Basil Hayward was a successful artist. He had nearly finished a picture of a very handsome young man called Dorian Gray. One day a friend of his, Lord Henry Wotton, saw the picture and wanted to meet this young man. A few days later, Lord Henry and Dorian Gray met at Basil’s house.

       “Ah, how lucky you are to be so young,” said Lord Henry to Dorian. “But time is your enemy.”

       “I wish I could always stay young and the picture could grow old. Oh, Basil, why should it stay young while I grow old? I wish the picture could change and I could stay as I am.” Dorian was beginning to fall in love with his own picture.

       A few weeks later, Dorian told Lord Henry that he was in love with a young beautiful actress, called Sybil Vane, who had a brother serving as a sailor.

       One night, Dorian took his friends to see Sybil acting as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet. She acted badly, which made Dorian very angry with her. “But how can I pretend to be Juliet since I know what real love is?” she said. Dorian said that he had loved her because she was a good actress. Now he didn’t love her any more and so he left her.

       When he got back home, Dorian looked at his picture again. Somehow it was different. The face in the picture now had a cruel smile. He realized that he had been cruel to Sybil and would see her and make up for what he had done. But the next day, Lord Henry told him that Sybil had killed herself. When Lord Henry left, Dorian looked at the picture and found the face in the picture would become ugly, old and cruel.

       The years went by, but Dorian Gray stayed young and handsome. He enjoyed all the pleasures in his life. However, his picture changed and showed all the terrible secrets of his life. On Dorian’s thirty-eighth birthday, Basil Hayward came to see him. He was horrified when he saw the face in the picture and told Dorian to change his life. Suddenly, Dorian became very angry and took a knife and killed Basil.

       A week later, Dorian was in the country staying with some friends when he realized that the sailor, Sybil’s brother, was following him. The next day he went out walking with some of his friends who were shooting. His friend shot at an animal and there was a cry of a man. He killed the sailor. Dorian decided to change his life.

       “Maybe if I have a better life, the face in the picture will not be so ugly and horrible.”

       But when he looked at the picture, it was even more horrible than before. He decided to destroy the picture. He picked up a knife and stabbed（戳）the painting. There was a loud cry and a crash.

       The servants heard these and went into the room. On the wall they saw the picture of Dorian Gray as a young, handsome man. On the floor was a dead man, with a knife in his heart. It was the other Dorian Gray, and his face was old, ugly and horrible.

64. According to the story, Dorian’s wish that he could always stay young ________.

A. came true in his life                              B. brought him surprises one after another

C. brought him good luck                                 D. led to the loss of his girlfriend’s love

65. In Sybil’s opinion, ___________.

A. Dorian didn’t know what real love is

B. the love between Romeo and Juliet was unbelievable

C. She was, in fact, not a good actress

D. nobody could act Juliet very well

66. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the story?

A. Dorian really loved Sybil very much.            

B. Lord Henry had a great effect on Dorian’s life.

C. Lord Henry was always caring about Dorian.

D. Dorian killed Sybil’s brother by accident.

67. Which of the following do you think is the best title for the passage?

A. The Way to Stay Young Forever.                   B. A Person’s Real Beauty.

C. A Handsome Young Man.                       D. The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Although the 2008 US presidential elections are still a long way off, candidates are already getting ready for the campaigns ahead.

For the Democrats（民主党人）, the two leading candidates are a surprising pair. The first is Hillary Clinton, 60, the wife of former President Bill Clinton. The second is Barack Obama, 45, a Harvard educated senator（参议员）.

It is the first time that the leading presidential candidates for a political party are either a woman or black. The dynamic pair has certainly gotten people's attention.

But the question remains, is America ready for either one?

It's not a simple question to answer. For the past 220 years, Americans have elected only white males to the nation's highest office. That can hardly be called a tradition of diversity. However, many people believe that 2008 will be the year that this changes.

"The white men that have been running the country recently have done such a bad job, at home and abroad, that maybe now is the time for a change," said Dorian Cool of San Francisco, California.

The polling numbers seem to back up his opinion: 86 percent of Americans say they would vote for a qualified woman. An impressive 93 percent say they would vote for a black man if he seemed right for the job. These numbers are much higher than they were just 20 years ago. They may suggest that Americans are ready to be led by a different type of person.

Still, there is a lot to overcome. Although women represent 51 percent of the American population, there are only nine female governors out of 50. Out of 100 senators, only 16 are women. The numbers are significantly lower for blacks in office.

Since the American Civil War, only two blacks have been elected governor and only three have been elected to the Senate.

Surely both candidates face difficult odds, but never before has there been so much support for either a female or a black candidate.

As Barack Obama himself said, "There is not a black America and a white America, a Latino America and an Asian America — there's the United States of America." If others share his vision, maybe the United States will end up with a new type of leader.

67. The author considers Hillary and Barack “a surprising pair” because they are ____.

A. both powerful

B. both likely to win

C. either a woman or black

D. either the wife of former President or a Harvard educated senator

68. Many people expect the 2008 US presidential elections to ____.

A. be nothing special     B. bring great changes to America

C. be a common political campaign       D. change the tradition of diversity

69. Both Hillary and Barack face difficult odds mainly because ____.

A. few women or blacks hold high official positions in American history

B. women take up 51% of the American population

C. they are either too young or old

D. they lack financial support

70. We can infer from the passage that ____.

A. Barack Obama is well educated

B. Hillary Clinton is less likely to win the election

C. the two leading candidates represent different parties

D. the public pay little attention to the 2008 presidential elections

    Although the 2008 US presidential elections are still a long way off, candidates(候选人) are already getting ready for the campaigns ahead.

   For the Democrats (民主党人), the two leading candidates are a surprising pair. The first is Hillary Clinton, 60, the wife of former President Bill Clinton. The second is Barack Obama, 45, a Harvard educated senator (参议员).

   It is the first time that the leading presidential candidates for a political party are either a woman or black. The energetic pair has certainly gotten people's attention. But the question remains, is America ready for either one?

   It's not a simple question to answer. For the past 220 years, Americans have elected only white males to the nation's highest office. That can hardly be called a tradition of diversity. However, many people believe that 2008 will be the year that this changes.

  "The white men that have been running the country recently have done such a bad job, at home and abroad, that maybe now is the time for a change," said Dorian Cool of San Francisco, California.

   The polling(投票)numbers seem to back up his opinion: 86 percent of Americans say they would vote for a qualified woman. An impressive 93 percent say they would vote for a black man if he seemed right for the job. These numbers are much higher than they were just 20 years ago. They may suggest that Americans are ready to be led by a different type of person.

   Still, there is a lot to overcome. Although women represent 51 percent of the American population, there are only nine female governors out of 50. Out of 100 senators, only 16 are women. The numbers are significantly lower for blacks in office.

Since the American Civil War, only two blacks have been elected governor and only three have been elected to the Senate.

   Surely both candidates face difficult odds, but never before has there been so much support for either a female or a black candidate.

   As Barack Obama himself said, "There is not a black America and a white America, a Latino America and an Asian America ― there's the United States of America." If others share his vision, maybe the United States will end up with a new type of leader.

77．The author considers Hillary and Barack “a surprising pair” because they are ____.

  A. both powerful                     B. both likely to win

C. either a woman or black       D. either the wife of former President or a Harvard educated senator

78．Many people expect the 2008 US presidential elections to ____.

  A. be nothing special                             B. bring great changes to America

  C. be a common political campaign         D. change the tradition of diversity

79．Both Hillary and Barack face difficult odds mainly because ____.

  A. few women or blacks hold high official positions in American history

  B. women take up 51% of the American population

  C. they are either too young or old

  D. they lack financial support

80．We can infer from the passage that ____.

  A. Barack Obama is well educated .

  B. Hillary Clinton is less likely to win the election.

  C. the two leading candidates represent different parties.

  D. the public pay little attention to the 2008 presidential elections.