Now that the forest was destroyed by a big fire, a large ________of trees ______ to be planted on the mountain．

Al Ossinger，an experienced mountain guide，knew it was time to leave Longs Peak in Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park，and get off‘quickly．The sky had turned threatening dark，and his ice ax at times gave out upset sounds．Suddenly，as Ossinger was  crossing a large mass of rock，both hands pressed against it for balance，there was a roar，a flash of light and an electric current charged through his arms．

“In that second. I thought 1 was finished，”he said，“Then I realized 1 was still there―the jolt(震动)hadn’t knocked me off．My body and legs were all right，but my arms  were paralyzed from the shoulder down．’’Fortunately Ossinger was able to continue down and soon the feeling began to return to his shoulders，upper arms，and，two hours later，his fingertips．Ossinger was a lucky man．

A single stroke of lightning，which is usually three to four miles long，travels at speeds of up to 100，000 miles per second．In a single flash，it can carry 100 million volts of electricity and reach a temperature of 55，000 degrees Fahrenheit，five times hotter than the surface of the sun．During its brief life span，lightning carries enough energy to power  a 100-watt light bulb for as long as three months．If you find yourself unlucky enough to be  near lightning’s path，you could suffer a direct hit，sending electrical current though your body for some 5 00 milli-seconds．Because of the short duration，severe burns aren’t common and the resulting burns are usually superficial(表面的)．

According to the national Weather Service，more people have been killed by lightning in the United States during the past 30 years，an average of 87 a year-than by either tornadoes or hurricanes，484 people were injured in 1994 alone．These“swords from the sky” are also responsible for an estimated$100 million to$300 million of property damage a year．During the 1980s an average of 5502 wildfires a year were sparked by lightning on national forest lands alone．

Earth is struck by at 1east 100 of these flashes every second-more than 8．6 million strikes a day．For all its destructive power，lightning has its good sides too．It’s likely that humans discovered fire from some early lightning-sparked flames．And all that activity above the earth may help create ozone(臭氧)，which protects us from the sun’s harmful rays．Lightning dancing across a summer night sky is a force to be respected and appreciated-from a distance．

68．Electrical lightning is called“swords from the sky”to mean_________．

A．it looks 1ike swords                                    B．it can kill people

C．it is sent by God                                         D．it comes naturally

69．When Ossinger felt some electrical current charged through his arms，_________．

A．he thought it was going to rain                     B．he dared not move about any more

C．he tried to move further up                          D．he thought his arms wouldn’t move

70．According to the passage we can say that____________________.

A．people caught by lightning may go disabled at once

B．1ightning strikes may do harms to human beings

C．more forest fires will be caused by lightning

D．1ightning is a rich energy resource to humans

71．In the passage the author implies that__________．

A．we all should try to avoid all thunderstorms

B．we should make full use of the lightening

C．we should recognize the positive effects of lightning

D．we should learn about the lightning as much as possible

There is an amusing story about King Alfred during his wars．At one time the enemy was  1  ．Alfred’s soldiers had all run away, and the King was alone in a forest．It was late, and Alfred was tired and  2 ．After walking for 3  he came to a little cottage．He knocked at the door and asked for  4  and shelter（住处） for the night．There was a poor woman in the cottage．She did not know that Alfred was king 5  his clothes were torn and dirty．She let him in, and told him to sit down by 6  to warm himself．She asked him to 7  her cakes, which were baking, while she went to the well to 8   water．

       Poor Alfred had 9   important things to think about than the cakes, which he soon forgot．When the woman came back, her cakes were all burnt．She was very angry．

       “You good-for-nothing, worthless man!” she said．“You want to 10  , but you can not even watch them for a quarter of an hour．Take that! And that! And that!” She began beating 11 with a big stick．

       Just then some of the enemy’s soldiers came to the cottage．When they saw the woman 12  him they never considered that he was the King; they thought that he was her husband．So they laughed and passed on．Later some of Alfred’s own soldiers found him and bowed before him．When the poor woman learnt that it was the King that she had beaten, she was very much 13 ．She knelt down and asked for mercy．

       “Don’t be afraid, my good woman, ” said Alfred laughing．“ Your stick 14 ．When I have driven the enemy out of the country I shall remember the service you have done for me．” He did not  15  his promise．

1．A．winning                B．losing           C．crying out           D．fighting

2．A．cold                      B．hot                  C．hungry             D．cool

3．A．sometimes             B．sometime          C．some time         D．some times

4．A．trouble                  B．advice              C．money             D．food

5．A．although                B．until           C．unless               D．as

6．A．the window           B．the bed           C．the fire              D．the table

7．A．eat                        B．watch              C．taste                D．look at

8．A．fetch              B．take                C．bring                D．carry

9．A．more             B．very                 C．much                D．many

10．A．rest           B．hide                 C．eat                     D．learn

11．A．her husband      B．the tame dog    C．her cold cat        D．the poor king

12．A．beating          B．hiding             C．teaching             D．helping

13．A．proud               B．afraid               C．glad                D．calm

14．A．beat me black and blue               B．frightened me to death

       C．nearly drove me mad                      D．saved my life

15．A．keep               B．make            C．fulfill             D．break

One day, four lawyers were riding along a country road. There had been a(n)  36 , and the ground was soft. The lawyers rode  37 , talking and laughing. As they were passing through a  38 , they heard some noises in the grass.

“What’s the matter here?” asked one man.

“Oh, it’s only some old robins (知更鸟)!” said another one, “The  39  has blown them out of the nest. They are too young to  40  .”

“What a  41  ! They’ll die,” said the third one.

“Well! They’re nothing but  42  ,” said the first lawyer.

The three men looked down and saw the mother robin  43  to her mates. Then they rode on, talking and laughing as before. In a few minutes they had  44  the birds. But the fourth lawyer, whose name was Abraham Lincoln,  45  . He got down from his  46  and gently took the little ones up. They didn’t seem  47 , but chirped (唧唧叫) softly, as if they knew they were safe.

“Never  48 , my little fellows,” said Mr. Lincoln. Then he looked up to find the nest from which they had  49 . It was much higher than he could reach. But Mr. Lincoln could  50 . He put the birds softly, one by one, into their warm home.

In a few minutes, Mr. Lincoln  51  the others. He had torn his coat on the thorny (多刺的) tree. Then all three of them  52  heartily. They thought it so   53  that a strong man should take so much trouble just for some worthless young birds.

“Gentlemen,” said Mr. Lincoln, “I couldn’t have  54  tonight if I had left those helpless robins to die in the  55  grass.”

Abraham Lincoln afterwards became President of America.

1.                A．war            B．earthquake      C．fire D．rain

2.                A．calmly          B．nervously       C．slowly    D．frequently

3.                A．forest          B．room           C．street    D．city

4.                A．snow          B．storm          C．light D．flood

5.                A．fly             B．speak          C．move D．eat

6.                A．success         B．shame          C．pity  D．case

7.                A．trees          B．pets           C．children  D．birds

8.                A．dancing        B．pointing        C．singing   D．crying

9.                A．dealt with       B．forgotten about   C．cared for D．turned to

10.               A．shouted        B．stopped        C．considered D．insisted

11.               A．wall           B．car            C．horse D．truck

12.               A．frightened      B．tired           C．interested D．touched

13.               A．stay           B．mind           C．stand D．rest

14.               A．learned        B．come          C．fallen D．heard

15.               A．drive          B．climb          C．cook  D．run

16.               A．noticed        B．blamed         C．visited D．joined

17.               A．laughed        B．jumped         C．worked   D．cried

18.               A．lucky          B．clear           C．foolish    D．dangerous

19.               A．changed        B．returned       C．read  D．slept

20.               A．wet           B．green          C．small D．fresh

Cloze

　　There's an interesting story about King Alfred during his wars. At one time the enemy was winning. Alfred's soldiers had all run away, and the king was alone in a forest. It was late, and Alfred was tired and 1 .

　　After walking for some time, he came to a little 2 .He knocked at the door and 3 for food and shelter（住处）for the night. 4 was a poor woman in the cottage（茅屋）. She did not know that Alfred was the king 5 his clothes were torn and dirty. She let him in, and 6 him to sit down by the fire to 7 himself. She asked him to 8 her cakes which were baking, while she went to the well to 9 water.

　　Poor Alfred had 10 important things to think about than the cakes, which he soon 11 When the woman came back, her cakes were all 12 . She was very 13 .

　　“You, worthless（无用的）man !”she said.“You can' t 14 watch some cakes for a quarter of an hour. Take that! And that! And that!”She began beating the 15 king with a big stick.

　　 16 some of the enemy's soldiers came. When they saw the woman 17 him, they thought he was her 18 . So they laughed and left. Later some of Alfred' s own soldiers 19 him and bowed before him. 20 the poor woman learnt that it was the king whom she had beaten, she was very frightened. She went down on her knees and begged for mercy（乞求宽怒）. Instead of anger, the king thanked her and said that he would always remember her for saving his life.