Mr. James, aged sixty-three, of Brittania Road, Sheffield, was held prisoner five days without food or water when his thirty-year-old bed fell in, plunging (使陷入) him among the springs (彈 簧) . Neighbors, who found he had not left home since last Wednesday, called the policemen.

　　Mr. James was set free by ambulance men(救護人員)and taken to the Royal Hospital, Sheffield, given a medical examination and a good meal and allowed to return home.

　　He said yesterday, “I went to bed to listen to the football match on the radio last Wednesday and fell asleep. When I woke up I was down among the springs. I kept struggling to get free but the springs were too strong for me. I don't know what I would have done if the police hadn't come because I was getting weak.”

1．Mr. James was ________ .

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2．He bought a new bed ________ .

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3．Sheffield is the name of a ________ .

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4．Mr. James was saved by ________ .

[　　]

5．Mr. James nearly died because ________ .

[　　]

A．he couldn't get away from the bed springs

B．he fell asleep while listening to the radio

C．he was too old to get up

D．his bed springs were too strong

　　Gordon Yazzie is on his way home from Aneth, Utah. With long oars(槳) he takes the boat out on the brown-gray water of the San Juan River. He has started out in Utah. Then he follows the river to New Mexico. Soon he's almost home. He lives in Rattlesnake, New Mexico. Rattlesnake is part of the Navajo Indian Reservation.

　　The San Juan River flows almost across Four Corners. Four Corners is the only point in the U. S. where four states come together. The map below shows exactly(準確地) where the corners of Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico meet.

　　At the bottom of the map of Four Corners is a map key. The key shows the symbols (符號) used on the map. These symbols stand for features such as small towns, major cities, highways, rivers, and borders. Use the map key and the map to answer the questions below.

1．Aneth, Utah is northwest of Four Corners. Aneth is a ________ .

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2．Route 160 crosses Four Corners from Colorado to Arizona. This route is a ________ .

[　　]

3．Which town is closest to Four Corners?

[　　]

4．What is the name of the biggest city near Four Corners?

[　　]

5．Suppose Gordon Yazzie drives from his home in Rattlesnake to Farmington. Which U. S. highway should he use?

[　　]

　　A well-dressed young lady stopped a taxi in a big square (廣場), and said to the driver, “Do you see the young man at the other side of the square?”

　　“Yes, ”said the taxi driver. “The young man was standing outside a restaurant and looking impatiently at his watch every few seconds. ”

　　“Take me over there. ”said the young lady.

　　There were a lot of cars and buses and trucks in the square, so the taxi-driver asked, “Are you afraid to cross the street?”

　　“Oh, no! ”said the young lady. “But I am three quarters of an hour late. I said that I would meet the young man for lunch at one o'clock. If I arrive in a taxi, it will at least show that I have tried no to be late…”

1．The young lady took a taxi ________ .

[　　]

2．The word impatiently in this passage means ________ .

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3．The young lady took a taxi because ________ .

[　　]

A．she was going a long way

B．she wanted to cross the street

C．she was afraid to be late

D．she wanted to pretend(假裝)that she was in a hurry.

4．What was the time when the young lady got to the cross road?

[　　]

5．What kind of person was the young lady?

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　　Today, most horses are used for riding2 and racing. But long ago, when I was a boy, most horses were used for pulling.

　　They were big horses, for big work. They pulled plows and heavy loads. Such horses are called draft horses.

　　Draft horses often worked in teams of two, four or six horses. What a beautiful sight a fine matched team was! The horses were all of the same size and color. Their coats were brushed and shining. The big animals moved together as though (仿佛) they were dancing.

　　My father drove and trained teams of draft horses. I learned from him how to handle them. He showed me that such horse is different. To work well with horses, I needed to know each one.

　　“But some things are true for all horses,” he said.“Before you walk behind a horse, always let him know you are there. Before you go into a horse's stall (廄) , give him time to make room for you. When a horse is suddenly afraid, get to his head fast, hold him at the bit(馬嚼子). That is the only place you can hold a frightened horse, John.”

1．Draft horses were horses used ________ .

[　　]

2．A fine matched team of draft horses should be ________ .

[　　]

A．more than ten different horses

B．hundreds of the same horses

C．three or five horses with beautiful and shining hair

D．four or six horses of the same size and color

3．If you want draft horses to work well, you must ________ .

[　　]

A．give them something good to eat

B．try to know each of them well

C．be very hard on all of them

D．get something shining for them to wear

4．Which is the right way to get into a horse's stall?

[　　]

A．Walk quickly into the stall without any hesitation (猶豫).

B．Stand outside the stall shouting for a while.

C．Wait for some time till the horses to make room for you.

D．Rush into the stall with a whip (鞭子) in hand.

5．When a horse is suddenly afraid ________ .

[　　]

A．get to his head fast, hold him at the bit

B．walk quietly behind him and hold his tail

C．run away as quickly as possible and never come back again

D．go and fetch a whip and beat him till he is calm (鎮(zhèn)靜)

　　April 1 is a day on which, in some countries, people try to play tricks on others. If one succeeds (成功) in tricking somebody, one laughs and says, “April Fool”. And then the person who has been tricked usually laughs, too.

　　One April 1, a country bus was going along a winding(彎曲的) road when it slowed down and stopped. The driver anxiously turned switches(開關) and pressed buttons, but nothing happened. Then he turned to the passengers with a worried look on his face and said, “This poor bus is getting old. It isn't going as well as it used to. There's only one thing to do if we want to get home today. I shall count three, and on the word ‘three’, I want you all to lean(傾斜) forward suddenly as hard as you can. That should get the bus started again. But if it doesn't, I am afraid there is nothing else I can do. Now, all of you lean back as far as you can in your seats and get ready. ”

　　The passengers all obediently (順從地) pressed back against their seats and waited anxiously.

　　Then the driver turned to the bus front and asked, “Are you ready?”

　　The passengers hardly had enough breath to answer, “Yes”.

　　“One! Two! Three! ” counted the driver. The passengers all swung forward suddenly on the word “three”, and the bus started up at a great rate.

　　The passengers breathed more easily and began to smile with relief (寬慰). But their smiles turned to a surprised and then a delighted laughter when the driver merrily cried, “April Fools! ”

1．On April Fools' Day people can ________ .

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2．On April 1 if one succeeds in tricking somebody, the person who has been tricked ________ .

[　　]

3．The country bus stopped just because ________ .

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A．the petrol (汽油) had run out

B．there was really something wrong with it

C．the bus driver wanted to play a trick on the passengers

D．the bus was too old

4．All the passengers tried their best to help the bus driver start the bus because ________ .

[　　]

A．they didn't realize that the bus driver wanted to fool them

B．they are eager to get home

C．both A and B

D．the bus driver was really in great trouble

5．This is a story about ________ .

[　　]

A．what happened on an April Fools' Day

B．the trouble of a bus

C．the trouble of a driver

D．the foolish passengers

　　Sigmund Freud was a world-famous doctor of Vienna (維也納) . He was also a man full of humour (幽默) . Once, at his 70th birthday party, a friend asked Freud if he could put his work into several words. “Well,” said Freud, “we take the sick out of their trouble and return them to the common suffering. ”

　　As a devoted (忠實的) son, Freud often visited his old mother. His mother usually spent her summers in a small mountain town in Austria (奧地利). The King Josef usually spent his summers there, too. One day in the summer, a band (樂隊) was playing a lively tune (曲子) when Freud's mother was sitting at the window and watching the people singing and dancing on Main Street. The old woman had a poor memory. She heard the band playing, but forgot it was the King's birthday. Freud was visiting his mother on her 95th birthday. He told his mother, “Mama, the band is playing for your birthday. ” She believed him and had a wonderful day.

1．Freud was a famous ________ of ________ .

[　　]

2．From what Freud said at his 70th birthday party, we can see that he was ________ .

[　　]

3．One day Freud came to the small mountain town for ________ .

[　　]

4．Which of the four sentences is wrong?

[　　]

A．Freud's mother and the King Josef usually spent their summers in the same place.

B．Freud's mother's birthday and the King's birthday were on the same day.

C．Freud's mother was so old that her memory was very bad.

D．She knew that the band was playing for the King.

5．Freud's mother felt very happy on her 95th birthday because ________ .

[　　]

A．the King Josef himself came to celebrate (慶賀) her birthday

B．the people of the town came out to celebrate her birthday

C．she believed that the band was playing for her birthday

D．she heard the band playing a lively tune so wonderfully

　　Once Smith, a traveller, was wet and cold because he had been riding in rain. At last he reached a country inn which was so crowded (擁擠) with people that the could not get the fire. So he called out to the innkeeper. “Take some fish to my horse! ” The innkeeper answered, “But a horse doesn't eat fish! ” Smith then said, “Never mind, do as I tell you. ” The crowd people, hearing this strange order, ran out to see the horse eat fish. The traveller, now having the whole room to himself, sat down beside the fire and warmed himself.

　　When the innkeeper came back with the crowd of people, he said, “Your horse wouldn't eat fish! ” The traveller answered, “Put it on the table, and when I have quite dried my clothes, I will eat it myself . ”

1．Smith was a ________ .

[　　]

2．Smith got to ________ finally.

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3．Smith was wet and cold. He wanted to dry his clothes, so he wanted to get near ________ .

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4．All the people in the room heard the strange order and ran out ________ at once.

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5．When all the people came back, Smith had ________ .

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　　We each have a memory (記憶力). That's why we can still remember things after a long time. Some people have very good memories and they can easily learn many things by heart, but some people can only remember things when they say or do them again and again. Many of the great men of the world have got surprising memories.

　　A good memory is a great help in learning a language. Everybody learns his mother language when he is a small child. He hears the sounds, remembers them and then he learns to speak. Some children are living with their parents in foreign countries. They can learn two languages as easily as one because they hear, remember and speak two languages every day. In school it is not so easy to learn a foreign language because the pupils have so little time for it, and they are busy with other subjects too.

　　But your memory will become better and better when you do more and more exercises.

1．Some people can easily learn many things by heart because ________ .

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2．Everybody learns his mother language ________ .

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3．Before a child can speak, he must ________ .

[　　]

4．In school the pupils can't learn a foreign language well because ________ .

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A．they have no good memories

B．they have no recorders

C．they have too much time for it

D．they are busy with other subjects

5．Your memory will become better and better ________ .

[　　]

A．if you have plenty of good food

B．if you do more and more exercises

C．if you do morning exercises every day

D．if you get up early

　　Big Ben's story starts in 1834. In that year the old Parliament building burned down. Its clock tower (塔) crashed (倒下) to the ground. There had to be a new building－and a new clock.

　　Plans were made. They called for a “king of clocks, the biggest and best in the world. ” So the clock had to be big. And it had to keep very good time.

　　Some people said, “No one can make such a clock. ”They were wrong. The big clock was made in two years. But it couldn't be put in the tower. The tower wasn't even built!

　　Five more years went by before the clock tower was finished. Then the four bells for the chimes (鐘聲) were brought into the tower. And at last the giant (巨大) hour bell (鈴) was put in place. It rang out for the first time on July 11, 1859.

　　This great bell had to have a name. A meeting of Parliament was called to pick one. “The clock is the king of clocks. ” one man said, “Let's call the bell the queen of Bells. ”

　　“Then why not Victoria?” said another. (Victoria was the British queen at that time. )

　　The talk about names went on and on. Then Benjamin Hall got up to speak. He was a big man that the others liked. By this time they were all tired. Someone shouted, “Why not call it Big Ben and be done with it?”

　　Everybody laughed, and the meeting broke up. But Big Ben it was from then on. Not just the bell, but the whole clock.

1．The old clock tower crashed to the ground because of ________ in 1834.

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2．The new clock should be ________ .

[　　]

3．It took ________ years to make the big clock.

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4．On ________ Big Ben rang out for the first time.

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5．The name of Big Ben comes from ________ .

[　　]

　　April Fools' Day is a custom (風俗習慣) of playing jokes and tricks(惡作劇) on each other in some European countries and North America on April 1st. It is said to have begun in France in the middle of the 16th century.

　　Before that time, one calendar (日歷) was used throughout Europe. Under this calendar, people celebrated (慶祝) April 1st as the beginning of a new year. In 1564, King Charles Ⅸ of France declared (宣布) that each new year was to begin on January 1st according to a new calendar. Most people accepted it, but there were some people who didn't like the idea of the change and refused to accept the New Year's Day on January 1st. Soon people played jokes and tricks on them and called them “April Fools” (四月愚人) because they continued to regard April 1st as their New Year's Day. From then on, April Fools' Day came into being.

1．The April Fools' Day is ________ .

[　　]

A．celebrated all over the world

B．celebrated all over the European countries

C．celebrated in some European countries and North America

D．a custom of the French

2．Which of the following statements is NOT true?

[　　]

A．April Fools' Day came into being in France.

B．April 1st was once the beginning of a year.

C．In the 40's of the 16th century Europeans used to regard January 1st as their New Year's Day.

D．April Fools' Day has a history of more than 400 years.

3．The April Fools' Day came into being ________ .

[　　]

A．because of the change in the calendar

B．very naturally

C．because of people's liking for making jokes on others

D．because of King Charles Ⅺ of France

4．Which of the following is TRUE?

[　　]

A．“April Fools” referred to those who continued to regard April 1st as the beginning of a new year.

B．“April Fools” like April Fools' Day just because they could play jokes and tricks on one another on that day.

C．Few people like “April Fools' Day”.

D．All the people accepted the new calendar at that time.