It was a cold night in September. The rain was drumming on the car roof as George and Marie Winston drove through the empty country roads towards the house of their friends, the Harrisons, where they were going to attend a party to celebrate the engagement of the Harrisons' daughter, Lisa. As they drove, they listened to the local radio station, which was playing classical music.

Suddenly the music on the radio was interrupted by a news announcement: "The Cheshire police have issued a serious warning after a man escaped from Colford Mental Hospital earlier this evening. The man, John Downey, is a murderer who killed six people before he was captured two years ago. He is described as large, very strong and extremely dangerous. People in the Cheshire' area are warned to keep their doors and windows locked, and to call the police immediately if they see anyone acting strangely.”

Marie shivered. "A crazy killer. And he's out there somewhere. That's scary.”

"Don't worry about it,” said her husband. "We're nearly there now. But this car is losing power for some reason.”

As he spoke, the car began to slow down. Finally they rolled to a halt, as the engine died completely. Just as they stopped, George pulled the car off the road, and it came to rest under a large tree,

"Blast!” said George angrily. "Now we'll have to walk in the rain.”

"But that'll take us an hour at least,” said Marie, "And I have my high-heeled shoes and my nice clothes on. They'll be ruined!”

"Well, you'll have to wait while I run to the nearest house and call the Harrisons. Someone can come out and pick us up," said George.

"But George! Have you forgotten what the radio said?"

"You'll have to hide in the back of the car. Lock all the doors and lie on the floor in the back, under this blanket. No one will see you. When I come back, I'll knock three times on the door. Then you can get up and open it. Don't open it unless you hear three knocks," George opened the door and, slipped out into the rain. He quickly disappeared into the blackness.

Marie quickly locked the door and settled down under the blanket in the back for a long wait.

Suddenly she heard three slow knocks, one after the other, also on the roof of the car. Was it her husband? Should she open the door? Then she heard another knock, and another. This was not her husband. It was somebody or something else. She was shaking with fear, but she forced herself to lie still. The knocking continued----bump, bump, bump, bump.

Many hours later, as the sun rose, she was still lying there. The knocking had never stopped all night long. She did not know what to do. Where was George? Why had he not come for her?

Suddenly, she heard the sound of three or four vehicles, racing quickly down the road. Someone had come! Marie sat up quickly and looked out of the window.

The three vehicles were all police cars. Several policemen leapt out. One of them rushed towards the car as Marie opened the door. He took her by the hand.

"Get out of the car and walk with me to the police vehicle. Miss! You're safe now. Look straight ahead. Keep looking at the police car. Don't look back. Just don't look back.”

Something in the way he spoke filled Marie with cold horror. She could not help herself. About ten yards from the police car, she stopped, turned and looked back at the empty vehicle.

George was hanging from the tree above the car, a rope tied around his neck. As the wind blew his body back and forth, his feet were bumping gently on the roof of the car-bump, bump, bump, bump.

1．What was the reason for the news announcement on the radio?

A．Some people had been seen acting strangely in the Cheshire area.

B．The police were warning of accidents on the roads in the bad weather.

C．Six people, including John Downey, had been murdered.

D．A dangerous prisoner had escaped.

2．Why did Marie stay in the car when George left?

  A．She was afraid to go out in the dark.   

  B．So no-one would steal the car.

  C．Her clothes weren't suitable for the rain.  

  D．She wanted to get some sleep.

3．Why did the policeman tell her not to look back when he brought her out of the car?

  A．The killer was waiting behind her.

  B．He wanted her to forget everything that had happened during the night.

  C．He didn't want her to see the damage done to the car.

       D．He didn't want her to see the body of her husband.

Directly across the street was our house from the clinic entrance of John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. We lived downstairs and rented the upstairs rooms to out-patients at the clinic.

One summer evening as I was fixing supper, there was a knock at the door. I opened it to see a truly awful looking man. “Why, he’s hardly taller than my eight-year-old,” I thought as I stared at the shriveled (皱缩的) body. But the shocking thing was his face-twisted from swelling，red and raw.

Yet his voice was pleasant as he said, “Good evening. I’ve come to see if you’ve a room for just one night. I came for a treatment this morning from the eastern shore, and there’s no bus till morning.”

He told me he'd been hunting for a room since noon but with no success, no one seemed to have a room. "I guess it's my face…, I know it looks terrible, but my doctor says with a few more treatments …"
  I told him we would find him a bed, but to rest on the porch. I went inside and finished getting supper. When we were ready, I asked the old man if he would join us. “No thank you，I have plenty.” And he held up a brown paper bag.

When I had finished the dishes, I went out on the porch to talk with him a few minutes. It didn’t take a long time to see that this old man had an oversized heart crowded into that tiny body. He told me he fished for a living to support his daughter, her five children, and her husband, who was hopelessly disabled from a back injury.
  He didn't tell it by way of complaint; in fact, every other sentence began with a thanks to God for a blessing. He was grateful that no pain accompanied his disease, which was apparently a form of skin cancer. He thanked God for giving him the strength to keep going.
    At bedtime, we put a camp cot in the children’s room for him. When I got up in the morning, the bed linens were neatly folded and the little man was out on the porch.

He refused breakfast, but just before he left for his bus, haltingly, as if asking a great favor, he said, “Could I please come back and stay the next time I have a treatment? I won’t put you out a bit. I can sleep fine in a chair.” He paused a moment and then added, “Your children made me feel at home. Grownups are bothered by my face, but children don’t seem to mind.” I told him he was welcome to come back again.
  In the years he came to stay overnight with us, there was never a time that he did not bring us fish or oysters or vegetables from his garden.
  Other times we received packages in the mail, always by special delivery; fish and oysters packed in a box of fresh young spinach or kale, every leaf carefully washed. Knowing that he must walk three miles to mail these, and knowing how little money he had made the gifts doubly precious.

When I received these little gifts, I often thought of a comment our next-door neighbor made after he left that first morning.

"Did you keep that awful looking man last night? I turned him away. You can lose roomers by accommodating such people!"

Maybe we did lose roomers once or twice. But oh! If only they could have known him, perhaps their illnesses would have been easier to bear.

I know our family always will be grateful to have known him; from him we learned what it was to accept the bad without complaint and the good with gratitude to God.

58. The first time I met the man, _____.

A. he had an eight-year-old son        B. he was looking for a place to stay overnight
C. he frightened my kid               D. he was in need of something to eat

59. The next-door neighbor refused the man because _____.

A. he had no spare room               B. the man didn't bring him gifts

C. he might lose roomers               D. the man was bad-tempered

60. Which of the following is NOT true about the man?

A. He developed skin cancer.         B. He didn't complain about his sufferings.
C. He fished to support a large family.  D. God helped him to get over his disease.

61. What attitude did the man have toward life?

A. Confident.       B. Grateful.        C. Regretful.     D. Passive.

62. What message is conveyed in the passage?

A. Give others a hand               B. Accept good and bad with gratitude
C. Be the architect of life                        D Never judge a book by its cover.    

Here is a humorous story. Frank Smithson woke up and leaned over to turn off the alarm clock．“Oh，no!”he thought to himself．“Another day at that office；a boss who shouts at me all the time．”

    As Frank went downstairs his eyes fell on a large brown envelope by the door．He was overjoyed when he opened it and read the letter inside. “Bigwoods Football Pools(足球赌博公司)would like to congratulate you．You have won half a million pounds．”

    Frank suddenly came to life．The cigarette（香烟） fell from his lips as he let out a shout that could be heard halfway down the street．

    At 11：30 Frank arrived at work．“Please explain why you're so late，”his boss said．“Go and jump in the lake,” replied Frank. “I've just come into a little money so this is goodbye．Find yourself someone else to shout at．”

    That evening Frank was smoking a very expensive Havana cigar(雪茄)when a knock was heard on the door．He rushed to the door．Outside were two men，neatly dressed in grey suits．“Mr Smithson,” one of them said，“We're from Bigwoods Football Pools．I'm afraid there’s been a terrible mistake……”

What do we know about Frank?

A．He was a lazy man．             B．He was a lucky person．

C．He made a lot of money．        D．He didn't get on well with his boss．

Why did Frank dare to shout to his boss?

A. Because he found a better job.          

B. Because his boss did not like him.

C. Because he thought he did not need the job.

D. Because he was not late in fact.

When he heard the knock at the door,Frank probably thought __.

A.someone had come to make an apology.

B.someone had come to give him the money.

C.his friends had come to ask about the football pools.

D.his friends had come to congratulate him on his luck.

On hearing“…there's been a terrible mistake…”Frank was most likely to be________．

A．disappointed.        B．worried.        C．nervous.         D．curious.

Here is a humorous story. Frank Smithson woke up and leaned over to turn off the alarm clock．“Oh，no!”he thought to himself．“Another day at that office；a boss who shouts at me all the time．”

    As Frank went downstairs his eyes fell on a large brown envelope by the door．He was overjoyed when he opened it and read the letter inside. “Bigwoods Football Pools(足球赌博公司)would like to congratulate you．You have won half a million pounds．”

    Frank suddenly came to life．The cigarette（香烟） fell from his lips as he let out a shout that could be heard halfway down the street．

    At 11：30 Frank arrived at work．“Please explain why you're so late，”his boss said．“Go and jump in the lake,” replied Frank. “I've just come into a little money so this is goodbye．Find yourself someone else to shout at．”

    That evening Frank was smoking a very expensive Havana cigar(雪茄)when a knock was heard on the door．He rushed to the door．Outside were two men，neatly dressed in grey suits．“Mr Smithson,” one of them said，“We're from Bigwoods Football Pools．I'm afraid there’s been a terrible mistake……”

1.What do we know about Frank?

A．He was a lazy man．             B．He was a lucky person．

C．He made a lot of money．        D．He didn't get on well with his boss．

2.Why did Frank dare to shout to his boss?

A. Because he found a better job.           

B. Because his boss did not like him.

C. Because he thought he did not need the job.

D. Because he was not late in fact.

3. When he heard the knock at the door,Frank probably thought __.

A.someone had come to make an apology.

B.someone had come to give him the money.

C.his friends had come to ask about the football pools.

D.his friends had come to congratulate him on his luck.

4.On hearing“…there's been a terrible mistake…”Frank was most likely to be________．

A．disappointed.        B．worried.        C．nervous.         D．curious.

语篇理解

　　Frank Smithson woke up and leaned over to turn off the alarm clock．“Oh, no!” he thought to himself．“Another day at that office; a boss who shouts at me all the time．”

　　As Frank went downstairs his eyes fell in a large brown envelope by the door．He was overjoyed when he opened it and read the letter inside:　

　　“Bigwoods Football Pools would like to congratulate you．You have won half a million pounds．”

　　Frank suddenly came to life．The cigarette fell from his lips as he let out a shout that could be heard halfway down the street．

　　At 11:30 Frank arrived at work．“Please explain why you’re so late,” his boss said．“Go and jump in the lake．”replied Frank．“I’ve just come into a little money so this is good-bye．Find yourself someone else to shout at．”

　　That evening Frank was smoking a very expensive Havana cigar when a knock was heard on the door．He rushed to the door．Outside were two men, neatly dressed in grey suits．“Mr．Smithson,” one of them said, “we’re from Big-woods Pools．I’m afraid there’s been a terrible mistake．”

1．What do we know about Frank?

[　　]

A．He was a lazy man．

B．He was a lucky person．

C．He didn’t make a lot of money．

D．He didn’t get on well with his boss．

2．When he heard the knock at the door, Frank probably thought ______．

[　　　　]

A．someone had come to make an apology

B．someone had come to give him the money

C．his friends had come to ask about the football pools

D．his friends had come to congratulate him on his luck

3．On hearing “…there’s been a terrible mistake…” Frank was most likely to be ______．

[　　　　]

A．disappointed　　　 B．worried

C．nervous　　　　　　D．curious