Tobacco is the second major cause of death in the world. It is responsible for the death of one in ten adults worldwide (about 5 million deaths each year). If current smoking patterns continue, it will cause some 10 million deaths each year by 2020. Half the people that smoke today, that is about 650 million people, will eventually be killed by tobacco.
Tobacco is the fourth most common risk factor for disease worldwide. The economic costs of tobacco use are equally devastating (破坏性的). In addition to the high public health costs of treating tobacco-caused diseases, tobacco kills people at the height of their productivity, depriving (剥夺) families of breadwinners(养家糊口的人) and nations of a healthy workforce. Tobacco users are also less productive while they are alive due to increased sickness. A 1994 report estimated that the use of tobacco resulted in an annual global net loss of 200 thousand million US dollars, a third of this loss being in developing countries.
Tobacco and poverty are closely linked. Many studies have shown that in the poorest households in some low-income countries as much as 10% of total household expenditure is on tobacco. This means that these families have less money to spend on basic items such as food, education and health care. It contributes to a higher illiteracy rate, since money that could have been used for education is spent on tobacco instead.
【小题1】
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the first paragraph?

A gentleman put an advertisement in a newspaper for a boy to work in his office. Out of the nearly fifty men who came to apply, the man selected one and dismissed(解散) the others.
“I should like to know,” said a friend, “the reason you preferred that boy, who brough not a single letter—not a recommendation(介绍信）.”
“You are wrong,” said the gentleman. He had a great many. He wiped his feet at the door and closed the door after him, indicating that he was careful. He gave his seat immediately to the crippled (跛的) old man, showing that he was kind and thoughtful. He took off his cap when he came in and answered my questions immediately, showing that he was polite and gentlemanly.
“All the rest stepped over the book which I had purposely put on the floor. He picked it up and placed it on the table; and he waited quietly for his turn instead of pushing and crowding.
When I talked to him, I noticed his tidy clothing, his neatly brushed hair, and his clean fingernails(指甲). Can’t you see that these things are excellent recommendations? I consider them more significant(明显的) than letters.”
45.  A gentleman put an advertisement in a newspaper _____
A.  in order to hire an office boy          
B.  so as to dismiss the others
C.  in order to select one among the fifty applicants         
D.  so as to select one and dismiss the others
46.  The underlined word “indicatiing” probably means _______
A.  drawing         B.  saying          C.  showing         D.  speaking
47.  _______ was the very person the gentleman preferred.
A.  He who had many letters       
B.  He who had no letters         
C.  He who wiped his feet          
D.  He who was careful,kind, polite and thoughtful
48.  According to the passage, we know that the gentleman hired the boy by________
A.  his good manners               B.  the relationships between them 
C.  by the feelings                 D.  his letters

第二节完形填空（共20小题；每题1.5分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36-55各题所给的四个选项（A、Ｂ、Ｃ和Ｄ）中选出最佳选项。
Living one’s life is really like driving on a highway. First, to make a good driving, the driver must carefully examine the   36   of his car, just as he cares for his health for a good life.   37   he enters into the highway, he must   38   certain rules for his own safety. It also can be said that he must obey certain rules of society when living as a decent (体面的) adult. For example, on the highway, he is   39   to keep a constant (不断的)   40  , which can be compared with his   41   activities through his life. Neither driving nor living must be taken at too   42   a speed nor at too slow a speed. If he drives too   43  , the police will give him a   44  , just as he will be arrested when he breaks the law.   45   too conservatively (保守地), he will be called an out-of-date person   46   the others driving at a(an)   47   speed. When he wants to change his lanes, he must give careful   48   to every direction of his car. It is sometimes dangerous to change the way of life   49   he can be sure of completion (完成,结束) by doing so. He   50   not make any unnecessary changing of lanes which gives him only danger. Finally, he must   51   where he is now by recognizing some  52   appearing now and then. If he takes the wrong way, he must return to the right as soon as he can. But he may thus lose   53   and energy both on the road and in life. On the whole, driving on a highway and living one’s life are both hard work.   54   if he is careful and serious enough,   55   will provide him with much pleasure.

STRANGERS parties go wild these days. The main idea of them is to never let the people know who their matches are until the last minute. These are some popular practices that are storming the world’s youth on this V-day.
Speed dating
It’s exactly what the name implies. Complete with a timer, a whistle and 50 willing singles, speed dating is not the traditional dinner and a movie type of first date. Singles pay US $35 for three minutes with more than two dozen future dates. They ask questions and try to get to know each other. At the sound of a whistle, they do the same thing all over again―25 times in all.
Lock and key party
Women are given a lock and men are given a key, upon arriving at the party. Each key and lock has several matches. One can hunt for his/her later-to-be sweetheart in various groups, and try out the key or lock. Each time a lock and key match the pair are entered into a ballot (票数） for top prizes!
Dinner in the dark
Waiters wearing night vision glasses guide the guests through the pitch-black dining room. They are seated at the table and familiarized with the wine glass and plate. Food is handled with the fingers. People will not see the food they are eating or the guests at their table until the dessert course. At that moment, dining partners will appear.
Message party
Have A Cocktail, Leave A Message! When you arrive, you get a tag with a number and a pad of post-it notes. If you see someone you like, write a message on the message board. But wait… You’ve got a message… Go and collect it! You can make new friends and win lots of gifts. The more messages you leave on the bulletin board, the more chances you have of winning prizes.
【小题1】What do you think the similarities of these parties are?

The world itself is becoming much smaller by using modern traffic and modern communication means. Life today is much easier than it was hundreds of years ago; but it has brought new problems. One of the biggest is pollution. To pollute mean to make things dirty. Pollution comes in many ways. We see it, smell it, drink it and even hear it.
Man has been polluting the earth. The more people, the more pollution. Many years ago, the problem was not so serious because there were not so many people. When the land was used up or the river was dirty in a place, men moved to another place. But this is no longer true. Man is now slowly polluting the whole world.
Air pollution is still the most serious. It’s bad to all living things in the world, but it is not only one kind of pollution. Water pollution kills our fish and pollutes our drinking water. Noise pollution makes us become angry more easily.
Many countries are making rules to fight pollution. They stop the people from burning coal in houses and factories in the city, and from blowing dirty smoke into the air.
The pollution of SO₂ is now the most dangerous problem of air pollution. It is caused by heavy traffic. It is sure that if there are fewer people driving, there will be less air pollution.
The earth is our home. We must take care of it. That means keeping the land, water and air clean. And we must keep careful of the rise in pollution at the same time.
【小题1】Our world is becoming much smaller ___________.