I saw Helen at the party last month. It _________ a year since we met last time.

A. was           B. is               C. has been          D. would be

——Have you finished reading Jane Eyre?

一N0，I——my homework all day yesterday．

  A was doing    B would do  C had done     D do

In 1970, my five brothers, my sister and I lived in the housing projects of Toronto with our parents. My father was a factory worker, and my mother stayed at home. Each year my father would dress up as Santa Claus and go through the streets of the projects sharing joy and candies with the children there. He loved it as much as they did!

But around the Christmas in 1970, my father was out of his job and money was tight. In fact, there was no money for Christmas and my parents weren’t sure what they’d provide for us.

That Christmas Eve, however, as usual, my father left the house dressed as Santa Claus. He knew that even though our Christmas would be hard, he could not disappoint the other kids in the neighborhood.

As my father left the house and went down the walkway, Santa Claus was walking up, with a great sack full of gifts for us! He said nothing, only smiled a sweet smile at my father, and wished him a Merry Christmas. The happy man handed Dad the sack and walked away down the block.

We never knew who the man was and who showed us great kindness on a snowy Christmas night. We do know, however, that without him we would have had nothing under the tree. His kindness gave my parents hope and showed us in a very real way the true meaning of Christmas.

Our family has never forgotten this kind stranger. Each year we tell the story of the mysterious Santa Claus and try to repay his gifts by giving gifts to others in need.

1.The author’s father ________.

A. was once the richest man in his hometown

B. was working in a government office

C. had to support a family of 9 people

D. looked like Santa Claus most

2.What happened in 1970?

A. The author’s father was out of work.

B. The author’s mother lost her job.

C. They had a little money left for Christmas.

D. They had the worst Christmas in their lives.

3.The author’s family knew ________.

A. who the mysterious Santa Claus was

B. why the mysterious Santa Claus helped them

C. how they could repay the mysterious Santa Claus

D. they could find the mysterious Santa Claus one day

4.It can be inferred（推断）that ________.

A. the mysterious Santa Claus was one of their relatives

B. the mysterious Santa Claus was a rich man in the area

C. the sack from the mysterious Santa Claus was very expensive

D. the author’s family were all thankful to the mysterious Santa Claus

I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in (旁听生）   for another l8 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?

It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unmarried college graduate student, and she decided to, put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course. " My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers, She only gave in a few months later when my parents promised that would someday go to college.

And 17 years later I did go to college. But I artlessly chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and ail of my working class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.

It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the $ 5 deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on.

1.From the passage we know that the author           .

A. was adopted by a lawyer and his wife

B. dropped out when he was 17 years old

C. The author was admitted to Stanford

D. valued his dropping out

2.The author dropped out mainly because           .

A. His academic performance was very poor.

B. He did not want to waste his parents' money.

C. His parents were too poor to afford the college tuition.

D. He didn't think university could help him to get a well-paid job

3.Why did the author think dropping out was a good decision?

A. He could transfer to Stanford.

B. He could follow his passion.

C. He didn't have to attend classes any more.

D. He could spend more time in Hare Krishna temple.

4.What can be inferred from this passage ?

A. The author was taking a risk when he made the decision of dropping out.

B. The author enjoyed the comfort and pleasure of life after he dropped out.

C. The author's parents were very angry at his decision.

D. The author was a very curious person.

     Yinxu (Ruins of Yin) is the ruins of the last capital of China’s Shang Dynasty (1600 BC - 1046 BC). The capital served 255 years for 12 kings. It shows the golden age of early Chinese culture, crafts (工艺品) and science, a time of great prosperity (繁荣) during the Chinese Bronze Age (青铜时代).

Discovered in 1899, Yinxu is one of the oldest and largest archeological sites (考古遗址) in China and is one of the historical capitals of China and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It lies in central Henan Province, near the modern city of Anyang, and is open to the public as the Garden Museum of Yinxu. It is famous as the source of oracle bone script (甲骨文), the earliest recorded form of Chinese writing. The oracle bone script has recorded almost everything from dream-explaining to events such as harvests, birth of a child, the weather and the success of military campaigns.

Over 3,000 tombs, 2,200 pits, and 200 houses have been dug out at Yinxu. The large number of burial accessories found there shows the high level of the Shang crafts industry.The site includes a main palace and an ancient tomb. Besides, there are a number of large buildings, at least 53 of which have been dug out.

Yinxu has seen many years of research, first researched by the Academia Sinica in the late 1920s to the early 1930s and most recently by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

41. During which period may Yin have been the capital of Shang Dynasty?

A. 1600 BC - 1500 BC

B. 1500 BC - 1200 BC

C. 1200 BC - 1050 BC

D. 1050 BC - 850 BC

42. From the passage, we can know that Yinxu ______.

A. was the last capital of China’s Shang Dynasty

B. proved the failure of the Shang Dynasty

C. was discovered in the 1920s

D. can be visited by the public now

43. Which of the following is NOT true about the oracle bone script?

A. It was discovered in Yinxu.

B. It is the earliest form of Chinese writing.

C. It has recorded many things.

D. It is important for studying the Shang Dynasty.

According to the passage, which of the following belongs to all the things   

that are dug out from Yinxu?

a. crafts  b. gold  c. oracle bone script  d. tombs 

e. sites  f. houses  g. accessories

A. afg  B. bcd    C. bdg         D. aec

45. We can infer from the passage that ______.

A. Anyang is a city of the Shang Dynasty

B. there are 200 houses in Yinxu

C. many things are still to be dug out

D. no research has been carried out on Yinxu