How could I turn down an opportunity for a weeklong cruise on a luxury motorsailer in the Andaman Sea? Without a second thought, I packed my bags and jumped on a plane to Singapore, and the following day I found myself looking out the airplane window at the beautiful waters surrounding the island of Langkawi off the coast of Malaysia.

The last time I was in Langkawi was in 2001, when it was relatively quiet. Langkawi has come a long way since then; there are 4, 5, and even 6-star hotels, as well as spas, golfing, horseback riding and even a cable car taking visitors to the highest point on the island.

At the Langkawi International Airport I met my shipmates and we were driven to Pantai Tengah with a quick pit stop for sunblock and duty-free goodies. Many other shopping opportunities abound since Langkawi was designated as a duty-free zone in 1987 to entice tourists to the island.

A luxurious yacht tender picked us up. Phillipe, the first mate, maneuvered the tender between sailboats and as we went around a small island there she was, S/V Blue Gold. This majestic 10-passenger sailboat—all 165 feet of her—had been built in Italy and recently underwent a full retrofit. Once aboard, the crew welcomed us with refreshments and big smiles. Before we got too comfortable and settled into the plush comforts of the boat, Alain, the captain, took us on a tour of Blue Gold’s impressive accommodations. The master suite had a king-size bed, with a lounge area and “his & hers” wardrobes. The VIP cabin had a queen-size bed, also with a lounge area. Both had ensuite bathrooms.

The first evening aboard was the perfect start to our voyage—a small cocktail party followed by a light meal of seared tuna salad. It was exactly what our jet-lagged bodies craved, and we all slept very well aboard what would become our new home for the next 7 days.

In the morning after breakfast, we sailed to Pulau Ta Ngah (also spelled “Pulau Tengah”; pulau means island in Malay). In the 1970s the site had been a Vietnamese refugee transit camp. Not long after the end of the war, the camp was shut down and the island was gazetted as a marine park by the Malaysian government. Officially “uninhabited,” it does boast a golf course, but we were unable to determine if it was still in operation. The most intriguing event on the island occurs in July when the giant leatherback turtles lay their eggs on a beach on Ta Ngah.

1.Where is Langkawi?

A．In Pulau Ta Ngah    B．In Malaysia         C．In the Atlantic Ocean D．In The Arctic

2.We know from the passage Langkawi________.

A．has become prosperous in the past decade

B．was a noisy industrial city twenty years ago

C．has no three-star hotels nowadays

D．is best known for its horse riding races

3.S/V Blue Gold is __________.

A．a small island with most beautiful sceneries we have ever seen

B．a luxurious 6-star hotel with best food and service

C．a VIP cabin with 9 queen-size beds and ensuite bathrooms

D．a splendid boat with comfortable accommodations

4.It is implied that _________.

A．many people go golfing on Pulau Ta Ngah every year

B．the Vietnamese War broke out in 1970

C．the author liked the party and meal provided in the voyage

D．people living on Pulau Ta Ngah must have earned a lot of money

5.The article is probably part of __________.

A．a news report      B．a travel story       C．an advertisement    D．an operating manual

完型填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
Some years ago when I was in my first year in college, I heard Salome Bey sing for the first time. The moment was exciting. Salome’s   36 filled the room and brought the theater to life. I was so   37  that I decided to write an article about her.
I   38  Salome Bey, telling her I was from Essence magazine, and that I wanted to meet her to talk her career. She   39  and told me to come to her studio next Tuesday. When I hung up, I was scared out of my mind. I   40  I was lying. I was not a writer at all and hadn’t even written a grocery list.
I interviewed Salome Bey the next Tuesday. I sat there   41 , taking notes and asking questions that all began with, “Can you tell me…” I soon realized that   42  Salome Bey was one thing, but writing a story for a national magazine was just impossible. The   43  was almost unbearable. I struggled for days   44  draft after draft. Finally I put my manuscript (手稿) into a large envelope and dropped it into a mailbox.
It didn’t take long. My manuscript   45 . How stupid of me! I thought. How could I   46  in a world of professional writers? Knowing I couldn’t   47  the rejection letter, I threw the unopened envelope into a drawer.
Five years later, I was moving to California. While   48  my apartment, I came across the unopened envelope. This time I opened it and read the editor’s letter in   49 :
Dear Ms Profit,
Your story on Salome Bey is fantastic. Yet we need some   50  materials. Please add those and return the article immediately. We would like to   51  your story soon.
Shocked, it took me a long time to   52 . Fear of rejection cost me dearly. I lost at least five hundred dollars and having my article appear in a major magazine. More importantly, I lost years of   53  writing. Today, I have become a full – time writer. Looking back on this   54 , I learned a very important lesson: You can’t   55  to doubt yourself.
36．A．joy                     B．voice                  C．speech                 D．smile
37．A．proud                 B．active                  C．satisfied              D．moved
38．A．visited                B．emailed               C．phoned                D．interviewed
39．A．agreed                B．refused                C．hesitated              D．paused
40．A．replied                B．discovered           C．explained            D．knew
41．A．seriously             B．patiently              C．nervously            D．quietly
42．A．blaming              B．fooling                C．inviting               D．urging
43．A．hardship              B．failure                 C．comment             D．pressure
44．A．with                   B．by                      C．on                      D．in
45．A．disappeared         B．returned              C．spread                 D．improved
46．A．compare              B．struggle               C．survive                D．compete
47．A．ignore                 B．deliver                C．face                    D．receive
48．A．decorating           B．repairing             C．cleaning              D．leaving
49．A．disbelief              B．anxiety                C．horror                 D．trouble
50．A．subjective            B．relevant               C．private                D．reliable
51．A．broadcast            B．create                  C．publish                D．assess
52．A．recover               B．prepare               C．escape                 D．concentrate
53．A．energetic             B．endless                C．typical                D．enjoyable
54．A．experience           B．success                C．benefit                D．accident
55．A．attempt               B．afford                 C．expect                 D．pretend

四、阅读理解选出最佳选项（共40分）
I was waiting for a phone call from my agent. He had left a message the night before, telling me that my show was to be cancelled(取消). I called him several times, but each time his secretary told me that he was in a meeting and that he would call me later. So I waited and waited, but there was still no call. Three hours passing by, I became more and more impatient. I was certain that my agent didn’t care about my work, and he didn’t care about me. I was overcome with that thought. I started to shout at the phone, “Let me wait, will you? Who do you think you are?”
At that time I didn’t realize my wife was looking on. Without showing her surprise, she rushed in, seized the phone, tore off the wires, and shouted at the phone, “Yeah! Who do you think you are? Bad telephone! Bad telephone! ” And she swept it into the wastebasket.
I stood watching her, speechless .What on earth…?
She stepped to the doorway and shouted at the rest of the house, “Now hear this! All objects in this room—if you do anything to upset my husband , out you go!”
Then she turned to me, kissed me, and said calmly, “Honey, you just have to learn how to take control.” With that, she left the room.
After watching a crazy woman rushing in and out, shouting at everything in sight, I noticed that something in my mood（情绪）had changed. I was laughing. How could I have trouble with that phone? Her antics helped me realize I had been driven crazy by small things. Twenty minutes later my agent did call. I was able to listen to him and talk to him calmly.
56. Why did the author shout at the telephone?
A. He was mad at the telephone.    B. He was angry with his agent.
C. He was anxious about his wife.   D. He was impatient with the secretary.
57. What did the author’s wife do after she heard his shouting?
A. She said nothing.           B. She shouted at him.
C. She called the agent.        D. She threw the phone away.
58. What made the author laugh?
A. His own behavior.           B. His wife’s suggestion. 
C. His changeable feelings.      D. His wife’s sweet kiss.
59. What does the underlined word “antics” refer to?
A. Smart words.  B. Unusual actions.  C. Surprising looks.  D. Anxious feelings.

Peanuts to This
Proudly reading my words, I glanced around the room, only to find my classmates bearing big smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes. Confused, I glanced toward my stone-faced teacher. Having no choice, I slowly raised the report I had slaved over, hoping to hide myself. “What could be causing everyone to act this way?”
Quickly, I flashed back to the day Miss Lancelot gave me the task. This was the first real talk I received in my new school. It seemed simple: go on the Internet and find information about a man named George Washington. Since my idea of history came from an ancient teacher in my home country, I had never heard of that name before. As I searched the name of this fellow, it became evident that there were two people bearing the same name who looked completely different! One invented hundreds of uses for peanuts, while the other led some sort of army across America. I stared at the screen, wondering which one my teacher meant. I called my grandfather for a golden piece of advice; flip (掷) a coin. Heads—the commander, and tails—the peanuts guy. Ah! Tails, my report would be about the great man who invented peanut butter, George Washington Carver.
Weeks later, standing before this unfriendly mass, I was totally lost. Oh well, I lowered the paper and sat down at my desk, burning to find out what I had done wrong. As a classmate began his report, it all became clear, “My report is on George Washington, the man who started the American Revolution.” The whole world became quite! How could I know that she meant that George Washington?
Obviously, my grade was awful. Heartbroken but fearless, I decided to turn this around. I talked to Miss Lancelot, but she insisted: No re-dos; no new grade. I felt that the punishment was not justified, and I believed I deserved a second chance. Consequently, I threw myself heartily into my work for the rest of the school year. Ten months later, that chance unfolded as I found myself sitting in the headmaster’s office with my grandfather, now having an entirely different conversation. I smiled and flashed back to the embarrassing moment at the beginning of the year as the headmaster informed me of my option to skip the sixth grade. Justice is sweet!
【小题1】What did the author’s classmates think about his report?

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
As sixth graders, kids were separating into groups, but I wasn’t sure where I belonged．
Our teacher gave us a task called "secret friends" for the coming week．We were supposed to do nice things   1  our friends without letting them know who was doing it．We could leave   2  notes or cards either on their desks or in their backpacks．Before doing the task, with our eyes closed, from a basket, we   3  a name of a classmate who we were to secretly befriend over the next five days．
Soon, the task was turned into a competition of giving    4  instead of notes．Everyone was getting cool presents except me．My friend    5   what the teacher had told us without a fault．I received nothing but hand-made cards with nice words about me．
On the last morning, I finally got a package．When I   6  it, the girls around all   7 ．It was perfumed powder, an "old lady" gift．My face went red．
I tried to forget about the   8  gift, but when the same girls   9  it again during the break in the bathroom, I joined in, "How stupid! My grandmother wouldn’t  10  want it．" The girls laughed at my   11  and filed （排着队走）out of the bathroom．Washing my hands, I let the water run through my fingers _12_  I thought about my words．It wasn’t   13  like me to say things like that．
"I’m your secret friend．" It was Rochelle．" I’ m sorry about the gift," she __14 to me, tears streaming down her face．
From a poor family, she was a   15  at school for those with rich parents．Yet she just took all the16  and the horrible treatment silently．
I was sick to my stomach as my   17  words ran through my mind．She had heard everything．How could I have been so cruel?
Later I learned she had felt bad all week about not being able to leave me any cool present and her mum had given up her only luxury（奢侈品）．
And I had   18 everything for her．
I told her that I had only said those things to try to   19  .
"We aren’t that different from each other, are we?" She smiled   20 ．Her simple words, spoken from her heart, found their way straight into mine．