— What do you think of the price of these computers?

— They are at least equal in price to, if not cheaper than, _______ at the other companies．

A．it           B．the ones         C．that        D．ones

Ma Yingjiu, chairman of Chinese Kuomintang, expressed to the media his thought _________ the cross-straits would be united in time．

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

—Tom took away our teacher’s cell phone without being permitted．

— Really? I can’t imagine that he __________ have done such a thing．

A．must        B．may        C．should           D．can

Living in the central Australian desert has its problems; _______ obtaining water is not the

least．

A．for which        B．of which           C．in which            D．to which

—I think you should phone Jane and say sorry to her．

—_______．It was her fault．

A．No problem               B．After all               C．No way              D．No chance

Each of us fails from time to time．If we are wise, we accept these failures as a  1  part of the learning process．But all too often as parents and teachers we disallow this  2  right to our children．

When I see a child  3  to this kind of pressure, I think of Donnie．

    Donnie was my youngest third grader．His  4  of failure kept him from classroom games that other children enjoyed．He  5     answered questions — he might be wrong．

I tried my best to build his  6．But nothing changed until midterm, when Mary Anne, a student teacher, was assigned （安排）to our classroom．

   She was young and pretty, and she loved children．My pupils, Donnie included,7  her．

   One morning, we were working math problems at the chalkboard．Donnie had 8  the problems with painstaking neatness．Pleased with his progress, I 9  the children with Mary Anne and went for art materials．When I returned, Donnie was in 10 ．He’d missed the third problem．

   My student teacher looked at me in despair．Suddenly her face  11．From the desk we shared, she got a container filled with pencils．

   "Look, Donnie," she said, kneeling beside him and gently 12 the tear stained face from his arms．"I’ve got something to13 you．" She removed the pencils, one at a time, and placed them on his desk．

   "See these 14 , Donnie," she continued．"They belong to Mrs. Lindstrom and me．See how the erasers are 15 ? That’s because we make mistakes too．But we erase the mistakes and try again．That’s what you 16  learn to do, too．"

    She kissed him and stood up．"Here," she said, "I’ll leave one of these pencils on 17 desk so you’ll remember that everybody makes mistakes, 18 teachers．" Donnie looked up with love in his eyes and a smile．

    The pencil became Donnie’s  19  possession．That, together with Mary Anne’s frequent encouragement, gradually 20  him that it’s all right to make mistakes — as long as you erase them and try again．

2．A．correct                 B．same                   C．important        D．natural

3．A．suffering               B．object                  C．fall                      D．subject

4．A．fear                      B．lesson                 C．chance               D．sense

5．A．a(chǎn)lways                  B．often                   C．never          D．seldom

6．A．self-protection       B．self-improvement C．self-confidence    D．self-learning

7．A．respected              B．disliked                C．a(chǎn)voided               D．mined

8．A．worked out           B．copied                 C．gone over            D．leaned

9．A．left                       B．offered                C．missed            D．parted

10．A．surprise               B．a(chǎn)stonishment        C．a(chǎn)nger                  D．tears

11．A．darkened             B．brightened           C．pulled                  D．loosened

12．A．lifting                  B．picking                C．holding                D．pushing

13．A．help                    B．show                  C．reward                D．promise

14．A．pencils                B．mistakes              C．marks                 D．containers

15．A．used                   B．built                    C．worn                  D．damaged

16．A．may                    B．must                   C．will                     D．can

17．A．my                     B．someone’s           C．the teacher’s        D．your

18．A．still                     B．a(chǎn)lso                     C．even                   D．not

19．A．prized                 B．own                    C．kept                    D．expected

20．A．warned               B．informed             C．persuaded      D．reminded

When he thought of the past, my grandfather would sometimes show us photographs of himself at school．They were brown and faded, and it was hard to believe that the blurred figure of the little boy in the short trousers and socks could ever have been Grandfather．Besides, he wore a cap—and the boys in the photographs wore caps pulled so far forward that half of their faces were obscured．When Grandfather asked us to pick him out from the group, we would surely point to the wrong boy．

On one such occasion my younger sister, aged six, burst into tears when Grandfather proudly guided her finger to the right boy．"How could that boy be you?" she cried．"He should have a beard．” We were, of course, all convinced that grandfathers should have beards , preferably white and bushy, like our own grandfather's．

"I was a good scholar ,”Grandfather would say, wagging his beard over the photographs．" I should have been top of the c1ass if I hadn't had to get up at six every morning to milk the cows and chop the wood, and again when I came home from school．”

"But Saturdays? What did you do on Saturdays?"

"Saturdays, if it was fine, I’d be out all day in the fields with the men," replied Grandfather．"And if it was wet, I’d be helping my mother with odd jobs round the house．There wasn't much time for studying．"

We all tried hard to imagine what it would have been like to have been Grandfather getting up at crack of dawn and never, obviously, having a moment for himself．It seemed we had learnt something from what Grandfather had said about his childhood．

1．In the first paragraph of this passage, what the author really tells us is that______．

       A ．his grandfather used to wear short trousers, socks and a cap as well

       B．it was difficult to tell which of the boys in the photographs was Grandfather

       C．he didn't believe Grandfather wore a cap pulled forward when he was at school

       D．it was fun to watch boys in the photographs wearing caps pulled forward

2．The author's sister burst into tears because______________．       

       A．she did not get a chance to pick out Grandfather in the photographs

       B．she was told which was the right boy before she herself could pick him out

       C．other children did not agree with her that Grandfather should have had a beard

       D．she found Grandfather in the photographs did not have a beard

3．When Grandfather said, "I should have been top of the class…．", he meant____________．

       A if he had had more time for studying, he would have been the best in his class

       B．he should have spent more time studying rather than playing ball games

       C．his school days should not have been so hard and miserable

       D．he could have never been the best student even if he had studied still harder

4．In the last paragraph the author said, "We all tried hard to imagine…"because__________．

       A．the figures of the boys in the photographs were small and blurred

       B．the children had never experienced life like that of Grandfather

       C．the photographs Grandfather showed them were brown and faded

       D．Grandfather failed to tell them about his childhood in detail

Rumour（ 謠言 ）is the most primitive way of spreading stories— by passing them on from mouth to mouth．but civilized countries in                                              normal times have better sources  of news than     rumour．They have radio, television, and newspapers．In times of confusion （ 混亂 ）,  however ,rumour appears and becomes widespread．At such times the different kinds of news are in competition: the press, television, and radio against the grapevine．

Especially do rumours spread when war requires control on many important matters．The normal news sources no longer give out enough information．Since the people can not learn through legal channels all that they are anxious to learn, they pick up "news" wherever they can and when this happens, rumour grows．

Rumours are often repeated even by those who do not believe the tales．There is an interest about them．The reason is that the cleverly designed rumour gives expression to something  deep in the hearts of the victims — the fears, doubts, forbidden hopes, or daydreams which they hesitate to voice directly．Pessimistic （ 悲觀的 ） rumours about defeat and disasters show that the people who repeat them are worried and anxious ．Optimistic rumours  about record production or peace soon coming point to self- satisfaction or confidence—and often to over- confidence．

1．The author suggests that, in times of confusion, man often __________．

       A．stops regular news services                  B．turns to primitive ways for support

    C．distrusts his fellow man                        D．loses complete control of himself

2．The underlined word "grapevine" in Paragraph 1 probably means "__________”．

       A．rumour              B．newspaper         C．information        D．time

3．The author states that during wartime the regular sources of news provide only __________ ．

    A．false information                                 B．optimistic reports

    C．limited information                             D．pessimistic reports

4．Which of the following statements is mentioned as a reason for people to repeat a rumour?

       A．They are too willing to believe．      

       B．They take an interest in rumour．

       C．They have a strong desire to make a fool of other people．

       D．They find some rumours reflect their own unexpressed beliefs．

The publication of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" gladdens booksellers across China．The British and American editions were No．1 and No．3 respectively on the sales chart of the Beijing Xidan Book Building last week．The book's poster is highlighted and news about the book can often be heard on the radio．

Why is the book so attractive to children? With curious mood, the author got a copy of "Harry Potter"．Originally, I wanted to glance over it and made some criticisms．But, out of expectation, the author has been deeply attracted by the magic world．On the other hand, one cannot help asking: where is our own "Harry Potter"?

The Chinese nation has a history of 5,000 years, which cannot be regarded as short and its culture as not profound．With a vast market of youngsters, China did publish many books popular among children．However, why are the present works not as good as those imported?

There come two major reasons: Firstly, quite a number of children's books are of strong sense of teaching, and lack interest and entertainment．Children often have a feeling of being "educated"．No wonder they don't like them．Secondly, children's reading materials involving "idiom stories" and "Chinese talents' stories", though always in different covers, are usually much the same or plagiarized．One knows the ending as early as in the beginning．In final analysis, the authors of the books seldom take children's requirements into consideration．

As a matter of fact, each child has his own wonderful imagination．They long to understand the world and nature．Similarly they have their own choices．They dislike similar stories, even if the stories are excellent．First-class reading for children should be very interesting, which contains knowledge and the essence of national culture, which are presented in children's language．

Market is a touchstone for products．The theory also holds true for cultural products．It is hoped that the authors of children's books can learn something from the good market of "Harry Potter" and write out more and better books loved by children．

1．The disadvantages of our books are the following except____

A．they have little sense of interest and entertainment

B．many of our books are of the same

C．the authors didn’t pay much attention to the children’s tastes．

D．Our authors never know what our children need．

2．The reason why the imported book is so popular is that _____．

A．it has no sense of teaching                                                                           

B．it opens a wonderful world for children to explore

C．it is only written in children’s language  

D．it is advertised more on TV or poster．

3．What’s the feeling of the writer when he finishes reading “Harry Potter”?

A．He is so angry that he wants to criticize the book

B．He is also attracted by the book

C．He is shocked by the book, meanwhile he is worried about our books．

D．He can’t help looking for Harry Potter．

4．What does the writer mean by writing “where’s our own Harry Potter”?

A．We are short of books for children

B．We Chinese must produce books as popular as “Harry Potter”．

C．Authors should write books in the same way as “Harry Potter”

D．Our authors are hoped to make the market of our books for children take off

Americans have never before exercised and dieted as eagerly as they are doing today．As a result, they do not only look younger and slimmer, but feel better．Because of increased physical fitness, life expectance in the nation has risen to seventy-three years, with fewer people suffering from heart disease, the nation's number one killer．

Jogging （ 慢跑 ）, the easiest and cheapest way of improving the body, keeps over 30million people of all ages on the run．For the price of a good pair of running shoes, anyone anywhere can join the race．

Dieting, too, has become a national  pastime．Promoters of diets that eliminate eating one thing or another, such as fats or carbohydrates （ 碳水化合物 ）, promise as much as 20- pound weight losses within two weeks．Books describing such amazing diets always head up （ 居……之首 ）the best-seller lists because people who are overweight want to lose weight quickly and easily．

Nevertheless, jogging and dieting, carried to extremes, can be harmful．Many confused joggers overdo and finally suffer from ankle and foot damage．Dieting, fortunately, becomes only a temporary means for shedding a few  pounds while the body lose the balanced nutrition （ 營養(yǎng) ）it requires, so most dieters cannot keep on diets．Above all, common sense should be the keystone for any dieting and exercise plan．

1．The main idea of this passage is that___________ ．

       A．both jogging and dieting can improve your health

       B．exercise and improved diet has raised the American's life expectance

       C．people, who jog and diet wisely, will be healthier than those who do not

       D．diet and exercise harm rather than benefit health

2．According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?

       A．Jogging can damage the body because it is too tough an exercise．

       B．Diets are so popular because they are on the best-seller lists．

       C．Americans now live to be 73 years old．                              

       D．Exercise and diet are more widespread in America than ever before．

3．It is implied but not stated that ___________ ．

       A．heart disease is the number one killer among Americans

       B．exercise and dieting bring about spiritual as well as physical well-being

       C．people don't stay on a diet because it doesn't work

       D．a(chǎn) 20-pound weight loss within two weeks is too much for the body

4．The best title for this passage is ___________ ．

       A．Jogging and Diet                                  B．Exercise and Health

C．Physical Fitness                                   D．Life Expectancy and Diet