3、It is the most romantic day of the year, but for many people the cards they receive on February 14 are not from a Valentine, but from themselves. One in nine love missives（信） received on Valentine’s Day were sent by people to themselves “to save face on the V-day,” according to a survey released by online retailer amazon.co.uk. Amazon, which questioned more than 1,000 people in Britain, France and Germany, also found one in three cards was received by a parent and one person in 10 admitted to stealing a card from a sibling or housemate. Amazon said Germans were the least romantic, with 69 percent saying Valentine’s Day was unimportant, compared to 54 percent of Britons and 46 percent of French. Germans were also the most likely to forget to give their partners a present while the French spent the most on their loved ones. One in three French lovers splashed out between $42 and $84 on a gift, and 11 percent spent more than $84. The most common romantic gift in Britain and Germany was flowers. The French were more likely to opt for a romantic dinner.

1．Which one would be the best title?

A．A survey by Amazon                 B．How to save your face on V-day?

C．Love letters straight from…Yourself?    D．France---- the most romantic country

2．According to the passage, which of the following is WRONG?

A．People send cards to themselves on Valentine’s Day in order to avoid feeling embarrassed.

B．Germany is the least romantic country while France is the most romantic.

C．According to the survey, about one out of ten people steal cards from their sisters, brothers or housemates.

D．54 percent of Britons think Valentine’s Day is important.

3．What is the meaning of the underlined words?

A．cost        B．spent        C．present         D．give

4．Which information is Right according to the passage?

A．Germans were the most likely to forget to give parents a present on the V-day.

B．About 33 percent of the French people spent more than $84.

C．People from Britain and Germany sent more flowers than French people.

D．The French would like to go to a romantic dinner for the Valentine’s Day.

2、Scientists have tried to come up with biological explanations for the difference between boys and girls.

However, none were believable enough to explain the general picture. As one scientist points out, “There are slight genetic differences between the sexes at birth which may affect the subjects boys and girls choose. But the difficulty is that by the time children reach school age, there are so many other effects that it is almost impossible to tell whether girls are worse at science and maths, or whether they’ve been brought up to think of these subjects as boys’‘ territory’”.

Statistics（统计数据） show that in mathematics, at least, girls are equal to boys. A recent report suggests that girls only stop studying mathematics because of social attitudes. One of the reports’ authors says, “While it is socially unacceptable for people not to be able to read and write, it is still acceptable for women to say that they are ‘hope-less’ at maths. Our research shows that, although girls get marks which are as good as the boys’, they have not been encouraged to do so.”

The explanation for the difference, which is very clear during the teenage years, goes as far back as early childhood experiences. From their first days in nursery school, girls are not encouraged to work on their own or to complete tasks, although boys are. For example, boys and not girls are often asked to ‘help’ with repair work. This encouragement leads to a way of learning how to solve problems later on in life. Evidence shows that exceptional mathematicians and scientists did not have teachers who supplied answers; they had to find out for themselves.

A further report on maths teaching shows that teachers seem to give more attention to boys than to girls.

Most teachers who took part in the study admitted that they expect their male students to do better at mathematics and science subjects than their female students. All of this tends to encourage boys to work harder in these subjects, gives them confidence（信心） and makes them believe that they can succeed.

Interestingly, both boys and girls tend to regard such ‘male’ subjects like mathematics and science as difficult. Yet it has been suggested that girls avoid mathematics courses, not because they are difficult, but for social reasons.

Mathematics and science are mainly male subjects, and therefore, as girls become teenagers, they are less likely to take them up. Girls do not seem to want to be in open competition with boys. Neither do they want to do better than boys because they are afraid to appear less female and so, less attractive.

1．The underlined word “territory” in the second paragraph most probably means _____.

A．interest                 B．area               C．land              D．district

2．According to scientific studies_____________________.

A．maths is not fit for girls to learn

B．boys have a special sense of maths

C．girls are poorer at maths because they are the weaker sex

D．girls can learn maths as well as boys if given enough encouragement

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

A．It seems socially acceptable for a girl not to be able to read and write.

B．It is a social problem rather than a problem of brains that girls are poor at maths

C．Mathematics and science are no easy subjects to either girls or boys.

D．There is no connection between a girl’s ability in maths and her appearance.

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

A．Who’s afraid of Maths Anyway?

B．Are Boys Cleverer than Girls?

C．Boys Are Better at Maths than Girls by Birth

D．Maths-A Difficult Subject

1、There is a public library in every town in Britain. Anyone            1．____

can borrow books if he or she wish. In some places you           2．____

may borrow as more books as you need, but in others             3．____

you are limited in a certain number of books. You may              4．____

keep the books for several weeks so as you can have              5．____

enough time to finish it. If the book you want is out               6．____

you may ask it to be kept for you. Most public libraries             7．____

also have a reading-room, that you can sit at the desk              8．____

and read daily newspapers, magazines and the other                9．___

books, but you are not permit to take them out.                 10．____

28、—Where is your brother?

—I think he's still in       bed，but he might just be in       bathroom．

A．/; /          B．the; the             C．the;/                   D．/; the

27、The thieves ran away separately，       carrying a bag．The police then divided into groups to follow them immediately．

A．all         B．each         C．every        D．either

25、—Can I help you with the heavy box?

—         .

A．Thank you for your help.                             B．You can, please.

C．That’s very nice of you.                  D．With pleasure.