I HEAR America beeping(嘟嘟响)．

 Beep，says my cellophane when it gets a text message．

  Beep，says my microwave oven when my sandwich  is warmed up． 

 Sometimes  I long for a natural sound：a bird singing，dog barking，children laughing， anything to drown out  the maddening beeps that have become the soundtrack(配乐)to modern life．

  My cellophane? It isn’t enough that its ring tone offerings seem to stretch from  “annoymg” toextremely “annoying”． It also has to beep whenever someone texts messages me． 

The microwave? A bell rings when it's finished heating my food．But is that enough? No．If I don’t rush to it right away, it starts beeping，like an impatient child tugging(用力拉) at my sleeve(袖子)．

 The smoke detector(探测器) is the worst offender．When its batteries are in need of replacement，it 1ets out a series of chirps．The things that don’t beep buzz(嗡嗡响)．And for some reason，beeping and buzzing is beneath them，they clear their throats and perform a symphony． Like my TV, each time I turn it on, it performs an aria(咏叹调)：La di da di dum．Salutions! Here I am! Same thing when I turn it off: La di da di dum．Good bye, kind sir! Until the next time

But at 1east I know where each of these sounds is coming from．That isn’t always the case．For weeks, my wife and I were awoken in the night by a beeping．There，in the stillness， we went through the possible suspects．Could we have a text message? Could it be any of the devices(装置)able to make a sound? Curling iron, rice cooker, smoke detector, TV set，clock radio．．．

The only way to tell was to chase the sound down ，but no sooner  would we pull on our bathrobes than the beeping would stop. We didn’t hear it every night but often enough that we would climb into bed wondering whether our sleep  would be interrupted by that maddening sound，that beep．

  Finally,early one morning，my wife found it：in the study,under a desk，a big plastic cube that was plugged into the wall．It was an uninterruptible power supply that we’d inherited(继承)from my wife’s mother．We’d never known it was capable of speech． 

I think it just wanted someone to talk to.

14．What does the writer truly mean by saying“I hear America beeping”?

A．American people like devices that beep．

B．Americans are crazy about sending text messages．

C．In modern society people are dependant on technology．

D．The soundtrack to modern life is no longer natural．

15．Why couldn’t the author and his wife find the source of the noise in their house in the beginning?

A．There were too many devices for them to check．

B．They were unwilling to get up at midnight．

C．They had never known that thing could beep too．

D．The noise didn’t come every day．

16．After reading this passage，we can probably tell the author    ．

   A．enjoys being surrounded by beeps  B．has a touch of humor in his writing

C．tries to avoid using anything that beeps

D．understands the beeping is designed to be user-friendly

第二节 完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，从短文后所给的四个选项（A,B,C和D）中，选出可以填人空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
This morning I awoke from a wonderful night’s sleep. One of those completely satisfying sleep—difficult to explain, but if you’ve ever had one you’ll know what I’m    36    about.
No amount of    37    could buy a better night’s sleep. I truly    38   my blessed rest. It was like a gift from heaven. Interesting to think that Bill Gates or any    39    billionaire you can     40   really couldn’t have had a more satisfying, fulfilling night of sleep.
That started me thinking of other    41   that cost nothing or very little．Like a drink of cold water on a    42   day．Or a warm relaxing    43   when you’re tired．
What could be better than    44    to your favorite music or watching good movies? These are    45    delights—small pleasures．I hope this doesn’t    46    too silly in today’s rough，loud world．I wonder if the new generation can appreciate some such things．
We’re told we   47    the latest model car, or TV or computer to be happy，but it’s all a trick, a marketing move．No sooner do we get these things,    48    we’re looking to replace them    49    a newer car, or TV or computer．
This is not to say that money isn't important. Money can help    50   , clothes and house those in need．Money is neither all good nor all bad—it’s just a   51    of life that can be used for good things or abused(滥用).
I suppose having    52    money worries can give a certain peace of mind that   53   a person to have a good night’s rest. But no amount of money can   54    buy that wonderful, particularly restful night’s sleep that I   55   last night.
36．A．telling         B．talking        C．hearing       D．referring
37．A．poors              B．persons       C．workers      D．riches
38．A．appreciated      B．feared         C．disliked      D．doubted
39．A．one          B．more        C．other      D．big
40．A．write         B．remember    C．mention      D．say
41．A．dreams        B．pleasures     C．nights     D．gifts
42．A．happy          B．fine         C．cool       D．hot
43．A．match          B．walk        C．talk        D．bath
44．A．enjoying      B．receiving    C．listening     D．looking forward
45．A．quiet         B．interesting    C．moving      D．exciting
46．A．sound          B．keep        C．seem      D．prove
47．A．have         B．need        C．buy        D．find
48．A．when         B．than        C．and        D．then
49．A．with         B．by           C．for         D．in
50．A．eat           B．feed        C．serve      D．food
51．A．necessity      B．thing        C．kind       D．tool
52．A．many              B．some        C．no          D．few
53．A．makes         B．forces         C．allows     D．advises
54．A．always         B．already       C．still        D．ever
55．A．experienced     B．awaited     C．liked       D．talked about

Signs can sometimes be seen at the entrance of a house, expressing that a tramp（流浪汉） has passed. This special sign-language is frequently   36  by tramps to inform their  37  whether the host of a certain house is friendly or unfriendly, and to  38  them the trouble of making unnecessary calls.

Quite  39  one day, I came across a real tramp. He was such a rare sight these days that I stood some distance away and watched him. He was dressed just as a tramp should be  40 , old worn trousers, and a jacket many sizes too big for him. On his head there was a battered old hat and his boots were so old and worn; they were almost coming into   41 . But the man himself looked cheerful as if he had not been a   42  in the world. He rubbed his nose with his forefinger,  43  a funny turn, laid a small parcel by the front gate, and began   44  a sign made by a former caller. Although the sign was meaningless to me, it must have been   45 , for the tramp’s face lit up with  46 . He entered the front gate confidently and rang the bell. When the door opened, I saw him   47  his hat but couldn’t hear his words. The  48  was very short indeed, for no sooner had he spoken a few words than the door closed fiercely in his face. I felt  49  for him as he walked   50  out of the house, But just as quickly, his face lit up again and he moved quickly towards the gate. There he stopped, looked at the sign, and   51  his head seriously as if he had made a bad mistake.   52 deeply into his pockets, he produced a piece of chalk, rubbed out the  53  sign and made a new one in its place. He stared at it for a moment smiling to himself, then gathered his  54 , pushed back his hat and began walking towards the next house at an unhurried  55 , whistling as he went along.

1.                A．employed       B．made          C．taken D．put up

2.                A．parents         B．classmates       C．fellows   D．friends

3.                A．share          B．save           C．give D．put

4.                A．in a way        B．by mistake       C．by the way D．by chance

5.                A．with           B．in             C．by   D．on

6.                A．a fashion        B．a design        C．pieces    D．blocks

7.                A．success         B．care           C．failure    D．family

8.                A．gave           B．got            C．set  D．made

9.                A．drawing        B．kissing          C．correcting D．studying

10.               A．pleased        B．strange         C．funny D．exciting

11.               A．surprise        B．satisfaction      C．worry D．disappointment

12.               A．rise           B．put on         C．raise  D．throw

13.               A．conversation    B．introduction     C．quarrel    D．greeting

14.               A．happy          B．frightened      C．worried   D．sorry

15.               A．cheerful        B．sadly           C．bravely    D．eagerly

16.               A．waved         B．swung          C．shook D．nodded

17.               A．Digging         B．Stealing        C．Putting    D．Looking

18.               A．appearing       B．moving         C．shining    D．existing

19.               A．belongings      B．clothes         C．umbrella  D．stick

20.               A．step           B．position        C．pace  D．situation

No sooner __________ these words than the warden hit him on the head with the soup spoon.

A. did he say                                 B. has he said                                C. had he said                      D. does he say

One evening I was resting in a cafe. I  36  a pair of newly bought white leather shoes, which were rather expensive. Then a boy came to me.
He was in a(n) 37  shirt, looking pale and about eleven. No sooner had I begun to speak than he opened the  38  in his hand and took out the tools of shoe-polishing. He  39  down, took off my leather shoes, and began to shine them.
He was busy doing his work  40  heavy rain began to pour down. People rushed to the café for  41  from the rain. More and more people crowded  42  and gradually separated the boy from me.
Hours passed, and it turned  43  . I had no shoes on my feet and  44  where the boy had been. I thought he would not  45  my shoes, and I would have to go home on my bare feet.
When it was near midnight the  46  ended, and there were fewer and fewer people in the café. The café was to be  47  . I had to move to the door, head  48  . just as I went to the gate, I 49  found that a boy of about eleven, looking very familiar, was sleeping at the 50  with his head leaning against a box and his upper body being  51  . he held a package made of his shirt tightly in his arms..
I shook him slightly and woke him up. He  52  up and rubbed his eyes for a while before he recognized me. Then he opened the package  53  , gave me my leather shoes, and apologized to me shyly. I  54  him and wrapped him with his unfit shirt, which had wrapped my leather shoes. On my way home, the  55  of the boy stayed in my mind.