In the United States, friendships can be close, constant, intense, generous, and real, yet fade away in a short time if things change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmas greeting for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while—then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship where it's left off and are delighted.

In the States, you can feel free to visit people's homes and share their holidays without fear that you are taking on a lasting obligation. Do not hesitate to accept hospitality because you cannot give it in return. No one will expect you to do so for they know you are far from home. Americans will enjoy welcoming you and be pleased if you accept their hospitality easily.

Once you arrive there, the welcome will be full and warm and real. Most visitors find themselves easily invited into many homes there. In some countries it is considered inhospitable to entertain at home, offering what is felt as "merely" home cooked food, not "doing something" for your guest. It is felt that restaurant entertaining shows more respect and welcome. Or for various other reasons, such as crowded space, language difficulties, or family custom, outsiders are not invited into homes.

In the United States, both methods are used, but it is often considered more friendly to invite a person to one's home than to go to a public place, except in pure business relationships. So, if your host or hostess brings you home, do not feel that you are being shown inferior treatment.

60. In the United States, friendships might ________ if things become different.

A. disappear little by little　　　　　　　　　　 B. last forever　

C. be heartbreaking　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. end suddenly

61. All the following factors but ________ prevent people from inviting their friends home for dinner according to the passage.

A. different languages　　　　　　　　　 B. naughty children　

C. different customs　　　　　　　　　　 D. small houses
62. We can infer that ________ in America according to this passage.

A. friendships are difficult to get but easy to lose　

B. it is hard for a person to pick up the friendship when he comes across his long lost friend

C. you might be considered as a person hungry for social activities if you accept an invitation too easily　

D. people care little about where they are invited to go for dinner

63. Why is giving a dinner party at home considered less hospitable in some countries?

A. Because eating at the restaurant is a sign of respect.

B. Because having dinner at home seems less friendly.　
C. Because dishes prepared at home are less delicious.　
D. Because a dinner at the restaurant is more expensive.　

He has lived through various dangers but time may be running out for the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat.

On September 11, Israel announced its decision to remove him, following several Palestinian suicide bomb attacks on Israel. “He should be punished for the killings,” an Israeli official said, “He has done nothing to stop the terrorist groups.”

But the decision has angered many other countries. China said that Arafat is the true leader, elected by the Palestinian people, and removing him would harm the peace in the Middle East. Other governments share this idea.

Arafat himself said: “They can kill me, but never get me out of my country.” He has spent most of his life in danger as the most important aim of Israel. But, just like a cat with nine lives, Arafat escaped every time.

For years he has made a practice of sleeping in a different bed each night, thinking a moving person is harder to hit. In 1985, Israel sent fighter planes to kill Arafat. The wild bombing destroyed his office in Tunis but Arafat himself was unhurt. In 1992, the aircraft in which he was flying over North Africa broke in two during a crash landing. The pilot was killed but he managed to remain alive.

What is so unbelievable is that he always remains calm in great danger. Israeli tanks and planes attacked his office building in Ram Allah in December 2001. When they saw the attackers coming, Arafat’s bodyguards took no notice of his orders to stay still and carried him to safety underground. Seconds later, several bombs were dropped nearby. Though safe, his bodyguards were so frightened that they were wet in sweat.

But, Arafat, with Israeli tanks only 200 meters away, showed no fear at all. He stayed in the damaged office, talking by phone with foreign leaders in hope of preventing further attacks from Israel.

All these experiences have made him a beloved leader to his people and an enemy to some others.

But has he used up the last of his nine lives? Only time will tell.

56. According to the passage, which statement is true?

　　　 A. In 1992, Arafat’s plane crashed in South Africa.

　　　 B. Israeli officers thought Arafat himself sent the terrorist groups to Israel.

　　　 C. China is the only country against Israel’s decision of removing Arafat.

D. Being Palestinian leader, Arafat would rather die in his own country than be driven away

from his people.

57. What did the author mean by saying “just like a cat has nine lives” when he talked about Arafat?

　　　 A. Arafat is as clever as a cat.

　　　 B. Arafat can live as long as a cat.

　　　 C. Arafat can stay alive after accidents or disasters as if he has nine lives.

　　　 D. Arafat should have died for at least 8 times.

58. The underlined phrase “took no notice of” can be replaced by __________.

　　　 A. obeyed 　　　　　　　 B. ignored　　　　　　　　　　 C. disagreed 　　　　　 D. dissatisfied

59. What’s the writer’s attitude towards Arafat’s future, judging from the last sentence of the passage?

　　　 A. Hopeful.　　　　　　　 B. Interesting.　　　　　　　 C. Satisfactory.　　　　 D. Doubtful.

As darkness fell, hundreds of people in the Swiss village left their houses. They were staring    36   at the mountain top in the distance. It was covered with   37  , beautiful and dangerous.

The huge mountain is called Matterhorn. Mountain climbers had   38   the top, using the southern route. But no one had ever dared to try a winter climbing up the   39   side. But now one man was daring to try the   40   route. He was Walter Bonatti, a great mountain climber from Italy.

For two days he had climbed. The village people had watched him   41  . Now they were waiting to see his   42   . If he planned to   43   the next day, he would light a green signal. A red light would mean that he was   44   .

A tiny green light   45   high on the mountain side. Bonatti was not giving up! The people      46   .

The next day he   47   his way upward. He was so lonely and so tired! But he would not give up. Again that night he lit the   48  light.

In the morning, Bonatti looked up. He could not see the top, but he knew he was   49   there.   50   the climb was painful, he moved up.

Bonatti had spent months   51   for the climb. Was the training enough? Did he have the strength and   52   to climb to the top?

He was finally at the top! News about his   53  was radioed to the world.

The trip down the southern  54  was easy. He was warmly welcomed in the village. He had done the "  55  ", and would be well remembered as a climber of all time.

36. A. up                      B. down                       C. back                  D. forward

37. A. green trees          B. flowers                   C. rocks                 D. ice and snow

38. A. passed                B. reached                    C. climbed                    D. watched  

39. A. eastern               B. western            C. northern                 D. southern 

40. A. different            B. difficult              C. easy                D. same  

41. A. anxiously           B. carefully                  C. patiently             D. eagerly

42. A. signal                 B. flag                     C. face                      D. figure

43. A. go down             B. come back                C. go on                  D. give up

44. A. turning around    B. turning back             C. moving up           D. in danger  

45. A. raised                B. rose                       C. disappeared           D. appeared

46. A. cheered           B. shouted                   C. laughed                  D. jumped

47. A. stopped              B. abandoned                   C. continued                D. ended 

48. A. green              B. yellow                   C. blue                       D. red 

49. A. already              B. surely                    C. almost                  D. no longer

50. A. Because        B. Though              C. Since                    D. When

51. A. asking                B. planning               C. preparing               D. training

52. A. money              B. wish                  C. effort                          D. skill

53. A. victory            B. climb                      C. courage                D. thing  

54. A. pace              B. route                      C. path                   D. passage

55. A. necessary       B. great                C. important           D. impossible 

—Guess what! I came across an old friend at the party last night.

—________ I’m sure you had a wonderful time.

A. Sounds good! B. Very well.　　　　 C. All right.　　　　　 D. How nice!

— I'm mad at what Jack said yesterday．

—________! He was just making a joke．

　 A. Take your time 　　　 B. Lighten up 　　　　　　 C. Enjoy yourself　 D. Not at all

The food is not very good, but we shall just have to ______ it.

A. pay attention to B. hold on to

C. put up with　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. keep up with

—What’s the matter with John?

—He’s had his leg ______ trying to save a boy from a fire.

　 A. wounding　　　　 B. wounded　　　　　 C. being wounded D. to be wounded

—Sorry, I’m late for work.

—Is that ________ you got stuck in a traffic jam again?

　 A. why　　　　　　　　 B. how　　　　　　　　 C. because　　　　　　 D. when

 You can not imagine a child ________so cruelly.

A．to treat                   B．treating                   C．being treated        D．to be treated

--Where did you save the drowning girl, ________ parents were both professors?

--It was from the lake ______ she often went fishing.

A. who; that　　　 B. whose; that　　　　 C. whom; where　　　　 D. whose; where