There was a park near my home. But I didn’t go there very often. Many people said there was nothing special. One afternoon I went into the park and found it was really small. I walked quickly because there wasn’t much to see. I walked for some time and found myself standing in front of two paths. 71 I found that the two paths were different from each other.
The left one was wide and clean. There were lots of flowers on both sides of the path. Though the flowers weren’t very beautiful, they made me feel good. I decided to take this path. But wait! I looked at the right one. The path didn’t look nice. 72 Grass grew everywhere. For a long time I couldn’t make up my mind.
73 It wasn’t nice , but I didn’t want to give up. At last, I came to the end of the path. Ah! There was a small garden there. It was beautiful, perhaps the most beautiful garden I had ever seen. 74
Many people told me that there was nothing much to see in the park. Now I’d like to tell them that if they had followed the right way, they would have felt differently. But when I told them about what I had seen in the park, they just smiled at me without saying a word. I knew they didn’t believe me. They couldn’t even remember that path because it was so small.
75 Don’t be afraid to choose a different path. You may get a big surprise!
A. There is nothing that I want to see.
B. It looked like it had not been cleaned for months.
C. After a while a strange feeling made me follow the dirty path.
D. “ Which way should I go?” I asked myself. I looked at one way, then the other.
E. I told them what happened.
F. My trip to the park that day made me understand something about life.
G. There were trees, flowers and chairs. I thought it was the nicest part of the park.
Today about 70 countries use Daylight Saving Time (DST). Daylight Saving was first introduced during World War I in Australia. During the world wars, DST was used for the late summers beginning January 1917 and 1942, and the full summers beginning September 1942 and 1943.
In 1967, Tasmania experienced a drought（干旱）. The State Government introduced one hour of daylight saving that summer as a way of saving power and water. Tasmanians liked the idea of daylight saving and the Tasmanian Government has declared daylight saving each summer since 1968. Persuaded by the Tasmanian Government, all states except two passed a law in 1971, for a test use of daylight saving. In 1972, New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria joined Tasmania for regular daylight saving, but Queensland did not do so until 1989.
Tasmania, Queensland and South Australia have had irregular plans, often changing their dates due to politics or festivals（节日）. For example, in 1992, Tasmania extended（延长）daylight saving by an extra month while South Australia began extending daylight saving by two weeks for the Adelaide Festival. Special daylight saving plans were made during the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.
The differences in daylight saving in Australia continue to cause serious problems in transport and many other social activities. It also reduces the number of hours in the working day that are common to all centers in the country. In particular, time differences along the east coast cause major differences, especially for the broadcasters of national radio and television.
1.. Daylight Saving Time was introduced in Tasmania _______________.
A. to stop the drought in 1967 B. to support government officials
C. to pass a special law in the state D. to save water and electricity
2... What can we learn about DST in some Australian states?
A. It doesn’t have fixed dates. B. It is not used in festivals.
C. Its plan was changed in 2000. D. It lasts for two weeks
3... What do we know about the use of DST from the last paragraph?
A. There exists some undesirable effects. B. It helps little to save energy.
C. It brings about longer working days. D. Radio and TV programs become different
Explore the State of California
California is one of the most interesting states of America that offers a lot of wonderful sceneries and fun attractions. It is also the most populated state and the third largest in land area. Anyone who has been to California would agree that it is indeed a place that offers a lot to tourists of all ages. Here are some top picks of the best places to visit in California State.
San Francisco Bay Area - Witness the famous San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge which is one of the city's landmarks; and enjoy the beauty of Fisherman's Wharf that offers a lot of seafood restaurants. You should not miss the city's world-famous Cable Car System which is by far the only manually operated cable car system in the whole world.
Yosemite National Park - This is one of the very first wilderness parks in the whole of America. It is known for its natural beauty and breathtaking sceneries. It offers a breath of fresh air away from the city life. Major places to visit include the Yosemite Falls, Sentinel Dome, El Capitan, Mariposa Grove and Glacier Point among many others.
Los Angeles - Explore the home of the L.A. Lakers and do not fail to visit the Disneyland which is one of the major attractions of the city. The warm weather in Los Angeles makes it possible to do a lot of outdoor activities especially during the summer months. It is a family-friendly place that offers a wonderful shopping and dining experience. For those who particularly love the city and night life, L.A. can offer the best of almost everything.
Napa Valley - With over a million visitors every year, Napa Valley is indeed a place you should not miss if you are in California. It is California's most popular wine growing region. You can also experience the Wine Train and hot air balloon ride over the valley.
1. From the first paragraph, we know that_____.
A. the State of California has the largest population in the US
B. California offers a lot to tourists of young people
C. California is also the largest in land area
D. California is the most interesting state of America
2.. According to the passage, if you want to breathe the fresh air, you’ll go to _____.
A. San Francisco Bay Area
B. Yosemite National Park
C. Los Angeles
D. Napa Valley
3.. The underlined word “region” in the last paragraph may probably mean _____.
A. company B. valley C.factory D. area
4.. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. Napa Valley will bring us a wonderful shopping and dining experience.
B. San Francisco Bay Area is California's most popular wine growing region.
C. Los Angeles allows us to visit the Disneyland and enjoy almost everything.
D. In Yosemite National Park, we can see the Yosemite Falls, Golden Gate Bridge.
London Underground
The world’s first subway was built in London in 1863. At that time, the government was looking for a way to reduce traffic problems in the city of London. The poor areas of the city were so crowded with people that it was almost impossible for horse carriages to get through. The city officials were interested in trying to make it possible for workers to live outside of London and travel easily to work each day. If people had a cheap and convenient way that they could depend on to go to and from work, they would relocate their homes outside of the city. This would help ease the pressure of too many people living in the poor parts of London. From these problems, the idea of the London Underground, the first subway system, was born.
The plans for building the Underground met with several problems and delays, but the fast track was finally opened in January 1863. A steam train pulled the cars along the fast underground track which was 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) long. About 30,000 people got on the subway the first day. Riders were treated to comfortable seats (standing up while the train was moving was not allowed), and pleasant decorations inside each of the cars. However, the smoke from the engine soon filled the air in the tunnels with ash and soot, as well as chemical gases. Fans had to be put in the tunnels later to keep the air clean enough for people to breathe. Even with its problems, riding in the Underground did catch on. It carried 9 million riders in the first year.
1.. What led the British government to build the London Underground?
A. Traffic jams and pollution
B. Population and pollution
C. Overcrowding and traffic jams
D. The poverty and subway problems
2.. The underlined phrase “catch on” most probably means “_____”.
A. be troublesome B. become popular and fashionable
C. keep up with D. seize
3. Which of the following is TRUE?
A. To locate the workers’ homes outside London, the government built the subway
B. There were so many problems and delays that in the 18th century the first subway opened
C. The subway greatly eased the pressure of traffic
D. There were not enough seats for the passengers the first day the subway opened.
4.. It seems that the writer is going to talk about _____.
A. more problems with subways B. subways around the world later on
C. the history and culture of London D. the Beijing subway
Reading is very important to help you learn English. To learn as much as you can from reading, you need to read different kinds of English. This book provides not only different kinds of English but also a good way to check your reading ability.
There are four parts in the book:
Part 1 is Messages: In this part somebody wants to wad(填塞) information in writing to somebody else. There is a test on timetables and a test on text messages.
Part 2 is People: In this part all the tests are about people. For example, there is an informal letter between friends. There is formal (正式的) English in biography (传记). There is a job application as a model to help with your writing, as well as testing your reading.
Part 3 is Places: In this part, too many different kinds of English are shown, some informal and some formal. There is informal English of a holiday postcard. There is also formal English in a letter of complaint.
Part 4 is Things: You will find some descriptive writing in this part. There are descriptions of clothes and of a computer.
You can do these tests in any order you like, or you can do all the tests with a formal or informal text. I enjoyed writing this book and I hope you enjoy using it.
1.. We can find the introduction to a product in _____.
A. Part 1 B. Part 2
C. Part 3 D. Part 4
2.. Which of the following is most probably written in informal English?
A. A letter of complaint.
B. A computer handbook.
C. A letter to a friend.
D. A story of a president.
3. The passage is most probably written for_____.
A. test designers B. students
C. test-takers D. teachers
4.. What is the best title of the book?
A. Test Your Reading
B. Help with Your Writing
C. Learn Different Kinds of English
D. Practise English in Different Ways
Are dreams of any use to the dreamer or to anybody else? We may remember the traveler who __36__ the ship Waratah at Durban because of his terrible _37__. The Waratah later disappeared entirely, with everyone on _38_. The traveler’s dreams helped him and saved him from 39_, but they didn’t help the other people. Why was this man treated _40__ from everyone else? Another man _41__ had a dream about the Black Forest in Germany. In his dream he was walking in the forest _42__ two men ran out and tried to throw him to the _43___. He ran off as fast as he could, but they followed. He reached a place _44__he saw two _45__ roads in front of him, one to the right and the other to the left. Which road ought he to _46__ ? He heard the two men _47____ him, getting nearer and at the same time he heard a voice in his ear. It told him to go to the _48__ , and he did so. He ran on and soon came to a small hotel. He was _49___ here kindly and given a room, and so he was _50__ from the two men.
That was the dream. Twenty years later he was _51___ in the Black Forest and as it _52___ in the dream long before, two men ran out and tried to throw him down. He ran off, and came to a place with two roads as in the dream.He_53___ the dream and took the road to the right. He soon _54___a small hotel, was taken in, and so was safe. His dream of twenty years _55__ had Saved his life.
1.. A. left B. got C. drove D. enter
2.. A. ideas B. suggestions C. dreams D. words
3.. A. board B. ship C. sea D. deck
4.. A. life B. death C. illness D. disease
5.. A. similarly B. differently C. strangely D. unfortunately
6.. A. alone B. once C. still D. even
7.. A. while B. as C. before D. when
8.. A. floor B. earth C. soil D. ground
9.. A. which B. that C. where D. who
10. A. same B. separate C. divided D. crossed
11.. A. take B. bring C. carry D. go
12.. A. next to B. in front of C. beside D. behind
13.. A. house B. hotel C. left D. right
14.. A. accepted B. received C. refused D. closed
15.. A. killed B. murdered C. saved D. robbed
16.. A. exactly B. really C. sincerely D. actually
17.. A. happened B. performed C. acted D. chose
18.. A. forgot B. remembered C. missed D. noticed
19.. A. arrived B. left C. reached D. got
20.. A. front B. before C. later D. after
