—You look upset. What’s the matter?

   —I had my proposal 　　　    again.

  A. turning down          B. turned down       C. to turn down       D. turned to

In the United States, when one becomes rich, he wants people to know it. And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is. That is what "keeping up with the Joneses" is about. It is the story of someone who tried to look as rich as his neighbors.

　　The expression was first used in 1913 by a young American called Arthur Momand. He told this story about himself. He began earning $ 125 a week at the age of 23. That was a lot of money in those days. He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighborhood. When he saw that rich people rode horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. When he saw that rich people had servants, Momand and his wife also hired a servant and gave big parties for their new neighbors.

　　It was like a race, but one could never finish this race because one was always trying to keep up. The race ended for Momand and his wife when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They had to move back to an apartment in New York City. Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with rich lifestyle of their neighbors. He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series of short stories. He called it "Keeping up with the Joneses” because "Jones" is a very common name in the United States. "Keeping up with the Joneses" came to mean keeping up with rich lifestyle of the people around you. Momand's series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years.

　　People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses. And there are "Joneses" in every city of the world. But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses because no matter what one does, Mr. Jones always seems to be ahead.

1.Some people want to keep up with the Joneses because they ______.

A．want to be as rich as their neighbors

B．want others to know or to think that they are rich

C．don't want others to know they are rich

D．want to be happy

2.It can be inferred from the story that rich people like to ________.

A．live outside New York City

B．live in New York City

C．live in apartments

D．live with many neighbors

3.What's the author's attitude to keeping up with the Joneses?

A．Negative.          B．Positive.           C．Supportive.        D．Objective.

How much rain has fallen on the earth in the past? Man has not always kept weather records. Because scientists need a way to learn about past rainfall, they study the tree rings.

A tree’s trunk (树干) keeps growing year by year. Under its bark (树皮), a tree adds a layer of new wood each year it lives. If you look at a tree stump, you can see the layers. They are called annual ring (年轮).

On some trees, all of the rings are of the same width. But the ponderosa(美国黄松) that grows in the American southwest have rings in different withes. The soil in he southwest is dry. The pines depend on rainfall for water. In a year of good rainfall, they form wide rings. In a dry year, they form narrow ones.

Scientists do not have to cut down a pine to study its rings. With a special tool, they remove a narrow piece of wood from the trunk without harming the tree. Then they look at the width of each ring to see how much rain fell in the year it formed.

Some pines are hundreds of years old and have hundreds of rings. These rings are from an annual record o0f past rainfall in the southwest.

1.We could infer from the passage that ______.

2.A tree grows a new layer of wood _____.

3.On the whole, the passage is about _____.

4.The scientists _____ to know how much rain fell in a certain area in the past.

5.Which of he following is true according to the passage?

第四部分：阅读理解
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。
When you look at a map of the Caribbean, you will see a bunch of little islands surrounded by. Blue waters, which include places that aren't always household names like Montserrat and Anguilla.
While some of the names may not be familiar, the fact is that the Caribbean is a popular vacation region. Those little clots on the map often turn out to be island paradises. There are more than 7,000 islands, islets, and reefs in the area, many of which are lightly populated and stunningly beautiful.
The biggest challenge you might face in planning your trip is choosing where in the Caribbean to go. All of the nations feature excellent weather. Most feature beautiful beaches. You can enjoy the waters in most of the Caribbean nations and as is often the case with island nations, you will be welcomed warmly by the locals. Here are some resources to help you.
Unless you can walk on water or you cruise the Caribbean, the best way to visit is to fly. Some destinations have more frequent and cheaper flights than others. You should do some comparison shopping on flights to the Caribbean. And if you are planning on flying there during the Christmas holiday weeks it's important to book as early as possible because prices will just keep going up as they get closer.
The Caribbean offers a wide variety of accommodation options. Check out the Caribbean hotels that are available to get a better idea of the various options. If you are on a tight budget then, the Caribbean could be challenging, as there are only a few cheap hotels and hostels that might help you save some money.
Many people see the Caribbean from a cruise ship. There is no shortage of cruises that will take you through the region. Cruise and Vacation Travel Packages is the place to go to find the cruise or vacation package that is right for you.
56. The Caribbean is popular with tourists because ________.
A. the area has a small population             B. the area has a long history.
C. there are many beautiful islands there        D. tire area is very developed
57. The underlined word "they" in the fourth paragraph refers to _________.
A. prices of air tickets                       B. tourists to the Caribbean
C. flights to the Caribbean                  D. the Christmas holiday weeks
58. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
A. The weather in all of the Caribbean nations is fine.
B. Most of the Caribbean hotels are cheap.
C. The local people of the Caribbean are very friendly.
D. It is hard to choose a destination in the Caribbean.

       Is there a magic cutoff period when children become responsible for their own actions? Is there a wonderful moment when parents can become spectators （audiences） in the lives of their children and shrug, “It’s their life,” and feel nothing?

       When I was in my twenties, I stood in a hospital  passage waiting for doctors to put a few stitches（缝线） in my son’s head．I asked, “When do you stop worrying?” The nurse said, “When they get out of the accident stage．” My mother just smiled faintly and said nothing．

      When I was in my thirties, I sat on a little chair in a classroom and heard how one of my children talked continually and disrupted the class．As if to read my mind, a teacher said．“Don’t worry．They all go through this stage and then you can sit back, relax and enjoy them．” My mother just smiled faintly and said nothing．

      When I was in my forties, I spent a lifetime waiting for the phone to ring, the cars to come home, the front door to open．A friend said, “They’re trying to find themselves．Don’t worry; in a few years, you can stop worrying．They’ll be adults．” My mother just smiled faintly and said nothing．

    By the time I was 50, I was sick and tired of being weak．I was still worrying over my children, but there was a new wrinkle．There was nothing I could do about it．My mother just smiled faintly and said nothing．

     I continued to suffer from their failures, and be absorbed in their disappointments．My friends said that when my kids got married I could stop worrying and lead my own life．I wanted to believe that, but I was haunted（萦绕心头） by my mother’s warm smile and her occasional “You look pale．Are you all right? Call me the minute you get home．Are you depressed about something?” Can it be that parents are sentenced to a lifetime of worry?

    One of my children became quite anxious about me recently, saying, “Where were you? I’ve been calling for three days, and no one answered．I was worried．”

     I smiled a warm smile．

The author intends to tell us in the passage that_______．

     A．parents long for a period when they no longer worry about their children

     B．there is no time when parents have no worry about their children

     C．it’s parents’ duty to worry about their children

     D．there should be a period when parents don’t have to worry about their children

We can infer from the underlined sentence “My mother just smiled faintly and said nothing．” that ______．

     A．her mother shared the same idea as the nurse

     B．her mother didn’t agree with the nurse

     C．her mother thought the nurse was lying

     D．her mother wouldn’t express her opinion upon the matter

The author mentioned her ages of twenties, thirties, forties and fifty in order to show_______．

      A．the hard times she experiences in her life

      B．the different stages of her children

      C．the support she received from her mother

      D．she had been worrying about her children in her life

What can we infer from the last sentence?

      A．The mother was happy that her child began to worry about her, too

      B．Finally the mother didn’t have to worry about her children

      C．At last the mother could live her own life without worry．

      D．The mother succeeded in turning her children into adults．

Which of the following should be the best title?

     A．Life             B．Parents   C．Worry          D．Children