Americans eat breakfast and lunch quickly unless it is a social business or family occasion. The evening meal is usually longer and a time for families to gather together. Rushing through daytime meals is part of the fast pace in America. Another reason for rushing through daytime meals is that many people eat in restaurant that are usually crowded with people waiting for a place so that they can be served and return to work at the proper time. So each one hurried to make room for the next person. As there are busy people everywhere, there is a real difference with meals that are eaten in a hurry and those that can be enjoyed slowly with friends.
【小題1】What is NOT mentioned in the passage?      

A．What time Americans eat dinner.

B．Where Americans eat.

C．Why Americans eat in a hurry.

D．Which do meat Americans eat the most slowly.

【小題2】Americans hurry at meals because        

A．they want to eat dinner slowly.	B．they don’t like eating in restaurants.
C．they are very busy.	D．they don’t like to eat.

【小題3】According to the passage, the least busy time to eat in a restaurant would probably be        .

A．during the busy time	B．a(chǎn)t lunch
C．a(chǎn)t dinner	D．a(chǎn)t either breakfast or lunch

It is hardly surprising that clothing manufacturers (生產(chǎn)商)follow certain uniform standards for various features(特征)of clothes．What seems strange，however，is that the standard adopted for women is the opposite of the one for men．Take a look at the way your clothes button．Men’s clothes tend to button from the right, and women’s from the left．Considering most of the world’s population—men and women — are right-handed，the men’s standard would appear to make more sense for women．So why do women’s clothes button from the left?
History really seems to matter here．Buttons first appeared only on the clothes of the rich in the l7th century，when rich women were dressed by servants．For the mostly right-handed servants，having women’s shirts button from the left would be easier．On the other hand，having men’s shirts button from the fight made sense，too．Most men dressed themselves，and a sword drawn from the left with the right hand would be less likely to get caught in the shirt．
Today women are seldom dressed by servants，but buttoning from the left is still the standard for them．Is it interesting? Actually，a standard，once set，resists change．At a time when all women’s shirts buttoned from the left，it would have been risky for any single manufacturer to offer women’s shirts that buttoned from the right．After all，women had grown so used to shirts which buttoned from the left and would have to develop new habits and skills to switch．Besides，some women might have found it socially awkward to appear in public wearing shirts that buttoned from the fight，since anyone who noticed that would believe they were wearing men’s shirts．
【小題1】What is surprising about the standard of the clothing industry?

A．It has been followed by the industry for over 400 years．

B．It is different for men’s clothing and women’s．

C．It works better with men than with women.

D．It fails to consider right-handed people．

【小題2】What do we know about the rich men in the 17th century?

A．They tended to wear clothes without buttons．	B．They were interested in historical matters．
C．They were mostly dressed by servants．	D．They drew their swords from the left．

【小題3】Women’s clothes still button from the left today because _______.

A．a(chǎn)dopting men’s style is improper for women	B．manufacturers should follow standards
C．modern women dress themselves	D．customs are hard to change

【小題4】 The passage is mainly developed by ________．

A．a(chǎn)nalyzing causes	B．making comparisons
C．examining differences	D．following the time order

Today we tell about the expression “down to earth”．Down to earth means being open and honest．It is easy to deal with someone who is down to earth．Such people could be important members of society, but they do not consider themselves to be better than others who are less important．They do not let their importance “go to their heads.” Someone who lets something go to his head feels he is better than others．He has a “big head.”
A person who is filled with his own importance and pride is said to have “his nose in the air．”O(jiān)ften the person who has a big head and his nose in the air has no reason to feel better than others．
Americans use another expression that is similar in some ways to down to earth---“both feet on the ground.” Someone with both feet on the ground is a person with a good understanding of reality．She has what is called “common sense.” She does not allow her dreams to block her understanding of what is real．
The opposite kind of person is one who has his “head in the clouds.” Someone with his head in the clouds is a person whose mind is not on what is happening in real life．Such a person may be called a “daydreamen.”
The person who is down to earth usually has both feet on the ground．But the opposite is not always true．Someone with both feet on the ground may not be as open and easy to deal with as someone who is down to earth．
When we have both our feet firmly on the ground，and when we are down to earth，we do not have our noses in the air．We act honestly and openly to others．And our lives are like the ground below up—solid and strong．
【小題1】He who considers himself to be better and more important than others is likely to       .

A．have his head in the clouds	B．be easy to deal with
C．have a “common sense”	D．have “a big head”

【小題2】Which of the following expressions is similar to “down to earth”?

A．“his nose in the air”	B．“go to his head”
C．“both feet on the ground”	D．“daydreamer”

【小題3】The passage is mainly about          ．

A．some popular American expressions	B．how to be down to earth
C．why to be honest and open	D．how to deal with someone who is down to earth

Hello, Chicago. If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy(民主)，tonight is your answer.
……
I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn’t start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington. It began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston. It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give $ 5 and $ 10 and $ 20 to the cause.
It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation’s apathy(冷漠), who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep.
It drew strength from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on doors of perfect strangers, and from the millions of Americans who volunteered and organized and proved that more than two centuries later a government of the people, by the people, and for the people has not perished(消失)from the Earth.
This is your victory.
And I know you didn’t do this just to win an election. And I know you didn’t do it for me.
You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime—two wars, a planet in peril(危亡), the worst financial crisis in a century.
Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us.
……
The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.
I promise you, we as a people will get there.
【小題1】 This passage is most probably taken from a (an)_______.

A．report

B．lecture

C．speech

D．a(chǎn)nnouncement

【小題2】Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

A．The speaker has won an election campaign which is quite important for him.

B．The speaker feels they are unlikely to make their ancestors’ dream come true.

C．The speaker thinks America is a nation that lacks democracy.

D．The speaker’s campaign was launched in the nation’s capital.

【小題3】The purpose of the speaker is to do the following except______.

A．expressing thanks to his supporters

B．discussing the challenges that lie ahead

C．urging Americans to unite for the bright future of the nation

D．warning the people against two terrible wars in store

【小題4】We can see from the passage that the speaker is a (an)_______person.

A．unreliable

B．determined

C．narrow-minded

D．humorous

Chief Executive Office
Lahore Stock Exchange
Lahore Stock Exchange (LSE) is the 2^nd largest exchange of the country with a workforce of almost 150 employees. The Exchanges of Pakistan are currently undergoing a major reform program involving shareholding(使成為股東制) in order to develop the capital markets further.
We seek a dynamic(精干的), forward-thinking Chief Executive with ability to provide strong leadership and effective management to deliver its organization goals and strategic plan. The successful candidate(候選人) should have the business both pre and post shareholding with a proven record.
The candidate should have minimum of 7 years of experience along with a business related degree or other professional qualifications. However, a strong record of achievement, excellent communication and team building skill are equally important. International qualifications or experience will be an added advantage together with the knowledge of the local corporate environment.
Compensation package will be highly attractive and match the position. If you are interested in a strategic leadership role and be part of an organization to make a difference, please write to:
Head of Human Resources, Lahore Stock Exchange (Guarantee)Ltd,
19^th  Khayaban- e- Aiwan –e- Iqbal, Lahore, Pakistan, together with your Curriculum Vitae and latest passport sized photograph.
【小題1】What is NOT true about LSE?

A．It’s Lahore Stock Exchange

B．It’s one of the largest exchanges in Pakistan.

C．It’s developing Pakistan’s capital city

D．It’s located in Khayaban- e- Aiwan –e- Iqbal, Lahore, Pakistan

【小題2】What is wanted according to this advertisement?
A. A Chief Executive Office            B. A Chief Executive
B. Head of Human Resources           D.A candidate
【小題3】What does the underline word compensation probably mean?

A．Salary

B．Job

C．Equipment

D．Food

Valentine’s Day is on Feb. 14, and Chinese call it “l(fā)overs day”. I don’t think the translation is an accurate one, since it doesn’t only belong to lovers. Valentine’s Day is for expressing affection of all sorts. But it is uniquely for the romantically involved who shine the brightest, who spend the most money, whose hearts are the most engaged.
When I was b boy, my mother would buy enough cheap cards with ugly drawings of butterflies and little rabbits and honeybees for me to give one to every kid in my class, about 20 or so. The cards came in bags, and each card had a few foolish words-“Be Mine” or “I like you” or “You’ve Got My Heart” or the uninteresting words, “Hi, Valentine!” I would sign my name on the cards quickly and the name of one of my classmates on each easily-broken envelope. I would lick （舔）each one shut, but they were so cheap that the envelopes rarely had enough glue. On Valentine’s Day, I would take the cards to school-everyone did. We would have a party in our classroom, with cupcakes（杯形蛋糕）and juice and tiny candy hearts, which also had Valentine messages printed on them-“You’re sweet” or “Cupid（愛神丘比特）”or “Love”.
Ah, love! That’s the Valentine’s Day message: love. No one knows for certain the origin of the holiday. Several, Catholic victims were named Valentine, but it’s difficult to separate legend from fact. One story tells of a priest（牧師）named Valentine who was imprisoned and may have been stoned to death around 270 for performing marriages in going against the orders of the Roman Emperor Claudius II. But it’s hard today to find any religious connection.
【小題1】From the first paragraph, why does the author say that we Chinese call Valentine’s Day “l(fā)overs’ day ”is not accurate?

A．Because only lovers would spend it.

B．Because it is only spent on Feb. 14.

C．Because it doesn’t only belong to lovers.

D．Because only those rich people could enjoy it.

【小題2】A priest named Valentine was stoned to death for the sake of          .

A．his not attending a ceremony on time.

B．his stealing something from the church

C．his rude words to Roman Emperor Claudius II

D．his not obeying the orders by Roman Emperor Claudius II

【小題3】According to the passage, we can know Valentine’s Day may be related to         .

A．religion

B．sports

C．entertainment

D．a(chǎn)rt

British people have the worst quality of life in Europe, according to a report which highlights （強(qiáng)調(diào)) the long hours, bad weather, low life expectancy and high price of many goods.
In a study of ten of the largest European countries, Britain, which was considered a popular country to live in, now comes last followed by Ireland, with France and Spain topping the table.
Though British families enjoy the highest income in Europe, they still have to fight with a high cost of living, with fuel, food and alcohol all costing more than the European average.
With the high price of petrol, the UK is the second most expensive country in Europe. However, diesel (柴油) is more expensive in the UK than anywhere else in Europe.
The report by the website uSwitch analyses 10 European countries against 17 different benchmarks(基準(zhǔn)點(diǎn)), from the price of gas, electricity, fuel, food and drink to the money each country spends on education, health to working conditions and the weather.
The top three countries are France, Spain and Denmark, with Sweden, Ireland and Britain coming eighth, ninth and tenth respectively.
The study comes less than a week after the United Nations moved Britain out of the top 20 list of most desirable countries to live in for the first time.
Although France and Germany were at the beginning hit hard by the global financial crisis, both have officially got out of the trouble, while Britain has yet to prove this has happened. Later this week, despite (盡管) signs of recovery in the housing market and rising sales, unemployment is still expected to have climbed to above 2.5 million for the first time since 1994.
【小題1】Which country has the best quality of life in Europe according to the report?

A．Ireland.

B．France.

C．Sweden.

D．Denmark

【小題2】Which is TRUE according to the passage?

A．British families are suffering from the high cost of living.

B．The report comes after the website uSwitch analysed 10 Asian countries.

C．The price of petrol is higher in Britain than anywhere else in Europe.

D．The quality of British life is reported to be terrible because of the bad working conditions.

【小題3】The underlined word “desirable” probably means          .

A．terrible

B．a(chǎn)ttractive

C．expensive

D．different

【小題4】 What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．Britain is still struggling to get out of the global financial crisis.

B．Unemployment in Britain is expected to go down soon.

C．Recovery in the housing market leads to unemployment in Britain.

D．Britain has recovered from the crisis together with France and Germany.

More people speak English than any other language except Chinese .English is the main language spoken in the United Kingdom，Ireland，Australia，New Zealand，Canada，the United States and some other countries. Altogether more than 450 million people speak English as their everyday language .Another 100 million or more speak at least some English. Most English words come from old Anglo­ Saxon，F(xiàn)rench，or Latin words.
Modern English developed through the efforts（努力） of literary(文學(xué)的)and political writings .Modern English was influenced by old English，the beginning of the university­ educated people，Shakespeare，the common language found in the middle of present­day England and an effort to show and standardize(使標(biāo)準(zhǔn)化)English.
British English，known as Standard English or Oxford English，underwent changes during the colonization(殖民)of North America and the creation（創(chuàng)建）of the United States .British English words changed into American English words，such as centre to center，metre to meter，theatre to theater and so on.
Until the 18th century，British and American English were very similar with almost no difference .Immigration（移民） to America by other English peoples changed the language by 1700.Noah Webster，author of the first authoritative(權(quán)威的)American English dictionary，created many changes.
【小題1】Modern English developed through______.

A．the efforts of literary writings	B．the efforts of political writings
C．old Chinese	D．both A and B

【小題2】American English changed from______ during the colonization of North America and the creation of the United States.

A．British English

B．Standard English

C．Oxford English

D．a(chǎn)ll of the above

【小題3】British English was almost similar to American English until the______ century.

A．20th

B．19th

C．18th

D．17th

【小題4】What is the title of the passage?

A．Why more people speak English	B．What modern English is
C．When British and American English had no difference	D．English and its development

Even if you are naturally shy, these three tricks will help you to quickly build a new social circle in any new city.
1. Take pictures
One of the great things about taking pictures at an event or party is that it gives you an excuse to get in touch with the person later. Everybody loves seeing pictures of themselves, and it’s very easy after taking a picture to say “If you’d like I can email it to you”. This can be the seed that leads to new connections. The next time you hear about a fun event email your new contacts to let them know about it.
2. Eat alone in public
You might feel self-conscious eating by yourself but it has an important benefit: you are much easier to approach when you are alone. People may be afraid of interrupting you or being rude if you are in a conversation with someone else. Bring a book or newspaper to read (this will make you feel less self-conscious). Plus, having an interesting book with you will give others an excuse to start a conversation if they’ve read it.
3. Join a class, sports team, or club
Yoga, salsa dancing, volleyball, Toastmasters (a public speaking club), a class for work, etc. Take up a new hobby or continue an old one!
These are all great places to meet new people, primarily because you will be forced to see the same people over and over again in the class. You will automatically make friends with them if you have a common interest and are forced to see each other again.
Tips:
* In the beginning, never turn down an invitation from someone, even if it’s something you wouldn’t normally do.
* Email your new friends with fun things to do instead of always asking what their plans are. If they have a better plan you can drop yours and join them. This will help establish you as someone who is contributing value instead of just taking it (people want this in a friend).
* Don’t let little things in life upset you or be a negative person. People don’t want to be around someone like that!
【小題1】____ can give you an excuse to start new connections.

A．Taking pictures of others	B．Eating by yourself in public
C．Reading interesting books	D．Joining group activities

【小題2】When having meals, you’d better ____ if you want to make new friends.

A．sit on your own in public places

B．start a conversation with those who have friends aside

C．invite others to your apartment to eat together

D．a(chǎn)pproach others to show conscious friendliness

【小題3】According to the text, which of the following is NOT mentioned as an advantage of joining a   class?

A．It helps you find out your interest and take up a new hobby.

B．It helps you find out people who share a common interest with you.

C．It offers an opportunity to meet the same people repeatedly.

D．It is a good way to meet new people and make friends in a new city.

【小題4】 Which of the following pieces of advice is a tip from the text?

A．Try to be outgoing and talkative instead of being shy.

B．Never turn down an invitation from your friends.

C．Offer suggestions on how to spend time together.

D．Don’t give a negative response to any request.

【小題5】By writing the text, the author intends to tell us ____.

A．why you should change when you move to a new city

B．why you should make new friends in a new city

C．how you can make new friends in a new city

D．how you can keep in touch with strangers

Garden building is considered an important part of Chinese culture. Some people say that if you have never walked through a Chinese garden, you cannot say that you have really visited China.
Traditional Chinese gardens are located in North China in such places as Beihai Park, the Summer Palace, the Forbidden City. In larger imperial gardens, the main buildings are connected by an imaginary（虛構(gòu)的） line in the middle of the garden on the north-south axis(軸). Other features of imperial gardens are colored-paintings, man-made hills and lakes.
Most private gardens are found in the south, especially in cities south of the Yangtze River. Private gardens were mostly built at one side or at the back of the houses. Around the beautiful scene are small open areas with beautiful shaped-doors through which visitors can enjoy the sights. They are open on all sides and are often near the water so that the whole scene can be enjoyed. Suzhou, known as the home of gardens, displays the most and the best Chinese traditional private gardens. Different parts of it are examples of the garden style of the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties.[
The landscape（自然風(fēng)景） garden contains a number of pleasant natural scenes and some fairy tales. The ancient Chinese used to call the garden landscape “Jing” , which means “scene” in English. Good examples include the ten West Lake Scenes in Hangzhou, the twenty-four slim West Lake in Yangzhou and the eight Daming Lake Scenes in Jinan.
【小題1】 The passage tells mainly about ________.

A．a(chǎn)n important part of Chinese culture

B．how to enjoy Chinese gardens

C．where foreigners can find Chinese gardens

D．the characters of different style of Chinese garden building

【小題2】Which of the following is NOT true for the imperial garden?

A．There is a north-south axis in the center of garden

B．They were built because of some fairy tales.

C．There are man-made hills and lakes in the gardens.

D．They have colored-paintings.

【小題3】According to the passage, we can learn that _______.

A．Chinese people often invite foreigners to visit a Chinese garden.

B．The landscape garden reflects different styles of the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties.

C．All three kinds of gardens make up the important part of Chinese culture which is appreciated by the people all over the world.

D．People enjoy the private gardens more than other two styles.