Suppose that we lined up our roughly 14 million United States businesses in order of size, starting with the smallest, along an imaginary road from San Francisco to New York. There will be 4,500 businesses to the mile, or a little less than one per foot. Suppose further that we planted a flag each business. The height of the flag pole represents the yearly volume of sales (销量) , each $ 10, 000 in sales in shown by one foot of pole.

The line of flagpoles is a very interesting sight. From San Francisco to about Reno, it is almost unnoticeable, a row of poles about a foot high. From Reno eastward the poles increase in height until, near Columbus, Ohio - about four - fifths of the way across the nation - flags fly about 10 feet in the air.

But as we approach the eastern terminus (终点) , the poles suddenly begin to mount (升高) . There are about 300, 000 firms in the country with sales over $ 500, 000. These firms take up the last 75 miles of the 3,000 - mile road. There are 200, 000 firms with sales over $ 1 million. They take up the last 50 miles. Then there are 1, 000 firms with sales of $ 50, 000, 000 or more. They take up the last quarter of a mile before the city limits, flags flying at cloud height, 5 , 000 feet up .

At the very gate of New York, on the last 100 feet of the last mile , we find the 100 largest industrial firms . They have sales of at least $ 1.5 billion, so that their flags are already miles high. Along the last 10 feet of road , there are 10 largest companies . Their sales are roughly $ 10 billion and up : their flags fly 190 miles in the air , almost in the stratosphere (平流层) .

1.What is the author’s main purpose in this passage?

A．To tell the reason why the largest firms are in New York.

B．To show the geographical distribution (分布) of the United States businesses.

C．To provide a general idea of the size of businesses in the United States.

D．To tell us how the United States businesses are arranged.

2.What’s the correct order of the following places from east to west?

A．San Francisco, Reno, New York, Columbus.

B．San Francisco, Reno, Columbus, New York.

C．New York, Columbus, Reno, San Francisco

D．New York, Reno, Columbus, San Francisco

3.Among the four parts of the imaginary road , which part , considering all the firms in it , has the largest total volume of sales ?

A．The last 75 miles.                        B．The last 50 miles.

C．The last 100 feet of the last mile.            D．The last quarter of a mile

4.Which of the following diagrams (图表) shows the right order of size of the US businesses , according to the text ?

S =" San" Francisco  R =" Reno"  C =" Columbus"  N =" New" York  H =" height"  F = feet

 完形填空：（包括20个小题，每小题1。5分， 共30分）

It was a bitter, cold evening in northern Virginia many years ago. The old man was waiting for a ride across the   36  . The wait seemed   37  .

       At last he heard the slight, steady rhythm of approaching hooves (马蹄) coming along the frozen path. Anxiously, he   38   as several horsemen came around the bend (转角处). He let the first one   39  . Then another, and another. Finally, as the   40   rider neared the spot where the old man sat like a snow statue, the old man   41   the rider’s eye and said, “Sir, would you mind giving an old man a ride to the other side? There doesn’t appear to be a passage way by  42  .”

       The rider replied, “Sure.” Seeing the old man was unable to  43   his half-frozen body from the ground, the horseman got down and helped the old man onto the horse. The horseman took the old man not just across the river, but to his destination.

       As they neared the tiny but cozy (舒适的) cottage, the horseman’s   44   caused him to ask, “Sir, I notice that you let several other riders go by without making a(n)   45   to get a ride. Then I came up and you   46   asked me for a ride. I’m curious why, on such a bitter winter night, you would wait and ask the last rider.   47   I had refused and left you there?”

       The old man replied, “I’ve been   48   here for some time. I think I know people pretty good.” He continued, “I looked into the eyes of the other riders and immediately saw there was no   49   for my situation. But when I looked into your eyes,   50   was evident. I knew,   51  , that your gentle spirit would   52   the opportunity to give me help in my time of   53  .”

       Those heartwarming comments   54   the horseman deeply.

       “I’m most grateful for what you have said,” he told the old man. “May I never get too busy in my own affairs that I   55   to respond to the needs of others with kindness and compassion.”

       With that, Thomas Jefferson turned his horse around and made his way back to the White House.

1.A. town                     B. river                 C. country                    D. island

2.A. meaningless    B. useless              C. careless                    D. endless

3.A. watched         B. asked         C. waved                   D. approached

4.A. come over      B. get off                  C. pass by                     D. take off

5.A. coming          B. leaving              C. next                         D. last

6.A. missed           B. caught            C. avoided                    D. saw

7.A. bus                B. car                    C. foot                         D. horse

8.A. feel                      B. push                 C. lift                           D. stand

9.A. honesty          B. courage             C. enthusiasm            D. curiosity

10.A. choice          B. stop                  C. effort                       D. scene

11.A. immediately  B. hurriedly           C. friendly                    D. strangely

12.A. What about   B. What if             C. How come                D. If only

13.A. in                B. out                   C. around                         D. beyond

14.A. concern B. doubt                C. chance                         D. reason

15.A. meaning              B. kindness            C. seriousness            D. help

16.A. then and there                           B. for a moment 

            C. all of a sudden                 D. sooner or later

17.A. offer            B. create                C. find                         D. welcome

18.A. need             B. danger                  C. fortune                     D. happiness

19.A. influenced    B. excited              C. touched                    D. hit

20.A. happen         B. try                    C. disagree                   D. fail

It was the district sports meet. My foot still hadn’t healed(痊愈) from a(n) ___36___ injury. I had___37___ whether or not I should attend the meet. But there I was, ___38___for the 3,000-meter run.

“Ready…set…” The gun popped and we were off. The other girls rushed ___39___ me. I felt ___40___ as I fell farther and farther behind.

“Hooray!” shouted the crowd. It was the loudest___41___ I had ever heard at a meet. The first-place runner was two laps（圈）ahead of me when she crossed the finish line.

“Maybe I should___42___, I thought as I moved on. ___43___, I decided to keep going. During the last two laps, I ran ___44___ and decided not to ___45___in track next year. It wouldn’t be worth it, ___46___my foot did heal.

When I finished, I heard a cheer--___47___ than the one I’d heard earlier. I turned around and___48___, the boys were preparing for their race. “They must be cheering for the boys. ”

I was leaving ___49___ several girls came up to me. “Wow, you’ve got courage!” one of them told me.

“Courage? I just ___50___a race!” I thought.

“I would have given up on the first lap,” said another girl. “We were cheering for you. Did you hear us?”

Suddenly I regained___51___. I decided to ___52___ track next year. I realized strength and courage aren’t always ___53___ in medals and victories, but in the ___54___we overcome(战胜). The strongest people are not always the people who win, ___55___ the people who don’t give up when they lose.

36. A. slighter B. worse  C. earlier D. heavier

37. A. expected      B. supposed    C. imagined    D. doubted

38. A. late      B. eager  C. ready  D. thirsty

39. A. from behind B. ahead of     C. next to       D. close to

40. A. ashamed      B. astonished  C. excited       D. frightened

41. A. cheer    B. shout  C. cry     D. noise

42. A. slow down   B. drop out     C. go on  D. speed up

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

44. A. with delight B. with fear    C. in pain       D. in advance

45. A. play     B. arrive  C. race    D. attend

46. A. even if  B. only if       C. unless D. until

47. A. weaker B. longer C. lower  D. louder

48. A. well enough B. sure enough       C. surprisingly enough   D. strangely enough

49. A. while    B. when  C. as       D. since

50. A. finished       B. won    C. passed D. lost

51. A. cheer    B. hope   C. interest       D. experience

52. A. hold on B. turn to       C. begin with  D. stick with

53. A. measured     B. praised       C. tested  D. increased

54. A. sadness B. struggles    C. diseases      D. tiredness

55. A. or B. nor     C. and     D. but

One day in Israel government officials were rebuilding a barn(谷仓). While working, they found a (n)  1   hole in a corner, so they used smoke to force the mice inside the hole to    2  . A while later they indeed saw mice running out, one after another.

Then, everyone thought that all the mice had  3  . But just as they were just about to start to clean up, they saw two mice squeezing out at the _4 of the hole. After some endeavor, the mice finally got out. But _5  , they did not run away immediately. Instead, one chased after the other near the exit of the hole. It seemed that one was trying to bite the _6 of the other. Everyone was puzzled, so they stepped_7_to take a look. They realized that one of the mice was 8 and could not see anything, and the other one was trying to allow the blind mouse to  9 _on his tail so he could pull the blind one with him to escape.

After witnessing what happened, everyone was  10 and lost in thought. During meal time, the group of people sat down and started to chat about what had happened to the two mice. One serious Rome official said, “I think the relationship between those two mice was that of emperor and   11 .” The others thought for a while and said, “That was why !”A smart Israeli said, “I think their relationship was husband and wife.” The others felt it made sense, so they   12  . A Korean, who was accustomed to the firm tradition of loyalty to _13_ , said, “I think the relationship between them was that of mother and son.” Once again the others felt this was more reasonable,     

At that moment, one Samaritan who sat behind them resting his chin in his palms,  14  looked at other people, and asked, “Why did those two mice have to have a certain relationship?” Suddenly, the atmosphere froze. The group   15  at the Samaritan and remained silent. In fact, the true love is not established on benefit, friendship and loyalty or blood relationship. Instead, it is based on no relationship.

1.                A．cat            B．mouse          C．dog  D．ant

2.                A．come in        B．come down      C．come out D．come over

3.                A．died           B．saved          C．stayed    D．escaped

4.                A．exit            B．wall            C．floor D．door

5.                A．strangely       B．happily         C．luckily    D．sadly

6.                A．tail            B．head           C．foot D．hand

7.                A．longer         B．higher          C．closer    D．farther

8.                A．clear           B．blind           C．deaf D．mute

9.                A．eat            B．bite            C．suck D．drink

10.               A．joyless         B．hopeless        C．careless   D．speechless

11.               A．doctor         B．servant         C．empress   D．minister

12.               A．stopped        B．argued         C．agreed    D．talked

13.               A．couples        B．parents         C．teachers   D．elders

14.               A．puzzledly       B．repeatedly      C．pleasedly  D．expectedly

15.               A．looked in       B．looked up       C．looked back    D．looked down

Austin Children’s Museum

This 7,000-square-foot museum aims to entertain and educate children up to age 9. In its Global City exhibit, people can go shopping for groceries, order lunch at a diner, pretend that they’re doctors or construction workers, and more. In other fun exhibits, they learn about Austin’s history, explore the world of water, and experience life on a large Texas farm.

Open time: From Tuesday to Saturday, 10:00 a.m.～5:00 p.m.

On Sunday, 12:00 a.m.～5:00 p.m.

Address: 201 Colorado St, Austin, Texas 78701

Phone: 512-4722499

Brooklyn Children’s Museum

Founded in 1899, it is the world’s oldest children’s museum, featuring interactive exhibits, workshops, and special events. The Mystery of Things teaches children about cultural and scientific objects and Music Mix welcomes young virtuosos (名家).

Open time: From Wednesday to Friday, 2:00 p.m.～5:00 p.m.

On Saturday and Sunday, 10:00 a.m.～5:00 p.m.

Address: 145 Brooklyn Ave, Brooklyn, New York 1213

Phone: 718-7354400

Children’s Discovery Museum

This museum’s hand-on exhibits explore the relationships between the natural and the created worlds, and among people of different cultures and times. Exhibits include Streets, a 5/8-scale copy of an actual city, with streets lights, and waterworks, which shows how pumps can move water through a reservoir system.

Open time: From Monday to Saturday, 10:00 a.m.～5:00 p.m.

On Sunday, from noon. Closed on holidays.

Address: 180 Woz Way, Guadalupe River Park, San Jose, California 95110

Phone: 408-2985437

Children’s Museum of Indianapolis

This museum is the largest of its kind. Exhibits cover science, culture, space, history, and explorations. Among them are the Space Quest Planetarium (additional fee), the 33-foot-high Water Clock, the Playscape gallery for preschools, and the Dinosphere exhibit, along with hand-on science exhibits.

The largest gallery, the Center for Exploration, is designed for ages 12 and up.

Open time: From Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 a.m.～5:00 p.m.

Closed on Thanksgiving Day and December 25.

Address: 3000 N Meridian St, Indianapolis, Indiana 46208

Phone: 317-3343322

Suppose that December 25 is Tuesday, which of the following museums can you visit?

    A. Austin Children’s Museum.   B. Brooklyn Children’s Museum.

    C. Children’s Discovery Museum.    D. Children’s Museum of Indianapolis.

If you want to see how pumps can move water through a reservoir system, you should visit the museum in _____.

    A. Texas    B. New York     C. California   D. Indiana

After entering the museum you need to pay an additional fee to see _____.

    A. the Center for Exploration   B. the Space Quest Planetarium

    C. the Global City exhibit  D. Waterworks

Which of the following is not exhibited in Children’s Museum of Indianapolis?

    A. culture     B. history      C. explorations    D. special events

The purpose of writing this passage is to _____.

    A. ask adults to visit museums

    B. compare some museums and decide which one is the best

    C. introduce some museums and encourage parents to visit them with their children

    D. introduce some exhibits and museums to foreigners