As kids, my friends and I spent a lot of time out in the woods． “The woods” was our part-time address, destination, purpose, and excuse． If I went to a friends house and found him not at home, his mother might say, “Oh, he’s out in the woods, ” with a tone（语气） of airy acceptance． It is similar to the tone people sometimes use nowadays to tell me that someone I’m looking for is on the golf course or at the gym, or even “away from his desk．” For us ten-year-olds, “being out in the woods” was just an excuse to do whatever we feel like for a while．

We sometimes told ourselves that what we were doing in the woods was exploring（探索）． Exploring was a more popular idea back then than it is today． History seemed to be mostly about explorers． Our explorations, though, seemed to have less system than the historic kind: something usually came up along the way． Say we stayed in the woods, throwing rocks, shooting frogs, picking blackberries, digging in what we were briefly persuaded was an Indian burial mound．

Often we got “lost” and had to climb a tree to find out where we were． If you read a story in which someone does that successfully, be skeptical: the topmost branches are usually too skinny to hold weight, and we could never climb high enough to see anything except other trees． There were four or five trees that we visited regularly—tall beeches, easy to climb and comfortable to sit in．

It was in a tree, too, that our days of fooling around in the woods came to an end． By then some of us had reached seventh grade and had begun the rough ride of adolescence（青春期）． In March, the month when we usually took to the woods again after winter, two friends and I set out to go exploring． We climbed a tree, and all of a sudden it occurred to all three of us at the same time that we really were rather big to be up in a tree． Soon there would be the spring dances on Friday evenings in the high school cafeteria．

1． The author and his friends were often out in the woods to _______．

　 A． spend their free time　　　　 B． play golf and other sports

　 C． avoid doing their schoolwork　 D． keep away from their parents

2． What can we infer from Paragraph 2 ?

　 A． The activities in the woods were well planned．

　 B． Human history is not the result of exploration．

　 C． Exploration should be a systematic activity．

　 D． The author explored in the woods aimlessly．

3． The underlined word “skeptical” in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ______．

　 A． calm　　　　 　　　 　　　　　 B． doubtful　　 　 　

　 C． serious　　　 　 　　　　　　 D． optimistic

4． How does the author feel about his childhood?

　 A． Happy but short．　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B． Lonely but memorable．

　 C． Boring and meaningless．　　　 D． Long and unforgettable．

____two exams to worry about , I have to work really hard this weekend .

A .With B .Besides C .As for D .Because of

Not until the train pulled into the next station ______ her suitcase gone.

A. Mary had found　　　　　　　 B. had Mary found?

C. did Mary find　　　　　　　　　　 D. Mary found

I still remember the day 　　　 she first wore that pink dress.

　 A．on which　　　 B．on that　 C．in which　　　 　 D．which

A good friend of mine from  ______ I was born showed up at my home right before I left for Beijing.
A. how                   B. whom
C. when                  D. which

How has smoking been controlled in recent years?

People were asked to stop smoking in a range of public places—such as doctors' surgeries，cinemas，theatres and churches—over the second half of the 20th century but it was after the King's Cross Underground fire on November 18,1987，caused by a cigarette end which resulted in 31 deaths，that restrictions on smoking in public places gained rapid and widespread acceptance.

How did a ban on smoking in public places come into place?

In 1998 the Smoking Kills White Paper set out a national strategy to reduce smoking prevalence(流行)and passive smoking，including in public places.The measures were voluntary and poorly carried out.After a public conference in England in 2004，the Government decided to choose for lawmaking.Scotland went first，with a ban in 2006，followed by the other nations a year later.

What is the current law?

Any person who smokes in enclosed public places，including pubs，offices，on public transport and work vehicles，is breaking the law.It does not extend to private houses.It is also an offence for people in charge of premises to permit others to smoke in them.

How was it received?

It was welcomed by most organizations—except for some pub owners and restaurateurs.Many workplaces in the UK had already introduced smoke?free policies consistent with the legislation(法律，法规)before it was carried out，while others have gone beyond its basic requirements.

All railway facilities，including platforms，footbridges and other areas—whether or not fitting the definition of an enclosed public space—are covered，as are all football grounds and some cricket and athletics stadiums.School grounds are not required to be smoke?free under the legislation，but the majority now are.

How has it been forced?

Compliance(服从)in public premises has been high，with inspections suggesting that 99 percent of places were sticking to the rules.The number of people charged for smoking in cars has been very low，which was due to the problems defining and identifying “work” vehicles.They said that a total ban on smoking in vehicles would end this confusion.

Has it improved health?

Studies in early adopters of the law，including in Scotland，suggest a reduction in hospital admissions for heart disease，which has been shown to be linked to passive smoking.There is also strong evidence of improved rates of smoking end and a drop in the number of cigarettes consumed by those who continue to smoke.

1．When did the first law come out to ban smoking in public places?

A．1987.　　　 B．1998.　　 C．2004.　　 D．2006.

2．Which of the following behaviors may NOT be against the law?

A．Jack often smokes in the office when he is alone.

B．A taxi driver is smoking with a lady in his car.

C．Tom smokes while thinking of his future at home.

D．Max smokes for relaxation during time?out in the stadium.

3．Who might feel unhappy about the law according to the article?

A．A restaurant owner.　　　　　 B．A company manager.

C．A car owner.　　　　　　　　 D．A policy maker.

4．What can you infer from the article?

A．Most heart diseases have been proved to be linked to passive smoking.

B．A new law will soon come out with a total ban on smoking in vehicles.

C．The 1987 fire has convinced more people that smoking is bad for health.

D．Most of the school grounds are not smoke?free，as it is not banned in the law.

Crystal, one of my classmates, came into my class last year．Honestly, she was unfavorably impressed (给……留下印象) on me in the beginning．She was short and had fairly dark skin．She was just sitting in front of me．She didn’t say much, and yet I almost always saw smiles on her face every day．I hardly spoke to her for about one week since she joined us．Anyone else in my class didn’t, either, but it seemed that she never paid attention to this．She always smiled at everyone．

One day, we all studied overtime．“It is raining again! What a day!” someone complained (抱怨)．Turning around, she said, “Do you have an umbrella, Jenny?” “No,” I answered．Then she was out of the classroom．After a while, I saw her entering the classroom with an umbrella in her hand．She walked up to me．“Here you are! And the rain is heavy now．You’d better wait a second, otherwise you’ll get drenched to the skin,” she said and gave her face a wipe ．I stood up beside the desk and couldn’t say anything at that moment．I was very uneasy．“Th-th-thank you,” I said after some minutes．She gave me a bright smile．