阅读下面短文，从每题所给的四个选项中选出最佳答案.

With his standard Mandarin pronunciation, practiced skills on Chinese expressions and special humour with a Beijing accent, Dashan has become a household name across China.

People have always wondered how the 36-year-old Canadian can be so skillful in the Chinese language even though it is considered by many as one of the most difficult languages in the world．But to Dashan, the great challenge was a piece of cake due to his deep interest, proper method and the excellent environment he created for himself.

“Interest is the best teacher.” That is a universal principle. Even if the 20-year-old Mark Rowswell--Dashan's real name--hadn't fully realized what attracted him to the Chinese department at the University of Toronto in Canada, he was already deeply interested in Chinese culture when he decided to have further study in Beijing.

   Entering the Chinese department of Peking University in 1988, Dashan felt like a duck in water. Study is always a hard job, no matter how much interest you have. Therefore, effective ways are necessary to improvement. “Learn for life and learn in life” is Dashan's belief.

    As a freshman at the University of Toronto, the student did study the textbooks, which especially aimed on foreign Chinese learners. They did help him build a solid foundation.

   However, that's far from enough to grasp the Chinese language. Starting in his junior year, Dashan began to read original Chinese novels, Chinese newspapers and even the selected works of Deng Xiaoping. “Only the material for Chinese native readers could give me a proper sense of the language,” he said.

The language that is the daily means of communication is the principle that Dashan always keeps in his mind．What you have really learned depends on what you can use, not necessarily your mastery of textbooks.

    To learn in daily life requires a favorable language environment, which is also necessary for improvement. Dashan admits it is hard for Chinese English learners to be brought into a good English speaking environment, but insists, “to listen and speak as much as possible does help.”

    To help Chinese English learners develop a favourable environment, Dashan took part in a VCD programme--“Travel with Dashan”-- to teach daily and up-to-date English in real-life situations.

(1)Dashan could learn Chinese very well because of ________.

[　　]

A．his interest

B．practiced skills on Chinese expression

C．his special method

D．special humour with a Beijing accent

(2)The sentence “learn for life and learn in life” here means ________.

[　　]

A．learn things in our daily life, otherwise it will not last long

B．we should study in practice all our lives

C．life is difficult, so we'd better learn more to lead a better life

D．langnage is the necessary part of our daily life, so we must practice it frequently

(3)The main idea of the passage is ________.

[　　]

A．Dashan has become a household name across China

B．how can we master a foreign language in a short time

C．Dashan took part in a VCD programme “Travel with Dashan” to teach

English in real-life situation

D．try to learn English under the direction of Dashan, and you'll succeed one day

(4)The underlined phrase “a piece of cake” here refers to ________.

[　　]

(5)Dashan read the selected works of Deng Xiaoping because ________.

[　　]

A．he admired the former leader of the government

B．he hoped to learn more of the spirits of it

C．he wanted to give him a proper sense of the Chinese language

D．they are very popular in modem times

A long time ago, there lived a poor man whose real name has been forgotten. He was little and old and his face was wrinkled, and that was why his friends called him Mr. Vinegar. His wife was also little and old, and they lived in a little old cottage at the back of a little old field.
"John," said Mrs. Vinegar, "you must go to town and buy a cow. I will milk her and churn（搅拌） butter and we shall never want for anything."
"That is a good plan," said Mr. Vinegar, so he started off to town while his wife waited by the roadside.
Mr. Vinegar walked up and down the street of the town looking for a cow. After a time, a farmer came that way, leading one that was very pretty and fat.
"Oh, if I only had that cow," said Mr. Vinegar, "I would be the happiest man in the world!"
"She's a very good cow," said the farmer.
"Well," said Mr. Vinegar, "I'll give you these 50 gold pieces for her."
The farmer smiled and held out his hand for the money, "You may have her," he said, "I always like to oblige（施恩惠） , my friends!"
Mr. Vinegar took hold of the cow's halter and led her up and down the street. "I am the luckiest man in the world," he said, "for only see how all the people are looking at me and my cow!"
But at one end of the street, he met a man playing bagpipes（风笛） . He stopped and listened -- Tweedle Dee Tweedle Dee.
"Oh, that is the sweetest music I ever heard," he said, "and just see how all the children crowd around the man and give him pennies! If I only had those bagpipes, I would be the happiest man in the world!!"
"I'll sell them to you," said the piper.
"Will you? Well then, since I have no money, I will give you this cow for them."
"You may have them," answered the piper, "I always like to oblige a friend."
Mr. Vinegar took the bagpipes and the piper led the cow away.
"Now we will have some music," said Mr. Vinegar, but try as hard as he might, he could not play a tune. He could get nothing out of the bagpipes but "squeak, squeak". The children instead of giving him pennies laughed at him.
The day was chilly and in trying to play the pipes, his fingers grew very cold. He wished he had kept the cow.
He just started for home when he met a man who had warm gloves on his hands. "Oh, if I only had those pretty gloves," he said, "I would be the happiest man in the world."
"How much will you give for them?" asked the man.
"Oh, I have no money, but I will give you these bagpipes," answered Mr. Vinegar.
"Well," said the man, "you may have them for I always like to oblige a friend."
Mr. Vinegar gave him the bagpipes and drew the gloves on over his half frozen fingers. "How lucky I am," he said as he trudged（跋涉） homeward. His hands were soon quite warm, but the road was rough and the walking hard. He was very tired when he came to the foot of the steep hill. "How shall I ever get to the top?" he said. Just then he met a man who was walking the other way. He had a stick in his hand which he used as a cane to help him along.
"My friend," said Mr. Vinegar, "if only I had that stick of yours to help me up this hill, I would be the happiest man in the world!"
"How much will you give me for it?" asked the man.
"Well, I have no money, but I will give you this pair of warm gloves," said Mr. Vinegar.
"Well," said the man, "you may have it for I always like to oblige a friend."
Mr. Vinegar's hands were now quite warm, so he gave the gloves to the man and took the stout（结实的） stick to help him along. "How lucky I am!'' he said as he toiled upward.
At the top of the hill he stopped to rest. But as he was thinking of all his good luck that day, he heard someone calling his name. He looked up and saw only a green parrot sitting in a tree.
"Mr. Vinegar, Mr. Vinegar," it cried.
"What now?" said Mr. Vinegar.
"You're a dunce（傻瓜） , you're a dunce!'' answered the bird, "you went to seek your fortune and you found it, then you gave it for a cow, and the cow for some bagpipes, and the bagpipes for some gloves, and the gloves for a stick which you might of cut by the roadside. He He He, you're a dunce! You're a dunce!''
This made Mr. Vinegar very angry. He threw the stick at the bird with all his might. But the bird only answered, "You're a dunce! You're a dunce!" And the stick lodged in the tree where he could not get it again.
Mr. Vinegar went on slowly for he had many things to think about. His wife was standing by the roadside and as soon as she saw him, she cried out, "Where's the cow? Where's the cow?" "Well, I just don't know where the cow is," said Mr. Vinegar. And then he told her the whole story.
【小题1】What’s the meaning of the underlined word in the passage?

All sorts of items become litter(垃圾) but two of the most common and most dangerous are cigarette butts（烟头) and plastic bags. Litter is a big problem for our environment but it is a problem that individuals can easily do something about. Not littering at all or cleaning up litter, such as  cigarette butts and plastic bags, greatly improves the quality of our environment.
Although cigarette butts, are small, they are bad for the environment. Over 1,600 billion cigarette are smoked each year in China and large quantities of the butts are thrown away. Worldwide, about 4. 5 trillion butts are littered every year. Apart from the fact that butts spoil the beauty of the environment, they contain some very toxic chemicals. These find their way into the water supply where they decrease the quality of the water and endanger plants and animals that live there. So, if people have to smoke, they shouldn't throw away the butts but put them in the rubbish bin instead.
Plastic bags are another common form of litter that is a danger to the environment. There areseveral reasons for this. They are made from oil and gas, which are non—renewable resources. If they are not recycled, these resources are lost to us. In China, 2 billion plastic bags are used every day. An enormous number of these become litter. This is a huge problem because they last from 20 to 1,000 years in the environment. They float easily in the air and water and travel long distances. They find their way to rivers, parks, beaches and oceans. Plastic bags kill up to one million seabirds, 100, 000 sea mammals and countless fish each year worldwide. It is up to people not to let plastic bags become litter. It would be better if they used fewer and recycled them.
Cleaning up your cigarette butts and plastic bags would improve the environment. And we would know that we were doing something to look after our planet. However, I believe the best solution would be not to smoke or use plastic bags at all.
【小题1】 Which of the following best shows the structure of the passage?
A           B.         C.          D.
( ①=" paragraph" 1; ②=" paragraph" 2; ③=" paragraph" 3; ④a paragraph 4 )
【小题2】The word “toxic” in the paragraph 2 most probably mean “________”

完形填空（共20小题；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。
Life is filled with challenges. As we get older we ____36___ realize that those challenges are the very things that ____37___ us and make us who we are, it is the same with the challenges that come with ____38____.
When we are faced with a challenge, we usually have two ____39____. We can try to beat it off, or we can decide that the thing ____40____ the challenge isn’t worth the ____41____ and call it quits. Although there are certainly ____42____ when calling it quits is the right thing to do, in most _____43____ all that is needed is ____44____ and communication.
When we are committed to something, it means that no matter how ____45____ or how uncomfortable something is, we will always choose to ____46____ it and work it through instead of running away from it. Communication is making a ____47____ for discussion and talking about how you feel as opposed to just saying what the other person did wrong. ____48____ you can say to a friend, “I got my feelings hurt,” ____49____ “You hurt my feelings,” you are going to be able to solve the problem much faster.
In dealing with many challenges that friendship will bring to you, try to see them for ___50___ they are: small hurdles you need to jump or __51____ on your way through life. Nothing is so big that it is _____52____ to get over, and hurt only ___53___ to make us stronger. It’s all part of growing up, it _____54____ to everyone, and some day you will _____55____ all of this and say, “Hard as it was, it made me who I am today. And that is a good thing.”
36．A．seem to             B．come to             C．hope to              D．try to
37．A．design                B．promote            C．direct                  D．shape
38．A．confidence        B．pressure            C．friendship          D．difficulty
39．A．opportunities   B．expectations    C．choices               D．aspects
40．A．demanding        B．deserving          C．predicting          D．presenting
41．A．comment                    B．loss                     C．trouble               D．expense
42．A．spans                  B．times                  C．dates                  D．ages
43．A．cases                  B．fields                   C．parts                   D．occasions
44．A．assessment      B．commitment    C．encouragement D．adjustment
45．A．doubtful             B．shameful           C．harmful              D．painful
46．A．keep                    B．control                         C．face                              D．catch
47．A．space                  B．plan                              C．topic                             D．room
48．A．If                          B．As                                 C．While                           D．Unless
49．A．other than         B．rather than                C．or rather                     D．or else
50．A．what                   B．who                              C．where                          D．which
51．A．pass by               B．come across              C．get through                D．run over
52．A．unnecessary     B．necessary                   C．impossible                  D．possible
53．A．serves                B．means                         C．aims                             D．attempts
54．A．opens                 B．appeals                       C．goes                             D．happens
55．A．look down on    B．look back on               C．look forward to         D．look up to

Dye (染料) can bring a little color to life. Most clothing is colored with dyes. Modern, manufactured dyes can be costly. Natural dyes from plant and animal products have been used since ancient times. So this week, we describe a natural way to dye wool.
There are several methods to put dye onto material. The vat method, for example, can be used to dye wool with onionskins. For this example, use one hundred grams of natural wool. The wool must be clean. Leave it overnight in water and liquid soap. Then wash it with clean water that is a little warm. Gently squeeze out the extra water.
A solution called a mordant (媒染) is used in the dying process. A mordant helps fix the dye to the material. Traditionally, mordants were found in nature. Wool ash is one example. But chemical mordants such as alum are popular today. Alum is sold in many stores. It is often mixed with cream of tartar, a fine powder commonly used in cooking.
Mix eight grams of alum with seven grams of cream of tartar in a small amount of hot water. Add the solution to a metal pan of cool water. Next, add the wool and place the mixture over heat. Slowly bring the liquid to eighty-two degrees Celsius. Heat the mixture for forty-five minutes. After it cools, remove the wool and wash it.
To prepare the dye solution, cover thirty grams of onionskins with water. Use only the dry, brown outer skins. Boil the liquid until the onionskins lose their color, about forty-five minutes. Remove the skins after the dye cools.
Now it is time to dye the wool. Place the wool into the dye and heat the mixture. Bring it to a boil, then immediately reduce the heat to eighty-two degrees. Now heat the dye for about forty-five minutes or until the wool is the desired color. Keep in mind that wet wool looks darker than it is.
Once the dye cools, remove the wool and wash it. Now the wool is orange or yellow. Or at least it should be.
57. According to the passage, mordants are ________.
A. dyes used in the dying process
B. materials which will be put dye to
C. wood ashes used in the dying process
D. not dyes but play an important role in the dying process
58. Which of the following statements about “natural dyes” is true?
A. They might be cheaper than chemical dyes.
B. They are more expensive than chemical dyes.
C. They have been used for only recent years.
D. They are all made from animal products.
59. As for the vat method, which of the following statements is NOT necessarily needed?
A. Ash.                B. Water.           C. Mordant.              D. Temperature.
60. Choose the proper order of dying wool:
a. boil the liquid with onionskins.
b. add mordants to a metal pan of cool water.
c. wash the wool with clean water.
d. put the wool into the liquid and heat it
e. heat the mixture and then wash it.
A. c, b, e, a, d        B. e, b, c, d, a     C. b, e, a, d, c              D. a, b, e, c, d