I used to work in an office, which had a Iocust tree growing outside the window. It had grown into a tall tree and must have been there for a long time. The tree blocked the view and made the office seem dull. Unfortunately, this happened to be the room assigned to me, and l was depressed by it for quite some time.
When the first spring came, everything was green except the locust tree.I felt very happy because I had thought it had died!
One morning, when I opened the window for some fresh air, I unexpectedly smelt a familiar sweet scent floating into my office which I could not name. Suddenly,I realized it was the locust tree!The tree that I thought dead was in full bloom!
From then on, I usually came to the office very early to see dew forming on the locust tree blossoms, and was eager to see spring again every year.
During summer, the green leaves provided shade protecting me from the harsh sunlight, but allowing enough light in to make it pleasant. In autumn, the leaves turned many different colors. Its beauty touched my soul. Many times, I thought to take photos but never did. Then, I had to leave in a hurry. Later in life, it became a great regret that I had not done so.
Actually, many times in our lives we think we own something and thus do not value it. We don't feel regretful until we lose it one day! Moreover, sometimes, we have to accept the things we don't want and need to discover the hidden beauty to find unexpected joy!
【小題1】 The locust tree first attracted the author most by____.

Section B
Directions: Read the following four passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C, and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.
A
After my husband died suddenly from a heart attack, my world crashed around me. My six children were all under 10, and I was burdened with the responsibilities of earning a living, and caring for the children. I was fortunate to find a wonderful housekeeper to care for the children during the week, but from Friday nights to Monday mornings, the children and I were alone.
One Friday evening I came home from work to find a big pretty German Shepherd(牧羊犬) on our doorstep. This dog seemed to intend to enter the house. The children liked “German” immediately and begged me to let him in. I agreed to let him sleep in the basement. That night I slept peacefully for the first time in many weeks.
The following morning we made phone calls and checked lost-and-found ads for German’s owner, but with no results.
On Sunday I had planned to take the children on a picnic. Since I thought it best to leave German behind in case his owner came by, we drove off without him. When we stopped to get gas, we were amazed to see German racing to the gas station after us. No way was he going to be left behind.
Monday morning I let him out for a run. He didn’t come back and we were all disappointed. We were convinced that we would never see him again. We were wrong. The next Friday evening, German was back on our doorstep. Again he stayed until Monday morning, when our housekeeper arrived.
This pattern repeated itself every weekend for almost 10 months. We grew more and more fond of German. We took comfort in his strong, warm presence, and we felt safe with him near us. As German became part of the family, he considered it his duty to check every bedroom to be sure each child was cozy in bed.
Each week, between German’s visits, I grew a little stronger, a little braver and more able to handle; every weekend we were no longer alone and enjoyed his company. Then one Monday morning we patted him on the head and let him out for what turned out to be the last time. We never saw German again.
65. The dog first came to the family when________.
A. it was needed most                                       B. the writer became strong enough
C. the writer was away on a business trip           D. the writer was busy on the weekday
66. The family planned to go on a picnic without the German Shepherd because_______.
A. it was too wild to control                              B. it was too young to walk so far
C. the owner might come by to pick it up           D. it might spoil the trip
67. The writer was ________ the German Shepherd.
A. afraid of                  B. grateful to                      C. cruel to                   D. annoyed with
68. Which of the following can’t be used to describe the dog?
A. Loyal                      B. Beautiful.                C. Lovely.                    D. Wild.

One evening I went out and left my 17-year-old son in charge of his 8-year-old brother and 4-year-old sister.On this occasion,the work was made less troublesome by the presence of his girlfriend.I left with complete confidence that the older children would do a wonderful job of babysitting the younger children.Later,I discovered that complete confidence was the last thing I should have left home with.

I had decided to return home earlier than planned so that my son and his girlfriend could go out.I called home with this happy news.But instead of hearing his cheerful,grateful voice on the other end of the line,all I heard was the sound of a telephone ringing.

It was,I should point out,after 10 p.m.,when the two younger children should have been in bed.and when the two older children should have been answering the phone.“I’ll give him a lesson.”I said.I decided they must be outside.Why they might be outside at 10∶30 on a winter night I had no idea,but it was the only explanation I could come up with.

Finally,in desperation,I called his girlfriend’s house.After what seemed like countless rings,his girlfriend answered.“Yes,”she said brightly,“He’s right here.”

He came on the phone.I was not my usual calm,rational(理智的)self.After all,one of the rules of survival for modern parents is that you can’t trust modem teenagers.“Where are the children?”I said.He said they were with him.They had done nothing wrong.My son had taken the younger children over to his girlfriend’s house just for ice cream and cake.This was too good to be believed.Well,it turns out that I shouldn’t have believed it.It was only part of the truth.

The following Saturday evening we were at my parents home,celebrating my birthday.My oldest son gave me the children’s gifts.Mounted and framed were a series of lovely color photographs of my children,dressed in their best clothes,and wearing their most wonderful expressions.They are pictures to treasure a lifetime,all taken by the father of my son’s girlfriend.

The author went out and left her eldest son in charge of the younger children

 because        .

A.she knew that her eldest son was a good baby-sitter

B.she thought it no hard work to take care of the younger ones

C.she believed he could do well with his girlfriend’s help

D.she could not find a baby-sitter on that winter night

When the author called home that evening,she found that        .

A.two younger children had already been in bed

B.the children were preparing a birthday gift for her

C.her son was quarrelling with his girlfriend

D.there was no one answering the telephone

What can you learn from the underlined sentence in the fifth paragraph?

A.The author didn’t believe what her son had told her.

B.The author had complete confidence in her son.

C.The author believed her son was telling the truth.

D.The author was moved by what her children had done.

What might the children do that evening?

A.They had a birthday party.

B.They framed some photographs.

C.They had their pictures taken.

D.They made some beautiful clothes.

What does the author intend to teIl us by the story?

A.Modem teenagers are not worth trusting.

B.It is no easy job to look after young children.

C.It’s no good to have a girlfriend at an early age.

D.Her children have a caring and tender heart.

Many Going to College Are Not Ready
Only about half of this year’s high school graduates have the reading skills they need to succeed in college, and even fewer are prepared for college-level science and math courses, according to a yearly report from ACT, which produces one of the nation’s leading college admissions tests.
The report, based on scores of the 2005 high school graduates who took the exam, some 1.2 million students in all, also found that fewer than one in four met the college-readiness benchmarks （基準）in all four subjects tested: reading comprehension, English, math and science.
ACT sets its college-readiness benchmarks — including the reading comprehension benchmark, which is new this year—by correlating（聯(lián)系）earlier students’ ACT scores with grades they actually received as college freshmen. Based on that data, the benchmarks indicate the skill level at which a student has a 70 percent likelihood（可能性）of earning a C or better, and a 50 percent chance of earning a B or better.
Among those who took the 2005 test, only 51 percent achieved the benchmark in reading, 26 percent in science, and 41 percent in math; the figure for English was 68 percent. Results from the new optional ACT writing test, which was not widely taken this year, were not included in the report.
About 40 percent of the nation’s 2005 high school graduates took the ACT, and the average overall score was unchanged from the year before. Minority students make up 27 percent of all ACT test takers. Besides, there are also other worrying trends in the ACT report as well, including a continuing decline in the percentage of students planning to major in engineering, computer science and education.
50. The report from ACT mainly tells readers the problem that ______.
A. few minority students graduates took ACT
B. many who intend to go to college are not ready
C. the college-readiness benchmarks is high this year
D. the tests for some subjects are too difficult
51. According to the benchmarks in 2005, about how many students will not earn C?
A. 30 percent.      B. 70 percent.      C. 50 percent.       D. 26 percent.
52. Which of the following pictures can correctly show the numbers of the students who achieve the benchmark in different subjects?
A.        B.
C.        D.
53. Which of the followings can be found in the report from ACT in 2005?
A. The report about the writing test is very objective.
B. More boy students are not good at science and math.
C. The percentage of students majoring science declined.
D. The average score of 2005 ACT participants changed greatly.

       File-sharing occurs whenever one individual sends a file to another. The only way to even try to limit this process is to monitor all communication between ordinary people. Despite the crackdown on Napster, Kazaa and other peer-to-peer(對等網(wǎng)絡(luò)) services over the past decade, the volume of file-sharing has grown exponentially. Even if the authorities closed down all other possibilities, people could still send copyrighted files as attachments to e-mails or through private networks. If people start doing that, should we give the government the right to monitor all mail and all encrypted(加密) networks? Whenever there are ways of communicating in private, they will be used to share copyrighted material. If you want to stop people doing this, you must remove the right to communicate in private. There is no other option. Society has to make a choice.
The world is at a crossroads. The internet and new information technologies are so powerful that no matter what we do, society will change. But the direction has not been decided.
The internet it still in its infancy, but already we see fantastic things appearing as if by magic. Take Linux, the free computer operating system, or Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. But where technology opens up new possibilities, our intellectual property laws do their best to restrict them. Linux is held back by patents, the rest of the examples by copyright. The public increasingly recognizes the need for reform.
Our manifesto(聲明) is to reform copyright laws and gradually abolish(廢除) the patent system. We oppose mass surveillance (監(jiān)視)and censorship(審查制度) on the net, as in the rest of society. We intend to devote all our time and energy to protecting the basal civil liberties on the net and elsewhere.
Political decisions taken over the next five years are likely to set the course we take into the information society, and will affect the lives of millions for many years into the future. The information revolution is happening here and now. It is up to us to decide what future we want.
41. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
A. Over the past decade, the volume of file-sharing has increased doubly.
B. Over the past decade, other peer-to-peer(對等網(wǎng)絡(luò)) services have been beaten down.
C. Copyright laws should be reformed.
D. File-sharing occurs unless a file is sent on the Internet.
42. In the opinion of the writer, the government ________.
A. has to make a choice
B. should stop people sharing the copyrighted files
C. shouldn't stop people sharing the copyrighted files
D. should monitor all the mail and all encrypted (加密) networks
43. The author's main purpose in writing the passage is____________.
A. to have the basal citizen's freedom on the net and elsewhere
B. to establish the patent system
C. to abolish copyright laws
D. to reform computer operating system
44. The underlined word “restrict” in Paragraph 3 most probably means__________.
A. remove           B. limit               C. close                D. reform
45. We can infer from the passage_______________.
A. A new information revolution will be coming.
B. People won't share copyrighted material on the net
C. People can share the free encyclopedia
D. The future of the Internet will rely on the government