There was once a man who had a donkey and a beautiful lapdog. The donkey was kept in a barn and had plenty of corn and hay to eat. Indeed, he was just as lucky as any donkey could be. The little dog stayed in the house and was well liked by the master. He was always playing and jumping about in an funny way and was allowed  to lie in his master’s lap(膝盖). Meanwhile, the donkey had plenty to do. He pulled wood all day long and had to take his turn at the mill during the night. He often complained about his problems, and it bored him to see the lapdog living such an easy life, while he had to work so hard. Finally he thought to himself that if he acted the same way as the lapdog to his master, he would be treated the same way. So, one day he ran out of his barn and went fast into the house, where he began to kick about in a very strange way. Then, swaying his tail and imitating the funny behavior of the pet lapdog, he knocked over the table where his master was eating. He also broke all the dishes into very small pieces and did not stop until he jumped onto his master, trying to lick and paw him with his rough feet.

   Seeing their master in great danger, the servants thought it was time to help him. They beat the foolish donkey with sticks until he could not get up again. As he was about to die, he cried, “Why couldn’t I have remained satisfied the way I was? Why did I try to imitate a creature who was nothing but a lazy puppy after all?”

1. The underlined sentence in the first paragraph probably means ______.                                            

A. the donkey was treated well by his master   

B. the donkey was treated badly and cruelly   

C. other donkeys were satisfied with their life

D. the donkey was not satisfied with his life

2. According to the passage, we know that every day, _______.

A. the dog turned around the mill

B. the donkey jumped in the house

C. the donkey imitated the dog

D. the dog accompanied the master

3. The reason why the donkey felt angry was that _____.                              

A. he had to do a lot of boring work

B. he envied the easy life the dog lived

C. he was often beaten by the servants

D. he was tied and couldn’t move freely

A dam is a man-made structure built across a river. Most dams are built to control a river’s water flow, improve navigation and control flooding. However, some dams are built to produce hydro-electric power.

Hydro-electric power is produced as water passes through a dam, and into a river below. The more water that passes through a dam, the more energy is produced. Once a dam is built, a man-made lake is created behind the dam.

Electricity is produced by a kind of equipment called a turbine(水轮机). Turbines contain metal coils(线圈) surrounded by magnets(磁铁). When the magnets move round rapidly over the metal coils, electricity is produced. Turbines are located inside dams. The falling water makes the magnets go around the coils.

Dams provide clean energy, but they can also harm the environment. Species that use rivers to reproduce are often hurt by dams. In the Northwest of the US, the population of fishes has dropped from 16 million to 2.5 million since hydro-electric plants were built on the Columbia River. Dams all over the world have hurt some species. 
  The highest dam in the Unites States is located near Oroville, California. The Oroville Dam towers 230 meters and is more than a mile wide. This dam was built in 1968, 22 years after the Hoover Dam. The Hoover Dam, on the Nevada-Arizona border controls the Colorado river. It is 221 meters high and has 2.6 million hectare-meters of water.

The highest dam in the world is the Nurek Dam on the Vakhsh River in Tadzikistan, a country in central Asia. This dam is 300 meters tall. 

4. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?              

A. Some dams are built for controlling a river’s water flow.

B. Hydro-electric power is usually produced through a dam.

C. Dams can offer energy and they are harmless to the environment.

D. Generally speaking, where there is a dam, there is a man-made lake.

5. The third paragraph mainly tells us _____.                        

  A. how hydro-electric power is produced   B. What a turbine is and how it works 

  C. how the magnets and the metal coils work

D. how the falling water passes through a turbine                     

6.The dam which controls the Colorado river is ____.                  

A. the Oroville Dam  B. the Hoover Dam  C. the Nurek Dam  D. the Vakhsh Dam

The Great Wall of China, one of the greatest wonders of the world, was enlisted in the World Heritage by the UNESCO in 1987. Just like a gigantic dragon, the Great Wall winds up and down across deserts, grasslands and mountains, stretching about 6,700 kilometers from east to west of China. With a history of more than 2,000 years, some parts of the Great Wall are now in ruins or even entirely disappeared. However, it is still one of the most appealing attractions around the world.

No one can tell for sure when the building of the Great Wall was started, but it is popularly believed that it originated as a military fortification(要塞) against intrusion by tribes on the borders during the earlier Zhou Dynasty. Late in the Spring and Autumn Period, some states extended the defence work to prevent the attacks from other states.

It was not until the Qin Dynasty that the separate walls were connected to form a defensive system by Emperor Qin Shi Huang. After the emperor unified the country in 214 BC, he ordered the construction of the wall. It took about ten years to finish and the wall stretched from Gansu Province to Jilin Province. The wall not only served as a defence in the north but also symbolized the power of the emperor.

Further construction also experienced several dynasties. The present Great Wall in Beijing is mainly remains from the Ming Dynasty. Today, the Great Wall has become a must-see for every visitor to China. Few can help saying “Wow” when they stand on top of a beacon tower and look at this giant dragon. It has become a national pride of Chinese people.

7. The underlined word “appealing” probably means “______”.

A. huge          B. attractive          C. ordinary        D. moving

8. In the Qin Dynasty, ______.

A. the construction of the Great Wall was finished in 204 BC

B. the emperor wanted to invade other minor states

C. the defensive system of the Great Wall was separated

D. the Great Wall began its way from Jilin Province

9. According to the passage, the Great Wall _______.

A. is from the west to the east            B. is as long as 6,700 miles

C. was built in several dynasties           D. was begun in the Qin Dynasties

10. The best title for the passage probably is _______.

A. History of the Great Wall             B. Culture of the Great Wall

C. Construction of the Great Wall         D. Projection of the Great Wall

We used to go into different chat rooms on different websites. If you wanted to meet someone on the Net, you had to go into the same chat room. But now regular Net surfaces chat in OICQ. OICQ is an online chat software which is invented by Tencent Computer System Company of Shenzhen in February, 1999. Since then it has swept the country. Its symbol is a penguin wearing a red scarf(围巾).

Net friends can be divided into a buddy list (for good friends), a stranger list (for people you don't want to talk with at once), or an ignore list (for people you want to avoid on the Net). You can also build up family lists, co-worker lists, etc.

You can know whether listed friends are online as long as you use it. The cartoon portrait(画像)of the person turns bright if he is online. And the portrait turns dim if he is not there.

Traditional public chat rooms are often chaotic. It is difficult to focus on a conversation. OICQ can conduct a focused talk without interruptions by other chatters.

OICQ acts as a regular daily communication tool. "What is your OICQ number?" has become a modern topic.                  

11. OICQ is       .

A. a special chat room for all cyber citizens (网民)

B. a cartoon portrait to recognize friends on the Net

C. an online chat software that helps you talk on the Net more freely

D. a modern phone number used by more and more people

12. OICQ has been well received        .

A. since long ago         B. for many years  C. for several years        D. since nine years ago

13. With the help of OICQ, if you don't want to chat with someone, you can put him in    .

A. a buddy list    B. a strange list         C. an ignore list           D. a co-worker list

14. In the fifth paragraph, the underlined word "chaotic" means       .

A. crowded      B. dark            C. dirty                 D. disorderly

15. The passage mainly tells us          .

A. how to chat with people in the Net    B. how to use OICQ

C. how to choose a regular daily communication tool

D. some advantages about OICQ

Small talk is a good way to make friends. If you travel to other countries or have friends from abroad, do you know how to use small talk to make conversation?

     In Britain, the best topic is the weather. British weather is changing all the time.       16     

    Besides weather, it’s good to talk about gardens with British. You could say “Those roses look really beautiful, don’t they?”        17      .So it’s also nice to start with “What a lovely dog! What is his name?”

    In America, people like to talk about sports news ,such as American football and basketball.      18      So you might say “It’s a nice shirt! Where did you get it?” Weather is a safe topic there, too.

           19     Don’t ask people “How old are you?” Never ask: “How much money do you make?”It makes people uncomfortable. Don’t ask strangers weather they are married.      20     There are others in our daily life.

A. You can start chatting by saying “It’s a lovely day today, isn’t it?”

B. There are also a lot of topics to avoid during small talk.

C. Friends are important to us all, but how to make friends is a problem.

D. Americans also talk about clothes.

AB. Politics or religion is not a good topic.

AC. English people love their pets.

AD. Only a few topics are not used for small talk.