People in communities have slowly been pushed apart through the years, mostly because people simply aren’t taking the time to say a simple “hello”. After considering this phenomenon, I decided I was going to change the way I got on    1.   others.

My opportunity came one morning when I was in the community library. I passed by a girl   2.   dropped her books out of her locker.   3.    (think) that someone else would help her pick them up, I continued   4.   way. However, when I had to go back   5.   I forgot my book, I noticed she had just finished picking them up by herself. No one had stopped  6.    (help) her.

  “OK,” I thought to myself, “this is where I should have changed.”

     My best opportunity came a few days later when I saw a man sitting by himself waiting for the library to open, so I sat down next to him and   7.   (begin) a conversation.   8.   was difficult to get started ,and even when I had to say goodbye, almost every response from my new friend had a tone (语气) of doubt in it .And who could blame him?

People aren’t used to making   9.   unprepared chat with a stranger. But a change, no matter how desperately it is needed, doesn’t just happen. It takes people like us to make it possible. I advise you to take a small step out of your comfort zone and try to make someone’s day a little   10.  

(bright) .Together, we can really make our society come closer as a whole.

From good reading we can derive pleasure, companionship, experience, and instruction. A good book may absorb our attention so completely that for the time being we forget our surroundings and even our identity. Reading good books is one of the greatest pleasures in life. It increases our contentment when we are cheerful, and lessens our troubles when we are sad. Whatever may be our main purpose in reading, our contact with good books should never fail to give us enjoyment and satisfaction.
With a good book in our hands we need never be lonely. Whether the characters portrayed are taken from real life or are purely imaginary, they may become our companions and friends. In the pages of books we can walk with the wise and the good of all lands and all times. The people we meet in books may delight us either because they resemble human friends whom we hold dear or because they present unfamiliar types whom we are glad to welcome as new acquaintances. Our human friends sometimes may bore us, but the friends we make in books need never weary us with their company. By turning the page we can dismiss them without any fear of hurting their feelings. When human friends desert us, good books are always ready to give us friendship, sympathy, and encouragement. One of the most valuable gifts bestowed by books is experience. Few of us can travel far from home or have a wide range of experiences, but all of us can lead varied lives through the pages of books. Whether we wish to escape from the seemingly dull realities of everyday life or whether we long to visit some far-off place, a book will help us when nothing else can. To travel by book we need no bank account to pay our way; no airship or ocean liner or stream-lined train to transport us; no passport to enter the land of our heart's desire. Through books we may get the thrill of hazardous adventure without danger. We can climb lofty mountains, brave the perils of an Antarctic winter, or cross the scorching sands of the desert, all without hardship. In books we may visit the studios of Hollywood; we may mingle with the gay throngs of the Paris boulevards; we may join the picturesque peasants in an Alpine village or the kindly natives on a South Sea island. Indeed, through books the whole world is ours for the asking. The possibilities of our literary experiences are almost unlimited. The beauties of nature, the enjoyment of music, the treasures of art, the triumphs of architecture, the marvels of engineering, are all open to the wonder and enjoyment of those who read.
【小题1】Why is it that we sometimes forget our surroundings and even our identity while reading?

Mr. Peter Johnson, aged twenty-three, battled for half an hour to escape from his trapped car yesterday when it landed upside down in three feet of water. Mr. Johnson took the only escape route—through the boot(行李箱).

Mr. Johnson’s car had finished up in a ditch(沟渠) at Romney Marsin, Kent after skidding on ice and hitting a bank. “Fortunately, the water began to come in only slowly,” Mr. Johnson said. “I couldn’t force the doors because they were jammed against the walls of the ditch and dared not open the windows because I knew water would come flooding in.”

Mr. Johnson, a sweet salesman of Sitting Home, Kent, first tried to attract the attention of other motorists by sounding the horn and hammering on the roof and boot. Then he began his struggle to escape.

Later he said, “It was really a half penny that saved my life. It was the only coin I had in my pocket and I used it to unscrew the back seat to get into the boot. I hammered desperately with a hammer trying to make someone hear, but no help came.”

It took ten minutes to unscrew the seat, and a further five minutes to clear the sweet samples from the boot. Then Mr. Johnson found a wrench and began to work on the boot lock. Fifteen minutes passed by. “It was the only chance I had. Finally it gave, but as soon as I moved the boot lid, the water and mud poured in. I forced the lid down into the mud and scrambled clear as the car filled up.”

 His hands and arms cut and bruised(擦伤), Mr. Johnson got to Beckett Farm nearby, where he was looked after by the farmer’s wife, Mrs. Lucy Bates. Huddled in a blanket, he said, “That thirty minutes seemed like hours.” Only the tips of the car wheels were visible, police said last night. The vehicle had sunk into two feet of mud at the bottom of the ditch.

What is the best title for this newspaper article?

A. The Story of Mr. Johnson, A Sweet Salesman

B. Car Boot Can Serve As The Best Escape Route

C. Driver Escapes Through Car Boot

D. The Driver Survived A Terrible Car Accident

Which of the following objects is the most important to Mr. Johnson?

A. The hammer.                   B. The coin.

C. The screw.                             D. The horn.

Which statement is true according to the passage?

A. Mr. Johnson’s car stood on its boot as it fell down.

B. Mr. Johnson could not escape from the door because it was full of sweet jam.

C. Mr. Johnson’s car accident was partly due to the slippery road.

D. Mr. Johnson struggled in the pouring mud as he unscrewed the back seat.

“Finally it gave” (Paragraph 5) means that _______. 

A. Luckily the door was torn away in the end

B. At last the wrench went broken

C. The lock came open after all his efforts

D. The chance was lost at the last minute

It may be inferred from the passage that _______. 

A. the ditch was along a quiet country road

B. the accident happened on a clear warm day

C. the police helped Mr. Johnson get out of the ditch

D. Mr. Johnson had a tender wife and was well attended

FFather was a hardworking man who delivered bread as a living to support his wife and three children. He spent all his evenings after work attending classes，hoping to improve himself so that he could one day find a better. paid job. Except. for Sundays, Father hardly ate a meal together with his family. He worked and studied very hard because he wanted to provide his family with the best that money could buy.
Whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them, he reasoned that he was doing all this for them. Though he often longed to spend more time with his family, he weighed his contribution to his family above everything else.
The day came when the examination results were announced. To his joy, Father passed, and with distinctions too! Soon after, he was offered a good job as a senior supervisor which paid handsomely.
Like a dream come true, Father could now afford to provide his family with life’s little luxuries like nice clothing，fine food and vacation abroad.
However, the family still did not get to see Father for most of the week. He continued to work very hard, hoping to be promoted to the position of manager. In fact, to make himself a worthily candidate for the promotion, he took another course in an open university.
Again, whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them, he reasoned that he was doing all this for them. Though he often longed to spend more time with his family, he weighed his contribution to his family above everything else.
Father’s hard work paid off and he was promoted. Happily, he decided to hire a maid to relieve his wife from her domestic tasks. He also felt that their three-room flat was no longer big enough. It would be nice for his family to be able to enjoy the facilities and comfort of a condominium.  Having experienced the rewards of his hard work many times before, Father resolved to further his studies and work at being promoted again. The family still did not get to see much of him. In fact, sometimes Father had to work on Sundays entertaining clients.
 Over again, whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them, he reasoned that he was doing all this for them. Though he often longed to spend more time with his family, he weighed his contribution to his family above everything else.
As expected, Father's hard work paid off again and he bought a beautiful condominium overlooking the coast of Singapore. On the first Sunday evening at their new home, Father declared to his family that he decided not to take any more courses or pursue any more promotions. From then on he was going to devote more time to
his family, and it was a promise.
Father did not wake up the next day.
【小题1】Father worked and studied very hard because ________.

It used to be that Christmas, with a little help from Blue Peter, was about adding the personal touch. We'd sit there for hours making cards and gifts for family and friends, knowing that the thought put into them would be properly appreciated.

Nowadays, time is against us, but there is still one easy way for you to make someone's Christmas this year — a personalised card from M＆S’ new website. To celebrate their new site, M＆S is offering Times readers two-for-one on all cards. Simply choose one of the 300 exclusive（独家的）Christmas designs — starting from￡1. 99, personalise it by changing the name and writing a message or uploading a photo. Then, add the receiver’s address and the card will be sent for you. Order by 2pm and it will be posted the same day.

In all, there are l,500 card designs to choose from, covering all kinds of special occasions. So if you want to get ahead of yourself for 2010, you know where to visit. You can even choose to be reminded of those important dates every year.

To claim your two-for-one on M＆S personalized cards, simply visit marksandspencer-personalised.com. Remember to enter the code ‘TIMESFRI’ on the payment page.  This code is available for two days.  

TERMS AND CONDITIONS：M＆S PERSONALISED CARDS

1. The product given for free must be of equal or lower value.

2. Payment of postage is required.

3. Marks ＆ Spencer reserves the right to take back this offer without prior（预先）notice.

64. What does the underlined part “two-for-one”（in Paragraph 3）mean in the ad？

A. Two paid cards and one free card.

B. One paid card and two free cards.

C. Your name and a message on one card.

D. Your photo and the receiver’s on one card.

65. From the ad we can know that M＆S is most probably           .

A. a website selling Christmas cards only

B. an agency of the newspaper Times

C. a company promoting the sales of cards

D. an advertising agency of card producers

66. To order the product for your friends now, you should           .

A. enter a code on the payment page of M＆S’ website

B. always order it before two o’clock in the afternoon

C. put into the card your own date of birth and address

D. spend time making cards with the help of Blue Peter

67. According to the ad, if you order the Christmas cards,          .

A. they can be delivered free of charge

B. you can enjoy the special offer all the year round

C. their value may be lower than that of a free card

D. you can get a favor of at least ￡1. 99