I moved to this area seven years ago. For years I have had noisy neighbours. Ever since I moved into this flat, I’ve had to put up with noise during the night. I decided I’d had enough and I’ve been looking for a new flat since the beginning of the year. I haven’t found anything till now. Every week I go to the estate agent’s（当地房地产代理人的）office, but it’s the same story. “I might have something by the end of the week” he says, or, “Wait till next week. I think I might have a few flats by then.” I’ve seen a few flats during my search, but I don’t like any of them. One flat I saw has been empty for two years. “It’s got a busy road on one side and a railway on the other!” I said loudly, “I want peace and quiet.” Last week I visited the agent again. “I won’t leave till you show me something,” I said. “I’ve got just the flat for you.” I went to see it and I was frightened. “But it’s next to a cemetery!” I cried. “But you won’t have noisy neighbours,” my agent said. “It’s exactly right for peace and quiet!”

1.The writer has had to bear the noise in this area for             years.

       A．about seven B．six             C．nine          D．four

2.The writer decided to move away because            .

       A．he had been looking for a new flat              B．his neighbours were not friendly

       C．he could no longer stand the noise              D．he wanted to sell his old flat

3.Which of the following is NOT true?

       A．The writer would like a quiet place to live in.

       B．The agent didn’t want to help the writer at all.

       C．The writer has seen several flats already.

       D．It seemed rather difficult to rind a fight flat.

4.The main idea of the passage is         .

       A．how the agent tried to help the writer find a flat

       B．why the writer was satisfied with the agent’s service

       C．how difficult it was to find a new flat

       D．you can depend on the estate agents for a nice flat

Though I have traveled in hundreds of trains, few unusual things have ever happened to me. But one day in a train something did happen. I do not mean that I was hurt: no one was hurt.

I do my work in a hot country far away from England. Every September I go there to do my business, and every July I come back to England to have a rest. So every September I go to Paris and take a train from the great French city to Mendova, and at Mendova I catch my ship.

There is one very fast train from Paris to Mendova, and it suits me well. It goes as far as Endoran, but it stops at Mendova for a few minutes to let travelers get out or in. It is called The Flying Bluebird. It reaches Mendova at seven minutes past nine in the morning, and it is never late.

A ship leaves Mendova at half past eleven, and so you will understand that The Flying Bluebird suits me very well. I always travel by it, and I have nearly two and a half hours at Mendova to go from the station to the ship. That is more than enough time.

Well, one September night, I took my place in The Flying Bluebird as usual. The train leaves Paris at nine o’clock every night, and I was in my place soon after half past eight. There were three or four people there with me, but very soon a lot of others got into the train. When no more people could sit down, they began to stand up near us and also in the corridor（走廊）. In a short time the corridor was full too, and it was impossible for any more travelers to get into the train.

I could see a lot of other people outside the corridor windows, but they could not get in, and the train left Paris without them. The man sitting next to me started to ask all kinds of questions: “Where do you work? How long does it take you to get there? Are you married? How many children do you have? How much money do they pay you every year? How much do you have in the bank? How much do you spend every month?”

He asked questions for about twenty minutes but I did not give him any clear answers, and at last he stopped and began to read the paper.

I usually sleep quite well in the train, but this time I slept only a little. There were too many people, and there were too many things: small bags, large bags, coats, hats, boxes, newspapers and food. As usual, we got angry about the window. Most people wanted it shut, and two of us wanted it open. But that always happens. It was shut all night, as usual.

When I awoke in the early morning I felt hot and dirty, and glad that the journey was reaching its end. At seven minutes past nine The Flying Bluebird stopped. We were at Mendova, and I stood up thankfully. I took my two suitcases, held one in each hand, and tried to move towards the door into the corridor. In order to get out of the train, I had to pass down the corridor to the door at the far end. There was no other way out.

I could not even into the corridor. There was a suitcase on the floor by my feet, and three men were standing in my way. I felt a touch of fear. I had to get out, you see; I had to catch my ship, which left at half past eleven. And the train did not stop again until it reached Endoran, two hundred miles away.

“I must get out!” I cried. Everyone there understood me, but no one could move.

At last I was able to put one foot over the suitcase on the floor, and I nearly reached the door into the corridor. But then, very slowly, the train began to move. It was taking me away!

“Stop!” I cried. “I want to get out!” But no one outside the train could hear me, and the people inside did not care much. The train moved a little faster. What could I do? I was not even in the corridor.

Fear made me think quickly. In front of my eyes, just, above the door, was a notice that told everyone how to stop the train. I had to pull an iron thing near the notice. I did not waste time. I pulled it.

Well, a noise started above our heads. That was to show everyone that there was something wrong. It was not a small sound. Possibly the men in my ship two miles away could hear it. Then the train stopped.

No one likes to stop a train if there is no need. But I had to catch my ship. That was the only thought in my mind: to get out and catch my ship.

1.The purpose of the author writing the first paragraph is to __________.

2.What do we know about the author and the man sitting next to him?

3.On this journey on The Flying Bluebird, the author felt uncomfortable because ___________.

4.It can be learned from Para. 10 that the author was afraid that ____________.

5.The noise in the underlined sentence “a noise started above our heads”（Para.15）was made by __________.

6.What would be the best title for the text?

.
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题，每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
I moved to this area seven years ago. For years I have had noisy neighbors. Ever since I moved into this flat, I’ve had to put up with noise during the night. I decided I’d had enough and I’ve been looking for a new flat since the beginning of the year. I haven’t found anything till now. Every week I go to the estate agent’s（当地房地产代理人的）office, but it’s the same story. “I might have something by the end of the week” he says, or, “Wait till next week. I think I might have a few flats by then.” I’ve seen a few flats during my search, but I don’t like any of them. One flat I saw has been empty for two years. “It’s got a busy road on one side and a railway on the other!” I said loudly, “I want peace and quiet.” Last week I visited the agent again. “I won’t leave till you show me something,” I said. “I’ve got just the flat for you.” I went to see it and I was frightened. “But it’s next to a cemetery!” I cried. “But you won’t have noisy neighbors,” my agent said. “It’s exactly right for peace and quiet!”
56．The writer has had to bear the noise in this area for             years.
A．about seven      B．six    C．nine  D．four
57．The writer decided to move away because            .
A．he had been looking for a new flat
B．his neighbors were not friendly
C．he could no longer stand the noise
D．he wanted to sell his old flat
58．Which of the following is NOT true?
A．The writer would like a quiet place to live in.
B．The agent didn’t want to help the writer at all.
C．The writer has seen several flats already.
D．It seemed rather difficult to rind a right flat.
59．The main idea of the passage is         .
A．how the agent tried to help the writer find a flat
B．why the writer was satisfied with the agent’s service
C．how difficult it was to find a new flat
D．you can depend on the estate agents for a nice flat

I HEAR America beeping(嘟嘟响)．

 Beep，says my cellophane when it gets a text message．

  Beep，says my microwave oven when my sandwich  is warmed up． 

 Sometimes  I long for a natural sound：a bird singing，dog barking，children laughing， anything to drown out  the maddening beeps that have become the soundtrack(配乐)to modern life．

  My cellophane? It isn’t enough that its ring tone offerings seem to stretch from  “annoymg” toextremely “annoying”． It also has to beep whenever someone texts messages me． 

The microwave? A bell rings when it's finished heating my food．But is that enough? No．If I don’t rush to it right away, it starts beeping，like an impatient child tugging(用力拉) at my sleeve(袖子)．

 The smoke detector(探测器) is the worst offender．When its batteries are in need of replacement，it 1ets out a series of chirps．The things that don’t beep buzz(嗡嗡响)．And for some reason，beeping and buzzing is beneath them，they clear their throats and perform a symphony． Like my TV, each time I turn it on, it performs an aria(咏叹调)：La di da di dum．Salutions! Here I am! Same thing when I turn it off: La di da di dum．Good bye, kind sir! Until the next time

But at 1east I know where each of these sounds is coming from．That isn’t always the case．For weeks, my wife and I were awoken in the night by a beeping．There，in the stillness， we went through the possible suspects．Could we have a text message? Could it be any of the devices(装置)able to make a sound? Curling iron, rice cooker, smoke detector, TV set，clock radio．．．

The only way to tell was to chase the sound down ，but no sooner  would we pull on our bathrobes than the beeping would stop. We didn’t hear it every night but often enough that we would climb into bed wondering whether our sleep  would be interrupted by that maddening sound，that beep．

  Finally,early one morning，my wife found it：in the study,under a desk，a big plastic cube that was plugged into the wall．It was an uninterruptible power supply that we’d inherited(继承)from my wife’s mother．We’d never known it was capable of speech． 

I think it just wanted someone to talk to.

14．What does the writer truly mean by saying“I hear America beeping”?

A．American people like devices that beep．

B．Americans are crazy about sending text messages．

C．In modern society people are dependant on technology．

D．The soundtrack to modern life is no longer natural．

15．Why couldn’t the author and his wife find the source of the noise in their house in the beginning?

A．There were too many devices for them to check．

B．They were unwilling to get up at midnight．

C．They had never known that thing could beep too．

D．The noise didn’t come every day．

16．After reading this passage，we can probably tell the author    ．

   A．enjoys being surrounded by beeps  B．has a touch of humor in his writing

C．tries to avoid using anything that beeps

D．understands the beeping is designed to be user-friendly

I moved to this area seven years ago. For years I have had noisy neighbours. Ever since I moved into this flat, I’ve had to put up with noise during the night. I decided I’d had enough and I’ve been looking for a new flat since the beginning of the year. I haven’t found anything till now. Every week I go to the estate agent’s（当地房地产代理人的）office, but it’s the same story. “I might have something by the end of the week” he says, or, “Wait till next week. I think I might have a few flats by then.” I’ve seen a few flats during my search, but I don’t like any of them. One flat I saw has been empty for two years. “It’s got a busy road on one side and a railway on the other!” I said loudly, “I want peace and quiet.” Last week I visited the agent again. “I won’t leave till you show me something,” I said. “I’ve got just the flat for you.” I went to see it and I was frightened. “But it’s next to a cemetery!” I cried. “But you won’t have noisy neighbours,” my agent said. “It’s exactly right for peace and quiet!”
【小题1】The writer has had to bear the noise in this area for             years.