C

　　The curtain on the 2008 US presidential election finally rose last month as Requblican Senator(参议员) John McCain and Democratic Senator Barack Obama were formally selected as candidates of the two major parties.This may be one of the hardest decisions voters have to make between two appealing candidates.The big question for voters,as they face both an economic downturn and international threats,is :who will they elect? A young first - term senator promising change and new ideas,or a longtime senator with strong military experience and a reputation as a maverick(特立独行的人)？

　　American voters have never seen a candidate quite like Obama.He has a white mother from the US and a black fater from Kenya who left the family when Obama was very young.He spent part of his youth in Indonesia.

　　However,McCain has a very different life story.

　　He grew up in a Navy family and was a daring pilot during the Vietnam War in the 1960s. When Obama was in kindergarten in Indonesia,McCain's plane was shot down over Ietenam and he became a prisoner of war.McCain could have been set free if he disowned America but he refused and so was held for five years.

　　"We need a president who is very,very old,"McCain joked at his age as many others do.If elected,he would be 72 when he takes office and the oldest man to step in.

　　So in the end,the election may depend on several factors that are hard to judge:Will Obama's race matter to a significant number of voters ? Will workingclass whites who tended to support his primary (党内初选) oponent,Hillary Clinton,vote for Obama? And perhaps most important of all,will uncertain voters be more attracted to Obama's vision or to McCain's experience?

　　Whatever happens,one thing is clear,however:Whoever walks into the White House on January 20,2009,will find huge challenges waiting for him in the Oval Office,both at home and abroad.

　　64.______makes the result of the election hard to predict.

　　　A.Whether working class whites care about Obama's inexperience

　　　B.The economic trouble the country now faces

　　　C.Who uncertain voters will finally decide to vote for

　　　D.McCain being too old to govern the country

　　65.The appeal in Obama as a presidential candidate lies in _________

　　　A.his multi - cultural background

　　　B.his belife in tradition

　　　C.his inexperience in politics

　　　D.his fantastic promises

　　66.The word "disown" in Paragraph 6 means closest to ______.

　　　A.flee from

　　　B.turn his back on

　　　C.not keep it private

　　　D.expose secrets about

　　67.The challenges that will face the new preident______.

　　　A.are not mentioned in the text

　　　B.include buklding a strong party and a friendly image

　　　C.refer to the problems of immigrants and economy

　　　D.refer to the problems of economy amd international relations

 

　　Nearly everyone agrees that money doesn't buy as much as it used to, no matter where you want to spend it. This is certainly true of the paper money that passes so quickly through one's hands. Inflation (通货膨胀) eats away at its buying power just as the steady appetite of waves chews at sand cliffs. But what about coins that seem to do very little except make purses and pockets untidy? Unlike notes, metal money becomes more valuable the longer it is held, especially if it is put away where it won't get scratched or worn. Why is this? One reason is that coins, being more durable (耐用的), fall more readily into a category for collections. Naturally, the rarer gold pieces must become more valuable as the price of this metal goes up.

    But, curiously, one of the rarest coins in the world is not made of gold, but of the relatively cheaper silver. In 1840, the United States mint struck 19, 570 silver dollars. That is what its records show. Today only six of this original number remain and these are unlikely ever to the auction market. So what happened to some 19, 564 large silver coins, not the easiest sort of things to lose? One of the more romantic theories is that they were part of the payment to Napoleon for the American territory then known as Louisiana. But they never reached France. Somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico, the ship transporting them was sunk, either by a storm or by pirates. The probable answer to the mystery is that they were melted down—since the silver value was greater than the actual value of the coin. What really happened to the rest will probably always remain a mystery. What .is known is that whoever can come up with one will find himself instantly rich.

　　 1. It can be inferred from the passage that——.

　　　　  A. money buys as much as it did before

　　    B. money does not buy as much as it did before

　　　　  C. paper money buys more than metal money

　　　　  D. metal money buys more than paper money

　　 2. Which of the following is true of a coin?

　　　　  A. The longer it is held, the less valuable it becomes.

　　　　  B. The more it wears out, the more valuable it becomes.

　　　　  C. The less it gets scratched, the less it values.

　　　　  D. The longer it lasts, the more it values.

　　 3. Coins becomes more valuable because

  　　　　A. they make purses and pockets untidy

　　　　  B. the price of metal goes up

　　　　  C. they fall more readily into a category for collections due to their duration

　　　　  D. both B and C

　　 4. What really happened to some 19, 564 large silver coins?

　　　　  A. They were melted down.　　　　 B. They were sunk in the Gulf of Mexico.

　　　　  C. It is still mystery.　　 　　    　　  D. They were stolen by pirates.

 

阅读下面的文字，完成下列各题。

高原，我的中国色

乔　良

东亚细亚的腹地，一派空旷辽远，触目惊心的苍黄。连那条从巴颜喀拉的山岩间夺路而来的大河，也暴烈地流泻着一川黏稠的黄色！这就是高原。黄土高原。

浑黄的天地间，走来一个黄皮肤的老者。看不清他的面孔，听不清他的声音，只有那被黄土染成褐色的长髯在被太阳喷成紫色的浮尘中飘拂……老者身后，逶迤着长长、长长一列只在身体的隐秘处裹着兽皮的男人和女人。

一棵巨大的柏树，便在这人群中生下根来。所有黄皮肤的男人女人和他们的后人，都把这巨树唤作轩辕柏。它的根须像无数手指抠进黄土，扎向地心，用力合抱住整个儿的高原。

始皇帝横扫六合的战车，汉高祖豪唱大风的猛士，倚在驼峰上西出阳关的商旅，打着呼哨、浑身酒气的成吉思汗的铁骑，和五午年的岁月一道，从这金子样的高原上骄傲地走过去，走过去，直到……

暮云垂落下来，低矮的天地尽头，走来一个小小的黑点。一个军人。

他站在一架冲沟纵横、褶皱斑驳的山梁上。残阳把他周身涂成一色金黄。他伸出手臂，出神地欣赏着自己的皮肤。金黄的晖光从手臂上滑落下去，掉在高原上。一样的颜色。他想，我的肤色和高原一样。

豪迈的西风从长空飒然而至。他的衣襟和裤角同时低唱起暗哑而粗犷的古歌。刹那间，他获得了人与天地自然，与遥远的初民时代那种无缝无隙的交合。是一种虚空又充实，疏朗又密集，渺小又雄大的感觉。

他不禁微微一笑。然而，只一笑，那难以言喻的快感消退了。渐渐塞满胸壑的，是无边的冷寞，莫名的苍凉。竟然没有一只飞鸟，竟然没有一丛绿草。只有我，他想。我和高原。于是他又想，这冷漠、这苍凉不仅仅属于我，还属于遗落在高原上的千年长史。

畏惧盗寇的商贾们抛离了驼队踩出的丝绸古道。面对异族的武夫们丢弃了千里烽燧和兵刃甲胃。一路凄惶，簇拥着玉辇华盖，偏安向丰盈又富庶的南方。那叫人柔肠寸断的杏花雨呵，竟把炎黄子民们孔武剽悍的魂魄和膂力一并溶化！而历史，却在某个迷茫的黄昏，被埋进深深的黄土。

他感到胸口有一团东西被揪得发疼。他想喊。他想站到最高的那架山梁上去，对着苍茫的穹窿嘶喊：难道华夏民族所有的武士，都走进了始皇陵兵马俑的行列？

没有风。没有声息。高原沉默着。

一块没有精壮和血性汉子的土地是悲哀的。

他想起了他那些戴着立体声耳机、抱着六弦琴横穿斑马线的兄弟们。他们全都身条瘦长，脸色煞白，像一根根垂在瓜架上的丝瓜。他们要去参加这一年中的第三百六十七次家庭舞会了吧？他们的迪斯科跳得真好。他们忧郁的歌声真动人。但，他们只从银幕上见过高原和黄土。他们不知道紫外线直射进皮肤和毛孔时的滋味，更不知道那黄土堆成的高原上埋着的古中国。

可那才是中国，那才叫中国。在病榻上呻吟了八百年，又被人凌辱了二百年的，不是真正的中国。真正的中国是闪着丝绸之光、敦煌之光、修筑起长城，开凿出运河，创造了道教，融合了佛教，同化了一支支异族入侵者的中国。

真正的中国是一条好汉。这裸着青筋、露着傲骨的高原也是一条好汉。

他想，我也该是这样的汉子。

他想，有了这样的男子汉，高原，这金子似的高原便不会死去。因为轩辕柏在这里扎着一根粗大的、深邃的根茎。

这个人，这个军人，就是我。

这篇散文中作者设置的“轩辕柏”有什么象征意义？请结合阅读材料简要分析。

                                                                               

“是一种虚实又充实，疏朗又密集，渺小又雄大的感觉。”作者将褒贬之词同时用来描写这种感觉，这是一种什么样的感觉？“他”为什么会产生这样的感觉？

                                                                                

文章结尾说：“这个人，这个军人，就是我。”一句中与上文哪一句照应？怎样理解其中的“我”？请你谈谈作者在文中如何渲染与张扬着自己的情绪?

                                                                                 

下列对文章的赏析，不正确的两项是       （    ）

    A．“残阳把他周身涂成一色金黄”，他为自己有着与“金子样的高原”同样的颜色而自豪，就是他为做一个中国人而骄傲。

    B．“他”站在黄土高原上，看到“竟然没有一只飞鸟，竟然没有一丛绿草”，深感植被破坏严重，内心无比冷寞，苍凉。

    C．丰盈富庶的南方，柔肠寸断的杏花雨象征了温柔安逸、没有血性的土地，销磨了一代代中国人慷慨悲歌之气，积极进取之心。

    D．“他”想呼喊，仅仅因为现代人的苍白无知，压得他几乎喘不过气来。所以他的大声呐喊是希望唤回高原的血性来。

    E．全文语言铿锵有力，掷地有声，在凛然傲气中又渗透着无限的历史苍凉感，如同一幅黄昏时分的画卷，述说着遥远的历史又翘首期待着美好的明天。

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有一项为多余选项。

A.　Goods for auction (拍卖) sales

　　B.　Definition of bidding

　　C.　Way to sell more goods by auction

　　D.　Auction sales in history

　　E.　Brief introduction to auctions

　　F.　Making a larger profit as an auctioneer

1.______

Auctions are public sales of goods, conducted by an officially approved auctioneer. He asks the crowd assembled in the auction-room to make offers, or “bids”, for the various items on sale. He encourages buyers to bid higher figures, and finally names the highest bidder as the buyer of the goods. This is called “knocking down” the goods, for the bidding ends when the auctioneer strikes a small hammer on a table at which he stands.

2. ______

The ancient Roman probably invented sales by auction, and the English word comes from the Latin auction, meaning “increasing”. The Romans usually sold in this way the goods taken in war. In England in the eighteenth centuries, goods were often sold “by the candle”: a short candle was lit by the auctioneer, and bids could be made while it stayed alight.

3. ______

Practically all goods whose qualities vary are sold by auction. Among these are coffee, skins, wool, tea, furs, silk and wines. Auction sales are also usual for land and property, furniture, pictures, rare books, old china and similar works of art.

4. ______

An auction is usually advertised beforehand with full particulars of the articles to be sold and where and when they can be viewed by potential buyers. If the advertisement cannot give full details, catalogues are printed, and each group of goods to be sold together, called a “lot”, is usually given a number. The auctioneer need not begin with Lot 1 and continue in the order of numbers: he may wait until he notices the fact that certain buyers are in the room and then produce the lots they are likely to be interested in.

5. ______

The auctioneer’s services are paid for in the form of a percentage of the price the goods are sold for. The auctioneer therefore has a direct interest in pushing up the bidding as high as possible. He will not waste time by starting the bidding too low. He will also play on the opponents among his buyers and succeed in getting a high price by encouraging two business competitors to bid against each other.