It was five days before Christmas. Holiday music played over the sound system and my co-workers excitedly 1 their plans. "Doing anything special? "they asked me. I shook my head 2 . I was 3 ,000 miles from my family in Hawaii, pursuing my lifelong 3 of becoming a nurse. I attended classes all day, then went straight to my full-time 4 job at night. My weekly plan left

me  extremely tired and homesick.

I had 5 looked forward to the holidays. But this December I felt unable to go on. In my prayers（祷告） I told 6 that I could just get home to see my mum, dad and brothers. I could survive the next two years until I graduated. But 7 ? Rent, textbooks and other expenses left me with no 8 cash. Money to go home? I barely had money to eat. "I'm on my 9 .Cover for me, will you? "asked Maribelle, another waitress, as she passed me 10 her way to the employee' s room. 11 , there' s this guy at Table Five, "she said. "He' s been sitting there for more than an hour, not making any trouble but not 12 anything either." She paused, "It's like he's... 13 somebody".   

I looked in the corner. 14 enough, there was a slim, pleasantly-looking man 5 15

in a worn shirt, and a black baseball cap, just sitting, 16 .I went over, trying to force a smile. "I'm Cory," I said, "please let me know if you want anything. "

I was turning to walk away 17 the man spoke. He had a soft, low voice, but somehow I could hear it clear and plain in the 18 restaurant. "I'd like an order of chips," he said, "and a glass of water. "My heart 19 .Chips were the cheapest thing on the menu, which meant I wouldn’t get much of a 20 . But maybe this guy was broke, and I sure know how that felt. So I tried my best to

make  him  feel okay.

1．A． expressed    B．changed                    C．discussed           D．announced

2．A． okay              B．yes                 C．not           D．no

3．A． plan       B．dream                     C．hope            D．demand

4．A． waitress    B．waiter                      C．assistant         D．maid

5．A． seldom     B．always               C．never            D．hardly

7．A． how       B．when                  C．why           D．where

8．A． other        B．rest                        C．enough          D．extra

9．A． way       B．duty                C．break             D．work

10．A． to               B．by              C．on             D．at

11．A． By the way       B．On the contrary   C．Above all        D．After all

12．A． saying           B．eating            C．drinking        D．ordering

13．A． looking for       B．waiting for        C．waiting on       D．longing for

14．A． Good            B．Lucky          C．A11          D．Sure

15．A． dressed             B．wore           C．devoted         D．seated

16．A． angrily             B．alone           C．sadly           D．enjoyably      

17．A． before             B．when                  C．as             D．while

18．A． quiet              B．large             C．noisy           D．wonderful

19．A． sank              B．beat            C．broke          D．lost

20．A． praise           B．tip             C．dollar           D．prize

As a youngster, there was nothing I liked better than Sunday afternoons at my grandfather’s farm in western Pennsylvania. Surrounded by miles of winding stone walls, the house and field provided endless hours of fun for a city kid like me. I was used to tidy living rooms that seemed to whisper, “Not to be touched!”

　　I can still remember one afternoon when I was eight years old. Since my first visit to the farm, I had wanted more than anything to be allowed to climb the stone walls surrounding the houses. My parents would never approve. The walls were old；some stones were missing, others loose and falling. Still, my idea to climb across those walls grew so strong that finally, one spring afternoon, I had all my courage to enter the living room, where the adults had gathered after Sunday dinner.

　　“I, uh—I want to climb the stone walls, ”I said. Everyone looked up. “Can I climb the stone walls?”Immediately voices of disagreement went up from the women in the room. “Heavens, no! You’ll hurt yourself!”I wasn’t too disappointed；the response was just as I’d expected. But before I could leave the room, I was stopped by my grandfather’s loud voice. “Now hold on just a minute, ”I heard him say. “Let the boy climb the stone walls. He has to learn to do things for himself. ”

　　“Go, ”he said to me, “and come and see me when you get back. ”For the next two and a half hours I climbed those old walls—and had the time of my life. Later I met with my grandfather to tell him about my adventures. I’ll never forget what he said. “Fred, ”he said, smiling, “You made this day a special day just by being yourself. Always remember, there’s only one person in this whole world like you, and I like you exactly as you are. ”

　　Many years have passed since then, and today I host the television program Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, seen by millions of children throughout America. There have been changes over the years, but one thing remains the same：my message to children at the end of almost every visit. “There’s only one person in this whole world like you, ”the kids can count on hearing me say, “and people can like you exactly as you are.”

1．When the writer was small, he lived ________.

  A．in the city　　　　　　　                   B．on the farm

  C．with his grandparents　　　　　         D．away from his parents

2．The writer enjoyed his visits to the farm because ________.

  A．there were old stone walls                    B．it was an exciting place for him

  C．he liked his grandfather                        D．the living room there was clean

3．We can learn from the passage that the writer was ________.

  A．adventurous         B．funny　　　　   C．smart　　           D．talkative

4．What did the writer learn from his grandfather and his own experience on the farm?

  A．To do things for others.　　　　　      B．To do whatever he liked.

  C．To be proud of himself.　　　　　      D．To be himself.

If you want to stay young, sit down and have a good think. This is the research finding of a team of Japanese doctors, who say that most of our brains are not getting enough exercise and, as a result, we are growing old unnecessarily soon.

       Professor Taiju Matsuzawa wanted to find out why quite healthy farmers in northern Japan appeared to be losing their ability to think and reason at a rather early age, and how the speed of getting old could be slowed down.

       With a team of researchers at Tokyo National University, he set about measuring brain volumes of a thousand people of different ages with different jobs.

       Computer technology helped the researchers to get most exact measurements of the volume of the front and side part of the brain, which have something to do with intellect and feelings, and decide the human character. As we all know, the back part of the brain, which controls tasks like eating and breathing, does not contract with age.

       Contraction of front and side parts—as cells die off—was seen in some people in their thirties but it was still not found in some sixty and seventy-year-old.

       Matsuzawa concluded from his test that there is a simple way to prevent the contraction using the head.

       The findings show that contraction of the brain begins sooner in people in the country than in the towns. Those with least possibility, says Matsuzawa, are lawyers, followed by university professors and doctors. White-collar workers doing the same work day after day in government offices are, however, as possible to have contraction brains as the farm workers, bus drivers and shop assistants.

1．What did the team of doctors want to find out?

A．How to make people live longer.

B．How to slow down the speed of getting old.

       C．The size of certain people’s brain.      

D．Which people are the most clever.

2．What are their research findings based on?

       A．An examination of farmers in northern Japan.

       B．Tests given on a thousand old people.

       C．Using computer technology.

       D．Examining the brain volumes of different people.

3．Which of the following are growing old earlier than people who live in the cities according to the passage.

       A．Farmers.            B．Office clerks.      C．Shop assistants. D．Bus drivers.

4．What’s the most possible conclusion of the passage?

       A．Most of us should take more exercise. 

       B．It’s better to live in the town.

       C．The brain contracts if it is not used.     

D．The more one uses his brain, the sooner he becomes older.

Modern man has cleared the forests for farmland and for wood, and has also carelessly burned them. More than that, though, he has also interfered （干涉） with the invisible bonds between the living things in the forests. There are many examples of this kind of destruction. The harmfulness of man’s interference can be seen in what happened many years ago in the forest of the Kaibab plateau （凯亚巴布高原） of northern Arizona. Man tried to improve on the natural web of forest life and destroyed it instead.

The Kaibab had a storybook forest of large sized pine, Douglas fir, white fir, blue and Engelmann spruce. In 1882 a visitor noted, "We, who ... have wandered through its forests and parks, have come to regard it as the most enchanting region it has ever been our privilege （特权） to visit. "This was also the living place of the Rocky Mountain mule deer. Indians hunted there every autumn to gather meat and skins. The forest also had mountain lions, timber wolves and bobcats that kept the deer from multiplying too rapidly.

Then ,in 1906,President Theodore Roosevelt made the Kaibab a national game preserve. Deer hunting was forbidden. Government hunters started killing off the deer’s enemies. In 25 years’ time,6,250 mountain lions, wolves and bobcats were killed. Before the program, there were about 4,000 deer in the Kaibab, by 1924,there were about 100,000.

The deer ate every leaf and twig they could reach. But there was not nearly enough food. Hunting of deer was permitted again. This caused a slight decrease in the deer herd （鹿群），but a far greater loss resulted from starvation （饥饿） and disease. Some 60 percent of the deer herd died in two winters. By 1930 the herd had dropped to 20,000 animals. By 1942 it was down to 8,000.

1．The destruction of the environment of the Kaibab resulted from .

A．turning the forest into cultivated land

B．interfering with natural cycle of forest life

C．forest fires caused by man’s carelessness

D．cutting the trees for building materials

2．"Engelmann spruce"（Para. 2） is most likely the name of .

A．a tree               B．an animal            C．a mountain          D．a game

3．The number of the deer in the Kaibab had increased enormously in  years’ time.

A．25                  B．6                   C．18                  D．12

4．Years later, large numbers of deer in the Kaibab died mainly because of .

A．the cold                                    B．the organized kill

C．the shortage of food                          D．the poor management

You can use your Business Telecard International at any card phone in the UK. Here is some information about making international phone calls.

You can now phone almost any country in the world, although in some cases you can only call major cities. When you cannot make direct dialing calls, you can ask the international operator to help you. This is more expensive and takes more time, but it may be helpful if you want to speak to a particular person and no one else; in this case you should ask for a “person-to-person” call. Even more expensive is a reverse charge call where the person who receives the call pays.

If the international line is busy, you can reserve a call; explain the number you want and the operator will call you back when the line is free.

You can save money by calling outside office hours, e.g. early in the morning, late at night, and on Sundays.

Remember that the time may be different in the country you are calling. International time is based on GMT （Greenwich Mean Time）; London is on GMT and Moscow, for example, is 3 hours ahead.

There is one problem: change to DST （Daylight Saving Time） for the Summer. In the UK, clocks are put forward one hour in Spring and put back in Autumn, and so London is actually one hour ahead of GMT in the Summer.

You can use your Business Telecard International for domestic calls as well, but there will be an additional charge over the standard rate.

1．What is “a reverse charge call”?

       A．An international call.

       B．A very expensive call.

       C．A call for which the person who receives the call pays.

       D．A call to major cities.

2．According to the passage, what can you do if the international line is busy?

     A．book a call.                           B．make a “person-to-person” call.

     C．call back outside office hours.            D．give up.

3．When is it cheaper to make an international call?

     A．10 A．m.                                        B．4 p. m. 

  C．11 p. m.                                           D．3 hours ahead of GMT.

4．How many hours is Moscow ahead of London during the summer?

     A．1                    B．2                     C．3                     D．4

It was a warm April day when a big fat envelope came in the mail from the only college I had ever imagined attending. I tore open the packet. My eyes were fixed on the word “congratulations”.I don’t remember ever smiling so wide.

Then I looked at my financial package.

The cost of Dream School’s tuition, room and board was around $40 000— an impossible sum! How could I afford to attend? What good reasons did I have to go there when three other fine colleges were offering me free tuition? My other choices were good, solid schools even if they weren’t as famous as my first choice.

In my mind, attending my dream university would be the only way to realize my dream of becoming a world-class writer. My parents understood how I felt. They told me that even though it would be a financial problem, I could go wherever I would be happiest. But as I was always careful with money, I wasn’t sure what to do.

One of the schools that offered me a full ride had an informational dinner one night in the spring. Considering my parents’ financial difficulties, I decided to drive the 45 minutes and attend. At first, all I had planned to do was smile politely, eat free food ,listen quietly. But I surprised myself.

At dinner the president of the university talked about the wonderful activities on campus（including guest lectures and social gatherings. He also made it perfectly clear that free food would be offered at all future events. He continued with explanations of professors, class sizes, activities, and sporting events on campus. As he spoke, I began to realize that this school, though not as good as my first choice, might be the best one for me. It seemed small yet with many great programs. It seemed challenging yet caring.

As the president ended his speech, we clapped politely and pushed back our chairs. As I walked out that door, a feeling of comfort washed over me. Looking at the campus that night, I realized that I would be spending the next four years right there.

In all honesty, my university is not as well-known as my “dream”university. However, it turned out to be the right choice of schools for me.

1．How did the author feel when he started to read the letter?

A．He was full of joy.

B．He was lost in his dream.

C．He was worried about the money.

D．He was uncertain which school to go to.

2．We can learn from the passage that the parents were __________.

A．honest                 B．strict               C．supportive           D．decisive

3．In Paragraph 5,“offered me a full ride”can be replaced by “__________”.

A．would pay for transport to the school

B．would show me around the campus

C．would offer free meals at all events 

D．would charge me nothing for tuition

4．What does the author mainly want to say?

A．Your second-choice college may actually by your best fit.

B．You should consider comfort in your choice of schools.

C．You should try your best to attend your dream school.

D．Your choice of schools should be based on their fame.

上海出版的一份“学生英语报”，对象是我国的中学生。请用英语为该报写一段人物介绍，介绍我国的篮球运动员姚明。

写作内容：

姓名：姚明

出生于：1980年9月12日；中国上海一个篮球世家；

身高：2．26m（7．5feet）

职业：篮球运动员，现在美国the Houston Rockets 俱乐部打球。

性格特征：勤奋，有爱心，有创造性，有团队精神；

梦想：从小就喜欢打篮球，他要让世界知道，中国人也喜欢篮球运动。

写作要求：使用必要的连接词。字数为80-100字。

Have the problems they have ________ been solved?

A．concentrated     B．concentrating     C．concentrated on            D．concentrating on

I have ________ all my papers, but I still can’t find my notes.

A．looked through         B．looked for         C．looked after          D．looked out

Clouds are gathering．I think we’d better ________ the school in case it starts to rain.

A．run out         B．bring up        C．refer to         D．head for