___________ your car unlocked outside means ___________ trouble.

Some years ago I heard Salome Bey sing for the first time. The moment was exciting. Salome’s  36 filled the room and brought the theater to life. I was so  37 that I decided to write an article about her.
I   38 Salome Bey, telling her I was from Essence magazine, and that I wanted to meet her to talk about her career. She  39 and told me to come to her studio next Tuesday. When I hung up, I was scared out of my mind. I   40 I was lying. I was not a writer at all and hadn’t even written a grocery list.
I interviewed Salome Bey the next Tuesday. I sat there  41 , taking notes and asking questions that all began with, “Can you tell me…” I soon realized that  42  Salome Bey was one thing, but writing a story was just impossible. The  43  was almost unbearable. I    44  for days with draft after draft（草稿）. Finally I put my article into a large envelope and dropped it into a mailbox.
It didn’t take long. My article   45 . How stupid of me! I thought. How could I  46  in a world of professional writers? Knowing I couldn’t   47  the refusal letter, I threw the unopened envelope into a drawer.
Five years later, while   48 my apartment, I came across the unopened envelope. This time I opened it and read the editor’s letter in   49 :
Dear Ms Profit,
Your story on Salome Bey is nice. Yet we need some   50  materials. Please add those and return the article immediately. We would like to  51  your story soon.
Shocked, it took me a long time to   52 . Fear of refusal cost me dearly. I lost at least five hundred dollars. More importantly, I lost years of   53  writing. Today, I have become a full-time writer. Looking back on this   54 , I learned a very important lesson: You can’t   55 to doubt yourself. 

Americans often plan social gatherings（社交聚会）on short notice, so don’t be surprised if you get invited to someone’s home or to see a movie or baseball game without much warning. If the time is convenient (方便) for you, surely accept their invitation. But if you’re busy, don’t be afraid to decline the invitation, perhaps suggesting a time that would be better. Your host won’t be shamed.

Invitations are usually sent in person or over the telephone. The main exception(例外) is for some formal occasions, in which case a written invitation will be mailed. You would normally receive a written invitation to a wedding(婚礼).

For a casual(不正式的)dinner invitation, don’t arrive more than 5 minutes early, because your host may still be preparing for your visit. Arriving more than 10 minutes late is considered rude if very few people were invited. If many people were invited, it’s OK to arrive a little late, even as much as half an hour late. For example, it’s OK to arrive late for a party, for a potluck (家常便饭) dinner or for a social gathering inviting a large group of people.

If you’re invited for dinner, it’s proper to bring the host a bottle of wine, a gift basket of fruit, a box of candy (糖果), or a bouquet(束)of flowers. Don’t bring roses, as men often give roses to women on a date (约会).

If you wish to thank the host for his or her hospitality (好客), it’s right to call or send a brief (简单的) written thank-you note the next day.

1.The passage is to tell us ________.

A．how to accept Americans’ invitations.

B．something about American social visits.

C．something about American business visits.

D．how to make a living in America.

2.The underlined word “decline” in the first paragraph most probably means _____.

A．accept            B．receive           C．refuse            D．follow

3.If an American only invites you to his home for an informal supper at 7:30p.m., you’d better get to his house at ________.

A．7:15p.m.          B．7:35p.m.          C．7:45p.m.          D．7:55p.m.

4.In America, invitations to a wedding are often sent ________.

A．by mail           B．by fax            C．by e-mail          D．over the telephone

5.According to the passage, in American ________.

A．if you’re invited to a family as a guest, you can stay as long as you please.

B．if you’re invited for a party, you must always be on time.

C．if you’re invited for dinner, you’d better bring some presents.

D．you must make a call to show your thanks after you get home from the dinner.

第二卷写作
第四题：短文改错。（按格式去改，每题1分，共10分）
此题要求改正所给短文中的错误。对标有题号的每一行作出判断：如无错误，在该行右边横线上画一个勾（√）；如有错误（每行只有一个错误），则按下列情况改正：
该行多一个词：把多余的词用斜线（＼）划掉；在该行右边横线上写出该词，并也用斜线划掉；该行缺一个词：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧）；在该行右边横线上写出该加的词；该行错一个词，在错的词下划一个横线；在该行右边横线上写出改正后的词。注意：原行没有错的不要改。
Dear Lily,
Thanks very much on inviting me to your birthday 76_____
party on Sunday. I’d like very much go but          77_____
I’ll have an examination in Monday morning.        78_____
It is very important but I can’t afford to fail          79_____
it. I’ll spend all the whole weekend reading          80_____
and prepare for it. So I’m really sorry that           81_____
I won’t be able to come this time. I hope you         82_____
can understand me. I’ll take this chance to wish       83_____
you wonderful time on your birthday. Happy         84_____
birthday, Lily, and many return of the day.           85_____

It was a Sunday and the heavy storm had lasted all night．The morning after the storm, though, was beautiful: blue skies, warm air and a calm, inviting sea touching the shore gently．

       My father realised it was a good day for fishing and invited my sister and me to go with him．I was only 14 and fishing had never been my thing, but I decided to go all the same．I' m so glad I did．

       On the way to the harbour we could see the terrible destruction on the coast, but the harbour itself was in fairly good shape．After all, it was protected by the arms of a bay that had only one tiny channel to the sea．As we got on board, we noticed two big humps （脊背） in the distance．

       On approaching them, we saw it was a mother whale with her baby．We couldn't believe it — there aren't any whales along the coast here．The storm must have driven them across the ocean into the bay, in which the still water was so badly polluted that nothing could survive．

       The little baby whale —actually as big as our boat — was obviously stuck and could not move．The mother dived under the water and came up suddenly, making big whirlpools （漩涡） and waves．"She's trying to help her baby, but on the wrong side," my father said．At this point, my father moved our boat in a semicircle to the other side and, heading the boat towards the baby whale, pushed it gently．With our several gentle pushes the big hump turned over and disappeared under water．Then it swam up right beside its mum．They struggled in their desperate attempts to escape but missed the exit and started heading in the wrong direction．We hurried up to the whales and tried to lead them towards the bay channel．Slowly, they let us lead them, sometimes rising from the water right beside us to breathe -- and to give us a trusting look with those huge eyes．Once they hit their first part of clean water flowing straight from the sea, the mum gave us a wave with her tail and off they swam into the distance．

       In the excitement it had felt like only a few minutes, but we had been with those wonderful animals for almost an hour and a half．That was the simple and lasting beauty of the day．Nearly four decades later, I still look back fondly to that golden day at sea．

The author says "I' m so glad I did．" （ in Para．2） because _________．

       A．he witnessed the whole process of fishing

       B．he enjoyed the beauty of the calm sea

       C．he experienced the rescue of the whales

       D．he spent the weekend with his family

The mother whale failed to help her baby because __________．

       A．she had stayed in the polluted water for too long

       B．the whirlpools she had made were not big enough

       C．she had no other whales around to turn to for help

       D．the waves pushed her baby in the wrong direction

What is the theme of the story?

       A．Saving lives brings people a sense of happiness．

       B．Fishing provides excitement for children．

       C．It's necessary to live in harmony with animals．

       D．It's vital to protect the whale in the ocean．