第二部分：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和D)中,选出最佳选项。
A
Three lawyers and three engineers are traveling by train to a conference. At the station, the three lawyers each buy tickets and watch as the three engineers buy only a single ticket.
"How are three people going to travel on only one ticket?" asked one of the three lawyers.
"Watch and you'll see," answers one of the engineers.
They all board the train. The lawyers take their seats, but all three engineers cram into a restroom and close the door behind them. Shortly after the train has departed, the conductor comes around collecting tickets. He knocks on the restroom door and says, "Ticket, please" The door opens just a crack and a single arm emerges with a ticket in hand. The conductor takes it and moves on. The lawyers saw this and agreed it was quite a clever idea.
So after the conference, the lawyers decide to copy the engineers on the return trip and save some money. When they get to the station, they buy a single ticket for the return trip. To their astonishment, the engineers don't buy a ticket at all.
"How are you going to travel without a ticket," asks one perplexed lawyer.
"Watch and you'll see," says one of the engineers.
When they board the train the three lawyers cram into a restroom and the three engineers cram into another one nearby. The train departs. Shortly afterward, one of the engineers leaves his restroom and walks over to the restroom where the lawyers are hiding .He knocks on the door and says, "Ticket, please." By copying the engineers, one lawyer put out a single arm with a ticket in his hand. The engineer came back to his restroom with the ticket. Then the conductor was coming this way...
41. The engineers and the lawyers travel together________.
A. to attend a meeting                                              B. to test who are clever
C. to see how clever the engineers are                        D. to save money
42. How many tickets do they buy on the two-way trip?         .
A. 4        B. 5               C. 7                      D. 8
43. The underlined word “perplexed” can be replaced by ________.
A. excited          B. surprised           C. puzzled             D. touched
44. Which of the following would be the best title for the joke?
A. Three Lawyers and Three Engineers              B. Train Tickets    
C. In the Restroom                           D. Tickets, Please

Three high students become heroes after their act of saving a baby’s life.

Andrew Willis, 15, his brother Chris, 13, and friend Reece Galea, 14, were walking along Swallow Drive on their way to school on May 23, when Nicholle Price ran out of her house, shouting for help. Her six-month-old son Corey had swallowed (吞下) an earring （耳环） and the young mother couldn’t ring for help because something was wrong with her phone. The three teenagers rushed to the aid of Ms Price, called an ambulance (救护车), calmed her down and waited with her until the ambulance arrived before heading to school.

Ms Price, Corey and his grandmother Joyce Finnie visited the school last Thursday to thank the boys for their kind action. “It’s good to know that there are still some good people who will stop and help,” Ms Price said. “While I was shouting for help, a woman walking her dog went straight past, without stopping. I don’t know what would have happened if these boys had not stopped.”

The teenagers were shocked at the attention they received at school for their heroic act but admitted that the incident was nerve-racking(刺激神经的). “We heard her shouting so we knew something wasn’t right,” Andrew said. “We thought someone had died. It was scary （惊慌的） but we just did what we had to do.”

Just as proud as the boys’ parents is their principal, Tim McCallum.

After two days in hospital, Corey has now fully recovered. “He’s got two new teeth to show,” Ms Price said. “I have to keep a closer eye on him. He’s into everything now and grabs whatever he finds to put it straight into his mouth.”

1.The three high students were _____ when a woman ran out of her house shouting for help.

A．playing near the house

B．on their way to school

C．walking their dogs nearby

D．on their way back from school

2.Ms Price spoke of a woman walking her dog without stopping to show _____.

A．how dangerous the case was

B．how brave the three boys were

C．why the three teenagers’ action was heroic

D．how clever the three boys were

3.The underlined sentence in the 4th paragraph probably means “_____”.

A．they didn’t expect they would be given so much praise

B．they felt excited to have become so famous after the incident

C．they were supposed to receive so many prizes for their good deed

D．they were proud of the attention they received at school for their heroic deed

4.Which would be the best title for this passage?

A．How a baby was saved after swallowing an earring

B．Why the mother shouted for help

C．Baby life saved: teenage heroes earn high praise

D．A mother came to school to thank 3 teenagers

It was already dark when an old man came to a small town. He found an inn and wanted to stay there for the night. After he had gone to his room, the owner said to his wife, “Look at his bag, dear. I’m sure there are lots of valuable things in it. I want to steal it when he is asleep.”

“No, no,” said the woman. “He must look for his bag tomorrow morning. Then he’ll take you before the judge.” They thought and at last the woman had an idea. “We have forgetful grass,” said the woman, “Why not put some into his food? If he has the food, he will forget to take his bag away.” “How clever you are!” said the owner, “Don’t forget it when you prepare supper for him.”

The old man had the food with the forgetful grass and went to bed. The next morning, when the owner got up, he found the door was open and the old man had left with his bag. He woke his wife up and said angrily, “What a fool! Your forgetful grass isn’t useful at all.” “No, no,” said the woman. “I don’t think so. He must forget something.” “Oh, I’ve remembered!” The owner cried out suddenly, “He forgot…”

1.The old man came to the inn _______.

A．in the morning                         B．in the afternoon

C．in the evening                          D．at night

2.The owner and his wife wanted to _______.

A．get the man’s bag                      B．steal the man’s money

C．make the man pay them more              D．hide the man’s bag

3.The owner and his wife put the forgetful grass into the food because _______.

A．the old man always forgot something

B．they wanted to make the food better

C．they hoped the old man would leave the bag in the inn

D．they wanted to know if the grass was useful

4.According to the passage the old man forgot _______.

A．to take his bag away

B．to tell the owner when he left

C．to close the door when he went to sleep

D．to pay them the inn money

5.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Both the owner and his wife were clever.

B．The owner of the inn got nothing from the old man.

C．The old man left the inn without his bag.

D．The woman forget to put the grass into the food.

It was already dark when an old man came to a small town. He found an inn and wanted to stay there for the night. After he had gone to his room, the owner said to his wife, “Look at his bag, dear. I’m sure there are lots of valuable things in it. I want to steal it when he is asleep.”
“No, no,” said the woman. “He must look for his bag tomorrow morning. Then he’ll take you before the judge.” They thought and at last the woman had an idea. “We have forgetful grass,” said the woman, “Why not put some into his food? If he has the food, he will forget to take his bag away.” “How clever you are!” said the owner, “Don’t forget it when you prepare supper for him.”
The old man had the food with the forgetful grass and went to bed. The next morning, when the owner got up, he found the door was open and the old man had left with his bag. He woke his wife up and said angrily, “What a fool! Your forgetful grass isn’t useful at all.” “No, no,” said the woman. “I don’t think so. He must forget something.” “Oh, I’ve remembered!” The owner cried out suddenly, “He forgot…”
【小题1】The old man came to the inn _______.

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