What makes a gift special? Is it the price you see on the gift receipt（收据）? Or is it the look on the receiver’s face when they receive it that determines the true value? What gift is worth the most?

       This Christmas I was wondering what to give my father. My dad is a hard person to buy for because he never wants anything. I pulled out my phone to read a text message from my mom saying that we were leaving for Christmas shopping for him when I came across a message on my phone that I had locked. The message was from my father. My eyes fell on a photo of a flower taken in Wyoming, and underneath a poem by William Blake. The flower, a dandelion(蒲公英) standing against the bright blue sky, inspired me. My dad had been reciting those words to me since I was a kid. That may even be the reason why I love writing. I decided that those words would be my gift to my father.

       I called back. I told my mom to go without me and that I already created my gift. I sent the photo of the cream-colored flower to my computer and typed the poem on top of it. As I was arranging the details，another poem came to mind. The poem was written by Edgar Allan Poe; My dad recited it as much as he did the other. I typed that out as well and searched online for a background to the words of it. The poem was focused around dreaming, and after searching I found the perfect picture. The image was painted with blues and greens and purples, mixing together to create the theme and wonder of a dream. As I watched both poems passing through the printer, the white paper coloring with words that shaped my childhood, I felt that this was a gift that my father would truly appreciate.

Christmas soon arrived.The minute I saw the look on my dad's face as he unwrapped(打开) those swirling black letters carefully placed in a cheap frame（框架）, I knew I had given the perfect gift.

21. The idea for a special gift began to form when the author was ____________.

 A. doing shopping             B. having a debate

 C. leaving for Wyoming        D. reading a message

   22.The author's inspiration for the gift came from _______________.

  A. a photo of a flower              B. a story about a kid

  C. a call from the mother           D. a text about Christmas

   23.  The author made the gift by ____________.

  A. searching for the poems online        

  B. drawing the background by hand

  C. painting the letters in three colors  

  D. matching the words with pictures

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(提升).

     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.

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

   A. How a person tests his / her brainpower.        B. A person’s character.

   C. How smart a person is.                       D. A person’s IQ.

25. From the second paragraph we can infer that                .

  A. people who have a high IQ always have a high EQ

  B. EQ is the opposite of IQ

  C. people who have a low EQ tend to have a hard life

  D. people who have a high EQ always have a high IQ

26 Which of the following is the writer’s attitude to EQ and IQ?

  A. IQ is more helpful to people than EQ.

  B. IQ can be raised by understanding and communication.

  C. EQ can get people hired.

  D. A high EQ is of great benefit in getting people promoted.

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

  A. A person’s brainpower.                    B. IQ, EQ and success.

  C. IQ and a person’s character.          D. A person’s IQ and success.

The native red squirrels were once a common sight across the mainland of Britain, now they are sparsely situated around Scotland, and places thought to be impossible to reach to the grey squirrels, such as the Isle or Wight and Anglesey. In fact more than 75% of Britain's estimated 160 000 red squirrels are found in Scotland.

Now they could become extinct in the next 20 years, as their population has dropped 50% in the last 50 years.

Grey squirrels carry a virus called the “pox virus”, first discovered in Scotland in 2005, which they are immune to（有免疫力的）, but it causes deadly disease to the red squirrels. Pox disease and the loss of much woodland over the UK have led to their decrease. They encounter another danger when it comes to predators(捕食动物), one of which is the Goshawk which are powerful birds of prey throughout the dark woodlands.

    Red squirrels are most at home among sweet chestnut, wild cherry, hazel and beech trees. They prefer to travel within the tree canopies rather than the woodland grounds, unlike grey squirrels.

Their ability to climb, swing and jump is actually unbelievable. You may have seen a squirrel in the past and noticed that it freezes when it has seen you move. They often stay frozen like that for up to 10 minutes, until they believe it's safe to move again.

They build up large nests called “dreys” made up of twigs, leaves and hair, in the forks or trunks of their chosen trees, and this is where they will breed(繁殖) and spend a lot of their night time when not out looking for food.

Their diet consists of seed, shrubs, nuts, shoots, flowers, and birds eggs if they are lucky enough to come across. They need to eat daily to keep up their energies. The autumn food harvest is important for their survival throughout the winter months.

28. Red squirrels are now found in places ___________.

  A. where there are a lot of grey squirrels     B. where there are few trees

  C. where there are no or few grey squirrels   D. where there is plenty of food

29. Which of the following is not a reason for the decreasing population of red squirrels?

  A. Pox disease.            B. The Goshawk.  

  C. Loss of woodland        D. The virus they carry.

30. Which of the following is TRUE about red squirrels?

  A. They look for food during the day. 

  B. They prefer to travel on the Woodland grounds.

  C. They like birds eggs the most.   

  D. They have to eat every day to keep up their energies.

31. We can infer from the passage that __________.

  A. red squirrels are in danger of dying out

  B. grey Squirrels are scattered around Scotland

  C. red squirrels are more important to the environment

  D. red squirrels have the same living habits as grey squirrels

Do you have any skiing equipment you are no longer need? A ski school in the far north of India could put it to good use.

In March we published a photo story about the extraordinary Zsnskar region in northern India，which is cut off from the outside world for more than seven months of the year，and only accessible (可通行的)via a frozen river．We also included information about the limited use of skiing in the region and the recent creation of the Zanskar Ski School：

“Despite(虽然) the difficulties of traveling through the region when the snow comes，skiing hasn’t traditionally been used as a means of transport by the locals，largely because trees don't grow here，so there is little in the way of raw materials (原材料)from which to make skis．In 1995，a group of British scientists in the region noticed the lack of skis and one of them returned to set up the Zanskar Ski School in Padam．The school provides lessons for a small fee and rents skis to the local people．Among the benefits that the school hopes to bring are improved education—children often find it difficult to get to school through the deep snow—and the possibility of offering ski tours to tourists in the future．So far，more than 300 local people have received training，and local doctors and policemen regularly borrow skis．”

But，what we weren't able to include in the article is that the ski school is always looking out for old skiing equipment—particularly of a size suitable for children—and，I thought, now the European ski season is coming to an end，there might be a few of you out there who have some old equipment you'd like to see go to a good home．If that's the ease ,you can get in touch with the school via their website www.zanskarskischooL.org.

32．What's the purpose in writing the text?

A．To ask people to give away their skis to the school

B．To attract more tourists to the area

C．To attract more locals to attend the school

D．To raise money to develop this area

33．The local people don't use skiing to go about because __________.

A．it is against the local custom          

B．trees are in the way of the skiing route

C．they don't have the wood to make skis 

D．it is dangerous to go skiing in this region

34．The Zanskar Ski School___________.

A．has donated money to the local community

B．makes it easier for the students to attend school

C．provides special training to the tourists

D．has borrowed many skis from Europe

35．Who would be the most helpful to the school now?

A．Locals in Zanskar region．           B．Students in the Zanskar Ski School．

C．People having old skiing equipment．   D．Travelers enjoying skiing．

Americans use the term “college students” to mean students either in colleges or universities. Not only that, Americans almost never say “going off to university” or “when I was in university. ”That sounds British.   36    

College, university: what’s the difference?   37   . Both offer undergraduate degrees in the arts and sciences, for example. And both can help prepare young people to earn a living.

But many colleges do not offer graduate studies. Another difference is that universities are generally bigger.   38    

Another place of higher education, especially in technical areas, is an institute, like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Yet even an institute of technology can offer a wide choice of programs and activities.

Modern universities developed from those of Europe in the Middle Ages. The word “university” came from the Latin universities, describing a group of people organized for a common purpose.   39     . In England, colleges were formed to provide students with places to live. Usually each group was studying the same thing. So college came to mean an area of study.

The first American universities divided their studies into a number of areas and called each one a college. This is still true.   40   . For example, Harvard College is the undergraduate part of Harvard University.

Programs in higher learning can also be called schools, like a school of engineering or a medical school within a college or university. You know, learning all these terms is an education in itself.

A. A college can also be a part of a university.

B. There are more universities than colleges in the USA.

C. They offer more programs and do more research.

D. “College” came from collegium, a Latin word with a similar meaning.

E. Universities and colleges offer students different opportunities.

F. Instead, they say “going off to college” and “when I was in college.”

G. Colleges and universities have many things in common.