The easiest way for the English to deal with their social discomfort is to avoid social interaction altogether,
by choosing either leisure (閑暇) activities that can be performed in the privacy of one's own house, or
outdoor activities that follow their interest without direct contact with anyone other than one's own family
members, such as going for a walk, or to the cinema, or shopping.
     In recent survey, over half of all the leisure activities were of this private domestic type, and of the top ten
pastimes, only two-having friends round for a meal or drink, and going to the pub-could be described as
"sociable". The most domestic activities are the most popular: watching TV, listening to the radio, reading,
DIY (Do It Yourself) and gardening. Even when the English are being sociable, the survey findings show that
most of them would much rather entertain a few close friends or relatives in the safety of their own homes
than venture out among strangers.
     In the latest national census survey (人口普查), over half of the entire adult male population had been
DIYing in the four weeks before the census date. Nearly a third of the female population had also been busily
improving their homes, and their work with their gardens was equally obvious: 52 percent of all English males
and 45 percent of females had been out there, cutting branches and weeding grass.
     Even among people claiming to belong to a particular religion, only two percent attend services every
week. The rest of the population can be found every Sunday at their local garden center or DIY superstore.
And when they want a break from caring about their own homes and gardens, they go on trips to visit bigger
and better houses and gardens, such as the stately homes and gardens opened to the public by the National
Trust and the Royal Horticulture Society. Visiting grand country houses always ranks as one of the most
popular national pastimes.

1. The result of the survey shows that ______.

[     ]

A. about half English people enjoy working in their gardens
B. 8 out of 10 pastimes can be described as social activities
C. 2 percent of the religious people enjoy visits to public houses
D. visiting stately homes is the most popular national pastime

2. According to the passage, the English enjoy all of the following EXCEPT ______.

[     ]

A. the social activities, such as gathering with friends
B. working at home and in their gardens
C. dining out in a public place among strangers
D. visits to stately homes and gardens

3. The underlined word "domestic" probably means ______.

[     ]

A. public
B. household
C. outdoor
D. collective

4. The passage mainly tells us about ______.

[     ]

A. why the English don't like social activities
B. how the English spend their leisure time
C. what the result of a recent census survey is
D. where the English hold their private activities

      Peter King, 15, and Mary King, 13, went to see a doctor. Peter had a bad cold, so the doctor gave him
some pills to take. Mary had a bad cough, so the doctor gave her some cough medicine. 
There are the words on the bottle of the medicine:
Cough Medicine
Shake well before use.
Take three times daily after meals.
At one time: Adults-2 teaspoonfuls
                  Children 8-14 1 teaspoonful
                  Children 4-7 1/2 teaspoonful
Not suitable for children below the age of 4
Store in a cold place.
Use before Oct. 2007.

1. Mary should take ______ in a day.

A. 2 teaspoonfuls
B. 3 teaspoonfuls
C. 4 teaspoonfuls
D. 1 teaspoonful

2. The medicine should be kept in ______.

A. a refrigerator
B. hot water
C. any place
D. the sun

3. Mary should ______ before she takes some.

A. shake the medicine well
B. eat her meals
C. do some exercises
D. drink something

4. People aged ______ cannot take the cough medicine.

A. 80
B. l5
C. 20
D. 3

      Many people have discovered that hobbies can be profitable as well as fun. Some people have such fine
collections of bottles, flags, buttons or shells that others are willing to pay to see them or they offer to buy
their collections for large sums of money.
      Some of the best collections are owned by people who started their hobbies as young boys or girls. Some
of the things that American children like to collect are stamps and dolls. Older people also save stamps, but
they collect coins and things made of glass more often than dolls.
      Painting, writing and taking photographs are the best examples of hobbies that may become occupations.
Every writer, artist and photographer probably started as a hobbyist before becoming a professional. Other
hobbies that could be profitable include cooking, sewing and making things out of wood.
      Many doctors believe that hobbies help to make our lives more enjoyable. They believe that people who
raise fish or collect recorders are too busy to spend their time worrying. Doctors also think that an active
person, such as a baseball player, should have a restful hobby such as reading, while a person who sits at a
desk all day should have lively hobbies such as tennis, golf or swimming. Most people in the United States
agree with the doctor. It is difficult to find an American who does not have a favorite hobby.

1. The underlined word "occupations" (paragraph3) can be replaced by ______.

A. lives
B. jobs
C. collections
D. things

2. Doctors believe that people who have hobbies ______.

A. worry too much about themselves
B. are very busy in their lives
C. don't have time to worry
D. work busily in their business

3. Almost everyone in the United States ______.

A. starts his hobby during his childhood
B. has a favorite hobby
C. spends a lot of money on the lively hobby
D. follows the doctors' advice to have a hobby

4. What can we learn from the text?

A. Hobbies can cause us a lot of trouble.
B. Football players should have lively hobbies
C. All of the people started their hobbies from childhood.
D. A writer should have tennis, golf or swimming as his hobbies.

      Around the world more and more people are taking part in dangerous sports and activities. Of course,
there have always been people who have looked for adventure-those who have climbed the highest mountains,
explored unknown parts of the world or sailed in small boats across the greatest oceans. Now, however,
there are people who seek an immediate excitement from a risky activity which may only last a few minutes
or even seconds.
      I would consider bungee jumping to be a good example of such an activity. You jump from a high place
(perhaps a bridge or a hot-air balloon)200 meters above the ground with an elastic (有彈性的) rope tied to
your ankles. You fall at up to l50 kilometers an hour until the rope stops you from hitting the ground. It is
estimated that two million people around the world have now tried bungee jumping. Other activities which
most people would say are as risky as bungee jumping include jumping from tall buildings and diving into
the sea from the top of high cliffs.
      Why do people take part in such activities as these?Some psychologists suggest that it is because life in
modern societies has become safe and boring. Not very long ago, people's lives were constantly under threat.
They had to go out and hunt for food, diseases could not easily be cured,and life was a continuous battle for
survival.
      Nowadays, according to many people, life offers little excitement. They live and work in comparatively
safe environment; they buy food in shops; and there are doctors and hospitals to look after them if they
become ill. The answer for some of these people is to seek danger in activities such as bungee jumping.

1. More and more people today ______.

A. are close to death in sports
B. are climbing the highest mountains
C. are trying activities such as bungee jumping
D. are looking for adventures such as exploring unknown places

2. In bungee jumping, you ______.

A. jump as high as you can
B. slide down a rope to the ground
C. fall towards the ground without a rope
D. attach yourself to a rope and fall to the ground

3. People probably take part in dangerous sports nowadays because ______.

A. they lack excitement
B. they have a lot of free time
C. they no longer need to hunt for food
D. they can go to hospital if they are injured

4. Which of the following is the best title for this text?

A. The Need for Excitement
B. The Boredom of Modern Life
C. Dangerous Sports: What and Why
D. Is Bungee Jumping Really Dangerous

      Why play games? Because they are fun, and a 1ot more besides. Following the rules...planning your next
move...acting as a team member...these are all "game" ideas that you will come across throughout your life.
      Think about some off the games you played as a young child, such as rope-jumping and hide-and-seek.
Such games are entertaining and fun. But perhaps more importantly, they translate life into exciting dramas
that teach children some of the basic rules they will be expected to follow the rest of their lives, such as taking
turns and cooperating (合作). 
      Many children's games have a practical side. Children around the world play games that prepare them for
work they will do as grown-ups. For instance, some Saudi Arabian children play a game called bones, which
sharpens the hand-eye coordination (協(xié)調) needed in hunting.
      Many sports encourage national or local pride. The most famous games of all, the Olympic Games, bring
athletes from around the world together to take part in friendly competition. People who watch the event wave
flags, knowing that a gold medal is a win for an entire country, not just the athlete who earned it. For countries
experiencing natural disasters or war, an Olympic win can mean so much.
      Sports are also an event that unites people. Soccer is the most popular sport in the world. People on all
continents play it-some for fun and some for a living. Nicolette Iribarne, a Californian soccer player, has
discovered a way to spread hope through soccer. He created a foundation to provide poor children with not
only soccer balls but also a promising future.
       Next time you play your favorite game or sport, think about why you enjoy it, what skills are needed, and
whether these skills will help you in other aspects of your life.

1. Through playing hide-and-seek, children are expected to learn to _____.

A. be a team leader
B. obey the basic rules
C. act as a grown-up
D. predict possible danger

2. The underlined part in Paragraph 2 most probably means that games can _____.

A. describe life in an exciting way
B. turn real-life experiences into a play
C. make learning life skills more interesting
D. change people's views of sporting events

3. According to the passage, why is winning Olympic medals so encouraging?

A. It inspires people's deep love for the country.
B. It proves the exceptional skills of the winners.
C. It helps the country out of natural disasters.
D. It earns the winners fame and fortune.

4. Iribarne's goal of forming the foundation is to _____.

A. bring fun to poor kids
B. provide soccer balls for children
C. give poor kids a chance for a better life
D. appeal to soccer players to help poor kids

5. What can be inferred from the passage?

A. Games benefit people all their lives.
B. Sports can get all athletes together.
C. People are advised to play games for  fun.
D. Sports increase a country's competitiveness.

      It is possible to do many simple tricks with numbers. Here is one trick. It has seven steps.
      First, write down your house number. For example, if your address is 73 Lemon Street, you would write
down 73.
      Next, double it. In other words, multiply it by two. Then, add five to this doubled number. For example,
if your address was 73and you doubled it, you would get 146. Then, if you added five, you'd get 151. 
      So, to repeat the first three steps, write down your house number, double it, and add five.
      Fourth, multiply this number by 50. In our example here, if you multiply 151 by 50, you'll get 7550.
      The fifth step is to add your age to this total. For example, if you're 26 years old, you should add 26 to this
total. In our example here, the result would be 7550 plus 26, you'll get 7576.
      Sixth, you have to add the number of days in a year, which is 365. In our example here, 365 added to 7576
is 7941.
      The seventh and final step is this: subtract 615 from the number that you have. In our example, 7941
minus 615 is 7326.
      The result here, 7-3-2-6, is the trick. The first part of the number is the address and the last part of the
number is the age of the person. That is, 73 is the address that we started with, and 26 is the age that we
used.
      If you follow these seven steps with any address and the age of any person. You will get the same result.

1. According to the trick, what number can you get if you are 16 years old and your house number is 85?

A. 1685
B. 8516
C. 8165
D. 1658

2. What's the correct match for"multiply, plus, and minus"?

A. "×, ＋, and－"
B. "÷, －, and ＋"
C. "×, －, and＋"
D. "÷, ＋, and－"

3. How can your age number appear at the last part of the result?

A. It's really a trick.
B. By taking all the steps except Step2 and Step 3.
C. By taking Step 6and Step 7.
D. By taking all the steps.

4. What's the secret of the trick?

A. It's impossible to know.
B. By taking Step 2 and Step 4, we get the formula(公式):your address number ×2×50.
C. By taking all the steps except 1 and 2, we get the formula: 5×50+your age number+365－615=your
     age number.
D. Both B and C.

      If there is one thing I'm sure about, it is that in a hundred years from now we will still be reading
newspapers. It is not that newspapers are a necessity. Even now some people get most of their news from
television or radio or the Internet. Many buy a paper only on Saturday or Sunday. But for most people reading
a newspaper has become a habit passed down from generation to generation.
      The nature of what is news may change. What basically makes news is what affects our lives-the big
political stories, the coverage of the wars, earthquakes and other disasters, will continue much the same.
I think there will be more coverage of scientific research, though. It's already happening in areas that may
directly affect our lives, like genetic (基因) engineering. In the future, I think there will be more coverage
of scientific explanations of why we feel as we do-as we develop a better understanding of how the brain
operates and what our feelings really are.
      It's quite possible that in the next century newspapers will be transmitted (傳送) electronically from
Fleet Street and printed out in our own home. In fact, I'm pretty sure how it will happen in the future. You
will probably be able to choose from a menu, making up your own newspaper by picking out the things
you want to read-sports and international news, etc.
      I think people have got it wrong when they talk about competition between the different media (媒體).
They actually feed off each other. Some people once foresaw that television would kill off newspapers, but
that hasn't happened. What is read on the printed page lasts longer than pictures on a screen or sound lost
in the air. And as for the Internet, it's never really pleasant to read something just on a screen.

1. What is the best title for the passage?

A. The Best Way to Get News
B. The Changes of Media
C. Make Your Own Newspaper
D. The Future of Newspaper

2. In the writer's opinion, in the future, _____.

A. more big political affairs, wars and disasters will make news
B. newspapers will not be printed in publishing houses any longer
C. newspapers will cover more scientific research
D. more and more people will watch TV

3. What will probably be on in the newspaper made by yourself?

A. Sports and international news.
B. A menu of important news.
C. The most important news.
D. What you are interested in.

4. From the passage, we can infer _____.

A. newspapers will win the competition among the different media
B. newspapers will stay with us together with other media
C. television will take the place of newspaper
D. the writer believe some media will die out

5. The phrase "feed off" in the last paragraph means _____.

A. depend on
B. match with
C. fight with
D. kill off