It happened to me recently. I was telling someone how much I had enjoyed reading Barack Obama’s Dreams From My Father and how it had changed my views of our President. A friend I was talking to agreed with me that it was, in his words, “a brilliantly（精彩地）written book”. ①However, he then went on to talk about Mr Obamain a way which suggested he had no idea of his background at all. I sensed that I was talking to a book liar.
And it seems that my friend is not the only one. Approximately two thirds of people have lied about reading a book which they haven’t. In the World Book Day’s “Report on Guilty Secrets”, Dreams From My Father is at number 9. The report lists ten books, and various authors, which people have lied about reading, and as I’m not one to lie too often (I’d hate to be caught out ), I’ll admit here and now that I haven’t read the entire top ten. ②But I am pleased to saythat, unlike 42 percent of people, I have read the book at number one, George Orwell’s 1984. I think it’s really brilliant.
The World Book Day report also has some other interesting information in it. It says that many people lie about having read Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Fyodor Dostoevsky (I haven’t read him, but haven’t lied about it either) and Herman Melville.
Asked why they lied, the most common reason was to “impress” someone they were speaking to. This could be tricky if the conversation became more in-depth!
But when asked which authors they actually enjoy, people named J. K. Rowling, John Grisham, Sophie Kinsella (ah, the big sellers, in other words). Forty-two percent of people asked admitted they turned to the back of the book to read the end before finishing the story (I’ll come clean: I do this and am astonished that 58 percent said they had never done so). How did the author find his friend a book liar?
| A．By judging his manner of speaking. |
| B．By looking into his background. |
| C．By mentioning a famous name. |
| D．By discussing the book itself. |
Which of the following is a “guilty secret” according to the World Book Day report?
| A．Charles Dickens is very low on the top-ten list. |
| B．42% of people pretended to have read 1984. |
| C．The author admitted having read 9 books. |
| D．Dreams From My Father is hardly read. |
By lying about reading, a person hopes to __________.
| A．control the conversation |
| B．appear knowledgeable |
| C．learn about the book |
| D．make more friends |
What is the author’s attitude to 58% of readers?
| A．Favorable. |
| B．Uncaring |
| C．Doubtful. |
| D．Friendly. |
A nine-year-old kid was sitting at his desk when suddenly there was a puddle (some water or liquid) between his feet and the front of his trousers was wet. He thought his heart was going to stop because he couldn’t possibly imagine how this had happened. It had never happened before, and he knew that when the boys found out he would never hear the end of it. When the girls found out, they would never speak to him again as long as he lived.
He prayed this prayer, “Dear God, I need help now! Five minutes from now I’m dead meat! ” He looked up from his prayer and here came the teacher with a look in her eyes that said he had been discovered. As the teacher was walking toward him, a classmate named Susie was carrying a goldfish bowl full of water. Susie tripped （绊倒） in front of the teacher and dumped （倒） the bowl of water in the boy’s lap. The boy pretended to be angry, but all the while he was saying to himself, “Thank you. God! ”
Now all of a sudden, instead of being the object of ridicule, the boy was the object of sympathy（同情）. The teacher rushed him downstairs and gave him gym shorts to put on while his trousers dried out. All the other children were on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk. The sympathy was wonderful. But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have been his had been transferred （转移） to someone else—Susie. She tried to help, but they told her to get out.
When school was over, the boy walked over to Susie and whispered, “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” Susie whispered back, “I wet my trousers once, too!”The underlined sentence in Paragraph 1 means ________.
| A．the boys would never play with him |
| B．the boys would treat him as usual |
| C．he would hardly hear any praise from the boys |
| D．he would be laughed at by the boys endlessly |
After Susie dumped water in his lap, the boy was in a state of _________.
| A．excitement | B．relief | C．anxiety | D．anger |
What did the other kids do after the incident?
| A．They offered him dry clothes. |
| B．They laughed at the boy rudely. |
| C．They helped the boy do the cleaning. |
| D．They urged the boy to get out angrily. |
Why did Susie dump water in the boy’s lap?
| A．The boy asked her to do so. |
| B．She just did it by accident. |
| C．The teacher tripped her on purpose. |
| D．She knew the boy’s embarrassment.（尴尬） |
Many people turn to doctors or self-help books, but they ignore a powerful thing that could help them fight illness: their friends.
Researchers are only now starting to pay attention to the importance of friendship in health. A 10-year Australian study found that old People with a large circle of friends. A large 2007 study showed an increase of nearly 60 percent in the risk （危险） for obesity （肥胖） among people whose friends gained weight. And last year, Harvard researchers reported that strong social ties could improve brain health as we age.
“In general, the role of friendship in our lives isn’t well realized,” said Rebecca, a professor at the University of North Carolina. “Friendship has a bigger effect on our psychological （心理的） health than family relationships. ”
While many friendship studies are about the close relationships of women, some research shows that it can do good to men too. In a six-year study of 736 middle-aged men, having friendships reduces the risk of heart attack. Only smoking was as important a risk factor （因素） as having little social support.
Exactly why friendship has such a big effect isn’t entirely clear. While friends can send a sick person to the hospital or pick up medicine, the advantages go well beyond physical help. Friendship clearly has a big psychological effect. “People with stronger friendships feel like there is someone they can turn to,” said Karen, a doctor. “The message of these studies is that friends make your life better. ”The three studies in paragraph2 show that .
| A．old people need friends the most. |
| B．friends can help us lose weight. |
| C．social ties （关系） are connected to health |
| D．more friends make us healthier. |
What do underlined sentences in paragraph3 mean?
| A．Friendship is more important to women than to men. |
| B．What people need most is a friend’s care. |
| C．Friendship is more important than family relationship |
| D．The value of friendship hasn’t been fully understood. |
The author mentioned smoking in the text to discuss .
| A．the cause of heart attack. |
| B．the risk of having no friends. |
| C．smoking is bad for men. |
| D．friends’ influence on habits. |
There are many international organizations which work to save and protect endangered species(物种)and natural environment. If you would like more information about any of the organizations listed below, you can write to the addresses given.
Friends of the Earth(FOE) campaigns on a range of problems including rainforests，the countryside，water and air pollution and energy. Friends of the Earth International Secretariat P. O. Box 19199 1000 G. D. Amsterdam The Netherlands |
Greenpeace uses peaceful but direct action to defend the environment. It campaigns to protect rainforests and sea animals，stop global warming and end pollution of air，land and seas. It also opposes nuclear(核)power. Greenpeace International Keizergracht 1761016 DW Amsterdam The Netherlands |
| BirdLife International is an organization which works to save endangered birds all over the world. BirdLife International Wellbrook Court Girton Road  Cambridge CB3 ONA England |
 WWF-World Wide Fund For Nature is the world's largest private international organization for the protection of nature and endangered species. Information Officer WWF International Avenue du Mont-Blanc 1196 Gland Switzerland |
If you want to learn more about the organizations，you can .
| A．call them | B．write them a letter |
| C．visit them | D．send them an e-mail |
BirdLife International is an organization trying to .
| A．reduce pollution | B．defend rainforests |
| C．protect ocean animals | D．save endangered birds |
If you oppose(反对) nuclear power，you can join .
| A．Friends of the Earth |
| B．World Wide Fund For Nature |
| C．Greenpeace |
| D．BirdLife International |
What can we learn about WWF?
| A．It helps to protect nature and save endangered animals. |
| B．It is the world’s largest international organization. |
| C．It works for private companies and rich people. |
| D．It is a private organization in the United States. |
Which is the best title for the passage?
| A．Environmental Protection Organizations |
| B．Global Environmental Problems |
| C．Endangered Animals |
| D．Friends of the Earth |
When the seventeenth-century settlers brought the English language to America, they immediately and necessarily began to adapt (使适应) it to their new environment. These changes were early and criticized by some people on both sides of the Atlantic. However, after the Revolution, Americans began to be proud of their own form of English. Noah Webster was the major early supporter of American meanings and spellings over British ones and published the earliest American dictionary, An American Dictionary of the English Language. During the years since Webster, language differences have continued to develop, proving (证明) the truth of George Bernard Shaw’s often-repeated words that the two nations are “divided by a common language”.
Like the American language, the earliest American literature (文学) copied English models. However, after the Revolution and the War of 1812, writers began to create a clear American literature. However, in 1820, Sydney Smith asked the famous question “Who reads an American book?”
Answering to this and similar taunts (讽刺) with creative anger, American writers soon produced works that plenty of British people read. Works by Washing-ton Irving, Walt Whitman, and Mark Twain had been acclaimed greatly in Britain by the end of the nineteenth century.
Even as American writers got respect in Britain, British writers continued to have great influence in America. Charles Dickens went to America twice, in 1842 and 1867-68. Other major British writers who traveled and lived in the United States include D.H. Lawrence and Aldous Huxley. British best works continue to be widely read. The works of William Shakespeare and Jane Austen became popular films.
At the turn of the twenty-first century, many books and writers continue to cross the Atlantic in both directions — made possible by the proud heritage (继承) of the shared language.The author of this passage seems to think ______.
| A．British English is better than American English |
| B．American English is better than British English |
| C．the same language has divided the two nations |
| D．the same language has connected the two nations |
From the question asked by Sydney Smith, we can infer ______.
| A．the British looked down upon American books at first |
| B．the British found American books difficult to understand |
| C．the British thought highly of books written by Americans |
| D．the British had to translate American books into English ones |
The underlined word “acclaimed” in Paragraph 3 probably means “______”.
| A．sold | B．discussed |
| C．welcomed | D．refused |
What made it possible for books and writers to cross the Atlantic in both directions?
| A．The War of 1812. | B．The American Revolution. |
| C．The language differences. | D．The common language. |
In America, when the eighth graders leave the middle school, they are often worried about moving to the high school. It is a hard time for them, but it can be an exciting one as well. To make it easier, students need to get familiar with their school.
Even though they’ve done this already in the middle school, it’s still important to find where their classrooms are. Most schools take students to the high school for a visit at the end of their eighth grade year. And, most schools also have a freshman （新生）speech for parents and students before the first year begins. Sometimes the main office will give away a map of the school. This can help students and parents to find different places in the school.
One way to know your high school more and make new friends is to join a club or play a sport. Schools often offer chances to join different clubs and sports. Fall activities begin in August before the first day of school. If you are not interested in sports, there are clubs for any interest, such as drama, dance, chess, photography, community service, etc. These clubs allow students from different grades. By joining an activity, students can find new friendships, not to mention improving their chances in future college applications （申请）. The school office will have a list of activities offered at the school and information on how to join them.
What’s more, to have a great start to a high school year, students can write down some of their worries, and ask for help from teachers and school workers.According to the text, most students feel _______ when entering the high school.
| A．excited | B．nervous | C．lonely | D．disappointed |
Which of the following is TRUE about the school clubs?
| A．There are fewer students from higher grades in the school clubs. |
| B．The school clubs in high school only welcome sports fans. |
| C．Summer activities begin before school starts. |
| D．School officers can help new students join school clubs. |
When do many schools take students to visit their new high school?
| A．Before the eighth grade year starts. |
| B．Right after the high school year starts. |
| C．At the beginning of the new term in the high school. |
| D．At the end of their eighth grade year |
What is the purpose of this text?
| A．To tell the new students how to learn in high school |
| B．To introduce new schools. |
| C．To give the teachers some advice. |
| D．To give advice to new high school students. |
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