Walking around the corner and into the hall at three in the morning, lost in thought and dragging a mop bucket, I raised my eyes to the front counter in indifference. A man, looking to be in his mid 40’s, stood in a pink dress. A wide-edged hat stuck out over his massive frame resembling an umbrella that was a little too shabby and worn-out, making him look like a woman. The shock at seeing such a strong proud man in a cheap disgusting dress broke my heart, as well as frightened me.
Dropping my mop on the floor in surprise and picking up my face that had temporarily fallen off, I confidently walked over to the desk.
“I’m sorry,” I began to say but was confused on whether sir or madam was appropriate. “Can I help you?”
“I need a room,” he said in a gruff (粗哑的) powerful voice.
“Sure thing,” I said bringing up the registry. “Can I get your last name?”
“Hurgan,” he said briefly.
“And your first name?”
“Amanda.”
Suddenly I had to direct all of my concentration on holding back a smile. A ten second pause of silence passed while I tried to stay calm.
“Okay,” I said getting back to the job, “can I get your phone number, Amanda?”
All of the information was acquired and stored and Amanda received her room key for the night. All was well as I returned to the neglected mop bucket. Suddenly a low throaty cough drew me out of my temporary mental disorder. Looking over at the desk where Amanda stood touching her thick biceps (二头肌) I once again dropped the mop in shock.
“I’m sorry about that,” I said coming around to the desk. Amanda stared with unease twisting her sleeve with her right index finger.
“I have a cat,” she said in a low voice.
“I’m sorry you what?” I asked leaning in closer. She drew back a bit as if I was some kind of threat.
“I have a cat.”
Looking up into her tall frame, I replied, “That’s fine. We just need to add an extra $10 fee.” She handed me her credit card once again. I swiped it, returned it, and grabbed the printing receipt.
“You just need to sign here,” I said handing over the pen. She hesitantly grabbed it from my hand and signed. As she began to return it, my hand came a bit too close to connecting with hers. Scared and possibly a little disgusted she dropped the pen, causing it to bounce off the counter and onto the floor.
“Sorry,” she said, looking down. “I have to go get my cat.”
While Amanda was getting her cat, an unpleasant thought was circling around my head. Here I was just doing my job and this, this WO-MAN was acting as if I was the monster! He was wearing a pink dress! And I was the monster? Was he even still a man? The sliding doors opened and in came Amanda passing the front desk without even giving me a polite nod. 
【小题1】 The story most probably happened at a ________.

Dear Kate,
I’m very   36   that you are coming to our school so soon.   37   you arrive, let me introduce   38   you what our school life is like.
Our school is quite famous   39   its long history. It was   40   in the early 1920s. It is a good place   41   we can prepare ourselves well for the future. We have many wonderful teachers who are always ready to   42   help.   43   we pay a lot of attention to how well we do in lessons,   44   high scores is not the only reason to study. The teachers encourage us to try out new ideas and ask questions.   45   their help we have developed all kinds of interests in both Arts and Science. Students can choose to   46   any school clubs they are   47   in. We can also choose the subjects that we want to study. Last term I selected American Literature, because I wanted to learn about famous American writers. This term I chose to attend music classes because my father bought me a piano   48   a birthday present.
  49   , I was elected monitor of my class,   50   it can be   51   to be a monitor,   52   I have to do a lot of work and attend many meetings.   53   , being a monitor has taught me a lot, such as caring for others and taking responsibilities and so on. When my class was given the title of “Model Class”, I was   54   than ever before. So being a monitor plays an important part in my school life. I’m very pleased with my work.
I love my school and hope that you will have a pleasant experience here too. I am looking forward to   55   you soon.

When it is Tom’s turn for a cut, Mr. Smith places a wooden board covered with a piece of red leather across the arms of the chair, so that the barber doesn’t have to bend to cut the boy’s hair.

“Hey, young man, you’re       , you won’t need this soon, you’ll be able to sit in the chair.” the barber says.

“Wow,” says Tom, turning round to look at his dad. “Dad, Mr. Smith said I could be sitting in the chair soon, not just on the      !”

“So I hear,” his father replies. “I expect Mr. Smith will start       me more for your hair then.”

In the       Tom sees a little head sticking out of a long nylon cape. Occasionally he       glances at the barber as he works. He smells a(n)       of smelly sweat and aftershave as the barber moves around him, combing and cutting.

Tom feels like he is in another world,       except for the sound of the barber’s shoes rubbing on the plastic carpet and the       of his scissors. In the       from the window he could see through the window, a few small clouds moved slowly through the frame, moving to the       of the scissors’ click.

Sleepily, his eyes dropping to the front of the cape where his hair       softly as snow and he       sitting in the chair just like the men and older boys, the special       left leaning against the wall in the corner.

When Mr. Smith has      , Tom hops down from the seat.      , he sees his own thick,       hair mixed among the browns, greys and blacks of the men who have sat in the chair before him. For a moment he wants to reach down and       the broken blonde hair, to       them from the others, but he does not have time.

They reach the pavement outside the shop. “I tell you what, boy, let’s get some fish and chips to take home,       your mum from cooking tea,” says Tom’s dad.

Tom is excited and catches his dad’s hand. He is surprised to find, warming in his father’s palm, a handful of his own       .

1.A. building up        B. sending up                       C. bringing up D. shooting up

2.A. desk                     B. board                               C. couch                      D. sofa

3.A. paying                  B. blaming                            C. charging                  D. accusing

4.A. mirror                           B. book                                C. shelf                      D. catalogue 

5.A. steals                   B. discovers                         C. returns                    D. transforms

6.A. lack                     B. memory                           C. mixture                   D. expression

7.A. helpless               B. noiseless                          C. fearless                   D. thoughtless

8.A. control                B. direction                          C. effect                     D. click

9.A. immigration        B. opposition                       C. reflection               D. assumption

10.A. rhyme               B. trail                                  C. pattern                    D. sound

11.A. falls                   B. covers                              C. melts                       D. explodes

12.A. considers                   B. succeeds                         C. approves                D. imagines

13.A. package            B. bench                               C. scissors          D. carpet

14.A. treated              B. compromised                 C. finished                   D. entertained

15.A. Looking into     B. Looking forward             C. Looking up             D. Looking down

16.A. blonde              B. red                                    C. black                        D. white

17.A. send for            B. find out                            C. gather up                D. show off

18.A. punish               B. separate                           C. deliver                    D. confirm

19.A. persuade          B. save                                  C. excuse                   D. relax

20.A. money               B. tip                                    C. fish                           D. hair

There is one thing that everyone wants more than anything else .Some people try to get it by making money .They think that when they have enough money to buy such things as houses ,arms ,and cars ,they will have the one thing that everyone wants .
Other people believe that if they know enough, they will find this thing .They study all their lives in search of it .Still others think that if they have power, they will find this thing .They keep telling themselves: When I am a boss, I will no longer have to search for this thing.
What is it that everyone wants more than anything else? What is it that all of us keep working and searching for each day? It is happiness.
Happiness is a strange thing .It does not mean the same to all men .What will make one man happy may not make another man happy .Some men say that happiness comes from helping others ,other men say that happiness comes from making life more pleasant for everyone .What do you mean when you say“That makes me happy.”
Read what different people have said about happiness .Perhaps you will learn something that will bring you peace of mind ,comfort ,money or may bring you what you search for happiness.
【小题1】The main idea of this passage is that          

 — How can I get the main idea of a news article quidkly?

   — Just look through the first and last paragraph, and you ___what it is mainly about．

       A．see               B．will see             C．are seeing  D．have seen