I was in a rush as always, but this time it was for an important date I just couldn’t be late for! I found myself at a checkout counter behind an elderly woman seemingly in no hurry as she paid for her groceries. A PhD student with not a lot of money, I had hurried into the store to pick up some flowers. I was in a huge rush, thinking of my upcoming evening. I did not want to be late for this date.

    We were in Boston, a place not always known for small conversation between strangers. The woman stopped unloading her basket and looked up at me. She smiled. It was a nice smile —warm and reassuring — and I returned her gift by smiling back.

    "Must be a special lady, whoever it is that will be getting those beautiful flowers," she said.

    "Yes, she's special," I said, and then to my embarrassment, the words kept coming out. "It's only our second date, but somehow I am just having the feeling she's 'the one'," Jokingly, I added, "The only problem is that I can't figure out why she'd want to date a guy like me.”

    "Well, I think she's very lucky to have a boyfriend who brings her such lovely flowers and who is obviously in love with her," the woman said. "My husband used to bring me flowers every week—even when times were tough and we didn't have much money. Those were incredible days; he was very romantic and — of course — I miss him since he’ s passed away.”

I paid for my flowers as she was gathering up her groceries. There was no doubt in my mind as I walked up to her. I touched her on the shoulder and said, “You were right, you know. These flowers are indeed for a very special lady.” I handed her the flowers and thanked her for such a nice conversation.

    It took her a moment to realize that I was giving her the flowers I had just purchased. "You have a wonderful evening," I said. I left her with a big smile and my heart warmed as I saw her smelling the beautiful flowers.

    I remember being slightly late for my date that night and telling my girlfriend the story above. A couple of years later，when I finally worked up the courage to ask her to marry me，she told me that this story had helped to seal it for her — that was the night that I won her heart.

21．Why was the writer in a hurry that day?

  A. He was delayed by an elderly lady.   B. He had to go back to school soon.

  C. He was to meet his girlfriend.     D. He had to pick up some groceries.

22．What does the underlined phrase "her gift" (Paragraph 2) refer to?

  A. Her words.   B. Her smile.   C. Her flowers.   D. Her politeness.

23．Why did the writer give his flowers to the elderly lady?

  A. She told him a nice story.       B. She allowed him to pay first.

  C. She liked flowers very much.    D. She gave him encouragement.

24．What is the message conveyed in the story?

  A. Flowers are important for a date.    B. Small talk is helpful.

  C. Love and kindness are rewarding.    D. Elderly people deserve respecting.

Chinese are very generous when it comes to educating their children. Not caring about the money, parents often send their children to the best schools or even abroad to England, the United States or Australia. They also want their children to take extra-course activities where they will either learn a musical instrument or ballet, or other classes that will give them a head start in life. The Chinese believe that the more expensive an education is, the better it is. So parents will spend an unreasonable amount of money on education. Even poor couples will buy a computer for their son or daughter.

　　However, what most parents fail to see is that the best early education they can give their children is usually very cheap.

Parents can see that their children’s skills vary (变化，不同), skilled in some areas while poor in others. What most parents fail to realize, though, is that today’s children lack self-respect and self-confidence.

The problem is that parents are only educating their children on how to take multiple-choice tests and how to study well, but parents are not teaching them the most important skills they need to be confident, happy and clever.

　　Parents can achieve this by teaching practical skills like cooking, sewing and doing other housework.

Teaching a child to cook will improve many of the skills that he will need later in life.

Cooking demands patience and time. It is an enjoyable but difficult experience. A good cook always tries to improve his cooking, so he will learn to work hard and gradually finish his job successfully. His result, a well-cooked dinner, will give him much satisfaction and a lot of self-confidence.

　　Some old machines, such as a broken radio or TV set that you give your child to play with will make him curious and arouse his interest. He will spend hours looking at them, trying to fix them; your child might become an engineer when he grows up. These activities are not only teaching a child to read a book, but rather to think, to use his mind. And that is more important.  

25. Parents in China, according to this passage, _______.

A. are too strict with their children  　　B. are too rich to educate their children

　C. have some problems in educating their children correctly

　D. are too poor to educate their children

26. Generally speaking, children’s skills ______.

　A. come from their parents      B. have nothing to do with their education

　C. may be different             D. have something to do with their marks in the exams

27. Doing some cooking at home helps children ______.

　A. learn how to serve their parents    　B. learn how to become strong and fat

　C. benefit from it and prepare themselves for the future

　D. make their parents believe that they are clever

28. According to the last paragraph we can conclude that ______.

　A. broken radios and television sets are useful

B. one’s curiosity may be useful for his later life

　C. an engineer must fix many broken radios

　D. a good student should spend much time repairing radios 

    Every day, it is easy to see advertisements in English all around us. Look at your own bags and clothes, and the bags and clothes of your classmates. How many different advertisements can you see which use English words? Often, bags and clothes show the name of company that made them. This is a popular form. A special picture or symbol called a logo is sometimes used. Logos appear on many different products. They are popular because when you see a logo, it is hard to forget that product or company. It is common to see advertisements on TV and hear them on the radio. Most advertisements are very short. Sometimes the advertisers use a short sentence which is easy for people to say and remember. Nike, for example, has a simple English sentence which is used all around the world: “Just do it.” Advertisements often use funny situations as well. It is simple to remember it. All advertisements are designed to make people buy a product. An advertisement for a soft drink, for example, might show a group of young people who are having fun. The young people are all drinking the soft drink. Advertisements are saying to you, “Why don’t you buy this drink and be like these people? You can be young and modern.” You might think that advertisements are not after you, but the next time you buy a soft drink, ask yourself this question: Why am I buying this particular product?   

29. From the passage, we know that _______.  

A. all advertisements around us are written in English

B. many bags have the name of the company that made them

C. having soft drinks makes a person young and modern

D. advertisements are only after young people

30. A good logo is _________.  

A. easy to remember            B. a useful product 

C. difficult to understand        D. easy to buy

31. People are most likely to remember an advertisement that is __________.   

A. in English     B. long     C. funny      D. famous

32. All advertisements are designed to __________. 

A. sell you something you don’t want      B. make you young and modern

C. make you buy the product             D. show you what you need to buy

The Los Angeles Zoo has many public programs that aim to teach the public about animals and natural protection.

Safari shuttle(旅游电车)

    While you’re here, take the Safari shuttle for a quick trip from one end of the Zoo to the other.

All day long, seven days a week (from 10 am to 5 pm), the Safari Shuttle picks up passengers, circles the Zoo, and returns to the main flamingo (火烈鸟) exhibit near the front entrance. You can get on and off the shuttle as often as you like.

Food

    Safari Café(at the Zoo entrance) offers Starbucks coffee, fresh-baked cookies, and ice cream. Gorilla Grill is the spot for toasted food, kids’ meals, snacks, and ice cream. La Casita serves a variety of Mexican food and refreshments（甜点）. Silverback’s Cafe offers sandwiches, salads, bread bowls, cold beer, and refreshments.

Hour

    The Zoo is open from 10 am to 5 pm every day of the year except Christmas Day. Special summer long hours are until 6 pm from July 1 to September 7. Please remember, the Zoo starts putting animals in for the night at 4 pm during regular hours, and at 5 pm during summer hours.

Admission Prices(票价)

  Adults (aged 13 and above): $ 9

  Seniors (aged 62 and above): $ 6

  Children (aged 2 to 12): $ 4

  Children (under 2): free

Items Not Allowed on Zoo Grounds

Alcohol, Glass bottles, Pets, Bicycles, Skateboards, and In-line skate.

    If you are planning a picnic while visiting the Zoo, please do not bring any glass items or other things that are easy to break. Also for the safety of the animals, no plastic bags are allowed within the Zoo.

33. People can see all the animals at the Los Angeles Zoo at ______.

  A. 11 am. on Christmas Day           B. 4:30 pm. on May 5

  C. 3 pm. on March 5                    D. 6 pm. on September 7

34. How much does it cost if a couple with their one-year-old twins visit the Los Angeles Zoo?

  A. $18.           B. $26.           C. $22.           D. $17.

35. When visiting the Los Angeles Zoo, people can______.

  A. ride a bike through the Zoo         B. have a picnic on the Zoo grounds

  C. take food with plastic bags          D. take their pets along

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

What is your favorite color? Do you like yellow, orange, red?  36   . Do you prefer grays and blues? Then you are probably quiet, shy, and you would rather follow than lead. You tend to be pessimist (悲观主义者). At least, this is what psychologists tell us, and they should know, because they have been seriously studying the meaning of color preference, as well as the effect that colors have on human beings.   37   . If you happen to love brown, you did so, as soon as you opened your eyes, or at least as soon as you could see clearly.

    38   . A yellow room makes most people feel more cheerful and more relaxed than a dark green one; and a red dress brings warmth and cheer to the saddest winter day.    39    . A black bridge over the Thames River, near London, used to be the scene of more suicides than any other bridge in the area ----until it was repainted green. The number of suicide attempts immediately fell sharply. Perhaps it would have fallen even more if the bridge had been done in pink or baby blue.

     40   . It is an established fact that factory workers work better, harder, and have fewer accidents when their machines are painted orange rather than black or grey.

A. On the other hand, black is depressing.

B. They tell us, among other facts, that we do not choose our favorite color as grow up---we are born with our preference.

C. The rooms are painted in different colors as you like.

D. If you do, you must be an optimist, a leader, an active person who enjoys life, people and excitement.

E. Light and bright colors make people not only happier but more active.

F. Life is like a picture or a poem, full of different colors.

G. Colors do influence our moods---there is no doubt about it.