A 37-year-old man in Australia’s Northern city Darwin ,Norm Pethrick, was praised for jumping onto a crocodile’s back to save his wife Wendy at Litchfield National Park, a popular tourist spot southwest of Darwin, a local newspaper reported.
Ms Pethrick was standing on a river bank Wednesday afternoon when the saltwater crocodile lunged (扑), locking its jaws on both her legs as it tried to drag her underwater. Norm Pethrick, who with his wife had been collecting water, immediately went to help her. He jumped onto the back, poked (戳) the eyes of the crocodile and finally got his wife free. Ms Pethrick was later taken to Hospital for a medical treatment. The doctors said she was suffering eight puncture wounds (伤口) in her right leg, a puncture wound in her left leg and a serious cut to one of her fingers.
“This could have been a fatal and tragic situation,” said Dr Len Notaras, according to a local report. He said Ms Pethrick was saved by her husband’s “quick and diligent actions”. Dr Notaras also said she would remain in hospital for three more days and have an operation to clean the wounds, which are easy to get infected because of bacteria (细菌) on the teeth of the crocodile.
【小题1】 This passage is most likely to be found in _____.

A．a newspaper

B．a travel guide

C．a textbook

D．a novel

【小题2】The crocodile attacked Ms Pethrick when she was ______.

A．swimming in the river	B．watching the crocodile
C．standing on the river bank	D．fishing in the water

【小题3】According to the passage, Norm Pethrick can be described as following EXCEPT ______.

A．brave

B．diligent（勤勉的）

C．quick

D．humorous

【小题4】Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?

A．The husband should save the wife

B．A man saves wife’s life from crocodile’s jaws

C．A crocodile is not so dangerous as people imagine

D．Human beings can beat crocodiles sometimes

阅读下面短文，掌握大意，然后从36－55各小题所给四个选项(A、B、C、D)中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

After spending a weekend away with my adult son, I was so impressed by his   36  heart that I sent him this letter.

Dear son,

    I want to thank you for teaching me a very valuable lesson in life by the great example you   37  . When we were eating at that cafe in Boston and a person who had  38  his hamburger didn’t have enough money to pay for it, without  39  , you went over and  40  the extra $2 into his hand.

    When we were leaving, you  41  threw a five-cent coin onto the pavement and said  42 like, “Some kid will really enjoy  43  this.”

    Last week, a young man  44  me in the line at a petrol station didn’t have  45  money to pay for his petrol. I asked the money collector, “How much   46  is he?” She told me he had meant to put $15 of petrol in his car  47  he had been looking at the wrong gauge (计量表) and had put in 15  48  , which came to a little  49  $20. That is an easy mistake  50  both gauges run fast.

    Something made me think of you and  51  you did that night at the cafe in Boston. I handed the man $6. He was so  52  and said, “But why would you do this for me?” I just smiled as I thought of you.

   Thank you, son, for teaching me that “it’s  53  to give than to receive”. Now when I see a five-cent coin on the  54  and want to pick it up, I think of you and leave it there, just in case some kid will get a  55  out of finding it.

                                                        Love always, Mum.

A. humorous          B. optimistic               C. cold                D. generous

A. followed           B. gave                  C. set               D. took

A. ordered            B. booked                 C. offered          D. bought

A. hesitation          B. doubt                 C. permission          D. difficulty

A. spread             B. threw                C. put               D. loaded

A. again              B. already                   C. only            D. also

A. nothing                     B. everything                C. anything          D．something

A．finding             B．accepting             C．looking for      D．pointing at

A．behind                   B．beyond                   C．ahead of            D．next to

A．much                  B．some              C．any                D．enough

A．far                            B．1ong                 C．short                 D．high

A．and                      B．but                        C．so                 D．while

A．1itres                   B．kilograms            C．pounds                D．kilometers

A．up                         B．over                 C．below               D．down

A．until                    B．as                    C．although           D．unless

A．what                    B．which                C．how             D．that

A．excited                B．surprised              C．interested             D．encouraged

A．easier                   B．better                C．faster                D．worse

A．comer                 B．mud                          C．ground           D．carpet

A．kick                        B．fun                    C．fare              D．pick

Studies show that laughter is something that makes you feel calm or relaxed for both physical and psychological wounds though it may seem futile to laugh in the face of pain and fear.

When Dan Rather interviewed comedian Bill Cosby just one week after his son, Ennis, was killed, Cosby said, “I think it is time for me to tell people that we have to laugh. You can turn painful situations around through laughter. If you can find humor in anything, you can survive it.”

Call it a flashlight for dark times: laughter just seems to adjust attitude better than anything else. Inspirational speaker Steve Rizzo recalls a TV interview with an injured firefighter a few days after 9.11．The man had fallen more than 30 stories in one of the towers and had broken a leg. Everyone was crying, and the reporter asked, “How is it that you’ve come out of this alive?” He looked at her and without missing a beat, said, “Look, lady, I’m from New York and I’m a firefighter; that’ all you need to know.”

“Everyone laughed and though the laughter was only a couple of seconds,” says Rizzo. “Sometimes that’s all you need to catch your second breath. Laughter gives you that couple of seconds. You’re sending a message to your brain, and the message is: If you can still laugh even a little among the pain, you are going to be OK.”

Of course, there is a difference between laughing off a serious situation and laughing off the fear that results. The firefighter was doing the latter, states Rizzo, the author of Becoming a Humorous Being, and so should we. “If there is anything we have learnt from 9.11, it’s how precious life really is,” she says. “We have to send a message that our spirit won’t die. One important thing that unites us is our ability to laugh.”　

60．The writer uses the examples of the comedian and the firefighter to show　　　　　　 .

　 A．laughter is a good way to get rid of pain and fear

　 B．laughter is the best way to cure psychological wounds

　 C．it is your attitude that decides whether you can survive the pain or not

　 D．laughing off a serious situation is different from laughing off the fear that results

61．We can infer from the passage that Steve Rizzo is　　　　　　　　　　　 .

　 A．a reporter B．a soldier　　 C．a firefighter　　 D．a doctor

62．The underlined word futile in the first paragraph means　　　　　　　 .

　 A．hopeless　　　　　　 B．useless

C．careless　　　　　　 D．worthless 　

63．From the passage, we can know that Americans are　　　　　　　　 .

　 A．really inspired after 9.11　　　　　　　　　　 B．hardly united after 9.11

C．nearly surprised by 9.11　　　　　　 D．greatly hurt by 9.11

Have you ever wished that you could make your little sister’s teddy bear talk to her? Or have you ever wanted to bring a puppet (木偶) to life? If so, you may be interested in learning the art of ventriloquism (腹语术). A ventriloquist can make an ordinary object seem to be alive by giving it a personality, movement, and speech.
Your object can be a puppet, or a doll. Give your new “friend” a name, and then decide on the personality that he will have. The next step is to give your friend movements that agree with the personality you have chosen.
Now you can learn to make your “friend” talk. A ventriloquist will control his mouth and lips so that it will appear that his voice is coming from the object he is using. This will take practice, but you can do it.
First, decide on a voice that is different from your own. It could be higher or lower than yours, or could even have a special accent. Then, find a clean teaspoon and hold the handle between your front teeth. Now, using the voice you created for your friend and holding the handle of the teaspoon tightly between your teeth, look into a mirror and talk. Practicing with the spoon in your mouth will help you learn to keep your mouth from moving. Now try telling a joke in your normal voice and have your friend speak in his voice. Practice those words until you can say them without your lips moving at all.
Ventriloquism is fun. It also requires hard work to become good at it. The most important thing to do is practice. But if you are willing to take the time to give your friend an interesting personality, to practice lively movements, and to work on good mouth control, then you will be well on your way to becoming a ventriloquist!
【小题1】According to the text, a ventriloquist           .

A．is a person who can make puppets

B．needs to work with another person

C．can speak without using his mouth

D．can make an object seem to speak

【小题2】You need to hold the handle of a teaspoon between your front teeth so that           .

A．your voice will change

B．your mouth won’t move

C．you can look humorous

D．you can feel your mouth’s movements

【小题3】If you want to be good at ventriloquism, you         .

A．need to spend much time practicing

B．must learn from famous ventriloquists

C．should learn at least one special accent

D．must have a great doll to practice with

【小题4】What would be the best title for the text?

A．How to tell jokes

B．How to make puppets

C．Secrets of ventriloquism

D．Tips on making friends

On August 26, 1999, New York City experienced a terrible rainstorm. The rain caused the streets to __36__ and the subway system almost came to a stop.

    Unfortunately, this happened during the morning rush hour. Many people who were going to work were __37__ to go home. Some battled to __38__ a taxi or to get on a bus. Still others faced the __39__ bravely, walking miles to get to work.

    I __40__ to be one of the people on the way to work that morning. I went from subway line to subway line only to find that most __41__ had stopped. After making my way __42__ crowds of people, I finally found a subway line that was __43__. Unfortunately, there were so many people waiting to __44__ the subway that I could not even get down the stairs to the __45__. So I took the train going in the opposite direction, and then switch back to the downtown train. Finally, after what seemed like an forever, the train __46__ my stop. Then I had to walk several blocks in the increasingly heavy rain. When I finally got to my office, I was __47__ through, exhausted and __48__.

     My co-workers and I spent most of the day drying off. When it was 5:00 pm，I was ready to go home. I was about to turn off my computer __49__ I received an email from Garth, my Director:

    I would like to thank all of you who made the effort and __ 50__ reported to work. It is always reassuring(令人欣慰), at times like these, when employees so clearly show their __51__ to their jobs. Thank you.

Garth’s email was short, but I learned more from that __52__ message than I ever did from a textbook. The email taught me that a few words of __53__ can make a big difference. The rainstorm and the traffic __54__ had made me tied and upset. But Garth’s words immediately__55__ me and put a smile back on my face.

36. A. break                  B. flood                C. sink                  D. crash

37. A. forced                B. refused              C. adjusted            D. gathered

38. A. order                  B. pay                   C. call                   D. search

39. A. climate               B. scenery             C. storm                D. burden

40. A. used                   B. promised           C. deserved            D. happened

41. A. practice                     B. routine                     C. process              D. service

42. A. to                       B. through             C. over                  D. for

43. A. operating            B. cycling              C. turning              D. rushing

44. A. check                 B. carry                 C. find                  D. board

45. A. street          B. ground              C. floor                 D. platform

46. A. paused                B. crossed              C. reached             D. parked

47. A. wet                    B. weak                 C. sick                  D. hurt

48. A. ashamed             B. discouraged              C. surprised           D. puzzled

49. A. while                  B. when                C. where               D. after

50. A. hardly                B. casually             C. absolutely          D. eventually

51. A. devotion             B. donation            C. connection         D. reaction

52. A. accurate                     B. urgent               C. brief                 D. humorous

53. A. promise                     B. appreciation       C. advice               D. guidance

54. A. troubles                     B. signals                     C. rules                 D. signs

55. A. corrected            B. supported          C. amazed             D. refreshed