I paid 30 yuan for a watermelon the other day. When I ate it at home I found it more bitter than sweet. I was 36    to throw it away for it cost me money 37   . But to eat it was a 38   thing no better than tasting goldthread(黄连)

    Things like this  39  occur in our daily life. For example, last week when going on a tour we failed to find the  40  we had been seeking.  41  we were so uncomfortable as if on pins and needles(如坐针毡).In such a case we had better  42  home immediately, but most of us tourists still chose to  43  our way until we finished visiting all the scenic spots,  44  actually we did not quite enjoy them.

    If we   45   , we’ll get nothing; we would have spent money  46   .If we don’t give up, what we’ve got is something to cause suffering or pain, or    47   disaster. Since that’s the case, why are we still unwilling to  48  with it? The only 49 _ is: it means money.

    Then what 50 __does money contain? Its importance lies in none 51 __the following two aspects: (1) it can be used for our living;(2) it can be used for daily life. When a sum of money that should be able to obtain joy or enjoyment is certain to 52 the purpose, isn’t it wise to give it up? Isn’t it a sort of 53 for money-spending or even for enjoying ourselves?

   To abandon and forget a sum of money that is to be of no value or to produce   54   values can be counted as   55  value of money. Isn’t it so?

1.A. unwilling      B. ready        C. uncertain       D. anxious

2..A. above all      B. after all    C. in all          D. for all

3.. A. pleasant      B. painful      C. dangerous       D. special   

4.. A. regularly     B. recently     C. hardly          D. frequently

5.. A. friendship    B. memory       C. pleasure        D. experience

6.. A. On the whole  B. In this way  C. In other words  D. On the contrary

7.. A. call          B. leave        C. arrive          D. return

8.. A. feel          B. continue     C. stop            D. make

9.. A. because       B. since        C. although        D. unless

10.. A. give away     B. give up      C. give out        D. give in

11.. A, in relief     B. in fact      C. in reality      D. in vain

12.. A. even          B. still        C. ever            D. more

13.. A. stay          B. part         C. take            D. break

14.. A. excuse        B. reason       C. topic           D. ambition

15.. A. value         B. message      C. secret          D. surprise

16.. A. less than     B. better than  C. rather than     D. other than

17.. A. ignore        B. serve        C. fail            D. meet

18.. A. possibility   B. mistake      C. wisdom          D. choice

19.. A. proper        B. negative     C. wonderful       D. various

20.. A. little        B. whole        C. other           D. another

I recall my mother’s voice which called me to order, and often ended with some strong proverb to express the gravity of the wrong done. It was common practice for my mother to send me off soul-searching with a proverb.

Of the many interactions I had with my mother those many years ago, one stands out with clarity. I remember the occasion when Mother sent me to the main road, about twenty yards away from the farmhouse, to invite a passing group of seasonal work-seekers home for a meal. She instructed me to take a container along and collect dry cow dung (牛粪) for making a fire. I was then to prepare the meal for the group of work-seekers.       

The thought of making an open fire outside at midday, cooking in a large three-legged pot in that high heat, was enough to upset even an angel. I did not manage to hide my feelings from my mother, and after serving the group, she called me to the balcony, where she usually sat to attend to her sewing (缝纫).

Looking straight into my eyes, she said, “Tsholofelo, why were you so unhappy when I requested you to prepare a meal for those poor people?” Despite my attempt to deny her allegation (断言), and using the heat of the fire and the sun as an excuse for my alleged behavior, Mother, giving me a firm look, said, “A foot has no nose.” It means, “You can’t detect what trouble may lie ahead of you.” Had I denied the group of people a meal, it may have happened that, in my travels some time in the future, I found myself at the mercy of those very individuals. As if that was not enough to shame me, Mother continued, “A person is a person because of another person.”   

1.We learn from the passage that Tsholofelo’s mother often _____.   

A. quoted proverbs when she was talking with others

B. asked Tsholofelo to read more proverbs

C. collected proverbs in her spare time                

D. used proverbs to teach Tsholofelo

2.What was Tsholofelo’s attitude towards the meal?

A. Unwilling.           B. Interested.      C. Critical.  D.Unconcerned.    

3.The atmosphere on the balcony was probably _____.

A. very strange         B. a bit tense           C. quite lively   D. pretty relaxed 

4.According to the passage, Tsholofelo’s mother seemed to hope Tsholofelo could be _____.    

A. flexible and creative    B. sincere and honest  

C. active and confident     D. sympathetic and helpful

The New York Times announced Wednesday that it intended to charge frequent readers for access to its website, a step being debated across the industry that nearly every major newspaper has so far feared to take.

Starting in early 2011, visitors to NYTimes.com will get a certain number of articles free every month before being asked to pay a standard and fixed fee for unlimited access. Subscribers to the newspaper’s print edition will receive full access to the site.

But executives of The New York Times Company said they could not yet answer fundamental questions about the plan, like how much it would cost or what the limit would be on free reading. They stressed that the amount of free access could change with time, in response to economic conditions and reader demand. Still, publishers fear that money from digital subscriptions would not make up for the resulting loss of audience and advertising income.

NYTimes.com is by far the most popular newspaper site in the country, with more than 17 million readers a month in the United States, according to Nielsen Online, and analysts say it is the leader in advertising income, as well. That may make it better positioned than other general-interest papers to charge—and also gives The Times more to lose if the move produces an opposed result.

The Times Company has been studying the matter for almost a year, searching for common ground between pro-and-anti pay campaigns—a debate mirrored in dozens of media-watching blogs-- and the system will not go into effect until January 2011. Executives said they were not bothered by the possibility of absorbing barbs(挖苦) for moving cautiously.

 “There’s no prize for getting it quick,” said Janet L. Robinson, the company’s president and chief executive. “There’s more of a prize for getting it right.”

What’s the function of the first paragraph?

       A. It servers as a comment.

       B. It serves as a background

       C. It serves as a lead-in

       D. It serves as a conclusion.

Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

       A. Non-paying subscribers will get no access to NYTimes.com.

       B. Readers will be charged more to read articles on NYTimes.com.

       C. Readers will get more free online articles to log on NYTimes. com more often.

       D. Subscribers to the paper’s print edition will also enjoy full access to the site.

Which of the words can best describe The Time Company’s attitude towards its announcement?

A. Unwilling.       

B. Serious.                  

C. Hasty               

D. Doubtful

What is the main idea about the passage?

       A. The Times to offer free access to its web site.

       B. The Times to increase audience to its web site.

       C. The Times to attract advertisement to its web site

       D. The Times to charge for frequent access to its web site.

Once upon a time，two brothers who lived on neighboring farms fell into conflict(冲突)．It was the first serious one between them in 40 years of farming peacefully side by side. In the end，they fell apart.

One morning，a man with a carpenter's toolbox came for some work. The elder brother said，“I just have a job for you. Look at that farm across the creek(河沟)．My younger brother lives there. It was he who used his bulldozer(推土机)to dig the creek last week to spite(刁难)me. So I want you to build me a fence，an 8­foot­high fence，in order not to see his place any more.”The carpenter smiled and said，“I see. I'll try to do a job that satisfies you.”Then the elder brother went downtown.

At sunset when the farmer returned，the carpenter had just finished his job. The farmer's eyes opened wide! To his surprise，there was no fence there at all！Instead, there was a bridge stretching from one side of the creek to the other! A fine piece of work! He saw his younger brother coming to him with the hands outstretching. The brothers stood at each end of the bridge，and then they met in the middle，taking each other's hands. They turned to see the carpenter lift his toolbox on his shoulder. “No，wait! Stay a few days. I've a lot of other work for you，” said the elder brother.“I'd love to stay on，”the carpenter said，“but I have so many more bridges to build.”

1.What was the life like for the two brothers before the conflict?

A．They lived a poor life.           

B．They lived in peace.

C．They never spoke to each other.   

D. They lived on the same farm.

2.It can be learned that the carpenter was __________.

A. unwilling to obey the farmer.    

B. fond of building bridges.

C. unable to build a fence         

D. willing to help others.

3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．The elder brother used his bulldozer to dig a creek.

B．The elder brother helped the carpenter build the bridge.

C．The brothers were both satisfied with the carpenter's work.

D．The carpenter planned to build an 8­foot­high fence as asked to.

4.The best title for this passage is ________.

A．A Fine Piece of Work             

B．A Carpenter

C．A Conflict Between Two Brothers   

D．Two Brothers

The summer of 1975 I’d just graduated from college in Southern California and received a Ford Car for a   36   present. I had my first job, in Los Angeles. One Sunday night, thinking myself a very   37   gown-up, I   38   my uncle’s place in South Laguna after a visit,   39 admitting to him that I had less than an eighth of a tank of gas and no   40   to buy more on the way to L.A. I pulled onto the Pacific Coast Highway and watched the   41   move down as I headed north. When the engine started giving off strong smells, I   42   into a gas station. There was no self-serve then; there were no credit cards, no ATMs.

I   43   the guy at the station. I could write him a check for gas, I said, or I could   44  in my car and try to walk to a town with a   45   the next morning. As he was informing me that I could sleep in my car but he’d have me arrested, a station wagon pulled up to the next  46  . The driver—a thin, plain, middle-aged guy—overheard the tail end of my   47   request. As the attendant went to   48   him, he nodded at me. “  49   her tank first,” he said.

“Really?” I said.   50   bloomed. “Oh, thank you. Thank you. But please. I just need two  51   worth. I just need to get home.”

“Fill it,” he   52   to the attendant. Then he turned to me, “You’ll do the same one day, for someone else.”

I keep looking for someone unlucky, hoping to save her   53   on the road. Meanwhile, in case she never shows up, I try for other acts of   54   kindness. That quiet driver is always at the pump a few feet away, instructing the attendant to fill mine   55  .

1.A. graduation              B. birthday                    C. Christmas          D. wedding

2.A. independent         B. honest                   C. polite                    D. confident

3.A. reached               B. left                      C. witnessed               D. took

4.A. after                  B. without                  C. on                       D. by

5.A. time                   B. chance                   C. place                     D. cash

6.A. sun                    B. window                  C. needle                   D. clock

7.A. jumped               B. walked                             C. looked                   D. pulled

8.A. seized                 B. pushed                  C. begged                   D. warned

9.A. sit              B. sleep                     C. break                    D. fight

10.A. bank                 B. station                   C. hotel                     D. restaurant

11.A. door                B. garage          C. pump           D. town

12.A. planned             B. failed                    C. pretended              D. suggested

13.A. serve               B. attack                    C. charge                  D. treat

14.A. Open               B. Start                                 C. Fill               D. Heat

15.A. Anxiety              B. Nervousness             C. Caution                   D. Hope

16.A. miles’               B. hours’                   C. liters’                    D. dollars’

17.A. explained            B. repeated                C. threatened             D. ordered

18.A. night               B. car                       C. gas                       D. money

19.A. unwilling            B. unnecessary             C. random                  D. extra

20.A. immediately         B. quickly                   C. next            D. first5