As Christmas is coming, there are presents to be bought, cards to be sent, rooms to be cleaned. Parents are  with difficult jobs of hiding presents from curious young children. If the gifts are large, this is sometimes a real . On Christmas Eve, young children find the  almost unbearable（难以忍受的）. They are  between the wish to go to bed early so that Father Christmas will bring their presents quickly and the wish to  up late so that they will not  the fun. The wish for gifts usually proves stronger. But though children go to bed early, they often lie  for a long time, hoping to get a short look at Father Christmas.
　　Last Christmas, my wife and I  managed to hide a few large presents in the storeroom. I feared the moment when my son, Jimmy, would  me where that new bike had come from, but  he did not see it.
　　On Christmas Eve, it took the children hours to go to sleep. It must have been nearly  when my wife and I went quietly into their room and began  stockings. Then I pushed in the  I bought for Jimmy and left it beside the Christmas tree. We knew we would not get  sleep that night, for the children were  to get up early. At about five o'clock the next morning, we were woken by loud sounds coming from the children's room － they were shouting excitedly!  I had time to get out of bed, young Jimmy came  into the room on his new bike, and his sister, Mary,  close behind pushing her new baby carriage. Even the baby arrived, he moved  the hands and knees into the room dragging a large balloon behind him. Suddenly it burst. That woke  up completely. The day had really begun with a bang（巨响）.

Michel is a young girl who works for the police 21  a handwriting expert. She has helped   22  many criminals  by using her special talents　　When she was fourteen, Michel was already  23  interested in the differences in her friends'   24  that she would spend hours  25  them. After  26  college she went to France for a  27  two-year class in handwriting at the School of Police Science.
Michel says that it is  28  for people to hide their handwriting. She can discover 29  of what she needs to know simply   30 looking at the writing with her own eyes,  31  she also has machines  32   help her make   33   different kinds of paper and ink. This knowledge is often   34  great help to the police.
Michel believes that handwriting is a good   35  of what kind of person the    36   is. "I wouldn't go out with a fellow    37  I didn't like his handwriting.” She says. But she  38 she fell in love with her future husband, a young policeman  39   she studied his handwriting. It is later proved to be   40 , however.

I used to be ashamed of my grandma. I know that’s a terrible thing to say, but it was true until today, so I have to    16    it.

The    17    started when my friend Katy found Grandma’s false teeth floating in a glass on the bathroom sink. I was so used to seeing them that I    18    took notice of them. But Katy shouted, laughing and    19    to talk to them. I had to get down on my knees and    20    her to shut up so my grandma wouldn’t hear and get hurt.

After that happened, I    21    there were a million things about Grandma that were embarrassing.

Once she took my brother Jill and me out to Burger King.   22    ordering our hamburgers well-done, she told the person behind the counter, “They’ll have two Whoppers (巨无霸) well-to-do. ” Jill burst out laughing, but I almost    23    .

After a while, I started wishing I could    24    Grandma in a closet. I even complained to my parents. Both my parents said I had to be careful not to make Grandma feel    25    in our home.

Then last Wednesday, something happened that    26   everything completely. My teacher told us to help find interesting old people and _   27    them about their lives for a big Oral History project. I was trying to think of someone when Angie pushed me gently.

“Volunteer（举荐）your grandmother,” she whispered. “She’s    28    and rich in experience.”

That was the last thing I ever thought Angie would say about my grandma.

This is how I ended up on    29    today interviewing my own grandmother before the whole school assembly. All my friends and teachers were listening to her as if she was a great heroine. I was proud of my grandma and hoped she would                         30   _ know that I had been ashamed of her.

A. admit　　　　 B. receive　　　   C. refuse　　　 D. show

A. quarrel　　　  B. accident　　　  C. trouble　　 　D. adventure

A. already　　　  B. always　　　　 C. simply           D. hardly

A. enjoying　　　 B. pretending　 　 C. imagining　 　D. continuing

A. warn　　　　　B. demand　　　　C. advise　　　  D. beg

A. expected　　 　B. declared　　　 C. realized　　 　 D. doubted

A. Because of　　 B. Except for 　   C. Such as 　　 　D. Instead of

A. died 　　　　 B. cheered 　　　  C. disappeared　　 D. suffered

A. meet 　　　　 B. avoid　　　　   C. arrange 　　 　D. hide

A. independent　  B. inconvenient　  C. unwelcome　　 D. unfamiliar

A. changed 　　　B. finished　　　  C. stopped　　　　D. prepared

A. interview 　　 B. report 　　　   C. tell                    D. write

A. free                 B. popular            C. interesting　　 D. embarrassing

A. show 　　　　 B. stage　　　　   C. duty　　　　 D. time

A. never　　　　  B. even　　　　　 C. still                  D. once

　　Fear can be fun. Many young people queue up to ride very fast and scary roller coasters, screaming but enjoying themselves. Other people like to read “goose bumps (鸡皮疙瘩)” books or watch horror movies at night, scared to death but feeling excited. Why do people like being scared?

　　Fear is an ancient way of surviving. Being scared makes animals, including humans escape from danger and save themselves. It is because of fear that we have lived through millions of years of evolution. Those who lacked a strong fear response were more likely to be killed, leaving the more fearful and careful to pass their genes onto the next generation.

　　How do scientists explain why shaking over such scary things is fun? “Some kids will go to a scary movie and love it and laugh over it, others will feel anxious and hide their faces and some won’t even set foot in the cinema,” said Ned Kalin, a US scientist. “Which kind of person you are depends partly on experiences you’ve had and partly on your genes.”

　　What happens in the brain when something frightens you? Nerves that begin at the eyes and ears lead to a part of the brain called the amygdale. When you suddenly see a snake, for example, the amygdale makes you freeze, sweat, have a quickened heartbeat, or run very fast. However, seeing the snake also uses another part of the brain, the cortex. It analyzes the situation, and if it finds that the snake is only made of rubber it tells your heart and the rest of your body to calm down. Think of the amygdale as the engine and the cortex as the brake.

　　Back to the first question: Why do some people like to make themselves scared? “One reason is that we can play games with fear, find ways to reduce the scariness by looking away or thinking of something else,” Kalin said. “To believe we have control over a situation gives us a feeling of power.” “Scary movies or novels are good practice to prepare young people for the real thing. Thrills such as roller coaster rides also go to the brain’s pleasure centre.”

　　And there might be some evolutionary advantage to being able to adjust this system that is there to protect people.

　　72. How many questions are answered in the passage?

　　A. 2. 　　　B. 3. 　　　C. 4.　　　 D. 5.

　　73. Some people like to be scared because______.

　　A. they are afraid that the fear genes will be passed onto their children

　　B. it’s a good practice to get prepared for the real frightening situation

　　C. it can help them show their own personalities

　　D. they will feel powerful after getting rid of fear

　　74. Which of the following is true about the people who are not easily scared?

　　A. Their cortex is better at analyzing the situations.

　　B. They are more likely to suffer from potential danger.

　　C. They are born unaffected by anything horrible.

　　D. They lack a strong response towards threat.

　　75. What is the best title of the passage?

　　A. Ready to scream? 　　　　B. How to be scared?

　　C. Willing to shake?　　　　D. Why to be scared?