I was eleven years old standing outside in just my underwear while I watched the house that I grew up in rapidly _______to the ground． A few minutes earlier I had been_______asleep in my nice， warm bed when a_______woke me up． My Nana's bedroom was just next to mine and my brother's． A fire had _______there and awakened her．_______hearing her， my older brother began to take action． The house， however， was over 50 years old and made of _______．Before we could do anything the fire _______it．
I stood there quaking with fear_______the fire destroyed my books， clothes， and toys． I watched _______while my Mom cried and my Dad swore． I wondered what was going to happen to us________we had lost all of our things． As I looked around， though， I ________something for the first time： What matters aren't________． I saw my older brother running across the swinging （摇摆的）________by our house to get help． I saw my oldest brother who was on ________from an earlier accident standing________on one leg． I saw my Nana and Dad gathering together and my Mom________our little dog in her arms． Everything that was ________had survived the fire． Our lives would continue． And that was all that mattered．
I still think of that fire in the night that helped me to learn the________we share is far more important than________things． Live your life then for the things that matter， not for the things you own． Love others． Help everyone． Let the ________inside of you make this world a warmer place． Let your soul shine brightly．
1.A. pull B. fall C. bum D. throw
2.A. sound B. wide C. light D. heavy
3.A. dream B. neighbor C. scream D. thunder
4.A. broke in B. broke out C. broke up D. broke down
5.A. Without B. As C. Since D. Upon
6.A. mud B. steel C. wood D. curtain
7.A. consumed B. claimed C. spread D. injured
8.A. though B. unless C. until D. while
9.A. hopefully B. excitedly C. helplessly D. appropriately
10.A. as though B. as long as C. even if D. now that
11.A. dismissed B. recognized C. desired D. approached
12.A. families B. surroundings C. things D. people
13.A. bridge B. pole C. fence D. rope
14.A. guard B. walking﹣sticks C. feet D. hand
15.A. freely B. unsteadily C. casually D. purposely
16.A. holding B. quitting C. lifting D. beating
17.A. alive B. native C. expensive D. necessary
18.A. experience B. bitter C. wealth D. love
19.A. physical B. mental C. social D. psychological
20.A. heart B. fire C. spirits D. feelings
Maybe you are an average student． You probably think you will never be a top student． This is not necessary so， however． 1.Here's how．
• Plan your time carefully． When you plan your week，you should make a list of things that you have to do． After making this list，you should make a schedule of your time． First your time for eating，sleeping，dressing，etc． then decide a good，regular time for studying． Don ' t forget to set aside enough time for entertainment． 2.Yet it will force you to realize what is happening to your time．
•Find a good place to study． Look around the house for a good study area． Keep this space， which may be a desk or simply a comer of your room， free of everything but study materials． No games， radios， or television! 3.
•Make good use of your time in class． Take advantage of class time to listen to everything the teachers say．4.Taking notes will help you remember what the teacher says．
•5.When you get home from school， go over your notes． Review the important points that your teacher mentioned in class． If you know what your teacher is going to discuss the next day， reading that material will become more meaningful， and you will remember it longer．
There are other methods that might help you with your studying． You will probably discover many others after you have tried these．
A．A weekly schedule may not solve all your problems．
B．They help you remember your new knowledge．
C．Study regularly．
D．When you sit down to study， fix your mind on the subject．
E．Really listening in class means less work later．
F．Develop a good attitude towards tests．
G． Anyone can become a better student if he or she wants to．
Oliver Twist was born in a workhouse， and when he arrived in this hard world， it was very doubtful whether he would live beyond the first three minutes． He lay on a hard little bed and struggled to start breathing．
Oliver fought his first battle without much assistance from the two people present at his birth． One was an old woman， who was nearly always drunk， and the other was a busy local doctor， who was not paid enough to be very interested in Oliver's survival.______．
However， Oliver managed to draw his first breath， and then announced his arrival， to the rest of the workhouse by crying loudly． His mother raised her pale young face from the pillow and whispered， "Let me see die child，and die．"
The doctor turned away from the fire， where he had been warming his hands． "You must not talk about dying yet，" he said to her kindly． He gave her the child to hold． Lovingly， she kissed the baby on its forehead with her cold white lips， then stared wildly around the room， fell back﹣and died． "Poor dear! " said the nurse， hurriedly putting a green glass bottle back in the pocket ， of her long skirt．
The doctor began to put on his coat． "The baby is weak and will probably have difficulties，" he said． "If so， give it a little milk to keep it quiet．" Then he looked at the dead woman． "The mother was a good﹣looking girl． Where did she come from？"
"She was brought here last night" replied the old woman． "She was found lying in the street． She'd walked some distance， judging by her shoes， which were worn to pieces． Where she came from， where she was going to， or what her name was， nobody knows．"
The doctor lifted the girl's left hand． "The old story．" he said sadly， shaking his head． "No wedding ring， I see． Ah! Good night．"
And so Oliver was left with only the drunken nurse． Without clothes， under his first blanket， he could have been the child of a king or a beggar． But when the woman dressed him later in rough cotton clothes， yellow with age， he looked exactly what he was﹣an orphan in a workhouse， ready for a life of misery， hunger， and neglect．
Oliver cried loudly． If he could have known that he was a workhouse orphan， perhaps he would have cried even more loudly．
There was no one to look after the baby in the workhouse， so Oliver was sent to a special "baby farm" nearby There， he and thirty other children rolled around the floor all day， without the inconvenience of too much food or too much clothing． Mrs Mann， the old woman who "looked after" them， was very experienced． She knew what was good for children， and a full stomach was very dangerous to their health． She also knew what was good for herself， so she kept for her own use the money that she was given for the children's food． The board responsible for the orphans sometimes checked on the health of the children， but they always sent the beadle， a kind of local policeman， to announce their visit the day before． So whenever the board arrived， of course， the children were always neat and clean．
This was the way Oliver was brought up． Consequently， at the age of nine he was a pale， thin child and short for his age． But despite frequent beatings by Mrs Mann， his spirit was strong， which was probably the reason why he managed to reach the age of nine at all．
On Oliver's ninth birthday， Mr Bumble， the beadle， came to the house to see Mrs Mann． Through the front window Mrs Mann saw him at the gate，and turned quickly to the girl who worked with her．
"Quick! Take Oliver and those others upstairs to be washed!" she said． Then she ran out to unlock the gate which was always kept locked．
1.Which of the following is true according to the passage？
A. Oliver was born into the world on a cold day．
B. The children in the baby farm were taken good care of．
C. Doctors were usually paid too little for the work they did．
D. Many people，especially women，drank heavily at that time．
2.Which sentence is most suitable for the blank in Paragraph 2？
A. Therefore，he felt very lonely in the world．
B. Frightened at the sight of the two， he started to cry．
C. In fact，the world was privileged （荣幸）to have him in it．
D. After all，death was a common event in the workhouse．
3.It can be inferred that the gate of the baby farm was always kept locked in order to ．
A. keep the children inside working all the time
B. protect the children inside from dangers outside
C. ensure the children were always neat and clean
D. prevent official visitors walking in unexpectedly
4.According to the passage，Mrs Mann ．
A. was enthusiastic about looking after children
B. provided children with little food and few comforts
C. cared little about Mr Bumble's sudden appearance
D. beat children frequently to make them mentally strong
5.What is the passage mainly about？
A. Mother's death．
B. Oliver's personality．
C. Oliver's early life．
D. People's selfishness．
Online ticketing has been effective for the London theatre market． The advantages coming with it are many， but four in particular stand for the true value． They are accessibility，speed，advanced planning and avoiding the queues．
Accessibility is key from the viewpoint of both the theatre and the theatre goer Theatres need to be able to reach out to the public． A show may have a market of millions if they concentrate efforts in London only，but that number will increase to tens of millions if efforts expand nationwide．
From the point of view of a theatre lover， the fact that the West End，the central part of London is accessible to someone in Edinburgh is a major attraction． Most theatre lovers would be anxious to go to a West End play or musical，and securing tickets for their favourite show online allows them to realize that strong desire with ease． Making the journey to London and staying for a weekend is an added reward to the main event．
Another， advantage is speed， with securing tickets now． taking a matter of minutes． What is needed is a few minutes on the Internet， the﹣ relevant personal and credit card details， and a booking number with which to collect the tickets at the theatre on the night．
Of course， for tourists or professionals from out of town， Internet booking has made， it possible to arrange entertainment． for a specific evening well in advance． Occupying their time after conference ﹣hours can be a challenge for professionals． With tickets secured in advance， the plan can be made much clearer． Tourists， meanwhile， may include a night on the West End on ﹣their list of things to do． Booking before even arriving in the﹣city helps to． streamline their busy touring schedule．
The fourth advantage of buying London theatre tickets online is the fact that queuing is avoided．
It is perhaps the most unpleasant aspect of the traditional visit to the box． office， particularly when demand for Dirty Dancing tickets， for example， can﹣have a person waiting for hours before even reaching the box office window， even worse the sold out sign would suddenly appear before him．
These advantages reflect the true value of that mode of online ticketing． It has pleased the theatre lovers， expanding theatre markets． It is likely to bring more and more benefit to the theatre world．
1.What is the passage mainly about？
A. The reality of theatre market in London．
B. The appearance of online entertainment．
C. The benefits of buying theatre tickets online．
D. The arrangements of spending a day in London．
2.How is Paragraph 6 mainly developed？
A. By describing activities．
B. By giving examples．
C. By showing differences．
D. By making comparisons．
3.Which of the following shows the development of the ideas in this passage？
CP： Central Point P： Point Sp： Sub﹣point （次要点）C： Conclusion
A. 
B. 
C. 
D. 
Your car is a necessary part of your life． You use it every day． Of course， you want to hold on to it so you make sure it has the latest alarm and immobilizer （汽车防盗器）．But despite all these， cars like yours are still stolen every day． In fact， in this country，one car is stolen almost every minute! And if your car is stolen， you only have a 50：50 chance of seeing it again．
Each year，car crime costs nearly £3 billion． Of course， if you're insured （保险），you won't lose out， or will you？ Firstly， you will have to pay extra insurance later on， and then you may not be offered the full amount by the agent． You will probably have to hire a car and you will also lose he value of the contents and accessories （配件）in the car．
Now comes the solution． An RAC Trackstar system， hidden in one of 47 possible secret locations in your car， is the key to our system． If your car is stolen， radio signals are sent at twenty﹣second intervals from the car to the RAC Trackstar National Control Center via a satellite network． Then a computer gives he vehicle's exact location， speed and direction．
The RAC Trackstar National Control Center， which operates 24 hours a day， 365 days a year，will immediately inform the police in the area where the car is located． Because the police receive information every twenty seconds，they will always know the vehicle's location． Once the thief has been arrested，your car will be returned to you．
RAC Trackstar is unique in being able to provide the National Control Center with details of the exact location of your car， its speed and direction． And speed is the key to successful recovery of a stolen vehicle． RAC Trackstar Control will immediately tell the police if you report your car stolen and under the 24﹣hour Guardian Option． It will also tell you if your car has been stolen． RAC Trackstar's constant updates mean the police are kept informed of the car's location． All these greatly improve your chances of seeing your car again．
1.If your car is stolen，you will have to ．
A. pay more insurance
B. hire a new car
C. buy a RAC Trackstar system
D. inform the National Control Center
2.The Trackstar system can tell the police ．
A. who the thief is
B. how the car is stolen
C. where the car is
D. what brand the car is
3.According to the passage，with RAC Trackstar， people will ．
A. surely get their stolen car back
B. lose no time in finding their stolen car
C. predict whether their car has been stolen
D. have less chances of having their car stolen
4.We can learn from the passage that ．
A. RAC Trackstar system is installed in the car
B. you won't lose money if your stolen car is insured
C. the speed of the car will help the police find the stolen car
D. without an RAC Trackstar，you can't get your lost car back
Longman Dictionary of American English （CD for PC or MAC）
Why is it unique？
The Longman Dictionary of American English is unique because it has been written using the Longman Defining Vocabulary． Other dictionaries use high﹣level language in their definitions which forces students to look up the defining words as well as the words they're looking up in the first place． Only the Longman Dictionary of American English uses a defining vocabulary made of the 2，000 words that make up the intermediate﹣level student's most used vocabulary．
What are the other features？
The Longman Corpus Network is a powerful group of databases consisting ofmillions of words． The Longman American Written Corpus contains over 110 million words taken from newspapers， journals， magazines， best﹣selling novels， technical and scientific writing， and coffee﹣table books．
Longman compilers （编者）use this computerized word bank to acquire a new depth of knowledge about words， usage， prepositions， the latest language trends' and grammatical patterns using up﹣to﹣the﹣minute technology．The written and spoken corpuses assure that this edition of the Longman Dictionary of American English will provide the most accurate and up﹣to﹣date assistance to students who want to speak and write American English．
1.Longman Dictionary of American English is mainly for ．
A. low﹣level learners
B. learners of different levels
C. advanced﹣level learners
D. intermediate﹣level learners
2.The main purpose of this passage is to ．
A. tell readers why American English is more popular
B. inform students of how they can find the grammar patterns
C. guide readers how they can use the dictionary on computer
D. explain why the dictionary is different from other dictionaries
3.The following about the dictionary are all correct EXCEPT that ．
A. the definitions are easy to read
B. it is made up of 2，000 words
C. it contains a lot of daily usage
D. it is updated regularly
