After he retired from office, Rogers _______ painting for a while, but soon lost interest.

A. saved up       B. took up             C. kept up          D. drew up

It's time to be water efficient!

   As populations increase across Australia and the rest of the world, demand for water will also increase. If we don’t reduce each individual’s demand for water (both directly and through embodied water) the water situation will become dire.

    It is obvious that we cannot increase demands for water much more without detrimental(有害的) effects to the environment, society and the economy.

    It’s all too easy to blame someone else for the water situation –“if 70% of water is used for agriculture then that’s what we should target” – but it’s not that easy. We all depend on the food and resources that agriculture provides, and while there are definitely opportunities to increase water efficiency on the farm, the solution will take more than that.

    We each share responsibility for the sustainable management of our water resources, which means using less water at home, in the workplace, at school, on holidays, on the farm, … everyone, everywhere, every time.

    It's time to become water efficient! This involves reassessing our relationship with water, and learning to use it more sparingly. On the most basic level, it requires a behavioural（行动的） change, and assigning a value to water that truly reflects its worth.

    We can also unlock economic benefits of being water efficient. There are many real world examples given in the case studies on this site.

    Everybody has a responsibility to save water, if future generations are to enjoy a similar standard of living to the one we enjoy now. In fact, many of the impacts associated with water use are likely to have an effect on our own lives!

    www.savewater.com.au has been designed to help you respond to the challenge to become water efficient. It acts as a central repository for relevant information and further advice, so that you can actually achieve significant savings. It also showcases those companies with products that will assist you in your goal.

Can you infer where this passage is from?

    A. newspaper    B. TV programme    C. Radio broadcast    D. Internet 

What can we do to save water?

    A. find more water resources 

    B. use less water everywhere, every time

    C. realize the importance of saving water

    D. unlock economic benefits of being water efficient

What is not the reason to save water?

    A. There are more and more people in the world.

    B. The water resources are limited.

    C. Agriculture needs more water.

    D. The water is very important for us.

What is the main idea of this passage?

    A. Water is very important for the human.

    B. Everybody has a responsibility to save water.

    C. It's time to be water efficient.

    D. Let’s save water for our future generations.

Jenny works hard as usual and it has___．She got the first in the final exam again ．

         A．showed off        B．paid off       C．paid back   D．turned up

  It's not a new phenomenon, but have you noticed how many nouns are being used as verbs? We all use them, often without noticing what we're doing.

    I was arranging to meet someone for dinner last week, and I said “I’ll pencil it in my diary”, and my friend said “You can ink it in”, meaning that it was a firm arrangement not a tentative one!

Many of these new verbs are linked to new technology. An obvious example is the word fax, which is a shortening of facsimile originally, an exact copy of a book or document. We all got used to sending and receiving faxes, and then soon started talking about faxing something and promising we'd fax it immediately. So, nouns turn into verbs in two easy stages. Then along came email, and we were soon all emailing each other madly. How did we do without it? I can hardly imagine life without my daily emails.

Email reminds me, of course， of my computer and its software, which has produced another couple of new verbs. On my computer I can bookmark those pages from the World Wide Web that I think I'll want to look at again, thus saving all the effort of remembering their addresses and calling them up from scratch. I can do the same thing on my PC, but there I don't bookmark; I favorite—coming from “favorite pages”, so the verb is derived from an adjective not a noun． I wasn’t really sure whether people said this，but someone told me recently that they had favorited a site I was looking for and so they could easily give me its address.

In the late 1980s I noticed that lots of my friends had acquired pagers, and kept saying things like “I’ll page you as soon as I know what time we’re meeting”. They couldn't say it to me, though; 1 refused to have one． So my children bought me a mobile phone, now known simply as a mobile and I had to learn yet more new verbs. I can message someone, that is, I can leave a message （either spoken or written）for them on their phone．Or I can text them, write a few words suggesting when and where to meet, for example. How long will it be before I can mobile them, that is, phone them using my mobile? I haven’t heard that verb yet, but I’m sure I will soon. Perhaps I’ll start using it myself! 　

“I’ll pencil it in my diary” in the second paragraph probably means          .

    A. it was a firm arrangement　　　　　　　    　B. it was an uncertain arrangement

    C. the arrangement should be written as a diary     D. he prefers a pencil to a pen

A website address can be easily found if it has been＿____.

    A. emailed                   B. messaged                 C. favorited                D. texted

Which of the following has not been used as a verb, yet?

    A. message                   B. page                     C. email                            D. mobile

The best title for this passage is____．

A. New Verbs from Old Nouns　　　　B. The Development of the English language

    C. New Technology and New words    D. Technology and Language.

Sicily, an island of Italy, is home to beautiful beaches, outstanding food, and a bit of Italian history on every corner. It’s located just southwest of the Italian mainland and it’s the largest Mediterranean island.

 Invaded(侵略)by many armies over the centuries, it became the site of Roman and Greek colonies. Those cultures remain to this day.

 Although they have a rich culture and history, Sicilian people lead a simple life. Living on land with fertile(肥沃的) soil, most of them work in agriculture, fishing and mining, and of course tourism.

 In Sicily, most stores and businesses are closed from one to four in the afternoon. Street become crowded around five as people start to go out and engage in a variety of activities. They may take a walk to the shops, enjoy a pastry(糕点)or just meet up with friends.

 Food is one of the great pleasures of Sicilian people. There is an old Sicilian saying： “With a contented stomach, your heart is forgiving. With an empty stomach you forgive nothing.” People will go miles out their way to eat fresh seafood. Pasta(意大利面)is the main food Each region has its seasonal pasta dishes, and every family cook their own specialty. Bread is common too. As another Sicilian saying goes, “A table without bread is like a day without sunshine.” In Sicily, bread is always freshly baked or bought, and usually twice a day.

Invaders from Rome and Greece came to Sicily______.

A．by bike           B．by ship           C．on foot           D．by train

The underlined sentences mean Sicilian people______.

A．can always forgive other’s mistakes

B．can’t stand going hungry

C．like eating

D．may make mistakes when they are hungry

According the author, Pasta changes with______.

A．weather            B．age              C．social position     D．season

The best title of this passage might be______.

A．Sicily—an Island of Italy

B．Sicily—the Site of Roman and Greek Colonies

C．Italy’s most Beautiful Island

D．SiTALY’S Tasty Island Culture

We have all experienced days when everything goes wrong. A day may begin well enough, but suddenly everything seems to get out of control. It seems as if a single unimportant event may cause a number of things to happen. Let us suppose that you are preparing a meal and keeping an eye on the baby at the same time. The telephone rings and this means your troubles are beginning. While you are on the phone, the baby pulls the table-cloth off the table, destroying your prepared meal. You hang up hurriedly and attend to your baby. Meanwhile, the meal gets burnt. As if these were not enough to bring you to tears, your husband arrives unexpectedly bringing three guests to dinner.

Things can go wrong on-a number of people on the road. During the rush hour one evening, two cars hit each other and both drivers began to argue. The woman driver behind the two cars happened to be a learner. She suddenly went into a panic and stopped her car. This made the driver following her stop suddenly. His wife was sitting beside him holding a large cake. As she was thrown forward, the cake went right through the window and landed on the road’. Seeing a cake-flying through the air, a truck driver had to stop his truck all of a sudden. The truck was carrying empty beer bottles and hundreds of them slid off the back of the truck and fell onto the road. This led to yet another angry argument. Meanwhile, the traffic piled up behind. It took the police nearly an hour to get the traffic to move again. In the meanwhile, the truck driver had to sweep up hundreds of broken bottles. Only two dogs were enjoying themselves from the accident; for they were happily having what was left of the cake. It was just one of those days.

What does the writer mainly tell us?

A. Troubles always happen at the same time.

B. Everyone may have trouble every day.

C. A small matter can cause great trouble.

D. Only the lucky man won’t have any trouble every day.

according to the passage, what should be the correct order?

(1) The woman driver stopped her car suddenly.             ??

(2) The driver’s wife dropped her cake on the road.

(3) Only two dogs were happy.

(4) Two cars hit each other.

(5) The truck driver had to sweep up hundreds of broken bottles.

A. (2)(3)(3)(5)(1)  B. (4)(1)(2)(5)(3)

C. (3)(5)(2)(4)(1)   D. (1)(4)(2)(3)(5)

Which of the following is true?

A. The woman’s husband brought three guests home to dinner unexpectedly.

B. The meal got burnt.

C. Her baby pulled the table-cloth off the table.

D. It is not strange to experience such accidents.

What does the word "these" in the last sentence of the first paragraph refer to?

A. Your husband brings three guests to dinner unexpectedly.

B. The meal gets burnt.

C. The baby pulls the table-cloth off the table.

D. Both B and C.

A is for always getting to work on time.

B is for being extremely busy.

C is for the conscientious(勤勤恳恳的) way you do your job.

You may be all these things at the office, and more. But when it comes to getting ahead, experts say, the ABCs of business should include a P, for politics, as in office politics.

Dale Carnegie suggested as much more than 50 years ago: Hard work alone doesn’t ensure career advancement. You have to be able to sell yourself and your ideas, both publicly and behind the scenes. Yet, despite the obvious rewards of engaging in office politics—a better job, a raise, praise—many people are still unable or unwilling—to “play the game”.

“People assume that office politics involves some manipulative(工于心计的) behavior,” says Deborah Comer, an assistant professor of management at Hofstra University. “But politics derives from the word ‘polite’. It can mean lobbying(游说) and forming associations. It can mean being kind and helpful, or even trying, to please your superior, and then expecting something in return.”

In fact, today, experts define office politics as proper behavior used to pursue one’s own self-interest in the workplace. In many cases, this involves some form of socializing within the office environment—not just in large companies, but in small workplaces as well.

“The first thing people are usually judged on is their ability to perform well on a consistent basis,” says Neil P. Lewis, a management psychologist. “But if two or three candidates are up for a promotion, each of whom has reasonably similar ability, a manager is going to promote the person he or she likes best. It’s simple human nature.”

Yet, psychologists say, many employees and employers have trouble with the concept of politics in the office. Some people, they say, have an idealistic vision of work and what it takes to succeed. Still others associate politics with flattery(奉承), fearful that, if they speak up for themselves, they may appear to be flattering their boss for favors.

Experts suggest altering this negative picture by recognizing the need for some self-promotion.

“Office politics” is used in the passage to refer to________.

A. the political views and beliefs of office workers

B. the interpersonal relationships within a company

C. the various qualities required for a successful career

D.  the code of behavior for company staff

To get promoted, one must not only be competent but________.

A. avoid being too outstanding

B. get along well with his colleagues

C. honest and loyal to his company

D. give his boss a good impression

The author considers office politics to be________.

A. unwelcome at the workplace

B. bad for interpersonal relationships

C. an important factor for personal advancement

D. indispensable to the development of company culture

It is the author’s view that________.

A. self-promotion does not necessarily mean flattery

B. hard work contributes very little to one’s promotion

C. many employees fail to recognize the need of flattery

D. speaking up for oneself is part of human nature

BEIJING, Jan. 11(Xinhuanet)-- Sleeping a little bit longer a day might help fight against obesity（肥胖）, a recent study shows. The research-- published in the Archives of Internal Medicine along with an editorial by Turek and Northwestern colleague Joseph Bass commenting on it and related research-- after comparing people of normal weight- a body mass index of less than 25- with those who were overweight or obese , found that sleeping for an extra 20 minutes each night could offer a pain-free way to lose weight.

Insufficient sleep is linked with changes in hormone levels that may stimulate（刺激）appetite. A series of studies in recent months have shown that the less people sleep, the heavier they tend to be.

American researcher Robert Vorona from Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk and colleagues have now examined the relationship between people's self-reported sleep time per 24 hours and their body mass index(BMI). They found that total sleep time and BMI were inversely correlated was total sleep time decreased, BMI increased, except in the severely obese group." Americans experience insufficient sleep and corpulent bodies. Clinicians are aware of the burden of obesity on patients," the study said. "Our findings suggest that major extensions of sleep time may not be necessary, as an extra 20 minutes of sleep per night seems to be associated with a lower body mass index," it added. "We warn that this study does not establish a cause-and-effect relationship between restricted sleep and obesity (but) investigations demonstrating success in weight loss via extensions of sleep would help greatly to establish such a relationship."

In November 2004, researchers from Columbia University in New York City, New York demonstrated a clear link between the risk of being obese and hours of nightly sleep, finding that people aged 32 to 59 who slept four hours or less per night were 73% more likely to be obese than people who slept between seven and nine hours per night.

The research, which was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, found that____________.

sleeping for a shorter time a day might help fight agianst obesity

an extra 20 minutes’ sleep each night could offer a way to lose weight wothout pain

total sleep time and body mass index were inversely related

people aged 32 to 59 who slept four hours or less per night were 73% more likely to be obese than people who slept between seven and nine hours per night

How many research results are presented in the text?

A. Two                   B. Three             C. Four              D. Five

What does the underlined word “obses” probably mean?

A.thin                    B. fat                C. energetic          D. painful

According to the text , the author intends to tell us that _____________________.

A. Sleeping a little bit longer a day might help fight against obesity

B. insufficient sleep is linked with changes in hormone lives

C. there exists a clear link between the risk of being obeses and hours of nightly sleep

D. the less people sleep , the heavier they tend to be

It was 11:30 in the evening. A ___1___ American lady of about seventy was standing on the side of an Alabama ___2___ trying to bear a pouring rainstorm. Her car had ___3___ and at the moment she ___4___ needed a ride. Wet to the skin, she decided to flag down the next ___5___. A young white man stopped to help her—generally unheard ___6___ in those conflict-filled(矛盾冲突) 1960s. The man ___7___ her to safety in his car, and ___8___ a taxicab(a kind of car)for her. She seemed to be in a great ___9___. She wrote down his ___10___, thanked him and drove away. Several days went by and a ___11___ came on the man’s door. To his ___12___, a very big color TV was delivered to his home. A special note was ___13___ to it. It read: “ Dear sir, thank you so much for assisting a(an) ___14___ colored woman on the freeway ___15___ night, The rain ___16___ wet all over not only my clothes ___17___ my spirits. Then you ___18___ along. Because of you, I was ___19___ to make it to my dying husband’s bedside just ___20___ he passed away. God bless you for helping me and kindly serving others. Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole.

1. A. black      B. white  C. poor   D. sick

2. A. railway   B. freeway      C. street  D. avenue

3. A. broken up      B. speeded up C. broken down           D. slowed down

4. A. seriously B. badly  C. fairly  D. probably

5. A. bus B. truck   C. taxi     D. car

6. A. from      B. by      C. before D. of

7. A. put  B. led      C. fetched       D. took

8. A. hired      B. took    C. sent    D. asked

9. A. need       B. help    C. hurry  D. trouble

10. A. address B. number      C. name  D. words

11. A. lady      B. salesman    C. letter   D. knock

12. A. surprise       B. delight       C. joy     D. satisfaction

13. A. offered B. given  C. stuck   D. written

14. A. aged     B. dark    C. lucky  D. unhappy

15. A. another B. the other    C. other   D. any

16. A. let B. made  C. had     D. turned

17. A. and      B. but     C. or         D. otherwise

18. A. got       B. went   C. ran     D. came

19. A. able      B. ready  C. likely  D. willing

20. A. after     B. before C. until   D. since

Everyone has got two personalities—the one that is shown to the world and the other that is secret and real．You don't show your secret personality when you're awake because you can control your behaviour，but when you're asleep， your sleeping position shows the real you．In a normal night，of course，people frequently change their position．The important position is the one that you go to sleep in．

If you go to sleep on your back，you're a very open person．You normally trust people and you are easily influenced by fashion or new ideas．You don't like to upset people，so you never express your real feelings．You're quite shy and you aren't very confident．

If you sleep on your stomach，you are a rather secretive（不坦率的）person．You worry a lot and you're always easily upset．You're very stubborn（顽固的），but you aren't very ambitious．You usually live for today not for tomorrow．This means that you enjoy having a good time．

If you sleep curled up（卷曲），you are probably a very nervous person．You have a low opinion of yourself and so you're often defensive．You're shy and you don't normally like meeting people．You prefer to be on your own．You're easily hurt．

If you sleep on your side，you have usually got a well-balanced personality．You know your strengths and weaknesses．You're usually careful． You have a confident personality．You sometimes feel anxious，but you don't often get depressed．You always say what you think even if it annoys people．

According to the writer，you naturally show your secret and real personality _____.

A．only in a normal night

B．only when you go to sleep

C．only when you refuse to show yourself to the world

D．only when you change sleeping position

Which is NOT mentioned in the second paragraph about a person's personality？

A．He or she is always open with others．

B．He or she always likes new ideas earlier than others．

C．He or she is always easily upset．

D．He or she tends to believe in others．

Point out which sentence is used to show the personality of a person who is used to sleeping on his or her stomach？

A．He or she is careful not to offend others．

B．He or she doesn't want to stick to his or her opinion．

C．He or she can't be successful in any business．

D．He or she likes to bring others happiness．

Maybe you don't want to make friends with a person who sleeps curled up．Why？

A．He or she would rather be alone than communicate with you．

B．He or she is rarely ready to help you．

C．He or she prefers staying at home to going out．

D．He or she wouldn't like to get help from you．

It appears that the writer tends to think highly of the person who sleeps on one side because ______ ．

A．he or she always shows sympathy for people

B．he or she is confident，but not stubborn

C．he or she has more strengths than weaknesses

D. he or she often considers annoying people