47. A. direct　　　 　　　 B. twisted　　　　　 　 C. straight　　　 　 D. smoothed

SECTION C　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

Directions: Complete the following passage by filling in each blank with one word that best fits the context.

Dear Xiaohua:

　 I’m very glad to receive your letter. From your letter, I know you have shown 　48　 　great interest in inventing new things. That’s great. As for how to be an inventor, there is no quick answer to 　49　 .

　 Coming from different cultures and having different backgrounds, inventors do not seem to have much 　50 　common.　 But creative thinking, 　51　 　is greatly valued, is perhaps the basic skill an inventor should have. In order to explore new possibilities, you will have to learn to break 52　　 　from old thought patterns. When you get stuck, try to look at the problem in 　　　　53　　 　many ways as possible. Each new way may improve your understanding.

　 More importantly, always keep it in your mind 　54　 　success is no accident. It is the result of a long process of trial and error. Above　 55　 , the main task for you is to study hard and try to learn more knowledge. This, of course, will lay a solid foundation.

　 Hope your future invention will make a difference.

　 Good luck.　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 Yours,

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 Wang Li

PART THREE　 READING COMPREHENSION

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

A

After so much discussion - featured by intense media attention and China's repeated warnings - US President Barack Obama finally met the Dalai Lama at the White House on Thursday. With this latest move to test China's limit of tolerance, Obama has hit a home run to complete his months-long season of a game called "antagonizing (敌对的) China". At least we hope so. After all the recent tensions in Sino-US relations, a half-time break is what both sides desperately need. But it is still too early to have a sigh of relief.

Thanks to his vow to "get much tougher" with China, Obama has struck nearly every note to create the cacophony (嘈杂的声音) against a country that he once promised not to contain. From the US$6.4 billion arms sales to Taiwan to issues related to currency rates and Internet freedom, Obama has criticized China in every possible front. So much that no one can say for sure whether China-US relationship is strong enough to survive all the damages done. It is up to Washington to show its sincerity to begin again the work of repairing the damaged relations.

It usually takes some time for US leaders to learn the rules of their China policy.

Bill Clinton had argued that Washington "should not reward China with improved trade status when it has ... failed to make sufficient progress on human rights". George W. Bush had pledged to do "whatever it took" to defend Taiwan. But it did not take them long to come to terms with reality. China, with a quarter of the world's population and a fast growing economy, means a lot to the US and the world. It does both sides absolutely no good if the two countries collide rather than cooperate. It would have been foolish not to understand this at an early date. In a speech Obama made during his visit to Shanghai in November last year, Obama quoted a Chinese proverb "consider the past, and you shall know the future". Hopefully he really knows what he quoted.

46. A. trust　　　　 　　 B. deny　　　　　　 　　 C. suspect　　　 　　 D. depend

45. A. sign　　　　 　　　 B. signal　　　　　 　　 C. result　　　　 　 D. secret

44. A. stop　　　　 　　 B. walk　　　　　　 　　 C. run　　 　　　　 D. spin

43. A. flees　　　　 　B. flies　　　　　　 　　　 C. floats　　　　 　 D. flows

42. A. believe it or not　　　　　　　　　 B. let alone

　 C. what’s more　　 　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. to tell the truth

41. A. Eyesight　　 　　　　 B. Hearing　　　　　 　 C. Touch　　 　　　　 D. Feeling

40. A. As　　　 　　　　　 B. While　　　　　　 　 C. Because 　　　D. For

39. A. none　　　 　　　　 B. any　　　　　 　　　　 C. few　　 　　　　　　　　 D. some

38. A. rearrange　　 　　　 B. make　　　　　 　　　　 C. find　　　 　　　　 D. readjust