In 1826, a Frenchman named Niepce needed pictures for his business, but he was not a good artist. So he invented a very simple camera. He put it in a window of his house and took a picture of his yard. That was the first photograph.
The next important date in the history of photography was 1837. That year, Daguerre, another Frenchman, took a picture of his studio. He used a new kind of camera and a different process. This kind of photograph was called a daguerreotype. Soon, other people began to use Daguerre’s process. In about 1840, the process was improved. Then photographers could take pictures of people and moving things.
Matthew Brady was one well-known American photographer. He took many portraits of famous people. The portraits were unusual because they were very life-like and full of personality.
In the 1880s, new inventions began to change photography. Photographers could buy film ready-made in rolls. And finally, the invention of the small handheld camera made photography less expensive. With the small camera, anyone could be a photographer. People began to use cameras just for fun. They took pictures of their families, friends and favorite places. They called these pictures “snapshots”.
Photography also turned into a form of art by the end the 19^th century, some photographs were not just copies of the real world. They showed ideas and feelings, like other art forms.
【小題1】Matthew Brady was well-known for _______.

A．inventing daguerreotype

B．taking pictures of French cities

C．taking portraits of famous people

D．inventing the first camera

【小題2】The new inventions in photography made it possible for ________.

A．Brady to take pictures of famous people

B．anyone to be a photographer

C．only rich people to take pictures

D．people to use daguerreotype

【小題3】Photography can also be an art form because artists can _________.

A．take pictures to show the real world

B．make documentaries

C．show ideas and feelings in pictures

D．copy old pictures

His first successful fight was for the equal rights of black people in South Africa. Then, as the first black president, he fought to unite the country and organize the government. Now Nelson Mandela has set his sights on a new enemy, AIDS.
On March 19 the 82-year-old, former president, hosted his second AIDS-awareness concert. He warned that 25 million people in Africa were already infected with the fatal disease.
Mandela was born in a small village in South Africa in 1918. He was adopted by the chief of his tribe and could have been a chief himself and lived a happy country life.
But he refused to be a chief when his people lived under racial discrimination(歧視). He decided to fight for equal rights for all the people in South Africa. Before 1990, under the country’s Racial Segregation Law, colored and white people lived separately. Black people were treated unfairly even when taking a bus. Blacks had to stand at the back of the bus to make room for white people even when there were only a few of them on board.
For his opposition to the system, Mandela was arrested and spent 27 years in prison. He was freed in 1990 and became the president of the country after the first election were held in which everyone could vote.
Mandela was not only a political fighter who attacked with speeches. He was also a trained boxer and fought in the ring when he was young.
“Although I did not enjoy the violence of boxing, I was interested in how one moved one’s body to protect oneself, how one used a strategy both to attack and retreat”, he wrote in his autobiography.
As a skillful fighter, he chose music as his weapon against AIDS. He hopes to win another victory against AIDS.
【小題1】When was Mandela arrested? 

A．In 1963

B．In 1990

C．When he refused to be a chief

D．When he became the president

【小題2】Nelson Mandela succeeded in doing the following except _______.     

A．winning the equal rights for the black people in South Africa

B．Uniting South Africa

C．organizing a government in South Africa

D．controlling the spread of AIDS

【小題3】If Nelson Mandela hadn’t fought against racial discrimination, he_______. 

A．could have been the president of South Africa

B．could still have lived a happy life

C．could have been in a difficult situation

D．would have been an excellent boxer

【小題4】Which of the following statements can best describe the life of Nelson Mandela?

A．struggle is his life

B．sports make his fame

C．fight for equal rights

D．a great fighter against government.

I have been a student at Bentley College in Waltham for some time now, so I have a lot of experience and know how things work at Bentley. As a freshman(新生)at Bentley College you will be living in the Tree Dorms, Slade Hall or Miller Hall. I would highly suggest that you choose to live in the Tree Dorms because this is where most fresh-men are going to be living. There will be a lot of activities going on in the building and you will meet lots of people. Slade Hall is next to the parking lot and not far from the Tree Dorms, so that would be your second choice. As Miller Hall is small and far away, it would be my last choice for freshmen housing. If Bentley offers you the chance to live with second or third year students you’d better refuse their offer and live with freshmen. Living with your classmates will make the transition (過渡) into college life a lot easier.
As a freshman your classes should be easy. After freshman year your classes will become a lot more difficult, so I advise that you get down to business early in the first year. There are two very easy things you can do to increase your knowledge as a freshman. The first is to just go to class and the second is to always do your homework. I also highly advise that you do it on your own and try to stay disciplined. It is too easy to put your homework away and then get really behind and not be able to learn everything before a mid-term or final exam.
【小題1】The author advises freshmen to live in the Tree Dorms because ___________.

A．it is across the parking lot from Slade Hall

B．it is small and quite far away from the playground

C．there are many second and third year students there

D．there are many freshmen and more activities

【小題2】Where is Slade Hall?

A．Near Miller Hall.	B．Far from Tree Dorms.
C．Beside the car park.	D．Near the classrooms.

【小題3】According to the author, how can freshmen improve knowledge?

A．Remember to do homework by discussing it with others.

B．Finish homework and go to class every day.

C．Try to spend more time in the library.

D．Be able to learn something before a mid-term or final exam.

【小題4】The author writes the passage to ___________.

A．tell new students how to get used to college life

B．tell new students about their teachers and dormitory

C．show the differences between college and high school

D．tell readers about some funny things at Bentley College

After spending a year in Brazil on a student exchange program, her mother recalled, Marie Colvin returned home to find that her classmates had narrowed down their college choices. “Everyone else was already admitted to college,” her mother, Rosemarie Colvin, said from the family home. “So she took our car and drove up to Yale and said, ‘You have to let me in.’?”
Impressed—she was a National Merit(全國英才) finalist who had picked up Portuguese in Brazil—Yaledid, admitting her to the class of 1978, where she started writing for The Yale Daily News “and decided to be a journalist,” her mother said.
On Wednesday, Marie Colvin, 56, an experienced journalist for The Sunday Times of London, was killed as Syrian forces shelled the city of Homs. She was working in a temporary media center that was destroyed in the attack.
“She was supposed to leave Syria on Wednesday”, Ms. Colvin said. “Her editor told me he called her yesterday and said it was getting too dangerous and they wanted to take her out. She said she was doing a story and she wanted to finish it. ”
Ms. Colvin said it was pointless to try to prevent her daughter from going to conflict zones. “If you knew my daughter,” she said, “it would have been such a waste of words. She was determined, she was enthusiastic about what she did, it was her life. There was no saying ‘Don’t do this.’ This is who she was, absolutely who she was and what she believed in: cover the story, not just have pictures of it, but bring it to life in the deepest way you could.” So it was not a surprise when she took an interest in journalism, her mother said.
【小題1】From the underlined sentence in Paragraph 1 we can infer that       .

A．Yale University was her last choice

B．Yale must keep its promise to Marie

C．Marie Colvin was confident of herself

D．Marie Colvin was good at persuading

【小題2】Marie Colvin’s story suggests some of the best qualities of being a journalist are       .

A．patience and confidence

B．honesty and curiosity

C．flexibility and creativity

D．determination and courage

【小題3】Which of the following is the correct order to describe Marie Colvin’s life?
a. She was doing a story in Syria and got killed.  
b. She was admitted to Yale University.
c. She studied in Brazil as an exchange student.
d. She was hired by The Sunday Times of London.
e. She began to take an interest in journalism.

A．d→e→c→a→b	B．c→b→e→d→a
C．e→d→c→b→a	D．b→c→d→e→a

【小題4】What can be the best title of the text?

A．Covering Stories in a Dangerous Conflict Area

B．Applying for Top Universities, a Successful Case

C．Recalling Her Daughter, a Journalist Killed in Syria

D．Choosing Lifelong Careers Based on Your Own Interest

A few days ago I got a call from my old college friend whom I haven’t seen for a very long time. The topic, which was about all the good old times that we had changed to a touching story when he started talking about his father.　　
His father’s declining health made him stay at the hospital. Because of his illness, his father suffered from insomnia (失眠) and often talked to himself. My friend, who had not been able to sleep for a few days as he had to keep watching his father’s condition, became irritated and told his father to keep silent and try to get some sleep. His father said that he really wanted to sleep well because he was very tired and told my friend to leave him alone in the hospital if he did not want to keep him company.　　
After his father finished talking, he fell unconscious (失去知覺). My friend was very sorry for speaking the ill words towards his father. My friend, whom I knew as a tough person, cried as a baby on the other end of the telephone. He said that from that moment on, he prayed every day, asking God to let his father wake up from his coma. He promised himself that whatever words came out from his father’s mouth after he regained his consciousness, he would gladly take them. His only hope for God was to give him a chance to rectify his past mistake.　　
Often, we complain when we have to accompany or watch over our parents for years, months, days, hours or even minutes. But do we realize that our parents keep us company and watch over us for as long as we (or they) live? From the day we were born to our adulthood, and even when deaths come to us, they are always at our side.
Imagine how sad our parents will be when they hear a seemingly innocent word of “no” come out from our mouths. We can make promises to ourselves that from now on there will be no more complaints that come out from our mouths when we have to watch over or accompany our parents. No more complaints come out from our mouths when we feel that our parents have treated us like little children. There are so many unlucky ones who have neither fathers nor mothers. They long to have the things that we most complain about, but never have them.
Actually, it takes only a second to think and light the lamp that will bring us to a place where peace is dwelling.
【小題1】Which of the following word can be used to describe the writer’s friend?

A．Sad

B．Sorry

C．Regretful

D．Pitiful

【小題2】What does the underlined word “rectify” mean in Para. 3?

A．put…right

B．recite…by heart

C．realize

D．recognize

【小題3】What does the writer want to tell us in the passage?

A．Your parents will keep talking to themselves when they are old.

B．Be good to your parents when you still have the chance.

C．You will regret in your life if you don’t show your kindness to your parents.

D．It is not easy to take good care of sick old parents.

Bardithch High School decided to have an All-School Reunion. Over 450 people came to the event. There were tours of the old school building and a picnic at Confederate Park. Several former teachers were on hand to tell stories about the old days. Ms. Mabel Yates, the English teacher for over fifty years, was wheeled to the Park.
Some eyes rolled and there were a few low groans (嘟囔聲) when Ms. Yates was about to speak. Many started looking at their watches and coming up with excuses to be anywhere instead of preparing to listen to a lecture from an old woman who had few kind words for her students and made them work harder than all the other teachers combined.
Then Ms. Yates started to speak:
“I can’t tell you how pleased I’m to be here. I haven’t seen many of you since your graduation, but I have followed your careers and enjoyed your victories as well as crying for your tragedies. I have a large collection of newspaper photographs of my students. Although I haven’t appeared in person, I have attended your college graduations, weddings and even the births of your children, in my imagination. ”
Ms. Yates paused and started crying a bit. Then she continued:
“It was my belief that if I pushed you as hard as I could, some of you would succeed to please me and others would succeed to annoy me. Regardless of our motives, I can see that you have all been successful in your chosen path.”
“There is no greater comfort for an educator than to see the end result of his or her years of work. You have all been a great source of pleasure and pride for me and I want you to know I love you all from the bottom of my heart.”
There was a silence over the crowd for a few seconds and then someone started clapping. The clapping turned into cheering, then into a deafening roar (呼喊). Lawyers, truck drivers, bankers and models were rubbing their eyes or crying openly with no shame all because of the words from a long forgotten English teacher from their hometown.
【小題1】What activity was organized for the school reunion?

A．Sightseeing in the park

B．A picnic on the school playground

C．Telling stories about past events

D．Graduates’ reports in the old building

【小題2】What can be inferred from Paragraph 2?

A．Some graduates were too busy to listen to Ms. Yates’ speech

B．Many graduates disliked Ms. Yates’ ways of teaching

C．Some people got tired from the reunion activities

D．Most people had little interest in the reunion

【小題3】We can learn from Ms. Yates’ speech that she _________.

A．kept track of her students’ progress

B．gave her students advice on their careers

C．attended her students’ college graduations

D．went to her students’ wedding ceremonies

【小題4】Which of the following can best describe Ms. Yates?

A．Reliable and devoted

B．Tough and generous

C．Proud but patient

D．Strict but caring

The passengers on the subway who caught a glimpse of me may have thought I was strange. In particular a gentleman sitting opposite me was always staring at me, looking at the cheese bread on the floor in front of me and then staring back at me. A passenger probably dropped it by mistake and got off at a previous stop, but the gentleman might not think so. “Next stop, St. Patrick Station” — my stop was quickly coming up. I had few minutes to either take the cheese bread, which nobody else was claiming, or left it there.
In those few minutes I felt my pride getting in the way. “What would others on the subway think of me if I took the cheese bread? Would they think that I was poor and hungry? Would they think that I was stealing?” The ignorant thing to do was say “yes” to any of those self-imposed questions. Actually, they were just my own thoughts. Though I would leave the subway, walk a block to my office, get settled at my desk, and sit comfortably in my office for the whole day, I couldn’t get rid of the enormous sense of guilt and regret.
My thoughts once pushed me towards pride and ignorance, but finally I had to admit I was wrong. This missing cheese bread could be a gift for a homeless person who suffered from cold and hunger. So why not overcome a little bit of my pride and pass along so much kindness?
Just as the doors opened at my stop, I grabbed the cheese bread and left the subway. It felt awesome, but I didn’t care if people were looking at me or what they were thinking. Instead of going directly to my office as usual, I walked a few more blocks up to Queen’s park, where I often saw a homeless man sitting outside. I always wanted to give him something, but only today I walked toward him, who wrapped himself in a sleeping bag. I was full of satisfaction, and so did the homeless man, I thought.
【小題1】The gentleman kept staring at the author because _______.

A．he wanted to talk to the author

B．he might think the author dropped the bread

C．the author appeared too nervous

D．the author was going to get off

【小題2】The underlined word “self-imposed” in paragraph 2 probably means “_______”.

A．easily obtained

B．strongly supported

C．deliberately created

D．completely unaccepted

【小題3】Why did the author grab the cheese bread when he got off?

A．He noticed that no one was looking at him.

B．He didn’t want to see the cheese bread to go to waste.

C．He remembered a homeless man at that very moment.

D．He valued kindness more than his own pride.

A new study suggests that the round­the­clock availability that cell phones have brought to people's lives may take a toll on family life. The study，which followed more than 1,300 adults over 2 years, found that those who consistently used a mobile phone throughout the study period were more likely to report negative “spillover” between work and home life—and，in turn，less satisfaction with their family life.
Spillover essentially(本質上)means that the line between work and home begins to become unclear. Work life may invade home life when a parent is taking job­related calls at home，for instance—or family issues may start to take up work time. For example，a child may call mum at work，telling her “microwave exploded”，explained Noelle Chesley，an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin­Milwaukee and the author of the study. The problem with cell phones seems to be that they are allowing for even more spillover between work and home.
This may be especially true for working women，the study found. Among men，consistent use of mobile phones seemed to allow more work issues to creep (潛入)into family time. But for women，the spillover tended to go in both directions. Being “connected” meant that work cut into home time，and family issues came into work life.
Cell phones seem to be opening more lines for stressful exchanges among family members. But there may be ways to control the spillover，according to Chesley. Employers, she said，could look at their policies on contacting employees after hours to make sure their expectations are “reasonable”．For their part，employees could decide that cell phones go off during family time, Chesley said.
【小題1】What does the underlined phrase “take a toll on” probably mean in Paragraph 1?

A．Explaining.

B．Founding.

C．Extending

D．Damaging.

【小題2】According to Chesley，what is the best solution to the problem caused by cell phones?

A．Separate work hours from family time.

B．Refuse to use cell phones.

C．Ignore coming calls during family time.

D．Encourage women to stay at home.

【小題3】We can learn from the passage that ________.

A．cell phones affect men as much as women

B．cell phones seem to be convenient to families

C．cell phones make the line between work and home unclear

D．we can do nothing to solve the problem

【小題4】What is the main idea of the passage?

A．How to control the negative spillover caused by cell phones.

B．How work life invades home life.

C．Consistent use of cell phones makes people feel less satisfied with their work.

D．Cell phones cause negative “spillover” between work life and home life.

When Frida Kahlo's paintings were on show in London, a poet described her paintings as “ a ribbon （絲帶）around a bomb”. Such comments seem to suggest Kahlo had a big influence on the art world of her time. Sadly, she is actually a much bigger name today than she was during her time.
Born in 1907 in a village near Mexico City , Kahlo suffered from polio（小兒麻痹癥）at the age of seven. Her spine （脊柱）become bent as she grew older. Then, in 1925, her back was broken in several places in a school-bus accident. Throughout the rest of her life, the artist had many operations, but nothing was able to cure the terrible pain in her back. However, the accident had an unexpected side effect. While lying in her bed recovering, Kahlo taught herself to paint.
In 1929, she got married to Diego Rivera, another famous Mexican artist. Rivera’s strong influences on Kahlo’s style can be seen in her early works, but her later works from the 1940s, known today as her best works, show less influence from her husband.
Unfortunately, her works did not attract much attention in the 1930s and1940s, even in her home country. Her first one-woman show in Mexico was not held until 1953.For more than a decade after her death in 1954, Kahlo’s works remained largely unnoticed by the world, but in the 1970s her works began to gain international fame at last.
【小題1】What does the phrase “a much bigger name” in paragraph 1 most nearly mean?

A．a far better artist

B．a far more gifted artist

C．a much stronger person

D．a much more famous person

【小題2】The terrible pain Kahlo suffered was caused by         .

A．polio

B．back injuries

C．the operations she had

D．her bent spine

【小題3】Kahlo’s style had become increasingly independent since the           .

A．1950s

B． 1930s

C．1940s

D．1970s

【小題4】What is author’s attitude toward Kahlo?

A．Devotion

B．Sympathy

C．Worry

D．Encouragement

A gentle breeze blew through Jennifer’s hair. The golden red sun was setting. She was on the beach, looking up at the fiery (火紅的) ball. She was amazed by its color, deep red in the middle, softly fading into yellow. She could hear nothing but the waves and the seagulls flying up above in the sky.
The atmosphere relaxed her. After all she had been through, this was what she needed. “It’s getting late,” she thought, “I must go home. My parents will be wondering where I am.”
She wondered how her parents would react when she got home after the three days she was missing. She kept on walking, directing herself where she spent every summer holiday. The road was deserted. She walked slowly and silently. Just in a few hundred meters she would have been safe in her house.
It was really getting dark now. The sun had set a few minutes before and it was getting cold too. She wished she had her favorite sweater on: it kept her really warm. She imagined having it with her. This thought disappeared when she finally saw her front door. It seemed different. Nobody had taken care of the outside garden for a few days. She was shocked: her father was usually so strict about keeping everything clean and tidy, but now... It all seemed deserted. She couldn’t understand what was going on.
She entered the house. First, she went into the kitchen where she saw a note written by her father. It said: “Dear Ellen, there is some coffee ready. I went looking.” Ellen was her mother but — where was she? On the right side of the hallway was her parents’ room. She went in. Then she saw her. Her mother, lying on the bed, was sleeping. Her face looked so tired, as if she hadn’t slept for days. She was really pale. Jennifer would have wanted to wake her up but she looked too tired. So Jennifer just fell asleep beside her. When Jennifer woke up, something was different... she wasn’t in her mother’s room and she wasn’t wearing the old clothes she ran away in. She was in her cozy bed in her pajamas (睡衣).
It felt so good being back home. Suddenly she heard a voice, “Are you feeling better now, dear? You know you got us very, very scared.”
【小題1】The writer describes the beautiful sunset to show Jennifer’s ______.

A．love of the natural beauty

B．desire of getting back home

C．intention of becoming independent

D．depression of being alone

【小題2】What does the underlined phrase “This thought” most probably mean?

A．The idea of going back home.

B．Her anxiety about her parents.

C．The feeling of being warm in her favorite sweater.

D．The feeling of getting back home safely.

【小題3】Her father didn’t take care of the garden because ______.

A．he was busy looking for her

B．he had to look after his wife

C．he was not strict with his job

D．he no longer enjoyed working in the garden