In 1977, a dead author of detective stories saved the life of a 19-month-old baby in a most unusual way. The author was Agatha Christie, one of the most successful writers of detective stories in the world.
In June 1977, a baby girl became seriously ill in Qatar, near Saudi Arabia. Doctors were unable to find out the cause of her illness with confidence, so she was sent to Hammersmith Hospital in London. She was then only semi-conscious and on the "Dangerously Ill" list. A team of doctors hurried to examine the baby only to discover that they, too, were confused by the very unusual symptoms (症状). While they were discussing the baby's case, a nurse asked to speak to them. "Excuse me," said Nurse Marsha Maitlan, "but I think the baby is suffering from thallium (铊) poisoning."
"What makes you think that?" Dr. Brown asked. "Thallium poisoning is extremely rare."
"A few days ago, I was reading a novel called A Pale Horse by Agatha Christie," Nurse Maitlan explained. "In the book, somebody uses thallium poison, and all the symptoms are described. They're exactly the same as the baby's."
"You're very thoughtful and you may be right," another doctor said. "We'll carry out some tests and find out whether it's thallium or not."
Tests showed that the baby had indeed been poisoned by thallium, a rare metallic substance used in making special glass. Once they knew the cause of the illness, the doctors were able to give the baby the correct treatment. She soon recovered and was sent back to Qatar. Later it was reported that the poison might have come from an insecticide (杀虫剂) used in Qatar.
【小题1】The one who first suggested the correct cause of the baby's illness was _____.

A．a doctor in Qatar	B．Dr. Brown
C．Nurse Maitlan	D．Agatha Christie

【小题2】As far as we can tell from the passage, Agatha Christie _____.

A．had spent a long time studying the baby's case

B．visited the baby in the hospital at Hammersmith

C．had never met this baby

D．gave Nurse Maitlan some advice on the phone

【小题3】It seems likely from the passage that the baby's illness had something to do with _____.

A．a harmful substance used to kill insects

B．a dangerous pair of glasses

C．the water in Qatar

D．a dead writer

I first went to Harrow in the summer term. The school had the biggest swimming pool I had ever seen. It was a good joke to come up behind a naked boy, and push him into the pool. I made quite a habit of this with boys of my own size or less.
One day I saw a boy wrapped in a towel on the side of the pool. He was no bigger than I was, so I thought him a fair game. Coming secretly behind, I pushed him in, holding on to his towel so that it would not get wet, I was surprised to see an angry face come out from the water, and a being of great strength masking its way by face strokes (猛力地划)to the shore. I fled, but in vain. He overtook me, seized me violently, and threw me into the deepest part of the pool. I soon climbed out on the other side, and found myself surrounded by a crowd of younger boys.” Do you know what you have done?” they said, “It’s Amery; he is in Grade Six. He is champion at gym; he has got his football honor.”
I was frightened and felt ashamed. How could I tell his position when be was wrapped in a bath towel and so small.” He didn’t seem pleased at all, so I added in a most brilliant word,” My father, who is a great man, is also small.” At this be laughed, and after some general words about my rude behavior and how I had better be careful in the future, signified the incident was closed.
【小题1】The writer thought Amery” a fair game” because the boy   .

A．was of similar size

B．was fond of games

C．looked like an animal

D．was good at sports

【小题2】The writer felt” ashamed” because    .

A．he was laughed at by other boys

B．he played a joke on an outstanding athlete

C．Amery turned out to be in the same grade

D．he pushed Amery hard and hurt him

【小题3】By saying “My father, who is a great man, is also small”, the writer   .

A．challenged Amery	B．threatened Amery
C．admired his father	D．tried to please Amery

【小题4】Which of the following is TRUE?

A．The writer could run faster than Amery.

B．Amery forgave the writer for his rude behavior.

C．The writer liked playing on boys of all sizes.

D．Amery was a student in Grade Four.

In earliest times, men considered lightning to be one of the great mysteries of nature. Some ancient people believed that lightning and thunder were the weapons of the gods.
In reality, lightning is a flow of electricity formed high above the earth. A single flash of lightning 1.6 kilometres long has enough electricity to light one million light bulbs .
The American scientist and statesman, Benjamin Franklin, was the first to show the connection between electricity and lightning in 1752. In the same year he also built the first lightning rod (避雷针). This device protects buildings from being damaged by lightning.
Modern science has discovered that one stroke of lightning has a voltage (电压) of more than 15 million volts (伏特). A flash of lightning between a cloud and the earth may be as long as 13 kilometers, and travel at a speed of 30 million meters per second.
Scientists judge that there are about 2,000 million flashes of lightning per year. Lightning hits the Empire State Building in New York City 30 to 48 times a year. In the United States alone it kills an average of one person every day.
The safest place to be in case of an electrical storm is in a closed car. Outside, one should go to low ground and not get under tress. Also on,e should stay out of water and away from metal fences. Inside a house, people should avoid open doorways and windows and not touch wires or metal things.
With lightning, it is better to be safe than sorry.
【小题1】People once thought lightning came from ________.

A．the gods	B．the earth
C．the sky	D．nature

【小题2】According to the passage what do you think all buildings need?

A．Metal fences.	B．Machines.
C．Electricity.	D．Lightning rods

【小题3】Lightning can travel ________.

A．as quickly as water	B．not so quickly as electricity
C．at very high speed	D．at very low speed

【小题4】Which of the following is NOT true?

A．In the U.S about one person per day dies from lightning.

B．Swimming during a thunder storm is a good idea.

C．The Empire State Building frequently gets hit by lightning.

D．A closed car is the best place to be during an electrical storm.

A man accused of failing to return more than 700 children’s books to five different libraries in the county was released from prison after a book publisher agreed to post his bond（保释金）of $1,000．The publisher said．“There’s a story here．This is a man who loves books．He just can’t let go of them．He hasn’t stolen a single book．So what’s the crime ? We think that Mr．Banish has story to tell．We plan to publish his story．”  
When asked why he didn’t return the books, Mr．Banish said，”Well，how could I? They became family to me．I was afraid to return them，because I knew that kids or dogs would get hold of these books and chew them up，throw them around，tear the pages，spill soda on them，get jelly﹙糊状物﹚ on them，and drown them in the toilet．
He continued，“Books are people，too! They talk to you，they take care of you，and they enrich you with wisdom，humor and love．A book is a guest in my home．How could I kick it out? I repaired tor n﹙撕破的﹚ pages．I dusted them with a soft clean cloth．I turned their pages so they could breathe and get some fresh air．”
“Every week I reorganized them on their shelves so they could meet new friends，My books were HAPPY books．You could tell just by looking at them．Now they’re all back in the libraries，on the lower shelves，on the floors，at the mercy of all those runny-nosed kids I can hear them calling me．I need to rescue them．Excuse me．I have to go now．”
【小题1】Why was the man put into prison?

A．Because the book publisher persuaded the police to do so．

B．Because he stole 700 children’s books from the five different libraries．

C．Because he refused to return the books that he had borrowed．

D．Because he wanted to publish his story．

【小题2】From the passage we can learn that the man is       

A．a thief

B．a writer

C．crazy about books

D．unfortunate

【小题3】What might happen after the man was set free?

A．He might stop borrowing books．

B．He might start a library of his own．

C．He might go on borrowing books from libraries．

D．He might return all his books．

【小题4】What is mainly talked about in this passage?

A．A funny thief who loves stealing books．

B．A person who refuses to return borrowed books and wants to look after them．

C．A person who is crazy about books so he keeps stealing them from the library．

D．A person who may have some mental problems

October 31, 2009, California
Tsien Hsue-shen, PhD'39, one of the founders of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, died on October 31, He was 98.
Tsien, born in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, graduated from the National Qinghua University in 1934 and in August of 1935 he left China to study at the Massachusetts Institute Technology. In 1936 he went to the California Institute of Technology to commence graduate studies .Tsien obtained his doctor degree in 1939 and would remain at Caltech for 20 years, becoming the Goddard Professor and establishing a reputation as one of the leading rocket scientists in the United States.
In 1943, Tsien and two others in the Caltech rocketry group drafted the first document to use the name Jet Propulsion Laboratory. During the Second World War, he was amongst the other scientists participated the "Manhattan Project" .After World War II he served as a consultant to the  United States Army Air Force. During this time, Conlonel Tsien worked on designing an intercontinental space plane. His work would inspire the X--20Dyna-Soar which would later be the inspiration for the Space Shuttle. In1945 Tsien Hsue--shen married Jiang Ying, the daughter of Jiang Baili--one of the Chinese nationalist leader Chiang Kai--shen's leading military strategists. But in 1950, the Chinese-born scientist was accused of harboring Communist sympathies and stripped of his security clearance.
In September 1955 he was permitted to leave for China, where Tsien resumed his research, founded the Institute of Mechanics, and went on to become the father of China's missile program, a trusted member of the government and Party's inner circle, and the nation's most honored scientist, Tsien retired in 1991 and has maintained a low public profile in Beijing, China. The PRC government launched its manned space program in 1992 and used Tsien's research as the basis for the Long March rocket which successfully launched the Shenzhou V mission in October of 2003.The elderly Tsien was able to watch China's first manned space mission on television from his hospital bed.
In his late years, since the 1980s, Tsien devoted himself to spirituality research, and advocated scientific investigation of traditional Chinese medicine, Qigong and "special human body functions".
【小题1】          The underlined word "commence" in this passage probably means ____

A．make up

B．get

C．begin

D．promise

【小题2】          Tsien Hsue--shen got married at the age of ______

A．45

B．28

C．24

D．34

【小题3】          What is the right order of the events related to Tsien Hsue--shen ?
a. his later life   
b. return to China   
c. career in the U.S.A 
d. his early life and education 

A．a-b-c-d

B．d-c-b-a

C．d-b-c-a

D．c-b-d-a

【小题4】          Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A．Tsien Hsue--shen got a doctor's degree in 1939.

B．Tsien Hsue--shen married Jiang Ying, the daughter of Chinese nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shen.

C．Tsien Hsue-shen has made a contribution to the Space Shuttle.

D．Tsien Hsue-shen was interested in traditional Chinese medicine, qigong and "special human body functions" in his later life.

One day, while a woodcutter was cutting a branch of a tree above a river. When he began crying, God appeared and asked him, "Why are you crying?"
The woodcutter told him that he had dropped his axe into water. God went down into the water and reappeared with a golden axe.
"Is this your axe?" God asked.
The woodcutter said "No."
God again went down and came up with a silver axe." Is this your axe?" God asked.
The woodcutter said "No."
God again went down and came up with a iron axe." Is this your axe?" God asked.
The woodcutter said "Yes."
God was pleased with the man's honesty and gave him all the three axes.
The woodcutter went home happily. One day while he was walking with his wife along the river, his wife fell into the river. W hen he began crying, God appeared and asked him, "Why are you crying?"
"My wife has fallen into water."
God went down into the water and came up with Jennifer Lopez.
"Is this your wife?" God asked him.
"Yes." he said.
God was furious(狂怒的),"YOU CHEAT !Now I am going to curse you."
The woodcutter quickly said, “Forgive me my lord. It is a misunderstanding. IF I say 'No' to Jennifer Lopez, you will come up with Catherine Zeta Jones, If I also say 'No' to her, you will finally come up
With my wife and I will say, 'Yes.' Then you will give all the three to me .I am a poor man .I will not be able to look after all the three. So that's why I've to say 'Yes' "
【小题1】          Which of the following best describes the author's tone in telling the story?

A．Optimistic

B．Humoristic

C．Objective

D．Critical

【小题2】          The impression that the woodcutter makes on you is that he is -----

A．foolish but honest	B．foolish and honest
C．smart but honest	D．smart and honest

【小题3】          What can you infer about Jennifer Lopez and Catherine Zeta Jones?

A．They are the secret lovers of the woodcutter

B．They look much like the woodcutter's wife.

C．They are both rich women with a lot of gold and silver.

D．They are both popular with women, much worthy than his wife

Henry Ford was the first person to build cars which were cheap，strong and fast．He was able to sell millions of models because be could produce them in large numbers at a time；that is，he made a great many cars of exactly the same kind．Ford’s father hoped that his son would become a farmer，but the young man did not like the idea and he went to Detroit（底特律）where he worked as a mechanic（机械师）．By the age of 29，in 1892，he had built his first car．However，the car made in this way，the famous “Model T” did not appear until 1908-five years after Ford had started his great motor car factory．This car showed to be well-known that it remained unchanged for twenty years．Since Ford’s time，this way of producing cars in large numbers has become common in industry and has reduced the price of many goods which would otherwise be very expensive．
【小题1】    Henry Ford was the man to built _____ cars．

A．cheap and strong	B．cheap and long
C．fast and expensive	D．strong and slow

【小题2】    Ford was able to sell millions of cars，because_____．

A．he made many great cars

B．his cars are many

C．he made lots of cars of the same kind

D．both A and B

【小题3】    The young man became a mechanic，_______．

A．which was his father’s will

B．which was against his own will

C．which was against his father’s will

D．which was the will of both

【小题4】    The “Model T” was very famous_____．

A．before 1908	B．between 1982 and 1908
C．before 1892	D．after 1908

【小题5】    Ford built his own car factory______

A．in 1903

B．in 1908

C．in 1913

D．in 1897

“Colour” and “color”, “favourite” and “favorite”···Have you ever wondered why Americans spell those words without a “u”? Is it because they are lazy?
Of course not. In fact, the difference in spelling was created by Noah Webster (1758—1843). He is a teacher who reformed English to make American identity stronger. Linguists（语言学家） celebrated his 250^th birthday on October 16. After the Revolutionary War(1775—1783), Webster believed that Americans should have their own dictionary, rather than rely on British versions（版本）. He dropped the British “u” in some words. And he changed “centre” into “center” for children to learn English by spelling words more like they sounded.
Webster wasn’t shy about expressing his opinions. In defining（定义） preposterous, he wrote: “A republican government in the hands of females is preposterous.”
Webster spent 28 years on the project before completing the 70,000-word dictionary in 1828 with his American-style spellings. He also added local words. His dictionary was widely used in schools. Linguists believed it helped a new nation achieve unity and cultural independence at a time when most were focused on political freedom.
“He was the shaper of our language and the shaper of American identity,” said Joshua Kendall, who is working on a biography（传记） about Webster. “He at last bonded（联合） us through our language.”
【小题1】          According to the passage, when he worked on his dictionary, Noah Webster did all of the following EXCEPT______.

A．dropping “u” in all the British words

B．changing “centre” into “center”

C．adding local words

D．expressing his opinion.

【小题2】          When did Noah Webster probably begin his project of the dictionary?

A．In 1758

B．In 1783

C．In 1800

D．In 1828

【小题3】          Why did Noah Webster create these differences in his dictionary?

A．Because he wanted to make English simple and easy.

B．Because he wanted American English to have it own characteristics（特征）.

C．Because he wanted to make American English the best in the world.

D．Because he wanted to show that the USA is stronger than the UK.

【小题4】          Which of the following word can best describe Noah Webster’s work?

A．Interesting

B．Boring

C．Unfinished

D．Meaningful

【小题5】          Which of the following would probably be the best title for the passage?

A．Webster

B．American identity

C．The shaper of American English

D．Spelling difference between American and British English.

My Best Enemy
Once again, I was in a new school. So was a girl in my class named Lisa. That’s where the similarities ended.
I was tall and she was small. My thick black hair had been recently cut short into an untidy style. Her natural blonde hair flowed to her waist and looked great. I was 12 and one of the oldest in the class while she was 11 and the youngest. I was awkward and shy. She wasn’t. I couldn’t stand her, considering her my enemy. But she liked me and wanted to be friends.
One day, she invited me over and I said yes—I was too shocked to answer any other way. My family had moved six times in six years, and I had never managed to develop any friendships. But this girl who wore the latest fashions wanted me to go home with her after school.
She lived in a fun part of town that had two pizza places, an all-night bookstore, a movie theater and a park. As we walked from the school bus stop through her neighborhood, I tried to guess which house might be hers. Was it the white one with the perfect lawn or the three-story house with a front porch? I got very surprised when she led me into an old apartment building. She lived on the fourth floor in a two-room place with her mother,her stepfather, her two brothers and her sister.
When we got into the room she shared with her sister, she took out a big case of Babies, which was my next surprise. I had never played with them. We sat on the floor,laughing as we made up crazy stories about the Babies. We found out that we both wanted to be writers when we were older and both had wild imaginations. We had a great day that afternoon.
Lisa was loved by the whole neighborhood. The bookstore owners lent her fashion magazines; the movie theater gave her free tickets… Soon I was included in her magic world. We slept over at each other’s houses and spent every free moment together.
Lisa, my first real friend since childhood, helped me get through the rough year of early adolescence(青春期) and taught me an amazing and very surprising thing about making friends: that your worst enemy can turn out to be your best friend.
【小题1】The writer and Lisa were similar in the way that_____.

A．they were of the same age	B．they had the same hair styles
C．they were both tall	D．they were both new students

【小题2】One day Lisa invited the writer______ .

A．to go to her home	B．to go to the movie
C．to go to a park	D．to go to a pizza place

【小题3】In the passage the writer described Lisa as a girl who was ______

A．awkward and shy	B．rich and happy
C．friendly and lovely	D．quiet and lonely

【小题4】Which of the following did the writer learn from Lisa?

A．How to make up stories.	B．How to deal with enemies.
C．How to live a better life.	D．How to make friends.

                                       D
You may picture firefighters holding a hose (水管) outside of a burning building, but the Golden Eagles Hotshots don’t fight fires quite that way. When they go into action, you may not even see a fire truck.
The Hotshots are firefighters who battle fires in wildness areas. But don’t think you’ll only find them in their home state California. Wherever there is a national wildfire emergency, the Golden Eagles Hotshots could be there.
But these firefighters don’t work the same way as firefighters in a big city. They work in areas where there are a large number of trees, bushes, and grass. They climb up and down steep hills to clear brush and burnable debris（残骸）. They sometimes use water, but they often fight fire with fire!
They do that by lighting what are called “backfires,” which are small, controlled fires that burn up fuel in the path of large wildfires. That way, when the wildfire gets there, it has nothing to burn and nowhere to go, because all the burnable fuel has already gone up in smoke.
The Hotshots also clear away fuel using old-fashioned hard work. For example, they use a saw to cut away trees and heavy brush that could catch fire.
Of course there are times when the Golden Eagles Hotshots do have trucks to supply water to the fires. But the water is limited, and these guys have to rely on hard work more than anything. Physical fitness is very important. They have to be in great physical shape to handle steep hills and difficult terrain(地形) while carrying a 60-pound pack.
The Golden Eagles Hotshots definitely work hard for their pay. But thanks to their efforts, many lives have been saved, many houses have not burned, and countless trees are still standing.
【小题1】67. The firefighters mentioned in the passenger. 

A．do much of their work in California

B．avoid climbing steep hills in their work

C．do their work equipped with advanced tools.

D．carry out their work mostly in forests and mountains.

【小题2】68. According to the passage, why do the firefighters light “backfires”?

A．To signal for help.	B．To remove obstacles.
C．To protect trees and bushes.	D．To prevent the fire from spreading.

【小题3】69. What can we learn about the Golden Eagles Hotshots?

A．They are firefighters working in big cities.

B．Their work requires physical strength.

C．They are voluntary firefighters working for free.

D．They usually hold a hose to put out the fires.

【小题4】70. What is the author’s attitude towards the Golden Eagles Hotshots?

A．Appreciative

B．Doubtful

C．Worried

D．Critical