But, curiously, one of the rarest coins in the world is not made of gold, but of the relatively cheaper silver. In 1840, the United States mint struck 19, 570 silver dollars. That is what its records show. Today only six of this original number remain and these are unlikely ever to the auction market. So what happened to some 19, 564 large silver coins, not the easiest sort of things to lose? One of the more romantic theories is that they were part of the payment to Napoleon for the American territory then known as Louisiana. But they never reached France. Somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico, the ship transporting them was sunk, either by a storm or by pirates. The probable answer to the mystery is that they were melted down—since the silver value was greater than the actual value of the coin. What really happened to the rest will probably always remain a mystery. What .is known is that whoever can come up with one will find himself instantly rich.

　　 1. It can be inferred from the passage that——.

　　　　  A. money buys as much as it did before

　　    B. money does not buy as much as it did before

　　　　  C. paper money buys more than metal money

　　　　  D. metal money buys more than paper money

　　 2. Which of the following is true of a coin?

　　　　  A. The longer it is held, the less valuable it becomes.

　　　　  B. The more it wears out, the more valuable it becomes.

　　　　  C. The less it gets scratched, the less it values.

　　　　  D. The longer it lasts, the more it values.

　　 3. Coins becomes more valuable because

  　　　　A. they make purses and pockets untidy

　　　　  B. the price of metal goes up

　　　　  C. they fall more readily into a category for collections due to their duration

　　　　  D. both B and C

　　 4. What really happened to some 19, 564 large silver coins?

　　　　  A. They were melted down.　　　　 B. They were sunk in the Gulf of Mexico.

　　　　  C. It is still mystery.　　 　　    　　  D. They were stolen by pirates.

完形填空

The Brick

　　About ten years ago, a young and very successful manager named Josh was travelling down a Chicago neighborhood street. He was going a bit fast in his 1 car.

　　He was watching for kids rushing out from between parked cars. 2 his car passed, no child rushed out, but a brick did and WHUMP! It 3 his shiny black side door! Josh 4 out of his car, grabbed the kid and pushed him up 5 a parked car. He shouted at the kid,“ 6 was that all about and who are you? Just what are you doing?”He went on with 7 “That's my new Jaguar, that brick you threw is going to cost you a lot of money. Why did you throw it?”

　　“Please, mister, please…I'm 8 ! I didn't know what else to do!” 9 the youngster.“I threw the brick 10 no one else would stop!”Tears were dripping down the boy's chin as he 11 around the parked car.“It's my brother, mister,”he said.“He rolled 12 the sidewalk and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't 13 him up.”Sobbing, the boy asked the manager,“Would you please help me get him 14 into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me.”

15　　 beyond words, he lifted the young man back into the wheelchair and took out his handkerchief 16 wiped the cuts, checking to see that everything was going to be OK. He then 17 the younger brother push him down the sidewalk toward their home.

　　It was a long and slow walk back to his expensive car. Josh 18 did fix the side door of his Jaguar. He kept the damage to 19 him not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at him to get his attention. Pay 20 to the bricks of life coming at to you.

　　Dear editor,

　　In the past my hometown was used to be beautiful place.　　　　　　　　　　　　   1．________

Thick trees and green grass could be seen in everywhere. In　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 2．________

order to build house and grow more crops, people cut down　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 3．________

more and more trees. With time went on, the whole forest was　　　　　　　　　　　　  4．________

almost destroyed. Gradually the green hills have changed into　　　　　　　　　　　　    5．________

wasteland. As a result, sandstorms struck us now and then, from　　　　　　　　　　  6．________

which we suffer a lot. However, I do hope all the people should　　　　　　　　　　　　 7．________

realize the terribly result of not caring about our environment.　　　　　　　　　　　　    8．________

What’s more, they should take good care of the forests and plant　　　　　　　　　　   9．________

trees instead cutting them down to improve our living conditions.　　　　　　　　　　  10．________

阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中选出能填人空白处的最佳选项。

The first day at school has left a deep   1   on me. I'll never forget it.

As soon as I rushed into the classroom，the bell rang. A young beautiful woman came in，but she was  2  ，no smile on her face. “You are not permitted to  3  me in the course of class unless…”She was speaking when I heard a  4  “Lily，Lily” from outside the door. My grandmother was standing there with a pair of socks in her hand. I didn't realize I was bare feet  5    then. I wanted to  6  them, but I dared not do that. I shook my hand，  7  “Don't wait here any longer. Leave quickly". As I did so，I still  8  my eyes on my teacher. I really didn't want her to take  9 of me，but she did. she went out to get the socks. When she gave them to  me. she looked at me for a while. My face suddenly turned   10   and my heart   11   faster. I began to put the socks on. Unfortunately 1 was so nervous that my   12   hands couldn't get them onto my feet easily. Just then I heard my name called. I   13   from my seat quickly. “Can you 14   the numbers from one to one hundred?'’ the teacher asked. I nodded.  15  her surprise，I did very well. Finally she said，“Be  16  ，please. Study hard.” I looked  17   her to find a smile on her face. I felt   18   at last.

The first day at school has stayed in my  19  as something embarrassing (尴尬) but  20  .

1. A. memory　　　　   B. impression C. imagination　　    D. feeling

2. A. modern　　　　   B. humorous　　    C. gentle　　　　    D. serious

3. A. trouble　　    B. question　　　　   C. interrupt　　   D. excuse

4. A. voice　　  B. sound　　  C. noise　　  D. word

5. A. before　　  B. after    C. just    D. until

6. A. get    B. throw    C. accept　　 D. wear

7. A. saying　　 B. meaning　　  C. crying　　  D. shouting

8. A. fixed    B.1aid    C. opened　　   D. shut

9. A. care    B. interest    C. attention　　   D. notice

10. A. pale    B. white    C. red    D. black

11. A. beat    B. jumped　　  C. struck　　 D. felt

12. A. small    B. dirty    C. shaking　　  D. own

13. A. rose    B. raised    C. stood    D. jumped

14. A. add    B. count    C. recognize　　    D. write

15. A. With    B. For    C. To    D. Great to

16. A. careful  B. sitting    C. quiet    D. seated

17. A. up at    B. over    C. around    D. through

18. A. story　　　　　　　　 B. relaxed    　　C. disappointed　　　　   D. puzzled

19. A. mind    B. classroom　　   C. memory    D. heart

20. A. strange　　　　 B. sweet　　   C. nervous　　   D. forever