第二部分　阅读理解 (共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分)

Each time I see a balloon, my mind flies back to a memory of when I was a six-year-old girl. It was a rainy Sunday and my father had recently died. I asked my mom if Dad had gone to heaven. "Yes, honey. Of course," she said.

    "Can we write him a letter?"

    She paused, the longest pause of my short life, and answered, "Yes."

    My heart jumped. "How? Does the mailman go there?" I asked.

    "No, but I have an idea." Mom drove to a party store and returned with a red balloon. I asked her what it was for.

    "Just wait, honey. You'll see." Mom told me to write my letter. Eagerly, I got my favorite pen, and poured out my six-year-old heart in the form of blue ink. I wrote about my day, what I learned at school, how Morn was doing, and even about what happened in a story I had read. For a few minutes it was as if Dad were still alive. I gave the letter to Mom. She read it over, and a smile crossed her face.

    She made a hole in the corner of the letter where she looped(缠绕) the balloon string. We went outside and she gave me the balloon. It was still raining.

    "Okay, on the count of three, let go. One, two, three."

   The balloon, carrying my letter, darted(猛冲) upward against the rain. We watched until it was swallowed by the mass of clouds.

   Later I realized, like the balloon, that Dad had never let his sickness get him down. He was strong. No matter what he suffered, he'd persevere, dart up, and finally transcend(超越) this cold world and his sick body. He rose into sky and became something beautiful. I watched until the balloon disappeared into the gray and white and I prayed that his strength was hereditary(遗传的). I prayed to be a balloon.

56. When the girl asked her mother if they could write to her father, her mother ______.

   A. felt it hard to answer                           B. thought her a creative girl

C. believed it easy to do so                       D. found it easy to lie

57. When the girl was told that she could send a letter to her father, she ______.

   A. jumped with joy                        B. became excited

   C. started writing immediately            D. was worried that it couldn't be delivered

58. In the eyes of the author, what was the rain like?

A. An incurable disease.                        B. An unforgettable memory.

   C. The hard time her father had.                    D. The failures her father experienced.

59. What would be the best title for the passage?

    A. The strong red balloon                         B. An unforgettable experience

   C. Fly to paradise                          D. A great father

Each time I see a balloon, my mind flies back to a memory of when I was a six-year-old girl. It was a rainy Sunday and my father had recently died. I asked my mom if Dad had gone to heaven. "Yes, honey. Of course." she said.

    "Can we write him a letter?"

    She paused, the longest pause of my short life, and answered, "Yes."

    My heart jumped. "How? Does the mailman go there?" I asked.

    "No, but I have an idea." Mom drove to a party store and returned with a red balloon. I asked her what it was for.

    "Just wait, honey. You'll see." Mom told me to write my letter. Eagerly, I got my favorite pen, and poured out my six-year-old heart in the form of blue ink. I wrote about my day, what I learned at school, how Mom was doing, and even about what happened in a story I had read. For a few minutes it was as if Dad were still alive. I gave the letter to Mom. She read it over, and a smile crossed her face.

    She made a hole in the corner of the letter where she looped the balloon string. We went outside and she gave me the balloon. It was still raining.

    "Okay, on the count of three, let go. One, two, three."

The balloon, carrying my letter, darted upward against the rain. We watched until it was swallowed by the mass of clouds.

Later I realized, like the balloon, that Dad had never let his sickness get him down. He was strong. No matter what he suffered, he'd persevere, dart up, and finally transcend this cold world and his sick body. He rose into sky and became something beautiful. I watched until the balloon disappeared into the gray and white and I prayed that his strength was hereditary. I prayed to be a balloon.

1.When the girl asked her mother if they could write to her father, her mother _________.

A．felt it hard to answer       B．thought her a creative girl

C．believed it easy to do so           D．found it easy to lie

2.When the girl was told that she could send a letter to her father, she _________.

A．jumped with joy

B．became excited

C．started writing immediately

D. was worried that it couldn't be delivered

3.In the eyes of the author, what was the rain like?

A．An incurable disease

B．An unforgettable memory.

C．The hard time her father had.

D．The failures her father experienced.

A well-dressed man entered a famous jewelry shop. He explained that he wished to buy a pearl for his wife’s birthday. The price didn’t matter, since business had been very good for him that year. After examining a nice black one that costs $5, 000, he paid for the pearl in cash, shook hands with the jeweler, and left.

A few days later the man returned and said that his wife liked the pearl so much that she wanted another one just like it. It had to be exactly the same size and quality as she wanted a pair of earrings made. "Can you give me any advice on how to get such a pearl?" said the man. The jeweler regretfully replied, "I would say it’s exactly impossible to find one exactly like that pearl."

The rich man insisted that the jeweler advertise in the newspapers, offering $25,000 for the matching pearl. Many people answered the advertisement but nobody had a pearl that was just right.

Just when the jeweler had given up hope, a little old lady came into his store. To his great surprise, she pulled the perfect pearl from her purse." “I don’t like to part with it." she said sadly, I got it from my mother, and, my mother got it from her’s. But I really need the money.

The jeweler was quickly to pay her before she changed her mind .Then he called the rich man’s hotel to tell him the good news .The man, however, was nowhere to be found. The jeweler immediately realized the whole thing.

1.Actually, the man wanted to buy another pearl for _____.

A．himself           B．his wife           C．no one           D．his mother

2.He paid $5,000 for the black pearl without bargaining because______.

A．he wanted to make the jeweler believe him

B．he was very rich.

C．his business had been successful

D．he was anxious to get it

3.He told the jeweler to get him another pearl that must be______.

A．exactly the same quality as the black one

B．exactly the same size as the black one.

C．exactly the same as the black one

D．exactly worth $25,000

4.The jeweler couldn’t find the man anywhere because ______.

A．he happened to be out

B．he died suddenly

C．he wouldn’t show up until the jeweler called him a second time

D．he got $20,000 by cheating and had run away with the money

阅读下面短文，并根据要求完成文章后的题目。

Working means money, of course teens want jobs

Out of all the teens I interviewed all either wanted a job or already had one. Nowadays, jobs are needed more than ever. Everything costs money, and we are starting to understand that. Most of us get jobs just for "pocket change", so that we can just go out and get that outfit that we've always wanted, for a burger at McDonald's, for our hair, CDs, tapes, shoes, jewelry, and tons more material items. But some of us get jobs because we need to pay for our books or transportation. Many teens have to pay for their phone bills and lunches.

      Choosy describes a lot of teenagers' attitudes towards the kind of job they would and wouldn't get. "Something in an attractive place with nice facilities, well paying, work that's not stressful, and a place where there are people that I know that work there," Mark, 16, said about the kind of job ___________. His personal requirements may seem as if they should be mandatory, but if you really want a job your own requirements should be limited. If you are looking for a job it's important that it fits you in a decent manner.

Teens normally don't take jobs that require a lot of thinking, skill, or physical requirements. Most teens see jobs as something on the side. We don't go around constantly talking about our jobs. We are there simply for that paycheck. Some of us do look at it as a learning experience. Tennille, 16-years-old and who works at a cleaning store, said, "Yes, it's helping me with my customer service skills."

Can you give a title for this passage?

____________________________________________________________________________

Which sentence in this passage can be replaced by the following one? 

Many young people look on their jobs as secret things.

____________________________________________________________________________

Please fill the blank in the second paragraph.

   Mark, 16, said about the kind of job________________.

____________________________________________________________________________

What’re your attitudes towards the teens to do jobs outside? Why?

____________________________________________________________________________

Please translate the underlined sentence in the passage.

____________________________________________________________________________

完型填空（共20题，每小题1．5分，满分30分）

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36—55各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

One winter morning I bought a copy of the New York World and turned its pages until I got The "Help Wanted Unskilled" section．A small advertisement held my   36  ．It read："Easy job．Good wages．No experience  37  ．"it sounded like the job I was   38   ．Easy job．Good Wages．Those four words  39   now and then in my brain as I was traveling to the address indicated in the   40  ．Easy job．Good wages．Easy job．Good Wages．Easy．．．

When I got to the place I saw a series of large  41   half filled with water, out of which I noticed   42   the necks of many bottles of various sizes and shapes． 43  these basins there were a number of workers sitting on small wooden benches．All had their   44   in the water of the basin．the left hand holding a   45 and the thumb（拇指）nail of the right hand   46   the labels（标签）on it．

I Sat down On a   47   beside one of the basins and started to work on one bottle．As the minutes went by I noticed that the  48   0f the water started to   49   from my hand to my body．But   50  still, the delicate thumb of my right hand was   51   by the minute into a full-blown tomato-colored finger．A numb（麻木）pain began to be felt   52   from my right thumb．Then I began to feel as if the pain was coming from a finger bigger than all my body．After three hours of this I told the manager I'd   53   ．He figured I had   54   69 cents at 23 cents an hour．

With the money, I left the working place．"Easy job．Good wages．．．．"came to my brain again．Looking at my hands, I  55   myself, "Can easy job get good wages?"

1.A．eyes             B．attention      C．decision       D．breath

2.A．necessary        B．relevant       C．practical      D．primitive

3.A．running after B．looking for       C．heading for D．looking after

4.A．circled          B．moved          C．flashed        D．attacked

5.A．letter           B．sign           C．advertisement D．post

6.A．baskets          B．bowls          C．pots           D．basins

7.A．hiding           B．sticking       C．rising         D．breaking

8.A．In               B．Above          C．Under          D．Around

9.A．arms             B．hands          C．legs           D．feet

10.A．knife           B．snail          C．bottle         D．brush

11.A．painting        B．decorating     C．refreshing     D．scratching

12.A．chair           B．bench          C．bottle         D．sofa

13.A．smell           B．coldness       C．color          D．steam

14.A．spread          B．travel         C．recycle        D．accelerate

15.A．worse           B．better         C．more           D．rather

16.A．going           B．finding        C．growing        D．becoming

17.A．now and then B．here and there    C．one by one     D．little by little

18.A．adapt           B．negotiate      C．bargain        D．quit

19.A．taken           B．offered        C．earned         D．created

20.A．thought         B．asked          C．found          D．hated