1. Passage EighteenAn idea that started in Seattle’s public library has spread throughout America and beyond.The concept is simple: help to build a sense of community in a city by getting everyone to read the same book at the same time.In addition to encouraging reading as a pursuit (追求)to be enjoyed by all， the program allows strangers to communicate by discussing the book on the bus， as well as promoting reading as an experience to be shared in families and schools.The idea came from Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl who launched the “If All of Seattle Read the Same Book” project in 1998.Her original program used author visits， study guides and book discussion groups to bring people together with a book， but the idea has expanded to many other American cities， and even to Hong Kong.In Chicago， the mayor appeared on television to announce the choice of To Kill a Mockingbird as the first book in the “One Book， One Chicago” program.As a result， reading clubs and neighborhood groups sprang up around the city.Across the US， stories emerged of parents and children reading to each other at night and strangers chatting away on the bus about the plot and character.The only problem arose in New York， where local readers could not decide on one book to represent the huge and diverse population.This may show that the idea works best in medium-sized cities or large towns， where a greater sense of unity can be achieved.Or it may show that New Yorkers rather missed the point， putting all their energy and passion into the choice of the book rather than into discussion about a book itself.Ultimately， as Nancy points out， the level of success is not measured by how many people read a book， but by how many people are enriched by the process， or have enjoyed speaking to someone with whom they would not otherwise have (shared a word).What is the purpose of the project launched by Nancy?

38. Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage.Most of us in the entrepreneurial community are blessed — or cursed — with higher-than-average ambition.Ambitious people strongly desire accomplishments and are willing to take more risks and spend more effort to get them.Overall， this is a positive quality， especially for people trying to build their own businesses.Apparently， if you’re more naturally driven to set goals， you are more likely to succeed.Actually， this isn’t always the case.In fact， in some cases， extreme ambition may end up doing more harm than good.One major side effect of excessive ambition is the tendency to focus too determinedly on one particular vision or end goal.This is problematic because it hinders your ability to adapt to new circumstances， which is vital if you want to be a successful entrepreneur.If a new competitor emerges to threaten your business， you may need to change direction， even if that means straying from your original vision.If you have too much ambition， you’ll find this hard， if not impossible.Few people are successful when they try to build their first brand.Unfortunately， for the most ambitious entrepreneurs， a failure is seen as disastrous， and impossible to recover from.It’s a clear departure from the intended plan toward the intended goal.For people with limited ambition， however， failure is viewed as something closer to reality.Remember， failure is inevitable， and every failure you survive is a learning experience.Ambitious people tend to be more materialistically successful than their non-ambitious counterparts.However， they’re only slightly happier than their less-ambitious counterparts， and tend to live significantly shorter lives.This implies that even though ambitious people are more likely to achieve conventional “success，” such success means nothing for their health and happiness—and if you don’t have health and happiness， what else could possibly matter?Clearly， some amount of ambition is good for your motivation.Without any ambition， you wouldn＇t start your own business， set or achieve goals and get far in life.But an excess of ambition can also be dangerous， putting you at risk of burnout， stubbornness and even a shorter life.What does the author say is of extreme importance for one to become a successful entrepreneur?

A. 　Holding on to one’s original vision.

B. 　Being able to adapt to new situations.

C. 　Focusing determinedly on one particular goal.

D. 　Avoiding radical change in one＇s career direction.

42.After the guests left， she spent half an hour ()the sitting-room.

A. 　ordering

B. 　tidying up

C. 　arranging

D. 　clearing away

44.He reads newspapers every day to keep himself ()about what’s going on in the world.

A. 　inform

B. 　informing

C. 　informed

D. 　being informed

35.Sam used to ()late with his roommates and play computer games.

A. 　stay in

B. 　stay up

C. 　stay on

D. 　stay away

3. Passage NineteenA 3-year-old boy who was lost in the woods for two days is now safe at home.But Casey Hathaway told his rescuers that he was not alone in the rainy， freezing cold woods.He said he was with a friend——a bear.The child went missing on January 22 while playing with friends at his grandmother’s house in the southern state of North Carolina.When the other children returned to the house and Casey did not， the family searched the area for almost an hour before calling the police.Police formed a search and rescue team to look for the young boy in the nearby woods.But two days went by and still——no Casey.The woods of North Carolina are home to many black bears， like this one.It seems one of them helped a little boy while he was lost in the woods.Then on January 24， someone called the police saying they heard a child crying in the woods.Police followed up on the information and found Casey at about 9:30 that night.They pulled him out of some briar (荆棘).He was in good health.Police Officer Chip Hughes said that Casey did not say how he was able to survive in the woods for two days in the cloud， rainy weather， but that “he did say he had a friend in the woods that was a bear that was with him.”Hundreds of people helped in the search and rescue efforts， including some 600 volunteers， federal police and members of the military.Hughes told reporters that at no point did he think Casey had been kidnapped (绑架).Doctors at Carolina East Medical Center treated Casey for minor injuries.He was then released to his family on January 25.After receiving the call， the police ().

3. Passage Thirty-OneAdam Smith was the first person to see the importance of the division of labor.He gave us an example of the process by which pins were made in England.“One man draws out the wire， another strengthens it， a third cuts it， a fourth points it， and a fifth gives it a head.Just to make the head requires two or three different operations.The work of making pins is divided into about eighteen different operations， which in some factories are all performed by different people， though in others the same man will sometimes perform two or three of them.”Ten men， Smith said， in this way， turned out twelve pounds of pins a day or about 4，800 pins a worker.But if all of them had worked separately and independently without division of labor， they certainly could not have made twenty pins in a day and not even one.There can be no doubt that division of labor is an efficient way of organizing work.Fewer people can make more pins.Adam Smith saw this， but he also took it for granted that division of labor is itself responsible for economic growth and development and it accounts for the difference between expanding economies and those that stand still.But division of labor adds nothing new， it only enables people to produce more of what they already have.Adam Smith mentioned the number 4，800 in order to ().

2. Passage Twenty-FiveOnline dating has just been revealed to be one of the most common ways to start a relationship.But new research reveals that the concept is still highly flawed (有缺陷的).An analysis of 400 studies into online dating shows that while it offers access to plenty of other singles， users can be overwhelmed and put off by the volume of choice， defeating the purpose.The research， by Northwestern University and published in the journal Psychological Science in the public interest， found that the processes involved don’t lend themselves to forming strong relationships.The findings also indicated that the concept of an online profile (介绍)is not entirely useful and “can result in treating potential partners as mere objects”.Lead author Eli.J.Finkel explained， “Online dating is a terrific addition for singles to meet.However， there are two problems.” First， studying over seemingly endless lists of profiles of people one does not know， as on Match.com， does not reveal much about them.Second， it “overloads people and they end up shutting down，” he said.He compared it to shopping at “supermarkets of love” and said psychological research shows people presented with too many choices tend to make lazy and often poor decisions.The study’s authors also questioned the algorithms (算法)employed by sites such as eHarmony.com to match people based on their interests or personality—comparing it to having a real estate agent of love.While the algorithm may reduce the number of potential partners from thousands to a few， they may be as unsuitable for each other as two people meeting at random， Dr.Finkel explained， adding the chances are no better than finding a relationship by walking into any bar.“There’s no better way to figure out whether you’re a match with somebody than talking to them over a coffee or beer，” Dr.Finkel said.According to Paragraph 2， online dating ().

4. Passage SeventeenNo one knows how man learned to make words.Perhaps he began by making sounds like those made by animals.Perhaps he grunted like a pig when he lifted something heavy.Perhaps he made sounds like those he heard all round him——water splashing， bees humming， a stone falling to the ground.Somehow， he learned to make words.As the centuries went by， he made more and more new words.This is what we mean by language.People living in different countries made different kinds of words.Today there are about fifteen hundred different languages in the world.Each contains many thousands of words.A very large English dictionary， for example， contains four or five hundred thousand words.But we do not need all these.Only a few thousand words are used in everyday life.The words you know are called your vocabulary.You should try to make your vocabulary bigger.You’re supposed to read as many books as you can.There are plenty of books written in easy English for you to read.You will enjoy them.When you meet a new word， you should find it in your dictionary.Your dictionary is your most useful book.Man ()to make sounds.

13.I don＇t mind ()the decision as long as it is not too late.

A. 　you to delay making

B. 　your delaying making

C. 　your delaying to make

D. 　you delay to make

2. Passage Twenty-EightOn November 19， 1863， Abraham Lincoln went to Gettysburg in Pennsylvania to speak at the National Soldiers Cemetery.The Civil War was still going on.There was much criticism of President Lincoln at the time.He was not at all popular.He had been invited to speak at Gettysburg only out of politeness.The principal speaker was to be Edward Everett， a famous statesman and speaker of the day.Everett was a handsome man and very popular everywhere.It is said that Lincoln prepared his speech on the train while going to Gettysburg.Late that night， alone in his hotel room and tired out， he again worked briefly on the speech.The next day Everett spoke first.He spoke for an hour and 57 minutes.His speech was a perfect example of the rich oratory of the day.Then Lincoln rose.The crowd of 15，000 people at first paid little attention to him.He spoke for only nine minutes.At the end there was little applause.Lincoln turned to a friend and remarked， “I have failed again.” On the train back to Washington， he said sadly， “That speech was a flat failure， and the people are disappointed”.Some newspapers at first criticized the speech， but little by little as people read the speech， they began to understand better.They began to appreciate its simplicity and its deep meaning.It was a speech which only Abraham Lincoln could have made.Today， every American school child learns Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address by heart.Now everyone thinks of it as one of the greatest speeches ever given in American history.Lincoln was invited to speak at the National Soldiers Cemetery because he was ().