I recently ran into a friend I hadn’t seen for a long while．Our conversation was lively and full of news from both sides．Before we parted she said，“You'll have to drop in sometime.” I immediately sensed that if I simply  “dropped in’’  I would take my friend by surprise，and I would be discouraged by the image of her standing in her doorway，staring at me，and asking，“Oh，err …what brings you here?”

Whatever happened to the unannounced drop-in visit? When I was growing up in the 1960s, it seemed that people - mostly relatives, but also friends - were always popping in. My parents would put coffee on，and my mom would find something in the kitchen to serve along with it．Then the conversation would begin…The neighbor lady，a worrier，was unloading her sadness while my mom quietly listened．The Irish man next door had such an accent that I remember asking what language he spoke．My Polish relatives arrived in packs…But I never heard my parents say anything like “We weren’t expecting you’’ or “This isn’t a good time．”Drop-in visitors had a certain right of way and became No．1．

What happened to such visits? Actually I know the answer．Times have changed．Everybody gets busy with work．There is no longer a stay-at-home mom keeping a pot of hot coffee or tea ready throughout the day for a surprise guest．Exploding malls and stores are now replacing homes as a central form of entertainment．

Just the other day a former student of mine showed up．“I'm sorry for the surprise visit．”my student began．“I just wanted to see if you still lived here．I'll only stay a minute．”My response was immediate.“ No, you won’t,” I said.“Just come in, sit, have coffee, and we’ll talk.’’

I had nothing in the kitchen but we ordered pizza．And we had a lovely time．I have tried to keep the drop-in tradition alive though it takes some effort．

1.The author thought of his friend’s invitation --- “You’ll have to drop in sometime”--- as _______.

A．a nice way of refusal

B．an excuse of leaving

C．a kind of politeness

D．an expression of surprise

2.The underlined phrase “ pop in”  in the second paragraph means _________.

A．make many friends

B．make a special date

C．have a good time

D．pay a sudden visit

3.The woman from the neighborhood used to visit the author’s home to ________.

A．seek comfort from my parents

B．make new friends

C．1isten to my parents’ story

D．taste nice dishes

4.From the third paragraph of the passage，we can infer that __________．

A．the author misses the lost good days

B．unexpected visitors are still welcome now

C．modern people prefer outdoor activities

D．there are more jobs for the housewives now

5.The author writes the passage intending to __________.     

A．encourage people to be drop-in visitors

B．explain how to deal with unexpected visitors

C．share his feelings about the drop-in tradition

D．show the importance of making friends

    Jenna, a popular girl from Westood Middle School, had graduated first in her class and was ready for new   36   in high school.

      37  , high school was different. In the first week, Jenna went to tryouts(选拔赛) for cheerleaders(拉拉队队员). She was competing against very talented girls, and she knew it would be  38   for her to be selected. Two hours later, the  39  read a list of the girls for a second tryout. Her heart  40   as the list ended without her name. Feeling  41  , she walked home carrying her schoolbag full of homework.

    Arriving home, she started with math. She had always been a good math student, but now she was   42  . She moved on to English and history, and was  43  to find that she didn’t have any trouble with those subjects. Feeling better, she decided not to  44  math for the time being.

    The next day Jenna went to see Mrs Biden about being on the school  45  . Mrs Biden wasn’t as  46   as Jenna. “ I’m sorry, but we have enough  47   for the newspaper already. Come back next year and we’ll take then.” Jenna smiled  48   and left. “Why is high school so     49    ?” she sighed.

    Later in  50  class, Jenna devoted herself to figuring out the problems that had given her so much  51   . By the end of class, she understood how to get them right. As she gathered her books, Jenna decided she’d continue to try to   52   at her new school. She wasn’t sure if she’d succeed, but she knew she had to  53   . High school was just as her mom had said: “You will feel like a small fish in a big pond  54   a big fish in a small pond. The challenge is to become the  55   fish you can be.”

36. A. processes         B. decisions          C. challenges          D. exercises

37. A. Therefore         B. However          C. Otherwise          D. Besides

38. A. difficult          B. easy              C. boring             D. interesting

39. A. editor            B. boss              C. candidate           D. judge

40. A. jumped           B. sank              C. stopped            D. raced

41. A. strange           B. happy             C. awful              D. lonely

42. A. struggling         B. improving         C. working            D. complaining

43. A. ashamed          B. disappointed        C. shocked           D. relieved

44. A. put up            B. prepare for         C. worry about         D. give up

45. A. committee        B. newspaper          C. radio              D. team

46. A. enthusiastic       B. artistic             C. sympathetic         D. realistic

47. A. speakers          B. readers             C. cheerleaders        D. writers

48. A. widely           B. weakly             C. excitedly           D. brightly

49. A. similar           B. ordinary            C. different            D. familiar

50. A. physics           B. history             C. English            D. math

51. A. pleasure          B. hope               C. trouble             D. sorrow

52. A. fit in             B. look out            C. stay up             D. get around

53. A. swim            B. try                 C. ask                D. escape

54. A. in return for       B. in case of            C. in terms of         D. instead of

55. A. slimmest         B. smallest              C. best              D. gentlest

“Well, what did I say？Buck’s a real fighter, all right,” said Francois the next morning when he discovered that Spitz had disappeared and that Buck was covered in blood．
“Spitz fought like a wolf,” said Perrault, as he looked at the bites all over Buck．
“And Buck fought like ten wolves,” answered Francois. “And we'll travel faster now. No more Spitz，no more trouble.”
Francois started to harness the dogs. He needed a new lead-dog, and decided that Solleks was the best dog that he had. But Buck jumped at Solleks and took his place．
“Look at Buck！” said Francois，laughing. “He's killed Spitz，and now he wants to be lead-dog．Go away, Buck！”
He pulled Buck away and tried to harness Solleks again．Solleks was unhappy too. He was frightened of Buck, and when Francois turned his back，Buck took Solleks’ place again. Now Francois was angry．
“I'll show you! ” he cried，and went to get a heavy club from the sledge．
Buck remembered the man in the red coat，and moved away. This time，when Solleks was harnessed as lead-dog，Buck did not try to move in．He kept a few meters away and circled around Francois carefully. But when Francois called him to his old place in front of Dave, Buck refused．He had won his fight with Spitz and he wanted to be lead－dog．
For an hour the two men tried to harness him．Buck did not run away，but he did not let them catch him．Finally，Francois sat down，and Perrault looked at his watch．It was getting late. The two men looked at one another and smiled. Francois walked up to Solleks，took off his harness， led him back and harnessed him in his old place．Then he called Buck. All the other dogs were harnessed and the only empty place was now the one at the front. But Buck did not move．
“Put down the club,” said Perrault．
Francois dropped the club, and immediately Buck came up to the front of the team．Francois harnessed him, and in a minute the sledge was moving．
Buck was an excellent leader. He moved and thought quickly and led the other dogs well. A new leader made no difference to Dave and Solleks; they continued to pull hard．But the other dogs had had an easy life when Spitz was leading．They were surprised when Buck made them work hard and punished them for their mistakes. Pike，the second dog，was usually lazy；but by the end of the first day he was pulling harder than he had ever pulled in his life. The first night in camp Buck fought Joe，another difficult dog，and after that there were no more problems with him．The team started to pull together，and to move faster and faster．
“I've never seen a dog like Buck!” cried Francois, “Never! He's worth a thousand dollars. What do you think, Perrault? ”
Perrault agreed．They were moving quickly，and covering more ground every day. The snow was good and hard，and no new snow fell．The temperature dropped to 45°C below zero, and didn't change．
This time there was more ice on the Thirty Mile River, and they crossed in a day．Some days they ran a hundred kilometers，or even more. They reached Skagway in fourteen days; the fastest time ever．
【小题1】The writer mentioned “the man in the red coat” in the passage to show that____.

I hated dinner parties. But I decided to give them another shot because I'm in London. And my friend Mallery invited me. And because dinner parties in London are very different from those back in New York. There, “I’m having a dinner party” means: "I'm booking a table for 12 at a restaurant you can't afford and we'll be sharing the checque evenly, no matter what you eat." Worse, in Manhattan there is always someone who leaves before the bill arrives. They'll throw down cash, half of what they owe, and then people like me, who don’t drink, end up paying even more. But if I try to use the same trick, the hostess will shout: "Where are you going?" And it's not like I can say I have somewhere to go: everyone know I have nowhere to go.

   But in London, dinner parties are in people's homes. Not only that, the guests are an interesting mix. The last time I went to one, the guests were from France, India. Denmark and Nigeria; it was like a gathering at the United Nations in New York. The mix is less striking. It's like a gathering at Bloomingdale's, a well-known department store.

   For New Yorkers, talking about other parts of the world means Brooklyn and Queens in New York. But at Mallery's, when I said that I had been to Myanmar recently, people knew where it was. In New York people would think it was a usual new club.

1.What does the word "shot" in Paragraph 1 probably mean?

    A. Choice.       B. Try          C. Style.            D. Goal

2.What does the writer dislike most about dinner parties in New York?

    A There is a strange mix of people.       B. The restaurants are expensive.

    C. The bill is not fairly shared.        D. People have to pay cash

3.What does the author think of the parties in London?

A. A bit unusual          B. Full of tricks.  

C. Less costly.           D. More interesting.

4. What is the author's opinion of some New Yorkers from her experience？

    A. Easy-going.     B. Self-centred.    C. Generous.    D. Conservative.

There were two lovers. The man was 41  cowardly(胆小的) that he always let the girlfriend try first everything   42  they would do. His girlfriend was not so  43  with that.
Once they went out to sea. After returning , their boat was  44  by the storm. Luckily, the girlfriend held a  45  to save their lives. The girlfriend asked her boyfriend, "Do you  46 ?" The boyfriend  took out a fruit knife and said, "Yes, but if any shark comes I can  47  it with this." His girlfriend only shook her head with a cold smile.
Soon a great number of people on a  48  found them. Suddenly a group of sharks appeared. His girlfriend  49  , “Let's swim hard together and we'll be all right.”
But her boyfriend suddenly pushed the girl into the sea, held the wood and shouted to the ship by himself, "Let me try  50  this time!"
51  ,his girlfriend looked at her boyfriend. The sharks were drawing near, but they were not interested in the girl and swam  52 to the boy. When he was torn and bitten fiercely by the sharks, the boyfriend 53  shouted to his girlfriend, “ I love you!”
The girl was saved. All the people on the deck（甲板） were standing in silence. The captain sat beside the girl and said, "Miss, he is the  54 man I have  55  seen. Let's pray（祈祷） for him."
"No! He is a  56  , "said the girl coldly.
"How could you say like this? I have just been watching you 57  the telescope(望远镜). I saw clearly he  58  his wrist（手腕） with the knife after pushing you away. The sharks are very sensitive to the 59 .  If he hadn't done this to  60  time. I'm afraid you would never appear on this ship…"