I am up to my ears in work, so I have no time to telephone my parents. The underlined phrase means“________”.

A. am very busy with my work　　　　   B. have trouble in ears

C. am out of work　　　　　　　　　　　　　　  D. have no work to do

A. am very busy with my work　　　　   B. have trouble in ears

C. am out of work　　　　　　　　　　　　　　  D. have no work to do

I believe I’ve gotten this more than once. One lady told me she thought I was 12 and even told her 14-year-old daughter the same. I saw lots of surprised faces because people were told I was actually 19 years old.

I’m actually 19 years old, which isn’t much of a problem. I’m like the oldest of my friends and the shortest, which is pretty funny. That’s probably one of the reasons I fit in so well with them.

I volunteered at a weekend school teaching young children. Parents always looked me up and down like “why is this 13-year-old girl teaching my child?!??!?” I guessed it was because I’m also petite(娇小)，and I didn’t know whether I had a childish face…??? Sometimes I found it funny, sometimes I found it annoying(令人气恼). But I just shrugged(耸肩)it off at last. You know, soon enough people got to know me and then realized I was not actually a 13-year-old girl.

This short thing used to be a problem for me, though. I was very very small when I was younger, so kids would pick on me. When I was 12, 8-year-old girls would look down at me like “I CAN’TBELIEVEYOU’RETWELVE!” I had always wanted to be tall. But now that I'm older, I got used to it, and I actually love it. You know, I'm fun sized!

56. How old is the writer now?

　　　 A.12 B.13 C.14 D.19

57. Many people felt surprised when told the writer’s age because they thought she ________.

　　　 A. was certainly over 19　　　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. should be only 12　　　　　　

　　　 C. was sure under 12　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. must be 14

58. Which of the following words can’t be used to describe(描绘) the writer?

　　　 A. short　 　　　　　　 　　　 B. petite　 　　　　　　　　　　 C. childish　　 　　　　　　 D. tall

59. The underlined phrase “pick on” means __________

A. like very much B. help friendlily　　

C. behave to unkindly D. enjoy very much

60. How does the writer feel when others say she is 12?

　　　 A. Not surprised　　 　　　 B. Annoying　 　　　　　　 C. Angry 　　　　　　　　　　 D. Sad

第二节：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16-35各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

The Price of a Dream

　　I grew up poor—living with my wonderful mother. We had little money, but plenty of love and attention. I was 　16　 and energetic. I understood that no matter how poor a person was, he could still 　17　 a dream.

My dream was 　18　. By the time I was sixteen, I started playing baseball. I could throw a ninety-mile-per-hour fastball and 　19　 anything that moved on the football field.

I was also  20　. My high school coach was John, who not only believed in me, but also taught me 　21　 to believe in myself. He 　22　 me the difference between having a dream and remaining true to that dream. One particular 　23　 with Coach John changed my life forever.

　　A friend recommended me for a summer job. This meant a chance for money in my pocket—money for a new bike, new clothes and the 　24　 of savings for a house for my mother. Then I realized I would have to 　25　 up summer baseball to handle the work schedule, and that meant I would have to tell John I wouldn’t be playing.

　　When I told John, he was 　26　 as I expected him to be. “You have your whole life to work,” He shouted. “Your 　27　 days are limited. You can’t afford to waste them.” I stood before him with my head 　28　, trying to think of the right　29　 　that would explain to him why my dream of buying my mom a house and having money in my pocket was worth facing his 　30　 in me.

　　“How much are you going to make at this job, son?” He asked. “3.5 dollars an hour,” I replied.

　　“Well,” he asked, “is $ 3.5 an hour the price of a dream?”

　　That simple question made  31    for me the difference between  32 　something at once and having a 　33　. I decided myself to play sports that summer and the ___34    year after I finished high school, I was hired by the Pittsburgh Pirates to play baseball, and was 　35　 a $ 20,000 contract. Finally, I bought my mother the house of my dream!

16. A. happy                       B. polite　                    C. shy　                                 D. honest

17. A. live                            B. have　　　           C. make　　　              D. need

18. A. athletics                      B. music　　　      C. business　　                   D. money

19. A. kick                            B. play                            C. pass　　　　                 D. hit

20. A. right                          B. popular　　            C. lucky　　　                   D. honest

21. A. how                           B. why　　　            C. when　　　              D. whether

22. A. gave                          B. taught　　　      C. brought　　　              D. asked

23. A. accident                       B. matter　　                 C. problem　　                  D. experience

24. A. aim　　　　        B. idea　　　         C. start　　　　              D. purpose

25. A. keep　　　         B. end　　　          C. give　　　　               D. pick

26. A. mad　　　　        B. mournful　         C. frightened　                D. shameful

27. A. living　　　          B. playing　　              C. working　　                 D. dreaming

28. A. moving　　          B. nodding　　            C. shaking　　                 D. hanging

29. A. answers　　        B. excuses　　            C. words　　　                D. ways

30. A. sadness　　     B. regret　                 C. hopelessness              D. disappointment

31. A. direct　　　　    B. clear　　                C. straight　　　       D. bare

32. A. wanting　　　     B. changing　　           C. dreaming　　              D. enjoying

33. A. wish　　　　　   B. goal　　　              C. score　　　　       D. desire

34. A. following　　　    B. same　　               C. previous　　                D. very

35. A. charged　　　　B. got　　　　             C. offered　　           D. presented

B
　　Although man has known asbestos for many hundreds of years, it was not until 160 years ago that it was mined for the first time on the North American continent. H. W. Johns, owner of a New York City Supply Shop for roofers, was responsible for he opening of that first mine.
　　Mr. Johns was given a piece of asbestos which had been found in Italy. He experimented with the material and then showed its surprising powers to his customers. After putting on a pair of asbestos gloves, which looked much like ordinary work gloves, he took red-hot coals from the fireplace and played with them in his hands. How astonished the customers were to discover that he was not burned at all. You can well imagine that he had increasing business in asbestos roofing materials. However, because it was very expensive to transport them from Italy to the United States, Mr. Johns sent out a young scientist to seek a source nearer home. This young man found great vein in the province of Quebec in Canada.
　　Ever since 1881 Quebec has led the world in the production of this unusual mineral, which is made up of magnesium, silicon, iron, and oxygen. When it is mined, the asbestos is heavy, just as you would expect a mineral to be. When it is separated, a strange thing happens; the rock breaks down into fine, soft, soapy fibers .
　　Scientists do not know why the rock can be separated easily into threads,but they have found thousands of uses of this fireproof material, of the so-called “cloth of stone”.
　60. Which title best expresses the main idea of this passage?
　   A. Asbestos mined in Canada                  B. Fireproof matter
C. A “wonder” mineral                           D. A new roofing material
　61. Johns proved his ability as a salesman by_______.
　   A. going into roofing business              
B. carrying asbestos from Italy
　   C. sending a trained scientist                 
D. showing the use of asbestos gloves
　62. Which is the most important character of asbestos that the author wants to show us?
　   A. It is like thread.                               B. It feels soapy.
C. It burns easily.                                 D. It is unusually heavy.
　63. The author’s main purpose in writing this passage was to _______.
　   A. show the need for more scientists
　   B. compare asbestos with other minerals
　   C. increase the sales of asbestos
　   D. present facts about asbestos