Do you remember the man who contributed a lot to the understanding of British and American English? Noah Webster, born on October 16, 1758, is known for The American Dictionary of the English Language. He has been called the “Father of American Scholarship and Education”. His “Blue-Backed Speller” books were used to teach spelling and reading to five generations of American children. But how much do you know about him beyond that?

At the age of 16, Noah Webster began attending Yale College. Unfortunately, he spent his four years at Yale during the American Revolutionary War, and, because of food shortages, many of his college classes were held in Glastonbury, Connecticut. Later, he served in the army.

Having graduated from Yale in 1778, Webster wanted to continue his education in order to earn his law degree. He had to teach school in order to pay for his education. He set up many small schools that didn't survive, but he was a good teacher because instead of forcing his students to learn, like most teachers did, he rewarded them.

He earned his law degree in 1781, but did not practice law until 1789. Once he started he found the law was not to his liking. Webster did not have much money.

In 1793, Alexander Hamilton lent him $1500 to move to New York City to edit a newspaper. In December, he founded New York 's first daily newspaper, American Minerva, and edited it for four years. For decades, he published textbooks, political essays, a report on some diseases, and newspaper articles for his party, He wrote so much that a modern list of his published works required 655 pages .

Noah Webster died on May 28, 1843 and was buried in the Grove Street Cemetery.

21．What's the main idea of Paragraph l?

A.  Webster's college education.                       B. Webster's famous dictionary.

C. Webster's daily routines.                             D. Webster's main achievements.

22.   Which of the following best describes Webster's life at Yale?

A.  Tiring.                B. Tough.                    C. Smooth.                  D. Normal.

23.   What did Noah want to be after graduation from Yale?

A.  A scholar.    B. A teacher.     C. A lawyer.    D. A headmaster.

24.   Why was Webster a good teacher?

A.  Because he often rewarded his students.  B. Because he set up many small schools.

B.  C. Because he graduated from Yale College.   D. Because he forced his students to learn.

    A city without cars would be very strange, right? But Venice is such a city.

    Venice is in the northeast of Italy.  It wasn't built on land, like Beijing or Shanghai, but on more than 110　islands. Seawater is everywhere around the city.    Even so, travel isn't that difficult.  The waterways have always been the best way to get around.  There are　117 waterways and more than 400 bridges that can guide you where you want to go. People in Venice move from　place to place by boat.

   Water makes the city special, but it is also a big problem.  Sometimes tourists will have such strange　experiences. One moment they walk across the Rialto Bridge, and there's nothing special. But when they come　back to the bridge an hour later, it's underwater and everyone is wearing rain shoes.

   Once, people used too much underground water.  This made the city get lower little by little.  Now the city　has gone down by 23 centimeters. Another problem is the rising seawater. The temperature has risen over the　years. This has made ice of the Arctic Ocean(北冰洋) melt(融化). Every year, high waters hit the city in　autumn and winter. When a lot of water comes, more than half of the city is underwater.

  Scientists are trying different ways to stop the city from getting even lower. The Italian government has　asked some of Italy's biggest companies to build the MOST project, which was planned to be built under the　seawater to stop the rising water. Anyway, this project is helping solve the problem.

25. What kind of city is Venice?

     A. It is a city without buildings.

     B. It is a city without bridges.

     C. It is a city where you must wear rain shoes when out.

     D. It is a city where boat is the main traffic way.

26. Half of Venice is underwater every autumn and winter because           .

    A. the city got higher little and little

    B. the high waters from the Arctic Ocean hit the city

     C. people used too much underground water

     D. the water pollution is very heavy

27. What could be the best title for the text?

     A. The Most Project and Problems

     B. The Waterways of Venice

     C. The Specials and Problems of Venice

     D. The Most Beautiful City-Venice

We spend around one third of our lives in bed, and the body does a lot of its repair work as we sleep, so enough good quality sleep is very important to our health. It doesn't stop there, though—some sleep positions are healthier than others. So which sleep position is the healthiest?

Sleeping on your back is the healthiest sleep position, Health benefits include avoiding back and neck pain. Because the head is raised above the stomach when you sleep on your back， this position is best for people who suffer from nighttime acid reflux (胃酸逆流) as well. Around 80% of heartburn sufferers have problems during the night, so sleeping on their back could help a lot of people to enjoy a good night's sleep. If the sleep position alone is not enough to alleviate the condition, try raising the head of the bed by up to 4 inches by placing blocks under it.

When you sleep on your back，your face is in a natural position. This means less wrinkles (皱纹)．

If you really can't face sleeping on your back, another healthy sleep position is the side sleep. It's almost as good as the back position，and it's better for people who snore (打鼾) and their partners. Whichever sleep position you choose, use a pillow that supports the head and the neck without raising the head unnaturally, as this can bring neck pain.

28. Which is NOT one of the benefits of sleeping on the back?

A. It can avoid acid reflux.                 B. It makes people look younger.

C. It's good for heartburn sufferers.          D. It helps people get rid of stomach pain.

29. Which is the best sleep position for people who snore?

A. Sleep on the face.                      B. Sleep on the side.    

C. Sleep on the back.                      D. Sleep without pillows.

30. The underlined word “alleviate” in Paragraph 2 probably means ________.　

A. make it less serious                                B. make people forget           

C. make it less useful                                  D. make people enjoy

31. What does the text mainly talk about?

A. Ways to keep us healthy.                 B. The importance of sleep.  

C. Sleep's repairing functions.               D. Healthy positions of sleep.

       My family often had a get-together with friends in my childhood.  As I was smart, there was always someone who would come up to mention my high intelligence and ask, "What are you going to do when you grow up?" Well,  it started out being a teacher or a hero.  Later it was a fireman, an artist. . . As I grew older, my dreams of the future changed. When I was going to college, I was asked, "What will you major in?", another question  designed to find out what I would be when I grew up.

   By then I made up my mind to become a computer programmer.  So I was studying software for much of my

life. I am happy that I could realize my dream.  The realization of my life purpose encourages me to help others to　succeed in their own lives.

   However, for many, there is a "thief" which goes around stealing our dreams and robbing us of the

necessary mental state to achieve our goals. Sometimes, the thief will come as a parent, a relative, or a friend,　but the greatest thief is just ourselves.   Usually when we are about to reach the aim, a "small" voice inside will say, "You will never succeed. ""Very few have ever done this successfully. " And on and on the "small" voice makes us lose heart and fail.

     Failure, though, helps our dreams to come true. It is one of the most important tools we have, because it　teaches us valuable lessons.  And, when we learn these lessons well, we are ready for success.

    There are no "overnight" successes, but with perseverance, they will come. So just don't give up. Let　dreams stay in your life.

32. Some people would always ask the author's future plan because

    A. they wanted to find some topic to talk with the author

    B. the author was very clever and would do great things in their opinion

     C. they had nothing to do in the author's house

     D. the author's parents asked them to do

33. Who will be most likely to steal our dreams according to the author?

    A. A parent.         B. A relative.         C. A friend.            D. Ourselves.

34. Which of the following has the closest meaning to the underlined word "perseverance" in the last paragraph?

     A. Determination.         B. Expression.         C. Organization.      D. Confidence.

35. What can we infer about the author?

    A. His parents are well educated.

    B. He didn't like others to ask his future plan.

    C. He finally became a computer programmer.

    D. He thought the failure was not a good thing.

Maybe you are an ordinary student.   36   This is not necessarily so. Anyone can become a better student if he or she wants to. Here’s how:

Plan your time carefully. When planning your work, you should make a list of things that you have to do. After making this list, you should plan your time carefully. First arrange（安排） your time for eating, sleeping, dressing, etc, then decide a good, regular time for studying.   37   A weekly timetable may not solve all your problems, but it will force you to realize what is happening to your time.

Make good use of your time in class.   38   Listening carefully in class means less work later. Taking notes will help you remember what the teacher says.

Study regularly. When you get home from school, go over your notes, review the important points that your teacher is going to discuss the next day, read that material.   39   If you do these things regularly, the material will become more meaningful, and you will remember it longer.

Develop a good attitude towards tests. The purpose of a test is to show what you have learned about a subject. The world won’t end if you don’t pass a test, so don’t be over worried.

  40   You will probably discover many others after you have tried these.

A. This will help you understand the next class.

B. Make full use of spare time to take note of what the teacher says in class.

C. Don’t forget to set aside enough time for entertainment.

D. There are other methods that might help you with your study.

E. No one can become a top student unless he or she works hard.

F. Take advantage of class time to listen to everything the teacher says.

G. You probably think you will never be a top student.