In some parts of the Unites States, farming is easy. But farming has always been difficult in the north-eastern corner of the country, which is called New England.

　 New England has many trees and thin, rocky soil. Anyone who wants to start a farm here has had to work very hard. The first job is to cut down all the trees. The next job is to dig the stumps （树桩） of the trees out of the soil. Then the farmer has the most difficult job of all, removing stones from his land, which never really ends, because every winter more stones appear. They come up through the thin soil from the rocks below. Farmers have to keep removing stones from the fields. Even today, farms which have been worked on for 200 years keep producing more stones.

　 That is why stone walls are used instead of fences around the new England fields. The stone walls are not high, and can easily be climbed, but they keep the farmer’s cow from joining his neighbour’ cattle.

（　 ） 6. New England lies _______.

A. in England 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. in the USA

C. to the northeast of England 　　 D. to the northeast of Canada

（　 ） 7. The word ‘remove’ means _______.

A. move again 　　 B. carry out 　　　 C. take away　　 D. bring back

（　 ） 8. In what order would a farmer in New England do the following things to start a new farm?

a. Removing the stones from the soil　　　 b. Building a stone wall round his fields

c. Digging out the tee stumps.　　 d. Cutting down the trees.

A. a, b, d, c 　 B. b, c, d, a 　　　 C. d, b, c, a , 　 D. d, c, a, b

（　 ） 9. What is the great difficulty New England farmers have in their farming?

A. The soil is as hard as rock 　　　　　 B. There are too many stones

C. Plants scarcely grow 　　　　　　　　 D. The soil is too thin

（　 ） 10. New England farmers build stone walls around their fields _________.

A. to save the trouble of taking away the stones

B. to keep their neighbours from breaking into

C. because stone walls are stronger than fences

D. because stone walls are easy to build

 Americans with small families own a small car or a large one. If both parents are working, they usually have two cars. When the family is large, one of the cars is sold and they will buy a van(住房汽车)
　　A small car can hold four persons and a large car can hold six persons but it is very crowded. A van hold seven persons easily, so a family three children could ask their grandparents to go on a holiday travel They could all travel together.
　　Mr. Hagen and his wife had a third child last year. This made them sell a second car and buy a van. Their children sixth and seventh seat are used to put other things, for a family of five must carry many suitcases(衣箱)when they travel. When they arrive at their grandparents’ home , the suitcases are brought into the two seats can then carry the grandparents.
　Americans call vans motor homes. A motor home is always used for holidays. When a family are traveling to the mountains or to the seaside, they can live in their motor home for a few days or to the seaside, they can live in their motor home for a few days or weeks. All the members of a big family can enjoy a happier life when they are traveling together. That is why motor homes have become very popular. In America there are many parks for motor homes.
【小题1】 From the passage, a van is also called ____________.
　　 

"I can't believe what I’m hearing!" I thought to myself. Jeff was the last candidate (候选人) for president of Student Council. My best friend Tony came to me and said, “I’m sorry, Mike, I really thought you should be _ 36_ ."

Later that day, I happened to pass Jeff in the dining room. I offered him a 37 "congratulations" and walked to my usual table. To my surprise, Jeff put his plate beside mine.

"I'm, er—I'm just wandering if you would … consider coming to work on my team," he said 　38 . "You are really smart, and you would he a great manager."

“I don't think so," I replied, feeling unsure.

"Well, if you change your mind, we are meeting tomorrow,” he said before moving to another table.

All right, I thought about the 39 from Jeff. Maybe being a part of the election process ( 选举过程) would give 　40　 a chance to make important changes at our school. I decided to join them.　

My first goal was to 　 41_ a catchy advertisement. Within a few days, we designed a poster with Jeff's pictures showing him in a number of activities. No one could walk through any hallway 　 42_ passing Jeff's smiling face.

My next step was to 43 which new activities students would like to have at our school. Many of them wanted a chess club and. a volleyball team.

With tile information I had collected, Jeff met with the headmaster. The headmaster 　 44 to add these activities to our school program.

With my help, Jeff and our ideas were well 　 45　 at school.

An eighth grader said, "It'll be like attending a new school with Jeff as president.

Hearing these words made my heart filled with 　46 I had wanted to become president of Student Council to make a difference. I achieved that and more by working as a member of Jeff's team. He became the most popular candidate and I was a large part of his 　47　 . The fact that it has made a difference in other people's lives is the real prize. What a great feeling!

36. A. beard B. chosen C. invited D. followed

37. A. polite B. loud C. warm D. cheerful

38. A. proudly B. quickly C. nervously D. regretfully

39. A. advice B. chance C. message. D. offer

40. A. them B. him C. me D. us

41. A. print B. invent C. create C. send

42. A. for B. from C. with D. without

43. A. carry out B. try out C. work out D. find out

44. A. agreed B. wanted C. expected D. asked

45. A. allowed B. received C. introduced D. required

46. A. pride B. surprise C. patience D. hope

47. A. hick B. spirit C. life D. success