People have strange ideas about food. For example, tomato is a kind of very delicious vegetable. It is one of useful plants that can be prepared in many ways. It has rich nutrition(營養(yǎng)) and vitamin in it. But in the 18th century, Americans never ate tomatoes. They grew them in their gardens because tomato plants are so pretty. But they thought the vegetable was poisonous(有毒的). They called tomatoes “poison apples”.
President Thomas Jefferson, however, knew that tomatoes were good to eat. He was a learned man. He had been to Paris, where he learned to love the taste of tomatoes. He grew many kinds of tomatoes in his garden. The President taught his cook a way for a cream of tomato soup. This beautiful pink soup was served at the President party. The guests thought the soup tasted really good. They never thought their president would serve his honored guests poison apples. Jefferson never spoke to his honored guests about the fact.
【小題1】Tomato is a kind of ___________.

A．poisonous fruit	B．poisonous vegetable
C．tasty fruit	D．tasty vegetable

【小題2】After you read the passage, which of the following do you think is true?

A．Americans never ate tomatoes after they began to plant them.

B．Americans didn’t eat tomatoes before 19th century.

C．Even now Americans don’t eat tomatoes.

D．In the 18th century Americans ate a lot of tomatoes.

【小題3】 Jefferson learned that tomatoes were good to eat ____.

A．while he was in Paris	B．when he was a little boy
C．because his parents told him so	D．from books

【小題4】From the passage we know all the honored guests invited by Jefferson were____.

A．people from other countries	B．from France
C．people of his own country	D．men only

【小題5】According to the passage, which of the following is NOT TRUE?

A．None of the guests knew the soup that was served at the President’s party was made of tomatoes.

B．All of the guests thought the soup which was prepared by the President’s cook was nice.

C．President Thomas Jefferson knew that tomatoes were good to eat and not poisonous at all.

D．All of the guests didn’t know that their president would serve his honored guests poison apples.

America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon if situations change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while — then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship. This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand, because friendships between us flower more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending (延伸) sometimes deeply into both families.
Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life. They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality (好客) easily.
Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they include us warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don’t show their politeness to us if it requires a great deal of time. This is usually the opposite of the practice in our country where we may be generous with our time. Sometimes, we, as hosts, will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends. The Americans, however, express their welcome usually at homes, but truly can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine. They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus. And they expect that we will phone them from there. Once we arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real. We will find ourselves treated hospitably.
For the Americans, it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants, except for purely business matters. So accept their hospitality at home!
【小題1】The writer of this passage must be ______.

A．a(chǎn)n American

B．a(chǎn) Chinese

C．a(chǎn) professor

D．a(chǎn) student

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

A．Friendships between Americans usually extend deeply into their families.

B．Friendships between Americans usually last for all their lives.

C．Americans always show their warmth even if they are very busy.

D．Americans will continue their friendships again even after a long break.

【小題3】From the last two paragraphs we can learn that when we arrive in America to visit an American friend, we will probably be ______.

A．warmly welcomed at the airport

B．offered a ride to his home

C．treated hospitably at his home

D．treated to dinner in a restaurant

【小題4】The underlined words “generous with our time” in Paragraph 3 probably mean ______.

A．strict with time

B．serious with time

C．careful with time

D．willing to spend time

【小題5】A suitable title for this passage would probably be “______”.

A．Friendships between Chinese

B．Friendships between Americans

C．Americans’ hospitality

D．Americans’ and Chinese’s views of friendships

Planning a visit to the UK? Here we help with ways to cut your costs.
AVOID BIG EVENTS    Big sporting events, concerts and exhibitions can increase the cost of accommodation and make it harder to find a room. A standard double room at the Thistle Brighton on the final Friday of the Brighton Comedy Festival (19 Oct.) cost £169.15 at Booking.com. A week later, the same room cost £118.15.
If you can be flexible and want to know dates to avoid—or you’re looking for a big event to pass your time—check out sites such as Whatsonwhen.com, which allow you to search for events in the UK by city, date and category.
STAYAWAY FROM THE STATION   If traveling to your destination by train, you may want to find a good base close to the station, but you could end up paying more for the sake of convenience at the start of your holiday.
Don’t be too choosy about the part of town you stay in. Booking two months in advance, the cheapest room at Travelodge’s Central Euston hotel in London for Saturday 22 September was £95.95. A room just a tube journey away at its Covent Garden hotel was £75.75. And at Farringdon, a double room cost just £62.95.
LOOK AFTER YOURSELF   Really central hotels in cities such as London, Edinburgh and Cardiff can cost a fortune, especially at weekends and during big events. As an alternative consider checking into a self-catering flat with its own kitchen. Often these flats are hidden away on the top floors of city centre buildings. A great example is the historic O’Neill Flat on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, available for £420 for five days in late September, with room for four adults.
GET ON A BIKE    London’s ‘Boris bikes’ have attracted the most attention, but other cities also have similar programmes that let you rent a bicycle and explore at your own pace, saving you on public transport or car parking costs.
Among the smaller cities with their own programmes are Newcastle (casual members pay around £1.50 for two hours) and Cardiff (free for up to 30 minutes, or £5 per day).  (358 words)
【小題1】The Brighton Comedy Festival is mentioned mainly to show big events may __________.

A．help travelers pass time

B．a(chǎn)ttract lots of travelers to the UK

C．a(chǎn)llow travelers to make flexible plans

D．cause travelers to pay more for accommodation

【小題2】“Farringdon” in Paragraph 5 is most probably __________.

A．a(chǎn) hotel away from the train station

B．the tube line to Covent Garden

C．a(chǎn)n ideal holiday destination

D．the name of a travel agency

【小題3】Cardiff’s program allows a free bike for a maximum period of __________.

A．half an hour

B．one hour

C．one hour and a half

D．two hours

【小題4】The main purpose of the passage is __________.

A．to tell visitors how to book in advance

B．to supply visitors with hotel information

C．to show visitors the importance of self-help

D．to offer visitors some money-saving tips

A week ago, I had the great pleasure of reading an e-book, When Money Talks, Listen! by Rich Ezzo. It took only about an hour to read.
When I first received a copy, I thought it was a Get Rich Quick type of publication. Nothing is wrong with Get Rich Quick, but my mind just doesn’t run after dreams of wealth. I think that if God ever wants me to be rich, he knows where to find my purse.
When I began reading When Money Talks, Listen!, I was overjoyed to find that Rich Ezzo isn’t money hungry either. He, too, is hungry for more important than money.
Since I love this e-book so much, why wait a week to write the review? Simple. I wanted to see if the effect it had on me was a keeper. After reading the last word of the e-book, I totally agreed with the subtitle (副標(biāo)題) which promised to forever change the way we thought about money. I had so many thoughts running around my mind that I had to install (安裝) a stoplight to stop some while others made their way into the picture, then I yielded (讓路) them as a few ones arrived in town. I had a mental traffic jam, which only goes to show how slow the traffic usually is.
It has been a week and the effect is the same. I truly do look at money differently and have even done a few things differently this week. This is an e-book you ‘ll want to read, I promise. I often recommend books to my daughter, and this is one that I didn’t just ”suggest”----I left it open at the bottom of the compute and told each one ,”Read it, you’ll love it “.
I would never point someone in a direction I wouldn’t go myself. I strongly advise you to visit the author’s website, Myster Money, and to download the e-book. You won’t regret it.
【小題1】The author wrote this passage to _________.

A．strongly recommend an e-book

B．show the author’s attitude to money

C．introduce the general idea of an e-book

D．point out Rich Ezzo isn’t money hungry

【小題2】According to the passage, a Get Rich Quick type of publication _________.

A．is more popular than e-books

B．deals with how to make money

C．is what the author really cares for

D．is also an e-book written by Rich Ezzo

【小題3】Why didn’t the author write the review as soon as he finished reading the book?

A．Because he was not sure whether he did well.

B．Because he was too excited to write anything.

C．Because he had to wait for Rich Ezzo’s permission.

D．Because he wondered if it would have a long influence on him.

Each year on February 2nd, there is special festival called Groundhog Day (土撥鼠日 )' forecasting event in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. When it comes, people from around the world, including 5,000 in the small town today, watch this tongue-twisting(發(fā)音饒舌的) small town for a sign from one groundhog that supposedly predicts when that years' spring will arrive.
If it's a cloudy day outside when the groundhog pops from its cave, then spring will arrive early that year. However, if it is sunny outside, the groundhog will supposedly be scared by its own shadow, hiding underground for six more weeks of cold weather.
Of course, Punxsutawney Phil's prediction is no more able to guarantee the extended forecast than your local weatherman. ABC News reports that an analysis by the National Climate Data Center found that Phil's predictions are more often wrong than right.  
Philis is also found to have made some unpleasant predictions. Ever since 1887, he has predicted 99 extended winters and just 16 early springs .Nine of the years' predictions were unavailable, according to ABC.
The holiday began as a German tradition in 18th century and became even more of a cultural phenomenon after the 1993 film Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray.
Punxsutawney Phil has become a celebrity in his own right.  Each year, the fatter animal with long teeth is watched by millions as he emerges from a cave in the town he is named after. Phil has become so beloved by the town that he actually lives in the local library with his “wife" Phyllis.
Taking inspiration from the hard state of Bill Murray’s character in the classic film, Yahoo contributor Owen Rust says Groundhog Day is a good time to reflect on one’s routines.
【小題1】The underlined word “pops” means “        ”.

A．escapes

B．a(chǎn)ppears

C．increases

D．hides

【小題2】The reason why Phil's predictions aren't pleasing is that_____________.

A．some of the predictions were unavailable

B．Phil wants to do that for fun

C．Phil likes to make unpleasant predictions

D．he has predicted more late springs

【小題3】How does Punxsutawney Phil become a celebration?

A．By an accident.

B．From people's life improving.

C．By his own attractive force

D．From much money raised by the town.

【小題4】Which does this passage mainly talk about?

A．The National Climate Data Center

B．A German tradition

C．A tongue-twisting small town

D．Groundhog Day weather forecasting

Military training has long been considered a ritual(儀式) that freshmen must go through in order to officially start their college lives. While some question the necessity of such training. Many students see military training as a campus tradition that should be maintained.
Early in February, the Ministry of Education issued a new regulation that colleges and universities should carry out a minimum of 14 days compulsory military training for freshmen.
In a report by Beijing Evening News, Hou Zhengfang, a Beijing-based education PhD, questioned the benefits of military training. “The training routine does little to improve students’ physical fitness over only two weeks’ time. Maybe some disaster prevention training, such as earthquake survival or escaping from fires would be of greater benefit.”
Meng Yang, a 19-year-old freshman at Guangxi University, fainted during training. She said that many students, especially girls, are willing to train under direct sunshine. “For me, military training is physically challenging and even damages my health.”
According to Li Jian from the student affairs office of Guangzhou University, feeling dizzy  happens frequently during military training and the school has received a lot of complaints from both students and parents: “But I still think military training is a good thing. Students are easier to manage after the military training. They became more positive about their new environment after the training.”
Although autumn is fast approaching Beijing, the noon heat burns 3300 freshmen on Tsinghua University’s campus. Chu Jinjing, a freshman majoring in medicine, did feel some discomfort while training in sweaty clothes in the glaring heat, the 18-year-old still enjoyed being part of group going through strict exercises. “By going through this tough training, students bond faster and a sense of belonging to the school can be formed. I’ve made a lot of friends already.”
According to the Ministry of Education, the purpose of military training is to teach students discipline, the spirit of teamwork and endurance. But in reality, according to Xiong Bingqi, deputy director of the 21^st Century Education Research Institute, the effect is not satisfying. “Such goals require long-term development. It is unrealistic to expect military training to make a difference in only 14 days.” He thus suggests that it should be up to schools to conduct military training in a way that best suits their students.
However, Wang Wenhui, an 18-year-old freshman from Xi’an Jiaotong University, sees military training as a tradition that reaches beyond character building. “From junior and senior high school to college, we join military training to start a new journey. I would feel a bit incomplete without it.”
【小題1】How many people expressing their opinions are mentioned in this passage?

A．4

B．5

C．6

D．7

【小題2】According to Hou Zhengfang, it seems much more beneficial to give freshmen_____________.

A．survival skills

B．military training

C．the spirit of teamwork and endurance

D．strict exercises

【小題3】What is the author’s attitude towards military training?

A．Supportive

B．Subjective

C．Objective

D．Rejective

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

A．A Policy Made by the Ministry of Education

B．Military Training under Fire

C．A New Journey

D．A Best Way to Teach Students Discipline

Like many languages spoken by people, Ayapaneco is dying. Only two people in the world still speak it, and they won't talk to each other.
Spoken in Mexico for centuries, Ayapaneco is one of 68 surviving languages in the mainly Spanish-speaking nation. The two speakers are Manuel Segovia and Isidro Velazquez. Though they live only 500 meters from each other in the village, the two men seldom talk to each other. Daniel, an American expert, who is working to make a dictionary of Ayapaneco, says the two men “don’t have a lot in common,” and that Segovia can be “active” while Velasquez tends to mind his own business and stay at home.
While Segovia still speaks to his wife and son in Ayapaneco, neither of them can manage more than a few words. Velasquez hardly speaks his native tongue any more. Daniel is working to preserve the language in dictionary form before its last surviving speakers pass away. According to Daniel, Ayapaneco and the other languages began dying out with the introduction of public Spanish education in the mid-20^th century. For decades, local children weren’t allowed to speak anything else. Many people to cities, starting in the 1970s, also helped the dying out of native languages.
Ayapaneco is the name given to the language; Segovia and Velazquez call it “Nuumte Oote”, which means “true voice”. Neither man, however, speaks the same language. The dictionary will contain two versions(版本) of the language when it comes out later this year. Those behind the dictionary aren’t the only ones trying to save Ayapaneco. The National Language Institute plans to hold classes so that Segovia and Velasquez can pass on what they know to children.
It is thought that there are about 6,000 languages spoken on earth and that about half will disappear over the next 100 years. Let’s hope the “true voice” isn’t one of them.
【小題1】Segovia and Velasquez seldom talk to each other in Ayapaneco because they___________________.

A．both dislike the language

B．don’t get along well with each other

C．a(chǎn)re too busy to talk to each other

D．don’t share the same interests

【小題2】Which are the main reasons why the language Ayapaneco started dying out? 
a. No teacher liked to teach it.         b. Local children had to speak Spanish.
c. many villagers went to live in cities.  d. The surviving speakers didn’t like to use it.

A．a(chǎn), b

B．a(chǎn), c

C．b, d

D．b, c

【小題3】How does the National Language Institute try to save Ayapaneco?

A．Write a dictionary of Ayapaneco.

B．Let Ayapaneco be taught at school.

C．Introduce a public Ayapaneco education.

D．Ask villagers to speak Ayapaneco.

【小題4】From the text we learn that the author____________________.

A．a(chǎn)grees that it is natural that Ayapaneco should die out

B．thinks Daniel’s effort to preserve Ayapaneco won’t work

C．thinks highly of Ayapaneco and wants people to learn it

D．hopes that Ayapaneco will not die out in the future

Pride and Prejudice for the Modern Woman
Let us imagine how Pride and Prejudice，Jane Austen’s most
famous work，might be updated，200 years on.
Austen’s popularity is rooted in her intelligence.But today she would certainly have had a very different life，as would her characters.Here’s my own suggestion...
It is a truth finally and universally acknowledged that a single woman with brains deserves to have equal opportunities to men，however disadvantaged she may feel by sexism.
“My dear husband，”said his hopeful wife one day，“have you heard that the local store，standing empty for so long，is taken over by a bright young businesswoman？”
Her dull and indifferent (漠不關(guān)心的) husband replied that he had not.
“But it is，it is，”she replied excitedly.
Mr Dull­Husband made no reply.
“Don’t you want to know her plans？”she cried with some impatience.
“Well，clearly you think it matters to your silly little head...so I’d better listen.”
“Well，my dear，the rumour (傳言) is that she has already set up a string of successful businesses in northern England，though how_a_woman_can_know_anything_about_that_is_beyond_me.She will move in herself next month.”
“What is her name？”
“Bingley.”
“Is she married or single？”
“What a question! And none of your business.But her coming will be a fine thing for our five boys.”
“How so? How can it possibly affect them? ”
“My dear love：those lazy boys need something to wake them up.There are bound to be jobs going.”
“Is that her point in settling here? Surely as a woman she has simply taken a fancy to the place.”
“Nonsense，my love，how little you’ve noticed the world has changed.She’s got a first­rate degree and some sort of business qualification，I’m told.She surely needs one of our boys! Perhaps you might give her a call.”
“Me? No.Perhaps you can take an interest.You still have your looks，after all.She may even offer you a job.”
“Oh，that’s not likely.These new chances belong to the younger generation.But now you mention it，I think I’ll go along all the same.”
And Mrs Bennet went along.That was 10 years ago.She is now managing director of a FTSE­listed company.
...It would remain the case，of course，that Mrs Bennet would be one of very few women on the company board，that her salary would be lower than her male colleagues，her bonus of a more“female”dimension and her lifespan (年限) among the city’s business leaders shorter than theirs.Still，she’d no doubt have enjoyed Davos—and might even have hobnobbed (攀談) with influential figures.
【小題1】Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Austen was born 200 years ago.

B．Austen rewrote Pride and Prejudice.

C．Austen’s success lies in her wisdom.

D．Austen’s updated work gains popularity.

【小題2】The underlined part in the passage suggests that Mrs Bennet ________.

A．had mixed feelings of admiration and surprise about Bingley

B．felt kind of worried and doubtful about Bingley

C．was extremely anxious to meet Bingley

D．had a great curiosity about Bingley

【小題3】In the eyes of Mrs Bennet，Bingley surely needed one of their boys to ________.

A．get married to

B．work for her

C．help her move in

D．take over her store

【小題4】What does the writer intend to tell us?

A．Women with brains can also be as successful as men.

B．Women have to pay a high price for success.

C．A judgment must be made free from prejudice.

D．Sex discrimination still exists nowadays.

We’ve reached a strange－some would say unusual－point.While fighting world hunger continues to be the matter of vital importance according to a recent report from the World Health Organization (WHO)，more people now die from being overweight，or say，from being extremely fat，than from being underweight.It’s the good life that’s more likely to kill us these days.
Worse，nearly l8 million children under the age of five around the world are estimated to be overweight.What’s going on?
We really don’t have many excuses for our weight problems.The dangers of the problem have been drilled into us by public­health campaigns since 2001 and the message is getting through—up to a point.
In the 1970s，F(xiàn)inland，for example，had the highest rate of heart disease in the world and being overweight was its main cause.Not any more.A public­health campaign has greatly reduced the number of heart disease deaths by 80 per cent over the past three decades.
Maybe that explains why the percentage of people in Finland taking diet pills doubled between 2001 and 2005，and doctors even offer surgery of removing fat inside and change the shape of the body.That has become a sort of fashion.No wonder it ranks as the world’s most body­conscious country.
We know what we should be doing to lose weight—but actually doing it is another matter.By far the most popular excuse is not taking enough exercise.More than half of us admit we lack willpower.
Others blame good food.They say：it’s just too inviting and it makes them overeat.Still others lay the blame on the Americans，complaining that pounds have piled on thanks to eating too much American­style fast food.
Some also blame their parents－their genes.But unfortunately，the parents are wronged because they’re normal in shape，or rather slim.
It’s a similar story around the world，although people are relatively unlikely to have tried to lose weight.Parents are eager to see their kids shape up.Do as I say－not as I do.
【小題1】What is the“strange”point mentioned in the first sentence?

A．The good life is a greater risk than the bad life.

B．Starvation is taking more people’s lives in the world.

C．WHO report shows people’s unawareness of food safety.

D．Overweight issue remains unresolved despite WHO’s efforts.

【小題2】Why does the author think that people have no excuse for being overweight?

A．A lot of effective diet pills are available.

B．Body image has nothing to do with good food.

C．They have been made fully aware of its dangers.

D．There are too many overweight people in the world.

【小題3】．The example of Finland is used to illustrate________.

A．the cause of heart disease

B．the fashion of body shaping

C．the effectiveness of a campaign

D．the history of a body­conscious country

【小題4】Which would be the best title for the passage?

A．Actions or Excuses?

B．Overweight or Underweight?

C．WHO in a Dilemma

D．No Longer Dying of Hunger

No one knows for sure when advertising first started.It is possible that it grew out of the discovery that some people did certain kinds of work better than others did them.That led to the concept of specialization，which means that people would specialize，or focus，on doing one specific job.
Let’s take a man we’ll call Mr.Fielder，for example.He did everything connected with farming.He planted seeds，tended the fields，and harvested and sold his crops.At the same time，he did many other jobs on the farm.However，he didn’t make the bricks for his house，cut his trees into boards，make the plows(犁), or any of the other hundreds of things a farm needs.Instead，he got them from people who specialized in doing each of those things.
Suppose there was another man we shall call Mr.Plowright.Using what he knew about farming and working with iron，Mr.Plowright invented a plow that made farming easier.Mr.Plowright did not really like farming himself and wanted to specialize in making really good plows.Perhaps，he thought，other farmers will trade what they grow for one of my plows.
How did Mr.Plowright let people know what he was doing？Why，he advertised，of course.First he opened a shop and then he put up a sign outside the shop to attract customers.That sign may have been no more than a plow carved into a piece of wood and a simple arrow pointing to the shop door.It was probably all the information people needed to find Mr.Plowright and his really good plows.
Many historians believe that the first outdoor signs were used about five thousand years ago.Even before most people could read，they understood such signs.Shopkeepers would carve into stone，clay，or wood symbols for the products they had for sale.
A medium，in advertising talk，is the way you communicate your message.You might say that the first medium used in advertising was signs with symbols.The second medium was audio，or sound，although that term is not used exactly in the way we use it today.Originally，just the human voice and maybe some kind of simple instrument，such as a bell，were used to get people’s attention.
A crier，in the historical sense，is not someone who weeps easily.It is someone，probably a man，with a voice loud enough to be heard over the other noises of a city.In ancient Egypt，shopkeepers might hire such a person to spread the news about their products.Often this earliest form of advertising involved a newly arrived ship loaded with goods.Perhaps the crier described the goods，explained where they came from，and praised their quality.His job was，in other words，not too different from a TV or radio commercial in today’s world.
【小題1】What probably led to the start of advertising?

A．The discovery of iron.

B．The specialization of labor.

C．The appearance of new jobs.

D．The development of farming techniques.

【小題2】To advertise his plows，Mr.Plowright________.

A．praised his plows in public

B．placed a sign outside the shop

C．hung an arrow pointing to the shop

D．showed his products to the customers

【小題3】The writer makes up the two stories of Mr.Fielder and Mr.Plowright in order to________.

A．explain the origin of advertising

B．predict the future of advertising

C．expose problems in advertising

D．provide suggestions for advertising

【小題4】In ancient Egypt，a crier was probably someone who ________.

A．owned a ship

B．had the loudest voice

C．ran a shop selling goods to farmers

D．functioned like today’s TV or radio commercial

【小題5】The last two paragraphs are mainly about ________.

A．the history of advertising

B．the benefits of advertising

C．the early forms of advertising

D．the basic design of advertising