My family moved from Taiwan to a small town in central Georgia, where my dad got a visa for his family and a job. I had just learned English, and from what little I could gather from my classmates, Santa Claus would come down one’s chimney and put toys in one’s stocking on Christmas Eve! What a great country, I thought. After I looked up “stocking” in my Chinese-English dictionary, I knew what I had to do.
On that fateful night, after everyone went to bed, I took my longest, cleanest knee sock and attached it to a nail already on the mantel(壁炉). Obviously, the previous owners of this house were no strangers to this Santa character.
I woke up before everyone else on Christmas Day and ran to the fireplace. To make a sob story short, I was hit with the reality of an empty sock and the biggest lie ever told. I burst into tears, quickly took down the sock, and stuffed it in the back of a drawer. Santa was dead.
Every December since then, the topic of Christmas memories would unavoidably come up, and I would amuse my friends with my poor-little-me story. I had to make it as funny as possible, or else I would cry.
How could I know that Santa was just late? Nine years ago, on Christmas Eve, an older man with a white beard and a red cap knocked on my front door. He said, “I’ve been looking for you for twenty-five years.” He handed me a bulging red stocking, winked, and left. On top of the stocking was a card. It read: “For Becky—I may have missed you in the second grade, but you’ve always lived in my heart. Santa.”
Through tear-blurred eyes, I recognized the handwriting of Jill, a friend I had met just two months before. I later discovered that the older man was her father. Jill had seen the hurt little girl underneath the thirty-something woman and decided to do something about it.
So now I believe that Santa is real. I don’t mean the twinkle-eyed character of children’s mythology or the creation of American holiday marketers. Those Santas annoy and sadden me. I believe in the Santa Claus that live inside good and thoughtful people. This Santa does not return to the North Pole after a crazy delivery but lives each day purposefully, really listens to friends, and then plans deliberate acts of kindness.What does the underlined part “what I had to do” in Paragraph 1 refer to?
| A．Waiting for Santa Claus. |
| B．Putting a stocking on the mantel. |
| C．Asking for gifts from her parents. |
| D．Looking up “stocking” in the dictionary |
It can be inferred from the passage that the author’s parents ________.
| A．didn’t love their child at all |
| B．didn’t know the previous owners of the house |
| C．didn’t know much about Christmas tradition |
| D．didn’t have enough money to buy the author Christmas presents |
When the author told her friends about the story, she felt ________ in her heart.
| A．proud | B．amusing | C．hate | D．regret |
The author of the passage is probably ________.
| A．a teenager | B．a primary school student |
| C．a middle-aged woman | D．a native American |
Criticism is judgement．A critic is a judge．A judgement study and think about the material presented to him, accept it, correct it, or reject it after thinking over what he has read, watched or heard.
Another word for criticism is appreciation．When I criticize or appreciate some objector another, I look for its good points and bad points．In reading any printed or written matter, I always have a pencil in hand and put any comments in the book or on a separate paper．In other words, I always talk back to the writer.
That sort of critical reading might well be called creative reading because I am thinking along with the author, asking him questions, seeing whether he answers the questions and how well he answers them．I mark the good passages to store them in my memory piece of writing; where, how and why could or should I improve upon it?
You might think that doing what I suggested is work．Yes, it is, but the work is a pleasure because I can feel my brain expanding, my emotion reacting and my way of living change.
Reading exercises is a great influence on a person．If pictures, still or moving, accompany the reading, the memory will retain the material for a long time.
Just as evil books can corrupt, so also can good books gradually work a change on a corrupt person.
Let's get back to the beneficial effects of thinking while reading．It helps us to enlarge our minds．We understand more about the universe, its people and many of its wonders．We learn to think and observe in new ways．We certainly do get a feeling for the language we are reading．All good writers in any language have been readers who read critically and continuously.The writer says a critic________．
| A．asks what he does not understand |
| B．talks back to the author |
| C．understand the background on which the works are based |
| D．looks for the good and bad points of the material he has read |
According to the writer, creative reading is________.
| A．raising questions and answering them for the author. |
| B．reading and giving comments on the materials one has read. |
| C．thinking in the same line with the author. |
| D．storing up facts in one's memory. |
By the phrase “thinking along with” in the third paragraph, the writer means________.
| A．following one's thought closely | B．accepting |
| C．considering | D．agreeing |
According to the writer, critical reading________.
| A．makes a person rich | B．enables a person to write fluently |
| C．broaden a person's horizons | D．gives a person extra work. |
We can learn from the passage that all good readers ________.
| A．understand more about their surrounding than others. |
| B．have a thorough insight to the problem in life. |
| C．have the feeling of the language they read. |
| D．have read extensively(广泛地)and critically |
Plants, like animals, are subject to diseases of various kinds．It has been estimated that some 30,000 different diseases attack our economic plants; forty are known to attack corn, and about as many attack wheat．The results of unchecked plant disease are all too obvious in countries which have marginal food supplies．The problem will soon be more widespread as the population of the world increases at its frightening rate．Even in countries which are now amply fed by their agricultural products there could soon be the major crops; the resulting famines(饥荒) could kill millions of people, and the resulting hardship on other millions could cause political upheavals(动乱) disastrous to the order of the world．
Some plants have relative immunity to a great many diseases, while others have a susceptibility to them．A blight (萎菌病) may be but a local infection easily controlled; on the other hand it can attack particular plants in a whole region or nation．An example is the blight which killed virtually every chestnut tree in North America．Another is the famous potato blight in Ireland in the last century．As a result of that, it was estimated that one million people died of starvation and related ailments．
Plant pathologists have made remarkable strides in identifying the pathogens of the various diseases．Bacteria may invade a plant through an infestation of insect parasites carrying the pathogen．A plant can also be inoculated by man．Other diseases might be caused by fungus which attacks the plant in the form of a model or smut or rust．Frequently such a primary infection will weaken the plant so that a secondary infection may result form its lack of tolerance．The symptoms(症状) shown may cause an error in diagnosis, so that treatment may be directed toward bacteria(细菌) which could be the result of a susceptibility caused by a primary virus infection．How many diseases are known to attack wheat?
| A．Around 30000 | B．Forty |
| C．Around 29960 | D．Around 40 |
Unchecked plant disease won't result in_______．
| A．food shortages in poor country | B．food shortages in rich country |
| C．increase of world population | D．disaster in world politics |
What is the main idea of the second paragraph?
| A．Some plants have relative immunity to a great many diseases． |
| B．Some other plants have a susceptibility to a great many diseases． |
| C．The tolerance of a particular plant changes as the growing conditions change． |
| D．A blight can be a national infection． |
According to the passage, some plant diseases can__________．
| A．infect people |
| B．be prevented by inoculation（接种疫苗） |
| C．be prevented by killing insects |
| D．be prevented by improving the growing conditions |
Which of the following won’t cause plant disease ?
| A．Fungus | B．Mold | C．Smut | D．Rust |
Whether we find a joke funny or not largely depends on where we have been brought up．The sense of humour is mysteriously(神秘地)connected with national characteristics．A Frenchman ,for instance, might find it hard to laugh at Russian joke．In the same way, a Russian might fail to see anything amusing in a joke which would make an Englishman laugh to tears．
Most funny stories are based on comic situations．In spite of national differences, certain funny situations have a worldwide request．No matter where you live, you would find it difficult not to laugh at, say ,Charlie Chaplin’s early films．However, a new type of humour, which stems largely from America, has recently come into fashion．It is called “sick humour”．Comedians base their jokes on tragic situations like violent (cause by force)death or serious accidents．Many people find this sort of joke distasteful．The following example of “sick humour” will enable you to judge for yourself．
A man who had broken his right leg was taken to hospital a few weeks before Christmas．From the moment he arrived there, he kept on pestering(纠缠) his doctor tell him when he would be able to go home．He was afraid of having to spend Christmas in hospital ．Though the doctor did his best, the patient’s recovery was slow．On Christmas day, however, the doctor consoled(安慰)him by telling him that his chances of being able to leave hospital in time for New Year celebrations were good．The man took heart and, sure enough , on New Year’s Eve he was able to hobble(跛行) along to a party．To compensate(补偿)for his unpleasant experiences in hospital , the man drank a little more than what was good for him．In the process, he enjoyed himself and kept telling everybody how much he hated hospitals．He was still mumbling something about hospitals at the end of the party when he slipped on a piece of ice and broke his left leg．Whether you find “sick humour” funny or not will depend on ________．
| A．your having been brought up in America |
| B．the joke being related to a really comic situation |
| C．your ability to see the funny side of an unpleasant event |
| D．your ability to laugh until you cry |
The man spent Christmas day feeling miserable because ________．
| A．the doctor had failed to cure him |
| B．he was not able to be with his friends |
| C．being unable to walk, he did not enjoy the celebrations at the hospital |
| D．he thought he might also miss the New Year’s Eve celebration |
The point of the joke taken to explain “sick humour” is that ________．
| A．no sooner was the out of hospital than he had to go back in again． |
| B．the man should not have said how much he hated hospitals |
| C．the man would be unable to walk for the rest of his life |
| D．the man had not got a leg to stand on |
What can you learn from this story ?
| A．On New Year’s Eve, the man was able to walk properly to the party． |
| B．At the party , he enjoyed himself but only drank a little． |
| C．He had to go to hospital again though he hated it． |
| D．The man got well soon because the doctor took good care of him． |
In Britain arrangements for inviting and entertaining guests at a wedding are usually the responsibility of the bride's family．In most cases it is mainly friends and relations of both families who are invited but when bride's father is a businessman of some kind, the wedding reception may provide a useful occasion for establishing social connections with clients or customers and other people whose goodwill may be of advantage to him．it is, however, the bride's mother who has the job of sending out the formal printed invitation cards．
In the case of a church wedding, the vicar of each parish(教区) in which the bride and bridegroom live is normally informed about a month in advance of the ceremony so that an announcement of the coming wedding can be made in church on each of three Sundays before it takes place．Anyone who may know of an existing marriage of either partner is ordered to give information, though this means of avoiding bigamy must have been more effective in the days when people attend the religious service and the bride usually wears the traditional long white dress and veil, while her bridesmaids, who are children, wear long dresses in attractive colors．This may also happen in the case of a civil wedding in a register office but is probably less usual．
The reception which follows may be held in a restaurant, a local hall or, when there are few guests, in the bride’s own home．Refreshments are provided, a special iced wedding-cake is cut(usually to the accompaniment of speeches)and distributed to the guests, toasts are drunk and dancing may follow．At some point in the celebrations, the bride goes off to change into everyday clothes and then leaves the party with her husband to go on their honeymoon, the journey they will make together, often in romantic surrounding abroad．It is the bride's parents who normally have to________．
| A．make all the arrangements for the wedding |
| B．provide hospitality for the people attending |
| C．decide who shall be invited |
| D．pay all expenses involved |
What possible difference is suggested between a church and a civil wedding?
| A．Civil weddings are less commonly followed by a reception． |
| B．It is less usual for guests to attend the civil wedding formalities． |
| C．Guests at civil weddings are less formally dressed． |
| D．There could be less attention paid at the latter to convention and picturesque effect． |
The reception normally takes place in the bride’s home if________．
| A．this is a large one． |
| B．there is enough room to entertain the people invited． |
| C．the parents cannot afford to hire a hall． |
| D．there is to be no party afterwards． |
The couple leave for their honeymoon________．
| A．after the church or register office ceremony |
| B．immediately after the cake has been cut and the speeches made |
| C．at the end of the reception |
| D．as soon as the bride is ready |
All plant cells are able to take up water. Even dead ones do to a certain degree. Absorption of water by dead cell walls makes wood swell(肿胀). In common land plants, the living cells of roots take up most of the water. Land plants without roots do exist, however. Those greenish-yellow lichens(苔藓)you see on tree trunks and on rocks in the high mountains have no roots. Half a billion years ago, when water plant started to invade the land, the first primitive land plants did not have roots; they were marsh (沼泽) plants.
Even among the flowering plants, one finds rootless forms. These flowering plants are the so-called higher plants because they evolved more recently and are thus considered higher on the evolutionary scale. In the Peruvian desert, there grows one of these rootless higher plants, a bromeliad. It is a relative of the pineapple. Even if this plant had roots, they would be of no use, because where the plant grows, it never rains. The plant gets its water exclusively from the dew it collects at night, when its leaves cool off. Such rootless plants, of course, can be moved with ease, but they will only grow when they are placed out in the open. If they are placed too near a house, the radiation from the heat of the house prevents the leaves from cooling and so prevents dew from forming, and the plant dies. In the southern United States and in Puerto Rico, one sees bromeliads growing high above the streets on the insulation of electric wires. These plants get their water from rain, and the only soil they ever come in contact with is the dust that may blow on their leaves.Wood swells because of _______.
| A．the dead cell walls | B．tiny drops of water entering the dead cell |
| C．the growth of the cell | D．the death of the cell |
From the passage we know that the evolutionary scale is arranged according to ______.
| A．evolutionary cycles | B．heights and depths |
| C．time | D．kinds |
The bromeliad is a plant that _______.
| A．has useless roots | B．is a pineapple |
| C．can grow anywhere | D．takes up water through its leaves |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Water plants existed before land plants. |
| B．Only living plant cells take up water. |
| C．The greenish-yellow lichens are uncommon land plants. |
| D．The living cells of roots absorb more water than the rest of the plant. |
The most suitable title for this passage is ______.
| A．water intake by cells | B．rootless plants | C．plant in the desert | D．higher plants |
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