Think back to this time last year. What was on your mind?

Most likely, you were thinking about finals or the holidays, although in this city I’ve noticed that thinking about the holiday is a fancy way of saying how much stuff will I get.

Now reflect on your thoughts for this holiday season. Most people are still thinking about the holidays, but I say that with a grain of salt. Everybody with a functioning brain and the ability to communicate knows that this holioday season comes with a pretty large price tag: the debt of all the hardships, both domestic and foreign, that we’ve faced over the past 12months.

Let’s face it: some of us will get everything we want over the holidays. But there are others whose parents have lost their jobs or who have lost jobs themselves because of the current economic situation. As much as we try to ignore it, there is still economic unrest in the blue and gold suburb.

In this situation, we have three options. One: We ignore the situation, like we seem to do for every bad thing that happens around us, because by God, it’s the American Way! Two: We recognize that our economy is shot, feel bad about it and spend our time wishing for the good old days. Three: We recognize that our economy is shot, but instead of moping, reflect on every good thing that we have going for us. Now, which option sounds best to you?

I spent a week this summer working in and around New York City with the city’s homeless population. Or so I thought. Although a lot of the people I served were in fact homeless, a significant number of them had a job or a home or both. The truth of the importance of this situation is that they and thousands of others across the country can’t afford even the most basic things of life, even while working two jobs. Yet no one that I met complained about their hardships. Instead, they took whatever I happened to give them(which was, more often than enough, not enough) and were genuinely grateful for what they had.

Wrap your heads around that statement for a second. These people worked their butts off to stay alive with minimal results, yet were overjoyed by a flimsy(脆弱的) paper plate with donated green beans on it. Although I am ashamed to admit it( both as a girthy figure and an affluent citizen), I have taken for granted most of my meals, let alone green beans, and I know for a fact that I am not alone.

64. According to the passage when people think about holidays they care much for ____.

A. where to spend their holidays             B. how to spend their holidays 

C. what they can get for their holidays        D. who they should go to visit

65. When the author wrote the article, the economic situation in his country ____.

A. began to go bad.   B. began to improve   C. was still serious   D. was favorable for middle class.

66. The author wrote the article mainly to advise people____.

A.to be thankful in time of hardship.    B. to spend their holidays in a wise way

C. to think little about their holidays     D. to help the country to sail through the crisis

67. It can be inferred from the passage that the writer is most probably ______.

A. a homeless child    B. an old professor   C. a famous scientist  D. a young student

I was in a strange city I didn’t know at all, and what’s more, I could not speak a word of the language. On my second day I got on the first bus that passed, rode on it for several stops, then got off and walked on. The first two hours passed pleasantly enough, then I decided to turn back to my hotel for lunch. After walking about for some time, I decided I had better ask the way. The trouble was that the only word I knew of the language was the name of the street in which I lived, and even that I pronounced badly. I stopped to ask a newspaper-seller. He handed me a paper. I shook my head and repeated the name of the street and he put the paper into my hands. I had to give him some money and went on my way. The next person I asked was a policeman. He listened to me carefully, nodded and gently took me by the arm. There was a strange look in his eyes as he pointed left and right and left again. I nodded politely and began walking in the direction he pointed.About an hour passed and I noticed that the houses were getting fewer and fewer and green fields were appearing on either side of me. I had come all the way into the countryside. The only thing left for me to do was find the nearest railway station.   
【小题1】From the story we know that the policeman______.  

If you are planning to study in the United States, you need to consider several factors. Everyone has different opinions about where the best places to live in also; the best places to live are not always home to the best schools. Finally, many schools specialize in different areas of study. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for example, is a great school for computer science and technology-based fields of study, However, if you want to study oceanography, your interests may be better served by attending school in a place that is on a coastline or near the ocean.

Now I am sure that you know which schools are considered the best in the country. So I will tell you about which states I believe are the best to live in.

California is a nice state. Northern California specifically has very good weather. Los Angeles in southern California is another story though. Life in LA is full of excitement and fast, and sometimes—dangerous. As for me, I enjoyed the history and culture. The weather is not as perfect as California, but it is still quite nice. My favorite area of America is the Mid-west. Middle America, I think, is home to the true American sense of values. In addition, there are many good universities there.  

Also, you need to think about your likes and dislikes and then research the various states. You like sunshine and hate snow? Then you probably won’t like the Midwest or even the Northeast. Open space, nature and peace and quiet? Then you should stay away from America’s larger cities. Are you interested in government? Then Washington D.C. is the only place for you. Whatever you decided put some thought into it. The place you live could be the difference between a great study abroad experience and a state of great suffering on earth.

From the first paragraph we can conclude that in the U.S.A. __________.

all colleges and universities lie in big cities

all colleges and universities lie in beautiful places

famous colleges and universities lie in nice places

famous colleges and universities may not lie in nice places

What should be considered first if you want to study in the U.S.A.?

A. The climate.       B. The scenery.        C. The study condition.       D. The living condition.

If you study in Middle America, you can probably _______.

find the best universities

feel the real character of the nation

meet the most famous professors there

face more difficulty

From the last paragraph of this passage we can get to know that ________.

Washington is the largest city in the U.S.A.

Washington is the political center of the U.S.A.

you can’t find sunshine in the Midwest

you can’t find any universities out of big cities in the U.S.A.

This is the story of two lovers, who finally got married. Both of them were romantic at first,     on the walk of life, problems, quarrels, profession came into their life.

    One day, she finally decided, “I want to break up.”

“Why?” he asked.

    “I am      ”She answered.

He kept silent the whole night, seemingly in deep      . Finally he asked, “What can I do to      

your mind?”

Looking into his eyes she said, “Answer my question. If you can       my heart, I will change my mind. Let’s say, I want a flower       on the face of a mountain cliff (悬崖), we are both sure that picking the flower will cause your      . Will you do it for me?”

He said, “I will give you my       tomorrow.”

She woke up the next morning, found him gone, and saw a piece of paper on her bed, which      , “My dear, I would not pick that flower for you. The       are …”

“When you use the computer you always        the software, and you cry in front of the screen. I have to save my fingers so that I can help to       the programs. You always leave the house keys behind, so I have to save my       to rush home to open the door for you. You love traveling but always lose your way in a (n)       city. I have to save my eyes to show you the way. You always       at the computer, and that will do nothing good for your eyes. I have to save my eyes       when we grow old, I can help to clip your nails and help to remove those       white hairs.”

“Thus, my dear,        I am sure that there is someone who loves you more than I do … I can not pick that flower yet, and die …”

That’s life, and      . Flowers, and romantic moments are only used and appear on the       of the relationship. Under all this, the pillar of true love stands.

1.A. while                    B. and                           C. but                           D. so

2.A. lonely                            B. dead                        C. worn out                D. awesome

3.A. sorrow                B. thought                   C. shade                       D. anger

4.A. speak                             B. change                    C. blow                         D. keep

5.A. represent           B. expand          C. warm                       D. convince

6.A. grown                           B. planted          C. living                        D. growing

7.A. injury                             B. hurt                          C. wound                     D. death

8.A. decision              B. answer                    C. opinion          D. choice

9.A. wrote                            B. informed                C. printed                   D. went

10.A. answers            B. messages                C. reasons                   D. purposes

11.A. run out             B. put up                      C. use up                     D. mess up

12.A. repair                B. restore                   C. fix                    D. mend

13.A. legs                    B. life                            C. energy                    D. strength

14.A. big                      B. new                          C. modern                  D. strange

15.A. glance               B. look                          C. glare                        D. stare

16.A. as if                    B. now that                 C. so that                     D. in case

17.A. annoying          B. emerging                C. rough                       D. refreshing

18.A. although           B. even if                     C. unless                      D. if

19.A. friction              B. love                          C. couple                    D. power

20.A. surface             B. way                          C. course                     D. nature

.

I don’t like getting up too early unless I have to. When you’re filming, you’ve got make-up on, which doesn’t happen often. As I’m not filming at present I’ll get up at 8.30.

Work normally means Matt coming over to my house about 10 am. We’re writing at the moment. We’ll chat for a bit before going to my study. One of us will have an idea for a sketch (梗概), we’ll talk about the characters and when we feel we have enough we’ll start writing.

Matt and I met at the National Youth Theatre in 1990 and started doing shows together in ’95, at the Edinburgh Fringe festival. We know we’re onto something if we’ve made each other laugh, and that’s a really special moment. It’s not always like that, but we’re comfortable enough with each other that we can be honest and go. Some days you’re not in the mood to be funny—like writing when my dad was dying of cancer, or when Matt was separating from his partner.

We stop for lunch and sometimes go to Wagamama in Camden, but the last time we were followed by paparazzi (狗仔队), which gets you down—who wants to be pictured eating noodles?

When I’m not writing with Matt I work on other projects. My second children’s book comes out later in the year. It’s called Mr. Stink. The first one I dedicated to my three-year-old nephew, Eddie. Both books have been illustrated by Quentin Blake; it’s been a thrill to work with him—like 20 years ago reading a Roald Dahl book and looking at those drawings, then one day that person illustrates your work… magical.

At 5 I go swimming in Soho. My trainer makes me do horrible exercises, but I always feel better after.

Being in all day, I like to go out in the evening and look smart, but not like I’ve come out of the City. I’m a tall, broad guy and well-dressed.

For dinner I’ll meet friends. When you’re a single guy it’s great to have some good female friends. Or I might take my mum to the theatre, as I know she really appreciates it. I like watching TV comedy shows to see what everyone’s doing. When you see something impressive it makes you work harder. I also love Larkin’s poems: they don’t try to transcend (超越) the commonplace; they’re much more straightforward.

Poetry is great to dip into before going to bed, rather than falling asleep reading a novel and being confused over what you’ve read or not. I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in seven years; unfortunately, I rely on pills. I’ve tried everything. If I could wish anything for myself, I’d wish I could sleep better.

67. It can be inferred from the passage that _______.

A. the author spends much time with his friends

B. the author and Matt are both famous in the district

C. the author doesn’t care much about what to wear

D. the author works at home and seldom goes out every day

68. Where does the passage most likely appear?

A. In a travel diary.                         B. In a news column.

C. In an online diary.                    D. In a research paper.

69. Why does the author read some poetry before going to bed?

A. Because poetry can often bring him some funny ideas.

B. Because poetry is much easier to understand than novels.

C. Because poetry is very abstract and reflects unusual things.

D. Because poetry can be of some help for him to kill time.

70. What might be the best title for the passage?

A. A day’s work with Matt                 B. A new life-style 

C. A life in the day                       D. A good way to write