In 1947 a group of famous people from the art world headed By an Austrian conductor decided to hold an intemational festival of music,dance and theatre in EdinBurgh. The idea was to reunite Europe after the Second World War.
At the same time, the “Fringe” appeared as a challenge to the official festival.Eight theatre groups turned up uninvited in 1947,in the Belief that everyone should have the right to perform,and they did so in a puBlic house disused for years.
Soon,groups of studentsfirstly from EdinBurgh University, and later from the universities of Oxford and CamBridge,Durham and Birmingham were making the journey to the Scottish capital each summer to perform theatre By little-known writers of plays in small church halls to the people of EdinBurgh.
Today the “Fringe”,once less recognized, has far outgrown the festival with around 1,500 performances of theatre,music and dance on every one of the 21 days it lasts. And yetas early as 1959,with only 19 theatre groups performing,some said it was getting too Big.
A paid administrator was first employed only in 1971, and today there are eight administrators working all year round and the numBer rises to 150 during August itself. In 2004 there were 200 places housing 1,695 shows By over 600 different groups from 50 different countries. More than 1,25 million tickets were sold.
【小题1】Point was the purpose of EdinBurgh Festival at he Beginning?

A．To Bring Europe together again.

B．To honor heroes of World War 11.

C．To introduce young theatre groups.

D．To attract great artists from Europe.

【小题2】Why did some uninvited theatre groups come to  EdinBurgh in 1947?

A．They owned a puBlic house there.

B．They came to take up a challenge.

C．They thought they were also famous.

D．They wanted to take part in the festival.

【小题3】Who joined the "Fringe" after it appeared?

A．they owned a puBlic house there

B．University students.

C．人rusts from around the world.

D．Performers of music and dance.

【小题4】We may learn from the text that EdinBurgh Festival.

A．has Become a non-official event

B．has gone Beyond an art festival

C．gives shows all year round

D．keeps growing rapidly

Doctor are known to Be terriBle pilots. They don't listen Because they already know it all. I was lucky: Became a pilot in 1970, almost ten years Before I graduated from medical school. I didn't realize then, But Becoming a pilot makes me a Better surgeon. I loved flying. As I flew Bigger, faster planes, and in worse weather. I learned aBout crew resource management (机组资源管理), or CRM, a new idea to make flying safer. It means that crew memBers should listen and speak up for a good result, regardless of positions.
I first read aBout CRM in 1980. Not long after that, an attending doctor and I were flying in Bad weather. The controller had us turn too late to get our landing ready. The attending doctor was flying; I was safety pilot He was so Busy Because of the Bad turn, he had forgotten to put the landing gear (起落架) down. He was a Better pilot - and my Boss - so it felt unusual to speak up. But I had to: Our lives were in danger. I put aside my uneasiness and said, "We need to put the landing gear down now!" That was my first real lesson in the power of CRM, and I've used it in the operating room ever since.
CRM requires that the pilot/surgeon encourage others to speak up. It further requires that when opinions are from the opposite, the doctor doesn't overreact, which might prevent fellow doctors from voicing opinions again. So when I'm in the operating room, I ask for ideas and help from others. Sometimes they're not willing to speak up. But I hope that if I continue to encourage them , someday someone will keep me  from ”landing gear up”.
【小题1】What dose the author say aBout doctors in general?

A．They like flying By themselves.

B．They are unwilling to take advice.

C．They pretend to Be good pilots.

D．They are quick learners of CRM.

【小题2】The author deepened his understanding of the power of CRM when_______.

A．he saved the plane By speaking up

B．he was in charge of a flying task

C．his Boss landed the plane too late

D．his Boss operated on a patient

【小题3】In the last paragraph”landing gear up” proBaBly means ______.

A．following flying requirements.

B．overreacting to different opinions.

C．listening to what fellow doctors say

D．making a mistake that may cost lives

【小题4】Which of the following can Be the Best title for the text?

A．CRM:A New Way to Make Flying Safe

B．Flying Makes Me a Better Doctor

C．The Making of a Good Pilot

D．A Pilot-Tumed Doctor

As a boy, Mark Twain caused much trouble for his parents. He used to play practical jokes on all his friends and neighbors. The nature of his jokes often led to violence (暴力). He hated to go to school and he constantly ran away from home. He always went in the direction of the nearby Mississippi. He liked to sit on the bank of the river for hours at a time and just gaze at the mysterious island and the passing boats. He learned many things about the river during those days. He learned all about its history and unusual people. He later made them part of the history of America in the book Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.
Mark Twain received his genius (天才) from his mother. Obviously he didn’t get it from his father. He once stated that he had never seen a smile on his father’s face. On the other hand, his mother had the ability to say humorous things. The same ability made Mark Twain an extremely humorous public speaker.
【小题1】According to the passage, Mark Twain was a _______ boy.

A．shy

B．brave

C．naughty

D．poor

【小题2】Because of the nature of his jokes when he was a child, Mark Twain would _______.

A．ran away from school

B．cause his parents to quarrel with others

C．get into trouble with his friends and neighbors

D．like to sit on the bank of the Mississippi River

【小题3】 It can be learned form the passage that      ______.

A．Mark Twain’s father was a cruel man

B．Mark Twain never attended school on time

C．Mark Twain often went boating in the nearby river

D．Mark Twain’s mother was something of a humorist

【小题4】In his book Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain wrote much about _______.

A．the Mississippi and the people living on it

B．his friends and neighbors

C．his school life

D．his parents

【小题5】It is inferred that what affected Mark Twain’s character mostly was _______ .

A．his practical jokes

B．his father’s seriousness

C．the history of the Mississippi

D．his mother’s genius for humor

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.
However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighborhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families that he is considered the rightful property of someone or other of their daughters.
“My dear Mr. Bennet,” said his lady to him one day. “have you heard that Netherfield Park is let at last?” Mr. Bennet replied that he had not.
“But it is, ” returned she, “for Mrs. Long has just been here, and she told me all about it.”
Mr. Bennet made no answer.
“Do you not want to know who has taken it?” cried his wife impatiently.
“You want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it.”
This was invitation enough.
“Why, my dear, you must know, Mrs. Long says that Netherfield is taken by a young man of large fortune from the north of England; that he came down on Monday in a chaise to see the place, and was so much delighted with it, that he agreed with Mr. Morris immediately; that he is to take possession before Michaelmas, and some of his servants are to be in the house by the end of next week.”
“What is his name?”
“Bingley.”
“Is he married or single?”
“Oh! Single, my dear, to be sure! A single man of large fortune; four or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls!”
How so? How can it affect them?
“My dear Mr. Bennet,” replied his wife, “how can you be so tiresome! You must know that I am thinking of his marrying one of them.”
“Is that his design in settling here?”
“Design! Nonsense, how can you talk so! But it is very likely that he may fall in love with one of them, and therefore you must visit him as soon as he comes.”
“I see no occasion for that. You and the girls may go, or you may send them by themselves, which perhaps will be still better, for as you are as beautiful as any of them. Mr. Bingley may like you the best of the party. ”
【小题1】The sentence “… a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife” means that ______.

A．a single man without money needn’t a wife

B．women want to get married to financial stable men

C．a single man who is financially stable needs a wife

D．once man becomes rich, he must want to get a wife

【小题2】 From the conversation between the Bennets, we can conclude that Mrs. Bennet _______.

A．wanted to persuade her husband to visit the young man

B．wanted to get an invitation from their new neighbor to a party

C．asked for her husband’s permission to visit the new neighbor

D．wanted to tell her husband something about their new neighbor

【小题3】At the end of the passage, Mr. Bennet sounded _________ toward his wife’s proposal.

A．grateful

B．indifferent

C．delighted

D．interested

Fourteen is not an age at which you try to earn millions of dollars. But for Bangalore boy, Suhas Gopinath, it was.
One day in August, 1999, Suhas, studying at the Air Force School in Hebbal, was surfing the Net at a cyber cafe. He happened to hit an MSN source code （源码）. That made him decide to learn more about HTML （超文本标记语言） and to design and set up his own website under the address of a US-based company, Network Solutions.
He kept updating his website, posting interesting things on it. This impressed Network Solutions and they invited him to attend a class on Web design and development. His mom and uncle criticised him for not taking his education seriously. But gradually, his dad started encouraging him and even bought him a computer and Net connection. In fact, that was his first investment in the company.
On May 14, 2000, along with friends Clifford Leslie and Binay M. N, he floated （筹资开办） his own website — www.coolhindustani.com. He did not have the money to start, for his parents refused to give him a penny. So he wrote to Network Solutions Inc. in the US and they readily agreed.
In August, the same year, he set up Globals Inc., a Web solutions and networking company, with a team of four. Now, he has 400 employees, more than 200 customers across the globe and offices in 11 countries, and he is worth over $100 million.
After finishing his high school education, he studied at Stanford University for two years. But Suhas says: “Education alone will not make a good professional （专业人员）.”
【小题1】When Suhas Gopinath was praised by Network Solutions, his mother ______.

A．felt proud of his success

B．forbade him to enter a cyber cafe

C．worried about his studies

D．wanted to buy him a computer

【小题2】Suhas Gopinath’s website “coolhindustani” was supported by ______.

A．his parents	B．an American company
C．his uncle	D．Stanford University

【小题3】In which order did the following events happen?
a. Suhas was invited by Network Solutions to attend a class.
b. Suhas set up his first website.
c. Suhas set up Globals Inc.
d. Suhas went abroad for further education.

A．a-c-b-d

B．b-a-d-c

C．a-b-c-d

D．b-a-c-d

【小题4】What is TRUE about Globals Inc.?

A．It is a world-class company.

B．It is owned by Suhas and his two friends.

C．It is a branch of Network Solutions.

D．It earns about 100 million dollars each year.

After my dad died on Aug.30, 2001, my mother made sure we marked each anniversary. At first, my brothers and sister and I would travel hours to get home, but eventually we got to the point where just one or two of us would make it back to go to Mass with her and spend the day together.
The great love of her life, the man who broke up with her right before her college graduation, only to return two years later claiming he’d traveled the world and hadn’t found anyone to compare with her, remained a daily presence in her life. She spoke about him so often and kept his memory so alive that people were sometimes surprised to learn that he was gone. She took over the garden where he’d planted and made it her own.
When the 10th anniversary of his death approached, my mom began talking about it and planning for it weeks in advance. The date on her kitchen calendar was circled and marked R.I.P. (Rest in Peace). Of course she wanted all of us there and settled the dates for our coming back.
On Monday — the day before the anniversary — she went to morning Mass and walked downtown for lunch with friends, and later told my sister on the phone that she felt Dad still so close that as she was walking back home, she heard someone yell and thought, “Oh, there’s Dick.”
That evening she went out to water flowers, just as my father, 10 years before, had gone out to the garden to pick vegetables before he died. A neighbor heard the tin watering can strike the ground as she fell and hit her head. My mother died within hours, on Aug.30, 2011, the 10thanniversary. She needed to mark that anniversary, she wanted us all home and my dad had waited long enough.
【小题1】From the second paragraph we know that the author’s father______.

A．traveled around the world and left her mother

B．left her mother first but returned two years later

C．had a quarrel with her before her graduation

D．was not the right man her mother wanted at that time

【小题2】We can infer from the passage that the author’s mother _____.

A．knew her last day was coming on Aug.30

B．kept everything of her father’s home

C．missed Father though he had passed away

D．remained a daily presence in his life

【小题3】Which of the following statements is true EXCEPT that _____.

A．Mother died the day before the anniversary of Father’s death

B．Mother died in the garden as Father did ten years ago

C．Mother died because she fell to the ground accidentally

D．Mother died on the same date when Father did ten years ago

【小题4】What does the writer imply in the underlined part of the last sentence?

A．She wanted us to stay at home.	B．Mother missed us very much.
C．Mother expected us to get back.	D．That day was her last day.

Miss Gogers taught physics in a New York school. Last month she explained to one of her classes about sound, and she decided to test them to see how successful she had been in her explanation. She said to them, “Now I have a brother in Los Angeles. If I was calling him on the phone and at the same time you were 75 feet away, listening to me from across the street, which of you would hear what I said earlier, my brother or you and for what reason?”
Tom at once answered, “Your brother. Because electricity travels faster than sound waves.” “That's every good,” Miss Gogers answered; but then one of the girls raised her hand, and Miss Gogers said. “Yes, Kate.”
“I disagree,” Kate said. “Your brother would hear you earlier because when it's 11 o'clock here it's only 8 o'clock in Los Angeles.”
【小题1】Miss Gogers was teaching her class_________.

A．how to telephone	B．about electricity
C．about time zone(时区)	D．about sound

【小题2】Miss Gogers raised this question because she wanted to know whether______.

A．it was easy to phone to Los Angeles	B．her student could hear her from 75 feet away
C．her students had grasped（理解）her lesson.	D．sound waves were slower than electricity

【小题3】Tom thought that electricity was _________.

A．slower than sound waves	B．faster than sound waves
C．not so fast as sound waves	D．as fast as sound waves

【小题4】Kate thought Tom was wrong because _______.

A．clocks in Los Angeles showed a different time from those in New York

B．electricity was slower than sound waves

C．Tom was not good at physics at all

D．Tom's answer had nothing to do with sound waves

【小题5】Whose answer do you think is correct according to the law of physics?

A．Tom's

B．Kate's

C．Bath A and B

D．Neither A nor B

I want to let you know about an event that changed my life many years ago. We were living in College Station, Texas and my wife and I were on our way home from Houston, Texas one Sunday morning. We decided to stop at a local gas station to get something to eat since we had enough time.
When we finished, we got back into our car and before I started it, we noticed a homeless man standing in front of the building. His clothes were worn and it looked as if he didn’t have any money. It was cold and I was sure he wanted something to drink. However, it was not this that moved(感动) me.
　　A dog was also walking up to the front of the building. Being a dog lover, I noticed that the dog was a mother and that she had just had some puppies(小狗). She was hungry and weak and I felt so bad for her. I knew if she didn’t eat soon, she and her puppies would not live on.
　　People walking by didn’t even notice her. She might not have been as pretty and clean as most, but she still deserved(值得) better. But we still did not do anything, someone else did. The homeless man, who I thought could not afford anything to eat, went back into a store and bought dog food with all the money he had.
I know that this story isn’t as inspirational as most stories, but it plays a great part in our lives. You see, that was Mother’s Day weekend. And a lot of people forget that some animals are parents too.
【小题1】From the passage we can know that______.

A．the author didn’t like dogs

B．the dog was not pretty enough to be loved

C．the author wanted to help the dog but he was unable to

D．the dog and her puppies were in danger of dying of hunger

【小题2】Which of the following moved the author?

A．Most people walking by the dog didn’t notice her

B．The homeless man wore worn clothes on the cold day

C．The homeless man bought food for the dog with all of his money

D．The homeless man had not any money to buy any food for himself

【小题3】The author did the following except that he_______.

A．had pity on the dog that was in danger

B．bought dog food with all the money he had

C．was a person who treasured dogs very much

D．went home from Houston one Sunday morning

【小题4】According to the passage, we know that the homeless man was _______.

A．kind and helpful	B．brave and kind
C．clever and helpful	D．clever and brave

【小题5】The best title for this passage would be_______.

A．My Memory	B．My wife and I
C．Animals Are Parents Too	D．A Mother Dog and Her Puppies

A man named Smith was sitting on his roof during a flood, and the water was up to his feet. Before long a fellow in a canoe passed and shouted, "Can I give you a lift to higher ground?"
"No, thanks," said Smith. "I have faith （信任）in God and he will save me."
Soon the water rose to Smith’s waist.（腰，腰部） At this point a motor boat pulled up and someone called out, "Can I give you a lift to higher ground?"
"No, thanks, I have faith in God and he will save me."
Later a helicopter flew by, and Smith was now standing on the roof with water up to his neck. "Grab the rope, "shouted the pilot. "I’ll pull you up."
"No, thanks," said Smith. "I have faith in God and he will save me. "But after hours of struggling with water, poor exhausted Smith drowned and went to his reward. As he arrived at the Pearly Gates, Smith met God and complained about this. "Tell me, God, "he said, "I had such faith in you to save me and you let me drown. What happened?"
To which God replied, "What do you want from me? I sent you two boats and a helicopter."
【小题1】When the pilot asked Smith to grab the rope, ______.                

A．Smith pulled the pilot up	B．Smith did so
C．Smith didn’t do so	D．Smith didn’t hear him

【小题2】At last, poor exhausted Smith drowned and ______.

A．went to his reward	B．passed away
C．went to heaven	D．all of the above

【小题3】What do we know about Smith? __      ____.

A．He was a lazy man	B．He was a lucky man who believed in God
C．He was a poor man	D．He was a silly man who believed in God

【小题4】What do you think of this passage? This passage is very ______.

A．moving

B．humorous

C．depressing

D．surprising

【小题5】The best title of this passage is" ______" .

A．What Do You Want from Me?	B．How Do You Believe in God?
C．How God Loved Smith!	D．Smith Obeyed God’s Order

Linda Evans was my best friend—like the sister I never had. We did everything together: piano lessons, movies, swimming, horseback riding.
When I was 13, my family moved away. Linda and I kept in touch through letters, and we saw each other on special time—like my wedding (婚礼) and Linda’s. Soon we were busy with children and moving to new homes, and we wrote less often. One day a card that I sent came back, stamped “Address (地址) Unknown. ” I had no idea how to find Linda.
Over the years, I missed Linda very much. I wanted to share (分享) happiness of my children and then grandchildren. And I needed to share my sadness when my brother and then mother died. There was an empty place in my heart that only a friend like Linda could fill.
One day I was reading a newspaper when I noticed a photo of a young woman who looked very much like Linda and whose last name was Wagman — Linda’s married name. “There must be thousands of Wagmans,” I thought, but I still wrote to her.
She called as soon as she got my letter. “Mrs Tobin!” she said excitedly, “Linda Evans Wagman is my mother. ”
Minutes later I heard a voice that I knew very much, even after 40 years, laughed and cried and caught up on each other’s lives. Now the empty place in my heart is filled. And there’s one thing that Linda and I know for sure: We won’t lose each other again!
【小题1】The writer went to piano lessons with Linda Evans _______.

A．at the age of 13	B．before she got married
C．after they moved to new homes	D．before the writer’s family moved away

【小题2】They didn’t often write to each other because they _______.

A．got married	B．had little time to do so
C．didn’t like writing letters	D．could see each other on special time

【小题3】There was an empty place in the writer’s heart be­cause she _______.

A．was in trouble

B．didn’t know Linda’s address

C．received the card that she sent

D．didn’t have a friend like Linda to share her happi­ness or sadness

【小题4】They haven’t kept in touch _______.

A．for about 40 years	B．for about 27 years
C．since they got married	D．since the writer’s family moved away