Have you ever posted letters to your friends or parents? If so, you must have put stamps on the letters before you sent them. But, how did people receive letters before stamps were invented, and who came up with the idea of using stamps?

In the past, stamps and envelopes were not used. When people wanted to send a letter, they would close the paper with a seal（封印）. The person who got the letter had to pay for it. Because costs at that time were very high, most people refused to accept letters. In fact, the sender would often place secret marks on the outside of the letter. The person who was sent the letter would read the secret message. Then, they would refuse to accept the letter and did not have to pay for it.

In Britain, Sir Rowland Hill introduced the “Post Office Reforms” in 1837. He decided that letters could go to any place in the country for a penny even if the letter had to go far away. The cost was to be paid by the sender of the letter. Payment was recorded by placing a small piece of coloured paper on the letter, the stamp! On May 6,1840, the first stamp called the “Penny Black” was born. Because the stamp was printed in black, the stamp became known as the “Penny Black”. This is now the world’s most famous stamp. This new system spread fast.

1.The best title for this passage should be______

2.Before stamps were used,______ would pay for the letter.

3.The first stamp was made______.

4.Which of the following is true about the first stamp of China?

I live in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I used to give a lot of money to the homeless, feeling  31  for them. But as time passed, I became a mom with no home, a huge 32    , and hardly any income. As a result, I  33 giving money to the people on the side of the road and became very  34 .
Things started to change for me  35 . I had a home, a backyard for my daughter, and plenty of food, and I started to  36 myself out of debt. One day we saw a homeless person with the  37 , “Will work for food.” I  38 . My daughter commented. “Mommy, you used to always give money to those people in  39 .” I replied, “Honey, they just use that money for  40 , or other bad things.” She didn’t respond.  41 when I said that, I didn’t feel right.
Three days later, I was driving to  42 my daughter from school. A man was standing on the corner, and something deep  43 me said, “Just help the guy.” So I  44 down my window, and he ran over excitedly. He said, “God bless you, I only need 77 cents.” I  45 into my ashtray (烟灰缸) and strangely enough, there  46 three quarters and two pennies.
I picked them up and gave them to him. He  47 with joy and tears in his eyes. “Wow, you just made it  48 for me to see my mom for Christmas! Thank you so much; the  49 that had this great sale is leaving in 20 minutes!” It was a moment I’ll  50 forever. I think that man won’t forget it either, but I was the one who got the best gift in life—GIVING.

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、D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
I live in Albuquerque and I used to give much money to the homeless around, feeling sorry for their misfortune. But later I became a single mom with no home, a huge   36  and hardly any income.   37 , I stopped giving and became very bitter.
Several years later, things started to   38 . I became   39  enough to have a home, and   40  a backyard, and I started to pull myself out of debt. One day we saw a homeless person with the   41 , “Will work for food.” I   42 . My daughter asked why I no longer helped the people in   43 . I replied, “Honey, they just use that money for   44  or other bad things.” She didn’t respond. But when I said that, it didn’t feel right.
Three days later, I was   45  to pick up my daughter from school. A man was standing on the corner and something deep inside   46  me to help him. So I stopped my car, and he ran over with enthusiasm. He said, “God bless you, I only need 77 cents.” I   47  into my ashtray and   48   enough, there sat three quarters and two pennies.
Greatly shocked by this   49 , I gave him all the money in the ashtray. He   50  with joy and tears in his eyes, “You just made it   51  for me to see my mom for Christmas! The bus offering this great sale is   52  right away!” It was a moment I’ll never forget. I think that man won’t forget it either, but I was the one who got the best __53__ in life – giving. It also   54  me that nothing is a coincidence,   55  everything has meaning.

Have you ever posted letters to your friends or parents? If so, you must have put stamps on the letters before you sent them. But, how did people receive letters before stamps were invented, and who came up with the idea of using stamps?

   In the past, stamps and envelopes were not used. When people wanted to send a letter, they would close the paper with a seal（封印）. The person who got the letter had to pay for it. Because costs at that time were very high, most people refused to accept letters. In fact, the sender would often place secret marks on the outside of the letter. The person who was sent the letter would read the secret message. Then, they would refuse to accept the letter and did not have to pay for it.

    In Britain, Sir Rowland Hill introduced the “Post Office Reforms” in 1837. He decided that letters could go to any place in the country for a penny even if the letter had to go far away. The cost was to be paid by the sender of the letter. Payment was recorded by placing a small piece of coloured paper on the letter, the stamp! On May 6,1840, the first stamp called the “Penny Black” was born. Because the stamp was printed in black, the stamp became known as the “Penny Black”. This is now the world’s most famous stamp. This new system spread fast.

The best title for this passage should be______

A. The First Stamp.                  B. How Stamp Was First Made

C. Why the First Stamp Was Made      D. When Was Stamp First Made

Before stamps were used,______ would pay for the letter.

A. the sender        B. the receiver     C. the government    D. no one

The first stamp was made______.

A. more than 160 years ago        B. more than two centuries ago

C. less than 100 years ago         D. about 100 years ago

Which of the following is true about the first stamp of China?

A. It was made much earlier than the first stamp of the US

B. The stamp had a snake on it

C. The stamp couldn’t be found now

D. The stamp had a picture of a dragon on it

The World Health Organization raised the pandemic(流行病) flu alert(警戒) to six, the highest level, which means that the H1N1 swine flu is spreading world-wide.

The WHO will ask all countries, including the countries that haven’t yet reported any cases, to make plans to control this disease.

“It was reported that about 35,000 people infected with the H1N1 virus in 74 counties,” Margaret Chan, an officer of the WHO, said on Thursday. “Further spread of the disease is possible,” Ms Chan said. So far, WHO doesn’t expect a sudden jump in the number of serious or dead cases reported.

In Australia, the number of people who got the flu became more than three times as many as before in the past week, reaching 1,263 on Thursday, when three new ones were reported in this country. It recorded its first case of the disease on May 9. “Australia tells us not because of the number of cases, but because of the strong facts of community transmission(群体性传播),” said the spokesman for the World Health Organization. He said the WHO is also watching on similar evidence in the UK, Spain, Japan and Chile.

In Hong Kong, the government on Thursday ordered the nurseries, kindergartens and primary schools to close for two weeks after a dozen students at one school tested positive for swine flu. Elsewhere in Asia, health officials in Thailand found 30 new H1N1 cases, raising the total there to 46.

54. How many levels does WHO use to warn people against the pandemic flu?

A. Five.                       B. Six.                         C. Seven.                            D. Eight.

55. WHO raised the pandemic flu alert to the highest level because       .

A. all countries in the world have reported dead cases                        

B. there is a sudden jump in the number of cases reported

C. there is no medicine to cure this flu 

D. it is spreading in the world                 

56. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A. The number of people who got the flu has dropped slightly in the past week in Australia.

B. The WHO ask the countries that have reported cases to make plans to control the disease.

C. The number of people who got the flu reached more than 1,000 in Australia on Thursday.

D. The Hong Kong government ordered all schools to close for two weeks on Thursday.

57. This passage mainly tells us something about        .

A. WHO’s raising the pandemic flu alert

B. how to prevent this kind of flu         

C. people who got the pandemic flu

D. the ways to avoid the serious pandemic flu