One day, I received a call from a colleague. He was about to give a student a zero for his answer to a physical problem, while the student claimed a perfect score. I was elected as their arbiter（仲裁人）. I read the examination problem: “Show how it is possible to determine the height of a tall building with the aid of a barometer（气压计）. ”The student had answered; "Take the barometer to the top of the building, attach a long rope to it, lower it to the street, and then bring it up, measuring the length of the rope. The length of it is the height of the building.”

The student had really answered the question completely, but the answer didn't confirm his competence in physics. I suggested the student try again. I gave him six minutes to answer the question, warning that the answer should show some knowledge of physics. Five minutes later, he said he had many answers and dashed off one, which read：“Take the barometer to the top of the building and lean over the edge of the roof. Drop the barometer, timing its fall with a stopwatch. Then, use the physical formula（公式）to calculate the height of the building.”

At this point, my colleague had to accept it, and then the student made almost full marks. I couldn't help asking the student what the other answers were. He listed many others, and then added, "Probably the best is to take the barometer to the administrator and said to him, ‘Sir, here is a fine barometer. If you tell me the height of the building, I will give it to you.”,

Then, I asked the student if he really did not know the conventional(传统的) answer to this question. He admitted that he did, but said that he was fed up with high school and college instructors trying to teach him how to think.

The name of the student was Bohr who later was famous all over the world. He won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1922.

1. The student got a zero at the beginning because _____.

 A. the teacher wasn't satisfied with him

 B. his answer wasn't complete or correct

 C. the teacher didn't fully understand his answer

 D. his answer didn't show his knowledge of physics

2. We know from the passage that _____.

 A. the student knew the expected answer

 B. the administrator told Bohr the height

 C. the author preferred Bohr's last answer

 D. the teacher was a very stubborn person

3. We can learn from the passage that _____.

 A. instructors can teach students how to think

 B. arbiters can help students to get high scores

 C. students should be given more freedom in thinking

 D. teachers should make students use physical formulas

4.  What was Bohr's attitude toward his schooling?

 A. Optimistic                 B. Critical        C. Approving          D. Neutral

The role of a newspaper is to present and comment on the news. It is vital for keeping people well-informed on current affairs. In most Western countries, journalists try to shape the ideas and opinions of their readers, since in Western countries all newspapers are independent of the government. Some newspaper owners support liberal ideas including economic policies that help poor people. Other owners want policies such as lower taxes for rich people and less money to be given to poor people. You can almost judge the political ideas of a person in the West by looking at the newspaper he reads.

All newspapers report national and international news. They give the facts but also provide opinions on controversial issues in the editorials and columns of opinion. The readers of the newspaper can also comment on these editorials or articles. There are many informative articles too as well as reviews of new films and books, etc. These are very important, for if a film or book gets good reviews it will often become more successful.

All these articles require many journalists who are experts in different areas of life. All these articles come together and are checked by the chief editor of the newspaper. When he or she has made a decision on the articles, the newspaper is prepared for printing. All this work means that the journalists must work together as a team because there is a lot of pressure when you work in a newspaper office. There are constant deadlines and articles have to be fitted round advertisements, photographs and much, much more.

5. What does the underlined word “be fitted” mean?

A. be suitable                   B. be put                       

C. be read                     D. be measured

6. What articles comment on controversial issues?

A. Editorials and opinion columns.           B. News stories.

C. Some of the informative articles.          D. Jokes and humour.

7. Which is true about the journalists in Western countries?

A. There’s no time limit for their report articles.

B. They have no right to influence the readers’ opinions.

C. A newspaper can come out with just a journalist working individually.

D. Journalists must submit their articles before the due date.

8. Why are good reviews important to books?

A. Good reviews are excellent introduction to books.

B. Readers especially favour books with good reviews.

C. Good reviews can make readers feel relaxed and comfortable.

D. Good reviews can bring a large circulation(发行量) of the books reviewed.

Proudly reading my words, I glanced around the room, only to find my classmates bearing big smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes. Confused, I glanced toward my stone-faced teacher. Having no choice, I slowly raised the report I had slaved over, hoping to hide myself. “What could be causing everyone to act this way?”

Quickly, I flashed back to the day Miss Lancelot gave me the task. This was the first real talk I received in my new school. It seemed simple: go on the Internet and find information about a man named George Washington. Since my idea of history came from an ancient teacher in my home country, I had never heard of that name before. As I searched the name of this fellow, it became evident that there were two people bearing the same name who looked completely different! One invented hundreds of uses for peanuts, while the other led some sort of army across America. I stared at the screen, wondering which one my teacher meant. I called my grandfather for a golden piece of advice; flip (掷) a coin. Heads—the commander, and tails—the peanuts guy. Ah! Tails, my report would be about the great man who invented peanut butter, George Washington Carver.

Weeks later, standing before this unfriendly mass, I was totally lost. Oh well, I lowered the paper and sat down at my desk, burning to find out what I had done wrong. As a classmate began his report, it all became clear, “My report is on George Washington, the man who started the American Revolution.” The whole world became quite! How could I know that she meant that George Washington?

Obviously, my grade was awful. Heartbroken but fearless, I decided to turn this around. I talked to Miss Lancelot, but she insisted: No re-dos; no new grade. I felt that the punishment was not justified, and I believed I deserved a second chance. Consequently, I threw myself heartily into my work for the rest of the school year. Ten months later, that chance unfolded as I found myself sitting in the headmaster’s office with my grandfather, now having an entirely different conversation. I smiled and flashed back to the embarrassing moment at the beginning of the year as the headmaster informed me of my option to skip the sixth grade. Justice is sweet!

9. What did the author’s classmates think about his report?

A. interesting        B. ridiculous.        C. boring.           D. puzzling.

10.Why was the author confused about the task?

A. He was unfamiliar with American history.  

B. He followed the advice and flipped a coin.

C. He forgot his teacher’s instruction.        

D. He was new at the school.

11.The underlined word “burning” in Para. 3 probably means _______.

A. annoyed            B. ashamed           C. ready                D. eager

12.In the end, the author turned things around _______.

A. by redoing his task                   

B. through his own efforts

       C. with the help of his grandfather          

D. under the guidance of his headmaster

I believe that my country，Poland，is a perfect example for a place where food is particularly important. When we were little children, we began to understand how much a loaf of bread meant to our parents—to some it might sound silly but for me the custom of kissing bread before you started cutting it was simply amazing. It’s not so common nowadays to treat food that way，since you hardly ever bake your own bread. Besides, everyone would call you crazy if you tried to kiss every bread roll before you ate them! But though we no longer make our food from scratch (起点), some customs have been kept—that’s why I feel so sorry every time I have to throw any food away—even though I no longer live with my parents and nobody would blame me for this anymore!

    Many people of our nation are still working as farmers, eating what they grow and harvest and therefore enjoying everything more. It’s widely known that you value more anything that needs your effort in the first place. In most homes in Poland, especially those of farmers, the whole family would try and have their meals together—extremely difficult now, but so rewarding! You can share other members’ troubles and successes, give your children some attention, or just sit down for a moment, instead of rushing through life aimlessly. Furthermore, your body，and stomach in particular will be very grateful for such a time!

    In Poland, a wedding，Christmas or even a birthday is celebrated with a great meal. Women in the house get together and cook ,sometimes for a few days before the event，and the extremely good or unusual food will be remembered and widely talked about.

    You cannot over-value the importance of food in the country. What’s more, almost everyone in Poland will be as interested in the topic as I am.

13.When the writer was a child, he/she _______.

 A. found people were crazy about bread         

B. began to realize the importance of food

 C. thought that cutting bread was amazing       

D. learned people hardly baked their own bread

14.The writer feels very sorry when he/she has to throw away any food because___________.

 A. he/she makes food from scratch             

 B. his/her parents would blame him/her

 C. some customs still have effect on him/her

 D. many people are still working hard as farmers

15.From the text, we can learn that, in Poland, ________.

 A. most meals can be interesting topics for a long time

 B. the whole family often have meals together nowadays

 C. it’s common for women to get together to cook for a few days

 D. family members can know more about each other by having meals together

  16  If you are growing tomatoes in your backyard for sale you are producing for the market. You might sell some to your neighbor and some to the local manager of the supermarket. But in either case, you are producing for the market.   17   If people stop buying tomatoes, you will stop producing them.

If you take care of a sick person to earn money, you are producing for the market. If your father is a steel worker or a truck driver or a doctor or a grocer, he is producing goods or service for the market.

   18  You may spend money in stores, supermarkets, gas stations and restaurants. Still you are buying from the market. When the local grocer hires you to drive the delivery truck, he is buying your labor in the labor market.

  19    But for each person or business that is making and selling something, it is very concrete(具体的). If nobody buys your tomatoes, it won’t be long before you get the message. __20__ It is telling you that you are using energies and resources in doing something the market doesn’t want you to do.

A. The market may be something abstract.

B. The sellers are always smarter than buyers.

C. When you spend your income, you are buying things from the market.

D. The market is a concept.

E. One has to make his ends meet when shopping.

F. The market is telling you something.

G. Your efforts are being directed by the market.