It was one of the hottest days of the dry season. We had not seen rain in almost a month. The crops were dying. Cows had stopped giving milk. If we didn’t see some rain soon we would lose everything.

　　I was in the kitchen making lunch for my husband and his brothers when I saw my six-year-old son, Billy, walking toward the woods. He was obviously walking with a great effort. Minutes after he disappeared into the woods, he came running out again, toward the house.

Moments later, however, he was once again walking toward the woods. This activity went on for over an hour: walking cautiously to the woods, then running back to the house. Finally, my curiosity got the best of me. I went out of the house and followed him on his journey.

　　He was cupping both hands in front of him as he walked; being very careful not to spill the water he held in them. Branches and thorns (荆棘) slapped his little face but he did not try to avoid them. As I leaned in to spy on him, I saw the most amazing site.

　　Several large deer appeared threatening in front of him. But Billy walked right up to them. I almost screamed for him to get away. And I saw a baby deer lying on the ground, obviously suffering from heavy loss of water, lift its head with great effort to drink the water cupped in my beautiful boy's hand.

　　I stood on the edge of the woods watching the most beautiful heart working so hard to save a life. As my tears began to hit the ground, they were suddenly joined by other drops... and more drops... and more. I looked up at the sky. It was as if God, Himself, was weeping with pride.

56. Why did the author follow her son?

A. Because there might be danger.

B. Because her son was doing a good deed.

C. Because she was curious.

D. Because she intended to help.

57. Which of the following statements is Not True according to the passage?

A. Rain was in great need.

B. There were few trees in the woods.

C. Billy carried water with his small hands.

D. Billy walked into the woods and then returned over and over again.

58. What Billy did mainly showed that he was ________.

A. caring                    B. beautiful         C. childlike                 D. brave

59. Which is the correct order of the development of the story?

① The author was moved to tears.

② Billy fed the water to the baby deer.

③ Billy walked towards the large deer.

④ It began to rain.

⑤ The author followed Billy into the woods.

A. ③②⑤①④            B. ④①③②⑤     C. ⑤③②①④            D. ⑤②①③④

School shooting survivors from across the nation biked to the Lincoln Memorial to gather against gun violence on Tuesday, just before classes start in one of the most dangerous times of the school year.

“I think it’s society,” said Evan Todd, 18, who was wounded in the 1999 Columbine school shootings in Colorado. “We stand here and say we need to solve the problem, but we don’t understand that it’s us causing it.” Politically mixed, group members said the nation needs reasonable gun – control laws, emphasis on family values at home and strong programs to help troubled kids in school. The 190 – mile journey from Hampton, Va., to Washington was organized by the Alliance for Justice, to agree with the start of the school calendar.

Most school homicides (杀人) happen at the beginning of terms, mainly because of stress, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a study released last week. One homicide happens for about every four days in February, one for about every six days in September. Homicides are least likely in December and June. “We need to let people know that our kids are dying. Violence is everywhere,” said the gathering’s organizer, Sandra MeSweeney of Hampton, whose daughter was shot in March. “What a parent goes through – no words can explain.”

Tears mixed with sweat, the 15 cyclers embraced (拥抱) in front of the Lincoln Memorial. They wore T – shirts saying “People Pedaling Peace… Not Violence. Among the group was Sabrina Steger from Paducah, Ky., whose daughter, Kayce, was killed during a school shooting in 1997.”

“We are average families who have been thrown very suddenly into abnormal situations,” she said. I want to keep other families from seeing their daughter in a coffin. Nothing ever looks the same or feels the same after that. “Students from Thurston High School in Springfield, Ore., where two students were killed and 25 were wounded in 1998, were also at the gathering.”

1．The cycling gathering was organized just before the term began because             .

       A．it was the time the last shooting happened

       B．it was one of the most dangerous times of the school year

       C．it was easy to collect the survivors

       D．it was the best season for cycling

2．Who, according to Evan Todd, should be responsible for the school shouting?

       A．The society.                                        B．The school.

       C．The gun shooters.                                                               D．The shooters’ parents.

3．Which of the following is not included in the solutions of school shooting?

       A．Gun – control laws.                             B．Family values at home.

       C．School education.                                D．Self – protection.

4．In which of the following months does school shooting happen the most?

       A．December.           B．September.          C．February.            D．June.

5．The gathering was organized in order to            .

       A．urge the authorities to punish the shooters

       B．emphasize the value of families

       C．criticize the school murders

       D．stop violence in schools

Jack Baines is a self-made millionaire, but his beginnings were very lowly. He was the youngest of eight children. His father had a  16  in a cotton mill (纱厂), but he was often  17  to work because of poor health. The family couldn’t  18  to pay the rent or bills, and the children often went  19 . After leaving school at the age of 14, Jack was  20  what to do when Mr Walker, his old teacher, offered to lend him ￡100 to start his own 21 .
　　It was just after the war. Raw materials were not enough, and Jack saw a  22 in scrap metal(废弃金属). He bought bits of metal and stored it in an old garage. When he had built up a large amount, he sold it and  23  plenty of money.
　　Jack  24  working hard. After one year he succeeded in  25  the ￡100.
　　By the time Jack was 30 years old he had  26  his first million, and he wanted to  27  this achievement by doing something “ 28 ”. With all his money it was  29  to build a beautiful home for himself and his parents. In 1959, “Baines Castle” was built in the  30  of the Lancashire countryside. It was one of the finest buildings in the country.
　  Jack has recently sold “Baines Castle” for ￡500 million,  31  Jack still can’t get used to  32  the good life. He can  33  be found drinking with the locals at the local pub（酒吧）.
“I remember being very  34  as a child, but never  35  as a child,” says Jack, “and I will never forget where I came from and who I am.”

完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从41～60各题所给的四个选项（A.B.C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题纸上将该选项标号涂黑。
Jack Baines is a self-made millionaire, but his beginnings were very lowly. He was the youngest of eight children. His father had a  41  in a cotton mill (纱厂), but he was often  42  to work because of poor health. The family couldn’t  43  to pay the rent or bills, and the children often went  44 . After leaving school at the age of 14, Jack was  45  what to do when Mr Walker, his old teacher, offered to lend him ￡100 to start his own 46 .
It was just after the war. Raw materials were not enough, and Jack saw a  47 in scrap metal(废弃金属). He bought bits of metal and stored it in an old garage. When he had built up a large amount, he sold it and  48  plenty of money. Jack  49  working hard. After one year he succeeded in  50  the ￡100.
　　By the time Jack was 30 years old he had  51  his first million, and he wanted to  52  this achievement by doing something “ 53 ”. With all his money it was  54  to build a beautiful home for himself and his parents. In 1959, “Baines Castle” was built in the  55  of the Lancashire countryside. It was one of the finest buildings in the country.
　  Jack has recently sold “Baines Castle” for ￡500 million,  56  Jack still can’t get used to  57  the good life. He can  58  be found drinking with the locals at the local pub（酒吧）.
“I remember being very  59  as a child, but never  60  as a child,” says Jack, “and I will never forget where I came from and who I am.”

完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从41～60各题所给的四个选项（A.B.C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题纸上将该选项标号涂黑。

    Jack Baines is a self-made millionaire, but his beginnings were very lowly. He was the youngest of eight children. His father had a  41  in a cotton mill (纱厂), but he was often  42  to work because of poor health. The family couldn’t  43  to pay the rent or bills, and the children often went  44 . After leaving school at the age of 14, Jack was  45  what to do when Mr Walker, his old teacher, offered to lend him ￡100 to start his own  46 .

It was just after the war. Raw materials were not enough, and Jack saw a  47  in scrap metal(废弃金属). He bought bits of metal and stored it in an old garage. When he had built up a large amount, he sold it and  48  plenty of money. Jack  49  working hard. After one year he succeeded in  50  the ￡100.

　　By the time Jack was 30 years old he had  51  his first million, and he wanted to  52  this achievement by doing something “ 53 ”. With all his money it was  54  to build a beautiful home for himself and his parents. In 1959, “Baines Castle” was built in the  55  of the Lancashire countryside. It was one of the finest buildings in the country.

　  Jack has recently sold “Baines Castle” for ￡500 million,  56  Jack still can’t get used to  57  the good life. He can  58  be found drinking with the locals at the local pub（酒吧）.

    “I remember being very  59  as a child, but never  60  as a child,” says Jack, “and I will never forget where I came from and who I am.”