Answers to life can be found in everyday events. Watching nature, watching people and watching animals communicate with each other provide some of the simplest ways to life’s biggest problems.

This became clearer to me yesterday. It caused me to ask myself, “How do I respond (反应) to the storms in life?”

People usually run when it starts to rain. I love to walk in it, stand on my front door and feel it. I grew up doing it and have never really felt the fear many people do.

The animal world senses changes in the weather far earlier than humans. My dog, Ricky, begins to shake long before the storm is close enough to be noticed. I was about to feed my three dogs yesterday and as usual, I let them out in the yard first. They didn’t move when thunder came across the skies. So I placed their food in their bowls and called Ricky into the kitchen.

Ricky was just standing there in place next to his bowl. The thunder became louder, which forced him to stop eating his meal. Then I watched Phil. He made his way across the kitchen floor and stood over Ricky’s bowl. He ate all the remaining food. Generally, if Ricky was standing there, he wouldn’t dare (敢) come close. But today, he took advantage (优势) of the storm and got what he wanted. His hope for the prize outweighed (胜过) his fear of the storm.

That’s when it hit me. As men, we face all kinds of storms. They come in unannounced. Sometimes we stay in a corner or under the blankets, hoping it will all pass. However, if you dare put your head out, you’ll discover there’re people doing what they must to get what they must have out of life. Isn’t it time you decided to take advantage of the storm?

1. According to the writer, answers to life ______.

A. are difficult to find

B. lie around us

C. are simple to understand

D. make people become fearless

2. From the passage we can learn that the writer ______.

A. enjoys the rain B. fears thunder

C. hates the storm D. cares little about the weather

3.According to the passage, what hit the writer most?

A. Phil wasn’t afraid of the storm.

B. Ricky stopped eating food.

C. Phil ate the rest of Ricky’s food.

D. Ricky sensed the storm earlier than he.

4.What would be the best title for the passage?

A. Find out Answers to Life

B. Take Advantage of the Storm

C. Stop Storms in our Daily Life

D. Pay Attention to Everyday Events

— Who is it? — your neighbor.

A. It's B. He’s C. She’s D. This is

Eddie was sleeping deeply___________Millie was watching TV.

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

We needn’t have worried. Everything ______ all right in the end.

A. turned up B. turned off

C. turned out D. turned down

—Excuse me! May I use your computer now?

—________I'm typing an important letter.

A. Will you? B. I hope so.

C. Why not? D. I'm afraid not.

The judge(法官) thought Geoffrey Payne killed his wife. Now for the first time Payne wrote to a magazine from the prison about what happened on the night of 13 October 1999.

I had to stay late at the hospital that night to do an operation. I finally left at about 11p.m.. I drove home slowly because the wind was blowing and it was raining heavily. I was running into our road when a man suddenly ran in front of my car. I almost hit him but I stopped just in time. I was scared and the man looked scared, too. I got out of the car but he ran away before I could ask if he was all right. It was very strange.

When I got home, the lights were on but it was very quiet. I called to my wife but there was no answer. Then I remembered that she was out at a concert.

I was still very unhappy about what happened on the road, so I made myself a drink. Then I went upstairs to have a bath. I saw that the window in the bedroom was open. This was strange because my wife always locked the doors and windows before she went out. She was afraid of burglars. When I went to close it, I found Ellen. She was lying on the floor. There was blood everywhere. I rushed over for her pulse but she was dead. I was so scared. I sat on the floor beside her body without knowing what to do.

The next thing I knew was that the sky was getting light. I can’t remember a thing about that night. In the morning I phoned the police. They arrived half an hour after I phoned them. But it seemed like hours. During that time I tried hard to remember anything I could about the night before. I couldn’t stop thinking about the man in the road. What was he doing at that time of night in our quiet neighborhood?

1.When Payne got home, he found ______________.

A. a burglar in his house

B. the bedroom window closed

C. Ellen lying on the floor, blood all over

D. Ellen waiting for him in the concert hall

2.After he found Ellen dead, Payne .

A. called out for help

B. called the police at once

C. was too scared to do anything

D. tried to find out the murderer

3.Which of the following is NOT true?

A. Payne called the police the next morning.

B. Payne ran away after his car bumped into the man that night.

C. Payne couldn’t remember clearly what had happened that night.

D. Payne wondered what the man was doing in his neighborhood that night.

4.In this passage Payne tried to .

A. show he was sorry for his wife’s death

B. show he was guilty for murdering his wife

C. tell why his wife was killed that night

D. say the man in the road was probably the murderer

任务型阅读

阅读下列短文，根据短文中的信息完成文后表格。在答题卡标有题号的横线上，写出空缺处所填单词的正确形式。（每空一词）

Beijing has many charms. It is a perfect place to start exploring(探索) the wonders of the whole country. A four-day tour is possible to cover the greatest sights and enough to make you love the Chinese capital.

Day 1

Any visit to Beijing is incomplete without a walk on the Great Wall. Most people choose to visit Badaling, but Juyong Pass is less crowded but more wonderful. There are many locations for great photos. Also, pick a clear day to go so that your eyes can reach the beacon tower(烽火台) far away.

Day 2

All sites designed for this day run through the center of Beijing. If you don’t plan your day carefully, after hours of walking you still won't finish a small part of the tour. First, start at the Temple of Heaven. Next, have lunch at Qianmen Street, enjoying the famous Peking Duck. Then, spend a whole afternoon in the Tian'anmen square, the largest city square in the whole world.

Day 3

If your feet ache after two days’ sightseeing, you may want to slow down. You can visit the Capital Museum or walk along Wangfujing, the modern shopping street. If you are wondering how Beijingers used to live, you can go to the hutongs, enjoying the moments there and relaxing yourself.

Day 4

This day is designed for those with endless energy. The Summer Palace, Yuanmingyuan, the Lama Temple are all good places to go. You may want to spend the last night in Beijing in Sanlitun, the serious nightlife area and a favorite with local people and foreign friends.

—What’s that ____ English? —It’s a desk.

A. from B. to C. in D. with

—____ is the cap?

—Twenty Yuan.

A. How much B. How old

C. How many D. How many yuan

Miss White is a good teacher. She usually _________.

A. helps me to English

B. help me learn English

C. helps me with my English.

D.help me leaning English