A great number of people were killed in the big fire, and the number of the people who _____ missing _______still increasing.

A. were; was          B. are; is          C. were; is            D. are; was

My topic is fashion(时装). Fashion is important to all of us. Now we are all wearing school uniforms(校服). When we go home, what do we do? We change into other clothes. If we are going out, we like to wear fashionable clothes. So my first object is this blouse. It looks beautiful, doesn’t it? It is the most expensive piece of clothing, and I love it. It cost over ＄600. You may say that it is too expensive, but luckily I can afford it. The more you spend, the better the quality is. So you see, fashion is quite important to me, I admire it.

However, I’m not as fond of fashion as my elder brother. Last summer, my parents took us both to London. They wanted to show us some famous sights. But my brother Gary did not appreciate the old buildings. He just wanted to spend all his time in the big shopping arcades(拱廊), searching for the coolest pair of trousers! For him, fashion was more important than culture. These are the trousers he bought. Were they worth the expensive of a trip to London to buy these? I don’t think so. I think it was a waste of time and money.

We must, however, remember that fashion is a very big business. Changes in fashion can create or lose jobs. As an example, I have bought this blonde(淡黄色的) wig(假发) to show you. Do you like it? It belongs to one of my mother’s friends. She told me that in the 1960s, it was fashionable for western women to wear wigs. But a few years later fashions changed and women wore wigs much less often. Then the wig factories closed down and hundreds of workers lost their jobs.

53. The passage may be ____.  

A. a story from a magazine        B. a piece of news from a newspaper

C. a report on the radio           D. a speech to the classmates

54. The author （作者）showed all these objects EXCEPT_____ in the passage.

A. the blonde wig                B. the expensive blouse

C. the coolest trousers             D. the school uniform

55. What does the author （作者）want to tell us in last paragraph?

A. Wigs were always popular

B. People in the east once liked wearing blonde wigs

C. Fashion is actually a business

D. Business often depends on the production of wigs.

There were many more people who got injured in the big fire than _______.

   A. was reported   B. it was reported

   C. were reported   D. they were reported

We walked in so quietly that the nurse at the desk didn't even lift her eyes from the book. Mum pointed at a big chair by the door and I knew she wanted me to sit down. While I watched mouth open in surprise, Mum took off  her hat and coat and gave them to me to hold. She walked quietly to the small room by the lift and took out a wet mop. She pushed the mop past the desk and as the nurse looked up, Mum nodded and said, "Very dirty floors. "
"Yes, I'm glad they've finally decided to clean them, "the nurse answered. She looked at Mum strangely and said, "But aren't you working late?"
Mum just pushed harder, each swipe(拖一下)of the mop taking her farther and farther down the hall. I watched until she was out of sight and the nurse had turned back to writing in the big book.
After a long time Mum came back. Her eyes were shining. She quickly put the mop back and took my hand. As we turned to go out of the door, Mum bowed politely to the nurse and said, "Thank you."
Outside, Mum told me, "Dagmar is fine. No fever. "
"You saw her, Mum?"
"Of course. I told her about the hospital rules, and she will not expect us until tomorrow. Dad will stop worrying as well. It's a fine hospital. But such floors! A mop is no good. You need a brush."
67. When the nurse talked to Mum she thought Mum was a      .
A. nurse                  B. visitor     C. patient                D. cleaner
68. After reading the story what can we infer about the hospital?
A. It is a children's hospital.
B. It has strict rules about visiting hours.
C. The conditions there aren't very good.
D. The nurses and doctors there don't work hard.
69. From the text we know that Dagmar is most likely     
A. the story-teller's sister            B. Mum's friend
C. the story-teller's classmate         D. Dad's boss
70. Which of the following words best describes Mum?
A. strange                 B. warm-hearted     C. clever                  D. hard-working