Charles Plumb, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, was a jet fighter pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was     by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb was     and spent six years in prison in Vietnam. He survived and now      about lessons learned from that experience.

　　One day, Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant when a man at another table came up and said, "You're Plumb! You    jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier (航空母舰) Kitty Hawk . You were      !"

"How in the world did you know that?" asked Plumb.

　　"I      your parachute," the man replied. Plumb gasped（倒吸一口气） in surprise and     .The man pumped his hand and said, "I guess it worked!"

Plumb assured him, "It     did—if your chute hadn't worked, I wouldn't be here today."

Plumb couldn't sleep that night，thinking about that man. He says, "I wondered how many times I might have passed him      the Kitty Hawk. I wondered how many times I might have seen him and not even said 'Good morning, how are you', or anything     , you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was just a      ."

Plumb thought of the many days the sailor had spent on a long wooden table in the bowels（深处）of the ship      working on each chute, holding in his hands each time the      of someone he didn't know.

　　Plumb asks his      , "Who's packing your     ? Everyone has someone who provides what they need to make it      the day." Plumb also says that he needed many kinds of parachutes when his plane was shot down—he needed his      parachute, his mental parachute, his emotional parachute, and his spiritual parachute. He called on all these      before reaching safety. His experience reminds us all to     and be kind to people who pack our daily parachutes, and strengthen us to go through      times.

1.A.followed      B. destroyed      C. spied         D.seen

2.A.released       B. wounded      C.captured       D.killed

3.A. lectures       B. gives         C.  studies      D.hear

4.A. repaired       B. made         C.flew          D.cleaned

5.A. taken down    B. looked down   C. set down      D.shot down

6.A. bought        B. checked      C. found          D.packed

7.A.gratefully      B.suspiciously    C. happily        D.sadly

8.A. almost        B.surely          C.narrowly      D.nearly

9.A. abroad        B.in             C.on            D.at

10.A. so          B. because        C.unless         D.though

11.A. sailor        B.  captain      C. pilot          D.technician

12.A.unwillingly    B.immediately    C. worriedly      D.carefully

13.A.death         B. fortune        C.fate           D.chance

14.A. wife         B. children       C. sailors        D.audience

15.A.luggage       B. bag          C. parachute      D.future

16.A. through       B. to           C. up to          D.as

17.A. psychological  B. physical      C.  imaginary     D.safe

18.A. spirits        B. emotions     C. supports        D.people

19.A. award        B. recognize     C.reward         D. help

20.A. happy        B. tough        C. comfortable     D. cosy

C

　　The curtain on the 2008 US presidential election finally rose last month as Requblican Senator(参议员) John McCain and Democratic Senator Barack Obama were formally selected as candidates of the two major parties.This may be one of the hardest decisions voters have to make between two appealing candidates.The big question for voters,as they face both an economic downturn and international threats,is :who will they elect? A young first - term senator promising change and new ideas,or a longtime senator with strong military experience and a reputation as a maverick(特立独行的人)？

　　American voters have never seen a candidate quite like Obama.He has a white mother from the US and a black fater from Kenya who left the family when Obama was very young.He spent part of his youth in Indonesia.

　　However,McCain has a very different life story.

　　He grew up in a Navy family and was a daring pilot during the Vietnam War in the 1960s. When Obama was in kindergarten in Indonesia,McCain's plane was shot down over Ietenam and he became a prisoner of war.McCain could have been set free if he disowned America but he refused and so was held for five years.

　　"We need a president who is very,very old,"McCain joked at his age as many others do.If elected,he would be 72 when he takes office and the oldest man to step in.

　　So in the end,the election may depend on several factors that are hard to judge:Will Obama's race matter to a significant number of voters ? Will workingclass whites who tended to support his primary (党内初选) oponent,Hillary Clinton,vote for Obama? And perhaps most important of all,will uncertain voters be more attracted to Obama's vision or to McCain's experience?

　　Whatever happens,one thing is clear,however:Whoever walks into the White House on January 20,2009,will find huge challenges waiting for him in the Oval Office,both at home and abroad.

　　64.______makes the result of the election hard to predict.

　　　A.Whether working class whites care about Obama's inexperience

　　　B.The economic trouble the country now faces

　　　C.Who uncertain voters will finally decide to vote for

　　　D.McCain being too old to govern the country

　　65.The appeal in Obama as a presidential candidate lies in _________

　　　A.his multi - cultural background

　　　B.his belife in tradition

　　　C.his inexperience in politics

　　　D.his fantastic promises

　　66.The word "disown" in Paragraph 6 means closest to ______.

　　　A.flee from

　　　B.turn his back on

　　　C.not keep it private

　　　D.expose secrets about

　　67.The challenges that will face the new preident______.

　　　A.are not mentioned in the text

　　　B.include buklding a strong party and a friendly image

　　　C.refer to the problems of immigrants and economy

　　　D.refer to the problems of economy amd international relations

　A man named Smith was sitting on his roof during a flood, and the water was up to his feet. Before long a fellow in a canoe passed and shouted, "Can I give you a lift to higher ground?"

　　"No, thanks," said Smith. "I have faith in God and he will save me."

　　Soon the water rose to Smith's waist. At this point a motor boat pulled up and someone called out, "Can I give you a lift to higher ground?"

　　"No, thanks, I have faith in God and he will save me."

　　Later a helicopter flew by, and Smith was now standing on the roof with water up to his neck. "Grab the rope, "shouted the pilot. "I'll pull you up."

　　"No, thanks," said Smith. "I have faith in God and he will save me. "But after hours of struggling with water, poor exhausted Smith drowned and went to his reward. As he arrived at the Pearly Gates, Smith met God and complained about this. "Tell me, God, "he said, "I had such faith in you to save me and you let me drown. What happened?"

　　To which God replied, "What do you want from me? I sent you two boats and a helicopter."

　When the pilot asked Smith to grab the rope, ______.

　　　　A. Smith pulled the pilot up　　　　　 B. Smith did so

　　　　C. Smith didn't do so　　　　　　　　 D. Smith didn't hear him

At last, poor exhausted Smith drowned and ______.

　　　　A. went to his reward　　　　　　　　B. passed away

　　　　C. went to heaven　　　　　　　　　 D. all of the above

　What do we know about Smith? ______.

　　　　A. He was a lazy man

　　　　B. He was a lucky man who believed in God

　　　　C. He was a poor man

What do you think of this passage? This passage is very ______.

　　　　A. moving　　　　B. humorous　　　C. depressing　　　D. surprising

　　　　　D. He was a silly man who believed in God

  Do you always understand the directions on a bottle of medicine? Do you know what is meant by "Take only as directed"? Read the following directions and see if you understand them.

　　"To reduce pain, take two tablets(药片)with water, followed by one tablet every eight hours, as required. For night-time and early morning relief take two tablets at bedtime. Do not take more than six tablets in twenty-four hours.

For children six to twelve years old, give half the amount. For children under six years old, ask for your doctor's advice.

　　Reduce the amount if you suffer from restlessness or sleeplessness after taking the medicine.

1. How many tablets at most can a person over 12 have in 24 hours?

　 A. Eight　　　　  B. Six　　　　　C. Four　　　 D. Three

2. How many tablets should a nine-year-old child normally take in 24 hours?

　 A. Half a tablet.                                 B. One tablet.

　 C. Two tablets .                              D. Four tablets.

3. What is the advice for one who cannot sleep well after taking the medicine?

　 A. Stop taking the medicine at bedtime.

　 B. Take less than the normal amount.

　 C. Take more than the normal amount.

　 D. Continue to take the normal amount.

4.It can be inferred from the directions that this medicine      .

　 A. helps you to fall asleep quickly

　 B. should not be taken by children under six　　

　 C. cannot be taken if one feels sleepy

　 D. may be dangerous to small children

　　"Mark Twain" was the name used by Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835-1910) when he wrote books. His father was a lawyer, but a poor one, who lived at Florida, Missouri. The family was so poor that Samuel did not receive much teaching. He had to learn all that he could from the people whom he met. His father died when he was very young, and then there was even less money than before.

　　Many of the men in this part of America worked in the ships on the great River Mississippi, and he did this himself at one time (1857).

　　Where did he find the name "Mark Twain"? It came from the great river itself. It was part of one of the cries used by men who worked in the ships. When a man called "By the mark twain!"  he meant that the river was "two marks deep" there, that is to say, six feet deep ( "Twain" is an old form of the work "Two".) Samuel Clemens often heard these words when he was young, and he used them as a penname all his life.

　　During his work on the Mississippi he met travelers of all kinds, and this helped him a great deal when he started to write. But the number of travelers became smaller when war started in America in 1861. Many of the great ships on the river stopped work. Samuel left then and went to Nevada with his brother, who was at that time Governor of Nevada. There, near the town of Carson, Samuel became a gold miner, but he never made much money at the time. He soon saw that life in the gold mines was not for him. He also tried writing for the newspapers in Nevada, and this seemed more hopeful. He found that he could write.

　　He went to Europe in 1867 and visited France and Italy. In 1870 he married Olivia Langdon, and two years later he was spending nearly all his time writing. Among his books is his own story (1908).

　　He is now always known as Mark Twain, and many people do not even know that his family name was Clemens. He traveled in America and in England, and went to Oxford in 1907. He was one of  the great American writers of the time, and could make his readers laugh – a thing which few writers can do. He died in 1910.

1."Mark Twain" was _________.

      A. a famous American writer  B. name of a book

      C. a great river in America  D. a large ship

2.As a child, Samuel did not get much education because _________.

A.his father died too early

B.the family was very poor

  C. he disliked school very much

D. he could learn what he liked from the people he met

3. What gave him a great deal when he started writing? _______

A. His poor childhood     B. The Mississippi river 

C. All kinds of travelers he met  D. His brother

4. We can infer from the passage that ________.

A. Samuel loved writing from his early age

B. Samuel did not love writing at the beginning

C. his writings to the newspaper were successful

D. his brother encouraged him to write more

5.According to the writer of the passage, a good writer could _________.

A. write a lot for his readers

B. make a lot of money for his family

C. cause his readers to laugh

D. travel everywhere he wanted