Connie Lau hates smoking. “It smells awful, and it’s so bad for you. It breaks my heart to see my friends smoking. I try to get them to give up smoking.” She says.
So why does Connie walk into convenience stores and try to buy cigarettes? She is testing to see if stores will sell cigarettes to a kid who is younger than 18. “You have to be 18 to purchase cigarettes, and I’m 16, so if they sell to me, they’re breaking the law,” Connie says.
Connie isn’t a vigilante (治安隊員); She works with local police in her town of Castro Valley, California. Officers drive her to stores, and she goes in alone to try to buy cigarettes. If the person behind the counter sells her a pack, an officer comes in and writes the business a ticket for breaking the law.
Most stores obey the law and don’t sell her cigarettes. The law requires that customers show ID if store employees ask them to. “When they ask your age, you can’t lie,” Connie says. “Most stores don’t sell to me. In a year, we’ve visited almost 150 stores and had only 15 sales.”
Working undercover can be scary, even with police nearby. Connie said one cashier refused to sell her cigarettes and then got angry when he found out her age. He threatened to call the authorities. “To calm him down, the police went in to explain that I was undercover,” she says.
Most teens wouldn’t think of going undercover for the police. What’s Connie’s motivation (動機)? For starters, she can’t stand smoking. But she also believes it’s important for young people like her to try to make a real impact in their communities. In her view, teens can do more than get good grades in school, do chores at home, and do well in out-of-class activities.
Every time she stops the sale of cigarettes to children, she’s helping to uphold the law. “A single teenager can make a big difference,” Connie says. “For the most part, when stores get caught, they learn their lesson and don’t do it again.”

1. 1.

   According to the law what age of person can the store be allowed to sell cigarettes to?

   1. A.
      Under 18
   2. B.
      More than 18
   3. C.
      16
   4. D.
      More than 16
2. 2.

   Connie goes to convenience stores to ________

   1. A.
      discover whether stores can sell cigarettes to kids
   2. B.
      see which stores can sell cigarettes to her friends
   3. C.
      look for her friends
   4. D.
      arrest the smokers
3. 3.

   What would happen if an owner sells cigarettes to kids?

   1. A.
      The owner would be arrested
   2. B.
      The owner would be fined
   3. C.
      The kids would be punished
   4. D.
      The kids would be removed from school
4. 4.

   One reason that Connie works undercover is that ________

   1. A.
      she wants more smokers to quit smoking
   2. B.
      she wants to get good grades in school
   3. C.
      she hopes to make a difference in the area
   4. D.
      she hopes to be excellent in out-of-class activities
5. 5.

   Which of the following might be the main idea of the text?

   1. A.
      Smoking can be forbidden with the help of a girl
   2. B.
      A good way to stop a store from selling cigarettes to kids
   3. C.
      Connie Lau — a brave girl who goes undercover for the policeman
   4. D.
      Connie Lau goes undercover to stop stores from selling cigarettes to kids

For years scientists have been worried about the effects of air pollution on the earth’s natural conditions. Some believe the air inside many houses may be more dangerous than the air outside. It may be one hundred times worse.
Indoor air pollution can cause a person to feel tired, to suffer eye pain, headache and other problems. Some pollutants can cause breathing disorders, diseases of blood and even cancer. Most scientists agree that every modern house has some kind of indoor pollution.
People have paid more attention to the problem now. It is true that when builders began making houses and offices they did not waste energy. To do this they build buildings that limited the flow of air between inside and outside. They also began using man-made building materials. These materials are now known to let out harmful gases.
As the problem became more serious, scientists began searching for a way to deal with it. They discovered a natural pollution control system for building—green plants. Scientists do not really know how plants control air pollution. They believe that a plant’s leaves absorb or take in the pollutants. In exchange the plant lets out oxygen through its leaves and tiny organizations on its roots. Scientists suggest that all buildings should have one large plant or several small plants inside for every nine square meters of space. Studies of different plants show that each absorbs different chemicals. So the most effective way to clean the air is to use different kinds of plants. Having green plants inside your house can make it a prettier and more healthy place

1. 1.

   Generally speaking, indoor air pollution may be more harmful than the air outside because ______

   1. A.
      indoor air pollution can often make people seriously ill
   2. B.
      man-made building materials give off dangerous gases
   3. C.
      there may be more harmful gases outside the buildings
   4. D.
      the air indoors is polluted, which is very harmful
2. 2.

   Some kind of indoor pollution can be found　in______．

   1. A.
      every modern house　
   2. B.
      every old house
   3. C.
      all kinds of houses
   4. D.
      all kinds of offices
3. 3.

   The indoor air pollution is caused by ______

   1. A.
      the limit of the flow of air between inside and outside
   2. B.
      the building way that the builders want to save energy
   3. C.
      the building things that are made of man-made materials
   4. D.
      the man-made building materials and the limit of air-flow
4. 4.

   The reason why we should use different kinds of plants to clean the air is that ______

   1. A.
      plants can let out all kinds of pollutants indoors
   2. B.
      plants may take in more oxygen which people need
   3. C.
      plants can absorb all kinds of harmful indoor chemicals
   4. D.
      plants can make our houses prettier and more healthy

The Mandarin Chinese word for “cha” is pronounced “t'e” in certain Chinese dialects(方言). Also the Malay word for the leaf is“the”. This word “the” was used to describe both the drink and the leaf. The Japanese character for tea is written exactly the same as the Chinese, though pronounced with a slight difference; so these may be the origins of our word tea in the western world.
Tea may have been discovered in 2737 BC by Shen Nong, a Chinese Emperor of the San Huang Period（3,000 - 2,700 BC）. He was a scholar, the father of agriculture and the inventor of Chinese herbal medicine. One summer day, while visiting a distant place, he and the court stopped to rest and his servants began to boil water for the court to drink. Dried leaves from the nearby bush fell into the boiling water, and made it a brown liquid. The Emperor was interested in the new liquid, drank some, and found it very refreshing. The tree was a wild tea tree, and so, tea was created.
The first samples(樣品) of tea reached England between 1652 and 1654. Tea was referred to as the China drink, tcha, chaw, tay, tee, and tea and was at first regarded more as a medicine than a fashionable drink. The original English pronunciation of the word tea was “tay” and can be traced back to around 1655 when the Dutch introduced both word and beverage（飲料）to England. The pronunciation “tee” also originated in the 1600's but only gained predominance（主導地位）after the late 18th century.
By 1650 the Dutch were actively involved in trade throughout the Western world. During that year Peter Stuyvesant brought the first tea to America to the colonists（殖民地定居者）in the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam （later re-named New York）

1. 1.

   The following information is true EXCEPT ________

   1. A.
      The Japanese write the character for tea the same way as we Chinese
   2. B.
      It was a Chinese Emperor who first found tea very refreshing
   3. C.
      The word “the” was used to describe only the leaf
   4. D.
      Tea was discovered quite by chance in history
2. 2.

   Paragraph 2 mainly tells us ________

   1. A.
      that Shen Nong, was a famous inventor of Chinese herbal medicine
   2. B.
      why the Emperor was brave and dared to run risks
   3. C.
      whether Shen Nong liked drinking boiled water outside the court
   4. D.
      the way in which tea was created outdoors
3. 3.

   Which of the following information is FALSE according to the text?
   ① Tea was at first regarded just as a fashionable drink in England.
   ② Tea had different names during the early days it reached England.
   ③ The pronunciation “tee”originated in 1600.
   ④ Peter Stuyvesant introduced both word “tay” and beverage（飲料）to England.
   ⑤ The pronunciation“tee”became popular after the late 18th century

   1. A.
      ①②
   2. B.
      ②③
   3. C.
      ④⑤
   4. D.
      ①④
4. 4.

   From Paragraph 3 we know ________

   1. A.
      that the leaf tea should be put in hot water for drinking
   2. B.
      that tea was called the China drink, tcha, chaw, tay, tee, t'e and tea in England
   3. C.
      what the early situation of tea was like in the Western world
   4. D.
      that tea was first brought to America in the late 16th century

1. 1.

   What you have just read is a _______

   1. A.
      note
   2. B.
      report
   3. C.
      schedule
   4. D.
      poster
2. 2.

   What is going to take place on 2 February, 2013?

   1. A.
      A big event to welcome a Chinese new year
   2. B.
      A social gathering to raise money for wildlife
   3. C.
      A party for close friends to meet and have fun
   4. D.
      A meeting of Kwun Tong High School students
3. 3.

   How much do you have to pay in total if four of you go together?

   1. A.
      $20
   2. B.
      $40
   3. C.
      $60
   4. D.
      $80
4. 4.

   Which of the following statements is true?

   1. A.
      Tickets are sold in Kwun Tong High School
   2. B.
      It's unnecessary to take soft drinks with you
   3. C.
      Free digital cameras are provided for everybody
   4. D.
      Festival food will be served without extra charge

For Rachael and Leigh Badman, there is only one wish on their Christmas list this year__ that their sick daughter survives until December 25.
Fifteen –year-old Paige suffers from a rare brain condition. The disease affects as few as 12 people in the world, and can kill her any day without warning. And her condition has deteriorated in recent months. Each time she closes her eyes, she may never wake up. Rachael and Leigh Badman are worried that she couldn’t live through Christmas. They filled their house with Christmas decorations on November1, so she could enjoy her favorite day of the year in advance.
Paige was diagnosed with the condition four years ago. Mrs. Badman described the condition as “being on death row” as she never knows if she will wake up and still have a daughter. She said, “ Paige always loves Christmas and it’s heartbreaking to see her suffering like this.”
In the last months, Paige has been unable to eat and has never walked or spoken. But she loves music, and enjoys watching pop stars’ DVDs. And in May she also went on holiday to Florida with her parents and little brother, Kefton. The family , who have already organized parts of Paige’s funeral, also saw the teenager swimming with dolphins during the trip. Since then, however, her condition has worsened.
Mrs Badman, who is separated from her husband and works as Paige’s full-time carer, said, “Now she can’t eat or drink anymore, and her brain is shrinking.(萎縮) With all her problems, we just thought, ‘Let’s get the Christmas tree up as soon as possible.’ We’re praying she lives to see Christmas Day.”

1. 1.

   Paige’s parents got the Christmas tree up on November 1 to ____

   1. A.
      let her enjoy the great time with visitors
   2. B.
      let her understand her parents’ love
   3. C.
      let her enjoy Christmas early before her death
   4. D.
      let her receive more good wishes from others
2. 2.

   Mrs Badman described Paige as “ being on death row” because ______

   1. A.
      Paige could die at any time without warning
   2. B.
      she found Paige struggling painfully
   3. C.
      she had organized Paige’s funeral
   4. D.
      Paige lost the abilities to walk and speak
3. 3.

   The underlined word can be replaced by “_____”

   1. A.
      proved satisfying
   2. B.
      grown stronger
   3. C.
      got improved
   4. D.
      become worse
4. 4.

   What can be learned from the passage?

   1. A.
      Christmas is Paige’s favorite festival
   2. B.
      12% of children in the world suffer from the disease
   3. C.
      Paige enjoyed watching pop stars’ DVDs on a trip
   4. D.
      Paige travelled with her family before suffering the disease

Started in 1636, Harvard University is the oldest of many colleges and universities in the United States. Yale, Princeton, Columbia and Dartmouth were all started before the American Revolution made the thirteen colonies(殖民地) into states.
In the early years, these schools were much alike. Only young men attended colleges. All the students studied the same subjects, and everyone learned Latin, Greek and Hebrew. Little was known about science then, and one kind of school could teach everything that was known about the world. When the students graduated, most of them became ministers or teachers.
In 1782, Harvard started a medical school for young men who wanted to become doctors. Later, lawyers(律師) could receive their training in Harvard’s law school. In 1852, Harvard began teaching modern languages, such as French and German, as well as Latin and Greek. Soon it began teaching American history.
As knowledge increased, Harvard and other colleges began to teach many new subjects that interested them.
Special colleges for women were started. New state universities began to teach such subjects as farming, engineering and business. Today, there are many different kinds of colleges and universities. Most of them are divided into smaller schools that deal with special fields of learning. There is so much to learn that one kind of school cannot offer it all

1. 1.

   Yale, Princeton, Columbia and Dartmouth were the names of the _______ in America

   1. A.
      states
   2. B.
      cities
   3. C.
      universities
   4. D.
      colonies
2. 2.

   As knowledge increased, colleges began to teach _______

   1. A.
      everything that is known
   2. B.
      many new subjects
   3. C.
      French and German
   4. D.
      farming
3. 3.

   The title of this passage should be _______

   1. A.
      Famous Harvard University
   2. B.
      American Universities
   3. C.
      The Changing of American Universities
   4. D.
      The American Revolution
4. 4.

   Which statement does the passage lead you to believe?

   1. A.
      The early schools are still much alike
   2. B.
      There is more to learn today than in 1636
   3. C.
      All the early students worked harder
   4. D.
      Students in modern America learn only science

Molly was a peasant girl. Her parents did not have much money and Molly did not have many nice clothes.
One day Molly’s father said to her, “Molly, take this pot of milk to market and sell it. You may keep the money.”
Molly was very happy. She put the pot of milk on her head and started her journey to market. While she was walking alone she began to think. “I will get quite a lot of money for this milk,” she thought. “What will I do with the money? I will buy a lot of eggs. I will take the eggs home with me. One of our hens will sit on them. Then there will be lots of little chickens. I will not sell the chickens. They will grow into hens. Then there will be more eggs. And these eggs will give me still more chickens. Soon I will have hundreds of hens. Then I will sell them all. They will bring me a lot of money. I will be rich. I will buy lots of new clothes. I will always wear nice clothes. Then a rich man will marry me. We will have a beautiful house, a big car and nice children...”
Molly was very happy. She jumped into the air. The pot of milk fell from her head onto the road. And that was the end of all her dreams.
In English there is a proverb. It says: Do not count your chickens before they are hatched(孵化)

1. 1.

   Molly was happy to go to market because ________

   1. A.
      she liked to go there
   2. B.
      she wanted to buy nice clothes
   3. C.
      she could have the money of her own
   4. D.
      she wanted to buy some eggs
2. 2.

   On her way to market, Molly began to________

   1. A.
      count her eggs
   2. B.
      have a happy dream
   3. C.
      think of her happy family life
   4. D.
      think how to sell the milk
3. 3.

   What was the end of all Molly’s dreams?

   1. A.
      She jumped up and fell onto the ground
   2. B.
      She was happy about her house
   3. C.
      She woke and found the milk on the road
   4. D.
      She married a rich man
4. 4.

   The proverb: “Do not count your chicken before they are hatched.” means ____

   1. A.
      one must count his chicken after they are hatched
   2. B.
      it is foolish to make plans
   3. C.
      one must depend more on what is in real life
   4. D.
      one must make plans before they begin to work

Kevin DuBmw，the lead singer of the popular 1980s US heavy metal band Quiet Riot，has been found dead from unknown causes at his home in Los Vegas．
The body of DuBrow was discovered on Sunday afternoon，a spokeswoman for the Clark County Coroner’s Office said．An examination of his body conducted on Monday didn’t lead to a result and more related tests were scheduled to establish a cause of his death．Police proved that DuBrow’S body was found at his home after they were called together by friends and neighbors who could not find the rocker．
A Las Vegas police spokeswoman refused to say whether there were signs of violence． “I can’t even find the words to say，”Quiet Riot drummer Frankie Banali said on his Web site. “Please respect my privacy as I mourn the passing and honor the memory of my dearest friend，Kevin DuBrow.”
Founded in Los Angeles in the mid-1970s，Quiet Riot shot to the top of the Billboard charts with their 1983 album “Metal Health”．It sold more than 6 million copies and is considered by many to be the first heavy metal record to top the pop charts．The album’s sales were improved by the quartet’s monster hit “Cum Oil Feel the Noize,” featuring DuBrow’s powerhouse vocals , and the song’s video．which was played in heavy rotation on MTV．
Quiet Riot’s following albums did not sell nearly as well and DuBrow was fired from the band among the following feeling of hatred．DuBrow regrouped Quiet Riot in the 1990s and the band has played occasionally，last releasing an album in October 2006．

1. 1.

   DuBrow’s body was found _________

   1. A.
      on the date of his death
   2. B.
      on Sunday morning
   3. C.
      by his relatives
   4. D.
      at his home
2. 2.

   Frankie Banali’s words suggest ________ ．

   1. A.
      he Was amazed at DuBrow’s death
   2. B.
      he wasn’t good at expressing himself
   3. C.
      he felt very sad at the moment
   4. D.
      he was recalling what had happened
3. 3.

   What can we learn from the passage ?

   1. A.
      Quiet Riot became popular in 1970s．
   2. B.
      ”Metal Health”was well received in 1983．
   3. C.
      Quiet Riot’s conditions became worse because of DuBrow．
   4. D.
      Quiet Riot has been performing in the USA．
4. 4.

   What’s the best title for the passage?

   1. A.
      Quiet Riot’s Lead Singer Was Found Dead in Las Vegas．
   2. B.
      DuBrow’s Death Shocked the Public．
   3. C.
      Quiet Riot—a Famous Band．
   4. D.
      Police Looked for DuBrow’s Death．

Water is very important to living things. Without water there can be no life on the earth. All animals and plants need water. Man also needs water. We need water to drink, to cook our food and to clean ourselves. Water is needed in offices, factories and schools. Water is needed everywhere.
There is water in seas, rivers and lakes. Water is found almost everywhere. Even in the desert part of the world, there is some water in the air. You can not see or feel it when it is a part of the air. The water in the seas, rivers and lakes is a liquid, the water in the air is a gas, and we call it water vapour (蒸氣).
Clouds are made of water. They may be made of very small drops of water. They may also be made of snow crystals(結晶體). Snow crystals are very very small crystals of ice. Ice is frozen water. It is a solid. There can be snow and ice everywhere in winter.
Water may be a solid or a liquid or a gas. When it is a solid, it may be as hard as a stone. When it is a liquid, you can drink it. When it is a gas, you can not see or feel it

1. 1.

   Where can we find water?

   1. A.
      Water can be found almost everywhere
   2. B.
      We can find water when it turns into vapour
   3. C.
      Water is only in seas and rivers
   4. D.
      We can see water in deserts here and there
2. 2.

   We can drink water when it is     .

   1. A.
      a solid
   2. B.
      in the air
   3. C.
      aliquid
   4. D.
      turned into ice
3. 3.

   Clouds are made of     .

   1. A.
      seas, rivers and lakes
   2. B.
      solid, liquid and gas
   3. C.
      very small drops of water or snow crystals
   4. D.
      blocks of ice
4. 4.

   Water has three states(狀態(tài)). They are        .

   1. A.
      solid, liquid and gas
   2. B.
      solid, vapour, snow
   3. C.
      drops of water, blocks of ice and crystals of water
   4. D.
      ice,snow and air

Everyone knows about straight-A students. We see them frequently in TV situation comedies and in movies like Revenge (報復) of the Nerds. They get high grades, all right, but only by becoming dull laborers, their noses always stuck in a book. They are not good at social communication and look clumsy while doing sports.
How, then, do we account for Domenica Roman or Paul Melendres? Roman is on the tennis team at Fairmont Senior High School. She also sings in the choral group, serves on the student council and is a member of the mathematics society. For two years she has maintained A’s in every subject. Melendres, a freshman at the University of New Mexico, was student-body president at Valley High School in Albuquerque. He played soccer and basketball well, exhibited at the science fair, and meanwhile worked as a reporter on a local television station. Being a speech giver at the graduation ceremony, he achieved straight A’s in his regular classes, plus bonus points for A’s in two college-level courses.
How do super-achievers like Roman and Melendres do it? Brains aren’t the only answer. “Top grades don’t always go to the brightest students,” declares Herbert Walberg, a professor of education at the University of Illinois at Chicago, who has conducted major studies on super-achieving students. “Knowing how to make full use of your innate (天生的) abilities counts for more. Much more.”
In fact, Walberg says, students with high IQ sometimes don’t do as well as classmates with lower IQ. For them, learning comes too easily and they never find out how to get down. Hard work isn’t the whole story, either. “It’s not how long you sit there with the books open,” said one of the many-A students we interviewed. “It’s what you do while you’re sitting.” Indeed, some of these students actually put in fewer hours of homework time than their lower-scoring classmates.
The kids at the top of the class get there by mastering a few basic techniques that others can readily learn

1. 1.

   What can we conclude from the first paragraph?

   1. A.
      Most TV programs and films are about straight-A students
   2. B.
      People have unfavorable impression on straight-A students
   3. C.
      Everyone knows about straight-A students from TV or films
   4. D.
      Straight-A students are well admired by people in the society
2. 2.

   Some students become super-achievers mainly because ________

   1. A.
      they are born cleverer than others
   2. B.
      they work longer hours at study
   3. C.
      they make full use of their abilities
   4. D.
      they know the shortcut to success
3. 3.

   What will be talked about after the last paragraph?

   1. A.
      The interviews with more students
   2. B.
      The role IQ plays in learning well
   3. C.
      The techniques to be better learners
   4. D.
      The achievements top students make