After two classes, I started to recognize several of the faces in each class. There was always someone braver than the others who would introduce themselves and ask me questions about how I was liking Forks. I tried to be diplomatic, so mostly I just lied a lot to appear to be skilled at dealing with people. At least I never needed the map.

One girl sat next to me in both Trig and Spanish, and she walked with me to the cafeteria for lunch. She was tiny, several inches shorter than my five feet four inches, but her wildly curly dark hair made up a lot of the difference between our heights. I couldn't remember her name, so I smiled and nodded as she gossiped about teachers and classes. I didn't try to keep up.

We sat at the end of a full table with several of her friends, who she introduced to me. I forgot all their names as soon as she spoke them. They seemed impressed by her bravery in speaking to me. The boy from English, Eric, waved at me from across the room.

It was there, sitting in the lunchroom, trying to make conversation with seven curious strangers, that I first saw them.

They were sitting in the corner of the cafeteria, as far away from where I sat as possible in the long room. There were five of them. They weren't talking, and they weren't eating, though they each had a tray of untouched food in front of them. They weren't staring at me, unlike most of the other students, so it was safe to stare at them without fear of meeting an over interested pair of eyes. But it was none of these things that caught and held my attention.

I stared because their faces, so different, so similar, were all extremely, inhumanly beautiful. They were faces you never expected to see except perhaps on the airbrushed pages of a fashion magazine, or painted by an old master as the face of an angel. It was hard to decide who was the most beautiful -- maybe the perfect blond girl, or the bronze-haired boy.

1.What does the underlined word “diplomatic” mean?

2.From the passage, we can infer that _______________.

3. According to the last two paragraphs, why did “they” catch “my” attention?

4.According to the passage, which statement is NOT true?

第二节：完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）

请认真阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Cyber Step-Mother

    I’ve often felt “step-parent” is a label  (标签 )we attach to whoever marries into families where children already exist. At   36   that’s how I feel about   37    a step-mother to my husband’s four children.

    Over the years, we all learned to    38   our new family arrangement. We enjoyed vacations together, ate    39   meals, and so on.   40  , I continued to feel somewhat like a(n)  41   . There was a boundary line that could not be   42  .

    When the children moved to a town five hours   43   , my husband was depressed. In order to    44   regular communication with the kids, we send e-mails. However, if a computer message came   45   to “Dad”, I’d feel forgotten and   46    . If my name appeared along with his, it would make me feel like I was part of their family unit   47    .

    Late one evening, as I was checking my e-mail, an “instant message” appeared on the   48  . It was Margo, who was also sitting in front of her computer five hours away. We sent several messages back and forth,    49    the latest news. When we would “chat” like that, she wouldn’t   50   know if it was me or her dad. That night, she didn’t ask and I didn’t identify myself either. At about 11, I commented that I should go to sleep. Her return message   51   , “Okay, talk to you later! Love you!”

    As I read this message, a wave of    52   ran through me and I realized that she   53   she was talking with her father. Feeling   54   for not identifying myself, yet not wanting to embarrass her, I simply responded, “Love you too! Good night!”

    I felt again the sharp (剧烈的) ache of emptiness (空虚) and otherness. Then, as I was   55  to leave, Margo’s final message appeared, reading “Tell Dad good night for me too.” With tears filled eyes, I turned the machine off.

36.   A. most    B. least    C. present        D. last

37.   A. to be    B. being   C. is D. was

38.   A. adjust  B. look forward to    C. expect D. adapt to

39.   A. family  B. school  C. meat    D. fish

40.   A. But       B. Though         C. However      D. So

41.   A. outsider       B. member       C. stranger       D. foreigner

42.   A. across B. cross    C. crossing       D. crossed

43.   A. far        B. away    C. far from        D. away from

44.   A. maintain      B. entertain     C. contain         D. obtain

45.   A. addressing  B. signing          C. signed D. addressed

46.   A. neglected    B. devoted        C. ignore  D. concerned

47.   A. in short         B. after all        C. above all      D. as a result

48.   A. programme B. window        C. screen D. keyboard

49.   A. sending        B. exchanging  C. discussing    D. commenting

50.   A. unexpectedly       B. carefully       C. fortunately  D. necessarily

51.   A. read     B. reads   C. reading         D. wrote

52.   A. sickness       B. anger   C. nervousness         D. sadness

53.   A. must think   B. might have thought     C. must have thought      D. might think

54.   A. responsible B. stupid  C. guilty   D. disappointed

55.   A. about   B. due       C. prepare        D. willing

When I was an official of a school in Palo Alto, California, Polly Tyner, the president of our board, wrote a letter that was printed in the Palo Alto Times. Polly’s son, Jim, had great difficulty in school. He was classified as the educationally handicapped and required a great deal of patience on the part of his parents and teachers. But Jim was a happy kid with a great smile that lit up the room. His parents knew his difficulties, but they always tried to help him see his strengths so that he could walk with pride. Shortly after Jim finished high school, he was killed in a motorcycle accident. After his death, his mother submitted this letter to the newspaper.

“Today we buried our 20-year-old son. He was killed in a motorcycle accident on Friday night. How I wish I had known that the last time I had talked to him would be the last time. If I had only known that, I would have said to him, ‘Jim, I love you and I’m always so proud of you.’ I would have taken the time to count the many blessings he had brought to the lives of the people who loved him. I would have taken the time to appreciate his beautiful smile, his laughter, and his genuine love to other people.

“When I put all the good things on the scale and try to balance them with all the irritating (恼人的) things such as the radio that was always too loud, the haircut that wasn’t to our liking, the dirty socks under the bed, etc., I find that the irritations really don’t amount to much.

“I won’t get another chance to tell my son all that I would have wanted him to hear, but, other parents, do have a chance. Tell your young people what you would want them to hear as if it may be your last conversation. The last time I talked to Jim was the morning of the day when he died. He called me to say, ‘Hi, Mom! I just called to say I love you. You have to go to work now. Bye.’ That day, he gave me something to treasure forever. ”

If there is any purpose at all for Jim’s death, maybe it is to make others appreciate life more and to tell people, especially family members, that they should take the time to let each other know just how much they care. You may never have another chance. Do it today!

1.Who was Jim?

2. What’s the meaning of the underlined phrase “the educationally handicapped”?

3.According to the writer, which of the following about Jim is TRUE？

4.The purpose of Polly’s letter is to                .

短文改错（共10小题；每小题1.5分，共15分）

Thank you very much for your letter. I pleased to hear            1.__________

about your holiday and the people you meet in Rome. It           2.___________

sounded great fun and how I wish I could have been with         3.__________

you. Thank you also for the stamps you sent them to me             4.__________

for my collection. Most of them were those I had                   5.___________

been expecting for long. You said by your letter that               6.__________

you wish to have some photos of me. Sorry to tell you,                  7._____________

I have little photos good enough to send to others.                      8._____________

Yet I will send you a photo of your family. Please                      9.__________

write soon and tell me what you are getting on with                10.____________

your college life.

Best wishes.

       Yours,

       Jason

 A friend and I were standing in line at the grocery store the other day, and I was telling her how lazy my children were．I had come in from work that morning, and like most times, my house was wrecked.

“I believe children nowadays are just out for what they can get．They can never help keep our house clean.” I said, feeling unhappy.

“Do you know how happy you are?” a woman behind us asked．“I would love to go home and find my house a mess．I wouldn’t mind my floor being dirty．Nor would I mind the dirty clothes being piled high．I wouldn’t even mind anyone talking about my dirty home．I would love it．I would love to kick my way through the house just to get to my kids and be able to hug them, kiss them and tell them how much I love them．You see, my two children were killed in an accident． My house stays clean; my clothes stay put up; the dishes are done.”

“There are no fingerprints on my walls．There are no sounds of arguing, either．So you see, you are very lucky．I would give anything to be going through what you are now! How I’d love to be able to hold my kids, wipe away their tears and share their dreams! I wouldn’t care how my house looked．I would be happy just to have them.”

Now if you come into my house and see a big mess, you can think bad thoughts if you want, but I feel greatly blessed.(268 words)

1.The writer was complaining about her children to her friend because they ____.

2.My house was wrecked in the first paragraph means my house _____.

3.What is the main idea of the passage?