The clock struck eleven at night. The whole house was quiet. Everyone was in bed except me. Under the strong light, I looked sadly before a huge pile of troublesome stuff they call “books”.
I was going to have my examination the next day. "When can I go to bed?" I asked myself. I didn’t answer, in fact I dared not.
The clock struck 12."Oh, dear!" I cried, "ten more books to read before I can go to bed!” We pupils are the most wretched（可怜的） creatures in the world. Dad does not agree with me on this. He did not have to work so hard when he was a boy.
The clock struck one. I was quite hopeless now. I forgot all I had learnt. I was too tired to go on. I did the only thing I could. I prayed, “Oh, God, Please help me pass the exam tomorrow. I do promise to work hard afterwards, Amen.” My eyes were heavy, so heavy that I could hardly open them. A few minutes later, with my head on the desk, I fell asleep.
【小题1】When the author was going over his lessons, all the others in the house were_____ .

Most young architects ----particularly those in big cities ----can only dream about working in a building of their own. And marking that dream come true often means finding a building no one else seems to want, which is exactly what happened to David Yocum and his partner, Brain Bell. Their building is a former automobile electrical –parts firm in Atlanta. Form the outside, it looks too old, even something horrible, but open the door and you are in a wide, open courtyard, lined on three sides with rusting(生锈的) walls.

In 2000, Yocum and Bell found this building in the city’s West End. Built in 1947, the structure had been abandoned years earlier and the roof of the main building had fallen down. But the price was right, so Yocum bought it. He spent eight months of his off-hours on demolition(拆除), pulling rubbish out through the roof, because it was too dangerous to go inside the building, The demolition was hard work, but it gave him time to think about what he wanted to do, and “to treasure what was there – the walls, the rust, the light,” Yocum said.” Every season, more paint falls off the walls and more rust develops. It’s like an art installation(装置) in there-a slow-motion show.”

 Since the back building had been constructed without windows, an all-glass front was added to the building to give it a view of the courtyard, and skylights were installed in the roof. The back of the building is a working area and a living room for Yocum and his wife. A sort of buffer(缓冲) zone between the front and the back contains a bathroom, a kitchen and a mechanical room, and the walls that separate these zones have openings that allow views through to the front of the studio and the courtyard beyond.

Yocum and Bell, who have just completed an art gallery for the city, feel that the experience from decoration of their building, focusing on the inside rather than the outside, has influenced their work. It has also given these architects a chance to show how they can make more out of less.

According to the passage, it is       for most young architects in big cities to work in a building of their own.

A. easy            B. unnecessary          C. unrealistic      D. common

Yocum bought the old building because  __.

A. it was a bargain to him             B. it was still in good condition

C. it was located in the city center       D. it looked attractive from the outside

Working on the old building, Yocum and Bell＿.

A. pulled rubbish out through the roof             B. removed the skylights from the bathroom

C. presented a slow–motion show in an art gallery  

D. built a kitchen at the back part of the old building

It can be inferred from the passage that Yocum and Bell __.

A. benefited a lot from pulling down the roof      B. turned more old buildings into art galleries

C. got inspiration from decorating their old building

D. paid more attention to the outside of the gallery

The main idea of the passage is that __.

A. people can learn a lot from their failures

B. it is worthwhile to spend money on an old building

C. people should not judge things by their appearance

D. creative people can make the best of what they have

D
The clock struck eleven at night. The whole house was quiet. Everyone was in bed except me. Under the strong light， I looked sadly before me at a huge pile of that troublesome stuff（东西） they call “books”.
I was going to have my examination the next day.  “When can I go to bed？” I asked myself. I didn’t answer. In fact I dared not.
The clock struck twelve.“ Oh， dear！” I cried. “Ten more books to read before I can go to bed！” We pupils are the most wretched creatures in the world. Dad does not agree with me on this. He did not have to work so hard when he was a boy.
The clock struck one. I was quite desperate（绝望的） now. I forgot all I had learned. I was too tired to go on. I did the only thing I could. I prayed， “Oh， God， please help me pass the exam tomorrow. I do promise to work hard afterwards， Amen.” My eyes were so heavy that I could hardly open them. A few minutes later， with my head on the desk， I fell asleep.
53. When the author was going over his lessons，all the others in the house were ________ .
A. asleep   B. outside   C. working in bed     D. quietly laughing at him
54. Reviewing his lessons didn‘t help him because _______    .
A. it was too late at night   
B. he was very tired
C. his eyes lids were so heavy that he couldn’t keep them open
D. he hadn’t studied hard before the examination
55. What do you suppose happened to the author？
A. He went to a church to pray again    B. He passed the exam in luck
C. He failed in the exam              D. He was punished by his teacher
56. The best title for the passage would be __________ .
A. The Night Before the Examination    B. Working Far into the Night
C. A Slow Student                   D. Going Over My Lessons

Animals are being killed by hunters in America in a cruel way, says an animal protection organization. There are about 1,000 hunting farms across America whose owners offer hunters an opportunity to kill animals that are kept in fenced areas.

Russian boar, zebra, deer, antelope and many other species are raised just to be killed. Farm owners charge hunters thousands of dollars for animals that they kill, many of which are close to extinction (灭绝).

The Humane Society of the United States says this type of hunting should be stopped because it is not fair to the animals. Many owners raise their animals. Others buy from animal dealers or from zoos and circuses that no longer want them. This means that the animals are not afraid of humans and they are easy to be shot by hunters.

Owners of small ranches (牧场) keep their animals in fenced areas so that the hunters can get close to the animals before shooting at them. On large farms hunters are taken to areas where the animals are fed sometime of the day. This also makes it easy to kill the animals.

The hunters want to keep the heads and chests of the animals they kill to hang as trophies (战利品) on their walls. This means that the animals are usually  shot in parts of the body. That means they will suffer a slow and painful death.

The hunting is allowed across most of America but some parts of the country have stopped or restricted it. The Humane Society of the United States hopes that it won’t be too long before the rest parts of the country also give up this cruel sport.

1.What can be the best title for the passage?

2.One of the main reasons why these animals are easy to be shot is that _______.

3.What can we learn from the passage?

4.It can be inferred from the passage that _______.

The clock struck eleven at night. The whole house was quiet. Everyone was in bed except me. Under the strong light，I looked sadly before me at a huge pile of that troublesome stuff（东西） they call “books”.
I was going to have my examination the next day.  “When can I go to bed？” I asked myself. I didn’t answer，in fact, I dared not.
The clock struck twelve. “ Oh，dear！” I cried. “Ten more books to read before I can go to bed！” We pupils are the most wretched creatures in the world. Dad does not agree with me on this. He did not have to work so hard when he was a boy.
The clock struck one. I was quite desperate（绝望的）now. I forgot all I had learned. I was too tired to go on. I did the only thing I could. I prayed，“Oh，God，please help me pass the exam tomorrow. I do promise to work hard afterwards，Amen.” My eyes were so heavy that I could hardly open them. A few minutes later，with my head on the desk，I fell asleep.
【小题1】 When the author was going over his lessons，all the others in the house were  ________ .