In a small village in England about 150 years ago, a mail coach ( 郵車   ) was standing on the street . It didn’t come to that village often  . People had to pay a lot to get a letter . The person who sent the letter didn’t have to pay the postage (郵資     )  , while the receiver had to .

                  “Ｈere’s a letter for Miss Alice Brown , ” said the mailman .

                   “ Ｉ’m  Alice Brown , ” a girl of about 18 said in a low voice .

                   Alice looked at the envelope（信封） for a minute , and then handed it back to the mailman .

                  “ Ｉ＇m sorry I can’t take it , I don’t have enough money to pay it＂, she said .

                   A gentleman standing around were very sorry for her . Then he came up and paid the postage for her .

           When the gentleman gave the letter to her , she said with a smile , “ Thank you very much ,This letter is from Tom . I’m going to marry him . He went to London to look for work . I’ve waited a long time for this letter , but now I don’t need it , there is nothing in it .”

              “ Really ? How do you know that ? ” the gentleman said in surprise .

             “ He told me that he would put some signs on the envelope . Look ,sir ,this cross in the corner means that he is well and this circle means he has found work . That’s good news .”

                    The gentleman was Sir Rowland Hill . He didn’t forgot Alice and her letter .

                   “ The postage to be paid by the receiver has to be changed ,” he said to himself and had a good plan .

                  “ The postage has to be much lower , what about a penny (便士    ) ? And the person who sends the letter pays the postage . He has to buy a stamp and put it on the envelope .” he said .

                   The government accepted his plan . Then the first stamp was put out in 1840 . It was called the “ Penny Black “ . It had a picture of the Queen on it .

              (     ) 1. The first postage stamp was made ___________ .

                     A．in England   B．in America 　 C．by Alice 　   D．in 1910

              (     ) 2.  The girl handed the letter back to the mailman because ______________ .

                     A．she didn’t know whose letter it was  

                     B．she had no money to pay the postage

                     C．she received the letter but she didn’t want to open it

                     D．she had already known what was written in the letter

              (      ) 3. We can know from Alice’s words that _________________ .

                     A. Tom had told her what the signs meant before leaving

                     B. Alice was clever and could guess the meaning of the signs

                     C. Alice had put the signs on the envelope herself

                     D. Tom had put the signs as Alice had told him to

             (     )  4. The idea of using stamps was thought of by __________________ .

                     A．the government 　 B. Sir Rowland Hill   C. Alice Brown  　D. Tom

             (     ) 5. From the passage we know the high postage made _____________ .

                    A．People never send each other letters

                    B．lovers almost lose every touch with each other

                    C．people try their best to avoid(避免) paying it

                    D．receivers refuse to pay the coming letters

閱讀理解

(　　　) 1. We can see _______ in the butterfly exhibition .

A . some paintings .

B . some pictures of butterflies only .

C . some beautiful butterflies .

D. some pictures of the towns from all over the world .

( ) 2. You are going to see the exhibition with your 14 –year –old daughter , you will have to pay __________ .

A . 15 yuan B. 20 yuan C. 25 yuan D . 35 yuan

( ) 3. We can book group tickets ____________ .

A . by making a phone call

B . by sending an e –mail

C . by writing a letter

D . by filling in an application form

( ) 4. There are 45 students in our class . How much will they pay if they visit the exhibition ?

A .￥ 675 B .￥ 450 C. ￥900 D. ￥400

( ) 5. If you go to the exhibition on 1 st , May , you can get ___________ .

A . a book B . a ticket C . a butterfly D. a present

完形填空

A beautiful ,well-dressed lady came to see her doctor . She said she was bored by her lifestyle , and her whole life was ______1___ and meaningless .

So the doctor called the old lady who cleaned the office floors , and said to the rich lady，“I’m going to ask Mary to tell you how she found _____2____ . All I want you to do is to listen.”

So the old lady put down her broom(掃帚) ，sitting on a chair to tell her __3______,“Well ,my husband ____4____ malaria （瘧疾 ） and months later my only son was killed by a car . I had nobody … I had nothing ___5___ . I couldn’t sleep; I couldn’t eat ; I never smiled at anyone; I _6______ thought of the death . Then one evening a little cat _7_______ me home from work . I felt sorry for the cat . It was cold outside , so I decided to let the cat in . I got it some milk , and it licked(舔 ) the plate ____8____ . Then it rubbed against my leg , and for the first time in months, I smiled . Then I stopped to think : if __9_____ a cat could make me smile , maybe doing something for ___10_____could make me happy ,too . So the next day I baked（烘烤 ）some biscuits and took them to a neighbor who was ___11______ in bed. Every day I tried to do something __12_______ for someone . It made me so happy to see them happy . Today I don’t_13________ of anybody who sleeps and eats better than I do . I’ve found happiness by ___14______ it to others . ”

When she heard that , the rich lady cried . She had everything that money could buy ,but she had ____15____ the things which money couldn’t buy .

（ ）1.　A ．full 　 B. interesting C． empty　D． quiet

( ) 2. A． meaning B．comfort C．truth Ｄ．happiness

( ) 3. A．question B． story C．survey D． matter

( ) 4. A．come over B．got over C． got out D．died of

( ) 5. A．left B．worried C． thought D． missed

( ) 6. A．ever B．even C．never D． still

( ) 7. A．followed B．reached C． arrived D． raised

( ) 8. A． bright B． perfect C． clean D.wet

( ) 9. A． saving B． helping C． making D． providing

( )10. A． groups B． animals C． families D． people

( ) 11. A． sick B． weak C． healthy D． tired

( ) 12. A． funny B. exciting C. nice D . great

( ) 13. A. care B. remind C. make D. know

( ) 14. A. making B. giving C. lending D. expecting

( ) 15. A . found B. got C. lost D. forgotten

--- Many women have to __________ their husbands for their livings .

            ---- That may not be true . Many  women choose to go out to work themselves .

         A．put on    　 B. decide on  　  C．depend on  　  D．come on

---You look a bit worried .

            ----It’s  raining , but I ________my umbrella at home .

         A．took   　 B. brought  　   C． left    　  D． forgot

----May  I _______ you  to carry the bag for me ?

           ----- No problem .

         A． force   　 B． trouble  　  C．question  　    D．invite 

----I haven’t decided  where to go.  Do you have any good ideas ?

            ---- I ________ that we go swimming .

         A．promise　  B. agree　   C．realize 　   D．suggest

My father wants to know _________ next week .

          A．when my uncle leaves　    B. when will my uncle leave

          C．when my uncle will leave   D．when does my uncle leave

Don’t ________ the little boy .After all , he is only 5 years old .

         A． punish      B．warm     C． tie   　  D． note

----What did you say just now ?

          ---- Lunch is ready . Please__________ the knives and forks at the lunch-table .

        A．lay out  　 B． put out      C． take out     D．set out