―Are you through with your homework?

―Well，        ．

      A．sort of                 B．go ahead              C．why not               D．that’s OK

A journalist should first decide what events        before making interviews．

      A．reported               B．to report              C．to be reported       D．reporting

My headache        me．I thought it was going away, but it’s getting worse and worse．

      A．killed                   B．kills                     C．was killing           D．is killing

If I were any younger, I would do        I am interested in．

      A．no matter what      B．whatever              C．no matter which    D．whichever

Cathy         the knowledge of radio just by staying around the radio station．

      A．picked up             B．took up                C．made up              D．turned up

My shoes are similar to        you had on yesterday．

      A．it                         B．which                  C．the ones               D．that

  The pickle(咸菜)jar as far back as I can remember sat on the floor beside my parents’bed．  21    he got ready for bed，Dad would empty his pockets and drop his   22   into the jar．When the jar was    23    ，Dad would sit at the kitchen table，   24   the coins，then take them to the bank，and put the rolled coins on the    25   ，saying     26   ，“These are for my son’s college education．He’ll    27     work at the mill(磨坊)all his life like me．”

    The years passed，and I    28    college and took a job in another town．    29     while visiting my parents．I noticed that the jar was gone．It had served its purpose and had been    30   ．My dad was a man of    31   words，and never lectured me on the   32   of determination and faith．The jar had taught me far more than any    33    could have done．

   When I married，I told my wife Susan about the important part the    34     had played in my life as a boy．In my mind，it showed，more than anything else，how much my dad    35     me．No matter how     36    things got at home，Dad continued to drop his coins into the jar．

   The first Christmas after our daughter Jessica was born，we spent the holiday with my parents．After dinner, Susan carried the baby into my parents’bedroom to feed her．Minutes later, Susan came back into the living room with a／an     37    look．She took my hand and led me into the bedroom．“Look，”she said     38    ，her eyes directing me to a spot on the floor beside the bed．To my     39    ，there，as if it had never been removed，stood the old pickle jar, the bottom already covered with coins．l walked over to the jar, dug down into     40    ，and pulled out a handful of coins．With the strong feelings choking(使…哽咽)me．I dropped the coins into the jar．

    When we are unfamiliar with something，we may feel nervous and fearful．The assistance of others is a good way to help us pull through．

    I write for a big newspaper, and I wanted to write a story about parachute jumping．To make it a realistic as well as exciting story，I decided that I first had to make a jump myself． Unfortunately，I am not good at any sports of any kind，let alone parachute jumping．

    My friend Mr. Smith was willing to give me a hand．He took me to a ground school．The first day’s training included several hours of instruction but not my first drop from an airplane For this，I had to wait until the following morning．

    The next morning，after a hurried，anxious breakfast，I was taken to the airfield．There，two heavy parachutes were put on my back，and an orange helmet was pushed down onto my head．Then I was asked to make my way to a small plane which had just stopped slowly on the runway.

    Once on board，the plane was soon climbing．I began to feel nervous．As we reached one thousand metres，Harry，my teacher, hooked(鉤)a line from my parachute to a steel ring inside the plane．The line was to pull my parachute open after I jumped．

    “Get ready, Henry,”Harry said．I moved carefully to the door．I wanted to cry,“No，no，no!”But no word came．

    “Jump!”Harry called loudly．“Jump!”

    To my surprise，kicking like a frog I did jump．Away from the plane，and down，down I fell，arms stretched．It worked! The air seemed to hold me up．All at once I was very happy．

   Then I felt a quick pull．My big parachute had opened! It was the best surprise I ever had． I looked down．There were rivers，trees，fields and houses．I heard the soft sound of the air This was fun !

41．The writer made a parachute jump himself        ．

  A．to learn more about parachute jumping

  B．to make his story realistic and exciting

  C．to reduce pressure from his busy work

  D．to prove to others his skill and courage

42．Which is the right order of the following events?

  a．I began to feel nervous．

  b．The ground school gave me some instructions about parachute jumping．

  c．A small plane stopped slowly on the runway．

  d．I was taken to the airfield．

       A．d，a，b，c    B．d，b，a，c    C．b，d，a，c    D．b，d，c，a

43．How did the writer feel after he jumped out of the plane?

       A．Happy．    B．Anxious    C．Excited    D．Nervous．

44．What does the writer intend to tell us through the passage?

  A．If his teacher hadn’t pushed him off the plane．he wouldn’t have made it．

  B．People usually perform better when they are in company with friends．

  C．Instruction and training are necessary in parachute jumping．

  D．With the help of others、we can get over fear and nervousness．

    The roots of what we call“volunteerism”reach back many generations, to a time when neighbors and townspeople would come together to build and run their communities’(社區(qū)) most important organizations―everything from schools and governments to fire-fighting and self-defense．

    Besides organizations，however, this early volunteerism brought community elements more tightly together, allowing neighbors to get to know one another, to achieve something important and，more often than not to have fun._

    Today，volunteerism continues to thrive．Why? Because volunteerism gets people out of their homes，and brings them together with others who share their interests and concerns．It gives people a chance to directly improve the communalities in which they live．And it’s still fun．

    As an important part of social life，volunteer service is gaining more attention and support in the whole world．Volunteers make considerable contributors to social and economic development of the world in the fields such as humanitarian assistance(人道援助)，social welfare(福利)，education，environmental protection，health and etc．In 1985，the United Nations General Assembly announced the December 5th of each year as the International Volunteers’Day―the day for volunteers all over the world．On this day，many countries in the world organize various activities to celebrate International Volunteers’ Day and encourage volunteerism and voluntary service．

    In recent years，volunteer service in China is also developing very fast With the coming of the Olympic Games to Beijing，more and more citizens are willing to be volunteers and various voluntary organizations are set up．Olympic volunteers won’t just watch history unfold on their television screens―they’ll have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to share the excitement． and make history themselves．

45．What was the advantage of volunteerism many generations ago?

  A．It helped townspeople to build their houses and schools．

  B．It gave people an opportunity to improve the environment．

  C．Community elements could be held tightly together．

  D．People could share their interests and concerns．

46．The Underlined word“thrive” in Paragraph 3 can most likely be replaced by“        ”．

  A．succeed    B．develop    C．exist   D．a(chǎn)ppear

47．What does the fourth paragraph mainly talk about?

  A．The ways that the International volunteers’Day is celebrated．

  B．The attention and support that volunteerism is gaining world wide,

  C．Volunteers’contribution to the development of the world．

  D．The foundation of the International Volunteers’Day．

48．We can infer from the passage that        ．

  A．the Chinese government quite supports volunteerism

  B．Bering Olympic Games will attract many foreign volunteers

  C．Olympic Games usually lead to volunteerism

  D．volunteers prefer to watch games on the scene

Yao-less Rockets Keep Rising

    Houston Agencies(March 9，2008)―Tracy McGrady had 41 points and nine assists(助攻)as the Houston Rockets won their 18th game continuously with a 106-96 win over New Orleans on Saturday．

    McGrady fell just six points short of his season high for points as the Rockets kept their winning record．

    The Rockets won their sixth in a row since Chinese All-Star Yao Ming went out for the season with his left foot hurt．Yao had an operation earlier in the week．

Joining Hands

    China Daily(March 10．2008)―To celebrate International Women’s Day on Saturday, March 8，Avon Products，Inc，a leading global beauty company with almost $10 billion in yearly income and the United Nations Development Fund for Women(UNIFEM)have announced their partnership to ensure women’s rights and end violence against women．

    Avon has offered $1 million to the UNIFEM．The partnership will enlarge the work of the UN to improve women’s economic security(保障)and rights.

Oil prices fall below the $105 mark

    Bloomberg News(March 11, 2008)―Oil prices dropped below $105 yesterday after last week’s record highs and it reduced tension(緊張狀態(tài))between oil producers Venezuela and Colombia over the weekend．

    Cold weather in the United States and the continuing weakening of the US dollars were set as main factors supporting prices．

    The rush to a new record was driven by a US Labour Department report saying that employers cut 63，000 jobs in February―the biggest drop in five years．

49．How much did Avon Products，Inc. provide for UNIFEM?

   A．$105．    B．$10 billion．    C．$63.000．   D．$1 million

50．What day was it when oil prices fell below the $105 mark?

  A．Monday．    B．Tuesday．    C．Friday．  D．Saturday．

51．What was the main reason for Rockets continuous winning?

  A．McGrady’s falling six points short of his season high．

  B．Yao Ming’s going out for the season for an operation．

  C．Rockets has a better manager than all the other teams．

  D．It doesn’t seem to have been mentioned in the passage．

52．The above news items are most probably taken from        ．

  A．business weeklies      B．sports magazines

  C．daily newspapers       D．political newspapers