Valentine’s Day is named for Saint Valentine, an early Christmas churchman who helped young lovers. Valentine was killed for his Christian beliefs on February 14 more than 1700 years ago, but the day which is named after him is even earlier than that.
More than 2,000 years ago, the ancient Romans celebrated a holiday for lovers. As part of the celebration, girls wrote their names on pieces of paper and put them in a large container. Boys reached into the container and pulled one out. The girl whose name was written on the paper became his lover or sweet heart for a year.
Now, lovers still put their names on pieces of paper and they sent each other Valentine’s Day cards that tell of their love. Sometimes they also send gifts, like flowers or chocolate candies. Americans usually send these gifts and cards through the mail system. But some use another way to send this message. They have it printed in a newspaper. The cost is usually a few dollars. Some of the messages are simple and short, “Jane, I love you very much”. Others say more. This one, for example, “Dan, Roses are red. Violets are blue. I hope you love me as much as I love you. Forever, May.”
Most of the newspapers that print such messages are local, but USA Today is sold throughout the United States and 90 other countries. This means someone can send a Valentine message to the lover in a far-away place almost anywhere in the world. These messages cost 80 dollars and more. An employee of USA Today says readers can have a small heart or rose printed along with their messages this year. Will this kind of Valentine’s Day message reach the one you love? Well, just make sure he or she reads the newspaper.
【小題1】When was the day named after Valentine?

I have worked with him for some time and have found that he is ________ than Jim.

A．more efficiently a worker

B．a more efficient worker

C．more an efficient worker

D．a worker more efficient

Can you remember a morning when you’ve woken up to the ring of your alarm clock and wished you could stay in bed? You haven’t slept well, your hair is a mess. Worse, you can’t stop yawning. Yawning is universal to humans and many animals. Cats, dogs and fish yawn just like humans do! Yawning is an involuntary(無(wú)意識(shí)的,不自覺(jué)的) action during which you open your mouth and breathe deeply. The average duration of a yawn is about 6 seconds.

The purpose and cause of yawning are still a mystery. Scientists are not sure what causes a yawn. People yawn when they are tired or bored, but they also yawn when they aren’t. There are many ideas explaining why we yawn.

One idea is that yawning is a way for the body to become more alert by taking in more oxygen. A yawn increases the heart rate, forces carbon dioxide out of the lungs and blood stream, and brings oxygen to the brain. But one study showed that volunteers given a lot of oxygen did not yawn any less than before, while those given a lot of carbon dioxide did not yawn more.

Another idea is that early humans used yawning as a form of communication. If one decided it was time to sleep, they would tell the others by yawning and they would do it in return to show they agreed.

A third explanation comes from psychology professor Gordon Gallup of University at Albany in New York. He said that as people yawn, they cool off their brains. “Brains are like computers.” he said. “They only operate efficiently and effectively when they’re cool. Many things connected to yawning, like being tired, make the brain hot, and yawning can reduce the heat.”

Scientists have sent people into space, and created terrible nuclear weapons, but there are lots of seemingly simple things, such as why we yawn, or hiccup（打嗝）, that they can’t figure out. Next time you are in class in the morning, let out a big yawn and watch to see how many of your classmates yawn in response!

1.What’s the purpose of the description of how bad you may feel when you’re woken up in the morning?

2.Which is not among the possible reasons for yawning mentioned in the passage?

3.In which situation are you likely to yawn?

4.What can we learn from the passage?

My six-year-old granddaughter stared at me as if she were seeing me for the first time.”Grandma, you are an antique(古董),”she said. "You are old. Antiques are old. You are my antique."
I was not satisfied to let the matter rest there. I took out the Webster's Dictionary and read the definition(定義)to Jenny.I explained, "An antique is not only old, it's an object existing since or belonging to earlier times...a work of art... piece of furniture. Antiques are treasured,"I told Jenny as I put away the dictionary. "They have to be handled carefully because they sometimes are very valuable. In order to qualify as an antique, the object has to be at least 100 years old."
"I'm only 67,"I renunded Jenny.
We looked around the house for other antiques, besides me. There was a desk that was handed down from rone aunt to another and finally to our family. "It's very old,"I told Jenny.“I try to keep it polished and I show it off whenever I can. You do that with antiques."
There was a picture on the wall purchased at a garage sale. It was dated 1867. "Now  that's an antique," I boasted. "Over 100 years old." Of course it was marked up and scratched and not in very good condition. "Sometimes age does that," I told Jenny. "But the marks are good marks. They show living, being around. That's something to display with pride. In fact, sometimes, the more an object shows age, the more valuable it can become." It was important that I believed this for my own self-esteem.
Our tour of antiques continued. There was a vase on the floor. It had been in my house for a long time. I was not certain where it came from but I didn't buy it new. One thing about antiques, I explained to Jenny, was that they usually had a story. They'd been in one home and then another, handed down from one family to another, traveling all over the place. They'd lasted through years and years. They could have been tossed away, or ignored. or destroyed, or lost. But instead, they survived.
For a moment, Jenny looked thoughtful. “l(fā) don't have any antiques but you," she said. Then her face brightened. "Could I take you to school for show and tell?"
"Only if I fit into your backpack," I answered. And then Jenny's antique lifted her up and embraced her in a hug that would last through the years.
【小題1】Grandma read the definition of "antique" to Jenny in order to         .

(E)
Everybody has to buy or sell things sometimes. Even students, who are usually not very rich, have to learn something about making purchases(買(mǎi)東西) intelligently. As a student you may find, for example that you need to buy a walkman or winter clothing. You may want to buy a television or a used car. Of course, you want to get good value for your money. If you are considering a major purchase, or any purchase, you should remember several important things.
◎Study first, and then decide what you want to buy. You can learn a lot just by reading books and advertisements.
Remember that a high quality product will probably last longer and work better. Of course,
for a superior(優(yōu)良的) product you are expected to pay more. An inferior product may not give you the same quality, but the price should be low. Perhaps this seems obvious, but you know the quality. Don’t just look at the price. A poor quality product could be expensive. And a valuable one could be on sale at a greatly reduced price.
◎Don’t hurry. Take your time. After you decide what product you want, go to many different stores. If you cannot find the product you want, you may try to order it directly form the factory or ask the store to order it for you.
Look for a good deal. If you wait, you will probably find that your product will go on sale and
you may be able to save 10,20,or even 50 percent of the original price.
◎Finally, before you buy, make sure that the product is guaranteed(質(zhì)量保證). If you find the lowest possible price, you will generally be happy with your purchase and also keep more money in the bank.
73. What’s the best title for this passage?
A. What products are of high quality   B. Do shopping wisely as a student
C. How to save your money          D. Take your time when shopping
74. The underlined word “inferior” (in paragraph 3) probably means “____”.
A. low in price                    B. produced by a small factory 
C. low in quality                  D. produced by a large factory
75. If you cannot find what you want to buy in the stores, you may____.
A. wait until it arrives          
B. place an order directly with the factory
C. save some money in the bank    
D. get your money back from the factory