An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer of his plans to __1__ the house－building business to live a more __2__ life with his wife and __3__ his extended family. He would miss the paycheck(工资) each week, but he wanted to retire. They could __4__. 

The employer was __5__ to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favour. The carpenter said yes, __6__ over time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He used bad workmanship and __7__ materials. It was an unfortunate way to __8__ a dedicated(献身的)career.

When the carpenter finished  his work, his employer came to __9__ the house. Then he handed the front－door __10__ to the carpenter and said, “This is your house... my __11__ to you.”

The carpenter was shocked!

What a __12__！ If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently.

__13__  it is with us. We build our lives, a day at a time, often putting __14__ than our best into the building. Then, with a shock, we __15__ we have to live in the house we have built. If we could do it over, we would do it much differently.

But, you cannot __16__. You are the carpenter, and every day you hammer a nail, place a board, or build a wall. Someone __17__ said, “Life is a do－it－yourself project.” Your __18__，  and the choices you __19__ today, help build the “house” you will live in tomorrow. Therefore, build __20__！

1. A. continue　　　  B. start　　　C. leave　　　D. find

2. A. leisurely       B. lonely     C. orderly    D. friendly                 

3. A support        B. share      C. enjoy     D. care                  

4. A. go off             B. get by

C. pass on            D. work away

5. A. polite         B. nervous   C. proud     D. sorry                   

6. A. but           B. while     C. which       D. before         

7. A. perfect        B. inferior   C. superior    D. tough                  

8. A. satisfy      B. improve     C. meet      D. end                      

9. A. buy        B. repair       C. inspect    D. sell                  

10. A. roof      B. window      C. key      D. design                   

11. A. gift       B. promise      C. salary    D. words

12. A. disappointment      B. shame         

C. pleasure             D. success        

13. A. So       B. Yet          C. As       D. Such                    

14. A. worse     B. more        C. rather     D. less                     

15. A. realize    B. explain       C. think      D. admit                   

16. A. step forward         B. go back

C. come out            D. look around

17. A. never     B. again        C. once     D. nearly            

18. A. attitude   B. experience    C. skill      D. advantage       

19. A. learn       B. take       C. see        D. make                   

20. A. badly  B. wisely      C. early         D. confidently             

　　Jeremy Fox, a retired businessman in a small city in England, recently bought an old farmhouse with a yard and a small field, about five miles out of the town. There he planned to lead a simple life with his wife, Amelia.

　　It was while clearing out the old barn on the far side of the yard that he made an interesting discovery. In a corner, under some old sacks, he found some large fragments（碎片）of an antique bowl. Out of curiosity, he took them into the kitchen and, much to the anger of his wife, washed the mud off them. That evening he spread newspapers over the kitchen table and carefully study the fragments together. However, two pieces were found missing.

　　Two days later, having pulled down the barn, Mr. Fox was digging over the ground in preparation for the installation（安装）of a greenhouse, when he discovered the two missing pieces. When he had stuck them in position, the bowl looked so fine that Amelia agreed to its being placed on a table in the living room, in front of the window.

　　“We might have something a bit special here, ” he said to his wife. A few days later, Jeremy took several photographs of the bowl, which he sent off to Sotheby's in London.

　　Unexpectedly, Sotheby's was extremely interested in the bowl and sent an expert to inspect it. It turned out that it was a Chinese Ming fish bowl, dating back to around 1 500, and might be expected to get a five-figure sum at an auction.

　　A week later still more unexpectedly, two police officers called and told the Foxes the bowl was stolen property.

　　So the bowl never reached the auction room, and Mr. Fox never received the five-figure sum that had been mentioned. However, he framed one of the photographs he had taken and hung it on the wall.

(1)At first Mrs. Fox seemed to be ________.

[　　]

A．greatly annoyed at Mr. Fox's enthusiasm

B．very much interested in the discovery

C．uncertain of Mr. Fox's enthusiasm

D．curious about Mr. Fox's findings

(2)Most likely“Sotheby's”was ________.

[　　]

(3)According to the expert, the bowl could be sold at the price of ________.

[　　]

A．five thousand pounds

B．less than ten thousand pounds

C．one thousand, five hundred and ninety pounds

D．at least ten thousand pounds

(4)Which of the following is NOT true?

[　　]

A．Most probably Sotheby's purchased the bowl in the end.

B．It turned out that Mr. Fox got neither the money nor the bowl.

C．Mr. Fox preferred country life to city life after his retirement.

D．Mr. Fox was fond of gardening.

On  　　the notes proved to be forgeries.

A.inspect　　　B.inspection　　C.inspector　　D.inspecting

Some students from high schools think geography more difficult to ________ than physics.

A．grasp　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B．hold

C．inspect　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D．reflect

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中选出最佳选项。

　　Jane Clark，fair-haired，blue-eyed and tough as steel，just won the most difficult race in the world．

　　In seventeen days she drove a dog team and sledge（雪橇）across 1 050 miles of the Arctic Circle and through some of the most difficult land in the world． In bitter winds and snowstorms she drove her dogs along the Arctic track，in temperatures that reached38℃．

　　When Jane was asked how she felt about being the first woman ever to win the race，she said，“I still can't believe it．”She then went over to inspect her thirteen wild-eyed dogs．

　　David Wilson，who came second，said，“It sure hurts when a young woman is ahead of you．But it doesn't hurt for long．She was a good winner．”

1．Which of the following best gives the main idea of this newspaper article？

[　　]

A．Woman drives a dog team across the Arctic．

B．Woman fights bitter winds and snowstorms．

C．Woman wins a sledge race in the world．

D．Woman wins the world's toughest race．

2．What was so special about Jane winning the race？

[　　]

A．No woman had ever won this race in the past．

B．Her 13 dogs were wild and difficult to control．

C．She broke the record by taking only 17 days to complete the race．

D．This was the first time she had taken part in this kind of race．

3．How did David Wilson feel about the race？

[　　]

A．He had an accident during the race and thought it was not fair．

B．He was sorry to lose but it was fair that Jane won the race．

C．He thought that it was not right to put men and women in the same race．

D．He was very upset because he thought that he should have won．