We spent a day in the country, picking wild flowers. With the car full of flowers we were going home. On our way back my wife noticed a cupboard (柜厨) outside a furniture shop. It was tall and narrow. “Buy it, ” my wife said at once. “We’ll carry it home on the roof rack. I’ve always wanted one like that.”
What could I do? Ten minutes later I was ￡20 poorer; and the cupboard was tied on the roof rack. It was six feet long and eighteen inches square, quite heavy too.
In the gathering darkness I drove slowly. Other drivers seemed unusually polite that evening. The police even stopped traffic to let us through. Carrying furniture was a good idea.
After a time my wife said, “There’s a long line of cars behind. Why don’t they overtake, I wonder?” In fact a police car did overtake. The two officers inside looked at us seriously as they passed. But then, with great kindness, they led us through the rush-hour traffic. The police car stopped at our village church. One of the officers came to me.
“Right, sir, ” he said. “Do you need any more help?”
I was a bit puzzled. “Thanks, officer, ” I said. “You have been very kind. I live just on the road.”
He was staring at our car, first at the flowers, then at the cupboard. “Well, well, ” he said, laughing. “It’s a cupboard you’ve got there! We thought it was something else.”
My wife began to laugh. The truth hit me like a stone between the eyes. I smiled at the officer. “Yes, it’s a cupboard, but thanks again.” I drove home as fast as I could.In fact the husband _______ the cupboard.
| A．would like very much to buy | B．badly wanted |
| C．was glad to have bought | D．would rather not buy |
Other drivers thought they were _______.
| A．carrying a cupboard to the church |
| B．sending flowers to the church |
| C．carrying nothing but a piece of furniture |
| D．going to attend a funeral(葬礼) at the church |
The police will be more polite to those who are _______.
| A．driving in gathering darkness |
| B．in great sorrow (悲痛) |
| C．driving with wild glowers in the car |
| D．carrying furniture |
What did the husband think of this matter?
| A．It was very strange. | B．He felt ashamed of it. |
| C．He took great pride in it. | D．He was puzzled at it. |
It helps to choose the colors you plan to live with in your home with awareness of how different colors affect your emotional and physical states. Every color has a unique meaning, and this can significantly affect how you feel in a room.
A room that is painted red will energize, inspire activity and movement, help passion, and be powerful and stimulating. A red room can also be exhausting and overpowering, and stressful for those who are anxious.
Orange rooms encourage happy, joyful, social gatherings. While an orange dining room or family room can stimulate the appetite, it is a great choice for such gathering places. Orange enhances parties, communication, positive feelings, and general good cheer.
Yellow rooms inspire intellectual clarity, organization, clear -headed thinking, and happy energy. Yellow is considered a color for the logical left side of the brain. Yellow is also very bright and somewhat energizing.
Blue rooms are often chosen for bedrooms and meditation（冥想）rooms because its cool energy is very calming, restful, peaceful, and spiritual. Blue helps inspire a quiet meditative quality, and color therapy with blue has been found to reduce blood pressure. Blue is also useful to make one to sleep.
Green rooms are very restful but combine with an energizing quality. Green is the color of outdoors, calm and active at the same time. Green brings balance and harmony to a room, and can be used as a calming place for people who are troubled or in need of refreshment.What impression can green rooms give to you?
| A．Passionate and powerful. |
| B．Refreshing and harmonious. |
| C．Cool and calming. |
| D．Inspiring and bright. |
If you are going to hold a family gathering, which color of the room can best enhance your atmosphere?
| A．Red. | B．Orange. | C．Blue. | D．Green. |
Which of the following statements about color is NOT true?
| A．Yellow rooms inspire logical and clear thinking. |
| B．Blue creates a quiet meditative quality. |
| C．Different colors affect you emotionally and physically. |
| D．Red rooms are acceptable when you are in a bad mood. |
What color should his room be painted if a person likes meditation?
| A．Blue. | B．Orange. | C．Green. | D．Red. |
Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart，was born in Kingfish，Oklahoma on March 29，1918. He was raised in Missouri where he worked in his father's store while attending school. This was his first retailing（零售业）experience and he really enjoyed it. After graduation, he began his own career as a retail merchant.
He soon opened his first Wal-Mart store in 1962 in Rogers, Arkansas. Wal-Mart specialized in name brands at low prices and Sam Walton～surprised at the success. Soon a chain of Wal -Mart stores sprang up across coral America. His management style was popular with employees and he founded some of the basic concepts of management that are still in use today.
After taking the company public in 1970, Walton introduced his "profit sharing plan"．The profit sharing plan was a plan for Wal-Mart employees to improve their income dependent on the profits of the store. Sam Walton believed that "individuals don't win, teams do". Employees at Wal-Mart stores were offered stock options（认股权）and store discounts. These benefits are commonplace today, but Walton was among the first to achieve them. Walton believed that a happy employee meant happy customers and more sales. He also believed that by giving employees a part of the company and making their success dependent on the company’s success, they would care about the company growing complaints that the "superstore" was stopping smaller and traditional stores from developing. By 1991,Wa1-Mart was the largest US retailer with 1,700 stores. Walton remained active in managing the company, as president and CEO until 1988 and chairman until his death. He was awarded the Medal of Freedom shortly before his death.Sam Walton first made a hit in retailing when he＿．
| A．worked in his father's store |
| B．created Walton's management style |
| C．specialized in name brands at low prices |
| D．opened his stores across rural America |
Walton’s management style emphasized＿very much.
| A．individual efforts | B．team spirit |
| C．employees' loyalty | D．fair distribution |
What is the purpose of Walton’s carrying out "profit sharing plan”？
| A．To encourage the employees to work hard and make joint efforts. |
| B．To make sure all the employees had their own shares. |
| C．To select excellent employees for his stores. |
| D．To make more profit for himself. |
Which of the statements is TRUE?
| A．In his old age, Walton gave all the management to his men |
| B．Walton wasn't one of the merchants who first achieved stock options. |
| C．The smaller and traditional stores were well affected by Walton's stores. |
| D．With Walton's management style, employees treated the stores as their own. |
"Get out of the plane!” Justin shouted. Teddy and he dropped to the ground...
When Kathy and Victor reached the edge of the meadow, flames of the fire were shooting more than five meters into the air.
Kathy couldn't believe what she was seeing. One glance told her they needed medical
attention immediately. She questioned Victor, "Are you able to find someone nearby for help?"
"There are no farmers, nor villagers nearby," he replied.
“I’m a distance inner, and I’B go for help." Looking at the seriously injured men, Kathy said to Victor, "It may take me several hours to get out." She started out.
When she was 23, Kathy set a women’s record in a Marathon of 42 kilometers. But now shewas runnine the race of life. She had nearly 30 kilometers of hard wilderness to cover to get help.
Kathy had been running for two hours. This was far back into the wilderness. The country
path was growing vague(模糊的），She stopped to take a quick compass reading. Yes, she had run
almost for more than 20 kilometers. Her heart fell, her muscle aching. And finally she saw her car in the distance She jumped into the car and sped away. She reached a holiday house and called the police.
During the wait, she walked around, relaxing her legs and drinking water. It took almost two
hours for a police helicopter to reach her at the trail end. They needed her for one more task.Who actually had the airplane accident?
| A．Justin and Teddy. | B．Kathy and Victor. |
| C．Justin himself. | D．Kathy herself. |
The underlined part "Now, she was running the race of life" means that Kathy
| A．would set up a new record |
| B．would run a race alone |
| C．was inning for the lives of others |
| D．couldn’t rely on Victor this time |
Kathy stopped to have a look at her compass because___.
| A．she wasn’t sure of her own memory |
| B．she had completely lost her way |
| C．the country path was getting vague |
| D．there was only the wilderness |
What do you think Kathy’s final task would be?
| A．Giving the injured food and drinks. |
| B．Showing the police the crash site. |
| C．Going back to put out the big fire. |
| D．Taking the injured to the hospital. |
If you are not any kind of a longtime A-list New Yorker celebrity like Woody Allen，chances are that you have never experienced，and will never experience-a meal in a legendary(神奇) Italian-American restaurant called Rao’s.
Rao’s，the East Harlem restaurant with a history of more than l00 years，is simply the toughest restaurant to get a reservation in the US, if not the world．Michelin three-star restaurants like elBulli in Spain，often ranked the world’s top restaurant，would sell out the second phone lines opened．But in the case of Rao’s，the phone lines never open．
There are about a dozen tables in the tiny restaurant, and each is spoken for, semi-permanently, as regulars have had their reservations for years, and when they can't use them，they often gift them to friends. The place is so small that the owners rarely have the flexibility to do favors even for people they know．
Since it is always busy，there has never been a need for publicity．The last remarkable national review of the restaurant came from The New York Times more than 35 years ago．It was already tough to get a table at Rao’s but reservations have been non-existent ever sincce the magic review．
According to a critic who is “very, very lucky to have dined at Rao’s a few times，”the experience rivals(堪比)the tasty food．There are no menus at Rao’s, and one of the owners will pull up a chair and run through the massive list of options, allowing people to have diner by mixing and matching nearly any ingredient(原料)with any classical Italian style of cooking. The place doesn’t take credit cards, isn’t open on weekends or for 1unch, and “at some point during your meal the one-room restaurant will almost unavoidably break out in song.” It is truly one of a kind，”the critic wrote．Which is probably the best title for thistext?
| A．A lucky critic． | B．The best restaurant |
| C．A magic review． | D．A legendary restaurant |
Why does the author refer to elBulli in Spain in Paragraph 2?
| A．To prove the long history of Rao’s． |
| B．To show the popularity of Rao’s． |
| C．To describe the service of Rao’s． |
| D．To attract customers to eat in Rao’s． |
What was Rao’s like before The NewYork Times review?
| A．Unique and attractive． | B．Tough and greedy． |
| C．Terrible and unknown． | D．Poor and hopeless． |
Which of the following about Rao’s is true?
| A．If yoh want to get a reservation in Rao’s, you’d have to phone ahead of time． |
| B．Rao’s history is much longer than that of elBulli in Spain． |
| C．It’s hard fo dine in Rao’s partly because it has a limited number of tables． |
| D．Only the most famous persons can have the chance to have lunch in Rao's． |
We can conclude from the critic’s words that ．
| A．Rao’s menus are specially designed for its regular diners |
| B．customers of Rao’s can use credit cards on weekends |
| C．the experience dining in Rao’s is as unforgettable as its food |
| D．diners in Rao’s are used to being disturbed by sudden noises |
Nowadays，the Internet，with its ability to connect people throughout the world，is changing the way people learn languages．There is still no way to avoid the hard work through vocabulary lists and grammar rules，but the books，tapes and even CDs are being replaced by email, video chat and social networks．
Livemocha, a Seattle company, has created a website devoted to helping people learn more than 38 languages by exchanging messages over the Internet and then correcting each other’s messages. The lessons，whether they are flashcards，quizzes，audio recordings or written and spoken essays，are delivered through the Intemet．
Michael Schutzler, Livemocha's chief executive(主管), says the website’s advantage is the ability to practicel with a real person. “The great irony(讽刺)is that even if you have learned a foreign language in the classroom for years，you don’t have confidefice to go into a restaurant and have a conversation with a foreigner,"he said．The casual connection with real people throughout the world, however brief, are not just fun and surprising but show more about how the language is really used．
Livemocha is now experimenting with a variety of ways that resemble the games on other social websites to motivate people．The flashcard exercises，for instance，are scored, and the totals earned by studying and teaching appear on the users’front page．
Besides，each person can set up a profile(简历)which includes a short description of his age，location and what language he would like to learn．Therefore，if you want to study one language，you will easily find many people who are fluent in it．Andl an email or two is all it takes to find a study partner．
There are more and more companies like Livemocha offeritig online language learning to students throughout the world. And instead of merely helping people practice different languages，they also enable people to share interests and make new friends.For what purpose did Livemocha create the website?
| A．To offer new ways of language learning． |
| B．To make an advertisement for their company． |
| C．To share interests and make new friends． |
| D．To tell his inspiring story to more people． |
What is the advantage of the Internet language learning?
| A．Books，tapes and even CDs are completely out of use． |
| B．Leamers can practice languages with real people． |
| C．People can learn more than 38 languages in all. |
| D．There is no need to learn vocabulary and grammar． |
Why does the writer give us the example of flashcard exercise in Paragraph 4?
| A．To show what Livemocha is doing to inspire website users． |
| B．To introduce how Livemocha scores the website users’ work. |
| C．To explain why Livemocha experiments with other social websites． |
| D．To tell what Livemocha prepares for the front page of the website． |
How can one find a study partner on Livemocha?
| A．He needs to set up a profile about his past experience． |
| B．He should deliver his written essays to the website. |
| C．He needs to give lessons over the Internet． |
| D．He can select suitable people and email them． |
What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
| A．Livemocha will open more branch companies． |
| B．Online learners can practice languages free of charge. |
| C．More learners will turn to online language learning． |
| D．Livemocha will be turned into a dating website． |
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