Sir William Osler has a few words for you: “In the Life of a young man, the most essential thing for happiness is the gift of friendship.” Truer words were never spoken. For what more could you ask than comradeship during the peaks and valleys of life? To whom else but a close, valuable friend can you show off your successes and complain about your failures or losses?

What is a “good friend”? How is he best described? Well, it has been my observation that although many will cry with you, few can sincerely rejoice (欣喜) with you. Therefore, in my opinion, a good friend is one who can enjoy your successes without envy; one who can say, “That was wonderful! You can do it again, even better if you want!” and mean it. Nothing taxes a friendship more than the success of one and not the other. Even the closest of friendships often cannot resist such pressure and fail. No wonder many minor friendships go down day by day for the same reason.

A person of good character and sound moral, of honor and humor, of courage and belief is a friend to be sought and treasured — for there are few. Too often we hear, “If you can count your good friends on more than one hand, consider yourself blessed.”

What makes a friendship last? Well, I don’t know all the answers, but one of my observations is that most good friends usually have similar tastes. They generally like and dislike many of the same things. There also usually seems to exist a similarity of personality types — especially in the fundamental values of life such as honesty, sincerity, loyalty, and dependability. More often than not, birds of a feather do fly together. I don’t think it matters a lot whether one prefers jazz or hockey to another’s Mozart or ballet. Much other matters far more: relying, sharing, giving, getting, enjoying; a sympathetic ear always there; criticism when it can help; praise — even if only because it would help. With not many people on this earth will you find this much in common. When you find one, hang on to him, for a good friend found is a rare treasure.

The function of Paragraph 1 is to introduce ______.

A. a famous saying 

B. the topic for discussion

C. a famous person 

D. two different attitudes

What is the meaning of the underlined sentence in Paragraph two?

A. People don’t have to pay taxes to develop friendship with others.

B. Success of one person can promote his friendship with others.

C. Friendship can be affected by the difference in success between friends.

D. Nothing can affect friendship because it has gone through the peaks and valleys of life.

What is the main idea of Paragraph three ?

A. One is lucky to have many friends.

B. A friend should have a good character.

C. We should count our friends on more than one hand.

D. A true friend should be treasured because there are few.

According to the passage, which of the following plays the LEAST important role in a long-lasting friendship?

A. Hobbies.    B. Tastes. C. Personality.       D. Sympathy.

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US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is likely to visit China at an “ appropriate” time this year, a senior Chinese military official said on Monday. Colonel Tu Qiming, director of the American and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Foreign Affairs Office at the National Defence Ministry, made the remark during Sino -US defence talks this week. This is the first ever “special defence policy dialogue” between the two defence ministries, according to the Chinese military.

●●●

FRANCES Agriculture Ministry has confirmed (证实) the first case of mad cow disease detected in a goat last Friday. The goat killed in 2002 tested positive for mad cow disease. It is the first case in the world of the fatal disease being found in an animal otwww..comher than a bovine. The human form of mad cow disease causes brain - wasting, personality change, loss of body function, and ends in death. The European Commission has not advised any change in farming and consuming goats, said the French Ministry in a statement published last Friday.

●●●

MOBILE phone sales hit a new record in 2004, with some 684 million units sold around the world, the US research institute Strategy Analytics said on Thursday. The number represents an increase of 32 per cent over 2003, when 571 million units were sold. Strategy Analytics predicts a more modest rise of 8 per cent for this year, to 735 million. Finnish cellphone provider Nokia stayed out in front in 2004, with sales of 207.6 million units, giving it a market share of 30.4 per cent. Motorola moved to No 2, just ahead of the South Korean company Samsung.

●●●

SIX male penguins (雄企鹅) at a German zoo are proving stubbornly resistant to females brought in from Sweden to make them into breeding (繁殖). Of the ten male penguins at the zoo, six have formed into " homosexual" couples and have shown no interest in the females, making breeding an impossibility. So the zoo imported the four female penguins from Sweden last month, full of hope that the new arrivals could “turn” the males. But so far, the boys are remaining strictly with the boys.

How many countries are mentioned in the pieces of news?

   A. Six.            B. Five.                 C. Three.           D. Seven.

From the fourth piece of news we know that           .

   A. the scientists haven’t succeeded in doing their experiment

   B. the scientists have successfully got six female penguins into breeding

   C. the Sweden girls made the boys show interest in them

   D. German boys don’t like Sweden boys

Which of the following are the suitable headlines for the pieces of news?

   A. a. US Defence Secretary Visit Likely         B. a. US Defence Secretary Visit Likely

     b. France Confirms 'Mad Goat" Case            b. France Confirms ' Mad Goat" Case

     c. Nokia Stays on Top                        c. Mobile Phone Sales 

     d. Male Penguins and Female Penguins          d. Birds of a Feather

   C. a. Defence Policy Dialogue                 D. a. Sino - US Talks

     b. Mad Goat Disease                         b. Mad Goat Case

     c. Mobile Phone Sales                        c. Motorola' s Sales Reduced

     d. Importing Female Penguins                  d. Boys and Girls

完形填空(共20小题,每小题1.5分,满分30分)
阅读下面短文,掌握其大意,然后从36~55各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项。
A certain good woman one day said something that hurt her best friend of many years. She __36__ immediately and would have done anything to have taken the words back. What she said __37__ her friend so much that this good woman was hurt herself for the pain she caused. In a(an) __38_ to undo what she had done, she went to an older, wiser woman in the village to ask for   39  . 
Listening to her, the older woman __40__ the younger woman’s great pain and knew she must help her. She __41__ knew she could never ease her pain, __42__ she could teach. She knew the result would depend only on the __43__ of the younger woman. She said, “Tonight, take your best feather __44__ and put a single feather on the doorstep of each __45__ in town before the sun rises.”
The young woman __46__ home to prepare for her words, even if the feather pillow were very dear to her. All _47__ long, she worked alone in the cold. __48__ the sky was getting light and she placed the last feather on the steps of the last house. Just as the sun rose, she _49__ to the older woman.
“Now,” said the wiser woman, “Go back and refill your pillow with the __50__ you have put on the steps. Then everything will be as it was before.”
“You know that is __51__ ! The wind blew away each feather as fast as I put them on the doorsteps!”The young woman was very __52 _ .
“That is true, ” said the older woman. “Never __53_ . Each of your words is like a feather in the wind.  _54_  spoken , no effort can ever return them to your mouth. __55__ your words well and guard them most of all in the presence of those you love.”
36. A . called             B. apologized            C. regretted              D. wrote
37. A. hurt               B. missed               C . impressed             D. gave
38. A. effect             B. effort                C. letter                 D. offer
39. A. view               B. money               C. comfort               D. advice
40. A. sensed             B. reminded             C. noticed                D. reduced
41. A. hardly             B. still                  C. also                   D. yet
42. A. so                B. and                  C. for                    D. but
43. A. patience           B. attitude              C. character               D. words
44. A. coat              B. cap                   C. quilt                  D. pillow
45. A. stair              B. house                 C. gate                   D. street
46. A. hurried            B. drove                 C. rode                  D. walked
47. A. day               B. morning              C. night                  D. afternoon
48.A. Again             B. Finally                C. Suddenly              D. lately
49. A. referred           B. turned                C. returned                       D. devoted
50. A. sand              B. money                C. step                  D. feather
51. A.useless              B . impossibe             C. unnecessary           D. boring
52. A .surprised          B. right                          C. puzzled             D. angry
53. A. admit             B. mind                    C. remember             D. forget
54. A. Once             B. Though               C.  Unless             D. As
55. A. Speak              B. Choose               C . Say                  D. Guide

On Christmas morning, I went to the Cockhedge Mall. People there were all busy buying their last minute requirements. I needed to buy a birthday card for my son-in-law whose birthday is the 29th of December. Picking up a few more things as well as my cared I went to join the line for the express checkout which was for people who only had a few items in a basket and not a trolley load. This line was next to the Customer Service desk.

Seemingly waiting quite a long time, I was jogged out of my thoughts by a voice behind me making comments on the things I bought.

It was so funny when I realized that she was describing the contents of my basket. The owner of the voice was a very pretty young lady. I said to her that I was going to buy a box of Christmas cookies but the only ones left were not to my liking. The lady told me that just opposite Cockhedge in Superdrug they had lots of cookies. I said, “I’m not going to bother now. I had enough of shops and I’m going home.”

The assistant from the Customer Service came across at this time saying “If there is anyone in the line with a few items in their basket, none of which needed to be weighed, I will check out their groceries at the desk.” Because I had the sprouts which needed to be weighted, the young lady accepted the offer and walked away waving goodbye.

Eventually my turn came at the checkout. I was walking away when I met my new friend once again who handed me a beautiful box of Christmas cookies. With a big hug she said “Hope you have a lovely Christmas.” She had been into Superdrug to buy me the cookies while I was still queuing in Cockhedge.

What a generosity to a stranger! I was so surprised you could have knocked me down with a feather. My Good Samaritan would never know what a joyful Christmas day I had with my family. Telling them this story, as we ate around the table, kept everyone spellbound.

1.The underlined word “spellbound” in the last paragraph probably means          .

    A.interested       B.disappointed     C.astonished       D.frightened

2.Which of the following could be the best title of the story?

    A.A Piece of Lucky Feather             B.A Surprise Christmas Gift

    C.The Boring Shopping Experience       D.The Unforgettable Big Hug

3.How does the writer feel about the pretty young lady?

    A.Worried          B.Satisfied        C.Grateful         D.Proud

4.What can we learn from the story?

    A.Nobody is sure what will happen the next moment.

    B.A simple action can bring other people happiness.

    C.Being patient will decrease the waiting time.

    D.Life without hope and faith is a full thing.

 

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