When I came to my new school three years ago, I was surprised at how lonely I felt. Then one of my classmates invited me to her house for a dinner 36 . I was a little anxious, but finally I gladly 37.

Not really knowing how 38  the bus ride should be, I 39  when I saw the landmarks 40 on my friend’s hand-drawn map. But when I got close enough to the 41 , I found none of the streets were shown on the map. I was 42  on a busy road with cars driving past without a person in sight. I had no43  when the next bus would come, 44  when a bus did come by, I 45  got on. I told the bus driver where I wanted to go and he said that I had caught the 46  bus, but he let me stay on. After he had finished his scheduled bus route, he 47 to help me out. I gratefully showed him my little hand-drawn map but 48  did not help much.

He finally 49  me off at a main road to catch a different bus and was 50  that he could not help me more. After a few minutes of walking, I noticed a bus pull up beside me. It was the 51  bus driver. He explained that he didn’t want to leave me there 52 . He sent out a call and someone radioed back, saying that the bus I needed to catch was about ten minutes away. At last I made it to the dinner party 53  I was over an hour late.

I am forever thankful for the 54  that this bus driver had for me. His act of kindness left a 55 on my heart.

1.                A．meal           B．party           C．meeting  D．time

2.                A．accepted       B．refused         C．got  D．received

3.                A．far            B．difficult         C．long D．bad

4.                A．drove on       B．walked away     C．hurried by D．got off

5.                A．show          B．showing         C．shown    D．to show

6.                A．street signs      B．tall buildings     C．traffic lights    D．back yards

7.                A．queuing        B．sitting          C．standing  D．waiting

8.                A．meaning        B．idea           C．problem  D．way

9.                A．so             B．yet            C．but  D．still

10.               A．suddenly       B．luckily          C．finally D．quickly

11.               A．right           B．wrong          C．best  D．fastest

12.               A．supplied        B．refused         C．offered   D．wanted

13.               A．it             B．he            C．she   D．they

14.               A．kept           B．dropped        C．drove D．turned

15.               A．eager          B．worried        C．sorry D．disappointed

16.               A．same          B．next           C．kind  D．silly

17.               A．helpless        B．lonely          C．unaccompanied D．alone

18.               A．after           B．although        C．until  D．when

19.               A．respect        B．concern        C．help  D．love

20.               A．mark          B．sign            C．symbol    D．line

Did you enjoy yourself yesterday? I suppose you do. But I’d like to tell you what a bad day I had yesterday. Nothing just went wrong. On the morning, my alarm clock didn’t ring, since I woke up an hour late. I was in such a hurry that I burnt my hand when I was cooking the breakfast. Then I ran out of the house to catch the 8:30 buses. This is the bus I usually take. But, you may laugh, I missed it of course. I am very unhappy, and scared as well because teacher hates the students coming late to school.    So I ran three mile to school only to discover that nobody was there. The school was quiet but peaceful. Our classroom was locked. I realized that moment: It was Sunday.

According to the timetable, the train was         to arrive at 3 p.m., yet it was nearly an hour late.

    A. going        B. ready       C. meant        D. supposed

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.

Schedules (timetables), as the 21st century people know, simply did not exist in the 17th and 18th centuries. We are upset if a plane arrives an hour late. Our ancestors weren’t upset if an April ship didn’t show up until June. They began to worry in July and were often happy when it showed up in August. When a long-distance ship finally did get to the port, the whole city became busy and excited. Businessmen hurried down to check the goods they had ordered. The ship would probably stay in port for at least three days, often a week, to take on businessmen, give the sailors a rest, find out about the latest news, weather conditions, and so on.

Travel time could only be approximate (近似的). One never knew when the winds would be good. So even though “average(平均的) sailing time” was given, time could change considerably, shortening the voyage (travel by sea) by up to 25% or putting it off by up to 500% or more! The average run from England to Boston was about a month and a half, but there were also voyages of three months. One voyage in 1640 lasted six months!

Travel time is not the same in both directions, due to the winds and currents. This is especially true in the Caribbean, where winds are from the southeast the entire year. Ships sailing west across the Atlantic spend longer than ships sailing east, and the contrary (opposite) winds can prevent a ship from actually making it to the harbor even if it gets close. One ship was held off the North Carolina coast for 17 days before being able to land!

What can we learn from the first paragraph?

A. No sailor was allowed to have fun when the ship reached land.

B. People in ancient times didn’t care about other people’s safety.

C. The ship would leave for a voyage when all of the preparations were made.

D. A long-distance ship would create a lot of excitement in the place where it landed.

According to the passage, travel time can’t be fixed due to _____.

A. the people at the port          B. average sailing time

C. the changeable climate         D. the businessmen and the sailors

The underlined word “currents” in the third paragraph means ______.

A. the movement of water           B. the movement of winds

C. direction of the traveling ship    D. travel time of ships

What is the difference between a modern voyage timetable and the one from the 17th or 18th century?

A. There were no exact timetables for traveling both in ancient and modern times.

B. Travel time was the same in both directions in ancient times while the modern one was not.

C. The modern voyage timetable is more exact than the ancient one.

D. The modern voyage timetable is only approximate while the ancient one was not.

Why did the ships sailing west spend longer than ships sailing east in Caribbean?

A. Because of the southeast winds the entire year.

B. Because sailors didn’t know when the winds blew.

C. Because travel time was not affected by wind.

D. Because sometimes the ship was held off by the wind.