Using a tea bag is most Westerners' favorite way of drinking tea. Do you know how it came about?

The tea bag was invented in 1908 by Thomas Sullivan, an American tea seller. He was sending out free tea in silk bags for people to try. People put the bags together with the tea leaves into the cup and added hot water, The tea tasted good, and people thought it was easy to clean the cup. They were not happy when Sullivan started sending them loose tea (散裝茶) again.

Sullivan realized that he had a hot new thing in his hands, and he built a machine to pack the bags. As tea bags became popular, they were changed from silk to gauze (薄紗) and later paper. In 1952, Lipton Tea made the tea bag even more popular with its invention of the four - sided tea bag. Tea bags were soon a hit in the UK, and today 85% of the tea in the UK is packed in paper bags.

However, many people still prefer loose -leaf tea.  This is because some tea companies put poor quality tea in their tea bags. But for most drinkers, tea bags are still the easy and tasty way to go.

42. Who invented the tea bag?

A. A Chinese man.                             B. A Japanese man.     

C. An American man.                         D. An Italian man.

43. The tea in silk bags was welcomed because_______.

A. the tea in bags was free            B. it was easy to wash cups

C. people didn't like the loose tea        D. it was cheaper than the loose tea

44. The underlined sentence "Tea bags were soon a hit in the UK" probably means_______.

A. tea bags soon became popular in the UK

B. tea bags surprised everyone a lot in the UK

C. tea bags weren't allowed to be sold in the UK

D. tea bags turned bad quickly in the UK

45. The reading mainly talks about_______.

A. the invention of tea               B. the way of drinking tea

C. the history of tea bags              D. people' s favorite tea in the world

       As we know, there are differences between western culture and Chinese culture. We can see differences when we pay attention to the way words are used. Let’s look at the words about animals and plants. Most expressions in Chinese about the dog, for example, “a homeless dog”, “a mad dog”, “a running dog” and “a dog catching a mouse”, have negative（消極的）meanings. But in western countries, dogs are thought to be honest and good friends of humans. In English, people use the dog to describe positive（積極的）actions. For example, “you are a lucky dog” means you are a lucky person. And “every dog has its day” means each person has good luck sometimes. To describe a person’s serious illness, they say “sick as a dog”. The word “dog-tired” means very tired. However, Chinese love cats very much. But in western culture, “cat” is often used to describe a woman who is cruel（冷酷的）. There are many other examples of how “cat” is used differently as well.

       The rose is regarded as a symbol（象征）of love in both China and some western countries. People think the rose stands for（代表）love, peace（和平）, courage and friendship. And the rose is the national flower of England, America and many other countries.

       The words about plants and animals are used in positive or negative ways in different cultures. We can learn about many differences in cultures by comparing how some words are used.

1. The word “dog” in Chinese usually _______.

   A. shows peace                                                 B. stands for friendship

   C. has a negative meaning                                   D. has a positive meaning

2. “Every dog has its day.” means “_______”.

   A. Everybody in the world is lucky.

   B. Each person lives his own way of life.

   C. If one works hard, he’s sure to succeed.

   D. Everybody has a time in life to be lucky.

3. Western people usually use “cat” to refer to（指代）“_______”.

   A. a tired person                                                B. a brave man

   C. a homeless person                                          D. an unkind woman

4. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

   A. Words show differences in culture.

   B. Chinese people prefer dogs to cats.

   C. Western people think cats to be good friends.

   D. Rose is the national flower of all western countries.

5. What’s the best title(標題) for the passage?

   A. Negative or Positive

   B. Different Countries Have Different Culture

   C. Rose Means the Same in Chinese and English

   D. What Dog and Cat Mean in English and Chinese

When I was 14, I left school with learning disabilities and decided to surf the biggest waves in the world, first in California and then in Hawaii. One morning, I met an old man, a bum（流浪漢）, on the street comer. He asked me if I was running away from home. I told him, “Not exactly, sir. ”

    After talking a while, he told me that he had something to show me and share with me. We walked several blocks until we came upon the downtown Public Library.

    The bum asked me to sit down and wait a moment. Later he returned with some books, and then said, “I want to teach you two things. Number one is never to judge a book by its cover, for a cover fools you. I’ll bet you think I’m a bum, don’t you?”

    I said, “I guess so, sir.”

    “Well, young man, I've got a little surprise for you. I am one of the wealthiest（富有的）men in the world. But a year ago, when my wife passed away, I realized there were certain things I had not yet experienced in life, one of which was what it would be like to live like a bum on the streets. For the past year I have been going from city to city doing just that. Number two is to learn how to read, for there is only one thing that people can’t take away from you, and that is your wisdom（智慧）. ”At that moment, he gave me the books he’d pulled from the shelves. His parting request（請求）was for me to never forget what he taught me. I have remembered until today.

1.The boy     when he was 14.

    A. liked running        B. left school

    C. did well in study    D. traveled around the world

2.Which of the following is true?

    A. The old man took the boy home.

    B. The old man was homeless and poor.

C. The old man was friendly to the boy.

    D. The old man and his wife went from city to city.

3.The old man taught the boy how to           .

    A. love people          B. become wise

C. choose friends       D. experience the bum’s life