It was Saturday when the entire summer world was bright and fresh. Tom looked at the fence, which was long and high, feeling all enthusiasm leaving him. He dipped his brush into the whitewash before moving it along the top board of the fence. He knew other boys would arrive soon with all minds of interesting plans for this day. As walking past him, they would tease him for having to work on a beautiful Saturday—which burnt him like fire.
He, putting his hands into his pockets and taking out all he owned with the expectation of letting someone paint, found nothing that could buy half an hour of freedom. At this dark and hopeless moment, a wonderful idea occurred to him, pouring a great bright light into his mind. He took up his brush and continued to work pleasantly with calm and quietness.
Presently, Ben Rogers came in sight—munching an apple and making joyful noises like the sound of a riverboat as he walked along. Tom went on whitewashing, paying no attention to the steamboat. 
“Hello!” Ben said, “I’m going swimming, but you can’t go, can you?”
No answer. Tom moved his brush gently along the fence and surveyed the result. Ben came nearer. Tom’s mouth watered for Ben’s apple while he kept painting the fence.
Ben said, “That’s a lot of work, isn’t it?”
Tom turned suddenly saying “Here you are! Ben! I didn’t notice you.”
“I’m going swimming,” Ben said. “Don’t you wish you could go? Or would you rather work?”
Tom said, “Work? What do you mean ‘work’?”
“Isn’t that work?”
Tom continued painting and answered carelessly, “Maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t. All I know is it suits Tom Sawyer.”
“Do you mean that you enjoy it?”
“I don’t see why I oughtn’t to enjoy it.”
“Does a boy have a chance to paint a fence frequently” said Tom.
Ben stopped munching his apple.
Tom moved his brush back and forth—stepped back to note the effect—added a little paint here and there. Ben watched every move, getting more and more interested, more and more absorbed1. After a short time, he said, “Tom, let me whitewash a little.”
Tom seemed to be thinking for a moment before he said, “No, Aunt Polly wants this fence to be perfect. If it was the back fence, maybe you could do it. But this fence beside the street is where everybody can see it. It has to be done right.”
“Oh, come on, let me try. I’ll be careful. Listen, Tom. I’ll give you part of my apple if you let me paint.”
“No, Ben, I’m afraid—”
“I’ll give you all the apple!”
Tom handed the brush to Ben with unwillingness on his face but alacrity in his heart. While the riverboat worked and sweated in the hot sun, Tom, an artist sat in the shade close by, munching his apple, and planning how he could trick more of the boys.
Before long there were enough boys each of whom came along the street; stopped to laugh but soon begged to be allowed to paint. By the middle of the afternoon, Tom had got many treasures while the fence had had three layers of whitewash on it. If he hadn’t run out of whitewash, he would have owned everything belonging to the boys in the village.
Tom said to himself that the world was not so depressing after all. He had discovered a great law of human action: in order to make a man cover a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain.

1. 1.

   By using “Tom continued painting and answered carelessly”, the author shows Tom ______ when he was talking to Ben.

   1. A.
      made mistakes
   2. B.
      damaged things
   3. C.
      was natural
   4. D.
      wasn’t concentrating
2. 2.

   The underlined word “alacrity” in the last but two paragraph most probable means “______”.

   1. A.
      kindness
   2. B.
      discouragement
   3. C.
      sympathy
   4. D.
      eagerness
3. 3.

   Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage? ________

   1. A.
      Tom did not want to go swimming at all
   2. B.
      Tom was asked to help Aunt Polly paint the fence
   3. C.
      Tom did not get along well with his friends
   4. D.
      Tom was very busy that Saturday afternoon.
4. 4.

   We can draw a conclusion from the last paragraph that _______.

   1. A.
      forbidden fruit is sweet.
   2. B.
      a friend in need is a friend indeed.
   3. C.
      all good things must come to an end.
   4. D.
      a bad excuse is better than none.

E

Some time ago during my vacation period, I traveled to Europe to tour the various parts of France．Our tour group was made up of forty—five travelers from different countries．My three friends and I made up the Canadian team on the bus．

As time passed we got to know each Other better and in some ways the new friendships that grew became as valuable and as memorable as the trip itself．

On the last day of the tour we were traveling through the peaceful French countryside when our guide came on the microphone．He said，“We are presently passing through World War I battlefields just south of Vimy Ridge．If you look to your right, just across the field there, you will see the war memorial that the people of France built to the Canadian soldiers who fought so bravely here．Even today some residents from the surrounding towns place flowers on the memorial regularly．My dear Canadian friends at the back of the bus, I would like to say thank you for the unselfish acts of your Canadian soldiers．”

Across the grassy field, the stone monument stood proud against the French sky．A Canadian flag rippled softly in the calm breeze．Lost in the moment, I could imagine the sights and sounds of war．Suddenly an unexpected wave of emotion swept over me．I felt great sadness for those men who never returned home to Canada, but at the same time my heart was filled with an enormous sense of pride．Tears welled up in my eyes．I was embarrassed by my uncontrolled reaction．As I turned around I realized that each of my friends had experienced the same feelings, their eyes also wet with tears．

72．From the passage we know the writer was traveling in Europe with    ．

A．only his Canadian friends                 B．his foreign classmates

C．some foreigners as well as his friends        D．his colleagues and friends

73．It can be inferred from the passage that    ．

A．the Canadian group didn’t know other members well at first

B．this must be a group for both traveling and study

C．the group was made up of people who got on well in real life

D．the numbers of the group must be students of history

74．The action of the local French shows that    ．

A．they had made the battle field a place of interest

B．they still remember all the Canadians who have died

C．they honoured those Canadian soldiers who lost their lives m World War I

D．the numbers of the group must be students of history

75．At the guide’s words, as a Canadian, the writer     ．

A．had complicated feelings

B．was only proud of those soldiers

C．thought it was his duty to help France

D．controlled his feelings so as not to be embarrassed

HARTLAND, Wis. (AP) — Lauren Panos was surprised when she walked into her ninth-grade English class in the fall and saw there were no boys.

Her parents had not told her they had enrolled her in a new all-girls class at Arrowhead High School in Hartland. Panos still isn't sold on the idea.

"All the girls there, they can talk out of turn," the 14-year-old said. "We are bored of tasks and it's really upsetting."

More public school systems are looking at separating boys and girls, whether for certain classes or by total schools, after the federal government opened the door last fall. Supporters say separating students by sex helps them learn better and allows boys and girls to explore subjects they may not otherwise take.

"Boys just make a bigger trouble in the class," Panos' classmate, Alyson Douglas, 15, said “I likes not worrying about boys causing disruptions.”

Presently, nationwide, at least 253 public schools offer single-sex classes and 51 schools are entirely single sex, according to the National Association for Single Sex Public Education. In1995, just three public schools offered single-sex classes.

Critics of same-sex classrooms argue that proven methods of improving education should be carried out instead of one that divides boys and girls.

"Too many schools feel they can carry out a social experiment with students' education with really the weakest of theories," said Emily Martin, deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Women's Rights Project.

Single-sex schools are an "illusionary(錯(cuò)覺(jué)的) silver bullet," said Lisa Maatz, director of public policy and government relations for the American Association of University Women. They distract(分散) from real problems and do not offer proven solutions such as lower class sizes and enough funding, she said.

"I would suggest that for many of our kids and families, especially in Milwaukee, it's a question of choice," Spence said. "We have a series of choices in Milwaukee and I just think this should be one additional choice."

66．What surprised Lauren Panos was that_______ when she walked into the class.

       A．her classmates were all boys.           B．her classmates were all girls.

       C．the boys were all absent from class.      D．she went into the wrong class.

67．From what Panos said we can learn that ______.

       A．Panos thinks that the idea is very good for they can talk freely.

       B．Panos doesn’t accept the fact that girls in her class have to finish many tasks.

       C．Panos doesn’t like the idea that boys and girls are in separate classes.

       D．Panos prefers to study in a class in which there are only boys.

68．The underlined word “disruptions” in the fifth paragraph most probably means ______.

       A．trouble          B．danger   C．interest         D．happiness

69．Critics don’t support the idea of single-sex schooling mainly because_______.

      A．boys will cause more trouble and girls will hate studying.

      B．single-sex schooling that is not a proven idea can leave out key problems

      C．it doesn’t help students develop fully and healthily

      D．it can excite students to explore the unknown

70．The passage is probably taken from_________.

      A．a(chǎn) newspaper                     B．a(chǎn) magazine   

       C．a(chǎn) book of education           D．A TV programme

Several years ago, well-known writer and editor Norman Cousins became very ill. His body ached and he felt constantly tired. It was difficult for him to even __11__ around. His doctor told him that he would lose the ability to move and eventually die from the disease. He was told he had only a 1 in 500 chance of survival.

__12__ the diagnosis(診斷), Cousins was determined to overcome the disease and survive. He had always been interested in medicine and had read a book, which discussed the idea of how body chemistry and health can be damaged by emotional stress and negative _13__. The book made Cousins think about the possible __14__ of positive attitudes and emotions. He thought, “Is it possible that love, hope, faith, laughter, confidence, and the __15__ to 1ive have positive treatment value?”

He decided to concentrate on positive emotions as a way to treat some of the symptoms of his disease. In addition to his traditional medical treatment, he tried to put himself in situations that would __16__ positive emotions. “Laugh therapy” became part of his treatment. He _17__ time each day for watching comedy films, reading humorous books, and doing other activities that would draw out __18_ emotions. Within eight days of starting his ‘‘laugh therapy” program his pain began to __19__ and he was able to sleep more easily. He was able to return to work in a few months’ time and __20__ reached complete recovery after a few years.

It was Monday,Mrs Smith’s dog was hungry,but there was not any meat in the house.

Considering that there was no better way,Mrs Smith took a piece of paper,and wrote the following words on it:”Give my dog half a pound of meat.” Then she gave the paper to her dog and said gently:”Take this paper to the butcher（賣(mài)肉者）,and he is going to give you your lunch today.”

Holding the piece of paper in its mouth,the dog ran to the butcher’s shop.It gave the paper to the butcher.The butcher read it carefully ,he was sure that it was really the lady’s handwriting and presently did as he was asked to.The dog was very happy,and ate the meat up immediately.

At midnight the dog came to the shop again.It gave the butcher a piece of paper again.After reading it ,he gave it half a pound of meat once more.

The next day the dog came again exactly at midday.And as usual it brought a piece of paper in the mouth.This time the butcher did not take a look at the paper,and gave the dog its meat,for he had regarded the dog as one of his customers.

But the dog came again at four o’clock.And the same thing happened once again.To the butcher’s more surprise ,it came for the third time at six o’clock,and brought with it a third piece of paper.The butcher felt a bit puzzled.He said to himself,”This is a small dog.Why does Mrs. Smith give it so much meat to eat today?”

Looking at the piece of paper,he found that there were not any words on it!

1.It seemed that the dog knew well that the paper its master gave it______.

2.The butcher did not give any meat to the dog______.

3.From its experience,the dog found that______.

4.At the end of the story you’ll find that______.