When I was young, I really doubted whether there was love between my parents. Every day they were busy earning money so that they could   41  the high tuition my brother and I needed. They didn’t   42  in the romantic ways that I read in books or saw on TV.

One day, Mom was sewing a quilt（被子）. I  43 sat down beside her. “Mom, I have a  44  here,” I said after a while. “Is there love between you and Dad?” I asked her in a very　45 voice.

Mom stopped her work and raised her head with   46  in her eyes. She didn’t answer immediately. She bent her head and continued to sew the quilt. I was   47  if I had hurt her. I was in great embarrassment and I was at a loss what to do. But at last she said, very   48  , “Susan, look at this   49 . Sometimes it appears, but most of it disappears in the quilt. The thread really makes the quilt strong and lasting. If   50  is a quilt, then love should be a thread. It can hardly be seen, but it’s really there.   51  is inside.”

I listened carefully but I couldn’t understand her until years later.

One day, Dad accidentally got　  52  while on duty. Ever since then he could no longer　  53　properly. Every morning and dusk Mom would help Dad walk slowly on the country road. Along the country road, there were beautiful flowers, green grass and trees. The leaves were gently glistening（发光）   54  the sun shining upon them. All of these made up the most beautiful   55  in the world.

“Dad, how are you feeling now?” I asked him one day. “Susan, don’t worry about me,” he said gently. “I just like walking with your mom. I like this kind of life.” Looking into his eyes, I  56　what they meant.

The doctor had said Dad would   57 in two months. But that day never came. He   58 away in peace.

59 I thought love meant flowers, gifts and sweet kisses. But from this   60 , I understand that love is just a thread in the quilt of our life, which makes life strong and warm…

1.                A．afford          B．cost            C．spend    D．offer

2.                A．go             B．live            C．act  D．walk

3.                A．happily         B．silently         C．secretly  D．nervously

4.                A．request        B．problem        C．message  D．question

5.                A．loud           B．light           C．low  D．clear

6.                A．surprise        B．anger          C．stress    D．horror

7.                A．amazed         B．confused        C．shocked  D．ashamed

8.                A．quickly         B．excitedly        C．bitterly   D．gently

9.                A．quilt           B．needle         C．thread   D．sewing

10.               A．belief          B．work           C．experience D．life

11.               A．Warmth        B．Thread         C．Cotton    D．Love

12.               A．tired           B．drunk          C．ill    D．injured

13.               A．talk            B．walk           C．work D．think

14.               A．with           B．as             C．for   D．by

15.               A．signs           B．symbols        C．pictures   D．reflections

16.               A．read           B．doubted        C．translated  D．recognized

17.               A．retire          B．recover        C．regain D．remove

18.               A．passed         B．escaped        C．faded D．turned

19.               A．Again          B．Once          C．Then D．Later

20.               A．word          B．account        C．experience D．accident

However，at　times　this　balance　in　nature　is＿＿，resulting　in　anumber　of　possibly　unforeseen　effects．

A)troubled?B)disturbed?C)confused?D)puzzled

“Any time! Any where! Decades ago there was no such thing” – “Communication”.
Then, September 7th 1987, the global system for mobile communication or GSM was born. And international agreements that laid out the standards, regulations and practices gave rise to a global mobile phone industry.
To be honest, the world’s first mobiles were not so attractive and the range of effectiveness wasn’t very good. But they became a must-have among those wealthy people who could afford that. However, by advantage of GSM which has many different elements to it, we can all enjoy the ability to go around the world in 217 countries, land in that country and know that a phone would work.
There are other cell phone systems using different technology in the world. The majority of the United States and parts of South America have been using something called CDMA which is very rare in Europe. In some Asian countries like China, GSM and CDMA both exist at the same time. But the GSM Association claims 85% of the global mobile phone market. They estimated there are now about 2.5 billion different users who make more than 7 trillion minutes of calls everyday, and that’s not all.
20 years later, the mobile phone is so much more than just a phone. You can use it to send text messages, take pictures, show video, even surf the internet.
“The phone itself is involved from just being a communication tool, to be a tool for round-the-clock connectivity, you can not live without it even in a minute.” Mobile consultant Nick Lane also points out with so many customized styles and features, your mobile phone will become a symbol of you.
Where will the global mobile phone industry be in another 20 years? Certainly, there will be more connections than better coverage. As for where else technology will take us, one can only imagine.
【小题1】According the passage, we can know that GSM is ____________.

B
I’m a pig, and my son is a rabbit. I have snakes for daughters, and my wife, believe it or not, is a dragon! Do I live in a zoo? No, of course not! I am talking about Chinese zodiac signs. Depending on the year of your birth, each person has an animal for a sign. That’s why I am a pig and my wife is a dragon. If you, like me, were born in the year of the pig, then you are brave, thoughtful and loyal. The year of the pig is filled with good fortune.
　　Now let’s take a closer look at this interesting animal.
　　Pigs were first raised by man about 9,000 years ago, and are still a very common farm animal in many parts of the world. We don’t just use pigs for their meat — almost every part of the animal is used. The hair is used for artists’ brushes. The fat is used to make floor wax, rubber and plastics.
　Pigs have also been important in the world of entertainment. In 1995 the film ‘Babe’ starred a loveable talking pig as its main character. The film won an Oscar and was nominated for 6 more. In England you can even go to watch pig racing. A farmer, Rob Shepherd, has been raising money for charity by holding pig races on his farm. The events have been very successful. People don’t just want to eat pigs, it seems!
　Pigs also play an important role in the English language. For example, if someone says that he will travel to the sun one day, you can say “pigs might fly!” to him. Hungry? Well then, you can “pig out” and eat lots of food. And what if someone rescues you? Well, you can say that they “saved your bacon”.
44. The writer wrote the first paragraph in a ______ tone.
　　A. sad　　　　　　B. confused 　   　C. serious　　　　 D. humorous
45. We may know from the passage that ______.
　　A. people in England like pigs more than other animals
　　B. pigs are more useful than ordinary people imagine
　　C. pigs are the first animals raised by man
　　D. more people don’t want to eat pigs now
46. The underlined sentence “pigs might fly!” in the fifth paragraph means “______”.
　　A. What you have just said is impossible
　　B. Pigs are great animals
　　C. I don’t understand your words
　　D. I can’t agree with you more
47. Which diagram shows the structure of the passage?
　　　　　　　　
　　　　　A 　　　　　　　　B 　　　　　　　C　　　　　　　　　 D

I’m a pig, and my son is a rabbit. I have snakes for daughters, and my wife, believe it or not, is a dragon! Do I live in a zoo? No, of course not! I am talking about Chinese zodiac signs（十二生肖）. Depending on the year of your birth, each person has an animal for a sign. That’s why I am a pig and my wife is a dragon. If you, like me, were born in the year of the pig, then you are brave, thoughtful and loyal. The year of the pig is filled with good fortune.

　　 Now let’s take a closer look at this interesting animal.

　　 Pigs were first raised by man about 9,000 years ago, and are still a very common farm animal in many parts of the world. We don’t just use pigs for their meat — almost every part of the animal is used. The hair is used for artists’ brushes. The fat is used to make floor wax, rubber and plastics.

　   Pigs have also been important in the world of entertainment. In 1995 the film ‘Babe’ starred a loveable talking pig as its main character. The film won an Oscar and was nominated （提名）for 6 more. In England you can even go to watch pig racing. A farmer, Rob Shepherd, has been raising money for charity by holding pig races on his farm. The events have been very successful. People don’t just want to eat pigs, it seems!

　   Pigs also play an important role in the English language. For example, if someone says that he will travel to the sun one day, you can say “pigs might fly!” to him. Hungry? Well then, you can “pig out” and eat lots of food. And what if someone rescues you? Well, you can say that they “saved your bacon”.

1. The writer wrote the first paragraph in a ______ tone.

　　A. sad　　　　　　B. confused       　C. serious　　　　 D. humorous

2. We may know from the passage that ______.

　　A. people in England like pigs more than other animals

　　B. pigs are more useful than ordinary people imagine

　　C. pigs are the first animals raised by man

　　D. more people don’t want to eat pigs now

3.The underlined sentence “pigs might fly!” in the fifth paragraph means “______”.

　　A. What you have just said is impossible

　　B. Pigs are great animals

　　C. I don’t understand your words

　　D. I can’t agree with you more

4.Which diagram shows the structure（结构） of the passage?

　　　　　A 　　　　　　　　B 　　　　　　　C　　　　　　　　　 D