“Up until about five years ago, students at this school could have worn anything they wanted on Halloween,” said Rosemarie Nielson, a sixth-grade teacher at St. Theresa School, a Roman Catholic elementary school in the Pelham Bay section of the Bronx where there is a prohibition on toy weapons.

“When you consider all the horrific things that have happened in recent years, including 9/11, I can’t blame any school for wanting to stay away from anything that might promote violence,” Ms. Nielson said.

Mary Ellen Manniello, whose daughter, Courtney, 9, is a fourth grader at St. Gabriel School, a Roman Catholic elementary school in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, said she understood why officials had banned weapons with costumes. “They’re learning more about guns from issues in the street than educational issues.”

This year, the school has gone one step further and is prohibiting all costumes at its Halloween festivities. Ms. Manniello said it had become “a chaotic scene,” with parents helping their children change into their costumes at school.

Some parents said the no-weapons policy for Halloween costumes went too far and denied children a chance to express themselves.

“Halloween has always been the one day when it was acceptable for our children to be dressed like somebody they are not, like a cowboy or a pirate or a person from outer space, and now we’re taking that away from them,” said Laura Santoro, a nurse from New Milford, Conn., whose 7-year-old son, Johnny, is a second grader at Northville Elementary School there.

Ms. Santoro said that her son would dress as Capt. Jack Sparrow, the character played by Johnny Depp in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies, at the school’s Halloween party, but that he would not be allowed to take a sword — part of a policy that caught her by surprise last Halloween.

“I sent my son to school last year dressed as a special force Power Ranger, and he was told that he couldn’t take along his red laser blaster, which really surprised me, because the laser is red and made of plastic and lights up, and it could never, ever be mistaken for a real gun,” Ms. Santoro said. “I mean, come on, the whole thing is getting really sad.”

What do you think is the writer’s purpose of writing the passage?

   A. To introduce to the public the no-weapons policy for Halloween costumes.

   B. To state parents’ attitudes towards the no-weapons policy for Halloween costumes.

   C. To tell the public that children should bring any weapons for Halloween costumes.

   D. To analyse the fact that the no-weapons policy for Halloween costumes goes too far.

According to the passage, some parents understand the no-weapon policy for Halloween costumes because ____________.

   A. schools should take a cautious approach to Halloween to prevent violence.

   B. children are buying real guns in the street and there is always violence now.

   C. those parents like to help their children change into their costumes at school.

   D. children are learning more about guns from educational issues.

Which of the following is probably right according to the passage?

   A. Children could bring any weapons into school five or six years ago.

   B. The parents surveyed are those whose children are in elementary schools.

   C. Guns are necessary on Halloween for children to express themselves.

   D. Jack Sparrow is an actor who at one time acted as a pirate in a movie.

What do the underlined words “l(fā)aser blaster” in the last paragraph refer to?

   A. A kind of costume.                           B. A real gun.

C. A toy weapon.                               D. A kind of plastic.

Cooler temperatures, attractive colors, smaller crowds autumn is the perfect time for travel and tourism. Here, three places are listed as the best fall trip destinations. Don’t worry if you can’t go to these places. By reading this page, we hope to take you on grand tour and let you experience fun and culture around the world.

1.The passage is presented for those who            .

A．care for fun and culture around the world

B．have planned to go for traveling this autumn

C．hate to have their holidays in other seasons

D．have not ever been to Europe and America

2.If you spend your holidays on October 31, you may           .

A．enjoy live music at the beer – drinking festival

B．watch polar bears hunt seals

C．taste traditional, paper – wrapped fish and clips

D．win a prize in “the Friendly Marathon”

3.According to the passage, we can know that          .

A．Car exhibitions will be held for two months.

B．It’s not necessary to take more clothes with you to Churehill, Martitoba

C．The beer – drinking event in German dates from the eighteenth century

D．Your favourite goods might be available in the expensive shop in Dublin

4.The passage is probably taken from the column of         in a newspaper.

A．economics  B．science        C．tourism        D．fashion

Soccer star David Beckham will be there with his pop star wife Victoria. Elton John is attending with partner David Furnish.

The guest list for the April 29 union of Prince William and Kate Middleton is still being kept secret, but details have begun to leak out, with some coming forward to say they are attending and the Mail on Sunday newspaper claiming to have  the  official  invitation  roster (名單).

The palace dismissed the newspaper's list as speculation (猜測) Sunday.

It won't be clear until the day how the royal couple has balanced the protocol demands (王室規(guī)則) that they invite statesmen, diplomats, religious leaders, politicians and the like with invitations to the people they really want to see, particularly the crowd they made friends with when they met and fell in love at St. Andrews University in Scotland.

Kate Reardon, editor of high-society magazine Tatler, said many prominent Britons acted as if they didn't really care about receiving an invitation while secretly checking the mail every day to see if the invitation had arrived.

"Everyone's been hoping," she said.

William and Middleton have showed their modern side by inviting a number of close friends, including some former sweethearts, the newspaper said.

The wedding is not technically a state event, which somewhat limits the protocol requirements applied to the guest list. But royal obligations (職責(zé)) still order that a large number of the 1,900 or so seats go to guests from the world of politics, not actual friends of the couple.

The couple have also invited many guests from the charities they work with, and Middleton has used her influence to invite the butcher, shopkeeper and pub owner from her home village of Bucklebury.

President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle were not invited and many other international leaders are also expected to be watching on TV, not from a seat at Westminster Abbey.

It is not clear if treasured Brits from the world of stage and screen and pop music will be on the list.

1. Who were not invited to Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding?    

A. David Beckham and his wife.

B. Elton John and his partner David Furnish.

C. People from the charities they work with.

D. President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle.

2.Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?      

A. The guest list for the wedding is officially announced.

B. The wedding is technically a state event.

C. Only the actual friends of the couple will be invited to the wedding.

D. A large number of guests from the world of politics will be invited.

3.The word "prominent" in paragraph 5 probably means         .   

A. honest                                    B. modern

C. well known and important                  D. busy and hardworking

4.It can be inferred from the passage that         .   

A. their wedding will be held at Westminster Abbey on April 29^th.

B. Kate Reardon was invited to the wedding.

C. journalists will not be allowed to attend the wedding.

D. their former sweethearts are sure to attend their wedding.

5.The best title for the passage might be         .    

A. Prince William and Middleton fall in love at St. Andrews University

B. British royal wedding guest list details leaks out

C. Prince William and Middleton prepares for their grand wedding

D. British singers and movie stars invited to the wedding

I’m a 20-year-old boy, and the following is my story.

A month after I graduated from high school in August, 2007, I was coming home from swim practice in the training centre of the city and was involved in a car accident. I was so seriously injured that I was in a coma for more than two months at Prince Georges Hospital.

I suffered a lot from the experience of dying eight times during my coma and I couldn’t open my mouth to talk or to communicate when I eventually came around. At that time, it seemed that walking was never going to happen again due to all the extreme injuries. Just like my body, my dreams were completely destroyed. But I was not going to let my injuries stop me from realizing my dreams.

After receiving a total of 15 operations and 36 blood transfusions, I had to make every great effort to learn to talk, eat, walk, shower, and live on my own again. When I was out of hospital, I still had to go to outpatient therapy in Waldorf, Maryland. After I spent a few months in a wheelchair, I took baby steps to walk on my own. It was a miracle that I was able to walk again, but I still wanted to prove that I could not only walk, but also run. When it came true, I wanted to get back into the pool again. After having a few lung tests, I was able to go in the pool a little bit each week. After a few months of swim training, I began my freshman year at St. Mary’s College of Maryland and then became a proud member of the swim team.

By telling my story, I want to make a positive influence on the world. I am just trying to live each day to the fullest and inspire other people never to give up their dreams no matter how bad a situation is to them. I remember when I was still in my hospital bed, I would have my mom and dad push me round in my wheelchair to the other rooms to see the other patients and chat with them and their family members. I wanted to let them know that everything was going to be okay. Somehow, things would work out for the best.

The underlined word “coma” in Paragraph 2 probably has the meaning of “_______”.

   A. operation   B. unconsciousness    C. treatment   D. death

What is the correct order of the following events?

     a. went to outpatient therapy

     b. received membership of the swim team

     c. was pushed around to visit other patients

     d. walked like a baby

     e. learnt to live all by himself

   A. d、a、c、b、e                       B. e、c、d、a、b

   C. d、c、a、b、e                       D. e、c、a、d、b

The best title for the passage would be “_______”.

   A. Attitude（態(tài)度） is everything          B. Actions speak louder than words

   C. Everything happens for a reason         D. A good beginning is half done

I entered St Thoma’s Hospital as a medical student at the age of 18 and spent five years there. I was an unsatisfactory student, for my heart, as you might have guessed, was not in it. I wanted, I had always wanted to be a writer, and in the evening, after my high tea, I wrote and read. Before long, I wrote a novel, called “Liza of Lambeth”, which I sent to a publisher and was accepted. It appeared during my last year at the hospital and had something of a success. It was of course an accident, but naturally I did not know that. I felt I could afford to give up medicine and make writing my profession; so, three days after I graduated from the school of medicine, I set out for Spain to write another book. Looking back now and knowing as I do the terrible difficulties of making a living by writing, I realize I was taking a fearful risk. It never even occurred to me.
The next ten years were very hard, and I earned an average of £100 a year. Then I had a bit of luck. The manager of the Court Theatre put on a play that failed ; the next play he arranged to put on was not ready , and he was at his wits’ end. He read a play of mine and, though he did not much like it, he thought it might just run for the six weeks till the play he had in mind to follow it with could be produced. It ran for fifteen months. Within a short while I had four plays running in London at the same time. Nothing of the kind had ever happened before. I was the talk of the town. One of the students at St Thomas’s Hospital asked the famous surgeon with whom I had worked whether he remembered me. “Yes, I remember him quite well, “he said. “ One of our failures, I’m afraid. “
1. Which of the following statements is not true?
A. The author was very pleased to have his book published but he didn’t realize it was something of an accident.
B. The success of his first book led the author to think he could afford to make writing his profession.
C. The author knew he was running a terrible risk when he decided to become a writer.
D. The author became a writer after graduation but was not a successful one.
2. In the second paragraph, “… he was at his wits’ end “means ________.
A. he was having a nervous breakdown       B. he was out of his wisdom
C. he did not know what to do            D. he almost went mad
3. The manager of the Court Theatre agreed to put the author’s play on the stage because _____________.
A. he thought it would run for fifteen months
B. he knew it was one of the author’s best plays shown in London
C. he had just put on a play that failed
D. the play he had arranged to put on was not ready
4. The author became the talk of the town. The reason was that __________.
A. he talked with a great many people in London about his plays
B. the plays he wrote were excellently performed in London
C. his performances in the Court Theatre were unexpectedly
D. he was criticized by an eminent surgeon as one of their failures