At 4:00 A.M. on Sunday morning, my friend, Tim, awoke me. He was sleeping in the living room right next to the front door and said there was a man pounding on my front door and screaming. At first, I was like, "Shut up and leave me alone," but then I heard one of the scariest voices of my life. The man sounded of Spanish descent (血统), older, and in pain.

I was home alone for the week, so I had two guns loaded with bullets. I had a rifle (步枪) next to my bed and a shotgun next to my front door. I grabbed my rifle. Tim asked me, "What are you doing?"

"Getting my gun, what do you think I'm doing?" I asked.

As I headed down the hall towards the front door, I remembered Chad, my older brother, telling me to protect myself when he left. Immediately, I grabbed the shotgun and gave it to Tim. Thinking that it might scare the person off, I went to my back door and shot my rifle into the dark cold sky. However, this did not work. "Protect yourself, Sarah," kept going through my head. The man kept yelling and pounding on my door. I would have just opened the door, but I watched too many "America's Most Wanted" shows, where that is how they get the little girls to open the door. So, I then called 911 myself.

The operator said, "911. What is your emergency?"

I replied, "My name is Sarah Miller and I am at Juniper Lane in Hotchkiss and there is a man beating on my front door and telling me to let him in." That was the start of all the excitement. I continued to tell her what was going on and what had already gone on. Our conversation was still going when I heard the man walk off my door. During this time, the police were having a discussion of whether they should respond to the call. When I heard the man walk off my door, I thought that he was going to leave.

I was still on the phone when I heard the man in my basement. "Protect yourself, Sarah," went through my head again. The basement stairs lead right up to a door entering our house. We leave our garage door open to cool off our house when the weather is good. The man was yelling, "Help me" from the bottom of the stairs. I walked over and made sure the door was locked and made sure there was a bullet in the rifle. I stood there with the phone in one hand and my trusty old rifle in the other just waiting for him to start coming up the stairs.

My conversation with the operator went from "Hi, how are you now?" to "What are you doing to help me here?" About this time, the operator told me that the policeman should be at the bottom of my driveway, so I turned on all of the lights, inside and outside. I still had my rifle in my hands when the policeman walked up the stairs to my front door. "Did you see an older Spanish man walking down my driveway by any chance?" I asked him.

"Um, no," he answered. I then asked him if he had seen anyone in the basement, and again he said, "No". So at this time, he went back down the stairs and approached my garage. For some reason, I knew that there was still someone in there. I crouched (猫着腰) down to where I could see into the garage / basement area. As the policeman approached the basement, he yelled, "Whoa, put your hands up. Freeze."

"I’ve got you," were the first words out of my mouth; I don't know what I was thinking. After this happened, I realized that those words weren't exactly the smartest choice of words. About this time, another policeman pulled into my driveway with his lights on followed by a police officer. As I approached the basement with my rifle, I was worried about what I would see. What I saw will always stick with me forever. A poor twenty-nine year old Spanish man was crapping (拉屎) there, and I almost shot him because he was coming to my house to find help. His face was all bloody, his nose was broken, his clothes were torn, and worst of all, he didn't speak English, and none of the policemen who were there spoke Spanish. I had taken three years of Spanish before, so I translated what the Spanish guy, Jose, was saying to the policemen. About this time an ambulance came up my driveway with its lights on. So, I had three police cars and an ambulance, all with their lights on, in my driveway. I'm sure my neighbors all came out, since nothing had ever happened in my small community.

I did protect myself that night. My brother was right when he said that you could never be too careful. "Wake up Sarah. It's time for school," my mom said a couple of mornings later. That is how I prefer to be woken up. I will always have a loaded gun next to my bed after this incident.

55. The moment Tim awoke her, the author ______.

A. screamed            B. felt annoyed     C. heard the voice           D. grabbed the rifle

56. Why did the author go to the back door and shot into the sky?

A. Because she wanted to scare the man off.   B. Because she wanted to kill the man.

C. Because she wanted to call for help.       D. Because she wanted to remind the police.

57. The Spanish man pounded the author’s door so early ______.

A. to practise speaking English                            B. to meet his old friend

C. to seek help                                            D. to hide himself

58. By saying “That was the start of all the excitement”, maybe the author ______.

A. thought they talked too much exciting things

B. was excited that she could talk with the operator

C. was sure that the police would come

D. wanted to say their conversation lasted a long time

59. What did the author learn from the incident?

A. She regretted what she had done to the Spanish

B. She felt it fortunate to know a little Spanish

C. She thought it couldn’t be too careful about her safety.

D. She would never live alone in a big house.

60. Which of the following can be used as the title of this passage?

A. Make ends meet      B. As busy as a bee    C. A piece of cake    D. A false alarm

I have only once been in trouble with the law．The whole process of being arrested and taken to court was a rather unpleasant experience at the time, but it makes a good story now． What makes it rather disturbing was the arbitrary（随意的）circumstances both of my arrest and my subsequent （随后的） fate in court．
It happened in February about twelve years ago．I had left school a couple of months before that and was not due to go to university until the following October．I was still living at home at the time．
One morning I was in Richmond, a suburb of London near where I lived．I was looking for a temporary job so that I could save up some money to go traveling．As it was a fine day and I was in no hurry, I was taking my time, looking in shop windows, strolling in the park, and sometimes just stopping and looking around me．It must have been this obvious aimlessness that led to my downfall．
It was about half past eleven when it happened．I was just walking out of the local library, having unsuccessfully sought employment there, when I saw a man walking across the road with the obvious intention of talking to me．I thought he was going to ask me the time．Instead, he said he was a police officer and he was arresting me．At first I thought it was some kind of joke
But then another policeman appeared, this time in uniform, and I was left in no doubt．
'But what for?" I asked
‘Wandering with intent to commit an arrestable offence,' he said．
‘What offence?' I asked
'Theft,' he said
'Theft of what?'I asked
'Milk bottles,' he said, and with a perfectly straight face too!
'Oh,' I said．
It turned out there had been a lot of petty thefts in the area, particularly that of stealing milk bottles from doorsteps．
Then I made my big mistake．At the time I was nineteen, had long untidy hair, and regarded myself as pan of the sixties' 'youth counterculture'．As a result, I wanted to appear cool and unconcerned with the incident, so I said, 'How long have you been following me?  in the most casual and conversational tone I could manage．I thus appeared to them to be quite familiar with this sort of situation, and it confirmed them in their belief that I was a thoroughly disreputable （品行不端的） character．
A few minutes later a police car arrived．
'Get in the back,' they said．'Put your hands on the back of the front seat and don't move them．'
They got in on either side of me．It wasn't funny any more．
At the police station they questioned me for several hours．I continued to try to look worldly and familiar with the situation．When they asked me what I had been doing, I told them I'd been looking for a job．'Aha,' I could see them thinking, 'unemployed'．
Eventually, I was officially charged and told to report to Richmond Magistrates' Court the following Monday．Then they let me go．
I wanted to conduct my own defense in court, but as soon as my father found out what had happened, he hired a very good solicitor （律师）．We went along that Monday armed with all kinds of witnesses, including my English teacher from school as a character witness．But he was never called on to give evidence．My 'trial' didn't get that far．The magistrate （法官） dismissed the case after fifteen minutes．1 was free．The poor police had never stood a chance．The solicitor even succeeded in getting costs awarded against the police．
And so I do not have a criminal record．But what was most shocking at the time was the things my release from the charge so clearly depended on．I had the 'right' accent, respectable middle-class parents in court, reliable witnesses, and I could obviously afford a very good solicitor．Given the obscure nature of the charge．I feel sure that if I had come from a different background, and had really been unemployed, there is every chance that I would have been found guilty．While asking for costs to be awarded, my solicitor's case quite obviously revolved （回转） around the fact that I had a 'brilliant academic record'．
Meanwhile, just outside the courtroom, one of the policemen who had arrested me was gloomily complaining to my mother that another youngster had been turned against the police． 'You could have been a bit more helpful when we arrested you,' he said to me reproachfully （责备地）．
What did he mean? Probably that I should have looked outraged （暴怒）and said something like, 'Look here, do you know who you're talking to? I am a highly successful student with a brilliant academic record．How dare you arrest me!' Then they, probably, would have apologized perhaps even taken off their caps, and let me on my way．

1. 1.

   Judging from the first paragraph, the writer's attitude towards his story is _______．

   1. A.
      angry
   2. B.
      sad
   3. C.
      amused
   4. D.
      more than just one of the above
2. 2.

   The first man who came up to him was ______．

   1. A.
      a uniformed policeman
   2. B.
      a policeman in plainclothes
   3. C.
      not a policeman
   4. D.
      a good joker
3. 3.

   The court never asked the author's English teacher to give evidence because _______．

   1. A.
      the time for the trial was limited to fifteen minutes only
   2. B.
      the author wanted to conduct his own defense in court
   3. C.
      the case was dismissed before the trial reached that stage
   4. D.
      he was found to be unqualified as a character witness
4. 4.

   The author believes that he would most probably have been declared guilty if _______．

   1. A.
      the magistrate had been less gentle
   2. B.
      he had really been out of work
   3. C.
      he had been born in a lower—class family
   4. D.
      both B and C
5. 5.

   In the opinion of one of the policeman who had arrested the author, the whole thing might not have occurred if ______．

   1. A.
      he had protested strongly at the time
   2. B.
      he had begged to be allowed to go home
   3. C.
      he hadn't wandered aimlessly
   4. D.
      he had tried to look cool
6. 6.

   We can see from the passage that the author ______．

   1. A.
      has broken the law only once
   2. B.
      has never broken the law
   3. C.
      has broken the law on more than one occasion
   4. D.
      once broke the law without knowing it

Curt and I have the kind of friendship that I wish everyone would be able to experience.

Our friendship __21__ many years ago. We met while __22__ different high schools. As years passed, we became good friends. Curt was the best man(伴郎) in my wedding, and I was __23__ a few years later when he married my sister’s roommate. And yet the event that most showed our partnership and __24__ our friendship happened over 25 years ago, when we were in our 20s.

Curt and I were attending a pool party at the local Swim and Racquet Club. We were walking to the car, joking about the party, and Curt __25__ me and said, “Steve, you’ve had too much __26__. Maybe I should drive.” At first I thought he was __27__, but since Curt is definitely the wiser of us, I __28__ his judgment.

 “Good idea,” I said, and handed him the __29__.

After I was settled in the passenger seat and Curt sat behind the wheel, he said, “I’m going to need your __30__ because I’m not sure how to get to your house from here.”

 “No problem,” I__31__.

Curt started the car and we were __32__. The next 10 miles seemed like a hundred as I prompted(提示) Curt with __33__: left now, right soon, slow down, speed up and so on. The important thing was that we got home __34__ that night.

Ten years later at my wedding, Curt brought __35__to the eyes of 400 guests as he told the story of our partnership and __36__ we drove home together that night. Why was it such a(n)__37__ story? We would all, I hope, offer our keys __38__ we knew we shouldn’t drive. But you see, my friend Curt was blind. He had been blind from__39__ and never sat behind the wheel of a car__40__ that night.