The Lego Group had a very low beginning in the workshop of Ole Kirk Christiansen，a carpenter(木匠)from Denmark．Christiansen began creating wooden toys in 1932．Two years later, he came upon the Lego name by putting together the first two letters of the Danish words Leg and Godt，which mean “play well．”The name could be interpreted as “I put together” in Latin；it is also similar to the Greek verb meaning “gather” or “pick up”．

In 1947，the company enlarged to making plastic toys．At first，the use of plastic for toy production was not highly regarded by salesmen and consumers of the time．Many of the Lego Group’s shipments were returned，following poor sales．However, Christiansen’s son，Godtfred Kirk Christiansen，saw the great potential(潛能)in Lego bricks to become a system for creative play-As the junior managing director of the Lego Group，he spent years trying to improve the “l(fā)ocking” ability of the bricks and made the bricks more versatile(多用途)．In 1958, the modem interlocking brick design was finally developed and patented(獲得專利)．

Today Lego is sold in more than 1 30 countries．Every minute 33，824 Lego bricks are made，and kids around the world spend 5 billion hours a year playing with Lego．There will be more than 400 million people playing with Lego bricks this year．On average，every person in the world owns 62 Lego bricks，and about seven Lego sets are sold every second．

This year Lego fans all over the world are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the tiny building blocks．Though already 50 years old，Lego is still the same product it was in the 1950s．

Bricks bought then are still compatible(兼容的) with present bricks and that is probably the reason the toy has never fallen out of favor．

49．Which of the following is true about the name Lego?

A．It is a combination of Greek and Latin words． 

B．It was created by Ole Kirk Christiansen’s son．

C．It was created in 1947 for naming the plastic toys．

D．It came from Danish words meaning “play” and “well.”

50．When did the Lego brick become as a creative form of toy?

A．1958．    B．1947．    C．1934．  D．1932．   

51．Which of the following is true in describing the popularity of Lego?

A．More than 5 billion people in the world own Lego sets．

B．Children spend an average of 62 dollars on Lego bricks each year．

C.  People in the world spend 400 million hours playing with Lego every year．

D．The Lego Group now produces more than 30 thousand toy bricks every minute．

52．What is most likely the reason why Lego still remains popular?

A．Old Lego bricks may still be connected to new ones．

B．The company hasn’t changed its name since 1 947.

C.  The material for the bricks has proved to be safe．

D. The price of the toy is relatively  reasonable.

The English language is changing fast，thanks to the rapid progress of technology．We all have a rapid choice：We can either bury our heads in the sand and spend the rest of our lives wishing Shakespeare were alive and well．Or we can embrace(擁抱)the new English，enter into the spirit of the Internet age called Weblish．

“You can’t keep away from it, for the simple reason that whenever a new variety of language comes along，it inevitably(不可避免地)influence the language as a whole．"Says Dr David Crystal，honorary professor of linguistics(語言學(xué)家)at the University of Wales in BangoL, whose book “Language and the Internet” has just been published．

The trouble with keeping up with the new English is not so much that there are so many new words but that the old words no longer mean what we thought they did．In the past, if someone said they did not have Windows，you would have to suppose they lived in a cave．These days, it is probably because they use a Mac(which is a computer，not a rain coat)．Spam is as disliked as it ever was，but whereas it once meant an unappetizing(引不起食欲的)canned meat．It now stands for unwanted ‘junk” email．Spellings are changing，too．Not only is text-messaging playing “hvc with vrbs” (havoc(混亂)with verbs)，but the conventions(常規(guī))of email communication place little emphasis on “perfect speaking”．   

Weblish loves to see nouns happily become verbs (“please bookmark this site”)，and verbs become nouns (“Send me the download”)．Verbs and prepositions are regularly thrown together to become new nouns or adjectives(dial―up，logon，print-on，pull―down，upload)，while others are created from simply pairing nouns：cyberspace，emit Internet，hyperlink，metatag，netspeak．

45．The best title of this passage would be_________.

A．Technology and English

B．Newly invented English Words

C．Keep Up with the Latest Weblish

D．Keep Up with the Latest Development in

46．We can infer from the first paragraph that________.

A．a(chǎn)ll people welcome weblish English

B．weblish causes fear among people

C．some people wish Shakespeare were still alive

D．people may have different opinions towards weblish

47．The author thinks the main difficulty for people in keeping up with weblish is that________.

A．there are so many new words

B．old words take on new meanings

C．the technology is changing too fast

D．weblish words are full of spelling mistakes

48．Dr．David Crystal would probably agree that________.

A．people should not accept weblish

B．weblish will destroy the English language

C．people should know something about weblish

D．weblish can cause misunderstandings among people

Teen Dating can be fun if you are aware(知道)of its pros and cons and are also aware of the ways to protect yourself．There are a couple of suggestions you would like to know before you are out for dating．

Do not go out for dating with somebody whom you have seen only a few times and does not know much about him or her．

Before leaving on a date，know the exact plans for the evening and make sure a parent or friend knows these plans and what time to expect you home．Let your date know that you are  expected to call or tell that person when you get in．

Similarly, if you leave a party with someone you do not know well，make sure you tell another person you are leaving and with whom．Ask a friend to call and make sure you arrive home safely．

No matter how good the person appears to you，trust your inner instincts(直感)．If a situation makes you uncomfortable，try to stay calm and think of a way to remove yourself from the  situation without letting your date realize what is going on in your mind．

Always stay firm，straightforward and clear in your relationships，thoughts，decisions and judgments．Never let a doubt come to your mind or face when out for dating．If you are firm and  clear in your communication，your date will always be careful in dealing with you．

You should think ahead about ways to be safe if you are in a dangerous or potentially(潛在) dangerous relationship．Adults，like parents，teachers，counselors，can be trusted in such cases．

41．Which of the following is forbidden when dating according to the passage?

A．Knowing the plan for the evening．

B．Telling your parents about the date．

C．Going out for dating with a stranger．

D．Telling the person you date that your parents know about the date．

42．The underlined word “date” in the third paragraph might mean

A．a(chǎn) time    B．a(chǎn) plan    C．a(chǎn) person D．a(chǎn) place

43．If you feel uncomfortable，you should__________．

A．call your parents

B．leave as soon as possible

C．speak out what you are thinking

D．trust the person you’re dating with

44．The best title for this passage might be

A．Be careful with your friends                  B．Never go out dating

C．Safety measures for teen dating             D．Dating out is always dangerous

This past Christmas was one of the best I have ever had．This was made possible by my sister, Amy．She is eight years older and has already made it into “real world”．

My sister bought me three wonderful gifts, ___ 21___only one would capture(俘虜)my heart forever．First she handed me the  22  ．Because Amy is  23  with her actions，I knew this was her least favorite．It was a bottle of perfume(香水)．1 was happy with it, yet  24  as to what lay ahead．Next she handed me a box．After  25  away the wrapping paper, I found a stylish(時髦的)and  26  sweater．I was deeply moved that my sister was so generous(大方的)．Then she handed me the  27  gift．Judging by me familiar size and  28  ，I knew it was a CD．It was the soundtrack to the movie “Rocky”，with songs inspiring to all athletes. dreamers…I  29  loved it，but not as much as 1 would after what my sister explained to me．

She was  30  to a knee injury that  31  me half of my soccer．season．I desired to be with my team―mates and  32  each minute I sat on the bench．I tried hard, hoping my knee injury would become well soon．This was what led my sister to buying that CD．

After mentioning what was behind the  33  ，Amy played the CD for me．Even though I had heard those songs a thousand times，each note  34  me as If it was new．It played in my soul and on my emotions．I  35  breathlessly, as the words “Trying hard now．It’s so hard now．”sounded through the room．It touched me in a way  36  me happiness most gifts could bring．I couldn’t  37  crying and hugged my sister．Knowing that my sister had  38  my problem so deeply made me realize that I am the  39  little sister in the world．I had never received a gift with so much  40  behind it! I’ll cherish(珍惜)it forever．

People say that the Englishman’s home is his castle，_________ means that the home is very important and personal．

 A．where                B．that              C．which                    D．a(chǎn)s

All the preparations for the task________, and we’re ready to start．

A．completed                                          B．complete 

C．have been completed                           D．had been completed

一Will the Smiths go abroad this autumn?

―No, they finally decided________.

A．to                        B．not to                     C．not going                      D．not to have gone

________our money, but we were nearly killed．

A．Not only we lost                               B．Not only did We lose     

C．We not only had lost                         D．Not only we had lost

Fortunately，the illness is fully treatable if _______within ten days．

A．being found           B．find              C．finding                   D．found

______Jay Chou hums or sings，his fans love him and his songs．

A. Whatever              B．Whenever    C.     Whichever            D. No matter