A few months before I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around to welcome me into the world a few months later.

As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my young mind, he had a special position. My parents were complementary instructors：Mom taught me the words, and Dad taught me to obey them. But the stranger... He was our storyteller. He would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies(喜剧).

If I wanted to know anything about politics，history or science，he always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able to predict the future! He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The stranger never stopped talking, but Dad didn't seem to mind.

I now know that my early concepts about relationship were influenced strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom blamed...and NEVER asked to leave.

More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family. He has blended(融合) right in but is not nearly as fascinating as he was at first. Still, if you were to walk into my parent's room today, you would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures. His name?

We just call him...“TV”.

He has a younger sister now. We call her “Computer”.

56．When the stranger came to live with our family, he was ________.

A. ignored by the children                     B. driven away for no reason

C. abandoned because it was too noisy         D. accepted by every family member

57．The stranger can do all the following things EXCEPT that he can ________.

A. tell us some funny stories                  B. reject our proposals(提议)

C. influence the children's character                 D. predict the future

58．The underlined word “spellbound” in Paragraph 2 most probably means ________.

A. concentrated                                          B. puzzled

C. fascinated                                            D. astonished

59．What can we learn from the last three paragraphs of the passage?

A. The computer is more advanced and has gained greater popularity.

B. Old as he is，we like the stranger best.

C. The TV set is out of fashion and often breaks down.

D. We decide to throw the TV set away immediately.

My son was badly hurt in a fire. After he   36   from a series of treatments, the doctors told him they would not do any operation for six months   37   it took long for the skin to stop shrinking (收缩). So, he had to return to college with a visible 10-inch   38   on his face.

I said to my son, “Keaton,   39   will pay any more attention to your scar   40   you do. If it does not bother you, it will not bother   41  .” He took my advice to heart and returned to school with his head  42   high — glad he was alive.

   43  , everyone has scars and shortcomings. Some of you may spend much time thinking that people would like you better,   44   you looked different, or dressed differently, or could have a different and newer   45  .

But you see, like Keaton’s scar, people will only judge you by your looks, or your   46  , or your car, if you are judging yourself by these same false   47  .

One of my friends in college was very   48  . At first, when people met him, they noticed his   49    for about 10 seconds. This man felt   50   about himself and spent most of his time   51   about other people’s comfort and welfare(幸福).   52  , people ignored his looks. What people   53   was his kindness and his concern for them. He didn’t act in an ugly way so people didn’t treat him as an ugly man.

Therefore, concentrate on what you value   54   yourself, because if you can see that beautiful person, everyone you are in contact with will see the same   55  .

36. A. cured                B. recovered               C. improved               D. returned

37. A. because              B. though                     C. until                  D. before

38. A. cut                  B. wound                         C. injure             D. scar

39. A. no one         B. anyone                    C. everyone           D. someone

40. A. as                B. like                          C. than                      D. when

41. A. another            B. others                      C. all                         D. us

42. A. put                         B. held                  C. taken                  D. hung

43. A. After all            B. In conclusion        C. In fact          D. Above all

44. A. as long as               B. if                   C. even if             D. as if

45. A. house                    B. telephone                    C. job                 D. car

46. A. clothes             B. hairstyle                   C. figure         D. salary

47. A. means                 B. standards               C. comments         D. rules

48. A. smart                  B. optimistic              C. rude                      D. ugly

49. A. manners              B. expressions            C. looks         D. actions

50. A. lucky                  B. worried                 C. good                     D. sad

51. A. inquiring             B. asking                C. knowing            D. caring

52. A. Completely   B. Gradually           C. Obviously               D. Suddenly

53. A. wanted        B. understood     C. brought                    D. saw

54. A. within                 B. beyond             C. except                  D. above

55. A. kindness             B. concern                C. beauty            D. perfection

 —Thank you for your help, Mr. Smith. I’ll hand in my paper tomorrow.

     —______. You may send it to my mailbox 3 days later. 

A. No hurry      B. With pleasure               C. Come on             D. Nothing serious

 ―Could I smoke here?

   ―I’d prefer _______if you don’t smoke in front of the children.

A. that    B. this     C. it     D. you

 Not until his father died _______ what his father really meant.

  A. do they realize     B. did they realize      C. realized they     D. had they realized

 ― Do you like coffee or milk?

   ―Both. But I prefer coffee _____ milk.

  A. with        B. for        C. for      D. from

 It was ten years ago ______ that organization was _______.

   A. when; set up       B. that; founded     C. when; founded     D. that ; came into being

 Mary kept weighing herself to see how much ______ she was getting.

   A. heavier       B. heavy        C. the heavier     D. the heaviest

 If you go on doing so, you’ll _______ yourself sooner or later.

   A. damage        B. destroy      C. ruin         D. break