Students who say they never or hardly ever used dictionaries often speak English well but usually write
poorly, because they make many mistakes.
     The students who use dictionaries most do not learn especially well either. The ones who look up every
new word do not read fast. Therefore they do not have time to read much. Those who use small
two-language dictionaries have the worst problems. Their dictionaries often give only one or two words as
translations of English. But one English word often has many translations in a foreign language and one
foreign word has many translations in English.
     The most successful students are those who use large college edition dictionaries with about 100,000
words but do not use them too often. When they are reading, these students first try to get the general idea
and understand new words from the context. Then they reread and use the dictionary to look up only key
words that they still do not understand. They use dictionaries more for writing. If they are not sure how to
spell a word, or divide it into syllables (音節(jié)), they always use a dictionary. Also, if they think a noun might
have an unusual plural form, they check these in a dictionary.

1. The writer thinks that _____.

A. choose a good dictionary, and you'll be successful in learning English
B. dictionaries are not necessary to the students who learn English
C. it is very important for students to use good dictionaries properly
D. using dictionaries very often can't help to improve writing

2. According to the passage, which of the following is wrong?

A. Dictionaries have little effect on learning to speak English.
B. Whatever new words you meet while reading, never use dictionaries.
C. Small two-language dictionaries have serious disadvantages.
D. Reading something for the first time, you'd better not use dictionaries.

3. This passage mainly tells us _____.

A. that students shouldn't use small two-language dictionaries
B. what were the defects of small two-language dictionaries
C. why students should use large college edition dictionaries
D. what dictionary students should choose and how to use it

4. Which is not mentioned in this passage?

A. How to make good use of a dictionary.
B. When to use a dictionary.
C. How to improve spoken English.
D. How to practise reading fast.

     Earthquakes are the shaking, rolling or sudden shock of the earth's surface. Earthquakes happen along
"fault lines" in the earth's crust. Earthquakes can be felt over large areas although they usually last less than
one minute. Earthquakes cannot be predicted-although scientists are working on it!
     Most of the time, you will notice an earthquake by the gentle shaking of the ground. You may notice
hanging plants swaying or objects wobbling on shelves. Sometimes you may hear a low rumbling noise or
feel a sharp jolt. A survivor of the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco said the sensation was like riding a
bicycle down a long flight of stairs.
     The intensity (強度) of an earthquake can be measured. One measurement is called the Richter scale.
Earthquakes below 4.0 on the Richter scale usually do not cause damage, and earthquakes below 2.0 usually
can't be felt. Earthquakes over 5.0 on the scale can cause damage. A magnitude 6.0 earthquake is considered
strong and a magnitude 7.0 is a major earthquake. The Wenchuan Earthquake, which hit Sichuan Province
in 2008, was magnitude 7.8.
     Earthquakes are sometimes called temblors, quakes, shakers or seismic activity. The most important thing
to remember during an earthquake is to DROP, COVER and HOLD ON. So remember to DROP to the floor
and get under something for COVER and HOLD ON during the shaking.

1. Which statement about earthquakes is Not correct? 

A. Earthquakes are the result of the sudden shock of the earth's surface.
B. Earthquakes usually can be felt because they can last for a long time.
C. There are usually some signs for people to notice an earthquake.
D. People can feel an earthquake over 6.0 because it is very strong.

2. According to the passage, when the earthquake happened, a survivor of the 1906 earthquake in San 
    Francisco ______.

A. was riding a bicycle
B. was just climbing the stairs
C. heard a low rumbling noise
D. felt like riding a bicycle

3. What can be inferred from the passage?

A. Most of the time, people can not feel or predict the earthquakes.
B. Earthquakes are sometimes called temblors, quakes shakers or seismic activity.
C. The Wenchuan Earthquake, which hit Sichuan Province in 2008 caused serious damage.
D. When an earthquake happens, it is important to drop on the floor immediately.

                                                                  Blogs (博客)
     A "blogger" is a person who writes on an Internet website called a "blog". The word "blog" is a short way
of saying "web log", or "personal website". Anyone can start a blog, and they can write about anything they
like.
     There are millions of blogs on the internet today. They provide news information and ideas to the people
who read them. They contain links to other websites, and they provide a place for people to write their ideas
and react to the ideas of others.
     A research company called Perseus has studied more than 3,000 web logs. It says that blogs are most
popular with teenage girls. They use them to let their friends know what is happening in their lives. The study
also says that more than 100,000 bloggers stopped taking part in the activity after a year.
     However, some people develop serious blogs to present political and other ideas. For example, the
Republican and Democratic parties in the southern state of Kentucky recently started their own blogs. And
American companies are beginning to use blogs to advertise their products.
     At the same time, some long-standing blogs have ended. Last week, blogging leader Dave Winer closed
his free blog service "weblogs. com". He said the site became too costly to continue. he started the blog four
years ago, and thousands of people had written on it. They are now upset because they did not know that the
site was closed.
     One blog that is still going strong is called Rebecca's Pocket. Rebecca Blood created the website in 1999.
She wrote about the history of blogs on the site. That article led to a book called The Weblog Handbook. It
has been translated into four languages so far.
     Miss Blood says Rebecca's Pocket gets about thirty thousand visitors a month. She writes about anything
and everything-politics, culture and movies. She recently provided medical advice. And she wrote about how
to prevent being stolen from online bank accounts.

1. The text is mainly written to _____.

A. introduce an internet website called "blog".
B. introduce a short way of saying "web log"
C. tell readers about blogs.
D. tell readers how to write blogs

2. From the text we can learn that blogs cover almost everything except _____.

A. different ideas
B. medical advice
C. advertisements
D. account passwords

3. The reason why Rebecc's Pocket is still going strong is that _____.

A. it was created by a woman
B. it is about the history of blogs
C. it provides useful information and advice
D. it has editions in at least four different languages

    ______________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

     The pupils of the remote Beau-Roc primary school in Haiti are chanting (singing the same words again
and again). One of them plays a guitar made from an empty oil tin. Their headmistress, Emile Jean-Noel,
is one of the few women school headteachers in the country.
     Today, over 70% of Haitian population live without proper food, water, schools, or housing. To reduce
the hunger that prevents learning and to encourage parents to send their children to school, meals are
provided by the World Food Programme.
     "We are so cut off that we have many difficulties," comments Emile, adding that finding chalk, school
books and other materials is practically impossible. Emile tries to encourage people around her to make use
of available resources. Her efforts are bearing fruit. One of her successes was convincing local women to
contribute to their children' s schooling and increase their income by selling embroidery ( 刺繡) and other
handicrafts.
     Recent political instability (不穩(wěn)定) has meant that the country has not invested (投資) in education for
ten years. Only 44% of children go to school and less than half of them finish primary school.  Less than a
third of these children go on to secondary school. In rural areas it is not rare to find 17 and 18 year olds in
primary school- Beau-Roc has only 4 teachers for 260 pupils. Emile works constantly to improve her pupils'
environment. Under her direction, a local worker is now constructing a store house for the food delivered
regularly by the WFP.
     Not only is Emile' s salary small, but she receives it irregularly. For her, transport is a real headache. She
lives five kilometers away and has to take the tap tap, a privately-owned bus, costing more than she can
afford. 
     "The decision to be a rural teacher in Haiti should not be taken lightly", Emile comments. "With all the
sacrifices and risks it requires, only those who are really cut out for teaching should do it." However, Emile
loves her job. "I always feel at home with the children and, because the parents understand what I'm doing,
I try to give my best."

1. Which of the following is extremely difficult for Beau-Roc primary school?

A. Teaching the women how to make embroidery and other handicrafts.
B. Persuading local women to care about their children' s education.
C. Encouraging people around to use those available resources.
D. Finding chalk, school books and other materials.

2. In the last paragraph, "those who are really cut out for teaching" refer to people who are _____.

A. dismissed from teaching
B. unfamiliar with teaching
C. qualified for teaching
D. cautious about teaching

3. What topic is presented in this passage?

A. Hardship for teachers.
B. Devotion to education.
C. Politics and children.
D. Love and beauty.

     In bringing up children, every parent watches eagerly the child's acquisition (學(xué)會) of each new skill-the
first spoken words, the first independent steps, or the beginning of reading and writing. It is often tempting
to hurry the child beyond his natural learning rate, but this can set up dangerous feelings of failure and states
of worry in the child. This might happen at any stage. A baby might be forced to use a toilet too early, a young
child might be encouraged to learn to read before he knows the meaning of the words he reads. On the other
hand, though, if a child is left alone too much, or without any learning opportunities, he loses his natural
enthusiasm for life and his desire to find out new things for himself.
     Parents vary greatly in their degree of strictness towards their children. Some may be especially strict in
money matters, others are sever over times of coming home at night or punctuality for meals. In general, the
controls imposed represent the needs of the parents and the values of the community as much as the child's
own happiness.
     As regards the development of moral standards in the growing child, consistency is very important in
parental teaching. To forbid a thing one day and excuse it the next is no foundation for morality (道德). Also,
parents should realize that "example is better than precept". If they are not sincere and do not practice what
they preach (說教), their children may grow confused and emotionally insecure when they grow old enough
to think for themselves, and realize they have been to some extent fooled. A sudden awareness of a marked
difference between their parents' principles and their morals can be a dangerous disappointment.

1. Eagerly watching the child's acquisition of new skills _____.

A. should be avoided
B. is universal among parents
C. sets up dangerous states of worry in the child
D. will make him lose interest in learning new things

2. In the process of children's learning new skills, parents _____.

A. should encourage them to read before they know the meaning of the words they read
B. should expect a lot from the children
C. should achieve a balance between pushing them too hard and leaving them on their own
D. should create as many learning opportunities as possible

3. The second paragraph mainly tells us that _____.

A. parents should be strict with their children
B. parental controls reflect only the needs of the parents and the values of the community
C. parental restrictions vary, and are not always for the benefit of the children alone
D. it's parents' and society's duty to control the children

4. The word"precept" in Paragraph 3 probably means "_____".

A. opinion
B. punishment
C. behavior
D. instruction

5. In terms of (在……方面) moral matters, parents should _____.

A. follow the rules them selves
B. be aware of the huge difference between adults and children
C. forbid their children to follow book teachings
D. always ensure the security of their children

     American children aren't the only couch potatoes with nearly one third of children globally spending three
hours a day or more watching TV or on computers, according to the study of over 70,000 teens in 34 nations.
     From Argentina to Zambia, Regina Guthold of the World Health Organization in Geneva and her colleagues
found most children aren't getting enough exercise and it made no difference if they lived in a rich or a poor
country. "With regards to physical activity levels, we did not find much of a difference between poor and rich
countries," Guthold said. "Growing up in a poor country does not necessarily mean that kids get more physical
activity." The study was published in The Journal of Pediatrics, looking at 72,845 schoolchildren aged 13 to 15
from North and South America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. The children were surveyed between 2003
and 2007.
     The researchers defined adequate physical activity as at least an hour of exercise outside of gym class at
least five days a week.Children who spent three or more hours a day watching TV, playing computer games,
or chatting with friends -- aside from time in school or time spent doing homework-were classified as sedentary. The researchers found only one quarter of the boys and 15 percent of the girls were getting enough exercise by
these definitions. A quarter of boys and nearly 30 percent of girls were sedentary and didn't get enough exercise with girls less active than boys in every country aside from Zambia.
     Uruguay had the highest percentage of active boys, at 42 percent, while Zambia had the lowest, at 8 percent. Girls from India were the most active, with 37 percent meeting exercise recommendations, while girls from
Egypt were the least active, with just 4 percent getting adequate exercise. Children in Myanmar were the least
sedentary, with 13 percent of boys and 8 percent of girls classified as sedentary. The most sedentary nations
were St. Lucia and the Cayman Islands, with 58 percent of boys and 64 percent of girls spending at least three
hours a day in sedentary activities.
     People show deep concern for kids' lack of physical activity in various nations. Why do they have a low
level of physical activity? Guthold speculated (推測) that urbanization (都市化)could be a factor as well as
access to cars and TVs.

1. If you are a sedentary, you _____.

A. are a diligent student spending much time doing homework
B. have at least an hour of exercise outdoors every day
C. like watching TV and playing computer games
D. spend a lot of time sitting down and not moving

2. Which statement is TURE about the finding of the study led by Regina Guthold?

A. Most children around the world don't meet the exercise recommendation.
B. Girls in every country are no more active than boys.
C. Children in rich countries relatively get less physical activities .
D. Only 4 percent of the girls from Egypt are not active in exercise.

3. Which could be the best title of the passage?

A. American children are addicted to TVs and computers
B. Nearly one third of children globally are couch potatoes
C. Effects of physical activities on health
D. Unimaginable standard of physical exercise

     One would have to be a fool to overlook the importance of using positive thinking for you rather than
allowing negative thinking to work against you. In recent years, research in psychopharmacology (精神藥
理學(xué)) has proved what many people have known over the centuries: a positive attitude is good for you,
good for your health, good for your wealth, good for everything. Researchers found that a positive attitude
produces a specific chemical reaction which makes people feel better, while negative thinking results in a
decline of hormone (荷爾蒙) and shuts down the immune (免疫的) system. This leads to illness and
depression. Positive thoughts will make you feel better. Even if you must begin by literally forcing yourself
to be positive (faking it, so to speak), it will become contagious (會傳播的) and the positive thoughts will
generate nice little chemicals and good feelings which will reinforce the positive thoughts.
     For example, if you force yourself to smile or laugh, even when you don't feel like smiling or laughing,
if you keep at it for a few minutes, you will soon feel like it. Feelings can generate thoughts, but thoughts
can also generate feelings. Control your thoughts and you can control your feelings. Positive thinking is
important in all aspects of our lives. There is probably no single factor more important in determining your
success in achieving your career objectives than your own attitude.
     It's often been said that in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. And in the office of militant (好
戰(zhàn)) negativism, the positive workers shine like gold. You cannot control external events, but you can learn
to control your reaction to those events and thereby have a positive attitude and be happy. This vital key to
success is totally within your control. Use it.

1. We can infer from the passage that _____.

A. positive thinking can cure you of your diseases
B. positive thinking can easily be generated by anyone
C. a decline of hormone may cause you to be depressed
D. a specific chemical reaction is the cause of negative thinking

2. According to the passage, which of the following is true?

A. Feeling and thoughts can generate each other.
B. It's easier to control thoughts than to control feelings.
C. Your success depends wholly on your attitude.
D. Keeping smiling will surely make you successful.

3. Just like a one-eyed man in the land of the blind, you should _____.

A. take positive attitude in the office of militant negativism
B. be king in your office
C. pay no attention to what is going on around you
D. control your feeling to what is happening to you

4. The best title to the passage is _____.

A. Thinking Benefits People
B. Why Should People Think
C. Positive Thinking and Negative Thinking
D. Thinking: The Vital Way

     Researchers in London and Bristol have found that men are particularly likely to yield to depression if their
partners are also depressed.
     The findings highlights the importance of paying attention to the partners of depressed mothers as young
children themselves are vulnerable to social problems if both parents are depressed.
     Researchers in London and at the university of Bristol launched their study to investigate whether family
structure affects the likelihood of depression in men around the time their child is born. They looked at men
from traditional families, men with children from a previous relationship, men whose parents had children by
a former partner, and men who were not living with their partners.
     All 7,018 participants filled out a questionnaire on depression, and answered the questions about their age,
education level and employment status. Details about the quality of their relationship with their partners,
networks of friends and previous life events were also recorded.
     About 3.5 percent of the men and 13 percent of their partners suffered depression around the time their
child was born. In comparison, men in step-families or who were not living with their partners were twice
as likely to get depressed as those in traditional families. This could be explained by other factors that are more
common in non-traditional families, such as poor education and relationship conflicts.
     Even allowing for all these factors, however, the partners of women who were suffering from perinata (圍
產(chǎn)期的) depression were significantly more likely to become depressed themselves, the researchers report in
an American Journal. Ten percent of women who were depressed had depressed partners. For the healthy
women, the figure was only 2.6 percent. Previous research suggests that families with two depressed partners
may need special attention. A researcher in Atlanta has found that primary school children with two troubled
parents have difficulty relating to their peers. "It's extremely important to look at the whole family," she says.

1. What can we conclude from paragraph 1 and 2?

A. Men often mistreat their children
B. Depressed women often have depressed partners
C. All young children are vulnerable to social problems
D. Women with children often have depressed partners

2. Researchers in London and Bristol carry out such an investigation in order to _____.

A. see what kind of family environment is ideal for children to grow up in
B. investigate why so many men get depressed when a child is born
C. study whether family structure affects depression in men when child is born
D. see whether it is true that behind every depressed man there is a depressed woman

3. What kind of man is least likely to get depressed when their child is born?

A. Men in step-families
B. Men in traditional families
C. Men not living with their partners
D. Men in non-traditional families