Dear Ms. Wang,

   I am writing to inform you of some arrangements about my composition course and Latin course next year.

   I’ve decided to re-establish the 5-paragraph essay as the goal for the composition course. I interviewed some of my former students and they all agreed that being able to write critically and continuously was important to them.

   So next academic year, Term 1 will be like always: sentences to paragraphing. And Term 2 will work toward the 5-paragraph essay. The final 3 weeks of Term 2 will be reserved to introduce writing for TOEFL and CEE. By that time, if the students have done their job correctly, then they should be able to write quite well.

   As for the Latin course, I will post notices around campus next week so that the students will understand what’s on offer before I actually introduce the course. A number of students already emailed me about the course.

   I am sure you don’t understand what a big deal our opening this program at our school is. People around the world are interested in what we plan to do. There are many rewards available to the students who succeed in the course. Please share what I have said with the administration. I want them to understand the importance of this course. The reason why I have contacted these colleagues (actually Oxford contacted me) is that I have confidence in our students and in myself. I know that when those professors meet our students and hear them speaking and reading Latin, they are going to be amazed. It will open all sorts of doors for students that they never even thought of to knock on.

   Well, that’s it for now. I’ll see you soon.

                                                               Yours,

                                                               Edward Johnson

21. According to the letter, what will Edward teach about writing in Term 1?

   A. Critical thinking.                           B. Sentences to paragraphing.

   C. 5-paragraph essay.                       D. Writing for TOEFL and CEE.

22. We can learn from the letter that Edward’s Latin course______.

   A. has aroused students’ interest             B. enjoys a nationwide reputation

   C. has won a number of awards        D. benefits anyone who takes it

23. Why does Edward write this letter?

   A. To apply for the teaching position.      

   B. To show his achievements in Latin.  

   C. To inform the school of his course plans.                 

   D. To seek assistance from the administration.     

   Alexis, 17, sat quietly in the passenger seat of her dad’s car. She let her eyes lazily scan the landscape for wildlife. Then a deer came into view about 200 yards in front of them. “Dad, there’s a deer there!” Alexis said. It was a male deer with sharp antlers (角) on each side of its head.

   As the car moved closer, Alexis saw that the deer’s head was bent toward the ground. Then she heard a scream and saw an arm fly up near the deer’s head. Alexis realized the deer was attacking a woman. Sue, a 44-year-old mother, had been out for her morning run. The deer followed her and edged closer. “I knew I was in trouble,” Sue says. She went to pick up a stick for self-defense, and the deer charged. It lifted her with its antlers and threw her into the air. Sue could feel blood flew down her leg. Within seconds, the deer had pushed her off the road.

   When Alexis and her father pulled up, the deer was throwing Sue like a doll. Alexis looked into the woman’s terrified eyes, and before her father had even stopped the car, the teenager jumped quickly out of the car and ran toward the deer. “I was kicking it to get its attention,” she says. Then her father, who had followed his daughter, pushed the deer away from the woman.

   Alexis helped Sue into the car, and then applied a piece of cloth to Sue’s injured leg. “We’re going to get you to a hospital,” Alexis said. Then she heard her father shout loudly. He had been knocked to the ground. Alexis took hold of a hammer from the car and ran to where her father lay on his back. She beat the deer’s head and neck, but the blows didn’t scare it away. “I was losing faith,” she says. “A couple more strikes, Alexis,” said her father. “You can do it.” Turning the hammer around, Alexis closed her eyes and beat the deer’s neck with all her strength. When she opened her eyes, the deer was running away. Alexis got in the driver’s seat and sped toward the nearest hospital.

   After Sue was treated, she tearfully thanked her rescuers. “You expect a teenage girl to get on the phone and call for help,” she says, “not to beat up a deer.”

24. What was Sue doing when she was attacked by the deer?

   A. She was driving home.                         B. She was taking exercise.  

   C. She was resting on the road.               D. She was feeding wild animals.

25. What did Alexis do to save Sue?

   A. She pushed the deer away.                  B. She beat the deer with a hammer.

   C. She drove the car to hit the deer.        D. She hit the deer with her feet.

26. Which of the following words can best describe Alexis?

   A. Strong.                     B. Cruel.                     C. Energetic.               D. Brave.

27. What is the best title for the passage?

   A. A Woman Was Seriously Injured                 

   B. A Dangerous Deer Attacked a Woman

   C. A Girl Rescued Her Father Successfully            

   D. A Teenager Saved Others from a Deer Attack

Is It Worth Buying Organic Food?

   Organic food, grown without artificial chemicals, is increasingly popular nowadays. Consumers have been willing to pay up to twice as much for goods with organic labels (商标). However, if you think paying a little more for organic food gets you a more nutritious and safer product, you might want to save your money. A study led by researchers at Stanford University says that organic products aren’t necessarily more nutritious, and they’re no less likely to suffer from disease-causing bacteria, either.

   The latest results, published in the Annuals of Internal Medicine, suggest that buyers may be wasting their money. “We did not find strong evidence that organic food is more nutritious or healthier,” says Dr. Crystal Smith-Spangler from Stanford. “So consumers shouldn’t assume that one type of food has a lower risk or is safer.”

   For their new study, Smith-Spangler and her colleagues conducted a review of two categories of research, including 17 studies that compared health outcomes between consumers of organic against traditional food products, and 223 studies that analyzed the nutritional content of the foods, including key vitamins, minerals and fats.

   While the researchers found little difference in nutritional content, they did find that organic fruit and vegetables were 20% less likely to have chemicals remaining on the surfaces. Neither organic nor traditional foods showed levels of chemicals high enough to go beyond food safety standards. And both organic and traditional meats, such as chicken and pork, were equally likely to be harmed by bacteria at very low rates. The researchers did find that organic milk and chicken contained higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids, a healthy fat also found in fish that can reduce the risk of heart disease. However, these nutritional differences were too small, and the researchers were unwilling to make much of them until further studies confirm the trends.

   Organic food is produced with fewer chemicals and more natural-growing practices, but that doesn’t always translate into a more nutritious or healthier product. The U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) states that “whether you buy organic or not, finding the freshest foods available may have the biggest effect on taste.” Fresh food is at least as good as anything marketed as organic.

28. The new research questions whether organic food __________.

   A. should replace traditional food                 B. has been overpriced by farmers

   C. is really more nutritious and healthier         D. is grown with less harmful chemicals

29. Smith-Spangler and her colleagues found that __________.

   A. organic food could reduce the risk of heart disease

   B. traditional food was grown with more natural methods

   C. both organic and traditional food they examined were safe

   D. there was not a presence of any forms of bacteria in organic food

30. Which of the following is relatively healthier according to the passage?

   A. Organic chicken and pork.                          B. Organic milk and chicken.

   C. Traditional chicken and pork.               D. Traditional fruit and vegetables.

31. What is the author’s attitude toward organic food?

   A. Grateful.           B. Doubtful.      C. Unconcerned.         D. Approving.

A bargain is something offered at a low and advantageous price. A more recent definition is: a bargain is a dirty trick to force money out of the pockets of silly and innocent people.

The cost of producing a new, for example, toothpaste would make 80p the proper price for it, so we will market it at £1.20. It is not a bad toothpaste, and as people like to try new things, it will sell well to start with; but the attraction of novelty soon fades, so sales will fall. When that happens we will reduce the price to £1.15. And we will turn it into a bargain by printing 5p OFF all over it.

Sometimes it is not 5p OFF but 1p OFF. What breathtaking rudeness to advertise 1p OFF your soap or washing powder or whatever! Even the poorest old-age pensioner ought to regard this as an insult (侮辱), but he doesn’t. A bargain must not be missed. People say one has to have washing powder (or whatever) and one might as well buy it a penny cheaper.

   The real danger starts when unnecessary things become ‘bargains’. Many people just cannot resist bargains. Provided they think they are getting a bargain they will buy clothes they will never wear or furniture they have no space for. Once I heard of a man who bought an electric saw (电锯) as a bargain and cut off two of his fingers the next day. But he had no regrets: the saw had been truly cheap.

   Quite a few people actually believe that they make money on such bargains. A lady once told me: “I’ve had a lucky day today. I bought a dress for £120, reduced from £400; and I bought a beautiful Persian carpet for £600, reduced from £900.” It will never occur to her that she has actually wasted £720. She feels as though she had made £580. She also feels, I am sure, that if she had more time for shopping, she could make a living out of it.

   Some people buy in large quantities because it is cheaper. Once a couple bought enough sugar for their lifetime and the lifetime of their children and grandchildren. They thought it a bargain not to be missed. When the sugar arrived they didn’t know where to store it –– until they realized that their toilet was a very spacious one. So that was where they piled up their sugar. Not only did their guests feel rather strange whenever they were offered sugar to put into their coffee, but the toilet became extremely sticky.

   To offer bargains is a commercial trick to make the poor poorer. When greedy fools fall for this trick, it serves them right.

32. What does the underlined word “novelty” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

   A. Good quality.                          B. Low price.

   C. Newness.                               D. Curiosity.

33. Which word best describes the language style of the passage?

   A. Polite.                B. Foolish.       C. Serious.          D. Humorous.      

34. How does the author feel about 1p OFF a product?

  A. It’s a gift for poor people.                       B. It’s an insult to shoppers.

  C. It’s a bargain worth trying.                      D. It’s a real reduction in price.

35. Which statement will the author probably agree with?

  A. Bargains are things people don’t really need.            

  B. Bargains are often really cheap products.

  C. Bargains help people make a living.                          

  D. Bargains play tricks on people.

    We all face quantities of stresses in day-to-day living, whether at work, in the home, or anywhere in between.    36    Here’s how stress can help us on an everyday basis.

    ●Sharpening your memory.

    Did you ever notice that sometimes when you are stressed, your memory seems to improve? Remember that test you passed where the answers seemed to come out of nowhere?    37    It’s because of stress hormones (荷尔蒙) that increase your alertness when it’s most needed.

    ●   38   sd

    Successful employees turn stress into motivation. Have you ever noticed that you get the least amount of work done when you have the fewest deadlines? Too little stress can affect how much you actually get done. When you take risks and choose to get over the difficulty, it improves your mental toughness and self-confidence.

    ●Helping you resist the attack of illness.

       39    Believe it or not, the right kind of stress can help your body’s defenses against illness. When you get sick, stress causes you to make hormones that battle threats to your health. That burst of stress is helpful to your immune system when your body faces a threat.

    ●Making your life more interesting.

Think about some stressful situations that we consciously put ourselves in to make life more interesting and enjoyable, like asking someone out on a first date, conquering a known fear, or learning something new. These may not immediately come to mind when you think of stress because of the positive outcomes.    40    g

A. Helping you get an advantage at work.

B. Helping you get through difficult times.

C. This will happen whenever you are stressed.

D. That’s one way your brain responds to stress.

E. You need a healthy immune system to help fight off diseases.

F. But they’re the types that can help you achieve fulfillment and happiness.

G. But handled properly, stress can have many benefits for the body and mind.