---How old is Esther Greenbaum?

   ---Don't ask her how old she is—she's really ______ about it.

A. particular         B. cautious         C. sensitive          D. anxious

____teacher of my grandmother’s is coming the day after tomorrow. I’m wondering

how old____woman she should be.

A. The; a                  B. A; a               C. A; the         D. The; the

第三部分：阅读理解(共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分)
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
A
When I worked in Swaziland, one day we went to an orphanage. There we found a beautiful little girl named Tanzile. I gave her a sweet and she said something back to me in Si-swati, which the nurse next to me translated, “She wants another one — to give to her little sister.” I said “of course”. When we were going to leave, we passed by Tanzile’s house to say goodbye. To our surprise she seemed to be holding on to that extra sweet I had given her. I remember saying to the nurse “this little darling is clever — she has taken two for herself.”
But the nurse told us, “Tanzile is 7 now. Two years ago her mum and dad both died of AIDS. She was separated from her sister who was three at the time. Tanzile has not laid eyes on her since. But from then on whenever Tanzile receives anything from anyone, including food — she refuses to accept it, unless they give her two.” In fact, in the little mud hut where she lives, we find a pile of old things which she has been collecting to give to her sister one day.
People sometimes look at faces of African children and think that they are somehow different from our kids — that somehow they don’t feel pain or love. But that is not true. Their pain is deep. And so is their love. I can still remember the nurse trying to convince her that “if someone gives you food, you must accept it — even if it is only one piece and not two — for your own health.” And it was so hard for us to keep the tears from our eyes as she shook her head. Her hope and her love was all that she had. It mattered more than anything else. When I returned home that day, I was shocked to find that this was not an isolated story but others in the hospital knew of orphans just like Tanzile — waiting with a little pile of things in their hut, for their lovers who they haven’t seen so long.
I think of that old song — “when we’re hungry, love will keep us alive.”
56． From the passage we can learn Tanzile__________.
A. is very clever        B. knows her sister has died
C. has stored a lot for her sister       D. doesn’t like sweets
57． How old was her sister when the author met with Tanzile?
A. Three years old.    B. Four years old.
C. Five years old.     D. Six years old.
58． What has the author learned from her experience in Africa?
A. Love is more important in life than anything else.
B. African children are different in a way.
C. African children should be treated fairly.
D. We should express our love in time.
59． The best title for the passage would be __________
A. Give every child two sweets      B. Tanzile’s love for her sister
C. One for my sister               D. Change your attitude to African children

A job is more than just a job，especially to the older generation.“It’s not the money that matters，but the sense of self?worth，” 56?year?old Cheng Wonlan said.So，every day Ms Cheng carries a bag of parcels，letters and documents of all shapes and sizes and does her rounds in North Point.She’s a courier(快递人员)．

Five years ago，Ms Cheng was a nurse at a private clinic.She had worked there for almost 30 years but was made jobless when the doctor migrated(移居)．It was extremely difficult for her to find another job.“People do not trust my ability when they learn how old I am，” she said.After two years of searching，the mother of two eventually found another nursing job.But then after two years，she quit.Why?

“My colleagues were young and they didn’t understand me because of my age.They often asked me，‘You are so old；what are you working for？’ I was very unhappy.” she said.So while the rest of her family left for work，she was left to lonely boredom at home.The urge to work drove her to suffering.Then，one of Ms Cheng’s neighbours told her about Employee’s Retraining Board (ERB) offering retraining courses for older people on specific occupations，such as convenience store assistants，junior clerks and so on.

“I was interested in courier work.I didn’t think my age was a barrier because I was fit and healthy.So I thought why not give it a try.” she said.Upon graduation from the ERB，Ms Cheng was offered a job by the Speeding Shuttle Courier Service Company Limited.But then Ms Cheng was faced with a conflict：she was caught between honour and employment.It took Ms Cheng 24 hours to make up her mind and eventually came to the conclusion that there was nothing wrong or embarrassing about doing the job.So she took heart and went off to work as a courier.

Ms Cheng’s employer is delighted with her，“Ms Cheng has been working with us for two months and has shown a good responsible attitude to work.”Anthony Chong，who runs the company，said.Currently，Mr Chong has 60 couriers working for his company：five of them are over fifty，four of whom have been through the ERB plan.Mr Chong said he hired older people because they were able and reliable.“Age is not an important factor but attitude is.Many old people are more capable than the youngsters.They will not run from difficulties but the young ones will，” he said.“It is not easy to recruit (招募) young people since they shy away from hardship and challenges.”

1.Why was it difficult for Ms Cheng to find another nursing job?

A．Nursing clinics were hard to find.

B．People thought that old people couldn’t be trusted.

C．People thought she was too old to take on a new job.

D．People didn’t think she had enough working experience.

2.Ms Cheng left her second nursing job because ________.

A．she was bored

B．it was too difficult

C．she was too old to do the job

D．the other staff made her feel uncomfortable

3.Employee’s Retraining Board is a plan for ________.

A．finding jobs for older people

B．teaching new skills to older people

C．training older people to be couriers

D．giving older people something to do in their spare time

4.When Ms Cheng was offered the courier job she ________.

A．took it straight away

B．thought it over and then accepted it

C．thought about it and then refused it

D．refused it straight away but then changed her mind

There are many American expressions about insects--- like bees, for example. Bees are known as very hard workers. They appear to be busy, moving around their homes, or hives (蜂窝). So you might say you were as busy as a bee if you spent your weekend cleaning your house. In fact, you might say your house was a beehive of activity if your whole family was helping you clean. You also might say you made a beeline for something if you went there right away. When we go to see a movie, my friend always makes a beeline for the place where they sell popcorn (爆米花) .

    Here is an expression about bees that is not used much any more, but we like it anyway. We think it was first used in the 1920s. If something was the best of its kind, you might say it was the bee’s knees. Now, we admit that we do not know how this expression developed. In fact, we do not even know if bees have knees!

 If your friend cannot stop talking about something because she thinks it is important, you might say she has a bee in her bonnet (女帽). If  someone asks you a personal question, you might say “that is none of your beeswax”. This means none of your business.

    Speaking of personal questions, there is an expression when their children ask, “Where do babies come from?” Parents who discuss sex and reproduction (生殖) say this is talking about the birds and bees.

    Butterflies are beautiful insects, but you would not want to have butterflies in your stomach. That means to be nervous about having to do something, like speaking in front of a crowd. You would also not want to have ants in your trousers. That is, to be unable to sit still.

1. If you make a beeline for something, you ______ .

   A. are as busy as a bee            B. go quickly and directly towards it

   C. always go to the same place     D. buy something at a certain place

2.The underlined expression “ it is the bee’s knees” _______ .

   A. is not used at all now          B. was first used in the 1820s

   C. reminds us that bees have knees  D. means “it is very good”

3. If you ask your American friend Jack “How old is your wife?” he may say “______.”

   A. It is none of your beeswax      B. You have a bee in your bonnet

   C. It is the bee’s knees            D. You are talking about the birds and bees

4. When you have butterflies in your stomach, you ______ .

   A. are too sick to sit still           B. have ants in your trousers

   C. are nervous about something     D. have a stomachache

5.The passage mainly tells us _______.

   A. some interesting and useful insects  B. some expressions about insects

   C. the way of learning expressions     D. some newly-invented expressions