Directions: Read the following passage.? Answer the. questions according to the information given in the passage.

????? As an English teacher. I've been lucky enough to travel to many countries. I've seen people celebrating everything from the arrival of new babies to the delivery of new cars. I've attended weddings, parties and religious celebrations in countries as far apart as Argentina and Japan, and I've noticed that gold - the metal or the colour is almost always part of cultural events, traditions and celebrations.

????? From? 'mashallah'? gold tokens(纪念品)? that people give to babies in Turkey,? to the gold stars that primary teachers stick on their students' exercise books. to the gold coffin that the 'King of Pop' Michael Jackson was buried in. it makes me wonder: Why do people love gold?

????? For some people, gold seems to be a status symbol. Indian businessman Datta Phuge loves gold so much that he's even bought a shirt made of the stuff-at a cost of $ 250,000. Datta Phuge has his reasons.?? He explains :? "Some elite (杰出人物)people want to own an Audi or Mercedes(奔驰) and have big cars. I chose gold. "

????? For other people, gold is an investment.? The price of gold generally increases over time-and in European markets it reached over $ 1,500 per ounce in 2011.

????? And for many people, the family heirloom(传家宝)brings together status and investment. My mother has a gold bracelet that was given to her by her grandmother-who, in turn. inherited it from her own grandmother.?? It's quite a heavy piece and probably worth quite a lot of money.? But its sentimental value is greater than its value in dollars:? It ' s a beautiful object that holds many family memories. When the time comes, my mum will give the bracelet to me.

???? So, status and investment are good reasons to value gold. But, I think that the real reason people love gold is because it can be made into beautiful objects.? Think about Tutankhamen' s death mask. People love gold because it captures our minds, our imaginations and. above all, our hearts.

1. What did the writer observe while travelling in different countries7? ( No more than 15 words)

(2 marks)

2.Why did Indian businessman Datta Phuge buy a gold shirt? (No more than 7 words) (3 marks)

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3.What does the writer think of her mother's gold bracelet? (No more than 7 words) (2 marks)

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4. In the writer's opinion, why do people love gold? (No more than 17 words) (3 marks)

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These days we are all conditioned to accept newness, whatever it costs. Very soon, there is no doubt that Apple's tablet (平板电脑) will seem as a vital tool of modern living to us as sewing machine did to our grandparents. At least, it will until someone produces an even smarter, thinner and more essential tablet, which, if recent history is any guide, will be in approximately six months' time. Turn your back for a moment and you find that every electronic item in your possession is as old as a tombstone. Why should you care if people laugh just because you use an old mobile phone? But try getting the thing repaired when it goes wrong. It's like walking into a pub and asking for an orange juice. You will be made to feel like some sort of time-traveler from the 1970s. "Why not buy a new one?" you will get asked.
And so the mountain of electrical rubbish grows. An average British person was believed to get rid of quite a number of electronic goods in a lifetime. They weighed three tons, stood 7 feet high, and included five fridges, six microwaves, seven PCs, six TVs, 12 kettles, 35 mobile phones and so on. Even then, the calculation seemed to be conservative. Only 35 mobiles in a lifetime? The huge number of electronic items now regularly thrown away by British families is clearly one big problem. But this has other consequences. It contributes greatly to the uneasy feeling that modem technology is going by faster than we can keep up. By the time I've learnt how to use a tool it's already broken or lost. I've lost count of the number of TV remote-controls that I've bought, mislaid and replaced without working out what most of the buttons did.
And the technology changes so unbelievably fast. It was less than years ago that I spotted an energetic businessman friend pulling what seemed to be either a large container or a small nuclear bomb on wheels through a railway station. I asked. "What have you got in there? Your money or your wife?" "Neither," he replied, with the satisfied look of a man who knew he was keeping pace with the latest technology, no matter how ridiculous he looked. "This is what everyone will have soon—even you. It's called a mobile telephone."
I don't feel sorry for the pace of change. On the contrary, I'm amazed by those high-tech designers who can somehow fit a camera, music-player, computer and phone into a plastic box no bigger than a packet of cigarette. If those geniuses could also find a way to keep the underground trains running on the first snowy day of winter, they would be making real progress for human beings. What I do regret, however, is that so many household items fall behind so soon. My parents bought a wooden wireless radio in 1947, the year they were married. In 1973, the year I went to university, it was still working. It sat in the kitchen like an old friend—which, in a way, it was. It certainly spoke to us more than we spoke to each other on some mornings. When my mum replaced it with a new-style radio that could also play cassette-tapes, I felt a real sense of loss.
Such is the over-excited change of 21st-century technology that there's no time to satisfy our emotional needs. Even if Apple's new products turn out to be the most significant tablets I very much doubt if they will resist this trend.
【小题1】When you try getting an old mobile phone repaired, ____.

阅读下面短文，掌握大意，然后从36－55各小题所给四个选项(A、B、C、D)中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

After spending a weekend away with my adult son, I was so impressed by his   36  heart that I sent him this letter.

Dear son,

    I want to thank you for teaching me a very valuable lesson in life by the great example you   37  . When we were eating at that cafe in Boston and a person who had  38  his hamburger didn’t have enough money to pay for it, without  39  , you went over and  40  the extra $2 into his hand.

    When we were leaving, you  41  threw a five-cent coin onto the pavement and said  42 like, “Some kid will really enjoy  43  this.”

    Last week, a young man  44  me in the line at a petrol station didn’t have  45  money to pay for his petrol. I asked the money collector, “How much   46  is he?” She told me he had meant to put $15 of petrol in his car  47  he had been looking at the wrong gauge (计量表) and had put in 15  48  , which came to a little  49  $20. That is an easy mistake  50  both gauges run fast.

    Something made me think of you and  51  you did that night at the cafe in Boston. I handed the man $6. He was so  52  and said, “But why would you do this for me?” I just smiled as I thought of you.

   Thank you, son, for teaching me that “it’s  53  to give than to receive”. Now when I see a five-cent coin on the  54  and want to pick it up, I think of you and leave it there, just in case some kid will get a  55  out of finding it.

                                                        Love always, Mum.

1.A. humorous          B. optimistic               C. cold                D. generous

2. A. followed           B. gave                   C. set               D. took

3. A. ordered            B. booked                  C. offered          D. bought

4. A. hesitation          B. doubt                  C. permission          D. difficulty

5. A. spread             B. threw                 C. put               D. loaded

6.A. again              B. already                  C. only            D. also

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

8.A．finding                   B．accepting             C．looking for      D．pointing at

9. A．behind                   B．beyond                   C．ahead of            D．next to

10. A．much                   B．some             C．any                D．enough

11. A．far                      B．1ong                 C．short                 D．high

12.A．and                      B．but                        C．so                 D．while

13. A．1itres                    B．kilograms            C．pounds                D．kilometers

14. A．up                   B．over                 C．below               D．down

15. A．until                     B．as                    C．although           D．unless

16.A．what                    B．which                C．how             D．that

17. A．excited                 B．surprised              C．interested             D．encouraged

18.A．easier                  B．better                C．faster                D．worse

19. A．comer                  B．mud                          C．ground           D．carpet

20. A．kick                        B．fun                    C．fare              D．pick