I don’t really care how many claws the animal in a comic book (漫画书) has. I’m not overly concerned whether the bird is colored green or grey. In fact I don’t think comic book “collector” really applies to me at all. I’m probably more of a comic book “appreciator”. My interest has always been in what can be accomplished with the medium of “visual story - telling”. In the respect, comic books are the best thing going. And there are some great comics out there.
I’m not sure exactly where this interest of mine came from. I do know that as a child, comic books allowed me to improve my reading – skills. The Mighty Thor made me develop an interest in Norse legends; Challengers of the Unknown got me interested in science fiction. The combination of words and pictures was a perfect springboard (起点) for my childhood imagination.
So just how does one learn to appreciate comic book art? There is a classic example. Writer Scott Macloud was philosophical (达观的) about what makes a comic book stand out in his best – selling book Understanding Comics. The book, first published in 1994, has been translated into 13 languages and is practically useful for students studying graphic illustration (图示说明).
On the Internet there are some cool comic book sites to be found. More than a few are mainly about superheroes and the like. But there are some choice sites that I would describe as “literary (文学的),” in that you can find some great resources that discuss the comic book as an art form. Among them there is a great article and interview at www.rcharvey.com discussing the influence of several artists and writers in the field.
Check it out. Spend two dollars on a comic book and read it with your children. You may find yourself enjoying what you see and read. You may even find yourself wanting more.
And wanting to read more is a good thing!
53．According to Para. 1 the author is concerned about          .
A．the color of the characters in a comic book
B．how many comic books he has collected
C．what he can learn from a visual story
D．whether a story is true to life
54．What do we know about Scott Macloud’s best – selling book?
A．There are many classic examples if comic books in it.
B．It is helpful 1 for students studying science fiction.
C．It suggests what good comic books are like.
D．It is mainly intended for parents.
55．In the passage, the author encourages people to         .
A．follow the example of superheroes from comic books
B．join in the discussion at www.rcharvey.com
C．consider comic books to be literary.
D．buy and read more comic books
56．What is the best title for the passage?
A．Children’s favorite books
B．Well – known comic books
C．Comic books – cooler than you think
D．How to become a good comic book writer

第三节完形填空（共20小题，每小题1分，满分20分）
阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项（Ａ、Ｂ、Ｃ、Ｄ）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
There is an old man in the village that everybody___21___asks him for help whenever they come____22___problems．He is named the No 1___23___man in the world．
In the village，there is one young man who is also very___24___．So he is very unhappy___25_______ the old man could be more___26___than him．One day he___27___the old man with a bird in his hand．He asked the old man a___28___question: “ Is the bird in my hand dead or alive?”
The old man___29___at the bird and answered: “Whether the bird is dead or not___30___on you．If I say it is alive，you will___31___the bird to death．If I say it is dead, you will set it___32___．So when things are in your hands, you___33___your own fate．”
On most occasions, the__34___of whether success or failure___35___our hands．It is your________36___whether you want to succeed or not．__37___you cannot control certain events that___38___, you can choose how___39___want to react．Exercise your___40___of positive thinking．And then you will find you are getting more and more clever, and are able to solve problems much more easily．
21．A．never                  B．always                C．seldom                D．often
22．A．over                   B．with                    C．across                 D．to
23．A．wise                   B．stupid                 C．brave                  D．kind
24．A．intelligent           B．helpful                C．active                  D．promising
25．A．because               B．that                     C．though                D．when
26．A．foolish                B．popular               C．lovely                 D．promising
27．A．showed               B．provided             C．attracted              D．approached
28．A．simple                B．puzzling              C．silly                    D．familiar
29．A．turned                 B．called                  C．looked                D．glared
30．A．falls                    B．depends               C．trusts                  D．stands
31．A．kill                     B．shoot                  C．squeeze               D．frighten
32．A．up                      B．down                  C．about                  D．free
33．A．decide                 B．tell                     C．try                      D．win  
34．A．question              B．outcome              C．factor                  D．truth
35．A．puts up               B．goes away           C．lies in                 D．takes in
36．A．view                   B．opinion               C．idea                    D．choice
37．A．Since                  B．As                      C．Although             D．Whether
38．A．occur                  B．go                      C．present                D．have
39．A．others                 B．we                      C．you                     D．they
40．A．energy                B．power                 C．force                   D．strength

Every year in late spring at Wild Friends, the wildlife health center, workers receive baby animals, including songbirds and rabbits. This is the busiest time when workers care for and raise all the little ones before sending them back into the wild.

  There are many reasons for these little animals' coming to the center. First of all, street cats or dogs catch, injure or take away little birds from their nests. Sometimes people catch baby animals and keep them at home, giving them food that they are not used to. It would make them sick. Most people don't realize that it's against law to get live animals out of their nests.

  As for songbirds, people often find them on the ground in their yards, thinking they have no other choice but to leave them on the ground to die. This is because many people wrongly believe that once a bird is touched by a person, its mother will not accept this child bird. But that's not true.

  If a little bird falls out of the nest, you should check whether it is injured. If not, you should put the bird back in the nest. If the bird is injured, call your local wildlife center quickly.

  As for the progress of protecting wild animals, people at Wild Friends devote all their energy to this work. Over the last weeks, they have been able to send many of the birds and rabbits that came here earlier this spring back to nature.

1.Which is the busiest season for workers at Wild Friends?

A. Spring    B. Summer.        C. Autumn.       D. Winter.

2.Which of the following will probably injure young birds?

A. Giving them food they don't like.      B. Letting them play with children.

C. Leaving them on the ground.          D. Bringing them to the center.

3.If a young healthy bird is lying on the ground, you should ________.

A. wait for its mother                 B. help it go back home

C. touch it with your hands             D. call workers at Wild Friends

A great French writer has said that we should help everyone as much as we can because we often need help ourselves. The small even can help the great. About this, he told the following story.

An ant was drinking at a small river and fell in. she tried her best to reach the side, but she couldn’t move at all. The poor ant got too tired but was still doing her best when a big bird saw her. With a pity, the bird threw a piece of wood. With it the ant reached the bank again. While she was resting and drying herself in grass she heard a man coming up. He was walking without shoes on his feet and carrying a gun in his hand. As soon as he saw the bird, he wished to kill her, and he would certainly do so, but the ant bit(咬) him in one of his feet and at that moment the bird flew away at once. It was an animal much weaker and smaller than the bird herself that had saved her life.

1. According to the French writer, we often need help from others, so we should _____ .

A．help others as much as we can

B．help the people who may be useful to us

C．get as much help as we can

D．first need to help ourselves

2.Why could the bird fly away at once?

A．Because the bird could fly very fast.

B．Because the man hurt his feet himself.

C．Because the man didn’t want to kill her.

D．Because the ant bit the man in one of his feet.

3.The writer tells this story to show ____  _. 

A．how brave the bird is

B．even the small can help the great

C．how an ant saved a bird

D．how clever the ant is

4.The title of this story can be “___  __”. 

A．The Ant           B．Pity              C．Help             D．The Bird

A great French writer said that we should help everyone as much as possible because we often need help ourselves. The small even can help the great. To this effect, he tells a simple story. 

An ant was drinking at a small river and fell in. She tried hard to reach the side, but made no progress at all. The poor ant, almost tired out, was still bravely doing her best when a bird saw her. Moved with pity, the bird threw her a blade (??) of grass, which supported her like a boat, and thus she reached the bank again. While she was resting and drying herself in the grass she heard a man coming near. He was walking along barefooted and carrying a gun in his hand. As he saw the bird he wished to kill her, and he would certainly have done so, but the ant bit him in the foot just before he raised his gun to fire. He stopped to see what had bit him, and the bird immediately flew away. It was an animal much weaker and smaller than herself that had saved her life. 

1. According to the French writer, we often need help from others, therefore we should________. 

A. not help others                  B. help those who may be helpful to us 

C. get as much help as possible     D. help others as much as we can

2.The ant finally got on the bank _______.  

A. when the water pushed her      B. with the help of a piece of wood

C. with the help of a blade of grass  D. when the bird reached out a leg for her

3.The French writer tells the story in order to show _______.  

A. how an ant saved a bird         B. how brave the ant is 

C. how clever the bird is           D. even the small can help the great