But, curiously, one of the rarest coins in the world is not made of gold, but of the relatively cheaper silver. In 1840, the United States mint struck 19, 570 silver dollars. That is what its records show. Today only six of this original number remain and these are unlikely ever to the auction market. So what happened to some 19, 564 large silver coins, not the easiest sort of things to lose? One of the more romantic theories is that they were part of the payment to Napoleon for the American territory then known as Louisiana. But they never reached France. Somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico, the ship transporting them was sunk, either by a storm or by pirates. The probable answer to the mystery is that they were melted down—since the silver value was greater than the actual value of the coin. What really happened to the rest will probably always remain a mystery. What .is known is that whoever can come up with one will find himself instantly rich.

　　 1. It can be inferred from the passage that——.

　　　　  A. money buys as much as it did before

　　    B. money does not buy as much as it did before

　　　　  C. paper money buys more than metal money

　　　　  D. metal money buys more than paper money

　　 2. Which of the following is true of a coin?

　　　　  A. The longer it is held, the less valuable it becomes.

　　　　  B. The more it wears out, the more valuable it becomes.

　　　　  C. The less it gets scratched, the less it values.

　　　　  D. The longer it lasts, the more it values.

　　 3. Coins becomes more valuable because

  　　　　A. they make purses and pockets untidy

　　　　  B. the price of metal goes up

　　　　  C. they fall more readily into a category for collections due to their duration

　　　　  D. both B and C

　　 4. What really happened to some 19, 564 large silver coins?

　　　　  A. They were melted down.　　　　 B. They were sunk in the Gulf of Mexico.

　　　　  C. It is still mystery.　　 　　    　　  D. They were stolen by pirates.

    Though we became firm   8   with our new neighbors, we often had causes to be made angry by them. Our garden became an unsafe place: little boys   9   as cowboys or Indians would jump up from behind bushes,   10   wooden guns at us and   11   us to put our hands up. Sometimes our lives were   12   ; at others, we were killed with a   13  “Bang! Bang！”. Even more dangerous were the arrows that occasionally came sailing  14    the garden fence.

    But we did not   15   go in fear for our lives. The Robinsons were friendly and helpful and when we left for the holidays, we knew we had nothing to fear  16   our neighbors were around. We understood what it was like to have  17   in the long friendless winter evenings   18   Mr. Robinson would   19   in for a cup of tea and chat; or when Mr.  Robinson would    20   over the fence and talk endlessly with father about gardening problems.

1. A. so   　　　　　　   B. but 　　  　　　　　　 C. however 　　　　D. therefore

2. A. unloaded 　　  　　   B. loaded  　　  　　　　 C. moved   　　　　　　  　　D. removed

3. A. the same    　　   B. various      　　　　 C. same    　　    　　D. young

4. A. delightedly  　　　　    B. angry　　   　　　　 C. sadly  　　　　       D. astonishingly

5. A. forced　　   　　   B. broken　　 　　　　　　  　　 C. kicked    　　  　　D. pushed

6. A. place　　   　　   B. order　　   　　  　　 C. room　　 　　  　　D. building

7. A. interview     　　   B. introduction       　　 C. arrangement   　　  D. management

8. A. strangers    　　　　　　     B. enemies　　    　　 C. friends    

　　　　    D. relatives

9. A. pretending   　　　　　　     B. looking      　　　　 C. dressed   　　  　　D. worn

10. A. put    　　   　　　　   B. take　　     　　　　 C. throw　　 　　 　　D. point

11. A. lead   　　　　   B. order   　　  　　　　 C. ask       　　　　D. make

12. A. wasted      　　   B. saved   　　　　　　 C. devoted   　　  　　D. spared

13. A. fast　　 　　 　　   B. soft    　　  　　　　 C. sharp 　　  　　　　D. slow

14. A. in       　　　　   B. on　　 　　   　　　　 C. over       　　　　D. across

15. A. always       　　   B. often   　　  　　　　 C. even　　 　　   　　D. then

16. A. though      　　   B. unless       　　　　 C.  as  long as 　　D. even if

17. A. cheers      　　   B. fun　　　　　　　　 C. discussions    　　D. company

18. A. as　　      　　   B. when　　   　　　　 C. while    　　　　D. since

19. A. drop    　　 　　   B. jump   　　   　　　　 C. slip　　　　　　  D. break

20. A. fall 　　 　　　　　　B. climb　　　　　　   C. lean　　　　　　 D. lie

完形填空

　　One day a police officer managed to get some fresh mushrooms. He was so pleased with what he had bought that he offered to 1 the mushrooms with his brother officers. When their breakfast arrived 2 , each officer found some mushrooms on his plate.

　　“Let the dog 3 a piece first, ”suggested one 4 officer who was afraid that the mushrooms should be poisonous.

　　The dog seemed to 5 his mushroom, and the officers then began to eat their meal, saying that the mushrooms had a very strange 6 quite pleasant taste.

　　An hour later, however, they were all astonished 7 the gardener rushed in and said 8 that the dog was dead. Immediately, the officers jumped into their cars and rushed to the nearest hospital. Pumps were used and the officers had a very 9 time getting rid of the mushrooms that 10 in their stomachs.

　　When they 11 to the police station, they sat down and started to 12 the mushroom poisoning. Each man explained the pains that 13 had felt and they agreed that 14 had grown worse on their 15 to the hospital. The gardener was called to explain the way 16 the poor dog had died. “Did it 17 much before death?”asked one of the officers, 18 very pleased that he had escaped a 19 death himself. “No”, the gardener looked rather 20 , “It was killed by a car. ”

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At the time my son was born in 1956, I shared a hospital room with a young woman who bore a boy on the same day. Partly because my parents  46 a shop selling flowers, the room was soon  47  with the lovely scent of roses.

　  As the seventh floral arrangement was   48  , I was beginning to feel  49 , for no flowers had arrived for my roommate, Ann. She sat on the edge of her bed and leaned forward to admire the  50  bouquet. She was a pretty young woman, yet there was something about her large, brown eyes that made me think she had known too much  51 , too much sadness for one so young. I had the feeling she had always had to admire someone else’  52  .

　 “I’m enjoying every  53 of this”, she said as though she had read my   54  and was trying to reassure me. “Wasn’t I the lucky one to get you for a   55 ？”

　  I still felt uncomfortable, however.  56   there were some magic button I could push to  57   the sadness in her eyes. Well, I thought, at least,I can see that she has some flowers. When my mother and father came to see me that day, I asked them to send  58 some.

　　The flowers arrived just   59  Ann and I were finishing supper.

　　“More flowers for you,” she said,   60  .

　　“No, not this time,” I said, looking at the     61   “These are for you.”

　　Ann stared at the blossoms a long time, not saying anything. She ran her 62  across the pale blue bouquets and  63 touched each of the sweet roses as though trying to engrave（刻画） them on her 64 .

　　“How can I ever thank you” she said softly.

I was almost embarrassed. It was such a little    65  on my part.