Calment’s husband, children and grandchildren have all died.

  D. One of Jeanne Calment’s legs was once broken.

Which could best replace the underlined word “move” in the fourth paragraph?

A. deal                  B. trick                 C. march              D. sport

Why does Jeanne Calment say “Sorry, I’m still alive” to the local lawyer every year on her birthday?

A. Because she had an agreement at 80 with the lawyer which was to her advantage.

B. Because she has asked the lawyer to pay her more rent than they first agreed.

C. Because the lawyer has paid her much more money than the value of the house.

D. Because the house she rented to the lawyer isn’t worth the money he has already paid.

     Language is a major problem for the European Union (EU). The agreement or treaty(条约) which created the organization that eventually became the EU, the Treaty of Rome, stated that each country's language must be treated equally. The original(原来的) six countries had only three languages between them: French, German and Dutch/Flemish. However, there are now 15 countries in the EU, with a total of 12 languages. EU documents must be translated into all these languages, and at official meetings the speeches must be translated into all the languages by interpreters.

      All this translating is very expensive and time-consuming (费时的). It is said that nearly half of all employees of the EU are engaged in translating documents and speeches, and nearly half of the EU's administrative(管理方面的) costs are spent on this task. In the near future it is probable that several more

countries, most of them having their own languages, will join the EU, thus making the situation even worse.

      The problem is not just cost; there are practical difficulties as well. With 12 languages, there are 132 possible "translation situations" that might be needed. It is often difficult to find people in the right place at the right time who can translate from (for example) Danish into Greek, or Dutch into Portuguese, at a high professional standard.

      In practice the problem has been made less severe by the use of English in many contacts between EU officials, since almost all of them speak some English. However, any move to reduce the number of official languages (perhaps to four or five) would be a blow to the pride of the smaller Countries. Another commonly suggested solution is to make English the official language for all EU business. However, this is strongly resisted by powerful member countries like France and Germany.

The organization that eventually became the EU       .

   A. was started by France and Germany      B. started with three countries

   C. was set up by the Treaty of Rome       D. included 132 languages

What's the main purpose of this passage?

   A. To give a solution to a problem.

   B. To find out a problem and show how severe it is.

   C. To criticize the European Union for inefficiency.

   D. To show that the problem cannot be solved.

According to the writer, the use of English in contacts among EU officials has       .

   A. angered the officials who don't speak English

   B. reduced the number of official languages

   C. reduced the effect of the problem

   D. been opposed by powerful member countries

The writer mentions "Danish into Greek" as an example of       .

   A. a situation that might be difficult to deal with

   B. a situation that occurs often

   C. one of the 12 situations that requires an interpreter

   D. languages easily being interpreted

The writer suggests that if the number of official languages was reduced  .

   A. the EU would not know which official languages to choose

   B. countries whose languages were not used officially would be unhappy

   C. only languages which are easy to translate would be used officially

   D. the smaller member countries would be pleased

完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）

阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

Every year at this time I remember a Christmas when I was 8 years old. It is the one memory of Christmas that has  31  with me all my life. My children always loved listening to it. I  32  in a small community in Newfoundland, with the sea right at our door. My  33  was a sea captain and was away from home   34  of the year, but he was always home for Christmas. I remember how  35   I was. It would soon be Christmas and Dad would be home for  36  three months.   Everything would be OK. Our home would be  37  and our time together would be  38  . My parents did what they could to give me and my four sisters what we needed, but not  39  what we needed.

That particular Christmas when my dad  40  me what I wanted for Christmas, I told him that I wanted a new pair of shoes and a beautiful hat. He knew that I needed new rubber boots because the old ones had  41  in them and I had to walk to school  42  them on rainy days. My Dad told me that I would have to choose, but I couldn’t have  43  . So I had to choose the rubber boots which weren’t expensive. All I could  44  during the weeks before Christmas was that I would have to  45  rubber boots with my new dress my mother was  46  for me.

Christmas morning came, and hidden in the toe of my stocking was a note that  47  “Look behind the kitchen door”. I did, and found another  48  : “Look behind the radio”. I did and found a box with a new pair of black leather  49  I had dreamed of. They were very dear and the most beautiful shoes I had ever seen. I knew my father  50  money long to buy them for me. I was so happy and grateful.

对话填空（共10题，共10分）

P：Peter       J：Jimmy

Peter is talking with Jimmy about the just finished match between L.A Lakers and Miami Heats on Christmas Eve, in 2010

P: Hey, Jimmy, watched the game between Lakers and Heats?

J: Certainly. It was really an a_____ fantastic game. My Heats beat L.A.

P: Your Heats? I remembered you were a fan of the Cavaliers.

J: To be exact, a fan of Lebron James. Since James joined the Heats, I also changed my range, which is undoubtedly logical. By the way, which team do you p_____ will win the title of c_____ this season?

P: I think the Lakers will do

J：I don’t a_____ of you. I strongly believe the title must go to the Heats. As you can see, the present Heats possesses the super “BIG THREE”, James is good at scoring. Wade is an expert in penetration(带球突破) and Chris Bosh can d______ backboard(篮板)

P：Maybe you are right. But I am afraid you l_____ out the e______ element（因素） in winning a basketball game---- team work. After all, basketball is not an i_____ game.

J：Apart from the “BIG Three”, there are quantities of excellent bench players available such as Dampier, Arios Arroyo, Eddie House and so on. I see no reason why the Heats can’t p_____ the NBA

P: I still have a preference for the Lakes. Compared to the Heats, the Lakers has a more mature(成熟的) play. And as long as there is Kobe, there is victory. On the other hand, we should not forget that other teams are making rapid progress like the Thunder led by Kelvin Durant，the Celtics and the Magics. They all have the p____ to challenge our teams.

Elderly people who drink several cups of green tea a day are less likely to suffer from depression, probably due to a "feel good" chemical found in this type of tea, Japanese researchers said.

Several studies have    1  drinking green tea to lessening psychological problems and Kaijun Niu, of Tohoku University Graduate School, and colleagues found people    2   70 and older who drank four or more cups of green tea daily were 44 percent   3     likely to experience depression.

Green tea is widely   4    in many Asian countries,  5    China and Japan.

Niu's team   6     1,058 relatively healthy elderly men and women. About 34 percent of the men and 39 percent of the women had symptoms of    7  , according to the study that was   8      in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

A total of 488 participants said they    9    four or more cups of green tea a day, 284 said they downed two to three cups    10   and the rest reported having one or fewer cups daily.

According to the researchers, the    11    effect of drinking more    12    tea on alleviating symptoms of depression did not    13   after they factored in social and economic status, gender, diet, history of medical problems and       14 of antidepressants.

There was no   15    between consumption of black or oolong tea, or coffee, and   16     symptoms of depression.

A green tea component, the amino acid thiamine（硫胺素）, which is   17    to have a tranquilizing（镇静的）  18   on the brain, may  19  the "potentially beneficial effect" shown in the current study, Niu noted,   20   that more study is needed.

(    ) 1. A. linked                  B. taken        C. considered               D. regarded

(    ) 2. A. aging                      B. aged          C. years               D. age

(    ) 3. A. more               B. little          C. less                  D. much

(    ) 4. A. sold                 B. planted      C. spread               D. consumed

(    ) 5. A. including          B. concluding C. containing               D. considering

(    ) 6. A. looked for               B. checked     C. investigated      D. asked

(    ) 7. A. optimism          B. happiness   C. bitterness          D. depression

(    ) 8. A. published        B. come out   C. appeared           D. showed

(    ) 9. A. ate                   B. drank               C. swallowed               D. chewed

(    ) 10. A. weekly           B. daily          C. monthly           D. yearly

(    ) 11. A. apparent        B. light          C. huge               D. gentle

(    ) 12. A. black                     B. oolong      C. coffee              D. green

(    ) 13. A. fade                      B. disappear   C. run                  D. decease

(    ) 14. A. influence               B. effect               C. use                   D. result

(    ) 15. A. association      B. use            C. comparison       D. difference

(    ) 16. A. lower             B. increase     C. strengthen        D. cause

(    ) 17. A. assumed          B. thought     C. imaged              D. hoped

(    ) 18. A. effect             B. affect               C. effort                      D. outcome

(    ) 19. A. report             B. confirm     C. complete          D. explain

(    ) 20. A. adding            B. addressing        C. speaking           D. saying