______ all the possibilities, I really believe that I’d prefer to make any change now.

A. Considering       B. Considered       C. To consider    D. Consider

After______for the job, you will be required to take a language test.

       A. being interviewed      B. interviewed     C. interviewing      D. having interviewed

Even before my father left us, my mother had to go back to work to support our family. Once I came out of the kitchen, complaining, “Mom, I can’t peel potatoes. I have only one hand.”

Mom never looked up from sewing. “You get yourself into that kitchen and peel those potatoes,” she told me. “And don’t ever use that as an excuse for anything again!”In the second grade, our teacher lined up my class on the playground and had each of us race across the monkey bars, swinging from one high steel rod to the next. When it was my turn, I shook my head. Some kids behind me laughed, and I went home crying.

That night I told Mom about it. She hugged me, and I saw her “we’ll see about that” look. The next afternoon, she took me back to school. At the deserted playground, Mom looked carefully at the bars.

“Now, pull up with your right arm,” she advised. She stood by as I struggled to lift myself with my right hand until I could hook the bar with my other elbow. Day after day we practiced, and she praised me for every rung I reached. I’ll never forget the next time, crossing the rungs, I looked down at the kids who were standing with their mouths open.

One night, after a dance at my new junior high, I lay in bed sobbing. I could hear Mom come into my room. “Mom,” I said, weeping, “none of the boys would dance with me.”

For a long time, I didn’t hear anything. Then she said, “Oh, honey, someday you’ll be beating those boys off with a bat.” Her voice was faint and cracking. I peeked out from my covers to see tears running down her cheeks. Then I knew how much she suffered on my behalf. She had never let me see her tears.

6. Which of the following expressions can be used most suitably to describe Mom’s attitude when she made the child to peel potatoes?

A. Cruel.             B. Serious.             C. Strict.    D. Cold.

7. From the passage, we know monkey bars can help a child train ______.

A. the skill to throw and catch things

B. the speed of one’s hand movement

C. the strength and skill to hang and sway

D. the bodily skill to rotate round a bar

8. What does the sentence “I saw her ‘we’ll see about that’ look” imply?

A. Mom believed every aim could be achieved if you stuck to it.

B. The race across monkey bars was not difficult enough for a child to give up.

C. Mom was determined to prove she herself was better than the teacher.

D. What the child had said brought Mom great attraction and curiosity.

9. When the child looked down at the kids, they were standing with their mouths open because ______.

A. they felt sorry for what they had done before

B. they were afraid the author might fall off and get hurt

C. they wanted to see what the author would do on the bars

D. they were astonished to find the author’s progress

10. The most probable conclusion we can draw after reading the passage is ______.

A. the last incident was sad enough to make Mom weep

B. the child’s experience reminded Mom of that of her own

C. Mom could solve any problem except the one in the last paragraph

D. in fact Mom suffered more in the process of the child’s growth

Thanksgiving Day is special holiday in the United States and Canada. Families and friends gather to eat and give thanks for their blessing.

Thanksgiving Day is really a harvest festival. This is why it is celebrated in late fall, after the crops are in. But one of the first thanksgivings in America had nothing to do with a good harvest. On December 4, 1619, the Pilgrims from England landed near what is now Charles City, Virginia. They knelt down and thanked God for their safe journey across the Atlantic.

The first New England Thanksgiving did celebrate a rich harvest. The Pilgrims landed at what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620. They had a difficult time and the first winter was cruel. Many of the Pilgrims died. But the next year, they had a good harvest. So Governor Bradford declared a three-day feast（盛宴）. The Pilgrims invited Indian friends to join them for their special feast. Everyone brought food.In time, other colonies（殖民地）began to celebrate a day of thanksgiving. But it took years before there was a national Thanksgiving Day. During the Civil War, Sarah Josepha Hale persuaded Abraham Lincoln to do something about it. He proclaimed（宣布）the last Thursday of November 1863 as a day of thanksgiving. Today, Americans celebrate this happy harvest festival on the fourth Thursday in November. Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving Day in much the same way as their American neighbours. But the Canadian thanks-giving Day falls on the second Monday in October.

1. Thanksgiving Day is celebrated      .

  A. in spring              B. summer   C. in autumn             D. in winter

2. The first to celebrate thanksgiving were      .

  A. some people from England   B. the American Indians

  C. Sarah Josepha Hale         D. Governor Bradford

3. We can infer from the passage that New England must be      .

  A. in the U. S. A.  B. in Great Britain

  C. in Canada   D. on some island off the Atlantic

4. Which of the following is NOT true?

  A. Thanksgiving Day used to be a holiday to celebrate a good harvest.

  B. Abraham Lincoln was not the first to decide on thanksgiving celebrations.

  C. Thanksgiving Day is celebrated to express the American and Indian people’s thanks to God.

  D. There’s little difference between the American way and the Canadian way to celebrate Thanksgiving Day.

5. The passage mainly tells us      .

  A. how Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in the U. S. A.

  B. how Thanksgiving Day came into being and the different ways it is celebrated

  C. that Thanksgiving Day is in fact a harvest holiday

  D. how the way to celebrate Thanksgiving Day changed with the time and places

What does it mean to say that we live in a world of persuasion? It means that we live among competing interests. Your roommate’s need to study for an exam may take priority (優(yōu)先) over pizza. Your instructor may have good reasons not to change your grade. And the object of your romantic/inter??est may have other choices.

In such a world, persuasion is the art of getting others to give fair and favorable consideration to our points of view. When we persuade, we want to influence how others believe and behave. We may not always prevail — other points of view may be more persuasive, depending on the listener, the situ??ation, and the merit of the case. But when we practice the art of persuasion, we try to ensure that our position receives the attention it deserves.

Some people, however, object to the very idea of persuasion. They may regard it as an unwelcome interruption into their lives. Just the opposite, we believe that persuasion is unavoidable — to live is to persuade. Persuasion may be ethical (合乎道義的) or unethical, selfless or selfish, inspiring or degrad??ing. Persuaders may enlighten our mind or prey on our vulnerability. Ethical persuasion, however, calls on sound reasoning and is sensitive to the feelings and needs of listeners. Such persuasion can help us apply the wisdom of the past to the decisions we now must make. Therefore, the most basic part of edu??cation is learning to resist the one kind of persuasion and to encourage and practice the other.

Beyond its personal importance to us, persuasion is necessary to society. The right to persuade and be persuaded is the bedrock of the American political system, guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution (美國(guó)憲法).

10. According to the passage, persuasion means ________.

A. changing others’ points of view

B. exercising power over other people

C. getting other people to consider your point of view

D. getting people to agree with you and do what you want

11. The underlined word in the second paragraph “prevail” means________.

A. win           B. fail                C. speak              D. listen

12. The passage states that some people object to persuasion because they think it is ________.

A. a danger to society                B. difficult to do well

C. unwelcome behavior              D. never successful

13. The passage mainly discusses ________.

A. how people persuade

B. why people persuade

C. that persuasion is both good and bad

D. that persuasion is important and it is all around us

All but one＿＿＿＿take part in the conference＿＿＿＿tomorrow.

A.is going to； that is to take place        B.are going to； that is about to take place

C.are going to； that is to be taken place    D.are going to； which is to be held

I know Mr Brown； we ＿＿＿＿＿＿ to each other at an international conference.

A.are introduced     B.have been introduced

C.were introduced     D.had been introduced

—— I’ll go to Korea to watch the 14th Asian Games. Would you mind looking after my dog?

—— Not all. ＿＿＿＿＿.

A.I can’t     B.Please don’t  C.I’d like it     D.I’d be happy to

What does your brother look ＿＿＿＿＿ ?

A.as     B.on     C.after     D.like

In spring, all the flowers in the garden ＿＿＿＿＿ sweet.

A.become     B.taste     C.smell     D.sound