Read the following passage. Answer the questions according to the information given in the passage and the required words limit. Write your answers on your answer sheet.

Almost everybody in America will spend a part of his or her life behind a shopping cart（购物手推车）. They will, in a lifetime, push the chrome-plated contraptions many miles. But few will know—or even think to ask—who it was that invented them.

Sylvan N. Goldman invented the shopping cart in 1937. At that time he was in the supermarket business. Every day he would see shoppers lugging（吃力地携带） groceries around in baskets they had to carry.

One day Goldman suddenly had the idea of putting baskets on wheels. The wheeled baskets would make shopping much easier for his customers, and would help to attract more business.

On June 4, 1937, Goldman’s first carts were ready for use in his market. He was terribly excited on the morning of that day as customers began arriving. He couldn’t wait to see them using his invention.

But Goldman was disappointed. Most shoppers gave the carts a long look, but hardly anybody would give them a try.

After a while, Goldman decided to ask customers why they weren’t using his carts. “Don’t you think this arm is strong enough to carry a shopping basket?” one shopper replied.

But Goldman wasn’t beaten yet. He knew his carts would be a great success if only he could persuade people to give them a try. To this end, Goldman hired a group of people to push carts around his market and pretend they were shopping! Seeing this, the real customers gradually began copying the phony（假冒的） customers.

As Goldman had hoped, the carts were soon attracting larger and larger numbers of customers to his market. But not only did more people come—those who came bought more. With larger, easier-to-handle baskets, customers unconsciously bought a greater number of items than before.

Today’s shopping carts are five times larger than Goldman’s original model. Perhaps that’s one reason Americans today spend more than five times as much money on food each year as they did before 1937—before the coming of the shopping cart.

81. What do the underlined words “chrome-plate contraptions” in Paragraph 1 refer to?（No more than 3 words）

82. What was the purpose of Goldman’s invention? （No more than 8 words）

83. Why was Goldman disappointed at first? （No more than 8 words）

84. Why did Goldman hire people to push carts around his market? （No more than 10 words）

On my first trip in the United States , I went to San Antonion . I was on foot . So I went to only three places there : the Alamo , the River Walk , and the Art Gallery . I especially enjoyed visiting the Alamo , a well- known building in America .

When I arrived at the Alamo , I was deeply impressed because it was well kept and in good shape . The Alamo was erected in about 1722, was later used as a fort(保垒) , and has been kept as a state monument(纪念馆) to the Texan War of Independence against Mexico . During the battle , all of the Texan defenders were killed . I was surprised at the exhibition of rifles , guns , cannons and swords .

I was especially attracted by the paintings of a war . The paintings expressed the feelings of a painter very well . Even thought about 160 years have passed since the Battle of the Alamo , the exhibit is well kept . When I came out after seeing the exhibition , I felt as if I had a victory . The outer wall of the Alamo was destroyed here and there . When I touched the wall , I could feel the damage . After the war , little remained of the Alamo . All of the windows and doors were destroyed . The top part of the gate way disappeared without a trace(遗迹) . I will remember the Alamo forever . It is one of the best places to visit in San Antonio .

1.It can be inferred according to the passage that the author may be a____ .

A．writer	B．Chinese
C．European	D．foreigner to Americans

2.The underlined word “erected” (in Paragraph2) means ______ .

A．found

B．invented

C．repaired

D．built

3.People come to visit the Alamo now for ______ .

A．its height and shape

B．its history and the story about it

C．the exhibits in it

D．its shape

4.Which of the following may be the best title for this passage ?

A．A Famous Building in America

B．My First Visit to America .

C．The Texan War of Independence against Mexico .

D．My Impressions of the Alamo in San Antonio , Texas .

 

Surrounded by the towns of Davidson, Huntersville and Cornelius, Lake Norman is a man-made lake. It is also the largest lake in the state covering a shoreline of more than 500 miles. State Park on the lake gives a chance for different water activities.
People, both tourists and locals, come to the area on weekends, where during the peak season a large crowd arrives to relax and have fun. A great activity for kids is education except fun. The tour covers aquatic(水生的) life, especially that seen at Lake Norman. Since it is more of an educational one it also covers other important knowledge about water.
Those wanting to go boating are seen off into the lake on canoes and pedal boats which are rented on hourly basis. The charges are $5 per hour increased by $3 for every additional(附加的) hour. The boats can be kept on the lake all day from 10 in the morning till 5 in the evening during the summers. Both canoes and pedal boats can seat 2 to 4 people.
The park also set up a group tent camp, where a site can hold about 25 people. People from all over the country come here to catch some fishing action, obviously hoping to catch some fish as well. The inner park lake is also great for fishing, though it offers a smaller area compared to Lake Norman. Those here for adventure like to go for biking and hiking on the trails inside the park.
Lake Norman is a great place to spend time with family and friends. People come here on vacation or simply to kick back after a week’s work and relax.
【小题1】From the passage we learn that Lake Norman is ______.      

A．the second largest lake in the USA

B．surrounded by the town of Davidson

C．not a natural one but made by people

D．about five hundred metres long

【小题2】A large number of people came to the park ______. 

A．to watch the performances here	B．during the peak season
C．to have sports games	D．all the year round

【小题3】In what way does the park attract children except having fun?

A．Learning a lot.	B．Catching fish.
C．Going hiking.	D．Going cycling.

【小题4】How much will you have to pay at least if the five of you want to go boating a day?

A．28 dollars.

B．36 dollars.

C．23 dollars.

D．46 dollars.

【小题5】If you want to save more money you can ______.  

A．stay in the hotel that is near the park

B．come to the park in summer or spring

C．stay in the tent of the park for the night

D．fish in the small lake in the park

Directions: Complete the following passage by using ONE word that fits the context．

Visit the Edinburgh Festival

Every year, thousands of people come to Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland, to be part of the Edinburgh Festival．For three weeks every August and September the city is filled with actors and artists from 1. over the world．They come to Edinburgh  2. the biggest arts festival in Britain．During this time the streets of the city are alive with music and dance from  3.  morning till late at night．You can even see artists painting pictures on the streets．One of the best parts of the Festival is the "Fringe", 4.  students do comedy shows in small halls and cafés．

5.   of thousands of tourists come to the Festival to see new films and plays and hear music performed by famous musicians．This year, you can see over five hundred performances  6.   actors from more than forty countries．

The tickets for these performances are quite cheap and it is usually easier to see your favorite stars in Edinburgh 7.  it is in London．Come to Edinburgh next summer, but remember it can be difficult to find a room, 8. why not book your hotel now?

 

A long time ago, there was a seed and because he was only a seed, nobody noticed him．Thus, feeling inferior （低等的）, the seed gave no importance to his existence （存在）．

Then one day, a wind picked him up and threw him on an open field under the sun．Later, he was given rain．

Years later he saw a traveler sitting by his side．“Thank God for this．I really need some rest,” he heard the traveler say．

“What are you talking about?” the seed quickly asked．He thought the man was making fun of him．No one ever spoke to him like that．

“Who just spoke?” the shocked man asked．

“It is me．A seed．”

`“A seed?” The man looked at the big tree．“Are you joking? You are not a seed．You are a big tree!”

“Really?”

“Yes! Why else do you think people come here?”

“What do they come here for?”

“To feel your shade （树荫）! Don’t tell me you didn’t know you had grown over time．”

A moment passed before the traveler’s words brought him pride．

The seed thought and smiled for the first time in his life．The years of torture （折磨） by the sun and the rain finally helped him grow up．

“Oh! That means I’m not a little seed anymore! I was actually born to make people feel comfortable．Wow! That’s great!”

1.The seed didn’t realize the importance of his existence because ______．

A．nobody looked after him	B．he was thrown into the open air
C．he was such a small seed	D．he didn’t believe in himself

2.The traveler sat by the seed’s side to ______．

A．escape from the rain

B．thank God for offering him a tree

C．have a rest and enjoy the shade

D．talk with the big tree

3.The author’s purpose of writing the passage is to ______．

A．tell us that we should help each other

B．praise the seed for his strength

C．teach us not to laugh at others

D．tell us never to lose hope

4.Where does the passage most probably come from?

A．A history book．	B．A science book．
C．A storybook．	D．A novel．