He met her at the party. She was so outstanding, with many boys around her, while he was so normal, with nobody paying attention to him.

At the end of the party, he invited her to have coffee with him. She was surprised, but due to being polite, she agreed.

They sat in a nice coffee shop. He was too nervous to say anything, and she felt uncomfortable, thinking, “Please let me go home.”

Suddenly he asked the waiter, “Would you please give me some salt? I’d like to put it in my coffee.”

 Everybody stared at him---so strange! His face turned red, but, still, he put the salt in his coffee and drank it.

She asked him curiously, “Why do you have this hobby?”

He replied, “When I was a little boy, I lived near the sea. I liked playing in the sea, and I could feel the taste of the sea, just like the taste of the salty coffee. Now every time I have the salty coffee, I always think of my childhood. I miss my hometown so much. I miss my parents who are still living there.”

While saying that, tears filled his eyes. She was deeply touched. That’s his true feeling, from the bottom of his heart. A man who can tell about his homesickness must be a man who loves home, cares about home, and has a good sense of responsibility.

Then she also started to speak, about her faraway hometown, her childhood, her family. That was a really nice talk, also a beautiful beginning of their story.

They continued to date. She found that actually he was a man who meets all her demands: he was kind-hearted, warm and careful. He was such a good person but she almost missed him!

Thanks to his salty coffee! Then the story was just like every beautiful love story, the princess married the prince, then they were living a happy life…And, every time she made coffee for him, she put some salt in the coffee.

After 40 years, he passed away, leaving her a letter which said, “My dearest, please forgive my whole-life lie. This was the only lie I said to you ---the salty coffee.”

“Remember the first time we dated? I was so nervous at that time. Actually I wanted some sugar, but I said salt. It was hard for me to change so I just went ahead.”

“I tried to tell you the truth many times in my life, but I was too afraid to do that, as I have promised not to lie to you for anything.”

“Now I’m dying, I’m afraid of nothing so I tell you the truth: I don’t like the salty coffee. What a strange and bad taste! But I have had the salty coffee for my whole life!”

“Since I knew you, I never feel sorry for anything I do for you. Having you with me is my biggest happiness for my whole life. If I can live for a second time, I still want to know you and have you for my whole life, even though I have to drink the salty coffee again.”

Her tears made the letter totally wet.

Someday, someone asked her, “What’s the taste of salty coffee?” “It’s sweet,” she replied.

After ordering some salt to put into the coffee, the young man must have felt _________.

A. excited         B. satisfied          C. embarrassed        D. displeased

Why did the man have salty coffee all his life?

A. To change lifestyle.                   B. To please his wife.

C. To keep his word.                     D. To remember the past

What does the write mean by saying “she almost missed him”?

A. She meant to leave him on their first date.

B. She thought of him every now and then.

C. She nearly misunderstood his explanation.

D. She could hardly believe this simple fact.

From the passage, we can see that the man is ___________.

A. dishonest but responsible              B. shy but kind-hearted

C. caring and loyal                       D. warm and understanding

It is implied in the passage that the woman ___________ when reading the letter left by her husband.

A. was confused about his behavior          B. was touched by his white lie

C. felt sorry to know the truth too late    D. felt angry about his dishonesty

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，掌握其大意，然后从36—55题所给的四个选项A、B、C、D中，选出最佳选项。

At the end of a party，he invited her to have coffee with him．In a nice coffee shop, he was too nervous to say anything, and she felt uncomfortable，thinking, “Please let me go home.’’

Suddenly he asked the  36 ,“Would you please give me some 37 ? I'd like to put it in my coffee．’’

Everybody stared at him—so 38! His face turned red，but when the waiter brought some salt for him, he still put it in his coffee and drank it．

She asked him 39，“Why do you have this hobby(嗜好)?”

He 40，“When I was a little boy，I was living 41 the sea．I liked playing in the sea，and I could 42 the taste of the sea，just like the taste of the salty coffee．Now every time I have the salty coffee，I always think of my 43．I miss my hometown and my parents so much．’’  

 She was 44 touched(感动)! A man who can tell out his homesickness must be a man who loves home，45 about home，and has responsibility for home．

 They continued to date（约会）… Then they got married. And，every time she 46 coffee for him，she put some salt in the coffee．

 After 40 years，he died，leaving her a 47 which said，“My dearest，please forgive(宽恕) my whole life lie．This was the 48 lie I told to you— the salty coffee．

 “Remember the 49 we dated? I was so nervous at that time．Actually I wanted some sugar，but I said “salt” instead．It was hard for me to correct the mistake，so I just went 50．

 “I tried to tell you the truth many times in my life，51 I was too afraid to do that，as I have promised not to lie to you for 52．

 “Now I'm 53，I'm afraid of nothing ,so I tell you the truth：I 54 the salty coffee．What a strange bad taste! But I have had the salty coffee in my whole life!…”

 Her tears made the letter totally wet．

 Someday，someone asked her，“What’s the taste of salty coffee?” “It’s 55!” she replied．

 36．A．friend          B．manager      C．waiter         D．customer

 37．A．sugar         B．salt         C．water          D．tea

 38．A．smart         B．strange            C．serious         D．important

 39．A．curiously      B．patiently    C．bravely       D．happily

 40．A．wrote         B．added             C．agreed         D．replied

41．A．in             B．over         C．near         D．above

42．A．consider       B．feel          C．observe      D．compare

43．A．childhood      B．teachers      C．friends        D．future

 44．A．hardly          B．nearly           C．possibly      D．deeply

 45．A．thinks       B．talks         C．cares        D．comes

 46．A．made               B．drank              C．finished      D．bought

 47．A．telephone      B．word        C．notice          D．letter

 48．A．only          B．first          C．last           D．best

 49．A．last time       B．first time     C．second time  D．many times

 50．A．away               B．off          C．ahead         D．around

 51．A．and           B．so             C．or                 D．but

 52．A．anything        B．nothing       C．somebody     D．anybody

 53．A．dead                B．married      C．dying          D．boring

 54．A．like           B．hate         C．remember    D．forget

 55．A．terrible        B．strange         C．delicious      D．sweet

He met her at the party. She was so outstanding, with many boys around her, while he was so normal, with nobody paying attention to him.
At the end of the party, he invited her to have coffee with him. She was surprised, but due to being polite, she agreed.
They sat in a nice coffee shop. He was too nervous to say anything, and she felt uncomfortable, thinking, “Please let me go home.”
Suddenly he asked the waiter, “Would you please give me some salt? I’d like to put it in my coffee.”
Everybody stared at him---so strange! His face turned red, but, still, he put the salt in his coffee and drank it.
She asked him curiously, “Why do you have this hobby?”
He replied, “When I was a little boy, I lived near the sea. I liked playing in the sea, and I could feel the taste of the sea, just like the taste of the salty coffee. Now every time I have the salty coffee, I always think of my childhood. I miss my hometown so much. I miss my parents who are still living there.”
While saying that, tears filled his eyes. She was deeply touched. That’s his true feeling, from the bottom of his heart. A man who can tell about his homesickness must be a man who loves home, cares about home, and has a good sense of responsibility.
Then she also started to speak, about her faraway hometown, her childhood, her family. That was a really nice talk, also a beautiful beginning of their story.
They continued to date. She found that actually he was a man who meets all her demands: he was kind-hearted, warm and careful. He was such a good person but she almost missed him!
Thanks to his salty coffee! Then the story was just like every beautiful love story, the princess married the prince, then they were living a happy life…And, every time she made coffee for him, she put some salt in the coffee.
After 40 years, he passed away, leaving her a letter which said, “My dearest, please forgive my whole-life lie. This was the only lie I said to you ---the salty coffee.”
“Remember the first time we dated? I was so nervous at that time. Actually I wanted some sugar, but I said salt. It was hard for me to change so I just went ahead.”
“I tried to tell you the truth many times in my life, but I was too afraid to do that, as I have promised not to lie to you for anything.”
“Now I’m dying, I’m afraid of nothing so I tell you the truth: I don’t like the salty coffee. What a strange and bad taste! But I have had the salty coffee for my whole life!”
“Since I knew you, I never feel sorry for anything I do for you. Having you with me is my biggest happiness for my whole life. If I can live for a second time, I still want to know you and have you for my whole life, even though I have to drink the salty coffee again.”
Her tears made the letter totally wet.
Someday, someone asked her, “What’s the taste of salty coffee?” “It’s sweet,” she replied.
【小题1】 After ordering some salt to put into the coffee, the young man must have felt _________.

He met her at a party．She was so outstanding，with many boys around her，while he was so normal, with nobody paying attention to him．

At the end of the party，he invited her to have coffee with him．She was surprised，but due to being polite，she agreed．

They sat in a nice coffee shop．He was too nervous to say anything，and she felt uncomfortable，thinking，“Please let me go home．”

Suddenly he asked the waiter，“Would you please give me some salt? I'd like to put it in my coffee．”

Everybody stared at him——so strange! His face turned red，but，still，he put the salt in his coffee and drank it．

She asked him curiously，“Why do you have this hobby?”

He replied，“When I was a little boy，I was living near the sea．I liked playing in the sea, and I could feel the taste of the sea, just like the taste of the salty coffee．Now every time I have the salty coffee．I always think of my childhood．I miss my hometown so much．I miss my parents who are still living there．”

While saying that tears filled his eyes．She was deeply touched．That's his true feeling，from the bottom of his heart．A man who can tell out his homesickness, he must be a man who loves home, cares about home, and has responsibility of home．

Then she also started to speak，about her faraway hometown，her childhood, her family．That was a really nice talk，also a beautiful beginning of their story．

They continued to date．She found that actually he was a man who meets all her demands；he was kind-hearted, warm and careful．He was such a good person but she almost missed him!

Thanks to his salty coffee! Then the story was just like every beautiful love story，the princess married the prince, then they were living a happy life…And, every time she made coffee for him，she put some salt in the coffee．

After 40 years, he passed away，leaving her a letter which said，“My dearest，please forgive my whole life lie．This was the only lie I said to you—the salty coffee．

“Remember the first time we dated? I was so nervous at that time．Actually I wanted some sugar, but I said salt．It was hard for me to change so I just went ahead．

“I tried to tell you the truth many times in my life, but I was too afraid to do that, as I have promised not to lie to you for anything．

“Now I'm dying, I'm afraid of nothing so I tell you the truth：I don't like the salty coffee．What a strange bad taste! But I have had the salty coffee for my whole life!

“Since I knew you, I never feel sorry for anything I do for you．Having you with me is my biggest happiness for my whole life．If I can live for a second time，I still want to know you and have you for my whole life，even though I have to drink the salty coffee again．”

Her tears made the letter totally wet．

Someday，someone asked her,“What's the taste of salty coffee?”“It's sweet，”she replied．

After ordering some salt to put into the coffee, the young man must have felt     ．

A．touched     B．satisfied    C．disappointed    D．embarrassed

Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．Salt coffee is more delicious and sweeter than sugar coffee．

B．The man ordered the salt coffee in order to create a chance to date with the girl．

C．The man had to have salty coffee all his life to keep his word．

D．The woman hardly believed the man's explanation at their first date．

From the passage we can see that the man is         ．

A．caring and kind-hearted      B．shy and sly

C．dishonest but responsible     D．warm and understanding

It is implied in the passage that the woman _____ when reading the letter left by her husband．

 A．was cheated by his husband's behavior    B．was touched by his husband's white lie

 C．felt sorry to know the truth too late       D．felt angry about his dishonesty

He met her at a party. She was so outstanding, while he was so normal. At the end of the party, he invited her to have coffee with him. They sat in a nice coffee shop, he was too nervous to say anything, she felt uncomfortable, and she thought to herself, “Please let me go home… ”

Suddenly he asked the waiter, “Would you please give me some salt? I'd like to put it in my coffee. ” Everybody stared at him, so strange! His face turned red, but, still, he put the salt in his coffee and drank it. She asked him curiously, “Why do you have this hobby?” He replied, “When I was a little boy, I was living near the sea, I liked playing in the sea, I could feel the taste of the sea, just like the taste of the salty coffee. Now every time I have the salty coffee. I always think of my childhood and hometown.” While saying that, tears filled his eyes. She was deeply touched. A man who can tell out his homesickness, must be a man who has responsibility of home. Then she started to speak about her faraway hometown, her childhood, her family.

That was a really nice beginning of their story. They continued to date. She found that actually he was a man who meets all her damands. He was such a good person but she almost missed him! Thank to his salty coffee! They got married. Every time she made coffee, she put some salt in the coffee, as she know that’s the way he liked it.

After 40 years, he passed away, left her a letter which said, “My dearest, please forgive my whole life lie. This was the only lie I said to you—the salty coffee. Remember the first time we dated? I was so nervous actually I wanted some sugar, but I said salt. It was hard for me to change so I went ahead. I tried to tell you the truth many times in my life, but I was too afraid to do that, as I have promised not to lie to you for anything. I'm afraid of nothing so I tell you the truth; I don't like the salty coffee, what a strange bad taste. But I have had the salty coffee for my whole life! Since I knew you, I never feel sorry for anything I do for you. If I call live for a second time. I still want to know you and have you for my whole life, even though I have to drink the salty coffee again.”

Her tears made the letter totally wet. Someday, someone asked her, “What's the taste of salty coffee?” she replied. “sweet,”

1.The reason why the woman wanted to leave is that _______．

    A．the man was normal while the woman was outstanding

    B．the woman was too nervous to stay

    C．the woman felt uncomfortable to be with the man

    D．the man asked for salty coffee

2.Why did she think the salty coffee tasted sweet?

    A．Because the salty coffee represented her husband's endless love for her．

    B．Because she mistook the sugar for salt．

    C．Because her husband switched salt with sugar in her coffee．

    D．Because the salty coffee was a white lie with a good intention．

3.What can we learn from the man's letter?      

    A．The man wasn't brave enough to tell the truth because he was scared of the woman,

    B．The man had never thought of telling the truth before he was dying．

    C．The man fell in love with the salty coffee gradually after many years of taking it out of his love for his wife．

    D．The man would still, choose to drink salty coffee if he had to know and have her through it．

4.In what way does the writer develop this story?     

    A．Cause and effect．                   B．Problem reasoning．

    C．The time order．                     D．Statistics analyzing,