In 1971 a young man who grew up very poor was traveling across the country, trying to make a new start for himself. Along the way he had completely run out of money and was forced to spend the night in his car. This continued until one morning, after a week of sleeping in his car, he walked nervously into a restaurant and ordered a big breakfast.
After eating his first good meal in weeks, he found himself lying to the waiter, telling him he had lost his wallet. The waiter, who was also the owner, walked behind the chair where the young man had been sitting. He bent down, and came up with a $20 bill that looked as if it had fallen on the floor and said, “Son, you must have dropped this,” the owner said. The young man couldn’t believe his luck! He quickly paid for the breakfast, left a tip, bought gas with the change, and headed West.
On the way out of town, he began to understand what that fellow did. Maybe nobody dropped the money at all. “Maybe that fellow just knew I was in trouble and he helped me in a way that didn’t embarrass(使困窘) me. So I just made a promise to help other people if I can.”
Later, he worked very hard and became a rich man. Now he lives near Kansas City. Each year he gives away thousands of dollars. He is known as the “Secret Santa” because at Christmas time each year, he personally hands money out to those on the street and at restaurants. Last year, he gave more than $50,000 away in Kansas City.The underlined word “this” in the second paragraph refers to .
| A．a wallet | B．his luck | C．the $20 bill | D．his tip |
On the way out of town, the young man got to know that .
| A．it was very honest of the owner to return his money |
| B．another man who had breakfast in the restaurant lost the money |
| C．he could probably find himself a job in the restaurant |
| D．the owner helped him in a way that didn’t hurt his feelings. |
The best title for this text may be .
| A．Secret Santa of Kansas City | B．The key to Success |
| C．A Kind Waiter in the Restaurant | D．Never Give Up |
Obama Still Smokes in Secret
US President Barack Obama has just made life more difficult for cigarette makers．He has just signed a law that will set tough new rules for the tobacco industry．The new law gives the US Food and Drug Administration the power to strictly limit the making and marketing of tobacco products．
At a White House signing ceremony Monday, Obama said that he was among the nearly 90% of smokers who took up the habit before their 18 th birthday．
Obama, who has publicly struggled to give up smoking, said he still hadn’t completely kicked the habit．Every now and then he still smokes in secret．
“As a former smoker I struggle with it all the time．Do I still smoke sometimes? Yes．Am I a daily smoker, a constant smoker? No．” Obama said at a news conference．
“I don' t do it in front of my lads．I don 't do it in front of my family．I would say that I am 95% cured, but there are times when I mess up, " he said．
"Once you go down this path, it' s something you continually struggle with, which is exactly why the law is so important．The new law is not about me, it' s about the next generation of kids coming up．What we don ' t want is kids going down that path," he said．
Nearly 20% of Americans smoke and tobacco use kills about 440,000 people a year in the United States due to cancer, heart disease, and other serious diseases．The new law makes life difficult for ．
| A．Obama | B．tobacco industry |
| C．White House | D．US Food and Drug Administration |
What do we know about Obama?
| A．He no longer smokes． |
| B．He still smokes as usual． |
| C．He began to smoke at eighteen． |
| D．He is trying hard to give up smoking． |
According to the passage, Obama is most concerned about ．
| A．children | B．officials | C．his family | D．businessmen |
Just as the world’s most respected scientific bodies have confirmed that the world is getting hotter, they have also stated that there is strong evidence that humans are driving the warming． Countless recent reports from the world’s leading scientific bodies have said the same thing． For example, a 2010 summary of climate science by the Royal Society stated that: “There is strong evidence that the warming of the Earth over the last half-century has been caused largely by human activity．”
The idea that humans could change the planet’s climate may be counter-intuitive（与直觉不符的）, but the basic science is well understood． Each year, human activity causes billions of tons of greenhouse gases to be released（释放）into the atmosphere． As scientists have known for years, these gases hold heat that would otherwise escape to space, wrapping the planet in an invisible blanke
t．
Of course, the planet’s climate has always been changing thanks to “natural” factors（因素） such as changes in solar or volcanic（火山的）activity, or cycles relating the Earth’s going around the sun． According to the scientific literature, however, the warming recorded to date matches the pattern of warming we would expect from a build-up of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere – not the warming we would expect from other possible causes．
Even if scientists did discover another reasonable explanation for the warming observed so far, that would beg a difficult question． As Robert Henson puts it in The Rough Guide to Climate Change: “If some newly discovered factor can account for the climate change, then why aren’t carbon dioxide（二氧化碳）and the other greenhouse gases producing the warming that basic physics tells us they should be?”
The only way to prove with 100% certainty that humans are responsible for global warming would be to run an experiment with two identical Earths – one with human influence and one without． That obviously isn’t possible, and so most scientists are careful not to state human influence as an absolute certainty． In most scientists’ opinion, the global warming is mainly caused by ．
| A．solar activity | B．volcanic activity |
| C．the Earth’s going around the sun | D．human activity |
The text is developed by ．
| A．giving typical examples | B．foll owing the order of space |
| C．analysing a theory and arguing it | D．comparing and finding differences |
The underline word “identical” means ．
| A．totally different | B．exactly the same |
| C．extremely important | D．relatively independent |
Finding the right school for 
your child is a process． You will want to read about the school, talk to any friends who are involved in the school and, most important of all, visit the school．
The first step in finding out about Indian Creek is to request an information packet． We will be happy to send you a packet containing a brochure（小册子）, the fee structure and an application． The packet should answer most of your general questions about the school．
In order to get a true sense of Indian Creek School, you should come for an Admission Tour, which includes a personal meeting focusing on your child, a tour of the building and the classrooms, and a discussion of the curriculum（课程）．
This visit is no less important if the child for whom you are seeking admission is a teenager than if he or she is a three-year-old one． Every school has a different “school climate．” If you visit two or three schools, you will notice that each “feels” different． You know your child best and you will quickly develop a sense of whether a school is the right match or not．
●The initial point of entry for Indian Creek Students is at the pre-kindergarten level for three year olds．
●Children must be three years old by August 31st．
●We also have major points of entry from grade six to grade nine． At each of these levels, we open new sections and accept students in addition to those moving up from our own lower grades．
●There are scattered（零散的） openings available throughout the program due to attrition（学生流失）． Once an opening occurs, students spend a day at ICS, part of which includes admission testing．You can NOT get to know about ICS by ．
| A．getting an information packet | B．taking an admission tour |
| C．asking friends involved in ICS | D．taking an admission test |
During the Admission Tour, you can ．
| A．having a meeting with the children |
| B．decide on the design of the classrooms |
| C．talk with the school about the courses |
| D．choose the weather suitable for study． |
Which of the following is NOT accepted for ICS when there is no attrition?
| A．A boy who will be 3 years old by July． |
| B．A fifth grader originally studying in ICS． |
| C．An eighth grader from another school． |
| D．A fourth grader from another school． |
The text is intended for ．
| A．teachers | B．parents |
| C．kindergarteners | D．school kids |
Shopping in the United States changes a lot．About ninety years ago most people shopped in small stores that were owned by one person or a family．Women went from the bakery to the butcher’s to the grocer and on to the fruit and vegetable seller in order to get their food for the week．Then, about sixty years ago, supermarkets were born．In a supermarket, people could get all the different kinds of food they needed without going to different stores．
The next big change in shopping in the United States was the shopping mall．A shopping mall is a group of stores u
nder one roof．Because malls allowed people to shop without worrying about the weather, they soon became very popular．The mall became a place for people to socialize in addition to shopping．If you walk through a mall, you will see older people sitting, chatting and drinking coffee．Malls are places for teenagers to hang out．Many teens will often just “go to the mall” and spend time with their friends．
The recent change in American shopping was the superstore．Large chain stores such as Wal-Mart, Office Depot and Toys“R”Us have been built all across the United States．Because they are so large, they can buy goods at a great discount and sell them much cheaper than smaller stores．Sometimes, when they are built near small towns, many of the small town stores have to close．They just cannot compete with their giant neighbors．
And now, online shopping is becoming more and more popular all over the States．People are too busy to go to the physical stores, so they go shopping over the Internet．Online shopping has lots of advantages．For instance, online stores are usually available 24 hours a day．Searching or browsing online shops can be faster than browsing the physical stores．While, online shopping also has its disadvantages．People are at higher risk of being cheated on the part of the merchant than in a physical store．And privacy of personal information may be let out．Which of the following shows the right order of shopping development in the United States?
①small stores ②superstores ③shopping malls
④shopping online ⑤supermarkets
| A．①②③④⑤ | B．①⑤②③④ |
| C．②③④①⑤ | D．①⑤③②④ |
Which is the place for people to spend time with others according to the passage?
| A．Small stores． | B．Shopping malls． |
| C．Supermarkets． | D．Superstores． |
Why can the superstores sell products at
much lower prices?
| A．Because they can buy goods at a reduction in price． |
| B．Because they are across the United States． |
| C．Because they sell all kinds of products people need． |
| D．Because they are built near small towns． |
What’s the disadvantage of online shopping according to the passage?
| A．Wasting time． |
| B．Fixed prices． |
| C．Leaking personal information． |
| D．No chance to do physical activities． |
They are among the 250, 000 people under the age of 25 who are out of work in the Netherlands, a group that makes up 40 percent of the nation’s unemployed．A storm of anger boils up at the government-sponsored （政府资助的） youth center, even among those who are continuing their studies．
“We study for jobs that don’t exist,” Nicollets Steggerda, 23, said．
After thirty years of prosperity, unemployment among 10 member nations of the European Community has reached as much as 11 percent, affecting a total of 12．3 million people, and the number is climbing．
The bitter disappointment long expressed by British youths is spreading across the Continent．The title of a rock song “No Future” can now be seen written on the brick walls of closed factories in Belgium and France．
One form of protest（抗议） tends to put the responsibility for a country’s economic troubles on the large numbers of “guest workers” from Third World nations, people welcomed in Western Europe in the years of prosperity．
Young Europeans, brought up in an extended period of economic success and general stability, seem to be similar to Americans more than they do their own parents．Material enjoyment has given them a sense of expectation, even the right to a standard of living that they see around them．
“And so we pass the days at the discos, or meet people at the café, and sit and stare,” said Isabella Cault．"There is usually not much conversation．You look for happiness．Sometimes you even find it．”Unemployment in the Netherlands has affected
| A．about 0．6 million people | B．250,000 people |
| C．1ess than half of the population | D．one million people |
What Nicollete Steggerda said （para 2） means that ．
| A．what the students learn is more than necessary |
| B．the students cannot get work after graduation |
| C．the students’ aim in study is not clear |
| D．school education is not sufficient |
The underlined word ‘‘it” in the last paragraph most probably refers to ．
| A．material enjoyment | B．a sense of expectation |
| C．a job | D．happiness |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．British youths have pity on the unemployed on the Continent． |
B．British youths care about unemployment in France and  Belgium． |
| C．British youths show their disappointment over joblessness． |
| D．British youths have confidence to find work on the Continent． |
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