My son and I were trying to sell the house we had repaired but in the barn(谷仓)there were bats(蝙蝠)and they would not leave. The barn was their home. They told us so in their own way. They hung there in the barn and seemed determined to stay for the season. Don’t worry about it, Dad, " Patrick said. They keep down the mosquitoes(蚊子).”
Unfortunately they also kept the buyers away. when we had asked a person to sell　the house for us he had refused to show it because of the bats. Bats are popular, “Patrick comforted me. They’re ecological(生态学的).”Isn’t there a machine you can buy that produces high frequency sounds to keep bats away?” “I don’t know,” said Patrick. But I like bats, and whoever buys this house will probably like them too. “Probably?” I hated that word. “How many bats are　there ,anyway?” “I counted about 90 last night,” said Patrick. “They were dropping out from under the edge of the roof.” “You mean there are more — outside?” “They’re everywhere, Dad. But look at it this way. When the cold weather comes, they’ll be off to Mexico. Maybe in the spring we can keep them out. Don’t worry about it,” he said for the hundredth time. “It’s not a problem.”
The bat expert I called was even more active than Patrick. I think you’ve got a large number there,” he said in wonder, I’ve been trying to attract bats to our house for 25 years. A single bat eats up his weight in mosquitoes and black flies three times every night. You’re a very lucky man.” I offered to share my luck with him. He could take them away. Bats have a remarkable homing instinct(本能),”he said, “They’d fly straight back even if I transported them 100 miles. Once they have settled, you can’t stop them from coming back.” I was silent.
Finally we managed to rent “(出租)the house to a young family, who were also interested in buying it. What about the bats?” I said to Patrick.
“Oh, they love the bats,” he said. “No mosquitoes. No black flies. It’s one of the things that attracted them.”
“Do you think they will really buy the blouse?”
“Probably.”
“Probably? Well, if they do ,I suppose I’ll have to admit that I was wrong.”
“You mean you’re going to eat your words?”
“Yes, I am.”
36.  What was the problem the author had with his house?
A.?Bats were living in the barn and wouldn't go away.
B.?The author and his son couldn't sleep well because of the bats.
C.?The author and his son might be able to stay for the season.
D.?The house was still badly in need of repair.
37.?What did Patrick suggest the author should do to stop the bats living in the barn?
A.?He should buy a high frequency machine.
B.?He should move them one hundred miles away.
C.?He should reduce the number of mosquitoes.
D.?He should close the barn in the spring.
38.?Why did the author fall silent when he talked with the bat specialist?
A.?He felt sure about the situation.
B.?He found out that it would be impossible to remove the bats.
C.?He learned that he would be able to share his luck with the expert.
D.?He liked the advice given by the expert.
39?What happened regarding the house in the end?
A.?Some people agreed to rent the house.
B.?The author failed to find anybody who wanted to live in the house.
C.?The bat expert made the decision to buy the house.
D.?The bats left the house for Mexico in the spring.
40.?Why did the author think he might have to “eat his words”?
A.?He felt sorry for the bats.
B.?He might be mistaken about being unable to sell the house.
C.?He realized he might be wrong about the bats’ actions.
D.?He was happy about selling the house.

For years and years people have been saying that the railways are dead. “ We can do without railways.” People say…as if motorcars and planes have made the railways unnecessary. We all keep hearing that trains are slow, that they lose money, and that they’re dying .But this is far from the truth: in these days of expensive oil, the railways have become highly competitive with motorcars and planes. If you want to carry people or goods from place to place, they are cheaper than planes. And they have much in common with planes. A plane goes in a straight line and so does a railway. What is more, it takes you from the heart of a city into the heart of another. It doesn’t leave you up as a plane does, miles and miles from the city center. It doesn’t hold you up as a car does, in endless traffic jams, and a single train carry goods which a plane or a motorcar could never do.

Far from being dead, the railways are very much alive. Modern railway lines give you a smooth, untroubled journey. Where else can you eat well, sleep in comfort, feel safe and enjoy the scene while you are traveling at speed at the same time? And we are only at the beginning, for we have just entered the age of super-fast trains, trains traveling at 150 miles an hour and more. Soon we will be wondering why we spent so much on motorcars we can’t use because we have not enough money to buy the oil and planes we can’t fly for the same reason..

1.Some people think the railways are unnecessary for many reasons except that       .

A．planes and motorcars have taken the place of trains

B．oil is expensive today

C．trains are slow

D．railways lose money

2.According to the writer, which of the following is Not true?

A．It is cheaper to travel by train than by plane.

B．The railway station is usually at the center of the city.

C．When you get off the plane you will find yourself right in the city center.

D．No motorcar or plane can carry as many goods as a train does.

3.The writer thinks that the railways, far from being dead, are very much alive because      .

A．we can have a smooth and untroubled journey

B．we’ll not have enough money to fly in planes

C．we can now travel in super-fast train

D．all of the above

4.The best title for this passage may be”        ”

A．Not the End but the Beginning

B．Which is the Best: Train, Motorcar or Plane

C．Trains are More Competitive than Motorcars or Planes

D．Oh, Super-fast Trains

Visitors to Britain may find the best place to enjoy local culture is in a traditional pub(酒吧). A team of researchers have revealed(揭示) some of ____【小题1】____ unknown culture of British pubs --- starting with the difficulty of getting a drink. This may sound inconvenient, but there is a ____【小题2】____ (hide) meaning.
Pub culture ____【小题3】____(form) to improve sociability(社会交往) in a society that is known ___【小题4】___ its coldness. Standing at the bar for service allows you to chat with others ___【小题5】____ are waiting to be served. The bar counter is ____【小题6】____ (possible) the only place in Britain ____【小题7】____ a friendly talk with strangers is considered to be entirely proper and really quite normal behavior. However, ____【小题8】____ you do not follow the local rules, the experience may fall flat(一无所获). For example, if you are in a big group, it is best for one or two people to go to buy the drinks. Nothing makes the regular customers and bar staff _____【小题9】____(anger) more than a group of strangers blocking all passages(过道) to the bar while ____【小题10】____ chat and hesitate(犹豫) about what to order.

At a certain time in our lives we consider every place as the possible sites(地点) for a house. I have thus searched the country within a dozen miles of where I live. In imagination I have bought all the farms, one after another, and I knew their prices.
The nearest thing that I came to actual ownership was when I bought the Hollowell place. But before the owner completed the sale with me, his wife changed her mind and wished to keep it, and he offered me additional dollars to return the farm to him. However, I let him keep the additional dollars and sold him the farm for just what I gave for it.
The real attractiong of the Hollowell farm to me were its position, being about two miles from the village, half a mile from the nearest neighbor, bounded(相邻) on one side by the river, and separated from the highway by a wide field. The poor condition fo the house and fences showed that it hadn’t been used for some time. I remembered from my earliest trip up the river that the house used to be hidden behind a forest area, and I was in a hurry to buy it before the owner finished getting out some rocks, cutting down the apples trees, and clearing away some young trees which had grown up in the fields. I wanted to buy it before he made any more of his improvements. But it turned out as I have said.
I was not really troubled by the loss. I had always had a garden, but I don’t thing I was ready for a large farm. I believe that as long as possible it is better to live free and uncommitted (无牵挂的). It makes but little difference whether you own a farm or not.
【小题1】What do we know about the author?

完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30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。
A large cat arrived at a farm where many mice lived. None of them dared go outside for fear of being  36  by the cat.
The mice decided to hold a  37  to find a way of stopping themselves from being in  38 . One day, when the cat was out, mice of all ages  39  into the meeting room.
“Let’s build a big trap,” one mouse  40 . When this idea was  41 , another said, “What about poisoning(毒死) her?” But  42  knew where to buy the poison. One young mouse, whose mother had become the cat’s food,  43  said, “Let’s cut her teeth, so she can do no more harm.” But the meeting did not accept his  44 .
At last, one mouse,  45  than the rest, jumped onto a table. Waving a bell, he called for  46  , “Be quiet! We’ll tie this bell to the cat’s tail, so we’ll always know  47 she is! We’ll have  48  to escape, and the slower and weaker mice will hear her coming and be able to  49 !” Hearing the words, everyone got  50  and they congratulated him on his good idea.
“We’ll tie it so tightly that it will never  51  !”
“She’ll never be able to walk  52  again! Why, the other day, she suddenly appeared right in front of me! Just imagine…”
However, the wise mouse said, “We must  53  who is going to tie it on her tail.” There was not a sound in the room. Nobody was  54  enough to put the plan into action. The meeting ended without any decision being made.
It’s often very  55  to have bright ideas, but putting them into practice is a more difficult matter.