Most British telephone cards are just plain green, but card collecting is becoming a popular hobby in Britain and collectors even have their own magazine, International Telephone Cards. One reason for their interest is that cards from around the world come in a wide variety of different and often very attractive designs. There are 100, 000 different cards in Japan alone, and there you can put your own design onto a blank card simply by using a photograph or a business card.
　　The first telephone cards, produced in 1976, were Italian. Five years later the first British card appeared, and now you can buy cards in more than a hundred countries. People usually start collecting cards because they are attractive, small and light , and they do not need much space. It is also a cheap hobby for beginners, although for some people it becomes a serious business. In Paris, for example, there is a market where you can buy only telephone cards, and some French cards cost up to 4, 000 pounds. The first Japanese card has a value of about 28, 000 pounds. Most people only see cards with prices like these in their collectors magazine.
【小題1】The text is mainly about ________ .

A．the history of phone cards	B．phone card collecting as a hobby
C．reason for phone card collecting	D．the great variety of phone cards

【小題2】When did people in Britain begin to use phone cards?

A．In 1971.

B．In 1975.

C．In 1976.

D．In 1981.

【小題3】The main reason for most people to collect phone cards is that ________ .

A．they find the cards beautiful and easy to keep

B．they like to have something from different countries

C．they want to make money with cards

D．they think the cards are convenient to use

【小題4】The writer mentions a market in Paris in order to show that ________

A．card collecting is popular among young people

B．French and Japanese cards are the most valuable

C．people can make money out of card collecting

D．card collectors magazines are very useful

Recently a Beijing father sent in a question at an Internet forum (論壇) asking what “PK” meant.
“My family has been watching the ‘Super Girl’ singing competition TV programme. My little daughter asked me what ‘PK’ meant, but I had no idea,” explained the puzzled father.
To a lot of Chinese young people who have been playing games online, it is impossible not to know this term. In such Internet games, “PK” is short for “Player Kill”, in which two players fight until one ends the life of the other.
In the case of the “Super Girl” singing competition, “PK” was used to refer to the stage where two singers have to compete with each other for only one chance to go up in competition ranking (排名).
Like this father, Chinese teachers at high schools have also been finding their students’ compositions using Internet jargons which are difficult to understand. A high school teacher from Tianjin asked her students to write compositions with simple language, but they came up with a lot of Internet jargons that she didn’t understand.
“My ‘GG’ came back this summer from college. He told me I’ve grown up to be a ‘PLMM’. I loved to ‘FB’ with him together; he always took me to the ‘KPM’,” went one composition.
“GG” means Ge Ge (Chinese pinyin for brother). “PLMM” refers to Piao Liang Mei Mei (beautiful girl). “FB” means Fu Bai (corruption). “KPM” is short for KFC, Pizza Hut and McDonald’s.
Some specialists welcome Internet jargons as a new development in language.
If you do not even know what a Kong Long (dinosaur, referring to an ugly looking female) or a Qing Wa (frog, referring to an ugly looking male) is, you will possibly be regarded as a Cai Niao!
【小題1】 By writing the article, the writer tries to ________.

A．explain some Internet language	B．suggest common Internet language
C．laugh at the Beijing father	D．draw our attention to Internet language

【小題2】What does the writer think about the term “PK”?

A．Fathers can’t possibly know it.	B．The daughter should understand it.
C．Online game players may know it.	D．“Super Girl” shouldn’t have used it.

【小題3】 The examples of the Beijing father and the Tianjin teacher are used to show that Internet jargons ________.

A．a(chǎn)re used not only online	B．can be understood very well
C．a(chǎn)re welcomed by all the people	D．cause trouble to our mother tongue

【小題4】The underlined word “jargons” probably means  ________.

A．expressions

B．phrases

C．letters

D．spellings

【小題5】 What would be the best title for the passage?

A．A puzzled father	B．Do you speak Internet jargons?
C．Keep away from Internet jargons	D．Kong Long or Qing Wa?

The Winter Olympics is also called the White Olympics. At this time, many colorful stamps are published to mark the great Games. The first stamps marking the opening came out on January 25, 1932 in the United States for the 3rd White Olympics. From then on, publishing stamps during the White Olympics became a rule.
During the 4th Winter Olympic Games a group of stamps were published in Germany in November 1936. The five rings of Olympics were drawn on the front of the sportswear. It was the first time that the rings had appeared on the stamps of the White Olympics.
In the 1950’s, the stamps of this kind became more colorful. When the White Olympics came, the host countries as well as the non-host countries published stamps to mark those Games. China also published four stamps in February 1980, when the Chinese sports men began to take part in the White Olympics.
Japan is the only Asian country that has ever held the White Olympics. Altogether 14,500 million stamps were sold to raise money for this sports meet.
Different kinds of sports were drawn on these small stamps. People can enjoy the beauty of the wonderful movements of some sportsmen.
【小題1】 We can infer from the passage that ______.

A．No stamps were printed in the first two White Olympics

B．The first stamps marking the opening came out for the 3rd White Olympics

C．The 3rd White Olympics was in the USA

D．The 3rd White Olympics were held in 1932

【小題2】 The world made it a rule to publish stamps to mark the great world games _____.

A．a(chǎn)fter the year 1936	B．a(chǎn)fter the 3rd White Olympics
C．before the 3rd White Olympics	D．before the year 1932

【小題3】 The Winter Olympics is held once _______.

A．every two years	B．every three years
C．every four years	D．every five years

【小題4】Which of the following is TRUE?

A．Only the host countries can publish stamps to mark those Games.

B．Only the non-host countries can publish stamps to mark those Games.

C．All the countries can publish stamps to mark those Games.

D．Japan can’t publish stamps to mark those Games

【小題5】 What may appear on the stamps of the White Olympics?

A．Basketball.

B．Table tennis.

C．Football.

D．Skating.

It was raining as I got off the train in Nashville, Tennessee. I was tired so I went straight to my hotel.
A big, heavy man was walking up and down in the hotel lobby. Something about the way he moved made me think of a hungry dog looking for a bone. He had a big, fat, red face and a sleepy expression in his eyes. He introduced himself as Wentworth Caswell – Major Wentworth Caswell – from “a fine southern family”. Caswell pulled me into the hotel’s barroom and yelled for a waiter. We ordered drinks. While we drank, he talked continually about himself, his family, his wife and her family. He said his wife was rich. He showed me a handful of silver coins that he pulled from his coat pocket.
By this time, I had decided that I wanted no more of him. I said good night.
I was born in the south myself. But I live in New York now. I write for a large magazine. My boss had asked me to go to Nashville. The magazine had received some stories and poems from a writer in Nashville, named Azalea Adair. The editor liked her work very much. The publisher asked me to get her to sign an agreement to write only for his magazine.
I left the hotel at nine o’clock the next morning to find Miss Adair. It was still raining. As soon as I stepped outside I met Uncle Caesar. He was a big, old black man with fuzzy gray hair. Uncle Caesar was wearing the strangest coat I had ever seen. It must have been a military officer’s coat. It was very long and when it was new it had been gray. But now rain, sun and age had made it a rainbow of colors. Only one of the buttons was left. It was yellow and as big as a fifty cent coin.
Uncle Caesar stood near a horse and carriage. He opened the carriage door and said softly, “Step right in, sir. I’ll take you anywhere in the city.”
“I want to go to 861 Jasmine Street,” I said, and I started to climb into the carriage. But the old man stopped me. “Why do you want to go there, sir?”
“What business is it of yours?” I said angrily. Uncle Caesar relaxed and smiled. “Nothing, sir. But it’s a lonely part of town. Just step in and I’ll take you there right away.”
861 Jasmine Street had been a fine house once, but now it was old and dying. I got out of the carriage.
“That will be two dollars, sir,” Uncle Caesar said. I gave him two one-dollar bills. As I handed them to him, I noticed that one had been torn in half and fixed with a piece of blue paper. Also, the upper right hand corner was missing.
【小題1】The narrator （故事的敘述者）got to Nashville probably _______.

A．in the morning

B．a(chǎn)t noon

C．in the afternoon

D．in the evening

【小題2】 The narrator didn’t like Caswell mainly because of ________.

A．his appearance

B．his family

C．the way he talked and behaved

D．his wife

【小題3】 The publisher told the narrator to go to Nashville ______.

A．to get a writer to sign an agreement for his magazine

B．to collect some stories and poems from a writer

C．to look for good writers for his magazine

D．to visit his old friend Azalea Adair

【小題4】 Uncle Caesar’s strange coat ________.

A．was worn by a military officer	B．was a new gray coat
C．was an old yellow raincoat	D．had only one button left

【小題5】 From the question “Why do you want to go there, sir?”, we guess that Uncle Caesar _______.

A．wanted to know why the narrator wanted to go there

B．knew the place and was concerned about the narrator

C．would charge two dollars for taking the narrator there

D．must have lived in the neighbourhood before

In the 1880s, people drank John Pemberton’s tonic to cure headaches. It wasn’t a very popular drink, and he sold only about a dozen drinks a day. That’s why Pemberton was willing to sell the rights to his medicinal drink. The buyer, Asa Griggs Candler, paid just $ 2,300 for the rights to Coca-Cola. Today, Coca-Cola (or Coke) is worth billions of dollars. It controls 50 percent of the world market in soft drinks.
How did Coca-Cola become so popular? One answer is that Asa Candler was a very clever businessman. He was one of the first people to use mass marketing. How did he do this? First, he made his product unique. When he bought the rights to Coca-Cola, it came in ordinary bottles. It looked like every other drink on the market. To make Coca-Cola look different, Candler modernized the bottles. He also made an eye-catching logo for his products. When other companies tried to imitate Coca-Cola’s name, Candler took them to court.
In addition to the unique bottle and logo, Candler spent a lot of time and money advertising his product. He used advertising to make a powerful image of Coca-Cola in the minds of his customers. He gave away free bottles of Coke. He put the name of his drink on pencils, trays, Japanese fans, matches, and many other things. Then he gave the things to people for free. He advertised Coca-Cola in the newspaper and painted the words “Drink Coca-Cola” on the sides of buildings and barns. By 1902, Coca-Cola was the best known product in the United States.
Candler was also able to make memorable advertisements. They often had catchy slogans such as “The Pause That Refreshes.” He also used famous athletes to advertise his product. They helped people to think of Coca-Cola as a delicious drink for everyone.
Today, businesses all over the world use mass marketing, but the makers of Coke were the first.
【小題1】Candler bought the rights to Coca-Cola from _______. 

A．the inventor of a medicinal drink	B．a(chǎn) well-known businessman
C．a(chǎn) doctor	D．a(chǎn) carpenter

【小題2】 The underlined sentence in paragraph 2 implies that __________.

A．he invited people from other companies to attend a court ball

B．he shared Coca-Cola’s name with other companies after they went back from the court

C．he played basketball with people from other companies on the basketball court

D．he took legal action to those who wanted to copy Coca-Cola’s name

【小題3】 Candler used slogans to advertise his product. Slogans are _______.

A．popular music

B．free products

C．memorable phrases

D．simple things

【小題4】 By using mass marketing, Asa tried many ways EXCEPT _______.

A．making Coca-Cola look different

B．paying $ 2,300 for the rights to Coca-Cola

C．a(chǎn)dvertising Coca-Cola a powerful image in the minds of the customers

D．using famous athletes to advertise his product

【小題5】The passage is mainly to _______.

A．explain that it is easy to use mass marketing

B．a(chǎn)dvice people to spend a lot of money and time on mass marketing

C．tell how Asa changes Coca-Cola into a worldwide business by using mass marketing

D．describe different ways of using mass marketing

Americans use many expressions with the word “dog”. People in the United States love their dogs and treat them well. They take their dogs for walks, let them play outside and give them good food and medical care. However, dogs without owners to care for lead a different kind of life. The expression “to lead a dog’s life” describes a person who has an unhappy existence.
Some people say we live in a dog-eat-dog world. That means many people are competing for the same things, like good jobs. They say that to be successful, a person has to work like a dog. This means they have to work very, very hard. Such hard work can make people dog-tired. And, the situation would be even worse if they became sick as a dog.
Still, people say every dog has its day. This means that every person enjoys a successful period during his or her life. To be successful, people often have to learn new skills. Yet, some people say that you can never teach an old dog new tricks. They believe that older people do not like to learn new things and will not change the way they do things.
People who are unkind or uncaring can be described as meaner than a junkyard dog. Junkyard dogs live in places where people throw away things they do not want. Mean dogs are often used to guard this property. They bark or attack people who try to enter the property. However, sometimes a person who appears to be mean and threatening is really not so bad. We say his bark is worse than his bite.
Doghouse provide shelter but they can be cold and lonely in the winter. Husbands and wives use this doghouse term when they are angry at each other. For example, a woman might get angry at her husband for coming home late or forgetting their wedding anniversary. She might tell him that he is in the doghouse. However, the husband may decide that it is best to leave things alone and not create more problems. He might decide to let sleeping dogs lie.
Dog expressions also are used to describe the weather. The dog days of summer are the hottest days of the year. A rainstorm may cool the weather. But we do not want it to rain too hard. We do not want it to rain cats and dogs.
【小題1】The passage tells us something about________.

A．dogs and their life	B．the expressions that describe dogs
C．the meaning of expressions with the word “dog”	D．the structures of dog expressions

【小題2】 By saying _______, we compare people to dogs in bad ways.

A．“meaner than a junkyard dog”	B．“to work like a dog”
C．“teach an old dog new tricks”	D．“as sick as a dog”

【小題3】By saying ________, we mean every person enjoys a successful period in life.

A．“he lives in a dog-eat-dog world”	B．“he leads a dog’s life”
C．“he is in the doghouse”	D．“every dog has its day”

【小題4】 If we advise the others to leave things alone and not create more problems, we say_______.

A．“become sick as a dog”	B．“rain cats and dogs”
C．“l(fā)et sleeping dogs lie”	D．“stay in the doghouse”

【小題5】 It has been really hot these days, as _______.

A．it rains cats and dogs	B．we are having the dog days of summer
C．we’re leading a dog’s life	D．we’re in the dog’s house

Whether it’s a carol（圣誕頌歌）service or an evening of karaoke in the pub, many people will enjoy a good old singsong this Christmas. Singing aloud will not just lift the spirits---it’s good for your physical health as well. Filling the lungs（肺）with air, increasing the heart rate and getting blood pumping round the body faster can all help our physical health.
For the past few years Heart Research UK has been Funding a Christmas campaign aimed at getting people singing, simply for the benefit it can bring. The organizer of the campaign says singing is a safe, simple and social activity that everyone can enjoy. “Singing is linked to long life, stress reduction, and general health protection. It also brings a great amount of happiness. It is impossible to sing well with a long face because it affects your pitch（音高）.”
Professor Graham Welch, who leads the International Music Education Research Centre at the University of London, has spent more than 30 years studying the effects of singing. He says that singing is a form of exercise. It means we’re also having a strong aerobic activity（有氧運(yùn)動(dòng)）when we’re singing, which results in increasing the feeling of pleasure while decreasing that of stress.
“And communal（共同的）singing—like in a singing group, a church service or even a singsong in the pub—helps improve our sense of self-respect. It increases our sense of satisfaction with ourselves, a greater sense of feeling included. ”
Helen Astrid, a singing teacher, also sees the great effects that singing brings. “It lifts us up on a spiritual level, it helps our self-respect, and it’s great for all ages from small kids to grannies—you can have a good sing and let your hair down.”
But she warns people not to have too many beers or glasses of wine, though a glass may help them gather courage before taking to the stage during the holidays.
【小題1】Heart Research UK holds a campaign to __________.

A．encourage people to sing for God at Christmas

B．study the effects of singing on people

C．get people to sing and improve their health

D．bring happiness to people during holidays

【小題2】 What are the benefits of singing according to Graham Welch?
a. Singers’ living longer.
b. Singers’ general health protection.
c. Singers’ feeling happier.
d. Singers’ stress reduced.
e. Singer’s self-respect improved.

A．a(chǎn), b, c

B．b, c, d

C．c, d, e

D．a(chǎn), b, e

【小題3】 The underlined part “l(fā)et your hair down” probably means __________.

A．feel at ease	B．protect yourself
C．dress casually	D．cover your nervousness

【小題4】 What can we infer from the passage?

A．Singing at Christmas is good for health.

B．In a low mood one is not able to sing well.

C．Experts have disagreement on singing.

D．Singing is the same as other aerobic activities.

【小題5】Which is the best title of the passage?

A．Karaoke—Best Place for Singing!

B．Christmas—Best Time for Singing!

C．Singing—Healthy but Difficult

D．For Health—Let’s Sing!

The story I am going to tell you happened about three years ago when I started to learn how to drive. At first, I was very frightened, and I thought I could never learn how to drive a car. Driving a car frightened me because in my home country women never drive, but in the United States every woman has to know how to drive. My husband paid an instructor to teach me how to drive. After that, my husband practiced with me for a long time. My husband always told me that I had to learn. It was important to me and my family.
However, I couldn’t get my license right away. I failed my driving test two times. After practicing for a long time, I decided to go for my third driving test. I had failed my first test because I was very nervous. Everybody encouraged me to continue practicing. Three weeks later, I decided to try it again, but I failed again. After that, I was very embarrassed（困窘的）, and I said I couldn’t get it, so I stopped practicing for a while.
Not knowing how to drive was bad because I couldn’t do anything. I had two kids, my husband works, and I have to take care of everything. Driving was so necessary that I decided to try it again. And finally, that time, I passed the test. Now I have my license. I know how to drive, and it has changed my life in some important ways. Now I’m driving to the college, learning English and hoping I will get a good job in the future.
【小題1】Why did the author think that she could never learn how to drive a car?

A．Because she was not an American woman.

B．Because she was afraid of a car or a bus.

C．Because in her own country women never drive.

D．Because her husband didn’t know how to teach her.

【小題2】 The underlined word “instructor” in the first paragraph probably means __________.

A．someone who teaches a special skill

B．someone who teaches a sport skill

C．someone who teaches in an American college

D．the information telling you how to drive a car

【小題3】 How many persons in the author’s family are mentioned except the author herself?

A．2

B．3

C．4

D．5

【小題4】The passage mainly shows us that the author failed for quite a few times but she never gave up and __________.

A．she succeeded in driving her car to send her two children

B．she succeeded in driving to the college to get a good job

C．she succeeded in driving to the college and learned English

D．she succeeded in passing driving test and got her license in the end

【小題5】The best title of this passage should be “__________”.

A．My Driving License	B．My Husband and I
C．Passing the Test	D．Never Give Up

Years ago, I lived in a building in a large city. The building next door was only a few feet away from mine. There was a woman who lived there, whom I had never met, yet I could see her seated by her window each afternoon, sewing or reading.
After several months had gone by, I began to notice that her window was dirty. Everything was unclear through the dirty window. I would say to myself, “I wonder why that woman doesn't wash her window. It really looks terrible.”
One bright morning I decided to clean my flat, including washing the window on the inside. Late in the afternoon when I finished the cleaning, I sat down by the window with a cup of coffee for a rest. What a surprise! Across the way, the woman sitting by her window was clearly visible. Her window was clean!
Then it dawned on me. I had been criticizing her dirty window, but all the time I was watching hers through my own dirty window.
That was quite an important lesson for me. How often had I looked at and criticized others through the dirty window of my heart, through my own shortcomings?
Since then, whenever I wanted to judge someone, I asked myself first, “Am I looking at him through my own dirty window?”
Then I try to clean the window of my own world so that I may see the world about me more clearly.  
【小題1】The writer couldn't see everything clearly through the window because        .

A．the woman's window was dirty	B．the writer's window was dirty
C．the woman lived nearby	D．the writer was near-sighted

【小題2】Finishing the cleaning, the writer was surprised that        .

A．the woman was sitting by her window	B．the woman's window was clean
C．the woman did cleaning in the afternoon	D．the woman's window was still terrible

【小題3】“…it dawned on me” probably means “      ”.

A．I began to understand it	B．it cheered me up
C．I knew it grew light	D．it began to get dark

【小題4】It’s clear that        .

A．the writer had never met the woman before	B．the writer often washed the window
C．they both worked as cleaners	D．they lived in a small town

【小題5】From the passage, we can learn        .

A．one shouldn't criticize others very often

B．one should often make his windows clean

C．one must judge himself before he judges others

D．one must look at others through his dirty windows

Traffic TV
Avoid the jams — see where tailbacks are before you set off and while on the move. Traffic TV is free to use on your personal computer and only £4 per month (see below for other network charges) on your mobile.
How does it work?
Over 7,500 Trafficmaster cameras monitor traffic flow on over 8,000 miles of motorways and roads across the UK, keeping you up to date 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Traffic TV on your mobile
This downloadable application lets you see where jams are building up, the speed of vehicles at hotspots, and live pictures from thousands of roadside cameras.
Traffic TV is £4 a month for Orange mobile customers, after a 30 day free try-out. On other networks Traffic TV is £5 a month, after a 7 day free try-out.
Listen to live traffic news
Don’t want the download? Then simply dial the numbers below from your mobile to hear the latest traffic updates.
＊Orange mobile users call 177 (calls cost up to 55p a minute)
＊Other mobile users call 1740 (calls cost up to 59p a minute)
Help friends avoid jams
Simply enter your friend’s email address to send them a link to this service.
【小題1】How can users get live traffic information?

A．By mobile phone or through Internet.	B．By watching a TV programme.
C．By listening to the radio report.	D．By using Trafficmaster cameras.

【小題2】How long may a customer use the service if his/her network is Orange and he/she pays £20?

A．About 120 days.

B．About 127 days.

C．Five months.

D．Six months.

【小題3】 What is the purpose of this advertisement?

A．To provide readers with live traffic information.

B．To help Orange customers to avoid traffic jam.

C．To attract mobile users to buy Traffic TV service.

D．To explain how Traffic TV and live traffic news work.

【小題4】You may read this advertisement most probably ___________.

A．in a travel guide

B．on a web page

C．on a road sign

D．in a newspaper