In the job interviews, job applicants often find themselves ________ unexpected questions, some very difficult to answer.

A. to ask B. asked C. to be asked D. asking

They are still very cautious about ______ side effect the new medicine will bring about, although the experts have tried it on about 2,000 patients.

A. which B. that C. where D. what

Only when________ possible to settle the problem.

A. does the chief editor come will it be B. the chief editor comes will it be

C. has the chief editor come it will be D. the chief editor comes it will be

—My family usually holds a big party for my birthday, but I want to try a different way this year.

—________

A. It's your business. B. Come along! C. Like what? D. So what?

Whatever misfortune you face, just hold up your head and face it with a smile! I got to know this from a musical soul.
The other day I was feeling quite      , having just been laid off from my job. With so many       to pay, I was wondering what was going to happen to my family.
I got off the bus when I heard piano music and singing rising above the noise of the      . I walked a bit slower, trying to find out where it was coming from. Through the       I saw a young lady sitting at a piano with a box next to her.
She was singing songs about love and her sweet voice       me a bit. Then I stood there watching her playing, thinking that it must take       to perform on her own in front of hundreds of people she didn’t know. 
She might have felt my       for she occasionally looked in my direction.
By now I was telling myself that I could at least tell her how good she sounded. I walked       and put some money in her box and she expressed her thanks with a smile on her face.
I asked her      , “Why are you playing the piano in the middle of this crowded place?”
She explained to me that she sees so many       people in the world that she is trying to relieve the pain by       motivational(激勵的)music.
Instead of continuing my way home, I said to her, “I have been going through a        time lately, but you’ve made me       again.”
“I’m happy that I could be       to you,” she replied. “Why are you so sad?”
I told her my story and said, “I’m not so       about what to do….”
“You see, here’s the      ,” she responded. “When you were walking, your head was down.” She looked me in the eyes and went on, “Don’t look defeated, because       comes in different ways and if your head is down you might never see it. You should       more … lift your head up.”
I was really       by what she said! I did hold my head up and soon got through the difficult time.
So       in trouble, just face it bravely and you are sure to overcome your difficulty sooner or later.

1. A．lonely B．relaxed C．awful D．breathless

2. A．bills B．fees C．fines D．prices

3. A．listeners B．traffic C．instrument D．background

4. A．trees B．street C．buildings D．crowd

5. A．shocked B．comforted C．excited D．amused

6. A．courage B．energy C．patience D．technique

7. A．mood B．presence C．thought D．appreciation

8. A．aside B．down C．off D．over

9. A．quietly B．deliberately C．curiously D．seriously

10. A．negative B．unhealthy C．unconscious D．elderly

11. A．creating B．sharing C．enjoying D．teaching

12. A．tense B．wonderful C．rough D．crazy

13. A．enthusiastic B．emotional C．energetic D．hopeful

14. A．available B．essential C．superior D．helpful

15. A．sure B．ashamed C．particular D．anxious

16. A．problem B．situation C．conflict D．condition

17. A．success B．opportunity C．aid D．happiness

18. A．concentrate B．look C．smile D．fight

19. A．occupied B．moved C．inspired D．satisfied

20. A．however B．wherever C．whoever D．whenever

Are we getting more stupid? According to Gerald Crabtree, a scientist at Stanford University in the US, we are.
You may not want to hear this, but Crabtree believes that human intelligence reached its peak more than 2,000 years ago and ever since then has been going downhill. “If an average Greek from 1,000 BC were transported to modern times, he or she would be one of the brightest among us,” Crabtree told The Guardian.
At the heart of Crabtree’s thinking is a simple idea. In the past, intelligence was critical for survival when our ancestors had to avoid dangerous animals and hunt for food. The difference of being smart or stupid is often life or death. However, after the spread of agriculture, when our ancestors began to live in dense farming communities, the need to keep their intelligence in peak condition gradually reduced.
This is not hard to understand. Most of the time, pressure is what keeps us going – you need the pressure from your teachers to finish your homework; the pressure of looking pretty prompts(促使) you to lose weight when summer comes. And the same is also true of our intelligence – if we think less, we become less smart.
These mutations(變異) are harmful to our intelligence and they were all developed in the past 3,000 years. The other evidence that Crabtree holds is in our genes. He found that among the 2,000 to 5,000 genes that we have that determine human intelligence , there are two or more mutations in each of us.
However, Crabtree’s theory has been criticized by some who say that early humans may have better hunting and surviving abilities, but people today have developed a more diverse intelligence. For example, spearing a tiger doesn’t necessarily require more brainpower than playing chess or writing a poem. Moreover, the power of modern education means a lot more people have the opportunity to learn nowadays.
“You wouldn’t get Stephen Hawking 2,000 years ago. He just wouldn’t exist,” Thomas Hills of the University of Warwick, UK, told Live Science. “But now we have people of his intellectual capacity doing things and making insights(洞察力) that we would never have achieved in our environment of evolutionary adaptation.”
1.What is Crabtree’s recent finding according to the article? 

A．The Greeks from 1,000 BC could have been the smartest in human history.

B．Our ancient ancestors had no better surviving abilities than we do nowadays.

C．Humans have been getting steadily more intelligent since the invention of farming.

D．Mutations in genes that decide human intelligence have affected the development of intelligence.

2.According to Crabtree, ancient humans _______.

A．had much more genes that determine human intelligence

B．were forced to be smart due to natural selection pressures

C．relied more on group intelligence than individual intelligence

D．developed a diverse intelligence to adapt to the hard realities

3.Some argue that Crabtree’s theory is false because they think _______.

A．people today are under much more pressure than early humans

B．it’s ridiculous to compare a hunter’s and a poet’s intelligence

C．modern education is far more advanced than ancient education

D．human intelligence nowadays is different from that of the distant past

4.What is Thomas Hills’ attitude toward Crabtree’s theory?

A．Supportive B．Unfavorable C．Worried D．Confused

Alabama
Students in Alabama take the Alabama High School Graduation Exam, which consists of multiple-choice questions. In the classroom, Alabama high school students must prove specific skills in English and take certain math classes.
Among the 2013 U.S. News Best High Schools in Alabama, two were awarded gold medals, 16 received silver medals and 72 were considered bronze medal schools. One of the gold medal schools, Loveless Academic Magnet Program High School, lies about 90 miles south of Birmingham in the state capital of Montgomery, within the Montgomery County School District.
Alaska
To graduate, Alaska high school students must get at least 21 credits, including a half credit in Alaska history. Alaska judges students from the third grade through senior grades. Students first take the Alaska High School Graduation Qualifying Examination at the tenth grade. It includes math, reading and writing skills.
10 schools were awarded silver medals and 21 received bronze medals among the U.S. News Best High Schools in 2013. While Alaska's capital is Juneau, several of the state's Best High Schools are in or near Anchorage, in the Anchorage School District.
Delaware
Delaware students have a high GPA（平均績點）and 10 hours of community service. If they hand in their FAFSA（自愿聯(lián)邦獎學金）by a certain date, they may get the Inspire Scholarship, which helps pay for tuition at Delaware State University. Before they go to college, however, students must pass the Delaware Student Testing Program Exams.
Among the Delaware schools in the 2013 U.S. News Best High Schools, there are three silver medal schools and four bronze medal schools. The top school in the state is Delmar Senior High School. It is part of the Delmar School District and is about 50 miles from Delaware's capital, Dover.
1.What's the passage mainly about?

A．The introduction to the Best High Schools in three states.

B．The different examinations in several high schools.

C．Scholarships in the Best High Schools in three states.

D．The things students should do before going to college.

2.It can be inferred from the text that______.

A．students with a high GPA can get the Inspire Scholarship

B．reading and writing skills are included in the tests in all the schools

C．Alabama has the most best high schools of the three states

D．at least 21 credits are needed to graduate from all the schools

3.Which of the following in TRUE according to the passage?

A．The High School Graduation Exams are multiple-choice questions.

B．Both the gold medal schools in Alabama are in its capital.

C．There were 21 silver medal schools in Alaska in all.

D．Delmar Senior High school is the best in Delaware.

4.Alaska's graduation exam is different from the others' in the aspect that______.

A．it includes all the subjects the students learn

B．it includes its own state history as well

C．it includes math, reading and writing skills

D．it includes 10 hours of community service

5.The Inspire Scholarship is a prize______.

A．that any student in gold medal schools can apply for

B．that is given to the top students in gold medal schools

C．that helps to pay for tuition at Delaware State University

D．that is very difficult to get for students in silver medal schools

When I was young, I went looking for gold in California. I never found enough to make a rich strike. But I did discover a beautiful part of the country called Stanislau. Like Heaven on Earth, it had bright green hills and deep forests where soft winds touched the trees. By the time I arrived, the charming paradise had been deserted because miners’ good luck didn’t last.
Then, I realized I was not alone after all.
A man was smiling at me as he stood in front of his little house. Its front yard was full of blue and yellow flowers. White curtains hung from the windows and floated in the soft summer wind.
Still smiling, the man invited me inside. My spirit seemed to come to life again. I saw a bright rug(地毯) on the shining wooden floor. And on little tables there were seashells, books and china vases full of flowers. A woman had made this house into a home. The joy in my heart showed on my face. The man read my thoughts. “All her work.” He said affectionately, “Nothing here hasn’t felt the touch of her hand.”
One picture on the wall was not hanging straight. He went to fix it. He stepped back several times to make sure the picture was straight. Then he gave it a gentle touch. “She always does that,” he explained, “It is like the finishing pat a mother gives her child’s hair after she has brushed it. I don’t know why I do it. I just do it.”
As he talked, I went to a little black-walnut shelf that held a small picture of the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. There was a sweetness and softness in the woman’s expression. The man stared at the picture. “Nineteen her last birthday. That was the day we married. When you see her...ah, just wait until you meet her!” “Where is she now?” I asked. “Oh, she is away visiting her parents. This is Wednesday,” he said slowly. “She will be back on Saturday, in the evening.”
That night, I stayed. The man told me his name was Henry.
Thursday evening we had two visitors, Tom and Joe. “We just drop over to ask when little madam is coming home. Any news from her?” “Oh yes,” the man replied. “A letter.” He took a yellowed letter out of his wallet and read it. It was full of loving messages. While reading, he glimpsed his friends and cried out, “Oh no, you are doing it again, Tom! Take your hands away and let me see your eyes. I’m going to tell her this time!” “No, you mustn’t do that, Henry,” the grey-haired miner said. “I am getting old. And any little sorrow makes me cry. Lord, we miss her so.”
Saturday finally came.  
I was glad to see his two friends, Tom and Joe, with guitars, coming down the road as the sun began to set. They put the flowers they brought in vases and began to play some fast and lively songs.
Henry’s friends kept giving him glasses of whiskey. When I reached for one of the two remaining glasses, Tom stopped my arm. “Drop that! Take the other.” he whispered. I did so. Henry was served last. He had hardly swallowed his drink when the clock struck midnight. His face grew paler and paler. “Boys,” he said, “I am sick with fear. Help! I want to lie down.” Henry was asleep almost before the words were out of his mouth.
In a moment, those handy men had his clothes off and tucked him into his bed. They seemed to be getting ready to leave. So I said, “Please don’t go, gentlemen. She won’t know me. I am a stranger.” They glanced at each other. Then Joe said, “She? Poor thing, she’s been dead nineteen years!” “Dead?” I whispered. “That or worse.” he said.
“She went to see her folks half a year after she got married. On her way back, on a Saturday evening in June, when she was almost here, the Indians captured her. She’s never been heard of since. Henry went insane. He thinks she is still alive. When June comes, he thinks she has gone on her trip to see her parents. Then he begins to wait for her to come back. We drop in here, three days before she’s due, to encourage him up and listen to him read the letter. On Saturday we all come and get everything ready for a dance. We’ve done it for nineteen years. The first Saturday there were twenty-seven of us, but only two now. We drug him to sleep through the night. Then he’s all right for another year.”
The two old men opened the door and disappeared into the darkness of Stanislau.
1.You can sense the existence of a woman from the following sentences EXCEPT “______”.

A．Soft winds touched the trees in Stanislau.

B．There was a bright rug on the shining wooden floor.

C．There were seashells, books and china vases full of flowers.

D．A little black shelf held a small picture of a woman.

2.Tom cried when Henry read the yellowed letter, because ______.

A．he was getting older and older

B．he was moved by the loving messages in the letter

C．he felt sad at the thought of Henry’s wife

D．he was disappointed that Henry’s wife would arrive so late

3.Tom stopped my reaching for whiskey because ______.

A．there was not enough whiskey for HenryB．he didn’t want me to get drunk

C．that glass of whiskey was druggedD．it was for Henry’s wife

4.The underlined phrase “went insane” probably means “l(fā)ost his______”.

A．hopeB．mindC．heartD．temper

5.It can be inferred from the passage that ______.

A．Henry’s wife was 38 when she was last seen

B．Tom and Joe have heard the letter many times

C．the author stayed in Henry’s house because he was lost

D．the two miners came on Saturday to share past memories

6.The story is mainly about ______.

A．ever-lasting loveB．lifelong friendship

C．an unforgettable experienceD．charming Stanislau

When the spaceship traveled above，______new looking earth appeared before us，______earth that we had never seen before.

A. a；theB. the；an C. /；the D. a；an

______from the top of the mountain, the village looks like a small box.

A. SeenB. Being seenC. To seeD. Seeing