I still remember my first day at school in London and I was half-excited and half-frightened. On my way to school I wondered what sort of questions the other boys would ask me and practiced all the answers: “I am nine years old. I was born here but I haven’t lived here since I was two. I was living in Farley. It’s about thirty miles away. I came back to London two months ago.” I also wondered if it was the custom for boys to fight strangers like me, but I was tall for my age. I hoped they would decide not to risk it.

No one took any notice of me before school. I stood in the center of the playground, expecting someone to say “hello”, but no one spoke to me. When a teacher called my name and told me where my classroom was, one or two boys looked at me but that was all.

My teacher was called Mr. Jones. There were 42 boys in the class, so I didn’t stand out there, either, until the first lesson of the afternoon. Mr. Jones was very fond of Charles Dickens and he had decided to read aloud to us from David Copperfield, but first he asked several boys if they knew Dickens’ birthplace, but no one guessed right. A boy called Brian, the biggest in the class, said: “Timbuktu”, and Mr. Jones went red in the face. Then he asked me. I said: “Portsmouth”, and everyone stared at me because Mr. Jones said I was right. This didn’t make me very popular, of course.

“He thinks he’s clever,” I heard Brian say.

After that, we went out to the playground to play football. I was in Brian’s team, and he obviously had Dickens in mind because he told me to go in goal. No one ever wanted to be the goalkeeper.

“He’s big enough and useless enough.” Brian said when someone asked him why he had chosen me.

I suppose Mr. Jones, who served as the judge, remembered Dickens, too, because when the game was nearly over, Brian pushed one of the players on the other team, and he gave them a penalty (惩罚). As the boy kicked the ball to my right, I threw myself down instinctively (本能地) and saved it. All my team crowded round me. My bare knees were injured and bleeding. Brian took out a handkerchief and offered it to me.

“Do you want to join my gang (帮派)?” he said.

At the end of the day, I was no longer a stranger.

1.The writer prepared to answer all of the following questions EXCEPT “          ”.

2.We can learn from the passage that           .

3.The underlined part “I didn’t stand out” in paragraph 3 means that the writer was not       .

4.The writer was offered a handkerchief because          .

Nothing can spoil a vacation quicker than losing your money or credit cards. A few simple steps before you head out of the door can help protect your cash, card and personal information while you’re traveling.

Paul Stephens, a policy analyst San Diego, notes that people spend a lot of time planning their trips, from buying guidebooks to finding just the right beach outfits（装备）.“But their eyes glaze（呆滞） over when the subject of keeping money safe comes up,” he said.

“Why not take a few minutes to do something that could probably save your vacation?” Stephens asked．“In most cases, they can go on your to-do list with‘ buy travel bags’ and everything else,” he added.

The top recommendation is to clean your wallet. Remove unnecessary credit cards and any other unneeded documents that could compromise（危及...的安全）your identity if lost or stolen while you’re on vocation.

Then make a photocopy of the cards you’ve decided to take along and keep it in a secure location with you（not in your wallet）or leave it with a trusted relative or friend back home. Then you will know who you need to contact and how to reach it if your wallet is missing.

“Travelers should never leave their wallets or any identifying documents in their hotel room when they’re not there,” he said.” Choose a hotel with a safe to keep your valuable things in. Or keep your wallet and documents with you at all times. ”

56．According to passage, _______can destroy one’s vacation the most quickly.

A．being lost on vacation        B．losing money or credit cards

C．living in a bad hotel.      D．losing contact with family

57．What does the underlined word stand for?

A．The people who are going traveling.

B．The outfits that are prepare4d for traveling.

C．The suggestions on what to buy when traveling.

D．The steps to avoid losing money or credit cards.

58．What should people do with their wallet before they go on vacation?

A．Take it with them all the time.

B．Put it in a safe place at the hotel

C．Remove unnecessary cards and documents.

D．Leave it with family or friend.

59．What is the topic of the passage?

A．How to prepare for travel.

B．How to be happy during your vacation.

C．How to keep cash and cards safe on vacation.

D．How to protect your luggage on vacation.

60．According to the passage, we know ______.

A．people don’t always know how to protect their money or credit cards

B．people should take a lot of money with them while traveling

C．people can leave their identifying documents in rooms, if the hotel is expensive

D．people can spend a few minutes preparing the luggage for travelling

John Fisher, a builder, and his wife Elizabeth wanted more living space, so they left their small flat for an old 40-meter-high castle tower. They have spent five years turning it into a beautiful home with six floors, winning three architectural prizes.

“I love the space, and being private,” Elizabeth says. “You feel separated from the world. If I am in the kitchen, which is 25 meters above the ground floor, and the doorbell rings, I don’t have to answer it because visitors can’t see I am in!”

There are 142 steps to the top so if I go up and down five or six times a day, it’s very good exercise! But having to carry heavy things to the top is terrible, so I never buy more than two bags of shopping from the supermarket at a time. Except for that, it’s a brilliant place to live.

“When we first saw the place, I asked my father’s advice about buying it, because we couldn’t decide. After paying for it, we were a bit worried because it looked awful. But we really loved it, and knew how we wanted it to look.”

“Living here can be difficult—yesterday I climbed a four-meter ladder to clean the windows. But when you stand on the roof you can see all the way out to the sea on a clear day, and that’s a wonderful experience. I am really glad we moved. ”

1.What is the writer trying to do in the text?

    A. describe how to turn an old tower into a house

    B. recommend(推荐) a particular builder

    C. describe what it is like to live in a tower

    D. explain how to win prizes for building work

2.Which of the following best describes Elizabeth’s feelings about the tower?

    A. She wanted it as soon as she saw it.

    B. She likes most things about it.

    C. She has been worried since they paid for it.

    D. She finds it unsuitable to live in.

3.What problem does Elizabeth have with living in such a tall building?

    A. Her visitors find it hard to see if she is at home.

    B. She feels separated from others.

    C. She cannot bring home lots of shopping at once.

    D. It is impossible to clean any of the windows.

4.How will John and Elizabeth advertise their tower if they sell it?

A.

B.

C.  

D.

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

    When I was 16 years old，a boy gave me an important gift．  1

    It was the early autumn of my first year at a junior high school，and my old school was far away． 2  I was very lonely，and afraid to make friends with anyone．

    Every time I heard the other students talking and laughing，I felt my heart broken．I couldn’t talk with anyone about my problems．And I didn’t want my parents to worry about me．

    Then one day，my classmates talked happily with their friends，but I sat at my desk unhappily as usual．

     3  I didn’t know who he was．He passed me and then turned back．He looked at me，with a smile on his face．

    Suddenly，I felt the touch of something bright and friendly．It made me feel happy，lively and warm．

     4  I started to talk with other students and made friends．Day by day，I became closer to everyone in my class．The boy with the lucky smile has become my best friend now !

     5  I believe that the world is what you think it is．If you think it lonely，you might always be alone．So smile at the world and it will smile back．

    A．At that moment，a boy entered the classroom．

    B．He’s living in Australia now and he loves it．

    C．It doesn’t matter because all the dark days have gone．

    D．It was a smile．

    E．That smile changed my life．

    F．It’s practically impossible to make friends here．

G．As a result，no one knew who I was．

    When a close friend dies, it often forces you to consider your own death. The more you have in common with the friend, the more his death will make you wonder about your own. Sometimes you will naturally say to yourself, "It could just as easily have been me." Such a death has a way of reminding us how fragile life is, and it may cause you to reassess（重新评价） the direction of your own life.

Jack's story is a good example. A successful businessman making a lot of money, Jack didn't spend as much time with his family as he wanted. His job required him to work long hours. But three years ago one of his best friends, a man who worked in the same office, had a heart attack. He died while celebrating his daughter's eighteenth birthday in a restaurant. He was only fifty years old.

Not long after his friend's death, Jack started to have a chest pain. Finally he had a good physical check-up. He received a clean bill of health. But the chest pain continued. He kept thinking of the death of his friend. Jack thought about how much his friend missed in life and he saw how hard it was for his friend's family to manage after he passed away.

Jack realized that he didn't want to end up his life that way. He talked his feelings over with his wife and children, and decided to change his way of life. The family moved to a small town where he started a simple life. Now he is running a small art gallery（画廊）. He is relaxed, and says he has never been so happy in his life, and he has got no more chest pain.

63. Your close friend's death is __________________ to you.

A. a warning           B. common            C. a direction of life     D. an example

64. The underlined sentence in the third paragraph means "________________".

A. The doctor didn't write a word on his bill

B. The doctor didn't want Jack to pay for the bill

C. The doctor didn't find anything wrong with him

D. The doctor didn't want to treat his pain

65. His friend's death made Jack ________________.

A. lose much interest in life

B. realize that he missed the friend very much

C. doubt his way of life

D. ill for some time

66. While living in the small town Jack ________________.

A. earns less money    B. gets more time  K^S*5U.C#O%

C. has a happier life    D. does all these mentioned above