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　　Once there was a king who never ate a meal unless there was a dish of fish with it, but one day there was a big storm and the fishermen were not able to go out to catch fish, so the king had no breakfast and no lunch. Then he ordered his servants to tell everybody in his capital that if anyone brought him a fish, he would give him anything that he asked for.

　　At last, a fisherman caught a big fish late in the afternoon and hurried to the king's palace with it. But the king's Prime Minister would not let him in until he promised to give him half of whatever the king gave him for the fish.

　　The king was very happy when he saw the fish. He asked the fisherman what he wanted for his fish. To his surprise, the fisherman said, “I want you to beat me two dozen times with a stick. ”When the king began to heat him a dozen times, the fisherman jumped away and said, “That is enough for me. I promised the other dozen to your Prime Minister.” Then he told the king what has happened between the Prime Minister and himself. The king was very angry. He not only gave the Prime Minister the dozen hits, but also said, “Because you have been dishonest, you will not be my Prime Minister any more. The fisherman will take your place. ”

1．The king didn't have breakfast or lunch because ________.

[　　]

A．there was a big storm

B．the Prime Minister did not bring him any food

C．there was no fish

D．his servants didn't know how to cook well

2．The fisherman took his fish to the king's palace because ________.

[　　]

A．the king had promised to give him whatever he wanted

B．the king was dying from hunger

C．he wanted to teach the Prime Minister a lesson

D．he wanted to be the Prime Minister

3．When the fisherman told the king what he wanted, the king ________ .

[　　]

A．was very happy

B．was very surprised

C．was very angry

D．gave him what he wanted at once

4．which of the following sentences is true?

[　　]

A．The king wanted to make the fisherman Prime Minister.

B．The king had nothing to eat for one whole day.

C．The king ate a fish every day.

D．The king was quite hungry when the fisherman came.

5．The king got rid of his Prime Minister because ________ .

[　　]

A．the fisherman was cleverer than his Prime Minister

B．the Prime Minister did not know how to catch fish

C．the Prime Minister was not an honest man

D．the Prime Minister took half of what the king gave the fisherman

　 There was a king who loved art very much. One day a(n) 36 came and said, "Please let me 37 a picture on a wall." The king happened to have a big new hall 38　 . So he 39 the artist to work on one of the walls.
　　 At the same time, another artist came and asked to work on the 40 wall. He promised he would make the same picture as the first artist’s 41 looking at the first artist’s work. The second artist asked to have a thick curtain 42 between the two walls 43 neither of them could see each other.
　　 The following day they began to work. The first artist brought in a(n) 44 supply of paint, oil, water and so on. The second one came with a 45 and a bucket (桶).
　　 A month later, the first artist’s work was completed, and the second artist said, "My wall is 46 too!"
　　 The king went to 47 the first artist’s wall. He was pleased with it and gave the artist a large 48 of money. He then asked people to open the curtain.
　　 49 ! Each line was 50 the same as that on the opposite wall.
　　 The king was quite satisfied and gave him double money. However, he 51 how the second man had made it.
　　 "I just 52 the wall with the cloth," the man said 53 .The wall was made of white marble (大理石). He made it shine like a mirror. The reflection (倒影) of the first painting 54 up on it!
　　 The 55 is a reflection of you too. If you are sad, the world will be sad. If you are happy, the world will be happy.

36. A. editor　　　 B. artist　　 　 C. server　　　 D. actress

37. A. put　　　　 B. copy　　　 C. paint　　　　 D. get

38. A. created　　　 B. destroyed 　　 C. founded　　 D. Built

39. A. allowed　　 B. realized　　 C. persuaded　　 D. Decided

40. A. same　　　　 B. similar　　 C. opposite　　 D. ordinary

41. A. with　　　　 B. under　　　 C. upon　　　 D. without

42. A. put up　　　 B. put back　　 C. put away　　 D. put on

43. A. even if　　　 B. so that　　　 C. as if　　　 D. only if

44. A. special　　　 B. strange　　 C. extra　　　 D. regular

45. A. mirror　　　 B. cloth　　　 C. stick　　　　 D.pen

46. A. present　　　 B. free　　　 C. ready　　　 D. useful

47. A. see　　　　 B. touch　　　 C. research　　 D. cover

48. A. number　　 B. total　　　 C. amount 　　 D. many

49. A. Amazing　　 B. Exciting　　 C. Famous　　 D. Valuable

50. A. probably　　 B. exactly　　 C. certainly　　 D. hardly

51. A. knew　　　 B. warned 　　 C. noticed　　　 D. wondered

52. A. drew　　　 B. faced　　　 C. displayed　　 D. wiped

53. A. briefly　　 B. naturally 　　 C. safely　　　　 D. correctly

54. A. set　　　　 B. added　　　 C. showed　　　 D. took

55. A. story　　　 B. world　　　 C. king　　　　 D. painter


　　Larry King: I'm having this conversation with you on a computer, and I'm wondering if e-mail is going to replace the post office in the future.

　　Bill Gates: E-mail won't replace the post office, but it will replace a lot of paper the post office carry around today.

　　King: Tell me how a computer will be used in the average home thirty years from now.

　　Gates: You'll have lots of thin flat screens covering the walls of your house and you'll carry a hand-held device（装置）around with you. The screens will feed whatever visual information you want--live video from a place in the world you like, an art reproduction（复制品）.

　　King: What happens when the power goes out?

　　Gates: We're very dependent today on electricity and we still will be in years. If there's a power failure, you won't get much work done, although battery technology will improve enough that short power failures won't necessarily shut down all of your computers.

　　King: Are we going to get television and news and entertainment from the Internet rather than from cable TV in the house?

　　Gates: News and entertainment will be delivered from the Internet to cable television and telephone connection in our homes. We'll access（存取）this information using a variety of devices, some of which will be like today's televisions.

　　King: Will a person be able to work in the future without having any computer skills?

　　Gates: There will still be jobs for people without computer skills, but a smaller percentage than exist today. The amount of the workforce that lacks computer skills will decrease as people not having those skills get retrained or retire. Most young people have computer skills or at least an enthusiasm（热心）to get them.

　　King: Describe an office in the future. Tele-phone? Fax machine? Conference room? Will there be an office building?

　　Gates: The key element of the office of the future is that it will have lots of flat screens, just like your house will. And these screens are going to be everywhere once they get thin enough, cheap enough, and high enough in quality. You'll carry around a lightweight screen the way you carry a wallet or cell phone or newspaper today.

(1) The main topic talked about is ________.

[　　]

A．changes in the office in the future

B．changes to be caused by computers in the future

C．life in the future

D．the importance of electricity in the future

(2) What's the main change in the post office in the future?

[　　]

A．The post office will disappear because of the use of E-mail.

B．All letters will disappear.

C．The post office will deliver much less paper.

D．The post office will use E-mail to send letters.

(3) The most important thing Gates thinks is“________”.

[　　]

(4) The same change at home and in the office in the future is that ________.

[　　]

A．many flat screens will be used

B．many computers will be used

C．people in them must master computer skills

D．News and entertainment will be delivered by cable TV