A

Mr Peter Johnson， aged twenty-three， battled for half an hour to escape from his trapped car yesterday when it landed upside down in three feet of water. Mr Johnson took the only escape route—through the boot （行李箱）.

Mr Johnsons car had finished up in a ditch （沟渠） at Romney Marsin， Kent after skidding on ice and hitting a bank. “Fortunately， the water began to come in only slowly，” Mr Johnson said. “I couldnt force the doors because they were jammed against the walls of the ditch and dared not open the windows because I knew water would come flooding in.”

Mr Johnson， a sweet salesman of Sitting Home， Kent， first tried to attract the attention of other motorists by sounding the horn and hammering on the roof and boot. Then he began his struggle to escape.

Later he said， “It was really a half penny that saved my life. It was the only coin I had in my pocket and I used it to unscrew （拧开） the back seat to get into the boot. I hammered desperately with a hammer trying to make someone hear， but no help came.”

It took ten minutes to unscrew the seat， and a further five minutes to clear the sweet samples from the boot. Then Mr Johnson found a wrench and began to work on the boot lock. Fifteen minutes passed by. “It was the only chance I had. Finally it gave， but as soon as I moved the boot lid， the water and mud poured in. I forced the lid down into the mud and climbed out as the car filled up.”

His hands and arms cut and bruised， Mr Johnson got to Beckett Farm nearby， where he was looked after by the farmers wife， Mrs Lucy Bates. Huddled in a blanket， he said， “That thirty minutes seemed like hours.” Only the tips of the car wheels were visible， police said last night. The vehicle had sunk into two feet of mud at the bottom of the ditch.

1. Which of the following objects is the most important to Mr Johnson in the story？

A. The hammer. B. The screw.

C. The coin. D. The horn.

2. “Finally it gave” （Para. 5） means that .

A. Luckily the door was torn away in the end

B. At last the wrench went broken

C. The chance was lost at the last minute

D. The lock came open after all his efforts

3. Which statement is TRUE according to the passage？

A. Mr Johnsons car stood on its boot as it fell down.

B. Mr Johnsons car accident was partly due to the icy road.

C. Mr Johnson could not escape from the door because it was full of sweet jam.endprint

D. Mr Johnson struggled in the pouring mud as he unscrewed the back seat.

4. What is the best title for this newspaper article？

A. The Story of Mr Johnson， a Sweet Salesman

B. Driver Escapes Through Car Boot

C. Car Boot Can Serve as the Best Escape Route

D. The Driver Survived a Terrible Accident

B

Every Christmas the giant tree in New Yorks Rockfeller Centre sparkles with thousands of lights. From the beginning， when the building workers raised the first one during the year of Depression， it has been a symbol of hope. Daina Abad， like most New Yorkers， loved that tree.

In 2010， however， Diana was writing her will. The 33-year-old， from Staten Island， had been diagnosed with leukemia （白血病）. Doctors said that she had nine months to live.

Her once chance for survival lay in finding a bone marrow donor. The most likely source for a match was a relative—but her family was tested and there was none.

Then， in February 2011， Diana got a call from the hospital， saying that out of four million people enrolled in the National Marrow Donor Registry， there was one match. The potential donor was talking about it. In March the donor agreed and the transplant was scheduled for March 27.

On that day， a doctor came in with marrow. Diana remembers him saying， “If it doesnt graft within four to six hours， nothing will bring you back.” Diana asked a priest （牧师） to give her the last rites. Almost immediately after the two-hour procedure， she felt stronger. It looks like the graft had taken.

Donors are anonymous （匿名的）， but when she was better， Diana sent a note through Registry. “You do not know the joy that I am experiencing，” she wrote. “I hope that one day we can meet and I can thank you in person.” Then， unannounced， he turned up on her doorstep on December 23. She says it was love at first sight. He says he didnt feel it until the second time.

The meeting began a long-distance romance that reached the highest point under the Christmas tree in the Rockefeller Centre in December 2012. Thats where David proposed to Diana. She said yes.

5. Diana loves the giant tree in New Yorks Rockfeller Centre because .

A. Diana agreed to marry David under that tree

B. they started their long-time romance under that tree

C. the tree sparkles with thousands of lights

D. the tree was raised during the year of Depression

6. Diana got the right marrow .endprint

A. from her family members

B. from one donor out of four million people

C. immediately after she was diagnosed leukemia

D. on her 33 birthday

7. According to the doctors saying in the fifth paragraph， what will happen if the marrow doesnt grow well in four to six hours？

A. A priest will give her the last rites

B. No one will take Diana home

C. Diana will get nothing

D. Diana will die

8. Which description is CORRECT according to the passage？

A. Diana wanted to say thanks to the donor face to face.

B. David went to see Diana after writing him a letter.

C. Diana and David fell in love at the first sight.

D. David did not feel better after two hours procedure.

C

If you are thinking of picking up some Chinese during your stay in the Middle Kingdom， theres one character you will definitely want to know. 囧， which first appeared on oracle bones about 3，000 years ago， has become one of the most frequently used icons by the Chinese Internet community.

The character has gained iconic status and has come to mean “sad and frustrated”， as it resembles a frowning face. The symbol， whose original meaning is “bright”， has attracted a lot of online buzz with its new Net definition.

This new meaning has found wide-ranging use in expressions such as， “I was terribly 囧 to find myself in the same elevator as my boss after I had complained to him about a colleague”， or “Its really 囧 that I was in such a hurry that I threw my handbag instead of the garbage bag into the trash can”.

This character has also given birth to a great many expressions appropriate for a variety of social situations. Bloggers are using it in their blog names， such as 囧 Pig. More than 500 囧 BBS were born overnight， such as “囧 Village” on baidu.com. And some Net users have even built an official website for 囧， such as “囧 Everyday” on Youku （a hot video sharing site）， which hosts a daily humorous video on the emerging 囧 culture.

A recent report about Ig Nobel—a parody of the Nobel Prizes by the scientific humor magazine， Annals of Improbable Research—in a Beijing-based newspaper even used 囧 Science as a headline to describe quirky research on such questions as， does drinking coca cola kill sperm and why do people pick their nose. A cartoon of a robot carrying test tubes and wearing a 囧 face， won over many readers.

But despite its popularity， 90 percent of Chinese cant pronounce this character， according to an online survey. It is believed 囧 is inspired by the shape of a window and the fact that a window lets in light and hence， brightness. No one is sure how this ancient character has come alive to gain increasing popularity in todays life.endprint

囧 now is not just another Chinese expression but has come to represent a particular lifestyle. At first， the character was popular only on the Net but has now begun to enter peoples offline lives as well.

囧 is proving invaluable to brands wooing young consumers and turning to the Internet for inspiring ways to sell themselves. The character has found its way to handbags， shoes， and even to trademarks.

Early this year， sports brand Li Ning designed a shoe line that featured 囧 and a milk tea shop in Beijing which named itself 囧 is reportedly enjoying booming business.

9. According to the passage， .

A. nearly half of Chinese can not pronounce the character

B. a 囧 face has already been on sale in some department store.

C. 囧 has marched from the Net into peoples daily life

D. an official website will be set up for 囧on Youku

10. Which of the following about 囧 is true？

A. It first appeared in old historic stories.

B. It refers to a house with a window.

C. It now has a wide-ranging use in expressions.

D. It originally means “happy and wealthy”.

11. It can be concluded from the passage that .

A. 囧 will replace many Chinese characters for more expressions

B. Employers will not hire people knowing how to use 囧

C. 囧 will enjoy a long-lasting boom in every-day life

D. 囧 has already been used to increase business sales

12. What is the main idea of this passage？

A. New phenomenon on the Net.

B. Old character becomes popular.

C. The history of 囧.

D. 囧 is coming into your life.

D

When you begin to read a new book， you have to put your heart into it， like falling in love. Once you reach the middle of the book， youll realize its really wonderful. On the other hand， you may also find this book wont be that great but youll feel guilty about putting it down. Maybe itll be so awful youll keep hate-reading or just set it down immediately and never pick it up again. Or maybe youll come back to it some night， free， bored or lonely—but needing something to count your thumb. If so， it wont be any better than it was when you first started it.

Youve taken some time off from reading because what you read wasnt worth it. Do they even write new， great works of literature anymore？ But you have to know that the time you fell in love with a book before will just never happen to you again. It may be a once-in-a-lifetime feeling. For a book， as long as you invest your time and your brain power in the words， what you get back will be a new sense of empathy and wonder.endprint

How could someone possibly know what you like？ Some stranger， some author or some character may see inside your soul. This book existed inside some bookstore， on a shelf， maybe handled by other people and really it was just waiting for you to pick it up and crack the spine. It was waiting to speak to you. To say， “You are not alone.”

You just want more of the story. You want to keep reading， and even collect everything this authors ever written. You wish it would never end. The closer it gets to the smaller side of the pages， the slower you read， wanting to savor it all. This book is now one of your favorites forever. You will always wish you could go back to never having read it and pick it up fresh again， but also you know youre better for having this clothes inside you， covering your heart and mind. When you get in deep enough， you know you could never put this book down.

13. The underlined phrase “count your thumb” （Para.1） probably means “ ”.

A. make time B. save time

C. kill time D. waste time

14. What is the main idea of Paragraph 2？

A. Before reading a book， you must make sure it is worth reading.

B. Generally speaking， you can never find a book you really like.

C. If you find a book uninteresting， you can put it aside temporarily.

D. So long as you read a book heart and soul， you are sure to find infinite fun.

15. What does the author want to tell us in the last paragraph？

A. Once a story touches your soul， youll fall in love with it.

B. The slowly you read a story， the more interesting youll find it.

C. Every time you reread it， it seems as if you didnt read it before.

D. If you want to get more knowledge， you should read as many books as you can.

16. Whats the best title of the passage？

A. Books Can Give Us Knowledge and Power

B. How to Read a Book You Arent Interested in

C. Reading a New Book like Falling in Love

D. A New Book Just like a New Friend

E

The National Gallery

Description

The National Gallery is the British national art museum built on the north side of Trafalgar Square in London. It houses a diverse collection of more than 2，300 examples of European art ranging from 13th century religious paintings to more modern ones by Renoir and Van Gogh. The older collections of the gallery are reached through the main entrance while the more modern works in the East Wing are most easily reached from Trafalgar Square by a ground floor entrance.endprint

Layout

The modern Sainsbury Wing on the western side of the building houses 13th to 15th century paintings， and artists include Duccio， Uccello， Van Eyck， Lippi， Mantegna， Botticelli and Memling.

The main West Wing houses 16th century paintings， and artists include Leonardo da Vinci， Cranach， Michelangelo， Raphael， Bruegel， Bronzino， Titian and Veronese.

The north Wing houses 17th century paintings， and artists include Caravaggio， Rubens， Poussin， Van Dyck， Velazquez， Claude and Vermeer.

The East Wing houses 18th to early 20th century paintings and artisists include Canaletto， Goya， Turner， Constable， Renoir and Van Gogh.

Opening Hours

The Gallery is open every day from 10am to 6pm （Fridays 10am to 9pm） and is free， but charges apply to some special exhibitions.

Getting There

Nearest underground stations： Charing Cross （2-minute walk）， Leiscester Square （3-minute walk）， Embankment（7-minute walk）， and Piccadilly Circus （8-minute walk）.

17. In which houses are the paintings of the great artists in the 13th-15th century housed？

A. West wing B. North wing

C. Sainsbury wing D. East wing

18. Compared with the above stations， which underground station is the farest from the National Gallery？

A. Embankment B. Piccadilly Circus

C. Leiscester Square D. Charing Cross

19. According to the passage， where can the paintings of modern style in the East wing easily be reached？

A. west side B. the main entrance

C. the East wing D. Trafalgar Square

20. Where are Michelangelos works shown？

A. In the East wing.

B. In the main West wing.

C. In the Sainsbury wing.

D. In the North wing.endprint