Some businesses and apartment buildings are telling kids to buzz off. A device called the
Mosquito is being used in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New York to keep kids from
gathering in big groups and causing trouble.
     The Mosquito makes a noise that only kids can hear. About 3,000 Mosquito units have
been fixed in the United Kingdom. In the United States, managers of an apartment building
in New York City recently fixed one to keep noisy kids from taking over the building's
entrance-hall. A children's rights agency (機構(gòu)) in England wants the device forbidden. The
agency says the device unfairly targets teens. Some also worry that the high sounds could hurt
young ears. Fans of the Mosquito say it keeps kids out of trouble and off private property (財產(chǎn)).
     "Mosquito devices violate the human rights of kids. The use of the devices is targeted at kids
because it considers all kids as troublemakers. The devices are also harmful because the noise
could hurt kids' hearing. Besides violating our rights, the Mosquito is dangerous. It could hurt
the ears and the hearing of teens, babies and animals because they are more sensitive," says
California eighth grader Kelly Straky. "It is not right to place the device in a public place.
Teenagers have as much right to public places as adults. I listened to the Mosquito sound, and
it was extremely loud. It hurts not only your ears but also your whole head. It isn't just annoying;
it's painful. It should not be allowed."
     Fans of the Mosquito believe that property owners have a right to decide who can be on their
property and who cannot. Mosquito devices are a method of protecting private property and
keeping the peace. Property laws are put into place to protect the public.
     "Yes, I do believe that the rights of teens should be valued, but we must always put ourselves
in other people's shoes and see the other side. In this case, doing so allows people to understand
the negative effects, such as crime, that loitering (滯留) can have on an area or a community,"
said Kayla Hill from New York.

1. The underlined phrase "buzz off" in Paragraph one probably means _____.

A. stay inside  
B. go away      
C. sit down      
D. play games

2. According to the passage, the Mosquito _____.

A. gives off a special smell
B. is a safety tool aimed at youths
C. is mostly purchased by the police
D. is a safety tool aimed at thieves

3. We can learn from the passage that Kelly Straky _____.

A. values the rights of teens              
B. keeps a close eye on her private property
C. hears the noise of the Mosquito frequently
D. believes many kids are causing annoying problems

4. Who are probably fans of the Mosquito?

A. Pet owners.      
B. Teachers.      
C. Shop owners.  
D. Parents.

     Important change took place in the lives of women in the 19th century. When men went out from
their farms to cities to seek jobs in industry, peasant women had to take over the sowing, growing, and
harvesting of the fields as well as caring for cattle and raising their children. When women also moved
to the cities in search of work, they found that it was increasingly. Separated by sex and that employment
opportunities for women were limited to the lower-paid jobs. Later in the century, women in industry
gathered mainly in cloth-making factories, though some worked in mining or took similarly difficult and tiring
jobs.
     In the 1800s, service work also absorbed (吸納) a great number of women who arrived in the cities from
the country. Young women especially took jobs as servants in middle-class and upper-class homes; and as
more and more men were drawn into industry, homestic service (家庭服務(wù)) because increasingly a female
job. In the second half of the century, however, chances of other service work also opened up to women,
from sales jobs in shops to teaching and nursing. These jobs came to be done mainly by women and low paid.
     For thousands of years, when almost all work was done on the family farm or in the family firm
(家庭作坊),home and workplace had been the same, In these cases, women could do farm work or hand
work, and perform home duties such as child care and preparation of meals at the same time, Along with the
development of industry, the central workplace, however, such as the factory and the department store,
separated home from work, Faced with the necessity for women to choose between home and workplace,
Western society began to give particular attention to the role of women as homemakers with more energy
than ever before.

1. We learn from the first paragraph that _____ had been done chiefly by men before they went to
cities to seek jobs.

A. mining, teaching, and nursing
B. sewing clothes and mining
C. soeing, growing, and harvesting
D. caring for cattle and growing crops

2. Domestic service because a female job mainly because _____.

A. more and more women began to work in domestic service
B. women mainly worked as servants, nurses, and miners
C. service and industrial jobs absorbed more women than men
D. women enjoyed working as sellers, teachers, and miners

3. We know from the passage that in the 1800s _______.

A. more and more women began to work in domestic service?
B. women mainly worked as servants,nurses,and miners?
C. service and industrial jobs absorbed more women than men?
D. women enjoyed working as sellers,teachers,and miners

4. This passage is about _____ in the 19th century.

A. service and industry
B. female and male jobs
C. women and their work
D. female jobs and the pay

_____1. Bryan is going to buy some different kinds of candles. He knows that the colors of candles have a
             long history. People for centuries have burned different colors of candles to attract desired emotions,
             material wealth and so on.
_____2. Oliver is going to invite some poor members of his community to spend the festival with him. He has
             prepared a big fat goat and he also wants to share it with his friends and family.
_____3. Scott is decorating a very tall tree with many colorful ornaments theses days. He also wants to go to
             the church with his parents. He is sure to have a wonderful festival.
_____4. Anna is going to buy some presents for her grandparents. And she has decided to wrap them with
             gold paper which she thinks is the lucky color.
_____5. David is a Jewish and he is going to spend about ten days with his family. He has prepared nine
             candles and bought many pancakes.

A. Chinese New Year
     Chinese New Year is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It falls on different dates each
year, between January 21 and February 20. Visits to friends and family take place during this celebration. The
color gold is said to bring wealth, and the color red is considered especially lucky. The New Year's Eve dinner
is very large and includes fish, noodles, and dumplings. 
B. Christmas
     Christmas is celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas in the United States brings together many
customs from other countries and cultures. Around the world, family members help to decorate the tree and
home with bright lights, wreaths, candles, holly, mistletoe, and ornaments. On Christmas Eve, many people go
to church. Also on Christmas Eve, Santa comes from the North Pole in a sleigh to deliver gifts; in Hawaii, it is
said he arrives by boat; in Australia, the jolly man arrives on water skis; and In Ghana, he comes out of the
jungle.
C. Eid Al Adha, the Festival of the Sacrifice
     Eid Al Adha is celebrated by Muslims on the 10th day of the month of the lunar calendar (In 2008, it fell on
December 8) to commemorate the willingness of the prophet Ibrahim (or Abraham) to sacrifice his son for
God. Today, Muslims sacrifice an animal-usually a goat or a sheep-as a reminder of Ibrahim's obedience to
God. The meat is shared with family, friends Muslims or non-Muslims, as well as the poor members of the
community.
D. Hanukkah
     Jewish people celebrate Hanukkah, a holiday honoring the Maccabees victory over King Antiochus, who
forbade Jews to practice their religion. For eight nights, Hanukkah is celebrated with prayer, the lighting of the
menorah, and food. A menorah has nine candles, a candle for every night, plus a helper candle. Children play
games, sing songs, and exchange gifts. Potato pancakes, known as latkes (土豆餅) in Yiddish, are traditionally
associated with Hanukkah and are served with applesauce and sour cream.
E. Kwanzaa
     On December 26, Kwanzaa is celebrated. It is a holiday to commemorate African heritage. Kwanzaa lasts
a week during which participants gather with family and friends to exchange gifts and to light a series of black,
red, and green candles, which symbolize the seven basic values of African American family life that are unity,
self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith.
F. Three Kings Day
     At the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas comes a day called the Epiphany, or Three Kings Day. This
holiday is celebrated as the day the three wise men first saw baby Jesus and brought him gifts. On this day in
Spain, many children get their Christmas presents. In Puerto Rico, before children go to sleep on January 5,
they leave a box with hay under their beds so the kings will leave good presents. In France, a delicious King
cake is baked. Bakers will hide a coin, jewel or little toy inside it.

     Festivals of all kinds   1    (hold) everywhere since ancient times. Most festivals would    2   the end
of cold weather, planting in spring and   3   in autumn. But some festivals are held to honor the   4   or to
satisfy the ancestors,   5   might return either to help or to do harm. For the Japanese festival Obon,
people should go to clean graves and light incense in   6   of their ancestors.   7   this important day, they
also light lamps in front of houses and play music   8   they think this will lead the ancestors back to home.
It is a time for the family to get   9   , share feelings with each other and be   10    of their customs.  

     An evergreen tree is a Christmas tradition in many American homes. The tree is usually a pine or fir
dressed with lights and other colorful decorations.
     Families might buy a cut tree or go to a tree farm and cut one down themselves. Some people bring a
live tree in a pot into their home for the holidays and then put it back outdoors. Some people rent a
Christmas tree. Companies might bring the same live tree to the same family year after year. Or the tree
might get planted in a park or someplace else where it could help the environment.
     There are some trees that can be reused year after year because they are made of plastic or metal. Or,
instead of a tree, some people have a small, sweet-smelling rosemary (迷迭香) plant, cut to look like a
little Christmas tree.
     Another plant that many people connect with Christmas is the poinsettia (一品紅). Poinsettias are
native to Mexico. They can be white or pink, but most are bright red. They are named after the first
American ambassador to Mexico. Joel Poinsett liked them enough to send some back to the United
States. Babies or pets that chew on poinsettias might get sick. But experts say the plant is not as poisonous as some people think.
     Like millions of other houses, the home of America's first president is decorated for Christmas. George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate is in Virginia. Visitors can hear stories about what Christmas was like at Mount Vernon in the eighteenth century. The museum where visitors begin their tour is decorated with
Christmas trees.

1. What is the text mainly about?

A. The customs of Christmas in America.
B. The decoration of Christmas trees.  
C. The tradition of Christmas trees in America.  
D. The history of Christmas in America.

2. It can be inferred from the passage that       .

A. Americans are not allowed to cut a tree for Christmas
B. Americans have various ways to get a Christmas tree
C. a Christmas tree must be planted after it is used
D. every family will change their Christmas trees every year

3. People plant their Christmas trees somewhere after Christmas to       .

A. use it again next year
B. save money on Christmas trees
C. help protect the environment
D. hope for the best in the coming year

4. Joel Poinsett sent some poinsettias back to the United States because       .

A. he wanted to give his people another kind of Christmas trees
B. he wanted his people to remember him
C. he wanted to plant them in his home  
D. he was very fond of them

5. Which of the following is TRUE about poinsettias?

A. American people like them.
B. They are considered to be very poisonous by experts.
C. They are not widely used as Christmas trees.
D. They can only make the old and pets sick.

     Everyone should visit a lighthouse at least once.
     The most important reasons for such a visit is to realize how our ancestors (祖先) battled nature with
the basic tools they had. They had only basic ways of creating light, and yet they found a way of using
this simple technology in isolated (孤零零的) places to save ships from hitting rocks.
     Secondly, visiting lighthouses will help us to understand the lives of lighthouse keepers. By their very
nature, lighthouses were built on some rocks of cliffs. Thus, the lighthouse keepers often lived lonely lives.
To walk around their small home, and imagine the angry storm outside beating against the walls, is to take
a step towards understanding the lives they had.
     The reasons for a visit to a lighthouse are not all so backward-looking in time. It is true that lighthouses
were built in out-of-the-way places. But on a pleasant sunny summer day, this very isolation has a natural
beauty that many people will love to experience. Therefore, with the gentle waves touching all round the
lighthouse, the visitor is likely to think it is a world preferable to the busy and noisy modern life.
     Another reason for considering a visit is that the lighthouses themselves can be very attractive buildings.
Mankind could often not be content just to put up a basic structure, but felt the need, even in such an isolated
place, to build with an artistic touch. The result is a view for tired eyes to enjoy.
     Finally, lighthouses have a romantic attraction, summed up by the image of the oil-skin coated keeper
climbing his winding stairs to take care of the light to warn ships and save lives.

1. What is the reason to look back into the past of a lighthouse?

A. To escape from the busy and noisy city.
B. To look for the tools used by our ancestors.
C. To experience the natural beauty of a lighthouse.
D. To learn about the living condition of lighthouse keepers.

2. The underlined phrase "out-of-the-way" in Paragraph 4 means _______.

A. far-away
B. dangerous
C. ancient
D. secret

3. Lighthouses were often built with an artistic touch _______.

A. to attract visitors
B. to guide passing ships
C. to give a pleasant sight
D. to remember lighthouse keepers

4. How many reasons are mentioned for a visit to lighthouse?

A. Three
B. Four
C. Five
D. Six

     The past ages of man have all been carefully labeled by anthropologists (人類學家). Descriptions like
"Palaeolithic (舊石器時代的) Man". "Neolithic (新石器時代的) Man",etc..neatly sum up whole periods.
When the time comes for anthropologists to turn their attention to the twentieth century, they will surely
choose the label "Legless Man". Histories of the time will go something like this:"in the twentieth century,
people forgot how to use their legs. Men and women moved about in cars, buses and trains from a very
early age. There were lifts in all large buildings to prevent people from walking. And the surprising thing
is that they didn't use their legs even when they went on holiday."
     The future history books might also record that we were deprived (剝奪) of the use of our eyes. In
our hurry to get from one place to another, we failed to see anything on the way. Air travel gives you a
bird's-eye view of the world. When you travel by car or train, an unclear picture of the countryside
constantly smears the windows. Car drivers, especially, are mixed with the urge to go on and on: they
never want to stop. The typical twentieth-century traveler is the man who always says "I've been there."
You mention the remotest, and someone is bound to say "I've been there"-meaning, "I drove through it at
100 miles an hour on the way to somewhere else."
     When you travel at high speeds, the present means nothing: you live mainly in the future because you
spend most of your time looking forward to arriving at some other place. But actual arrival, when it is
achieved, is meaningless. You want to move on again. By traveling like this, you suspend all experience.
The traveler on foot, on the other hand, lives constantly in the present.
     For him traveling and arriving are one and the same thing: he arrives somewhere with every step he
makes. He experiences the present moment with his eyes, his ears and the whole of his body. At the end
of his journey he feels a delicious physical tiredness. He knows that sound, satisfying sleep will be his: the
just reward of all true travelers.

1. What's the best title of the passage?

A. The advantages of travel
B. The best way to travel
C. The reward of true travel
D. Possible ways to travel

2. Anthropologists label man nowadays "Legless" because _____.

A. people forget how to use their legs
B. lifts prevent people from walking
C. modern vehicles have replaced walking
D. people prefer cars, buses and trains

3. While traveling at high speed, _____.

A. people can get more pleasure from it
B. people always focus on next destination
C. people can enjoy the view of the destination
D. people care much about the arrangement of the journey

4. The author says "we are deprived of the use of our eyes" because _____.

A. people can't get a clear picture of the view along
B. eyes become useless in traveling at high speed
C. people want to sleep during traveling
D. people won't use their eyes

5. What does the author intend to tell us?

A. Legs become weaker.
B. There is no need to use legs or eyes.
C. Modern means of transportation make the world a small place.
D. We should experience the present heart and soul while traveling.

     An Indian chief, Rising Sun, was concerned with how white men were expanding across the forests,
plains, and mountains. Since his tribe was very small, and he wouldn't want them to be sent to reservations
(居留地), he came up with a plan to save the people.
     His son, Falling Rock, was a strong, intelligent, and trustworthy young man. He asked Falling, Rock to
travel across the whole of the country and talk to every tribe he met to convince them to join forces and
fight against the white men. Falling Rock left in the spring with 4 other braves.
     When the leaves fell, one brave retumed to Rising Sun to tell him that they had contacted all the tribes in
the desert SouthWest.
     When the snow began, another brave returned telling of their success with the Great Lakes tribes. A third
brave arrived home just as the spring flowers bloomed and told how the strong tribes of the Rocky Mountains
were ready. Finally, the last brave returned in high summer from the Eastem tribes with their promise to fight.
This last brave also said that Falling Rock was now racing back to all the tribes, telling them to meet at the
Mississippi river in the spring for the great war. When the snow melted, Rising Sun's small tribe waited in the
Mississippi through spring and summer, but no other warriors (勇士) arrived. At the end of summer, Rising
Sun sent braves out to track down Falling Rock. He got the news that all the tribes had waited to hear when
the war was to take place, but Falling Rock had not been seen by any of them.
     The white soldiers surrounded Rising Sun's tribe. Rising Sun knew they could never win. Rising Sun
promised to go peacefully to a reservation if the white men would help him find his lost son. This was a small
price for avoiding a fight so the white men agreed. 
     To this day, Rising Sun waits for his son to retum. And, to this day, the white men have held up their end
of bargain struck that day. People across the country are still searching. That is why you will see signs along
the road that say, "Watch for Falling Rock".

1. What is Rising Sun's plan to save his people?

A. To join all the tribes' forces and fight against the white.
B. To send his son to travel to other tribes.
C. To fight alone against the white in the Mississippi.
D. To go to the reservation peacefully.

2. From the passage we know that _____.

A. the Indian tribes were located mainly in the desert SouthWest, the Great Lakes area, the Rocky Mountains
    and the Mississippi river
B. Rising Sun's small tribe waited in the Mississippi through spring and summer
C. Rising Sun's request for searching for his son was refused by the white
D. Rising Sun fought against the white fiercely and was killed in the war

3. What does the underlined sentence mean in the last paragraph?

A. The white men cheated him that day.
B. The white men bought a bargain that day.
C. The white men kept their promise made on that day.
D. The white men was struck by him that day.