As we all know sewing-machine(缝纫机) repair is one of the fastest growing businesses in the world today.Newspapers,women’s magazines,high schools and colleges are all encouraging millions of American women to do their own sewing,not only to make their own shirts and sweaters,but also to make nice clothes for their husbands,sons,or boyfriends.The lates figures(数字) show that over 89 million American women,because of the high costs of ready-to-wear clothing are now making almost all of their families’ clothes.Most of these women get great satisfaction from making the family clothes on their own sewing machines.So it is natural that the demand(要求) for excellent service of sewing machines is growing.

Think of it! 89 million or more sewing machines,not including another 10 million sewing machines in schools of all kinds,need service at least once a year,and quite possibly four or more times each year.I know some women who return their sewing machines to repairmen time after time to get them fixed properly.I’ve seen sewing machines come out of repair shops in worse condition than they were when they went in.

So I’ve decided to write an introduction book to sewing-machine repair and teach people how to repair their own sewing machines at home.It’s not that difficult.In the book,I will teach you everything you need to know about how to repair your sewing machine.

The author wrote the passage to        .

  A.teach women to repair their sewing machines.

  B.explain his or her purpose in writing the book

  C.introduce the reasons for doing one’s own sewing

  D.tell us that sewing-machine repair is a fast-growing business

American women make clothes by themselves because        .

  A.they cannot buy the clothes they see in magazines

  B.their husbands or boyfriends want them to do so

  C.ready-to-wear clothes cost a great deal of money

  D.they can’t get great satisfaction from buying clothes

We learn from the passage that sewing machines        .

  A.aren’t very difficult to be repaired

  B.cannot work well after one year

  C.don’t easily get broken

  D.need service 4 times a month

It can be inferred from the passage that        .

  A.the book will also show you how to make nice clothes

  B.there are not enough sewing-machine-repair shops in America

  C.over 99 million sewing machines need service at least once a year

  D.the demand for excellent service of sewing machines grows the fastest in America

HOUSTON (Reuters) — Houston tops a U.S. magazine’s annual fattest cities list for the fourth time in five years, with four other Texas cities in the top 25.

　　Fast food restaurants — Houston has twice the national average number — are partly to blame for the dishonor, Men’s Fitness editor-in-chief Neal Boulton said.

　　“Americans work long hours, don’t take vacations, and when they’re faced with the worst food choices, they indulge (沉溺于) in those,” he said.

　　High humidity, poor air quality and some of the nation’s longest commute (每天去上班的路程) times also helped Texas’ most populous city unseat Detroit, the 2003 heavy weight champion, the magazine said.

　　Houston Mayor Bill White, who has worked with a major food company to develop healthy food products and the city’s public schools to improve lunch menus, called the report “mostly ungrounded and nonsense.”

　　“On the other hand, it calls attention to real issues the mayor is trying to deal with,” his spokesman, Frank Michel, said.

　　The magazine said it looked at factors such as the number and types of restaurants, park space, air quality, weather and the number of health clubs.

　　Philadelphia, Detroit, Memphis, Tennessee, and Chicago followed Houston on the seventh edition of the fat list. Texas cities Dallas, San Antonio, Fort Worth and El Paso were in the top 14, which Boulton said was no surprise.

　　“It’s pure big indulgence, just living big, and that’s part of the culture,” said Boulton.

　　Seattle ranked as the fittest city. Austin and Arlington, a Dallas-Fort Worth suburb, were the only Texas cities on the fit list. Austin was 19th and Arlington 22nd out of 25.

What decides the magazine’s annual fattest list?

       A. The size of fat population.       B. The number of fast food restaurants.

       C. The economic growth rate of the state.    D. Things related to unhealthy ways of life.

Which city topped 2003 fattest cities list?

　    A. Houston.         B. Dallas.          C. Detroit.   D. Philadelphia.

By saying “living big” (in Paragraph 9), Boulton means people _________.

       A. are growing fatter                B. are living wastefully

　    C. eat too many fatty foods           D. are spending too much time working

Which of the following is best supported by the text?

       A. Texas has the most fat cities in the U.S.

       B. Bill White is happy with the newspaper report.

       C. People in Texas are the most hardworking in the U.S.

       D. Most school children in Houston have weight problems.

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从41─60各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

“Father, I don’t like to go to school,” said Harry Williams one morning. “I wish you would let me stay at home. Charles Parker’s father doesn’t make him go to school.”

Mr Williams  36 his little boy by the hand, and said   37  to him, “Come, my son. I want to show you  38  in the garden.”

Harry walked into the garden with his   39  , who led him along until they came to a bed in which peas(豌豆) were growing. Not a weed(杂草) was to be  40  about their roots.

“See how beautifully these peas are   41, my son,” said Mr. Williams. “How clean and healthy the vines(藤) look. We shall have a good   42 . Now let me show you the vines in Mr. Parker’s garden.”

Mr. Williams then  43 Harry to look at Mr. Parker’s pea vines.

After a few moments, Mr. Williams asked, “Well, my son, what do you   44 Mr. Parker’s pea vines?”

“Oh, Father!” replied the little boy. “I never saw such  45 looking peas in my life! The weeds are nearly as  46 as the peas themselves. There won’t be half a crop!”

“  47  are they so much worse than ours, Harry?”

“Because they have been left to grow as they  48 . I suppose Mr. Parker just planted them, and never took any care of them  49 ”

“ Yes. A garden will soon be overrun with weeds  50  it is not taken good care of,” Mr. Williams  51 , “and so it is with the human garden. Children’s minds are like garden beds. They must be  52  cared for. I send you to school in order that the garden of your  53  may have good seeds(种子) and   54 plentifully. Now which would you  55 , to stay at home or go to school?”

“I would rather go to school,” said Harry.

For more than six million American children, coming home after school means coming home to an empty house. Some deal with the situation by watching TV. Some may hide. But all of them have something in common. They spend part of each day alone. They are called latchkey children. They’re children who look after themselves while their parents work. And their bad condition has become a subject of concern.

Lynette Long was once the headmaster of an elementary school. She said, “We had a school rule against wearing jewelry. A lot of kids had chains around their necks with keys attached. I was constantly telling them to put them inside shirts. There were so many keys, it never came to my mind what they meant.” Slowly, she learned they were house keys.

She and her husband began talking to the children who had them. They learned of the impact(影响) working couples and single parents were having on their children. Fear is the biggest problem faced by children at home alone. One in each three latchkey children the Longs talked to reported being scared. Many had nightmares and were worried about their own safety.

The most common way latchkey children deal with their fears is by hiding. It might be in a shower stall, under a bed in a closet. The second is TV. They’ll often play it at high volume. It’s hard to get statistics(情况, 材料)on latchkey children, the Longs learned. Most parents are slow to admit they leave their children alone.

1. The main idea about “latchkey children” is that they _______. 

A. are growing in numbers              

B. are also found in middle-class neighborhoods

C. watch too much television during the day 

D. suffer problems from being left alone

2. Which sentence in the second paragraph is the topic sentence?

A. We had a school rule against wearing jewelry.

B. A lot of kids had chains around their necks.

C. I was constantly telling them to put inside their shirts.

D. They were house keys.

3. The main feeling these children have when they are at home by themselves is _______. 

A. tiredness       B. freedom      C. loneliness       D. fear

4. We may draw a conclusion that _______. 

A. latchkey children enjoy having such a large amount of time alone

B. latchkey children try to hide their feeling

C. latchkey children often watch TV with their parents

D. it’s difficult to find out how many latchkey children there are

As a boy growing up in India，I had longed to travel abroad. I used to listen to the stories my father would tell me about his stay in Canada and tours to Europe in the 1970s，with great interest.

My big moment finally came in the summer of 1998 when I was able to accompany my parents to Europe，where my father was to attend a meeting. We planned to travel to Belgium，Netherlands and West Germany.

I have vivid memories even today of going to Mumbai airport at night all excited about finally going abroad. I had heard several great things about Lufthansa till then but now I finally got to experience them first hand，during the flight to Frankfurt. We flew business class and even today I can remember the excellent service by the Lufthansa crew. The flight was really smooth and thoroughly enjoyable，even for someone like me，who is otherwise scared of flying.

After spending almost two weeks in Europe，we took the Lufthansa airport express from Dusseldorf to Frankfurt airport，for our return flight. What a journey that was! All along the Rhine (莱茵河)，it was simply an unforgettable experience. I was in a sombre mood on the flight back to Mumbai as it marked the end of a wonderful vacation，but the Lufthansa crew members were able to change it into a most enjoyable experience yet again，with the quality of their service.

Being the first airline to take me overseas，Lufthansa will always hold a special place in my heart. Even today，I continue to enjoy flights on Lufthansa and simply cannot dream of choosing any other airline. Flying，in general，for me，has always been an ordeal (terrible and painful experience)．Flying on Lufthansa，however，is something I always have and always will look forward to.

1.What made the author so interested in traveling abroad?

A．Growing up in India.

B．Once staying in Canada.

C．Once traveling to Canada with his father.

D．His father's stories about his traveling experiences.

2.Which of the following is TRUE about the author's trip to Europe in 1998?

A．The author traveled with one of his parents.

B．Both their going and return are by air.

C．They traveled in spring that year.

D．They stayed in Europe for nearly two months.

3.It can be inferred from the passage that Lufthansa is ________.

A．a city in India                           B．a city in Europe

C．an airline company                      D．a travel agency

4.The underlined word “sombre” in the 4th paragraph probably means “________”．

A．happy            B．sad              C．angry             D．enjoyable