His behavior at the party last night seemed rather_______. Many of us were quite

surprised.

—Did you know any French before you arrived in Washington?

—Never ____ it, actually. 

This type of bamboo grows very fast and it will take only three to five years _____ it can be used in various fields .

I am sorry that I’ve failed to translate this poem but Shakespeare’s English is just _____me.

TV talk shows have covered every inch of space on daytime television . And everyone , who watches them _____ , knows that each one is different in style .

He, an average citizen, always thinks of_____ he can do more for the people．

Long long ago, there was a small village. This village had a  36   tradition. At the beginning of every year, any boy who had reached the age of majority (成年) was given land and money to build a home. The boy had to  37  his home before winter. If his home failed to endure the cold weather in winter, the villagers could not  38   him in any way．

One _39_, Paul and Marc reached their majority. They  40  their land and money and decided to search nearby villages for ideas on building their homes．In each village, they found the nicest  41  and talked to the owners. Each owner gladly offered  42 ．

After Marc saw several homes, he  43  the best ideas and went back to his own land. Paul, _44_, continued collecting more ideas. Soon he had so many great ideas that he began to  45  some of them. But he always believed he could find even better ideas in the next village．

Marc began building his home. He had several false starts,  46   his home gradually rose from his land. By fall, Marc had finished his home. It wasn't perfect, but it was strong and he could  47  it later. Paul enjoyed all the beautiful homes and 48  with home owners. The first snow came and Paul, realizing he was running out of time, 49   back to his land. He built the best home he could in the time he had, but it was 50  .The first winter storm destroyed his home and he froze to  51 ．The villagers mourned for him．

Marc  52  the winter．Each year, Marc searched for other good ideas he could use to make his own home look better. He became a leader in the village, 53  a family, and lived a happy, content life．

We all build and improve our own mental homes. It’s  54   and fun for us to search for ideas from other mental home owners, but we only improve our own mental home if we actually  55  the best ideas．

I began working in journalism when I was eight. It was my mother’s idea. She wanted me to “make something” of myself, and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition.

With my load of magazines I headed toward Belleville Avenue. The crowds were there. There were two gas stations on the corner of Belleville and Union. For several hours I made myself highly visible, making sure everyone could see me and the heavy black letters on the bag that said THE SATURDAY EVENING POST. When it was suppertime, I walked back home.

“ How many did you sell, my boy?” my mother asked.

“ None.”

“ Where did you go?”

“ The corner of Belleville and Union Avenues.”

“ What did you do?”

“ Stood on the corner waiting for somebody to buy a Saturday Evening Post.”

“ You just stood there?”

“ Didn’t sell a single one.”

“ My God, Russell!”

Uncle Allen put in, “ Well, I’ve decided to take the Post.” I handed him a copy and he paid me a nickel. It was the first nickel I earned.

Afterwards my mother taught me how to be a salesman. I would have to ring doorbells, address adults with self-confidence, and persuade them by saying that no one, no matter how poor, could afford to be without the Saturday Evening Post in the home.

One day, I told my mother I’d changed my mind. I didn’t want to make a success in the magazine business.

“ If you think you can change your mind like this,” she replied, “ you’ll become a good-for-nothing.” She insisted that, as soon as school was over, I should start ringing doorbells, selling magazines. Whenever I said no, she would scold me.

My mother and I had fought this battle almost as long as I could remember. My mother, dissatisfied with my father’s plain workman’s life, determined that I would not grow up like him and his people. But never did she expect that, forty years later, such a successful journalist as me would go back to her husband’s people for true life and love.

1.Why did the boy start his job young?

2.From the dialogue between the boy and his mother, we learn that the mother was _______.

3.What did the mother do when the boy wanted to give up?

4.What is the text mainly about?

Compulsive（强迫的）shoppers may have a new psychological excuse to blame for their wild shopping. Psychologists at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand are studying the “shop-till-you-drop” habit as a behavioral disorder similar to compulsive eating. Compulsive shoppers frequently buy more than they can afford or more than they need, and it causes them distress(苦恼).

“It becomes a problem when you are out of control,” psychology lecturer Neville Blampied said. “When you are feeling bad and blue, what do you do? Some people eat chocolate cake and ice cream. Some people take the credit card and go out to the shop.” Bank managers understand the problem because they have to deal with people who have to be persuaded to stop using their cards drawing money.

Compulsive shopping was first discovered in 1915, although it was then known as monomania. Few studies have been done on the problem.

An advertisement in a Christchurch paper, calling for people to take part in an experimental treatment program designed by Mr. Wilson, attracted 10 replies. But the problem, said Mr. Wilson, is “clearly not rare”. He thinks that compulsive shopping should be treated with drugs. “As psychologists we are interested in non-drug treatments for behavioral difficulties,” Mr. Wilson said.

Compulsive eaters or shoppers get a kick from their habit. “Both activities provide an immediate kind of kick and you feel a bit better,” he said. “You have long-term problems, but human beings are extremely good at not seeing long-term problems and are very sensitive to short-term benefits,” he said.

The aim of the treatment was to help people find better ways of managing their emotions. The program, consisting of 10 one-hour weekly lessons and two follow-up treatments, is loosely based on teaching stress management.

“You often have to start to get people to correctly recognize their emotions. Not being able to know what you really feel weakens your ability to solve the problems connected with what’s making you feel that way,” Mr. Wilson said.

1.The compulsive shoppers will go shopping when ______.

2.The underlined word “it” in the first paragraph most probably refers to __________.

3.Which of the following is considered important in treating compulsive shoppers?

4.When the writer says that compulsive shoppers get a kick from their habit, he means that they __________.

Students who want to study in the United States may find that their chances for financial aid are limited. They often have to pay for their education with their own savings or their family's money.

A recent report from the Institute of International Education in New York looked at 2008-2009 school year.

Colleges and universities in the United States had more than half a million foreign students. 63% of them paid for school mostly by themselves or with family help. 26% percent were supported by the school they attended.

There are other sources of financial aid for international students. These include a student's home government or university, or the United States government. Private sponsors, international organizations and employers may also provide support. Yet during the last school year, not many students were able to depend on any of these other sources. Current employers provided the most help. Still, they represented the main support for just four percent of international students.

Those at the graduate level, however, are more likely than undergraduates to receive financial aid in the United States. More than 80% percent of foreign undergraduates depended mostly on personal and family money to pay for school last year. The same was true of less than half of graduate students. Most of the others received financial aid from their college or university in the United States.

A list of American schools that offer financial aid to foreign students can be found at a useful Web site. The address is edupass.org. This site also provides information about scholarship programs. But it warns foreign students not to pay if there is any charge for scholarship application forms. You could be cheated out of your money.

1.Most foreign students depend on _______ to pay for their education.

2.How many sources of financial aid are mentioned in the text?

3.Which of the following statements is true according to the text?

4.The text mainly talks about ________.