In many cultures white is often associated with something positive. A white-collar job, for instance, is the kind of job many people look for, working with your brain and not your hands.

White has a clean and pure image. That is why doctors, dentists, and nurses usually wear white uniforms. Babies are dressed in white at baptisms（洗礼）and brides wear white wedding gowns at weddings. White in these cases is the symbol of innocence or purity.
Sometimes white is used in expressions that are not good. “Whitewash” is one such expression. At first, “whitewash” meant to paint over something with white paint to make it look better. However, it means something different today: to hide or to cover up mistakes or failures.
A “white elephant” is another example of white used in a negative way. In ancient Thailand, a white elephant was regarded as a sacred animal, but it was very expensive to keep. The kings of those days presented a white elephant to the people they wanted to ruin. Once they received this holy, royal animal as a gift, they were not allowed to sell or kill it. Today, a “white elephant” means something that is big, useless, and unwanted. In America, when people want to get rid of their furniture or clothes, they often have a “white elephant sale”.
【小题1】The text is mainly about________.

In many cultures white is often associated with something positive. A white-collar job, for instance, is the kind of job many people look for, working with your brain and not your hands.

White has a clean and pure image. That is why doctors, dentists, and nurses usually wear white uniforms. Babies are dressed in white at baptisms（洗礼）and brides wear white wedding gowns at weddings. White in these cases is the symbol of innocence or purity.

Sometimes white is used in expressions that are not good. “Whitewash” is one such expression. At first, “whitewash” meant to paint over something with white paint to make it look better. However, it means something different today: to hide or to cover up mistakes or failures.

A “white elephant” is another example of white used in a negative way. In ancient Thailand, a white elephant was regarded as a sacred animal, but it was very expensive to keep. The kings of those days presented a white elephant to the people they wanted to ruin. Once they received this holy, royal animal as a gift, they were not allowed to sell or kill it. Today, a “white elephant” means something that is big, useless, and unwanted. In America, when people want to get rid of their furniture or clothes, they often have a “white elephant sale”.

The text is mainly about________.

    A. the meanings of white in English culture  

B. the history of some English idioms

    C. some interesting customs in English culture

    D. some useful English words and expressions

Which expression has an historical background ?

    A. White-wash.                           B. White-collar.

C. White elephant.                         D. White elephant sale.

In which statement does “white” have a negative meaning?

A. A boy is dressed in white at baptisms.     

B. A bride wears a white wedding gown.

C. A man whitewashes his crime.        

D. A girl finds a white collar job.

From the text we can learn that _______.

   A. a white-elephant sale is useful to the poor    

B. the white color is important in our daily life

   C. a white-collar job used to be easy to get

   D. expressions with white have different meanings

The author develops the text mainly by ______.

A. analyzing its cause and effect

B. providing typical examples

C. comparing different ideas

D. following the time order

第Ⅱ卷（两部分 共35分）

第四部分：写作（共两节，满分35分）

第一节 任务型阅读（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）

请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入最恰当的单词。

注意：每空限填1个单词。

Snowboarding（滑板滑雪） became a Winter Olympic event in 1998 but many people still don’t think it’s a “real” sport. I asked ten of my friends about this and eight of them said it shouldn’t be an Olympic event. Snowboarders must be skilful and strong, just like other athletes(运动员), and they train just as hard. So, why do people have this opinion?

Well, I think there are a few reasons. First of all, snowboarders believe that having fun is part of the sport. Maybe people think they’re enjoying themselves too much. I guess they feel that “real” sports should look like hard work. Secondly, snowboarders believe it’s of importance to show their personal style. They like to be dressed in modern clothes and often have interesting haircuts. In some people’s eyes, a well-trained athlete just doesn’t wear a funny hat or a nose-ring. Thirdly, it’s a new sport and many people haven’t tried it yet. This might make them think it’s easy, when, in fact, it’s not. Snowboarding is just as difficult, if not more difficult, than skiing.

Whatever the reasons, I think it’s time we accept that having fun doesn’t mean you’re lazy and that someone with blue hair can be a champion(冠军).

Like any good mother, when Karen found out that another baby was on the way, she did what she could to help her three-year-old son, Michael, prepare for a new baby. They found out that it was going to be a girl, and day after day, night after night, Michael          to his sister in Mommy’s tummy(肚子). He was building a bond of love with his little sister before he even met her.

The pregnancy progressed       for Karen. In time, the labor pains came. Soon it was every five minutes ... every minute. But something serious        during delivery. Finally, Michael’s little sister was born. But she was in serious        . With siren(警报) howling in the night, the ambulance         the infant(婴儿) to the Intensive Care unit at St. Mary’s Hospital in Knoxville, Tennessee.

       inched by. The little girl got worse. The doctors told the parents, “There is very little hope.” Karen and her husband contacted a local cemetery (墓地) about a burial plot. They had        a special room in their home for the new baby — now they planned a funeral.

After two weeks in Intensive Care, it looked as if a funeral would come       the week was over. Michael, kept begging his parents to let him see his sister, “I want to sing to her,” he said. Kids were never          in Intensive Care. But Karen made up her mind to take Michael        they liked it or not. If he didn’t see his sister now, he may never see her alive.

She        him in an oversized suit and       him into ICU. He looked like a walking laundry basket, but the head nurse         him as a child, “Get that kid out of here now!” The mother rose up strong in Karen, and the usually         lady glared steel-eyed right into the head nurse’s face, saying in a         tone of voice, “He is not leaving until he sings to his sister!” Karen towed Michael to his sister’s bedside. He gazed at the tiny baby       the battle to live. And he began to sing.         the pure hearted voice of a 3-year-old, Michael sang:

“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are gray…”    the baby girl responded. The pulse rate began to         down and became steady.

“Keep on singing, Michael.” encouraged Karen. “You never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don’t take my sunshine away…”As Michael sang to his sister, the baby's breath became as smooth as a kitten’s purr.

“Keep on singing, Michael.” “The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping…” Michael’s little sister relaxed as rest, healing rest, seemed to sweep over her.

Funeral plans were        . The next day — the very next day — the little girl was well enough to go home!

The medical staff just called it a miracle. Karen called it a miracle of God’s love!

1.A. talked            B. sang          C. played        D. whispered

2.A. quietly           B. peacefully         C. hopefully          D. normally

3.A. arose           B. raised               C. rose               D. aroused

4.A. situation        B. place                   C. condition           D. position

5.A. took            B. sent                 C. carried     D. rushed

6.A. The years       B. The months          C. The weeks             D. The days

7.A. fixed up         B. made up     C. built up             D. set up

8.A. until            B. before     C. after              D. when

9.A. asked           B. allowed                 C. admitted       D. acquired

10.A. no matter             B. even if                 C. whether           D. as if

11.A. put          B. dressed    C. wore                 D. fit

12.A. marched             B. forced       C. hid                D. followed

13.A. required     B. replied              C. recognized         D. regarded

14.A. warm-hearted        B. well-managed       C. mild-mannered     D. cold-blooded

15.A. firm                  B. strong               C. hard       D. tough

16.A. losing                 B. lost                  C. to lose                 D. having lost

17.A. In                     B. On                  C. At            D. With

18.A. Finally                 B. Instantly             C. Patiently             D. Interestingly

19.A. calm                  B. quiet                C. slow          D. fast

20.A. erased        B. scratched           C. abandoned        D. switched

We all remember seeing hitchhikers, standing by the side of the road, thumb, sticking out, waiting for a lift. But it is getting rare nowadays. What killed hitchhiking? Safety is often mentioned as a reason. Movies about murderous hitchhikers and real-life crime have put many drivers off picking up hitchhikers. That no single women picked me up on my journey to Manchester no doubt reflects the safety fear: a large, strangely dressed man is seen as dangerous.
But the reason may be more complex: hitchhiking happens where people don’t have cars and transport services are poor. Plenty of people still hitchhike in Poland and Romania. Perhaps the rising level of car ownership in the UK means the few people lift hitchhiking are usually considered strange. Why can’t they afford cars? Why can’t they take the coach or the train?
Three-quarters of the UK population have access to a car; many of the remainder will be quite old. The potential hitchhiking population is therefore small. Yet my trip proves it’s still possible to hitchhike. The people who picks me up were very interesting-lawyer, retired surgeon, tank commander, carpenter, man who live in an isolated farmhouse and a couple living up in the mountains. My conclusion is that only really interesting people are mad enough to pick up fat blokes in red, spotted scarves. Most just wanted to do someone a good turn; a few said they were so surprised to see a hitchhiker that they couldn’t help stopping.
The future of hitchhiking most likely lies with car-sharing organized over the Internet, via sites such as hitchhikers. org. But for now, you can still stick your thumb out (actually, I didn’t do much of that, preferring just to hold up my destination sign) and people—wonderful, caring, sharing, unafraid people—will stop.
In the UK, with its cheap coaches and reasonable rail service, I don’t think I’ll make a habit of it. But having enjoyed it so much, I’m ready now to do a big trip across Europe and beyond. In the 1970s a female friend of my wife’s hitchhiked to India. How wonderful it would be to have another go, though Afghanistan might be a challenge. I wish I’d got that tank commander’s mobile number.
【小题1】The author tried to hitchhike but was rejected by single women drivers because       .