I’m a Chinese student studying in Canada. I have been a boarder（寄宿生） with the Carsons for more than a year and a half.

　 The Carsons live in their own house, which has four bedrooms including the one in the basement（底层） which I live in. Judy does all the work in the house and Andrew is responsible for the work in the garden. When they go out in they evening, they often ask me to look after their children.

　 Judy’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Morris, lived in another city. Judy was their only child and naturally they doted on（溺爱）Judy’s children. They often sent the children presents.

　 Last April Mr. Morris died. Now that Mrs. Morris was quite alone, I expected that Judy would want her to come and live with them. One day, Margaret, Judy’s daughter, told me grandma was coming to live with them and her daddy and mummy would want my room back. The news didn’t surprise me and the next day I went to Judy and asked her about it. I said I couldn’t think of living in their basement room any longer if it was needed for Mrs. Morris. Judy seemed surprised at first. Then she told me there was no deed for me to move, for they hadn’t yet come to any decision about her mother coming to live with them. “Naturally I’m worried about my mother. She has been in poor health.” She smiled sadly and added. “To be honest, Andrew and my mother have never got on well. We’ll wait a bit and see what happens. Perhaps Mohter will be all right living herself, or perhaps they will both change their minds.”

　 That was six months ago. During this time I’ve heard that Mrs. Morris has had two illnesses and that her health has got worse. A nursing home（护理室）was mentioned once but Mrs. Morris refused to go there. So up to now she’s still living alone and I’m still living in the basement room.

1. What is the relationship between the speaker and the Carsons?

　 A. He is a brother of Andrew Carson.

　 B. He is a close friend of the Carsons.

　 C. He is a student of Judy Carson.

　 D. He is a student who pays to live and have meals at the Carsons’ house.

2. Why did the speaker expect Mrs. Morris to come to live with her daughter?

　 A. Because Mr. Morris was dead.

　 B. Because Mrs. Morris suffered from illness.

　 C. Because Mrs. Morris lived all by herself.

　 D. Because of all the reasons mentioned in A, B and C.

3. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

　 A. Mrs. Morris loved her grandchildren very much.

　 B. Judy had no brothers or sisters to look after her mother.

　 C. The Carsons once suggested that Mrs. Morris go to live in a nursing home.

　 D. Mrs. Morris was coming to live with the Carsons, so they asked the speaker to move.

4. Why didn’t Mrs. Morris come to live with her daughter’s family?

　 A. Because she did not want to leave her own house.

　 B. Because she was in rather poor health and could not come.

　 C. Because she did not have a good relationship with her son-in-law.

　 D. Because the speaker lived there and there was no other room for her to live in.

5. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

　 A. Family relationship in Canada. B. The Boarder in Canada.　

C. Nursing Homes in Canada.　　 　　　　　 D. The children in Canada.

I’m a Chinese student studying in Canada. I have been a boarder（寄宿生） with the Carsons for more than a year and a half.

　 The Carsons live in their own house, which has four bedrooms including the one in the basement（底层） which I live in. Judy does all the work in the house and Andrew is responsible for the work in the garden. When they go out in they evening, they often ask me to look after their children.

　 Judy’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Morris, lived in another city. Judy was their only child and naturally they doted on（溺爱）Judy’s children. They often sent the children presents.

　 Last April Mr. Morris died. Now that Mrs. Morris was quite alone, I expected that Judy would want her to come and live with them. One day, Margaret, Judy’s daughter, told me grandma was coming to live with them and her daddy and mummy would want my room back. The news didn’t surprise me and the next day I went to Judy and asked her about it. I said I couldn’t think of living in their basement room any longer if it was needed for Mrs. Morris. Judy seemed surprised at first. Then she told me there was no deed for me to move, for they hadn’t yet come to any decision about her mother coming to live with them. “Naturally I’m worried about my mother. She has been in poor health.” She smiled sadly and added. “To be honest, Andrew and my mother have never got on well. We’ll wait a bit and see what happens. Perhaps Mohter will be all right living herself, or perhaps they will both change their minds.”

　 That was six months ago. During this time I’ve heard that Mrs. Morris has had two illnesses and that her health has got worse. A nursing home（护理室）was mentioned once but Mrs. Morris refused to go there. So up to now she’s still living alone and I’m still living in the basement room.

1. What is the relationship between the speaker and the Carsons?

　 A. He is a brother of Andrew Carson.

　 B. He is a close friend of the Carsons.

　 C. He is a student of Judy Carson.

　 D. He is a student who pays to live and have meals at the Carsons’ house.

2. Why did the speaker expect Mrs. Morris to come to live with her daughter?

　 A. Because Mr. Morris was dead.

　 B. Because Mrs. Morris suffered from illness.

　 C. Because Mrs. Morris lived all by herself.

　 D. Because of all the reasons mentioned in A, B and C.

3. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

　 A. Mrs. Morris loved her grandchildren very much.

　 B. Judy had no brothers or sisters to look after her mother.

　 C. The Carsons once suggested that Mrs. Morris go to live in a nursing home.

　 D. Mrs. Morris was coming to live with the Carsons, so they asked the speaker to move.

4. Why didn’t Mrs. Morris come to live with her daughter’s family?

　 A. Because she did not want to leave her own house.

　 B. Because she was in rather poor health and could not come.

　 C. Because she did not have a good relationship with her son-in-law.

　 D. Because the speaker lived there and there was no other room for her to live in.

5. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

　 A. Family relationship in Canada. B. The Boarder in Canada.　

C. Nursing Homes in Canada. D. The children in Canada.

It seems like every day there's some new research about whether our favorite drinks are good for us.  One day,  science says a glass of red wine a day will help us live longer. The next day, maybe not.  It seems journalists are pretty interested in wine research and the same might be said for coffee.  Now there's been a lot of research into whether coffee's good for our health "the results have really been mixed"，admits Neal Freedman who led the coffee study and published his findings in a medical journal recently.   "There's been some evidence that coffee might increase the risk of certain diseases and there's also  been  maybe  more recent evidence that coffee  may protect against other diseases as well".
Freedman and his colleagues undertook the biggest study yet to look at the relationship between coffee and health.  They analyzed data collected from  more than  400，000 Americans ages 50 to 70 participating in the study.  "We found that the coffee drinkers had a modestly lower risk of death than the non-drinkers， he said.  Here's what he means by "modestly": those who drank at least two or three cups a day were about 10 percent or 15 percent less likely to die for any reason during the 13 years of the study when the researchers looked at specific causes of death, coffee drinking appeared to cut the  risk  of  dying from  heart  disease, lung  disease injuries,  accidents  and infections.
Now, Freedman stressed that the study doesn't prove coffee can make people live longer .A study like this can never prove a cause-and-effect relationship.  All it can really do is to point researchers in the right direction for further investigation. And even if it turns out that coffee is really good for you, scientists have no idea why.
【小题1】According to the first paragraph，reporters  would like to  know  the research findings of_______.

We lived in a technological society where most goods are mass-produced by unskilled labor. Because of this, most people think that craft(手艺) no longer exists.

One of the ways these people wrongly support their view is by pointing to 100-year-old homes which are still solid, and arguing that it is the craftsmanship that is responsible for their durability(持久性). “Homes in those days were well-built,” they say. No doubt these homes were well-built, but what these people have done is mix up the quality of material used in the house with the quality of the craftsmanship.

Homes today could be built to last just as long as those old homes if people were willing or able to pay the price. For example, more people can no longer afford solid oak stairways, although they were once fairly common in older homes. Nor can they afford the high labor cost of employing a carpenter to build the stairway. Yet if someone can pay the high cost, there are still plenty of carpenters around able to make those stairways. And not only would these carpenters know how to build them, they would probably do a better job than carpenters of old.

One thing the modern carpenter has which enables him to do a better job is much more advanced tools. Such tools as laser beams and power planes help them lay out a house better and make more precision cuts on the wood. Also, it is not uncommon any more to find carpenters with college degrees and carpenters with a solid knowledge of mathematics, which would enable them to deal with more difficult house designs.

The problems of modern quality, then, really  boils down to the problem of material, for the modern carpenter is just as able to produce craftsmanship as the carpenter of fifty years ago, but only if given proper material.

1． Compared to the carpenters in the past, modern carpenters are _______.

2． What does the underlined word “they” (paragraph 2) refer to?

carpenters who are fond of oak stairways.

carpenters who have college degrees.

people who think highly of carpenters of old.

people who think that modern material is of low quality.

3． What does the third paragraph mainly discuss?

People in the past preferred to use oak to build stairways.

It is now expensive to employ a carpenter.

Modern houses last as long as the old one.

Good carpenters still exist in modern times.

4． What would be the best title for the text?

Is Craft Dead?

Craft, Back to life?

History of craftsmanship

Carpenters Today and Yesterday

    We lived in a technological society where most goods are mass-produced by unskilled labor. Because of this, most people think that craft(手艺) no longer exists.

    One of the ways these people wrongly support their view is by pointing to 100-year-old homes which are still solid, and arguing that it is the craftsmanship that is responsible for their durability(持久性). “Homes in those days were well-built,” they say. No doubt these homes were well-built, but what these people have done is mix up the quality of material used in the house with the quality of the craftsmanship.

    Homes today could be built to last just as long as those old homes if people were willing or able to pay the price. For example, more people can no longer afford solid oak stairways, although they were once fairly common in older homes. Nor can they afford the high labor cost of employing a carpenter to build the stairway. Yet if someone can pay the high cost, there are still plenty of carpenters around able to make those stairways. And not only would these carpenters know how to build them, they would probably do a better job than carpenters of old.

    One thing the modern carpenter has which enables him to do a better job is much more advanced tools. Such tools as laser beams and power planes help them lay out a house better and make more precision cuts on the wood. Also, it is not uncommon any more to find carpenters with college degrees and carpenters with a solid knowledge of mathematics, which would enable them to deal with more difficult house designs.

The problems of modern quality, then, really  boils down to the problem of material, for the modern carpenter is just as able to produce craftsmanship as the carpenter of fifty years ago, but only if given proper material.

1． Compared to the carpenters in the past, modern carpenters are _______.

  A. more successful           B. more learned

  C. more imaginative          D. more hardworking

2． What does the underlined word “they” (paragraph 2) refer to?

carpenters who are fond of oak stairways.

carpenters who have college degrees.

people who think highly of carpenters of old.

people who think that modern material is of low quality.

3． What does the third paragraph mainly discuss?

People in the past preferred to use oak to build stairways.

It is now expensive to employ a carpenter.

Modern houses last as long as the old one.

Good carpenters still exist in modern times.

4． What would be the best title for the text?

Is Craft Dead?

Craft, Back to life?

History of craftsmanship

Carpenters Today and Yesterday