As      matter of fact,      beauty of      nature there made an excellent impression on me.

A.a; the; the              B.the; the; /                   C.a; the; /                     D.a; /; the

Leap Year

Leap year is a year that has 366 days instead of the usual 365．It normally occurs every four years, always on an even-numbered year．The extra day is added to our shortest month．That is the second month of the year, which in non-leap years has 28 days, two fewer that any other month．    71   

Leap year is also called the bissextile year．    72     In our calendar system there is a need for a leap year because the solar year （the time it takes the earth to go around the sun once） is actually slightly more than 365 days long．That extra day—Feb．29 every four years—helps correct the difference between our calendar and the solar calendar．

Leap year was first made part of the calendar by the ancient Roman leader Julius Caesar．His astronomers had calculated the length of the solar year to be 365 days and six hours．So Caesar declared that an extra day be added to the calendar．    73  

Caesar's adjustment, however, was not entirely accurate because his astronomers' year exceeded the true solar year by eleven minutes and fourteen seconds．By 1582, a difference of ten days had developed between the calendar year and the true solar year．To correct this error, Pope Gregory XIII ruled that every fourth year would continue to be a leap year except for century years that could not be divided evenly by 400．By this system, century years such as 1700, 1800, and 1900 were not leap years, but the year 2000 was a leap year．    74   

Persons born on Feb．29 celebrate their growing up a little differently from the rest of us．  75     But if they go strictly by the calendar, they have only one-fourth as many birthday celebrations as most people．

       A．This is done every four years．

       B．This is its formal, or scientific title．

       C．This may seem complicated, but it works．

       D．They acknowledge that they get older each year．

E．The leap year was introduced in the Julian calendar in 46 BC．

       F．When you see Feb．29 on a calendar, you know that year is a leap year．

       G．In a leap year, the extra day is added to the second month, giving it 29 instead of the usual 28 days

It is football time again．Currently, the qualifying rounds are being played to decide which countries will send teams to the next World Cup．Some Soccer is becoming more and more popular on a worldwide scale and these qualifying legs are causing much excitement．

The game is popular at club level as well．Many fans go every week to support their teams, whether the event is a home or away one, hoping to get a result．They all hope an attacking game, with a lot of goals being scored．Obviously, they do not want to see a boring, defensive match where the players are aimlessly passing the ball to each other．

Sadly, not all the action always takes place on the ground．All too frequently, there is action in the stands, too．Football supporters, most of whom declare their loyalty , by wearing their team colors, in the form of shirts, are not known for their quiet behavior．They are often very noisy, shouting noisy encouragement to their team and singing deafening songs．

There is much rivalry between supporters．Mostly, this is good-natured, but trouble can easily arise．Fans get angry if they feel that a referee has made a wrong decision, perhaps giving one of their team a red or yellow card unfairly, or perhaps failing to notice a foul committed by a member of the other team．

When trouble breaks out in a football crowd, it can be difficult to control．Stadium officials often seat the opposing fans in separate parts of the ground as a precaution against fighting． However, preventing trouble is more difficult outside the ground．In the worst cases, riot （暴亂）police have to be called in．

Unfortunately, there are some fans who enjoy this violent aspect of football．These football hooligans （流氓） really enjoy a running battle with the police, and call up other people to throw stones and bottles at them．They regard football not only as a sport, but as an excuse for trouble makings．Inevitably, their behavior spoils the reputation of the game．

67．The qualifying rounds are played to ______．

       A．make the game more exciting                B．attract soccer fans at club level

       C．raise funds for the organization             D．select the teams for the next rounds

68．What do football fans hope to see?

       A．A home game．                          B．A defensive game．

       C．An exciting game．                       D．An evenly matched game．

69．Riot police are called in ______．

       A．to stop lighting occurring outside the ground

       B．to separate the opposing fans inside the ground

       C．as a precaution against trouble inside the ground

       D．as a precaution against lighting outside the ground

70．It is implied in the last paragraph that ______．

       A．football has a poor reputation

       B．football hooligans are crazy about the games

       C．football fans enjoy spoiling games

       D．football can be an excuse for troublemaking

To whom it may concern,

This letter describes the worst travel experience I have ever had．The problems we had were the result of poor management and thoughtless employees．Your airline should be ashamed of treating its  customers so poorly．

On January 5, we arrived in Denver from Houston and checked in for our next flight．It wasn't long before the agent announced that our flight would be delayed because of a mechanical problem． The equipment was in Aspen, and they expected it to be repaired soon．

Soon shortly turned to much later, and during the delay, weather temporarily closed the Aspen airport．The weather cleared in Aspen and the plane took off very late for Denver．While it was in the air, the agent announced that the plane would be used for the next flight and that our flight was being cancelled．

This cancellation struck me as being unfair．There was a mad scramble （爭先恐后） as the 50 or so passengers scheduled for our flight fought for seats on later flights．When the dust settled, we were wait-listed on the 9'-00 flight the next morning．We had to spend the night in the airport．

Coming home was no better．Because of a mechanical problem, it looked like we would miss our connection in Denver．The agent assured us they would hold the Newark flight for us．Needless to say, the flight to Houston taxied out as we pulled into the gate．Arrangements were made for us to take the next flight, so we sat in the airport for 5 hours．When we finally arrived in Houston, our skis were missing．As of this writing, the skis have not been found．

Nothing you can do will make us feel better about our flights．If you are a responsible business, however, you will do what you can to see that passengers in the future are treated better．

With great displeasure,

Phyllis Dooley

64．When Phyllis wrote her letter, she felt ______．

       A．tired              B．fooled            C．annoyed          D．ashamed

65．What was Phyllis' destination when she left home on January 5?

       A．Denver．          B．Houston．       C．Aspen．           D．Not mentioned

66．What happened to Phyllis on her day coming home?

       A．She took a taxi to Houston airport．

       B．Her flight to Houston was cancelled．

       C．Her flight was delayed for five hours．

       D．She missed her connection in Denver．

Service Foods makes it easier for cooks to reduce mealtime complaints．Service Foods is so confident that they can reduce complaints, in fact, that the company is offering a series of mealtime complaint-reduction tips．

According to a representative of Service Foods, complaints can occur when busy cooks serve substandard, low quality meats．As products sit in packaging in the meat case at the store, the meat can age out too much．The natural flavor disappears, and it can be replaced with an undesirable strange flavor．According to Service Foods, complaints from children are common when you serve substandard meats．Kids may not have the words to describe why they don't like the meats, but they're certainly willing to express their displeasure．By serving meats from Service Foods, complaints can be reduced．Service Foods meats are all natural and organic, meaning the meats have-no chemicals or water or colorings that could change the taste．And the meats are flash-frozen right after cutting, so they won't taste strange to your children．

If you're facing different types of complaints, Service Foods may still be able to help you．Some families have mealtime boredom．The same meals, served in the same way, week after week, can be incredibly boring and hard 'to look forward to．When it comes to these complaints, Service Foods has the answer right on the web．Just go to http: //www. servicefoods．com and you'll find a long list of recipes to try．Some of these recipes are made in demonstration format, so you can watch the video and get step-by-step instructions on how to prepare the meals．By following these recipes from Service Foods, complaints relating to boredom can certainly be reduced．

While Service Foods knows complaints at mealtime can never be totally eradicated, as picky kids will always be picky kids with concerns, the company is doing everything possible to deal with the problem and get cooks the help they need．

60．Service Foods can solve mealtime boredom by ______．

       A．serving flash-frozen meat

       B．expressing children's complaints

       C．instructing different ways of cooking

       D．supplying natural food without chemicals

61．The underlined word "eradicated" in the last paragraph can be replaced with ______．

       A．covered            B．removed             C．reduced                                   D．accepted

62．From the passage we can learn that Service Foods can do the following EXCEPT ______．

       A．cook food for picky kids

       B．teach how to prepare meals

       C．provide natural and organic meat

       D．help reduce complaints about foods

63．What will the readers probably do after reading the passage?

       A．Pay for Service Foods service．

       B．Buy organic meat from now on．

       C．Write recipes for Service Foods．

       D．Answer complaints on the web．

A motivational strategy that parents can employ with their kids, is to frame tasks and responsibilities in the context of what the end benefit is for them．I call this strategy WIIFM （"What's in it for me?" ）．

When a teen can combine an understanding of WIIFM with a sense of passion about achieving a goal, barriers will start to fall away．At our teen summer camps, we arrange an event near the end of the 10-day session that helps campers identify an important life goal and mentally break through their biggest barrier to achieving the goal． We pass around 12-by-12-inch pine boards．We tell campers that this activity is not about breaking a piece of wood．It's about how you can get what you want in your life．It's about breaking

barriers to grab on to your goals．

They have the power to break through any barrier．It has nothing to do with body size or physical condition．The skinniest, smallest teens will break through the board almost as easily as the big ones．

We talk to the campers about the reasons they might have had for not reaching their goals in the past．Maybe they got lazy and decided it wasn't worth the effort．Maybe they failed and let their fear of failure hold them back．But this exercise is about putting the past where it belongs．Today is about making new choices．

By this point in the program, we ask them to think of the goal they've set or themselves and write their goals on the boards．Then they write the possible obstacles which may hold them back on the opposite sides．An inch of pine now stands between them and their dreams．

The facilitators and their teammates gather around．The support is strong．One by one, they break through the barriers and grab their goals! All around us teens are laughing, crying, hugging, and holding up the broken pieces of their boards．The confidence shown on their faces is beautiful．

While arranging such an activity in one's home is almost unrealistic for parents, the value of helping a teen break through a personal hairier simply by being there as moral support can not be overestimated．More help for parents in the form of videos and articles is available at our website, in our blogs and in a monthly e-newsletter．

56．The 12-by-12-inch pine boards are used as ______．

       A．materials to test one's muscles             B．signs of goals in one's life

       C．assessments to show one's progress        D．symbols of barriers in one's life

57．We can learn from the passage that through the event the campers ______．

       A．become hard-working                    B．get moral support

       C．gain confidence                         D．set right goals

58．Which is the best title for the passage?

       A．The Power of WIIFM                  B．What's in It for Me

       C．The Importance of Goals                 D．Motivational Strategies

59．The passage is intended for ______．

       A．teens                B．parents                C．campers             D．tutors

Dash of Hope

"Dash" is a symbol which represents every day we've spent alive on earth．Therefore, how you spend your "dash" is important．

Recently I   36   about a little girl named Hope．After learning more about her life, I couldn't help but feel it was not by   37   , nor happenstance, that she had been named "Hope"．The strong feeling of sympathy and generosity  38   in her young heart made a lasting impression on me and countless others． 39   I never had the opportunity to meet her, I wish I had．It seems as though she was wise beyond her tender years and very, very special．

Hope was a twelve-year-old girl who was   40   a "wish" in early December 2010 by the "Make-A-Wish" Foundation after being   41   that she had a rare type of bone cancer．However, when she found out that more than 150   42   in her area were waiting for their wishes to be granted （實現） , she unselfishly used her wish to   43   that those children have their wishes granted．She also asked tW it be done   44   January 16, 2011．Unfortunately, however, the organization informed her that her   45   request could not be granted as the funds （資金） were simply   46 ．They calculated that they would need to raise more than one   47   dollars in thirty days in order to grant her wish． 48  , but not discouraged, she turned her disappointment into an enthusiasm that inspired caring   49   to take up helping grant the wishes of the other children, and eventually   50    as well．Newspaper columnists and reporters for radio and TV stations 51   the story of this caring young girl who had   52   the hearts of so many and as word spread, the community was challenged．Committees were fanned and schools, corporations and various organizations assisted in   53   money to help make Hope's dream come true．

Her efforts were not in vain as they continue to help others, not only   54   , but spiritually and emotionally as well．At the gathering to celebrate her life, "A Celebration of Hope" on January 16, 2011 , the   55   was made that they had indeed received donations totaling more than one million dollars．Her wish had been granted!

36．A．heard                  B．thought               C．cared                  D．talked

37．A．coincidence         B．independence      C．convenience        D．intelligence

38．A．lost                     B．carried                C．expected             D．housed

39．A．Until                   B．Unless                C．Though               D．If

40．A．expressed            B．offered                C．made                  D．sent

41．A．recognized           B．informed             C．reminded             D．understood

42．A．children               B．citizens                C．villagers              D．relatives

43．A．suggest               B．ask                     C．arrange               D．order

44．A．for                      B．to                       C．on                      D．by

45．A．final                    B．formal                 C．simple                 D．noble

46．A．unbearable           B．unbelievable         C．unavailable           D．uncomfortable

47．A．thousand             B．hundred               C．million                 D．billion

48．A．Disappointed        B．Surprised             C．Worried               D．Embarrassed

49．A．committees          B．individuals           C．corporations        D．organizations

50．A．theirs                  B．ours                    C．hers                    D．yours

51．A．wrote                  B．read                    C．broadcast            D．shared

52．A．touched               B．examined             C．won                    D．opened

53．A．finding                B．spending              C．raising                 D．borrowing

54．A．perfectly             B．physically            C．healthily              D．thankfully

55．A．proposal              B．decision               C．conclusion           D．announcement

If people ______virtual reality holidays, we ______ on an around-the-world tour．

       A．invent; go                            B．invented; had gone

       C．invent; have gone                        D．invented; would go

University of Cambridge, ______ in 1209, is home to a great number of outstanding figures．

       A．found                                        B．founding                 C．founded           D．to be founded

Advertising can influence consumers' moods, ______, in turn, can influence consumers' reactions to products．

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