完形填空

　　“Hi! John．” Mary ran towards me with a bright smile, saying, “I’m going to have a dance performance tonight．I hope you’ll come．Here is the ticket．Don’t forget!” Then she 　　1　　 in a hurry．

　　“What? Dance? Is that 　　2　　?” I asked myself．Mary was not such kind of girl．She was a quite 　　3　　 one．I had never seen her wearing colorful clothes．In fact, she really did not know 　　4　　 to dress up．What a terrible thing!

　　“I should go to, I must go to．” I thought．

　　I arrived at the hall with the ticket, found my 　　5　　 and sat down．Her performance was the seventh one．I knew I would have a 　　6　　 time before her turn, for I had no sense of art, 　　7　　 her performance was worth(值得)watching, no matter how long I would wait．Time went 　　8　　, I tried my best not to fall asleep．

　　Just then, came the 　　9　　“Let’s welcome the next exciting dance－Latin!”,

　　Hearing this, I opened my eyes as large as possible, 　　10　　 to lose anything．Wearing a golden and shining skirt, Mary appeared．She 　　11　　 with a sweet smile, looking like a pretty butterfly flying．I could 　　12　　 believe my eyes．

　　After all the performance ended, I 　　13　　 her at the gate．

　　“Hi!” She stood in front of me with her crystal(水晶)shoes．“How do you feel?”

　　“Fantastic!” I answered．

　　“Ha, ha．I knew 　　14　　 would be．” She could not hide her excitement, laughing 　　15　　 a child．

　　At that time, I realized that every girl has a pair of special shoes which are like the crystal shoes of Cinderella．

阅读理解

　　Farmer Ed Rawlings smiles as he looks at his orange trees．The young oranges are growing well in Florida’s weather．Warm sunshine and gentle rains, along with Ed Rawlings’ expert care, will produce a good crop(收成)of oranges this year．

　　However, Ed has to guard against Florida’s changeable winter weather．In January and February, temperatures can destroy Ed’s entire orange crop．Having farmed in Florida for the past 35 years, Ed is prepared for the frost(霜)．When temperatures drop below freezing, Ed tries to save his crop by watering his orange trees．The water freezes and forms a thin layer(层)of ice around the trees．Strange as it may sound, this thin layer of ice actually keeps the fruit warm．

　　What happens is simple．When the trees are watered, the water loses heat and becomes ice．The warmth of the heat it loses is taken in by the fruit and keeps its temperature at a safe level．Ed has effectively used this method to save many orange crops．

　　But Ed still faces difficulties．The trees must be watered at the exact moment the temperature drops to the freezing point．Also, just the right quantity(数量)of water must be used．Too much water can form a thicker layer of ice that will break the tree’s branches(树枝)．Another difficulty is that wind blows away the heat, so Ed has to worry about not only when but also how often his trees should be watered, and how much water should be used．

　　Computer technology may help Ed with some of these worries．With equipment(设备), air and soil temperatures and wind speed can be measured．The information is fed into a computer which can calculate(计算)when the temperature will drop below freezing．The computer can correctly decide the quantity of water to be used and how frequently()the trees should be watered．Ed finds looking after his orange trees a lot easier with the help of a computer, and, his customers will have the benefits(利益)of computer-age oranges．