Outside her shabby cottage, old Mrs. Tailor was hanging out laundry on a wire line, unaware that some children lay hidden in the leaves of a nearby tree watching her every move. They were determined to find out if she really was a witch.

   They watched as she took a broomstick to clean the dirt from her stone steps. But, much to their disappointment, she did not mount the broomstick and take a flight. Suddenly, the old lady’s work was interrupted by the cackling of her hen—a signal that an egg had been laid in the warm nest on top of the haystack.

   The old broomstick was put aside as she hobbled off towards the haystack followed by Sooty, a black cat she had rescued from a fox trap some time back. With only three legs, it was hard for Sooty to keep up with the old lady. The cat provided proof—the children were sure that only a witch could own a black cat with three legs.

    There, standing on a wooden box, was Mrs. Tailor, stretching out to gather her precious egg. Taking the egg in one of her hands, she began to climb down when, without warning, the box broke and the old lady fell.

 “We have to got and help her,” whispered Amy.

 “What if it is a trick?” replied Ben.

 “Don’t be silly, Ben. If she were a witch, she would have turned us into frogs already,” reasoned Meg. “Come on, Amy, let’s go.” The girls climbed down the tree and ran all the way to the haystack.

   Approaching carefully, they could see a wound on the old lady’s face. She had knocked her head on a stone and her ankle was definitely broken. “Go and get Dad,” Amy yelled to her brother. “Tell him about the accident.”

   The boys did not need another excuse to leave. They ran as fast as they could for help, hoping that Mrs. Tailor would not wake and turn the girls into frogs.

21. Why were the children hiding in the tree?

 A. They wanted to watch Mrs. Tailor do her housework closely.

 B. They were playing a hide-and-seek game

 C. They wanted to find out if the rumors about Mrs. Tailor were true

 D. They were pretending to be spies

22. Mrs. Tailor stopped sweeping when____

 A. her front steps were clean             B. she noticed the children in the tree

 C. she was ready to take a flight          D. she heard the hen cackling

23. Ben did not rush in help Mrs. Tailor because_____

   A. he thought that she could be tricking them

   B. he knew that they could not have been in the tree

   C. he did not see the old lady fall down

   D. he was afraid of the three-legged cat

24. Which of these old sayings best suits the story’s lesson for us?

   A. Make hay while the sun shines.

   B. Never judge a book by its cover.

   C. People in glasshouses should not throw stones.

   D. A bird in the hands worth two in the bush.

How to Be a Winner

Sir Steven Redgrave

Winner of 5 Olympic Gold Medals

    “In 1997 I was found to have developed diabetes (糖尿病) . Believing my career was over, I felt extremely low. Then one of the specialists said there was no reason why I should stop training and competing. That was it----the encouragement I needed. I could still be a winner if I believed in myself. I am not saying that it isn’t difficult sometimes. But I wanted to prove to myself that I wasn’t finished yet. Nothing is to stand in my way.”

Karen Pickering

Swimming World Champion

“I swim 4 hours a day, 6 days a week. I manage that sort of workload by putting it on top of my diary. This is the key to success—you can’t follow a career in any field without being well-organized. List what you believe you can achieve. “Trust yourself, write down your goals for the day, however small they are, and you’ll be a step closer to achieving them.”

Kirsten Best

Poet ＆ Writer

“When things are getting hard, a voice inside my head tells me that I can’t achieve something. Then, there are other distractions, such as family or hobbies. The key is to concentrate. When I feel tense, it helps a lot to repeat words such as ‘calm’, ‘peace’ or ‘focus’, either out loud or silently in my mind. It makes me feel more in control and increases my confidence. This is a habit that can become second nature quite easily and is a powerful psychological tool.”

25. What does Sir Steven Redgrave mainly talk about?

   A. Difficulties influenced his career.

   B. Specialists offered him medical advice.

   C. Training helped him defeat his disease.

   D. He overcame the shadow of illness to win.

26. What does Karen Pickering put on top of her diary?

   A. Her training schedule.            B. Her daily happenings.

   C. Her achievements.               D. Her sports career.

27. What does the underlined word “distractions” probably refer to?

   A. Ways that help one to focus.

   B. Words that help one to feel less tense.

   C. Activities that turn one’s attention away.

   D. Habits that make it hard for one to relax.

28. According to the passage, what do the three people have in common?

   A. Courage.                       B. Devotion.    

   C. Hard work.                     D. Self-confidence.

     On the first day of school I brought my camera to school. I gave the students a piece of 8 ×11 cardboard(纸板), and asked them to write their names on both sides. As they finished, I asked them to get into groups of three to four students and took photographs of them holding their name cards.

     After school, I developed the film and printed two sets of photos. That evening, I started to match the names with the faces. I kept one set of pictures at home for about a week so that I could review their names each night. On the second day of school, I put up the other set of photos as a bulletin board , with a title such as "Presenting Room 108, ..."

     The kids loved it! After I had learned all of their names I brought the second set back to school and stuck them onto an 8 ×11 sheet of paper. I placed it in the classroom for other teachers.

     The cardboard name cards that were made on the first day were collected and put on a shelf. From time to time, they were given back to the students and placed on their desks so that guests or supply teachers could identify all of the students.

     I’ve been doing this with my grade 7 students for the last nine years and they liked it. It’s fun to bring the photos out again at the end of the school year to see how much they have all changed in ten months.

29. The cardboards were used to ______.

   A. play some kind of game      B. decorate the classroom

   C. identify the students         D. print the photos on

30. The writer of the passage might be a ______.

   A. head teacher      B. monitor       C. photographer      D. supply teacher

31. Why did the writer leave the second set of the photos at home?

  A. To memorize the students’ names at home.

  B. To make cardboard name cards for supply teachers.

  C. To make a bulletin board in the classroom.

  D. To match the students’ names with their faces

32. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

  A. The students didn’t have to use the cardboard name cards to identify each other.

  B. Other teachers couldn’t identify the students without the cardboard name cards.

  C. The writer kept the cardboard name cards as a souvenir for nine years.

  D. The guests will know the students’ names by reading the cardboard name cards.

     The earliest newspapers started in ancient Rome. They were handwritten news sheets. The first printed newspapers appeared in China during the Tang dynasty, which were printed from carved wooden blocks. Modern papers first appeared in Venice, Italy in the middle of the 14th century. The newspapers of today, with advertising and a mixture of political, economic, and social news and comments, were started in Britain in the mid-18th century.

     The main function of newspapers is to report news. Many newspapers also provide special information to readers, such as weather reports and television timetables. They also provide comments on politics, economics, arts and culture. Almost all newspapers depend on advertising to make money.

     Nearly six out of ten adults in the United States and Canada read a newspaper every day. Seven out of ten read a paper each weekend. Readers search newspapers for detailed background information and analysis. This is what television and radio news reports seldom offer. Newspapers tell readers what happened, and they also help readers understand what caused an event and how it will affect the world around them.

     The workers at large newspaper companies work under a lot of pressure to bring news to readers as soon as possible. Reporters, photographers, artists, and editors collect articles in just a few hours. Page designers select articles, photos, advertisements, and eye-catching headlines to make the pages, and then rush their work to the printer. Printing workers may work overnight around printing presses to churn out more than 60,000 copies per hour.

33. Which is the best title for the passage?

  A. Production of Newspapers           B. Functions of Newspapers

  C. Publication of Newspapers           D. An Introduction to Newspapers

34. We can infer everything from the passage EXCEPT that ______.

   A. newspapers will become less popular because of the development of TV

   B. few newspapers have no advertising

   C. many adults in America read newspapers every day

   D. people can read about many different issues in newspapers

35. The phrase "churn out" in the last paragraph probably means ______.

  A. press        B. produce         C. publish          D. sell

36  But still there is a danger that grows every year．Airliners get larger．Some airplanes can hold over 300 passengers．And the air itself becomes more and more crowded．If one giant airliner crashed into another in mid-air 600 lives could be lost． 37  Air traffic controllers tell the pilot exactly when to turn when to climb and when to come down．The air traffic controllers around a busy airport like London-Heathrow may handle 2500 planes a day．Not all of them actually land at the airport．Many plane that flies near the airport comes under the orders of the controllers there． 38． Recently such a disaster almost happened．  39 ． One with 69 passengers had come from Toronto and the other with 176 passengers from Chicago ,an air traffic controller noticed on his radar screen that the two planes were too close to each other．He ordered one to turn to the right and to climb．But he made a mistake．He ordered the wrong plane to do this．Fifteen seconds later it flew directly in front of the second plane．They avoided each other by the smallest part of a second．The distance between them was less than that of a large swimming pool． 40 ．

A． Even a small mistake on their part could cause a disaster．

B． Two large jets were flying towards the airport．

C． Nowadays people like traveling more by air than by car．

D． Today air travel is far safer than driving a car on a bus motor-way．

E． This is an example of the danger that grows every year．

F． In a word air travel is more dangerous we should choose others．

G． From the moment an airliner takes off to the moment it lands, every movement is watched on radar screen