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 this 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.

56.  The underlined word “dare” in Paragraph 1 is closed in meaning to ________.

       A. courage                B. assistance                   C. instruction                    D. challenge

57.  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.

58.  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.

59.  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.

60.        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.

—Tom, if it doesn’t rain, we can go climbing and have a picnic there.

—       I like  climbing.

A．Well done         B．That’ s great.     C．No problem        D．That’s it

—Tom, if it doesn’t rain, we can go climbing and have a picnic there.
—       I like  climbing.

Ⅲ 阅读（共两节。满分40分）
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A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
Cold weather has a great effect on how our minds and our bodies work. Maybe that is why there are so many expressions that use the word cold. For centuries, the body’s blood has been linked closely with the emotions. People who show no human emotions or feelings, for example, are said to be cold-blooded. Cold-blooded people act in merciless ways. They may do brutal things to others, and not by accident. For example, a newspaper says the police are searching for a cold-blooded killer. The killer murdered someone, not in self-defense. He seemed to kill for no reason, and with no emotion, as if taking someone’s life meant nothing. Cold can affect other parts of the body. The feet, for example. Heavy socks can warm your feet, if your feet are really cold. But there is an expression -- to get cold feet -- that has nothing to do with cold or your feet.
The expression means being afraid to do something you had decided to do. For example, you agree to be president of an organization. But then you learn that all the other officers have resigned. All the work of the organization will be your responsibility. You are likely to get cold feet about being president when you understand the situation.
Cold can also affect your shoulder. You give someone the cold shoulder when you refuse to speak to them. You treat them in a distant, cold way. The expression probably comes from the physical act of turning your back toward someone, instead of speaking to him face-to-face. You may give a cold shoulder to a friend who has not kept a promise he made to you. Or, to someone who has lied about you to others.
A cold fish is not a fish. It is a person. But it is a person who is unfriendly, unemotional and shows no love or warmth. A cold fish does not offer much of himself to anyone.
Out in the cold is an expression often heard. It means not getting something that everybody else got. A person might say that everybody but him got a pay raise, that he was left out in the cold. And it is not a pleasant place to be.
41. The passage is intended to tell us that______.
A. cold weather has a great effect on human bodies
B. many English expressions contain the word cold
C. cold is a word closely linked with human emotions
D. the word cold has many different meanings in English
42. The underlined word brutal in paragraph 1 most probably means _______.
A. impolite      B. illegal      C. cruel          D. extreme
43. Which of the following expressions can best describe a person who is unwilling to offer anything to others?
A. Cold-blooded.                 B. To get cold feet.
C. A cold shoulder.                D. A cold fish.
44. You can say Tom ______ if the teacher gives all the boys except him a pen as a prize.
A. is given the cold shoulder
B. is left out in the cold
C. has got cold feet
D. is murdered by a cold-blooded killer
45. We can draw a conclusion from the passage that ______.
A. all the expressions containing the word cold have a negative meaning
B. all the expressions containing the word cold have something to do with cold
C. People who show no human emotions or feelings have cold blood
D. Many parts of the human body can be badly affected by cold.

Cold weather has a great effect on how our minds and our bodies work. Maybe that is why there are so many expressions that use the word “cold”. For centuries, the body’s blood has been linked closely with the emotions. People who show no human emotions or feelings, for example, are said to be cold-blooded. Cold-blooded people act in merciless ways. They may do brutal things to others, and not by accident. For example, a newspaper says the police are searching for a cold-blooded killer. The killer murdered someone, not in self-defense. He seemed to kill for no reason, and with no emotion, as if taking someone’s life meant nothing.

Cold can affect other parts of the body, the feet, for example. Heavy socks can you’re your feet, if your feet are really cold. But there is an expression—to get cold feet—that has nothing to do with cold or your feet.

The expression means being afraid to do something you have decided to do. For example, you agree to be president of an organization. But then you learn that all the other officers have resigned. All the work of the organization will be your responsibility. You are likely to get cold feet about being the president when you understand the situation.

Cold can also affect your shoulder. You give someone the cold shoulder when you refuse to speak to them. You treat them in a distant and cold way. The expression probably comes from the physical act of turning your back toward someone, instead of speaking to him face-to-face. You may give a cold shoulder to a friend who has not kept a promise he made to you, or to someone who has lied about you to others.

A cold fish is not a fish. It is a person. But it is a person who is unfriendly, unemotional and shows no love or warmth. A cold fish does not offer much of himself to anyone.

Out in the cold is an expression often heard. It means not getting something that everybody else got. A person might say that everybody but him got a pay raise, and that he was left out in the cold. And it is not a pleasant place to be.

1.The passage is intended to tell us that ______ .

A．cold weather has a great effect on human bodies

B．many English expressions contain the word “cold”

C．cold is a word closely linked with human emotions

D．the word “cold” has many different meanings in English

2.The underlined word “brutal” in Paragraph 1 most probably means “______”.

A．impolite          B．illegal             C．cruel             D．extreme

3.Which of the following expressions can best describe a person who is unwilling to offer anything to others?

A．Cold-blooded.      B．To get cold feet.     C．A cold shoulder.    D．A cold fish.

4.You can say Tom ______ if the teacher gives all the boys except him a pen as a prize.

A．is given the cold shoulder

B．is left out in the cold

C．has got cold feet

D．is murdered by a cold-blooded killer

5.We can draw a conclusion from the passage that ______ .

A．all the expressions containing the word “cold” have a negative meaning

B．all the expressions containing the word “cold” have something to do with cold

C．people who show no human emotions or feelings have cold blood

D．many parts of the human body can be badly affected by cold