Mr. Brown worked in a factory of a small town. He had been there for twenty years before one day he was sent to the capital for important business. He was quite excited because he had never been there before. Before he set off, he asked his wife and three daughters if they wanted him to buy something for them in London. Mrs. Brown began to think it over and then she said she wished her husband would be able to buy a nice umbrella for her, and so did their three daughters. As he was afraid he would forget it, he drew an umbrella on his hand.

On the train Mr. Brown sat opposite to an old woman. The woman's umbrella was so nice that he carefully looked at it and said to himself not to forget to buy a few umbrellas like it. When the train arrived at the station in London, he said good-bye to the old woman, took his bag and her umbrella and was going to get off.

“Wait a minute, sir,” shouted the old woman. “That's my umbrella!”

Now Mr. Brown noticed that he had taken her umbrella. His face turned red at once and said in a hurry, “Oh, I'm very sorry. Madam! I didn't mean it!”

Seven days later Mr. Brown left the capital. To his surprise, he met the old woman and sat opposite to her again. Looking at the four umbrellas, the old woman was satisfied with herself. “It seems that I had a better result than the other four women.” She thought.

46. We learn from the passage that Mr. Brown was _____.

  A. a conductor        B. a worker         C. a thief                    D. an umbrella maker

47. Why did Mr. Brown take the woman’s umbrella?

Because he was lost in thought.

Because it was much like his own umbrella.

Because he thought the woman would not notice it.

Because the woman placed it beside Mr. Brown by mistake.

48. How did Mr. Brown get the four umbrellas?

He picked them on the train.

He brought them from his small town.

He bought them in London.

He stole them from four women.

Thomas Edison lit up the world with his invention of the electric light bulb. Without him, the world might still be a dark place. However, the electric light was not his only invention. He also invented the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and over 1,200 other things. About every two weeks he created something new.

Thomas Edison was born in Milan, Ohio, on February 11, 1847. His family moved to Port Huron, Michigan, when he was seven years old. Surprisingly, he attended school for only two months. His mother, a former teacher, taught him a few things, but Thomas was mostly self-educated. His natural curiosity led him to start experimenting at a young age with electrical and mechanical things at home.

When he was 12 years old, he got his first job. He became a newsboy on a train that ran between Port Huron and Detroit. He set up a laboratory in a baggage car of the train so that he could continue his experiments in his spare time. Unfortunately, his first work experience did not end well. Thomas was fired（解雇）when he accidentally set fire to the floor of the baggage car.

Thomas then worked for five years as a telegraph operator, but he continued to spend much of his time on the job conducting experiments. He got his first patent（专利）in 1868 for a vote recorder run by electricity. However, the vote recorder was not a success. In 1870, he sold another invention, a stock-ticker, for $40,000. A stock-ticker is a machine that automatically prints stock prices on a tape. He was then able to build his first shop in Newark, New Jersey.

Thomas Edison was totally deaf in one ear and hard of hearing in the other, but thought of his deafness as a blessing in many ways. It kept conversations short, so that he could have more time for work. He called himself a "two-shift man" because he worked 16 out of every 24 hours. Sometimes he worked so intensely that his wife had to remind him to sleep and eat.

Thomas Edison died at the age of 84 on October 18, 1931, at his estate in West Orange, New Jersey. He left numerous（大量的）inventions that improved the quality of life all over the world.

54. According to the article, which of the following is in the right order?

A. He became a telegraph operator, a newsboy, and then got his first patent

B. He became a newsboy, got his first patent, and then became a telegraph operator

C. He got a patent, became a telegraph operator, and then became a newsboy

D. He became a newsboy, a telegraph operator, and then got a patent

55. Edison considered his deafness________.

A. a disadvantage              B. a blessing               C. an invention   D. a necessity

56. Of all the inventions, _________ was probably the most important for civilization（文明）.

A. the vote recorder B. the stock ticker  C. the light bulb  D. the motion picture camera

57. The main idea of this passage is that _______.

A. Thomas Edison was always interested in science and inventions, and he invented many important things

B. Thomas Edison could not keep a job

C. Thomas Edison worked day and night on his experiments

D. Deaf people make good inventors because they can focus without the distraction of spoken conversation

Mr Smith was the manager of a hotel in Springfield. One weekend all of the hotels in the city were full because there was a large meeting. Late in the evening three men came into the hotel and asked for rooms. Mr Smith explained that because of the meeting, there were no rooms ready for use. The men were very unhappy because they had no place to stay in.

Mr Smith wanted to help them. He remembered that Room 414, a very small room, was empty. He asked them if they would share a room. The three men agreed. Mr Smith told them that the room would cost $30: $10 for each. Each of them gave Mr Smith $10, and they went up to the room.

Mr Smith soon began to feel sorry. “Thirty dollars is too much for that small room,” he thought. He called one of his men over and said, “Here is $ 5. Bring it to the man in Room 414. I’ve asked too much money for their room.”

The worker took the money from his manager. While he was on his way to Room 414, he started to think, “How can I divide $5? Well, I’ll give each of them only $1 and I keep $2. The men will be happy to get anything back. I’ll make a little money and Mr Smith will never know.” So he returned $1 to each man.

You see, there come a problem, each man had at first paid $10. After the worker returned them $1 each, each man had paid 9. There were three men, $9 x 3 = $27. The worker kept $2 —$27+$2=29. Where is the missing dollar?

72. Which of the following is True?

A. The large meeting was held in this hotel. B. The three men stayed together in one room.

C. Each of the three men got a small room.        D. Room 414 was the office for Mr Smith.

73. Where was the missing dollar?

A. There wasn’t any missing dollar at all.    B. It was taken by the worker too.

C. It was taken by the manager Mr Simith.  D. It was taken by the three men themselves.

74. Put the following sentences in correct order.

a. Three men went into the hotel for a room.      b. Mr Smith felt sorry to have asked for too much.

c. They paid 30 dollars altogether for one room.   d. The worker gave one dollar back to each of them.

e. Mr Smith thought of a small room, still empty.  f. The worker was given 5 dollar to return to them.

A. c→b→e→a→d→f    B. c→d→f→e→a→b  C. a→c→b→e→f→d   D. a→e→c→b→f→d      

75. What is the best title of this text?

A. The Kind Manager.          B. Three Men Came to the Hotel

C. A Strange Maths Problem  D. $27 + $2 = $29

Margaret, married with two small children, has been working for the last seven years as a night cleaner, cleaning offices in a big building.

She trained as a nurse, but had to give it up when her elder child became seriously ill. “I would have liked to go back to it, but the shifts（工作班次）are all wrong for me, as I have to be home to get the children up and off to school.”

So she works as a cleaner instead, from 9 p.m. till 6 a.m. five nights a week for just ￡90, before tax and insurance. “It’s better than it was last year, but I still think that people who work ‘unsocial hours’ should get a bit extra.”

The hours she’s chosen to work mean that she sees plenty of the children, but very little of her husband. However, she doesn’t think that puts any pressure on their relationship.

Her work isn’t physically very hard, but it’s not exactly pleasant, either. “I do get angry with people who leave their offices like a place for raising pigs. If they realized people like me have to do it, perhaps they’d be a bit more careful.”

The fact that she’s working all night doesn’t worry Margaret at all. Unlike some dark buildings at night, the building where she works is fully lit, and the women work in groups of three. “Since I’ve got to be here, I try to enjoy myself—and I usually do, because of the other girls. We all have a good laugh, so the time never drags.”

Another challenge Margaret has to face is the reaction of other people when she tells them what she does for a living. “They think you’re a cleaner because you don’t know how to read and write,” said Margaret. “I used to think what my parents would say if they knew what I’d been doing, but I don’t think that way any more. I don’t dislike the work though I can’t say I’m mad about it.”

56. Margaret quit her job as a nurse because _______.

   A. she wanted to earn more money to support her family

B. she had suffered a lot of mental pressure

C. she felt tired of taking care of patients

D. she needed the right time to look after her children

57.Margaret gets angry with people who work in the office because _______.

A. they never clean their offices                        B. they look down upon cleaners

C. they always make a mess in their offices     D. they never do their work carefully             

58.When at work, Margaret feels _______.

A. light-hearted because of her fellow workers    B. happy because the building is fully lit

C. tired because of the heavy workload          D. bored because time passes slowly

59.The underlined part in the last paragraph implies that Margaret’s parents would _______.

  A. help care for her children                              B. regret what they had said

C. show sympathy for her                                  D. feel disappointed in her

                                   B

I received pictures of my daughter floating (漂浮) on a lake in California. Right there under the sun during the hottest time of the day, she has only her swimsuit to cover her.
    When I showed it to my students, it was as if I had shown them scenes from a horror (恐怖) movie.
    “But she will get dark,” they said.
    “That’s what she wants,” I told them. “We think darker skin (肤色) is beautiful.”
     They looked at me in disbelief. It was as if I came from the moon.
     For years, American girls spend their summer trying to get as tanned (晒黑) as possible. In China, on the other hand, girls use umbrellas all year round.
    What in the world is going on?
    The pale skin we think looks unattractive (不漂亮) is what Asian women want. Both groups want to meet their culture’s standard (标准) of beauty.
    In the US, if you can afford to go on vacation in the summer, you head for a river, a lake or a beach, where you try to get as much sun as possible. If you are rich you take a winter vacation in some sunny spot. Your winter tan shows your wealth.
    In China, once upon a time, the few wealthy were the ones who didn’t have to work out in the hot sun. So the whiter the skin, the richer the woman. The folk opera performers who play these ladies wore lots of white makeup (妆容). The tradition survives to this day.
    So it comes naturally that none of my students wishes to follow the Western ways in this regard.
    But now I am noticing that a new business – the tanning booth (美黑店) – started up in China. I admire those brave enough to define（给…下定义）their own idea of beauty, but I do wonder what their grandmothers would have to say to them about it!

59. The students were shocked at the picture the writer showed them because ______.
   A. they thought it shameful for a girl only to wear a swimsuit 

B. the writer’s daughter was wearing very little while out in the sun

C. it is dangerous for a girl to be out on a lake alone

D. with the powerful sunlight the writer’s daughter would have got a suntan
60. According to the article, which kind of woman meets the American standard of beauty?
   A. Women with blond hair.                                        B. Women with a slim figure.
   C. Women with tanned skin.                                        D. Women with pale skin.
61. In the US a winter tan usually means the person _____.
   A. is hard-working                                           B. doesn’t have to work
   C. has a lot of money and spare time                          D. is from a very poor family
62. The writer ______ the tanning booth started up in China.
   A. is not interested in                                                       B. doesn’t understand
   C. doesn’t like                                                                       D. has mixed feelings about

Read a whole book in English? Me?

Yes, you. Believe it or not that may be easier than you think. Not all classics are too difficult or complicated. So you’re not limited to simplified versions (简写本). And the easier books are not for young children.

Books in their original versions (原著) may send you to the dictionary. And you might not understand everything you read. But reading one from cover to cover will give you a real sense of accomplishment. The key is to find the right books. Let’s take a look at these.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (C.S. Lewis)

Stepping into an old wardrobe, four English schoolchildren find themselves in the magical world of Narnia. In this delightful land, they find friends among the many talking creatures.

The children soon discover, however, that Narnia is ruled by the White Witch. Edmund, one of the children, falls under her power. Who can free Narnia? Only Aslan, the great and noble lion. He alone knows the Deeper Magic. But the children themselves must help fight the battle against the White Witch and those who save her.

The Old Man and the Sea (Ernest Hemingway)

Santiago, an old Cuban fisherman, hasn’t caught any fish in more than 80 days. Sailing far out from land, the old man hooks an enormous fish. That begins an agonizing three-day battle. First he struggles against the great fish. Then he must fight off the sharks that circle the little boat and threaten to eat his fish. Exhausted and bleeding, the old man arrives back at shore. But his fish, his beautiful fish…

Hemingway won the Pulitzer Prize for this superb story of strength and courage, of victory and regret.

A Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine Lingle)

Meg’s father, a US government scientist, has been missing for many months. He had been experimenting with time travel when he mysteriously disappeared.

Now Meg, her little brother Charles Wallace and her friend Calvin will try to rescue him. But first they must outwit the forces of evil they encounter on their journey through time and space. Can they find Meg’s father before it is too late?

This novel is more than just a science-fiction adventure. It’s an exploration of the nature of our universe.

The Pearl (John Steinbeck)

One day Kino, a poor Mexican pearl diver, finds a magnificent pearl. With it he dreams of buying a better life, new clothes and schooling for his son. Instead it brings only evil. His wife pleads with him to get rid of it. “No,” says Kino. “I will have my chance. I am a man.” But when he kills a man who is trying to steal the pearl, Kino and his wife must run for their lives.

This tale of dreams, justice and the power of greed is told simply and beautifully.

The Long Winter (Laura Ingalls Wilder)

It’s winter, 1880-8-1, on American’s northern prairies. Mr. and Mrs. Ingalls and their four girls stay near the kitchen stove to keep warm. Heavy snowstorms cut them off even from neighbors. With the trains stopped, no supplies can reach the town. Food and fuels are running out. Day after day the girls must grind wheat for bread and twist hay to burn. At times they nearly lose the battle to keep their spirits up.

This story provides a fascinating glimpse into the lives of early American settlers.

64. In this passage, the author intends to ________.

A. recommend a few simplified versions of classics

 B. recommend a few original versions of classics

C. tell us how to read an English book from beginning to end

D. tell us how to find proper English books to read

65. In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the White Witch is properly _________.

A. an evil woman with magic power                B. a friendly woman with magic power

C. a delightful talking creature                     D. a powerful lion with magic

66. The underlined word “outwit” in the passage probably means _________.

A. get rid of  B. seize control of        C. beat by being cleverer  D. make the most of

67. A Wrinkle in Time is different from other books mentioned in the passage in that _______.

A. it is not a science-fiction             B. it tells a true story of adventure

C. it provides some scientific knowledge     D. it tells the battle between justice and evil

My father's reaction to the bank building at 43rd Street and Fifth Avenue in New York city was immediate and definite: "You won't catch me putting my money in there!" he declared, "Not in that glass box !"

Of course, my father is a gentleman of the old school, a member of the generation to whom a good deal of modern architecture is upsetting, but I am convinced that his negative response was not so much to the architecture as to a violation of his concept of the nature of money .

In his generation money was thought of as a real commodity (实物)that could be carried, or stolen. Consequently, to attract the custom of a sensible man, a bank had to have heavy walls, barred windows, and bronze（青铜） doors, to affirm the fact, however untrue, that money would be safe inside. If a building's design made it appear impenetrable（难以渗透的）, the institution（公共机构, 协会, 制度）was necessarily reliable, and the meaning of the heavy wall as an architecture symbol dwelt in the prevailing attitude toward money.

But the attitude toward money has, of course, changed. Excepting pocket money, cash of any kind is now rarely used; money as a tangible（切实，实在）commodity has largely been replaced by credit. A deficit (赤字) economy, accompanied by huge expansion, has led us to think of money as product of the creative imagination. The banker no longer offers us a safe: he offers us a service in which the most valuable element is the creativity for the invention of large numbers. It is in no way surprising, in view of this change in attitude, that we are witnessing the disappearance of the heavy-walled bank.

Just as the older bank emphasized its strength, this bank by its architecture boasts of imaginative powers. From this point of view it is hard to say where architecture ends and human assertion (人们的说法)begins.

67. The main idea of this passage is that________  .

A．money is not as valuable as it was in the past

B．changes have taken place in both the appearance and the concept of banks

C．the architectural style of the older bank is superior to that of the modern bank

D．prejudice makes the older generation think that the modern bank is unreliable[来

68. How do the older generation and the younger one think about money?

A．The former thinks more of money than the latter.

B．The younger generation values money more than the older generation.

C．Both generations rely on the imaginative power of bankers to make money.

D．To the former money is a real commodity but to the latter be a means to produce more money.

69. According to this passage, a modern banker should be __________.

A．ambitious and friendly                        B．reliable and powerful

C．sensible and impenetrable                    D．imaginative and creative

70. It can be inferred from the passage that the author's attitude towards the new trend in banking is _______.

A．cautious   B．regretful C．positive    D．hostile(敌意的)

The unquestioned role of a student is to learn as much as possible through whatever means it takes to acquire knowledge. Teachers and professors are human beings and are therefore not perfect. No one knows the correct answer to every question even when you limit the questions to a certain field of study. Having certain skepticism (质疑) about what they are being taught can help students to make the teachers even better by correcting mistakes and misinformation.

Students certainly have a huge role in their own abilities to learn. Teachers should act more as guides along the way rather than try to force each student to learn. The best teachers in the world cannot teach an unmotivated student. If the teacher, for whatever reason, cannot motivate the student, then the student must somehow find a way to motivate himself or herself.

One method of doing this is by becoming an active rather than a passive student. The more the student involves himself or herself in the act of studying, the better he or she can learn. One of the best ways to become more active is simply to ask the teacher or professor questions. Students who passively sit in a classroom and take everything that the teacher says for granted are not fully using their mental capacities to learn.

Better education comes from teachers who are able to get their students to think about a subject rather than merely absorb a certain amount of information. Having a healthy skepticism can improve a student's ability to both think and absorb knowledge in a learning situation.

Teachers are human beings and no one is one hundred percent right all of the time, even in a classroom situation. Perhaps a teacher would simply unconsciously say the wrong word or pass on some misinformation that the teacher truly believed was correct. A student's question could prevent an entire classroom from becoming confused or misinformed.

There is of course a fine balance between a student having a healthy skepticism, and just being a downright skeptic. But with the proper attitude toward learning and a little skepticism, both the students and teachers can improve upon the learning process and maximize learning efficiency.

60. Which of the following is the author's main argument?

A. Passive learning results from passive teaching in class.

B. A student's ability plays a huge role in the learning process.

C. A healthy skepticism fully depends on students' motivation and ability.

D. A healthy skepticism and proper attitude contribute to effective learning.

61. Being passive learners, the students _______________.

    A. use little of their mental ability while studying

    B. seldom involve themselves completely in learning

    C. can hardly tell the right from the wrong in class

    D. simply ask their teachers questions without thinking

62. According to the passage, a good teacher should _________.

A. help the unmotivated students patiently

B. instruct students in the learning process

C. make no mistakes in the teaching process

D. answer all the questions raised by students

Now，it's time for some brief news items.

Teens Go Online

Some 13 million European children under 18 use the Internet for schoolwork，games and music according to a research done by Nielsen's“Net-rating”．The study covered Britain，Germany，France，Italy and Spain. Experts advised parents to limit the time their kids spend on line and keep them away from chat rooms.

Chat to the Magic Mum

British author J. K. Rowling, mother of the magic boy Harry Potter, will do an Internet interview about her new book Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on June 26. Before the event，children are invited to send their questions about Harry Potter to the website. The book will hit stores in the US and UK on June 21and will arrive in China in August.

School Soldiers

Russian school students will have to do basic military training in their final year of school，the government has decided. The lesson will include learning to fire guns,marching drills and how to deal with a chemical，nuclear or biological attack. The activity is seen as part of a drive  toward the education of their love for their country.

Orlando，＿＿＿＿

Is it hard for you to get up early and get ready for classes? Some students at Winter Park High School just roll out of bed in their pajamas（睡衣）and go to class in their own bedrooms. Of course, their teachers and classmates do not see them because all their classwork is on the computer.

The Florida High School

The state's only online school has 250 students who are taking classes at home by computer. Students in this first online program take classes in algebra，American government，chemistry， computer, economics， and web page design. They also have to go to regular school to attend other classes.

63 .In the first news item，which country is NOT covered in the research?

 A. Britain.       B. France.          C. Sweden.          D. Spain.

64. Why will Russian school students have basic military training?

 A. To get ready for a military parade.  B. To learn to protect themselves.

C. To gain some military knowledge.  D. To develop their love for the country.

65. The news from Orlando can be given a title“＿＿＿＿＿＿”．

  A. Get Up Late                        B. Online School

  C. Magical Computers                  D. No Teachers

66. About the Florida High School，which of these statements is true?

A. Some of the students have to attend classes at home instead of' in the school.

B. There are altogether 250 students who take classes in the classrooms.

C. As the state's only online school，it has 250 students who take classes by computer.

D. Students can't take classes in algebra，American government，chemistry computer and so on.