I have spent years of my life traveling all over the world. When I arrive in a new country or city, usually I am very  36   and go to bed early. For this  37   my first day or night in any new place is always quiet and very  38  happens.  39   my first night in Algeciras was very different. This night was very   40    and unusual.

    At that time   41   in Southern Spain was a dirty and   42   looked-after city. I arrived late in the evening by  43  . As soon as I got off the boat, I went to look for a   44  . I found a small hotel not far from the boat.

   This hotel looked  45  and untidy from the outside. But I was very tired and did not know my  46  around the city of Algeciras. And so I decided to stay in this  47 hotel on the quay(码头). I also decided to stay in this hotel for another   48  . The moon was full and it was a clear,   49  night. From the hotel I could  50  the sea. I could see the huge rock of Gibraltar in the bright moonlight.

   The hotel had a narrow  51  and no name. When I went through this doorway, I had to climb up narrow and dark stairs to the first floor. I  52  a small cupboard with a desk in front of it. This was the hotel office.

   An untidy and tired woman was sitting beside the  53  . When I said I wanted a room for the night, she took me  54  some more stairs to a room on the second floor. Inside this room the landlord was sitting playing cards with some friends. He was  55 his game of cards and I was simply a nuisance(讨厌的人). He looked at me when the woman told him that I wanted a room. Then he said, Room Five, and turned back to his game of cards.

A. frightened       B. excited                C. tired            D. satisfied

A. choice            B. reason              C. aim            D. journey

A. much           B. little               C. few            D. many

A. So              B. Because            C. And             D. But

A. ordinary          B. common            C. forgetful       D. strange

A. Gibraltar        B. Algeciras            C. Madrid       D. New Delhi

A. badly           B. well                     C. wrongly        D. good

A. bus             B. boat               C. plane          D. train

A. guide           B. driver              C. hotel              D. dinner

A. clean           B. dirty               C. beautiful      D. interesting

A. friend          B. address             C. charge        D. way

A. small           B. large              C. expensive      D. funny-looking

A. reason          B. person             C. memory        D. sight-seeing

A. dark            B. cloudy           C. bright        D. sunny

A. look down at    B. praise              C. study          D. forget

A. bedroom        B. doorway            C. stairs         D. bulletin-board

A. came to         B. picked up           C. painted       D. escaped from

A. cupboard       B. office              C. desk               D. doorway

A. over           B. down               C. up           D. under

A. tired of                B. enjoying            C. throwing      D. buying

Being beautiful means a lot to teenage girls. Once it did to me too. I was the vainest person in the world, but that all changed one December night.
It was a Thursday, and I was getting ready for the wrestling tournament the following day. I was so excited; it was going to be my first tournament as a cheerleader. I walked past the mirror and stopped to check my appearance. I noticed my eyebrows were a little bushy, and that’s when my vanity kicked in. The brows could be easily fixed with the waxing kit I had purchased. I put the jar of wax in the microwave. But instead of heating the wax for 30 seconds, I pressed too many zeros and heated it for three minutes. As I reached for the jar, I dropped it, spilling it all over myself.
My mother came running when she heard my screams. The hot wax was rolling down my face and arm. My mom took a wet washcloth and tried to wash the wax off my face. This proved to be a bad idea, because the wax was honey based, and it pulled my skin off with the wax.
The 15-mile drive to the emergency room seemed to take hours. When we finally arrived, the nurse didn’t waste any time. They took me straight to a doctor and gave me extra-strength painkillers, so my mind was in confusion. The doctor explained how severe my burns really were: my arm was a combination of first-, second- and third-degree burns, and needed to stay bandaged. My face was first- and second-degree burns. If the wax had gotten any closer to my right eye, I would have lost my sight. I was covered in multi-colored “goop(药膏)”, wrapped, and sent home to recover.
I got up the next morning and the first thing I wanted to do was wash off the remaining wax. I unwrapped the bandages and “degooped”, letting warm water gently remove the rest of the wax. The next step was to do a self-evaluation of the damage. I couldn’t believe how horrible I looked. A horror-movie monster stared back at me from the mirror. All I could think was, my life is over. For someone as vain as me, this was very true. I thought I was going to be horribly disfigured(毁容的)for the rest of my life! All I could do was cry.
My mom made it worse by forcing me to go out in public. She dragged me to the grocery store and wherever else she felt like taking me. Everywhere we went, people had a million questions, none of which I wanted to answer. Then my mom declared she was going to put me through even more torture—I had to go to school on Monday. School only led to more questions from more people.
Now, two years later, my wounds have healed, leaving a few scars. I still feel self-conscious if I don’t wear make-up, and I’ve discovered that three-quarter length sleeves are wonderful for covering the scars on my arm.
After spending several months adjusting to this injury, I realized how vain I was. I had made beauty important, but it never was or will ever be that important. It took this event to teach me that no matter how much you change on the outside, you’re still the same person on the inside. 

1. 1.

   After the accident, the writer has come to realize that ________.

   1. A.
      teenage girls care too much about their appearance
   2. B.
      loving beauty will necessarily make one disfigured
   3. C.
      we can never judge a person merely by one’s looks
   4. D.
      sometimes being beautiful can cost you something
2. 2.

   Which of the four statements is a fact?

   1. A.
      The severe damage to her sight and face weren’t recovered.
   2. B.
      The mother wished the writer to face her misfortune bravely.
   3. C.
      From the lesson we conclude that “once bitten, twice frightened”.
   4. D.
      The severe burns were caused by her mother’s lack of first-aid.
3. 3.

   The underlined sentence in the last paragraph is closest to ________.

   1. A.
      beauty is not everything
   2. B.
      a student shall not make up
   3. C.
      beauty is not important
   4. D.
      loving beauty will spoil you
4. 4.

   The author develops her composition by ________.

   1. A.
      offering accurate facts
   2. B.
      giving contrast and comparison
   3. C.
      using logical arguments
   4. D.
      representing own experiences
5. 5.

   Which of the following can be the best title?

   1. A.
      The Price of Vanity
   2. B.
      An Unexpected Ending
   3. C.
      A Disfigured Girl
   4. D.
      Beauty Ruins Everything

A few years ago I was on a bicycle trip when I got off my bike for a rest. I sat down on the grass. A few seconds later, I was covered in ants. They were swarming all over me so I got up and brushed them off. It was a strange experience but I soon forgot about it.

A couple of years later, I was living in Jordan. I had just moved into a modern flat and was unpacking plates when I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I looked over at the kitchen drawer and there was a cockroach (蟑螂) crawling out of it. I screamed. Then I grabbed a can of insecticide and sprayed it on the cockroach. He ran under the nearby bathroom door. It took me three days before I found the courage to open the bathroom door to see if he was still alive. He wasn’t.

Why did I react so violently to one lone insect when a closer encounter with hundreds of ants hardly affected me? The answer is easy: because cockroaches are creepy (令人毛骨悚然的) crawlies and ants aren’t. Creepy crawlies are those little bugs which cause feelings such as anxiety - they make your skin crawl.

Did you know that some people feel such a fear of bugs that it becomes a phobia (恐惧症)? Psychologists have offered many explanations. Some say we associate them with dirt and disease. Or that these are life forms that are so alien to us, that we find them disgusting for their dissimilarity.

Insects, however, don’t follow our rules - they just do what they want and invade our space. Unfortunately, although insects and bugs have been a successful animal species up to now, many of them, like many other species nowadays, are under threat of dying out. Entomologists warn that this could upset entire ecosystems and lead to all kinds of disastrous consequences.

So my advice to you is: the next time you feel the urge to stamp on, splatter or spray a creepy crawly, give a thought to the planet and stop.

1... Why did the author mention the ants in the beginning?

A. Because the experience with the ants presents a sharp contrast to that with the cockroach later.

B. Because the author wants to show her preference to the ants and her dislike for the cockroaches.

C. Because both ants and cockroaches are creepy crawlies that the author dislikes.

D. Because meeting the ants is an unusual experience that the author can hardly forget.

2.. The underlined word “insecticide” in Paragraph 2 probably means         .

A. a kind of fruit juice                     B. a kitchen knife

C. liquid for killing insects                D. cleanser (洗涤剂)for the bathroom

3.. How does the author feel about bugs like cockroaches?

A. The author doesn’t mind the contact with those harmless small creatures.

B. The author prefers cockroaches to ants and feels guilty for killing one.

C. They invade our space and become a threat to humans.

D. They still deserve a place for keeping the balance of the nature.

4.. Which of the following statements about bugs is NOT true according to the passage?

A. Some people may be frightened so much by bugs that it leads to a psychological barrier to some degree.

B. The earth will have a better and cleaner environment if more creepy crawlies are killed.

C. Many bugs are in danger of dying out so we should not kill them due to fear or disgust.

D. Some bugs are extremely unpleasant that some people have a strong wish to destroy them.

    The year I went to college was a very difficult transition(过渡期) for me. 21    is probably true with many people. I got quite homework and   22 thought about going home.

    Although the  23   time for many students is getting   24   from home, my mailbox was frequently   25   . One day when I went to the mailbox, there was a postcard   26  out at me. I sat down to read it,   27  a note from someone back home. 28 I became increasingly puzzled(困惑) as   29   postcards were like this; It was a full news report about a woman named Mabel and her newborn baby. I took the card back to my room and   30  about it.

   Several days later I   31  another postcard, this one   32  news about Maybelline, Mabel’s cousin. Soon after, another card arrived and then another,  33  full of news of different people. I befan to   34  look forward to the next one,   35  to see what this author would come up with   36 . I was never   37 .

   Finally, the cards   38  coming, right about the time I had begun to feel  39  about college life. They had been such a happy distraction(调剂) that I have  40  all the postcards and still bring them out to read whenever I need a lift.

21. A. If                      B. So                          C. As                           D. What

22. A. often                 B. carefully          C. seldom            D. merely

23. A. hard                  B. last                  C. busiest              D. happiest

24. A. visitors              B. letters               C. calls                 D. directions

25. A. empty          B. full                  C. closed              D. open

26. A. pouring              B. reaching                  C. staring              D. rolling

27. A. describing           B. considering        C. enjoying          D. expecting

28. A. But                    B. Thus               C. Also                 D. Even

29. A. any                    B. no                    C. some                D. such

30. A. joked                 B. talked               C. forgot              D. cared

31. A. mailed          B. accepted                C. worte               D. received

32. A. delivering           B. demanding               C. discovering              D. developing

33. A. one                    B. each                 C. either               D. both

34. A. nearly                B. possibly           C. usually             D. really

35. A. promising           B. surprised                 C. interested          D. pretending

36. A. below                 B. lately               C. next                 D. behind

37. A. frightened    B. disappointed      C. excited             D. pleased

38. A. continued            B. stopped                   C. started              D. avoided

39. A. easy                   B. safe                  C. tired                        D. anxious

40. A. lost            B. collected          C. torn                 D. saved

One cold night, I was growing sick of my life in San Francisco．There I was walking home around one o’clock in the morning after a  1  practice at the theatre. With the opening night only a week away, I was still learning my lines by heart. I was having   2  handling my part-time job at the bank in the daytime and my acting at night at the same time. As I walked, I thought seriously about  3  both acting and San Francisco. I had  4  too much of city life.

    As I walked down the  5  streets under the tall buildings, I felt very small and cold, so I began  6  both to keep warm and to keep away from any possible robbers. Very few people were still out except a few homeless people under blankets.

    About a block from my  7  , I heard a sound behind me. I   8   quickly, half expecting to see someone with a knife or a gun. The street was empty. All I saw was a shining streetlight. Still, the noise had made me  9  ，so I started to run faster. Not until I reached my apartment building and unlocked the door did I   10  what the noise had been. It had been my wallet  11  to the sidewalk.

    Suddenly I wasn’t cold or tired anymore. I ran out of the door and back to where I’d heard the noise. Although I searched the sidewalk   12  for 15 minutes, my wallet was nowhere to be found.

    Just as I was about to quit the  13  , I heard the garbage truck stop to the sidewalk next to me. When a voice came from the inside, “Alisa Camacho?” I thought I was dreaming. How could this man know my name? The door opened and out jumped a small blonde man with an  14  look in his eyes. “Is this what you’re looking for?” He asked, holding up a wallet.

    It was already 3 a.m. by the time I got into bed. I couldn’t get much sleep, but I had got my wallet back. I also had got back some  15  of city life. I realized the city couldn’t be a bad place as long as people were willing to help each other.

1．A．comfortable       B．serious          C．tiresome         D．fortunate

2．A．comfort           B．desire           C．pain             D．trouble

3．A．setting up        B．giving up        C．holding up       D．picking up

4．A．expected          B．changed          C．controlled       D．possessed

5．A．deserted          B．crowded          C．busy             D．wild

6．A．running           B．jumping          C．moving           D．marching

7．A．bank              B．theatre          C．apartment        D．office

8．A．stood             B．walked           C．turned           D．left

9．A．satisfied         B．confused         C．frightened       D．annoyed

10. A．turn out         B．figure out       C．give out         D．pull out

11. A．belonging        B．adding           C．sticking         D．falling

12. A．aimlessly        B．anxiously        C．skillfully       D．delightedly

13. A．discovery        B．research         C．hunt             D．finding

14. A．amused           B．unpleasant       C．uneasy           D．embarrassed

15. A．production   B．judgment C．friendship   D．appreciation