Brenda Bongos was a happy, artistic girl. She had one big ambition—to play the drums in a band. But one big obstacle lay in her way. To be good enough to play in a band, Brenda had to practice a lot, but she lived next-door to a lot of old people. Many of them are sick. She knew that the sound of beating drums would really get on their nerves. So, she had tried playing in the strangest places: a basement, a kitchen, and even in a shower. But there was always someone it would annoy.

One day, while watching a science documentary on TV, she heard that sound cannot travel in space, because there's no air. At that moment, Brenda Bongos decided to become a sort of musical astronaut.

With the help of a lot of time, books and work, Brenda built a space bubble. This was a big glass ball connected to a machine which sucked out all the air inside. All that would be left inside was a drum kit（成套设备） and a chair. Brenda got into the space suit she had made, entered the bubble, turned on the machine, and played those drums like a wild child.

It wasn't long before Brenda Bongos came very famous. Many people came to see her play in her space bubble. Shortly afterwards she came out of the bubble and started giving concerts. Her fame spread so much that the government suggested that she be part of a unique space journey. Finally, Brenda was a real musical astronaut, and had gone far beyond her first ambition of playing drums in a band.

Years later, when asked how she had achieved all this, she thought for a moment, and said: ''If those old people next – door hadn't mattered so much to me, I wouldn't have found a solution, and none of this would have ever happened.''

1.Why did Brenda try to play in the strangest places?

2.Brenda started to give concerts _______.

3.Brenda became famous because _______.

4.Which of the following can be used to describe Brenda?

5.It can be inferred from the text that: " _______".

B.
My secret for staying young is simple. Put all attention to the part of you---your brain and keep it young and growing. Keep your mind awake and you’ll stay young all over. These are exciting time. Take an interest in the world around you, and stick to(坚持) learning at least one new thing every day.
No matter how old you are, it’s not too late to make your life more interesting. I know a housewife with no knowledge before who made herself into a famous industrial engineer(工业工程师).I know a retired(退休) electrical engineer who has became a highly-paid ceramin (陶器的) artist.
Get over the idea that you are ever too old to go back to school. I know a man who entered a medical college at 70.He got his degree with honor and became a doctor. Another man went to law school at 71 and now is an active lawyer(律师).Staying young is easy for those, old or young, who live in the future. You can do it if you care enough to try. Keep you mind awake and active: that’s the only elixir(万验灵丹)
41.The statement that brain to people of all ages, remains young and growing is_____.
A.impossible                               B.a scientific fact(科学事实)
Ｃ.supposed(或许) to be true        D.a wrong conclusion( 错误结论)
42.It is wrong to______.
think oneself too old to go back to school  B.keep one’s mind awake
try to stay young                      D.get one’s degree with honors
43.The passage tells that the man who entered college at 70 became_____.
A.an active lawyer                       B.an electrical engineer
C.a famous doctor                       D.a highly-paid ceramic artist
44.The only youth elixir is______.
to go back to school                     B.not to think about one’s age
to live in the future                  D.to keep one’s mind awake and active
45.According to the writer,you should_____learning at least one new thing every day.
A.take care of        B.start            C.begin          D.keep on

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，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
When I was a teenager, I volunteered to work at the water station for 10km race. My job was to pass out water to the   36  . I saw all kinds of people passing by and thought maybe I can do it too! So the next year I   37  up for the race. I didn’t do much to   38   except jog around my neighborhood and I had no specialized training, no game plan, nothing. My only goal was to   39   the race.
On the day of the race, it was extremely hot. I remember   40   at the 7th kilometer, thinking, “I must be   41  ; why do I do this? I will never do this again!” That first 10km race was quite a(n)  42  . I jogged and I walked．At times, I didn’t know if I could finish.
At one point near the end, an old man ran past me, and I felt   43   that I, a 20-year-old, couldn’t even keep up with a 70-year-old．But then I   44   something. He was running his race and I was running mine. He had different abilities, experience, training and   45   for himself. I had mine. My goal was merely to finish.
How   46   in life do we compare ourselves with others and feel disappointed in ourselves when we really shouldn’t?
After a minute, it   47   to me that this was a lesson I could draw from. I turned my embarrassment into inspiration. I decided that I would not   48   running races. In fact, I would run even more races and I would learn how to make full preparations   49   and one day I would be one of those old but energetic runners.   50   I crossed the finish line, I was   51   of my achievement.
In life we all have those moments when we   52   ourselves with others. It’s only natural. But don’t   53   them to weaken you. Turn them into   54   and let them lift you up. Use them to show you what is   55  . Live with your dreams and you are a winner!
36．A．runners            B．volunteers        C. joggers                 D．trainers
37．A．followed          B．attempted         C. took                  D．signed
38．A．prepare            B．plan                C. practice             D．help
39．A．win             B．finish                 C. participate         D．inspect
40．A．wandering          B．resting             C. struggling          D．hesitating
41．A．tired            B．crazy           C. ridiculous          D．teased
42．A．mistake           B．amusement   C. decision              D．experience
43．A．discouraged     B．confused          C. annoyed            D．embarrassed
44．A．sensed             B．realized           C. recognized     D．acquired
45．A．goal            B．age                  C. income              D．thought
46．A．much                 B．long                C. often             D．soon
47．A．occurred       B．appealed          C. reminded           D．appeared
48．A．give out           B．give up            C. give in                 D．give off
49．A．timely             B．delightedly       C. properly            D．personally
50．A．Unless             B．When                 C. Since         D．Until
51．A．proud              B．ashamed      C. doubtful            D．sure
52．A．cooperate      B．compare          C. combine            D．communicate
53．A．allow                 B．expect         C. discourage         D．forbid
54．A．information     B．imagination      C. qualification      D．inspiration
55．A．unbelievable    B．reliable            C. valuable            D．possible

We live in a technological society where most goods are mass-produced by unskilled labor. Because of this, most people think that craft no longer exists.

One of the ways these people wrongly support their view is by pointing to 100-year-old homes which are still solid, and arguing that it is the craftsmanship that is responsible for their durability. “Homes in those days were well-built,” they say. No doubt these homes were well-built, but what these people have done is mix up the quality of material used in the house with the quality of the craftsmanship.

Homes today could be built to last just as long as those old homes if people were willing or able to pay the price. For example, most people can no longer afford solid oak stairways, although they were once fairly common in older homes. Nor can they afford the high labor cost of employing a carpenter to build the stairway. Yet if someone can pay the high cost, there are still plenty of carpenters around able to make those stairways. And not only would these carpenters know how to build them, they would probably do a better job than carpenters of old.

One thing the modern carpenter has which enables him to do a better job is much more advanced tools. Such tools as laser beams and powerplanes help them lay out a house better and make more precision cuts on the wood. Also, it is not uncommon say more to find carpenters with college degrees and carpenters with a solid knowledge of mathematics, which would enable them to deal with more difficult house designs.

The problem of modern quality, then, really boils down to the problem of material, for the modern carpenter is just as able to produce craftsmanship as the carpenter of fifty years ago, but only if given proper material.

1. Compared to the carpenters in the past, modern carpenters are           .

2. What does the underlined work “they” (paragraph 2) refer to?

3.What does the third paragraph mainly discuss?

4. What would be the best title for the text?

Brenda Bongos was a happy, artistic girl. She had one big ambition—to play the drums in a band. But one big problem lay in her way. To be good enough to play in a band, Brenda had to practice a lot, but she lived next-door to a lot of old people. Many of them are sick. She knew that the sound of beating drums would really get on their nerves. So, she had tried playing in the strangest places: a basement, a kitchen, and even in a shower. But there was always someone it would annoy.

    One day, while watching a science documentary on TV, she heard that sound cannot travel in space, because there's no air. At that moment, Brenda Bongos decided to become a sort of musical astronaut.

    With the help of a lot of time, books and work, Brenda built a space bubble. This was a big glass ball connected to a machine which sucked out all the air inside. All that would be left inside was a drum kit（成套设备） and a chair. Brenda got into the space suit she had made, entered the bubble, turned on the machine, and played those drums like a wild child.