Days after celebrations honoring his bicentennial （二百周年）, Abraham Lincoln kept his rank as best US president, according to a survey of 65 historians that landed George W. Bush 36th out of 42 overall.  

Abraham Lincoln （1861-1865）, the first US president George Washington （1789-1797） and New Deal architect Franklin D. Roosevelt （1933-1945） were ranked the top three out of the 42 men who have been the country's former chiefs, according to a survey by cable channel C-SPAN.  

John F. Kennedy came in sixth, ahead of Ronald Reagan （10th） and Bill Clinton, who jumped to 15th from 21st during the last survey in 2000, when Lincoln also ranked first.  

Of all modern presidents, Bush, who left office last month after an eight-year term, behaved worst at 36th, nearly 10 spots behind Richard Nixon （27th）, who was forced to resign in disgrace in consequence of the Watergate Scandal （丑闻）.  

Bush scored lowest in international relations, where he ranked 41st, and in economic management, where he placed 40th. His best ranking was 24th, in having "pursued equal justice for all.” He came 25^th in crisis leadership, and for his vision and agenda setting.  

Reagan behaved well in public persuasion, where he was pushed to 3rd spot, from his 10th place overall.  

Bill Clinton also received honors for his public persuasion, landing a 10th spot in that category, up from 15th overall. But presidential historians were critical of his moral authority, placing him 37th, ahead of Richard Nixon （41st）, but behind Bush （35th）.  

Jimmy Carter fell from 22nd to 25th overall, and many other presidents moved positions. The fluidity （流动性） of opinions of past presidents reflects contemporary concerns, according to Edna Medford, a survey leader and participant.  

"Today's concerns shape our views of the past, he it in the area of foreign policy, managing the economy or human rights," she said in a statement.  

Presidents James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Franklin Pierce and William Henry Harrison ranked worst overall.  

72. In which of the following does George W. Bush rank highest?  

A. Pursuit of equal justice for all.                       B. International relations.  

C. His vision and agenda setting.                        D. Economic management.  

73. What has the greatest influence on people's rankings in the survey according to the passage?  

A. Their personal likes and dislikes.                      B. Their worry about today.  

C. Their understanding of the presidents.              D. Their historical knowledge.  

74. Which is the right order of the overall rankings of the American presidents?  

A. Franklin D. Roosevelt, Bill Clinton, Franklin Pierce, George W. Bush  

B. George Washington, George W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, Andrew Johnson  

C. John F. Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, James Buchanan  

D. Abraham Lincoln, Bill Clinton, Richard Nixon, George W. Bush  

75. What's the best title for the above passage?  

A. An introduction to American presidents                  B. Why do Americans rank their presidents?  

C. Historians rank Lincoln best US president               D. The rankings of some American presidents  

Last Friday a storm swept through two villages in the New Territories, destroying (摧毁) fourteen homes. Seven others were so badly damaged (破坏) that their owners had to leave them, and fifteen others had broken windows or broken roofs. One person was killed, several were badly hurt and taken to hospital, and a number of other people received smaller hurt. Altogether over two hundred people were homeless after the storm.

A farmer, Mr. Tan, said that the storm began early in the morning and lasted for over an hour.

“I was eating with my wife and children,” he said, “When we heard a loud noise. A few minutes later our house fell down on top of us. We tried our best to climb out but then I saw that one of my children was missing. I went back inside and found him,

safe but very frightened.”

Mrs. Woo Mei Fong said that her husband had just left for work when she felt that her house was moving. She ran outside at once with her children.

“There was no time to take anything,” she said, “A few minutes later, the roof came down.”

Soldiers helped to take people out of the flooded (水淹的) area and the welfare department (福利机构) brought them food, clothes and shelter.

How many homes altogether (总共) were damaged in the storm?

A. Fourteen        B. Twenty-one      

C. Twenty-nine      D. Thirty-six

Where was Mr. Tan when the storm first began?

A. He was in bed.                                  B. He was inside the house.

C. He was outside the house.                  D. He was on the roof.

Mrs. Woo and her family didn’t get hurt because _________.

A. her husband knew there would be a storm

B. they were all outside the house when the storm became worse

C. she felt the house was moving

D. the welfare department helped her

The underlined word “shelter” in this passage means ______.

A. something to eat           B. something to wear

C. somewhere to study   D. somewhere to stay

Which of he following may be the best title for this passage?

A. A Terrible Storm       B. A Lucky Woman

C. Good Soldiers                D. Clever People

He was interested in ________ he had seen at the exhibition．

1. A.
   which
2. B.
   that
3. C.
   all what
4. D.
   all that

Norman Cousins was a businessman from the United States who often traveled around the world on business. He enjoyed his work and traveling.

Then, after returning to the United States from a busy and tiring trip to the Union of Soviet So??cialist Republics( USSR)，Mr. Cousins got sick. Because he had pushed his body to the limit of its strength on the trip, a chemical change began to take place inside him. The material between his bones became weak.

In less than one week after his return, he could not stand. Every move that he made was pain??ful. He was not able to sleep at night.

The doctore told him that they did not know how to cure Mr. Cousins ’ problem and he might never get over the illness. Mr. Cousins, however, refused to give up hope.

Mr. Cousins thought that unhappy thoughts were causing bad chemical changes in his body. He did not want to take medicine to cure himself. Instead，he felt that happy thoughts or laughter might cure his illness.       .'

He began to experiment on himself while still in hospital by watching funny shows on television. Mr. Cousins quickly found that 10 minutes of real laughter during the day gave him two hours of pain -free sleep at night.

Deciding that the doctors could not help him, Mr. Cousins left the hospital and checked into a hotel room where he could continue his experiments with laughter. For eight days，Mr. Cousins rested in the hotel room watching funny shows on television，reading funny books，and sleeping whenever he felt tired. Within three weeks，he felt well enough to take a vacation to Puerto . Rico where he began running on the beach for exercise.

After a few months，Mr. Cousins returned to work. He has laughed himself back to health.

Why did Norman Cousins get sick?

A. He did not rest enough.    B. He traveled too much.

C. His body chemistry changed.    D. All of the above.

What part of his body was affected by the illness?

A .The bones in his feet.

B. His mind when he slept.

C. The material between his bones.

D. His stomach.

What did Mr. Cousins think caused his illness?

A. Bad food.   B. Too much laughter.

C. Unhappy thoughts.    D. The doctors.

Where did Mr. Cousins go in order to cure himself?

A. To a hotel room. B. To the beach.    C. To the hospital. D. To the USSR.

How long did it take before Mr. Cousins went back, to work?

A. A few weeks.     B. A few months.   C. A few hours.      D. A few years.

My teenage son Karl became withdrawn after his father died．As a single parent, I tried to do my best to talk to him．But the more I tried, the more he pulled away．When his report card arrived during his junior year, it said that he had been absent 95 times from classes and had six falling grades for the year．At this rate he would never graduate．I sent him to the school adviser, and I even begged him．Nothing worked.

One night I felt so powerless that I got down on my knees and pleaded for help．“Please God, I can’t do anything more for my son． I’m at the end of my rope．I’m giving the whole thing up to you.”

I was at work when I got a phone call．A man introduced himself as the headmaster．“I want to talk to you about Karl’s absences.” Before he could say another word, I choked up and all my disappointment and sadness over Karl came pouring out into the ears of this stranger．“I love my son but I just don’t know what to do．I’ve tried everything to get Karl to go back to school and nothing has worked．It’s out of my hands．“For a moment there was silence on the other end of the line．The headmaster seriously said, “Thank you for your time”, and hung up.

Karl’s next report card showed a marked improvement in his grades．Finally, he even made the honor roll .In his fourth year, I attended a parent-teacher meeting with Karl．I noticed that his teachers were astonished at the way he had turned himself around．On our way home, he said, “Mum, remember that call from the headmaster last year?” I nodded．“That was me．I thought I’d play a joke but when I heard what you said, it really hit me how much I was hurting you．That’s when I knew I had to make you proud.”

By saying “Karl became withdrawn”, the author means that the boy changed entirely and ______.

       A．preferred to stay alone at home             B．lost interest in any activity

       C．refused to talk to others                        D．began to dislike his mother

There was silence on the other end of the line because ______ .

       A．the speaker was too moved to say anything to the mother

       B．the speaker waited for the mother to finish speaking

       C．the speaker didn’t want the mother to recognize his voice

       D．the speaker was unable to interrupt the mother

The underlined sentence “…he even made the honor roll” means that “ ______ ”.

       A．he was even on the list to be praised at the parent-teacher meeting

       B．he was even on the list of students who made progress in grades

       C．he was even on the list of students who turned themselves around

       D．he was even on the list of the best students at school

What is the main idea of this passage ?

       A．Children in single-parent families often have mental problems.

       B．Mother’s love plays an important role in teenagers’ life.

       C．Being understood by parents is very important to teenagers.

       D．School education doesn’t work without full support from parents.