ed away from the earth. As the moon disappears over the horizon, the pull lessens and the water level settles back towards the ocean bottom.   When the water reaches its highest level, we have high tide. And when the water comes to its lowest level, we have low tide. From its lowest point, the water rises gradually for about six hours until it reaches high tide. Then it begins to fall continuously for about six hours until it reaches low tide. Then the cycle begins again. 1. Which of the following may be the best title for the passage? A. The Moon and Ocean B. The Moon and the Tide C. Water Levels D. The Pull of the Moon and the Sun 2. The pull of the moon on the earth's surface is stronger than that of the sun because ________. A. The moon is directly over the earth B. The moon pulls the water away from the earth C. The moon is closer to the earth D. The moon moves around the earth 3. Water level reaches its low point when __________. A. the moon is hidden by clouds B. the moon's effect is indirect C. the moon moves far away D. the sun is overhead 4. High tide occurs __________. A. every 12 hours B. every 6 hours C. every 24 hours D. every 18 hours 5. According to the passage, which of the following statements is true? A. Weather sometimes affects tides. B. The force directly affecting the earth's surface comes form the moon only. C. The effect to the sun on the ocean water can be neglected. D. Tides are the result of the pull of the moon and the sun. 5 According to an old story, a farmer once found that a bag of corn had been stolen from his house. He went to the judge and told him about his loss. The judge ordered all the people of the farm to come before him. He took a number of sticks of equal length and gave one stick to each man. He then said, “Come before me again tomorrow. I shall then know which of you is the thief because the stick given to the thief will be one inch longer than the others.” The thief was afraid of being found out, and so he cut an inch off his stick. The next day the thief’s stick was found to be one inch shorter than any of the others. In this way the thief was found out, and was at once taken away to prison. 1. A bag of corn was found ________.    A. to be stolen        B. be stolen              C. being stolen      D. having stolen 2. The judge gave each man a stick _______.    A. to change back the farmer’s corn       B. to beat the thief    C. as a tool to find out the thief                 D. so as to play a game together 3. According to the judge, the next day the thief's stick would be one inch longer than the others’ because _______. A. the thief’s stick would grow one inch longer B. something wrong would happen to the thief’s stick C. the other’s sticks would become one inch shorter D. the judge had given the longer stick to the thief 4. The thief cut the stick an inch shorter and _______. A. he was finally found out B. the judge couldn’t catch him C. his stick had an equal length with the others’ D. his stick wouldn’t be any longer 5. The wise way the judge found out the thief in the end was to make ______. A. the thief to cut an inch off the stick B. the thief cut an inch off the stick C. the stick grow an inch longer D. the thief tell him what he had done 6  My Aunt Edith was a widow of 50, working as a secretary, when doctors discovered what was then thought to be a very serious heart illness. Aunt Edith doesn’t accept defeat easily. She began studying medical reports in the library and found an article in a magazine about a well-known heart doctor, Dr. Michael DeBakey, in Houston, Texas. He had saved the life of someone with the same illness. The article said Dr. DeBakey’s fees were very high; Aunt Edith couldn’t possibly pay them. But could he tell her of someone whose fees she could pay? So Aunt Edith wrote to him. She simply listed her reasons for wanting to live: her three children, who would be on their own in three or four more years and among them a little girl who always dreamed of traveling and seeing the world. There wasn’t a word of self-pity—only warmth and humor and the joy of living. She mailed the letter, not really expecting an answer. A few days later, my doorbell rang. Aunt Edith didn’t wait to come in; she stood in the hall and read aloud: Your beautiful letter moved me very deeply. If you can come to Houston, there will be no charge for either the hospital or the operation. Signed: Michael DeBakey That was seven years ago. Since then, Aunt Edith has been around the world. Her three children are happily married. For her age, she is one of the youngest, most alive people I know. 1. “Aunt Edith doesn’t accept defeat easily” means that . A. she is very beautiful B. she is very strong C. she is very brave D. she is very warm-hearted 2. Why did Aunt Edith write to Dr. DeBakey? Because . A. she had no time to visit him B. she didn’t know the way to Houston C. she didn’t believe in him D. she wanted to get some help from him 3. In fact, Aunt Edith’s letter to Dr. DeBakey was full of . A. courage B. illness C. pity D. sadness 4. After reading Dr. DeBakey’s letter, Aunt Edith felt . A. discouraged B. frightened C. disappointed D. encouraged 5. The reason why Aunt Edith remains young is that . A. she had an operation by a famous doctor B. she has been light-hearted all the time C. her three children take good care of her D. she has lost heart to live on 7 The most frightening words in the English language are, “Our computer is down.” You hear it more and more when you are on business. The other day I was at the airport waiting for a ticket to Washington and the girl in the ticket office said, “I’m sorry, I can’t sell you a ticket. Our computer is down.” “If your computer is down, just write me out a ticket.” “I can’t write you out a ticket. The computer is the only one allowed to do so.” I looked down the counter and every passenger was just standing there drinking coffee and staring at the black screen. Then I asked her, “What do all your people do?” “We give the computer the information about your trip, and then it tells us whether you can fly with us or not.” “So when it goes down, you go down with it.” “That’s very good, sir.” “How long will the computer be down?” I wanted to know. “I have no idea. Sometimes it’s down for 10 minutes, sometimes for two hours. There is no way we can find out without asking the computer, and since it’s down it won’t answer us.” After the girl told me they had not a backup computer, I said, “Let’s forget the computer. What about your planes? They’re still flying, aren’t they?” “I couldn’t tell without asking the computer.” “Maybe I could just go to the gate and ask the pilot if he’s flying to Washington,” I suggested. “I wouldn’t know what gate to send you to. Even if the pilot was going to Washington, he couldn’t take you if you didn’t have a ticket.” “Is there any other airline flying to Washington within the next few hours?” “I wouldn’t know,” she said, pointing at the dark screen. “Only ‘IT’ knows. ‘IT’ just can’t tell me. ” By this time there were quite a few people standing in line. Word soon spread to other travelers that the computer was down. Some people went white, some people started to cry and still others kicked their luggage. 1. “The computer is down” means . A. the computer doesn’t work B. the computer is backward C. the computer is important D. the computer is cheap 2. What could the girl in the ticket office do for the passengers without asking the computer? She could . A. sell a ticket B. write out a ticket C. answer the passengers’ questions D. do nothing 3. Why do you think they had not a backup computer? Because it was . A. easy to go down B. very expensive C. not advanced enough D. not as big as the main computer 4. According to this passage how long would the computer be down? A. For 10 minutes B. For an hour. C. It would be down for two hours. D. It wasn’t clear. 5. The last paragraph suggests that . a modern computer won’t be down computers can take the place of humans C. sometimes a computer may bring suffering to people D. there will be great changes in computers 8 Do you have a self-image that can help you succeed or one that can make you fail? Let’s discover what self-image is all about. Get a picture in your mind of two empty chairs. In these two chairs let’s imagine two visitors. In the first chair let’s seat a young man who is deaf. In the second one let’s seat a young man who was born with part of one foot missing. The first young man was a musician who composed many great songs and symphonies (¤NÍTPN). When he was still a young man he lost his hearing. It is generally believed that a person cannot be a professional musician or composer without hearing, but this man had a special talent that enabled him to write some of the most beautiful music ever written. This man was Beethoven. The visitor in the second chair was a young boy who was born with part of one foot missing. He loved sports, especially football. As a young boy and later a young man he had always dreamed of playing football with a major league football team. He had a thirst that could not be quenched (‘b6R). Finally, he made it into a famous football team and one day on the field he kicked the longest field goal in football history. His name is Tom Dempsey. If you try to find the special strength that turns an ordinary person into a hero it only exists in the heart or soul of man. It is called a positive (ckb—„v) self-image. A positive self-image is a great belief in yourself and your ideas. At the beginning of the passage, the writer talks about two empty chairs because he _______. A. wants to invite the readers to sit down B. wants the readers to form vivid (u¨R„v) pictures of two men C. is going to talk about the art of photography (Ddq_/g) D. is going to introduce two men could only sit in chairs We learn from the passage that a self-image ________. A. certainly has a lot to do with success B. is something that a disabled man has C. has nothing to do with success or failure D. is a picture that a person paints of himself According to the passage, a deaf person _______. A. can hardly amount to anything B. has little chance of becoming a professional musician C. can concentrate on composing music more than ordinary people D. has more talent than other people in many ways What was the most extraordinary thing that Tom Dempsey did? A. He lost one of his feet when he was young. B. He dreamed of becoming an artist one day. C. He kicked the longest field goal in football history. D. He loved playing football with a major league football team. What is the best title for this passage? A. The Importance of Self-image B. The Great Examples Set by Two Disabled Men C. The Importance of a Positive Self-image D.The Possible Effect of a Negative (Ťb—„v) Self-image 9 A young man who lived in London was in love with a beautiful girl. Soon she became his fiancee. The man was very poor while the girl was rich. The young man wanted to make her a present on her birthday. He wanted to buy something beautiful for her, but he had no idea how to do it, as he had very little money. The next morning he went to a shop. There were many fine things there: rings, gold watches, diamonds—but all these things were too expensive. There was one thing he could not take his eyes off. It was a beautiful vase. That was a suitable present for his fiancee. He had been looking at the vase for half an hour when the manager of the shop noticed him. The young man looked so pale, sad and unhappy that the manager asked what had happened to him. The young man told him everything. The manager felt sorry for him and decided to help him. A brilliant idea struck him. The manager pointed to the corner of the shop. To his great surprise the young man saw a vase broken into many pieces. The manager said: “I can help you. I shall order my servant to pack it and take it to your fiancee. When he enters the room, he will drop it.” On the birthday of his fiancee the young man was very excited. Everything happened as had been planned. The servant brought in the vase, and as he entered the room, he dropped it. There was horror on everybody’s face. When the vase was unpacked the guests saw that each piece was packed separately. The word “ fiancee” means _________. A) a good friend B) a woman engaged to get married C) a beautiful girl with a boy friend D) a girl who is going to have her birthday Why did the young man want to buy a present for the girl? A) He wanted to give her a Christmas present. B) Her birthday was coming soon. C) He fell in love with her. D) They were going to get married. 3. The vase in the corner of the shop was broken. Who broke it? A) The young man. B) A servant. C) The shop manager. D) Someone not mentioned in the story. 4. Who thought out the clever idea? A) The young man. B) The girl. C) The shop manager. D) The manager’s servant. 5. Who do you think packed each piece separately?