Kenyon Scudder once told me a story about his friend, Michael. Michael happened to be on a train sitting next to a young man who seemed worried. Finally the young man told the friend that he was a convict (罪犯) returning home from a prison far away. What he did had brought shame (羞耻) on his family, and they had neither visited him nor written to him. He hoped, however, that this was only because they were too poor to travel and too busy to write.
When he was set free he had written to tell them he wanted to go home. To make matters easy for them, however, he had asked them to put up a signal (信号) for him when the train passed their little farm. If the family had forgiven (原谅) him, they were to put up a white ribbon (丝带) in the big apple tree near the railway. If they didn't want him back, they were to do nothing, and he would stay on the train, and go far away.
As the train neared his hometown his suspense became so great that he was afraid to look out of the window. He asked Michael to watch for the big apple tree. They changed seats. In a minute, Michael put his hand on the young convict’s shoulder. "There it is," he said, his eyes filled with sudden tears. "It’s all right. The whole tree is white with ribbons."For which of the following reasons might the young man be worried?
| A．His family might not allow him to go home. |
| B．His family would not remember him. |
| C．His family hadn’t written to him frequently. |
| D．His family hadn’t visited him for a long time. |
According to the passage, the white ribbon in the big apple tree means ________.
| A．pleasure | B．forgiveness |
| C．happiness | D．education |
The word "suspense" underlined in the last paragraph can best be replaced by ________.
| A．pain | B．interest |
| C．worry | D．happiness |
Why did Michael cry at the end of the story?
| A．The young man couldn’t live with his family. |
| B．There were many white ribbons on the apple tree. |
| C．He was moved by the young man. |
| D．The young man was very sad. |
I grew up in a house where the TV was seldom turned on and with one wall in my bedroom entirely lined with bookshelves, most of my childhood was spent on books I could get hold of. In fact, I grew up thinking of reading as natural as breathing and books unbelievably powerful in shaping perspectives (观点) by creating worlds we could step into, take part in and live in.
With this unshakable belief, I, at fourteen, decided to become a writer. Here too, reading became useful. Every writer starts off knowing that he has something to say, but being unable to find the right ways to say it. He has to find his own voice by reading widely and discovering which parts of the writers he agrees or disagrees with, or agrees with so strongly that it reshapes his own world. He cannot write without loving to read, because only through reading other people’s writing can one discover what works, what doesn’t and, in the end, together with lots of practice, what voice he has.
Now I am in college, and have come to realize how important it is to read fiction (文学作品)．As a. law student, my reading is in fact limited to 
subject matter—the volume (量) of what I have to read for classes every week means there is little time to read anything else. Such reading made it all the clearer to me that I live in a very small part in this great place called life. Reading fiction reminds me that there is life beyond my own. It allows me to travel across the high seas and along the Silk Road, all from the comfort of my own armchair, to experience, though secondhand, exciting experiences that I wouldn't necessarily be able to have in my lifetime.What can be inferred about the author as a child?
| A． He never watched TV. |
| B． He read what he had to. |
| C． He found reading unbelievable. |
| D． He considered reading part of his life. |
The underlined word "voice" in the second paragraph most probably means “ ”.
| A． an idea |
| B． a sound quality |
| C． a way of writing |
| D． a world to write about |
What effect does reading have on the author?
| A． It helps him to realize his dream. |
| B． It opens up a wider world for him. |
| C． It makes his college life more interesting. |
| D． It increases his interest in worldwide travel. |
Which of the following can be the best title of this text?
| A． Why do I read? |
| B． How do I read? |
| C． What do I read? |
| D． When do I read? |
Years after throwing a bottle-up note into a lake for a class project and just one year after his death, a man’s childhood message was found and returned to his mother.
Eleven years ago, a then 10-year-old boy, Joshua Baker, wrote the message, folded and put it in an empty container, his mother, Maggie Holbrook said. He died last February in a motor vehicle accident in California. He had recently returned after a serving in the Middle East as a US marine. “I think he was just letting us know he was OK and keep doing what we are doing.” Holbrook said.
The message surfaced in White Lake in late April, just days after the 11th anniversary of its being thrown into the lake. It was found by one of Baker’s closest friends, Steve Lieder, she said. Lieder and two friends were chatting near the lake when Lieder looked down and saw the bottle. He broke it open and found the note inside.
“My name is Joshua Baker. I am 10. If you find this, put it on the news. The date is 4/16/98.” They immediately took it to Holbrook, who said she is now having the note preserved and will display it in her home.
She can remember when her son wrote the message for the school project. She said she always wondered why he didn’t put it in the nearby Wolf River, which has a much stronger current.
“I still remember the day he wrote it, ” Holbrook said. “I couldn’t understand why he threw I in the lake. No one would never see it again. Now I know.”What was Joshua Baker when he died in motor vehicle accident in California?
| A．An official | B．A soldier | C．A worker | D．A teacher |
Which of the following statements is correct according to the passage?
| A．The man threw the bottle into the lake without any purpose. |
| B．The man didn’t put the bottle into the nearby river because it had a strong current. |
| C．Not until recently did his mother understand why he put the bottle into the lake. |
| D．The man made the bottle-up note so as to let his parents know he was OK. |
The best title for this passage would be___.
| A．A man’s Bottle Message Found After His Death |
| B．A Ridiculous and Unbelievable Bottle Message |
| C．A Strange Bottle-up Note Appearing In a Lake |
| D．An Important Childhood Message 11 Years After His Death |
A patient came to see me about the stress in her life. She described all the things she had to do －one was to make her bed－from the moment she woke up until she flew out of the door for work. I suggested she experiment by not making her bed for two weeks. She was shocked, probably thinking I’d been raised by wolves in a forest. However, she went along with my idea.
Two weeks later she went into my office beaming. She had left her bed unmade for the first time in 42 years－and nothing bad had happened. “And you know what?” she said. “I don’t dry my dishes anymore, either.”
This woman had made two major breakthroughs (突破). One was discovering that she had choices in her life that she had never seen before. The other was giving herself permission to be less that perfect. This story shows an important principle (原理) about managing time: No one can do it all. Each of us has to make choices and accept trade – offs. The problem is, many people choose in ways that put themselves and their health last. They take better care of their houses and cars than they do of themselves. They put everyone else’s needs ahead of their own.
So what is the solution? There’s an easy way. Decide what you want in your life, and put that first. On a daily basis, that should include regular meals, enough sleep and time with your family. Exercise, leisure, friendships and hobbies should also be regular aspects of life. The point is to do something for yourself every day. The choice is yours: whatever makes you feel good about yourself and your life. Take a nap. Take a walk. Take time to play the piano. Stop bringing your briefcase home from the office. Stop keeping your house as clean as your mother kept hers. Fill more of your time with want – to – dos instead of have – to – dos.What is the solution to the problem of managing time?
| A．Doing more exercises every day. | B．Taking time to visit friends regularly. |
| C．Stopping making bed occasionally. | D．Doing what you want to do first. |
What does the word “beaming” in Line 1, Paragraph 2 probably mean?
| A．Worrying | B．Smiling | C．Depressed | D．Luckily |
What is the major problem of most people managing time?
| A．Most people do not take care of their health. |
| B．Most people put others’ needs ahead of their own. |
| C．Most people cannot keep balance on managing time. |
| D．Most people do not take time to relax themselves. |
What is the author’s attitude toward people’s problems in the passage?
| A．Matter – of – fact. | B．Negative. | C．Indifferent. | D．Worried. |
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| All times are local. All flights to/off from Newark international Airport. |
This passage is most probably ______.
| A．a warning | B．a notice | C．an advertisement | D．an announcement |
If you want to fly to Boston soon after you come back from Minneapolis, you have to wait for _____.
| A．thirty minutes | B．one hour | C．one hour and a half | D．three hours and ten |
Suppose the price of flight ticket is 300 dollars to Phoenix, as a secondary school student, how much can you save after having chosen over a dozen US air discount fares?
| A．120 | B．150 | C．180 | D．225 |
According to this form above, ______.
| A．all flights from Newark leave in the morning |
| B．the flight to Phoenix takes three hours and ten minutes. |
| C．Flights to and from Boston take the same amount of time |
| D．It’s impossible to return from Phoenix and fly to Boston on the same day |
BEIJING, Feb 13 — Never has China’s economic growth attracted so much global attention. The shock waves from the financial crisis (危机) that started in the United States have spread across the entire world, sending developed nations, including Japan and those of Europe, into serious recession(衰退). The world is now holding out hope that China, with its massive potential, will serve as the engine to fuel global economic growth.
But China’s real economic growth slowed sharply to 6.8 percent in the October-December quarter. For China, this rate of economic expansion must be as disappointing as negative growth is for Japan. Beijing has set an official goal of achieving a minimum annual growth rate of 8 percent -- a pace it regards as important to ensuring job security.
The Chinese government is apparently confident the nation will achieve the minimum growth target of 8 percent in 2009. At the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting of political and business leaders in Davos, Switzerland, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao stressed the Chinese economy began to show signs of recovery late last year.
Last week, however, the International Monetary Fund predicted that China’s economic growth in 2009 will be 6.7 percent. China’s economic outlook is likely to keep both hope and anxiety for the time being.
China’s impressive economic growth has been fueled by swelling exports and massive investment (投资)in equipment to produce goods for overseas. But the US, Japanese and European economies, which have absorbed the bulk(数量) of China’s exports, are expected to shrink simultaneous（同时）in 2009, for the first time since the end of World War II. For the first time since it started serious efforts to turn itself into a market economy in the 1990s, China is facing the challenge of maintaining healthy economic growth without depending on external demand.
Expansion of domestic (国内的) demand holds a key to China’s success in tackling this challenge. Consumer spending accounts for only 35 percent of China’s gross (总的)) domestic product. The ratio(比率) is considerably lower than the 70 percent for the United States and the nearly 60 percent for Japan. That is because the middle class - the group that should lead consumer spending - is still relatively small in China, where the benefits of the nation’s strong economic growth in recent years have mostly eluded rural villages and low-income earners.According to the report, in the last quarter of 2008, China’s real economic growth was at least ______less than planned annual growth rate.
| A．6.7% . | B．6.8% | C．1.3% | D．1.2% |
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．The financial crisis has had bad effects on many countries including China. |
| B．China’s economic growth has been depending on exports. |
| C．If China intends to keep the same economic growth, it must increase goods for overseas. |
| D．Consumer spending in China is much lower than that of the US. |
The underlined word in the last paragraph probably means____.
| A．benefited | B．avoided | C．influenced | D．missed |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．Economic change, the only hope for china. |
| B．China has attracted much global attention. |
| C．China, the engine to fuel global economic growth. |
| D．The financial crisis has influenced China’s economy. |
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