What is eBay? The simple answer is that it is a global trading platform where nearly anyone can trade practically anything. People can sell and buy all kinds of products and goods, including cars, movies and DVDs, sporting goods, travel tickets, musical instruments, clothes and shoes — the list goes on and on 
The idea came from Peter Omidyar, who was born in Paris and moved to Washington when he was still a child. At high school, he became very interested in computer programming and after graduating from Tuft University in 1988, he worked for the next few years as a computer engineer. In his free time he started Bay as a kind of hobby, at first offering the service free by word of mouth. By 1996 there was so much traffic on the website that he had to upgrade (升級) and he began charging a fee to members. Joined by a friend, Peter Skill, and in 1998 by his capable CEO, Meg Whitman, he has never looked back. Even in the great crashes of the late 1990s, ebay has gone from strength to strength. It is now one of the ten most visited online shopping websites on the Internet 
Ebay sells connections, not goods, putting buyer and seller into contact with each other. All you have to do is lake an e-photo, write a description, fill out a sales form and you are in business.  The world is your market place. Of course for each item, eBay gets a percentage and that is a great deal of money. Every day there are more than sixteen million items listed on eBay and eighty percent of the items are sold.
42. We learn from the text that eBay provides people with _________.
A. a way of buying and selling goods 
B. a place to show their own photos
C. a website for them to upgrade
D. a chance to buy things at low prices 
43. Why did Peter create eBay after graduating from university? 
A. For fun                                     B. To make money 
C. For gathering the engineers                            D. To fulfill a task of his company 
44. From “he has never looked back” in Paragraph 2 we learn that Peter _________.
A. did not feel lonely                             B. was always hopeful 
C. did not think about the past                             D. became more and more successful 
45. How does eBay make money from its website? 
A. By bringing sellers together.                             B. By charging for each sale 
C. By listing items online                             D. By making e-photos.  

Do you want to improve the way you study? Do you feel nervous before a test? Many students say that a lack of concentration is their biggest problem. It has bad effects on their ability to study, so do their test results.
If so, use these tips to help you.
Study Techniques  
You should always study in the same place. You shouldn’t sit in a position that you use for another purpose. For example, when you sit on a sofa to study, your brain will think it is time to relax. Don’t watch TV while you are studying. Experts warn that your concentration may be reduced by 50 percent if you attempt to study in this way. Always try to have a white wall in front of you, so there is nothing to distract (make less concentrated) you. Before sitting down to study, gather together all the equipment you need. Apart from your textbooks, pens, pencils and knives, make sure you have a dictionary. If your study desk or table is needed when you are not studying, store all your equipment in a box beside it.
Your eyes will become tired if you try to read a text which is on a flat surface. Position your book at an angle of 30 degrees.
Be realistic and don’t try to complete too much in one study period. Finish one thing before beginning another. If you need a break, get up and walk around for a few minutes, but try not to telephone a friend or have something to eat.
Test-taking Skills
All your hard work will be for nothing if you are too nervous to take your test. Getting plenty of rest is very important. This means do not study all night before your test! It is a better idea to have a long-term study plan. Try to make a timetable for your study which lasts a few months.
Exercise is a great way to reduce pressure. Doing some form of exercise every day will also improve your concentration. Eat healthy food too.
When you arrive in the examination room, find your seat and sit down. Breathe slowly and deeply. Check the time on the clock during the test, but not too often. Above all, take no notice of everyone else and give the test paper your undivided attention.
31. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A. You should study in a different place every day so that you don’t get bored.
B. Your concentration will improve if you study and watch TV at the same time.
C. Check the time during the exam at a certain time.
D. Staying up all night is tiring, but you will learn a lot using this method.
32. What does the underlined word “it” refer to?
A. Your study desk or table.                               B. Your textbook.
C. Your dictionary.                                                D. The equipment you need.
33. What can be inferred from the passage?
A. You shouldn’t look at everyone else during the test.
B. You’ll have enough energy to deal with and concentrate on your study and exams better by eating healthy diet.
C. You’ll concentrate more if there is nothing to distract you.
D. If you need a break during study, you can walk around for a few minutes.

Computer programmer David Jones makes 35,000 pounds a year designing new computer games, yet he cannot find a bank prepared to let him have a credit card (信用卡). Instead, he has been told to wait another two years, until he is 18.
The 16-year-old boy works for a small firm in Liverpool, where the problem of most young people of his age is finding a job. David’s firm puts two new games on the home market each month.
But David’s biggest headache is what to do with his money. In spite of his salary, made by inventing new programs within a quite short period of time, the bonus payments and profit-sharing (獎金和分紅), he cannot drive a car, get some money from a bank to buy a house, or get credit cards.
He lives with his parents in their house in Liverpool, where his father is a bus driver. His firm has to pay ￡150 a month in taxi fares to get him the five miles to work and back every day because David cannot drive.
David got his job with the firm a year after leaving school with six 0-levels and working for a time in a computer shop. “I got the job because the people who run the firm knew I had already written some programs,” he said.
“I suppose 35,000 pounds sounds a lot but actually that’s not good enough. I hope it will come to more than that this year.” He spends some of his money on records and clothes, and gives his mother 20 pounds a week. But most of his spare time is spent working.
“Unfortunately, computing was not part of our studies at school,” he said. “But I had been studying it in books and magazines for four years in my spare time. I know what I wanted to do and never considered staying on at school. Most people in this business are fairly young, anyway.”
David added, “I would like to earn a million and I suppose early retirement (退休) is a possibility. You never know when the market might disappear.”
36. Why is David different from other young people of his age?
A. He earns a very high salary.
B. He has not a job.
C. He does not go out much.
D. He lives at home with his parents.
37. David’s greatest problem is ____________.
A. making the banks treat him as a grown-up
B. inventing computer games
C. spending his salary
D. learning to drive
38. He was hired by the firm because ____________.
A. he had worked in a computer shop
B. he had written some computer programs
C. he worked very hard
D. he had learned to use computers at school
39. He left school after taking six 0-levels because ____________.
A. he did not enjoy school
B. he wanted to work with computers and staying at school did not help him
C. he was afraid of getting too old to start computing
D. he wanted to earn a lot of money
40. Why does David think he might retire early?
A. One has to be young to write computer programs.   
B. He wants to stop working when he is a millionaire.
C. He thinks computer games might not always sell so well.
D. He thinks his firm might go bad.

My topic is fashion(時裝). Fashion is important to all of us. Now we are all wearing school uniforms(校服). When we go home, what do we do? We change into other clothes. If we are going out, we like to wear fashionable clothes. So my first object is this blouse. It looks beautiful, doesn’t it? It is the most expensive piece of clothing, and I love it. It cost over ＄600. You may say that it is too expensive, but luckily I can afford it. The more you spend, the better the quality is. So you see, fashion is quite important to me, I admire it.
However, I’m not as fond of fashion as my elder brother. Last summer, my parents took us both to London. They wanted to show us some famous sights. But my brother Gary did not appreciate the old buildings. He just wanted to spend all his time in the big shopping arcades(拱廊), searching for the coolest pair of trousers! For him, fashion was more important than culture. These are the trousers he bought. Were they worth the expensive of a trip to London to buy these? I don’t think so. I think it was a waste of time and money.
We must, however, remember that fashion is a very big business. Changes in fashion can create or lose jobs. As an example, I have bought this blonde(淡黃色的) wig(假發(fā)) to show you. Do you like it? It belongs to one of my mother’s friends. She told me that in the 1960s, it was fashionable for western women to wear wigs. But a few years later fashions changed and women wore wigs much less often. Then the wig factories closed down and hundreds of workers lost their jobs.
53. The passage may be ____.  
A. a story from a magazine        B. a piece of news from a newspaper
C. a report on the radio           D. a speech to the classmates
54. The author （作者）showed all these objects EXCEPT_____ in the passage.
A. the blonde wig                B. the expensive blouse
C. the coolest trousers             D. the school uniform
55. What does the author （作者）want to tell us in last paragraph?
A. Wigs were always popular
B. People in the east once liked wearing blonde wigs
C. Fashion is actually a business
D. Business often depends on the production of wigs.

    As bananas ripen， the green skin turns ye11ow gradually. Chemical changes occur in the f1esh of the fruit as well：starch（淀粉）changes to sugar；pectin（果膠）breaks down，losing its stiffness； and the f1esh softens.
Is ripening fruit a self－contained system， or is the rate of these changes affected by the environment？ We designed the experiment below to see if different atmospheres， produced by different packaging， affected the rate of ripening. You will vary the atmosphere surrounding unripe bananas and observe the effect on the ripening process。
Now set up the bananas in their environments as follows：
1. Put two green bananas in a paper bag and fo1d the top over to seal out the air.
2．Put one green banana and the very ripe banana in the other paper bag and fold over the top.
3. Put two green bananas in a plastic bag and seal it.
4. Wrap（包）one green banana tightly in a plastic bag.
5. Leave one green banana exposed to the air.
Leave the fruit a1one or five days to ripen. Ripening fruit“breathes”． This means that it takes up oxygen and gives off C02. Oxygen is extremely important and necessary for the chemical reactions involved in ripening. In addition, ripening fruit gives off another gas, called ethylene（乙烯）. Not only is ethylene a product of ripening fruit, it also promotes the further ripening of the fruit.
Paper bags tend to keep the ethylene in, but they allow oxygen and ethylene to pass through slowly. Plastic bags do not allow the free flow of oxygen or ethylene. In this experiment, the green banana in paper bag with the ripe banana should ripen most quickly. The green bananas in the paper bag should ripen faster than the bananas in the plastic bag. The banana left exposed to air has an unlimited supply of oxygen, so it will turn brown most quickly. You will notice that the side of this banana that rests on the counter will ripen more quickly than the other sides, because it has the
closest contact（接觸）with its own ethylene. The banana that is tightly wrapped in plastic has no oxygen supply and should ripen most slowly. Now can you see why bananas are sealed in plastic in many supermarkets？
72. What makes the green banana in Bag 2 ripen more quickly than the ones in Bag 1？
A. Ethylene from the very ripe banana.            B. The free flow of oxygen or ethylene
C. C02 from the very ripe banana.                     D. The limitation of oxygen supply.
73. How can we slow down the ripening of bananas exposed to the air？
A. To rest them on the counter.                                   B. To keep them in the basket.
C. To put them on the ground.                                     D. To hang them up from the ceiling
74. It can be concluded from the passage that          .
A. the ripening banana is a self-contained system
B. the rate of ripening bananas is affected by the environment
C. wrapped bananas experience no chemical changes to ripen
D. ripening bananas give off oxygen, C0, and ethylene
75. Why are bananas sealed in plastic in many supermarkets？
A. To make them ripen more quickly.                B. To make them ripen more slowly.
C. To make banana flesh soften.                        D. To turn green bananas yellow.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is one of the most loved children’s books of all time, and many adults enjoys it as well. It tells the story of a young girl named Alice, who follows a rabbit entering a magical world called Wonderland. She has many experiences which seem to change the rules of reasoning or common sense. The popularity of the book comes from its imagination, interesting story, and art work.
Charles later wrote the story down under the name Alice’s Adventures Under Ground  and gave it to Alice as a Christmas present. Later, he gave a copy to his friend George MacDonald. George read it to his children and they loved it. George suggested to Charles that he make a book from his story. Charles then wrote more parts to the story until it was around 35,000 words. It was first printed in 1866, with art work by John Tenniel, under the name Alice’s  Adventures in Wonderland . The book was an immediate success.
even mentioned in the popular l999 film The Matrix by the character Morpheus.
56．The passage is mainly about             .
A. Charles’ family life
B. a girl’s adventurous experiences
C. a magical world called Wonderland
D. the birth of a book and its lasting influences .
57. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage？
A. The writer published his works under his real name.
B. The character Alice originated from George’s child.
C. John contributed partly to the popularity of the book.
D. Charles offered a copy to George for advice.
58. We can learn from the passage that          .
A. Queen Victoria asked for a few of Charles' writings
B. Charles had a gift for reasoning and writing
C. Charles had all his works translated into fifty languages
D. The Matrix was based on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
59. Which of the following is the right order of the passage？
a. Charles gave his story to Alice as a Christmas present.
b. Charles had a picnic with three little girls on the Thames.
c. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was first printed in 1866.
d. More parts were added to the story by Charles.
e. The book won a large number of fans.
A. c-b-a-d-e       B. c-a-b-e-d        C. b-a-d-c-e        D. b-a-c-e-d

Every artist knows in his heart that he is saying something to the public. Not only does he want to say it well, but he wants it to be something which has not been said before. He hopes the public will listen and understand what he wants to teach them, and what he wants them to learn from him.
What visual artists like painters want to teach is easy to make out but difficult to explain, because painters translate their experience into shapes and colors, not words. They seem to feel that a certain selection of shapes and colors, out of countless billions possible, is exceptionally interesting for them and worth showing to us. Without their work we should never have noticed these particular shapes and colors, or have felt the delight which they brought to the artist.
Most artists take their shapes and colors from the world of nature and from human bodies in motion (運動) and at rest; their choices show that these aspects (方面) of the world are worth looking at, and that they contain beautiful sights. Modern artists might say that they only choose subjects that provide an interesting pattern, and that there is nothing more in it. Yet they do not choose entirely without reference to the character of their subjects.
If one painter chooses to paint a decaying (腐爛) leg and another a lake in moonlight, each of them is directing out attention to a certain aspect of the world. Each painter is telling us something, showing us something, explaining something – all of which means that he is trying to teach us.
50．According to the passage, all of the following is true except_________.
A．An artist wants to show something meaningful
B．An artist hopes that the public will understand and learn from him
C．An artist asks the public to believe what he says in his work
D．An artist intends to present something that has not been said before
51．It is hard to explain what a painter is saying, because           .
A．a painter uses unusual words and phrases
B．a painter uses shapes and colors instead of words
C．most painters do not express themselves well
D．many painters do not say anything
52．Modern artists might say their choice of subject         .
A．only provides interesting patterns
B．carries a message to the public
C．has no pattern or form
D．teaches the public important truths
53．The underlined word “exceptionally” in the 2^nd paragraph probably means        .
A．entirely               B．generally             C．especially            D．usually

We all know that everyone becomes a little more forgetful as they get older, but men's minds decline(衰退) more than women's, according to the results of a worldwide survey.
General differences seem to be inherent in male and female brains: Men are better at maintaining and dealing with mental images (useful in mathematical reasoning and spatial skills), while women tend to excel (擅長) at recalling information from their brain's files. Many studies have looked for a connection between sex and the amount of mental decline people experience as they age, but the results have been mixed. Some studies found more age-related decline in men than in women, while others saw the opposite or even no relationship at all between sex and mental decline. Those results could be improper because the studies involved older people, and women live longer than men: The men tested are the survivors, "so they're the ones that may not have shown such cognitive decline," said study team leader Elizabeth of the University of Warwick in England.
Scientists surveyed completed four tasks that tested sex-related cognitive skills: matching an object to its rotated form, matching lines shown from the same angle, typing as many words in a particular category (范疇) as possible in the given time, e.g. "object usually colored gray", and recalling the location of objects in a line drawing. The first two were tasks at which men usually excel; the latter are typically dominated by women. Within each age group studied, men and women performed better in their separate categories on average. And though performance declined with age for both genders, women showed obviously less decline than men overall.
49．According to the passage, which of the following can NOT be typed into the same category?
A．cloud                 B．sheep                 C．trees                  D．goose
50．Which of the following statements is true according the article?
A．Men do better than women when it comes to learning English.
B．Women stand out at remembering people’s names.
C．Men excel at typing as many words in a particular category as possible in the given time.
D．Women excel at dealing mathematic problems.
51．One important factor that affects the correctness of the results is that _________.
A．the old men tested may not have shown such cognitive decline
B．people surveyed are all old
C．people taking part in this test came from all over the world
D．women live longer than men
52．The author aims to tell us that __________.
A．women’s minds perform better than men’s
B．men’s minds decline more with age
C．everyone becomes a little more forgetful as they get older
D．a survey on human’s mind decline was done recently

Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side.
Most people know this joke.  But recently, some people have been much more worried about how the grizzly bear and mountain lion can cross the road.
“Millions of animals die each year on U.S. roads,” the Federal Highway Administration reports.  In fact, only about 80 ocelots, an endangered wild cat, exist in the U.S. today. The main reason? Roadkill.
“Eco-passages” may help animals cross the road without being hit by cars.  They are paths both over and under roads.  “These eco-passages can be extremely useful, so that wildlife can avoid road accidents,” said Jodi Hilty of the Wildlife Protection Society.
But do animals actually use the eco-passages?  The answer is yes.  Paul Beier of Northern Arizona University found foot marks left by mountain lions on an eco-passage that went under a highway.  This showed that the lions used the passage.
Builders of eco-passages try to make them look like a natural part of an area by planting trees on and around them.  Animals seem to be catching on.  Animals as different as salamanders (火蜥蜴) and grizzly bears are using the bridges and underpasses.
The next time you visit a park or drive through an area with a lot of wildlife, look around.  You might see an animal overpass!
41. The writer uses the example of “ocelots” to show that _______.
A. wild animals have become more dangerous
B. the driving condition has improved greatly
C. the measure for protecting wildlife fails to work
D. an increasing number of animals are killed in road accidents
42. From the story, we know an eco-passage is ________.
A. an underground path for cars                  B. a fence built for the safety of the area
C. a bridge for animals to get over a river       D. a path for animals to cross the road
43. When the writer says that “animals seem to be catching on”(Para. 6), he means __.
A. animals begin to realize the dangers on the road
B. animals begin to learn to use eco-passages
C. animals are crossing the road in groups      
D. animals are increasing in number
44. The writer asks visitors and drivers to look around when traveling because _____.
A. wild animals may attack cars                 B. wild animals may jam the road
C. they may see wild animals in the park  D. they may see wild animals on eco-passages
45. The best title for the passage is ________.
A. Special bridges help animals cross the road      B. Endangered animals increase because of roadkill
C. Animals fail to cross the road                 D. Take steps to protect animals in danger

     If your boss asks you to work in Moscow this year，he'd better offer you more money to do so--or even double that depending on where you live now．That's because Moscow has just been found to be the world's most expensive city for the second year in a row by Mercer Human Resources Consulting.
Using the cost of living in New York as a base，Mercer determined Moscow is 34.4 percent more expensive including the cost of housing，transportation，food，clothing，household goods and entertainment(娛樂)．
A two-bedroom flat in Moscow now costs$4,000 a month；a CD$24.83， and an international newspaper $6.30，according to Mercer．By comparison，a fast food meal with a hamburger  (漢堡包)is a steal at$480．
London takes the No.2 place，up from No.5 a year ago，thanks to higher cost of housing and a stronger British pound relative to the dollar. Mercer estimates(估算)London is 26 percent more expensive than New York these days．Following London closely are Seoul and Tokyo，both of which are 22 percent more expensive than New York，while No.5 Hong Kong is l9 percent more costly．
Among North American cities，New York and Los Angeles are the most expensive and are the only two listed in the top 50 of the world's most expensive cities．But both have mien since last year's study--New York came in15th,down from 10th place，while Los Angeles fell to 42nd from 29th place a year ago．San Francisco came in a distant third at No.54，down  20 places from a year earlier．
Toronto, meanwhile，is Canada's most expensive city but fell 35 places to take 82nd place worldwide．In Australia．Sydney is the priciest place to live in and No．21 worldwide．
65. What do the underlined words "a steal" in Paragraph 3 mean?
A. an act of stealing              B. something delicious
C. something very cheap                  D. an act of buying
66. London has become the second most expensive city because of ______.
A. the high cost of clothing        B. the stronger pound against the dollar
C. its expensive transportation       D. the high prices of fast food meals
67. Which city is the third most expensive on the list?
A. Tokyo        B. Hong Kong       C. Moscow      D. Los Angeles
68. Which city has dropped most on the list in North America?
A. New York．    B. Los Angeles．    C. San Francisco   D. Tokyo