63. What does the write mean by saying “she almost missed him”?

A. 　She meant to leave him on their first date.

B.　　　 She thought of him every now and then.

C.　　　 She nearly misunderstood his explanation.

D.　　 She could hardly believe this simple fact.

62. Why did the man have salty coffee all his life?

A. To change lifestyle.　　　　　　　　　 B. To please his wife.

C. To keep his word.　　　　　　　　　　 　D. To remember the past

61. After ordering some salt to put into the coffee, the young man must have felt _________.

A. excited　　　　 B. satisfied　　　　　 C. embarrassed　　　　 D. displeased

60. What can we infer from the passage?

A.　　 Buffett is an immediate success in the stock market.

B.　　　 Buffett and Gates are business partners.

C.　　　 His father helped him a lot in his business.

D.　　 Buffett has a good sense of business.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　B

He met her at the party. She was so outstanding, with many boys around her, while he was so normal, with nobody paying attention to him.

　　 At the end of the party, he invited her to have coffee with him. She was surprised, but due to being polite, she agreed.

　　 They sat in a nice coffee shop. He was too nervous to say anything, and she felt uncomfortable, thinking, “Please let me go home.”

　　 Suddenly he asked the waiter, “Would you please give me some salt? I’d like to put it in my coffee.”

　　 Everybody stared at him---so strange! His face turned red, but, still, he put the salt in his coffee and drank it.

　　 She asked him curiously, “Why do you have this hobby?”

　　 He replied, “When I was a little boy, I lived near the sea. I liked playing in the sea, and I could feel the taste of the sea, just like the taste of the salty coffee. Now every time I have the salty coffee, I always think of my childhood. I miss my hometown so much. I miss my parents who are still living there.”

　　 While saying that, tears filled his eyes. She was deeply touched. That’s his true feeling, from the bottom of his heart. A man who can tell about his homesickness must be a man who loves home, cares about home, and has a good sense of responsibility.

Then she also started to speak, about her faraway hometown, her childhood, her family. That was a really nice talk, also a beautiful beginning of their story.

They continued to date. She found that actually he was a man who meets all her demands: he was kind-hearted, warm and careful. He was such a good person but she almost missed him!

Thanks to his salty coffee! Then the story was just like every beautiful love story, the princess married the prince, then they were living a happy life…And, every time she made coffee for him, she put some salt in the coffee.

After 40 years, he passed away, leaving her a letter which said, “My dearest, please forgive my whole-life lie. This was the only lie I said to you ---the salty coffee.”

“Remember the first time we dated? I was so nervous at that time. Actually I wanted some sugar, but I said salt. It was hard for me to change so I just went ahead.”

“I tried to tell you the truth many times in my life, but I was too afraid to do that, as I have promised not to lie to you for anything.”

“Now I’m dying, I’m afraid of nothing so I tell you the truth: I don’t like the salty coffee. What a strange and bad taste! But I have had the salty coffee for my whole life!”

“Since I knew you, I never feel sorry for anything I do for you. Having you with me is my biggest happiness for my whole life. If I can live for a second time, I still want to know you and have you for my whole life, even though I have to drink the salty coffee again.”

Her tears made the letter totally wet.

Someday, someone asked her, “What’s the taste of salty coffee?” “It’s sweet,” she replied.

59. Which is the main factor that determines Buffett’s success?

A. 　His education.　　　　　　　　　　　 B. His family background.

C. 　His desire to learn.　　　　 　　　　　D. His cooperation with his partner.

58. How did Buffett behave at the stock market?

A.　　 He often prefers some inexpensive stocks.

B.　　　 He will buy the stock whose price is lower than its value.

C.　　　 He always borrows money from his friends to buy stocks.

D.　　 He will sell the stock if its price doesn’t go up.

57. Which of the following is true about Buffett?

A.　　 His worth is more than $ 55.5 billion now.

B.　　　 He is next to Bill Gates in wealth at the present time.

C.　　　 He achieved great success on stepping into the stock market.

D.　　 He bought 162,000 square meters of farmland by selling soda pop.

56. The passage is mainly about ___________.

A.　　 why Buffett took the place of Bill Gates as the world’s richest man

B.　　　 what effect Buffett’s childhood experiences had on his success

C.　　　 how Buffett earned his fortune and achieved his aptitude

D.　　 what Buffett dreamt about when he was a child

46. A. handle　 　 　 　　　　　B. create　 　 　　　　　 　C. affect　 　　　　　　 D. investigate 47. A. becoming　 　 　 　　　　B. choosing　 　　 　　　　C. ordering　 　 　　　 　D. promoting

Section C (12 points)

Directions: Complete the following passage by using ONE word that fits the context.

Because neither she nor her husband smoked, Mrs. Trench was surprised to see cigarette ash on her doorstep as she entered the house. When she opened the living-room door, she was astonished to see a strange man fast 　　　48　　 　in an armchair! Taking care not to disturb him, Mrs. Trench left the house at once. She called a taxi and went 　　　49　　 　to the police station. When she got there, she lost no time to explain 　　　　　　_____50　　 had happened and added that the man 　　　51　　 　have got into the house 　　　52　　 　an open window. Mrs. Trench returned home 　　　53　　　 　a police car together with two policemen. But it was too late: the man had disappeared. Hurrying upstairs, she went to her dressing-table. She smiled 　　　54　　　 　relief when she saw the only thing that man had taken was an imitation diamond necklace that was almost　　　 55　　　 　!

PART THREE: READING COMPREHENSION(30 points)

Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are 4 choices marked A,B,C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage.

A

When 7-year-old Warren Buffett said,“I will be the richest man one day,” his friends made fun of his “daydreaming”. But ever since then the little boy has set about learning how to make money by selling drinks, delivering newspaper and buying stocks. The American had already earned $9,000 (equal to $90,000 today) by the time he graduated from high school.

　And this month the 78-year-old man, who earned his fortune by making a lot of sound investment in the stock market, took the place of Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, as the world’s richest man. Gates’ worth declined $1.5 billion to $55.5 billion in 33 days after the recent financial storm, according to Forbes Magazine.

　Buffett, the only son of a stockbroker, was ready to think outside the box to develop his business from a very early age. At 8, he went to golf courses collecting and selling the used balls. At 11 when he sold soda pop door-to-door with a friend, the pair collected lids on streets to judge which flavor was the most popular.

　As a paper boy during high school, Buffett delivered two competitor papers, so that even when customers canceled one of the subscriptions, he could still make a profit from the other. With his paper delivery savings, Buffett bought 162,000 square meters of farmland and collected rent. Young Buffett stepped into the stock market at 11 but earned only $5. The experience taught him one of the virtues in investing, patience.

After graduating from university, Buffett started his venture with stocks with his childhood earnings and money from friends. He researched the stocks and just bought those of solid companies that were undervalued and inexpensive at the time. By sticking to companies such as American Express and Coca-Cola, Buffett has become rich.

“Learning is important to Buffett’s success. He is a learning machine who can spend his entire day reading. He keeps learning from books, street smarts and investigation, from both success and failure. In this way, he over-achieved his aptitude (能力).” said Charlie Munger, his longtime business partner.

45. A. emphasis　 　　　　　 　B. conflict　 　　　　　　 C. power　 　　　　　　 　D. pressure