Beautiful pictures of mountains and forests, clear skies, flying birds, wild animals, silly faces — you can find them all in one place. 46 ? On a postcard! Have people always sent postcards? No! Before postcards, people 47 sealed (密封的) letters.

The 48 for the first decorated (装饰的) postcard came to John P. Charlton in 1861. He thought a simple card 49 a border would be a great way to send a note. Then in the late 1800s, postcards which had pictures on them 50 . By law, people had to write their note on the front—on the picture! The back was 51 for the address. Several years later, England allowed a divided-back (背面隔开的) postcard. Then people could write their 52 on the back left side. And they put the address 53 . During the early 1900s, the golden age of postcards, people around the world were more and more 54 picture postcards. In 1908, Americans alone mailed over 677 million postcards.

Today, postcards are the 55 most popular collection in the world after stamps and coins. You can always see or get a lot of newly-designed postcards, especially on New Year's Day.

46. A. How　　 B. When　　　 C. Why　　　 D. Where

47. A. liked　　　 B. hated　　　 C. found　　　 D. lost

48. A. advice　　 B. picture　　　 C. idea　　　 D. card

49. A. above　　 B. with　　　　 C. under　　 D. for

50. A. happened　 B. changed　　　 C. ended 　　D. appeared

51. A. even　　　 B. only　　　　 C. still　　　 D. ever

52. A. note　　　 B. word　　　　 C. address　　 D. letter

53. A. on the front B. on the back　 C. on the left　 D. on the right

54. A. surprised at B. interested in　 C. expected by D. worried about

55. A. first　　　 B. second　　　 C. third　　　 D. fourth

完形填空（15分）

阅读下面短文, 掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

I stood in the doorway, watching my elder brother carefully putting clothes into his bag. I coughed uneasily. Finally 　　36　　 that I was there, Rocky turned towards me with a sad smile.

“I’m 　　37　　 tomorrow,” he said.

“I know.” My __38____ was almost a whisper. I was 　　39　　 at myself for being so weak, but I wasn’t about to cry.

“My 　　40　　 is early, so there is still 　　41　　 time to come to the airport,” he said. Seeing the 　　42　　 look on my face, he quickly added, “I promise I won’t leave without saying goodbye.”

I tried to say 　　43　　 , but didn’t. It’s always 　　44　　 to keep quiet if you’re about to cry. “You promised you wouldn’t cry,” he said to me, thinking that I was close to 　　45　　.

I remember the day he taught me how to ride a bike. 　　46　　 I thought he was always right behind me, holding the seat to keep me from 　　47　　. I was happy with this, but he knew he couldn’t hold me up all my life. He told me that one day he would have to let go.

His coughing stopped my thinking. What was left to say? How could I say 　　48　　 to the person who taught me everything?

The next morning I 　　49　　 , looked at my alarm clock, and realized he had left　50　 ago. We never even said goodbye.

Goodbye, Rocky! Although he may have been many miles away, I knew he heard me, even if it was only an answer in his heart.

1.A. forgetting         B. realizing            C. watching         D. learning

2.A. arriving　         B. living　         C. coming　         D. leaving

3. A. voice             B. sound　          C. noise                D. word

4.A. glad　             B. moved　          C. angry　          D. pleased

5. A. ship　                B. flight　         C. train　              D. bus

6.A. enough　           B. little　         C. no　             D. busy

7. A. surprised　           B. excited　            C. sad              D. happy

8. A. anything　            B. everything　     C. something　      D. nothing

9.A. stranger　         B. better　         C. worse　          D. easier

10.A. tears             B. smiles　         C. words　          D. sadness

11. A. At last　            B. Since　          C. At first　           D. So far

12. A. riding　         B. running          C. walking          D. falling

13.A. goodbye　         B. hello　          C. yes              D. sorry

14. A. gave up　            B. stood up         C. looked up　      D. woke up

15.A. minutes　         B. hours　          C. days　           D. weeks