Watching some children trying to catch butterflies one hot August afternoon, I was reminded of an incident in my own childhooD．When I was a boy of 12 in South Carolina, something happened to me that cured me forever of wanting to put any wild creature in a cage.
We lived on the edge of a wood, and every evening at dusk the mockingbirds would come and rest in the trees and sing. There isn’t a musical instrument made by man that can produce a more beautiful sound than the song of the mockingbird.
I decided that I would catch a young bird and keep it in a cage and in that way would have my own private musician.
I finally succeeded in catching one and put it in a cage. At first, in its fright at being captured, the bird fluttered about the cage, but eventually it settled down in its new home. I felt very pleased with myself and looked forward to some beautiful singing from my tiny musician.
I had left the cage out on our back porch, and on the second day of the bird’s captivity my new pet’s mother flew to the cage with food in her mouth. The baby bird ate everything she brought to it. I was pleased to see this. Certainly the mother knew better than I how to feed her baby.
The following morning when I went to see how my captive was doing, I discovered it on the floor of the cage, dead. I was shocked! What had happened! I had taken excellent care of my little bird, or so I thought.
Arthur Wayne, the famous ornithologist, happened to be visiting my father at the time, hearing me crying over the death of my bird, explained what had occurred. “A mother mockingbird, finding her young in a cage, will sometimes bring it poison berries. She thinks it better for her young to die than to live in captivity.”
Never since then have I caught any living creature and put it in a cage. All living creatures have a right to live free.
64．Why did the writer catch a mockingbird when he was a boy of 12?
A．He had just got a new cage.         B．He liked its beautiful feather.
C．He wanted it to sing for him.         D．He wanted a pet for a companion.
65．The mockingbird died because it ______.
A．was frightened to death          B．ate the poisonous food its mother gave it
C．refused to eat anything            D．drank the poisonous water by mistake
66．An ornithologist probably means ______.
A．a religious person                 B．a kind person
C．a schoolmaster                   D．a expert in birds
67．What is the most important lesson the writer learned from the incident?
A．Freedom is very valuable to all creatures.
B．All birds put in a cage won’t live long.
C．You should keep the birds from their mother.
D．Be careful about food you give to baby birds.

Mark was walking home from school one day when he saw the boy in front of him fall over and drop all of the books he was carrying, along with two sweaters, a basketball and a walkman. Mark stopped and helped the boy pick up these things. Since they were going the same way, he helped to carry some of his things. As they walked, Mark knew that the boy’s name was Bill, that he loved computer games, basketball and history, and that he was having lots of troubles with his other subjects and that he had just broken up with his girlfriend.

They arrived at Bill’s home first and Mark was invited(邀请) in for a Coke and to watch some television. The afternoon passed happily with a few laughs and some small talks, and then Mark went home. They often saw each other at school, had lunch together once or twice, and then they both finished middle school. They ended up in the same high school where they sometimes saw and talked with each other over the years. At last just three weeks before they finished high school, Bill asked Mark if they could talk.

Bill asked Mark if he still remembered the day years ago when they had first met. “Did you ever think why I was carrying so many things home that day? ” asked Bill. “You see, I cleaned out my locker(锁柜) because I didn’t want to leave anything for anyone else. I had put away some of my mother’s sleeping pills and I was going home to kill myself. But after we spent some time together talking and laughing, I began to understand that if I killed myself, I would have missed that time and so many others that might follow. So you see, Mark, when you picked up those books that day, you did a lot more. You saved my life. ”

66. When Mark met him the first time, Bill was going_______ .

A. to have a basketball game

B. to his classroom

C. to see Mark

D. back home

67. From what Bill was carrying, we can know that he_______ .

A. was a good student

B. liked sports and music

C. liked all the subjects in school

D. was a good friend

68. Mark and Bill_______ .

A. were in the same middle school and high school

B. were in the same middle school but not in the same high school

C. often had lunch together at school

D. had known each other before they began to study in middle school

69. In this passage, the phrase “break up” means_______ .

A. 相处很好                                            B. 和好如初

C. 关系破裂                                            D. 保持联系

70. When Mark helped Bill to pick up some of his things, he_______ .

A. knew he could save Bill’s life

B. knew who Bill was and wanted to help him

C. didn’t know why he was going to help him

D. didn’t know what he was doing was very important to Bill

通读下面短文，了解其大意，然后从21—40各小题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项   

After their business trip, John and Mary returned, eager to see their lovely children. As they drove into their home town feeling glad to be back, they noticed 21 , and they went off their usual route to see what it was. They found a  22 in flames. Mary said, “Oh, well, it isn’t our fire, let’s go home.”

But John 23 closer and screamed, “That home belongs to Fred Jones who works at the plant. He wouldn’t be 24 works yet, maybe there is something we could do. ” “It has nothing to do with us”, Mary 25 .

But John drove up and stopped and they were both horror-stricken to see the whole house in 26 . A woman on the lawn was screaming, “The children! Get the children!” John 27 her by the shoulder saying, “Get a hold of yourself and tell us where the children are!” “In the 28 ,” cried the woman, “down the hall and to the left. ”

In spite of Mary’s disagreement John 29 for the basement which was full of smoke and 30 hot. He found the door and two children. 31 he left he could hear some more sobbing（哭泣）. He 32 the two badly frightened children into 33 arms and started back asking how many more children were down there. They told him 34 more and Mary grasped his arm and screamed, “John! Don’t go back! It’s 35  ! That house will fall down any second. ”

36 he ran into the smoke-filled hallway and at last he found both children. As he climbed up the 37 stairs, the thought went through his mind that there was something strangely 38 about the little bodies next to him, and at last when they came out into the  39  and fresh air, he found that he had just  40 his own children.

The baby-sitter had left them at this home while she did some shopping.

A．direction              B．mistake            C．danger             D．smoke

A．home                B．plant        C．store           D．kitchen

A．ran               B．walked           C．drove               D．rode

A．at                   B．off              C．to                   D．on

A．whispered       B．nodded           C．disagreed        D．required

A．ruins               B．pieces             C．flames          D．silence

A．pushed              B．seized              C．greeted          D．stopped

A．basement       B．department       C．house          D．hall

A．went                   B．reached         C．asked           D．rushed

A．heavily             B．slightly          C．partly             D．terribly

A．If                    B．As                 C．Since           D．Unless

A．comforted          B．delivered       C．recognized      D．protected

A．cheering            B．freezing        C．waiting           D．suffering

A．many                B．several        C．three         D．two

A．dangerous         B．foolish          C．practical        D．painful

A．Therefore         B．So                   C．Consequently   D．But

A．wide                    B．endless        C．final            D．dirty

A．particular       B．interesting        C．familiar           D．fortunate

A．car                 B．sunlight          C．crowd            D．arms

A．rescued           B．found             C．lost               D．missed

III．完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
Last night, I was waiting for a taxi. After 5 minutes, I was  41 . The driver seemed to be angry. I asked him what the  42  was. He said he had just come from the airport without a  43 , which was basically $70 in lost fare.
Over the course of that ride, the anger slowly  44 . He mentioned he had read an article saying the  45  people are the ones that give, so he hoped he’d have more  46  to give in his life. I was starting to  47  being with him! We continued talking about why  48  is so beneficial both to the giver and the receiver and different ways to  49  it.
As we arrived at my destination, I  50  my fare. But I pulled out an extra $20 and said, “Since we’ve been talking about giving this whole time, I wanted to share that  51  with you. I’ve already paid my fare, but here’s an extra little bit. You can  52  it, since you’re already down $70 from the airport. But if you want to experience the  53  of the gift, then tell the next passenger in this taxi that their ride is a gift from another and they can  54  their gratitude in whatever way.”
The man turned toward me, tears in his eyes, and said, “Sir, I have a better  55 . You give that $20 to a  56  person around here and I’ll treat the next passenger with a  57  ride myself.”
Wow. This man was  58  10 minutes ago. I got out and walked around trying to find someone who needed help  59  heading to my destination.
It was an honor meeting that driver and  60  the lesson of how everyone is capable of giving.
41．A．gotten off          B．put down           C．called up         D．picked up
42．A．question          B．time               C．problem          D．cost
43．A．friend             B．stranger            C．driver                 D．customer
44．A．died out           B．appeared           C．died down         D．died off
45．A．happiest           B．poorest            C．richest            D．strongest
46．A．kindness           B．chances            C．suggestions         D．money
47．A．mind             B．stop               C．allow             D．enjoy
48．A．collecting          B．giving             C．receiving        D．existing
49．A．practise           B．explain             C．watch             D．consider
50．A．printed            B．recorded            C．paid            D．examined
51．A．adventure          B．information         C．language           D．feeling
52．A．refuse             B．raise               C．keep              D．spend
53．A．direction          B．power              C．weight            D．size
54．A．share             B．earn               C．forget             D．miss
55．A．gift               B．idea               C．opinion            D．ride
56．A．homeless           B．native             C．nice               D．brave
57．A．long              B．comfortable        C．free               D．safe
58．A．bored             B．tired              C．rude               D．angry
59．A．after              B．before             C．when              D．as
60．A．learning           B．preparing          C．finishing           D．providing