If you have a chance to go to Finland, you will probably be surprised to find how “foolish” the Finnish people are.

    Take the taxi drivers for example. Taxis in Finland are mostly high-class Benz with a fare of two US dollars a kilometer. You can go anywhere in one, tell the driver to drop you at any place, say that you have some business to attend to, and then walk off without paying your fare. The driver would not show the least sign of anxiety.

    The dining rooms in all big hotels not only serve their guests, but also serve outside diners. Hotel guests have their meals free, so they naturally go to the free dining rooms to have their meals. The most they would do to show their good faith is to wave their registration（登记）card to the waiter. With such a loose check, you can easily use any old registration card to take a couple of friends to dine free of charge.

    The Finnish workers are paid by the hour. They are very much on their own as soon as they have agreed with the boss on the rate. From then on they just say how many hours they have worked and they will be paid accordingly.

    With so many loopholes （漏洞） in everyday life, surely Finland must be a heaven to those who love to take “petty advantages”.  But the strange thing is, all the taxi passengers would always come back to pay their fare after they have attended to their business; not a single outsider has ever been found in the free hotel dining rooms. And workers always give an honest account of the exact hours they put in. As the Finns always act on good faith in everything they do, living in such a society has turned everyone into a real “gentleman”.

1. The underlined words in this passage means to “______”.

　　A. be ready to help others         B. make good use of one’s friends

　　C. be a little ahead of others       D. gain something at other’s expense

2. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

　　A. While taking a taxi in Finland, you can get off without first paying your fare.

　　B. In a big hotel in Finland, you can enjoy free meals if you’re living in the hotel.

　　C. The bosses in Finland pay the employees according to registration of their working hours.

　　D. The workers are always honest with their working hours.

3.We can learn from the passage that ______.

　　A. the Finnish society is of very high moral （道德） level

　　B. there are many loopholes in everyday life in Finland

　　C. in Finland, most taxi drivers will not charge you anything

　　D. everyone in Finland is like a gentleman, for they have faith in themselves

4.Which of the following is the best title of the passage ?

　　A. Life in Finland       B. A Society with “Foolish” People

　　C. What a Life          D. Honest accounts of the Finns

E?
Among the four skills in learning English ,which of these is the “Odd-Man-Out”?The answer is speaking. The other three you can do alone on your own. But you can't really speak alone! Speaking to yourself can be “dangerous” because men in white coats may come and take you away!?
Where can you find people to speak English? And how can you practise speaking when you are alone?At school if you pay to go to a language school ,you should use the chance to speak .If your teacher asks you to speak in pairs or groups with other students ,try to say as much as possible. Don't worry about your mistakes. Just speak!?
Conversation Clubs　Many cities around the world have conversation clubs where people can exchange one language for another .Look in your local newspaper to find a conversation club near you .They are usually free although some may charge a small entrance fee.?
Shopping　Even if you don't want to buy anything ,you can ask questions about products that interest you in a shop.“How much does this cost?” “Can I pay by cheque?” Often you can start a real conversation—and it costs you nothing!?
Cafe and Bars　There are often American, Britain, Irish and Australian bars in many large cities .If you can find one, you'll probably meet many people speaking English as a first or second language.?
Language is all around you　Everywhere you go, you find language .Shop names, street names ,advertisements ,notices ,and car numbers....When you walk down the street ,practise reading the words and numbers that you see .Say them to yourself .It's not exactly a conversation ,but it will help you to “think” in English .But don't speak too loud!?
Songs and Video　Repeat the words of an English-language song singing with the music until it becomes automatic. It's good practice for your memory and for the mouth muscles that you need for English.?
Above all ,speak as much as possible! Make as many mistakes as possible! When you know that you have made a mistake, you know that you have made progress!?
57．What does “Odd-Man-Out” probably mean according to the passage??
A.Someone or something appearing different from others.?
B.Someone or something standing out of the group.?
C.Someone or something arranged in pairs.?
D.Someone or something easily mistaken for another.?
58．What might happen if you speak to yourself loudly in public??
A.The police will take you away and punish you.?
B.The doctors will force you to stay in hospital.?
C.You will have to pay to escape being punished.?
D.You will be forbidden to be member of the club.?
59．Why does the writer say “Make as many mistakes as possible”?Because _______.
A.everyone will make mistakes in learning English?
B.everyone will meet people speaking English with some mistakes?
C.making mistakes is a must in making progress in learning English?
D.making mistakes can make one realize the importance of speaking?
60．According to the passage,which way is not likely to be accepted by English beginners?
A.Recite poems loudly along the riverside.?
B.Listen to some English pop songs and video.?
C.Find an Englishman to speak English with.?
D.Take to the TV showing programmes at home.??

One of the best-known American writers of children’s books is Alfred Strong, or Doctor Strong, as he is better known to readers everywhere. Now, an art show called “Doctor Strong From Then to Now” is travelling around the United States. The pictures and drawings show the history of Doctor Strong.

Doctor Strong first became famous almost fifty years ago when his first children’s book was published. Since then, he has written forty-five books that have sold more than one hundred million copies around the world.

Doctor Strong’s books are known for their easy use of words and colorful, hand-drawn pictures. These drawings bring life to his imaginary creatures. The Cat in the Hat, Horton the Elephant, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, and hundreds of others.

The San Diego Museum, in California, organized the art show. It included about three hundred Doctor Strong’s original(最早的) drawings and some of his writings.

Most of Doctor Strong’s books, although written in a funny way, have serious messages. For example, in Mc Elligot’s Pool, he describes the danger of pollution. He discusses the arms race in The Butter Battle Book, written in 1984.

Doctor Strong is almost eighty-four years old now. He says he never planned to write stories just for children. He says he writes stories that interest people of all ages. He says he uses easy words so that everyone, even a child, can understand.

1.Alfred Strong is a famous _______ in the United States.

A．doctor            B．artist             C．writer            D．reader

2.Doctor Strong first became famous in __________.

A．his eighties when an art show was travelling around the United States

B．his fifties when his drawings and writings were published

C．1984 when his book Mc Elligot’s Pool was published

D．his thirties when his first book was published

3.Doctor Strong’s books are very popular in America because __________.

A．they are stories about animals such as cats, elephants and so on

B．they are written in easy words with colorful pictures

C．he organized the art show in California　　　　

D．they are written in a funny way

4.His purpose in writing many such books is __________.

A．to show his original pictures and drawings　　

B．to organize a special art show of his own

C．to make his readers laugh or smile when they read his books

D．not only to interest people but also to uncover some serious social problems

Children are taught to respect everyone, ______ race, sex or age. 

A. in terms of        　B. in the face of    　　   C. regardless of        D. in place of

　　On Wednesday, the Chinese government, decided to increase its medical subsidies(补贴)  for farmers from 10 Yuan (US$1.23) to 20 Yuan (US$2.47) a head a year from 2006.
　　 As part of the country's healthcare reform programme, the co-operative rural （农村）medical system was first introduced in 2003 to set up self-help among farmers on a voluntary basis.  Due to insufficient government input to finance hospitals that are mostly State-owned, the country's healthcare reform has largely turned out to be a failure, adding hugely to the financial burden on the public.
While everyone complains about quickly-rising medical costs, rural residents are suffering more than their urban(城镇) cousins because of a lack of money, as well as not being able to enjoy high quality health services. At present, farmers earn on average only one-third of what urban residents make. Most of the country's medical resources are located in cities even though rural residents make up two-thirds of the population.
　　Poor health conditions make it more difficult to help farmers get out of poverty; and poverty, in turn, refuses farmers the chance to improve their health.　To end this vicious circle, policy-makers tried the co-operative medical system, with a small sum of central and local financial support for each rural participant. But the system has proved to be less than perfect. Due to the limited financial input, the programme still does not benefit the majority of farmers in a significant way. This has reduced many farmers' enthusiasm for participating. A high percentage of involvement is of course a precondition for such a system.
　　The central government intends to expand the programme into a national medical system by 2008. Increasing government subsidies is a necessary step to make the co-operative medical system more attractive to farmers. But an increase of 10 Yuan for each participant is surely far from enough to perfect the system. The total cost is not particularly heavy compared to the rapid growth in government revenue(财政).
　　 Clearly, policy-makers are becoming increasingly aware of how urgent the narrowing of the development gap between rural and urban areas really is. Besides economic policies to push the rural economy, large amount of government investment on improving rural healthcare and education is badly needed.
1. Compared with that in 2006, what will be the rate of coming increase in China’s medical subsidies for farmers?
A. 100%               B. 50%                 C. 200%                      D. 150%
2. What is the reason for the failure in the country’s healthcare reform?
A. Bad management system.        
B. The government didn’t input enough money to support hospitals that are mostly
state-owned.
C. The health conditions in the country is too bad.
D. There are too many farmers that need medical care.
3. What is needed to narrow the development gap between rural and urban areas?
①. Large amount of government investment in economy.
②. Large amount of government investment on improving rural healthcare and education.
③. Economic policies to push the rural economy
④. A high percentage of farmers’ involvement in the medical system
⑤. A better management system
A. ①②③ B. ②③④             C. ①②③④⑤          D. ②③
4. Why are many farmers not enthusiastic in joining the co-operative medical system?
A. It doesn’t benefit most of the farmers in an effective way.
B. They cannot spare the needed money to join the programme.
C. They don’t believe in the system.
D. They don’t think it necessary.
5. What can be inferred from the last but one paragraph?
A. An increase of 10 Yuan in medical subsidies for each person is not enough.
B. The government can afford to increase the medical subsidies for farmers.
C. The government will get farmers of the whole country involved in a medical system by 2008. 
D. If the government increase subsidies, more farmers are likely to join the medical system.