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1
The Great Fire of London started in the very early hours of 2September 1666. In four days it destroyed more than three –quarters of the old city, where most of the houses were wooden and  close together . One hundred thousand people became homeless , but only a few lost their lives .
The fire started on Sunday morning in the house of the King’s baker（面包师）in Pudding Lane . The baker, with his wife and family , was able to get out through a window in the roof . A strong wind blew the fire from the bakery（面包房）into a small hotel next boor . Then it spread quickly into Thames Street . That was the beginning.
By eight o’clock three hundred houses were on fire . On Monday nearly a kilometer of the city was burning along the River Thames. Tuesday was the worst day . The fire destroyed many well-known buildings , old St Paul’s and the Guildhall among them .
Samuel Pepys , the famous write , wrote about the fire . People threw their things into the river . Many poor people stayed in their houses until the last moment . Birds fell out of the air because of the heat .
The fire stopped only when the King finally ordered people to destroy hundreds of buildings in the paths of the fire , With nothing left to burn , the fire became weak and finally died out .
After the fire , Christopher Wren ,the architect , wanted a city with wider streets and fine new houses of stone . In fact , the streets are still narrow , but he did build more than fifty churches , among them the new St Paul’s .
The fire caused great pain and loss , but after it London was a better place : a city for the future and not just of the past .
1. The fire began in          .
A. a hotel    B. the palace    C. Pudding Lane      D. Thames Street
2. The underlined word “family ” in the second paragraph means          .
A. home     B. children     C. wife and husband     D. wife and children
3. It seems that the writer of the text was most sorry for the fact that           .
A. some people lost their lives   
B. the birds in the sky were killed by the fire
C. many famous buildings were destroyed
D. the King’s bakery was burned down
4. Why did the write cite(引用)Samuel Pepys ?
A. Because Pepys was among those putting out the fire .
B. Because Pepys also wrote about the fire
C. To show that poor people suffered most
D. To give the reader a clearer picture of the fire
5. How was the fire put out according to the text ?
A. The King and his soldiers came to help .
B. All the wooden houses in the city were destroyed
C. People managed to get enough water from the river
D. Houses standing in the direction of the fire were pulled down
6. Which of the following were reasons for the rapid spread of the big fire ?
A. There was a strong wind
B. The streets were very narrow .
C. There was not enough water in the city
D. People did not discover the fire earlier
Key: 1. C  2. B  3. C  4. D  5. D  6. B
2
In the 1930s, a lot of people in the USA were out of work. Among these people was a man named Alfred Butts . He always had an interest in word games and so , to fill his time , he planned a game which he called “Lexico ”. However , he was not completely satisfied with the game , so he made a number of changes to it and, in time , changed its  name from “Lexico” to “Alph ”and then to “Criss Cross ” . He wanted to make some money from his new gave but he didn’t have any real commercial success .
In 1939, Butts happened to meet a man called Jim Brunot who showed an interest in the new game . The two worked together on developing the game and in 1984 it was offered for sale in the United States under its new name—“Scrabble”.
At first , it didn’t sell very well . In the first year it sold just 2250 sets and by 1951it had only reached 8500 sets a year .
Then , in 1952 the manager of Macy’s department store in New York , Jack Strauss , happened to play “Scrabble” while he was on holiday . He thought it was a wonderful game and , when he went back to work after his holiday , he insisted that Macy’s should stock（储备）the game and make an effort (努力) to call the public’s attention to it .
As a result , “Scrabble ”became a big success in the United States and it soon spread to Australia and then to other English-speaking countries .
1. The text is mainly about          .
A. “Lexico”  B. three men    C. a word game     D. Alfred Butts
2. Alfred Butts invented the game “Lexico”         .
A. to make himself famous
B. to make spelling simpler
C. when he was out of work and looking for a job
D. when he was playing word game to pass the time
3. Who made “Scrabble ” popular ?
A. Alfred Butts                                                         B. Jack Strauss
C. Alfred Butts and Jim Brunot                         D. Jack Strauss and Jim Brunot
4. When did Alfred Butts first put his game on the market ?
A. In 1939              B. In 1948
C. Before 1939          D. Between 1939 and 1948
Key: 1. C  2. D  3. B  4. C
3
On the evening of June 21, 1992, a tall man with brown hair and blue eyes entered the beautiful hall of the Bell Tower Hotel in Xi’an with his bicycle . The hotel workers received him and telephoned the manager , for they had never seen a bicycle in the hotel hall before though they lived in “the kingdom of bicycles”.
Robert Friedlander , an American , arrived in Xi’an on his bicycle trip across Asia which started last December in New Delhi, India .
When he was 11, he read the book Marco Polo and made up his mind to visit the Silk Road . Now , after 44 years, he was on the Silk Road in Xi’an and his early dreams were coming true .
Robert Friedlander’s next destinations(目的地)were Lanzhou , Dunhuang , Urumqi , etc . He will complete his trip in Pakistan .
1.The best headline (标题)for this newspaper article would be       .（主观问题）
A. The Kingdom of Bicycles
B. A Beautiful Hotel in Xi’an
C. Marco Polo and the Silk Road
D. An American Achieving His Aims
2. The hotel workers told the manager about Friendlander coming to the hotel because        .（客观问题）
A. he asked to see the manager
B. he entered the hall with a bike
C. the manager had too know about all foreign guests
D. the manager knew about his trip and was expecting him
3. Friendlander is visiting the three countries in the following order :         . （客观问题）
A. China , India , and Pakistan          B. India , China , and Pakistan
C. Pakistan ,China , and India           D. China , Pakistan ,and India
4. What made Friedlander want to come to China ?(客观问题)
A. The stories about Marco Polo     B. The famous sights in Xi’an .
C. His interest in Chinese silk       D. His childhood dreams about bicycle
5. Friedlander can be said to be        .(主观问题)
A. clever                  B. friendly
C. hardworking             D. strong-minded
Key: 1. D  2. B  3. B  4. A  5. D
4
Do you always understand directions on a bottle of medicine? Do you know what is meant by “Take only as directed ”? Read the following directions and see if you understand them .
“To reduce pain , take two tablets（药片）with water , followed by one table every eight hours , as required . For night-time and early morning relief(缓解疼痛)take two tables at bedtime . Do not take more than six tables in twenty-four hours .
For children of six to twelve years old , give half the amount（量）. For children under six years old , ask your doctor’s advice .
Reduce the amount if you suffer from restlessness or sleeplessness after taking the medicine . ”
1. How many tables at most can a person over 12 have in 24 hours ?
A. Three     B. Four     C. Six         D. Eight
2. How many tables should a nine-year old child normally take in 24 hours ?
A. Half a tablet     B. One tablet     C. Two tables      D. For tables
3. What is the advice for one who cannot sleep well after taking the medicine ?
A. Stop taking the medicine at bedtime .
B. Continue to take the normal amount.
C. Take more than the normal amount.
D. Take less than the normal amount.
4. It can be inferred from the directions that this medicine         .
A. helps you to fall asleep quickly
B. may be dangerous to small children
C. cannot be taken if one feels sleepy
D. should not be taken by children under six
5. This text is most probably taken from a         .
A. textbook                       B. newsreel
C. doctor’s notebook                D. bottle of medicine
Key: 1. C  2. C  3. D  4. B  5. A

Key: 1. C  2. C  3. D  4. B  5. A