What’s the most important thing for you to have in your life? Somebody mentions hard-work, others suggest knowledge, love and luck.
If you arrange the 26 English letters alphabetically(按字母表的順序)and use numbers to represent each of them, for example, 1 for a, 2 for b, 3 for c…, you can change an English word into a number. So hard-work becomes 8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11="98," meaning 98 is its mark; knowledge: 11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5="96," while love :12+15+22+5="54," and luck : 12+21+3+11="47," a small mark. None of these words can give one a full mark. What about money or prayer(祈禱)? They can’t, either.
Then what else? Don’t be worried. You can always find an answer to a problem in your life, when you change your way of looking at things or doing things, or your attitude. Yes, attitude is the word. See for yourself: attitude:1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5=100，a full mark.
Different attitudes lead to different courses of life. Most times people hope for a better life. It is possible that one will have a change for the better after one has changed one’s attitude.
When you change your manner and become friendly towards others, you’ll meet more smiling faces towards you. In the same way, if you take a positive attitude towards failure(失敗), you’ll find it’s also rewarding though it has caused you losses.
【小題1】In the writer’s opinion, what is the most important things in a person’s life?

Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa. It is also the second largest lake in the world. It is an important lake because it is one of the sources(源頭) for the longest river in the world, the Nile River. Lake Victoria provides a source of water, food, and power(電力) for several African countries. Lake Victoria is a big part of African life.

Unfortunately, Lake Victoria has a problem. It is shrinking. There are several power stations at Lake Victoria in Uganda. These are on the Nile River, and besides producing power, they keep the water of the lake at a certain level. For the past forty years, that level has been 11.9 meters. Over the last several years, the water level has dropped by about 2.5 meters. There seem to be several reasons for this drop.

One possible reason is drought(干旱). Drought has been very bad in the area since 2000. Lake Victoria gets all of its water from rain, so the drought means less water in the lake.

However, some environmentalists believe that the real problem is the power plants(工廠) on Lake Victoria. Uganda depends on those power plants for most of its power, and they made the power plants larger in 2000. Many people believe the power plants have been taking too much water off Lake Victoria. As a result, they have been asked to use less water until Lake Victoria goes back to its old level.

Whether the low water level is caused by drought or power plants, the result is the same. This is already a poor area of Africa, where many people live a really hard life. People, animals and plants around Lake Victoria will suffer even more from low water levels on the lake. Many people need Lake Victoria for fishing or growing food. Fish need the water to live, and animals need it for water. Plants around the lake will die without the water, and then more animals and people will suffer. Unless the lake fills soon, many people will suffer and die.

1.Lake Victoria is __________.

A．a(chǎn)n important lake in Africa

B．the largest lake in the world

C．the source of water, food and power for America

D．the only source for the Nile River

2.What does “It is shrinking” most probably mean?

A．It is becoming larger.

B．It is becoming more beautiful.

C．It is becoming smaller.

D．It is becoming more useful.

3.The water level of Lake Victoria is now __________.

A．2.5 meters        B．11.9 meters        C．14.4 meters        D．9.4 meters

4.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A. Rain water is the only source for the lake.

B. There has been little rain in the lake area since 2000.

C. The power plants in Uganda provide water for the lake.

D The power plants in Uganda were made larger in 2000.

5.According to the passage, how can we solve the problems around Lake Victoria?

A．People must build more power plants.

B．More sources of water must be found.

C．Every country should offer some money to Africa.

D．All the people living in the area should move to another place.

Alice is a young woman. She likes to exercise for her health. She walks five kilometers before breakfast every morning, and goes swimming twice a week at the swimming pool. She doesn’t smoke and never drinks wine(酒). She doesn’t eat chocolate, and she doesn’t eat sweet and fatty foods.
One day Alice was on her daily walk when she saw a man sitting in a chair. He looked very old and his hair was white. He looked thin and weak, and his hands were shaking(發(fā)抖), but he looked very happy.
He smiled at her and said, “ Good morning! Lovely day, isn’t it?”
He had a big smile on his face, and his eyes showed his happiness. But Alice saw that he had no teeth.
“Good morning!” said Alice. “Yes, it’s a lovely day.”
Alice thought he was old and clever. She thought he must be more than 90 years old. She wanted to ask him about the secret of a happy old age.
“Excuse me. But what is your secret for being so happy at your age? I hope I can look as happy as you do when I am your age.”
The man in the chair said, “My secret for happiness? I smoke every day, and drink three bottles of wine every day. I eat hamburgers, I eat chocolate and I never eat vegetables. I never walk anywhere and I never play sports. I sit and watch TV all day.”
Alice couldn’t understand. She wanted to know how the man got to be so old when he did everything wrong. She thought he should be sick and unhappy. Perhaps she was wrong. Maybe, she thought, people could live a long happy life without eating well and doing lots of sports. 
“How old are you?’ she asked.
“It’s my birthday today.” Said the man, “I am forty-seven.”
11. What does Alice like?
A. Smoking.        B. Drinking wines.        C. Eating unhealthy food.     D. Doing sports.
12. Which is WRONG about the old man?
A. He didn’t have any teeth.                     B. He was more than 90 years old.
C. He looked happy although he looked thin and weak.     D. He looked very old.
13. How often did the old man do sports?
A. Never.         B. Often.            C. Sometimes.            D. Every day.
14. How did Alice feel when he heard the old man’s secret for happiness?
A. Happy.        B. Interested.         C. Excited.              D. Surprised.
15. After the old man told Alice about his age, Alice knew         .
A. the man was in good health for his age        
B. the man had a healthier lifestyle than her
C. a good lifestyle was important for one’s health   
D. people could live a long life without a good lifestyle