It was __________ computer games that cost the young man a lot of precious time that he
should __________ on his lessons．

1. A.
   to play; be spending
2. B.
   playing; spend
3. C.
   played; have spent
4. D.
   playing; have spent

It was __________ computer games that cost the young man a lot of precious time that he

should __________ on his lessons．

It was __________ computer games that cost the young man a lot of precious time that he
should __________ on his lessons．

Mark and his brother Jason both were looking at the shining new computer enviously. Jason was determined not to go against their father’s wishes but Mark was more adventurous than his brother. He loves experimenting and his aim was to become a scientist like his father.

“Dad will be really mad if he finds out you’ve been playing with his new computer” Jason said, “He told us not to touch it.”

“He won’t find out,” Mark said, “I’ll just have a quick look and shut it down.”

Mark had been scolded before for touching his father’s equipment. But his curiosity was difficult to control and this new computer really puzzled him.

It was a strange-looking machine — one his dad had brought home from the laboratory where he worked. “It’s an experimental model,” his father had explained, so don’t touch it under any circumstances.” But his father’s warning only served to make Mark more curious. Without any further thought, Mark turned on the power switch. The computer burst into life and seconds later, the screen turned into colours, shifting and changing, and then two big white words appeared in the centre of the screen: “SPACE TRANSPORTER.”

“Yes!” Mark cried excitedly, “It’s a computer game. I knew it! Dad’s only been pretending to work. He’s really been playing games instead!” A new message appeared on the screen:

“ENTER NAMES

VOYAGE　１

VOYAGE　２

Mark’s finger flew across the keyboard as he typed in both of their names.

“INPUT ACCEPTED.

START  TRANSPORT  PROGRAM.

AUTO-RETRIEVE  INITIATED(自動回收程序已啟動).”

     The screen turn even brighter and a noise suddenly rose in volume.

“I think we’d better shut it off, Mark,” Jason yelled out in terror, reaching for the power switch. A beam(光束) of dazzling white light burst out of the computer screen, wrapping the boys in its glow(光芒)，until they themselves seemed to be glowing. Then it died down just as suddenly as it had burst into life. And the boys were no longer there. On the screen, the letters changed：

“TRANSPORT SUCCESSFUL．

DESTINATION:  MARS.

RETRIEVE DATE:  2025

1.Why did Mark touch the computer against his father’s warning?

A. He wanted to take a voyage.

B. He wanted to practice his skills.

C. He was so much attracted by it.

D. He was eager to do an experiment.

2.Where did the boy’s father most likely work?

A. In an electronic factory

B. In a computer company

C. In a scientific research center.

D. In an information processing center.

3.Mark thought “SPACE TRANSPORTER” on the screen was the name of ________.

A. a computer game                                       B. a company website

C. a software producer                                           D. an astronomy program

4.Why did Jason want to shut off the computer?

A. He was afraid of being scolded.

B. He didn’t like the loud noise and light.

C. He didn’t want to play games.

D. He was afraid something dangerous might happen.

5.What happened to the boys at the end of the story?

A. They were blown into the air.

B. They were sent to another planet.

C. They were hidden in the strong light.

D. They were carried away to another country.

  Lifeguard, sportscaster, movie star, governor, president——there wasn’t much Ronald Reagan didn’t do in life.

    “The world was a vast opportunity for him,” Lou Cannon wrote in his biography（傳記） of the former US president, who died on June 5，2004， aged 93.

    Reagan’s final years saw him fight a losing battle against Alzheimer’s disease（老年癡呆癥）. But his positive attitude toward life has given hope to many people.

    Born in 1911 to a poor family in a small town in Illinois, his father was a failed salesman who drank too much. It was in these difficult times, though, that Reagan developed the powerful optimism（樂觀） that would serve him so well. He always believed better times lying ahead, and this was reflected in his high school yearbook entry. “Life is one grand, sweet song, so start the music,” he wrote.

    As a teenager, Reagan spent summers working as a lifeguard at a local beach, saving 77 lives in seven years. He graduated from college in 1932 with a degree in economics and sociology. But America was still in the middle of the Great Depression, and jobs were hard to find. Reagan finally found work as a radio sports announcer and this road led him to Hollywood in 1937.

    During the 20---year film career, he never became a leading star. As in his lifeguard days, Reagan loved to play the hero and only took the role of a bad guy once in more than 50 films.

    A talented speaker who was always able to connect with his audience, Reagan became involved in politics in the 1950s. This popular touch led to him being elected the governor of California in 1967.

    All the while Reagan was in California, he had his eye on the White House. In 1980, aged 69, he became the oldest man ever elected president.

    He held office from 1981 to 1989, the first president to serve two complete terms after World War Ⅱ. When he left, aged 77, he held the highest popularity rate of any retiring president in US history.

    He remained positive even when he discovered he had an illness that would destroy him. “I will leave with the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal（永恒的optimism(樂觀) for its future,”he wrote.

1.Reagan can be best described as a man with ______.

A. firmness  B. humour   C. optimism  D. talent

2.What didn’t Reagan do in his life time?

A. Playing the role of a bad guy.

B. Being a leading star of the film.

C. Saving people’s lives.

D. Working as a radio sports announcer.

3.Which is the correct order of events described in the passage?

a. Reagan fought a losing battle against Alzheimer’s disease.

b. Reagan became an actor.

c. Reagan worked as a lifeguard.

d. Reagan graduated from college.

e. Reagan was elected the governor of California.

A. a, c, d, e ,b           B. e, c, d, b, a

C. b, a, c, d, e           D. c, d, b, e, a

4.When the writer of Reagan’s biography says “The world was a vast opportunity for him,” he really means that _______.

A. Reagan achieved much in his whole life

B. Reagan could have done much better

C. Reagan did much for America and the world

D. Reagan was a very lucky man