New Year ______ on the 1st of January. （observe)

I bought a new house last year, but I_________ my old house yet, so at the moment I have two houses.

A． didn't sell

B． have not sold

C． had not sold

D． don't sell

A. Without question.

B. You must be jokin

C. Good idea!

D. Are you sure？

一You needn't do the work till after the New Year.

一__________

A. No，you needn't.

B. Oh, good!Thank you.

C. Happy New Year to you.

D. I like the work.

the same way. The countries in North America and Europe we]come New Year on January the first. This practice began with the Romans in the Middle East, New Year is when spring begins. People in China and Vietnam celebrate it on the first day of the Spring Festival, which is the first day of their calendar based on the moon. Rosh Hashana, which is the Jewish (犹太人的)New Year, comes at the end of summer. The Hindus (印度教教徒) in India celebrate the first day of each season, so they have four New Years.

In all these cultures, there is a practice of making noise. People made noise in ancient times to drive away the evil spirits (妖精) from their homes. Today making noise is more of a custom than a religious ritual(宗教仪式).

In the United States, many people stay up until midnight on New Year's Eve to watch the clock pass from one year to the next. Friends often gather together at a party on New Year's Eve, and when the new year comes, all ring bells, blow whistles, sing songs, and kiss each other. A favorite Scottish song which everyone sings together is Auld Lang Syne. The words tell of old friends and good times.

In all cultures, New Year's Day is a time when people think of new beginnings. They want to make the coming year better than the last one.. Many people in the United States make New Year resolutions. These are specific promises that they make to improve their behavior, change their habits, and become better people. There are many jokes about how a person keeps his or her New Year resolutions.

Is it true, according to the passage, that people all over the world celebrate New Year on January 1st？

A．Yes.

B．No, only the Europeans and North Americans do so.

C．It isn't mentioned.

D．No, only the Romans did so.

and for two weeks, they are full of people looking for bargains. My husband and I do not normally go to the sales as we don't like crowds and in any case we are short of money as we have to buy lots of Christmas presents.

Last year, however, I took my husband with me to the sales at the large shop in the center of London. We both needed some new clothes and were hoping to find a television set. When we got to Oxford Street, it was so crowded that we decided to split up and meet again at the underground station. So I left my husband and started looking around the shops. Unfortunately all the clothes were in very large sizes and so they were not suitable for me. But I did buy a television at a very cheap price, so I felt quite pleased with myself.

When I arrived at the station, my husband was not there. So I sat down in a nearby cafe to have a cup of tea. I quickly finished my tea when I saw my husband and went out to meet him. He looked very happy. Then I saw he was carrying a large and heavy cardboard box. "Oh, dear!" I thought. Yes, we had no new clothes but two televisions. We shall not be going to the sales again.

In January

A．lots of people go shopping for discount

B．people have a lot of money to spend after Christmas

C．all the shops close for a two-week Christmas holiday

D．people don't have enough money to go looking for bargains

and for two weeks, they are full of people looking for bargains. My husband and I do not normally go to the sales as we don't like crowds and in any case are short of money as we have to buy lots of Christmas presents.

Last year, however, I took my husband with me to the sales at the large shop in the center of London, We both needed some new clothes and were hoping to find a television set. When we got to Oxford Street, it was so crowded that we decided to split up and meet again at the underground station, so I left my husband and started looking around the shops. Unfortunately all the clothes were in very large sizes and so were not suitable for me. But I did buy a television at a very cheap price, so I felt quite pleased with myself.

When I arrived at the station, my husband was not there. So I sat down in a nearby cafe to have a cup of tea. I quickly finished my tea when I saw my husband and went out to meet him. He looked very happy. Then I saw he was carrying a large and heavy cardboard box. "Oh, dear! "I thought. Yes, we had no new clothes but two televisions. We shall not be going to the sales again.

In January ______.

A．lots of people go shopping for discount

B．people have a lot of money to spend after Christmas

C．all the shops close for a two-week Christmas holiday

D．people don't have enough money to go looking for bargains

l, the Anglo-Dutch energy giant that ranks third among the top five Western oil companies. But Wall Street isn't celebrating. Instead, analysts are worried that buried beneath the record profit figures are worrying signs of a business in decline.

That's because Shell hasn't been able to find nearly as much oil and gas as it's now pumping out of the ground. In fact, it hasn't even come close—replacing only 60% to 70% of what it produced in 2005 and only 19% in 2004. Shell has had reserve problems for years—a controversy over improperly booked assets forced it to reduce estimated reserves by roughly 30% and led to the resignation of its CEO, Phil Watts, in 2004. But what's troubling now is that Shell is falling way behind rivals like Exxon and BP despite spending billions more each year on exploring and drilling new wells. Last year Exxon replaced 112% of production; BP came up with 95%. "I have never seen anything like this," says Fadel Gheit, a veteran energy analyst with Oppenheimer & Co. "Shell used to represent the gold standard in this industry, but lately they can't get their act together."

To be sure, Shell still has huge assets—nearly 12 billion barrels. But in the oil and gas industry, reserve replacement is the best guide to whether a company will be able to maintain-or grow-production in the future. So not replacing what you pump, says longtime industry observer Matthew Simmons, "is like eating your seed corn. If you're not finding new oil, you're just liquidating what you've got." Indeed, Shell's daily production figures have been weak lately, falling 6.7 % in 2005, to 3.52 million barrels a day.

Privately, Shell execs say the company's decision to cut spending for exploration when oil prices bottomed out in the late 1990s is partly to blame for the anemic numbers now. Shell CEO Jeroen Vander Veer insists that projects like those on Sakhalin Island off Siberia and in Nigeria and the Gulf of Mexico will enable the company to start catching up with peers in the years ahead. It won't be easy. "If you're not adding to reserves, you have a problem," says Sanford Bernstein analyst Oswald Clint. "Shell will have to run twice as hard just to stay in place."

According to the passage, the decline of Shell

A．is a hidden process.

B．is caused by the profit last year.

C．is the estimation of Wall Street.

D．is the fault of the CEO.

ew Year to his family.Then he ran into the street to repeat that to those he might meet.

When he came back, his father gave him two bright, new silver dollars .

His face lighted up as he took them.He had wished for a long time to buy some petty books that he had seen at the bookstore.

He left the house with a light heart, expecting to buy the books.As he ran down the street, he saw a poor family.

“I wish you a happy New Year.” said Edward, as he was happily passing on.The man shook his head.

“You are not from this country？ ” said Edward.The man again shook his head, for he could not understand or speak his language.But he pointed to his mouth, and to the children shaking with cold, as if (好像)to say, “These little ones have had nothing to eat for a long time”

Edward quickly understood that these poor people were in trouble.He took out his dollars, and gave one to the man and the other to his wife.

They were excited and said something in their language, which doubtless meant, “We thank you so much that we will remember you all the time.”

When Edward came home, his father asked what books he had bought.He hung his head a moment, but quickly looked up.

“I have bought no books,” said he, “I gave my money to some poor people, who seemed to be very hungry then.” He went on, “I think I can wait for my books till next New Year.”

“My dear boy,” said his father, “Here are some books, more as a reward for your goodness of heart than as a New-Year gift”.

“I saw you give the money cheerfully to the poor German family.It was nice for a little boy to do so.Be always ready to help others and every year of your life will be to you a Happy New Year.”

1.Edward expected to ________ with the money he got from his father.

A.help the poor family

B.buy something to eat

C.buy some pretty books

2.Why did the poor man shake his head when Edward spoke to him？()

A.He couldn’t understand the boy

B.He wouldn’t accept the money

C.He didn’t like the boy’s language

3.How much did Edward give the poor family？()

A.One dolla

B.Two dollars

C.Three dollars

4.We know that Edward ________.

A.got a prize for his kind heart

B.got more money from his father

C.bought the books at the bookstore

25.What is the best title for the passage？()

A.New Year's Gift

B.Story of Buying Books

C.Father's Words

ing at work. "I could move mountains if I put my mind to it."he says of those days. But that summer Haughom found he couldn't move them any more. On the phone with his wife one morn ing, Haughom broke down. A couple of days later Haughom checked himself in for a three-week stay at the Professional Renewal Center, an in-patient clinic 30 miles outside Kansas City that helps him deal with stress.

Haughom is far from alone. A host of new studies and plenty of anecdotal evidence show that stress in the workplace is skyrocketing. Whatever the cause, stress levels are at record highs. The statistics are startling. According to a new study by the federal government's Nation al Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, more than half the working people in the U.S. view job stress as a major problem in their lives. This year the European Community officially dubbed stress the second-biggest occupational-health problem facing the continent.

Ten years ago experts warned that stress was out of control, in part because of a shaky economy. What's notable about today's wave of stressed-out workers is that it rises all the way to the top. Lack of control is generally considered one of the biggest job stressors, so it used to be thought that middle managers carried the brunt: sandwiched between the top and the bottom, they end up with little authority. Powerful chief executive officers (CEOs) were seen as the least threatened by stress. But in today's tough economy, top executives don't have as much control as they used to. "Stress is just part of the job, fortunately or unfortunately, stress'is part of our character building," Lebenthal says. "But I think I don't need any more character building. What I need is a vacation."

But if you think that going on vacation is hard—and studies show that 85%of corporate executives don't use all the time off they're entitled to. Being able to handle stress is perhaps the most basic of job expectations. So among the corporate elite, succumbing to it is considered a shameful weakness. Stress has become the last affliction that people won't dare admit to. Most senior executives who are undergoing treatment for stress—and even many who aren't—refused to talk on the record about the topic．"Nothing good can come out of having your name in a story like this," one CEO said through his therapist.

What is this passage mainly about？

A．Increasingly serious lack of work places.

B．The second biggest disease in the world.

C．The most serious problem people have to face.

D．Increasingly serious stress faced by working people.