An “apple polisher” is one who gives gifts to win friendship or special treatment. It is not exactly a bribe(贿赂), but is close to it.
All sorts of people are apple polishers, including politicians and people in high offices—just about everybody. Oliver Cromwell, the great English leader, offered many gifts to win the support of George Fox and his party, but failed.
There are other phrases meaning the same thing as “apple-polishing”—“soft-soaping” or “buttering-up”. A gift is just one way to “soft-soap” somebody, or to “butter him up”. Another that is just as effective is flattery, giving someone high praise—telling him how good he looks, or how well he speaks, or how talented and wise he is.
Endless are the ways of flattery. Who does not love to hear it? Only an unusual man can resist the thrill of being told how wonderful he is. In truth, flattery is good medicine for most of us, who get so little of it.
We need it to be more sure of ourselves. It cannot hurt unless we get carried away by it. But if we just lap it up for its food value and nourishment, as a cat laps up milk, then we can still remain true to ourselves.
Sometimes, however, flattery will get you nothing from one who has had too much of it. A good example is the famous 12th century legend of King Canute of Denmark and England. The king got tired of listening to endless sickening flattery of his courtiers(朝臣). They overpraised him to the skies, as a man of limitless might.
He decided to teach them a lesson. He took them to the seashore and sat down. Then he ordered the waves to stop coming in. The tide was too busy to listen to him. The king was satisfied. This might show his followers how weak his power was and how empty their flattery.
【小题1】Which of the following activities has nothing to do with “apple-polishing”?

President Bush’s dogs often play on the White House lawn（草坪）, but did you know that he also has cows and a cat? His cat is named India. India, also called “Willie”, has lived with the Bush family for more than ten years! On his farm in Crawford, Texas, he keeps a cow called Ofelia named after a person who worked with him when he worked in Texas.

Past Presidents brought many interesting animals to the White House. The wife of John Quincy Adams, the sixth President, had silkworms. Herbert Hoover, the 31^st President, had an opossum（负鼠）. And Calvin Coolidge, the 30^th President, had a raccoon（浣熊）named Rebecca.

Theodore Roosevelt, the 26^th President, was famous for his many pets. His six kids had snakes, dogs, cats, a badger, birds, guinea pigs, and more. Once, Roosevelt’s son Quentin borrowed some snakes from a pet store. Running to show his father, Quentin interrupted an important meeting and dropped the snakes all over his father’s desk!

During World War Ⅰ, Woodrow Wilson, the 28^th President, kept some sheep on the White House lawn. He did this so the First Family would appear to be supporting the war effort. The sheep’s help was great. They ate the lawn and the sheep’s wool was auctioned （拍卖）to raise money for the American Red Cross.

Some of the more unusual U.S. Presidents’ pets have been gifts from other world leaders. James Buchanan received some elephants from Thailand. The Sultan of Oman gave Martin Van Buren a pair of tigers.

But even the more common pets have had an unusual time at the White House. Warren Harding, the 29^th President, and his family had a birthday party for their dog Laddie Boy. They invited other dogs and served a dog biscuit cake.

What’s next? A White House zoo?

60. What do we know about President Bush’s pets?

A. A horse is his favorite pet.

B. Willie was named after a person.

C. India has lived with him for a long time.

D. Ofelia was raised on the White House lawn.

61. Who raised an interesting animal called Rebecca in the White House?

A. Herbert Hoover            B. Woodrow Wilson

C. Calvin Coolidge           D. James Buchanan

62. According to the passage, what happened to President Theodore Roosevelt?

A. His pets were a great help to the American Red Cross.

B. He was once disturbed by his son when he was working

C. His wife once sent him an opossum in order to please him.

D. He received a pair of tigers as a gift from Oman’s leader.

63. According to the passage, who held a party for his pet dog?

A. The 6^th President           B. The 31^st President

C. The 26^th President.         D. The 29^th President.

Sleep is something we all do. But some people need to sleep more than others. Babies sleep most of the time. Children in school sleep about ten to twelve hours a night. Most grown-ups sleep only seven or eight hours.      

All parts of our bodies have to rest after they work. Our arms need a rest after we lift heavy things. When we run fast, our legs work hard. They get tired. We have to rest them. Our brains work hard, too.     72      We can sit quite still and rest our arms and legs. But our brains aren’t resting. They go right on thinking as long as we are awake.

Our brains slow down a bit when we sleep and dream.    Instead of thinking wide-awake thought, our brains make up dreams. Some dreams are very pleasing. Some are not. Most of the time we forget them when we wake up.

Scientists have tried to find out what would happen if people were not allowed to sleep. They asked some people not to go to bed. The people stayed up all night and all the next day. They stayed up the next night, too and the day after. They played games. But they made mistakes. They forgot things.      . The people grew rude and mean. They became angry with their friends. Finally they were too tired to stand up. The moment they sat down, they fell asleep.

Scientists found that if people are not allowed to sleep, they act in an unusual way.

        But we do know that we need it to stay well.

So tonight have a good sleep. Lie down under the covers. Shut your eyes. Let your thoughts travel about. Soon you’ll stop thinking. You’ll be asleep.

A. But even as we sleep our brains are doing some work.

B. It was hard for their tired brains to work.

C. When we are awake, they help us pay attention to the world around us.

D. No one knows quite surely why sleep is so good for us.

E. Good sleep helps to improve one’s memory.

F. But babies, children and grown-ups ----all of us need to have our sleep.

World Wrestling Entertainment is the largest professional wrestling organization in North America. It was called World Wrestling Federation until it changed its name because of a legal dispute. Its more than one hundred wrestlers fight each other in competitive matches that are written and practiced before they are performed.

Professional wrestlers are athletes but act as entertainers. They are not seeking athletic records, but instead want to excite an audience. To do this, they use unusual names and wear special clothing during wrestling matches. These wrestlers include the Stone Cold Stunner and the Undertaker.

Most professional wrestling matches are between two men or two women. They fight inside an area called a ring that is separated from the audience by ropes. Each match continues until one wrestler forces the other's shoulders to the floor and holds them there for a count of three. Most World Wrestling Entertainment matches continue for only about four to seven minutes.

An organization official called a promoter decides before the match who will win. But who wins and who loses is not the important thing in professional wrestling. The important thing is that the audience enjoys the pretend fight. Some wrestlers rarely win, but continue to be popular.

Not all wrestling matches are between two people. Some are called tag team matches and involve teams of two, three or four wrestlers. Another kind of match is called a battle royal. It involves thirty to sixty wrestlers competing against each other. A wrestler loses when he or she is thrown out of the ring. The winner is the last wrestler still standing.

Why did World Wrestling Federation change its name?

  A. Because audience didn’t like it.

  B. Because maybe there was another name similar to it.

  C. Because they wanted their name more unusual.

  D. Because the name was out of date.

Professional wrestlers’ main aim is to _______.

   A. excite the audience    B. make a record  

C. win a prize           D. win the match

As a whole, the third paragraph is _______.

  A. entertaining   B. descriptive   C. instructive   D. persuasive

Which of the following statements is right according to the passage?

  A. All professional wrestling matches are between two men or two women. 

  B. The wrestler who loses the match will lose popularity.

  C. Wrestlers usually wear special clothing to look funny.

  D. A wrestler who is thrown out of the ring will lose the match in all wrestling matches.

Disposing of the garbage we produce every day is a major problem in cities around the world. In the United States, over 160 million tons of garbage is produced every year. Ten percent is recycled, ten percent is burned, and the rest is put in landfills. But finding land for new landfills is becoming more difficult.

A city that has solved this problem in an unusual way is Machida in Tokyo. They have developed a totally new way of dealing with garbage. The key to the operation is that people should work together. Families must divide their garbage into six groups:

    The items in Groups 1 to 5 are collected on different days. Large items are only collected upon request. Then the garbage is taken to a centre that looks like a clean new office building or hospital. Inside the centre, special equipment is used to sort and deal with garbage. Almost everything can be reused: garden or kitchen trash becomes fertilizer; garbage that can burn is burned to produce electricity; metal containers and bottles are recycled; and old furniture, clothing, and other useful items are cleaned, repaired, and resold cheaply or given away. The work provides employment for the disabled and gives them a chance to learn new skills.

Nowadays, officials from cities around the world visit Machida to see whether they can use some of these ideas and techniques to solve their own garbage problems.

1. Each year people in the U.S.A. have to find places to put in _______ million tons of garbage.

A.160           B.128               C.16                    D.32

2.George’s family has the following garbage: wooden chairs, empty tins and branches. Into which group should he put the garbage?

A. Group 6, Group 5, Group 1.           B. Group 1, Group 3, Group 2.

C. Group 6, Group 5, Group 2.           D. Group 6, Group 4, Group 1.

3. From the text we know that ________ .

A. those who are working at the garbage disposal centre are disabled persons.

B. without people’s cooperation, the garbage disposal project would be a failure.

C. the items in Group1 and Group6 are not collected on the same day.

D. the garage is taken to a clean new office building for disposal.