There was no possibility of taking a walk that day. We had been wandering, indeed, in the leafless shrubbery an hour in the morning; but since dinner ( Mrs. Reed, when there was no company, dined early) the cold winter wind had brought with it clouds so dark, and rain so likely to pour, that further outdoor exercise was now out of the question.

     I was glad of it. I never liked long walks, especially on cold afternoons. Awful to me was the coming home in the raw twilight, with nipped (凍傷的) fingers and toes, and a heart saddened by the scoldings of Bessie, the nurse, and humbled (貶低) by the consciousness of my physical inferiority to Eliza, John, and Georgiana Reed.

     Eliza, John, and Georgiana were now surrounding their mama in the drawing room; she lay on a sofa by the fireside, and with her darlings around her ( for the time neither quarrelling nor crying) looked perfectly happy. She had stopped me from joining the group. She said that she regretted to be under the necessity of keeping me at a distance, but that until she heard from Bessie, and could discover by her own observation that I was trying to acquire a more sociable and childlike nature and a more attractive and lovely manner, and that she really must exclude me from privileges intended only for good children.

     “What did Bessie say about me?” I asked.

     “Jane, I don’t like questioners; besides, there is something truly forbidding in a child taking up her elders in that manner. Be seated somewhere; remain silent until you can speak pleasantly.”

     The study room adjoined the drawing room and I slipped there. It contained a bookcase. I soon possessed myself of a volume stored with pictures.

     With the book on my knee, I was then happy; happy at least in my way. I feared nothing but interruption, and that came too soon.

46. The underlined phrase “out of the question” in the first paragraph probably means________.

   A. impossible      B. possible    C. likely     D. no problem

47. Jane never liked long walks on cold afternoons because ________.

   A. it often rained   B. it was too cold to walk outside

   C. she often suffered a lot, both mentally and physically      D. she was often scolded by the nurse

48. We can infer from the passage that________.

   A. Jane was treated equally in the family 

B. Jane couldn’t enjoy equal rights with her cousins

C. Mrs. Reed was very strict with Jane for the sake of her

D. Jane was too troublesome

49. From the passage we can infer that ________.

   A. the drawing room contained a bookcase  B. Jane liked reading very much

C. Jane drew the curtain to keep warm      D. Bessie was Jane’s good friend

50. The main idea of this part of the story is ________.

   A. Jane was on good terms with her cousins   B. Jane spent a happy childhood

   C. Jane was badly treated in such a family    D. Jane loved Mrs. Reed and her cousins

About forty years ago, I was an instructor in the military academy at Woolwich, when young Scoresby was given his first examination. Everybody answered the questions well, intelligently, while he—why, dear me—he did not know anything, so to speak. It was painful to see him stand there and give answers that were miracles(奇跡) of stupidity.

I took him aside and found he knew a little about Julius Ceasar’s history. So, I worked him like a slave on a few questions about Ceasar. If you will believe me, when examined again, he was asked no questions but those I made him study. Such an accident does not happen more than once in a hundred years. Well, all through his studies, I stood by him, with the feeling a mother has for a disabled child. And he always saved himself by some miracle.

Then, the Crimean War broke out. Nervously, I waited for the worst to happen. It did. He was appointed an officer. Who could have dreamed that they would place such a responsibility on such weak shoulders as his! I said to myself that I was responsible to the country for this. I must go with him and protect the nation against him as far as I could. So, I joined up with him.

And there, oh dear, he never did anything but mistakes. But, everybody misunderstood his stupid mistakes as works of great intelligence. The battle grew hotter. The English soldiers were steadily withdrawing all over the field. An order came for him to fall back and support our right. Instead, he moved forward and went over the hill to the left. We were over the hill before this crazy movement could be discovered and stopped. And what did we find? A large and unsuspected Russian army waiting! But those surprised Russians thought that no single team by itself would come around there at such a time. It must be the whole British army. They turned tail, away they went over the hill and down into the field in wild disorder, and we after them. In no time, there was the greatest turn around you ever saw.

Until now, nobody knew it but Scoresby and myself. He has filled his whole military life with mistakes, every one of which brought him another honorary title. They are proof that the best thing that can happen to a man is to be born lucky.

46. How was Scoresby doing academically?

  A. His answers to the questions were miracles.

  B. He was good at military history.

  C. He received help because of his disability.

  D. He did rather poorly in his study.

47. “I” join up with Scoresby in the Crimean War because “I” ________.

  A. wanted to see the worst happen

  B. had no confidence in him

  C. liked to fight against Scoresby

  D. wanted to protect my student

48. Why did the Russian army flee?

  A. Because Scoresby mistook his left hand for his right hand.

  B. Because Scoresby failed to recognize the direction.

  C. Because they thought the whole British army were coming.

  D. Because they wanted to go down into the field.

49. What is the secret of Scoresby’s military “success”?

  A. Good luck.           B. Hard work.        C. Help from others       .      D. Mistakes.

50. The tone(語(yǔ)調(diào)) of the passage is _____________.

  A. Relaxing            B. Encouraging   C. Sarcastic(諷刺的)          D. Humorous

After a few days in Pittsburgh, I was happy to leave the city and enjoy the harmony of the countryside. I left my hotel early and drove south to the Bear Run Nature Reserve. As I arrived, I was immediately impressed by the charming Laurel Highlands and other natural sights. However, I was not there to enjoy beauty: I was there to see a house, one of the most famous houses in the world.

The house I had come to see is Fallingwater. It is called Fallingwater because it was built over a waterfall. As most houses are built on solid ground, this house’s location instantly made it famous. When you approach the house, surrounded by forest, streams and mountains, it looks as though the clear blue water were flowing through it, since the stream rushes out from under the ground floor of the building.

The house was designed by the architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, for businessman Edgar Kaufman and his family. As I toured the house, I learnt that it took Wright three years to build the place. The Kaufman family had asked him to design them a home in the middle of the countryside where they could enjoy the sights and sounds of the natural world. Though they lived in the city, they loved to come to the mountains to spend some time in the peace and quiet of nature, where they could go camping in the forest and play in the stream with their children. In fact, they loved the water so much that they asked Wright to design a house that would let them view the beautiful waterfall every day.

Many people have suggested that this incredible building is a work of art, and I would agree that this beautiful house is a masterpiece of design. It also demonstrates how important it is to live side-by-side with nature and to respect it rather than try to dominate it. 

65. ______ impressed the author first as he arrived at the location of Fallingwater.

A. The beauty of nature                                    B. The sight of the waterfall

C. The designer of the house                              D. The preservation of the environment

66. Fallingwater quickly became famous because ______.

A. a famous architect designed it                        B. it was built over waterfall

C. blue water flowed through it                         D. it was situated in a nature reserve

67. The Kaufman family had the house built there in order to ______.

A. move to the countryside                            B. live in a masterpiece

C. enjoy the harmony of nature                         D. create a new scenic spot

68. What is the best title of the passage?

A. A Talent Designer and His Masterpiece          B. Human and Nature

C. A House over Waterfall                                D. Life in Fallingwater

I am a writer．I spend a great deal of my time thinking about the power of language—the way it can evoke (喚起) an emotion，a visual image，a complex idea，or a simple truth．Language is the tool of my trade．And I use them all—all the Englishes I grew up with．     

     Born into a Chinese family that had recently arrived in California，I've been giving more thought to the kind of English my mother speaks．Like others．I have described it to people as "broken" English．But feel embarrassed to say that．It has always bothered me that I can think of no way to describe it other than "broken"，as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed，as if it lacked a certain wholeness．I've heard other terms used，"limited English，"for example．But they seem just as bad，as if everything is limited，including people's perceptions(認(rèn)識(shí))of the limited

English speaker．

     I know this for a fact，because when l was growing up，my mother's "limited" English limited my perception of her．I was ashamed of her English．I believed that her English reflected the quality of what she had to say．That is，because she expressed them imperfectly her thoughts were imperfect．And I had plenty of evidence to support her：the fact that people in department stores，at banks，and at restaurants did not take her seriously，did not give her good service，pretended not to understand her，or even acted as if they did not hear her．

     I started writing fiction in l985．And for reasons l won't get into today，I began to write stories using all the Englishes I grew up with：the English she used with me，which for lack of a better term might be described as "broken"．a(chǎn)nd what I imagine to be her translation of her Chinese，her internal(內(nèi)在的)language and for that I sought to preserve the essence，but neither an English nor a Chinese structure：I wanted to catch what language ability tests can never show；her intention，her feelings，the rhythms of her speech and the nature of her thoughts．

68. By saying "Language is the tool of my trade"，the author means that ________.

   A．she uses English in foreign trade        B．she is fascinated by languages

   C．she works as a translator                         D．she is a writer by profession

69. Which of the following is TRUE according to Paragraph 3 ?

   A．Americans do not understand broken English．

   B．The author's mother was not respected sometimes．

   C．The author's mother had positive influence on her．

   D．Broken English always reflects imperfect thoughts．

70. The author gradually realizes her mother's English is________.

   A．well structured           B．in the old style    

   C．easy to translate               D．rich in meaning

71. What is the passage mainly about?

   A．The changes of the author's attitude to her mother's English．

   B．The limitation of the author's perception of her mother．

   C．The author's misunderstanding of“l(fā)imited”English．

   D．The author's experiences of using broken English．

Mike Maietta was eating lunch when he got a text message from his mom.

    “Notre Dame,” it said. “Big envelope!”

    Mike, a senior at a Californian high school, shouted with joy. The big envelope meant that the excellent university in Indiana had offered him a place in its Class of 2013. But the $51,300 annual fee is a big obstacle. So Mike and his parents are considering offers from several other colleges and are calculating the costs of tuition, housing and holiday trips home.

    This year, money is the driving factor for a growing number of high school seniors, who have to decide what colleges to attend this fall. Less jobs and plunging house prices have changed family spending.

    “We’re excited that Mike got into eight great schools,” said Mike’s father, an engineer at Microsoft. “But if you consider going to school out of state, you’ve got to think about all of the other costs: moving, flying back and forth for the holidays. You’re looking at about $3,000 a year, just for travel.”

    As families weigh their choices, some are going back to financial aid offices hoping help packages can be increased.

    Rachel Brown was happy to get a thick envelope from New York University (NYU). Although she has always wanted to live in Manhattan, she is seriously considering the University of California San Diego (UCSD), because of the high cost in New York.

“The tuition for NYU is twice as much as UCSD,” said Rachel, 17. “My mom doesn’t want me to have a big debt when I graduate, and I don’t want that either. I’d have to take out a loan of $15,000. I’ll check and see if there’s any way that NYU can offer me any financial aid.”

More than 7.6 million American students have filled out the Free Application for Students Aid, a 19.9 percent increase over last year.

This month the Federal Department of Education urged college financial aid officers to give more help to certain families. A record 30,428 students applied for 2,300 places at Stanford, partly because the university increased financial aid for families earning below $10,000.

68. Mike may give up Notre Dame because of ______.

      A. travel fees                                            B. financial concerns

      C. poor exam results                                  D. worries about living far away from home

69. The phrase “Big envelope” in paragraph 2 probably refers to “______”.

      A. A text message                                      B. A large gift package

      C. An admission letter                                D. A scholarship letter

70. What can we learn from the passage?

A. The number of American senior students applying for financial aid is increasing.

      B. Rachel Brown has given up NYU because of its high tuition and big debts.

      C. It is inevitably hard for college students to borrow money to cover costs.

D. An interest-free loan for students helps more students apply for Stanford.          

71. The passage mainly focuses on ______.

A. the calculation of different costs including tuition

B. the extremely hard financial situation in America

C. the excitement of students’ being able to enter ideal colleges

D. the financial crisis of families over college entrance

Music has often been used in movies to create mood and add dimension to the images which the audience sees on the screen. One man who is famous for his ability to write powerful and highly effective music for movies is John Williams. Mr. Williams has been writing music for movies since 1960, but he is perhaps best known for his award-winning scores for movies such as Jaws, Star Wars, and Schindler's List. Before he began writing music for the movies, Mr. Williams dreamed of being a concert pianist. He studied at both the University of California, Los Angeles and Juilliard School. During the 1950s, Mr. Williams was into jazz and he worked in New York City with many jazz artists. Later, he moved back to Los Angeles where he continued to play the piano for jazz musicians. He also got a job writing music for television shows. It was this television job that led him into movies.

     Throughout the 1960s, Mr. Williams wrote the music that can be heard in more than 20 movies. Most of these movies were light comedies. Then, in 1975, the director of the movie Jaws, Steven Spielberg, hired Mr. Williams. The director thought that Mr. William's music added so much to the scary （引起恐慌的）scenes of the movie that he insisted on working with Mr. Williams in all of his future movies. Other directors and Hollywood film studios also demanded to work with Mr. Williams, and his career as a composer of movie soundtracks took off. Many of these movies have soundtracks that are still available in music stores today. They include The Deer Hunter, Raiders of the Lost Ark, ET, and Jurassic Park.

     In 1980, Mr. Williams had another chance to expand his musical experience. He was chosen to be the new conductor for the Boston Pops Orchestra when Arthur Fiedler retired. Mr. Williams gladly accepted the position because it only required that he conduct the orchestra during the summer. This left him free to continue writing music for the movies during the rest of the year. Mr. Williams conducted the Boston Pops for more than 12 years before he decided to retire and write music full-time. Along with the many movie music scores he has written, Mr. Williams has also written two symphonies, a flute concerto, and a violin concerto. Up to now, Mr. Williams has written music for more than 60 movies. It is no wonder that he is today's most famous Hollywood composer.

69. What is John Williams most famous for?

    A. Conducting.                 B. Making movies.

    C. Playing jazz.                 D. Writing music for movies.

70. What happened to Mr. Williams in 1975?

    A. He began writing music for movies.      B. He moved to Hollywood.

    C. He worked with Steven Spielberg.        D. He worked for the Boston Pops.

71. Which of the following things has Mr. Williams not done?

    A. Conducted an orchestra.              B. Directed a movie.

C. Played jazz piano.                   D. Writing classical music.

Just before midnight, six University of Cincinnati students were watching TV in an on-campus apartment when three men burst through the door. While one of the intruders pointed a gun at the group, the other two scooped up $4,400 worth of laptops, cell phones, video games and cash. Once they had what they wanted, the trio fled into the night.

Furious, the students chased down and tackled one of the burglars -- the one with the gun. In the struggle, it went off, and a bullet grazed a student's leg. His friends piled on the gunman and held him until police showed up.

By the next day, the injured young man was back in his apartment, and the suspect was in jail, charged with burglary, felonious assault and receiving stolen property. But how did the men manage to storm into an on-campus residence that November night in the first place? Simple: Students told police the building's main doors hadn't latched properly for days.

As parents confront ballooning college costs and shrinking acceptance rates, they are finding themselves with an even bigger, more basic problem: Which campuses are safe? Colleges seem like idyllic and secure places, and for the most part, they are. But ivy-covered walls can't keep out every bad element. This country's 6,000 colleges and universities report some 40,000 burglaries, 3,700 forcible sex offenses, 7,000 aggravated assaults and 48 murders a year. Other hazards -- fires, binge-drinking, mental-health problems -- are also on the rise.

Of course, that's not what parents and students see on America's serene campuses. There's a false sense of security, says Harry Nolan, a safety consultant in New York City. "Students see guards patrolling at night or a video camera monitoring the dorm entrance and think, Nothing bad can happen to me," he explains. "People don't know that safety controls are often very lax."

65. What did the students do after the burglars fled into the night?

       A. They stood there in surprise.                  B. They ran after the burglars at once.

       C. They waited for the police.                            D. They phoned their teacher.

66. What does the underlined word “l(fā)atched” in the third paragraph probably mean?

       A. watched            B. fixed                        C. locked               D. kept

67. What worries parents most except ballooning college costs and shrinking acceptance rates?

       A. Their children’s grades in the universities or colleges.

       B. Their children’s safety in the universities or colleges.

       C. Their children’s behavior in the universities or colleges.

       D. Their children’s relationship with classmates in the universities or colleges.

 Martin Luther King, Jr., is well known for his work in civil rights and for his many famous speeches, among them his moving “I Have a Dream” speech. But few people know much about King’s childhood, Martin Luther as he was called was born in 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, at the home of his maternal grandfather. Martin Luther’s grandfather, the Reverend A.D. Williams, purchased their home on Auburn Avenue in 1909, 28 years before Martin Luther was born. The Reverend A.D. Williams, an eloquent speaker, played an important role in the community because so many people’s lives centered around the church. He allowed his church and his home to be used as a meeting place for a number of organizations dedicated to the education and social advancement of blacks. Martin Luther grew up in this atmosphere, with his home being used as community gathering place, and was no doubt influenced by it.

Martin Luther’s childhood was not especially memorable. His father was a minister and his mother was a musician. He was the second of three children, and he attended all-black schools in a black neighbourhood. The neighbourhood was not poor, however, Auburn Avenue was the main artery through a prosperous neighbourhood that he had come to symbolize achievement for Atlanta’s black people. It was area of banks, insurance companies, builders, jewelers, tailors, doctors, lawyers and other black-owned or black-operated businesses and services. Even in the face of Atlanta’s segregation (種族隔離), district thrived. Dr. King never forgot the community spirit he had known as a child, nor did he forget the racial prejudice（歧視） that was a seemingly insurmountable barrier that kept black Atlantans from mingling with whites.

68. This passage mainly gives an account of ______.

       A. the prejudice that existed in Atlanta  B. Martin Luther’s grandfather

       C. Martin Luther King’s childhood              D. the neighbourhood where King grew up

69. According to the author, King was influenced by ______.

       A. community spirit                           B. black lawyer     

C. his mother                                     D. his grandfather’s speeches

70. The word “mingling” in paragraph 2 is the closest in meaning to ______.

       A. interfering         B. consuming         C. associating         D. meeting

71. This passage tells us that Martin Luther King, Jr. ______.

       A. had a difficult childhood

       B. was a good musician when he was a boy

       C. loved to listen to his grandfather speak

       D. grew up in a relatively rich area of Atlanta

When I stepped out the plane from Miami into Charlotte, North Carolina, airport for a connecting flight home, I immediately knew something was wrong. Lots of desperate people crowded the terminal. I quickly learned that flights headed to the Northeast were called off because of a storm. The earliest they could get us out of Charlotte was Tuesday. It was Friday. A gate agent stood on the counter and shouted, “Don’t ask us for help! We cannot help you!”

I joined a crowd that ran from terminal to terminal in search of a flight out. Eventually, I found six strangers willing to rent a van with me. We drove through the night to Washington, where I took a train the rest of the way to Providence.

The real problem, of course, is that incidents like this happen every day, to everyone who flies, more and more often. It really gets to me, though, because for eight years I was on the other side, as a flight attendant for Trans-World Airlines(TWA).

I know the days are gone when attendants could be written up if we did not put the lines napkins with the TWA logo in the lower right-hand corner of the first-class diners’ trays. As are the days when there were three dinner options on flights from Boston to Los Angeles in economy class. When, once, stuck on a tarmac (機(jī)場(chǎng)停機(jī)坪) in Newark for four hours, a planeload of passengers got McDonald’s hamburgers and fries by thoughtfulness of the airline.

I have experienced the decline of service along with the rest of the flying public. But I believe everything will change little by little, because I remember the days when to fly was to soar (翱翔). The airlines, and their employees, took pride in how their passengers were treated. And I think the days are sure to come back one day in the near future.

Many people crowded the terminal because ________.

A. they were ready to board on the planes

     B. something was wrong with the terminal

     C. the flights to the Northeast were canceled

     D. the gate agent wouldn’t help the passengers

73. The writer got to Providence ________ at last.

     A. by air            B. by van           C. by train          D. by underground

74. Which of the following is not true according to the passage?

     A. Incidents happened to those who fly quite often.

     B. The writer used to be a flight attendant for Trans-World Airlines.

     C. Even a small mistake might cause complaints from passengers in the past.

     D. McDonald’s hamburgers and fries were among regular dinner options. 

75. What can be implied from the passage?

     A. The writer lived in Charlotte, North Carolina.

     B. The writer thought the service was not as good as it used to be.

     C. The writer with other passengers waited to be picked up patiently.

     D. Passengers would feel proud of how they were treated on the plane.

When I was an education official in Palo Alto, California. Polly Tyner, the president of our school board, wrote a letter that was printed in the Palo Alto Times. Polly’s son, Jim, had great difficulty in school. He was classified as educationally disabled and required a great deal of patience on the part of his parents and teachers. But Jim was a happy kid with a great smile that lit up the room. His parents acknowledged his academic difficulties, but always tried to help him see his strengths so that he could walk with pride. Shortly after Jim finished high school, he was killed in a motorcycle accident. After his death, his mother submitted this letter to the newspaper.

Today we buried our 20-year-old son. He was killed instantly in a motorcycle accident on Friday night. How I wish I had known when I talked to him last that it would be the last time. If I had only known I would have said, “Jim, I love you and I’m very proud of you.”

I would have taken the time to count the many blessings he brought to the lives of the many who loved him. I would have taken the time to appreciate his beautiful smile, the sound of his laughter, his genuine love of people.

When you put all the good qualities on the scale and try to balance all the irritating phenomena such as the radio which was always too loud, the haircut that wasn’t to our liking, the dirty socks under the bed, etc., your angry feelings won’t amount to much.

I won’t get another chance to tell my son all that I would have wanted him to hear, but, other parents, you do have a chance. Tell your young people what you would want them to hear if you knew it would be your last conversation. The last time I talked to Jim was the day he died. He called me to say, “Hi, Mom! I just called to say I love you. Got to go to work. Bye.” He gave me something to treasure forever.

If there is any purpose at all for Jim’s death, maybe it is to make others appreciate more of life and to have people, especially family members, take the time to let each other know just how much we care.

According to the passage, we know that ____.

A. Jim kept to himself                                      B. Jim did very well in his studies

C. Jim’s parents were patient with him               D. Jim failed to finish his high school

The underlined word “irritating” in Paragraph 4 means ____.

A. annoying                  B. aggressive                C. impatient                  D. thrilling

By writing the letter printed in the Palo Alto Times, the author intends to ____.

A. mourn her son’s sudden death in a traffic accident

B. remind people to be cautious of motorcycles

C. advise people to take the chance to express their love in time

D. appreciate more of life than ever before

What can be the best title of the passage?

A. Love Your Family.                                       B. Do It Today.

C. Walk with Pride.                                                 D. Appreciate Smiles.