Large companies need a way to reach the savings of the public at large. The same problem, on a smaller__1__, faces practically every company trying to __2__ new products and create new jobs. There can be little prospect of raising the sort of sums needed from friends and people we know. While banks may agree to provide short-term finance, they are generally __3__ to provide money on a permanent basis for long-term projects. So companies turn to public, inviting people to lend them money, or take a share in the business in __4__ for a share in future profits. This they do by __5__ stocks and shares in the business through the Stock Exchange. By doing so they can put into circulation the savings of __6__ and organizations, both at home and overseas.         
When the saver needs his money back, he does not have to go to the company with whom he originally placed it. __7__, he sells his shares through a stockbroker to some other saver who is seeking to __8__ his money.
Many of the __9__ needed both by industry and by each of us are provided by the government or by local authorities. Without hospitals, electricity, telephones, railways, this country could not __10__. All these require __11__ spending on new equipment and new development if they are to serve us properly, requiring more money than is raised through taxes alone. The government, local authorities, and nationalized industries __12__ frequently need to borrow money to finance major capital spending, and they, too, come to the Stock Exchange.
There is __13__ a man or woman in this country whose job or whose standard of living does not __14__ the ability of his or her employers to raise money to finance new development. In one way or another this new money must come from the savings of the country. The Stock Exchange __15_ to provide a channel through which these savings can reach those who need finance.

Do you love holidays but hate the increase weight that follows? You are not alone.

Holidays are happy days with pleasure and delicious foods . Many people , however , are worried about the weight that comes along with the delicious foods . With proper planning , though , it is possible to control your weight . The idea is to enjoy the holidays but not to eat too much . You don’t have to turn away from the foods that you enjoy . The following suggestions may be of some help to you .

Do not miss meals . Before you leave home for a feast ,have a small , low-fat snack . This may help to keep you from getting too excited before delicious foods .

Begin with clear soup and fruit or vegetables . A large glass of water before you eat may help you feel full .

Use a small plate ; a large plate will encourage you to have more than enough .

Better not have high-fat foods . Dishes that look oily or creamy have much fat in them .

Choose lean meat . Fill your plate with salad and green vegetables.

If you have a sweet tooth , try mints (薄荷) and fruits .They don’t have fat content as cream and chocolate.

Don’t let exercise take a break during the holidays. A 20-minute walk after a meal can help burn off excess calories .

In order to really enjoy your holidays without putting on weight , you’d better  _.

A. drink much water and have vegetables only

B. not eat much food in high-fat

C. not accept invitations to feasts

D. turn away from delicious foods

According to the passage , ____ is necessary part to stop you from putting on weight .

   A. vegetables  B. water    C. calories of energy         D. physical exercise

Many people can’t help putting weight after the holidays because they _______

   A. can’t control themselves        B. go to too many feasts                     

C. enjoy delicious foods           D. can’t help turning away from the foods

Excess calories can be found in your body in the form of _________

   A. energy        B. something invisible     C. food      D. fat

Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, “Mum, you must come and see the daffodils （水仙花）before they are over.” I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Lake Arrowhead. “I will go next Tuesday,” I promised, a little unwillingly, on her third call.

    The next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and so I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn’s house and hugged and greeted my grandchildren, I said, “Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible （看不见的）in the cloud and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see!”

    My daughter smiled calmly and said, “We drive in this weather all the time, Mum. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience.”

    After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand-lettered sign that read “Daffodil Garden”.

    We got out of the car and each took a child’s hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, we turned a corner of the path, and I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most beautiful sight! There were five acres of flowers! “But who has done this?” I asked Carolyn. “It’s just one woman,” Carolyn answered. “That’s her home,” Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house that looked small and modest in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house. On the patio （庭院）, we saw a poster. “Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking” was the headline.

    The first answer was a simple one. “50,000 bulbs （鳞茎）,” it read. The second answer was, “One at a time, by one woman.” The third answer was, “Began in 1958.”

    I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than fifty years before, had begun -- one bulb at a time -- to bring the beauty and joy to the mountain top.

1.The author didn’t go to see the daffodils at first because _________.

    A. she was not interested in them

    B. they were growing on the mountain top

    C. the weather was not good enough

    D. it was not easy for her to drive there

2.What do we know about the woman living in the A-frame house?

    A. She must be out of mind.

    B. She acted as a gardener there.

    C. It took her great determination to grow the daffodils.

    D. She was poor and made her living by selling daffodils.

3.What could the author probably learn from this experience?

    A. Nothing is too difficult if you put your heart into it.

    B. We must put the interests of others above our own.

    C. We can change the world by growing flowers.

    D. It’s never too late to learn.

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

    A. An Unforgettable Experience.         B. Beautiful Daffodils.

C. One Bulb at a Time.                 D. I Love Daffodils.

As any homemaker who has tried to keep order at the dinner table knows, there is far more to a family meal than food. Sociologist Michael Lewis has been studying 50 families to find out just how much more.

Lewis and his co-workers carried out their study by videotaping (录像) the families while they ate ordinary meals in their own homes. They found that parents with small families talk actively with each other and their children. But as the number of children gets larger, conversation gives way to the parents’ efforts to control the loud noise they make. That can have an important effect on the children. “In general the more question-asking the parents do, the higher the children’s IQ scores,” Lewis says. “And the more children there are, the less question-asking there is.”

The study also provides an explanation for why middle children often seem to have a harder time in life than their siblings (兄弟姐妹). Lewis found that in families with three or four children, dinner conversation is likely to center on the oldest child, who has the most to talk about, and the youngest, who needs the most attention. “Middle children are invisible,” says Lewis. “When you see someone get up from the table and walk around during dinner, chances are it’s the middle child.” There is, however, one thing that stops all conversation and prevents anyone from having attention: “When the TV is on,” Lewis says, “dinner is a non-event.”

66．The writer’s purpose in writing the text is to _________.

       A．show the relationship between parents and children

       B．teach parents ways to keep order at the dinner table

       C．report on the findings of a study

       D．give information about family problems

67．Parents with large families ask fewer questions at dinner because ____________.

       A．they are busy serving food to their children

       B．they are busy keeping order at the dinner table

       C．they have to pay more attention to younger children

       D．they are tired out having prepared food for the whole family

68．By saying “Middle children are invisible” in Paragraph 3, Lewis means that middle children _________.

       A．have to help their parents to serve dinner

       B．get the least attention from the family

       C．are often kept away from the dinner table

       D．find it hard to keep up with other children

69．Lewis’ research provides an answer to the question _________.

       A．why TV is important in family life

       B．why parents should keep good order

       C．why children in small families seem to be quieter

       D．why middle children seem to have more difficulties in life

70．Which of the following statements would the writer agree to?

       A．It is important to have the right food for children.

       B．It is a good idea to have the TV on during dinner.

       C．Parents should talk to each of their children frequently.

       D．Elder children should help the younger ones at dinner

Let's face it-English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant (茄子) nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple(菠萝). English muffins (松饼) weren't invented in England nor French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat.

We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes (似是而非的说法),we find that quicksand(流沙) can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers "praught"? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? How can overlook and oversee be opposites, while quite a lot and quite a few are alike? How can a person be "pretty ugly"?

You will be very surprised at the unique lunacy(荒谬) of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which an alarm clock goes off by going on. Why is a "crazy man" an insult(侮辱), while to insert a comma and say "crazy, man" is a compliment (as when clapping for a Jazz performance).

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race (which, of course, isn't a race at all). That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible. And why, when I wind up my watch, I start it, but when I wind up this essay, I end it.

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

A. A wise man is similar in meaning to a wise guy.

B. "An alarm clock goes on" and"An alarm clock goes off" are opposite.

C. Boxing rings are square rather than round.

D. Sweetmeats are sweet meat while sweetbreads are not sweet at all.

Which of the following pairs contains expressions that are opposite in meaning?

A. "A fat chance"and "a slim chance".

B. "To fill in a form"and "to fill out a form".

C. "Crazy man" and "crazy, man".

D. "Quite a lot" and "quite a few".

Which of the following statements about the English language is NOT true according to the passage?

A. It is a crazy language.

B. It reflects the creativity of the human race.

C. It was invented by the British people.

D. It can be quite irregular.