Is there a difference in meaning between "It's too late to telephone. Mary is asleep now." and "It's too late to telephone. Mary will be asleep now."？

Yes. The difference is in the reason given for it being too late to telephone. In the first sentence "Mary is asleep now", the speaker is stating（陈述） a fact. In the second sentence "Mary will be asleep now", the speaker is saying what Mary usually does. In fact, it's possible that Mary isn't asleep, but she is usually asleep at this time.

So let's take two situations. In the first case, imagine Mary's mother answers the telephone.

You: "May I speak to Mary, please?"

  Mother: "No. It's too late. Mary is asleep now."

You: "Are you sure? It's only 10 0'clock."

Mother: "Yes. I went to her room and she was asleep."

The mother knows that Mary is asleep because she went into her room and saw her.

Here is another case. Two friends decide to telephone Mary.

Jack: "Let's telephone Mary. It's 10 0'clock."

Jill: "No. It's too late. She will be asleep now."

Jill knows that Mary always goes to bed before 10 o'clock, so now she'll probably be asleep. But it is also possible that she is staying up late.

1. In the first situation. Mary's mother _______.

A. is afraid to wake up Mary

B. wants to tell you that she knows Mary is asleep

C. knows that Mary wants to sleep at this time

D. wants to know if she can take a message for Mary

2.In the second situation, Jill _______.

A. knows that Mary has gone to bed

B. doesn't know whether Mary is asleep

C. is sure that Mary cannot answer the telephone

D. thinks it's possible that Mary cannot answer the telephone

3.In which situation do you think the word "will" is used in the same way Jill uses it?

A. Will you please lend me a hand?

B. It's too heavy, I think. I'll help you.

C. Don't get into his office. He will be angry now.

D. You won't have to come to my office. I will send it to you.

We all want to live in good neighborhoods, but not everyone lives in a good neighborhood. How can you build a better community for yourself and your family? There are many things you can do.

Paint your intersection(十字路口). A street intersection is not something you think of as interesting. However, In Portland, people in some neighborhoods have made them really worth stopping for. Some paint, creative people and a bright design are all it takes to bring neighbors together and produce something the whole community can be proud of.

Make a poetry box. The idea is simple, really - create a box with a glass or clear plastic front. Put this box on a post. Write your own poem or print out your favorite classic and display it in the box for all your neighbors to see. You can also set up a drop box and encourage neighbors to write their own poems and drop them in the box. Display the poems from your neighbors as the poems come in.

Set up a tool library. How often do you need a leaf blower? Or a chain saw? And how often do you use that electric cake mixer? To01 libraries have space where neighbors can drop their hardly used tools to share. Check with a local business, community center or church group about space that can house a tool library.

Turn your front yard into your backyard. How often do you meet your neighbors in your backyard? Probably never. Moving your typical（典型的） backyard activities to the front immediately makes you more visible(可见的). You can create front-yard gardens, build community benches and even just barbecue in your front yard. They are all great ways to connect with your community.

With effort, you'll make your neighborhood a much better place.

1.How many ways are mentioned to build a better community?

A. Three.      B. Four.      C. Five.      D. Six.

2.Which of the following is NOT true?

A. Writing poems is a good way to connect with your neighbours.

B. Each family may have hardly used tools for others to share.

C. In Portland, the intersections in some neighborhoods are very attractive.

D. Move your backyard activities to the front yard and you'll have chances to meet your neighbors.

3.Which of the following shows the structure（结构） of the whole passage?

"Two reporters will visit our new school. And some of you will be in the photo." Ms. Myers told Room 5. The kids were    and started doing their hair except Brad. He knew he wouldn't be in the photo.

Brad was small. Kids were always making jokes about how       he was. "They won't put Brad in or you'd need a magnifying glass（放大镜）to see him," Charlotte said. The other kids laughed. Brad    to smile, even though what Charlotte said was    . He believed they didn't mean to    him.

Two reporters named Rick and Tegan arrived half an hour later. "Time to take photos," Tegan said. "Who do you want, Rick?"

"I'll have these three girls and those three boys." Then he pointed to Jocob, Eddie, and Brad.

Brad could    believe it.

Rick set up the six kids in front of the new library's big painting. "It's big." he said. "We'll get you guys to kneel (跪) in front of it,    it looks even bigger."

"Is that why you picked Brad?" said one of the Room 5 kids. "So it looks really big?" Some people laughed. Brad also gave a      as he usually did.

But Rick shook his head. "No," he said. "I chose him because he's got a huge smile two miles wide."

He looked at Brad and said, "Plus, this guy is big inside, where it     . Right?" Hearing this, Brad spoke before he could think. "In my heart, I'm three miles wide." Room 5 laughed again. But Brad knew that they were laughing     him this time.

1.A. nervous      B. proud     C. excited   D. lucky

2.A. ugly         B. short     C. thin     D. fat

3.A. had         B. preferred C. tried     D. turned

4.A. sad      B. true     C. funny     D. mad

5.A. stop       B. encourage C. punish     D. hurt

6.A. exactly     B. hardly    C. certainly   D. probably

7.A. if      B. although  C. so that     D. because

8.A. smile       B. reply     C. look     D. reason

9. A. happens   B. hides     C. appears   D. matters

10.A. at      B. with     C. about     D. to

- I dislike shopping online. I prefer to actually see and touch what I'm buying before I pay for it, especially for clothes and shoes.

- That's right. _______.

A. Seeing is believing

B. Clothes do not make the man

C. The first step is always the hardest

D. You are never too old to learn

- Do you enjoy your present job at Coming Inc.?

-_______. I just do it for a living.

A. Of course    B. Not really

C. Not sure    D. Not a little

- I hope to take the computer course.

- Good idea. _______ more about it, visit this website.

A. Found out    B. Find out

C. Finding out    D. To find out

- Can you get me the novels by Mo Yan?

- Of course. All but one of them_______ in our company.

A. published    B. was published

C. were published    D. are published

- Please drive a bit faster. I hear a storm is_______.

- Don't worry. I'II find a hotel nearby to avoid it.

A. on the way    B. in its way

C. in some way    D. by the way

- I hope Bob won't_______ my invitation. How I wish he could come to the party!

- It's hard to say. He left his plane ticket at home when he went to the airport last time.

A. remember    B. forget    C. refuse    D. accept

- Carl, are you coming with us?

- I'd love to, but something unexpected_______.

A. is coming up    B. comes up

C. came up    D. has come up