“Life is speeding up. Everyone is getting unwell.”
This may sound like something someone would say today. But in fact, an unknown citizen who lived in Rome in AD 52 wrote it.
We all love new inventions. They are exciting, amazing and can even change our lives.
But have all these developments really improved the quality of our lives?
Picture this: You’re rushing to finish your homework on the computer. Your mobile phone rings, a QQ message from your friend appears on the screen, the noise from the television is getting louder and louder. Suddenly the computer goes blank and you lose all your work. Now you have to stay up all night to get it done. How calm and happy do you feel?
Inventions have speeded up our lives so much that they often leave us feeling stressed and tired. Why do you think people who live far away from noisy cities, who have not telephones, no cars, not even any electricity often seem to be happier? Perhaps because they lead simpler lives.
One family in the UK went “back in time” to see what life was like without all the inventions we have today. The grandparents, with their daughter, and grandsons Benjamin, 10, and Tomas, 7, spent nine weeks in a 1940s house. They had no washing machine, microwave, computer or mobile phones.
The grandmother, Lyn, said, “It was hard physically, but not mentally.” She believed life was less materialistic. “The more things you have, the more difficult life becomes,” She said. The boys said they fought less to fight over, such as their computer. Benjamin also noticed that his grandmother had changed from being a “trendy（時(shí)髦的）, beer-drinking granny, to one who cooked things.”
Here are some simple ways to beat the stress often caused by our inventions!
Don’t be available all the time, turn off your mobile phone at certain times of the day. Don’t check your e-mail every day.
Don’t reply to somebody as soon as they leave a text message just because you can. It may be fun at first, but it soon gets annoying.
小題1:The passage is mainly about         .

A．problem with technology

B．improvements of our life with technology

C．the important roles technology plays in our everyday life

D．major changes which will be likely to happen to technology

小題2:The writer quoted（引用） what a citizen in ancient Rome said at the beginning of the story in order to         .

A．share a truth about life

B．tell us what life was like long time ago

C．make us wonder what causes such a thing to happen

D．point out that you experience some big problems and they may be the same

小題3:Why did the family choose to spend some time in a 1940’s house? Because       .

A．they liked to live simple lives

B．they were curious about how people lived without modern inventions

C．they were troubled by modern inventions

D．living in a different time would be a lot of fun for them

小題4:What do you think the underlined word “available” in the 1^st suggestion offered by the writer mean?

A．Busy on line

B．Free.

C．Be able to

D．Be found by others.

For years and years people have been saying that the railways are dead．“We can do without railways” people say，as if motorcars and planes made the railways unnecessary．We all keep hearing that trains are slow，that they lose money，that they’re dying．But this is far from the truth．In these days of expensive oil，the railways have become highly competitive with motorcars and planes．If you want to carry people or goods from place to place，they’re cheaper than planes．And they have much in common with planes．A plane goes in a strange line and so does a railway．What is more，it takes you from the heart of a city into the heart of another．It doesn’t 1eave you as a plane does，miles and miles from the city center．It doesn’t hold you up as a car does，in endless traffic jams．And a single train can carry goods which no plane or motorcar could ever do．Far from being dead，the railways are very much alive．Modern railway lines give you a smooth，untroubled journey．Where else can you eat well，sleep in comfort，feel safe and enjoy the scene while you are traveling at speed at the same time? And we are only at the beginning．For we have just entered the age of super-fast trains, traveling at 1 50 miles an hour and more．Soon we will be wondering why we spent so much on motorways we can't use because we have not enough money to buy the oil and planes we can't fly in for the same reason.
小題1:Some people think the railways are dead for many reasons except that ______  ．

A．planes and motorcars will take the place of trains	B．oil is expensive today
C．trains are slow	D．railways lose money

小題2:The writer’s idea seems to be that ______  ．

A．we can do without railways	B．trains have much in common with motorcars and planes
C．motorcars and planes are not as good as trains	D．trains are as good as motorcars and planes

小題3:According to the writer，which of the following is NOT true?

A．It is cheaper to travel by train than by plane．

B．The railway station is usually at the center of a city．

C．When you get off the plane you will find yourself right in the city center．

D．No motorcar or plane can carry as many goods as a train does．

小題4:From the underlined sentence at the end of the passage，we can infer that   ．

A．1ess and less people will take planes and motorways in the future

B．the people have known that the train is better than planes and motorways

C．trains will be more popular in the future

D．nobody likes spending much money on motorways

Footracing(競(jìng)走)is a popular activity in the United States．It is not only seen as a competitive sport，but also as a way to exercise，and to donate(捐贈(zèng))money to a good cause．Though serious runners may spend months training to compete，other runners and walkers might not train at a11．Those not competing to win might run in an effort to beat their own time，or simply to enjoy the fun and exercise．People of all ages, from those less than one year old to those in their 80s, enter into this sport．The races are held on city streets，on college campuses，through parks，and in suburban areas，and commonly 5 to 1 0 kilometers in length．
The largest footrace in the world is the 1 2-kilometer Bay to Breakers race that is held in San Francisco every spring．This race begins on the east side of the city near San Francisco Bay and ends on the west side at the Pacific Ocean．In 1 993 there were 80，000 people running in this race through the streets and hills of San Francisco．In the front are the serious runners who compete to win，and who might finish in as little as 34 minutes．Behind them are the thousands who take several hours to finish．In the back of the race are those who wear costumes just for fun．In 1 993 there was a group of men all of whom dressed up like Elvis Priestly．There was a group of firefighters who were all tied in a long line and were carrying a fire—hose(水龍帶)．One year there was a wedding party in which the bride dressed in a long white gown(長(zhǎng)袍)and the groom wore a tuxedo(晚禮服)．They threw flowers to by-standers，and were actually married at some point along the route．
小題1:The main purpose of this text is to__________．

A．describe a popular activity

B．encourage people to exercise

C．make fun of runners in costume

D．give reasons for the popularity of footraces

小題2:Which of the following is implied by the author?

A．Walkers don’t compete for prizes．

B．Footraces appeal to a variety of people．

C．Entering a race is a way to make friends．

D．Running is a good way to strengthen the heart．

小題3:The underlined words “to a good cause” in the first paragraph could best be replaced by ___________.

A．for a good reason	B．to support a sound principle
C．for a good purpose	D．to protect an excellent player

On the whole, it’s not something we parents shout about, but one in four of us does it. Hiring private tutors for our children is now widespread.
“It’s expensive, but worth it,” says Ashan Sabri, whose daughter Zarreen, is having tuition in biology and chemistry in preparation for A-levels this summer. “My husband and I tried to tutor her at home, but we found all our knowledge was out of date and we were only confusing Zarreen. We also tried a group revision course but all the children were sitting in a room for different kinds of exams. On the whole, we think one-to-one tuition works best.”
The real reason is: does tutoring do any good?
“It’s not the magic bullet,” says Professor Judith Ireson, author of a 2005 Institute of Education report on the subject. “It’s still up to the child to do the learning. If he or she isn’t interested, sending them to a private tutor won’t do any good. However, we did find that students who had private tuition in mathematics during the two years before GCSE achieved on average just under half a grade higher than students who did not have a tutor.”
In which case, surely it’s time to break open the champagne? Not necessarily, says Elaine Tyrrell, head of The Rowans School, Wimbledon, a preparation school which regularly gets children into the best private schools.
“While we recommend private tutoring for a few children whose first language isn’t English, we don’t encourage it for the others. With the level of education they get here, children really ought to be able to pass the entrance exams without any extra teaching. And our worry is that they might just get used to getting help from last-minute tutoring, but, once they actually get to that school, they won’t be able to cope.”
But Mylene Curtis, owner of Fleet Tutors, one of the biggest tutoring agencies in the country, holds a different view.
“In some respects, the hurdles children have to leap in order to get into these schools are set at a higher level than the reality,” says Curtis. “We often find that, once a child has got into a school, the standard of work isn’t as high as was feared. The trick is to do well enough in the exam to win a place.”
小題1:What does Ashan Sabri think of the group revision course?

A．It’s expensive but worthwhile because it works the best.

B．It confuses students because the knowledge taught in it is out of date.

C．It isn’t effective because it doesn’t focus on specific exams.

D．It is effective because it doesn’t focus on specific exams.

小題2: What do the underlined words “magic bullet” in Paragraph 4 mean?

A．Something that cannot help to solve problems at all.

B．Something that solves a difficult problem in an easy way.

C．Something that seems useful but has no use at all.

D．Something that encourages interest in study.

小題3:According to Elaine Tyrrell, private tutoring is _______.

A．effective in language learning but not for exams

B．effective for foreign students but not for local students

C．unnecessary in most cases and may harm the further study of students

D．unnecessary in secondary school but helpful to further study

小題4: What can be inferred from the last two paragraphs?

A．Fleet Tutors and the Rowans School are competitors.

B．Entrance exams to schools are too difficult for most students.

C．Further study isn’t as difficult as was first thought.

D．Private tuition is worth the financial investment.

小題5:What attitude does the author hold towards home tutoring?

A．Critical

B．Objective

C．Supportive

D．Uninterested

While income worry is a rather common problem of the aged, loneliness is another problem that aged parents may face. Of all the reasons that explain their loneliness, a large geographical distance between parents and their children is the major one. This phenomenon is commonly known as “ Empty Nest Syndrome”(空巢綜合癥). In order to seek better chances outside their countries, many young people have gone abroad, leaving their parents behind with no clear idea of when they will return home. Their parents spend countless lonely days and nights, taking care of themselves, in the hope that someday their children will come back to stay with them. The fact that most of these young people have gone to Europeanized or Americanized societies makes it unlikely that they will hold as tightly to the value of duty as they would have if they had not left their countries. Whatever the case, it has been noted that the values they hold do not necessarily match what they actually do. This geographical and cultural distance also prevents the grown-up children from providing response in time for their aged parents living by themselves.
The situation in which grown-up children live far away from their aged parents has been described as “ distant parent phenomenon”, which is common both in developed countries and in developing countries. Our society has not yet been well prepared for “ Empty Nest Syndrome”.
小題1:According to the passage, the loneliness of aged parents is mainly caused by ________.

A．their earlier experience of feeling lonely

B．the unfavorable living conditions in their native countries

C．the common worry about their income

D．the geographical distance between parents and children

小題2:Many young people have gone abroad, leaving
their aged parents behind, to _______.

A．live in the countries with more money

B．seek a better place for their aged parents

C．continue their studies abroad

D．realize their dreams in foreign countries

小題3:If young people go abroad, ________.

A．they do not hold to the value of duty at all

B．they can give some help to their parents back home

C．they cannot do what they should for their parents

D．they believe what they actually do is right

小題4:From the last paragraph, we can infer that______

A．the situation in the developed and developing countries are different

B．“Empty Nest Syndrome” has arrived unexpectedly in our society

C．children will become independent as soon as they go abroad

D．the aged parents are not fully prepared for “Empty Nest Syndrome”

“I’ve changed my mind. I wanted to have a telescope, but now I want my dad back.” Lucien Lawrence’s letter to Father Christmas, written after his father had been knifed to death outside his school gate, must have touched everyone’s heart. Lucien went on to say that without his father he couldn’t see the stars in the sky. When those we love depart from us, we cannot see the stars for a while.
But Lucien, the stars are still there, and one day, when you are older and your tears have gone, you will see them again. And, in a strange way, I expect that you will find your father there too, either in your mind or heart. I find that my parents, who died years ago, still linger (留連) in many of my dreams and that I think of them perhaps more than I ever did when they were alive. I still live to please them and I’m still surprised by their reactions. I remember that when I became a professor, I was so proud, or rather so pleased with myself that I couldn’t wait to cable my parents. The reply was a long time in coming, but when it did, all my mother said was “I hope this means that now you will have more time for the children!” I haven’t forgotten. The values of my parents still live on.
It makes me pause and think about how I will live on in the hearts and minds of my children and of those for whom I care. Would I have been as ready as Philip Lawrence has been to face the aggressors（入侵者）, and to lay down my life for those in my care? How many people would want me back for Christmas? It’s a serious thought, which gives me pause.
I pray silently, sometimes, in the dead of night, that ancient cry of a poet “Deliver my soul from the sword and my darling from the power of the dog.” Yet I know death comes to us all, and sometimes comes suddenly. We must therefore plan to live together, but live as if we will die tomorrow. We live on, I’m sure, in the lives of those we loved, and therefore we ought to have a care for what they will remember and what they will treasure. If more parents knew this in their hearts to be true, there might be fewer knives on our streets today.
小題1: According to the whole text we can see that the first paragraph ___________.

A．puts forward the subject of the text

B．shows the author’s pity on the kid

C．serves as an introduction to the discussion

D．makes a clear statement of the author’s views

小題2:In the second paragraph the author mainly wants to explain to us____________.

A．how much he misses his parents now

B．why his parents often appear in his dream

C．when Lucien will get over all his sadness

D．how proud he was when he succeeded in life

小題3:What feeling did the author’s mother express in her reply?

A．Proud.

B．Happy.

C．Disappointed.

D．Worried.

小題4:In the author’s opinion, the value of a person’s life is _____________.

A．to leave a precious memory to the people related

B．to have a high sense of duty to the whole society

C．to care what others will remember and treasure

D．to share happiness and sadness with his family

小題5: What does the writer mean by the sentence taken from an old poem?    

A．Call on criminals and murderers to lay down their guns.

B．Advise parents stay with their children safely at home.

C．Spend every day meaningfully in memory of death.

D．Try to keep violence and murder far away from society.

People from Great Britain brought the English language to North America in the 16th and 17th centuries. And in the __36__ 300 years, there were so many___37__ in both places that now people can easily___38__ an English person from an American in the___39__ he or she talks.
Many old words___40__ in England but were kept in America．For example,300 years ago people in Great Britain got their water from something they__41__either a“faucet”,“spigot”,or a“tap”.All these words are___42__ heard in different parts of America, but only “tap”is still___43_ in England．Americans often make___44__ new words or change old ones. “Corn”is one kind of plant in America and__45__ in England．
Also, over the last three centuries the English language has___46__ thousands of new words for things that weren’t___47__ before. And often, American and English people used two__48__ names for them. A tin can is called“tin”for short in English, but a “can”in America．The word “radio”is__49__all over the world, including America．But many English people call it a “wireless”.And almost anything___50__ something to do with cars, railroads, etc．has different___51__ in British and American English.
But now American and British English may be___52__ closer together. One thing is that__ 53_ people can hear a large amount of American speech daily in___54__, on television, or from travelers. Because of this, Americans___55__ to be influencing the British more and more. So some day, English may even be the same on both sides of the Atlantic．

小題1:	A．past B．recent C．oldest D．latest

小題2:	A．citizens B．inventions C．changes D．a(chǎn)dvances

小題3:	A．pick B．tell C．take D．judge

小題4:	A．voice B．place C．language D．way

小題5:	A．disappeared B．stayed C．returned D．formed

小題6:	A．said B．talked C．spoke D．called

小題7:	A．then B．hardly C．clearly D．still

小題8:	A．necessary B．native C．common D．lively

小題9:	A．of B．into C．up D．out

小題10:

A．a(chǎn)nother B．the other C．none D．something

小題11:

A．discovered B．a(chǎn)dded C．improved D．learned

小題12:

A．a(chǎn)ccepted B．known C．introduced D．understood

小題13:

A．new B．short C．different D．surprising

小題14:

A．produced B．made C．developed D．used

小題15:

A．having B．bringing C．getting D．making

小題16:

A．types B．names C．degrees D．parts

小題17:

A．putting B．staying C．living D．growing

小題18:

A．British B．American C．educated D．ordinary

小題19:

A．families B．buses C．movies D．newspapers

小題20:

A．need B．expect C．seem D．happen

Modern inventions have speeded up people’s loves amazingly. Motor-cars cover a hundred miles in little more than an hour, aircraft cross the world inside a day, while computers operate at lightning speed. Indeed, this love of speed seems never-ending. Every year motor-cars are produced which go even faster and each new computer boats (吹噓) of saving precious seconds in handling tasks.
All this saves time, but at a price. When we lose or gain half a day in speeding across the world in an airplane, our bodies tell us so.  We get the uncomfortable feeling known as jet-lag; our bodies feel that they have been left behind on another time zone. Again, spending too long at computers results in painful wrists and fingers. Mobile phones also have their dangers, according to some scientist; too much use may transmit harmful radiation into our brains, a consequence we do not like to think about.
However, what do we do with the time we have saved? Certainly not relax, or so it seems. We are so accustomed to constant activity that we find it difficult to sit and do nothing or even just one thing at a time. Perhaps the days are long gone when we might listen quietly to a story on the radio, letting imagination take us into another world.
There was a time when some people’s lives were devoted simply to the cultivation of the land or the care of cattle. No multi-tasking there; their lives went on at a much gentler pace, and in a familiar pattern. There is much that we might envy about a way of life like this. Yet before we do so, we must think of the hard tasks our ancestor faced: they farmed with bare hands, often lived close to hunger, and had to fashion tools from wood and stone. Modern machinery has freed people from that primitive existence.
小題1: The new products become more and more time-saving because        .

A．our love of speed seems never-ending	B．time is limited.
C．the prices are increasingly high.	D．the manufactures boast a lot.

小題2:What does “the days” in Paragraph 3 refer to ?

A．Imaginary life	B．Simple life in the past.
C．Times of inventions	D．Time for constant activity.

小題3: What is the author’s attitude towards the modern technology?

A．Critical

B．Objective.

C．Optimistic.

D．Negative.

小題4: What does the passage mainly discuss?

A．The present and past times.	B．Machinery and human beings.
C．Imaginations and inventions.	D．Modern technology and its influence.

This is a dangerous world we live in. The number of murders goes up every year, people are dying of cancer, more people contract HIV, more teens are using drugs, ect. You know this because you’ve heard all the statistics on the news and in the paper. But do you really have an accurate idea what they mean? The numbers are going up, but how do they compare to the growth in population? Are more cases of these diseases being reported because of better testing techniques, or are the diseases more common? The fact is that without knowing the background statistics mean very little.
This growing trend of reporting only part of the information is becoming dangerous. For example, several years ago a high school student reported the dangers of the chemical known as dihydrogen monoxide. This chemical, found in most cancerous tumors, is often found in the blood of people drunk on alcohol, and causes complete physical and mental dependence for those who take the chemical even once. After reading his report, more than 75% of his Advanced Placement Chemistry class voted to forbid this dangerous chemical! Every one of the above statement is true, yet this chemical is necessary to all life on earth. The students made a mistake because they voted knowing only a few statements and statistics, rather than the chemical’s full background.
The point of this article is that one should be aware of what is and is not being said. When one finds a new fact or number, one should try to consider other important information before forming an opinion with only half-truths. Always remember that the author is trying to convince you of his or her own view, and will leave our information that is different from his view. For example, look again at the statistics that suggest skiing is safe. Only 32 people die each year when skiing, while 897 die from lightening strikes, but which is really more dangerous? If you think more about it, you will realize far fewer people go skiing each year than the number of people in danger of a lightning strike. When you think about it again, skiing is more dangerous than you might at first think when looking at the statistics. If we teenagers are to be left in this world, we had better be able to think critically, and form our own views, rather than be easily persuaded by another’s. To be warned is just to be prepared.
小題1:What’s the author’s attitude towards the growing trend of reporting only part of the      
information?
Disapproving   B. Positive       C. Indifferent     D. Dangerous
小題2:In the first paragraph, what does the writer suggest?

A．We are now living in a dangerous world.

B．We get a lot of false statistics from the media.

C．There are around us more and more murders diseases, ect.

D．Statistics alone without full background don’t give us an accurate picture of things.

小題3:What’s the purpose of the writer’s using the two examples in the second paragraph?

A．To argue that high school students are easily persuaded.

B．To prove what is necessary to us might be dangerous.

C．To show the danger of reporting only part of the information.

D．To warn us of the harmful substance around us.

小題4:Relative information is often left out because ___________________. 

A．it is not important

B．the author is trying to show what he or she says is true

C．readers will consider other important information

D．readers are able to form an opinion with half-truths

小題5:What can we learn from the passage?

A．Some measures must be taken to protect our dangerous world.

B．The growing trend of reporting only half-truths is getting out of control.

C．Teenagers ought to improve their ability of telling right from wrong.

D．We should learn to think critically and look at problems from all sides.

The Internet has led to a huge increase in credit-card fraud. Your card information could even be for sale in an illegal web site.
Web sites offering cheap goods and services should be regarded with care.
On-line shoppers who enter their credit-card information may never receive the goods they thought they bought. The thieves then go shopping with your card number — or sell the information over the Internet. Computers hackers have broken down security systems, raising questions about the safety of cardholder information. Several months ago, 25, 000 customers of CD Universe, an on-line music retailer(零售商), were not lucky. Their names, addresses and credit-card numbers were posted on a Web site after the retailer refused to pay US $157, 828 to get back the information.
Credit-card firms are now fighting against on-line fraud. Mastercard is working on plans for Web — only credit card, with a lower credit limit. The card could be used only for shopping on-line. However, there are a few simple steps you can take to keep from being cheated.
Ask about your credit-card firm’s on-line rules: Under British law, cardholders have to pay the first US $78 of any fraudulent(欺騙性的) spending.
And shop only at secure sites; Send your credit-card information only if the Web site offers advanced secure system.
If the security is in place, a letter will appear in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen. The Website address may also start https: //—the extra “s” stands for secure. If in doubt, give your credit-card information over the telephone.
Keep your password safe: Most on-line sites require a user name and password before placing an order. Treat your passwords with care.
小題1:What do most people worry about the Internet according to this passage?

A．Many stolen credit-cards were sold on the Internet.

B．Too much fraud on the Internet.

C．Many Web sites are destroyed.

D．Many illegal Web sites are on the Internet.

小題2:What is the meaning of “fraud” in the passage?

A．Cheating.

B．Sale.

C．Payment.

D．Safety.

小題3: How can the thieves get the information of the credit card?

A．The customers give them the information.

B．The thieves steal the information from Web sites.

C．The customers sell the information to them.

D．The thieves buy the information from credit-card firms.

小題4:You are shopping on the site: http: // www. Shopping. com, and you want to buy a TV set, what does this article suggest to do?

A．Order the TV set at once.

B．Do not buy the TV set on this site.

C．E-mail the site your credit-card information.

D．Tell the site your password and buy the TV set for you.