The wedding took place in a Birmingham hotel. The bride and her father arrived in a new black American
sports car. Her father looked nervous and uncomfortable in front of the cameras. The bride wore a silk
wedding dress. She smiled nervously at the waiting photographer and went to a room on the first floor where
she met her future husband for the very first time.
     Carla Germaine and Greg Cordell were the winners of a radio station's competition. The aim of the
competition was to find two strangers prepared to marry without having met each other. Miss Germaine, 23,
is a model. Mr. Cordell, 27, is a TV salesman. They were among the two hundred people who entered for a
peculiar"experiment" organized by BMRB radio in Birmingham, England. Greg and Carla were among eight
finalists who were interviewed live on radio. They took a lie detector (測(cè)謊儀) test and the station also spoke
to their friends and family about their personalities. The competition judges included an astrologer (占星家)
who declared that they were suited.
     The couple celebrated their wedding with a wedding breakfast and a party for 100 guests in the evening,
but not everyone shared their joy. Miss Germaine's mother looked anxious throughout the wedding and
Mr. Cordell's parents are reported to be less than delighted. Organizations, including the marriage guidance
service Relate, have criticized the marriage. As one person put it, "We have enough problems getting young
people to take marriage seriously without this. Marriage should always be about love."
     The couple are now on a Caribbean honeymoon followed by journalists. Their other prizes include a year's
free use of a wonderful apartment in the centre of Birmingham, and a car. But will it last?

1.  How did the couple's react to the wedding?

A. The bride's mother shared their joy.
B. The bride's father felt uncomfortable about the wedding.
C. The bridegroom's parents were quite delighted.
D. The bridegroom's parents were not that joyful.

2.  Some experts believe that ______.

A. marriage without the couple's meeting each other first ends up in divorce
B. young people nowadays are too careless about marriage
C. taking a lie detector test can not solve all the marriage problems
D. most young people take marriage seriously except this couple

3.  One of the prizes for the couple is ______.

A. to spend their honeymoon wherever they like
B. to use an apartment free for some time
C. to have a wedding dress free
D. to own an American sports car

4.  Which of the following is the best title of the passage?

A. Two Strangers and a Wedding
B. A Wedding Based on Love
C. A Short-Lived Marriage
D. A Well-Matched Coe upl

     Grandpa Nybakken loved life-especially when he could play a trick on somebody. At those times, his
large Norwegian frame shook with laughter while he pretended innocent surprise, exclaiming, "Oh,
forevermore!" But on a cold Saturday in downtown Chicago, Grandpa felt that God played a trick on him,
and grandpa wasn't laughing.
     Grandpa worked as a carpenter. On this particular day, he was building some boxes for the clothes his
church was sending to an orphanage abroad. On his way home, he reached into his shirt pocket to find his
glasses, but they were gone. He remembered putting them there that morning, so he drove back to the
church. His search proved fruitless.
     Suddenly, he realized what had happened. The glasses had slipped out of his pocket unnoticed and fallen
into one of the boxes, which he had nailed shut. His brand new glasses were heading for China!
     The Great Depression was at its height, and Grandpa had six children. He had spent twenty dollars for
those glasses that very morning.
     "It's not fair," he told God as he drove home in frustration."I've been very faithful in giving of my time
and money to your work, and now this."
     Several months later, the director of the orphanage was on vacation in the United States. He wanted to
visit all the churches that supported him, so he came to speak on Sunday night at my grandfather's small
church in Chicago. Grandpa and his family sat in their usual seats among the small congregation (教堂會(huì)眾).
"But most of all," he said, "I must thank you for the glasses you sent last year."
     "Even if I had the money, there was simply no way of replacing those glasses. Along with not being able
to see well, I experienced headaches every day, so my co-workers and I were much in prayer about this.
Then your boxes arrived. When my staff removed the covers, they found a pair of glasses lying on the
top." After a long pause, he continued, "Folks, when I tried on the glasses, it was as though they had been
custom-made just for me! I want to thank you for being a part of that!"
     The people listened, happy for the amazing glasses. But the director surely must have confused their
church with another, they thought, there were no glasses on their list of items to be sent overseas.
     But sitting quietly in the back, with tears streaming down his face, an ordinary carpenter realized the
Master Carpenter had used him in an extraordinary way.

1. Which of the following is NOT true about Grandpa Nybakken according to the passage?

A. He was an outgoing man and held an active attitude towards life.
B. He had a large family to support.
C. He was a carpenter working in the church.
D. He was a loyal Christian.

2. The people in the church but Grandpa felt confused at what the director said because _______.

A. Grandpa didn't tell the director that he was the owner of the glasses
B. the director wanted to return the glasses even though he liked it
C. the director could not get such glasses in their own country
D. the glasses were not included in the donation list

3. Who does "the Master Carpenter" in the last paragraph probably refer to?

A. Grandpa's master.
B. One of Grandpa's friends.
C. God.
D. Grandpa's co-worker.

4. Which can be the best title of the passage?

A. Grandfather's life
B. The Helpful Donation
C. The Perfect Mistake
D. An Impressive Speech

     Mr. Peter Johnson, aged twenty-three, battled for half an hour to escape from his trapped car yesterday
when it landed upside down in three feet of water. Mr. Johnson took the only escape route through the boot
(行李箱).
     Mr. Johnson's car had finished up in a ditch (溝渠) at Romney Marsin, Kent, after skidding (打滑) on ice
and hitting a bank. "Fortunately, the water began to come in slowly," Mr. Johnson said. "I couldn't force the
doors because they were jammed (堵塞) against the walls of the ditch and dared not open the windows
because I knew water would come in." Mr. Johnson, a sweet salesman of Sittingborrne, Kent, first tried to
attract the attention of other motorists by sounding the horn.
     Later he said, "It was really a half penny that saved my life." It was the only coin I had in my pocket and
I used it to unscrew (擰開) the back seat to get into the boot. I hammered hard with a hammer trying to make
someone hear, but no help came.
     It took ten minutes to unscrew the seat and a further ten minutes to clear the sweet samples from the boot.
Then Mr. Johnson found a wretch (扳手) and began to work on the boot lock. Fifteen minutes passed by. "It
was the only chance I had. Finally it gave, but as soon as I moved the boot lid, the water and mud poured in.
I forced the lid down into the mud and scrambled (爬) clear as the car filled up."
     His hands and arms were cut and bruised (擦傷). Mr. Johnson got to Beckett Farm nearby, where he was
looked after by the farmer's wife, Mrs. Lucy Bates. Wrapped in a blanket, he said, "That thirty minutes seemed
like hours." Only the tips of the car wheels could be seen, the police said last night. The car had sunk into (陷
入) two feet of mud at the bottom of the ditch.

1. What is the best title for this newspaper article?

A. The Story of Mr. Johnson, a Sweet Salesman
B. Driver Escapes through Car Boot
C. Car Boot Can Serve as the Escape Route
D. The Driver Survived a Terrible Car Accident

2. Which of the following is the most important to Mr. Johnson?

A. The hammer.
B. The coin.
C. The screw.
D. The horn.

3. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Mr. Johnson's car stood on its boot as it fell down.
B. Mr. Johnson could not escape from the door because it was full of sweet jam.
C. Mr. Johnson's car accident was partly due to the slippery road.
D. Mr. Johnson struggled in the pouring mud as he unscrewed the backseat.

4. The underlined part "Finally it gave" means that _____.

A. luckily the door was tom away in the end
B. at last the wretch went broken
C. the lock came open after all the efforts
D. the chance was lost at the last minute

5. It may be inferred from the passage that _____.

A. the ditch was along a quiet country road
B. the accident happened on a clear warm day
C. the police helped Mr. Johnson get out of the ditch
D. the accident was partly due to Mr. Johnson's carelessness