B

We once had a poster competition in our fifth grade art class.

“You could win prizes，’’our teacher told US as she wrote the poster information on the blackboard. She passed out sheets of construction paper while continuing，“The first prize is ten dollars. You just have to make sure that the words on the blackboard appear somewhere on your poster. ”

We studied the board critically. Some of US looked with one eye and held up certain colors against the blackboard，rocking the sheets to the fight or left while we conjured up our designs. Others twisted their hair around their fingers or chewed their erasers while deep in thought. We had plans for that ten—dollar grand prize，each and every one of US. I'm going to spend mine on candies，one hopeful would announce，while another practiced looking serious，wise and rich.

Everyone in the class made a poster. Some of us used parts of those fancy paper napkins， while others used nothing but colored construction paper. Some of US used big designs，and some of us preferred to gather our art tidily down in one comer of our poster and let the space draw the viewer's attention to it. Some of US would wander past the good students’ desks and then return to our own projects with a growing sense of hopelessness. It was yet another grown-up trick of the soil they seemed especially fond of。making all of US believe we had a fair chance，and then always—always—rewarding the same old winners.

I believe I drew a sailboat，but I can’t say that with any certainty. I made it. I admired it. I determined it to be the very best of all of the posters I had seen，and then I turned it in.

Minutes passed.

No one came along to give me the grand prize，and then someone distracted me，and I probably never would have thought about that poster again.

I was still sitting at my desk，thinking，What poster? When the teacher gave me an envelope with a ten-dollar bill in it and everyone in the class applauded for me.

51.. What was the teacher's requirement for the poster?

A. It must appear in time.

B. It must be done in class.

C. It must be done on a construction sheet.

D. It must include the words on the blackboard.

52. The underlined phrase in paragraph 3 most probably means _____________.

A. formed an idea for        B. made an outline for

C. made some space for      D. chose some colors for

53. After the teacher’s words，all the students in the class _________.

A. 1ooked very serious                 B. thought they would be rich

C. began to think about their designs       D. began to play games

54. After seeing the good students’ designs，some students _________.

A. 1oved their own designs more

B. thought they had a fair chance

C. put their own designs in a comer

D. thought they would not win the prize

55. We can infer from the passage that the author ______________.

A. enjoyed grown-up tricks very much

B. 1oved poster competitions very much

C. felt surprised to win the competition

D. became wise and rich after the competition

Aria Ricardo was a beautiful, slim young woman with dark hair, dark eyes, and dark skin．She used to work as a model and earn as much as $ 2 000 in one day in front of the camera．She modeled for top magazines in Paris, Rome, Tokyo, and throughout the United States．
Aria’s father, now retired because of a disability, was a police officer who really loved his work．Aria would rather follow in her father’s footsteps than pursue her modeling career．She remembered listening to her father tell stories when he came home after a day on the beat．The excitement, tensions and risks of police work appealed to her．
Aria got started in the modeling business quite by accident．She accompanied a friend to an interview at a modeling agency．Her friend wanted the job, while Aria didn’t．The people at the agency were impressed with Aria’s appearance and poise．They knew she’d be brilliant in front of the camera．So they sent her on her first modeling job—for Seventeen Magazine—right away．
Despite her success as a model, Aria never gave up her dream of being a police officer．She passed the written exam for the New York Police Department．She planned to enter the Police Academy as quickly as possible．Her family and friends thought she was out of her mind even to consider such a thing．Police work was dangerous and the pay couldn’t compare to a top model’s income．But Aria knew what she wanted, and she went for it．She had never really intended to be a model anyway．Finally she hooked her fish．
56．Aria’s success as a model resulted from ________．
A．her desire to succeed in it                                               B．her looks and shape
C．the help of her father                                             D．the competition with her friend
57．Aria went into modeling because ________．
A．she wanted to earn more money                         B．she wanted to accompany her friend
C．she was given an unexpected opportunity        D．she was very beautiful
58．Aria’s family would like her to ________．
A．remain a model                                                         B．do whatever she liked
C．find something challenging                                    D．follow her father’s footsteps
59．Aria Ricardo probably is a ________ now．
A．photographer working for a magazine               B．student of the Police Academy
C．top model of a world company                             D．woman police officer

I was in lodgings (寄宿处) now, on my own, but the other lodgers had constant visitors up and down the stairs past my door. None of this disturbed me except one girl who sang softly to herself an old Russian folk song as she ran up to the room above. It was a sound of sweetness, musical, soft, unselfconscious and happy. I began to listen out for it, jumped up from my table, and threw open the door to catch a glimpse(一瞥) of her as she passed, but I was always too late. I asked the people upstairs who she was, and described the beautiful sounds she made. They became rather reserved(拘谨) and exchanged glances and hurriedly admitted it might be Sally. I thought she was someone special, not to be discussed in the ordinary way, and became a little curious to meet her. But the last thing I wanted at that stage was to get caught up with anybody. I’d just come to the end of a rather painful friendship, and now I had work to do.

One day, I came face to face with a girl on the landing. It was certainly her; whoever made that noise would look as she did. We stood and stared at each other too long for comfort. I broke the moment and, excusing myself, moved past her because it was too like the movies. I thought for some time of that long, silent stare, and laughed. She was tall and looked proud, with a slight , round-shouldered look that made me breathless and I didn’t know why.

1.At his lodgings, the author __________.

2.Whenever the author heard the sound of the girl’s voice__________.

3.People who were asked about the girl__________.

4.From this passage we can see that the author was____________.

—What do you think made Tina so delighted？

—__________ the driving test at her first attempt.

Last year, around Labor Day, I read a “Happy Ad” in our local newspaper． There was a lady in a local nursing home, who was celebrating her 90th birthday and her family wanted everyone to know about it． It said that if you wanted to drop her a line, here was her address． So I did． I found a birthday card and dropped her a short note, wishing her a happy birthday．

A week or so later, someone knocked at my front door． I opened the door and found a middle-aged man standing on my doorstep． He introduced himself as the son of this woman to whom I had sent the card． He explained that he just wanted to drop by in person and thank me for sending such a nice card to his mom． Apparently, like many older folks, she did not receive much mail and was quite excited to receive mine． I just didn’t know what to say． I told him it was my pleasure and that I hoped his mom had enjoyed her birthday．

That year, I did not send out any Christmas cards, except to this lovely old lady in the nursing home． I just told her that I was thinking about her and hoped that she had a nice holiday． I sent her a Valentine and also a couple of notes in between． I just thought she might like to have someone write to her, to get some mail．

She passed away a couple of months ago． I never met this lady, but I did keep her and her family in my thoughts． I dropped them a line of sympathy． I hope that my few little notes were enough to brighten a couple of her days here on earth．

1.The old lady’s address was given because ____________．

   A． her family wanted to make her well-known

   B． the old lady wanted to receive a birthday card

   C． the son of the old lady wanted to meet the author

   D． her family wanted to give her a happy birthday

2.Which of the following best describes the author?

   A． Brave．          B． Polite．       C． Caring．        D． Faithful．

3.Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

    A． A Kind Act     B． An Old Lady     C． A Happy Ad      D． A Considerate Son