Spain is famous for its tomato festival, called La Tomatina. It happens in a small town Hanoi on the last Wednesday of August every year. During the festival there are all kinds of activities, but the most exciting part is the tomato fight. It takes place at the end of long celebration (慶祝). You are encouraged to throw tomatoes in the fight. There’re many stories about how the festival began. One of the stories goes that during the 1940's, some friends started a tomato fight, while another story is about a local band. Anyway, everyone in Bunol seems to have a different story.
Before the tomato fight, there are parades (游行)，musical bands, street parties and so on. On the day of the fight, shopkeepers cover their windows and doors in order to keep away from the tomato fight. At the same time, thousands of tourists and local people come to the town square together. Then large trucks (卡車) full of tomatoes arrive. From theback of the large trucks, a great town band start to throw tomatoes at others. Then the crowds fight back, throwing the tomatoes at anything and anyone. Soon the streets are in the sea of red tomato juice.
Everyone is supposed to obey a small number of rules: You must squash (壓爛) the tomato before throwing it and you are allowed to throw nothing but tomatoes.
It is usually over in less than half an hour. Everyone then sets off to the river to clearup. Sounds like fun!
【小題1】The most exciting activity of the festival is ________.

A．parades

B．street parties

C．the tomato fight

D．the musical bands show

【小題2】The stories about how the festival began are ________.

A．quite different

B．rather sad

C．very famous

D．very clear

【小題3】On the fight day, _________.

A．a(chǎn)ll the buses are filled with tomatoes

B．you can see lots of red apples on the streets

C．shopkeepers are not allowed to watch people fight

D．lots of tourists and local people take part in the fight

【小題4】Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．You can throw tomatoes at others but others can’t throw back.

B．The tomato must be squashed before throwing it.

C．The fight usually lasts more than thirty minutes.

D．People can throw everything on the fight day.

【小題5】The best title of the passage can be________.

A．Travel in Spain	B．The Tomato Festival in Spain.
C．The History of Spain	D．Rules of the Tomato Festival

Hundreds of years ago, news was carried from place to place by people on foot or by horse. It took days, weeks and sometimes months for people to receive news. Now it is possible to send words and pictures around the world in seconds. Billions of people learn about news of their country and all over the world every day, either by watching TV or reading newspapers.
Newspapers have been an important part of everyday life since 18th century. Many countries have hundreds of different newspapers. How do newspaper editors decide which news to print？ Why do they print some stories and not others? What makes a good newspaper story?
Firstly, it’s important to report news. TV stations can report news much faster than newspapers. Yet, newspapers give more about the story. They may also look at the story in another way, or they may print completely different stories from those on TV.
Secondly, a new story has to be interesting and unusual. People don’t want to read stories of everyday life. As a result, many stories are about some kind of danger and seem to be “bad” news. For example, newspapers never print stories about planes landing safely, instead they print stories about plane accidents.
Another factor(因素) is also very important. Many people are interested in news in foreign countries, but more prefer to read stories about people, places and events in their own country. So the stories on the front page in Chinese newspapers are usually very different from the ones in British, French and American newspapers.
【小題1】According to the passage, how do people learn about news in the world now?

A．They carry news stories and tell others from place to place on foot or by horse.

B．They tell each other what they have seen with their eyes.

C．They watch TV or read newspapers.

D．They listen to the radio every day.

【小題2】Newspapers have been an important part of the daily life since ______.

A．19th century

B．18th century

C．16th century

D．17th century

【小題3】The difference between newspaper stories and TV news reports is that ____.

A．people can learn more about the same news from a newspaper

B．people can read the news story more quickly in a newspaper

C．people can read news stories in other countries

D．people can read news stories about their own country

【小題4】To make a good newspaper story, how many factors does the passage talk about?

A．Two.

B．Three.

C．Five.

D．Six.

【小題5】Which is NOT TRUE in the passage?

A．Newspapers may print different stories from those on TV.

B．People like to read interesting and unusual news like plane accidents.

C．Many Chinese people have no interest in news in their own countries.

D．Newspapers have been an important part of everyday life for more than three hundred years.

One of the most famous writers from England by far is Agatha Christie.
Agatha Christie’s real name was Agatha Miller. She was born in England in 1890.She married Archibald Christie when she was 24 years old, and she changed her family name to Christie.
She sold her first mystery book in 1920. This book was the first time that the world met Mrs.Christie’s famous detective Hercule Poirot. Ten years after that, Mrs. Christie wrote her book with her second famous detective, Miss Marple.
In 1928, Mrs. Christie’s first marriage broke up. She married M.E.L. Mallowan in 1930, but she still wrote her books under the name Agatha Christie.
In her life, Agatha Christie wrote 60 books, 16 plays, and more than 100 short stories. She passed away in 1976 when she was 85 years old. Her books can still be found on sale in bookstores all around the world.
【小題1】 What did Aghta Christie do?

A．She was a detective.	B．she wrote books.
C．She was a mystery．	D．She knew famous detectives.

【小題2】 Who was Hercule Poirot?

A．A detective in her books.	B．One of her books.
C．Her husband.	D．A writer.

【小題3】 What happened in 1976?

A．Agatha Christie died.

B．Agatha Christie left her husband.

C．Agatha Christie wrote her last book.

D．Agatha Christie wrote a short story.

【小題4】 What’s the best title of the passage?

A．Books about detectives.

B．Famous detectives.

C．A famous writer.

D．Agatha Christie or Agatha Miller.

Each day I took the same route to work and passed by a security guard (保安）.  1  greeted everyone walking by and made small talk with many of the passers-by and wishing them well. His simple “hello” made people feel   2 . His cheerful smile became a part of my day. When he was absent, many people noticed it, and I felt a little bit empty.

The first few times, I didn’t say hello back to him when he greeted me. I was   3  in my own world. On Monday the security guard asked me:“How was your weekend?” I told him about my visit to California, to see my mother, who had colon cancer. I  4 how I visited her each month. “The time with my mother is so precious(珍貴的),   5  I know that each time may be the last.”

He listened like a close friend I’d known for years. He felt my   6 and my love. He shared how he had lost his father to cancer two years before. He said, “I understand what you are going through. My father passed away while I was serving in Germany. Because of some reasons I was unable to fly back in time. I was unable to say goodbye to him. I wish I could have been with him, given him a hug, and told him I loved him. You are really lucky to have the gift of   7 .”

As I walked away, I realized I did not even know his name. The following day, on my way to work, I said: “After we spent all that time   8 yesterday, I still don’t know your name.” He answered, “Gary.” I responded back, “I’m Deborah.”

After that, we talked and shared stories about our weekends, dreams and families.

Later, Gary got   9  a new job and moved away. It’s been several years since I last spoke to him, yet the memory feels like yesterday. Gary reached out to me,   10  me and made my morning the best part of the day. I experienced the beauty of friendship and love.

In the business of life, we often forget to wish a stranger hello although how easy it is, and how great and lasting a   11  it can make. When you say hello to a stranger you become like a pebble(鵝卵石) thrown into a pond. With each ripple (波紋）you create, you spread love that continues to   12 . Make a point of saying hello to a stranger today. You will give the gift that keeps on giving.

1.                A．She            B．They           C．He  D．I

 

2.                A．nervous        B．funny          C．special   D．surprised

 

3.                A．lost            B．left            C．missed   D．dropped

 

4.                A．wondered      B．shared         C．realized  D．found

 

5.                A．because        B．so             C．a(chǎn)nd  D．but

 

6.                A．weakness       B．illness          C．sorriness  D．sadness

 

7.                A．god            B．time           C．nature   D．friendship

 

8.                A．thinking        B．calling          C．crying    D．talking

 

9.                A．offered         B．a(chǎn)fforded        C．invited   D．chosen

 

10.               A．moved         B．touched        C．told  D． helped

 

11.               A．progress        B．sense          C．trouble    D．difference

 

12.               A．receive        B．send           C．give  D．create

 

 

Washington DC, the capital of the USA, is a beautiful city, but there are  1  poor and hungry people in it. 2  of them are even homeless (無家可歸的). In the northwest of the city, there is a house 3  Martha’s Table. Every day, a group of volunteers go there. They raise（募集）food, clothes and money  4  poor people. They prepare (準備) 2, 100 sandwiches, a lot of soup and cakes for about 500 people every day. They give the  5  to the homeless people.

Mrs Morley is  6  of the volunteers. She looks after more than 60 children. She  7  them stories and teaches them 8  to read and draw. The children’s parents have to work for many hours a day. They  9  take good care of them. So the parents are  10  that Martha’s Table can help them look after their children.

1.                A．many          B．more           C．much    D．a(chǎn) lot

 

2.                A．Both           B．Some          C．All   D．No

 

3.                A．calling          B．call            C．to call    D．called

 

4.                A．with           B．a(chǎn)t             C．for  D．a(chǎn)bout

 

5.                A．soup           B．cakes          C．sandwiches    D．food

 

6.                A．one           B．a(chǎn)              C．a(chǎn)n   D．the

 

7.                A．tells           B．speaks          C．says D．talks

 

8.                A．what           B．where          C．how D．why

 

9.                A．can            B．can’t          C．will D．won’t

 

10.               A．unhappy        B．sad            C．glad D．sorry