阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
　　　　　　　　　　　　　B
In the hit film The bucket List, Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman meet in hospital in California after they have been diagnosed with cancer. Between them they cook up a “bucket list” – a to-do list of all they want to do before they kick the bucket. The movie makes you wonder what would be on your bucket list. So let’s pack up some and see what it would cost to go out and have a little fun.
THE PYRAMIDS, GIZA, EGYPT
On to the pyramids, surely on anyone’s bucket list. Exotik Tours can take you there on a variety of trips, including their popular Egypt Express which includes three nights in Cairo and a three-night Nile Cruise(乘船游览). From $1,384, including four-and five-star accommodation, 12 meals and a ton of sightseeing.
www.exotiktours.com  416-646-3347
TAJ MAHAL, AGRA, INDIA
One of the world’s most fascinating images, India’s Taj Mahal makes even Nicholson and Freeman look calm. Toronto’s Goway Travel has many suggestions for India, including a three-day independent visit to Agra. Stay at the attractive Oberoi AmarVilas overlooking the Taj. Include two breakfasts, touring and airport transfer from $1,420.
www.gowaytravel.com   416-322-1034
THE GREAT WALL, CHINA
If the Great Wall of China is on your bucket list, check into Tour East Holiday’s four-day Amazing Beijing Tour for $580 per person, four-star accommodation, sightseeing including the Forbidden City and the Great Wall, breakfasts and two lunches, transportation and guide.
www.toureastholidays.com    416-929-0888
THE HIMALAYAS, NEPAL
And on to the Himalayas. Talk about “something truly majestic(壮丽的). See the top of the world on GAP Adventures’ Everest Adventure tour, a 15-day exploration including Everest Base Camp, teahouse lodge stays, and walking through Sherpa villages. Incredibly affordable at just $665 plus local payment of $250. GAP Adventures warns that this is a physically demanding trip.
www.gapadventures.com     416-260-0999
【小题1】The underlined phrase “kick the bucket” in Paragraph 1 means ______.

On a sunny day last August, Tim heard some shouting. Looking out to the sea carefully, he saw a couple of kids in a rowboat were being pulled out to sea.

Two 12-year-old boys, Christian and Jack, rowed out a boat to search for a football. Once they'd rowed beyond the calm waters, a beach umbrella tied to the boat caught the wind and pulled the boat into open water. The pair panicked and tried to row back to shore. But they were no match for it and the boat was out of control.

Tim knew it would soon be swallowed by the waves.

         "Everything went quiet in my head," Tim recalls (回忆). "I was trying to figure out how to swim to the boys in a straight line."

Tim took off his clothes and jumped into the water. Every 500 yards or so, he raised his head to judge his progress. "At one point, I considered turning back," he says. "I wondered if I was putting my life at risk." After 30 minutes of struggling, he was close enough to yell to the boys, "Take down the umbrella!"

        Christian made much effort to take down the umbrella. Then Tim was able to catch up and climb aboard the boat. He took over rowing, but the waves were almost too strong for him.

"Let's aim for the pier (码头)," Jack said. Tim turned the boat toward it. Soon afterward, waves crashed over the boat, and it began to sink. "Can you guys swim?" he cried. "A little bit," the boys said.

         Once they were in the water, Tim decided it would be safer and faster for him to pull the boys toward the pier. Christian and Jack were wearing life jackets and floated on their backs. Tim swam toward land as water washed over the boys' faces.

“Are we almost there?" they asked again and again. "Yes," Tim told them each time.

         After 30minutes, they reached the pier.

1.Why did the two boys go to the sea?

A. To go boat rowing.                                               B. To swim in the open water.

C. To get back their football.                                  D. To test the umbrella as a sail.

2.What does "it" in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A. The beach.                                                         B. The wind.                        

C. The boat.                                                             D. The water.

3.Why did Tim raise his head regularly?

A.To check his distance from the boys.      

B.To consider turning back or not.

C.To take in enough fresh air.    

D.To ask the boys to take down the umbrella.

4.How did the two boys finally reach the pier?

A. They were carried to the pier by Tim on his back.

B. They swam to the pier all by themselves.

C. They were washed to the pier by the waves.

D. They were dragged to the pier by Tim. 

A year after graduation, I was offered a position teaching a writing class. Teaching was a profession I had never seriously considered, though several of my stories had been published. I accepted the job without hesitation, as it would allow me to wear a tie and go by the name of Mr. Davis. My father went by the same name, and I liked to imagine people getting the two of us confused. “Wait a minute,” someone might say, “are you talking about Mr. Davis the retired man, or Mr. Davis the respectable scholar?”
The position was offered at the last minute, and I was given two weeks to prepare, a period I spent searching for briefcase (公文包) and standing before my full-length mirror, repeating the words, “Hello, class. I’m Mr. Davis.” Sometimes I would give myself an aggressive voice. Sometimes I would sound experienced. But when the day eventually came, my nerves kicked in and the true Mr. Davis was there. I sounded not like a thoughtful professor, but rather a 12-year-old boy.
I arrived in the classroom with paper cards designed in the shape of maple leaves. I had cut them myself out of orange construction paper. I saw nine students along a long table. I handed out the cards, and the students wrote down their names and fastened them to their breast pockets as I required.
“All right then,” I said. “Okay, here we go.” Then I opened my briefcase and realized that I had never thought beyond this moment. I had been thinking that the students would be the first to talk, offering their thoughts and opinions on the events of the day. I had imagined that I would sit at the edge of the desk, overlooking a forests of hands. Every student would yell. “Calm down, you’ll all get your turn. One at a time, one at a time!”
A terrible silence ruled the room, and seeing no other opinions, I inspected the students to pull out their notebooks and write a brief essay related to the theme of deep disappointment.
【小题1】The author took the job to teach writing because ______.

第三部分: 阅读理解 (共两节，满分40分)
第一节（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）

单词填空（根据首字母或汉语写单词的正确形式，每小题1分，共10分）
【小题1】The sea is c________ again after the terrible storm.
【小题2】She looked calm, but _________(实际上) she was very nervous.
【小题3】We are not satisfied with her ___________(态度) to the poor.
【小题4】The professor has s_________ from cancer for almost one year.
【小题5】The firemen r_______（营救）three women from the burning house yesterday. .
【小题6】The whole city was d___________ in the earthquake.
【小题7】He is so stubborn that no one can p_________ him to change his mind.
【小题8】A great person has many good q________ ——kindness, determination, wisdom and so on.
【小题9】Let’s divide it into five ___________(相等的) parts.
【小题10】Mandela was s___________ to five years in prison in 1962.