【小题3】What might be the most important contribution of the Titanic?

A.Its site attracts more exploring teams.

B.It makes the later ships more secure.

C.Some of its items are on public display.

D.More trips are planned to its wreckage.

14、The piano on which Mozart wrote all of his late works returned home to Vienna for the first time since his death in 1791.The piano will stand in his former Vienna home, now a museum, for two weeks, ending in a concert of the works by Mozart.

Mozart bought the instrument from Anton Walter, the most famous piano maker of his time, in 1782.He wrote more than 50 works for the piano on it, many of them in the apartment in Vienna.After Mozart’s death, Constanze, Mozart’s wife, gave the instrument to their elder surviving son, Carl Thomas, who donated it to the Mozarteum Salzburg on what would have been the composer’s 100th birthday.The piano is now part of the permanent exhibition in the Austrian city of Salzburg.

“ It was very hard to let it go,” said Matthias Schulz, director of the Mozarteum Salzburg.“ If we didn’ t know it was in the best hands, we wouldn’ t have done it.” The piano is much smaller and lighter than modern concert ones.Its sound is fresher and brighter than that of a modern piano, with lighter action and hammers (音锤).

Piano restorer Josef Meingast, who has looked after the Mozart piano since 1975, said it was superior to any of its surviving copies.Meingast said he had to fight to replace the existing strings (琴键), dating from a 1973 restoration, with softer ones that produce a rounder sound thought to be more similar to what Mozart would have produced.

Russian pianist Alexander Melnikov, who planned to give a concert of Mozart’ s music on the piano on November 7, said he was privileged to play such an instrument.It’s easily the biggest day of a musician’ s life.”

【小题1】According to the passage, the piano___________.

A.is now being owned by the Mozart family

B.has been kept by Carl Thomas since Mozart died

C.is much bigger and heavier than modern ones

D.is part of the permanent exhibition in the city of Salzburg

【小题2】Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

A.The piano has never been repaired.

B.Anton Walter was also a very famous pianist.

C.Josef Meingast devoted himself to restoring the piano.

D.Matthias Schulz doubted if the piano would be well looked af.

【小题3】How will Alexander Melnikov feel when playing that piano?

A.Upset B.Honored C.Frightened D.Creative

【小题4】What is the main idea of this passage?

A.Mozart’s piano returns home to Vinna.

B.Mozart’s piano connects too many artists.

C.Mozart’s piano reflects all his wonderful life.

D.Mozart’s piano is restored to its original form.

15、Everybody hates it, but everybody does it. A recent report said that 40%of Americans hate tipping. In America alone, tipping is a $16 billion-a-year industry. Consumers acting politely ought not to pay more than they have to for a given service. Tips should not exist. So why do they? The common opinion in the past was that tips both rewarded the efforts of good service and reduced uncomfortable feelings of inequality. And also, tipping makes for closer relations. It went without saying that the better the service, the bigger the tip.

But according to a new research from Cornell University, tips no longer serve any useful function. The paper analyzes numbers they got from 2,547 groups dining at 20 different restaurants. The connection between larger tips and better service was very weak. Only a tiny part of the size of the tip had anything to do with the quality of service.

Tipping is better explained, by culture than by the money people spend. In America, the custom came into being a long time ago. It is regarded as part of the accepted cost of a service. In New York restaurants, failing to tip at least l5% could well mean dissatisfaction from the customers. Hairdressers can expect to get l5%-20%, and the man who delivers your fast food $2. In Europe, tipping is less common. In many restaurants the amount of tip is decided by a standard service charge. In many Asian countries, tipping has never really caught on at all. Only a few have really taken to tipping.

According to Michael Lynn, the Cornell papers' author, countries in which people are more social or outgoing tend to tip more. Tipping may reduce anxiety about being served by strangers. And Mr. Lynn says, “In America, where people are expressive and eager to mix up with others, tipping is about social approval. If you tip badly, people think less of you. Tipping well is a chance to show off."

【小题1】 This passage is mainly about ________.

A.different kinds of tipping in different countries

B.the relationship between tipping and custom

C.the origin and present meaning of tipping

D.most American people hate tipping

【小题2】Which of the following best explains the underlined phrase "caught on"?

A.become popular. B.been hated.

C.been stopped. D.been permitted

【小题3】Among the following situations, in your opinion, who is likely to tip most?

A.A Frenchman just quarreled with the barber who did his hair badly in New York.

B.An American just had a wonderful dinner in a well known restaurant in New York.

C.A Japanese businessman asked for a pizza delivery from a Pizza Hut in New York.

D.A Chinese student enjoyed his meal in a famous fast food restaurant in New York.

【小题4】We can infer from this passage that ________.

A.tipping is no longer a good way to satisfy some customers themselves

B.tipping is especially popular in New York

C.tipping in America can make service better now

D.tipping has something to do with people's character

16、Baths and bathing have long been considered of medical importance to man. In Greece there are the ruins of a water system for baths built over 3,000 years ago. The Romans had warm public baths. In some baths, as many 3,000 persons could bathe at the same time.

Treating disease by taking bathing has been popular for centuries. Modern medical bathing first became popular in Europe and by the late 1700’s has also become popular in the United States.

For many years frequent bathing was believed to be bad for one’s health. Ordinary bathing just to keep clean was avoided , and perfume was often used to cover up body smells!

By the 1700’s doctors began to say that soap and water were good for health. They believed that it was good for people to be clean. Slowly, people began to bathe more frequently. During the Victorian Age of the late 19th century, taking a bath on Saturday night became common.

In the United States ordinary bathing was slow to become popular. During the 18th and early 19th centuries, many Americans were known as “The Great Unwashed!” In one American city , for example, a person was only allowed to take a bath every thirty days! That was a law!

Frequency of bathing today is partly a matter of habit. People know that bathing for cleanliness is important to health, Doctors know that dirty bodies increase the chance of diseases. As a result, in the United States, people generally bathe often. Some people bathe once a day at least. They consider a daily bath essential  to good health.

【小题1】A water system for baths was built by _______ over 3,000 years ago.

A.the Romans  B.the Greeks

C.the Americans D.the Europeans

【小题2】Dirty bodies can_______.

A.ruin one’s business B.cause disease

C.drive customers away D.cause good health

【小题3】 In the 18th century doctors believed that being clean was_______.

A.unimportant B.good for health

C.harmful D.important

【小题4】The underlined word perfume probably means________.

A.a sweet smelling substance B.good health

C.a strange smelling substance D.large wealth

17、It’s the worst event in human being’s nautical(航海的)history , six times more deadly than the Titanic . When the German cruise ship Wilhelm Gustloff was hit by torpedoes(鱼雷)fired from a Russian submarine in the final winter of World War II , more than 10,000 people – mostly women , children and old people fleeing the final Red Army push into Nazi Germany – were packed aboard .

An ice storm had turned the decks into frozen sheets that sent hundreds of families sliding into the sea as the ship tilted and began to go down . Others desperately tried to put lifeboats down . Some who succeeded fought off those in the water who had the strength to try to claw their way aboard . Most people froze immediately . “ I’ll never forget the screams , ” says Christa Ntitzmann , 87 , one of the 1,200 survivors . She recalls watching the ship , brightly lit , slipping into its dark grave-and into seeming nothingness , rarely mentioned for more than half a century .

Now Germany’s Nobel Prize-winning author Gtinter Grass has revived the memory of the 9,000 dead , including more than 4,000 children-with his latest novel Crab Walk , published last month . The book ,which will be out in English next year , doesn’t dwell on the sinking : its heroine is a pregnant young woman who survives the catastrophe only to say later : “ Nobody wanted to hear about it , not here in the West ( of Germany ) and not at all in the East . ”

The reason was obvious . As Grass put in a recent interview with the weekly Die Woche : “ Because the crimes we Germans are responsible for were and are so dominant , we didn’t have the energy left to tell of our own sufferings . ” The long silence about the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff was probably unavoidable – and necessary .

By unreservedly owning up to their country’s monstrous crimes in the Second World War , Germans have managed to win acceptance abroad , marginalize the neo-Nazis at home and make peace with their neighbors .

Today’s unified Germany is more prosperous and stable than at any time in its long , troubled history . For that , a half century of willful forgetting about painful memories like the German Titanic was perhaps a reasonable price to pay . But even the most politically correct Germans believe that they’ve now earned the right to discuss the full historical record . Not to equate German suffering with that of its victims , but simply to acknowledge a terrible tragedy .

【小题1】Why does the author say the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff was the worst event in nautical history ?

A.It was attacked by Russian torpedoes .

B.Most of its passengers were frozen to death .

C.Its victims were mostly women and children .

D.It caused the largest number of casualties .

【小题2】How does Gunter Grass revive the memory of the Wilhelm Gustloff tragedy ?

A.By presenting the horrible scene of the torpedo attack .

B.By describing the ship’s sinking in great detail .

C.By giving an interview to the weekly Die Woche .

D.By illustrating the survival of a young pregnant woman .

【小题3】What’s the meaning of the underlined word “ marginalize ”

A.highlight B.weaken

C.strengthen D.fasten

【小题4】It can be learned from the passage that Germans no longer think that

A.they will be misunderstood if they talk about the Wilhelm Gustloff tragedy

B.the Wilhelm Gustloff tragedy is a reasonable price to pay for the nation’s past misdeeds

C.Germany is responsible for the horrible crimes it committed in World War II

D.it is wrong to equate their sufferings with those of other countries

18、Getting rid of dirt, in the opinion of most people, is a good thing. However, there is nothing fixed about attitudes to dirt.

In the early 16th century, people thought that dirt on the skin was a means to block out disease, as medical opinion had it that washing off dirt with hot water could open up the skin and let ills in. A particular danger was thought to lie in public baths. By 1538, the French king had closed the bath houses in his kingdom. So did the king of England in 1546. Thus began a long time when the rich and the poor in Europe lived with dirt in a friendly way. Henry IV, King of France, was famously dirty. Upon learning that a nobleman had taken a bath, the king ordered that, to avoid the attack of disease, the nobleman should not go out.

Though the belief in the merit of dirt was long-lived, dirt has no longer been regarded as a nice neighbor ever since the 18th century. Scientifically speaking, cleaning away dirt is good to health. Clean water supply and hand washing are practical means of preventing disease. Yet, it seems that standards of cleanliness have moved beyond science since World War Ⅱ. Advertisements repeatedly sell the idea: clothes need to be whiter than white, cloths ever softer, surfaces to shine. Has the hate for dirt, however, gone too far?

Attitudes to dirt still differ hugely nowadays. Many first-time parents nervously try to warn their children off touching dirt, which might be responsible for the spread of disease.On the contrary, Mary Ruebush, an American immunologist(免疫学家)，encourages children to play in the dirt to build up a strong immune system. And the latter position is gaining some ground.

【小题1】The kings of France and England in the 16th century closed bath houses because    .

A.they lived healthily in a dirty environment.

B.they believed disease could be spread in public baths

C.they thought bath houses were too dirty to stay in

D.they considered bathing as the cause of skin disease

【小题2】Which of the following best describes Henry IV’s attitude to bathing?

A.Approving. B.Afraid..

C.Curious D.Uninterested.

【小题3】How does the passage mainly develop?

A.By providing examples.

B.By making comparisons.

C.By following the order of time.

D.By following the order of importance.

【小题4】What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?

A.To stress the role of dirt.

B.To introduce the history of dirt.

C.To call attention to the danger of dirt.

D.To present the change of views on dirt.

19、Elizabeth Mitchell’s new “Liberty’s Torch” is the fascinating story of how the Statue of Liberty came to be. The Statue of Liberty’s rough history is explored in “Liberty’s Torch”.

Frederic Auguste Bartholdi is an all-but-forgotten figure in American history. He was, however, responsible for one of the most enduring symbols of the United States: the Statue of Liberty. A Frenchman from Alsace, he designed and built the Statue of Liberty which stood on Bedloe’s Island in New York Harbor. How this statue came to be is the fascinating subject of Elizabeth Michell’s new book “Liberty’s Torch”.

The power of Mitchell’s narrative is convincing(令人信服的). We recognize the Statue of Liberty now as a symbol of hope and opportunity for a nation of immigrants. At the time, though, people could not see that-nor did they even imagine that. Instead, the construction of the statue was born of one man’s desire to set up a great monument.

For this reason, perhaps, “Liberty’s Torch” relies on Bartholdi as the connecting thread. Bartholdi went to Egypt to make photographic copies of the main monuments. On the boat, Bartholdi met and began a lifelong relationship with Ferdinand de Lesseps, the man who would build the Suez Canal. Maybe it was this friendship, or maybe it was seeing Egypt’s huge monuments, but finally the trip inspired Bartholdi’s dream to create the largest statue ever built. Failure to bring this to completion in Egypt, followed by his exile (流放) from Paris, led Bartholdi to sail to America.

By explaining the Statue of Liberty’s hard history and showing Bartholdi’s brave spirit, Mitchell has done a great service.

【小题1】It can be inferred from the text that ________.

A.American people have never forgotten Frederic August Bartholdi

B.the Statue of Liberty wasn’t originally regarded as a symbol of hope

C.Bartholdi finished the Suez Canal

D.Bartholdi was a famous architect from Egypt.

【小题2】What was the main reason for Bartholdi to build the Statue of Liberty?

A.To finish his education in the arts.

B.To mark his friendship with Ferdinand.

C.To create something better than Egyptian monuments.

D.To achieve his dream to create the largest statue.

【小题3】What type of writing is the passage?

A.A travel guide. B.A book review

C.An announcement D.An architecture report.

20、We grew up with the familiar toy bricks (积木) that gave us the imagination to build towers and castles. Generations have been attracted by this toy that lets children and adults alike create anything and everything. But with over 200 millions sets being sold a year in over 100 countries, the question remains — where did Lego actually come from?

Lego was born from the creative mind of Danish carpenter (木匠), Ole Kirk Christiansen, back in the early 1930s. He established a small business in Denmark. He and his team built a variety of household goods like ironing boards along with wooden toys. The Lego name was adopted in 1934, formed from the Danish words “Leg Godt” or “play well”, which means “I study” or “I put together” in Latin.

Christiansen’s company continued to make wooden toys until 1942 when fire struck — the entire Lego factory burned to the ground. Unwilling to give in, the factory was rebuilt and the production line restarted soon after. By 1954, Christiansen’s son, Godtfred, had become the junior managing director of the Lego Group. It was during his conversation with an overseas buyer that he was struck by the idea of a toy system.

For over 30 years, the Lego Company made only toys and related goods. Then, in 1968, the company opened its first Legoland in Denmark. Combining the Lego building bricks with a computer, the Robotics Invention System 1.5 is now the most advanced toy in the Lego Company, which is targeted at users aged twelve and above, and that includes any parents or grandparents that want to join in.

Now the Lego Company is expanding its production lines to include lights, cameras and so on. Lego Company has done a lot to entertain many children around the world.

【小题1】 The author presents the text by ________.

A.telling an interesting story

B.showing the process in different stages

C.introducing a practical method

D.describing many different activities

【小题2】Which of the following is NOT true about the Robotics Invention System 1.5?

A.It is the most advanced toy in the Lego Company.

B.It combines the Lego building bricks with a computer.

C.It is intended for users aged twelve and above.

D.It is the most expensive toy invented since 1968.

【小题3】 What is the correct order of the following events in the development of Lego?

a. The entire Lego factory burned to the ground.

b. The company and its products adopted the name Lego.

c. The company opened its first Legoland in Denmark.

d. Godtfred had become the junior managing director of the Lego Group.

A.cadb B.cbad C.abcd  D.badc

【小题4】 What can we learn from the text?

A.The Lego Company expands its production lines with computers.

B.The author thinks highly of Lego, which entertains many children.

C.The name Lego means “I put together” in the Danish language.

D.Lego enjoys the greatest popularity among children of 12.

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