Some houses are designed to be smart. Others have smart designs. An example of the second type of house won the Award of Excellence from the American Institute of Architects.

Located on the shore of Sullivan's Island off the coast of South Carolina, the award-winning cube-shaped beach house was built to replace one damaged by Hurricane Hugo years ago. In September 1989, Hugo struck South Carolina, killing 18 people and damaging or destroying 36,000 homes in the state.

Before Hugo, many new houses built along South Carolina's shoreline were poorly constructed, according to architect Ray Huff, who created the cleverly-designed beach house. Now all new shoreline houses are required to meet stricter, better-enforced codes. The new beach house on Sullivan's Island should be strong enough not to be damaged by a Category 3 hurricane with peak winds of 179 to 209 kilometres per hour.

At first sight, the house on Sullivan's Island looks anything but(根本不) hurricane-proof. Its redwood shell makes it look like “a large party lantern” at night. But looks can be deceiving. The house's wooden frame is strengthened with long steel rods(桿) to give it extra strength.

To further protect the house from hurricane damage, Huff raised it 2.7 meters off the ground on timber pilings(木樁) buried deep in the sand. Pilings might appear insecure, but they are strong enough to support the weight of the house. They also raise the house above storm waves. The pilings allow the waves to run under the house instead of running into it. “The waves of water come ashore at tremendous speeds and cause most of the damage done to beach-front buildings,” said Huff.

Huff designed the timber pilings to be partially concealed(隱藏) by the house's ground-to-roof shell. “The shell masks the pilings so that the house doesn't look like it's standing with its legs pulled up,” said Huff. In the event of storm, the shell should break apart and let the waves rush under the house, the architect explained.

53. After Hurricane Hugo, new houses built along South Carolina's shore line are required

to        .

A. be easily pulled down                B. look smarter in design 

C. meet stricter building standards        D. be designed to be cube-shaped

54. The award-winning beach house is quite strong because    

A. it is strengthened by steel rods        B. it is made of redwood

C. it is in the shape of a shell         D. it is built with timber and concrete

55. Huff raised the house 2.7 meters off the ground on timber pilings in order to     .

A. avoid peak winds of about 200 km/h

B. bury stronger pilings deep in the sand

C. break huge sea waves into smaller ones

D. prevent the waves from running into it

56. It can be inferred from the passage that the house's shell should be     .

 A. smooth     B. waterproof    C. easily broken    D. extremely hard

 Most of the representatives raised a question at yesterday’s meeting,       needs    urgently.

A. that; to be solved                   B. the one that; solved

C. one which; solving                  D. what; solving

 --Mike is always working hard and has made greater progress recently.

--______ he got the first prize.

A. No wonder     B. No pity         C. No way           D. No good

—I didn’t mean _______ her.

—But talking like that means _______ her.

A. to hurt; hurting  B. hurting; hurting

 C. to hurt; to hurt D. hurting; to hurt

第二節(jié) 完型填空（共20小題；每小題2分，滿分40分）

閱讀下面短文，掌握其大意，然后從36—55各題所給的四個選項（A、B、C和D）中，選出最佳選項。答案涂在答題卡上。

Dad is a liar, definitely.

He never tells the truth about anything , or anything that he thinks is bad to me,   36   I emphasize that I don’t  37   hearing these things. He is the kindest man I have ever met, who never ＿38＿ others, as well as the ＿39＿ man, for he’s always hard on himself. Every time I ＿40＿ home from college and asked Dad how his ＿41＿ was getting on, he would always reply, “Oh, couldn’t be ＿42＿!” When I asked my mum the same question on the phone, ＿43＿, she honestly told me every ＿44＿ with Dad’s business. I didn’t blame Dad for his ＿45＿. I felt a deep sympathy for him.

Dad is a miser（吝嗇鬼）, undoubtedly.

I hardly see Dad wear ＿46＿ clothes. In fact, his closet is half empty. Even in this half , two-thirds is occupied by Mum’s clothes and the other ＿47＿ belongs to him. I urged him to buy some new clothes, ＿48＿ he simply shook his head, “The old clothes are still good enough.” Were they? I saw ＿49＿ in them!

It ＿50＿ my heart up when I saw Dad cough terribly   51   his hand covering his mouth. When the pains became unbearable, he ＿52＿ took some pills.

So   53   surprised when the day came that Dad got sick. He was lying in bed, and all the family gathered around him. I knelt by his beside, tears filling my eyes.

Dear Dad, you’ve been ＿54＿ yourself too hard, which you should not have. I know I might as well ＿55＿ a river to flow backward as hope to talk you out of working so hard. But I still want to say, “Dad, take better care of yourself!”

36．A．a(chǎn)s if  B．but for      C．even though     D．because of

37．A．mean B．mind C．a(chǎn)gree D．a(chǎn)dmit

38．A．prefers     B．laughs      C．helps D．hurts

39．A．noblest     B．cruelest     C．best   D．oldest

40．A．phoned     B．drove       C．went  D．stayed

41．A．health       B．business    C．experiment       D．treatment

42．A．better       B．harder      C．easier       D．healthier

43．A．meanwhile       B．a(chǎn)nyway     C．however   D．therefore

44．A．change     B．incident    C．a(chǎn)chievement     D．problem

45．A．belief       B．carelessness      C．lies    D．excuses

46．A．old    B．new   C．beautiful   D．cheap

47．A．one-third  B．half   C．thing D．closet

48．A．so     B．but    C．since D．a(chǎn)lthough

49．A．holes B．stains C．hope  D．importance

50．A．woke up   B．warmed to       C．flew to     D．tore up

51．A．in     B．on     C．by     D．with

52．A．still B．a(chǎn)gain C．simply      D．seldom

53．A．somebody B．a(chǎn)nybody   C．everybody D．nobody

54．A．controlling       B．pushing    C．blaming    D．enjoying

55．A．let     B．a(chǎn)llow C．expect      D．cause

Walking down any of Shanghai’s main shopping streets this week, newcomers might think the locals have been celebrating Christmas for centuries. Christmas may not be a customary holiday in China, but businessmen in Shanghai know it will bring something more valuable than tradition: people are willing to spend money. Most Chinese may feel little connection with the Christmas celebration, but with most shops offering discount (折扣), the message couldn’t be clearer-- it is the season to part with one’s hard-earned cash.

Much of that marketing drive is directed towards thousands of foreigners and foreign companies that call Shanghai home. But for Shanghai’s 13 million locals, regardless of personal interest, there seems no avoiding the season’s commercial greetings. Along some major roads, nearly every shop window displays some symbols to the holiday: a man-made fir tree(杉樹) with lights, or a snowman.

With an increasing number of westerners arriving in the city for work, young Shanghainese, eager to keep pace with the latest western fashions, have begun to show their interest in Christmas. But some people still don’t think Christmas is an important festival in China. At least it is less important than the New Year and China’s Spring Festival.

64. Why are people willing to spend money during Christmas?

A. They have earned a lot of money.

B. Goods are much cheaper during this period of time.

C. It is time for shops to sell goods.

D. Businessmen like Christmas.

65. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. Christmas is the season people will hold their hard-earned money tightly.

B. Most Chinese people think they have something to do with Christmas.

C. Christmas is the season for common people to earn money.

D. Few Chinese people feel they are connected with Christmas celebrations.

66. Why do some young Shanghainese show great interest in Christmas?

A. They think themselves connected with Christmas celebrations.

B. They think Christmas is more important than New Year’s Day.

C. They want to follow the up-to-date western fashions.

D. They want to part with their hard-earned cash during Christmas.

67. From the first paragraph we know that _______.

A. It is difficult for most people to earn money.

B. It is easy for most people to earn money.

C. Only foreigners in Shanghai celebrate Christmas.

D. Christmas will be as important as China’s Spring Festival.

第二卷

第一節(jié)短文改錯(共10小題；每小題1分，滿分10分)

此題要求改正所給短文中的錯誤。對標(biāo)有題號的每一行作出判斷：如無錯誤，在該行右邊邊橫線上畫一個勾(√)；如有錯誤(每行只有一個錯誤)，則按下列情況改正：

    此行多一個詞：把多余的詞用斜線(＼)劃掉，在該行右邊橫線上寫出該詞，并也用斜線劃掉。  

此行缺一個詞：在缺詞處加一個漏字符號(∧)，在該行右邊橫線上寫出該加的詞。此行錯一個詞：在錯的詞下劃一橫線，在該行右邊橫線上寫出改正后的詞。

注意：1.每處錯誤僅限1詞；

2.只允許修改10處，多者（從第11處起）不計分。

Dear Tom,

     How are things going at your school? It was an excited thing to get your New Year’s card. Thank you for your kindness. How did you spend your New Year’s Day? We had a talent show at school, in that we put on an English play. We did it successful. Wang Bin and Li Dong send his regards and hope you are enjoying your school lives.My father returned back from the UK last week. He brings me a lot of English books. Would you come to have look? I’m sure you will like it. Give my best regards for your family.

Yours truly,

Wang Ping

 Every year, a great many visitors come to visit the temple ______ the 12th century, ______ has brought a large income.

  A. dating from; which                     B. dated from; which

  C. which dates from; that          D. which dated from; which

. It was not until Maggie had arrived at her office _____ her appointment with the doctor.

A. did she remember        B. had she remembered

C. when she remembered     D. that she remembered

. Inoculation(接種) of the H1N1 vaccine ___ launch another round to weak people in February,

but due to a global shortage, that has not happened yet.

A. was made to         B. was supposed to          C. was designed to         D. was hoped to