Have you ever studied abroad? Maybe it is an amazing experience, especially when you come to
Australia as an foreign high school student. You can have a lot of fun there, especially on holidays.
     There are many festivals in Australia. The most important one in Christmas. Each year, the summer
holidays at every hign school last about two months from the beginning of December to February, which
covers the Christmas time. Since it is a long holiday,most foreigu students in Australia love to fly back to
their home countries to spend the time with their families and friends, but a few students still stay in
Australia during the holiday to get part-time jobs. It is quite easy to find a parttime job at Christmas.
Students often take part in another major social activity. They go to the beach to have fun in the sunshine.
The summer in Australia is from December to February,so going to the beach in December is very popular among Australians.
     Easter in March is another important holiday in the year. It actually combines "Good Friday"and "Easter Monday". Almost every shop closes on Good Friday. And people usually go to see Easter Show.
     The Chinese new year is not a public holiday in Australia, so every Chinese student still has to go to
school to study and do his or her normal duties.

     When you __1__ (发信) or a postcard, you have to put stamps on the envelope or on the card. When
  did people first begin to use stamps? Who was the first to __2__ (想到) this idea?
     In the early __3__ 十九世纪), people didn't use stamps. They had to pay postage when they
 __4__ (收到) it. Sometimes they didn't want to receive a letter__5__ (根本不) but they had to pay
 money for it. They were unhappy about this. The postage was high __6__ (在那时), because the post
 offices had to send many people to get the postage.
     Rowland Hill was a school teacher in England. He was the first to think of using stamps in the 1850s.
 He thought it would be __7__ （容易得多) for people to use the stamps. They could to the post office
  to buy stamps and __8__ （把它们贴在……上) the envelops before they sent the letter. The post
 office could just put marks on the stamps __9__ (以便) people could not use the stamps again.
 __10__ （用这种方法) the post office did not need to send postman to get postage. It only needed
  fewer postman to send letters.

     Perhaps you have heard a lot about the Internet,but what is it,do you know?The Internet is a
network．It uses the telephone to join millions of computers together around the world．
     Maybe that doesn't sound very interesting．But when you're joined to the Internet,there are
lots and lots of things you can do．You can send E-mails to your friends,and they can get them
in a few seconds．You can also do with all kinds of information on the World Wide Web(WWW)．
     There are many different kinds of computers now．They can all be joined to the Internet．
Most of them are small machines sitting on people's desks at home,but there are still many others
in schools,offices or large companies．These computers are owned by people and companies,
but no one really owns the Internet itself．
    There are lots of places for you to go into the Internet．For example, your school may have
the Internet．You can use it during lessons or free time．Thanks to the Internet,the world is
becoming smaller and smaller．It is possible for you to work at home with a computer in front,
getting and sending the information you need．You can buy or sell whatever you want by the
Internet．But do you know 98％of the information on the Internet is in English?So what will
English be like tomorrow?

1. What is the passage mainly about?

A. Internet.
B. Information.
C. Computers.
D. E-mails.

2. Which is the quickest and cheapest way to send messages to your friends?

A. By post.
B. By E-mails.
C. By telephone.
D. By satellite.

3. Which may be the most possible place for people to work in tomorrow?

A. In the office.
B. At school.
C. At home.
D. In the company.

4. What does the writer try to tell us with the last two sentences?

A. English is important in using the Internet.
B. Most of the Internet is in English.
C. The Internet is more and more popular.
D. Every computer must have the Internet.

     Listening test is one of the important parts of the English exam. Here are some tips for you.
     Before you start to listen, you need to relax. Don't be nervous. And try to read the questions. These
questions usually help you understand the dialogue or the passage.
     Then listen carefully to the first sentence. It usually tells you the main idea of the passage. When you're
listening, try to do some thinking and take some notes (笔记), such as:
     ·What happened?
     ·When, where, and how?
     ·What does the speaker want to tell us?
     In this way, you may understand the passage better.
     Please remember not to think about one or two words for a long time. When you hear some words
you don't know, don't spend too much time on them. Very often, you'll find out what they mean later
when you go on with the listening.
根据短文内容，选择最佳答案。
1. This passage mainly talks about _____.
A. tips on listening         
B. tips on speaking    
C. tips on reading          
D. tips on writing
2. It's better for you to keep _____ when you start to have a listening test. 
A. excited            
B. relaxed     
C. nervous            
D. worried
3. We should listen to the first sentence carefully, because it usually tells us _____. 
A. the answers to the questions      
B. where to write the answers
C. the main idea of the passage    
D. how much time left (剩余) for the listening test.
4. When you're listening, it's important for you to _____.
A. remember every word              
B. take some notes    
C. understand all the words  
D. think about one words for a long time
5. The _____ usually help(s) us understand the passage better.  
A. questions    
B. first sentence  
C. notes  
D. A, B and C