26、In Xinjiang，most people knew the stories of Avantis（阿凡提）．Avantis was a very clever man．People liked him because he not only spoke for the poor but also was always ready to help them．

One day Avantis saw two men arguing with each other．A lot of people stood around them．One of the two men was the owner of the eating house in the town and the other was a young man．The young man just passed by the eating house．The owner of the eating house told the young man to pay him money．The young man explained（解释）that he hadn't taken anything from the eating house．But the owner said that the young man had taken the smell of the nice food from the eating house，and he must pay for it．So Avantis went up to the owner anti said，“I'll pay you the money．” Avantis took out some coins from his pocket and put them into his own bag．He shook（摇动）his bag，and people heard the sound of the coins．Then Avantis said to the owner，“I have paid you the money．”

1．People liked Avantis because          ．

A．he was clever and disliked helping the poor

B．he was rich and liked helping the poor

C．he was clever and liked to help the poor

2．One day Avantis saw two men          ．

A．arguing about the eating house

B．arguing about the payment

C．laughing at the people around them

3．The owner of the eating house told the young man          ．

A．to pay the enough money for his food

B．to pay the money for broken bowls

C．to pay for the smell of the food

4．Avantis wanted to help the young man，so          ．

A．he helped the young man out of the trouble

B．he would pay the money instead of the young man

C．he asked the young man to make friends with the owner

5．Avantis paid the owner of the eating house           ．

A．enough money                       B．some coins

C．the sound of the coins

25、John lived with his mother when he was young．He didn't know who his father was．The woman did some washing for the rich and could buy only some bread for her son．So the boy was short and thin．

One cold morning there was much snow in the streets．A car knocked the woman down and the policemen took her to the hospital．She didn't tell John that his father deserted her before he was born until she died．She left her son the name and address of his father．

John found his father，Mr. Brown，in another city．He was one of the richest shopkeepers and he had to receive his son．From then on，the boy lived a rich life．He ate all kinds of delicious food and wore beautiful clothes．But he didn't go to school and could not read or write．

Once his father took him to a party．He saw a newspaper lying on the floor and picked it up while others were talking about a film．He had a look at it and found a car's wheels（轮子）were up-ward（朝上）．He called out，“Oh，dear! An accident happened!”

All the people were surprised and began to read the newspaper．But soon they all began to laugh．Do you know why?

1．John was short and thin because         ．

A．he didn't like sports                B．his parents were short

C．he was often hungry when he was young

2．John's mother told him who his father was         ．

A．until she was knocked down by a car

B．before she was in hospital       C．before she died

3．After John found his father，        ．

A．he was angry with the man     B．he started a rich life

C．he found a job at a party

4．The word “desert” in this passage means         ．

A．抛弃                                 B．告别                                  C．离婚

5．People at the party laughed at John because         ．

A．he held the paper upside down

B．the accident happened long ago

C．his father was reading the paper

22、

PARIS，France—As a child，Alain Robert was afraid of heights．One day，when he was 12，he returned home from school．At the front door of his building，he looked for his keys．He didn't have them．It was 3：30 p.m. and his parents worked until 6：00 p．m．Alain looked at his apartment（公寓）on the eighth floor．He saw an open window．He closed his eyes and imagined himself climbing the building．When he opened his eyes，he told himself．“I can do it．” Fifteen minutes later，he was in his house and his fear of heights was gone．

Today，Alain still climbs buildings．In 2003，he climbed a building in London dressed as Spiderman（蜘蛛侠）to advertise the movie．In 2004，he climbed Taipei 101（one of the tallest buildings in the world）．To reach the top of a building，Alain uses only his hands and special shoes．

Alain climbs as a hobby．He also does it to make money for charity（for children and the homeless）．When he climbs，he wants to send a message to people．If you have a dream—something you really want to do—it can become real．But you must be brave and keep trying．If something bad happens，don’t give up．Close your eyes and tell yourself，“I can do it．”

1．Alain Robert first climbed the tall building                    ．

A．in 2003                   B．in 2004                   C．at 6：00 p．m．     D．at the age of 12

2．Alain Robert climbed the tall building in London to                ．

A．advertise the movie Spiderman                     B．make the movie Spiderman

C．enter his apartment                                     D．make money for British children

3．Main Robert climbs buildings          ．

A．for fun and exercise                                  B．for charity and his health

C．for fun and charity                                     D．for exercise and his job

4．The best title for this passage would be         ．

A．An Exciting Sport                                    B．Alain Robert’s Hobby

C．A Man for Charity                                      D．A Real Life Superman

21、

Are Sports Important?

Sports are all around us．We watch and read sports news．There are also sports clubs，and even sports—only channels（频道）on TV．In many countries，players make millions of dollars every year．

But why are sports so important? They're only games，right?

Our readers answer：

Vlad（Ukraine乌克兰）

Sports bring people together．In 2006，our team was able to play in the 2006 World Cup for the first time．Everyone was happy．Rich and poor，old and young，men and women—everyone was in the streets together!

Mike（USA）

Sports bring people together，but they divide them，too．Fans of different teams fight all the time—they shout and hit each other．And here's another example：My brother plays high school baseball．Last week，his team played an important game．At the game，two parents fought about a call．Come on… baseball is only a game! Sports are so competitive（有竞争力的）these days．It's all about winning．Then the game isn't fun．

Oba（South Africa）

Right now，some of the world's best soccer players are from African countries，and the 2010 World Cup games will be in South Africa．Yes，some players make a lot of money—may be too much．But sporting events（like the World Cup）bring tourists and money to countries and people．And that is good for Africa．

1．What does Mike think of a game when players and fans only think about winning?

A．It's important．                                        B．It's exciting．

C．It's not fun．                                             D．It's not necessary．

2．Why are sports important for Oba?

A．Because sports are competitive these days．

B．Because sports can make money for a country．

C．Because sports can make players rich every year．

D．Because sports can make people happy．

3．What does the underlined word “call” mean?

A．Decision．           B．Telephone．            C．Suggestion．          D．Seat．

4．What is the main idea of this passage?

A．Sports are popular all over the world．

B．Sports divide people from different countries．

C．People have different opinions about sports．

D．Sports bring tourists and money to Africa．

20、

Scientists have discovered the world's funniest joke! Dr. Wiseman，from Oxford University in Britain，created a website with jokes on it．He then asked people to rate（定级）the jokes from 1（“not very funny”）to 5（“very funny”）．People could also tell their own jokes．At the end of one year，Wiseman had two million ratings and 40,000 jokes from around the world．

Why study jokes? Dr. Wiseman thinks humor can tell us a lot about people．In Wiseman’s experiment（实验），people from different countries did think different jokes were funny．For example，Europeans rated jokes about serious topic like death “very funny”．North Americans laughed most at jokes that made fun of people．So，what was the world’s funniest joke?

Two men are hunting（打猎）．Suddenly，one man falls down and isn't moving．The other man calls for help on his mobile phone．“Help!” the man says，“I think my friend is dead!” “I can help you，” says the woman on the phone．” “First，are you sure your friend is dead?” It's quiet for a minute．Then the woman hears a gunshot（枪声）．The man returns to the phone．“Yes，he’s dead．Now what?”

In Dr. Wiseman's experiment，people from a number of countries，old and young，men and women，all thought this joke was very funny．What about you?

1．How did Dr. Wiseman find the funniest joke in the world?

A．He asked different scientists for their ideas．

B．He asked people to rate jokes on the website．

C．He asked his students about their favorite jokes．

D．He searched the Internet and chose it by himself．

2．What kinds of jokes made Europeans laugh most?

A．Jokes about hunting．                              B．Jokes about people．

C．Jokes about telephoning．                           D．Jokes about death．

3．Which of the following can best describe the man calling for help in the joke?

A．He is foolish．                                         B．He is confident．

C．He is clever．                                            D．He is dishonest．

4．What can we learn from the passage?

A．The woman told the man to kill his friend．

B．Dr．Wiseman wasn't interested in Asian jokes．

C．All the people in the world liked jokes about death．

D．Dr．Wiseman studied jokes to know about people．

19、WHAT’S ON IN SHANGHAI

This March is a busy month in Shanghai．There is lots to do．Here are the exciting activities．

Live Music—Late Night Jazz（爵士乐）

Enjoy real American jazz from John Davis，the famous guitar player．This is his third visit to Shanghai．The first two were sold out，so get your tickets quickly．

Scottish（苏格兰的）Dancing

Take your friends and get ready to dance till you get tired．Scottish dancing is fun and easy to learn．Teachers there will teach you to dance．

Exhibitions—Shanghai Museum

There are 120,000 pieces on show here．You can see the whole of Chinese history．It's always interesting to visit．

1．If you want to watch John's performance，you can call at                  to book a ticket．

A．6466-1877              B．6888-6888              C．6402-1877             D．6466-8736

2．Bob and his friend want to go Scottish dancing．They should prepare         for the tickets．

A．￥180                     B．￥120                  C．￥90                      D．￥60

3．At 2 p．m．on Monday，you can                      ．

A．enjoy real American jazz                              B．take your friend to do Scottish dancing

C．go to visit Shanghai Museum                       D．see the whole of the world history

18、These days，a new kind of restaurant is becoming popular．People who go there can not only enjoy their meals，they can also enjoy playing computer games and have fun with their family and friends on the Internet．uWink is the restaurant's name．It is in Los Angeles，and it's about fun and food．

In uWink，there are no waiters or waitresses around you．The screens have replaced（取代）them．You can order the food you want by touching the screen in front of you and runners will bring it to the tables．You can also play video games with the people at the next table．The screens can show music videos，movies and so on．But mainly they are used to show video games．

It's an interactive（互动的）restaurant where you will control your meal and your time．The service is fast and the runners know clearly where to go．There will be no waiting for a waiter，and no misunderstandings（误解）in the kitchen．Different kinds of foods are served at any time of day．uWink is a place which hosts “room games”，where every table in the restaurant can have a video game competition at the same time．

The owner of the restaurant hopes that uWink can make it easy for people to be interactive，have fun and enjoy a delicious meal．

1．Where is the restaurant—uWink?

2．How can you order the food in uWink?

3．When is the food served in uWink?

4．Why is the service fast in uWink?

5．What do you like doing best in uWink? Why?