The fact is _______ I have lost his address.

Hercule Poirot looked over the small gate which gave admission to Pine Crest. It was a modern nicely-built house. It was on a hill top, and the hill top was planted with a few sparse pines. It had a small neat garden and a large elderly man was watering with a big tin.

Spence’s hair was now grey all over. He had not shrunk much in girth（围长）, though. He stopped watering and looked at the visitor at the gate. Hercule Poirot stood there without moving.

“God bless my soul,” said Spence. “It must be. It can’t be but it is. Yes, it must be Hercule Poirot!”

“Aha,” said Poirot, “you remember me. I’m grateful.”

Spence abandoned the watering can and came down to the gate.

“What brings you down here?”

“What has brought me to many places in my time,” said Poirot, “and what once a good many years ago brought you to see me. Murder, Spence.”

“I’m done with murder since I retired,” said Spence, “except in the case of weeds. Killing weeds is never easy as you think, something’s always wrong. How did you know where to find me?” he asked as he opened the gate and Poirot passed through.

“You sent me a Christmas card. It had your new address on it.”

“Ah yes, so I did. I’m old-fashioned, you know, I like to send round cards at Christmas time to a few old friends. I’m an old man now.”

“We both are.”

“Not much grey in your hair,” said Spence.

“I take care of my hair with a bottle,” said Poirot. “There is no need to appear in public with grey hair unless you wish to do so. By the way, why have you come to live in Woodleigh Common?”

“As a matter of fact, I came here to join forces with a sister of mine. She lost her husband, her children are married and living abroad. So I moved in here. Pensions（退休金）don’t go far nowadays, but we do comfortably living together.”

1.From their dialogue, we can learn about _______.

A. their common friends?? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? B. Spence’s sister’s characters

C. their relationship?? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? D. Poirot’s recent life

2.Which statement is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Spence used to deal with murder.??

B. Poirot didn’t care about his appearance.

C. Spence moved to join his sister for lack of money.

D. Poirot came specially to reunite with his old friend.

3.From the passage we can infer that they might _______ next.

A. meet Spence’s family??? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? B. discuss about a murder

C. visit Spence’s new home????????????? ????????????? ????????????? D. water the garden together?

 (银川一中2009届高三年级第三次模拟考试)

Just as you imagine, studying in new environment is difficult. Though I had___36___ a preparation for my study in the United Kingdom, I___37____met many difficulties when I arrived in Britain. These difficulties ___38____ almost every side of your life, including language, daily ___39___, feelings and study.

____40___ the fact that I have studied English for quite a long time, I was well ____41___ to learn that the British people speak seemingly ___42____ English from what I have learned at home. When I picked up my luggage in the airport, I ___43____a long crack on my suitcase. Anxious and a little bit angry, I rushed to a man in uniform and told him my suitcase was ____44____. With a smile on his face, he seemed to be explaining something to me. But I was totally puzzled by what he was saying. ____45____, the suitcase was still OK to use. I managed to pull it to the train station.

   To my surprise, after more than two hours, there was still not a ___46____train coming into the station. Finally, I was told that all trains had been cancelled that day due to the ____47____of the railway workers who were demanding a pay rise.

   After a good deal of bother, I finally reached Liverpool. ____48____, I found it even harder to understand the local English. I even ___49____whether the local people were really speaking English. ____50____, they could hardly understand what I was saying though I had tried my best to pronounce right. I could never really ___51____ how to be the place I supposed to go____52____ they told me the way. However, the good thing is that most British people are friendly and eager to help. They usually____53____me to the bus stop where I could take the bus to the places I wanted to go.

   It takes time to be used to the local accent. What I want to emphasized here is that you should hold on to talk with the local people even if there are difficulties in ____54____. Before you go anywhere, write down the ____55____. Remember a dictionary around you could also be helpful.

36. A. made             B. kept           C. got                    D. set

37. A. even                 B. still               C. yet                    D. almost

38. A. contain               B. mean            C. cover                 D. reach

39.   A. matters              B. events            C. business              D. troubles

40. A. Except                   B. Though       C. Despite                D. Besides

41.   A. satisfied              B. shocked         C. glad                   D. worried

42. A. advanced           B. strange         C. same                  D. different

43. A. watched              B. recognized       C. found                 D. knew

44   A. robbed              B. broken          C. destroyed              D. lost

45.   A. All right               B. Not at all        C. Never mind           D. No problem

46.   A. single                 B. only           C. alone                D. just

47.   A. fight                  B. strike            C. break                 D. march

48.   A. Luckily                B. Unfortunately     C. Honestly.              D. Personally

49.   A. guessed               B. puzzled         C. doubted               D. considered

50. A. However             B. Similarly         C. Even so               D. Therefore

51.   A. take out               B. figure out       C. give out               D. bring out

52.   A. even if              B. as if           C. only if                D. when

53.   A. took                 B. pointed         C. sent                 D. showed

54.   A. communication      B. touch         C. understanding         D. greeting

55.   A. direction             B. number          C. address               D. route

完形填空。

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　Mrs. Mathews lived in a small town where there was one jeweler's shop. It also took in watch repairs, although it had to 1 them off to London for the work to be done, as there was not enough 2 for an expert watch repairer.

　　When Mrs. Mathews's old father died, she inherited(继承) his gold watch, which had 3 to his father and grandfather before him. It was big and heavy and worth a lot of money, but it was 4 , so Mrs. Mathews took it to be repaired.

　　The man in the jeweler's shop was very interested to see such an 5 watch, and when he had examined its 6 , he said he could certainly have it repaired for her. “It'll 7 a long time once that's been done,” he said. He wrote out a 8 and gave it to Mrs. Mathews saying, “Please bring this when you come to pick up the watch. But it might take a bit of time, because it isn't a 9 watch.”

　　But Mrs. Mathews had a lot of things to 10 with after her father died. The 11 was that she completely forgot about the watch that she had taken in for repair, and about the 12 for it, which she had put away in a drawer to keep it safe.

　　Then, while she was looking 13 some old drawer one day, she found the ticket for the watch repair.

　　“What's this?” she said to herself．“A ticket for a watch repair? Who took a watch in to be repaired? And why didn't they give this ticket in when they want to pick it up?”

　　She thought back, and suddenly she 14 . “My father's gold watch!” she thought. “Didn't I pick it up? When did I take it in?” She looked at the ticket again.

“How old is this ticket?” she said to herself．It was five years old. Mrs. Mathews had heard that shops could sell things that people had 15 with them if they didn't pick them up and 16 for them before a certain time. “But the watch might still be there,” she thought．“I'll go and see 17 I can get it back. It might have been sold, but I hope not.”

　　She took the ticket to the jeweler's the next time she went out shopping, and the 18 looked at it and then went to look for the watch 19 saying a word.

　　“That's good,” Mrs. Mathews thought. “He didn't seem to mind about the date.”

　　The man came back after a few minutes and said, “It won't be 20 until Friday.”

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It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, carrier, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of the dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.

Over the phone, his mother told him, “Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday.” Memories fleshed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.

“Jack, did you hear me?”

“Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. it’s been so long since I thought of him. I’m sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago,” Jack said.

“Well, he didn’t forget you. Every time I saw him he’d ask how you were doing. He’d reminisce (回忆) about the many days you spent over ‘his side of the fence’ as he put it, ” Mom told him.

“I loved that old house he lived in,” Jack said.

“You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man’s influence in your life,” she said.

“He’s the one who taught me carpentry. I wouldn’t be in this business if it weren’t for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important. Mom, I’ll be there for the funeral.” Jack said.

Busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr. Belser’s funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.

The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time, which was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture … Jack stopped suddenly.

“What’s wrong, Jack?” his Mom asked.

“The box is gone,” he said.

“What box?” Mom asked.

“There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he’d ever tell me was ‘the thing I value most’,” Jack said.

It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it.

“Now I’ll never know what was so valuable to him,” Jack said sadly.

Returning to his office the next day, he found a package on his desk. The return address caught his attention.

“Mr. Harold Belser” it read.

Jack tore open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack’s hands shook as he read the note inside,

“Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bernett. It’s the thing I valued most in my life.” A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, and tears filling his eyes. Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch. Running his fingers slowly over the fine cover, he opened it.

Inside he found these words carved: “Jack. Thanks for your time! Harold Belser.”

“Oh. My God! This is the thing he valued most …”

Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his assistant and cleared his appointments for the next two days. “Why?” his assistant asked.

“I need some time to spend with my son,” he said.

Why did Jack think Mr. Belser died years ago?

   A. College and career prevented him from remembering Mr. Belser.

   B. Jack was too busy with his business and family to think about Mr. Belser.

   C. Jack was too busy realizing his dreams to think about Mr. Belser.

   D. His present busy life washed away his children memories.

Jack’s mother told him on the phone about Mr. Belser EXCEPT that _________.

   A. Mr. Belser often asked how Jack was doing

   B. Mr. Belser’s funeral would take place on Wednesday

   C. Mr. Belser had asked for Jack’s mailing address

   D. Mr. Belser had pleasant memories of their time together

Why did Belser send Jack his gold watch?

   A. Because he was grateful for Jack’s time with him.

   B. Because he had no children or relatives.

   C. Because he thought he had to keep his word.

   D. Because Jack had always wanted it during his childhood.

Why did Jack say he needed some time to spend with his son?

   A. He was very tired of his work and wanted to have a good rest.

   B. He had promised to spare more time to stay with his son.

   C. He had missed his son and his family for days.

   D. He came to realize the importance of the time with his family.

Which of the following is the most suitable title for this passage?

   A. The Good Old Times   B. What He Valued Most

   C. An Old Gold Watch    D. The Lost Childhood Days