Once again, rumors are spreading．Judgment Day, this time, is set to happen on December 21st, 2012．The date originated（起源于） from the Mayan calendar, but actually gained popularity through the hit movie, "2012"．

How will the world end? And how do we know the exact date? There are many theories: A meteoroid （流星体）from outer space; a solar storm; a shift（变换） in the earth's poles; bla bla bla．They all supposedly pointed to the date of December 21st, 2012．Unfortunately, none of it is true．

Zhu Jin, director of Beijing Planetarium, said, "For earth itself, the end will be billions of years away from now．And for us humans, there is a very small chance that we may be affected by some astronomical factors．However, we don't have the ability to foresee such events so far．So when someone tells you the world is going to end on an exact date, it must be fake．"

But the truth hasn't stopped people from believing．In the sci-fi movie "2012", the director imagined the end of the world based on the Mayan calendar．The film earned nearly 770 million US dollars worldwide. Ning Hong, Hebei Province, said．"The movie 2012 did get one thing right．There are arks  being made in China, But they're not being built secretly inside the mountains．They are constructed here in the courtyard of a factory．"

In April, Liu Qiyuan quit his furniture business and devoted himself to developing these huge round balls．He doesn't believe the end is near, but he wants to be prepared just in case．

Liu Qiyuan, the "Ark" builder, said, "The concept originated twenty years ago．The Tangshan earthquake had flattened our house, so I wanted to build a shelter that wouldn't fall．Then in 2004, I saw the tsunami in Indonesia that killed so many people．Then I realized it should be something that could withstand（抵挡） the earthquake and float on water．"

Liu is hoping to use his invention as a life boat on the sea．He's planning to test his product on the water next year．

It turns out that rumour, though false, is good for business．Doomsday discounts and products are hot on many online stores．While it's surely attracted attention, many complain that it misleads consumers．

Their purpose is to promote products．If they believe the world is going to end．who would buy things? Money would be useless, too．

67．The purpose of the movie "2012" was                 .

       A．to popularize（普及） scientific knowledge for the viewers

       B．to make a profit from the viewers

       C． to tell the viewers an interesting factual story

       D．to warn the viewers of a disastrous(灾难性的) event

68．Liu Qiyuan quit his job and built his "ark" because _________．

       A．he believed that the world was going to end on Dec．21,2012

       B．he was tired of making money from his furniture business

       C．he was almost killed in Indonesia in 2004

       D．he wanted to make preparations for destructive natural disasters

69．Which statement is NOT true according to the passage?

       A．Rumors were created by businessmen to promote their products．

       B．The movie "2012" was very popular and a great many people watched it．

       C．One theory said that the earth was to shift its two poles on Dec．21,2012．

       D．Liu Qiyuan's ark was intended to survive earthquakes and terrible floods．

70．We can infer from the passage that _________．

       A．Time and time again people spread rumours about the world's end for one reason or another．

       B．The Maya's prediction about the world's end has failed．

       C．In the movie 2012 big arks were built secretly inside the mountains

       D．Liu Qiyuan was born before 1976 and is at least 36 years old．

We all know what it is like to be unable to turn your head because of a cold in the muscles (肌肉) of your neck, or because an unexpected twist（扭曲）has made your neck ache. The slightest move makes you jump with pain. Nothing could be worse than a pain in the neck.

That is why we use the phrase to describe some people who give you the same feeling. We have all met such people.

One is the man who always seems to be clapping his hands—often at the wrong time—during a performance in the theater. He keeps you from hearing the actors.

Even worse are those who can never arrive before the curtain goes up and the play begins. They come hurrying down to your row of seats. You are comfortably settled down, with your hat and heavy coat in your lap. You must stand up to let them pass. You are proud of yourself-control after they have settled into their seats…Well, what now…God, one of them is up again. He forgot to go to the men’s room, and once more you have to stand up, hanging on to your hat and coat to let him pass. Now, that is “a pain in the neck”.

Another, well—known to us all, is the person sitting behind you in the movies. His mouth is full of popcorn (爆米花); he is chewing（嚼）loudly, or talking between bites to friends next to him. None of them remain still. Up and down, back and forth, they go—for another bag of popcorn, or something to drink.

Then, there is the man sitting next to you at lunch, smoking. He wants you to enjoy it too, and blows smoke across your food into your mouth.

We must not forget the man who comes into a bus or subway and sits down next to you, just as close as you will let him. You are reading the newspaper and he gets closer so that he can read the paper with you. He may even turn the paper to the next page before you are ready for it.

We also call such a person a “rubber neck”, always getting close to where it does not belong, like neighbors who watch all your visitors. They enjoy learning about your personal business. People have a strong dislike for “rubber necks”. They hate being watched secretly.

1．Where can you find this passage?

A. In a medicine dictionary.                    B. in a kids’ story book.

C. In a social science book.                D. In a science textbook.

2．According to the passage, how do you feel when late comers walk back and forth in front of you in a cinema?

A.disturbed.           B.bored.                C.ignored.       D. relaxed.

3．A “rubber neck” often __________________ .

A. says bad words behind people.                B. quarrels face to face with neighbors.

C. bargains with salespeople over the price D. asks about other people’s business

4．Which of the following persons CANNOT be described as a “pain in the neck”?

A. Someone who often claps at the wrong time during a performance.

B. Someone who feels ache in his neck due to a cold in the muscles.

C. Someone who sits next to you smoking, which you never enjoy.

D. Someone who keeps eating or talking all through the movies.

5．What is the main purpose of the author?

A. To tell people what might be bad manners in public.

B. To criticize (批评) the people who might be a “pain in the neck”

C. To show anger to those who are described as a “pain in the neck”.

D. To tell people how to stop the pain in the neck.

My Best Enemy

Once again，I was in a new school.So was a girl in my class named Lisa.That's where the similarity（同样） ended.

I was tall and she was small.My thick black hair had been recently cut short into an untidy（不整齐） style.Her natural blonde hair flowed to her waist and looked great.I was 12 and one of the oldest in the class while she was 11 and the youngest.I was awkward（笨拙） and shy.She wasn't.I couldn't stand her，considering her my enemy.But she liked me and wanted to be friends with me.

One day，she invited me over and I said yes—I was too shocked to answer any other way.My family had moved six times in six years，and I had never managed to develop any friendships.But this girl who wore the latest fashions wanted me to go home with her after school.

She lived in a fun part of town that had two pizza places，an all­night bookstore，a movie theater and a park.As we walked from the school bus stop through her neighborhood，I tried to guess which house might be hers.Was it the white one with the perfect lawn or the three­story house with a front porch？I got very surprised when she led me into an old apartment building.She lived on the fourth floor in a two­room place with her mother，her stepfather，her two brothers and her sister.

When we got into the room she shared with her sister，she took out a big case of Barbies，which was my next surprise.I had never played with them.We sat on the floor，laughing as we made up crazy stories about the Barbies.We found out that we both wanted to be writers when we were older and both had wild imaginations.We had a great time that afternoon.

Lisa was loved by the whole neighborhood.The bookstore owners lent her fashion magazines；the movie theater gave her free tickets...Soon I was included in her magic world.We slept over at each other's house and spent every free moment together.

Lisa，my first real friend since childhood，helped me get through the rough years of early adolescence(青春期) and taught me an amazing and very surprising thing about making friends：your worst enemy can turn out to be your best friend.

65．The writer and Lisa were similar in the way that________.

A．they were both new students

B．they had the same hairstyle

C．they were both tall

D．they were of the same age

66．One day Lisa invited the writer________.

A．to go to the movie

B．to go to her home

C．to go to walk in a park

D．to go to a pizza place

67．In the passage the writer described Lisa as a girl who was________.

A．awkward and shy 

B．rich and happy

C．quiet and lonely 

D．friendly and lovely

    Joanne was stuck in a traffic jam in central Birmingham at 5: 30．and at 6: 30 she was expected to be chairing a meeting of the tennis club. At last, the traffic was moving. She swung quickly racing to her house. As she opened the door, she nearly fell over Sheba.

    “Hey, Sheba,” she said, “I've got no time for you now, but I'll take you out as soon as I get back from tennis club.” Then she noticed Sheba seemed to be coughing or choking obviously, she could hardly breathe. Immediately, Joanne realized she would have to take her to the vet (兽医). When she got there, the vet was just about to close for the day. Seeing the state of Sheba, Dr. Sterne brought her quickly into his office.

    “Listen, doctor, I'm really in a rush to get to a meeting, can I leave her with you, and go to get changed? I'll be back in ten minutes to pick her up, and then I'll take her on to the meeting with me. Is that OK?”

    “Sure.” said the doctor.

    Joanne made the quick trip back to her house in a couple of minutes. As she was once more entering the hallway, the phone by the door began to ring.

    “This is Dr. Sterne,” said an anxious voice. “I want you to get out of that house immediately,” said the doctor’s voice. “I'm coming round right away, and the police will be there any time now. Wait outside!”

    At that moment, a police car screeched to a stop outside the house. Two policemen got out and ran into the house. Joanne was by now completely confused and very frightened. Then the doctor arrived.

    “Where’s Sheba? Is she OK?” shouted Joanne.

    “She’s fine, Joanne. I took out the thing which was choking her, and she’s OK now.”

    Just then, the two policemen reappeared from the house, half-carrying a white-faced man, who could hardly walk. There was blood all over him.

    “My God, ”said Joanne, “how did he get in there? And how did you know he was there?”

    “I think he must be a burglar.” said the doctor. “I knew he was there because when I finally removed what was stuck in Sheba’s throat, it turned out to be three human fingers.”

1.What was Joanne supposed to do at 6: 30？

   A. To walk her dog.

   B. To see her doctor.

   C. To attend a club meeting.

   D. To play tennis with her friends.

2.Joanne wanted to get back to her home again______.

   A. to dress up for the meeting

   B. to phone the police station

   C. to catch the badly hurt burglar

   D. to wait for her dog to be cured 

3.From the passage, we can infer that______.

   A. Sheba fought against the burglar

   B. the police found the burglar had broken in

   C. Joanne had planned to take her dog to the meeting

   D. the doctor performed a difficult operation on the dog

4.In this passage, the writer intends to tell us that the dog is______.

   A. clever         B. friendly         C. frightening       D. devoted