It was last October ____ they finally came back to their hometown.

Thirteen, for me, was a challenging year. My parents divorced and I moved to a new town with my father, far from my old family and friends. I was terribly lonely mad and would cry myself to sleep each night. To ease my sadness, my father purchased an old horse for me at a local auction. I named him Cowboy.?

Cowboy was without a doubt the ugliest horse in the world. But I didn’t care. I loved him beyond all reason.?

I joined a riding club and suffered rude comments and mean snickers(窃笑) about Cowboy’s looks. I never let on about how I felt, but deep inside, my heart was breaking. The other members rode beautiful, registered horses.?

When Cowboy and I entered the events where the horse was judged on appearance, we were quickly shown the gate. No amount of preparation and love would turn Cowboy into a beauty. My only chance to compete would be in the speed events. I chose the jumping race.?

One girl named Becky rode a big brown horse in the race events. She always won the blue ribbons. Needless to say, she didn’t feel threatened when I competed against her at the next show. She didn’t need to. I came in next to last.?

The stinging memory of Becky’s smirks made me determined to beat her. For the whole next month I woke up early every day and rode Cowboy five miles to the arena (赛马场). We practiced running and jumping for hours in the hot sun and then I would walk Cowboy home totally exhausted.?

All of our hard work didn’t make me feel confident by the time the show came. I sat at the gate and sweated it out while I watched Becky and her horse charge through the course and finish in first place.?

My turn finally came. I put on my hat, rubbed Cowboy’s neck and entered the arena. At the signal, we dashed toward the first fence, jumped it without trouble and raced on to the next one. Cowboy then flew over the second, third and fourth fences like a bird and I turned him toward the finish line.?

As we crossed the line the crowd was shocked into silence. Cowboy and I had beaten Becky and her fancy horse by two seconds!?

I gained much more than a blue ribbon that day. At thirteen, I realized that no matter what the odds, I’d always come out a winner if I wanted something badly enough to work for it.?

The underlined expression "shown the gate" (paragraph 4) most probably means "     __________".?

A. told how to enter the arena?

B. shown how to make the horse beautiful?

C. removed from the competition early?

D. told to enter the timed-speed events?

Why was the writer not confident of victory??

A. He was an inexperienced rider.?    

B. He had not practiced enough.?

C. He believed he was unpopular with the crowd.?

D. He thought his horse wasn’t as good as the others. ?

When the final race finished, nobody cheered because____________.?

A. the audience didn’t like Cowboy?    B. people envied the writer?

C. the win was unexpected?           D. the writer had run out of time

What did the writer learn from his experience??

A. Life can sometimes be unfair.?

B. Anything is possible if one tries hard enough.?

C. A positive attitude will bring success.?

D. One should not make judgments based on appearance.

The best title for the story is ___________.         .?

A. A Race to Remember              B.A Horse’s Tale?

C. Neck and Neck                    D.A Difficult Age ?

As a boy growing up in India, I had longed to travel abroad. I used to listen to the stories my father would tell me about his stay in Canada and tours to Europe in the 1970s, with great interest.

My big moment finally came in the summer of 1998 when I was able to accompany my parents to Europe, where my father was to attend a meeting. We planned to travel to Belgium, Netherlands and West Germany.

I have clear memories even today of going to Mumbai airport at night all excited about finally going abroad. I had heard several great things about Lufthansa till then but now I finally got to experience them first hand, during the flight to Frankfurt. We flew business class and even today I can remember the excellent service by the Lufthansa crew （工作人员）. The flight was really smooth and thoroughly enjoyable, even for someone like me, who is especially afraid of flying.

After spending almost two weeks in Europe, we took the Lufthansa airport express from Dusseldorf to Frankfurt airport, for our return flight. What a journey that was! All along the Rhine (莱茵河), it was simply an unforgettable experience. I had a sombre feeling on the flight back to Mumbai as it marked the end of a wonderful vacation, but the Lufthansa crew members were able to change it into a most enjoyable experience yet again, with the quality of their service.

Being the first airline to take me abroad, Lufthansa will always hold a special place in my heart. Even today，I continue to enjoy flights on Lufthansa and simply cannot dream of choosing any other airline. Flying, in general，for me，has always been a terrible and painful experience．Flying on Lufthansa，however, is something I always have and always will look forward to.

1.Which country does the author live in now?

A. India.                     B. Canada.                            C. Belgium.                         D. Germany.

2.What made the author so interested in traveling abroad?

A. Growing up in India.

B. Once staying in Canada.

C. Once traveling to Canada with his father.

D. His father's stories about his traveling experiences.

3.Which of the following is true about the author's trip to Europe in 1998?

A. The author traveled with one of his parents.

B. Both their going and return were by air.

C. They traveled in spring that year.

D. They stayed in Europe for nearly two months.

4.It can be inferred from the passage that Lufthansa is ________.

A. a city in India                                             B. a city in Europe

C. an airline company                                  D. a travel agency

5.The underlined word “somber” in the 4th paragraph probably means “________”.

A. happy                    B. sad                           C. angry                     D. enjoyable

The day finally came, when I had to leave the warm home where I’d grown up. I ran to the back yard, as tears came up from my heart. Suddenly I    36  a hand rest on my shoulder. I looked up to    37  my grandfather. “It isn’t    38  , is it, Billy?” he said softly.
He gently    39   my hand in his, and then we walked, hand in hand, to the front yard,    40   a huge red rose-bush sat alone.
“What do you see here, Billy?” he asked. I looked at the flowers, not knowing    41   to say, and then answered, “I see something soft and    42  , grandpa.”
He pulled me    43  . “It isn't just the roses that are beautiful, Billy. It’s that special place in your heart that makes them so.” “Billy, I    44   these roses when my first son was born. It was my    45   of saying ‘thank you’ to God. I    46   to watch him pick roses for his mother. Then, as a young man of only 20, a terrible war robbed him of his life.” Grandpa slowly stood up. “Never say good-bye, Billy. Never    47   to the sadness and the loneliness. Instead, I want you to remember the joy and the    48   when you first said hello to a friend.”
A year later, my grandpa became very    49  .Then all members of the family
were    50   back, and I returned to the old house. When it came to my    51  , I took his hand as    52   as he had once taken mine.
“Hello, grandpa,” I    53  .His eyes slowly opened and said, “Hello, my friend.” With a brief    54   he died. Suddenly, and truly, I knew what he had    55   about never saying good-bye — about refusing to give in to sadness.

The twin towns of LAUFEN/OBERNDORF

Laufen owes its former economical and cultural significance to the river Salzach,which forms a peninsula with its sharp curves（弯） there.

Laufen’s economic boom began with the salt trade and the shipping on the river.The salt—mainly coming from Hallein and Bad Reichenhall—was loaded onto bigger ships downstream,which made Laufen one of the most important ports of shipment for salt in Salzburg and Bavaria.

The archbishop（大教主） of Salzburg had given special privileges to the people who were involved in the shipping of salt on the river Salzach.

The Napoleonic Wars brought occupation and serious disturbances.They brought the sudden end to the independent state of the Duke—Archbishop of Salzburg.The end of the 18th century brought a decrease in shipping because of the general economic situation.On the 1st May 1816 Salzburg definitively became a part of Austria （Munich agreement） that’s why the Salzach became the border between Bavaria and Austria.Laufen’s suburbs Oberndorf and Altach were divided up.The number of inhabitants fell from 1392 to 809.Even the re－unification of the two towns’shipsmen’s guilds（行会） and the reorganization of 1928 could not prevent the decline of shipping which finally came to an end in the late 19th century.

________played an important role in Laufen’s economy and culture life.

A.Salt                          B.Shipment                  C.Guilds                       D.Theriver Salzach

The underlined word“boom”probably means________.

A.pleasant sounds          B.sudden increase          C.sudden decrease         D.trade

The main idea of this passage is mainly about ________.

A.how the economy declined in Laufen

B.the effects of The Napoleonic Wars

C.how the twin towns of LAUFEN and OBERNDORF came into being

D.the history of Salzburg