C
Jamie Oliver has been invited by Gordon Brown to prepare a banquet at No. 10 for President Barack Obama and other leaders of the G20, offering a cut-price menu to reflect times when trade and industry are far from prosperous and the rate of employment is decreasing.
Downing Street sources say Oliver, the well-known chef, will cook using “honest high-street products” and avoid expensive or “fancy” ingredients (材料).
The prime minister is trying to avoid a repeat of the embarrassment last year when he sat down to an 18-course banquet at a Japanese summit to discuss world food shortages.
Obama, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and other leaders will be served by apprentices (學徒) from Fifteen, the London restaurant Oliver founded to help train young people in poverty in order to make a living by mastering a skill.
Brown wants the dinner to reflect the emphasis of the London summit, which he hopes will lead to an agreement to lift the world out of recession. “To be invited to cook for such an important group of people, who are trying to solve some of the world’s major problems, is really a privilege,” said Oliver.
“I’m hoping the menu I’m working on will show British food and produce is some of the best in the world, but also show we have pioneered a high-quality apprentice scheme at Fifteen London that is giving young people a skill to be proud of.”
The chef has not yet finalized the menu, but is expected to draw inspiration from his latest book, Jamie’s Ministry of Food, which has budget recipes for beef and ale stew (啤酒燉菜) and “impressive” chocolate fudge cake.
64. The underlined word “recession” in Paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to “_______”.
A. business       B. opposition           C. discussion           D. depression
65. What can we learn about Oliver from the text?
A. He is a well-known American cook.        
B. He is invited to attend the G20 summit.
C. He has founded the Fifteen London.      
D. He is one of the apprentices serving leaders of the G20.
66. Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?
A. Oliver is honored to be invited to cook for the G20 leaders.
B. Altogether three presidents are mentioned in the text.
C. President Barack Obama offers the cut-price menu.
D. The menu for the G20 dinner banquet has been decided.
67. What is the Fifteen London?
A. an apartment in London                                    B. a luxurious restaurant in London
C. a restaurant as well as a training center           D. a famous avenue

Long ago there were two people--- a young father and an old neighbor. One day the young father was visiting the old neighbor. They were standing in the old man’s garden, talking about children. The young man said, “How strict should parents be with their children?”
The old man pointed to a string（繩子）between a big strong tree and a thin young one．“Please untie（解開）that string，” he said．The young man untied it, and the young tree bent over to one side. “Now tie it again，please,” said the old man, “but first pull the string tight so that the young tree is straight again.”
The young man did so．Then the old man said，“There，it is the same with children. You must be strict with them, but sometimes you must untie the string to know how they are getting on．If they are not yet able to stand alone，you must tie the string tight again. But when you find that they are ready to stand alone，you can take the string away.”

1. 1.

   The story is about _________ ．

   1. A.
      how the young father should get on with his old neighbor
   2. B.
      how to tie and untie the string
   3. C.
      how to take care of young trees
   4. D.
      how strict parents should be with their children
2. 2.

   The young man untied the string _________ ．

   1. A.
      only to find that the thinner one bent over to one side
   2. B.
      in order to let the old man teach him
   3. C.
      in order to throw it away
   4. D.
      so that both of the trees would grow straight
3. 3.

   When can the string be taken away？_________ ．

   1. A.
      When the young man has untied it next time
   2. B.
      When the young tree grows strong enough
   3. C.
      When the old man has left
   4. D.
      After you have untied it
4. 4.

   At last the old man told the young man ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿ ．

   1. A.
      that he should be strict with his children if they could not yet stand alone
   2. B.
      that he should be hard on them
   3. C.
      that he should tie his children until they are ready to stand alone
   4. D.
      that he should always be strict with his children

On any weekend throughout the year one can spend hours browsing through neighborhood flea (跳蚤) markets. These are very popular for those who are in search of bargains and who have a keen eye for picking through what others have discarded. They hunt and search for something they can reuse. Americans love secondhand merchandise (商品) which can be bought cheaply and restored to its original use. In many cases the condition and the quality are still good, though the style might be outdated.
For some people searching through flea markets is a hobby which reaps rewards. They look for possible antiques among the items for sale or for old furniture which can be restored with a little care and used again. Many wise collectors often find rare items worth much more than their bargained price. Since prices are usually not fixed, if one is persistent a bargain can easily be struck. The owner may be selling a rare collectable and may not even be aware of its value. One of the great pleasures of shopping at such markets is the chance to bargain with the shop owner and settle for a price which one can afford and is willing to pay.
Perhaps even more enjoyable than flea markets are the weekend outdoor garage sales which have now become very much a part of American culture. These are held usually in the spring and fall when the weather is still good. Usually a homeowner, having decided that he would like to clear his residence of accumulated items which are no longer useful to him, advertises in a local paper that he is holding a garage sale. More than likely the goods on display are in good condition and great buys can be found if one has the time and patience to search carefully. The home owner places items for sale on display along the driveway leading to his garage or on his front lawn and waits for people to look at what he has to sell. Old magazines, books, paintings, bicycles, ice-skates, items of clothing and electrical appliances of every sort appear on a regular basis. If the owner is in a position where he must sell his home or plans to move soon, then he may be forced to practically give things away at a price far below their true worth.
1. What do you usually do before holding a garage sale?
A. Put on an advertisement in a local newspaper.  
B. Display your goods in front of the garage.
C. Find rare items and fix their prices.         
D. Clear your garage and front lawn.
2. The underlined word “discarded” in Paragraph 1 probably means ____.
A. distributed                B. rejected               C. discovered          D. stored
3. When people shop at a flea market, how can they settle on a price?
A. They can bargain on a price acceptable to both. B. They can question their value.
C. They can expect a 50% discount.             D. They can compare with the other sellers.
4. What do we know about the garage sale?
A. It is only held in the spring of the year.
B. The goods on display are totally useless.
C. Garage sales are popular with Americans.  
D. All the goods are selling far below their real value.

C
Taiwan police cannot decide whether to treat it as an extremely clever act of stealing or an even cleverer cheat（詐騙）.Either way, it could be a perfect crime（犯罪）, because the criminals are birds----homing pigeons.
The crime begins with a telephone message to the owner of a stolen car: if you want the car back, pay some money. 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 fact be the work of an even lazier and more inventive criminal mind---- one that avoids（避免） not only collecting 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 in the newspaper asking for help.
The theory is supportd 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.
66.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
67. 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
68.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.
69. The underlined word “they” in the last paragraph refers to ________.
A.criminals       B. pigeons       C. the stolen cars            D.demands for money
70. 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