On August 26, 1999, New York City was struck by a terrible rainstorm. The rain caused the streets __36___ and the subway system almost came to a stop.

Unfortunately, this happened during the morning rush hour. Many people who were going to work were __37__ to go home. Some battled to __38__a taxi or to get on a bus. Still others faced the ___39___ bravely, walking miles to get to work.

I ___40__ to be one of people on the way to work that morning. I went from subway line to subway line only to find that most _41__ had stopped. After making my way __42__ crowds of people. I finally found a subway line that was __43___. Unfortunately, there were so many people waiting to __44__ the subway that I could not even get down the stairs to the ___45__. So I took the train going in the opposite direction, and then switched back to the downtown train. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the train __46__ my stop. Then I had to walk several blocks in the increasingly heavy rain. When I got to my office, I was _47___ through, exhausted and __48__.

My co-workers and I spend most of the day drying off. When it was 5:00 pm, I was ready to go home. I was about to turn off my computer __49__I received an email from Garth, my Director:

I would like to thank all of you who made the effort and __50__ reported to work. It is always reassuring (令人欣慰), at times like these, when employees so clearly show their _51__ _to their jobs. Thank you.

Garth’s email was short, but I learned more from that ___52__ message than I ever did from a textbook. The email taught me that a few words of __53__ can make a big difference. The rainstorm and the traffic __54___ had made me tired and upset. But Garth’s words immediately __55____ me and put a smile back on my face.

36. A. break        B. flood        C. sink          D, crash

37. A. forced       B. refused      C. adjusted      D. gathered

38. A. order        B. pay         C. call          D. search

39. A. climate      B. scenery     C. storm         D. burden

40. A. used        B. promised    C. deserved      D. happened

41. practice        B. routine      C. process       D. service

42. A. to          B. through      C. over          D. for

43. A. operating    B. cycling      C. turning        D. rushing

44. A. check       B. carry        C. find           D. board

45. A. street       B. ground       C. floor          D. platform

46. A. paused      B. crossed      C. reached        D. parked

47. A. wet        B. weak         C. sick            D. hurt

48. A. ashamed    B. discouraged    C. surprised       D. puzzled

49. A, while       B. when         C. where          D. after

50. A. hardly      B. casually       C. absolutely      D. eventually

51. A. devotion    B. donation       C. connection      D. reaction

52. A, accurate     B. urgent        C. brief          D. humorous

53. A. promise     B. appreciate      C. advice        D. guidance

54. A. troubles     B. signals        C. rules          D. signs

55. A. corrected     B. supported      C. amazed        D. refreshed

B
He was an old man who fished alone in a boat in the Gulf Stream and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish. In the first forty days a boy had been with him. But after forty days without a fish the boys parents had told him that the old man was now definitely salao and he finally would be so. The boy had gone at their orders in another boat which caught three good fish the first week. It made the boy sad to see the old man come in each day with his skiff empty and he always went down to help him carry either the coiled lines or the gaff(鱼钩) and harpoon(鱼叉) and the sail that as rolled around the mast(桅杆). The sail was patched with flour bags and, rolled, it looked like the flag of permanent defeat.
The old man was very thin with deep wrinkles in the back of his neck. The brown blotches(斑点) of the skin cancer the sun brings from its reflection on the tropic sea were on his cheeks. The blotches ran well down the sides of his face and his hands had the deep-creased scars from handing heavy fish on the cords. But none of these scars were fresh. They were as old as erosions in a fishless desert. Everything about him was old expect his eyes and they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated.
“Santiago,” the boy said to him as they climbed the bank from where the boat was pulled up. “I could go with you again. We’ve made some money.” The old man had taught the boy to fish and the boy loved him.
“No,” the old man said. “But we have. Haven’t we?
“Yes,” the boy said. “Can I offer you a beer on the Terrance and then we’ll take the stuff home.”
“Why not?” said the old man, “between fisherman.”
55. The underlined word “salao” in the first paragraph probably means ________.
A. lonely               B. unlucky             C. selfish               D. stubborn
56. The boy left the old man and went in another boat to fish because _______.
A. the old man preferred to fish alone  B. the old man was poor
C. the boy’s parents ordered him to     D. the old man’s sail suggested a permanent defeat
57. After reading this passage, we may safely conclude that ________.
A. the old man was insistent and not afraid of failure
B. the boy’s papa had confidence in everything
C. the old man caught big fishes because he had some doubts about the old man
D. the boy obeyed his father because he had some doubts about the old man
58. What might happen after the last paragraph?
A. The old man and the boy might go to fish with other fishermen.
B. The old man might go to have a drink with the boy.
C. The old man and the old might go to enjoy beer at the old man’s home.
D. The old man might go to tell the boy’s papa about the secrets between fishermen.

Not long ago the movie 2012 came into screen．The people were threatened by those scenes of destroying flood, severe earthquake, terrifying hurricane and constructions representing human civilization being destroyed and even swallowed by disaster．Luckily, they are just the director' s imagination, but the present situation is not heading a positive direction, either．
Take my own experience in Alaska as an example．Once I took a trip to the glacier．Along the way there stood signposts marking the snow lines of different years．They started from the foot of the mountain, but it was at the top that I finally saw melting glaciers（融化的冰川）．My heart ached seeing the beautiful blue ice melting at every second．
Sad but true, they are the effects of global warming and the result of our human impact．Furthermore, each year the rising sea level will kill 56 million people, and that' s about the population of the entire Italy．According to studies, if the temperature keeps on rising like this, by the year 2050, some islands and coastal cities including New York, Shanghai, Tokyo and Sydney will be drowned in water．
Our fortune is in our own hands．It depends on us to shape our future, to reduce future human impact and find ways to form a peaceful relationship with our environment. Therefore, it's time for actions to be taken right now．Contribute a little to energy saving by using more efficient light bulbs and less hot water．Let recycle become our habit by thinking twice before throwing something away．Let us take public transportation as our first choice when going to a certain place．It might cost more time for now, but it' s to the benefit of a permanent future．Take care of every tree and grass around us by watering them or simply just avoid destroying them．
In a word, small drops of water make a big ocean． The earth does not belong to us．On the contrary, we belong to the earth． Please bear in mind that the earth is our home．It is our responsibility to build a brighter and better future of our planet and prevent what happened in the movie 2012 from becoming reality．                
【小题1】Why does the author talk about the movie 2012 in the passage ? __________.

The right to die

It was 3:45 in the morning when the vote was finally taken. After six months of arguing and final 16 hours of hot parliamentary(议会的) debates, Australia’s northern Territory became the first legal authority in the world to allow doctors to take the lives of incurably sick patients who wish to die.

The measure passed by the convincing vote of 15 to 10. Almost immediately word flashed on the Internet and was picked up, half a world away, by John Hofsess, executive director of the Right to Die Society of Canada. He sent it on via the group's on line service, Death NET. Says Hofsess: "We posted bulletins all day long, because of course this isn't just something that happened in Australia. It's world history."

The NT Rights of the Terminally III law has left physicians and citizens alike trying to deal with its moral and practical implications. Some have breathed sighs of relief, others, including churches, right to life groups and the Australian Medical Association, bitterly attacked the bill and the haste of its passage（通过）.

But the tide is unlikely to turn back. In Australia - where an aging population, life extending technology and changing community attitudes have all played their part, other states are going to consider making a similar law to deal with euthanasia(安乐死). In the US and Canada, where the right to die movement is gathering strength, observers are waiting for the dominoes to start falling.

Under the new Northern Territory law, an adult patient can request death, probably by a deadly injection or pill, to put an end to suffering. The patient must be diagnosed(诊断) as terminally ill by two doctors. After a "cooling off" period of seven days, the patient can sign a certificate of request. After 48 hours the wish for death can be met. For Lloyd Nickson, a 54-year-old Darwin resident suffering from lung cancer, the NT Rights of Terminally III law means he can get on with living without the haunting fear of his suffering: a terrifying death from his breathing condition. "I'm not afraid of dying from a spiritual point of view, but what I was afraid of was how I'd go, because I've watched people die in the hospital fighting for oxygen and clawing at their masks," he says.

1.This passage is mainly about ________.

A．the development and function of euthanasia

B．the passage（通过）of a law on euthanasia and its worldwide influence.

C．some successful examples about euthanasia

D．conditions and procedures to perform euthanasia in Australia.

2.What does “observers are waiting for the dominoes to start falling” mean?

A．Observers are taking a wait-and –see attitude towards the future of euthanasia.

B．There is a possibility of similar bills being passed in the US and Canada.

C．Observers are waiting to see the movement end up in failure.

D．The process of the bill taking effect may finally come to a stop.

3. During a “cooling off” period, a patient will _________.

A．wait for two doctors’ diagnosis

B．sign a certificate of request

C．think over his decision of euthanasia

D．turn to his doctors for more advice

4.What’s the author’s attitude towards euthanasia?

A．Hostile           B．doubtful           C．Favorable         D．Indifferent

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后31-50各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

While my friends went away to their universities in great delight, I restarted my senior high school life. My spirits   31  at the prospect of starting all over again.

  32   by strange classmates, I felt as though I was in a maze（迷宫）and felt  33   for my-self. There were some complex feelings in my mind. I was frightened, nervous and lonely.

To make  34   worse, I recalled my failure again and again,  35   put more pressure on me than I could bear. As a result, I was always feeling  36   during class.

One of my teachers noticed my depression and one day he asked me to come to his office, where he told me about his  37   towards life. He said we might  38   from making mistakes, but it’s important to model ourselves into people we  39   . All the growing  40   and the embarrassing things we  41   are parts of the process. We never stop  42   , so learn from it and keep up your spirits up! If you are optimistic, things you want may  43   to you!  44   feelings rushed through me. I  45   saw the sun shining again when I stepped out of his office.

With the teacher’s help, I finally  46   my depression. From then on, I no longer  47   my head but began smiling at my classmates. I put up my hand  48   in class and tried to answer the teacher’s questions correctly.

I  49   have a thirst to go to my dream university,  50   I’m not afraid of failure because I can benefit from it.

A.sank                B.failed                 C.disappeared               D.ran

A.Hit                       B.Surrounded        C.Struck                       D.Loved

A.unlucky                B.angry                 C.sorry                         D.afraid

A.scores                   B.studies               C.experiences                D.matters

A.which                     B.what                  C.that                           D.who

A.high                B.down                 C.lonely                       D.happy

A.way                B.method                     C.measure                    D.attitude

A.learn               B.suffer                 C.hear                          D.judge

A.reach                    B.enjoy                 C.like                           D.hate

A.aches                    B.pains                  C.joys                          D.injuries

A.feel                      B.experience          C.taste                          D.get

A.standing up         B.growing up         C.going up                   D.rising up

A.refer                     B.turn                   C.stick                         D.happen

A.Warm                   B.Thoughtful         C.Cool                         D.Regretful

A.suddenly        B.generally            C.naturally                   D.sadly

A.got on                 B.got over             C.got off                      D.got out

A.buried                  B.shook                 C.bowed                       D.nodded

A.freely                   B.hopefully           C.quickly                            D.confidently

A.even                   B.ever                   C.still                           D.yet

A.otherwise              B.or                      C.but                           D.instead