21. The card above is ___________.

 A. a ticket         B. a postcard      C. an invitation     D. an advertisement

22. The party is for ___________.

 A. a birthday      B. the Queen       C. bee watching    D. the National Day

23. According to the card, if you are unable to go, you can contact Alice’s mother by ___________.

 A. returning the card                    B. visiting the Museum

C. telling his husband                   D. giving her a call

 “It was all his own idea,”says Pat Peters, the 38-year-old wife of Palo Alto, California high school football coach Bob Peters, 39. Bob had just drawn up a“motherhood contract”, a document (文件) stating that for 70 days this summer he would take over the care and feeding of the couple’s four children, plus all household chores (杂务). Although he didn’t even know how to make coffee when he signed, he was quite confident. He thought the experience would make a nice book. 

After 40 of the 70 days, he was ready to give up. “I was beaten down, completely humbled (威风扫地的),”admits Peters. Three weeks later he spoke to the local press (also part of the bargain), starting,“Not only is motherhood a difficult task, not only is it never-ending, it is an impossible job for any normal human being.”

Bob and Pat were high school sweethearts. After they were married in 1960, she worked as a secretary to help put him through university. Since then Bob has been the football and wrestling coach at Palo Alto’s Cubberley High while Pat raised the kids.

Then two years ago Pat went back to work as a secretary at Cubberley. “I had been around children so much, she sighs (叹气), “I couldn’t talk to a grown-up.”She continued to run the household, until Bob signed the contract. Then she decided to relax and enjoy it. Although Peters had consulted with his school’s home economics teachers and the head of the cafeteria, his meals were sometimes a disaster. “I tried to slip the butter I’d forgotten under the eggs after they were frying,” he says. For the last three weeks, the family ate out a lot — sometimes having Macdonald’s hamburgers for lunch and dinner.

As for housekeeping, a home economics teacher had told Bob that a room always looks clean if the bed is made. “I found an easier way — I shut the doors,” he says. Soon the kids were wearing the same clothes for a week. “I made them wear their shirts inside out, and when we went to pick up Pat at work they turned them right side out so they would look clean.”

Now that Bob has publicly admitted he was wrong according to the contact, he is routinely (日常地) sharing the child-raising and household tasks with Pat. The tentative  (暂定的) title of his book about the summer is taken from something he shouted at the kids one day.

24. The couple signed the contract because ___________.

A. Pat complained a lot about her doing the housework all by herself

B. Bob loved taking care of children and wanted his wife to have a good rest

C. they agreed that husband and wife should share household tasks

D. Bob thought it easy to take care of the family and wanted the experience for a book

25. It was agreed that if Bob failed to keep to the contract, he would have to ___________.

A. pay a certain amount of money  B. do all the housework for years

C. say sorry to his wife           D. admit publicly he was wrong about motherhood

26. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A. Bob managed to keep the kids’ clothes clean.

B. Bob tried to cook good meals for his children.

C. Bob frequently took the kids out to eat because he was too busy at work.

D. Bob taught the kids to make their beds every day.

27. Which of the following can best end the news story?

A.“My experience of being a mother.”

B.“I’m proud of you all, my dear!”

C. “Wait till your mother gets home!”

D. “Motherhood: an impossible job for anyone.”

The surprising experiment I am about to describe proves that air is all around you and that it proves down upon you. Air pressure is a wonderful force. When you swim underwater, you can feel water push down your body. The air all around you does the same. However, your body is so used to it that you do not notice this. The pressure is caused by a layer of air called the atmosphere. This layer surrounds the Earth, extending to about five kilometers above the Earth's surface. 
　　The following experiment is an easy one that you can do at home. But make sure that you are supervised (监督), because you will need to use matches. Now do the experiment！ 
　　What you need 
　　·A hard-boiled egg without the shell 
　　·A bottle with a neck slightly smaller than the egg 
　　·A piece of paper 
　　·A match 
　　Method 
　　1）Check that the paper will sit firmly on the neck of the bottle. 
　　2）Tear the paper into strips and put the strips into the bottle. 
　　3）Light the paper by dropping a burning match into the bottle. 
　　4）Quickly sit the egg on the neck of the bottle. 
　　Result 
　　Astonishingly, the egg will be sucked into the bottle. Your friends will be amazed when you show them the experiment. But be careful when you handle matches. 
　　Why it happened 
　　As the paper burns, it needs oxygen and uses up the oxygen（air）in the bottle. The egg acts as a seal in the neck of the bottle, so no more air can get inside. This reduces the air pressure inside the bottle. The air pressure must equalize, so more air from outside must enter the bottle. The outside air pressure against the egg and then the egg is pushed into the bottle! This proves that air is all around and that it is pressing down on it. 

 28. Why is there the need to take care when you are doing the experiment? 
　　A. The bottle could break. 
　　B. You need to light the paper with a match. 
　　C. The egg needs to be shelled. 
　　D. The egg has to be perfectly placed on the neck of the bottle. 
29. In the experiment, the burning inside the bottle can____________. 
　　A. equalize the air pressure inside and outside 
　　B. make a seal in the neck of the bottle 
　　C. finish up the oxygen inside the bottle 
　　D. produce more oxygen inside the bottle 
30. How did the egg put into the bottle？ 
　　A. The oxygen inside the bottle sucked the egg in. 
　　B. It became salt without the shell. 
　　C. The neck of the bottle was wide enough. 
　　D. The outside air pressure forced it into the bottle. 
31. The experiment is carried out to prove ___________. 
　　A. water pushes on your body when you swim underwater. 
　　B. the earth is surrounded by a layer of air called the atmosphere. 
　　C. the pressure of air around us has a powerful force. 
　　D. the air pressure is not equalized around us. 

When asked to point out one or two things that are most important to themselves, many put friends ahead of homes, jobs, cloth and cars.

A true friendship carries a long history of experience that determines who we are and keeps us connected. It is a treasure we should prove it. Unfortunately, the better friends you are, the more probably you’ll have disagreements. And the result can be what you don’t want an end to the relationship.

The good news is that most troubled friendships can be mended. First, don’t let your pride get in your way. Most of us can forgive each other when differences are brought out in the open. Second, apologize when you’re wrong – even if you’ve been wronged. Over the course of friendship, even the best people make mistakes. Sometimes, it may be best if the wronged person takes wrong. Third, see things from your friend’s point of view. And finally, accept that friendships change as our needs and lifestyles change. Making friends can sometimes seem easy. The hard part is keeping the connections strong during the nature ups and downs that have an effect on all relationships. My suggestion: Consider friendship an honor and a gift, and worth the effort to treasure and nurture (培养).

32. What would be the best title for the text?

A. Easy Ways to Make Friends                   

B. Ups and Downs in Friendship

C. How to Mend a Troubled Friendship         

D. How to Take the Lead in Making Friends

33. The “wronged person” underlined in the text refers to a person       .

A. who has been mistaken for another           B. who has been blamed unfairly

C. who has treated friends badly                     D. who has admitted his mistakes

34. According to the text a friendship can last long only if      .

A. we have much in common                   B. we know our friends mistakes

C. we treat our disagreements wisely            D. we have known one another for long

35. What should we do if we follow the author’s second suggestion?

A. Stick to our own points of view.            B. Avoid making mistakes.

C. Make an apology first.                          D. Change our lifestyles. 

The wife-carrying World Championship has been celebrated in a small town in central Finland since 1992. In 1992, the people of the town decided to restart some long-forgotten traditions.   36    He was said to only accept men as members of his gang who proved their worth in challenges. At that time, it was also a common practice to steal women from neighboring villages.

   37   A large number of competitors, people, and journalists from Finland to Canada attend the Wife-carrying World Championship every year.

   38    The Wife-carrying World Championship is held on a 253.3 meters long official track. The track has two dry obstacles（障碍物）and a water obstacle, about a meter deep. The wife to be carried may be your own, or your neighbor’s. The minimum weight of the wife to be carried is 49 kg. If she is less than 49kg, the wife will be given a heavy bag to carry. Each time a competitor drops his wife, that couple will be fined 15 seconds.    39   

Alongside with the Wife-carrying World Championship, there is also a team competition. The distance is the same but three men in the team carry the wife in turns. At the exchange point the carrier has to drink official “wife-carrying drink.” Then he may continue the race.    40   

While the Wife-carrying World Championship is being held, there are bands playing music, a wife carrying dance and other forms of entertainment.

A. There are a few basic rules to obey.

       B. People everywhere hold the event.

       C. A special prize is awarded to the team.

       D. Do you know how these traditions restarted?

       E. This event is becoming increasingly popular.

       F. The winner is the couple who complete the course in the shortest time.

       G. Back in the late 1800s, there was a robber called Rosvo-Ronkainen in that area.