The cartoon is jokingly updating Shylock, a leading figure from William Shakespeare’s classic play The Merchant of Venice, to fit into the new age of the Internet. In the play, the Christian merchant Antonio has borrowed money from Shylock ,who is Jewish. Because of their religion Jews like Shylock have been regarded as low and worthless and badly mistreated by the noble-styled gentleman Antonio and his friends, who at that time contained the very Christian society of Venice and indeed all Europe .On account of the conflict between members of the two religions, despite their being willing to enter into business deals, there is little love or friendship between the two.

Shylock agrees to lend Antonio the money but as part of the written agreement he insist that should Antonio fail to repay him on time he must cut a pound of his own flesh from his body and present it to Shylock. This of course would kill him but nonetheless Antonio agrees. In the end, Antonio’s business fails as the ships carrying his goods sink （Antonio is truly a gentlemen but not much of a businessman）,and Antonio has to be forced to threateningly face Shylock and his demands.

In the cartoon, Shylock is a merchant who operates, as many businessmen do today, on the Internet. His website, www.poundoffflesh, com. is probably where Antonio would log on to get terms of his loan. The humor lies in the contrast between the very modern business technology and the very old-fashioned costume Shylock is wearing.

1.We may learn from the text that the writer of the article is for the purpose of ____.

A. grandly advertising the new cartoon to the audience

B. warning us not to borrow money from the merchants like Shylock

C. simply introducing a new cartoon on the net to the public

D. telling readers to be sincere and honest when you deal with your friends

2.The underlined word “contain” probably means ____.

A. control　 B. cover　　　　　　 C .include　　　　　 D. create

3.You will find it very funny when you see the cartoon that ____.

A. large amounts of money go into Shylock’s cashbox

B. Antonio doesn’t suffer from his flesh being cut off his body

C. many famous actors and actress are invited to perform the updated classic play

D. all the characters in the cartoon are not in today’s clothes though they do nowaday business

4.What would be the best title for the text?

A. The E-merchant of Venice

B. Business between Shylock and Antonio

C. Never Borrow Money from Shylock

D. Sow the Wind and Reap（gain） the Whirlwind

 

Summer Holiday Fun 2010 !

The summer holidays are upon us again Here is our guide to summer holiday fun in Peterborough!

Peterborough Museum

The Age of the Dinosaurs’is the museum’s main attraction this summer．Get up close to prehistoric creatures via some great hands—on exhibits! Watch out for monsters lurking around every ember! The museum is open from 10：00am to 5：00pm Monday to Saturday，and from 12：00pm to 4：00 pm on Sundays in August．

Call 01733 864663 for details

Saxon Youth Club

School holiday fun：Young people aged 13—19 will be able to produce their own music, compete in spots activities，or try their hand at cooking at Saxon Youth Club，Saxon Community Centre, Norman Road．Peterborough every Monday and Wednesday from 3：00pm．PLUS an aero ball tournament will take place on Thursday 12th August between 3：30pm and 6：30pm．

Call 01 353 720274 for details

Houghton Mill   

Alice through the Looking Class—a new production of the family favorite on Monday 30th．August．Bring rugs or chairs to sit on and a picnic if you wish to eat during the play．Gates open 5：30pro，performance 6：30pm—8：30pm．Tea room will be open until end of the interval．Adult ￡10．Child￡7．Family ￡20．

Booking advisable on 0845 4505157．

Farmland Museum and Denny Abbey

Farmland Gaines：From Wellie Wanging to Pretend Ploughing matches，come and join the Farmland Team．Collect your sporting stickers and create a colorful rosette that is fit for a winner！No need to book，just turn up between 12：00pm and 4：00pm on Thursday 19th August Suitable for children aged four and above，each child should be accompanied by an adult and all activities are included in the normal admission price Tickets Cost￡7 per child．

For further information，call 01223 810080．

If you are interested in cooking, you can go to          .

A．Peterborough Museum               B．Houghton Mill

C．Saxon Youth Club                        D．Farmland Museum

You want to watch the new play with your parents，so it will cost you            ．

A．￡7                     B．￡17                   C．￡27                      D．￡20

Which of the following activities needs parents’company?

A．Playing farmland games                    B．Watching a new play．

C．Competing in spots activities．             D．Visiting the dinosaur exhibition．

If Tom comes to Peterborough for amusement on August 19，he will have ____ activities to choose from for himself．

A．one activity                               B．two activities       

C．three activities                             D．four activities

Sports Tickets

Mon., Nov. 1st, 2011 1:00 P.M.	New York Giants vs. Philadelphia Eagles	$20~$850
Mon., Nov. 1st, 2011 1:00 P.M.	Miami Dolphins vs. New York Jets	$35~$1000
Mon., Nov. 8th, 2011 4:15 P.M.	Sam Diego Chargers vs. New York Giants	$40~$1500
Mon., Nov. 15th, 2011 1:00 P.M.	Jacksonville Kaguars vs. New York Jets	$21~$6100
Mon., Nov. 22nd, 2011 1:00 P.M.	Atlanta Falcons vs. New York Giants	$40~$19500
Mon., Nov. 29th, 2011 1:00 P.M.	Carolina Panthers vs. New York Jets	$10~$12000
Mon., Dec. 3rd, 2011 8:20 P.M.	New York Jets vs. Buffalo Bills	$97~$800

Volunteers Wanted!
We conduct studies to evaluate new medications for sleep disorder．Both healthy adults and patients suffering from insomnia are sought to participate in these studies．
You may be qualified to take part as a healthy adult volunteer if you are aged 18 or over and are willing to have your sleep patterns recorded．Further, if you meet these standards and also suffer from a little sleep disorder you may be able to sign our register of patients．
Warnings:
☆ Always control your child when he is first learning to skateboard．To best assist a beginner, hold one of the child’s hands and guide him along a smooth and level surface．
☆ A safety helmet and elbow, wrist and knee pads must always be worn while your child is skateboarding．
☆ Sneakers must always be worn while your child is skateboarding．Don’t let your child skate in bare feet, sandals or any other open-toed shoes．
☆ Never let your child skateboard in the street．
☆ Never tow skateboarders with a bicycle or a car．
☆ Skateboard only in daylight．
Parents, there is a Tropical Paradise for kids too!
The Pacific Islands Club knows something others don’t．Kids are on holiday and they want to be pampered （纵容）, too．Our kids’ Club of PIC Guam is free of charge and has both indoor and outdoor activities ensuring a really great time to children aged 4 to 12．Open daily from 09: 00 a．m．．Clubmates will accompany children to all of the exciting play areas．They will also love to join the other children for the special meals we have prepared just for them．
【小题1】If you want to watch a play by New York Jets but pay the least money, you should go _____．

A．Mon., Nov.15th, 2011 1:00 P.M.

B．Mon., Nov.1st, 2011 1:00 P.M.

C．Mon., Nov.29th, 2011 1:00 P.M.

D．Fri., Dec.3rd, 2011 8:20 P.M.

【小题2】While your child is skateboarding, you should_____．

A．lead him by the hand all the time．

B．let him put on open-toed shoes

C．require him to skateboard at night

D．forbid him to skateboard at night．

【小题3】We know from the text that PIC Guam______．

A．charges children the least money．

B．offers meals especially to children．

C．only has indoor activities．

D．gets children alone to go to all the play areas．

【小题4】Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?

A．New York Giants participates in four matches in November, 2011．

B．You can be a volunteer if you suffer diet disorder．

C．Skateboarding without helmet and knee pads is unwise．

D．There are no meals provided in Pacific Islands Club．

Summer Holiday Fun 2010 !

    The summer holidays are upon us again Here is our guide to summer holiday fun in Peterborough!

Peterborough Museum

    The Age of the Dinosaurs’is the museum’s main attraction this summer．Get up close to prehistoric creatures via some great hands—on exhibits! Watch out for monsters lurking around every ember! The museum is open from 10：00am to 5：00pm Monday to Saturday，and from 12：00pm to 4：00 pm on Sundays in August．

Call 01733 864663 for details

    Saxon Youth Club

    School holiday fun：Young people aged 13—19 will be able to produce their own music, compete in spots activities，or try their hand at cooking at Saxon Youth Club，Saxon Community Centre, Norman Road．Peterborough every Monday and Wednesday from 3：00pm．PLUS an aero ball tournament will take place on Thursday 12th August between 3：30pm and 6：30pm．

    Call 01 353 720274 for details

Houghton Mill   

    Alice through the Looking Class—a new production of the family favorite on Monday 30th．August．Bring rugs or chairs to sit on and a picnic if you wish to eat during the play．Gates open 5：30pro，performance 6：30pm—8：30pm．Tea room will be open until end of the interval．Adult ￡10．Child￡7．Family ￡20．

Booking advisable on 0845 4505157．

Farmland Museum and Denny Abbey

    Farmland Gaines：From Wellie Wanging to Pretend Ploughing matches，come and join the Farmland Team．Collect your sporting stickers and create a colorful rosette that is fit for a winner！No need to book，just turn up between 12：00pm and 4：00pm on Thursday 19th August Suitable for children aged four and above，each child should be accompanied by an adult and all activities are included in the normal admission price Tickets Cost￡7 per child．

For further information，call 01223 810080． 

If you are interested in cooking, you can go to          .

    A．Peterborough Museum               B．Houghton Mill

    C．Saxon Youth Club                        D．Farmland Museum

You want to watch the new play with your parents，so it will cost you            ．

    A．￡7                     B．￡17                   C．￡27                      D．￡20

Which of the following activities needs parents’company?

    A．Playing farmland games             B．Watching a new play．

C．Competing in spots activities．             D．Visiting the dinosaur exhibition．

If Tom comes to Peterborough for amusement on August 19，he will have      activities to choose from for himself．

A．one activity                               B．two activities       

C．three activities                             D．four activities

Dorothy was always speaking highly of her role in the play, ____, of course, made the others unhappy.

A. who       B. which     C. this        D. what