The spending cuts have          the research project in America several years.

A．set off           B．set aside          C．set back           D．set out

It is not socially        for parents to leave young children unattended at home.

A．a(chǎn)ccessible        B．a(chǎn)doptable          C．a(chǎn)daptable           D．a(chǎn)cceptable

The final score of the match was l01：102. Rockets were only        beaten.

A．narrowly          B．slightly            C．lightly           D．nearly

The winter of 2008 was extremely bad.      most of people say it was the worst winter of their lives.

A．In general           B．In a word           C．In all            D．In fact

I had my first chocolate bar at five. I’ll never forget the delicious，comforting taste. It was World WarⅡ. I lived in a small town in Europe when the Russian army 1 west toward Nazi Germany. Many people in our village fled in  2  .

       In the  3  , I stood with my l 2-year—old sister，Elyte，near the railroad station.  4  a train leaving for Germany waited.

       Only families were  5  to board the train. Just before departure，a woman 6 alone approached us. “I’ll take care of him，”she told Elyte, and 7 me onto the train as it left the station. The entire trip I  8  for my mother.

       We arrived in Hamburg. Dead bodies  9 the bombed-out streets. Now that the woman had 10  escaped the small town she had no more use for me. I lived on the streets，like thousands of 11  children in that war-torn city. I 12  by stealing food. Still，there was never enough. I was skin and bones，close to  13  .

       Then the American troops arrived. They looked so big and   14  . Stealing food from them was easy. I’d 15  into the hall, hide under a table and make off with loaves of fresh bread.

       One afternoon as I hid behind a tent in search of food，a huge hand lifted me up by the 16  , an American soldier. “Got ya!” he shouted.

       I was scared, and l could see it 17  him. “It's okay , kid,” he said. He reached into his uniform and handed me a chocolate bar. “Here，have some of this.” I unwrapped it and took a small  18  .

As with that first taste of chocolate, I thought I'd gone to  19  .

       The soldier took me to an orphanage（孤兒院） run by the Red Cross. Soon after，a family who lived in Pennsylvania adopted me and brought me up. God, I want to pay  20  all the people who were so good to me，I prayed.

1．A．swept                   B．occupied             C．fought                 D．defeated

2．A．hurry                    B．danger                 C．panic                  D．surprise

3．A．confusion              B．settlement            C．disorder              D．mass

4．A．that                      B．which                 C．when                  D．where

5．A．prepared               B．a(chǎn)llowed               C．forbidden            D．organized

6．A．working                B．living                   C．traveling              D．walking

7．A．picked                  B．pulled                  C．a(chǎn)sked                  D．forced

8．A．cried                     B．worked               C．searched             D．started

9．A．grew                    B．littered                 C．spread                 D．poured

10．A．a(chǎn)ctually               B．certainly              C．eventually            D．gradually

11．A．a(chǎn)nother                B．some                   C．their                    D．other

12．A．survived              B．begged                C．a(chǎn)ccompanied       D．prayed

13．A．dying                  B．lying                   C．starving               D．escaping

14．A．wealthy               B．healthy                C．lucky                  D．crazy

15．A．rush                    B．steal                    C．walk                   D．step

16．A．chest                  B．hand                   C．neck                   D．collar

17．A．upset                  B．a(chǎn)stonished           C．interested            D．frightened

18．A．mouth                 B．piece                   C．sheet                   D．bite

19．A．earth                   B．world                  C．heaven                D．sky

20．A．for              B．off             C．out              D．back

Los Angeles：Love for Mom is a given，but buying flowers on her big day may not be. a slump in flower sales since late last year was likely to continue through Mother’s Day，another example of Americans cutting back on spending due to recession fears，which is a period of reduced trade and business activity，and increasing food and gasoline prices.

       “If you look at what has happened on Valentine’s Day and Christmas, the market for flowers has cooled,” said Eric Bender an analyst at Bream Murray. “Growth has slowed in the past two quarters. Mother's Day will probably be a slow quarter，too.’’

       US floral sales for Mother’s Day, celebrated yesterday, will fall thirteen percent this year to$2 billion，with consumers spending an average of $17.65.according to the National Retail Federation estimates.

       Mother’s Day，which accounts for a one—quarter of annual holiday purchases，according to the Society of American Florists，is traditionally the day when floral bouquets are delivered to the doorsteps of many mothers.

       But this year，the shop-owners are concerned.

       Gabriel Soto，who owns a flower shop beneath an office high-rise in the Los Angeles financial district, is expecting lower sales--and has ordered 30 percent fewer flowers than normal this Mother’s Day.

       Last month, Solo, who also operates website downtown-flowers, net, closed another store in a nearby building that was headquarters to a mortgage company. After workers lost their jobs due to the housing crisis, orders decreased.

       A．sharp increase in price                          B．great fear for losing jobs

       C．global worry of floral stores                  D．sudden fall by a large amount

2．According to the author, Mother's Day should be an occasion of       .

       A．a(chǎn) large family get-together

       B．a(chǎn) big annual holiday purchase

       C．a(chǎn) great love showed to mothers

       D．a(chǎn) celebration among Americans

3．This passage implies that Americans have       .

       A．met financial problems recently

       B．no longer bought flowers for mothers

       C．delivered flowers to every house for mothers

       D．cut back on spending because of having lost jobs

4．Which would be the best title for this passage?

       A．Hard time coming nearer

       B．Mother’s Day and crisis

       C．Sorry mom, love you but no flowers

       D．Holiday purchases have a hard time

Sleepy Hollow was a quiet village near New York's Hudson River. One day long ago, a teacher named Ichabod Crane moved there. He was tall and skinny, with long, pointy nose. His clothes flapped around him when he walked. Ichabod was an odd bird, but he thought very highly of himself!

       Like other teachers then, Ichabod moved around. He would spend a week with one family and move on. Often, these families amused themselves by telling ghost stories. Sleepy Hollow had many such stories, because people believed that the area was haunted.

       The most famous local ghost was the Headless Horseman. People said he was a soldier whose head was knocked off by a cannonball. He haunted the roads and woods, looking for his lost head. He traveled at night, returning to his burial place in the churchyard before morning. This story frightened Ichabod the most.

       Ichabod wanted to marry a wealthy girl. He had his eye on one of his students, Katrina Van Tassel. She was the daughter of a rich farmer. Ichabod had a rival for Katrina. He was a big, broad-shouldered fellow named Brom Bones. Brom was very mischievous, always ready for a flight and for fun.

       One day, the Van Tassels held a large party. Ichabod went and found Brom already there, Folks sat around and told stories. Brom told of racing the Headless Horseman near Sleepy Hollow, The ghost had suddenly disappeared at the churchyard bridge, Ichabod shivered as he listened to the story. Brom watched him and smiled.

       After the party, Ichabod headed home on his old horse, Gunpowder. It was growing dark, and the road was lonely. Ichabod was feeling nervous. Suddenly, he saw a large form in the road ahead. He couldn't see clearly in the gloom, but there was no doubt it was a horseman. “Who-o-o-o are you?” croaked Ichabod. The shadowy figure made no reply.

       Ichabod began to sweat. Suddenly, Gunpowder dashed forward.  The other horseman started off as well. The two riders raced toward the bridge near the churchyard.

       “I’ll be safe if I can just cross the bridge,” thought Ichabod.

       When he reached the bridge, Ichabod breathed a sign of relief. But the other horseman didn't disappear. Instead, the ghostly figure stood up in the stirrups and threw its head. The head hit Ichabod, knocking him off his horse.

       Ichabod was never seen in Sleepy Hollow again. Only a shattered pumpkin was found near the bridge. Some people said that the Headless Horseman had carried off Ichabod. Years later, someone saw him in New York City. Brom married Katrina, and he always laughed whenever anyone mentioned the pumpkin.

1．What does the underlined word "rival" in Para. 4 mean?

       A．enemy                 B．partner                C．competitor           D．student

2．What probably happened to Ichabod?

       A．He was scared to death and lost his head too.

       B．He didn't dare to stay, so he escaped to somewhere else.

       C．He was so annoying that people drove him out of Sleepy Hollow.

       D．He raced toward the bridge with a horseman and later was carried off.

3．We can conclude from the passage that        .

       A．Sleepy Hollow is a terrifying place.

       B．It was Brom who played tricks on Ichabod with pumpkin.

       C．The Headless Horseman always appeared at night to murder people.

       D．Ichabod was the only teacher in there, so he thought very highly of himself.

4．What is the author's attitude towards Ichabod?

       A．Negative.       B．Positive.       C．Neutral.       D．Hated.

There are two key elements to Nadal’s victories over Federer--speed and left-handed ground strokes.

       If tennis court surfaces get any faster, left-handed Rafeal Nadal, may eventually dominate（支配）right-handed Roger Federer, for the simple reason that left-handed sportsmen in general have naturally quicker reflexes（反應(yīng)）.

       French sports researchers, led by Dr. Guy Azemar, are convinced, after 15 years of experiments, that the growing domination of left-handers in tennis can no longer be put down to their unorthodox（非正統(tǒng)的）technique. They say that everything points to left-handers having several thousandths of a second more time to react.

       The researchers were struck by the disproportionate(不相稱的) success of left-handers. Left-handers dominate at the top although 90 percent of people are right-handed. Of the world's200 top tennis players, 16 percent are left-handed but five of the top 20 and three of the top four are left-handers. Federer, therefore, is considered to be an exception--a right-hander who can make up with technique what he loses in reflex.

       Dr. Azemar is convinced that the advantage is explained by the way messages are carried from the brain. "We want to show that the sorts of information needed in sport-speed and direction of attack-are treated by the right-hand side of the brain which handles the organization of time and space," he said. "With left-handers the message is transmitted direct to the left-hand side of the brain first, the side which treats logic. Then it is passed to the other side causing a loss of thousandths of seconds. "

1．It is implied in the first two paragraphs that              .

       A．Nadal is a better player than Federer

       B．Nadal can play as well as Federer

       C．Federer has naturally quicker reflexes

       D．Nadal has naturally quicker reflexes

2．The increasing domination of left-handers in tennis                       .

       A．was once considered the result of unorthodox technique

       B．is possible after 15 years of experiments

       C．is due to their unorthodox technique

       D．can no longer be controlled

3．How many left-handers are there among the world's 200 best tennis players?

       A．16                      B．20                       C．32                      D．90

4．The author suggests, but does not directly say, that Federer wins because           .

       A．he uses right hand                                                               B．he is the best player

       C．he has quicker reflexes                         D．he has better technique

The huge Florida wetland known as the Everglades is a slow-moving river 80 kilometers wide but only a few centimeters deep. People call the Everglades a “river of grass” because saw grass covers most of it. Saw grass is not really grass. It is a plant that has leaves edged with tiny sharp teeth that can easily cut through clothes--and skin!

       Travel in the Everglades is difficult. You cannot walk through shallow water because the saw grass will cut you. The water is too shallow for regular boats. So, we use an airboat. An airboat is a flat, open boat. Like an airplane, it has a big propeller to move it. The propeller is fixed on the rear of the boat. It makes a tremendous noise, but it does the job. The beat skims along the water's surface. Although we can still get lost in an airboat, at least we are above the alligators （短嘴鱷）.

       While hundreds of different kinds of animals live in the Everglades, the most famous is surely the alligator. Once endangered, alligators are now protected within Everglades National Park. Visitors are likely to see them both on land and in water.

       For a long time, dangers have threatened the Everglades. Around 1900, some people felt this precious wetland should be drained（排干）.They said it was just a big swamp and not good for anything. In the 1920s, there was a land boom in Florida. People wanted to build homes everywhere, including in the Everglades. They built canals, levees, and other water systems that stopped the rivers flowing into the Everglades. Factories were built near rivers that flowed into the wetland. These factories dumped poisonous waste that damaged the Everglades ecosystem.

       People are now working to preserve the Everglades National Park for the future. Right now, one big problem is the paper bark me. This tree is an invader from Australia.

       Paper bark trees soak up a lot of water. In the early 1900s, people brought them to Florida because they thought they would help drain the Everglades. However, the invaders adapted too well. Paper bark trees have taken over hundreds of thousands of acres of the Everglades and killed other trees. Scientists are cutting down these invaders or spraying them with herbicides to kill them.

1．Why is it difficult to travel in Everglades?

       A．Airboats may make a very big noise.

       B．You may get lost when passing through.

       C．Paper bark trees soak up too much water there.

       D．Many different kinds of animals are to be protected.

2．Why do people use airboats instead of normal boats?

       A．They have big propellers to move them faster than alligators.

       B．The propeller makes loud noise so as to scare alligators.

       C．Their fiat bottom can skim along the water surface.

       D．They can watch alligators without hurting them.

3．The following measures were taken to drain the Everglades except that people           .

       A．built canals and levees to stop the rivers flowing into Everglades

       B．built factories near rivers that flowed into the wetland

       C．brought Paper bark to soak up water in Everglades

       D．a(chǎn)re cutting down these Paper bark trees.

4．The underlined word "invader" probably means something             .

       A．that moves in from another place

       B．that enters and takes control

       C．that has been brought in

       D．that is in danger

Identifying which jobs put the most stress on American workers is, in itself, a risky business. Everyone knows, for example, that air-traffic controllers have more than their share of white-knuckle day. But stressful jobs are not equally stressful to all people. Some air-traffic controllers thrive on the flying circus. Their secret, says Suzane Ouellette, a psychologist at the City University of New York, is "hardiness", a balance of feeling committed, challenged and in control in the workplace.

       Then again, some professions are inarguably tough to take. Doctors, lawyers and police officers routinely top suicide lists. And some jobs are plain dangerous: miners have the highest job-fatality rate in the country. Less extreme but much more widespread are the psychological hazards that result from 10 years of corporate downsizing and having to keep up with the speed and volume of computers. Dr. Rupert. Burtan, a specialist in occupational medicine, says," Many workers have too much dumped on their desks and nor enough time in which to get it all done." That complaint is often made by secretaries, who also make most stressed-out lists.

       Jobs that attract idealistic types can sour（使人不愉快的） when the work seems to make little meaningful difference. Besides police officers and lawyers, inner-city teachers and journalists often fall into this category. Doctors, interns and nurses can, too, when the waves of the sick seem endless.

       Why the recent wave exhausts basketball coaches? Sports give them tremendous responsibilities but, ultimately, little control. Coaches can only coach; they can't actually run the plays. But if the team loses, they still get fired. Similarly, waiters and waitresses get stiffed on tips if the cook screws up.

       But experts say the toughest occupation may still be that of working mom. Many women who are bringing home the bacon are still expected to fry and serve it, too. '' There really are relatively few couples where child care and domestic work are truly shared," says Harriet Lerner, a psychologist at the Menninger Clinic. Even unemployed husbands do no more than 36percent of the housework. Now that's a study in high stress and high shame.

1．The example of air-traffic controllers is given in Para. 1 to show that             .

       A．it’s not easy to decide which jobs are stressful

       B．nobody wants to be an air-traffic controller

       C．they can easily succeed in their career

       D．their job is the most dangerous one

2．The underlined word “it” in Para. 2 refers to                 .

       A．the working time                                 B．the speed of computers

       C．the amount of work                             D．the size of computers

3．What makes working mothers have the toughest occupation?

       A．The housework only.                           B．The unhappy family life.

       C．The full-time job.                                 D．Their double roles.

4．It can be inferred from the passage that            .

       A．people often lose interest in their jobs

       B．people tend to choose wrong professions

       C．it is easy to find an ideal job in modern times

       D．the ideal jobs can turn stressful as well