第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题，每题3分，满分60分）

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Sarah Williams went to a boarding school. Here is one of the letters she wrote to her parents from the school:

Wentworth Girls’ school

Beachside

July 20th

Dearest Mom and Dad,

I’ m afraid I have some very bad news for you. I have been very naughty and the school principal is very angry with me. She is going to write to you. You must come and take me away from here. She does not want me in the school any longer.

The trouble started last night when I was smoking in bed. This breaks the rules, of course. We are not supposed to smoke at all.

As I was smoking, I heard footsteps coming towards the room. I did not want a teacher to catch me smoking, so I threw the cigarette away.

Unfortunately, the cigarette fell into the waste-paper basket, which caught fire.

There was a curtain near the waste-paper basket which caught fire, too. Soon the whole room was burning.

The principal phoned for the fire department. The school is a long way from the town and by the time the fire department arrived, the whole school was in flames. Many of the girls are in the hospital.

The principal says that the fire was all my fault and you must pay for the damage. She will send you a bill for about a million dollars.

I’m very sorry about this.

Much love,

Sarah

P. S.  None of the above is true, but I have failed my exams. I just want you to know how bad the things could have been!

56．Sarah wrote home to        .

         A．tell her parents about the fire               B．ask for a lot of money

         C．tell her parents she had failed her exams               D．tell her parents she had to leave school

57．Why did Sarah tell her parents the story about the fire?

         A．She wanted to worry them.

         B．She wanted to make them laugh.

         C．She wanted to make them less angry at the real news.

         D．She wanted to warn them about what the principal was going to do.

58．The letter before the P. S. was ________.

         A．mostly true                B．partly true                           C．all true               D．completely untrue

59．Sarah said the principal was angry because ________.

         A．she had failed her exams                               B．it was her fault that had caused the fire

         C．she had not made the phone call in time           D．she had been caught smoking in bed

One bitterly cold day, a snowstorm blew into our area. Needing firewood, I quickly set out with my best friend, Bruce, to look for a tree to cut down. I was glad to have Bruce along. Cutting down a tree in a snowstorm can be dangerous. So it was important to have a friend who could warn me of dangers.

When I chose a big 23-meter-tall tree and prepared to cut it down, my best friend suddenly warned me, “Don’t cut down that tree! It’s too close to the power line!” I wasn’t sure about it. So I decided to disregard his warning. I wanted to finish the job quickly and go home. So I began cutting down the tree. When the tree fell, there was no longer any doubt that my friend was right.

The tree caught the power line, bringing it to the ground. I considered cutting the tree off the line. After all, electricity can’t travel through wood, so I could safely remove the tree. As I reached out my finger to touch the tree, pain ran up my arm and through my head. I had been shocked!

After I returned home and told my mother what had happened, she quickly called the power company. Workers from the power company soon arrived on the scene. One of them asked if I had touched the tree, and when I told him I had, his face turned pale.

“You should have been killed,” he said.

So why am I still alive? It was my boots that saved my life.

Within two hours, the workers removed the tree. Soon the snowstorm calmed down—but not my mother.

Even though she was glad I wasn’t hurt, my mother was well serious with me. After all, I shouldn’t have brushed off my friend’s warning.

Through this experience, I learned that it’s important to listen to people who offer a different perspective(观点). Taking the time to listen might actually save a lot of time and trouble. It certainly would have kept me from getting the “shock of my life”.

1.The underlined word “disregard ” in the second paragraph means “________”.

2.In spite of Bruce’s warning, the author still cut the tree because ________.

3.The author wrote the passage mainly to _______.

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

Hans was an honest fellow with a funny round good-humored face. Living alone, every day he worked in his garden. In all the countryside there was no garden so lovely as his. All sorts of flowers grew there, blooming in their proper order as the months went by, one flower taking another flower’s place, so that there were always beautiful things to see, and pleasant odors to smell.

Hans had many friends, the most devoted being the Miller. So devoted was the rich Miller to Hans that he’d never go by his garden without plucking a large bunch of flowers or a handful of sweet herbs, or filling his pockets with fruits. The Miller used to talk about noble ideas, and Hans nodded and smiled, feeling proud of having such a friend.

The neighbors thought it strange that the rich Miller never gave Hans anything in return, though he had hundreds of sacks of flour, many cows and sheep, but Hans never troubled his head about these, and nothing gave him greater pleasure than to listen to all the wonderful things about the unselfishness of true friendship.

In spring, summer, and autumn Hans was very happy, but when winter came, and he had no fruit or flowers to sell, he suffered from cold and hunger. Though extremely lonely, the Miller never came to see him then.

“There’s no good in going to see Hans while the snow lasts.” The Miller said to his wife, “When people are in trouble they shouldn’t be bothered. So I’ll wait till the spring comes when he’s happy to give me flowers.”

“You’re certainly very thoughtful,” answered his wife, “It’s quite a treat to hear you talk about friendship.”

“Couldn’t we ask Hans up here?” said their son. “I’ll give him half my meal, and show him my white rabbits.”

“How silly you are!” cried the Miller. “I really don’t know what’s the use of sending you to school. If Hans came up here, and saw our warm fire, our good supper, and our red wine, he might get envious, and envy is a most terrible thing, and would spoil anybody’s nature. I am his best friend, and I’ll always watch over him, and see that he’s not led into any temptation. Besides, if Hans came here, he might ask me for some flour. Flour is one thing, and friendship is another, and they shouldn’t be confused. The words are spelt differently, and mean quite different things. Everybody can see that.” He looked seriously at his son, who felt so ashamed that he hung his head down, and grew quite scared, and began to cry into his tea.

Spring coming, the Miller went down to see Hans. Again he talked about friendship. “Hans, friendship never forgets. I’m afraid you don’t understand the poetry of life. See, how lovely your roses are!”

Hans said he wanted to sell them in the market to buy back his things which were sold during the hard time of the winter.

“I’ll give you many good things. I think being generous is the base of friendship.” said the Miller. “And now, as I’ll give you many good things, I’m sure you’d like to give me some flowers in return. Here’s the basket, and fill it quite full.”

Poor Hans was afraid to say anything. He ran and plucked all his pretty roses, and filled the Miller’s basket, imagining the many good things promised by the Miller.

The next day he heard the Miller calling: “Hans, would you mind carrying this sack of flour for me to market?”

“I’m sorry, but I am really very busy today.”

“Well,” said the Miller, “considering that I’m going to give you my things, it’s rather unfriendly of you to refuse. Upon my word, you mustn’t mind my speaking quite plainly to you.”

Poor Hans was driven by his friendship theory to work hard for his best friend, leaving his garden dry and wasted.  

One evening Hans was sitting by fire when the Miller came.

“Hans,” cried the Miller, “My little boy has fallen off a ladder and hurt himself, and I’m going for the Doctor. But he lives so far away, and it’s such a bad windy night. It has just occurred to me that you can go instead of me. You know I’m going to give you my good things, so you should do something for me in return.”

“Certainly,” cried Hans. He struggled into the stormy night, and got the doctor to ride a horse to the Miller’s house in time to save the boy. However, Hans got lost in the darkness, and wandered off into a deep pool, drowned.

At Hans’ funeral, the Miller said, “I was his best friend. I should walk at the head of the procession.” Every now and then he wiped his eyes with a handkerchief.

1.From the passage, we can learn that Hans ______.

A．was extremely wise and noble             B．admired the Miller very much

C．was highly valued by the Miller             D．had a strong desire for fortune

2.Hans worked a lot for the Miller because he ______.

A．was treated as a best friend by the Miller

B．owed the Miller many valuable things

C．was convinced of the Miller’s noble talk

D．intended to show off his unselfishness

3.What’s the main cause of Hans’ tragedy?

A．True friendship between them.             B．Blind devotion to a friend.

C．A sudden change of weather.              D．A lack of formal education.

4.The author described the Miller’s behavior in order to ______.

A．warn the readers about the danger of a false friend

B．show the friendship between Hans and the Miller

C．entertain the readers with an incredible joking tale

D．persuade people to be as intelligent as the Miller

第三部分：阅读（共两节，满分40分）
第一节：阅读理解（共15小题，每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
What is a creepy crawly?
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 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 crawlies and ants aren’t. Creepy crawlies are those little bugs which provoke feelings such as uneasiness, anxiety or dislike – they make your skin crawl.
Did you know that some people feel such a fear of bugs that it becomes a phobia? 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 repulsive(令人厌恶的) 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 extinction. Entomologists warn that this could upset entire ecosystems and lead to all kinds of disastrous consequences.
So my plea 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 cockroach.
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. What does “insecticide” in the second paragraph probably mean?
A. a kind of fruit juice.                             B. a kitchen knife.
C. liquid for killing insects.                        D. cleanser for the bathroom.                                                                                                                                                                       
3. How does the author feel about the bugs like cockroaches?
A. The author doesn’t mind the contact with those harmless small creatures.
B. They make the author feel so awful that they should be killed.
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 is NOT the reason why the cockroach makes the author’s skin crawl?
A. It looks so strange and different that the author can’t accept its appearance.
B. It can make the author feel sick and cause a strong dislike.
C. The author may relate it to something dirty or disease at the sight of it.
D. It reminds the author of the experience of meeting hundreds of ants.
5. 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 in some degree.
B. People can enjoy a cleaner living environment if more bugs like cockroaches are killed.
C. Many bugs are in danger of extinction so they should be placed under human’s protection.
D. Some bugs are extremely unpleasant that people have a strong wish to destroy them.

I was sitting in the surgical waiting area at the hospital waiting for word of my wife's operation. The small room was filled with other families and friends who were 36 waiting to hear how their loved ones were doing.
There was a young boy sitting quietly in the__37__.He held a small box of__38__in one hand and a tablet( 写字板)in the other. Every so often he'd place the tablet on his lap and draw something. As the hours passed I began to see the room almost__39__.And there was a strange silence.
“Daddy，when is Mommy going home？”the young boy asked，breaking the__40__.
“Tomorrow，”his father replied. The boy picked up his crayons and__41__something on the tablet.
I _42__him as he moved his feet back and forth，looking up at the ceiling and then toward the sunshine－filled window.“When's__43__，Daddy？”he asked. His father__44__him over to sit by him. “Come，_45__here next to me，”he said with a gentle tone in his voice.
__46__his things，the little boy walked slowly to his father's side from the corner.
The man_47__out and held his son by his shoulders.
“There are three days in life. Yesterday，today and tomorrow. One is over and done，one we live in，the other we__48__.We can't live in yesterday，but if we are happy enough today，we will be even happier tomorrow，”he said in an attempt to__49__the boy.
The little boy looked at him for a moment and said，“If Mommy is going home tomorrow，I'll be__50__. So，I want it to be tomorrow already, Daddy.”
Now hanging on every word of this__51__，I leaned forward to hear his response. It was__52__.
“Son，the one great thing about today is once it__53__，it is already almost tomorrow.”
I thought about how__54__it was. Even in my adult life. I still live waiting for what tomorrow may__55__.Now I know that it is already “almost tomorrow.”