Mark Twain was a great writer. He was from the USA. He was born in 1835. He was also a famous speaker. He was famous for his sense of humour. Many people liked to listen to him talk because he liked to tell some interesting stories to make people laugh all the time.
One day Mark Twain was going to a small town because of his writing. Before he was going to leave, one of his friends said to him that there were always a lot of mosquitoes in the town and told him that he’d better not go there. Mark Twain waved his hand and said, “It doesn’t matter. The mosquitoes are no relatives of mine. I don’t think they will come to visit me.”
After he arrived at the town, Mark Twain stayed in a small hotel near the station. He went into his room, but when he was just about to have a rest, quite a few mosquitoes flew about him. The waiters felt very sorry about that. “I’m very sorry, Mr Mark Twain. There are too many mosquitoes in our town.” One of them said to him.
Mark Twain, however, made a joke, saying to the waiter, “The mosquitoes are very clever. They know my room number. They didn’t come into the wrong room.” What he said made all the people present laugh heartily.
But that night Mark Twain slept well. Do you know why? That was because all the waiters in the hotel were driving the mosquitoes away for him during the whole night.
41. That day Mark Twain went to the town _____.
A. to see one of his friends
B. because he wanted to do something there for his writing
C. because he was told there were a lot of mosquitoes there
D. to see one of his relatives
42. The waiters felt sorry because _____.
A. they did something wrong to Mark Twain
B. their hotel was too small
C. the room was not very clean
D. there were quite a few mosquitoes in Mark Twain’s room
43. All the people present laughed heartily because _____.
A. the mosquitoes were very clever and they didn’t come into the wrong room
B. the mosquitoes knew Mark Twain’s room number
C. Mark Twain gave the waiters some nice presents
D. Mark Twain made a joke
44. From the story we know _____.
A. no mosquitoes troubled Mark Twain in the night
B. the owner of the hotel told the waiters to look after Mark Twain well at night
C. Mark Twain didn’t have a good rest that night
D. there were not mosquitoes in the hotel any longer
This is the age of being busy．Many of us live in busy pl
aces and have busy lives．Even the roads are busy as we try to get from here to there．Adults are busy going to jobs and taking care of their families．Kids are busy，too，going to school and doing lots of homework after school and on weekends．
Busy isn’t bad，necessarily．If you’re not busy enough you might be bored．But if you’re too busy．you might break down．For instance，if you have a soccer game that runs late on a school night and you haven’t eaten dinner or done your homework．that’s a not—so—fun kind of busy．We wanted to know what kids thought，so we did a KidsPoll about being busy with 882 girls and boys aged 9 to 1 3．
Almost all of them said they felt stressed because they were too busy．About half said they felt this way once in a while or some of the time．But l 7％said they felt this way most of the time and 24％said they felt like this all the time! Oh dear，that’s no fun．
Only 4％of kids said they wanted less free time and l8％said they already had just the right 
am
ount．But，no big surprise，61％of kids wish they had a lot more free time．If they had more time．most would spend it hanging out or playing with friends．
Often，adults plan large parts of a kid’s day，especially during the school year．Kids can’t tell their parents they’ll be skipping school(逃学)today to get more free time!But they can tell their parents they’d like to play a game or read a book during their free time instead of watching TV．．The purpose of the first paragraph is to
A．introduce the  topic |
B．support the main idea |
| C．raise the topic sentence | D．attract the readers’ attention |
．According to the passage，the Kidspoll is done to carry out research on
| A．how kids arrange their free time | B．what kids think of being busy |
| C．how many kids felt stressed | D．what kids do with fheir study |
．According to the KidsPoll，what conclusion can we draw?
| A．91％of the kids think being busy is no fun． |
| B．22％of the kids don’t need more free time． |
| C．61％of the kids spend free time playing． |
| D．24％of the kids like the busy way． |
．From the passage，we can infer that the writer agrees kids can
A．spend their free time hanging or playing ou t |
| B．get a lot more free time from their parents |
| C．have a right amount of free time with permission |
| D．get more free time from school work sometimes |
William H. Gates is chairperson and chief software architect of Microsoft Corporation．
the worldwide leader in software services and internet technologies for personal and business computing．
Bill Gates was born on October 28．1 955 in a family having rich business，political and community service background．His great—grandfather was a state legislator(立法者)and a mayor，his grandfather was vice president of national bank and his father was a lawyer．
Bill strongly believes in hard work. He believes that if you are intelligent and know how to apply your intelligence，you can achieve anything．From childhood Bill was ambitious, intelligent and competitive．These qualities helped him to attain top position in the profession he chose．1n school，he had an excellent record in mathematics and science．Bill’s parents came to know their son’s intelligence and decided to send him to a private school，known for its good academic environment．It was a very important decision in Bill Gates’ life where he was first introduced to a computer．Bill Gates and his friends were very much interested in computer and formed “programmer’s Group” in late l968．
Later，Bill Gates and his close friend Allen started a new company of their own，Traf-O-Data．They developed a small computer to measure traffic flow．From this project they earned around$20，000．In 1973．he left home for Harvard University．He did well over there，but he couldn’t find it interesting．He spent many long nights in front of the school’s computer and the next day asleep in class．
Within a year．Bill Gates dropped out from Harvard．Then he formed Microsoft．Microsoft’s vision is“ A computer on every desk and Microsoft software on every computer”．His belief in high intelligence and hard work has put him where he is today．He does not believe in mere(纯粹的)luck，but just hard work and competitiveness．
Bill Gates is not a greedy person．In fact，he is quite a giving person when it comes to computers，internet and any kind of funding．Several years ago, he visited Chicago’s Einstein Elementary School and announced grants benefiting Chicago’s schools and museums where he donated(捐款)a total of $1 1 0，000，a bunch of computers，and provided internet connectivity to a number of schools．Secondly，Bill Gates donated 38 million dollars for the building of a computer institute at Stanford University．Gates has decided to give away 95％of all his earnings when he retires．．How old was Bill Gates when he retired f
rom Microsoft in late 
June of 2008?
| A．52． | B．55． | C．60． | D．62． |
．What does Bill Gates believe are most important in achieving success?
| A．Intelligence and luck． | B．Hard work and intelligence． |
| C．Money and interest． | D．Good education and ambition． |
．What is the most important turning point in Bill Gates’ life?
| A．He left home for Harvard University． |
| B．He dropped out from Harvard University． |
C．He and his friend Allen started a new co mpany． |
| D．He was sent to a private school where he first studied computer． |
．What kind of person can we say about Bill Gates?
| A．Wealthy，greedy and successful． |
B．Ambitious，Intelligent and se lfish． |
| C．Intelligent．successful and generous． |
| D．Lazy，intelligent and competitive． |
The 9．2一magnitude(震级)earthquake which caused the tsunami in
the Indian Ocean on Boxing Day last year occurred at 7:58 a.m.，95 miles off the west coast of Aceh, Indonesia．
Eighteen minutes later．10-metre high waves crashed the ashore along a 500——mile-long stretch of Aceh．
Two hours later the tsunami hit Thailand and Malaysia and then Burma, Bangladesh, India，the Maldives，Sri Lanka，Kenya and Somalia．The final death toll is thought to be about 280，000，with tens of thousands more listed as missing．More than l.8 million people lost their homes．
●What Is Tsunami?
A tsunami is a chain of fast moving waves caused by a sudden strong quake in the ocean．They can be caused by earthquakes，volcanic eruptions(爆发)，or even the collision of meteorites(陨星)．Tsunamis are also incorrectly known as tidal waves，but unlike tidal waves they are not caused by changes in the tides．
They are also most common around the edge of the Pacific，where more than half of the world’s volcanoes are found．These fast moving waves can attack coastlines，often with little or no warning．Rocks weighing as much as 20 metric tonnes have been pulled from sea walls and carried l 80m inland．
●Wave Power
Atsunami can have a wavelength in excess of(超过)1 00km and there may be an hour between them．They travel at great speeds across an ocean with hardly any energy losses and are barely noticeable out at sea．
Over the deep Pacific Ocean，a tsunami travels at about 800kph．If an earthquake happened in Los Angeles．a tsunami could hit Tokyo quicker than you could fly between the cities by jet．
●Strange Animal Behaviors
Ten days before giant waves slammed into Sri Lanka and India coastlines，wild and domestic(家养的) animals seemed to know what was about to happen and fled(逃跑)to safety．
Elephants screamed and ran for higher ground．
Dogs refused to go outdoors．
Zoo animals rushed into their shelters and could not be enticed(引诱)to come back out．.．What does the first part of the passage mainly tell us?
| A．The great speed of a tsunami． |
| B．The number of deaths caused by a tsunami． |
| C．The countries which were struck by a tsunami． |
| D．The serious destruction caused by the great power of a tsunaml． |
.．All the following can cause a tsunami except
| A．changes of the tides | B．volcanic eruptions |
| C．collision of meteorites | D．earthquakes |
.．Which of the following is a characteristic of a tsunami?
| A．Having a lot of small waves linked together． |
| B．The waves of a tsunami travel extremely fast． |
| C．The waves of a tsunami can be found in the distance． |
| D．The power of the waves becomes stronger and stronger as a tsunami travels． |
When he was driving home one evening on a country road，he saw an old lady，stranded(抛锚的)on the side of the road．He stopped in front of her car and got out．Even with the smile on his face，she was worried．He looked poor and hungry．He knew how she felt．He said，“I am here to help you，madam．Why
don’t you wait in the car where it’s warm? By the way, my name is Joe．”
She had a flat tire．Joe crawled under the car，changed the tire．But he got dirty and his hands hurt．She could not thank him enough and asked him how much she owed him．He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back，the next time she saw someone who needed help，she could give
that person the assistance they needed，and Joe added，“And think of me．”
She drove off．A few miles down the road the lady saw a small restaurant．She went in．The waitress had a sweet smile，and was nearly eight months pregnant(怀孕的)．The old lady wondered how someone like her who seemed poor could be so kind to a stranger．Then she remembered Joe．After the lady finished her meal，the waitress went to get her change from a hundred—dollar bill．But she stepped right out the door．
When the waitress came back，she noticed something written on a napkin，“I am helping you because someone once helped me．If you really want to pay me back，here’s what you do---Do not let the chain of love end with you．”
That night when she got home，she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written．She and her husband needed money with the baby due(预期的)next month．She knew how worried her husband was，and as he lay sleeping next to her，she whispered，“Everything’s going to be all right．I love you，Joe．”.．When Joe stopped to help the lady，she
| A．became excited | B．was afraid to be hurt |
| C．refused his offer | D．thanked him |
.．At the restaurant, the lady
| A．received good service | B．had an expensive meal |
| C．told the waitress Joe’s story | D．met another poor guest |
.．Why did the lady leave the restaurant without getting her change?
| A．She forgot it． | B．She wanted to help Joe |
| C．She wanted to tip the waitress． | |
D．S he wanted to give the waitress some help |
.．Which of the following statements is true?
| A．Joe’s boss fired him． | B．Joe worked as a driver． |
| C．Joe’s wife was a waitress． | D．Joe had an unhappy marriage． |
Today about 70 countries use Daylight Saving Time (DST). Daylight Saving was first introduced during World War I in Australia. During the world wars, DST was used for the late summers beginning January 1917 and 1942, and the full summers beginning September 1942 and 1943.
In 1967, Tasmania experienced a drought（干旱）. The State Government introduced one hour of daylight saving that summer as a way of saving power and water. Tasmanians liked the idea of daylight saving and the Tasmanian Government has declared daylight saving each summer since 1968. Persuaded by the Tasmanian G
overnment, all states except two passed a law in 1971, for a test use of daylight saving. In 1972, New South Wales, South Australia and Vi
ctoria joined Tasmania for regular daylight saving, but Queensland did not do so until 1989.
Tasmania, Queensland and South Australia have had irregular plans, often changing their dates due to politics or festivals（节日）. For example, in 1992, Tasmania extended（延长）daylight saving by an extra month while South Australia began extending daylight saving by two weeks for the Adelaide Festival. Special daylight saving plans were made during the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.
The differences in daylight saving in Australia continue to cause serious problems in transport and many other social activities. It also reduces the number of hours in the working day that are common to all centers in the country. In particular, time differences along the east coast cause major differences, especially for the broadcasters of national radio and television.. Daylight Saving Time was introduced in Tasmania _______________.
| A．to stop the drought in 1967 | B．to support government officials |
| C．to pass a special law in the state | D．to save water and electricity |
.. What can we learn about DST in some Australian states?
| A．It doesn’t have fixed dates. | B．It is not used in festivals. |
| C．Its plan was changed in 2000. | D．It lasts for two weeks |
.. What do we know about the use of DST from the last paragraph?
| A．There exists some undesirable effects. | B．It helps little to save energy. |
| C．It brings about longer working days. | D．Radio and TV programs become different |
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