For the rest of March, a disease will sweep across the US. It will keep kids home from school. 　1 Employees will suddenly lose their ability to concentrate.

The disease, known as “March Madness”, refers to the yearly 65 – team US men’s college basketball tournament (锦标赛). 　2 Teams compete against each other in a single – elimination (单局淘汰) tournament that eventually crowns a national champion.

Nearly 20 million Americans will find themselves prisoners of basketball festival madness. The fun comes partly from guessing the winners for every game. Friends compete against friends. 　　　 3 Colleagues against bosses.

Big – name schools are usually favored to advance into the tournament. But each year there are dark horses from little – known universities.

This adds to the madness. Watching a team from a school with 3,000 students beat a team from a school with 30,000, for many Americans, is an exciting experience. Two years ago, the little – known George Mason University was one of the final four teams. 　4

College basketball players are not paid, so the game is more about making a name for their university and themselves. 　5 About $ 4 billion will be spent gambling (赌) on the event. According to Media Life magazine, the event will bring in $ 500 million in advertising income this year, topping the post – season income of every US professional league, including that of the NBA.

　 A. Husbands against wives.

　 B. The players will go all out for the games.

　 C. But that doesn’t mean money isn’t involved.

　 D. College students will ignore piles of homework.

　 E. People are willing to spend more money on watching it.

　 F. It begins on March 15 and lasts through the beginning of April.

　 G. Many people had never even heard of the university before the tournament.

While the rest of the world carried on cycling during the 1950s and 1960s , America forgot how ; even high-school children would drive to school . Recently there has been something of a recovery in cycling , and in many areas it is a very useful way of getting around , especially where bike paths or bike routes have been built . You may well want to buy , hire or borrow a bike .
   There are two important results of this earlier drop in cycling in the USA . One is that many people do not know how to cycle . That is , cyclists often behave more like walkers than motorists : they ride in the sidewalk or on the wrong side of the road ; they do not care for stop signs or traffic lights ; they ride without lights at night ; they give no signals .
   The other result is that cycling is regarded by many people not so much as a way of getting from one place to another but as a way of life , a form of exercise , etc . As a result , large numbers of young Americans have ten-speed racing bikes . These are very high and fast and great if you are cycling long distance , riding up mountains or racing . At first , though , you may find them convenient for cycling in town , sightseeing or shopping --they are expensive , uncomfortable and hard to control until you get used to them , and unsuitable for rough stony roads .
   There are also ordinary bikes around . If you get hold of one of these ,you may find that the brakes (刹车)work by pedaling (踩踏板) backwards . This is perhaps safer than ordinary brakes when it is wet , but it seems to be less effective . This arrangement also means you can't pedal backwards in order to get the pedal in the right place for getting on or getting off .

63. The passage gives us a brief introduction ______.

   A. advantage of bikes           B. cycling in America

   C. American transportation       D. how to ride a bike

64. Young Americans prefer racing bikes because they ________.

   A. can help keep fit             B. are easy to learn

   C. are safer to ride              D. are expensive and popular

65. Which of the following does NOT result from the early drop in cycling in the USA?

   A. Cyclists do not care for traffic lights.

   B. People ride on the wrong side of the roads.

   C. Cycling is not considered a way of transportation.

   D. People have to pedal backwards to stop the bike.

66. From the passage we can learn that in the middle of the 20^th century _______.

   A. many Americans enjoyed cycling

   B. cycling was popular in the world.

   C. racing bikes were better than ordinary ones.

   D. there were no special roads for bikes in America.

The Colors of Friendship友谊的颜色

Once upon a time the colors of the world started to quarrel. Green said, “Clearly I am the most important. I am the sign of life and hope. I was chosen for grass, trees and leaves. Without me, all animals would ___1__.”

Blue interrupted, “You only think about the __2__, but consider the sky and the sea. __3__ the water that is the basis of life and drawn up by the clouds from the deep sea. Without my peace, you would all be __4__.”

Yellow chuckled (笑道), “You are all so serious. I bring laughter, fun, and __5__ into the world.”

Orange started next to blow her trumpet, “I am the color of health and strength. I may be __6__, but I am precious for I serve the needs of human life. When I fill the sky __7__, my beauty is so striking that no one gives another __8__ to any of you.”

Red could stand it __9__ and he shouted out, “I am the ruler of all of you. I am the color of danger and of bravery. I am willing to __10__ truth. I am also the color of passion and of love.”

Then came Purple and Indigo (深蓝) …

The colors went on boasting, each convinced of his or her own __11__. Their quarreling became louder and louder. Suddenly there was a startling flash of bright lightening thunder. Rain started to pour down __12__. The colors crouched (蜷缩) down __13__, drawing close to one another for comfort.

In the midst of the clamor (叫嚷), rain began to speak, “You foolish colors, fighting __14__ yourselves, each trying to dominate __15__. Don’t you know that you were each made for a special purpose, __16__? Join hands with __17__ and come to me.”

Doing as they were told, the colors __18__ and joined hands. They formed a colorful rainbow. From then on, whenever a good rain ___19__ the world, a rainbow appears in the sky. They remember to __20__ one another.

1. A. stay                     B. leave                   C. go out                     D. die

2. A. earth                   B. moon                          C. star                         D. sun

3. A. That is                 B. I am                        C. It is                         D. This is

4. A. anything              B. nothing                   C. something            D. everything

5. A. warmth               B. sadness                    C. depression               D. anxiety

6. A. usual                   B. normal                    C. common             D. scarce

7. A. at midnight          B. at noon or at night     C. at sunrise or sunset   D. during the day

8. A. gift                         B. honor                          C. thought                   D. respect

9. A. for more                  B. any more                 C. very much                   D. no longer

10. A. turn to                      B. fight for                  C. struggle with            D. bend over

11. A. superiority          B. disadvantages           C. inferiority               D. weakness

12. A. gently               B. quietly                    C. violently                  D. peacefully

13. A. with care            B. in fear                     C. by chance               D. on purpose

14. A. among                   B. by                           C. for                          D. against

15. A. others               B. themselves               C. the other                  D. the rest

16. A. equal and simple  B. ordinary and similar  C. more or less          D. unique and different

17. A. each other          B. me                          C. one another              D. them

18. A. combined           B. separated                 C. united                     D. divided

19. A. cleans               B. washes                    C. brightens                 D. dampens

20. A. appreciate          B. quarrel with             C. ignore                     D. Praise

The CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs’ story about death
When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it were your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself, “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?”
Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered（遇到）to help me make the big choice in life.
About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that was incurable, and that I would live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is my doctors’ code for preparing yourself to die.
I lived with that diagnosis all day. I was completely in despair. Later that evening, I had another biopsy（活组织检查）and my wife told me that tumor turned to be curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I’m fine now.
This was the closest I’ve been to facing death. To tell the truth, no one wants to die. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. It clears out the old to make room for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away.
Your time is so limited that you shouldn’t waste it repeating someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma（教条）----which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart. It somehow already knows what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
【小题1】The doctor advised the author to go home and get his affairs in order because_________.

       The CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs’ story about death

       When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it were your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right．” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself, “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?”

       Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered（遇到）to help me make the big choice in life．

       About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer．The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that was incurable, and that I would live no longer than three to six months．My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is my doctors’ code for preparing yourself to die．

       I lived with that diagnosis all day．I was completely in despair．Later that evening, I had another biopsy（活组织检查）and my wife told me that tumor turned to be curable with surgery．I had the surgery and I’m fine now．

       This was the closest I’ve been to facing death．To tell the truth, no one wants to die．And yet death is the destination we all share．No one has ever escaped it．It clears out the old to make room for the new．Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away．

       Your time is so limited that you shouldn’t waste it repeating someone else’s life．Don’t be trapped by dogma（教条）----which is living with the results of other people’s thinking．Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice．And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart．It somehow already knows what you truly want to become．Everything else is secondary．

1.The doctor advised the author to go home and get his affairs in order because_________．

       A．he had to rest at home

       B．his disease was not serious at all

       C．his disease couldn’t be cured

       D．he had to wait for the result of the test

2.How did the author feel after the diagnosis?

       A．Angry            B．Excited          C．Optimistic         D．Hopeless

3.What does the author think of death?

       A．He thinks it is nothing to be scared of．

       B．He thinks it is not the end of life．

       C．He thinks it is impossible to avoid．

       D．He thinks it is the beginning of a new life

4.In the author’s opinion, we should ____________．

       A．follow others’ advice

       B．take no notice of diseases

       C．take exercise and keep healthy

       D have the courage to follow our  heart