8、Conflicts ended, and the relations between the two countries have, ________, been close ever since.

A．consequently            B．suddenly           C．successfully           D．contemporarily

6、During the month of September, a dear friend of mine lost her husband suddenly in an accident. The tragedy was a  1  to everyone. When I got the news, I drove home  2  that we just don’t know when a loved one is  3  going to be with us. We sometimes take our loved ones  4 , and we expect that they will be with us forever.  5 , as we all know, life does not work that  6  and sometimes we get a wake up call that shocks us and makes us  7  and realize how short life is.

In comforting her at the funeral, I tried to imagine if I was in her  8  how would I feel.

As I was leaving the  9 , I ran into a Marilyn, who has been a true friend to me over the years. When she asked me how my job was, I started  10  things through. I was having a  11  week with my job and I was telling her how I was feeling. She listened to me as I was shouting my 12 , then without saying a word, she took her hands and  13  them on my face, and said to me, “But at least you had a day.”

The  14  of her hands on my cheeks, the  15  in her voice, and the words she spoke, “BUT AT LEAST YOU HAD A DAY”, hit me like a ton of  16 . All the frustrations, all the stress that was  17  inside me - came to a complete  18 .

Since that day, when I start feeling  19 , I remind myself of Marilyn's words - but at least I had a day! Things could be a lot  20 , but I am alive and I have a lot to be thankful for.

1．A．symbol                B．punishment        C．shock               D．warning

2．A．knowing               B．imagining          C．admiring            D．realizing

3．A．for the moment    B．no longer           C．for ever             D．sooner or later

4．A．for granted          B．for mistake        C．for instance        D．for example

5．A．Therefore           B．Anyhow            C．Meanwhile         D．However

6．A．way                   B．manner             C．method             D．direction

7．A．stand up               B．stand by             C．stand out           D．stand back  

8．A．clothes               B．shoes                C．dresses             D．trousers

9．A．meeting               B．funeral               C．reception           D．gathering

10．A．cutting               B．breaking            C．talking             D．putting

11．A．stressful             B．wonderful         C．inspiring            D．rewarding

12．A．successes        B．happiness           C．frustrations         D．emotions

13．A．turned             B．placed                C．attached             D．flashed

14．A．touch               B．light                 C．sense                D．smell

15．A．blame              B．coldness            C．calmness            D．pleasure

16．A．feathers              B．clothes              C．grains                D．bricks 

17．A．building up        B．breaking up        C．opening up         D．bringing up

18．A．conclusion         B．surprise             C．stop                  D．explosion

19.A．annoyed               B．proud                C．pleased              D．stressed

20．A．better                B．worse                 C．lighter                D．heavier

5、* Thomas Jefferson could read Greek, Latin, French and English.

* John Quincy Adams used to get up two hours before sunrise to go skinny dipping in the Potomac River.

* Andrew Jackson was the only president to ever kill a man in a duel(决斗).

* Franklin Pierce was arrested for running over a woman while driving his carriage in Washington, DC．The charges were later dropped.

* Ulysses S. Grant was arrested for speeding while driving a horse and buggy in Washington, DC．He had to pay a fine of $20 and walk back to the White House.

* Benjamin Harrison was so afraid of electric lights that he used to have White House staff turn them on and off.

* Warren G. Harding once lost all the White House china gambling, on one hand of cards.

* Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s mother forced him to wear dress until he was five years old.

* Lyndon Baines Johnson used to go through the White House at night turning lights off that were not needed. He didn’t want to waste the taxpayers’ money. At fifteen he ran away from home and traveled to California where he worked as a grape picker and auto mechanic.

* Gerald Ford also loved golf, but spectators had to watch carefully because the President was known for hitting people on the head with his wild shots.

* Ronald Reagan announced Chicago Cubs games for WHO radio in Des Moines. Later he became a famous movie and television actor.

* George Bush was the captain of the baseball team at Yale University.

1．The list is made here to entertain the readers with American presidents’ _______.

A．special hobbies                                 B．outstanding achievements  

C．fun facts                                          D．political life

2．The President who liked playing cards was _________.

A．Franklin Pierce                                  B．Andrew Jackson  

C．John F. Kennedy                                D．Warren G. Harding

3．Lyndon Baines Johnson formed a habit of turning off lights at White House because _______.

A．he was afraid of electric lights              B．he valued the taxpayers’ money

C．he ran away from home when young     D．he used to work like workers

4、The British government has decided to wipe out obesity through a new strategy - by offering fat people cash.

According to the latest measure, employers will be urged to set up competitions with money, other rewards for people who refuse junk food in favour of healthy eating and living.

And those who will lose the maximum amount of pounds will earn the biggest prizes, reports the Telegraph.

One competition, called The Biggest Loser, has a 130-pounds gift in store for the participant who loses the most weight in eight weeks.

The announcement comes after experts estimated that most of the population in Britain would be obese by 2050 unless urgent action is taken and the related rise in ill health would cost the 50 billion pounds a year.

According to ministers, giving people cash to fight overweight will help avoid larger costs associated with treating cancer, heart disease and diabetes (糖尿病) caused by obesity.

The government said that it wants to make Britain the first major nation to cancel the rising tide of obesity.

And the important strategy - Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives - is their solution to the problem.

The strategy will start a series of projects run through a Well@work scheme led by British Heart Foundation, which will offer rewards to workers who lose weight.

Another key focus for the strategy is to control rising obesity among children.

The government has set itself a target of reducing the proportion of overweight and obese children to 2000 levels by 2020.

There will also be a “Walking into Health” campaign, aiming to get a third of the population in England walking an extra thousand steps -- around a kilometer -- every day by 2012.

“We will look at using financial measures, such as payments, and other rewards, to encourage individuals to lose weight and sustain that weight loss, to eat more healthily, or to be consistently more physically active,”officials said.

The UK Government is investing 372 million pounds over three years to realize the strategy and annual progress reports will be published.

1．Which of the following is NOT one of the new strategies introduced by the British government?

  A．Offering cash to fat people who lose weight. 

  B．Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives.

  C．Conducting a“Walking into Health” campaign.

  D．Encouraging people to keep physically active.

2．The British government ministers who introduced the new strategy certainly believe that ______.

  A．Britain will become the first major nation to cancel the rising tide of obesity

  B．50 billion pounds a year can cover the costs in ill health caused by obesity

  C．cash given to people losing weight will be much less than medical costs caused by obesity

  D．the proportion of overweight and obese children can be reduced to 2000 levels by 2020

3．In the strategy “Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives”, ________.

  A．the employers have to set up competitions for their employees aimed at losing weight

  B．British Heart Foundation launches a series of projects through a Well@work scheme

  C．the UK government will invest 372 million pounds on the losing weight individuals

  D．the person who loses the most weight in 8 weeks will win 130 pounds as a gift

4．The underlined word “obese” probably means _______.

  A．too fat               B．healthy               C．thin                  D．large

3、The first harvest means the death of the crops as grain is gathered, and the thanksgiving of the people to the goddesses who provided them with life sustaining grains.

Late July and Early August mark the middle of summer and the beginning of the harvest season. Famine(饥荒) was common during July as the previous years harvest supplies were almost totally used up. Harvesting grains in August ensured the continuance of life and was recognized by many cultures as a time of thanksgiving.

In ancient Rome the grain goddess Ceres was honored on the first harvest called Ceresalia in her honor. Our modern word cereal comes from her name. Other goddesses celebrated at first harvest are Demeter, Persephone, Venus, and the Corn Mother. Many Native American tribes honor the Corn Grandmother during the Festival of Green Corn. It was held during the full moon when the corn was ready to be harvested. The celebration lasted for several days and was a time to be thankful and a time of forgiveness.

Lughnasadh was a happy time regarded as the first of three harvest festivals. Lughnasadh honors the god Lugh, and his foster-mother Taillte who died clearing the fields of Ireland for agriculture. In Old Irish Lunasa means “August.” The Celts celebrate this day from sunset of August 1 to sunset on August 2 as the wake of Lugh, the Sun-King whose light began to decline after the summer solstice(夏至). At this time oaths(誓言) were taken and contracts were signed.

This day was known to the Saxons as Lammas, or loaf-mass, a time when grains were harvested and baked into bread. The grain was harvested, giving its life so that people might live. The grain was made into bread, and the bread was symbolic of the gods. Christians later adopted this holiday as a day when bread, made from the first fruits of the harvest, was brought to the church to be blessed.

August is a time to reflect on the past year, on things that have come to fruition and things that failed. A time to let go of regrets and say farewell to things that have passed and preserve all the fruits that have been gathered to hold onto for future memories.

1．The passage should be entitled _______.

  A．August Harvest Festivals                   B．August Tradition 

  C．Gathering Grain                           D．Special August Time

2．What was the significance of harvesting grains in August?

  A．It welcomed the death of the crops.       B．It provided the chance of thanksgiving.

  C．It guaranteed the continuance of life.     D．It marked the middle of summer.

3．Which of the following is NOT a close relationship according to the passage?

       A．Ancient Romans – the grain goddess Ceres.

  B．Native Americans –the Corn Grandmother.

  C．Christians –the god Lugh, and his foster-mother Taillte.

  D．The Celts – Lugh, the Sun-King.

4．From the last sentence of the 4th paragraph “At this time oaths were taken and contracts were signed.”, we can infer that the Celts are _________.

 A．happy at that time                                B．serious about the day 

C．are full of hope                                    D．thankful at that time

2、In March of 1895, Charles Francis Jenkins, a young government clerk in Washington entered into an agreement with Thomas Armat, a fellow student at the Bliss School of Electricity. Their aim was to develop a motion picture device(设备).

Jenkins had already invented a device for viewing motion pictures which he called the Phantoscope, based on the Edison Kinetoscope. With this experience the two were able to work quickly and by 28 May 1895 the two had developed a projecting version of the Phantoscope and applied for its patent.

That September, the two travelled to Atlanta with their invention and gave a public demonstration at the Cotton States Exposition. Although no evidence remains regarding the quality of their projections or the success of the show, one can guess that it was well received as shortly after this event the partnership broke up with each party claiming the invention to be their own work.

After the split the two worked independently on improving the Phantoscope. Jenkins had his version of the projecting Phantoscope ready by the first week in November 1895 making the first public demonstration on December 12 at the Franklin Institute in PhiladelphiA．

At the same time, Armat, upon perfecting his version, approached well-known entrepreneurs(企业家) Raff and Gammon who were excited by what they saw and approached Edison with the intention that he develop the machine.

Edison agreed and in February 1896 the Armat projecting Phantoscope was renamed the Vitascope and the name of ‘Edison’ was added for, as Raff and Gammon explained, effective popularization of the device.

The first theatrical exhibition took place on April 23 1896 at Koster and Bial’s Music Hall in Herald Square, New York City. The film that made the greatest impression on the audience that day was Robert Paul and Birt Acres“Rough Sea at Dover”.

1．The passage is intended to tell the readers about _________.

  A．the disagreement between two inventors                                  

  B．the early technology of motion picture device

  C．the development of films in competition                                   

  D．the partnership between two film lovers

2．What Francis Jenkins invented before any cooperation was a device ________.

  A．called Phantoscope, for viewing motion pictures  

  B．called Kinetoscope

  C．called Vitascope                                                                                          

  D．the projecting version of the Phantoscope

3．People can guess that the invention of Jenkins and Armat was successful because ________.

  A．the public demonstration made the greatest impression on the audience

  B．there was some written records regarding the quality of their projections

  C．there were some reports about the success of their show

  D．the partnership broke up for both claimed the invention to be their own work

4．According to Raff and Gammon, the Armat projecting Phantoscope was renamed the Vitascope and was preceded by 'Edison’s' for __________.

  A．the competition against Jenkins’ version                                

  B．the Edison’s intention of developing the device

  C．effective promotion of the device                                            

  D．the origin of the device in Edison’s research

1、Human beings have always been fascinated by twins. Romulus and Remus, Jacob and Esau, Mary-Kate and Ashley.

As children, many of us imagine having a twin: a permanent playmate, a partner in trouble, someone who’d love us unconditionally. Somewhere out there is someone who is exactly like us! What would it feel like to look into a face exactly like our own?

And what if she suddenly appears in my life? That’s essentially what happened to Brooklyn writer Paula Bernstein. I’d known Paula slightly for years; she wrote a lovely essay for Redbook many years ago refuting(驳斥) the persistent belief that all adoptees want to search for their birth parents. Her adoptive family was her family, she wrote; her adoptive mother was her mother. But then, out of the blue, an adoption agency called her and told her about the identical twin sister she didn’t know she had. Her sister, Elyse Schein, wanted to meet her.

I met them for coffee at Café Mogador, three years after their first meeting. Now 38, they have different haircuts, have made different choices in hair color, do their makeup differently. But they clearly look alike, with thick hair, upturned noses. They quickly discovered they had the same childhood habit of sucking their middle fingers, the same adult habit of forgetfully typing their thoughts on an invisible keyboard while thinking. Both edited their high school newspapers and studied film in college. Paula wrote film criticism; Elyse became a filmmaker. They both collected Alice in Wonderland dolls and kept them in the boxes.

They’re now regulars at Café Mogador. The women’s journey from strangers to sisters has clearly been rocky. But as they got to know each other, and struggled to piece together their history, their search united them.

“For me, the search began when I reached the age when my adoptive mother died,” Elyse said. “I realized that my birth mother could be dead. Time was passing. I was ready to solve the mystery that had shadowed my life.” Elyse had always felt a part of her was missing. “I’d felt so different from my adoptive family.” she said.

Paula was raised in a more typical Jewish intellectual family, and was at first a little threatened by Elyse’s appearance in her life. “My first response was both fear and excitement. The moment we met, I felt I was meeting my long-lost best friend. I could tell her anything. And then as that first excitement wore off, I thought, oh my God, I’ve committed to a long-term relationship with a stranger. I wished we hadn’t been separated, but also that I hadn’t been contacted. What would it mean to be in each other’s lives?”

1．What is the main idea of the passage?

  A．We always hope to have twins for much good.    

  B．We are often attracted by twins because of the mystery.

  C．The long-lost twins, Paula and Elyse, were reunited.

  D．Life with twins is always wonderful.

2．Which of the following can we infer is the least common names of twins according to the passage?

  A．Romulus and Remus.                          B．Jacob and Esau.

  C．Mary-Kate and Ashley.                        D．Paula and Elyse.

3．The underlined words “out of the blue” in the fourth paragraph can be replaced by ________.

  A．unexpectedly      B．accidentally        C．oppositely          D．out of control 

4．The fourth paragraph is obviously about __________.

A．the first meeting of Paula and Elyse                                     B．the clear differences between the twins

C．the similarities between the twins            D．the different experiences of the twins

5．It can be inferred that the following paragraph of the passage will talk about _________.

A．how Paula and Elyse found each other

B．how Paula and Elyse were separated when young

C．what their mothers were like

D．their mixed feelings when they saw each other

25、Please do me _______ favor and pass me the cup of ______ coffee.

A．the；不填         B．a；不填           C．a； the           D．the； the