The first time I saw Carlos I would never have believed he was going to change my life. I had my arms full of books and I was tearing into the classroom when I ran into something solid. It was Carlos. “My God, you’re tall,” he said. Of course, the class began to laugh. Angry, I walked to my seat without a word.

I glanced back to see if Reed Harrington was laughing with the rest. That would be the last straw. But Reed was studying chemistry and did not seem to be aware of anything else. I didn’t know why I considered Reed my friend. Maybe just because he was a good two inches taller than I. Anyway, every time I blew out my birthday candles and made a wish, it was for a date with Reed Harrington.

“Take that seat,” Mr. McCarthy told the cocky newcomer Carlos, pointing to the only empty one, in the back of the room. Carlos grinned, “But I need a couple of dictionaries.” Again the class laughed, but now they were laughing with Carlos, not at him. He had been here only 10 minutes and already he had them on his side.

The bell rang for classes. As I stood up to go I saw Carlos coming toward me. “I’m sorry I  embarrassed you,” he said. I look straight ahead over the top of his black hair. “That’s all right.” “I ought to know better.” He was still blocking my way. “What’s your name?” “Karen Forbes.” “You probably heard me say; I’m Carlos Herrear.” He held out his hand. Unwillingly, I shook hands with him. He looked up at me seriously with his brown eyes. “I don’t see why you’re so touchy.” I brushed by him and said sharply, “You wouldn’t understand.” He followed me a few steps. “I’m just the one who should, Karen,” he said. “You and I have a lot in common.”

It was the school elections that made me think of Carlos again. Reed Harrington was voted president and Carlos vice-president. “How come?” I kept asking myself, “How come this shrimp who’s only been in town for a little over a month gets to be so popular?”

So on that morning, I stopped Carlos and said, “It doesn’t seem to bother you—being short.” He looked up at me. “Of course I mind being short. But there isn’t anything I can do about it. When I realized I was going to have to spend my life in this undersized skin, I just decided to make the best of it and concentrate on being myself.” “You seem to get along great,” I admitted. “But what about me? Nobody wants to date a girl taller than he is.” “The trouble with you is you’re afraid to be yourself. You’re smart. And you could be pretty. In fact, you might be more than pretty.” I felt myself turning red...

56. It is a story about a short boy who ________.

A. won the school election            B. is ashamed of his height

C. has learned to accept his size        D. is embarrassed by his class

57. What can be inferred from Paragraph 2?

A. The author cared much about Reed’s attitude.

B. The author was relieved to find Reed focused on his studies

C. The author thought Reed was the same as the others.

D. The author couldn’t stand Carlos playing tricks on her.

58. What does the underlined word “touchy” in Paragraph 4 most probably mean?

A. Moved.         B. Cheerful.       C. Curious.          D. Annoyed.

59. From the text, we can see Carlos is _________.

A. handsome and proud            B. humorous and confident

C. diligent but shy                  D. honest but sensitive

60. According to the text, which is the most likely ending of the story?

A. Reed and Carlos became very good friends.

B. Carlos and the author argued with each other.

C. The author changed her attitude to Carlos.

D. Carlos was elected president of the student committee.

第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分；满分40分）

       阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中选出最佳选项。

A

       The first time I saw Carlos, I had my arms full of books and I was tearing into the classroom when I ran into something solid．It was Carlos．

       "My, you're tall," he exclaimed． Of course, the class began to laugh．Annoyed, I walked to my seat without a word．

       I glanced back to see if Reed Harrington was laughing with the rest．That would be the last straw．To my relief．Reed was studying and did not seem to be aware of it．I didn't know why I considered Reed my friend．Maybe just because he was a good two inches taller than I．

       "Take that seat," Mr．McCarthy told the newcomer, pointing to the only empty one, in the back of the room．

       Carlos smiled broadly．"But I need a couple of dictionaries．" Again the class laughed, but now they were laughing with Carlos, not at him．He had been here only 10 minutes and already he had them on his side．

       It was the school election that made me think of Carlos again．Reed Harrington was voted president and Carlos vice-president．"How come?" I kept asking myself．"How come this shrimp （虾） who's only been in town for a little over a month gets to be so popular?"

       So when I met Carlos this morning, I said to him, "It doesn't seem to bother you — being short, I mean．" He looked up at me．"Of course I mind being short．But there isn't anything I can do about it．When I realized I was going to have to spend my life in this undersized skin, I decided to make the best of it．My motto is — don't be afraid to be yourself．"

56．This passage is mainly about a short boy who ____________．

       A．won the school election        B．is ashamed of his height

       C．has learned to accept his size   D．is embarrassed by the class

57．From the story, we can see that Carlos is ________．

       A．shy but diligent     B．humorous and confident                                  

       C．proud and popular         D．honest but sensitive

58．Paragraph 4 suggests that the author ______．

       A．cared much about Reed's attitude

       B．thought Reed was the same as the others

       C．couldn't stand Carlos playing tricks on her 

      D．hoped Reed was laughing with the others

59．According to the passage, what happened after the election?

       A．Carlos and the author argued with each other．                                 

       B．Carlos and Reed became very good friends．                            

       C．The author changed her attitude toward Carlos．                                     

       D．Carlos was elected president of the student committee．

It was not the first time for Shi Benliang, a senior physics major at Peking University, to feed cats. But the 22-year-old felt sad when he saw the scars and wounds on the bodies of the little creatures.
“I can imagine how they have suffered from being abandoned. They lead a harsh life wandering around,” said the student..Shi is one of a dozen students at the university volunteering to feed the stray cats during the winter break.
Recruited by the Stray Cat Rescue Association at the university through a Bulletin Board System (BBS), he took turns with other students to care for the homeless animals. It is estimated that there are more than 100 stray cats on the campus of Peking University.
Jin Jing, 18, an economics freshman at the university, cared for the cats for two days. “At around 5 pm I cycled to the 22 feeding sites on campus marked on a special map,” she said. “At each site I left some cat food and water.”Jin was excited when the animals rushed to her feet. “Some are shy and timid, and others are more outgoing. Each of them has their own name such as ‘Sweet Orange’ or ‘Karl Marx’,” she said. “By feeding them I learned to respect life.”
Liu Chenhao, a senior electronics and computer science major, who is in charge of the association, said that feeding was just one part of their responsibilities.“Our aim is to keep the stray cats in check and maintain harmony between them and the students on campus,” he said.
The organization also takes cats to the animal hospital to be treated for oral and skin disease. Another of its major tasks is to find new homes for the cats by uploading their photos and information online.
“We’re very careful when selecting owners and ask them lots of questions to ensure that they won’t desert their cat under any circumstances, such as when they move house or get married,” Liu said. But he stressed that their acts of kindness shouldn’t encourage anyone to abandon their cat. “A cat’s normal life expectancy is more than 10 years, but a stray one may survive for only two or three.”  (365words)
【小题1】You may read the article from a (an)______________ .