English is the working language of the most international organizations.

It’s not polite to arrive at a dinner party more than 15 to 20 minutes late. The host or hostess usually waits for all the guests to arrive before serving the meal. If someone is late, the food may be spooked , and so might the host of hostess’s spirit. If you will have to be late, call and tell them to start without you.

  It’s even worse to be early !the host or hostess will probably not be ready. If you are early, drive or walk around the block a few minutes, or just sit in your car until the right time.

  Though it’s often important to arrive at a party on time, yet on the other hand, for open houses, he host or hostess invites guests to arrive and leave between certain times, so you can arrive at any time within the times he or she gives you.

  It’s nice to bring an empty stomach, but it’s even nicer to bring a small present. The present should not cost a lot, or you might embarrass the host or hostess. Flowers, wine, or a box of candy will do fine. Never bring more as a present.

In an introduction, the order of a name is (1)the given name, (2)the family name. In other words, the given name comes first. It’s important not only to learn and remember names, but to repeat them often in conversation. After the introduction, we usually call friends by their given names. Older people may want you to call them by their titles and family names, such as “Mr.Jones”, “Mr.Smith”,”Ms.Johson”,or “Dr.Brown”.

  A maiden name is a woman’s family name at birth. In the United States and Canada, after a woman marries, she takes the family name of her husband in place of her maiden name. It is now becoming common, however, for women to keep their maiden names after they get married.

41.   If someone is late for a dinner party, _______

A. the guest will have to go hungry

B. the host and the hostess will be in low spirits

C. the host and the hostess will be very angry

D. he guests will be angry

42.   If you find you will have to be late for a finer party, you should _____

A.       send someone to tell the host or hostess not to wait for you

B.        call and tell the host or the hostess not to wait for you

C.        call and tell the host or the hostess to wait for you

D.       send someone to tell the host or hostess to wait for you

43.   It can be guessed from the text that an open house is______

A.       a house which is open day and night

B.        a party which is open to anybody

C.        a party at which guests can come and go between certain times

D.       a party which is open at night

44.   It’s nice to bring a _______ present.

A.       cheap

B.        small

C.        good

D.       big

45.   Some older people usually want to be called by _____

A.       their given names

B.        their titles and their family names

C.        their family names

D.       surnames

How much rain has fallen on the earth in the past? Man has not always kept weather records. Because scientists need a way to learn about past rainfall, they study the tree rings.

A tree’s trunk (樹干) keeps growing year by year. Under its bark (樹皮), a tree adds a layer of new wood each year it lives. If you look at a tree stump, you can see the layers. They are called annual ring (年輪).

On some trees, all of the rings are of the same width. But the ponderosa(美國黃松) that grows in the American southwest have rings in different withes. The soil in he southwest is dry. The pines depend on rainfall for water. In a year of good rainfall, they form wide rings. In a dry year, they form narrow ones.

Scientists do not have to cut down a pine to study its rings. With a special tool, they remove a narrow piece of wood from the trunk without harming the tree. Then they look at the width of each ring to see how much rain fell in the year it formed.

Some pines are hundreds of years old and have hundreds of rings. These rings are from an annual record o0f past rainfall in the southwest.

36. We could infer from the passage that ______.

       A. a tree grows faster when it has a lot of water

      B. scientists cut down trees to study tree rings

      C. pine trees form rings of he same width every year

      D. the ponderosa grows in he southeast

37. A tree grows a new layer of wood _____.

      A. each week        B. whenever it rains     C. every year        D. every season

38. On the whole, the passage is about _____.

       A. why the tree trunks grow bigger

      B. why scientists study tree rings

      C. trees that lived hundreds of years ago

      D. the ponderosa in the US

39. The scientists _____ to know how much rain fell in a certain area in the past.

      A. climbed up the tree                               B. moved the pine tree

     C. removed a piece of wood                      D. studied the width of he tree rings

40. Which of he following is true according to the passage?

       A. Young trees have fewer annual rings than old one.

      B. The trunk of a tree never changes in size.

      C. Trees in the southwest do not need rain.

      D. Soil in the southwest is fit for the growth of trees.

Robison was born in a very poor family. At seven, he had to pick cal in a deserted mine, then he 16 what he had picked and earned a few coins to help his parents. He had 17 schooling. 18 so poor, how could they pay for the education?

When he was fifteen, he worked 19 a servant in a school, looking at other children studying in the classroom, he felt 20 for himself. How he wished to have the same chance. He 21 to study by himself. In the day time after the sweeping and cleaning was over, he 22 stand by the window outside the classroom trying to 23 what the teacher said. At night, he tried his best to remember 24 he had learned during the day. He worked 25 hard at the lessons that he sometimes had just three or four hours’ 26. The more he learned, the 27 he wanted to learn.

A maths teacher 28 him and came to like this diligent(刻苦) boy and 29 him to sit at the back of the class. In 30 exam, he was the one in the whole school who reached the 31 grade.

Robison went on for six years 32 his study of maths and wrote several articles which drew the attention of some university professors. They appreciated (欣賞) his talent and his diligence. 33 him the better chance they employed him as a librarian and 34 him free guidance. Robison was filled with joy. Fro he felt that before him there was a broad road leading to 35.

 It is 10 o’clock now. He _____ be back at any time.

A. must              B. should                  C. may                      D. can

Long years of hard work made _____ possible for him to enter a key university in Beijing.

A. that                B. this                      C. it                           D. which

The small village has _____ a town.

A. grown up        B. grown into            C. brought up            D. became

I don’t have the information about SARS, but I’ll _____ later.

A. find                B. find it                   C. find out it              D. find it out

The thought of summer suggests _____.

A. swimming                  B. to swim                C. we swim                D. that he swims

My suggestion is that a plan for study ____ at first.

A. will be made                 B. be made                 C. was made               D. be should made