I met Connie the day she was admitted to the Hospice Ward(安养院的病房),where I 1 as a volunteer．Her husband, Bill, stood 2 nearby as she was removed from the gurney to the hospital bed．Although Connie was in the final stages of her fight 3 cancer, she was quick-minded and 4 ．We got her settled in, and then asked if she needed 5 ．
“Oh, yes,” she said, “Would you please show me how to use the TV? I 6 the soaps so much and I don’t want to get 7 on what’s happening．”Connie was a romantic．She loved soap operas(肥皂剧), romance novels and movies with a good 8 story．As we became familiar, she confided how 9 it was to be married 32 years to a man who often called her “a silly woman”．
“Oh, I know Bill loves me,” she said, “but he has 10 been one to say he loves me, or send cards to me．”She 11 and looked out of the window at the trees in the courtyard．“I’d 12 anything if he’d say ‘I love you’, but it’s just not in his 13 ．”
One day, 14 coffee in the cafeteria, I got him on the 15 of women and how we need romance in our lives; how we love to get sentimental cards and love letters．
“Do you tell Connie you love her?” I asked, and he looked at me 16 I was crazy．
“I don’t have to,” he said．“She knows I 17 !”
“I’m sure she knows,” I said, 18 over and touching his rough, carpenter’s hands, “but she needs to hear it, Bill．She needs to hear what she has 19 to you all these years．Please think about it．”
We walked back to Connie’s room．Bill 20 inside, and I left to visit another patient．Later, I saw Bill sitting by the bed．He was holding Connie’s hand as she slept．
Since earliest times we humans have been thrilled and chilled by things we can not understand－weather, death, the movement of stars and planets, even the darkness of night．
In order to cope with these great terrors, myths and legends were born－dragons and ghosts and winged beings from heavenly realms．
Even today, as we enter the new age, the old fears remain．Instead of dragons and ghosts and lost civilizations like Atlantis, however, modern terrors include UFOs, tropical plagues(瘟疫)and killer asteroids from the far reaches of space．
Anyone who thinks we have outgrown our old fears and fascination for the unknown need only visit a bookstore or tune in to cable television．Many of these popular books and programs deal with angels, ghosts, lost civilizations, UFOs, doomsday comets and other mysteries．
Wouldn't it be wonderful, I used to think deeply, if someone came along and did a book about the mysteries－a kind of no-nonsense summary that gives us a brief but thorough overview of the word's greatest mysteries of science, religion, folklore and history?
Fortunately, such a book has now appeared－E．Randall Floyd's startlingly clear and concise 100 of the World's Greatest Mysteries：Strange Secrets of the Past Revealed．From the Big Bang and rise of man to death-dealing asteroids and spontaneous human destruction by fire, this book covers them all, an amazing range of facts, figures and human drama, all told from a seasoned journalist's perspective．
Mr．Floyd, a former European correspondent for United Press International, professor of history, motion pictures screenwriter and author of more than a dozen-best-selling books, says the idea for the book originated with his nationally syndicated newspaper column, Strange Encounters．He spent five years researching and writing the book．
(1)
Myths and legends came into being because ________．
[ ]
A．
humans were thrilled and chilled by things not easily understood
B．
humanswanted to deal with the great terrors
C．
humanswere creative to make up stories
D．
there were no books to refer to and no TVs to watch in the old days
(2)
Which of the following doesn't belong to modern terrors?
[ ]
A．
UFOs
B．
tropical plagues
C．
killer asteroids
D．
dragons and ghosts
(3)
Which of the following best explains the meaning of the underlined word“outgrown”as it is used in the fourth paragraph?
[ ]
A．
grown too large or too tall for, e．g．one's clothes
B．
grown faster or taller than other people
C．
leave bad habits behind as one grows older
D．
grown too quickly from
(4)
What's the writer's tone of comment on the book?
[ ]
A．
Puzzled．
B．
Critical．
C．
Praising．
D．
Shocked．
(5)
The main purpose of writing this passage is to ________．
The little train came to a stop at our station and we got out, very glad to be so near home at last．The 1 part of the journey from London had been quite comfortable; 2 when we had changed into the little train, we were, already tired and dirty, and the 3 run, with its frequent stops at unimportant villages, had only made us 4 tired and dirty．
There was a carriage 5 for us at the station, 6 by two black horses．As soon as we and our bags 7 in, the driver waved his whip and we set off through the snowy forest．Even 8 the forest it was growing dark：it was the 9 day of the year, and the sky was 10 with clouds．Among the trees it seemed as if it was in the middle of a moonless night, the oil lamps on our carriage 11 just enough light for the driver to 12 his way and for us to be able to 13 that we were driving between thick walls of trees．
After 14 seemed like two hours to us(but was actually only an hour), at last we 15 my friends house．First we saw a row of lights 16 came from the windows, and then we were suddenly at the door, 17 about half a dozen children 18 all ages shouting and asking questions 19 together．As we were getting out of the carriage, a fine old lady with white hair came out, 20 I recognized without difficulty as my friend’s mother．
You've just come home, after living abroad for a few years．Since you've been away, has this country changed for the better-or for the worse?
If you've just arrived back in the UK after a fortnight's holiday, small changes have probably surprised you-anything from a local greengrocer suddenly being replaced by a mobile-phone shop to someone in your street moving house．
So how have things changed to people coming back to Britain after seven, ten or even 15 years living abroad? What changes in society can they see that the rest of us have hardly noticed-or now take for granted? To find out, we asked some people who recently returned．
Debi：When we left, Cheltenham, my home town, was a town of white, middle-class families-all very conservative(保守的)．The town is now home to many eastern Europeans and lots of Australians, who come here mainly to work in hotels and tourism．There are even several shops only for foreigners．
Having been an immigrant(移民)myself, I admire people who go overseas to find a job．Maybe if I lived in an inner city where unemployment was high, I'd think differently, but I believe foreign settlers have improved this country because they're more open-minded and often work harder than the natives．
Christine：As we flew home over Britain, both of us remarked how green everything looked．But the differences between the place we'd left behind and the one we returned to were brought sharply into focus as soon as we landed．
To see policemen with guns in the airport for the first time was frightening-in Cyprus, they're very relaxed-and I got pulled over by customs officers just for taking a woolen sweater with some metal-made buttons out of my case in the arrivals hall．Everyone seemed to be on guard．Even the airport car-hire firm wanted a credit card rather than cash because they said their vehicles had been used by bank robbers．
But anyway, this is still a green, beautiful country．I just wish more people would appreciate what they've got．
(1)
After a short overseas holiday, people tend to ________．
[ ]
A．
notice small changes
B．
expect small changes
C．
welcome small changes
D．
exaggerate small changes
(2)
How does Debi look at the foreign settlers?
[ ]
A．
Cautiously．
B．
Positively．
C．
Sceptically．
D．
Critically．
(3)
When arriving at the airport in Britain, Christine was shocked by ________．
The little train came to a stop at our station and we got out, very glad to be so near home at last．The 1 part of the journey from London had been quite comfortable; 2 when we had changed into the little train, we were, already tired and dirty, and the 3 run, with its frequent stops at unimportant villages, had only made us 4 tired and dirty．
There was a carriage 5 for us at the station, 6 by two black horses．As soon as we and our bags 7 in, the driver waved his whip and we set off through the snowy forest．Even 8 the forest it was growing dark：it was the 9 day of the year, and the sky was 10 with clouds．Among the trees it seemed as if it was in the middle of a moonless night, the oil lamps on our carriage 11 just enough light for the driver to 12 his way and for us to be able to 13 that we were driving between thick walls of trees．
After 14 seemed like two hours to us(but was actually only an hour), at last we 15 my friends house．First we saw a row of lights 16 came from the windows, and then we were suddenly at the door, 17 about half a dozen children 18 all ages shouting and asking questions 19 together．As we were getting out of the carriage, a fine old lady with white hair came out, 20 I recognized without difficulty as my friend’s mother．