Just how far does the euro（歐元） have to fall before Europe actually becomes reasonable?

Anyone traveling to the old continent from the U.S. in recent years has learned the hard way how expensive it is. The situation has improved in the last couple of months, thanks to the Greek financial crisis. But it still has a way to go.

Alarm about Greece—and other financially unstable countries in Europe—has dragged down the euro sharply. In November, before the crisis struck, you needed about $1.49 to buy one euro. Today you need only about $1.36. That's a 9% cut.

What does that mean for you, the would-be traveler? It's a big sale.

As recently as November, when the euro was flying high, the OECD estimated that countries like France, Italy and Germany were about a third more expensive than the U.S. Not all European countries were quite as expensive for the American visitor: Greece only cost about 17% more than the US, while the Czech Republic (which is not part of the eurozone) was actually about 15% cheaper than back home.  

Fast-forward two months, and the situation looks somewhat better.

At current exchange rates, places like France will still cost you about 23% more than the U.S., but cheaper countries such as Spain and Greece are now only about 6% more expensive. The Czech Republic's a fifth cheaper than the U.S.

European prices will only break even（持平）with the U.S. if the euro falls to about $1.10, says the OECD. But is it going to get there?

Greece's financial crisis may or may not be over. Members of a labor union just occupied part of the finance ministry to protest against the planned austerity（緊縮） measures. No, it doesn't inspire confidence!

Julian Jessop, chief international economist at the Capital Economics consultancy in London, sees the euro falling to $1.25 by year-end. “We still think the euro should be a lot lower,” he says. “We think the outlook for the European economy is a lot worse than for the U.S. And Greece is only a symptom of a wider problem: Does the eurozone make sense as a currency union?” If he's right, you may want to wait to change your money or book a trip.

72.   In the passage the writer offers some suggestions to the travellers from _________.

A. USA              B. Europe                  C. Greece                 D. China

73.   The underlined word “it” in the passage refers to _________. 

A. the planned austerity measures                           B. Greece’s financial crisis

C. the protest from a labor union                              D. the decline of the euro in value

74.  Julian Jessop has a negative attitude toward the euro because he thinks _________.

A. Greece’s financial crisis may not be over  

B. the euro will drop to $ 1.25 by the end of the year

C. the European economy is a lot worse than the US’

D. the other European countries have a similar problem like Greece

75.  The purpose of the author writing the passage is to tell the readers that _________.

A. the euro shall be further reasonably lowered

B. travelers to Europe will save less in the future

C. the economic situation in Europe is worsening

D. the Greek financial crisis influences the whole Europe 

—Michael was late for Mr. Smith’s oral class this morning.

— _________? As far as I know, he never came late to class.

A. How come                      B. So what                           C. Why not                          D. What for

A dozen family members gathered at the table _____ were traditional local foods such as preserved ham sausage.

A. what            B. which         C. that            D. where 

根據以下漢語提示寫一篇不少于120詞的英語文章。

你的好友王楠在高三理科班學習，因多方面的壓力而心情抑郁。給她寫封信，談談你的看法和建議，以期緩解她的壓力。

收信人：王楠

發(fā)信人：李華(可用自己的真實姓名)

寫信日期：2009年11月8日

Whether we find a joke funny or not largely depends on where we have been brought up．The sense of humour is mysteriously(神秘地)connected with national characteristics．A Frenchman ,for instance, might find it hard to laugh at Russian joke．In the same way, a Russian might fail to see anything amusing in a joke which would make an Englishman laugh to tears．

       Most funny stories are based on comic situations．In spite of national differences, certain funny situations have a worldwide request．No matter where you live, you would find it difficult not to laugh at, say ,Charlie Chaplin’s early films．However, a new type of humour, which stems largely from America, has recently come into fashion．It is called “sick humour”．Comedians base their jokes on tragic situations like violent (cause by force)death or serious accidents．Many people find this sort of joke distasteful．The following example of “sick humour” will enable you to judge for yourself．

A man who had broken his right leg was taken to hospital a few weeks before Christmas．From the moment he arrived there, he kept on pestering(糾纏) his doctor tell him when he would be able to go home．He was afraid of having to spend Christmas in hospital ．Though the doctor did his best, the patient’s recovery was slow．On Christmas day, however, the doctor consoled(安慰)him by telling him that his chances of being able to leave hospital in time for New Year celebrations were good．The man took heart and, sure enough , on New Year’s Eve he was able to hobble(跛行) along to a party．To compensate(補償)for his unpleasant experiences in hospital , the man drank a little more than what was good for him．In the process, he enjoyed himself and kept telling everybody how much he hated hospitals．He was still mumbling something about hospitals at the end of the party when he slipped on a piece of ice and broke his left leg．

Whether you find “sick humour” funny or not will depend on ________．

       A．your having been brought up in America                           

B．the joke being related to a really comic situation

       C．your ability to see the funny side of an unpleasant event  

D．your ability to laugh until you cry

The man spent Christmas day feeling miserable because ________．

       A．the doctor had failed to cure him                 

B．he was not able to be with his friends

       C．being unable to walk, he did not enjoy the celebrations at the hospital

       D．he thought he might also miss the New Year’s Eve celebration

The point of the joke taken to explain “sick humour” is that ________．

       A．no sooner was the out of hospital than he had to go back in again．

       B．the man should not have said how much he hated hospitals

       C．the man would be unable to walk for the rest of his life  

D．the man had not got a leg to stand on

What can you learn from this story ?

       A．On New Year’s Eve, the man was able to walk properly to the party．

       B．At the party , he enjoyed himself but only drank a little．

       C．He had to go to hospital again though he hated it．

       D．The man got well soon because the doctor took good care of him．

Higher temperature turning large ice sheet to water would cause _____ rise in sea levels worldwide and change _____ weather on earth.

After that we never saw her again, nor ________from her.

   A. had we heard   B. we heard   C. did we hear   D. we have heard

—Shall we go shopping?

   —Sorry, we        buy anything now because none of the shops are open.

   A. mustn’t        B. needn’t        C. can’t       D. shouldn’t

 25. Although there were so many people in the square, I could ______ my friend.

  A. pick up                 B. pick out            C. make up            D. set out

The next morning I’d just about given myself up for lost ______ I was spotted by a ship.

  A. while      B. as        C. after        D. when