Johann Gutenberg, who worked as a goldsmith(金匠)，took what has already been discovered, and created a small invention that changed history. He created a machine that allowed him to move small blocks of letters in such a way that written material could be printed and mass-produced. Few people could read before Johann Gutenberg made the invention, but once books became less expensive, more Europeans could read and write.
Block printing existed long before Gutenberg. The Chinese had been using wood blocks to print books as early as 868, but a new set of woodcuts(木刻印版) had to be made for each book. Producing one book was not easy; producing all kinds of books was more difficult.
Writing ink dates from about 2500 BC in Egypt and China. Johann Gutenberg use an oil-base printing ink that would last longer than other inks used in his time. We don’t know much about Gutenberg because he was not famous during his lifetime. He was born in Germany about 1400. In 1448, Gutenberg developed signatures for each number, letter, and punctuation mark(標(biāo)點(diǎn)符號(hào)). He then built the molds (模型) to hold the signatures in place. Johann Gutenberg published the first mass-produced book: a 1,282 page Bible. To this day, more copies of the Bible have been printed the any other book.
Copies of Gutenberg’s invention spread throughout Europe, but the German goldsmith did not get rich from his invention. Some officials denounced the invention of printing because they feared that it would spread bad ideas. By 1500 there 1,700 printing presses in Europe. The presses had already produced about 20 million volumes of 40,000 different books.
【小題1】What happened after Johann Gutenberg’s invention?

A．People could afford to read books.

B．People became interested in inventing.

C．It was still difficult to print all kinds of books.

D．Punctuation mark began to be used in printing.

【小題2】Compared with block printing in China, Johann Gutenberg’s method __________.

A．was difficult to run.	B．needed harder paper
C．used a new kind of ink	D．was put into use earlier

【小題3】The underlined word “denounced” in the paragraph means __________.

A．fought against

B．a(chǎn)ccepted

C．laughed at

D．supported

【小題4】What is the best title for the passage?

A．A famous 1,282 page Bible

B．The life of a famous inventor

C．An invention that changed history

D．The development of printing

Mother Teresa was born in Yugoslavia, on August 27^th, 1910. She attended the government school near her home until she was eighteen. At that time, some doctors and nurses from Yugoslavia were working in India, and they often wrote to the school about their work. She decided to join them one day.
When she finished school, she went first to Britain. Then a year later she went to India, where she began to train to be a teacher. After training, she was sent to Calcutta, where she taught geography at a school and soon after became headmistress(女校長(zhǎng)).
However, although she loved teaching, in 1946 Mother Teresa left the school and went to work in the poor parts of Calcutta. Later she trained to be a nurse in Panta, and then began her work helping the poor and comforting the dying in the streets of the city. Slowly, others came to help her, and her work spread to other parts of India.
Mother Teresa is now a well-known person. Many photos have been taken of her, as she travels the world to open new schools and hospitals in poor countries. In 1979, she was given the Nobel Peace Prize for the lifetime of love and service she has given to the poor.
【小題1】What first inspired Mother Teresa to work in India?

A．Her visit to the poor parts of Calcutta.

B．Her visit to Britain after she left school.

C．The medical worker’s letters to her school.

D．The work of the nurse in the city of Panta.

【小題2】In which order did Mother Teresa do the following things?
a. Trained to be a nurse                        
b. Went to India.
c. Helped the dying.                          
d. Studied to be a teacher.
e. Went to Britain.                            
f. Worked as a headmaster.

A．b, a, c, e, d, f	B．b, f, a, d, e, c
C．e, b, d, f, a, c	D．e, a, b, c, d, f

【小題3】Mother Teresa gave up teaching because she wanted to ___________.

A．look after the poor.

B．travel to poor countries

C．build hospitals for the poor

D．train nurse to care for the poor

【小題4】Mother Teresa is now a famous person because she has ___________.

A．saved many poor people in India

B．helped to bring about world peace

C．helped to make India a more peaceful place

D．taken care of many poor people in the world

When my brother and I were young, my mom would take us on Transportation Days.
It goes like this: You can’t take any means of transportation more than once. We would start from home, walking two blocks(街區(qū)) to the rail station. We’d take the train into the city center, then a bus, switching to the tram, then maybe a taxi. We always considered taking a horse carriage in the historic district, but we didn’t like the way the horses were treated, so we never did. At the end of the day, we took the subway to our closest station, where Mom’s friend was waiting to give us a ride home—our first car ride of the day.
The good thing about Transportation Days is not only that Mom taught us how to get around. She was born to be multimodal (多方式的). She understood that depending on cars only was a failure of imagination and, above all, a failure of confidence—the product of a childhood not spent exploring subway tunnels.
Once you learn the route map and step with certainty over the gap between the train and the platform, nothing is frightening anymore. New cities are just light-rail lines to be explored. And your personal car, if you have one, becomes just one more tool in the toolbox—and often an inadequate(不適當(dāng)?shù)? one, limiting both your mobility and your wallet.
On Transportation Days, we might stop for lunch on Chestnut Street or buy a new book or toy, but the transportation was the point. First, it was exciting enough to watch the world speed by from the train window. As I got older, my mom helped me unlock the mysteries that would otherwise have paralyzed my first attempts to do it myself: How do I know where to get off? How do I know how much it costs? How do I know when I need tickets, and where to get them? What track, what line, which direction, where’s the stop, and will I get wet when we go under the river?
I’m writing this right now on an airplane, a means we didn’t try on our Transportation Days and, we now know, the dirtiest and most polluting of them all. My flight routed me through Philadelphia. My multimodal mom met me for dinner in the airport. She took a train to meet me.
【小題1】Which was forbidden by Mom on Transportation Days?

A．Having a car ride.

B．Taking the train twice.

C．Buying more than one toy.

D．Touring the historic district.

【小題2】According to the writer, what was the greatest benefit of her Transportation Days?

A．Building confidence in herself.

B．Reducing her use of private cars.

C．Developing her sense of direction.

D．Giving her knowledge about vehicles.

【小題3】The underlined word “paralyzed” (in Para. 5) is closest in meaning to “_______”.

A．displayed

B．Justified

C．Ignored

D．destroyecl

【小題4】Which means of transportation does the writer probably have a dislike of?

A．Subway.

B．Airplane.

C．Tram.

D．Car.

The clock struck eleven at night. The whole house was quiet. Everyone was in bed except me. Under the strong light, I looked sadly before me at a huge pile of that troublesome stuff they call “books”.
I was going to have my examination the next day. “When can I go to bed?” I asked myself. I didn’t answer. In fact I dared not.
The clock struck twelve. “Oh, dear!” I cried. “Ten more books to read before I can go to bed!” We pupils are the most wretched creatures in the world. Dad does not agree with me on this. He did not have to work so hard when he was a boy.
The clock struck one. I was quite desperate（拼命）now. I forgot all I had learned. I was too tired to go on. I did the only thing I could. I prayed, “Oh God, please help me pass the exam tomorrow. I do promise to work hard afterwards, Amen.” My eyes were so heavy that I could hardly open them. A few minutes later, with my head on the desk, I fell asleep.
【小題1】The underlined word “wretched” in Paragraph 3 probably means _____.

A．happy

B．disappointed

C．unhappy

D．hopeful

【小題2】Reviewing his lessons that night didn’t help him because ____________.

A．it was too late at night

B．he was very tired

C．his eyelids were so heavy that he couldn’t keep them open

D．he hadn’t studied hard before the examination

【小題3】What do you suppose probably happened to the author the next day?

A．He went to a church to pray again.

B．He passed the exam all by luck.

C．He failed in the exam.

D．He was punished by his teacher.

【小題4】The best title for the passage would be ____________.

A．The Night Before the Examination

B．Working Far into the Night

C．A Slow Student

D．Going Over My Lessons

Many jokes are made up about famous people.  Here is one about Bill Clinton,  the former(先前的) president of the United States.
Hillary died and went to heaven.  When she was met by the Angel Gabriel she noticed behind her a wall of unimaginable proportions(部分) that was completely covered with clocks.
“What are they?” she asked the heavenly angel in complete surprise.
“They are lie clocks.  Each time you lie, the hand moves a little bit to the right.  See that one?” the angel pointed to one that hadn’t moved at all, “That’s Mother Theresa’s,  who has never told a lie.  And that one, ” he points to another, “That was Abraham Lincoln’s.  He only ever told two lies. ”
Hillary looked around with some interest,  then wandered back over to the angel again. “Excuse me, ” she asked, “but where is Bill Clinton’s clock?”“The Lord Jesus is using it in his office for a ceiling fan. ”
【小題1】The clock of Bill Clinton is used as a ceiling fan because_____.

A．the Lord Jesus likes him

B．the wall was already covered by other clocks

C．his clock moves the fastest

D．his clock moves too slowly

【小題2】It was suggested in the joke that_______.

A．Hillary couldn’t find her own clock

B．Mother Theresa told the fewest lies

C．Clinton is a big liar

D．The Lord Jesus likes clocks very much

【小題3】Who is the most honest person mentioned?

A．Bill Clinton	B．Mother Theresa
C．Abraham Lincoln	D．Hillary

It was 1961 and I was in the fifth grade. My marks in school were miserable and, the thing was, I didn’t know enough to really care. My older bother and I lived with Mom in an ugly multi-family house in Detroit. We watched TV every night. The background noise of our lives was gunfire and horses’  hoofs(馬蹄) from “Wagon Train” or “Cheyenne”, and laughter from “I Love Lucy”, or “Mister Ed”. After supper, we’d lie on Mom’s bed and stare for hours at the TV screen.
But one day Mom changed our world forever. She turned off the TV. Our mother had only been able to get through third grade. But, she was much brighter and smarter than we boys know at the time. She had noticed something in the suburban houses where she cleaned books. So she came home one day, switched off the TV, sat us down and explained that her sons were going to make something of themselves. “You boys are going to read two books every week,” she said. “And you’re going to write a report on what you read.”
We moaned（不滿,發(fā)牢騷） and complained about how unfair it was. Besides, we didn’t have any books in the house other than Mom’s Bible. But she explained that we would go where the books were: “I’ll drive you to the library.”
So pretty soon there were these two peevish（壞脾氣的）boys sitting in her white 1959 Oldsmobile on their way to Detroit Public Library. I wandered reluctantly（不情愿） among the children’s books. I loved animals, so when I saw some books that seemed to be about animals, I started leafing through them.
The first book I read clear through was Chip the Dam Builder. It was about beavers（河貍）. For the first time in my life I was lost in another world. No television program had ever taken me so far away from my surroundings as did this virtue visit to a cold stream in a forest and these animals building a home.
It didn’t dawn on me at the time, but the experience was quite different from watching TV. There were images forming in my mind instead of before my eyes. And I could return to them again and again with the flip（快速翻動(dòng)）of a page.
Soon I began to look forward to visiting this quiet sanctuary form my other world. I moved from animals to plants, and then to rocks. Between the covers of all those books were whole worlds, and I was free to go anywhere in them. Along the way a funny thing happened: I started to know things. Teachers started to notice it too. I got to the point where I couldn’t wait to get home to my books.
Now my older brother is an engineer and I am chief of pediatric neurosurgery(兒童神經(jīng)外科)at John Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore. Sometimes I still can’t believe my life’s journey, from a failing and indifferent student in a Detroit public school to this position, which takes me all over the world to teach and perform critical surgery.
But I know when the journey began the day Mom switched off the TV set and put us in her Oldsmobile for that drive to the library.
【小題1】We can learn from the beginning of the passage that ___________.

A．the author and his brother had done well in school

B．the author had been very concerned about his school work

C．the author had spent much time watching TV after school

D．the author had realized how important schooling was

【小題2】Which of the following is not true about the author’s family?

A．He came from a middle-class family.

B．He came from a single-parent family.

C．His mother worked as a cleaner.

D．His mother had received little education.

【小題3】How did the two boys feel about going to the library at first?

A．They were afraid	B．They were reluctant.
C．They were impatient.	D．They were eager to go.

【小題4】The author began to love books for the following reasons EXCEPT that ___________.

A．he began to see something in his mind

B．he could visualize what he read in his mind

C．he could go back to read the books again

D．he realized that books offered him new experience

The Golden Compass is the first movie based on the Philip Pullman’s bestselling novel, His Dark Materials. It is a work of imagination that tells us about a young girl who travels to the far north to save her best friend. Along the way she meets strange creatures, like witches and so on. Finally , she saves not only her world, but also ours as well.
Lyra is a young girl among scholars in Oxford’s Jordan College. She spends most of her time with her friend Roger, a kitchen boy. Together, they share a life with no worries. However, when Lyra hears a conversation about a very tiny particle(顆粒), she is thrown into a dangerous adventure. This particle is said to unite different worlds, and is feared by many people who want to destroy it. At the same time , children began to disappear without a trace, including Lyra’s good friend, Roger. As Lyra starts this horrible struggle, and begins to search for Roger, she meets strange creatures both big and small, and bad people who are not what they seem to be. Gobblers(饕餮者) that kidnap(綁架)children appear in the most unexpected places. And a magical compass made of gold will answer any question if one is skilled enough to read it. In unbelievable danger, Lyra doesn’t know that she is doomed to win, or to lose, this battle…
With the movie The Lord of the Rings making New Line cinema over a billion dollars, it’s easy to see why they got the rights to Pullman’s His Dark Materials quickly. The books, sold more than nine million copies in the world, have a different idea from the Harry Potter series. Pullman’s imagination may look suitable for children, but it works far better for adults.
【小題1】In the film The Golden Compass, Lyra______.

A．is a student in Oxford’s Jordan College

B．is a kitchen boy

C．hears a conversation of Roger’s

D．meets many strange creatures

【小題2】The film is named The Golden Compass probably because______.

A．the compass is useful enough to help Lyra

B．only skilled people can read the compass

C．the compass which is made of gold can answer any question

D．the compass throughout the whole story is a clue

【小題3】From the passage we can conclude that______.

A．New Line Cinema won Pullman’s trust through its achievement

B．The Lord of the Rings is also based on one of Pullman’s novels

C．His Dark Materials is similar to the Harry Potter series

D．New Line Cinema made over a billion dollars through the Harry Potter series

【小題4】Which group of people will like the film The Golden Compass the best according to the passage?

A．Children

B．Junior students

C．Adults

D．Only old people

Spring is coming, and it is time for those about to graduate to look for jobs. Competition is tough, so job seekers must carefully consider their personal choices. Whatever we are wearing, our family and friends may accept us, but the workplace may not.
A high school newspaper editor said it is unfair for companies to discourage visible tattoos nose rings, or certain dress styles. It is true you can’t judge a book by its cover, yet people do “cover” themselves in order to convey certain messages. What we wear, including tattoos and nose rings, is an expression of who we are. Just as people convey messages about themselves with their appearances, so do companies. Dress standards exist in the business world for a number of reasons, but the main concern is often about what customers accept.
Others may say how to dress is a matter of personal freedom, but for businesses it is more about whether to make or lose money. Most employers do care about the personal appearances of their employees, because those people represent the companies to their customers.
As a hiring manager I am paid to choose the people who would make the best impression on our customers. There are plenty of well-qualified candidates, so it is not wrong to reject someone who might disappoint my customers. Even though I am open-minded, I can’t expect all our customers are.
There is nobody to blame but yourself if your set of choices does not match that of your preferred employer. No company should have to change to satisfy a candidate simply because he or she is unwilling to respect its standards, as long as its standards are legal.
【小題1】What can be inferred from the text?

A．Hiring managers make the best impression on their candidate.

B．Candidates have to wear what companies prefer for an interview.

C．What to wear is a matter of customers’ acceptance to a great extent.

D．Companies sometimes have to change to respect their candidates.

【小題2】Which of the following is the newspaper editor’s opinion according to Paragraph2?

A．Customers’ choices influence dress standards in companies.

B．Candidates with tattoos or nose rings should be fairly treated.

C．Strange dress styles should not be encouraged in the workplace.

D．People’s appearances carry messages about themselves.

【小題3】Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

A．Appearances Do Matter

B．Hiring Managers Matter

C．Personal Choices Matter

D．Employees Matter

“Mama, when I grow up, I’m going to be one of those!” I said this after seeing the Capital Dancing Company perform when I was three. It was the first time that my dream took on a vivid form and acted as something important to start my training. As I grew older and was exposed to more, my interests in the world of dance certainly varied but that little girl’s dream of someday becoming a dancer in the company never left me. In the summer of 2005 when I was 18, I received the phone call which made that dream a reality: I became a member of the company dating back to 1925.
As I look back on that day now, it surely lacks any sense of reality. I believe I stayed in a state of pleasant disbelief until I was halfway through rehearsals (排練) on my first day. I never actually expect to get the job. After being offered the position, I was completely astonished. I remember shaking with excitement.
Though I was absolutely thrilled with the chance, it did not come without its fair share of challenge. Through the strict rehearsal period of dancing six days a week, I found it vital to pick up the material fast with every last bit of concentration. It is that extreme attention to detail (細(xì)節(jié)) and stress on practice that set us apart. To then follow those high-energy rehearsals with a busy show schedule of up to five performances a day, I discovered a new meaning of the words “hard work.” What I thought were my physical boundaries were pushed much further than I thought possible. I learned to make each performance better than the last.
Today, when I look at the unbelievable company that I have the great honor of being a part of, not only as a member, but as a dance captain, I see a tradition that has inspired not only generations of little girls but a splendid company that continues to develop and grow-and inspires people every day to follow their dreams.
【小題1】 How many years has the Capital Dancing Company existed when the author received the phone call from it?

A．180

B．1925

C．2005

D．80

【小題2】How did the author feel when she look back on that day now?

A．strange

B．unrealistic

C．indifferent

D．lucky

【小題3】 Which of the following statement can best interpret the underlined sentence in paragraph 3?

A．Though I was excited, I should share the chance with others.

B．Though I was excited, it’s fair to share the chance when there is challenge.

C．Though I was excited, it’s a challenge for me to share the chance with others.

D．Though I was excited, I know clearly where there is chance there is challenge.

【小題4】What conclusion could be drawn from the passage?

A．The company values practice most.

B．The company extremely focus on intelligence.

C．The company has an inherited tradition of inspiring its members break their limits.

D．The company sets the members apart in order to extremely stress detail and practice.

Mark and his brother Jason both were looking at the shining new computer enviously. Jason was determined not to go against their father’s wishes but Mark was more adventurous than his brother. He loved experimenting and his aim was to become a scientist like his father.
“Dad will be really mad if he finds out you’ve been playing with his new computer.” Jason said, “He told us not to touch it.”
“He won’t find out.” Mark said, “I’ll just have a quick look and shut it down.”
Mark had been scolded before for touching his father’s equipment. But his curiosity was difficult to control and this new computer really puzzled him.
“It was a strange-looking machine –one his dad had brought home from the laboratory where he worked. “It’s an experimental model,” his father had explained, “so don’t touch it under any circumstances.” But his warning only served to make Mark more curious. Without any further thought, Mark turned on the power switch. The computer burst into life and seconds later, the screen turned into colors, shifting and changing and then two big white words appeared in the center of the screen: “SPACE TRANSPORTER.”
“Yes!” Mark cried excitedly, “It’s a computer game. I knew it! Dad’s only been pretending to work. He’s really been playing games instead.” A new message appeared on the screen:
“ENTER NAMES
VOYAGER 1: …
VOYAGER 2: …”
Mark’s fingers flew across the keyboard as he typed in both of their names.
“INPUT ACCEPTED. START TRANSPORT PROGRAM. AUTO-RETRIEVE INITIATED（自動(dòng)回收程序已啟動(dòng)）.”
The screen turned even brighter and a noise suddenly rose in volume.
“I think we’d better shut it off, Mark,” Jason yelled, reaching for the power switch. He was really frightened.
But his hand never reached the switch. A single beam of dazzling white light burst out of the computer screen, wrapping the boys in its glow (光芒), until they themselves seemed to be glowing. Then it died down just as suddenly as it had burst into life. And the boys were no longer there. On the screen, the letters changed.
“TRANSPORT SUCCESSFUL. DESTINATION: MARS. RETRIEVE DATE: 2025.”
【小題1】Why did Mark touch the computer against his father’s warning?

A．He wanted to take a voyage.

B．He wanted to practice his skill

C．He was so much attracted by it.

D．He was eager to do an experiment.

【小題2】Where did the boy’s father most likely work?

A．In an electronic factory.

B．In a computer company.

C．In a scientific research center.

D．In an information processing center.

【小題3】Mark thought “SPACE TRANSPORTER” on the screen was the name of          .

A．a(chǎn) computer game	B．a(chǎn) company website
C．a(chǎn) software producer	D．a(chǎn)n astronomy program

【小題4】Why did Jason want to shut off the computer?

A．He was afraid of being scolded.

B．He didn’t like the loud noise and light.

C．He didn’t want to play games any more.

D．He was afraid something dangerous might happen.

【小題5】What happened to the boys at the end of the story?

A．They were blown into the air.

B．They were sent to another planet.

C．They were hidden in the strong light.

D．They were carried away to another country