Several weeks ago, our headmaster, Mr. Gaudi, told us that our school had been chosen to compete on Smart Aleck—a game show which my best friend Carla and I both love. Carla has a good imagination, and I know a lot of history, so we thought we’d be good __35__ for the team.

A few days later, Mr. Gaudi held a meeting with everyone interested in the__36__ . He told us that Smart Aleck uses a five member team. He also said that three more people would be needed as backup（替补）. Unluckily four times that many students were at the meeting. So Mr. Gaudi said we would have a __37__ and the top eight scorers would become the team and the backup. Everybody agreed that this was a __38__ way to decide.

Yesterday, all of the hopefuls went to the dining hall after school. We would have to decide the starting line-up（阵容）.Mr. Gaudi acted as the host. After a couple of hours, all the __39__ on the team were set except one. Carla and I __40__ for that last position. We had to hold a one-on-one competition between the two of us. The winner would be on the team and the loser would be the backup.

Midway through our two-person competition, I was starting to pull ahead.__41__ I saw the look on Carla's face. I waited for a second and knew what I had to do. As much as I wanted to be on Smart Aleck, Carla wanted __42__ even more. So, starting with my next question, I held back and let Carla __43__, just by a little bit. Her expression as she __44__ she would be on the show made up for my not being on the team. And since I will go as backup, I'll still have the fun of seeing the show up close.

Was I __45__ by not trying as hard as I could? I don't think so. No one noticed, and Carla and I didn't __46__ it. It won't hurt the team because Carla will be a very good competitor on the real show. I think that making my best friend happy was the right thing to do.

1.A.choices                 B.pairs                C.leaders                     D.fans

2.A.course                  B.work                C.trip                           D.show

3.A.direction     B.discussion      C.competition            D.conversation

4.A.special                  B.hard                          C.fair                                     D.funny

5.A.places                   B.rules                C.names                      D.orders

6.A.tied                       B.clapped          C.cried                         D.returned

7.A.Still                        B.Never              C.Then                         D.Again

8.A.us                          B.it                                C.me                                      D.her

9.A.wait                       B.turn                          C.move                        D.win

10.A.accepted  B.realized          C.considered              D.decided

11.A.coming    B.refusing          C.helping                     D.cheating

12.A.mean                  B.plan                          C.regret                       D.say

 

Cats are the most popular pets among Americans. So it is not surprising that there are a lot of expressions about cats. Some cats like to catch small birds, like canaries (金丝雀). If someone looks very proud and satisfied with himself, we say “he looks like the cat that ate the canary.”
Sometimes, a cat likes to play with a small animal it catches. So if you “play cat and mouse” with someone, it means that you change between different kinds of behavior when dealing with another person. For example, a girl might offer something sweet to her little brother and then take it away when he reaches for it.
Americans might say that something is “the cat’s miaow” or “the cat’s pajamas(睡衣)” to describe something that is the best or finest. “A copycat” is someone who acts just like someone else or copies another person’s work. “A fat cat” is a person with a lot of money.
If you tell about something that is supposed to be a secret, we say you “let the cat out of the bag”. If you are not able to speak or answer a question, someone might ask you if “the cat has got your tongue(舌头)”
Have you ever watched children in a classroom when their teacher leaves for a few minutes? “When the cat’s away, the mice will play” means people sometimes act badly when there is no supervision (监管).
You may have heard the expression “curiosity killed the cat”. This means caring too much about things that are not your business might cause problems.
If you have ever had cats as pets, you know it is difficult to train them or to get them to do something. Cats are not like Sheep or cows that can be moved in a group. So we say a difficult or impossible job is like “herding (放牧) cats “
【小题1】What can we learn from the passage?

A．The expression “a fat cat” is used to describe someone who is very fat.

B．The expression “play cat and mouse” usually means “play tricks on others”.

C．It is more difficult to keep sheep or cows than cats.

D．There are more expressions about cats than those about dogs.

【小题2】 In which of the following situations do we most probably use the expression “curiosity killed the cat”?

A．Someone always asked a lady her age or weight and it made her angry.

B．Someone promised to keep a secret but he failed to do so.

C．Someone won the first prize in an English singing competition and he felt very excited.

D．Someone tried to swim across the Yangtze River with his newly broken legs.

【小题3】Where can you most probably find the passage?

A．In a scientific research paper about cats.

B．On a website telling people how to keep cats.

C．In a magazine telling various jokes and funny stories.

D．In a language book that teaches students how to use American slang.

动词运用(共10小题。计10分)
用括号内所给动词的适当形式完成下面短文，必要时可加助动词。(请将各小题的答案写在短文后相应的横线上。)
Mr and Mrs Smith were giving a dinner party with 20 visitors seated around a table. Their talk was about who 【小题1】      (have) more self-control(自我控制力 )，men or women.
Suddenly they saw a strange expression ( 表情 ) 【小题2】      (come) across Mrs Smith's face. She said something to the servant(仆人) standing behind her without 【小题3】      (turn) around. The servant quickly put a glass of milk outside the open door.
One of the men said,  "I want to know what self-control everyone 【小题4】     (have). While I 【小题5】      (count) from 1 to 300, none of you can move at all. If you do,  you【小题6】      (pay) 50. "
The people sat like rocks while the man counted. When he reached 280, a large snake(蛇)【小题7】       (see) moving slowly from the table to the glass of milk.
Mr Smith said,  "You 【小题8】     just       (show) us an example of self-control,  but how did you know there 【小题9】     (be) a snake in the room?"
"I 【小题10】       (not,  know) it was,  but I knew the milk was for the snake,  "the man answered.
"It was lying right on my feet, " said Mrs Smith.