The most frightening words in the English language are, “Our computer is down.” You hear it more and more when you are on business. The other day I was at the airport waiting for a ticket to Washington and the girl in the ticket office said, “I’m sorry, I can’t sell you a ticket. Our computer is down.”
“If your computer is down, just write me out a ticket.”
“I can’t write you out a ticket. The computer is the only one allowed to do so.”
I noticed every passenger was just standing there drinking coffee and staring at the black screen. Then I looked down on the computer and asked her, “What do all you people do?”
“We give the computer the information about your trip, and then it tells us whether you can fly with us or not.”
“So when it goes down, you go down with it.”
“That’s good, sir.”
“How long will the computer be down? I wanted to know.”
“I have no idea. Sometimes it’s down for 10 minutes, sometimes for two hours. There’s no way we can find out without asking the computer, and since it’s down it won’t answer us.”
After the girl told me they had no backup computer, I said. “Let’s forget the computer—What about your planes? They are still flying, aren’t they?”
“I couldn’t tell without asking the computer.”
“Maybe I could, just go to the gate and ask the pilot if he is flying to Washington,” I suggested.
“I wouldn’t know what gate to send you to. Even if the pilot was going to Washington, he couldn’t take you if you didn’t have a ticket.”
“Is there any other airline flying to Washington within the next few hours?”
“I wouldn’t know,” she said, pointing at the dark screen. “Only ‘IT’ knows. It can’t tell me.”
By this time there were quite a few people standing in lines. The words soon spread to other travelers that the computer was down. Some people went white, some people started to cry and still others kicked their luggage.
1.Where do you often hear the frightening words “Our computer is down”?
A．at the airport. B．At the gate.
C．On business D．In the ticket office
2.What could the girl in the ticket office do without asking the computer?
A．She could do nothing.
B．She could write out a ticket.
C．She could still sell a ticket.
D．She could answer passengers’ questions.
3.What does the underlined word “down” in Paragraph 1 mean?
A．White B．Broken C．Black D．Dark
4.We can learn from the last paragraph that .
A．a modern computer won’t be down
B．computers can take the place of human
C．there will be great changes in computers
D．sometimes a computer may bring suffering to people
5.The best title for the article is .
A．Asking the Computer
B．When the Computer Is Down
C．The Computer of the Airport
D．The Most Frightening Words
Halloween falls on October 31st, the last day of the Celtic calendar. Halloween dates back to over 2000 years ago.
The American tradition of "trick-or-treating" probably dates back to the early All Souls' Day marches in England. During the festivities, poor people would beg for food and families would give them pastries called "soul cakes" in return for their promise to pray（祈祷）for the family's dead relatives.
The act of giving out soul cakes was encouraged by the church as a way to replace the ancient practice of leaving food and wine for homeless ghosts. The practice was finally taken up by children who would visit the houses in their neighborhood and be given sweets, food, and money.
The tradition of dressing in costume（服饰）for Halloween has both European and Celtic roots. Hundreds of years ago, winter was an uncertain and frightening time. Food supplies were often not enough because people were afraid of the darkness and would stay at home without doing businesses.
On Halloween, when it was believed that ghosts came back to the earthly world, people thought that they would meet with ghosts if they left their homes. To avoid being recognized by these ghosts, people would wear masks when they left their homes after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for their fellows（同伴）.
On Halloween, to keep ghosts away from their houses, people would place bowls of food outside their homes to satisfy the ghosts and prevent them from trying to enter their houses.
1.Halloween falling on October 31st , has a history of more than 2,000 years.
2.During Halloween in America, poor people would be given food like pastries called “soul cakes” by rich family relatives.
3.Children would be treated to sweets and food while visiting the houses in their neighborhood on Halloween.
4.On Halloween, people would wear masks when they left their homes after dark in order to avoid being recognized by their fellows.
5.Halloween is a day honoring the dead and respecting the old.
阅读下列短文，从短文后各题所给的（A、B、C、D） 四个选项中选出能填入相应空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
When I returned from a trip abroad, I felt that something was wrong between Keith （one of our twin sons） and me. So I asked him, “Keith, have I done anything that really your feelings?”
Instantly, he said, “Yes. Last Christmas you promised me a special that I really wanted and you gave it to me.”
The is that I’d completely forgotten about it. I , “Is there anything else I’ve done wrong, but I have never asked for your forgiveness?”
Again, his was immediate, “Remember when Mom said you had to go to the because Stephen was going to be born? You left us at home and hurriedly. Remember?” I did.
“Well, you left in a hurry and the suitcase with all the things.” I couldn’t believe all the he remembered! “After you left Mom at the hospital, you came back and you were . When you got here, the suitcase had been opened and was thrown all over the place. And you me.”
“And you didn’t do it?” I asked.
“No.”
My heart . I felt terrible. I hugged Keith and asked him to me. His honesty made me think of our other twin son, Kevin. Perhaps I’d hurt him, too. I went to ask him the question. Kevin’s answer was as immediate as his had been, “Last Christmas you us a special toy and you never bought it for us.”
the Christmas was past, I still took my two sons to the store that day and bought them what I had promised. The thing wasn’t the toy. The problem was I’d made a promise all too lightly and didn’t keep it as their father.
1.A．showed B．hurt C．hid D．expressed
2.A．sweet B．book C．picture D．toy
3.A．never B．often C．always D．ever
4.A．warning B．message C．news D．fact
5.A．complained B．apologized C．continued D．explained
6.A．suggestion B．answer C．action D．blame
7.A．hospital B．church C．school D．garden
8.A．set off B．set up C．went up D．went down
9.A．took B．forgot C．brought D．opened
10.A．excuses B．plans C．ideas D．details
11.A．angry B．moved C．happy D．satisfied
12.A．nothing B．somebody C．everything D．nobody
13.A．praised B．punished C．helped D．saw
14.A．sank B．lied C．warmed D．stopped
15.A．tell B．leave C．forgive D．support
16.A．easy B．hard C．same D．funny
17.A．mother’s B．brother’s C．sister’s D．father’s
18.A．bought B．borrowed C．left D．promised
19.A．Until B．Before C．Since D．Though
20.A．strange B．interesting C．important D．difficult
It is common sense that fever is a of the flu.
A．symbol B．symptom
C．signal D．sign
20% of the students of Nan Shan Senior High the school colorful clubs so far.
A．has joined B．has been joined
C．have joined D．have been joined
Bring the flowers into a warm room, you’ll find they will open soon.
A．or B．and C．but D．for
