Beautiful pictures of mountains and forests, clear skies, flying birds, wild animals, silly faces — you can find them all in one place. 46 ? On a postcard! Have people always sent postcards? No! Before postcards, people 47 sealed (密封的) letters.

The 48 for the first decorated (装饰的) postcard came to John P. Charlton in 1861. He thought a simple card 49 a border would be a great way to send a note. Then in the late 1800s, postcards which had pictures on them 50 . By law, people had to write their note on the front—on the picture! The back was 51 for the address. Several years later, England allowed a divided-back (背面隔开的) postcard. Then people could write their 52 on the back left side. And they put the address 53 . During the early 1900s, the golden age of postcards, people around the world were more and more 54 picture postcards. In 1908, Americans alone mailed over 677 million postcards.

Today, postcards are the 55 most popular collection in the world after stamps and coins. You can always see or get a lot of newly-designed postcards, especially on New Year's Day.

46. A. How　　 B. When　　　 C. Why　　　 D. Where

47. A. liked　　　 B. hated　　　 C. found　　　 D. lost

48. A. advice　　 B. picture　　　 C. idea　　　 D. card

49. A. above　　 B. with　　　　 C. under　　 D. for

50. A. happened　 B. changed　　　 C. ended 　　D. appeared

51. A. even　　　 B. only　　　　 C. still　　　 D. ever

52. A. note　　　 B. word　　　　 C. address　　 D. letter

53. A. on the front B. on the back　 C. on the left　 D. on the right

54. A. surprised at B. interested in　 C. expected by D. worried about

55. A. first　　　 B. second　　　 C. third　　　 D. fourth

Listening test is one of the most important parts of the English exam. Here are some tips for you.
Before you start to listen, you need to relax. Don't be stressed out. And try to read the questions.These questions usually help you understand the conversation or the passage.
Then listen carefully to the first sentence. It usually tells you the main idea of the passage. When you're listening, try to do some thinking and take some notes, such as:
☆What happened　
☆When, where, and how　
☆What does the speaker want to tell us　
In this way, you may understand the passage better,
Please remember not to think about one or two words for a long time. When you hear some words you don't know, don't spend too much time on them. Very often, you'll find out what they mean later when you go on with the listening.
【小题1】This passage mainly talks about______.

A．tips on listening	B．tips on speaking
C．tips on reading	D．tips on writing

【小题2】It's better for you to keep ________when you start to have a listening test.

A．excited	B．relaxed
C．stressed out	D．worried

【小题3】We should listen to the first sentence carefully, because it usually tells us________.

A．the answers to the questions

B．where to write the answers

C．the main idea of the passage

D．how much time left (剩余) for the listening test

【小题4】 When you're listening, it's important for you to ________

A．remember every word

B．take some notes

C．understand all the words

D．think about one or two words for a long time

【小题5】The 　　　　usually help(s) us understand the passage better.

A．questions	B．first sentence
C．notes	D．A, B and C