—Do you think it a good thing if too high house prices can't be brought under control .

—________，it was bad.

“Mom, can I bake some bread?” We were 15, my best friend, Hanna, and I, determined to try our hands at creating some beautiful bread.

“It’s not worth the trouble,” my mother said. “It takes lots of time and makes a big mess. Our bakery bread is delicious without all that effort.”

Begging was useless. Mom’s “no” meant “No!”

But several weeks later, opportunity knocked: My parents were going out for the evening. I immediately invited Hanna to be my partner in bread-baking crime.

We studied the recipe. That was easy. “Mix oil into flour then beat in four of the eggs, one at a time, with remaining sugar and salt.”

We were not good at breaking eggs. I tried to learn from my mother.

“Gradually add eight cups of flour. When dough (面团) holds together, squeeze it.”

We took turns working like that. “Is the dough ‘holding together’?” we asked each other.

I remembered my neighbor’s instructions: “If it’s too sticky, add some flour; if too dry, add water.”

We added water. Then more flour. Then more water. By then, the mass of our dough had grown very much.

“Place dough on floured surface and squeeze till smooth,” the recipe instructed.

We took turns burying our hands in the damp dough, pinching, squeezing, and feeling it leak between fingers.

“Clean and oil bowl, then return dough to bowl. Cover and let dough rise in warm place for 1 hour.”

This was good news --- we’d have a break. On dirtied kitchen chairs, we dreamed about our beautiful bread. “See?” we would tell my mom. “Isn’t it worth the work?”

Hanna and I couldn’t help glancing at the rising process every few minutes. But nothing was happening.

“Maybe something will happen in the hot oven,” I said.

Unfortunately, when we removed the loaves from the oven, they were like hard stones.

Mom was right; it takes time and effort. It sometimes makes a mess. But still it feels good, somehow, to be part of that long, ongoing chain of bread bakers. Since that night, both Hanna and I have learned to do it right.

1.To the writer, what her mother said was __________.

2.Which of the following can best describe the children’s feelings while making their first bread?

3.Which of the following did the writer do without instructions?

4.The passage mainly tells us ______________.

                            B
　　What is language for? Some people seem to think it's for practicing grammar rules and learning lists of words—the longer the lists，the better. That's wrong. Language is for the exchange（交流）of ideas and information. It's meaningless knowing all about a language if you can't use it freely. Many students I have met know hundreds of grammar rules, but they can't speak correctly or fluently. They are afraid of making mistakes. One shouldn't be afraid of making mistakes when speaking a foreign language. Native speakers make mistakes and break rules, too. Bernard saw once wrote, "Foreigners often speak English too correctly." But the mistakes that native speakers make are different from those that Chinese students make. They're English mistakes in the English language. And if enough native speakers break a rule, it is no longer a rule. What used to be wrong becomes right. People not only make history, they make language. But a people can only make its own language. It can't make another people's language. So Chinese students of English should pay attention to grammar, but they shouldn't overdo（做过头）it. They should put communication first.　
【小题1】Language is used to ________.
A. express oneself　　　        B. practice grammar rules
B. talk with foreigners only    D. learn lists of words
【小题2】Generally, when an American or an Englishman speaks English, he ________.

In the past, man did not have to think about the protection of his environment. There were few people on the earth, and natural resources seemed to be____36____ .

Today things are___37_____, the world has become too___38____ . We are using up our natural resources too quickly, and at the same time we are___39____ our environment with dangerous chemicals. If we continue to do this, human life on the earth ___40____survive.

Everyone___41_____ today that if too many fish are taken from the sea, there will soon be none left. Yet, with modern fishing__42_____ , more and more fish are caught. We know that if too many trees are cut down, ___43____will disappear and nothing will grow on the land. Yet, we ___44_____to use bigger and more powerful machines to __45____more and more trees.

We realize that if rivers are polluted with waste products from factories, we will die.___46_____, in most countries wastes are ___47______put into rivers or into the sea, and there are _48_____laws to stop this.

We know, too, that if the___49____ of the world continues to rise at the present rate, in a few years, there will not be enough___50_____. What can we do to solve these problems ?

It we eat more vegetables and less___51____, there will be more food available for everyone. Land that is used to grow crops __52_____five times more people than land where animals are kept.

Our natural resources will _53_____longer if we learn to recycle them. The world population will not rise so quickly if people use modern methods of birth__54_______ .

Finally, if we educate people to think about the problems, we shall have a better and clearer ___55____in the future.

1.                A．beautiful        B．unlimited （无限的） C．rare  D．valuable

2.                A．common        B．the same        C．changeable    D．different

3.                A．crowded        B．small           C．dirty D．busy

4.                A．protecting      B．saving          C．polluting  D．fighting

5.                A．may not        B．will not         C．shall not  D．could not

6.                A．wonders        B．realizes         C．consider  D．discovers

7.                A．poles          B．boats           C．methods  D．ideas

8.A mountains     B. the sea       C. trees              D. forests

9.                A．continue        B．have           C．ought    D．will go on

10.               A．grow          B．plant           C．save  D．cut down

11.               A．Thus           B．However       C．Generally speaking   D．Therefore

12.               A．still            B．even           C．also  D．certainly

13.               A．too many       B．a few          C．some D．few

14.               A．production      B．pollution        C．population D．revolution

15.               A．houses         B．vegetables      C．food  D．lives

16.               A．fruit           B．meat           C．fish   D．grain

17.               A．feeds          B．increases       C．supplies   D．helps

18.               A．use            B．stay           C．keep D．last

19.               A．control         B．born           C．plan  D．reward

20.               A．nature         B．sea            C．planet D．forest

第三部分阅读理解（共20题，每小题2分，满分40分）

Recently, tests have proved that Beethoven died from lead poisoning. Bill Walsh directed the Beethoven Research Project. Mr. Walsh and his team examined pieces of bone belonging to Beethoven. They found a large amount of lead in the bone pieces. They said the lead levels were equal to those found in pieces of his hair in earlier studies of other scientists.

Genetic tests proved the bone pieces and his hair came from Beethoven. The research also examined bone fragments from someone else who lived during the same period. Both were from the top of the skull. The fragments from Beethoven had more lead than those from other person. Their study didn’t find measurable levels of cadmium(镉) or mercury(汞), which scientists used to consider were the causes of his health problems.

Beethoven was sick for much of his life. He experienced strong stomach pains, a sign of lead poisoning, and a change of personality when he was around 20. he also got angry easily, and suffered from depression and hearing loss. His health problems became worse as he grew older.

Walsh said the lead levels found in his skull suggested that the metal might have been present in his body for many years. He said although there had been recognized cases of deafness caused by lead poisoning, there was no strong evidence to suggest that lead poisoning was the cause of his deafness.

Beethoven visited many doctors to find a cure for his health problems, in a letter he wrote to a friend, he urged researchers to examine his body after he died so that other people would not have to suffer as he did.

61. If too much lead is in a person’s body, he will______.

A. suffer hearing loss             B. get angry easily 

C. suffer serious stomach pains     D. lose most of his hair

62. From the passage we can learn that_______.

A. this is the first research into the cause of Beethoven’s death

B. any amount of lead will do great harm to people’s health

C. more lead was found in Beethoven’s bones than in his hair

D. scientists used to think that his death was caused by other metals instead of lead

63. In which section of the newspaper might you read this report?

A. Health.   B. Technology.   C. Entertainment.   D. Culture.

64. What is the best title of the passage?

A. A surprising discovery about Beethoven   B. Beethoven died from lead poisoning

C. Lead--- a killer metal for human beings    D. New examination of Beethoven’ body