All Eskimos live most of their lives close to sea or fresh water. They may follow game inland for several hundred miles, but they always return to the shores of rivers, lakes, or seas. Eskimo land has a bare look. Large rocks, pebbles, and sand cover much of the surface. Plants called lichen (地衣) grow on the rocks, and where there is enough soil, grass, flowers, and even small bushes manage to live. No trees can grow on Eskimo land, so geographers sometimes call it the Arctic plains. There are some animals in Eskimo land, such as rabbits, which eat the plants. Other animals, like the white fox and the gray wolf, eat the rabbits. The Eskimo is a meat-eater, too, and may even eat a wolf when food is scarce.

The Eskimo year has two main parts: a long, cold winter and a short, cool summer. Spring and fall are almost too short to be noticed. Summer is the best time, as food is usually plentiful. But it is also the time when Eskimos are very busy. Winter is never far away, and the men must bring home extra meat for the women to prepare and store, for seldom can enough animals be killed in winter to feed a family.

The Far North is sometimes called the land of the midnight sun. This is true in the middle of summer, for between April 21st and August 21st the sun never sets in Northern Greenland. But in midwinter the Far North is a land with no sunshine at all. Around Oct. 21st the Eskimos of Northern Greenland see the sun set directly south of them, and they don’t see it again until February 22nd. All places on earth get about the same amount of daylight during a year. As a result, if summer is lighter, winter has to be darker.

Winter nights in the Far North are seldom pitch-black. As in the rest of the world, the stars and moon provide a little light. The northern lights also help the Eskimo to see. And with the ground covered with snow, even a little light is reflected back to the Eskimo’s eyes.

1.Which of the following statements is NOT true?

2.What’s the meaning of the underlined words “pitch-black” in Paragraph 4?

3.From the passage, we can infer all of the following EXCEPT that_______.

Have you ever heard of blogs (博客)? If you haven’t, you should have. It’s here, it’s growing and it’s having an influence on our life. Surf the Internet and you’ll find blogs everywhere. A blog, shortened from “weblog”, is a public Internet journal written by one person or a group of people. It is a website in which a person or a group can place news, personal thoughts, text, photos, video or audio files, or links upon which visitors can comment. A blog lets you post on the Internet without having to know web design or be technical. You are given an environment to make dated entries on the topic of your choice which are “published”, so other people can read them.

Authoring a blog, maintaining a blog or adding an article to an existing blog is called “blogging”. Blogging has revolutionized Internet publishing in the last several years because it gives everyone with Internet access the opportunity to become an online writer. Objects, such as “text and photos” in a blog can be called “blog posts”, “posts”, or “entries”. The person who posts these entries is called a “blogger”.

Now, somewhere around the world, a blog is created almost every 6 seconds. Because it’s great potential, Bill Gates views it as important as e-mail, BBS, and MSN. He’s trying to make blogs the important tools for future business communications.

1.A blog is __________ .

2.A person can do the following things in a blog EXCEPT _______.

3.Who is a blogger?

4.From the passage we know that _________.                  .

While IQ (Intelligence Quotient) tells you how smart you are. EQ (Emotional Quotient) tells you how well you use your smartness. Professor Salovery, the psychologist who created the term, EQ, says that it is IQ that gets you hired but it is EQ that gets you promoted.

Supported by his research, he suggested that when predicting future successes, a person’s brainpower, as measured by IQ tests, might actually matter less than a person’s character, or EQ. Professor Salovery may be correct. For example, have you ever wondered why some of the best and smartest students in your class end up failing exams? Perhaps it is because of their EQ. People often make the mistake of thinking that EQ is the opposite of IQ. It is not. Although it is hoped that people have both high EQs and IQs, there is little doubt that those with low EQs have a hard time surviving in life.

For a long time, researchers discussed if a person’s IQ could be raised. The geneticists said no, while the social scientists said yes. Furthermore, the social scientists said that it was possible to improve a person’s EQ, particularly in terms of “people skills”, such as understanding and communication.

Recently, a professor released the findings of a study on senior high school students. When some normal students were introduced to some disabled students, they found that afterwards they were more willing to help people in difficulties. At the same time, there was a marked change in the disabled students’ attitudes. They became more positive about their disabilities and were more eager to try new things. People with high EQs often have positive attitudes towards life and are open to different ideas, so they tend to be more creative in their thinking. Please remember that having a high IQ is helpful but having a high EQ might even be more helpful.

1.According to Professor Salovery, what factor matters the most in predicting whether a person will be successful or not?

2.The second paragraph tells us that __________.           

3.Which of the following is the writer’s attitude toward EQ and IQ?

4.Which of the following would be the best title of this passage?

When I was an official of a school in Palo Alto, California, Polly Tyner, the president of our board, wrote a letter that was printed in the Palo Alto Times. Polly’s son, Jim, had great difficulty in school. He was classified as the educationally handicapped and required a great deal of patience on the part of his parents and teachers. But Jim was a happy kid with a great smile that lit up the room. His parents knew his difficulties, but they always tried to help him see his strengths so that he could walk with pride. Shortly after Jim finished high school, he was killed in a motorcycle accident. After his death, his mother submitted this letter to the newspaper.

“Today we buried our 20-year-old son. He was killed in a motorcycle accident on Friday night. How I wish I had known that the last time I had talked to him would be the last time. If I had only known that, I would have said to him, ‘Jim, I love you and I’m always so proud of you.’ I would have taken the time to count the many blessings he had brought to the lives of the people who loved him. I would have taken the time to appreciate his beautiful smile, his laughter, and his genuine love to other people.

“When I put all the good things on the scale and try to balance them with all the irritating (恼人的) things such as the radio that was always too loud, the haircut that wasn’t to our liking, the dirty socks under the bed, etc., I find that the irritations really don’t amount to much.

“I won’t get another chance to tell my son all that I would have wanted him to hear, but, other parents, do have a chance. Tell your young people what you would want them to hear as if it may be your last conversation. The last time I talked to Jim was the morning of the day when he died. He called me to say, ‘Hi, Mom! I just called to say I love you. You have to go to work now. Bye.’ That day, he gave me something to treasure forever. ”

If there is any purpose at all for Jim’s death, maybe it is to make others appreciate life more and to tell people, especially family members, that they should take the time to let each other know just how much they care. You may never have another chance. Do it today!

1.What’s the meaning of the underlined phrase “the educationally handicapped”?

2.According to the writer, which of the following about Jim is TRUE？

3.What did Polly think of Jim?

4.The purpose of Polly’s letter is to _______.               .

When I woke next morning, I was dying of 36 .I seemed to have a hole instead of a  37   I dressed quickly and hurried down to the dinning-room. It was a big room with six tall windows and the ugliest wallpaper（背景墙） I had ever seen ! 38 , I had been told the hotel was not beautiful but that you were better 39 there than in any other hotel; and that was 40 I wanted just then.

The waiter came hurrying up. Before I came downstairs I had prepared 41 carefully for what I must 42. I had looked three times in my dictionary to make sure 43 “breakfast” really meant “breakfast”. I had tried to get the right 44 and I had stood in the front of a mirror and twisted my mouth until it ached.

The waiter asked me 45 I could not understand, but I spoke only my one prepared word “breakfast”. He looked at me in a 46  way, so I repeated it, still he did not understand. It was 47 that English people didn’t understand their language. The waiter 48 his head and went away, but he came back in a minute and brought a tray with tea, bread and butter--- enough to feed a small army--- and went away. But I was hungry, and I left 49. When the waiter came back I thought his face showed a little 50, but you can never 51 what a waiter’s face really shows. In another minute he brought 52  tray with some bacon(熏肉) and some eggs. He 53  have misunderstood me , but I thought it was no use explaining to people who don’t understand their own language , so I just set to work on the bacon and eggs, wondering whether I could possibly clear that plate.

Well, I finished the bacon and eggs. I got up and made my way slowly to my room-----at least five pound 54 . I never believed until then that any meal could 55 me, but on that day I met my Waterloo(滑铁卢).

13.A waved          B. shook         C. bowed              D. patted

Weather _________,the party will be held in the garden.

_____ more about university courses, call (920) 746-3789.

It was at this shop _______ I bought my skirt. How about coming to my home to have a look tonight?

Many applicants stood outside the manager’s office, nervously waiting _________ for the job.

They desired that they __________ the right to attend the meeting.