Mary felt herself       to take action to defend herself.

A．forcing     B．to force    C．forced      D．being forced

I prefer a farm house        comes with a garden to a flat in the city.

A．where       B．which       C．there D．when

I learned to play on a piano purchased at Grinnell Brothers in Detroit. My brothers and sisters were taking lessons and I   1  to play, too. “You’re   2   young,” I heard over and over. But when  began playing my sister’s   3   by heart from hearing her practice, they   4   me begin. I was four.   5   joy and comfort I found at those keys. If I had a rough day at school, I played ragtime hard and loud   6  my frustration (挫折) was gone, then I calmed my self with Mozart until I was   7  to face the world. The day I lost my first child, and my dad was diagnosed with cancer, I played until I nearly   8  . There was a comfort in those keys.

That piano followed me everywhere. I taught hundreds of   9   and adults on the keys of my own piano in Taylor for over ten years. I   10   my home to a fire in 1998 and my piano was destroyed. I felt   11   I lost my oldest friend.

The insurance (保險) supplied the money to purchase   12  . My mother asked me every time she spoke to me, “Did you get another piano yet?” even when she struggled to call me by name. After she died in 1999, I   13   an envelope containing a gift certificate (禮券) to Hammell Music for a   14  . Mother made sure that I would get another piano, knowing I wouldn’t do it   15  .

And so I purchased a Yamaha baby grand. Nearby hangs Mom and Dad’s   16  . I play every day when I come home from work. I imagine my folks are in heaven,   17   and smiling. Every song is for them and the   18   goes on.

And although I miss my first piano, the new one is a(n)  19   that old things pass away and new life   20  .

1．A．planned                 B．allowed               C．begged                D．dared

2．A．very                     B．so                       C．not                     D．too

4．A．permitted              B．promised             C．let                       D．made

5．A．What a                  B．What                   C．How                   D．How many

6．A．until                      B．when                  C．as soon as           D．after

7．A．likely                    B．ready                  C．discouraged         D．afraid

8．A．dropped                B．went                   C．came to               D．slept

9．A．people                   B．students              C．boys                   D．children

10．A．destroyed            B．left                      C．lost                     D．rebuilt

11．A．as though            B．even though         C．even if                D．though

12．A．the other             B．another                C．a house               D．one

13．A．accepted             B．gained                 C．received              D．won

14．A．present                B．piano                   C．house                  D．sum of money

15．A．for myself           B．at all                    C．any way              D．above all

16．A．bed                     B．clothing               C．portrait                D．name

17．A．crying                 B．listening               C．singing                D．playing

18．A．joy                      B．piano                   C．sadness               D．friendship

19．A．book                   B．reminder              C．equipment           D．instrument

20．A．disappears          B．remains               C．stops                 D．begins

    To all of you at Chinese love links,

I am 44 years old and never married. I have always wanted to find that perfect someone that I dream about. For about the last five years I have almost given up the hope of ever finding the one I truly wish to spend the rest of my life with.

I have always tried to be a nice guy. I had found your website some four or five months before. I did not know what to expect. I don’t know how to speak Chinese and never thought truly of how I was to an Asian woman.

Well, I had a lot of replies from some very nice and pretty women. I had a hard time finding only a couple to write to. But one stood out from the rest. She was cute, nice and seemed to hold a lot of the same values as I do. In a short time I had decided to write only to her. We communicated via e – mails 2 – 3 times a day and phone calls once or twice a week.

I went and met her and her family only a week ago. Her name is Ying and she lives in Nanning. I found Nanning to be one of the most beautiful cities I had ever been to. We had even decided to marry and to bring her to the USA under the fiancée visa. Not only did she meet everything I had ever hoped to find in someone else but turned out to be what every woman should be like, at least the ones I have met. We plan to marry as soon as she is here and start a family together as neither of us has children but we both want them.

So to anyone out there reading this, I can only say this: You may not find what you are looking for if you’re not honest with your partner and yourself. This site worked for me mostly because I was honest with something that I wanted in someone else. When I did find her, love can work even across the other side of the world, between language differences and cultural differences. I wish you all luck in finding your perfect match. I have finally found mine and wish to give all my thanks to those at Chinese love links to help make it happen.

Sincerely yours,

Arthur

1．We can infer from the letter that Chinese love links is a website to         .

       A．help foreigners to travel in China

       B．help both Chinese and foreigners to find one they want to marry

       C．help Chinese and foreigners make friends

       D．receive letters from the USA

2．Which of the following is true about Arthur’s story?

       A．He was sure of finding a Chinese woman as his wife at first.

       B．He was determined to find a Chinese woman as his wife.

       C．He almost lost hope in finding a perfect wife until he found Ying.

       D．No women wrote to him before Ying.

3．Ying stood out from the rest because         .

       A．she was a Chinese

       B．she had much in common with Arthur

       C．other women stopped writing to Arthur

       D．she was cute and nice and often phoned to Arthur

4．Arthur thinks       is the most important in finding someone one wants to marry.

       A．being honest with the partner and oneself

       B．help from the website

       C．difference in languages and places

       D．difference in cultures

Despite rising education levels, Americans of every age are reading less and less for pleasure these days, according to an analysis by the National Endowment for the Arts. The decline (下降) could have bad effects as people tune out books, tune in popular culture and become less socially engaged.

“We’ve got a public culture which is almost entirely commercial (商業(yè)化) and novelty – driven (追新),” says NEA chairman Dana Gioia. “I think it’s letting the nation down.”

The study gathers years of data on Americans’ reading habits and finds that, at every age group, we’re reading less.

Most of the data have appeared in private, government and university surveys, but today’s report is the first to combine them into a single portrait. It suggests that the demands of school, work and family and the decisive advantage of other forms of entertainment have caused the decline in reading for millions of Americans.

·Only 38% of adults in 2006 said they had spent time reading a book for pleasure.

·65% of college freshmen in 2005 said they read little or nothing for pleasure.

·30% of 13 – year – olds in 2004 said they read for fun “almost every day,” down from 35% in 1984.

According to Gioia, a poet, they decline is probably the single most important social issue in the United States today. The findings should be a wake – up call to educators to change the way they teach literature at every level. It was once believed that if someone went to college, they would become a lifelong reader. What we’re seeing right now is that we’re no longer producing readers. We’re producing B. A. s and M. A. s and Ph. D. s.

Cioia also wants main media to wake up to how they can promote good books in many ways. He notes that when a character in the 1994 film Four Weddings and a Funeral recited a few lines of W. H. Auden’s poem Funeral Blues, the poet briefly became a best seller.

1．The underlined phrase “tune out” in the first paragraph probably means        .

       A．close                   B．publish                C．prove                  D．read

2．According to Dana Gioia, the change of Americans’ reading habit       .

       A．is positive and valuable                         B．does harm to the nation

       C．is caused only by popular culture           D．can make poets best sellers

3．Which of the following is NOT the cause for the change in reading habit?

       A．Demands of getting a B. A., M. A. or Ph. D.

       B．Demands of family, school and work.

       C．The change in the way the literature is taught.

       D．Advantages of the entertainment.

4．We can infer that the number of teenagers reading for pleasure reduced by       in 20 years.

       A．30%         B．38%         C．65%         D．5%

Parents in three Midwestern states will soon know just how good or bad their kids’ driving is when their children take the car for a spin (疾駛).

Starting today, American Family Insurance is offering customers with teen drivers free cameras that record what happens when a sudden change in the car’s movement occurs.

The cameras record the action inside and in front of the car in 20 – second audio – video clips (剪輯). The clips are then transmitted to Drive Cam, a San Diego company that analyzes the clips for risky behavior.

Among things the analysts look for is the response time of the drivers and if they are paying attention to the road. Parents can receive a report on their kids’ driving and view the clips on a home computer.

Car accidents are the leading cause of death among U. S. teens, according to the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration).

“There will be fewer accidents,” Rick Fetherston, vice president at American Family said of the new system. American Family will test the system out by offering it for free for one year to 30.000 families in Wisconsin, Indiana and Minnesota to see whether the system results in fewer accidents. If the system is proven to prevent accidents, customers who volunteer to use it might see their insurance premiums (保險費) drop. The company would not be viewing the videos or individual score cars, unless there is an accident.

Bruce Moeller, president of Drive Cam, says his company’s system is already being used by companies with lots of cars. “Some of our customers are reporting a 30% to 90% reduction in their risky driver events,” Moeller says.

But a lawyer in Minneapolis says. “If I felt I needed a camera in the car to watch over my kids, I shouldn’t be letting them drive.”

American Family tested the system in two high schools in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Megan Ireland, 17, said the camera caught her stopping too late and taking turns too fast. The student at Prior Lake High School in Savage, Minn., said she didn’t like it because she felt it invaded her privacy (侵犯隱私) but has warmed up to the system. “Now I don’t really have a problem with it because it’s made me a better driver,” she says. “For real.”

1．The camera is being offered to         by          free of charge now.

       A．teen drivers; a company called Drive Cam

       B．insurance companies; a San Diego company

       C．families with teen drivers; an insurance company

       D．American Family Insurance; the NHTSA

2．The camera is used to         .

       A．record what the teen driver does while driving

       B．prevent the teen drivers from speeding

       C．reduce the insurance premiums

       D．provide videos and score cards for the police

3．Which of the following states is NOT true according to the passage?

       A．Drive Cam will analyze the clips to find if the driver drives riskily.

       B．All the students in Minnesota and Wisconsin don’t like the system.

       C．The insurance company will never look at the clips or score cards of the customers.

       D．If the system can reduce the number of accidents, the fees for insurance will be reduced.

4．The best title for this passage might be          .

       A．Teens, drive carefully                           B．A free camera for kids

       C．Cameras invade Privacy                       D．Cameras keep watch on teen driving

Teen Dating can be fun if you are aware of its pros and cons and are also aware of the ways to protect yourself. There are a couple of suggestions you would like to know before you are out for dating.

Do not go out for dating with somebody whom you have seen only a few times and does not know much about him or her.

Before leaving on a date, know the exact plans for the evening and make sure a parent or friend knows these plans and what time to expect you home. Let your date know that you are expected to call or tell that person when you get in.

Similarly, if you leave a party with someone you do not know well, make sure you tell another person you are leaving and with whom. Ask a friend to call and make sure you arrive home safely.

No matter how good the person appears to you, trust your inner instincts (直感). If a situation makes you uncomfortable, try to stay calm and think of a way to remove yourself from the situation without letting your date realize what is going on in your mind.

Be aware of your decreased ability to react under the influence of alcohol or drugs and keep yourself in control when out for a date.

Always stay firm, straightforward and clear in your relationships, thoughts, decisions and judgments. Never let a doubt come to your mind or face when out for dating. If you are firm and clear in your communication, your date will always be careful in dealing with you.

You should think ahead about ways to be safe if you are in a dangerous or potentially (潛在) dangerous relationship. Adults, like parents, teachers, counselors, can be trusted in such cases.

1．Which of the following is forbidden when dating according to the passage?

       A．Going out for dating with a stranger.

       B．Knowing the plan for the evening.

       C．Telling your parents about the date.

       D．Telling the person you date that your parents know about the date.

2．The underlined word “date ” in the third paragraph might mean        .

       A．a time                 B．a plan                  C．a person              D．a place

3．If you feel uncomfortable, you should NOT          .

       A．leave as soon as possible

       B．tell your date what you are thinking

       C．stay calm

       D．trust yourself

4．The best title for this passage might be         .

       A．Be careful with your friends

       B．Never go out dating

       C．Safety measures for teen dating

       D．Dating out is always dangerous

It is sometimes said that the English are polite people. This can make life difficult for foreigners. Suppose a foreign boy asks an English girl to go out with him and she says. “If I finish my work, I’ll meet you in the cafe at 7 o’clock.” Is she saying “yes” or “no” to his invitation?

In grammatical terms, she is using the conditional structure (假設結構). By using the conditional, speakers of English can avoid giving a “yes” or “no” answer to a question. It enables people to be diplomatic(有策略). If the girl doesn’t want to go out with the boy, she won’t turn up at the place she will let him understand she is still working. If she wants to go out with him, but doesn’t want to appear too easy to catch, she has achieved that with her reply. But in this case, as she uses the first conditional which shows probability, she is quite likely to turn up at the café. Being polite can make life very difficult.  

The conditional is often used by people in the news-politicians, for example-who wish to avoid speaking out their ideas. This is very important if they are on their way to discuss an agreement. No one wants to give away his or her points before he or she starts. A government spokesman might say to a group of workers, “if we could pay you more, we would” The use of the conditional here makes room for argument although the speaker is using the second conditional form, which shows improbability. So it is unlikely the workers will get their rise.

 “If” is a small word, which appears often in the English language. It can show politeness and conditionals such as the First-probability-if I can come to your party, I will, the Second – improbability – if I saw you tomorrow. I’d give you the book, and the Third—impossibility (meaning it is too late to change something that has happened)—if you had told me. I would have helped you.

1．The use of conditional can make a speech         .

       A．clearer                B．quicker                C．more polite          D．more exciting

2．Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

     A．Language used in the news should make room to argue.

     B．Usually English girls are not easy to catch.

       C．English people never speak out their ideas in public.

       D．The word “if” can show different meanings.

3．In the passage, “If we could pay you more, we would.” probably means       .  

       A．the workers make more money

     B．the spokesman doesn’t promise anything

     C．the spokesman keeps his word

     D．the workers’ problems aren’t difficult

4．If someone says, “If I were free now, I would go with you”, he means that        .

       A．he is very polite to you

       B．he will go with you

       C．he regrets that he didn’t go with you

       D．he refuses to go with you

--- Good morning, sir. Can I help you?

--- Yes. Good morning.   1 

--- Yes. Here it is.

--- Thank you .  2 

--- Morning Post? It’s one dollar.

--- One dollar. OK.   3   Do you have it?

---Yes. Certainly, sir. Here is the latest issue.

--- How much is it?

---   4 

--- 2.5 dollars.   5 

--- One newspaper and one magazine. It’s 3.5 dollars. Thank you very much, sir.

       A．That’s 2.5 dollars.

       B．I’m also looking for the New Yorkers.

       C．How much is it?

       D．Do you have a newspaper?

       E．OK, I’ll take both of them.

       F．I’d like to buy a copy of today’s Morning Post.

       G．That’s too expensive.

根據下列句子及所給漢語注釋，在答題卡上相應題號的橫線上寫出空缺處各單詞的正確形式（每空只寫一詞。）

1．Operated on in time, the       (病人) is likely to recover soon.               1．       

2．The company offered him the       (職位) he had been longing for after the job interview.

                                                                                                                2．       

3．The student can make herself understood in English because her        (發(fā)音) is excellent.

                                                                                                                3．       

4．He is a man who never          (借) anything to others. That’s why none of us likes him.

                                                                                                                4．       

5．What he said       (聽起來) so strange that I could hardly believe it!      5．       

6．The          (人口) of the city is increasing fast with the pouring in of the peasant workers.

                                                                                                                6．       

7．All the pupils were asked to sit         (直) while listening to the teacher.

                                                                                                                7．       

8．Do you believe in life on planets other than the earth in the     (宇宙)?     8．       

9．Well, you are the        (二十), that is, the last to come.                        9．       

10．Do you think it     (必要) for us to remember so many grammar rules? 10．