Since the economic crisis, most of the American people have______ their living expenses．

A．cut up          B．cut down         C．cut off               D．cut in

Who would you rather ____ with you to the cinema?

A．have go                                       B．have to go

C．love to go                                    D．like to go

We should help people in difficulty _____ their color and nationality．

A．in spite of                                           B．regardless of

C．in regard to                                        D．despite

I am so tired．_____ I could take the day off tomorrow．

A．Only if           B．If only          C．Only too       D．What if

As we all know, eating too much fat can ______ heart disease and cause high blood pressure．

A．a(chǎn)dd to           B．a(chǎn)ttend to         C．contribute to          D．a(chǎn)pply to

His father was the first on the farm ______ against the slave owner．

A．fought         B．fighting         C．to fight          D．having fought

They ______ the train to Beijing．Otherwise, they would have returned home．

A．need have caught                                     B．must have caught

C．must catch                                             D．may catch

There is an amusing story about King Alfred during his wars．At one time the enemy was  1  ．Alfred’s soldiers had all run away, and the King was alone in a forest．It was late, and Alfred was tired and  2 ．After walking for 3  he came to a little cottage．He knocked at the door and asked for  4  and shelter（住處） for the night．There was a poor woman in the cottage．She did not know that Alfred was king 5  his clothes were torn and dirty．She let him in, and told him to sit down by 6  to warm himself．She asked him to 7  her cakes, which were baking, while she went to the well to 8   water．

       Poor Alfred had 9   important things to think about than the cakes, which he soon forgot．When the woman came back, her cakes were all burnt．She was very angry．

       “You good-for-nothing, worthless man!” she said．“You want to 10  , but you can not even watch them for a quarter of an hour．Take that! And that! And that!” She began beating 11 with a big stick．

       Just then some of the enemy’s soldiers came to the cottage．When they saw the woman 12  him they never considered that he was the King; they thought that he was her husband．So they laughed and passed on．Later some of Alfred’s own soldiers found him and bowed before him．When the poor woman learnt that it was the King that she had beaten, she was very much 13 ．She knelt down and asked for mercy．

       “Don’t be afraid, my good woman, ” said Alfred laughing．“ Your stick 14 ．When I have driven the enemy out of the country I shall remember the service you have done for me．” He did not  15  his promise．

1．A．winning                B．losing           C．crying out           D．fighting

2．A．cold                      B．hot                  C．hungry             D．cool

3．A．sometimes             B．sometime          C．some time         D．some times

4．A．trouble                  B．a(chǎn)dvice              C．money             D．food

5．A．a(chǎn)lthough                B．until           C．unless               D．a(chǎn)s

6．A．the window           B．the bed           C．the fire              D．the table

7．A．eat                        B．watch              C．taste                D．look at

8．A．fetch              B．take                C．bring                D．carry

9．A．more             B．very                 C．much                D．many

10．A．rest           B．hide                 C．eat                     D．learn

11．A．her husband      B．the tame dog    C．her cold cat        D．the poor king

12．A．beating          B．hiding             C．teaching             D．helping

13．A．proud               B．a(chǎn)fraid               C．glad                D．calm

14．A．beat me black and blue               B．frightened me to death

       C．nearly drove me mad                      D．saved my life

15．A．keep               B．make            C．fulfill             D．break

Expressions about water are almost as common as water itself．The expression to be in hot water is a very old expression．Hot water was used five hundred years ago to mean being in trouble．One story says it got that meaning from the custom of throwing extremely hot water down on enemies attacking a castle．

       That no longer happens．But we still get into hot water．When we are in hot water, we are in trouble．It can be any kind of trouble-- serious or not so serious．A person who breaks a law can be in hot water with the police．A young boy can be in hot water with his mother if he walks in the house with dirty shoes．

       Being in deep water is almost as the same as being in hot water．When you are in deep water, you are in a difficult position．

       To keep your head above water is a colorful expression that means staying out of debt．A company seeks to keep its head above water during economic hard times．A man who loses his job tries to keep his head above water until he finds a new job．

       Water over the dam is another expression about a past event．It is something that is finished．It can’t be changed The expression comes from the idea that water that has flowed over a dam can’t be brought back again．

       Another common expression, "to hold water," is about the strength or weakness of an idea or opinion that you may be arguing about.  It probably comes from a way of testing the condition of a container.  If it can hold water, it is strong and has no holes in it. If your argument can hold water, it is strong and does not have any holes. If it does not hold water, then it is weak and not worth debating.

       "Throwing cold water" also is an expression that deals with ideas or proposals. It means to not like an idea. For example, you want to buy a new car because the old one has some problems. But your wife "throws cold water" on the idea, because she says a new car costs too much.

1．If Robert says he is in deep water, we may guess             .

       A．he is swimming under the water            B．he is tired of changing shoes

       C．he nearly breaks a law.                         D．he faces a difficult choice

2．What can you say to your friend, Jane, who is troubled by a mistake she has made.

       A．Keep your head above water                 B．Throw cold water

       C．It is water over the dame                      D．It can hold water

3．If your argument doesn’t hold water, then it is      .

       A．weak                  B．convincing           C．logical                 D．disappointing

4．The passage explains the origins of the following expression EXCEPT “       ”.

       A．to be in hot water                                B．to keep your head above water

       C．water over the dame                            D．to hold water

5．Which of the following is the most probable title for this passage?

       A．Water diving into the sea of terms          B．Water the most natural resource

       C．About expressions                               D．About water

There were smiling children all the way．Charily they knew at what time the train passed their homes and they made it their business to stand along the railway, wave to complete strangers and cheer them up as they rushed towards Penang．Often whole families stood outside their homes and waved and smiled as if those on the trains were their favorite relatives．This is the simple village people of Malaysia．I was moved．

       I had always traveled to Malaysia by plane or car, so this was the first time I was on a train．I did not particularly relish the long train journey and had brought along a dozen magazines to read and reread．I looked about the train．There was not one familiar face．I sighed and sat down to read my Economics．

       It was not long before the train was across the Causeway and in Malaysia．Johore Baru was just another city like Singapore, so I was tired of looking at the crowds of people as they hurried past．As we went beyond the city, I watched the straight rows of rubber trees and miles and miles of green．Then the first village came into sight, Immediately I came alive; I decided to wave back．

       From then on my journey became interesting．I threw my magazines into the waste basket and decided to join in Malaysian life．Then everything came alive．The mountains seemed to speak to me．Even the trees were smiling．I stared at everything as if I was looking at it for the first time．

       The day passed fast and I even forgot to have my lunch until I felt hungry．I looked at my watch and was surprised that it was 3:00 pm．Soon the train pulled up at Butterworth．I looked at the people all around me．They all looked beautiful．When my uncle arrived with a smile, I threw my arms around him to give him a warm hug （擁抱）．I had never done this before．He seemed surprised and then his weather-beaten face warmed up with a huge smile．We walked arm in arm to his car．

       I looked forward to the return journey．

1．The author expected the train trip to be________

       A．a(chǎn)dventurous                                    B．pleasant

       C．exciting                                   D．dull

2．What did the author remember most fondly of her train trip?

       A．The friendly country people．              B．The mountains along the way．

       C．The crowds of people in the streets．   D．The simple lunch served on the train．

3．Which of the following words can best take the place of the word "relish" in the second paragraph?

       A．choose              B．enjoy                C．prepare for         D．carry on

4．Where was the writer going?

       A．Johore Baru,    B．The Causeway．  C．Butterworth,      D．Singapore．

5．What can we learn from the story?

       A．Comfort in traveling by train．           B．Pleasure of living in the country．

       C．Reading gives people delight．           D．Smiles brighten people up．