In ancient times the most important examinations were spoken, not written. In the schools of ancient Greece and Rome, testing usually was made up of saying poetry aloud and giving speeches.

In the European universities of the Middle Ages, students who were working for advanced degrees had to discuss ques??tions in their field of study with people who had made a spe??cial study of the subject. This custom exists today as part of the process of testing candidates (应试者) for the doctor’s de??gree.

Generally, however, modem examinations are written. The written examination, where all students are tested on the same questions, was probably not known until the nineteenth century. Perhaps it came into existence with the great increase in population and the development of modem industry. A room full of candidates for a state examination timed exactly by electric clocks and carefully watched over by managers, looks like a group of workers at an automobile factory. Certainly, during examinations teachers and students are expected to act like machines.

One type of test is sometimes called an “objective” test. It is intended to deal with facts, not personal opinions. To make up an objective test, the teacher writes a series (一系列)of ques??tions, each of which has only one correct answer. Along with each question the teacher writes the correct answer and also three statements that look like answers to students who have not learned the material properly.  

4. The main idea of Paragraph Three is that ________.

A. workers now take examinations             B. the population has grown

C. there are only written exams today     D. examinations are now written and timed

5. The kind of exams where students must select answers are

A. objective                                          B. personal  

       C. spoken                                             D. written

6. Modem industry must have developed ________.

A. around the 19th century                B. before the Middle Ages

C. in Greece or Rome                   D. machines to take tests

7. It may be concluded that testing ________.

A. should test only opinions                B. should always be written

C. is given only in factories          D. has changed since the Middle Ages

       April Fool’s Day（愚人节）, was a day of laughing and jokes. This day is kept in many countries, not only in Britain and the USA. This is a day to play jokes and make people laugh. Nobody knows when was the beginning of this custom. Some people connect it with the end of winter and the return of spring which make people merry and ready to play jokes.

In Scotland young people were sent for hen’s teeth or bird’s milk and everybody laughed when they could find such things. In the USA and Britain some people could place a sign on a person’s back with the words “push me!” Children often tell a grown-up that his sock is torn or he has something black on his face, and then shout “April Fool!” There is also the old purse（钱包） trick. A purse is left lying in the street, but when someone wants to take it, it is quickly pulled back by a string which the hidden joker holds in his hand. Or the purse may be filled with stones. Sometimes invitations are sent to people, asking them to come and visit somebody, but when they come they see that nobody expects them. Some people like to telephone to the zoo on the day and ask for Mr. Fish, Miss Fox or Mrs. Cat. All these jokes are very old but still they make people laugh.

1. ____________knows when the custom of April Fool’s Day started．

2.Many tricks are played on April Fool’s day except ____ ．

3.The purpose of playing jokes is to _____ ．

4.The best title of the passage is ____ ．

Until a century ago, bloodletting was used to treat many ailments. Dating back to before the time of Christ, the treatment involved letting a type of worm, called a leech, such blood from the patient. People believed that there were liquids called humors in the body and that these determined a person’s personality and heath. Bloodletting, they thought, restored a balance to these humors.
At the time, little was known of the working of the human body, but people did know that the same liquid, blood, flowed throughout everyone’s body. They knew it was a vital substance, for loss of any great amount of it meant certain death. Thus, they concluded that all diseases were carried in the bloodstream, and that if the body was relieved of bad blood, heath would return. Bloodletting, however, came to be used as a cure-all. Woman were bled to keep them from blushing while members of the clergy were bled to prevent them from thinking sinful and worldly thoughts.
From the 11th to the 18th centuries, barbers were the people to go to if you needed to be bled. This custom explains the significance of the traditional barber’s pole: the white stripes stand for bandages and the red stripe for blood.
1. This passage is concerned about            .
healthy people and doctors                         B. bleeding as a cure-all
C. barbers of long ago                                      D. leeches with special jobs to do
2. The red and white stripes on barber pole symbolize         .
sin and redemption                             B. the bleeding form
C. women who are nurses                                  D. humors in the body
3. Why is bloodletting no longer considered a cure-all?
Because more is known about the workings of the human body.
Because leeches were outlawed
Because barbers were too busy cutting hair.
Because today we know that blood is necessary for health
4. In the second paragraph, the word “Thus” could be replaced by the word       .
A. When                        B. However                  C. If                            D. So
5. Ailments means           .
A. cures                         B. women                     C. disease                     D. medicines

       April Fool’s Day（愚人节）, was a day of laughing and jokes. This day is kept in many countries, not only in Britain and the USA. This is a day to play jokes and make people laugh. Nobody knows when was the beginning of this custom. Some people connect it with the end of winter and the return of spring which make people merry and ready to play jokes.
In Scotland young people were sent for hen’s teeth or bird’s milk and everybody laughed when they could find such things. In the USA and Britain some people could place a sign on a person’s back with the words “push me!” Children often tell a grown-up that his sock is torn or he has something black on his face, and then shout “April Fool!” There is also the old purse（钱包） trick. A purse is left lying in the street, but when someone wants to take it, it is quickly pulled back by a string which the hidden joker holds in his hand. Or the purse may be filled with stones. Sometimes invitations are sent to people, asking them to come and visit somebody, but when they come they see that nobody expects them. Some people like to telephone to the zoo on the day and ask for Mr. Fish, Miss Fox or Mrs. Cat. All these jokes are very old but still they make people laugh.
【小题1】 ____________knows when the custom of April Fool’s Day started．

When the first spring flowers blossom, Easter comes. It is the oldest Christian feast, in memory of the resurrection (复活) of Jesus Christ.

Along with the traditional Easter walk or outing, the giving of Easter eggs and, more recently, of Easter presents is a main feature of the feast. Parents give their children “Easter eggs” – colored and boiled eggs, chocolate eggs, marzipan eggs – Easter bunnies, sweets, and other gifts. In some German regions, children virtually “collect” Easter eggs from their relatives, especially their godparents.

Usually, the Easter eggs are carefully hidden in the garden or in the house and the children must search for them on the morning of the Sunday. They are told that the Easter bunny has brought them. This anonymous(匿名的), mysterious bunny is like Santa Claus at Christmas. But it is less of an “educational” figure than Santa Claus is, since the eggs are not given to children as rewards for being good.

Some Easter egg games have been preserved at certain places in Germany or have even been newly developed. Children try to outdo others in rolling colored eggs down grassy slopes, for instance, or they knock the eggs’ pointed ends together and the child whose egg does not shatter（砸碎） gets the broken one, too. In some places, this custom was even used as the name of local festival.

What are the main features of Easter?

Easter walk, Easter eggs, Easter bunnies and sweets.

Easter outing and the giving of Easter presents.

Easter walk, Easter eggs, Easter bunnies and Easter egg games.

Easter outing, the collecting of Easter eggs, and Easter games

The underlined word “outdo” means ________.

A. do better than           B. do worse than           C. do slower than          D. do the same as

What can be inferred from the passage?

Easter bunny will give gifts to children for better or worse.

Easter bunny is very similar to Santa Claus, as they both bring gifts to children.

Easter always falls on a Sunday.

Some of the local festivals are named by Easter egg games.