The Board Meeting had come to an end. Bob started to stand up and knocked into the table, spilling his coffee over his notes. “How embarrassing! I am getting so clumsy(笨拙的) in my old age.”
Everyone had a good laugh, and soon we were all telling stories of our most embarrassing moments. It came around to Frank, who sat quietly listening to the others. Someone said, “Come on, Frank. Tell us your most embarrassing moment.”
Frank laughed and began to tell us of his childhood. “I grew up in San Pedro. My Dad was a fisherman, and he loved the sea. He had his own boat, but it was hard making a living on the sea. He worked hard and would stay out until he caught enough to feed the family. Not just enough for our family, but also for his Mom and Dad and the other kids that were still at home.”
He looked at us and said, “I wish you could have met my Dad. He was a big man, and he was strong from pulling the nets and fighting the seas for his catch. When you got close to him, he smelled like the ocean. He would wear his old canvas, foul-weather coat and his bibbed overalls. His rain hat would be pulled down over his brow. No matter how much my mother washed them, they would still smell of the sea and of fish.”
Frank’s voice dropped a bit. “When the weather was bad he would drive me to school. He had this old truck that he used in his fishing business. That truck was older than he was. It would wheeze and rattle down the road. You could hear it coming for blocks. As he would drive toward the school, I would shrink (畏缩) down into the seat hoping to disappear. Half the time, he would slam to a stop and the old truck would belch (喷出) a cloud of smoke. He would pull right up in front, and it seemed like everybody would be standing around and watching. Then he would lean over and give me a big kiss on the cheek and tell me to be a good boy. It was so embarrassing for me. Here, I was twelve years old, and my Dad would lean over and kiss me goodbye!”
He paused and then went on, “I remember the day I decided I was too old for a goodbye kiss. When we got to the school and came to a stop, he had his usual big smile. He started to lean toward me, but I put my hand up and said, “No, Dad.” It was the first time I had ever talked to him that way, and he had this surprised look on his face. I said, “Dad, I’m too old for a goodbye kiss. I’m too old for any kind of kiss.” My Dad looked at me for the longest time, and his eyes started to tear up. Then he turned and looked out of the windshield(挡风玻璃). “You’re right,” he said. “ You are a big boy....a man. I won’t kiss you anymore.”
Frank got a funny look on his face, and the tears began to well up in his eyes, as he spoke. “It wasn’t long after that when my Dad went to sea and never came back. It was a day when most of the fleet (船队) stayed in, but not Dad. He had a big family to feed. They found his boat adrift with its nets half in and half out. He must have gotten into a strong wind and was trying to save the nets and the floats.”
I looked at Frank and saw that tears were running down his cheeks. Frank spoke again. “Guys, you don’t know what I would give to have my Dad give me just one more kiss on the cheek…to feel his rough old face… to smell the ocean on him… to feel his arm around my neck. I wish I had been a man then. If I had been a man, I would never have told my Dad I was too old for a goodbye kiss.”
【小题1】When his father drove him to the school, Frank would shrink down into the seat hoping to disappear because ________.

Did you know that a turtle（乌龟）can lay 12 eggs in one minute? A large sea turtle lays
around 150 eggs at a time. She lays all these eggs in just a few minutes.
Large sea turtles live in the warm seas of the world. Except for when they lay their eggs,
they spend their whole lives in the water. When it is time to lay their eggs, the females swim toland. They usually return to the place where they themselves were born. How they find theirway back there is unknown.When they reach shore, the big, heavy turtles crawl slowly up to the high water mark.Using their flippers, they pull themselves along the sand. They must struggle like mountainclimbers. When they finally reach dry sand, they rest before beginning the difficult task oflaying eggs.The turtles lay the eggs in deep holes and cover them with warm sand. The sand protectsthe eggs from harm. Then the females leave them. After a few weeks, if you happened to be walking along the beach, you might see the sand begin to shake. You may see tiny black ballscoming out of the sand. The tiny heads of baby turtles!
【小题1】
Which sentence expresses the main idea?

Dangerous creatures

Some beach creatures are wonderful—like dolphins, but others are dangerous. Find out more about the dangerous ones –puffer fish, blue ringed octopus, and stingrays.

The blue ringed octopus

The blue ringed octopus is not a very big creature but it is very dangerous.

These octopuses are found all around the coast of Australia. They often lie in rock pools close to shore.

The blue ringed octopus is usually a dull colour but it shows its bright blue rings when it is in danger. If it is taken out of the water by someone, it is able to bite him and poison him.

If this creature bites someone, he will feel numbness (麻木) around the mouth, face and neck, Puffer Fish

Puffer Fish are found in all Australian seas. They are very easy to catch but must not be eaten because their flesh contains a poison.

Anyone who does eat the flesh can become sick very quickly. They may even stop breathing.

The Blue Bottle

The Blue Bottle is found in most Australian waters. Blue Bottles float lightly on the surface of the water but their tentacles(触角)can be as long as 10 meters.

Blue Bottles are much less dangerous than some other jellyfish, but they can give a swimmer a bad sting(刺) if the swimmer accidentally touches them.

Stingrays

There are many different kinds of stingrays in Australian waters. They usually swim and feed on the bottom of the sea. Accidents can happen if people stand on them or try to pick them up.

Stingrays have a sting on their tail. These stings have poison on them. If someone is stung, the wound can easily become infected.

If you swim in Australian waters, you will probably             .

       A．be bitten by the blue ringed octopus

       B．stop breathing because of Puffer Fish

       C．get a bad sting by the Blue Bottle

       D．become infected by stingrays

According to the text, the less aggressive (侵略性)creature is            .

       A．the blue ringed octopus   B．puffer fish

       C．the blue bottle         D．stingrays

According to this passage, the correct one of the following is that           .

       A．all creatures along the coast of Australia are dangerous

       B．poisonous creatures change the body color when in danger

       C．no accident will happen unless people touch these creatures

       D．if people stand on the beach, accidents can happen because of creatures

The main idea of this passage is about             .

      A．dangerous creatures in the sea B．interesting creatures in the ocean

       C．wild creatures in Australia seas       D．different creatures in Australian waters

阅读下面的短文，掌握其大意，然后从下列各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题纸上将该项涂黑。

Animals perform many useful and amusing jobs. Dogs are particularly valuable in guiding the blind,   31   property(财产), finding   32   people, and hunting criminals(犯人). Horses are used in guarding herds(牧群)，carrying men in lands where there are no roads, and helping farmers work their land. Pigeons(鸽子)  33   to carry messages. Wild animals from the jungles, forests and seas are very popular performers in   34   and motion pictures(电影). People realize that,   35   animals may not have the same intelligence(智慧) as   36  , they are clever enough to learn certain things.

   The first thing a dog is taught is to  37  . It should not  38   too 1ong for him to learn commands. Simple orders, such as “sit, lie down，stay there, come here, ” can  39  be taught by a child.

   Training a dog to be a watchdog often produces unexpected results. Some dogs quickly learn the difference   40   unwanted people and friends. This is   41   their masters welcome friends and invite them into their houses. However, some dogs will always   42   the postman who comes to   43   letters. One explanation for this behavior is that, although the postman comes to the house often, he never   44   the house. Therefore, the dog thinks the postman is someone   45   is not wanted, but keeps   46   back anyway.

   Dogs are extremely useful as   47   for blind people. When a dog has been properly trained, he will lead his blind master in the right direction and keep him   48    danger. For example, seeing eye dogs   49   a busy road when cars are coming,   50   their masters command(命令) them to do so.

1. A. saving        B. helping          C. making           D. protecting

2. A. lost          B. losing           C. loss             D. missed

3. A. have long used                        B. have long been used 

 C. have long been using                  D. are long being used

4. A. cinemas       B. theatres        C. museums          D. circuses(马戏团)

5. A. although      B. as               C. since            D. because

6. A. children          B. human being          C. human beings    D. students

7. A. obey          B. order            C. do               D. study

8. A. spend         B. take             C. use              D. want

9. A. still         B. though               C. enough           D. even

10. A. from             B. between          C. among            D. with

11. A. because of       B. due to               C. why              D. because

12.A. beat              B. protest          C. attack           D. eat

13. A. deliver          B. give             C. post             D. fetch

14. A. enters       B. enters into          C. gets                 D. arrives to

15. A. he           B. who              C. whom             D. which

16. A. come         B. to come          C. from coming      D. coming

17. A. companies   B. companions(同伴)   C. men            D. colleagues(同事)

18. A. out from         B. out              C. out of           D. out by

19. A. learn never to across                    B. learn to never cross

   C. never learn to cross                      D. learn never to cross

20. A. even         B. if               C. even if              D. because

Did you know that a turtle（乌龟）can lay 12 eggs in one minute? A large sea turtle lays around 150 eggs at a time. She lays all these eggs in just a few minutes.
Large sea turtles live in the warm seas of the world. Except for when they lay their eggs, they spend their whole lives in the water. When it is time to lay their eggs, the females(雌性) swim to land.
They usually return to the place where they themselves were born. How they find their way back there is unknown.
When they reach shore, the big, heavy turtles crawl slowly up to the high water mark. Using their flippers, they pull themselves along the sand. They must struggle like mountain climbers.
When they finally reach dry sand, they rest before beginning the difficult task of laying eggs.
The turtles lay the eggs in deep holes and cover them with warm sand. The sand protects the eggs from harm. Then the females leave them. After a few weeks, if you happened to be walking along the beach, you might see the sand begin to shake. You may see tiny black balls coming out of the sand. The tiny heads of baby turtles!
【小题1】Which sentence expresses the main idea?