In a city of south India lived a young man who was always dreaming of becoming rich. He often heard about some traders in his city who gathered a great deal of   1    in the course of their travels across the world. He believed he could also make a great achievement although he didn’t have any   2   in business at all. So, one fine day, the young man set out on a long   3

in search of trade opportunities.

   4    though, he did not become as rich as he had thought he would. Worse, he spent more money on his travels than he   5    in the course of his trade. All this made him feel confused and   6   , but he refused to return home without   7   .

One day, while he was wandering on the shore in a seaside town, his eyes   8    on　an object which he thought should be a large ship at a distance.

“When I become rich, I shall buy a ship just like that one and   9    around the world,” he said ambitiously. Then he waited to see the ship enter the harbor. As the ship got closer, it lost its   10    dimensions(規(guī)模) and looked more like a small boat. When the boat reached the   11   , the young man let out a big heavy sigh because he discovered that it was only a bunch of logs tied together. He was terribly   12   to see such a raft(木筏).

Finally he understood. Just as he   13    a lot of time on fruitless speculation(猜想) about the “ship”, his expectations of getting   14    was also without any real basis. Therefore, he decided to return home and    15     up a more practical job.

1. A. energy               B. knowledge            C. resource                 D. fortune

2. A. expectation        B. experience             C. interest                   D. ambition

3. A. journey             B. partnership           C. vacation                 D. period

4. A. Unreasonably      B. Unbelievably         C. Unconsciously         D. Unfortunately

5. A. begged             B. borrowed            C. earned                  D. adopted

6. A. uncertain            B. excited                 C. patient                    D. indifferent

7. A. hesitation           B. success                 C. problem                 D. income

8. A. depended          B. focused                 C. insisted                D. lived

9. A. show                 B. turn                      C. sail                   D. fly

10. A. correct          B. formal                C. real                     D. grand

11. A. bank              B. shore                    C. ocean                   D. bottom

12. A. disappointed     B. pleased                 C. puzzled               D. astonished

13. A. saved               B. valued                C. wasted                       D. created

14. A. rich               B. learned                 C. smart                D. strong

15. A. set                B. gave                     C. made                     D. took

America has been experiencing the longest economic increase in its history. Incomes have risen, unemployment has fallen, and cities such as New York are bursting with new office buildings.

But just a short walk from Manhattan’s skyscrapers, George Brown sits on the side-walk, cooking a lunch of rice and bits of fish over a can of cooking fuel.

Brown is homeless——one of the 2.3 million people in the US who end up on the street.

During the day, Brown collects aluminum cans and sells them for five cents a piece. At night, he sleeps on the street.

“I have been on the street about eight or nine years, something like that,” said the 62-year-old former construction worker.

Brown admits he had problems with alcohol and has smoked cocaine. But he said he still wants a more stable housing arrangement. He could afford it just with the money he earns by collecting cans and small pieces of metal, if only truly low-income housing were available.

However, he sees no hope of finding affordable housing in New York.

With the strong economy and unemployment down, beautiful housing is being built to meet demand.

A US report shows rents in New York City rose more than 27 per cent, from ＄549 to ＄700 a month.

One of the side effects of the strong economy is that rents have been going up.

The majority of people who experience homelessness really just need some affordable housing help.

But few housing companies are building for the poor. Many small apartments in the city now rent for ＄1,500 a month or more.

Brown, the homeless New Yorker, said he has a daughter who lives in the city but he rarely sees her. She is angry about his drinking and won’t allow it in her house.

Smiling, he said he also has seven grandchildren whom he’d like to see more often. “All I’ve got to do is clean up my act,” he said.

What kind of life does George Brown lead?

A. Stable.         B. Dangerous.      C. Hard.        D. Comfortable.

It can be inferred from this passage that     .

A. America is short of housing companies

B. the poor can’t benefit from the increasing economy

C. poor people in America will become rich

D. housing companies will build more houses for the poor

The underlined part “clean up my act” in the last paragraph means “    ”.

A. remove my cans                B kick my bad habits   

C. make a lot of money             D. see my grandchildren

Which part of a newspaper is the passage possibly taken from?

A. Society.         B. Science.         C. Arts.         D. Business.

He had a lot of friends, but none of _____ could lend him any money.

　　A. whom     B. them 　 C. which　  D. who

“You'll have to take care of the baby today,” a woman told her husband . “ I'm not feeling well.”

“Then you must stay in bed and rest, dear. “ her husband said. “I'll be pleased to look after our baby. “

“Thank you. I'll have a quiet day and I'll soon get better. “ his wife told him.

“Shall I do the shopping for you as well?” her husband asked.

She was very pleased and said, “That will help me very much. I'll give you a list of things to buy. “

She wrote out the list and gave it to him.

“You can get all these things at the supermarket,” she said.

“You can put the baby in the shopping cart, then you won't have to leave him outside.”

The man took the baby to the supermarket and put him in the shopping cart. Then he pushed the shopping cart along the rows of things to buy and looked for those that were on his list.

At first all was well, but then the baby began to cry.

Then he started to scream.

And scream!

And SCREAM!

“Keep calm ,George, ” the man said. “Don't get excited. Don't shout, George. Don't lose your temper, George.”

A woman in the supermarket heard him saying these things. She walked up to him.

“I think you are wonderful ,”she said. “You are so patient with your little George. ”

　　“Madam, ”" the man said, “I'm George. He's Edward.”

Why did the man take care of the baby?

　　A. it was his turn.             B. His wife was not well.

　　C. His wife was not at home.    D. He always looked after it.

Why did the man take the baby to the supermarket?

　　A. He had to go shopping.

　  B. He wanted to show the baby to his friend.

　　C. He wanted to give the baby a ride in a shopping cart.

　　D. The baby liked going to the supermarket.

What did the baby do in the supermarket?

　　A. pushed the shopping cart        B. lost its temper

　　C. made a lot of noise             D. helped his father

Finally we can infer from the story that_____ .

　　A. the man was very calm when the baby was crying

　　B. the woman was very pleased to see the man

　　C. the woman mistook George for the baby, while in fact the man was named George

　　D. the man was very busy in shopping, but he couldn't find all the goods on the list

根據(jù)短文內容，從短文后的七個選項中，選出能填入空白處的最佳選項。選項中有兩項為多途選項。

If you are hungry, what do you do? Have your favorite-meal and stay quiet after that?_ But it never lets you know, because, you keep it busy thinking about your friends or favorite stars．So it silently serves your needs and never lets itself grow．When mind loses its freedom to grow．creativity sets a full stop．This might be the reason why we all sometimes think "What happens next?", "Why can't I think?"

   Why reading but not watching TV? It is because reading has been the most educative tool used by us right from childhood．Since it develops other aspects of our life, we have to take help from reading．

Once you read a book, you run your eyes through the lines and your mind tries to explain something to you Now this seed is unknowingly used by you to develop new ideas．If it is used many times, the same seed can give you great help to relate a lot of things, which you would have never thought of in your wildest dreams!

This is nothing but creativity．    Within no time you can start talking with your friends in English or any other language and never run out of the right words．

So guys, do give food for your thoughts by reading, reading and more reading． Go and get a book!

    A．Now what are you waiting for?

    B．Reading can help you make more friends, too．

    C．Just like your stomach, your mind is also hungry．

    D．Why not do some reading while you are hungry?

    E．Also this makes a significant contribution to your vocabulary．

    F．The interesting part of the book is stored in your mind as a seed．

    G．Hunger of the mind can be actually solved through wide reading．