What can help you make a fortune in the future? Graduating from a top university might not be enough.
A new study from the University of Essex in Britain has shown that the more friends you have in school,
the more money you'll earn later.
    The idea that popularity could have a serious impact on one's earning potential shouldn't come as too much
of a surprise. The researchers noted that if you want to get ahead in life, social skills and networking are easily
as powerful as talent and hard work.
     "If a person has lots of friends, it means that he or she has the ability to get along with others in all kinds
of different situations," said Xu Yanchun, 17, from Nantou High School in Shenzhen, who totally agreed with
the recent finding. "Also, friends always help each other. They not only create wider social circles for you but
lift your mood when you occasionally feel depressed," said Xu.She believed that all this helps you "earn a
higher salary".
     Maybe that's why some people think the younger generations are in the age of Friendalholism (交友狂癥).
A woman even complained that the networking website Facebook's 5,000-friend limit was too low for her
large reserve of social contacts.
     But what does a friend mean? Should friends be regarded as a form of currency?
     "Call me uncool, but I think of a friend as an actual person with whom I have an actual history and whom
I enjoy actually seeing.It seems, however, that this is no longer the definition (定義) of 'friend'," said Meghan
Daum, who works with The Los Angeles Times in the US.

1.The new study from the University of Essex in Britain shows that ______.

A. if you have more friends you will not live happily.
B. the more friends you have in school, the more money you'll earn in your late life.
C. the less friends you have, the poor lives you will live.
D. friends can make more money for you.

2.According to Xu Yanchun, when you have lots of friends, it means             .

A. You have the ability to earn more money.
B. You will not feel lonely.
C. You are quite content with your life.
D. You have the ability to get along with others in various situations.

3.What's the main idea of the passage?

A. The passage mainly tells us something about the friendship.
B. Friends play a more important part in our daily life than anything else.
C. Friends are currency.
D. Friends give you success.

4.We can learn from the passage that ______.

A .If you have more friends, you can make a fortune in the future.
B. Graduating from college means that you can make a fortune in the future.
C. Friends mean a form of currency.
D. Friends can make you wider social circle and make you feel better when you feel depressed.

     Perhaps you do not know your school principal (校長) well. But you might be wise to take him or her
seriously. Beijing University will enroll (招收) students recommended by high school principals this year.
If the students recommended pass a round of interviews by Peking University, they will have an extra 30
extra points added to their national college entrance exam scores if they apply to the university.
     Beijing University said the reason behind the move was a desire to give students with comprehensive
(綜合的) or special abilities a chance to stand out.
     However, a survey, showed 10,046 out of 14,227 people are against the measure. Some experts agree
with the criticism. Liu Daoyu, former president of Wuhan University is one strong opponent(反對者)."There
are so many high schools across the country. But only 39 schools are qualified to recommend students. Is
it fair to the rest of the schools? Besides, most of the 39 schools are located in big cities, which is unfair to
other regions,"
     The reform is also unfair to other students, some say. According to Liu, in the competitive exam, one
extra point can put a student ahead of a large numbers of other-never mind 30.
      "Principals do not know students well. How can they guarantee the recommendation will be fair?" asked
Wang Xuming, former spokesman of the Ministry of Education.
     The Ministry of Education said the move is a good experiment in college admission reforms and the public
should support it even if it is not yet mature (成熟的). It said Beijing University promised a series of
supervision (監(jiān)督) measures to avoid cheating. For example, the information of schools and principals that
recommend students, and the recommended students will be put online for a week for public supervision.

1. The best title of the passage could be _____.

A. Beijing University Will Enroll More Students
B. Beijing University's Reform Causes a Debate
C. People Are Against Beijing University's Reform
D. The Government Supports Peking University's Reform

2. The following are the reasons why Liu Daoyu is against Beijing University's reform except that _____.

A. there will be a lot of cheating
B. it is unfair to the other regions
C. it is unfair to other schools
D. 30 points cause a huge gap among students

3. We can learn from the passage that _____.

A. the Ministry of Education supports the reform
B. the reform has started to work in college admissions
C. all the recommended students will be accepted
D. no more than 70% of the people are against the reform

4. If a student passes the interview by Beijing University, he or she _____.

A. can also apply to other universities
B. will be admitted into Beijing University
C. will have comprehensive and special abilities
D. needn't accept the public supervision

     American this year will swallow 15,000 tons of aspirin, one of the safest and most effective drugs
invented by man. The most popular medicine in the world today, it is an effective pain reliever. Its bad
effects are relatively mild and it is cheap.
     For millions of people suffering from arthritis (關節(jié)炎). It is the only thing that works. Aspirin, in
short, is truly the 20th-century wonder drug. It is also the second largest suicide drug and is the leading
cause of poisoning among children. It has side effects that, although relatively mild, are largely unrecognized
among users.
     Although aspirin was at first sold by a German company in1899, it has been around much longer than
that. Hippocrates, in ancient Greek, understood the medical value of the leaves and tree bark which today
are known to contain salicylates (水楊酸堿), the chemical in aspirin. During the 19th century, there was
a great deal of experimentation in Europe with this chemical, and it led to the introduction of aspirin. By 1915,
aspirin tablets were available in the United States.
     A small quantity of aspirin (two-grain tablets) relieves pain and inflammation. It also reduces fever by
interfering with (干預) some of the body's reactions.

1. The passage is written to ______.

A. suggests us using more aspirin
B. reminds us of the side effects of aspirin
C. gives us a whole view of aspirin
D. discusses the good effects of aspirin

2. According to the author, aspirin ______.

A. is very safe
B. first appeared in 1899
C. can be harmful to children
D. can hardly be dangerous

3. Generally speaking, the author seems to be ______.

A. in favour of aspirin
B. against the use of aspirin
C. not interested in aspirin
D. careful in using aspirin

4. What is the best title for this passage?

A. How to Use Aspirin
B. Why I Take Aspirin
C. The Most Popular Medicine
D. The Side Effects of Aspirin

     Many children act in TV shows. They work several hours every day, so they cannot go to a regular
school. How do they get an education?
     In Hollywood, where many TV shows are made, about forty teachers give lessons for the children in
the shows. They teach wherever their pupils are working.
     They teacher's job is very important. She is responsible for making sure that the child works only the
permitted hours each week. She is also responsible for making sure that the child learns the required
subjects. She makes sure, too, that the child gets enough rest and play, along with his education.
     Child actors are required to attend classes twenty hours each week. California law says that they must
be taught from September to the middle of June. If they do not get good marks in school, they are not
permitted to continue working in TV shows.
     TV children are usually good pupils, and most of their teachers like this special kind of work. Their
classes are held in many interesting places. Sometimes the "classroom" is a Mississippi riverboat. Sometimes
it is the inside of a spaceship. Often the pupils become famous stars.

1. Which of the following statements expresses one of the main ideas given in this selection?

A. We must realize that television is the most powerful force in the education of children today.
B. Unfortunately children who act in TV shows cannot be educated because their work does not permit
    them to attend school.
C. Special arrangements are made for giving a good education to children during the weeks of their
    employment as TV actors.
D. Most of the teachers like their work.

2. Where are most TV shows made?

A. In Washington D.C.
B. In Mississippi
C. In New York
D. In California

3. What information about TV teachers does this selection provide?

A. Some of them are paid twice as much as the teachers in regular schools.
B. Most of them enjoy their work.
C. Many of them hope to become TV actors and actresses.
D. Few of them come from foreign countries.

4. A child is not permitted to continue in a TV show _____.

A. if his teacher says that his school work is unsatisfactory
B. if his work takes him to places like spaceships and riverboats, where there are no classrooms
C. if he is working during the winter months (September to June)
D. if he is absent from class more than once

       1   We've worked to make their streets and their schools safer, to give them something positive to do
after school and before their parents get home. We've worked to teach our children that drugs are dangerous,
illegal and wrong.
     Today, I want to talk to you about the historic opportunity we now have to protect our nation's children
from an even more deadly threat.   2   Smoking kills more people every day than AIDS, alcohol, car accidents,
murders, drugs and fires combined. Nearly 90% of those smokers lit their first cigarette before they turned
18. consider this: 3,000 children start to smoke every day illegally, and 1,000 of them will die sooner because
of it.   3   For more than five years we've worked to stop our children from smoking before they begin to try,
starting a nationwide campaign to educate them about the dangers of smoking to reduce their access to
tobacco products, and to restrict tobacco companies from advertising to young people.   4   That means if we
act now, we have it in our power to stop three million children from smoking and save a million lives as a
result. So this is an emergency that needs quick action of all of you.   5   .
A. Since I took office, I've done much to protect our children from harm.
B. This is a national tragedy(悲劇)that every American should help to prevent.
C. The quicker action we take, the fewer teen smokers there will be.
D. We have to educate them about the dangers of smoking.
E. It is smoking that is more terrible than drugs.
F. Compared with other diseases, drugs kill more people every day.
G. If we do these, we'll cut teen smoking by almost half over the next five years.

     No one wants to be tested.We would all like to get a driver' s license without answering questions
about rights of way or showing that we can parallel park a car. Many future lawyers and doctors probably
wish they could join their profession without taking an exam.
     But tests and standards are a necessary fact of life. They protect us from unskilled drivers, harmful
products and dishonest professionals. In schools too exams play a.constructive role. They tell public officials
whether new school programs are making a difference and where new investments are likely to pay off.
They tell teachers what their students have learned--and have not. They tell parents how their children are
doing compared with others their age. They encourage students to make more effort.
     It is important to recall that for most of century, educators used intelligence tests to decide which
children should get a high-quality education.The point of IQ testing was to find out how much children were
capable of learning rather than to test what they had actually learned. Based on IQ scores, millions of children
were assigned to dumbed-down programs instead of solid courses in science, math, history, literature and
foreign language.
     This history reminds us that tests should be used to improve education. Every child should have access
to a high-quality education.Students should have full opportunity to learn what will be tested; otherwise their
scores will merely reflect whether they come from an educated family.
     In the past few years, we have seen the enormous benefits that flow to disadvantaged students because
of the information provided by state tests.Those who fall behind are now getting extra instruction in
after-school classes and summer programs.In their efforts to improve student performance, states are
increasing teachers salaries, testing new teachers and insisting on better teacher education.
     Performance in education means the mastery of both knowledge and skills. This is why it is reasonable to
test teachers to make sure they know their subject matter, as well as how to teach it to young children. And
this is why it is reasonable to assess whether students are ready to advance to the next grade or graduate
from highschool.

1. According to the passage, school exams enable ______.

A. governments to make right policies
B. students to meet their teachers' requirements
C. teachers to understand if their students have made efforts
D. parents to compare their kids' achievements across schools

2. "Dumbed-down programs" in Paragraph 3 refer to the programs which _____.

A. lead to high-quality education
B. are less academically challenging
C. are intended for intelligent students
D. enable children to make steady progress

3. Which of the following does the author probably agree with?

A. Disadvantaged students can benefit from state tests.
B. Tests should focus on what students have actually learned.
C. Intelligent tests decide if children should get a high-quality education.
D. Intelligent tests are helpful in separating excellent students from poor ones.

4. What is the purpose of the passage?

A. To re-assess the value of IQ testing.
B. To defend the role of testing in education.
C. To explain what high-quality education means.
D. To call for thorough and complete reform in education.

     Have you ever had the strange feeling that you were being watched? You turned around and,sure
enough, someone was looking right at you!
      Parapsychologists (靈學家) say that humans have a natural ability to sense when someone is looking
at them. To research whether such a "sixth sense" really exists, Robert Baker, a psychologist (心理學家)
at the University of Kentucky, performed two experiments.
      In the first one, Baker sat behind unknowing people in public places and stared at the backs of their
heads for 5 to 15 minutes. The subjects (受試者) were eating, drinking, reading studying, watching TV,
or working at a computer. Baker made sure that the people could not tell that he was sitting behind them
during those periods. Later, when he questioned the subjects, almost all of them said they had no sense
that someone was staring at them.  
     For the second experiment, Baker told the subjects that they would be stared at from time to time from
behind a two way mirror in a laboratory setting. The people had to write down when they felt they were
being stared at and when they weren't. Baker found that the subjects were no better at telling when they
were stared at and when they weren't.Baker found that the subjects were no better at telling when they
were started at than if they had just guessed.
     Baker concludes that people do not have the ability to sense when they're being stared at.If people doubt
the outcome of his two experiments, said Baker, "I suggest they repeat the experiments and see for
themselves."

1. The purpose of the two experiments is to ____.

A. explain when people can have a sixth sense
B. show how people act while being watched in the lab
C. study whether humans can sense when they are stared at
D. prove why humans have a sixth sense

2. In the first experiment, the subjects _____.

A. were not told that they would be stared at
B. lost their sense when they were stared at
C. were not sure when they would be stared at
D. were uncomfortable when they were stared at

3. The underlined word "outcome" in the last paragraph most probably means _____.

A. value
B. result
C. performance
D. connection

4. What can be learned from the passage?

A. People are born with a sixth sense.
B. The experiments support parapsychologists'idea.
C. The subjects do not have a sixth sense in the experiments.
D. People have a sixth sense in public places.

     Lions are opportunists. They prefer to eat without having to do too much work. When resting in the
shade, they are also watching the sky to see what is flying by, and even in the heat of the day they will
suddenly start up and run a mile across the plains to find out what is going on. If another animal has made
a kill, they will drive it off and take the dill for themselves. A grown lion can easily eat 60 pounds of meat
at a single feeding. Often they eat until it seems painful for them to lie down.
     The lioneases (母獅), being thinner and faster, are better hunters (獵手) than the males (雄獅). But the
males don't mind. After the kill they move in and take the test share.
     Most kills are made at night or just before daybreak. We have seen many, many daylight attempts but
only ten kills. Roughly, It's about twenty daytime attempts for one kill.
     When lions are hiding for an attack by a water hole, they wait patiently and can charge at any second.
The kill is the exciting moment in the day-to-day life of the lion, since these great animals spend most of
their time, about 20 hours a day, sleeping and resting.
     Lions are social cats, and when they are having a rest, they love to touch each other. After drinking at
a water hole, a lioness rests her head on another's back. When walking, young lions often touch faces with
older ones, an act of close ties imong members of the group.

1. By describing lions as "opportunists" in the first paragraph, the author means to say that lions _____.

A. are cruel animals
B. are clever animals
C. like to take advantage of other animals
D. like to take every chance to eat

2. According to the text, which of the following is true?

A. Lions make most kills in the daytime.
B. Males care more about eating than active killing.
C. Lions are curious about things happening around them.
D. It doesn't take lions too much time to make a kill.

3. How can we know that lions are social animals?

A. They depend on each other.
B. They look after each other well.
C. They readily share what they have.
D. They enjoy each other's company.

4. What would be the best tiltle for the text?

A. Powerful Lions
B. Lions at Work and Play
C. Lions, Social Cats
D. Lions, Skilled Hunters

     To extinguish (熄滅) different kinds of fires, several types of fire extinguishers have been invented.
They must be ready for immediate use when fire breaks out. Most portable (手提式的) kinds operate
for less than a minute, so they are useful only on small fires. The law requires ships, trains, buses and
planes to carry extinguishers.
     Since fuel, oxygen (氧氣) and heat must be present in order for fire to exist, one or more of these
things must be removed or reduced to extinguish a fire. If the heat is reduced by cooling the material
below a certain temperature, the fire goes out. The cooling method is the most common way to put out
a fire. Water is the best cooling material because it is low in cost and easy to get.
     Another method of extinguishing fire is by cutting off the oxygen. This is usually done by covering
the fire with sand, steam or some other things. A blanket may be used do cover a small fire.
     A third method is called separation, which includes removing the fuel, or material easy to burn, from
a fire, so that it can find no fuel.
     The method that is used to put out a fire depends upon the type of fire. Fires have been grouped in
three classes. Fires in wood, paper, cloth and the like are called Class A fires. These materials usually help
keep the fire on. Such fires can be stopped most readily by cooling with water.

1. If a fire breaks out on a bus, which of the follow should be ready there for you to use?

A. Sand
B. Water
C. A blanket.
D. An extinguisher.

2. To cover a small piece of burning wood with a basin in order to stop the fire is an example of _____.

A. separating the fire
B. reducing the heat
C. removing the fuel
D. cutting off the oxygen

3. In choosing how to put out a fire, we should first be clear about _____.

A. when it breaks out
B. how it comes about
C. what kind it is
D. where it takes place

4. What would the author probably discuss in the paragraph that follows?

A. Another class of fires
B. Another type of extinguishers
C. How fires break out.
D. How fires can be prevented.