Long before the white man came to the America, the land belonged to the American Indian nations, The nation of the Cherokees lived in what is now the southeastern part of the United States.
After the white man came, the Cherokees copied many of their ways. One Cherokee named Sequoyah saw how important reading and writing was to the white man. He decided to invent a way to write down the spoken Cherokee language. He began by making word pictures. For each word he drew a picture. But that proved impossible; there were just too many words. Then he took the 85 sounds that made up the language. Using his own imagination and an English spelling book, Sequoyah invented a sign for each sound. His alphabet proved amazingly easy to learn. Before long, many Cherokees knew how to read and write in their own language. By 1828, they were even printing their own newspaper.
In 1830, the US congress passed a law. It allowed the government to remove Indians from their lands. The Cherokees refused to go. They had lived on their lands for centuries. It belonged to them. Why should they go to a strange land far beyond the Mississippi River?
The army was sent to drive the Cherokees out. Soldiers surrounded their villages and marched them at gunpoint into the western territory. The sick, the old and the small children went in carts, along with their belongings. The rest of the people marched on foot or rode on horseback. It was November, yet many of them still wore their summer clothes. Cold and hungry, the Cherokees were quickly exhausted by the hardships of journey. Many dropped dead and were buried by the roadside. When the last group arrived in their new home in March 1839, more than 4000 had died. It was in deed a march of death.
小題1: The Cherokee Nation used to live____________.

A．on the American continent	B．in the southeastern part of the US
C．beyond the Mississippi River	D．in the western territory

小題2:One of the ways that Sequoyah copied from the white man is the way of__________.

A．writing down the spoken language	B．making word pictures
C．teaching his people reading	D．printing their own newspaper

小題3: A law was passed in 1830 to__________.

A．allow the Cherokees to stay where they were

B．send the army to help the Cherokees

C．force the Cherokees to move westward

D．forbid the Cherokees to read their newspaper

小題4:When the Cherokees began to leave their lands, __________.

A．they went in carts	B．they went on horseback
C．they marched on foot	D．all of the above

小題5: Many Cherokees died on their way to their new home mainly because________.

A．they were not willing to go there

B．the government did not provide transportation

C．they did not have enough food and clothes

D．the journey was long and boring

With the growth of the European Union and increased globalisation, English is increasingly the lingua franc a（通用語） in European businesses, and those who speak it have become the elite （精英）of the workforce．
In the past, only a few specialists in a company were needed to communicate with foreign businesses．However, in these days of multinational companies, where workers are required to communicate with other employees from several countries, a common language is essential and English has become the logical choice．
Nowadays, even blue-collar workers in many companies are required to speak English．For example, just over three years ago, a Dutch company．United Pan-European Communications （UPC）, was contracted to build a TV studio in Amsterdam．The job involved many electricians—more than the company could find in the Netherlands．There were plenty of qualified electricians in nearby France and Belgium, but the American and Dutch executives of UPC wanted everyone on the job to speak and understand the same language．So, the UPC hired British electricians and flew them to Amsterdam every Monday, accommodating them in hotels all over the city, and flying them home on Friday evenings．
Increasingly, workers who can speak English earn salaries 25-35% higher than those who can' t．They are also eligible （有條件被選中的） for a wider range of high-level jobs．
The problem is that, while the ability to speak English is fast becoming essential for getting a good job, there is a shortage of people who can speak it．According to a recent European Commission report, only about 41% of continental Europeans can speak English, and only 29% speak it well enough to carry on a conversation．Many companies are solving this problem by setting up English language schools within the workplace．English language schools all over Europe are expanding at a huge rate, and governments are looking at ways to improve English tuition in schools．
One result of this modem urge to learn English is that a generation gap is appearing． According to a European Union study, 67% of Europeans between 15 and 24 say they can speak English while only 18% of those over 55 say they can．Increasingly, all over Europe, it is the children who are leading the parents．
小題1:In European companies, workers who speak English ________．

A．find it easy to carry on a conversation	B．have an advantage over other workers
C．must be white-collar workers	D．travel to many different countries

小題2:Why did the UPC hire the British electricians?

A．There were not enough electricians in nearby France and Belgium．

B．British electricians were more qualified than those in the Netherlands．

C．The UPC wanted all the employees to speak English．

D．The UPC meant to show they were rich enough to accommodate and fly them．

小題3:What can you learn from the passage about European people?

A．More young people can speak English well than older people.

B．67% Europeans can speak English very well．

C．18% of the people over 55 can't speak English．

D．Over half the people can speak English．

On November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln went to Gettysburg in Pennsylvania to speak at the National Soldiers Cemetery. The Civil War was still going on. There was much criticism of President Lincoln at the time. He was not at all popular. He had been invited to speak at Gettysburg only out of politeness. The principal speaker was to be Edward Everett, a famous statesman and speaker of the day. Everett was a handsome man and very popular everywhere.
　　It is said that Lincoln prepared his speech on the train while going to Gettysburg. Late that night, alone in his hotel room and tired out, he again worked briefly on the speech. The next day Everett spoke first. He spoke for an hour and 57 minutes. His speech was a perfect example of the rich oratory of the day. Then Lincoln rose. The crowd of 15,000 people at first paid little attention to him. He spoke for only nine minutes. At the end there was little applause. Lincoln turned to a friend and said , "I have failed again." On the train back to Washington, he said sadly, "That speech was a flat failure, and the people are disappointed."
　　Some newspapers at first criticized（批評）the speech. But little by little as people read the speech they began to understand better. They began to appreciate its simplicity and its deep meaning. It was a speech which only Abraham Lincoln could have made.
　　Today, every American school child learns Lincoln's Gettysburg Address by heart. Now everyone thinks of it as one of the greatest speeches ever given in American history.
小題1:.
In 1863, Abraham Lincoln was_________.

A．very critical

B．unpopular

C．very popular

D．very courteous （禮貌）

小題2:.
. Lincoln was invited to speak at the National Soldiers Cemetery because he was_________.

A．a famous speaker

B．a very handsome man

C．President of the country

D．a popular statesman

小題3:.
It can be inferred from the text that_________.

A．Lincoln prepared his speech very carefully before he went to Gettysburg

B．Lincoln was very busy at the time and didn't have much time to prepare his speech

C．Lincoln's speech was full of rich words

D．Lincoln's speech was very long

小題4:.
It was a fact that Lincoln's speech was _________.

A．an immediate success

B．warmly applauded

C．a total failure

D．not well-received at first

小題5:.
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A．Lincoln's Gettysburg Address has deep meaning.

B．Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is simple in style.

C．Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is memorized by every American school child.

D．Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is the greatest speech ever delivered in the United States.

Women in Nazi Germany were to have a very special job. Hitler was very clear about this. This job was that they should be good mothers bringing up children at home while their husbands worked. Except for some special fields, Hitler saw no reason why a woman should work. Within months of Hitler coming to power, many female doctors, teachers and lawyers were sacked. By the start of the Second World War, very few German women were in fulltime work. From their earliest years, girls were taught that all good German women married at a young age to a proper German and that the wife’s job was to keep a good home for her working husband and to have children.
One of the earliest laws passed by Hitler once he came to power in 1933, was the Law for the Encouragement of Marriage. This law stated (聲明) that all newly married couples would get a government loan (貸款) of 1000 marks. This loan was not to be simply paid back. The birth of one child meant that 25% of the loan did not have to be paid back. Two children meant that 50% of the loan didn’t need to be paid back. Four children meant that the entire loan was cleared.
What was more, as housewives and mothers, their lives were controlled. Women were not expected to wear make-up or trousers. Only flat shoes were expected to be worn. Women were discouraged from slimming as this was considered bad for child birth. 
小題1:
The aim of the Law for the Encouragement of Marriage was to ________.

A．attract more young people to join the army willingly

B．make those married couples become rich quickly

C．encourage people to loan more from the government

D．encourage couples to have as many children as they could

小題2:
The underlined word “sacked” in Paragraph one probably means “________”.

A．punished

B．fired

C．killed

D．raised

小題3:
According to the passage, women in Nazi Germany ________.

A．could make up or wear beautiful clothes

B．were to have children and do housework

C．could receive a good education at school

D．were offered the equal rights as men

小題4:
Which of the following is a suitable title for the text?

A．The life of women in Nazi Germany

B．The cruel rule of Hitler in Germany

C．The marriage policy in Nazi Germany

D．Hitler — a powerful leader in Germany

As we all know，it was Thomas Jefferson who wrote the Declaration of Independence (獨立宣言)．He wrote it in two weeks，and after a few changes，it was accepted by the Congress．As a result，he became famous in America's history．
Born in Virginia，Thomas Jefferson，a brilliant student at school and almost talented lawyer later，was much interested in politics.
Jefferson was elected Governor of Virginia in 1779，and he was sent to France as the Representative of the American Government in 1784．Sixteen years later，at the age of 57，he was elected president after Washington and Adams．
Far from a handsome man，he was is tall with long arms and big hands．Jefferson，who was an amusing talker in conversation，but a poor speaker，was generally good-natured．
Jefferson was regarded as a defender(捍衛(wèi)者)of freedom Of America．As a president，he protected the right of speech．Interestingly enough，in his eight years as president，：Jefferson never said “No” to a bill(議案)which the Congress had passed．He did a lot in organizing the new University of Virginia．
Thomas Jefferson died on July the fourth，1826，the fiftieth anniversary of America’s independence．  
小題1:
We are most likely to read this passage in            ．

A．a daily newspaper	B．a popular advertisement
C．a hi story book	D．an important notice

小題2:
Which of the following statements about Jefferson’s personality is true?

A．He was a shy and slow learner when he was at school．

B．He was not an easy person to get along with at all

C．He was not only very talented but also very handsome．

D．He was an amusing talker，but not good at speaking in public．

小題3:
Jefferson’s greatest contribution in America’history is that              ．

A．he was for the right of free speech

B．he was sent to France as the Representative

C． he wrote the Declaration of Independence

D．he organized the new University of Virginia

小題4:
Thomas Jefferson was elected president of the United States in the year of         .

A．1779

B．1784

C．1800

D．1826

The composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s remarkable musical talent was apparent even before most children can sing a simple nursery rhyme. Wolfgang’s older sister Maria Anna (who the family called Nannerl) was learning the clavier, an early keyboard instrument, when her three-year-old brother took an interest in playing. As Nannerl later recalled, Wolfgang “often spent much time at the clavier picking out thirds (三度音), which he was always striking, and his pleasure showed that it sounded good.” Their father Leopold, an assistant concertmaster at the Salzburg Court, recognized his children’s unique gifts and soon devoted himself to their musical education.
Born in Salzburg, Austria, on January 27, 1756, Wolfgang had composed his first original work by age five. Leopold planned to take Nannerl and Wolfgang on tour to play before the European courts. Their first venture was to nearby Munich where the children played for Maximillian III Joseph, elector of Bavaria. Leopold soon set his sights on the capital of the Hapsburg Empire, Vienna. On their way to Vienna, the family stopped in Linz, where Wolfgang gave his first public concert. By this time, Wolfgang was not only a skilled harpsichord player, but he had also mastered the violin. The audience at Linz was amazed by the six-year-old, and word of his genius soon traveled to Vienna. In a much attended concert, the Mozart children appeared at the Schonbrunn Palace on October 13, 1762. They completely attracted the emperor and empress.
Following this success, Leopold received a lot of invitations for the children to play, for a fee. Leopold seized the opportunity and booked as many concerts as possible at courts throughout Europe. A concert could last three hours, and the children played at least two per a day. Today, Leopold might be considered the worst kind of stage parent, but at the time, it was not uncommon for prodigies to make extensive concert tours. Even so, it was an exhausting schedule for a child who was just past the age of needing an afternoon nap.
小題1:
A good title for this passage would be ________.

A．Classical Music in the Eighteenth Century: An Overview.

B．Stage Parents: A Historical Point of View.

C．Mozart: The Early Life of a Musical Genius.

D．Mozart: The Short Career of a Musical Genius.

小題2:
What was the consequence of Wolfgang’s first public appearance?

A．He attracted the emperor and empress of Hapsburg.

B．Word of Wolfgang’s genius spread to the capital.

C．Leopold set his sights on Vienna.

D．Invitations for the miracle children to play poured in.

小題3:
Each of the following statements about Wolfgang Mozart is directly supported by the passage except ________.

A．Mozart’s father made full use of his children’s talent

B．Maria Anna was also talented in music

C．Wolfgang’s childhood was devoted to his musical career

D．Wolfgang preferred the violin to other instruments

小題4:
The word “prodigies” in the last paragraph probably means “________”.

A．unusually talented people	B．strict parents
C．greatest composers	D．generous people

Lacrosse（長曲棍球）is a popular sport in Canada. It is one of the oldest organized sports in America. The Indians in northern New York State and southern Ontario, Canada, invented it. They used it to train for war. They invented this game before Columbus arrived in the New World.
People play lacrosse outdoors. The lacrosse field is seven metres long. At each end of the field there is a net. There are ten players on each team. Each player has a stick called “crosse”. The players hit a ball that is 21 centimetres around and weighs 140 grams. They try to hit the ball into the net as many times as possible. Lacrosse is a very fast game because the players can catch and pass the ball at a high speed with their sticks.
At one time lacrosse was the national summer sport in Canada. It is also popular in Britain and Australia.
小題1:
________ invented the popular sport — Lacrosse.

A．The British

B．The Spanish

C．The Indians

D．The Australians

小題2:
Lacrosse was invented because it was used to ________.

A．honour God

B．have fun

C．lose weight

D．train for war

小題3:
The seven-metre-long lacrosse field has _________.

A．only one net	B．one net at each end
C．two nets at each end	D．four nets at each end

小題4:
Who will be the winner in the lacrosse game? ________.

A．The team who hit the ball into the net more times

B．The team who catch and pass the ball faster

C．The team who have many more stronger players

D．The team who use sticks to hit the ball farther

The journey to the moon had been the first step toward future exploration(探險) in space. The distance between the Moon and Earth is very short indeed when compared with the distances between Earth and the other planets. Mars, the nearest planet to Earth is millions of miles away. Traveling to the planets will be man’s next aim. Such travels will be more challenging than the trip to the moon and certainly more adventurous.
Recently, two American spaceships, Vikings 1 and 2, landed on Mars trying to discover whether that planet has any life on it. So far the signs of life on Mars has neither confirmed(確認) nor ruled out. Russians have discovered that the surface of Venus(金星) is so hot that it is almost certain that there is no life there. Also the atmosphere of Venus is extremely dense(稠) and the pressure is nearly a hundred times greater than that of the Earth’s atmosphere.
Scientists believe man may find planets which have the same conditions as those we have on Earth , but man should realize Earth will be his only home for a long time and begin to love and care for it.
小題1:
According to the passage, traveling to the planets will be ________.

A．much easier and even more interesting	B．far more exciting and dangerous
C．man’s final aim	D．man’s first step

小題2:
Which of the following is Not true?

A．Mars is nearer to the earth than the moon.

B．The moon is much nearer to the earth than Mars.

C．Of all the planets, Mars is the nearest to the earth.

D．All the planets are much farther to the earth.

小題3:
From the passage, we can guess______________.

A．there is life on Mars

B．there is no life on Mars

C．the atmosphere of Mars is not so dense as that of Venus

D．scientists will have little hope to find the answers

小題4:
Man can live on under the conditions of ______________.

A．much too hot surface	B．the same pressure as we get on earth
C．normal atmosphere as we have on earth	D．both B and C

One of the greatest warriors(勇士) of history, Genghis Kahn, came from the Mongolian people. He controlled many countries in Asia and Europe because of his bravery and leadership in battle. This time period was known as the Yuan Dynasty in the 13th and 14th centuries.
Genghis decided to go hunting one day and many of his warriors went with him. Genghis had his favorite hawk on his wrist. The hawk was trained to fly high in the air to look for game like deer, rabbits or wild birds. When his bird flew to the ground, Genghis would follow it and shoot the wild game with his arrows. It was his favorite hobby.
This particular day, game was hard to find. Toward evening, Genghis sent all the men home and decided to go another way by himself. He even let his hawk go, thinking it would fly home as well. He became thirsty so he stopped by some rocks where he noticed water was dripping. He took a cup from his pack and filled it slowly. When he put it to his mouth, he was surprised for his hawk came and spilled (使濺出) all the water in his cup.
He thought this was very unusual so he filled the cup again. The hawk rushed down and knocked the cup free from his hand. Genghis was now thirsty and angry. As he filled the cup a fourth time, he drew his sword to stop the bird interrupting him. As the bird flew down, Genghis killed it but his cup fell deep into the rocks in the scuffle (扭打).
He decided to crawl up the rock of the mountain to find the source of the water. He found a pool and noticed a huge poisonous snake was dead in the water. He realized the hawk had saved his life. His anger had caused him to kill his favorite bird. In his despair (絕望), he promised to make sure of everything before he would become angry again.
小題1:This passage may most probably be found in _____.

A．a story book

B．a newspaper

C．a magazine

D．a guide book

小題2:When the hawk tried to stop Genghis, he thought his hawk was trying to ____.

A．save him

B．bother him

C．help him

D．comfort him

小題3: Which of the following is not TRUE according to the passage?

A．Genghis Kahn took up many countries because he was a brave and great leader.

B．The hawk devoted its life in order to save Genghis Kahn from being poisoned.

C．The snake was dead because it drank the water of the pool in the mountain.

D．Genghis Kahn was so thirsty that he decided to look for the source of the water.

小題4: What conclusion can we draw from the passage?

A．One should never act while thinking.	B．One had better not act before thinking.
C．One must act when thinking.	D．One would act without thinking.

Massachusetts （美國一州名） became the first state in the nation to ban the dumping （傾倒;拋棄） of electronic equipment such as computer monitors and television sets．It means people there can no longer put computer monitors, TV sets and other devices containing glass picture tubes out on the street for pickup by garbage cleaners．
Official said much of this equipment is loaded with poisonous heavy metals such as lead, cadmium and mercury．These poisonous heavy metals could go into groundwater or be released （釋放） into the air．
The Boston Globe reports the state has set up a system to recycle techno-garbage at state expense through community recycling centers．
Robin Ingenthron of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection said the state has been trying to get its electronics-recycling program in place ‘before the future wave of electronics hits’．The National Safety Council estimates some 300 million computers will enter the nation’s waste system in the next few years．
In addition, millions of people will be getting rid of their old television sets．New high-quality digital televisions and new rules will make old TV sets no longer in use over the next several years．
小題1:The word ‘techno-garbage’ in the 3rd paragraph probably means ________．

A．all kinds of dirty things	B．deserted TV sets
C．heavy metals	D．used electronic equipment

小題2:Which is NOT a reason that the state enforces （強制執(zhí)行） a ban on electronic equipment dumping?

A．This kind of garbage is poisonous．

B．Recycling systems are not working well．

C．The poisonous heavy metals can go to the underground water and the air．

D．There will be much more electronic garbage soon．

小題3:According to the last paragraph many people will be dumping their TV sets because ________．

A．they are broken	B．they are poisonous
C．new TV standards have come out	D．people will be tired of them

小題4:The passage tells us chiefly about __________．

A．forbidding of a certain type of garbage dumping

B．new problems of environmental protection

C．household problems raised by computers and TV sets

D．the handling of garbage