(   ) 3. The kitchen is often the busiest room in a household,so it's important to make sure it          well.

A. smoothes    B. functions C. pays    D. measures

(   ) 2.            ，the weather in summer is hot in most parts of China.

A. In general B. In case C. In danger D. In need

(   ) 1. The thirteen stars on the first American flag          the thirteen colonies that announced independence at that time.

A. present B. classify     C. represent D. explain

One dark and stormy night, an elderly man and his wife entered the hall of a small hotel in Philadelphia,hoping to get shelter for the night.

The clerk,a friendly man with a beautiful smile,explained that there were three conferences in town. "All of our rooms are taken， ”the clerk said，"but I can' t send a nice couple like you into the rain at one o'clock in the morning. Would you perhaps be willing to sleep in my room? It's not a suite, but it will be good enough to make you comfortable for the night." The couple agreed.

As the elderly man paid the bill the next morning，he told the clerk，"You are the kind of person who should be the boss of the best hotel in the United States. Maybe someday 1,11 build one for you." The clerk looked at them and smiled. The three of them had a good laugh.

Two years passed. The clerk had almost forgotten the incident when he received a letter from the elderly man;asking the clerk to pay him a visit. The elderly man met him in New York,and led him to the corner of The Fifth Avenue and 34th Street. He then pointed to a great new building there， a reddish stone one with watchtowers thrusting up to the sky，and told the clerk that it was the hotel he had just built for him to manage.

That wonderful building was the original Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. And this young clerk whose name was George C. Boldt never foresaw the return of events that would lead him into the manager of one of the world' s most attractive hotels.

(   ) 8. When the elderly couple left the hotel，they         .

A.   took what they said as a joke

B.   wanted to build the same hotel in the ftiture

C.   hoped that the clerk would replace the boss of the hotel

D.   thought the clerk was talented in managing hotels 

(   ) 9. Why did the elderly man build a hotel for the clerk?

A. He was grateful to the clerk. B. They had a bet at first.
C. He wanted to please the clerk. D. He wanted to sell the hotel.

(   ) 10. According to the text,the clerk         .

A.  helped the couple because he thought they were poor

B.  hoped that the old couple could give him a large amount of money

C.   didn't expect to receive things in return from the old couple

D.  became rich,thanks to his own efforts
(   ) 11. From the text，we can infer that         .

A.   anybody can be a successful manager

B.   old people are always very rich

C.   good luck is always waiting for lucky people

D.   kindness can bring a good return

(   ) 12. What do you think of the clerk?

A.  He was willing to help.

B.  He was very attractive.

C.  He tried to make money for his hotel.

D.  He liked making friends.

I heard many parents complaining that their teenage children are rebelling. I wish it were so. At your age you ought to be growing away from your parents. You should be learning to stand on your own two feet. But take a good look at the present rebellion. It seems that teenagers are taking the same way of showing that they disagree with their parents. Instead of striking out boldly on their own，most of them are clutching (緊握)at one another's hands for reassurance.

They claim they want to dress as they please. But they all wear the same clothes. They set off in new directions in music. But somehow they all end up huddled (聚在一起)round listening to the same record. Their reason for thinking or acting in thus-and-such a way is that the crowd is doing it. They have come out of their cocoon(蠶繭)into a larger cocoon.

It has become harder and harder for a teenager to stand up against the popularity wave and to go his or her own way. Industry has firmly carved out a teenage market. These days every teenager can learn from the advertisements what a teenager should have and be. And many of today' s parents have come to award high marks for the popularity of their children. All this adds up to a great barrier for the teenager who wants to find his or her own path.

But the barrier is worth climbing over. The path is worth following. You may want to listen to classical music instead of going to a party. You may want to collect rocks when everyone else is col?lecting records. You may have some thoughts that you don't care to share at once with your class?mates. Well，go to it. Find yourself. Be yourself. Popularity will come―with the people who respect you for who you are. That is the only kind of popularity that really counts.

(   ) 4. In this passage, the author wants to ask         .

A.  teenagers to try to pursue their real selves

B.  readers to try to be popular with people around

C.  parents to try to control and guide their children

D.  people to try to understand and respect each other

(   ) 5. The author disapproves of rebelling teenagers .

A. growing away from their parents    B. following the popularity trend C. walking a new way on their own D. turning to their friends for help

(   ) 6. The phrase "larger cocoon" at the end of the second paragraph refers to       .

A. the distractive and variable society    B. the dazzling music world

C. the parental care and love    D. the popularity wave in the society

(   ) 7. What does the author think of advertisements?

A. Convincing. B. Instructive. C. Influential. D. Authoritative.

My Space,the social networking website, is different from other websites which only provide stories about other people. MySpace is a place that allows you to broadcast your own stories and personal information to as many people as you like. Started two years ago,it is a big source of information for and about American kids.

Teenagers and their parents feel very differently about it. Teens are rushing to join the site，not sharing their parents' worries. It signals yet another generation gap in the digital era.

For teenagers, it is a reliable network to keep in touch with their friends. They will often list their surnames, birthdays, after-school jobs,school clubs, hobbies and other personal information.

"MySpace is an easy way to reach just about everyone. I don't have all the phone numbers of my acquaintances. But if I want to get in touch with one of them,I could just leave them a message on MySpace," said Abby Van Wassen. She is a 16-year-old student at Woodland Hills High School  of Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania.

Parents on the other hand are seriously concerned about the security problems of My Space.

"Every time we hold a parents meeting，the first question is always about MySpace，" said Kent Gates, who travels the country doing Internet safety seminars(研討會(huì)).The National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children has received at least 288 My Space-related complaints,according to Mary Beth Buchanan，a lawyer in Pittsburgh,

"Your profile on MySpace shows all your personal information to anyone on the Web. And MySpace even lists this information by birthplace and age. It, s like a free checklist for trouble-makers and it endangers children," Buchanan said.

(   ) 1. From the passage, we can leam that MySpace-

A.   brings about the generation gap

B.   is very careful about people' s privacy

C.   encourages you to list your personal information

D.   lists the telephone numbers of your friends

(   ) 2. What can we infer from "Every time we hold a parents meeting, the first question is always about MySpace"？

A.   MySpace has become a top issue troubling parents.

B.   MySpace often holds parents meetings.

C.   MySpace is quite popular with parents.

D.   Parents have lots of questions about the website.

(   ) 3. Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?

A. Internet Safety    B. MySpace C. Generation Gap    D. The Digital Era

10. Most senior middle school students have got accustomed to                 the MP4 as they do their lessons. (amuse)

大部分高中生已經(jīng)養(yǎng)成了邊聽MP4邊做功課的習(xí)慣。

9. He felt very excited for        the only real vase among the false ones,which looked exactly the same in appearance. (pick )

因?yàn)樾疫\(yùn)地從那些贗品花瓶中挑出唯一的一個(gè)真品，他感到很興奮。

8.        the price of house will be reduced by 50% next year because of the government's control. (whisper)

有小道消息說，因政府調(diào)控，明年的房?jī)r(jià)將下降50%。

7. He went gambling intending to make a fortune overnight, only                 .(badly)

他本想去賭博一夜暴富，沒想到卻變得更窮。