“Don’t go down to that pond — it's dangerous!” Stephanie angrily shouted at her children. She’d overheard them talking about playing near the water on the golf course close to their apartment. It was a Saturday, and 8-year-old Jeremiah was heading outside with his 11-year-old sister, Tiara, and their 13-year-old cousin, Evon McDuffie. They often went to the George Wilson Community Center in Newark, Delaware, just three houses away from their apartment building.

The Wilson center was a good place of activity for the community, especially in warm weather. But January 20, 2006, was a rainy day with winds. It’s a good day to play inside the center. Unfortunately, the three children had other ideas.

Taking no notice of what Stephanie had said, Evon, Tiara and Jeremiah walked beyond the tree line at the back of the community center and headed toward the large pond. The kids climbed through a gap in the fence, then passed a No Entering sign posted on a metal gate nearby. As they reached the pond, they also walked by a No Skating sign.

Tiara and Evon first stepped on the surface ice, and when it held, the children went out on the pond. Evon shouted out to Jeremiah, “I bet you can't cross the whole thing.”

“I bet you I can,” Jeremiah replied, and he took off across the pond.

He made it to the other side, but as he came back, Jeremiah stepped on the thinner ice. The thin surface collapsed under his feet, and the boy sank into the cold water. Evon raced back to the apartment for help, while frightened Tiara tried to reach Jeremiah as he struggled to keep his head above water. But he kept slipping beneath the surface.

When firefighters arrived, all they could see was Jeremiah's coat floating on the water. As the unconscious child was rushed to the hospital, his life was saved, for now, but the effects of hypothermia (降低體溫) and lack of oxygen left Jeremiah with serious brain damage.

1. Stephanie shouted at her children because_____________.

      A. the children didn’t behave very well at home

      B. they were too young to play outside

      C. it was raining

      D. the children secretly planned to go to the pond

2. It was __________ that made Jeremiah take courage to cross the ice.

      A. Evon’s challenge              B. the mother’s words

      C. No Entering sign                  D. the view on the other bank

3. What does the underlined word “collapsed” probably mean?

      A. changed suddenly             B. broke into pieces

      C. became thinner             D. floated away

4. Which of the following is the right order of the events that happened to Jeremiah?

      a. Firefighters came and rescued Jeremiah.

      b. The kids climbed through the fence and to the pond.

      c. Jeremiah walked across the ice.

      d. The kids planned to play on the pond.

      e. When Jeremiah made a way back, he sank.

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

Driving home from work one evening in the heavy rain, I found a very wet, injured cat on the side of the road. He looked up at me, meowing pitifully. A car must have hit it so it wasn’t able to move. I stopped my car and carried the cat in and went on driving.
At the nearest vet clinic, the vet gently examined it. "He's about eight months old and has two broken legs, but I would need X-rays to know how serious the damage is," he told me. "As he's not your cat, I don't know if you want to go ahead with this. It could be rather expensive."
I knew it would cost me hundreds of dollars, but I agreed with his advice. The following morning the vet rang to say the X-rays confirmed two bad breaks in his legs. "I'll operate on his legs and put metal pins in them to keep them fixed." he told me.
That afternoon I went to pick up my little friend. There I could hardly recognize him. His previously dirty fur was now a beautiful silver grey. His front legs were in two casts and he lay there looking at me, purring(發(fā)咕嚕聲) happily.
I thanked the doctor and went out to pay the bill. "I think you've given me the wrong account," I said to the clerk. "This is only $85. He's had X-rays and an operation on his legs." "No, that's right," she replied. "The vet has only charged you for the medication. There's a message on the bottom."
Written under the total were the words "SPECIAL RATE FOR ADOPTIONS." I was speechless at his kind and generous gesture. I paid the account and under his message I wrote "WITH GRATEFUL THANKS, CAT AND MUM."

1. 1.

   Why didn’t the vet give the cat X-rays immediately?

   1. A.
      The damage was not serious at all.
   2. B.
      The cat was too young to be X-rayed.
   3. C.
      The doctor wasn’t sure whether the author would like to cover the expenses.
   4. D.
      The examination was too expensive for the author to afford.
2. 2.

   What do we know about the author?

   1. A.
      The author was a caring and generous lady.
   2. B.
      The author often adopted animals.
   3. C.
      The author’s workplace was far from home.
   4. D.
      The author only worked at night.
3. 3.

   Which of the following is true of the cat?

   1. A.
      He was deserted by his owner and nearly starved to death.
   2. B.
      He was saved on a dark and stormy night.
   3. C.
      He was a lively creature with beautiful brown fur.
   4. D.
      His back legs were broken and had to have an operation.
4. 4.

   Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

   1. A.
      The adventure of a cat
   2. B.
      An impressive vet
   3. C.
      An unforgettable night
   4. D.
      Love in relays

ARLANDA, Sweden （Reuters Life!）—Many people hate the idea of having to sleep on a plane. But Swedish entrepreneur Oscar Dios thinks they can be persuaded otherwise and he has created a new kind of hostel to prove it.

Dios says it is the world’s first jumbo （unusually large） jet hostel, an actual jet-plane at Sweden’s main airport outside Stockholm which has been changed into a 25- room guesthouse that sleeps as many as 72 people.

“I learned about this plane that was standing deserted at Arlanda airport and I’ve been trying the concept of hostels in many different houses and buildings,” he told Reuters. “I thought, ‘Why not a plane?’”

Jumbo Hostels opened for business on Thursday, giving customers the chance to check in and sleep in a room that can best be described as comfortable.”

“The most challenging part with this project is trying to build something inside a metal hull（殼） – it’s just really, really tight.”

The jet, which was originally produced for Singapore Airlines, was taken out of service in 2002. It is held on a concrete foundation with the landing gear secured in steel cradles.

One feature of the hostel is its price – a room starts at 350 Swedish crowns （about $ 41）, which is a lot less than hotel rooms outside of major airports.

Another feature is that customers can get married on the wing of the plane and stay in the plane’s more luxurious honeymoon suite （套房）.

Instead of walking down the aisle in the church, lovebirds can take what Jumbo Hostels calls the “wing walk,” where they can be joined in great happiness at the wing tip. The hostel has someone ready to perform the ceremony.

But in some respects this hostel remains a plane – most customers have to share the jet’s nine bathrooms and the staff only wear air host and hostess outfits. The only room that has its own bathroom is the honeymoon suite.

1. Which of the following is not true?

A. The jet plane was out of use for over eight years

B. The hostel provides ten bathrooms for customers

C. The rooms in the hotel are comfortable

D. The hostel lies at Arlanda airport in Stockholm

2. One of the features of the plane hostel is that         .

A. air hostesses can offer good service

B. a wedding ceremony can be held on the wing    

C. customers can sleep in comfortable rooms      

D. the staff can have a “wing walk”

3. Why does Oscar Dios make jet plane hotel?

A. Because he is fond of plane very much.

B. Because he is very curious

C. Because he wants to earn more money.

D. Because he likes trying the concept of hotel in many different things.

4. The writer mainly wants to          .

A. call on people to make use of the deserted things

B. describe a wonderful place for weddings

C. introduce a new kind of hostel    

D. prove people can sleep on a plane  

We need to make better use of our resources. In developing countries we have more than enough, if we are less wasteful in our ways. Fortunately, we can improve. The challenge lies not so much with ‘technical fixes’ but with our approach to our world around us. In the recent past we were in a “Wild West” economy, supposing that there would always be enough resources. Now we know there are no new Earth to explore and exploit; one image to illustrate this is to think of Earth as a spaceship, where most materials have to be recycled. For us, “moving on” will be a case of leaving behind the throwaway society and advancing to a conserver society.

To qualify as citizens of a conserver society, we must change traditional attitudes and thinking. We need to recognize that there is not very often such a thing as “waste”, rather, there are materials which sometimes end up in the wrong place. The change has already begun. The European steel industry reuses scrap（廢棄的）metal, resulting in an energy saving of up to 50% . Recycling a glass container saves only 18%; but, in parts of the United States, a citizen buying a bottle of soda or beer now pays a deposit against return of the empty bottle.

If all drink containers in the USA were to be reused, the annual saving would be 0.5 million tons glass, plus about 50 million barrels of oil used in production processes. In Japan, OPEC promoted an increase in recycling of raw materials from 16% to 48% in just five years. In Norway, the price of a new car includes a disposal cost element of about 100 dollars, redeemable（可換成現(xiàn)款的）when the junked car is turned in at an approved receiving center.

Major new businesses are trying to exploit waste chemicals and oil. The Chinese claim to reuse 2.5 million tons of scrap iron and at least one million tons of waste paper each year. In the main, the conserver society depends on the commitment of individuals. But they can be encouraged by government incentive(鼓勵) and punishment, which should apply at least as strongly to industry and other commercial interests.

73  Which of the following best expresses the meaning of “a conserver society” in the second paragraph?

A. A wasteful society.

B. A society which thinks of  ways of recycling waste materials.

C. A society which keeps everything.

D. A society which saves electricity.

74  In the last paragraph, the author suggests governments _______.

A. depends on individuals to find ways of conserving energy.

B. find ways of encouraging those industries and individuals who conserve energy and of punishing those who don’t.

C. depend on companies to find ways of saving energy and rewarding workers

D. help establish businesses that will exploit waste materials

75  In this passage the author _______.

A. explains that meaning of the “Wild West” economy

B. tells us what recycled materials are.

C. teaches us how to recycle materials.

D. recommend a change in our use of resources strongly

Well before the 15th century, an Anglo-Saxon custom required that a prospective bridegroom break some highly valued personal belonging. Half of the broken token was held by the father of the bride and the other half by the groom. A wealthy man was expected to split a piece of gold or silver.

The earliest engagement rings were also used as wedding rings, serving to seal an act of sale which transformed ownership of a daughter from father to husband. Such rings were usually of solid gold to prove the groom’s worth.

For Roman Catholics, the engagement ring became a required statement of Nuptial intent（結婚意向）, as decreed by Pope Nicholas I in 860 A.D. The engagement ring was to be of valued metal, preferably gold, which for the husband-to-be represented a financial sacrifice.

Signifying enduring love, and chosen for its durability, the diamond was chosen for the engagement ring. The diamond’s fire is also associated with “l(fā)ove’s clear flame,” given by Medieval Italians because of their belief that the diamond was created from the flames of love.

The Venetians were the first to discover that the diamond is one of the hardest, most enduring substances in nature, and fine cutting and polishing releases the brilliance. Rarity and cost limited their rapid proliferation（急增） throughout Europe but their intrinsic（內在的） appeal guaranteed them a future. By the 17th century, the diamond ring had become the most sought after statement of European engagement.　　

1. Who kept the two halves of the engagement rings before marriage?

   A. The bride’s father and the bridegroom’s mother.

   B. The bride’s mother and the bridegroom.

   C. The bride and the bridegroom.

   D. The bridegroom and the bride’s father,

2. What’s TRUE about the early Anglo-Saxon custom before the 15th century ?

   A. A will-be bridegroom should beat all his valuable belongings.

   B. Every will-be bride should split a piece of gold.

   C. The engagement rings were also used to prove the groom’s worth.

D. A rich bride should break one of her most valuable personal belongs.

3. Pope Nicholas made the engagement ring a required statement of nuptial intent ______.

A. in the 15th century           B. over 1,000 years ago

   C .in the 1860s                D. by the 17th century

4. What kind of engagement ring has been the most popular one in Europe ?

   A. Rings made of gold          B. Rings made of silver

C. Rings made of diamond       D. Rings made of an unknown substance in nature.