The day when the jobs were handed out was one of the most exciting moments for all the children in the class. It took place during the first week of the term. Every kid was given a job for which they would be responsible for the rest of that school year.
Some jobs were more interesting than others, and the children were eager to be given one of the best ones. When giving them out, the teacher took into account which pupils had been most responsible during the previous year. During the previous year Rita had carried out the teacher’s instructions perfectly. All the children knew Rita would be given the best job.
But there was a big surprise. Each child received a normal job. But Rita’s job was very different. She was given a little box containing some sand and one ant. Though the teacher insisted that this ant was very special, Rita felt disappointed. Most of her classmates felt sorry for her. Even her father became very angry with the teacher and he encouraged Rita to pay no attention to this insignificant pet. However, Rita preferred to show the teacher her error by doing something special with that job of little interest.
Rita started investigating all about her little ant and gave the ant the best food, and it grew quite a bit bigger.
One day, a man, who looked very important, came into their classroom and declared, “Your class has been chosen to accompany me, this summer, on a journey to the tropical rain forest, where we will investigate all kinds of insects. Among all the schools of this region, your class has best cared for the little ant.”
That day the school was filled with joy and celebration. Everyone thanked Rita for having been so patient and responsible. And many children learnt that to be given the most important task you have to know how to be responsible even in what are the smallest tasks.
【小题1】What did the teacher base his decision on when giving out jobs to the children?

Saturday 28 April, 2001: Dennis Tito was setting off on his holiday. Mr. Tito’s journey was  certainly unusual! So was the transport he chose, and the price of his trip.
The 60-year-old multi-millionaire from New York was sitting on board a Russian spaceship.  He was on a journey to the International Space Station. It might have been a routine trip for the  two astronauts who were traveling with him, but for him it was certainly no ordinary journey.  Dennis Tito was the first tourist ever in space, and he had paid the sum of $20 million to go there.  As the spacecraft left the earth’s atmosphere, Tito drank a glass of fruit juice to celebrate and  looked down at the earth’s blue-green surface. Two minutes later, he was sick. Luckily it was  only a minor problem. He soon recovered, and from then on enjoyed a smooth journey. When he  arrived at the space station, there was a big smile on his face. “A great trip!” he commented． “I  love space.”
For a long time space travel was something for heroes. But all this is going to change.  Companies like ProSpace are investing large amounts of money in space travel. They want space  and space travel to belong to the public, not just governments. There are other plans, like voyages  through space from one side of the world to the other. Maybe we will be able to depart from New  York at nine o’clock in the morning, and arrive an hour later-- in Tokyo! Such a schedule would  allow the business traveler to return to New York on the same day, and still have eight hours for a  meeting!
【小题1】Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?

When Emily Beardmore first heard that a trip was being planned by the biology class at Windsor High School, she thought about how much fun it would be.

“I thought it would be a really good experience to go with other friends and teachers to another country in an environment other than a vacation environment,” the 17-year-old girl said.

A few months later, Emily got her chance when she and 14 of her classmates, along with biology teacher Tamara Pennington went to Costa Rica for eight days in late May.

“It was not just a tour,” said Pennington, who organized the trip. “You can go any place in the world on just a tour. This one was really working with the sea turtles (海龟) and practicing conservation(保护). It just seemed like the perfect science field trip for kids who think they want to get into science to see what it's really like to be out in the field and enjoy themselves.”

Emily said her time on the turtle program, which was the focus of the trip, was “crazy.” “We were walking on the beach at night and you can’t see anything—just see a big black dot.” She said with a laugh. “I was not expecting the turtles to be that big.” The turtles are leatherback turtles, which are becoming extinct (灭绝) because their eggs are used as food.

“When they would move their legs while laying their eggs they were really hard to control because they were a lot more powerful than you would imagine,” Emily said.

Once the eggs were collected, the students took them back to a hatchery(孵化场) and dug holes to copy the hole the mother turtle had made and then buried the eggs for the 60 days needed to hatch.

“The experience was so cool,” Emily said. “You go to another country to see what their culture is like and learn what their everyday lives are like. It made me really want to help out my mom a lot more than I do, and value what I have.”

1.What did Pennington consider the trip to be?

2.From what Emily said on her turtle program, we know that     .

3.What did Emily learn from her experience?

4.What would be the best title for the passage?

Though I have traveled in hundreds of trains, few unusual things have ever happened to me. But one day in a train something did happen. I do not mean that I was hurt: no one was hurt.

I do my work in a hot country far away from England. Every September I go there to do my business, and every July I come back to England to have a rest. So every September I go to Paris and take a train from the great French city to Mendova, and at Mendova I catch my ship.

There is one very fast train from Paris to Mendova, and it suits me well. It goes as far as Endoran, but it stops at Mendova for a few minutes to let travelers get out or in. It is called The Flying Bluebird. It reaches Mendova at seven minutes past nine in the morning, and it is never late.

A ship leaves Mendova at half past eleven, and so you will understand that The Flying Bluebird suits me very well. I always travel by it, and I have nearly two and a half hours at Mendova to go from the station to the ship. That is more than enough time.

Well, one September night, I took my place in The Flying Bluebird as usual. The train leaves Paris at nine o’clock every night, and I was in my place soon after half past eight. There were three or four people there with me, but very soon a lot of others got into the train. When no more people could sit down, they began to stand up near us and also in the corridor（走廊）. In a short time the corridor was full too, and it was impossible for any more travelers to get into the train.

I could see a lot of other people outside the corridor windows, but they could not get in, and the train left Paris without them. The man sitting next to me started to ask all kinds of questions: “Where do you work? How long does it take you to get there? Are you married? How many children do you have? How much money do they pay you every year? How much do you have in the bank? How much do you spend every month?”

He asked questions for about twenty minutes but I did not give him any clear answers, and at last he stopped and began to read the paper.

I usually sleep quite well in the train, but this time I slept only a little. There were too many people, and there were too many things: small bags, large bags, coats, hats, boxes, newspapers and food. As usual, we got angry about the window. Most people wanted it shut, and two of us wanted it open. But that always happens. It was shut all night, as usual.

When I awoke in the early morning I felt hot and dirty, and glad that the journey was reaching its end. At seven minutes past nine The Flying Bluebird stopped. We were at Mendova, and I stood up thankfully. I took my two suitcases, held one in each hand, and tried to move towards the door into the corridor. In order to get out of the train, I had to pass down the corridor to the door at the far end. There was no other way out.

I could not even into the corridor. There was a suitcase on the floor by my feet, and three men were standing in my way. I felt a touch of fear. I had to get out, you see; I had to catch my ship, which left at half past eleven. And the train did not stop again until it reached Endoran, two hundred miles away.

“I must get out!” I cried. Everyone there understood me, but no one could move.

At last I was able to put one foot over the suitcase on the floor, and I nearly reached the door into the corridor. But then, very slowly, the train began to move. It was taking me away!

“Stop!” I cried. “I want to get out!” But no one outside the train could hear me, and the people inside did not care much. The train moved a little faster. What could I do? I was not even in the corridor.

Fear made me think quickly. In front of my eyes, just, above the door, was a notice that told everyone how to stop the train. I had to pull an iron thing near the notice. I did not waste time. I pulled it.

Well, a noise started above our heads. That was to show everyone that there was something wrong. It was not a small sound. Possibly the men in my ship two miles away could hear it. Then the train stopped.

No one likes to stop a train if there is no need. But I had to catch my ship. That was the only thought in my mind: to get out and catch my ship.

1.The purpose of the author writing the first paragraph is to __________.

2.What do we know about the author and the man sitting next to him?

3.On this journey on The Flying Bluebird, the author felt uncomfortable because ___________.

4.It can be learned from Para. 10 that the author was afraid that ____________.

5.The noise in the underlined sentence “a noise started above our heads”（Para.15）was made by __________.

6.What would be the best title for the text?

第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
Imagine life as a game in which you are playing some five balls in the air. You name them-work, family, health, friends and spirit, and you’re keeping all these balls in the air.
You understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls are made of glass. If you drop one of these, it will be irrevocably (不可逆转地) scuffed (磨损), marked, damaged or even broken into pieces. They will never be the same. You must understand that and try for balance in your life. How?
Don’t undermine (逐渐损害) your worth by comparing yourself with others. It is because we are different and each of us is special. Don’t set your goals by what other people consider important. Only you know what is the best for you. Don’t take for granted the things closest to your heart. Hold on to them as you would to life, for without them, it’s meaningless. Don’t let life slip through your fingers by living in the past or in the future. By living your life one day at a time, you live all the days of your life. Don’t run through life so fast that you forget not only where you’ve been, but also where you are going. Don’t use time or words carelessly. Life is not a race, but a journey to be enjoyed slowly each step of the way. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift. That’s why we call it – the present.
56. What’s the best title of this passage?
A. Today Is A Present    B. How to Live Your Life
C. Life Is A Game         D. Imagine Life as a game
57. What does the underlined sentence mean?
A. not only where you live , but also where you’re going to live
B. all over the world
C. not only what you have done, but what you are going to do as well
D. the places you have been to as well as the places you are going to
58. Which of the following is NOT true?
A. You should try your best to keep balance in your life.
B. It’s unnecessary to compare yourself with others.
C. Life is just like a race.
D. Everyone has his own best points.