Dear Florence,

We arrived in India last week, and the voyage was the worst experience of my entire life. I’m lucky to be alive!

The first part of the journey was terrible, because the ship hit bad weather almost as soon as we left Liverpool. But much, much worse was to come. Later, we were involved in a collision with another boat and we had to abandon ship!

We had been at sea for about two weeks and we were in the Mediterranean. There is now a canal between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea called the Suez Canal, which opened last year. Our boat stopped at Port Said, the Egyptian port at the entrance to the canal. I remember looking through the porthole of my cabin and wishing that I could go ashore and visit this fascinating place, but mummy had ordered that I was to stay in the cabin because I was feeling ill. “you must stay here for at least another two days.” I remember her saying. How wrong she would turn out to be! The ship left the port and headed towards the canal . I was alone in the cabin and I watched the port disappear into the distance. Suddenly there was a loud bang, followed by the most awful crunching(嘎吱的)sound, and the ship shook and turned slightly on its side.

There was an eerie silence for a moment, then people started shouting. Mummy came running into the cabin and told me that we had collided with another boat. She took my hand and we ran along the deck towards the lifeboats. There was a lot of shouting and people were running everywhere, but the crew were all acting calmly, helping people into the lifeboats and telling people not to panic.

Well, clearly we survived, as did all the passengers and crew of the ship. The other boat wasn’t so lucky. It sank and several lives were lost.

I will write about the rest of the journey soon. Please give my love to Aunt Claire and Uncle Eric.

Your loving cousin,

Jane

56.When was the letter written?

A.Before the author went to India. B.In the mid – 19th century.

C.When the author arrived in Egypt.    D.Just after the author arrived in India.

57.Why was the journey to India such a bad experience for the author?

A.She was sick when it started and nearly died in Egypt.

B.Her ship left England in bad weather and crashed into another ship near the Suez Canal.

C.She was seasick when her ship sank.

D.She was alone when her ship hit another boat and she got sick.

58.The author’s mother didn’t allow her to go ashore and visit the port city, Said because       .

A.she was homesick at that time   

B.she didn’t feel very well then

C.she could meet some danger ashore   

D.she could see the city through the porthole on board

59.The underlined phrase “eerie silence” in the sixth paragraph means          .

A.pleasant calm silence    B.long peaceful silence

C.sudden long silence  D.strange uncomfortable silence

 

Jenna, a popular girl from Westwood Middle School, had graduated first in her class and was ready for new  16  in high school.

17, high school was different. In the first week, Jenna went to tryouts(选拔赛)for cheerleaders(拉拉队队员). She was competing against very talented girls, and she knew it would be 18 for her to be selected. Two hours later, the  19  read a list of the girls for a second tryout. Her heart  20  as the list ended without her name. Feeling  21 , she walked home carrying her schoolbag full of homework.

Arriving home, she started with math. She had always been a good math student, but now she was  22 . She moved on to English and history, and was  23  to find that she didn’t have any trouble with those subjects. Feeling better, she decided not to  24 math for the time being.

The nest day Jenna went to see Mrs. Biden about being on the school  25 . Mrs. Biden wasn’t as  26  as Jenna. “I’m sorry, but we have enough  27  for the newspaper already. Come back next year and we’ll talk then.” Jenna smiled  28  and left. “Why is high school so  29 ?” she sighed.

Later in  30  class, Jenna devoted herself to figuring out the problems that had given her so much  31 . By the end of class, she understood how to get them right. As she gathered her books, Jenna decided she’d continue to try to  32  at her new school. She wasn’t sure if she’d succeed, but she knew she had to  33 . High school was just as her mom had said: “You will feel like a small fish in a big pond  34  a big fish in a small pond. The challenge is to become the  35  fish you can be.”

16. A. processes

B. decision

C. challenges

D. exercises

17. A. Therefore

B. However

C. Otherwise

D. Besides

18. A. difficult

B. easy

C. boring

D. interesting

19. A. editor

B. boss

C. candidate

D. judge

20. A. jumped

B. sank

C. stopped

D. raced

21. A. strange

B. happy

C. awful

D. lonely

22. A. struggling

B. improving

C. working

D. complaining

23. A. ashamed

B. disappointed

C. shocked

D. relieved

24. A. put up

B. prepare for

C. worry about

D. give up

25. A. committee

B. newspaper

C. radio

D. team

26. A. enthusiastic

B. artistic

C. sympathetic

D. realistic

27. A. speakers

B. readers

C. cheerleaders

D. writers

28. A. widely

B. weakly

C. excitedly

D. brightly

29. A. similar

B. ordinary

C. different

D. familiar

30. A. physics

B. history

C. English

D. math

31. A. pleasure

B. hope

C. trouble

D. sorrow

32. A. fit in

B. look out

C. stay up

D. get around

33. A. swim

B. try

C. ask

D. escape

34. A. in return for  

B. in case of

C. in terms of

D. instead of

35. A. slimmest

B. smallest

C. best

D. gentlest

Sandra Cisneros was born in Chicago in 1954 to a Mexican American family. As the only girl in a family of seven children, she often felt like she had “seven fathers,” because her six brothers, as well as her father, tried to control her. Feeling shy and unimportant, she retreated(躲避) into books. Despite her love of reading, she did not do well in elementary school because she was too shy to participate.

In high school, with the encouragement of one particular teacher, Cisneros improved her grades and worked for the school literary magazine. Her father encouraged her to go to college because her thought it would be a good way for her to find a husband. Cisneros did attend college, but instead of searching for a husband, she found a teacher who helped her join the famous graduate writing program at the University of Iowa. At the university’s Writers’ Workshop, however, she felt lonely----a Mexican American from a poor neighborhood among students from wealthy families. The feeling of being so different helped Cisneros find her “Creative voice.”

“It was not until this moment when I considered myself truly different that my writing acquired a voice. I knew I was a Mexican woman, but I didn’t think it had anything to do with why I felt so much imbalance in my life, but it had everything to do with it! That’s when I decided I would write about something my classmates couldn’t write about.”

Cisneros published her first work, The House on Mango Street, when she was twenty-nine. The book tells about a young Mexican American girl growing up in a Spanish-speaking area in Chicago, much like the neighborhoods in which Cisneros lived as a child. The book won an award in 1985 and has been used in classes from high school through graduate school level. Since then, Cisneros has published several books of poetry, a children’s book, and a short-story collection.

36. Which of the following is TRUE about Cisneros in her childhood?

A. She had seven brothers.

   B. She felt herself a nobody.

C. She was too shy to go to school.

D. She did not have any good teachers.

37. The graduate program gave Cisneros a chance to _____.

   A. work for a school magazine

   B. run away from her family

   C. make a lot of friends

   D. develop her writing style

38. According to Cisneros, what played the decisive role in her success?

   A. Her early years in college.

   B. Her training in the Workshop.

   C. Her feeling of being different.

   D. Her childhood experience.

39. What do we learn about The House on Mango Street?

   A. It is quite popular among students.

   B. It is the only book ever written by Cisneros.

   C. It wasn’t success as it was written in Spanish.

   D. It won an award when Cisneros was twenty-nine.

 (10·重庆A篇)

One morning more than thirty years ago, I entered the Track Kitchen, a restaurant where everyone from the humblest(卑微的) to the most powerful came for breakfast. I noticed an empty chair next to an elderly, unshaven man, who looked somewhat disheveled. He was wearing a worn-out hat and was alone. I asked if I might join him. He agreed quietly and I sat down to have my breakfast.

We cautiously began a conversation and spoke about a wide rang of things. We never introduced ourselves. I was concerned that he might have no money and not be able to afford something to eat. So as I rose to go back to the counter and buy a second cup of coffee, I asked,

“My I get you something ?”

“A coffee would be nice.”

Then I bought him a cup of coffee, We talked more, and he accepted another cup of coffee, Finally, I rose to leave, wished him well, and headed for the exit. At the door I met one of my friends. He asked,

“How did you get to know Mr. Galbreath?”

“Who?”

“The man you were sitting with. He is chairman of the Board of Churchill Downs.”

I could hardly believe it. I was buying, offering a free breakfast, and feeling pity for one of the world’s richest and most powerful men!

My few minutes with Mr. Galbreath changed my life. Now I try to treat everyone with respect, no matter who I think they are, and no matter another human being with kindness and sincerity.

56. What does the underlined word “disheveled” mean?

A. Unfriendly.         B. Untidy.         C. Gentle.         D. Kind.

57. The author bought coffee for the old man because     

A. he thought the old man was poor

B. he wanted to start a conversation

C. he intended to show his politeness

D. he would like to thank the old man

58. How did the author probably feel after he talked with his friend?

A. Proud.         B. Pitiful.          C. Surprised.          D. Regretful

59. What is the message mainly expressed in the story?

A. We should learn to be generous.

B. It is honorable to help those in need.

C. People in high positions are not like what we expect.

D. We should avoid judging people by their appearances.

  

  The technology is great. Without it we wouldn’t have been able to put a man on the moon, explore the ocean’s depths or eat microwave sausages. Computers have revolutionized our lives and they have the power to educate and pass on knowledge. But sometimes this power can create more problems than it solves.

  Every doctor has had to try their best to calm down patients who’ve come into their surgery waving an Internet print-out, convinced that they have some rare incurable disease, say, throat cancer. The truth is usually far more ordinary, though: they don’t have throat cancer, and it’s just that their throats are swollen. Being a graduate of the Internet “school” of medicine does not guarantee accurate self-health-checks.

  One day Mrs. Almond came to my hospital after feeling faint at work. While I took her blood sample and tried to find out what was wrong, she said calmly, “I know what’s wrong; I’ve got throat cancer. I know there’s nothing you doctors can do about it and I’ve just got to wait until the day comes.”

  As a matter of routine I ordered a chest X-ray. I looked at it and the blood results an hour later. Something wasn’t right. “Did your local doctor do an X-ray?” I asked. “Oh, I haven’t been to the doctor for years,” she replied. “I read about it on a website and the symptoms fitted, so I knew that’s what I had.”

  However, some of her symptoms, like the severe cough and weight loss, didn’t fit with it—but she’d just ignored this.

  I looked at the X-ray again, and more tests confirmed it wasn’t the cancer but tuberculosis (肺结核)—something that most certainly did need treating, and could be deadly. She was lucky we caught it when we did.

  Mrs. Almond went pale when I explained she would have to be on treatment for the next six months to ensure that she was fully recovered. It was certainly a lesson for her. “I’m so embarrassed,” she said, shaking her head, as I explained that all the people she had come into close contact with would have to be found out and tested.  She listed up to about 20, and then I went to my office to type up my notes. Unexpectedly, the computer was not working, so I had to wait until someone from the IT department came to fix it. Typical. Maybe I should have a microwave sausage while I waited?

  63. Mrs. Almond talked about her illness calmly because ______.

  A. she thought she knew it well

  B. she had purchased medicine online

  C. she graduated from a medical school

  D. she had been treated by local doctors

  64. It was lucky for Mrs. Almond ______.

  A. to have contacted many friends

  B. to have recovered in a short time

  C. to have her assumption confirmed

  D. to have her disease identified in time

  65. Mrs. Almond said “I’m so embarrassed” (Para. 7) because ______.

  A. she had distrusted her close friends

  B. she had caused unnecessary trouble

  C. she had to refuse the doctor’s advice

  D. she had to tell the truth to the doctor

  66. By mentioning the breakdown of the computer, the author probably wants to prove ______.

  A. it’s a must to take a break at work

  B. it’s vital to believe in IT professionals

  C. it’s unwise to simply rely on technology

  D. it’s a danger to work long hours on computers

  

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