We often hear people say, "I have a good memory for things like that. " or "I can remember names."

But do you know memory is the single most important thing and it has played a very important part? For early men, there were dangers all around them--bad weather, wild animals. The keys to keep on living lay in man's ability to remember these dangers and the ways he had dealt with them in the past. And as man learned how to deal with them, he became civilized. Surprisingly, scientists have not yet found a way to open up the brain and observe its function without destroying it. Perhaps there are two types of memory: long-term and short-term. Short-term refers to those facts that stay with us for a few seconds to a few hours. For example, when you stay at a hotel, you remember the room number and forget it as soon as you leave. Long-term memory, on the other hand, means you remember things for a long period of time. If you spend your honeymoon in a special hotel, it's likely that you'll remember your stay quite clearly.

Scientists also believe that a short-term memory can become a long-term memory if a lot of chemical and physical changes take place in the part of the brain. Although the human brain weighs three pounds, it contains 30 billion nerve cells (神經(jīng)細胞) acting like a computer. When those changes strengthen (加強) the links in certain nerve cells, a thought becomes a part of the long-term memory.

56. From the first paragraph, we know that someone is good at remembering _____.

A. names             B. figures             C. pictures            D. actions

57. To live safely, people in the past should be able to remember

A. the learning ability                        B. the dangers around them

C. some wild plants                           D. their friends' addresses

58. How many types of memory are mentioned in the passage?

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

59. A short-term memory can become a long-term memory when _____.

A. certain nerve cells get destroyed in daily life

B. the facts stay in the brain for quite a few hours

C. people become strong through different exercise

D. some nerve cells link strongly by certain changes

60. What's the best title for this passage?

A. Living skills                               B. Chemical changes

C. Memory types                            D. Physical changes

It's true that people don't wait in line much any more: nowadays you often find that everyone just jumps on the bus. Also the idea of a man offering his seat to a woman on a bus is unusual these days, although my father still does it!

As we all know, a hundred years ago there used to be fog all year round in London, but we no longer have much fog; nowadays we have pollution from all the cars! Over the last few years in the summer London has been One of the hottest places in Europe, although we still get more than enough rain in the other seasons.

What about the city men in their working "uniform"? Well, you can still see some city "gentlemen" in their smart suits, but men hardly ever wear bowler hats. A few things don't change, though. If you try to start a conversation with an English person on the underground in London, she or he will probably look at you as if you are mad!

51. The author's friend didn't seem as enthusiastic as she had been before because _____.

A. she was feeling tired that afternoon         B. something had gone wrong with her

C. she didn't see what she had expected        D. she had known London quite well

52. The author's friend had known much about London before she came through

A. visiting the city    B. reading books      C. talking to people   D. listening to others

53. The underlined word "it" in the second paragraph refers to ______.

A. thinking of a wonderful idea               B. offering a seat to a lady on a bus

C. jumping on the bus quickly                D. waiting in line at the bus stop

54. Nowadays London _____.

A. gets much more rain in summer            B. is the hottest city in the country

C. has got much fog all year round            D. has pollution from all the cars

55. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. People in London still wouldn't talk to strangers.

B. Gentlemen still wear bowler hats in the street.

C. Something is wrong with the Tower of London.

D. The author wouldn't like to talk with her friend.

What do Tom Sawyer and jumping frogs have in common? Stories about both of them were created by one man: Mark Twain. Born Samuel Langhorne Clemens, Mark Twain was his pen name. When Twain was 4, his family moved to Hannibal, Missouri, lying on the west bank of the Mississippi. Twain grew up there and was attracted greatly with life along the river--the steamboats, the big wooden boats, and the people who worked on them.

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County is one of Twain's best-loved short stories, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is one of his most famous novels. Both these works are celebrated by events held during National Tom Sawyer Days. There's also a fence-painting competition to see who can paint the fastest. The idea for this competition comes from a scene in Tom Sawyer, in which Tom has been told to paint the fence in front of the house he lives in. It's a beautiful day, and he would rather be doing anything else. As his friends walk by, he persuades them to paint with him for fun, and they all join in the "fun". By the end of the day, the fence has three coats of paint!

Although the story of Tom Sawyer is not true, it's based on fact. If you go to Hannibal, you'll see the white fence, which still stands at Twain's boyhood home.

46. Mark Twain created Tom Sawyer and jumping frogs ______.

A. at the age of four                          B. in the same book

C. in different stories                         D. on the steamboats

47. National Tom Sawyer Days is ______.

A. a short story       B. a great novel       C. a celebration       D. a competition

48. The fence-painting competition comes from _____.

A. Mark Twain's suggestion                   B. a story in Jumping Frog

C. the life of people in boats                  D. a scene in Tom Sawyer

49. The sentence "…the fence has three coats of paint!" means that “_____".

A. all of Tom's friends wear three coats

B. the fence has been painted three times

C. three new coats are hanging on the fence

D. they have drawn three coats on the fence

50. What can we infer from the passage?

A. The white fence Tom once painted still exists there.

B. People hold various events to celebrate National Day.

C. Twain benefited greatly from his childhood experiences.

D. Tom Sawyer used to join the fence-painting competition.

Very often, we have small medical problems that aren’t serious enough to require a visit to the doctor’s office. Problems, such as a sore throat or a stomachache, can often be taken care of with medicines available on drug stores. However, many people prefer to treat slight medical problems at home instead of going to a doctor.

For a sore throat, it’s certainly easy to stop by a local drug store and pick up a pack of lozenges(含片). But some people prefer to make special drinks, such as warm milk with honey, or lemon juice and honey. Other people like to wash out their mouths with warm, salty water.

Stomachaches can be treated with medicines that are available at local drug stores, but many people first try drinking soda(蘇打水) to settle their stomachs. Another more natural treatment is peppermint(薄荷) tea.

Besides the various cold medicines available, many people treat their colds by having a bowl of homemade chicken soup. Others like to drink hot water with lemon and honey before they go to bed.

Many books offer helpful suggestions for the treatment of small medical problems at home and provide useful information about first-aid. In case of a bee sting(蜇傷), for example, they advise that you put mud or a piece of potato directly on the sting or a little vinegar on the skin so the sting will disappear.

Modern medicine has progressed greatly in the past few years, but there are still times when it’s very convenient to rely on good old home treatment.

41. The underlined word “sore” in the first paragraph probably means ___.

 A. nice  B. clear  C. sweet  D. painful

42. When having a sore throat, you could drink ___ to stop it.

 A. chicken soup  B. a little vinegar  C. milk with honey  D. a bottle of soda

43.You can drink peppermint tea when you have a ___.

 A. bad cold  B. headache  C. toothache  D. stomachache

44. For bee sting, it’s a good idea to know ____.

 A. some home treatment     B. different medicines 

C. some famous doctors      D. modern medicine

45. It can be inferred from the passage that ___.

A. home treatment doesn’t work when we have small medical problems

 B. some old home treatment is as useful as treatment in hospitals

 C. we have to visit a doctor when having small medical problems

 D. people always go to drug stores to solve small medical problems

A blind boy sat at a street corner with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said, "I am blind. Please ____31____."

There were only a few coins in the ____32____. A man was walking by. He dropped a few coins into the hat. Then he took the sign and wrote some words on it. He put the sign back ___33___ everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving ___34____ to the blind boy. That afternoon the man came to see how things were. The boy recognized his ___35___ and asked, "Were you the one who ___36____ my sign this morning? What did you write?"

The man said, "I only said what you said but in a ____37____ way."

What he had written was: "Today is a beautiful day and I cannot see it."

Both signs told people the boy was ____38___. But the first sign simply told people to help. The second sign told people that they were able to enjoy the ___39___ of the day, but the boy could not enjoy it because he was blind.

There are at least two ____40____ we can learn from this story. First, be thankful for what you have. Someone else has less. Help when you can. Second, be creative. Think differently. There is always a better way!

31. A. help              B. stop              C. escape         D. pass

32. A. corner            B. pocket            C. hat             D. wallet

33. A. as though        B. so that           C. if only         D. in ease

34. A. message          B. promise           C. money         D. suggestion

35. A. eyes              B. face              C. hair            D. footsteps

36. A. borrowed         B. kept              C. changed        D. threw

37. A. different         B. difficult          C. strange        D. traditional

38. A. "poor              B. blind             C. helpful         D. deaf

39. A. schedule         B. beauty            C. secret          D. taste

40. A. symbols          B. reasons           C. subjects        D. lessons

 – Would you like to go to Shanghai?

 _ Yes. In the last ten years, great changes ______ in Shanghai.

A. have been happened    B. have happened

C. have taken place       D. have been taken place

 Jim passed the driving test, _______ surprised everybody in the office.

   A. which     B. as     C. it      D. that

 A new dining room is being built in our school, which is ______ the old one.

   A. three times the size         B. the size three times of

   C. three times as the size of    D. three times the size of

 Despite the darkness along the road, the tourists did ___ their way out of the cave.

A. make    B. made    C. making   D. have made

 In order to ____ a living, he left his hometown at the age of 15 and set foot in a strange city.

A. have       B. take        C. do        D. make