Could you imagine your parents choosing your husband or wife for you? And can you imagine not setting eyes on him or her until your wedding day? This situation is common in India, the Middle East and many parts of Africa．Marriage customs around the world often differ from our own．We don’t realize that people in other places often get married in very different ways and with different motives．

       In many countries, marriage is a practical matter．A marriage provides a safe and stable home for the husband and wife．It also joins two families, which benefits the couple’s parents and makes them happy．Marriage also brings children, making sure the couple will be taken care of in old age．Because a marriage is important for the whole family, some cultures don’t let young people choose whom to marry．

       Just as there are many different reasons for marriage, there are also many different wedding rituals．Every culture has its own ways of bringing good luck to the happy couple．In a typical Western wedding, the bride seeks good luck by wearing “something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue”．Something old represents the past．Something new represents success in the future．Something borrowed reminds the bride she can get help from her friends and family．And something blue reminds her to be true to her husband．

       In Poland, one wedding tradition is not only lucky, but also very practical．The wedding guests pin money to the bride’s dress while she is dancing．The money is meant to bring luck and to help the young couple build their new life．In Bermuda, the young couple plants a tree in the yard of their new home．Once they move in, they take good care of the tree and make it grow．The planting of the tree is a good metaphor（比喻） for marriage．A truly good marriage is something that grows with care．

Which of the following statements does NOT support the idea that marriage is a practical matter?

       A．The couple may have a safe home through their marriage．

       B．The parents had better help their children choose whom to marry．

       C．A marriage benefits the couple’s parents and makes them happy．

       D．A marriage brings children who will take care of the couple when they are old．

The underlined word “rituals” （Para．3） means 　　　．

       A．forms　   B．customs   C．traditions　      D．ceremonies

Although cultures differ in different countries, one thing in common when a young couple gets married is that 　　　．

       A．people wish them to take care of each other

       B．people wish them to get practical benefits from the marriage

       C．people wish them to have good luck in their new life

       D．people wish them to make money at the wedding ceremony

Which of the following statements best summarizes（总结） the subject of this passage?

       A．People across the world get married in different ways and for different reasons．

       B．Every culture has its own ways of bringing good luck to the young couple．

       C．A truly good marriage is something that grows with care．

       D．In many countries, marriage is a practical matter．

第二节：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，然后从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

Mary had her own special kind of joy, and she knew exactly how to spread it around. She lifted children from 　31　 into laughter, love, and belonging. Each time she found a new 　32　 for a child, she gave the family one of her little homemade paper roses. It had become a 　33　 for her, and the families didn't ever forget it.

One evening, Mary was 　34　a meeting for adoptive parents. One of the 　35　 fathers stood up to introduce himself. But before he spoke, he reached into his coat pocket and held up a 　36　, red paper rose.

“Twenty years ago today, I felt alone and 　37　. I didn't know the talents inside me or what was possible for me.

Then Mary 　38　 two wonderful people into my life. They taught me what it was like to feel 　39　. They not only loved me 　40　. They opened a world of 　41　 that I didn't know existed. My new parents told me, ‘Reach for your dreams!’

I did, and today I'm 　42　 to be giving that chance to a child who 　43　 just like me. My mother gave me this little rose. By now, all of you 　44　 where she got it so long ago.

Mary sent me a new rose just yesterday. And my new rose 　45　a new spring, a beautiful new 　46　 for my own little girl. It 　47　 me to show her what unconditional love is, and to teach her to reach for her own beautiful dreams.

Thank you, Mary, for the special little things like roses that 　48　 our lives together. And thank you for all you've done for me and so many families over the years!”

One brief even can send our spirits soaring or 　49　 us in quiet to ponder a new beginning.　50　 it is also the very small things, like Mary's roses, that tie together the meaningful things.

31.A. poverty                    B. loneliness              C. misery                   D. suffering

32.A. home               B. place             C. school             D. life

33.A. glory                B. favor              C. habit              D. tradition

34.A. organizing      B. planning                C. hosting             D. attending

35. A. new                 B. grateful                 C. kind               D. active

36. A. broken              B. faded                         C. treasured           D. dried

37.A. tasteless             B. powerless                C. priceless             D. worthless

38.A. directed             B. introduced             C. brought            D. accepted

39.A. loved            B. protected          C. cared             D. cheered

40.A. silently              B. continuously             C. unintentionally      D. unconditionally

41.A. necessities         B. possibilities                     C. beauties            D. riches

42.A. eager            B. willing                  C. proud             D. lucky

43.A. started out        B. came up                 C. turned out          D. grew up

44.A. understand         B. guess                     C. tell               D. know  

45.A. replaces           B. symbolizes               C. equals            D. creates

46.A. chance           B. mystery                    C. challenge           D. beginning

47.A. reminds              B. helps                        C. accompanies        D. drives

48.A. fix              B. close                C. tie                  D. gather

49.A. cause              B. push                        C. put                           D. leave

50.A. Yet               B. Besides                    C. Otherwise          D. Therefore

In 1982, I was a young marketing person in a company in Mumbai. I had a very senior colleague named Paul, who taught me how to  36   marketing effectively and how to deal with life  37  .
It was one of those  38   days…management, sales calls, planning my travel schedule, booking hotels, arranging appointments and the   39   was endless. By the end of the day, I was not only exhausted but was getting  40  . It was at this time that Paul invited me to his house to have a rest.
We made our way to Paul’s house. Although  41   after a day’s hard work, I was excited to chat with Paul and  42  his rich experience in marketing. As we entered his house  43  the main door, Paul started singing his favourite song, I have a dream. I was in no  44  to listen to his song. I only wanted to hear about how he handled  45   sales calls.
As I leaned over Paul’s shoulder to tell him that, two young girls walked up to Paul and hugged him. They couldn’t walk steadily, and neither could they talk  　46 　 , but their faces were full of  47   and they also sang a song: No mummy’s kisses only daddy’s smiles; nobody wants us, and daddy hugs us tonight.
I was watching what was going on, totally  48   in the beautiful singing, when Paul tapped me on the shoulder and asked me to sit down.  49  to know, I asked Paul who these girls were. To my  50  , Paul told me they were his daughters and they were born as “  51　 children” (mentally disabled). His wife died and he was both Mother and Father to them.
I was moved to tears. In the office, no one knew what Paul was   52  in his personal life. He never looked for   53  from his friends and colleagues. On the contrary, he always helped us at the office. And being head of the Department, he always  54  us to move forward in life.
Paul’s life has been a great  55  to me. If a man can smile through these troubles, nothing can prevent him from achieving success in work or life.

Zigfried, a little mouse, blew his breath on the frosty window of the farmhouse and rubbed it to see the outside. Still nobody came. Maybe today, he thought   31 .It was only a few days before Christmas and he was watching for a miracle (奇迹).

　　This farmhouse had been   32   too long. It needed a family. Zigfried’s　　33   made a noise. He realized that he hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday. He jumped from the windowsill (窗沿), grabbed a   34   from his home, and went next door to Farmer Mike’s.

　　Farmer Mike’s house had been a great place for the little mouse   35   the farmer married a wife who had a cat. Zigfried   36   when he thought of it. He looked around cautiously as he   37   into the room where grain was stored and was quite   38   as he filled his bag with wheat. He was turning to leave when suddenly he   39   a hot breath about his ear. His heart beat   40  , and without thinking he started to run and luckily   41   the cat’s paws (爪子).

　　The next afternoon Zigfried heard some good news: a   42   family would be moving into the farmhouse soon. Zigfried’s granny would arrive on Christmas Eve to　　43   with him. He hoped that the family would come before his granny came. Before long, a car came   44   the road leading to the house, with butter sandwiches, cheese and chocolate.

　　Zigfried’s Christmas miracle did arrive!

　　The house came   45   the next few days. Zigfried   46   every single hour of them.   47, the day before Christmas when he was drinking hot chocolate with a   48   smile at the door of his home, he heard the   49   of the children of the family about what they might get for Christmas. What? A cat ? The   50   froze on his face; his mouth fell wide open. After a long while, he at last found his voice: “Hey! Whose Christmas miracle is this?”

　　31. A. carefully    B. excitedly                 C. hopefully                D. proudly

　　32. A. shabby      B. noisy               C. messy             D. empty

　　33. A. mouth       B. nose               C. stomach                 D. throat

　　34. A. bag           B. stick                C. bowl                D. coat

　　35. A. although          B. until                 C. whereas                 D. unless

　　36. A. leapt                B. sniffed             C. trembled                D. withdrew

　　37. A. broke               B. marched          C. paced                     D. stole

　　38. A. curious      B. nervous          C. pitiful               D. sensible

　　39. A. took                 B. released                C. felt                  D. drew

　　40. A. strongly     B. irregularly               C. slowly              D. wildly

　　41. A. escaped    B. seized                     C. rubbed            D. scratched

　　42. A. close                B. happy             C. new                 D. young

　　43. A. celebrate   B. communicate   C. compete          D. compromise

　　44. A. across              B. from                       C. off                   D. up

　　45. A. alive           B. loose               C. open                D. still

　　46. A. counted    B. enjoyed           C. missed            D. wasted

　　47. A. However    B. Instead            C. Moreover               D. Therefore

　　48. A. bitter          B. forced                     C. polite                      D. satisfied

　　49. A. introduction B. discussion            C. comment         D. debate

　　50. A. blood               B. smile               C. tear                 D. sweat

第三部分　阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中, 选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
Aren’t they all our children?
There are few things in this life more difficult to experience than the loss of one’s child. Jim Wallis, in WHO SPEAKS FOR GOD, tells a story that happened during the war in Sarajevo. A reporter who was covering the violence in the middle of the city saw a little girl shot by a gunman.
The reporter rushed to the aid of a man who was now holding the child. He helped them both into his car and sped off to a hospital.  
“Hurry, my friend,” the man urged, “my child is still alive.” A moment or two later he pleaded, “Hurry, my friend, my child is still breathing.” A little later he said, “Hurry, my friend, my child is still warm.”
When they got to the hospital, the young girl was gone. “This is a terrible task for me,” the distraught man said to the reporter. “I must go and tell her father that his child is dead.”
He looked at the man in surprise and said, “I thought she was your child.”
The man replied, “No, but aren't they all our children?”
I think that is one of the great questions of our age that deserves an answer.
Aren’t they all our children? Those on our side of the border as well as those on the other side? Those of our nation no more or less than those of another?
Aren’t they all our children? The well-educated and the under-educated? The well-fed and the under-fed? Those who are secure and those who are at risk?
Aren’t they all our children? if we say yes, can we ever again pit them against each other? “If we have no peace,” said Mother Teresa, “it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”
There may be no greater question for our generation. And how we answer that question will determine the shape of our world for years to come.
51. What was the reporter doing when the shooting took place?
A. Telling a story.              B. Having a meeting. 
C. Reporting an event.          D. Helping the wounded.
52. From the text we know the girl died        .
A. in the hospital         B. with nobody in front 
C. soon after the shooting   D. far away from her home
53. How many people experienced the sad story?
A. Three.              B. Four.       C. Five.         D. Six.
54. Which can best express the point of a yes to the question “Aren’t they all our children?”
A. Health.       B. Love.  C. Wealth.     D. Peace.