Taiwan police cannot decide whether to treat it as an extremely eleven act of stealing or an even cleverer cheat . Either way , it could be the perfect crime (犯罪), because the criminals are birds—horning pigeons !

The crime begins with a telephone message to the owner of a stolen car : if you want the car back, pay up then, the car owner is directed to a park, told where to find a bird cage and how to attach money to the neck of the pigeon inside . Carrying the money in a tiny bag , the pigeon flies off .

There have been at least four such pigeon pick-ups in Changwa. What at first seemed like the work of a clever stay-at-home car thief, however , may in face be the work of an even lazier and more inventive criminal mind—one that avoid (避免)not only colleting money but going out to steal the car in the first place . Police officer Chen says that the criminal probably has pulled a double trick: he gets money for things he cannot possibly return . Instead of stealing cars , he lets someone else do it and then waits for the car-owner to place an ad (启事) in the newspaper asking for help .

The theory is supported by the fact that , so far , none of the stolen cars have been returned . Also, the amount of money demanded-under 3,000 Taiwanese dollars –seems too little for a car worth many times more .

Demands for pigeon-delivered money stopped as soon as the press reported the story. And even if they start again, Chen holds little hope of catching the criminal . “We have more important things to do, ” he said .

1．After the car owner received a phone call. He          

A．went to a certain pigeon and put some money in the bag it carried

B．gave the money to the thief and had his car back in a park

C．sent some money to the thief by mail

D．told the press about it

2．The “lazier and more inventive” criminal refers to          .

A．the car thief who stays at home     

B．one of those who put the ads in the paper

C．one of the policemen in Changwa  

D．the owner of the pigeons

3．The writer mentions the fact that “none of the stolen cars have been returned” to show       .

A．how easily people get fooled by criminals

B．what Chen thinks might be correct

C．the thief is extremely clever

D．the money paid is too little

4．The underlined word “they” in the last paragraph refers to          .

A．criminals            B．pigeons

C．the stolen cars    D．demands for money

5．We may infer from the text that the criminal knows how to reach the car owners because     .

A．he reads the ads in the newspaper  

B．he lives in the same neighborhood

C．he has seen the car owners in the park 

D．he has trained the pigeons to follow them

I began working in journalism(新闻工作) when I was eight. It was my mother’s idea. She wanted me to “make something” of myself, and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition.
    With my load of magazines I headed toward Belleville Avenue. The crowds were there. There were two gas stations on the corner of Belleville and Union. For several hours I made myself highly visible, making sure everyone could see me and the heavy black letters on the bag that said THE SATURDAY EVENING POST. When it was supper time, I walked back home.
“How many did you sell, my boy?” my mother asked.
“None.”
“Where did you go?”
“The corner of Belleville and Union Avenues.”
“What did you do?”
“Stood on the corner waiting for somebody to buy a Saturday Evening Post.”
“You just stood there?”
“Didn’t sell a single one.”
“My God, Russell!”
    Uncle Allen put in, “Well, I’ve decided to take the Post.” I handed him a copy and he paid me a nickel(五分镍币). It was the first nickel I earned.
    Afterwards my mother taught me how to be a salesman. I would have to ring doorbells, address adults with self-confidence, and persuade them by saying that no one, no matter how poor, could afford to be without the Saturday Evening Post in the home.
    One day, I told my mother I’d changed my mind. I didn’t want to make a success in the magazine business.“If you think you can change your mind like this,” she replied, “you’ll become a good-for-nothing.” She insisted that, as soon as school was over, I should start ringing doorbells, selling magazines. Whenever I said no, she would scold me.
   My mother and I had fought this battle almost as long as I could remember. My mother, dissatisfied with my father’s plain workman’s life, determined that I would not grow up like him and his people. But never did she expect that, forty years later, such a successful journalist as me would go back to her husband’s people for true life and love.
56、 Why did the boy start his job young?

A．He wanted to be famous in the future.   B．The job was quite easy for him.

C．His mother had high hopes for him.     D．The competition for the job was fierce

57、From the dialogue between the boy and his mother, we learn that the mother was _______.

A．excited

B．interested  C．ashamed  D．disappointed

 58、What did the mother do when the boy wanted to give up?

A．She forced him to continue.   B．She punished him.

C．She gave him some money.   D．She changed her plan.

59、 What does the underlined phrase “this battle” refer to?

A．The war between the boy’s parents.

B．The arguing between the boy and his mother.

C．The quarrel between the boy and his customers.

D．The fight between the boy and his father.

60、 What is the text mainly about?

A．The early life of a journalist.

B．The early success of a journalist.

C．The happy childhood of the writer.

D．The important role of the writer in his family.

(2007年普通高等学校夏季招生考试英语（浙江卷）)E

I began working in journalism(新闻工作)when I was eight. It was my mother’s idea. She wanted me to “make something” of myself, and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition.

With my load of magazines I headed toward Belleville Avenue. The crowds were there. There were two gas stations on the corner of Belleville and Union. For several hours I made myself highly visible, making sure everyone could see me and the heavy black letters on the bag that said THE SATURDAY EVENING POST. When it was suppertime, I walked back home.

“ How many did you sell, my boy?” my mother asked.

“ None.”

“ Where did you go?”

“ The corner of Belleville and Union Avenues.”

“ What did you do?”

“ Stood on the corner waiting for somebody to buy a Saturday Evening Post.”

“ You just stood there?”

“ Didn’t sell a single one.”

“ My God, Russell!”

Uncle Allen put in, “ Well, I’ve decided to take the Post.” I handed him a copy and he paid me a nickle(五分镍币). It was the first nickle I earned.

Afterwards my mother taught me how to be a salesman. I would have to ring doorbells, address adults with self-confidence(自信), and persuade them by saying that no one, no matter how poor, could afford to be without the Saturday Evening Post in the home.

One day, I told my mother I’d changed my mind. I didn’t want to make a success in the magazine business.

“ If you think you can change your mind like this,” she replied, “ you’ll become a good-for-nothing.” She insisted that, as soon as school was over, I should start ringing doorbells, selling magazines. Whenever I said no, she would scold me.

My mother and I had fought this battle almost as long as I could remember. My mother, dissatisfied with my father’s plain workman’s life, determined that I would not grow up like him and his people. But never did she expect that, forty years later, such a successful journalist as me would go back to her husband’s people for true life and love.

56. Why did the boy start his job young?           

 A. He wanted to be famous in the future.                 B. The job was quite easy for him.

 C. His mother had high hopes for him.                    D. The competition for the job was fierce.

57. From the dialogue between the boy and his mother, we learn that the mother was _______.

 A. excited          B. interested                       C. ashamed   D. disappointed

58. What did the mother do when the boy wanted to give up?

 A. She forced him to continue.                      B. She punished him.

 C. She gave him some money.                       D. She changed her plan.

59. What does the underlined phrase “this battle”(last paragraph) refer to?

 A. The war between the boy’s parents.                    

 B. The arguing between the boy and his mother.

 C. The quarrel between the boy and his customers.

 D. The fight between the boy and his father.

60. What is the text mainly about?

 A. The early life of a journalist.                       B. The early success of a journalist.

 C. The happy childhood of the writer.        D. The important role of the writer in his family.

Motherhood may make women smarter and may help prevent dementia(痴呆) in old age by bathing the brain in protective hormones(荷尔蒙) , U.S. reseachers reported on Thursday.

Tests on rats show that those who raise two or more litters of pups do considerably better in tests of memory and skills than rats who have no babies, and their brains show changes that suggest they may be protected against diseases such as Alzheimer’s(早老痴呆症). University of Richmond psychology professor Craig Kinsley believes his findings will translate into humans.

“Our research shows that the hormones of pregnancy(怀孕) are protecting the brain, including estrogen(雌激素), which we know has many neuroprotective (保护神经的) effects,” Kinsley said.  

“It’s rat data but humans are mammals just like these animals are mammals,” he added in a telephone interview. “They go through pregnancy and hormonal changes.”

Kinsley said he hoped public health officials and researchers will look to see if having had children protects a woman from Alzheimer’s and other forms of age-related brain decline.

“When people think about pregnancy, they think about what happens to babies and the mother from the neck down,” said Kinsley, who presented his findings to the annual meeting of the Society of Neuroscience in Orlando, Florida.

“They do not realize that hormones are washing on the brain. If you look at female animals who have never gone through pregnancy, they act differently toward young. But if she goes through pregnancy, she will sacrifice her life for her infant—that is a great change in her behavior that showed in genetic alterations(改变) to the brain.”

How do scientists know “Motherhood may make women smarter”?

A. Some researchers have told them.

B. Many women say so.

C. They know it by experimenting on rats.

D. They know it through their own experience.

What does the phrase “litters of pups” mean in the second paragraph?

A. Baby rats.         B. Animals.    C. Old rats.            D. Grown-up rats.

What can protect the brain of a woman according to the passage?

A. Estrogen.                            B. The hormones of pregnancy.    

C. More exercise.                     D. Taking care of children.

“It’s rat data but humans are mammals just like these animals are mammals.” What does the sentence suggest?

A. The experiments on the rats have nothing to do with humans.

B. The experiments on the rats are very important for animals.

C. The experiments on the rats are much the same on humans.

D. The experiments on the rats are much the same on other animals.

Which title is the best for this passage?

A. Do You Want to Be Smarter?

B. Motherhood Makes Women Smarter

C. Mysterious Hormones  

D. An Important Study

       You are near the front line of a battle .Around you shells are exploding ;people are shooting from a house behind you .What are you doing there? You aren’t a soldier .You aren’t  36   carrying a gun .You’re standing in front of a    37  and you’re telling the TV   38  what is happening.

       It’s all in a day’s work for a war reporter ,and it can be very    39  .In the first two years of the   40   in former Yugoslavia（前南斯拉夫）,28 reporters and photographers were killed .Hundreds more were    41  .What kind of people put themselves in danger to   42   pictures to our TV screens and   43   to our newspapers? Why do they do it ?

       “I think it’s every young journalist’s   44   to be a foreign reporter,” says Michael Nicholson, “that’s   45   you find the excitement .So when the first opportunity comes ,you take it    46  it is a war.”

       But there are moments of   47   . Jeremy Bowen says, “Yes ,when you’re lying on the ground and bullets （子弹）are flying  48   your ears ,you think: ‘What am I doing here? I’m not going to do this again.’ But that feeling   49   after a while and when the next war starts , you’ll be

  50   .”

       “None of us believes that we’re going to   51   ,” adds Michael .But he always  52   a lucky charm（护身符）with him .It was given to him by his wife for his first war .It’s a card which says “Take care of yourself.” Does he ever think about dying? “Oh,   53  ,and every time it happens you look to the sky and say to God, ‘If you get me out of this ,I   54   I’ll never do it again.’ You can almost hear God   55   ,because you know he doesn’t believe you .”

36．A．simply	B．really	C．merely	D．even
37．A．crowd	B．house	C．battlefield	D．camera
38．A．producers	B．viewers	C．directors	D．actors
39．A．dangerous	B．exciting	C．normal	D．disappointing
40．A．stay	B．fight	C．war	D．life
41．A．injured	B．buried	C．defeated	D．saved
42．A．bring	B．show	C．take	D．make
43．A．scenes	B．passages	C．stories	D．contents
44．A．belief	B．dream	C．duty	D．faith
45．A．why	B．what	C．how	D．where
46．A．even so	B．ever since	C．as if	D．even if
47．A．fear	B．surprise	C．shame	D．sadness
48．A．into	B．around	C．past	D．through
49．A．returns	B．goes	C．continues	D．occurs
50．A．there	B．away	C．out	D．home
51．A．leave	B．escape	C．die	D．remain
52．A．hangs	B．wears	C．holds	D．carries
53．A．never	B．many times	C．some time	D．seldom
54．A．consider	B．accept	C．promise	D．guess
55．A．whispering	B．laughing	C．screaming	D．crying