Peanuts to This
Proudly reading my words, I glanced around the room, only to find my classmates bearing big smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes. Confused, I glanced toward my stone-faced teacher. Having no choice, I slowly raised the report I had slaved over, hoping to hide myself. “What could be causing everyone to act this way?”
Quickly, I flashed back to the day Miss Lancelot gave me the task. This was the first real talk I received in my new school. It seemed simple: go on the Internet and find information about a man named George Washington. Since my idea of history came from an ancient teacher in my home country, I had never heard of that name before. As I searched the name of this fellow, it became evident that there were two people bearing the same name who looked completely different! One invented hundreds of uses for peanuts, while the other led some sort of army across America. I stared at the screen, wondering which one my teacher meant. I called my grandfather for a golden piece of advice; flip (掷) a coin. Heads—the commander, and tails—the peanuts guy. Ah! Tails, my report would be about the great man who invented peanut butter, George Washington Carver.
Weeks later, standing before this unfriendly mass, I was totally lost. Oh well, I lowered the paper and sat down at my desk, burning to find out what I had done wrong. As a classmate began his report, it all became clear, “My report is on George Washington, the man who started the American Revolution.” The whole world became quite! How could I know that she meant that George Washington?
Obviously, my grade was awful. Heartbroken but fearless, I decided to turn this around. I talked to Miss Lancelot, but she insisted: No re-dos; no new grade. I felt that the punishment was not justified, and I believed I deserved a second chance. Consequently, I threw myself heartily into my work for the rest of the school year. Ten months later, that chance unfolded as I found myself sitting in the headmaster’s office with my grandfather, now having an entirely different conversation. I smiled and flashed back to the embarrassing moment at the beginning of the year as the headmaster informed me of my option to skip the sixth grade. Justice is sweet!
【小题1】What did the author’s classmates think about his report?

完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分 30分）
阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C、和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑
Traveling in Vietnam was like visiting a mysterious neighbor. You have lived next door to each other for years but know very    1_ about what happened on   2__ side of the fence.
I traveled there last August. A(n)   3   180-kilometre trip from a Chinese border town to Hanoi, the capital of Vietman,   4    an adventurous eight hours. That’s   5    the country still doesn’t have a modern expressway system. The major passage going through the country is only a two—way road.    6    , many areas are mountainous.
Vietnamese drivers are   7    and fearless. They compete with each other at full speeds no matter how scared the   8    feel. When the bus shook us violently for the hundredth time, the driver made a   9   to make us feel better. “See, this is just a(n)   10   Vietnamese people give you, a free massage(按摩) service.”
It was midnight   11   I reached that hotel. Switching on television, I was   12   by something: All the __13__ in the TV plays spoke in the same voice.   14   , modern Korean plays and historical Chinese plays are   15   with the Vietnamese. But it seemed they didn’t have enough   16   to dub(为…配音) all these programs. So, the same boring woman appears 17   every TV play to speak for the roles. The next morning when I opened the window, I found myself in a huge “   18   ”. The buildings in the streets were __19  in all kinds of colors you can imagine. Vietnamese are allowed to   20   their houses as they like. Each one was different. The large number of colors brought the city alive.
1. A. little                     B. much                C. a lot                         D. few
2. A. another      B. other         C. either              D. the other
3. A. long        B. simple        C. pleasant            D. easy
4. A. took              B. spent         C. paid              D .devoted 
5. A. why              B. when         C. because            D. where
6. A. Therefore         B.However       C. Also               D. Otherwise
7. A. wonderful   B. impatient            C. careful             D. helpless
8. A. passengers         B. policemen     C. drivers             D. passers-by
9. A. story       B. joke                C. promise            D. statement
10. A. gift             B. pleasure       C. competition        D. surprise
11. A. that             B. until          C. when             D. while
12. A. excited           B. embarrassed    C. disappointed        D. amazed
13. A. actresses         B. actors         C. characters          D. channels
14. A. At present  B. To be honest    C. Sure enough         D. Of course
15. A. satisfied          B. received       C. content             D. popular
16. A. time             B. budget         C. people              D. space
17. A. beside           B. under         C. over               D. behind
18. A. film             B. garden              C. book               D. cup
19. A. put              B. set           C. dressed             D. filled
20. A. rent       B. make         C. live                D. paint

Half a year before graduation from college, my son began to seek a job.     the financial crisis, fewer companies would like to      new staff. My son targeted a company that was     to employ only one person       there were more than 20 people filing their resumes﹙简历﹚.

After the interview, there would only be 3 who could enter the final round, which would later     one person to be employed. Everything seemed to go quite       and my son passed the first round and entered the final round in a week.

On the day of the final interview, my son and the      two candidates（候选人）arrived at the interview place on time,       the test. The interview was unbelievably     . The interviewer only said to them, “All of you are very super. Please go home and wait for our      . We will tell you the      in 3 days. Good luck to all of you” On the morning of the third day, my son received a text from the company shortly after breakfast that he was not employed. We all felt very      .

In nightfall that day, my son suddenly told me       on phone, “Dad, I have been employed!” Greatly surprised, I could not wait to ask him, “What’s the whole      ?” My son told me that he received another text saying that he was employed. Actually the first text sent to my son was also       of the test in the interview. Three men received the same text this morning and only my son’s       was “Thank you” while the others said “Goodbye”.

Only then did I know that my son’s hope       in that way. That is, when you feel disappointed, do not       to say “Thank you” to the one who disappoints you. Saying “Thank you” shows respect for others’ work and shows your great      . Therefore, while under the same condition, you will get the upper hand in terms of       compared with others!

1.A. Due to                       B. As to                      C. By way of                        D. Thanks to

2.A. promote                    B. train                       C. discover                           D. employ

3.A. encouraged     B. allowed                          C. intended                          D. supposed

4.A. since                 B. while                     C. because                          D. if

5.A. decide               B. attract                           C. meet                                D. represent

6.A. slowly                B. secretly                            C. smoothly               D. silently

7.A. other                  B. another                           C. others                             D. either

8.A. watching over    B. waiting for             C. thinking about                D. looking into

9.A. formal                       B. funny                                C. simple                             D. strange

10.A. advertisement         B. order                                C. notice                             D. suggestion

11.A. choice                     B. result                                C. mark                      D. idea

12.A. annoyed                  B. puzzled                            C. shocked               D. disappointed

13.A. doubtfully      B. calmly                               C. excitedly                          D. worriedly

14.A. opinion                       B. matter                              C. attitude                          D. tip

15.A. middle                     B. ending                             C. course                              D. part

16.A. reply                         B. way                                 C. problem                          D. question

17.A. came                         B. grew                      C. changed                         D. advised

18.A. expect                     B. regret                     C. dislike                     D. forget

19.A. curiosity                    B. unselfishness                  C. honor                             D. humor

20.A. abilities                    B. opportunities                  C. faults                                 D. shortcomings

Loch Ness, the largest freshwater lake in the British Isles, is twenty four miles long and, at one point, one mile wide. It has an average depth of four hundred and fifty feet and at times drops close to a thousand. It is cold and murky (混沌的), with dangerous currents. In short, it is the perfect place to hide a monster from even the sharpest eyes of science.
The Loch Ness Monster, also called Nessie, is supposedly living in this area. The earliest recorded sighting of the Loch Ness Monster was in the biography of Life of St. Columba by Adamnan in the year AD 565. The monster apparently attacked a man who was swimming in the River Ness.
The monster didn’t make headlines again until August 27, 1930, when 3 fishermen reported seeing a creature with 20 feet long approaching their boat, throwing water in the air. In 1933, after a new road was built along the edge of the Loch, the number of reports rose suddenly. Early in 1934, Author Grant, a young student, was out on his motorcycle one evening when he almost ran into the monster as it crossed the road. Grant’s description of the thing – small head, long thin neck and tail with a big body, seemed to match the appearance of the plesiosaur (蛇颈龙), an aquatic (水生的) type of dinosaur that has been extinct (已灭绝的) for 65 million years.
The Loch Ness Investigation Bureau was formed in 1962 to act as a research organization for information about the creature. Even now, efforts have continued to find the monster. A great deal of information was discovered about the Loch, but there isn’t any yet to produce any specific evidence of a monster.
Skeptics (怀疑论者) argue that the water in the Loch is too cold for a plesiosaur to live in. They also argue that an air-breathing animal, like a whale or seal, would spend much more time on the surface than the creature seems to, and would be spotted more often.
Some scientists have wondered if the sightings might be caused by an underwater wave which is known to sometimes occur in deep, long, and cold lakes, like Loch Ness. Such a wave might push debris (废弃物) to the surface that might look like a strange animal.
However, none of these is identified.
【小题1】According to the skeptics, which of the following is TRUE?

After my husband died suddenly from a heart attack，my world crashed around me. My six children were all under 10，and I was burdened with the responsibilities of earning a living，and caring for the children. I was fortunate to find a wonderful housekeeper to care for the children during the week，but from Friday nights to Monday mornings，the children and I were alone.
One Friday evening I came home from work to find a big pretty German Shepherd（牧羊犬）on our doorstep. This dog seemed to intend to enter the house. The children liked “German” immediately and begged me to let him in. I agreed to let him sleep in the basement. That night I slept peacefully for the first time in many weeks.
The following morning we made phone calls and checked lost-and-found ads for German’s owner，but with no results.
On Sunday I had planned to take the children on a picnic. Since I thought it best to leave German behind in case his owner came by，we drove off without him. When we stopped to get gas，we were amazed to see German racing to the gas station after us. No way was he going to be left behind.
Monday morning I let him out for a run. He didn’t come back and we were all disappointed. We were convinced that we would never see him again. We were wrong. The next Friday evening，German was back on our doorstep. Again he stayed until Monday morning，when our housekeeper arrived.
This pattern repeated itself every weekend for almost 10 months. We grew more and more fond of German. We took comfort in his strong，warm presence，and we felt safe with him near us. As German became part of the family，he considered it his duty to check every bedroom to be sure each child was cozy in bed.
Each week，between German’s visits，I grew a little stronger，a little braver and more able to handle; every weekend we were no longer alone and enjoyed his company. Then one Monday morning we patted him on the head and let him out for what turned out to be the last time. We never saw German again.
56．The dog first came to the family when _______________.
A．it was needed most
B．the writer became strong enough
C．the writer was away on a business trip
D．the writer was busy on the weekday
57．The family planned to go on a picnic without the German Shepherd because ____.
A．it was too wild to control
B．it was too young to walk so far
C．the owner might come by to pick it up
D．it might spoil the trip
58．The writer was ____________ the German Shepherd.
A．afraid of　　　　　　　　　B．grateful to
C．cruel to 　　　　　　　　　D．annoyed with
59．Which of the following can’t be used to describe the dog？
A．Loyal 　　　　　　　　　B．Helpful
C．Lovely 　　　　　　　　 D．Wild