Joanne was stuck in a traffic jam in central Birmingham at 5：30 and at 6：30 she was expected to be chairing a meeting of the tennis club. At last, the traffic was moving. She swung quickly racing to her house. As she opened the door, she nearly tripped over (被绊倒)Sheba.
“Hey, Sheba,” she said, “I've got no time for you now, but I'll take you out as soon as I get back from tennis club.” Then she noticed Sheba seemed to be coughing or choking. Obviously, she could hardly breathe. Immediately, Joanne realized she would have to take her to the vet (兽医).
When she got there, the vet was just about to close for the day. Seeing the state of Sheba, Dr. Sterne brought her quickly into his office.
“Listen, doctor, I'm really in a rush to get to a meeting, can I leave her with you, and go and get changed? I'll be back in ten minutes to pick her up, and then I'll take her on to the meeting with me. Is that OK?”
“Sure.” said the doctor.
Joanne made the quick trip back to her house in a couple of minutes. As she was once more entering the hallway, the phone by the door began to ring.
“This is Dr. Sterne,” said an anxious voice. “I want you to get out of that house immediately, ”said the doctor's voice. “I'm coming round right away, and the police will be there any time now. Wait outside!”
At that moment, a police car screeched (发出尖锐的声音)to a stop outside the house. Two policemen got out and ran into the house. Joanne was by now completely confused and very frightened. Then the doctor arrived.
“Where’s Sheba? Is she OK?” shouted Joanne.
“She’s fine, Joanne. I took out the thing which was choking her, and she’s OK now. ”
Just then, the two policemen reappeared from the house, half-carrying a white—faced man, who could hardly walk. There was blood all over him.
“My God, ” said Joanne,  “how did he get in there? And how did you know he was there?”
“I think he must be a burglar.” said the doctor. “I knew he was there because when I finally removed what was stuck in Sheba’s throat：it turned out to be three human fingers.”
【小题1】. What was Joanne supposed to do at 6：30？

London, April 28---The Man Group, a British hedge fund, is betting that investors will want to read more than the latest how-to- get –rich-quick business book.
In a five-year deal worth roughly $3.6 million announced last week, Man has agreed to sponsor(主办)the Booker Prize for Fiction, which will be renamed the Man Booker Prize. Since creating the award in 1969, Booker P.L.G., a British food group, in June 2000, executives began considering attracting outside sponsors. Man will be the first of these. Bill Grimsey, the chief of the Big Food Group, saw little business sense in a link between a food supplier and a literary prize, explained Dotti Irving, a spokeswoman for the Booker Prize foundation.
Such dissimilarities (差异) have not reduced Man’s enthusiasm for the prize which is expected to be open for the first time to American authors. David Browne, a spokesman for Man, said most of the firm’s investors are high-net-worth individuals who appreciate literature. “The people who buy hedge funds,” Mr. Browne said, “also read.”
Under the new agreement, authors will get more money. The winner of the annual prize, to be awarded in October, will receive $73,000 , up from $30,000 the Australian writer Peter Carey won last year for his novel “True History of the Kelley Gang.”
The six short-listed authors will each receive $3,600, up from $1,500. Having a hedge fund as a backer apparently has its perks.(福利).
【小题1】The article is mainly about ____.

Wednesday, October 29,2008.

The United States federal government had two young men in the state of Tennessee arrested on October 22 on unknown charges.

In court documents published on Monday, it came to light that the men had discussed attacking an African – American school and killing 14 of them.

Another crime was about planning to murder Presidential candidate Barack Obama. According to their affidavits (口供), the suspects’ “final act of violence” would be like this: when they attacked Obama they would wear white suits and top hats and drive “their vehicle as fast as they could toward Obama shooting at him from the windows.”

The two suspects are Paul Schlesselman, 18, of West Helena, Arkansas and Daniel Cowart, 20, of Bells, Tennessee. According to the court papers, they met last month over the Internet through a friend. Schlesselman and Cowart are believed to share “very strong views” about White Power.

Schlesselman listed “being racist” as his occupation on his MySpace page. He further wrote: “I'm white. I'm proud. I get angry. I like guns.”

Cowart also had a MySpace page on which photos of guns were presented under a heading of “My Guns”. On his page he wrote, “Better to die quick fighting on your feet than to live forever begging on your knees.”

Some have questioned the pair's ability to carry out the charged plan, but authorities have been very concerned about Obama as the first black presidential candidate from a major party.

“We honestly don't know if they had the ability or the skill to carry out the kind of plan that they talked about.” said Malcolm Wiley, of the United Satates Secret Service in an interview with The New York Times. “But we take any threat seriously no matter how big or how small it is.”

Cowart and Schlesselman are scheduled to appear before a judge on Thursady.

1.The passage is mainly about____________.

 A．Americans’ attitudes towards Barack Obarma        B．two young men planning to commit violence

 C．the violence in the United States                   D．the disadvantages of the Internet

2.From the passage, we can know that the two young men_________.

 A．shot 14 students in an African – American school     B．came from the state of Tennessee

 C．were proud of Barack Obama                     D．have not been sentenced yet

3.Which of the following shows the right order of the events?

 a．The two suspects were arrested.

 b．The two suspects will be tried in the court.

 c．Cowart set up his MySpace page on the Internet.

 d．Malcolm Wiley was interviewed by The New York Times.

 A．a; b; c; d      B．d; c; b; a        C．c; a; d; b        D．c; a; b; d

4.What can we infer from the news?

   A．Most of the white people in the United States don’t like Barack Obama.

  B．The two young men planned to shoot President Barack Obama.

  C．The two young men were innocent in fact.

D．The two young men strongly believed that the president should be a white man

Handwriting reveals a great deal about how an individual thinks, since the brain dictate (发号施令) hand movements when a person writes. People who think quickly will write quickly, while people whose thinking is slow will write in the same way. Sometimes we see very elaborate (精致的) handwriting, particularly among public figures, such as actors or politicians, who want to draw attention to themselves. For them, handwriting is like a dress that enables them to stand out from the crowd.
The handwriting of someone who is suited to a routine job will appear well organized, clear, and regular, without any special features drawing attention to it. If the job requires proven accuracy, like that of an accountant(会计), the handwriting, especially the numbers, should be precise. On the other hand, someone in sales or public relations must be self-assured, know how to make a good impression, and be able to befriend people even when meeting them for the first time. The handwriting of such individuals will appear rather large, with elaborate capitals and on oversized signature. It will be quick, fluent, and not necessarily reasonable.
Handwriting analysis can be used to find potential behavioral or personality problems. People who are impulsive, aggressive, or dishonest write differently than those who are socially well adapted. Warning signs include broken and strongly or sporadically (零散的) pressured handwriting; disorderly handwriting in which the words run over the lines on the paper, or extremely sharp handwriting. Generally, handwriting that is extreme in any aspect-too small, too weak or too pressured-is suspect.
Evidence of medical problems also shows up in a person’s handwriting. Individuals in pain often stop in the middle of writing. Pauses will be visible in the handwriting of people who experience difficulty breathing, because they stop writing to take a breath.
Handwriting expresses the mental and physical state of the individual, as well. Depressed people write slowly, with lines sloping (倾斜) down and heavy pressure exerted(施加) on the page. People who are excessively excited will write quickly, and their handwriting will be extremely disorganized and practically unreadable. People who are tired tend to write lines that descend down the page, and their handwriting will appear weak and slow. Healthy and vigorous individual will write energetically, and their handwriting will be quick, rhythmic and fluent.
71. The passage is mainly about _____________.
A. what handwriting indicates
B. handwriting and personalities
C. the relationship between handwriting and the individual
D. handwriting analysis and the problems it shows
72. Suppose you are a famous pop star, your handwriting will be in the style of being_______.
A. well-organized          B. oversized           C. elaborate          D. sharp
73. If a person writes with a rather large, elaborate capitals and an oversized signature, we can conclude that he is probably a (an) __________.
A. famous person          B. salesman           C. doctor             D. accountant
74. If you see disorderly handwriting, you will think that the person who writes it is ________.
A. depressed          B. vigorous            C. slow in thinking        D. dishonest
75. According to the passage, a person’s handwriting has something to do with(与……有关) all of the following EXCEPT his______.
A. mind                B. education          C. health               D. profession (职业)

A popular saying goes, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” However, that’ s not really true. Words have the power to build us up or tear us down. It doesn’t matter if the words come from someone’s else or ourselves --- the positive and negative effects are just as lasting.
We all talk to ourselves sometimes. We’re usually too embarrassed to admit it, though. In fact, we really shouldn’t be because more and more experts believe talking to ourselves out loud is a healthy habit.
This “self-talk” helps us motivate ourselves, remember things, solve problems, and calm ourselves down. Be aware, though, that as much as 77% of self-talk tends to be negative. So in order to stay positive, we should only speak words of encouragement to ourselves. We should also be quick to give ourselves a pat on the back. The next time you finish a project, do well in a test, or finally clean your room, join me in saying “Good job!”
Often, words come out of our mouths without thinking about the effect they will have. But we should be aware that our words cause certain responses in others. For example, when returning an item to a store, we might use warm, friendly language during the exchange. And the clerk will probably respond in a similar manner. Or harsh（刻薄的）and critical language will most likely cause the clerk to be defensive.
Words possess power because of their lasting effect. Many of us regret something we once said. And we remember unkind words said to us! Before speaking, we should always ask ourselves: Is it loving? Is it needed? If what we want to say doesn’t pass this test, then it’s better left unsaid.
Words possess power: both positive and negative. Those around us receive encouragement when we speak positively. We can offer hope, build self-esteem（自尊）and motivate others to do their best. Negative words destroy all those things. Will we use our words to hurt or to heal? The choice is ours.
【小题1】 The main idea of the first paragraph is that ________.