(2013·高考江西卷，A)The light from the campfire brightened the darkness，but it could not prevent the damp cold of Dennis’s Swamp (沼泽地) creeping into their bones.It was a strange place.Martin and Tom wished that they had not accepted Jack’s dare.They liked camping，but not near this swamp.

“So，”Martin asked as they sat watching the hot coals.“How did this place get its name? ”

“Are you sure you want to hear it ? It’s a scary story，”warned Jack.

“Of course！”cried out Tom.“If there were anything to be scared of，you wouldn’t have chosen this place！”

“Ok，but don’t say I didn’t warn you，” said Jack，and he began his tale.

“Way back in time，a man called Dennis tried to start a farm here.He built that cottage over there to live in.In those days，the area looked quite different—it was covered with tall trees and the swamp was a crystal?clear river.After three hard years，Dennis had cleared several fields and planted crops.He was so proud of his success that he refused to listen to advice.

“‘You are clearing too much land，’warned one old man.‘The land is a living thing.It will hit back at you if you abuse it.’”

“‘Silly fool，’said Dennis to himself.‘If I clear more land，I can grow more crops.I’ll become wealthier.He’s just jealous！’”

“Dennis continued to chop down trees.Small animals that relied on them for food and shelter were destroyed.He was so eager to expand his farm that he did not notice the river flowing slowly towards his door.He did not notice salt seeping to the surface of the land.He did not notice swamp plants choking all the native plants.”

“What happened？”Martin asked.It was growing colder.He trembled，twisting his body closer to the fire.

“The land hit back—just as the old man warned，”Jack shrugged.“Dennis disappeared.Old folks around here believe that swamp plants moved up from the river and dragged him underwater.His body was never found.”

“What a stupid story，”laughed Tom.“Plants can’t...”Before he had finished speaking，he screamed and fainted(晕倒)．The other two boys jumped up with fright，staring at Tom.Suddenly，they burst out laughing.Some green swamp ivy (常春藤) had covered Tom’s face.It was a while before Tom could appreciate the joke.

1.The underlined word “dare”in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to________.

A．courage B．assistance

C．instruction D．challenge

2.Why did Jack tell Tom and Martin the story?

A．To frighten them.

B．To satisfy their curiosity.

C．To warn them of the danger of the place.

D．To persuade them to camp in the swamp.

3.Why did Dennis ignore the warning of the old man?

A．The old man envied him.

B．The old man was foolish

C．He was too busy to listen to others.

D．He was greedy for more crops.

4.Why did Tom scream and faint?

A．He saw Dennis’s shadow.

B．He was scared by a plant.

C.His friends played a joke on him.

D．The weather became extremely cold.

5.What lesson can we learn from the story of Dennis?

A．Grasp all，lose all.

B．No sweat，no sweet.

C．It is no use crying over spilt milk.

D．He who makes no mistakes makes nothing.

（2011·江西卷）A

“Mum, what does it mean when someone tells you that they have a skeleton（骨骼）in the closet（衣橱）?” Jessica asked. “A skeleton in the closet?” her mother paused thoughtfully. “Well, it’s something that you would rather not have anyone else know about. For example, if in the past, someone in Dad’s family had been arrested for stealing a horse, it would be ‘a skeleton in his family’s closet’. He really wouldn’t want any neighbor to know about it.”

“Why pick on my family?” Jessica’s father said with anger. “Your family history isn’t so good, you know. Wasn’t your great-great-grandfather a prisoner who was transported to Australia for his crimes?” “Yes, but people these days say that you are not a real Australian unless your ancestors arrived as prisoners.” “Gosh, sorry I asked. I think I understand now,” Jessica cut iin before things grew worse.

After dinner, the house was very quiet. Jessica’s parents were still quite angry with each other. Her mother was ironing clothes and every now and then she glared at her husband, who hid behind his newspaper pretending to read. When she finished, she gathered the freshly pressed clothes in her arms and walked to Jessica’s closet. Just as she opened the door and reached in to hang a skirt, a bony arm stuck out from the dark depths and a bundle of white bones fell to the floor. Jessica’s mother sank in a faint（晕倒）, waking only when Jessica put a cold, wet cloth on her forehead. She looked up to see the worried faces of her husband and daughter.

“What happened? Where am I?” she asked. “You just destroyed the school’s skeleton, Mum,” explained Jessica. “I brought it home to help me with my health project. I meant to tell you, but it seemed that as soon as I mentioned skeletons and closets, it caused a problem between you and Dad.” Jessica looked in amazement as her parents began to laugh madly. “They’re both crazy,” she thought.

56.   According to Jessica’s mother, “a skeleton in the close” means ______.

       A.    a family honor                                    B.    a family secret

C.    a family story                                     D.    a family treasure

57.   What can we learn about some Australians’ ancestors form Paragraph 2?

       A.    They were brought to Australia as prisoners.

       B.    They were the earliest people living in Australia.

       C.    They were involved in some crimes in Australia.

       D.    They were not regarded as criminals in their days.

58.   Jessica’s mother fell down into a faint because she was ______.

       A.    knocked         B.    frightened              C.    injured            D.    surprised

59.   Why did Jessica bring a skeleton home?

       A.    She was curious about it.                    B.    She planned to keep it for fun.

       C.    She needed it for her school task.         D.    She intended to scare her parents.

60.   Jessica’s parents laughed madly at the end of the story probably because ______.

       A.    they were crazy

B.    they were over excited

       C.    they realized their misunderstanding

D.    they both thought they had won the quarrel

（2011·江西卷）C

The garden city was largely the invention of Ebenezer Howard (1850-1928). After immigrating form England to the USA, and an unsuccessful attempt to make a living as a farmer, he moved to Chicago, where he saw the reconstruction of the city after the disastrous fire of 1871. In those days, it was nicknamed “the Garden City”, almost certainly the source of Howard’s name for his later building plan of towns. Returning to London, Howard developed his design in the 1880s and 1890s, drawing on ideas that were popular at the time, but creating a unique combination of designs.

The nineteenth-century poor city was in many ways a terrible place, dirty and crowded; but it offered economic and social opportunities. At the same time, the British countryside was in fact equally unattractive: though it promised fresh air and nature, it suffered from agricultural depression(萧条) and it offered neither enough work and wages, nor much social life. Howard’s idea was to combine the best of town and country in a new kind of settlement, the garden city. Howard’s idea was that a group of people should set up a company, borrowing money to establish a garden city in the depressed countryside; far enough from existing cities to make sure that the land was bought at the bottom price.

Garden cities would provide a central public open space, radial avenues and connecting industries. They would be surrounded by a much larger area of green belt, also owned by the company, containing not merely farms but also some industrial institutions. As more and more people moved in, the garden city would reach its planned limit-Howard suggested 32,000 people; then, another would be started a short distance away. Thus, over time, there would develop a vast planned house collection, extending almost without limit; within it, each garden city would offer a wide rang of jobs and services, but each would also be connected to the others by a rapid transportation system, thus giving all the economic and social opportunities of a big city.

66. How did Howard get the name for his building plan of garden cities?

   A. Through his observation of the country life.

   B. Through the combination of different ideas.

   C. By taking other people’s advice.

   D. By using the nickname of the reconstructed Chicago.

67. The underlined phrase“drawing on ”in Paragraph 1 probably means______.

   A. making use of                                        B. making comments on

   C. giving an explanation of                          D. giving a description of

68. According to Howard, garden cities should be built______.

   A. as far as possible from existing cities

   B. in the countryside where the land was cheap

   C. in the countryside where agriculture was developed

   D. near cities where employment opportunities already existed

69. What can we learn about garden cities from the last paragraph?

   A. Their number would continue to rise

   B. Each one would continue to become larger

   C. People would live and work in the same place

   D. Each one would contain a certain type of business

70. What could be the best title for the passage?

   A. City and Countryside                               B. The Invention of the Garden City

   C.A New City in Chicago                             D. A Famous Garden City in England

(2013·高考江西卷)Diane Ray was completely self?centred and very spoilt.Her parents gave her____she wanted，knowing that she would throw a temper tantrum(耍小孩脾气)if they did not.She would scream and kick and____on the floor drumming her heels.Her parents always____.

That was why she was alone on the____，wearing an expensive swimsuit.It had taken a massive tantrum to___her parents to buy it.They were back at the beach?house，____from the tantrum she had thrown when they told her that it was too dangerous to go diving____.“Dangerous ？”she had said.“You just don’t want me to have____.I’m going and if you try to stop me，I’ll scream.”

“What are you doing ？”a voice asked.Diane jumped.She did not know that the man was there____he spoke.

“I’m going diving，”she answered.

“You shouldn’t swim today，” the man____.“There is a storm coming up.”

“You should mind your own____！”Diane replied and walked into the gentle waves.

“If you go out there you’ll be____，”the man called after her.She did not bother to reply.

Diane slipped into the water and dived____until white caps began rolling in and it became harder to___against the current (水流)．Saltwater hit against her face，making it____to breathe.Oh，why had she not listened to advice?

Panicking，she began to____.Then，just as it seemed as if she would slip beneath the surface，she heard a____voice.“Hold on! I’m coming.”With____，she saw the old man rowing an ancient?looking boat towards her.“I hope you’ve learned a lesson.You put us both in____，”he shouted angrily，as he dragged her over the side of the____.Gratefully，Diane thanked him and ran towards the beach?house.

1.A.either? B．neither

C．nothing? D．everything

2.A.jump? B．lie

C．spin? D．sleep

3.A.set out? B．set in

C．gave in? D．gave out

4.A.beach? B．bed

C．floor? D．ship

5.A.allow? B．warn

C．get? D．prefer

6.A.changing? B．recovering

C．appearing? D．traveling

7.A.alone? B．away

C．again? D．aside

8.A.time? B．money

C．food? D．fun

9.A.when? B．until

C．after? D．once

10.A.decided? B．intended

C．advised? D．repeated

11.A.business? B．swimsuit

C．friends? D．parents

12.A.angry? B．sorry

C．confused? D．excited

13.A.nervously? B．sadly

C．shyly? D．happily

14.A.rise? B．swim

C．stop? D．row

15.A.difficult? B．easy

C．comfortable? D．suitable

16.A.speak? B．sing

C．sniff? D．scream

17.A.calm? B．frightening

C．beautiful? D．disgusting

18.A.regret? B．relief

C．interest? D．ease

19.A.power? B．safety

C．danger? D．thought

20.A.house? B．wave

C．beach? D．boat

(2013·高考江西卷)She________the carpet with some very nice curtains in colour.

A．connected? B．fitted

C．equipped? D．matched