The Golden Egg

    “I don’t want to write a story about girls!I don’t know anything about girls，”Louisa May Alcott told her publisher，Mr．Niles．But she was desperate for money．She seemed to be the only  one in her family who could make any money．Niles had asked her to write about something she knew，instead of the romantic adventure Stories she had been writing．“So I plod away,”Alcolt wrote．“though I don’t enjoy this sort of thing．”It was l867，and the horrible Civil War was over．Now Alcott could turn her energy to making money．

    Alcott wrote a simple story of life in her family，their pillow fights on Saturday nights and the amateur（業(yè)余的）plays they performed．“Our experiences may prove  interesting，though I doubt it．”（“Good joke，”she wrote years later．）Her book described her days growing up with four sisters in a family that had no money．She sketched a loving mother who took time to be interested in each child，and she told of the death of a beloved sister. She portrayed her family and friends in her book Little Women．Finally，in July of 1868，she finished writing．With a sigh and a headache，she sent off all 102 handwritten pages of her book．

    Niles thought the book was dull，and so did Alcott．But when she received her copies of the  book．Alcott thought it seemed better than expected．“Not a bit sensational，”she wrote，“but simple and true．We really lived most of it．”Niles asked some girls to read Little Women，and they loved it．If the girls liked it，Alcott was satisfied．

    In three months，all the copies of Little Women had sold．It was already time to print more books!Niles thought he could sell three or four hundred more copies．”An honest publisher and a luckv author made a dull book into a golden egg for an ugly duckling，”Alcott wrote in 1885．Later，with a great sigh of relief，she was able to write，“Paid off all the debts!Now I feel   that I could die in peace．If my head holds out，I'll do all I once hoped to do．”

    1．Which of the following would be used to describe Alcott’s book?

    A．funny                    B．boring                    C．magic                     D．skillful

    2．In which order did the following happen?

    a．Alcott began writing Little Women．

    b．Niles asked Alcott to write about girls．

    C．Alcott wrote romantic adventure stories．

    d．Alcott performed plays with her sisters．

    e．Niles was not pleased with Alcott’s work．

    A．a，b，e，d，c                                       B．d，c，a，b，e

    C．c，b，e，d，a                                         D．d，c，e，b，a

    3．When she handed her first writing in，she was_______．

    A．sure of her success

    B．happy about her work

    C．unsatisfied with the work

    D．unpleased with the publisher

    4．Alcott took up writing as a job due largely to________．

    A．love                     B．poverty                C．interest                  D．encouragement

5．We learn from the story that，after Little Women sold out，__________．

    A．Alcott wrote another book

    B．some girls started to read the book

    C．Alcott paid off all her debts

    D．Niles published hundreds of books girls liked

    England has a longstanding problem with youngsters dropping out of training.

    Almost half of 17-year-olds in some parts of England have dropped out of fulitime education or training．

    The Statistic（統(tǒng)計）show 49°in Thurrock and 44％ in Salford have dropped out of school or job training．

    Across England，31％of 17-year-olds are not in education or training．

    The figures also reveal（揭示）deep regional（地域性的）divides，with wealthier areas such as Richmon and Harrow recording18％ of 17-year-olds out of official education．

    The statistics confirm（確認）England’s poor international standing for staving-on rates in education．

    The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development considers England’s drop-out rates as among the worst among the industrialised countries．

    Regionally，the statistics show Yorkshire and the Humber has the highest rate of 17-year-olds not in full-time education or work-hased training at 35％．

    Outer London has the highest staying-on rate，with l3％of 17-year-olds having dropped out of official learning．

    In the east of England this figure stands at 31％and at 29％in the South West．

    Edward Davey，Liberal Democrat Shadow Education Secretary，said the govemment “should be ashamed”that so many youngsters were dropping out of school．

    A spokesman for the Department for Education and Skills said the government had carried out a series of reforms，with a￡2．5 bn rise in funding（投資）for further education．

    1．This text mainly talks about________

    A．why so many 17-year-olds have dropped out of education

    B．the troubles facing 17-year—olds across whole England

    C．how the government helps 17-year-olds to go back to school

    D．the problem with 17-year-olds dropping out of school in England

    2．Which part of England has the lowest rate of 17-year-olds dropping out of education?

    A．Thurrock and Salford．

    B．Outer London．

    C．Yorkshire and the Humber．

    D．Richmon and Harrow．

    3．The statistics mentioned in the text show that_______．

    A．industrialised countries have more problems with youngsters dropping out of school

    B．England has a higher rate of youngsters not in education among the industrialised countries

    C．in England different regions have the same rate of 17-year-olds dropping out of school

    D．tool e than half of 17-year-olds in England are not in full-—time education or training time education

4．What Edward Davey said suggests that the government ________．

    A．has done little to solve the problem with youngsters dropping out of school

    B．pays no attention to the problem with youngsters dropping out of school

    C．is doing its best to deal with 17-years-olds’problems across England

    D．will encourage youngsters to stay on in or return to further education

5．In this text，“staying-on”is opposite to“_______”in meaning．

    A．longstanding                                            B．dropping out of

    C．work-based training                                   D．staying at home

New York City consists of five boroughs：Manhattan，Brooklyn，Queens，the Bronx and Staten Island．The population is about 7.5 million living in Manhattan．Manhattan，the center of the city，is on an island between the Hudson River and the East River．Most of the famous buildings such as the Empire State building and the United Nations building and other skyscrapers are in Manhattan．Some of its districts are Broadway，which has many theaters and cinemas；Fifth Avenue，with stores and apartments；Greenwich Village，where many artists and writers have lived and Central Park，with a small zoo and a skating rink．From Manhattan you have to cross to the other boroughs through a tunnel or over a bridge．The bridge from Brooklyn to Staten Island is the longest in the world．

New York is the second largest port in the world and it has two airports：Kennedy Internalional for internalional flights and La Guardia for flights inside the USA．Its temperature goes from very cold in winter（sometimes twenty degrees below zero）to very hot in summer （sometimes 40 centigrade）．The people who l ive there come from all over the world and speak realjy different languages：there are Germans and Poles as well as people from Greece，Scotland，Ireland．Hungary，Italy and Romania．People call one district“Little Italy”and another “Chinatown”．

1．What do we know about Manhattan?

    A．Manhattan is in the east of the city of New York．

    B．There are lots of high-rises in Manhattan。

    C．Manhattan is not a place for artists to live in．

    D．Manhattan is connected to the other parts of New York by highways．

2．If you want to see wonderful plays，you should go to_______．

    A．the Fifth Avenue                                      B．Central Park

    C．Broadway                                               D．the Empire State Building

3．According to the passage，which bridge is the longest in the world?

    A．The bridge between Manhattan and Brooklyn．

    B．The bridge between Staten Island and Brooklyn

    C．The bridge between Manhattan and Staten Island．

    D．The bridge between Broadway and Brooklyn．

4．One district of New York is called Chinatown because________

    A．it is part of China and is administered-by the Chinese government

    B．the main citizens there are mainly from Chinatown

    C．it is a district that has a large number of Chinese people

    D．it iS a district that is famous for Chinese

5．If you go from Italy，you are supposed to get to New York through _______Airport.

    A．Kennedy International                               B．La Guardia 

    C．either of the above two                             D．neither of the above two

閱讀下面的短文，并根據短文后的要求答題。（請注意問題后的字數要求）

    As we rush through our busy days accomplishing our tasks-work，kids，shopping，cleaning, eating and so on，we often complain that we don’t feel good．There is a simple，quick，and effective way that you can feel better throughout the day and also be more attractive.

    All you have to do is smile more．

    Smiling changes your attitude，whether you realize it or not．If you have any doubts，next time you feel down，start smiling and thinking positive thoughts and see what happens．You can’t help but have a better attitude _________．

    Smiling also raises your confidence．

    Smiling affects your emotions because of a brain-body connection．It triggers scientifically measurable activity in the left，frontal cortex-the area of the brain where happiness is registered．

Your face has 44 muscles between the skin，cartilage（軟骨），blood．and hone that you contort（扭曲）l．flex．and move．This lets you make over 5000 different types of expressions．That’s a lot of expressions!And each will have a different effect on your feetings and those looking at you.

Admit it, when someone is smiling, aren’t you drawn in?Don’t you enjoy that person’s company more?We all do．Smiling is a very important part of connecting and getting to know  someone．

    Now that you know how good smiling is for you，make a conscious effort to use this smile  exercise a minimum of six times throughout your day．When you smile，remember to breathe in  through your nose and think positive thoughts．This I guarantee will have a positive influence on  your day and in your life．

    In fact，the result from this simple exercise will have a huge effect．Here’s a basic fact about  energy：it is attracted to energy of a similar frequency．So when you smile not only will you make yourself feel better,you will also attract positive energy into your life．

    So smile!  

1．What is the best title for the passage?（Please answer within 10 words．）

___________________________________________________________________________

  2．Translate the underlined sentence in the first paragraph into Chinese．

___________________________________________________________________________

3．Please fill in the blank in paragraph three with proper words or phrases to complete the sentence．（Please answer within 10 words．） 

___________________________________________________________________________

4．Which sentence in the passage can be replaced by the following one?

    Since you know the benefits of smilin9，try your best to smile at least six times per day．

___________________________________________________________________________

5．Why can we make more than 5，000 different types of expressions?（Please answer within 30 words．）

___________________________________________________________________________

根據下列句意及漢語注釋提示，在句子右邊橫線上寫出空缺處各單詞的正確形式。

1．Examine the results carefully,and you will make a ________（結論）．    1．________

2．His first speech as president made a strong i______on his audience．         2．________

3．I keep my reference books near my desk for________ （方便）．          3．________

4．The restaurant has just e________five new waiters．                               4．________

5．We should___（防衛(wèi)）our country from the attack of other countries．   5．________

The finest and most sought-after violins were handcrafted by an Italian violin maker over 250 years ago. The man’s name was Antonius Stradivarius. He was born in 1644 and began his career   1   a violin maker’s apprentice (學徒). Working on his own by 1680, he became determined to make   2   that could reproduce tones as rich as those produced by the human voice. He  3    several shapes and styles for his violins until he arrived at a design that pleased him. During his career he crafted 1,100 violins. Those in   4   have become treasured possessions.

    Unfortunately, the secret of the Stradivarius violin died with its maker. During his lifetime Stradivarius kept his notes safely   5  , even his two sons, who helped him in his workshop, did not know all the steps involved in each violin’s construction.

    Through the years, many experts have offered    6   explanations for the unique tone of a “Strad”. Some say it is due to the violin’s shape. Others suggest that the secret    7   the special properties(特性) of the wood, which Stradivarius obtained from native Italian trees that no longer exist. The most widely accepted explanation is that it is created by the varnish（清漆） that the    8    used to coat his violins. Chemists have analyzed as closely as possible the varnish and have found its    9    has improved the sound of many violins.   10   , no other violin maker has been able to fully reproduce the tone of the Stradivarius’s violins.

1． A．with                    B．as                    C．for                D．from

2． A．instruments         B．facilities          C．equipment        D．tools

3． A．investigated         B．surveyed         C．tested             D．experimented

4． A．fashion          B．existence           C．possession        D．use

5． A．protected            B．buried           C．hidden           D．covered

6． A．possible          B．accurate         C．detailed           D．persuasive

7． A．brings in          B．takes in          C．results in         D．lies in

8． A．master           B．violinist           C．expert             D．user

9． A．attention         B．application        C．invention         D．foundation

10． A．Additionally     B．Luckily           C．Therefore        D．Still

閱讀下面短文，按照句子結構的語法性和上下文連貫的要求，在空格處填入一個適當的詞或使用括號中詞語的正確形式填空。

Maybe you never opened that account (帳戶), but someone else  1  --- someone who used your name, your credit card number or your  2  (person) information to commit fraud (造假) without letting you know,  3  is actually a crime, pure and simple.

The biggest problem is  4  (probable) that you may not know that someone has taken away your identity  5  you notice that something is wrong: you may get bills for    6    credit card account you never opened, your credit report may include debts you never knew you had,  7  you may see charges on your bills that you didn’t sign for, and even don’t know anything about.

If your identity has really  8  (steal) like that, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) suggests that you should  9  at least two actions immediately.                          

First, contact the fraud departments of the major credit offices and ask them  10  copies of your credit reports.

Then, review your reports carefully to check your corrections and changes.

A little under one-third of U.S. families have no Internet access and do not plan to get it, with most of the holdouts seeing little use for it in their lives, according to a survey released on Friday.

Park Associates, a Dallas-based technology market research firm, said 29 percent of U.S. families, or 31 million homes, do not have Internet access and do not intend to subscribe（預訂） to an Internet service over the next 12 months. The second annual National Technology Scan conducted by Park found that the main reason why potential customers say they do not subscribe to the Internet is because of the low value to their daily lives rather than concerns over cost.

Forty-four percent of these families say they are not interested in anything on the Internet, versus just 22 percent who say they cannot afford a computer or the cost of Internet service, the survey showed. The answer "I'm not sure how to use the Internet" came from 17 percent of participants who do not subscribe. The response "I do all my e-commerce shopping and YouTube-watching at work" was cited by 14 percent of Internet-access refuseniks. Three percent said the Internet doesn't reach their homes.

The study found U.S. broadband adoption grew to 52 percent over 2006, up from 42 percent in 2005．Roughly half of new subscribers converted（轉變） from slower-speed, dial-up Internet access while the other half of families had no prior access.

"The industry continues to chip （擊破）away at the core of non-subscribers, but has a long way to go," said John Barrett, director of research at Parks Associates. "Entertainment applications will be the key. If anything will pull in the holdouts, it's going to be applications that make the Internet more similar to pay-TV," he predicted.

1．What does the underlined word “holdouts” in the first paragraph most probably mean?

A．some American families       

B．those who hold out one’s opinions

C．those who have been surveyed    

D．those who still haven’t access to the Internet currently

2．Many potential customers refuse to subscribe to the Internet mainly because __________.

A．they show too much concern about the cost

B．they can find little value of it

C．they do most You Tube-watching at work

D．the Internet doesn’t reach their homes

3．From the passage we can infer that _____________.

A．It is not an easy job to transform those holdouts into the Internet users

B．people will adopt dial-up Internet access no more

C．many Americans enjoy doing e-commerce shopping at home

D．more than half of the population are using the Internet in 2005

4．According to John Barrett, what is the key to attracting more U.S. families to broadband service?

A．making the Internet look more similar to TV set

B．applying the Internet more to entertainment

C．providing more pay-TV programs

D．chipping away at the core of non-subscribers

5．Which is the best title for the passage?

A．Web develops with technology

B．The present situation of web

C．Many Americans see little point to web

D．It is urgent to promote web service

Against the supposition that forest fires in Alaska, Canada and Siberia warm the climate, scientists have discovered that cooling may occur in areas where burnt trees allow more snow to mirror more sunlight into space.

    This finding suggests that taking steps to prevent northern forest fires to limit the release of greenhouse gases may warm the climate in northern regions. Usually large fires destroyed forests in these areas over the past decade. Scientists predict that with climate warming, fires may occur more frequently over the next several centuries as a result of a longer fire season. Sunlight taken in by the earth tends to cause warming, while heat mirrored back into space tends to cause cooling.

    This is the first study to analyze all aspects of how northern fires influence climate. Earlier studies by other scientists have suggested that fire in northern regions speed up climate warming because greenhouse gases from burning trees and plants are released into the atmosphere and thus trap heat.

    Scientists found that right after the fire, large amounts of greenhouse gases entered the atmosphere and caused warming. Ozone（臭氧） levels increased, and ash from the fire fell on far-off sea ice, darkening the surface and causing more radiation from the sun to be taken in. The following spring, however, the land within the area of the fire was brighter than before the fire, because fewer trees covered the ground. Snow on the ground mirrored more sunlight back into space, leading to cooling.

    “We need to find out all possible ways to reduce the growth of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.” Scientists tracked the change in the amount of radiation entering and leaving the climate system as a result of the fire, and found a measurement closely related to the global air temperature. Typically, fire in northern regions occurs in the same area every 80 to 150 years. Scientists, however, found that when fire occurs more frequently, more radiation is lost from the earth and cooling results. Specifically, they determined when fire returns 20 years earlier than predicted, 0.5 watts per square meter of area burned are soaked up by the earth from greenhouse gases, but 0.9 watts per square meter will be sent back into space. The net effect is cooling. Watts are used to measure the rate at which energy is gained or lost from the earth.

1．According to the new findings, taking steps to prevent northern forest fires may __________.

A．result in a warming climate

B．cause the forest fires to occur more frequently

C．lead to a longer fire season            

D．protect the forests and the environment there

2．The following are all the immediate effects after a forest fire EXCEPT __________.

A．large amounts of greenhouse gases enter the atmosphere

B．the levels of ozone which is a type of oxygen increase

C．snow on the ground mirrors more sunlight back into space

D．ashes from the fire fall on the ice surface and take in more radiation from the sun

3．Earlier studies about northern forest fires __________.

A．analyze all aspects of how northern fires influence climate

B．indicate that forest fires will pollute the atmosphere

C．suggest that people should take measures to protect environment

D．suggest that the fires will speed up climate warming

4. The underlined phrase “soak up” in the last paragraph most probably means __________.

A．released         B．absorbed       C．created      D．distributed

5．From the passage we can draw a conclusion that forest fires in Alaska, Canada and Siberia may __________.

A．warm the climate as the supposition goes

B．allow more snow to reflect more sunlight into space and thus cool the climate

C．destroy large areas of forests and pollute the far-off sea ice

D．help to gain more energy rather than release more energy

Kincaid looked at his watch: eight-seventeen. The truck started on the second try, and he backed out, shifted gears, and moved slowly down the alley under hazy sun. Through the streets of Bellingham he went, heading south on Washington 11, running along the coast of Puget Sound for a few miles, then following the highway as it swung east a little before meeting U.S Route 20.

Turning into the sun, he began the long, winding drive through the Cascades. He liked this country and felt impressed，stopping now and then to make notes about interesting possibilities for future expeditions or to shoot what he called “memory snapshots.” The purpose of these causal photographs was to remind him of places he might want to visit again and approach more seriously. In later afternoon he turned north at Spokane, picking up U.S Route 2, which would take him halfway across the northern United States to Duluth, Minnesota.

He wished for the thousandth time in his life that he had a dog, a golden retriever, maybe, for travels like this and to keep him company at home. But he was frequently away; overseas much of the time and it would not be fair to the animal. Still, he thought about it anyway. In a few years he would be getting too old for the hard fieldwork. “I must get a dog then.” He said to himself.

Drives like this always put him into a sentimental mood. The dog was part of it. Robert Kincaid was alone as it’s possible to be – an only child, parents both dead, distant relatives who had lost track of him and he of them, no close friends.

He thought about Marian. She had left him nine years ago after five years of marriage. He was fifty–two now, that would make her just under forty. Marian had dreams of becoming a musician, a folksinger. She knew all of the Weavers’ songs and sang them pretty well in the coffeehouse of Seattle. When he was home in the old days, he drove her to the shows and sat in the audience while she sang.

His long absences – two or three months sometimes – were hard on the marriage. He knew that. She was aware of what he did when they decided to get married, and both of them had a vague (not clear) sense that it could all be handled somehow. It couldn’t when he came from photographing a story in Iceland and, she was gone. The note read, “Robert, it didn’t work out, I left you the Harmony guitar. Stay in touch.”

He didn’t stay in touch. Neither did she. He signed the divorce papers when they arrived a year later and caught a plane for Australia the next day. She had asked for nothing except her freedom.

1．Which route is the right one taken by Kincaid?

A．Bellingham – Washington 11 – Puget Sound – U.S Route 20 – U.S Route 2 – Duluth

B．U.S. Route 2 – Bellingham – Washington 11 – Puget Sound – U.S Route 20 – Duluth

C．U.S. Route 2 – U.S Route 20 – Duluth – Bellingham – Washington 11

D．Bellingham – Washington 11 –U.S. Route 2 –U.S Route 20 –Duluth

2．Which statement is true according to the passage?

A．Kincaid’s parents were dead and he only kept in touch with some distant relatives.

B．Kincaid would have had a dog if he hadn’t been away from home too much.

C．Kincaid used to have a golden retriever.

D．Kincaid needed a dog in doing his hard fieldwork.

3．Why did Kincaid stop to take photos while driving?

A．To write “memory snapshots”.

B．To remind himself of places he might want to visit again.

C．To avoid forgetting the way back.

D．To shoot beautiful scenery along the road.

4．What can you know about Marian?

A．She died after five years of marriage.

B．She was older than Kincaid.

C．She could sing very well and earned big money.

D．She was not a professional pop singer.

5．We can draw a conclusion from the passage that _____

A．Marian knew what would happen before she married Kincaid.

B．Kincaid thought his absence would be a problem when he married Marian.

C．It turned out that Marian could not stand Kincaid’s absence and left him.

D．After Marian left him, they still kept in touch with each other.