I had not been waiting very long _____ he returned from the conference in the town.

A．until     B．after            C．while          D．before

—Joan _____ a month's vacation.

—That's nice．If time permits, I will go with her.

A．is taking           B．was taking          C．has taken          D．took

By using the air ambulance to transport patients _____ hospitals, they can win more time for serious cases.

A．inside            B．during         C．through             D．between

After twenty years as a chain smoker, Mr. Nather finally _____ the habit.

A．gave out        B．gave back         C．gave up          D．gave away

—Happy Birthday, Amy, and a gift for you.

—That's just what I want._____!

A．Cheers        B．Good luck           C．Come on         D．Congratulations

I live in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and there are some homeless people in the downtown. I used to give a lot of money to the   1  feeling sorry for them. However, after becoming a single mom with no home, a huge   2  and hardly any income, I   3   giving.

       Through working hard, things started to change for the better. I   4   a home for me and my daughter, and plenty of food, and I started to   5   myself out of debt. One day I saw a homeless person with a   6   "will work for food". I passed by. My daughter said, "Mommy, you used to give to those people in need. But now..." I replied, "Honey, they just use that money for drugs or other   7   things." But when I said that, I didn't feel   8 .

       Three days later, 1 was driving to   9   my daughter from school. A man was   10   on the comer looking worried, and suddenly something deep inside me said, "Just help the guy." So I 11   down my window, and he ran   12   with joy. He said, "Kind lady, I only need 77 cents for the bus ticket." I reached into my pocket and found that I didn't take my   13 .I, with a red face, spread out my hands to show that I was in no   14   to help him. But just when he   15  away, I called to him, "Wait a moment!" I found in my ashtray （烟灰缸） there sat three quarters and two pennies.   16   enough, it was the very 77 cents.

       Tears in eyes, he burst out with   17  , "Wow, you just made it possible for me to see my mom   18   Christmas! Thank you so much!"

       It is the moment that I'll never forget, because I am the one who gets the best gift in life— 19 . It also strikes me that nothing happens by accident, and giving has meaning,   20  it is only 77 cents.

1．A．poor                 B．old              C．homeless        D．sick

2．A．debt                B．chance            C．check             D．problem

3．A．continued         B．forgot             C．hated              D．stopped

4．A．earned              B．sold                 C．designed          D．built

5．A．push               B．pull                C．force            D．leave

6．A．mark             B．notice               C．sign             D．card

7．A．dangerous         B．bad               C．great              D．good

8．A．sad               B．happy            C．wrong            D．right

9．A．dress up          B．pick up             C．bring up          D．call up

10．A．lying              B．smiling           C．standing          D．crying

11．A．rolled            B．took               C．put                 D．brought

12．A．away            B．in                  C．over              D．out

13．A．phone           B．purse            C．food             D．chequebook

14．A．doubt            B．time             C．hurry             D．position

15．A．ran               B．flew             C．drove             D．turned

16．A．Naturally         B．Impossibly        C．Surprisingly        D．Luckily

17．A．joy             B．shock            C．disappointment    D．satisfaction

18．A．for             B．until             C．in              D．after

19．A．RECEIVING       B．SHARING         C．HELPING          D．GIVING

20．A．unless         B．although           C．because         D．whether

It was the old lady's eightieth birthday. She was sure Myra wouldn't forget her mother's birthday, even if she was busy. After all, eighty was a special birthday. Perhaps Myra might come. Even if Myra did not come, she would send a present. The old lady was sure of that. Two spots of colour brightened her cheeks. She was excited like a child.

       Mrs. Morrison had brought a card and a bunch of flowers when she came to do the breakfast. Mrs. Grant downstairs had made a cake. Johnnie, the little boy next door, was now up with her with a packet of sweets.

       "I guess you'll get lots and lots of presents," he said. "I did last week when I was six." What would she like? A pair of slippers perhaps. A blue new cardigan. Or a table lamp. Or a little clock, with clear black numbers. So many lovely things.

       She stood by the window, watching. The postman turned round the comer on his bicycle. Her heart beat fast. Johnnie had seen him too and ran to the gate.

       "Granny, granny," Johnnie returned. "I've got your post!"

       He gave her four envelopes. Three were from old friends. The fourth was in Myra's writing.

       "No parcel （包裹）, Johnnie?"

       "No, granny."

       Almost reluctantly, she tore the fourth envelope open. Folded in the card was a check. Written on the card was a message: Happy Birthday—Buy yourself something nice with the check, Myra and Harold.

       The six-figure check fell to the floor like a bird with a broken wing. Slowly the old lad bent to pick it up. Her present, her lovely present. With trembling fingers she tore it into little bits.

1．As can be inferred from the passage, _____.

       A．the neighbors cared little about the old lady in daily life

       B．the friends sent the old lady many lovely presents by post

       C．Myra was stopped by her husband from seeing her mother

       D．the old lady lived alone in a flat away from her daughter

2．The old lady felt _____ when she saw no packet came with her daughter's card.

       A．excited             B．disappointed      C．happy                D．impatient

3．The reason why the old lady tore the check into small pieces was that _____.

       A．she was sure her daughter would come, not the check

       B．she didn't notice there were six figures on the check

       C．she would prefer a present with love from her daughter

       D．she didn't think the check was large enough for a present

4．Which of the following might serve as the best title for the passage?

       A．The Present.        B．The Check.         C．The Birthday.         D．The Daughter.

If you struggled to get up for work on Wednesdays, there could be a good reason: it is the day our mood reaches its lowest point.

       Psychologists （心理学家） have found that, on average, people's moods remain about the same on each day throughout the week.

       Monday has traditionally been thought of as the most depressing（压抑） day of the week but according to psychologists, more attention should be given to midweek in reality.

       Wednesday proves the lowest point in the week as people are furthest away from the weekend and often feel stuck in work.

       Most people generally believe their worst moods were on Monday mornings and evenings but they became increasingly cheerful as the week went on, with their best moods falling on Friday and Saturday mornings and evenings. They saw them as less-organized days when they could choose how to spend their time.

       The psychologists asked 350 people. They found that, on average, people's moods remained about the same on each day throughout the week. Mondays were not as depressing and Fridays and Saturdays were not as exciting as predicted（预测）.

       Professor Charles Areni, who led .the study, said the day-of-the-week ideas come from a  cultural belief that people are generally happier when they are free to choose their activities  compared to when they are at work.

In reality, he said, weekends do not often mean happy moods because people are frequently taken up by energy-requiring activities and they may feel tired like work.

"Ideas like Monday morning blues and Thank God It's Friday are largely illusions." h said.

1．The passage is written to_____.

A．introduce the result of a psychological research

B．show the way of doing a psychological research

C．throw doubt on the old day-of-the-week ideas

D．keep people in high spirits during the week

2．The writer of the passage might agree with the idea that _____.

     A．Monday is the most depressing day of the week with a long week ahead

     B．on weekend people are generally happier when they are free from work

     C．people are always heavy-hearted at the very beginning of most weeks

     D．it's reasonable if you feet unwilling to get up and go for work in midweek

3．The underlined word "illusions" in the last paragraph means _____.

     A．good impressions                      B．wrong ideas

     C．happy feelings                          D．bad opinions

4．The best title for the passage falls on_____.

     A．Monday Morning Blues                  B．Depressing Weekends

     C．Wednesday Most Unhappy           D．Thank God It's Friday

A robot named Cosmo has become six-year-old Kevin Fitzgerald's aid in his uphill everyday battle with development difficulties.

       Kevin showed the first sign of learning difficulties when he was 18 months old, and was later diagnosed（诊断） with developmental disorder. But for the past year, a small blue-and-yellow human-like computer called Cosmo has offered some hope.

       By responding to body movements and voices, Cosmo is designed to teach basic behavioral and physical skills. It can use its hands, repeat phrases and walk around. Mostly, it serves like a toy, a friend and a teacher cheering, encouraging, and tipping them to complete special tasks.

       The robot's inventor, Corinna Lathan, believes "it can greatly improve on traditional and computer-based learning," she said. "The idea is that rather than hiding in front of a computer you are actually starting to communicate with a child the same age and the hope is that it may help transfer to other people—adults, care-givers and parents,"

       As a piece of engineering, Cosmo looks rather simple. It has just nine moving joints（关节）. But Cosmo's advantage to help children has caught the attention of Minnesota's world-famous Mayo Clinic.

       "It's going quite well," said Krista Coleman-wood, an expert at Mayo's laboratory. "But it is too early to say if children make more progress with the robot than through traditional physical treatment, but fun levels are clearly in the robot's favor."

       Mrs. Fitzgerald says the last 12 months' treatment with Cosmo has proven revolutionary.

       "When we first started, I could not get him out of the car if he knew it would be something challenging. Now if I mention that Cosmo is going to be here, he just comes running."

1．What's the problem with six-year-old Kevin Fitzgerald?

       A．He has great difficulty going uphill every day.

       B．He is addicted to playing games on computer.

       C．He has been physically ill since 18 months old.

       D．He has trouble learning behavioral and physical skills.

2．Cosmo helps children like Kevin Fitzgerald mainly by _____.

       A．copying their movements and voices

       B．finishing difficult tasks for them

       C．chatting and playing games with them

       D．giving encouragement and advice

3．According to Krista Coleman-wood, the effect of the robot-aided treatment is _____.

       A．rather revolutionary                     B．surely successful

       C．still uncertain                           D．actually unnecessary

4．Which of the following serves as the main idea of the passage?

       A．A robot is designed to help children with learning difficulties.

       B．Cosmo helps improve traditional and computer-based learning.

       C．Children with learning difficulties can communicate with others.

       D．The public are interested in Cosmo's advantage to help children.

Over the past decade, the rich, professional classes have developed an increasingly unhealthy attitude to their jobs. They took their jobs and fat salaries for granted （认为……理所当然） and felt unhappy if their bonuses（奖金） were not bigger than the year before. They had climbed to the very top of Maslow's hierarchy of needs （马斯洛需求层次） and discovered the air was very thin indeed. "Help me, I'm bored." Or worse, "What does my work mean?" they cried. As an agony aunt, I found that by far the most common problem readers brought forward came from those who had all their basic needs satisfied, leaving their souls suffering.

       In the past few months, when jobs are at risk and savings are becoming less and less, however, anguish of this sort has disappeared. The point of a job becomes rather more basic: to feed and house one's family and oneself. If we can do this, then anything over and above this is a bonus. Once we suit our expectations to this new reality and see earning money as the main reason for work, greater satisfaction will follow.

       Low expectations have a lot to be said for them. In surveys women turn out to be more satisfied at work than men, though they earn less for the same jobs and do most of the work at home. The reason is simple: women's expectations of working life are lower. Similarly, Denmark is the happiest country in the world in spite of having a cold, dark climate and a top tax rate of 68 per cent. The happy Danes do not expect so much of life and find the little they have rather nice.

1．The writer of the passage is most probably _____.

       A．an expert answering readers' questions

       B．a government official on social problems

       C．a scientist researching into employment

       D．an educator on the sense of modern life

2．The underlined word "anguish" in paragraph 2 can be replaced by _____.

       A．pride                 B．worry               C．pain                D．satisfaction

3．The passage carries the message that _____ .

       A．rich, senior professionals should develop a high job expectation

       B．low expectations are very important in time of bad economy

       C．it's meaningless to be at the top of Maslow's hierarchy of needs

       D．women are more satisfied at work than men because of higher pay

4．People in Denmark are mentioned at the end of the passage to _____.

       A．keep up the readers' attention           B．introduce a new topic

       C．compare people with different needs     D．support the writer's view