Have you ever suddenly felt that someone you knew was in trouble-and was he? Have you ever
dreamed something that came true later? Maybe you have ESP(超感覺的知覺).
       ESP stands for Extrasensory Perception. It may be called a sixth sense. It seems to let people know
about events before they happen, or events that are happening some distance away.
        Here's an example. A woman was ironing clothes. Suddenly she screamed, "My father is dead! I
saw him sitting in the chair!" Just then, a telegram came.
        The woman's father died of a heart attack. He died sitting in a chair.
        There are thousands of stories like this one on record. Scientists are studying them to find out
what's behind these strange mental messages. Here's another
          example-one of hundreds of dreams that have come true.
        A man dreamed he was walking along a road when a horse and a carriage came by. The driver
said, "There's room for one more." The man felt the driver seemed dead, so he ran away. The next day,
when the man was getting on a crowded bus, the bus driver said, "There's room for one more."
        Then the man saw that the driver's face was the same face he had seen in the dream. He wouldn't
get on the bus. As the bus drove off, it crashed and burst into flames. Everyone was killed!
        Some people say stories like this are coincidences. Others, including some scientists, say that ESP
is real. From studies of ESP, we may someday learn more about the human mind.

1. According to the passage, the author believes that the sixth sense is ______.

A. in existence  
B. imaginative  
C. not real  
D. impossible

2. What does ESP let people know?

A. About events before they happen.  
B. About events after they happen.
C. About events that are happening some distance away.  
D. Both A and C.

3. By studying ESP, scientists may get to ______.

A. learn how people tell lies  
B. know more about human dreams
C. know more about human mind  
D. learn how strange things happen

4. In the last paragraph, the underlined word "coincidences" probably means ______.

A. things that may not happen  
B. things that happen in a dream
C. things that must happen  
D. things that happen by accident

5. This passage is mainly about ______.

A. the human dream  
B. the sixth sense  
C. the human mind  
D. a crowded bus

     Have you ever noticed the colour of the water in a river or stream after a heavy rainfall? What do you
think caused this change in colour? It is soil that has been washed into the river from the riverbank or from the nearby fields.
     Components of Soil
     Soil is made up of a number of layers(層),each having its own distinctive colour and texture.The upper
layer is known as the litter.It acts like a blanket, limiting temperature changes and reducing water loss.The
topsoil layer is made up of small particles of rock mixed with rotten plant and animal matter called humus(腐殖質(zhì)),which is black and gives the topsoil its dark colour.This layer is usually rich in nutrients,oxygen,
and water.Below the topsoil is the subsoil,a layer that contains more stones mixed with only small amounts of organic matter.This layer is lighter in colour because of the lack of humus.Beneath the soil lies a layer of bedrock.
      Soil forms from the bottom up.Over time bedrock is attacked by rain, wind,frost, and snow.It is gradually broken down into smaller particles in a process called weathering.Plants begin to grow,and rotten materials enrich the topsoil.Most of the soil in Eastern Canada, for example, was formed from weathered rock
that was exposed when the ice disappeared 12,000 years ago.
     Water Beneath the Soil
     Surface water collects and flows above the ground in lakes, ponds, and rivers.Once in the soil or rock,
it is called groundwater.Gravity pulls groundwater through the soil in a process called percolation(滲透).
Eventually the water reaches a layer called the water table.Under this is bedrock through which water
cannot percolate.
     As water percolates downward,it dissolves organic matter and minerals from the soil and carries them
to deeper layers.This causes a serious problem because plants require these nutrients for growth.
     Soil pH
      Soil can be acidic,neutral,or basic.The pH of the soil is determined by the nature of the rock from which it was formed, and by the nature of the plants that grow and rot in it.
      The acidity of rain and snow can lower the pH of the groundwater that enters the soil.By burning fossil fuels such as coal,oil and gasoline,humans have been contributing to higher levels of acidity in many soils.When fossil fuels are burned, gases are released into the air and then fall back to earth as acid rain.Acid soil increases the problem of carrying nutrients to lower soil levels.As nutrients are removed,soil is less fertile.Plants grow more slowly in acidic soil,and also become easily attacked by diseases.

1. The layer of soil that provides necessary nutrients for plant growth is called ________.

A. litter  
B. topsoil
C. humus  
D. subsoil

2. According to the text, which of the following is NOT true?

A. Soil forms from weathered rock on the earth surface.
B. The deeper layer of soil is darker in colour than the surface soil.
C. Air pollution is partially responsible for acid soil.
D. Groundwater tends to carry away nutrients for plant growth.

3. We can infer from the passage that the water table lies ______.

A. between the topsoil layer and the subsoil layer
B. in the subsoil layer above bedrock
C. between the subsoil layer and bedrock
D. in the bedrock layer beneath the subsoil

4. The underlined word "dissolve" is used to express the idea that organic matter and minerals from
     soil are ________.

A. rushed away into the river
B. cleaned and purified by water
C. destroyed and carried away by water
D. mixed with water and become part of it

     Have you ever thought about what determines the way we are when we grow up？Remember the
TV program Seven Up？It started following the lives of a group of children in 1973.We first meet them
as wideeyed sevenyearolds and catch up with them at sevenyear intervals：nervous 14yearolds, serious
21yearolds and then grownups.
     Some of the stories are inspiring, others sad, but what is interesting in almost all the cases is the way
in which the children’s early hopes and dreams are shown in their future lives.For example, at seven, Tony
is a lively child who says he wants to become a sportsman or a taxi driver.When he grows up, he goes on
to do both.How about Niki？She says, “I would like to find out about the moon.” And she goes on to
become a space scientist.As a child, softspoken Bruce says he wants to help “poor children” and ends up
teaching in India.
      But if the lives of all the children had followed this pattern, the program would be far less interesting
than it actually was.It was the children whose childhood did not prepare them for what was to come that
made the program so interesting.Where did their ideas come from about what they wanted to do when
they grew up？Are children influenced by what their parents do, by what they see on television or by
what their teachers say？How great is the effect of a single important event？Many film directors,
including Steven Spielberg, say that an early visit to the cinema was the turning point in their lives.Dr
Margaret McAllister, who has done a lot of research in this area, thinks that the major factors are parents, friends and their wider society.

1. What does the text mainly discuss?

A. New ways to make a TV program interesting.
B. The importance of TV programs to children.
C. Different ways to make childhood dreams come true.
D. The influence of childhood experience on future lives.

2. What does the underlined word “influenced” mean in the last paragraph?

A. Impressed.  
B. Improved.
C. Affected.  
D. Attracted.

3. What are the examples in Paragraph 2 meant to show?

A. Many people’s childhood hopes are related to their future jobs.
B. There are many poor children in India who need help.
C. Children have different dreams about their future.
D. A lot of people are very sad in their childhood.

4. Spielberg’s story is meant to show that________.

A. going to a movie at an early age helps a child learn about society
B. a single childhood event may decide what one does as a grownup
C. parents and friends can help a child grow up properly
D. films have more influence on a child than teachers do

     Have you ever thought about what determines the way we are when we grow up? Remember the
TV program Seven Up? It started following the lives of a group of children in 1973. We first meet
them as wide-eyed seven-year-olds and catch up with them at seven-year intervals:nervous
14-year-olds, serious 21-year-olds and then grown-ups.
     Some of the stories are inspiring, others sad, but what is interesting in almost all the cases is the
way in which the children's early hopes and dreams are shown in their future lives. For example, at
seven, Tony is a lively child who says he wants to become a sportsman or a taxi driver. When he
grows up, he goes on to do both. How about Niki? She says, "I would like to find out about the moon.
"And she goes on to become a space scientist. As a child, soft-spoken Bruce says he wants to help
"poor children" and ends up teaching in India.
     But if the lives of all the children had followed this pattern, the program would be far less interesting
than it actually was. It was the children whose childhood did not prepare them for what was to come
that made the program so interesting. Where did their ideas come from about what they wanted to do
when they grew up? Are children influenced by what their parents do, by what they see on television or
by what their teachers say? How great is the effect of a single important event? Many film directors,
including Steven Spielberg, say that an early visit to the cinema was the turning point in their lives.
Dr. Margaret McAllister, who has done a lot of research in this area, thinks that the major factors are
parents, friends and their wider society.

1. What does the text mainly discuss?

A. New ways to make a TV program interesting.
B. The importance of TV programs to children.
C. Different ways to make childhood dreams come true.
D. The influence of childhood experience on future lives.

2. What does the underlined word "influenced" mean in the last paragraph?

A. Impressed.  
B. Improved.
C. Affected.  
D. Attracted.

3. What are the examples in Paragraph 2 meant to show?

A. Many people's childhood hopes are related to their future jobs.
B. There are many poor children in India who need help.
C. Children have different dreams about their future.
D. A lot of people are very sad in their childhood.

4. Spielberg's story is meant to show that __________.

A. going to a movie at an early age helps a child learn about society
B. a single childhood event may decide what one does as a grown－up
C. parents and friends can help a child grow up properly
D. films have more influence on a child than teachers do

     Have you ever heard of blogs (博客)? If you haven't, you should have. It's here, it's growing and it's
having an influence on our life. Surf the Internet and you'll find blogs everywhere. A blog, shortened from "weblog", is a public Internet journal written by one person or a group of people. It is a website in which
a person or a group can place news, personal thoughts, text, photos, video or audio files, or links upon
which visitors can comment. A blog lets you post on the Internet without having to know web design or
be technical. You are given an environment to make dated entries on the topic of your choice which are
"published", so other people can read them.
     Authoring a blog, maintaining a blog or adding an article to an existing blog is called "blogging".
Blogging has revolutionized Internet publishing in the last several years because it gives everyone with
Internet access the opportunity to become an online writer. Objects, such as "text and photos" in a blog
can be called "blog posts", "posts", or "entries". The person who posts these entries is called a "blogger".
     Now, somewhere around the world, a blog is created almost every 6 seconds. Because it's great
potential, Bill Gates views it as important as e-mail, BBS, and MSN. He's trying to make blogs the
important tools for future business communications.

1. A blog is            .
A. a comment    
B. an Internet journal
C. a design
D. a link

2. A person can do the following things in a blog EXCEPT _______.
A. talk to others
B. give comments    
C. read articles
D. enjoy photos

3. Who is a blogger?
A. A person who posts letters.            
B. A person who writes articles.
C. A person who posts text or photos in a blog.  
D. A person who is an online publisher.

4. According to the passage, the reason why blogs are so popular is that they ____.
A. give everyone the chance to be an online writer
B. can be created by people without much knowledge of computer technology
C. enable a blogger to place news, personal thoughts, text and photos and give comments
D. all of the above

     Have you ever stayed up late? If so, you know that not getting enough sleep can make you tried and
grumpy. Not sleeping enough sleep can also make it harder to think clearly the next day.
     Sleep scientists have long known that getting a good night’s sleep is very important. It helps kids be
able to do their best during the day.
     A recent study shows that sleep helps improve problem-solving skills and creative(創(chuàng)造性的) thinking. For the study, two groups of students answered a math problem. The group that slept for eight hours
solved the problem correctly more often than the group that did not get enough sleep.
     While you sleep at night, your brain is busy doing its “homework”. It sorts out(整理) all the information that you get in the day. Getting enough sleep each night can improve your thinking ability. That will surely
help you do your best at school. Experts say that, in return, can lead to better grades.

1The underlined word grumpy in the first paragraph means_______.      

A. excited and happy                  
B. active and creative      
C. impatient and angry                 
D. bored and weak

2Choose the best title for this passage.      

A. Sleep to Success                    
B. A Recent Study      
C. Do Sleep Well                      
D. The More Sleep, the Better 

     "Have you ever heard the old saying, "Never judge a book by its cover"? This is a good rule to follow when you try to judge the cleverness of others by their looks and performance. Some people have minds
that shine only in certain situations. A young man with an unusual gift in novel writing may find himself
speechless before a pretty girl. But don't make the mistake of thinking he might not be that clever. With a
pen and paper, he can tell what he thought very well.
     Other people may fool you into mistakenly thinking they are clever by putting up a good front.
A student who listens carefully and takes notes in class is sure to make a good impression on his teachers. But when it comes to exams, he may get scores much lower than his classmates.
     We may conclude that: you can't judge someone by appearances. The only way to tell whether a
person is clever or not is to get to know him by observing(觀察) how he reacts to different situations. The more situations you observe, the more accurate your judgment is likely to be. So take your time. Don't
judge the book by its cover.

1. The best title for this passage is ______________.

A. Judging cleverness                
B. Choosing a book
C. A speechless young man          
D. Putting up a good front

2 The main idea of the passage is ___________.

A. don't judge a book by its cover    
B. don't judge a person's cleverness by appearance
C. people may fool you by putting up a good front
D. make sure you know someone well before observing him

3. The young man mentioned in the passage_____________.

A. is stupid              
B. is a good student  
C. is a good writer        
D. is successful with girls

4. According to the passage, true knowledge of a person's cleverness comes from___________.

A. the grades he gets in school        
B. his manners at parties
C. his outward appearance          
D. how he behaves in different situations

5. The passage suggests that in judging a person's intelligence we should_____________.

A. make quick judgments          
B. be creative
C. have patience and be careful      
D. give him a test

     Have you ever noticed what happens to an idea once you express it ? Just talking about it or writing
it down causes you to make it clear in your own mind. How can you use this to increase your brain
power? Start writing.
     By putting thoughts into words, you are telling yourself the logic behind what you think, feel,or only
partly understand. Often,explaining a thought is the process of understanding. In other words, you increase your brain power by exercising your"explain power".
     Another benefit of writing is that it helps you remember. Many,if not most,highly productive people are always taking notes. You can try keeping it all in your head,but if you keep a journal (日志)of your ideas
the next time you're working on a big project, you'11 probably have more success.
    Want to understand a topic? Write a book about it. That's an extreme example, but if you are learning
something new,write a letter to a friend about it,and you will understand it better. Want to invent something?  Write an explanation of the problem---why you want to solve it,and why it is worth solving, and
you're half-way there.
    Writers don't always write because they clearly understand something beforehand. Often,they write
about something because they want to understand it. You can do the same. Writing will help bring you to
all understanding. Give it a try.

1.What would be the best title for the passage?

A. A Way on How to Write     
B. Increase Your Brain Power Through Writing
C. Brain Power Helps Improve Your Writing
D. How to Start Your Writing

2. According to the passage,writing can help you a lot EXCEPT_________.     

A. to increase your brain power    
B. to improve the ability to remember
C. to develop your interest in study  
D. to strengthen the understanding of a topic

3. If a writer writes something, it means that he or she_________.

A. has understood it very well              
B. needs to understand it better
C. wants to remember it in his or her mind    
D. is testing his or her new ideas

4.The underlined sentence "You're half-way there" in the fourth paragraph means that_________.

A. you are already successful      
B. there is a long way for you to go to reach your goal
C. you are left wondering what to do    
D. you have been on the way to success

     Have you ever heard the old saying, "Never judge a book by its cover."? This is a good rule to
follow when trying to judge the intelligence of others. Some people have minds that shine only in
certain situations. A young man with an unusual gift in writing may find himself speechless before a
pretty girl when he speaks. He may not be able to find the right words. But don't make the mistake
of thinking him stupid. With a pen and paper, he can express himself better than anybody else.
    Other people may fool you into overestimating(過高估計(jì)) their intelligence by putting up a good
front. A student who listens attentively and takes notes in class is bound to (一定會(huì)) make a favorable
impression on his teachers. But when it comes to exams, he may score near the bottom of the class.
    In a word, you can't judge someone by appearance. The only way to determine a person's intelligence
is to get to know him. Then you can see how he reacts to different situations. The more situations you
see, the better your judgment is likely to be. So take your time. Don't judge a book by its cover.

1. The passage suggests that ______.   

A. a good writer may not be a good speaker    
B. a good writer is always a good speaker 
C. a speechless person always writes well    
D. a good writer will find himself speechless

3. According to this passage, a student who listens attentively and takes notes in class ________.            

A. is an intelligent student 
B. may not be an intelligent student 
C. will score better in exams 
D. will not be a good student

3. The passage suggests that we should judge a person's intelligence through ______. 

A. his teachers                      
B. his deeds in the classroom 
C. his appearance                    
D. his reactions to different situations

4.  The writer of this passage wants to tell us not to______.    

A. judge a book by its cover 
B. make the mistake of thinking a young man stupid 
C. overestimate a student's intelligence 
D. judge a person's intelligence by his appearance

     Have you ever been to the beautiful country of Holland and its capital Amsterdam? Anyone who has
traveled to Amsterdam would probably agree on one thing: Amsterdam's story is a tale of two cities - one during the day and a completely different one at night.
     When the sun is up, this largest city in the Netherlands sits quietly on the Amstel River. You can rent a
bicycle, visit the Van Gogh or Anne Frank museum, or take a water taxi. But when the sun goes down,
the partying begins. In the big clubs and in the coffee shops, tourists gather to talk politics and smoke.
     Several areas of the city clearly show the two worlds that rule Amsterdam. And they're all within a
short cab ride of each other. For example, Dam Square attracts daytime sightseers to its festivals, open
markets, concerts and other events. Several beautiful and very popular hotels can be found there. And
there's the  Royal Palace and the Magna Plaza shopping mall. But at night party-seekers come to the
square. Hip hop or funk music (瘋狂音樂) is heard there. So if you come, be ready to dance. The clubs
don't shut down until 4 am.
     And while you're there, check out the various inexpensive ways to tour the city. Don't worry about
getting lost. Although Dutch is the official language, most people in Amsterdam speak English and are
happy to help you with directions. And you'll notice that half the people walking around in the streets are
on bicycles they rent. Amsterdam also has a well-planned canal system. For about 10 dollars, you can
use the canal bus or a water taxi to cruise (巡游) the "Venice of the North".
     The city has a historic past. One impressive (印象深刻的) place to visit is the Anne Frank House
on Nine Street. It was there that the young Jewish girl wrote her famous diary during World War II.
Visitors can view Anne's original diary and climb behind the bookcase to the room where she and her
family hid from the Nazis for two years.

1. What means of transport is not available to visitors in Amsterdam?

A. A carriage.
B. A bicycle.
C. A canal bus.
D. A water taxi.

2. What can you learn about by visiting the Anne Frank House?

A. The wonderful past of Amsterdam.
B. The experience of a beautiful girl survivor.
C. The life of Jewish during World War
D. The suffering of the Dutch in wars.

3. The passage is intended to _______.

A. call up people's memories of World War?
B. tell readers what A Tale of Two Cities is about
C. instruct visitors what to do and see in Holland
D. offer readers some information about Amsterdam

4. This passage is most likely taken from _______.

A. a private diary
B. a test paper
C. a travel journey
D. a history book

     Have you ever thought about what determines the way we are when we grow up?Remember the
TV program Seven Up?It started following the lives of a group of children in 1973.We first meet them
as wideeyed sevenyearolds and catch up with them at sevenyear intervals: nervous 14yearolds, serious
21yearolds and then grownups.
     Some of the stories are inspiring, others sad, but what is interesting in almost all the cases is the way
in which the children's early hopes and dreams are shown in their future lives.For example, at seven,
Tony is a lively child who says he wants to become a sportsman or a taxi driver.When he grows up, he
goes on to do both.How about Niki?She says, "I would like to find out about the moon." And she goes
on to become a space scientist.As a child, softspoken Bruce says he wants to help "poor children" and
ends up teaching in India.
     But if the lives of all the children had followed this pattern, the program would be far less interesting
than it actually was.It was the children whose childhood did not prepare them for what was to come that
made the program so interesting.Where did their ideas come from about what they wanted to do when
they grew up?Are children influenced by what their parents do, by what they see on television or by
what their teachers say?How great is the effect of a single important event?Many film directors, including
Steven Spielberg, say that an early visit to the cinema was the turning point in their lives.Dr Margaret
McAllister, who has done a lot of research in this area, thinks that the major factors are parents, friends
and their wider society.

1. What does the text mainly discuss?

A. New ways to make a TV program interesting.
B. The importance of TV programs to children.
C. Different ways to make childhood dreams come true.
D. The influence of childhood experience on future lives.

2. What does the underlined word "influenced" mean in the last paragraph?

A. Impressed.  
B. Improved.
C. Affected.  
D. Attracted.

3. What are the examples in Paragraph 2 meant to show?

A. Many people's childhood hopes are related to their future jobs.
B. There are many poor children in India who need help.
C. Children have different dreams about their future.
D. A lot of people are very sad in their childhood.

4. Spielberg's story is meant to show that________.

A. going to a movie at an early age helps a child learn about society
B. a single childhood event may decide what one does as a grownup
C. parents and friends can help a child grow up properly
D. films have more influence on a child than teachers do