Paul was a student with a lot of problems．He hated school．He didn’t like living with his family in the industrial city of Pittsburgh．Paul wanted to be surrounded by beautiful things．He loved his part--time job as an usher(引座员)at the concert hall．He helped people find their seats before the concert．Then he could listen to the music and dream of exciting places．

    Paul also spent a，lot of time at the local theater．He knew many of the actors who worked there. He used to do little jobs for them．And they would let him see plays for free．Paul had little time left for his studies．So he was always in trouble with his teachers．Finally，Paul's teachers complained again to his father．His father took him out of school and made him take a job in a large company．He would not let Paul go near the concert hall or the theater．

    Paul did not like his job as a messenger boy．He began to plan his escape．A few weeks later，Paul’s boss，Mister Denny，gave Paul a large amount of money to take to the bank．He told Paul to hurry because it was Friday afternoon．He said the bank would close soon and would not open again until Monday．At the bank，Paul took the money out of his pocket．It was five thousand dollars．Paul put the money back in his coat pocket．And he walked out of the bank．He went to the train station and bought a one―way ticket for New York City．That afternoon Paul left Pittsburgh forever．

54．Why did Paul love his part-time job as an usher?

    A．He liked to do part--time jobs．                   B．He could learn to be an actor．

    C．He could enjoy music and plays．                D．He liked to work for actors．

55．Paul's father found him a job in a large company so that         ．

    A．he could live with his family                    B．he would leave the concert or the theatre

    C．he could make more money                    D．he would have time for his studies

56．What did Paul do with the money?

    A．He lost the money．                                   B．He sent the money to the bank．

    C．He returned the money．                            D．He took the money away with him．

Paul was dealing with a crisis. The new girl Linda in class really liked him a lot. Paul was not happy about it.
Paul's good friend, Sam, tried to comfort him.  "What's the big deal? I think Linda is kind of cute and nice enough."
Paul glared at Sam. "Then why don't you ask her to be your girlfriend? There she is, sitting all by herself at the other end of the cafeteria. Go there and ask her to be your honey!"
"She's crazy about you, not me," Sam replied.
"Well, I don't want any girlfriend, especially not a girl like her! "Paul growled.
Sam wouldn't give up.  "The only thing pesky about her is that she keeps writing you those notes ."
"I don't like notes at all!" Paul interrupted. He took another sip of milk.
"Did you notice those strange brown eyes? Why aren't they normal red or pink?"
Sam took another look at Linda. "I think her face is a lovely shade of green. And her dark green curly hair is quite pretty. Besides, she's very gentle and that's what really matters."
Paul stuck out his tongue. "I think I'm going to be sick!  I'd better save my dessert for later." He crammed a small bag of Maggot Munchies into his even smaller shirt pocket.  "The fact is, I have a problem. That girl is getting on my nerves!  "
Sam followed Paul’s example and decided to save his dessert for later. However, he carefully placed the bag into his lunch box.  "Do you have any ideas about how to solve your problem?" Tremor asked.
"I'm going to be mean and rude to her," Paul announced.  "I'll call her names and make ugly faces at her."
"That's how you treat everyone," Sam reminded his friend.
Paul nodded. "It's time that Linda got to know the real Paul !"
【小题1】 What does the underlined part "a crisis" in Paragraph 1 refer to?

I still remember father spent plenty of time teaching me how to pronounce a word, how to understand something that I saw for the first time and how to be polite to others. And I will never 31   one sentence my father used to say to me, “I love you, son. Say you love me, son.”  32  , I would scream, “I love you, Dad.”

When I was growing up, I found that I had little in 33  with my father gradually. Sometimes we often argued about something sharply and then the argument changed into a  34 . I knew there was a gap between us. I didn’t 35  hearing the words “I love you” from my father the last time. To tell you the truth, I couldn’t honestly remember 36 I had last said those words to him, either.

Now father was in hospital. The doctor said it was 37  and he needed an operation at once, 38   he wasn’t sure whether my father was able to  39 it. Everything in my childhood 40 in my mind. Then I called and said, “Dad, I love you!”

There was a   41   at the other end and he replied coldly, “Well, I love you, too!”

I   42   and said, “Dad, I know you love me, and when you are   43 , I know you will say what you want to say.”

Fifteen minutes later my mother called and 44  asked, “Paul, is everything OK?”

A few weeks later I was working when I received my father’s call. “Paul, I love you.” I was so 45 that my tears rolled down my cheeks. Perhaps both of us 46 that this special moment had 47  our relationship to a new level.

A short while after this special moment, my father finally narrowly   48 death following the heart operation. I can’t  49 that if I didn’t take the first   50 and Dad did not survive the surgery, what kind of life I would lead now.

1.                A．forget          B．read           C．understand    D．practice

2.                A．Actually        B．Simply          C．Naturally  D．Strangely

3.                A．heart          B．manner         C．mind D．common

4.                A．fight           B．quarrel         C．question  D．discussion

5.                A．expect         B．think           C．enjoy D．remember

6.                A．why           B．whether        C．where    D．when

7.                A．risky           B．serious         C．important D．difficult

8.                A．but            B．because        C．so   D．for

9.                A．remain         B．master         C．survive   D．defeat

10.               A．put            B．opened        C．kept  D．appeared

11.               A．response       B．pause          C．silence    D．surprise

12.               A．cried          B．smiled         C．nodded   D．moved

13.               A．free           B．ready          C．happy D．convenient

14.               A．eagerly         B．carefully        C．excitedly  D．nervously

15.               A．touched        B．amused        C．encouraged    D．shocked

16.               A．required       B．realized        C．reacted   D．reported

17.               A．formed         B．built           C．taken D．increased

18.               A．escaped        B．passed         C．beat  D．fought

19.               A．conclude       B．infer           C．imagine   D．decide

20.               A．effect          B．step           C．word D．advice

Brian arrived at the San Francisco airport two hours before the flight to Paris. He was wearing three shirts, a jacket, two pairs of socks, a pair of shorts, and two pairs of jeans. He was carrying one small backpack, which was very full, but he didn’t have any other luggage. Brian needed to meet a man named Tony before he checked in for his flight. He found Tony near the Air France counter. Tony gave him a round-trip ticket and a small package. 
“Give this package to Jean-Paul at the airport in Paris. He will have a sign with your name on it. I think you can find him easily, “Tony said.” You don’t have any luggage, right?”
“Only this backpack,” Brian answered. “You said I could bring one carry-on bag.”
“That’s right, one carry-on bag is fine. Have a good trip.”
“Thanks.”
Is Brian a criminal（犯罪）? Not at all. He is an air courier. And he paid only $110 for the round-trip ticket to Paris. Air couriers get cheap airline tickets because they take important packages and papers to foreign countries. Businesses sometimes need to get packages and papers to people in foreign countries by the next day. Often, the only way they can do this is to use an air-courier company. It is not cheap for a business to send a package with an air courier, but it is quick. 
Every year about 80, 000 people worldwide travel as air couriers. The number of tickets for courier travel is growing by about 10 percent a year. However, air-courier travel isn’t for everyone, But if you have very little money, can be flexible（灵活的）about your travel plans, and don’t mind wearing the same clothes for a week, it can be a great way to take a vacation!
【小题1】Why was Brian wearing so many clothes for his travel?

Brian arrived at the San Francisco airport two hours before the flight to Paris. He was wearing three shirts, a jacket, two pairs of socks, a pair of shorts, and two pairs of jeans. He was carrying one small backpack, which was very full, but he didn’t have any other luggage. Brian needed to meet a man named Tony before he checked in for his flight. He found Tony near the Air France counter. Tony gave him a round-trip ticket and a small package. 

“Give this package to Jean-Paul at the airport in Paris. He will have a sign with your name on it. I think you can find him easily, “Tony said.” You don’t have any luggage, right?”

“Only this backpack,” Brian answered. “You said I could bring one carry-on bag.”

“That’s right, one carry-on bag is fine. Have a good trip.”

“Thanks.”

Is Brian a criminal（犯罪）? Not at all. He is an air courier. And he paid only $110 for the round-trip ticket to Paris. Air couriers get cheap airline tickets because they take important packages and papers to foreign countries. Businesses sometimes need to get packages and papers to people in foreign countries by the next day. Often, the only way they can do this is to use an air-courier company. It is not cheap for a business to send a package with an air courier, but it is quick. 

Every year about 80, 000 people worldwide travel as air couriers. The number of tickets for courier travel is growing by about 10 percent a year. However, air-courier travel isn’t for everyone. But if you have very little money, can be flexible（灵活的）about your travel plans, and don’t mind wearing the same clothes for a week, it can be a great way to take a vacation!

Why was Brian wearing so many clothes for his travel?

A. Because they were the uniform for air couriers.  

B. Because that made him easier to be recognized. 

C. Because his backpack had no room for his clothes. 

D. because he did not have any luggage with him. 

An air courier is a person who         .

A. manages a business company in foreign countries

B. organizes international flights for tourists.

C. travels around the world with cheap tickets.

D. delivers papers and packages to foreign countries.

Businesses choose the air-courier service because       

A. it costs less     B. it is flexible     C. it saves time     D. it grows fast

The author of the text mainly      ..

A. describes the activities of a law-breaker          B. suggests an ideal way to travel              

C. argues against the air-courier travel              D. tells us about a developing business