Life in the 21st century will be different from life in the 20th century, because many changes will take
place in the new century. But what will the changes be?
    The population is growing fast. There will be more and more people in the world and most of them will
live longer than before. Computers will be much smaller and more useful, and there will be at least one in
every home. And computer studies will be one of the most important subjects in schools. 
    People will work fewer hours than they did in the 20th century, and they will have more free time for
sports, watching TV and traveling. Traveling will be much cheaper and easier. And more people will go to
other countries for holidays.
    There will be changes in our food, too. More land will be used for buildings, new towns and houses.
Then there will be less room for cows and sheep, so meat will be more expensive. Maybe no one will eat
it every day, instead, they eat more vegetables and fruit. Maybe people will be healthier.
     Work in the future will be different, too. Dangerous and hard work will be done by robots (機(jī)器人).
Because of this, many people will not have enough work to do. This will be a new problem.

1. People may not have as much             as they did in the 20th century.

A. fruit
B. milk
C. bread
D. meat

2. In the 21st century people don't have to            .

A. travel
B. work fast
C. work long hours
D. eat meat

3. In the 21st century there will be            .

A. more cows and sheep
B. more people
C. fewer people
D. fewer buildings and houses

    Young people are often unhappy when they are with their parents. They say that their parents don't
(1)u             them. They often think their parents are too strict (2)w             them. 
     Parents often find it difficult to win their (3)c             trust, and they seem to forget how they themselves
felt when they were young.
     For example, young people like to do things without much (4)t            . It's one of their ways to show
that they grow up and they can solve any difficult (5)p            . But older people always think (6)m             
than young people. Most of them plan things ahead and don't like their plans to be (7)c            , so when
you want your parents to let you do something, you will succeed easily if you ask before you really start
doing it.
    Young people often make their parents angry by the (8)c             they wear, the music they enjoy and
something else. But they don't mean to cause any trouble. They just want to be cut off (擺脫) from the old
people's world and they are (9)t             to make a new culture of their own. And if their parents don't like
their music or clothes or their ways of speech, the young people feel very sad. Sometimes instead of going
out with their parents, they just want to stay at home (10)a             and do what they like.
    If you plan to do something, you'd (11)b             win your parents over and get them to understand you,
if so, your parents will certainly let you do (12)w             you want to do.

     Can you understand the beginning of this essay? 
     "My smmr hols wr CWOT. B4, we usd 2go2 NY2Cmy bro, his GF&3kds FTF." The Scottish teacher who
received it in class had no idea what the girl who wrote it meant .The essay was written in a form of English
used in mobile phone text messages. Text messages(also called short messages) through mobile phones became
very popular in the late 1990s .At first, mobile phone companies thought that text messaging would be a good
way to send messages to customers, but customers quickly began to use the text messaging service to send
messages to each other .Teenagers in particular enjoyed using text messaging , and they began to create a new
language for messages called texting.
     A text message is usually 160 characters (字節(jié)), including letters, spaces and numbers, so messages must
be kept short. In addition, typing on the small keypad of a mobile phone is difficult, so it's common to make
words shorter. In texting, a single letter or number can represent a word, like "r" for "are", "u" for "you", and
"2" for "to". Several letters can also represent a phrase, like "lol" for "laughing out loud". Another way of texting
is leaving out letters in a word, like spelling "please" as "pls".
     Some parents and teachers worry that texting will make children bad spellers and bad writers. The student
who wrote this essay at the top of this passage said writing that way was more comfortable for her. (The essay
said," My summer holidays were a complete waste of time.Before, we used to go to New York to see my
brother, his girl friend and their three kids face to face.")
     Not everyone agrees that texting is a bad thing. Some experts say languages always change. This is just
another way for English to change. Other people believe texting will disappear soon. New technology for voice
message may soon make text message a thing of the past.

1. What is the writer's opinion of text messaging?

A. It is fun and easy to do.
B. The writer does not give an opinion.
C. It is not bad for children.
D. It will make children bad writers.

2. Which way of texting is not described in this passage?

A. Using letters to represent words.
B. Using letters to represent phrases.
C. Using numbers to represent words.
D. Using phrases to represent essays.

3. Which is most probably the title of the student's essay?

A. My Gr8 Tchr
B. My GF
C. CU in LA
D. My smmr hols

4. Why do some people think that texting is bad?

A. It costs too much.
B. Children won't learn to write correctly.
C. It's too difficult to type.
D. It's not comfortable.

5. Why aren't some people worried about the effect texting?

A. Not many people use texting.
B. Children quickly become bored with texting.
C. Spelling in English is too difficult.
D. Texting will disappear because of new technology.

     Have you ever noticed an advertisement which says "Learn a foreign language in six weeks, or your money
back! From the first day your pronunciation will be excellent. Just send …" and so on? Of course, it never
happens quite like that. The only language that is easy to learn is the mother tongue. And think how much
practice that gets! Before the Second World War people usually learned a foreign language in order to read the
literature (文學(xué)) of the country. Now speaking the foreign language is what most people want. Every year many
millions of people start learning one. How do they do it? Some people try at home, with books and tapes; some
use radio or television programmes; others go to evening classes. If they use the language only two or three
times a week, learning it will take a long time, like language learning at school. A few people try to learn a
language fast by studying for six or more hours a day. It is clearly easier to learn the language in the country
where it is spoken. However, most people cannot afford this, and for many it is not necessary. They need the
language in order to do their work better. For example, scientists and doctors mainly need to be able to read
books and reports in the foreign language. Whether the language is learned quickly or slowly, it is hard work.
Machines and good books will help, but they cannot do the students work for him.

1. In the advertisement it is possible for a person to learn a foreign language _______.

A. more than two month
B. half a year
C. six months
D. less than two month

2. Before the Second World War people learned a foreign language in order to ______.

A. speak to each other
B. listen to the radio
C. read something they didn't know
D. write the literature of the other country

3. The easiest way for us to learn a foreign language is _______.

A. using the language six or more hours a day
B. learning the language at school
C. studying the language in the foreign country
D. reading the foreign stories as many as possible

4. Most people now learn a foreign language to ________.

A. read books and reports in a foreign language
B. talk to foreign friends
C. go to the other country to learn a language well
D. try their best to work better

5. The passage tells us that _______.

A. the more you spend, the quicker you'll learn the language
B. it is possible for you to learn a foreign language in six weeks
C. it is not good for you to learn a foreign language by yourself
D. the quicker you learn a foreign language, the more you must pay for it

     People like to say: "The hand that rocks (搖動(dòng)) the cradle (搖籃) rules the world." Or they say: "Behind every
successful man, there is a woman". Now some women still like making their husbands and sons successful. But
some women want more for themselves. They want to be successful as men. Today the best jobs are still given
to men. Even when women do the same work, they are often paid less than men. Some women want these
things changed. They want to stand beside the men, with the same chances for success. Now many American
women are earning money outside their homes. More than half of the women at the age of eighteen to sixty-five
have good jobs. In general, working women have more education than those who stay at home. Among women
with jobs, eight out of ten drive a car to work, and most of them often spend their holidays away from home.
They like traveling by air. Women's work had made several changes in women's lives- and in men's lives, too.
But things are quite different from those in the Middle East countries. In the Middle East countries, women have
to stay at home. Their duty is to look after their families and do all the housework. They can't find work outside.
When they go out in public, they cover their faces with something and walk behind their husbands. For the past
few years the women's life has been changing in those countries. Many women want to play an active role in the
society (社會(huì)). Though working gives them few chances of getting married, many men still want to marry them
in the old ways.

1. More and more women want to get jobs because ________.

A. they don't want to stand behind their husbands in the street
B. they think they are more important than men
C. they think they are as important as men
D. housework troubles them too much

2. Some women are still badly paid ________.

A. because women want more money
B. because of the old ways of thinking
C. because women can't do as well as men do
D. but we don't know why

3. If women have got higher education ________.

A. they can get better jobs easier
B. they don't have to do any housework
C. they can travel by plane
D. they can be paid better than men

4. Working gives women ________.

A. the chance to receive more education than men
B. chances to play an important role in the society
C. more pay than men
D. fewer chances of doing the housework

5. From this passage we know ________.

A. women have the same rights as men today
B. women don't want to work outside their homes
C. more and more women want to play an active role in their countries
D. in the Middle East countries all the women stay at home

Earthquake Intensity & Observed Effects (強(qiáng)度與現(xiàn)象)
I. Felt by only a few people under very special conditions.
II. Felt by only a few people at rest, especially on the upper floors of buildings.
III. Felt noticeably indoors, especially on upper floors of buildings.
IV. Felt indoors by many people, outdoors by a few; some awaked.
V. Felt by nearly everyone; many awaked; dishes and windows break; plaster (灰泥) cracks (開(kāi)裂).
VI. Felt by everyone; many frightened and run outdoors; heavy furniture such as tables and shelves moves.
VII. Everyone runs outdoors; small to moderate (中等的) damage (損毀) in usual buildings.
VIII. Considerable (相當(dāng)大的) damage in usual buildings; monuments(碑) fall.
IX. Considerable damage in all buildings; ground cracks; underground pipes (管道) break.
X. Most buildings damaged; rails bend (彎曲); landslides (山崩) take place; water splashes (濺落) over banks.
XI. Few buildings left standing; bridges damaged; wide cracks in the ground; underground pipes break.
XII. Damage total; waves seen on ground; objects thrown into air.

1. According to the picture, what is the possible position of the earthquake's epicenter?

A. 36°N, 90°W.
B. 36°N, 90°E .
C. 90°N, 36°W.
D. 90°N, 36°E.

2. What is the effects of earthquake intensity IV?

A. Everyone runs outdoors.
B. Only a few people feel it.
C. Many people who stay indoors feel it.
D. Felt by people on the upper floors of buildings.

3. According to the picture, which city would have announced the report: "Nearly everyone felt the earthquake,
   and many people were awaked. Dishes and windows were broken"?

A. Cincinnati.
B. Louisville.
C. Pittsburgh.
D. Nashville.

4. Which statement best describes the earthquake intensity at Boston?

A. Felt indoors by few people under very special conditions.
B. Few buildings left standing.
C. Felt noticeably indoors, especially on upper floors of buildings.
D. Felt indoors by many people, outdoors by a few, some awaked.

5. For which city was the description of an earthquake "Heavy furniture moved, everyone felt it, and many were
   frightened and ran outdoors" reported?

A. Nashville.
B. Louisville.
C. Syracuse.
D. Cincinnati.