Many people have been ill from a strange disease these days, _____ we’ve never heard of before.

A．it         B．that        C．one          D．this

He is only too ready to help others, seldom____, refusing them when they turn to him．

A．if never          B．if ever         C．if not        D．if any

— What can I do for you?

— This dress is too small．Is it _____________ in a larger size?

A．convenient         B．available           C．accessible          D．comfortable

When the spaceship traveled above, __________ new-looking earth appeared before us, ______ earth that we had never seen before.

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

— Should people stop using their cars and start using public transport?

— __________．The roads are too crowded as it is.

A．All right          B．Exactly          C．Go ahead            D．Really

— Anything wrong, sir?

— Yes．It’s one hundred dollars for speeding and driving after drinking．You ______fool me with that smell in your breath．

A．shouldn’t           B．mustn’t           C．can’t         D．needn’t

—Nothing wrong with it, ____________?

—Yes．The computer says, “Please check this disk before entering data.”

A．is it           B．has it        C．does it          D．is there

His father is a laid-off worker with a total income of around 300 yuan per month, which ________ only the basic needs of his family．

A．offers          B．supports          C．affords           D．covers

I was coaching girls’ track in Iowa and there was a young discus（铁饼）thrower on the team with  1  potential（潜力）．Here goes her story.

At the end of our training   2   the district track meet, this discus thrower, Lucy, asked me if she   3   come to the school on Sunday for a little   4  training．I agreed．The year before, she had placed second at the district meet and  5   missed going to the state meet．She had won every discus event,   6  that district meet! And, her throws in the competitions had 7  been between 106’1” and 110’10”．

Something began to   8  me．Why couldn’t Lucy   9 to get the discus to 111 feet? I wondered if it was more a psychological barrier（心理的障碍）  10   a physical one．I decided to try something   11  ．I made up my mind to   12   to Lucy.

On Sunday, after her drills, I said, “Why don’t you throw five or six good ones for me to  13  ?” She began to throw again, but   14   were farther than what she had already thrown．But, I didn’t tell Lucy．As I was measuring the   15  one, I pulled out some more tape （量尺） and yelled out to her, “Come to see this! This one is  16  ! ”It wasn’t．Lucy, thinking that this was a personal best, jumped wildly into the air in  17  ．

The next afternoon, at the district meet, Lucy   18   with a personal best throw of 114’10”! Just 24 hours after I had lied to her．However, this time she had  19   thrown the discus four feet further than she had ever thrown it before．

    Sometimes we   20   our own barriers in our mind．So learn to take control of your mind．

1．A．little                      B．great                   C．no                      D．limited

2．A．after                     B．during                 C．since                   D．before

3．A．could                   B．must                 C．should               D．would

4．A．helpful               B．extra                C．real                  D．regular

5．A．luckily                  B．completely        C．narrowly             D．probably

6．A．except               B．including            C．despite              D．with

7．A sometimes              B．always             C．never                D．seldom

8．A．frighten               B．please               C．shock               D．bother

9．A．seem                 B．pretend              C．need                D．ask

10．A．apart from         B．rather than         C．because of          D．according to

11．A．impossible          B．familiar           C．new                   D．easy

12．A．lie                     B．turn                   C．reply                 D．call

13．A．look                  B．measure          C．match             D．take

14．A．many                B．all                 C．some                 D．none  

15．A．worst               B．closest              C．first                D．final

16．A．higher              B．farther             C．bigger             D．longer

17．A．excitement         B．anxiety             C．puzzlement       D．anger

18．A．disappeared      B．lost                  C．won                 D．arrived

19．A．actually              B．hardly               C．nearly               D．only

20．A．break               B．remove             C．take                  D．set

Fading beauty

She is widely seen as proof that good looks can last for ever．But, at nearly 500 years of age, time is catching up with the Mona Lisa． 

The health of the famous picture, painted by Leonardo Da Vinci in 1505, is getting worse by the year, according to the Louvre Museum（卢浮宫博物馆）where it is housed．

“The thin, wooden panel on which the Mona Lisa is painted in oil has changed shape since experts checked it two years ago,” the museum said．Visitors have noticed changes but repairing the world’s most famous painting is not easy．Experts are not sure about the materials the Italian artist used and their current chemical state（化学状态）．

Nearly 6 million people go to see the Mona Lisa every year, many attracted by the mystery of her smile．“It is very interesting that when you’re not looking at her, she seems to be smiling, and then you look at her and she stops,” said Professor Margaret Livingstone of Harvard University．“It’s because direct vision（视觉）is excellent at picking up detail, but less suited to looking at shadows．Da Vinci painted the smile in shadows.”

However, the actual history of the Mona Lisa is just as mysterious as the smile．Da Vinci himself loved it so much that he always carried it with him, until it was eventually sold to France’s King Francis I in 1519．

In 1911, the painting was stolen from the Louvre by a former employee, who took it out of the museum hidden under his coat．He said he planned to return it to Italy．The painting was sent back to France two years later．

During World War II, French hid the painting in small towns to keep it out of the hands of German forces．

Like many old ladies, the Mona Lisa has some interesting stories to tell.

1．What does the writer mean by “time is catching up with the Mona Lisa”?

       A．The painted woman is not so beautiful any more.

       B．Ageing is something that affects us all.

       C．The painting needs repairing.

       D．At such an old age, she is no longer popular.

2．What makes the repair work difficult?

       A．The wooden panel is thin and old and has also changed shape.

       B．The health of the painting is suffering

       C．Experts can’t agree on how the painting might respond to treatment.

       D．No one knows exactly what materials were used to create the painting.

3．What makes her smile so mysterious according to Professor Livingston?

       A．The materials the Italian artist used．     B．The way Da Vinci painted the smile.

       C．The way she smiles.                            D．It plays a trick upon the human eye.

4．Which of the following is in the right order?

①The painting was stolen from the Louvre．②The painting was sent back to France.

③It was sold to France’s King Francis I      ④Da Vinci carried the painting with him.

⑤French hid the painting to keep it out of the hands of German forces.

       A．④→③→①→②→⑤                          B．④→①→③→②→⑤

       C．①→④→③→②→⑤                          D．①→③→④→②→⑤