A moment later I heard my uncle calling me, and found the two men on the road together. The captain then addressed me as if I was his equal, which was very pleasing to a young fellow like me.

"Sir," said he, "Mr. Balfour tells me great things of you, and I like your looks. I wish I was staying here longer so that we might become friends. But we'll make the most of the short time that we have. You must come on board my brig（双桅船） for half an hour and have a drink with me."

Now, I cannot describe how eager 1 was to see the inside of a ship. But I was not going to put myself in danger, and I told him my uncle and I had an appointment with a lawyer.

"Yes," said he, "he told me of that. But, you see, the boat will set you on shore farther along, near Rankeillor's house." And here he suddenly leaned down and whispered in my ear: "Take care; the old devil（恶魔） has evil plans. Come on board till I can have a Word with you."

Then, passing his arm through mine, he continued aloud, as he set off towards his boat: "Now what can I bring you from Carolina? Any friend of Mr. Balfour can ask for what he likes. A roll of tobacco? Indian feather work? A wild beast's skin? A stone pipe? A mocking-bird that cries just like a cat? Make your choice and give your order."

By this time we were beside his boat and he was helping me in. I did not dream of refusing. I thought （like a fool） that 1 had found a friend and helper, and I was looking forward to seeing the ship. As soon as we were all in our places the boat was pushed off and began to move over the water. I was so delighted with this new experience that I hardly understood what the captain said, and must have answered him without thinking.

As soon as we were alongside, Hoseason ordered a rope and chair to be sent down, declaring that he and I must be the first to go on board．I was lifted into the air and set down again on the deck（甲板）, where the captain stood waiting for me and immediately slipped his arm under mine. I stood there, rather confused and perhaps a little afraid, but delighted with the strange things all around me, while the captain pointed out some of the strangest and told me their names and uses.

And then I saw that my uncle was not with us.

I felt I was lost. With all my strength, I tore myself out of the captain's grasp and ran to the side of the ship. Yes, there was the ship being rowed back to the shore, with my uncle sitting in it. I gave a wild cry-so loud that it rang out over the harbor, and my uncle turned around and showed me a face full of cruelty and terror.

That was the last thing I saw. Already strong hands had been pulling me back fromthe ship's side, and now lightning seemed to strike me. I saw a great flash of fire, and fell unconscious.

1．This passage is most probably taken from _________.

    A．a voyage magazine                       B．a literature novel

    C．a science fiction                          D．a newspaper report

2．Rankeillor, in the fourth paragraph, is perhaps ___________.

    A．a lawyer           B．a devil            C．a captain      D．a house

3．After reading the last two paragraphs, we can see that _________ .

    A．the author's uncle had an ugly face

    B．the author fell unconscious because of the flash of lightning

    C．the uncle most probably had participated in the evil plan

    D．the author got wild and mad in the end

4．From the whole passage, we can know that ______ .

    A．the author was actually kidnapped（绑架）

    B．the author finally found a friend and helper

    C．the author was very eager and pleased to get on board the ship

D．the author's uncle was terribly unwilling to leave him behind

His first successful fight was for the equal rights of black people in South Africa. Then, as the first black president, he fought to unite the country and organize the government. Now Nelson Mandela has set his sights on a new enemy, AIDS.
On March 19 the 82-year-old, former president, hosted his second AIDS-awareness concert. He warned that 25 million people in Africa were already infected with the fatal disease.
Mandela was born in a small village in South Africa in 1918. He was adopted by the chief of his tribe and could have been a chief himself and lived a happy country life.
But he refused to be a chief when his people lived under racial discrimination(歧视). He decided to fight for equal rights for all the people in South Africa. Before 1990, under the country’s Racial Segregation Law, colored and white people lived separately. Black people were treated unfairly even when taking a bus. Blacks had to stand at the back of the bus to make room for white people even when there were only a few of them on board.
For his opposition to the system, Mandela was arrested and spent 27 years in prison. He was freed in 1990 and became the president of the country after the first election were held in which everyone could vote.
Mandela was not only a political fighter who attacked with speeches. He was also a trained boxer and fought in the ring when he was young.
“Although I did not enjoy the violence of boxing, I was interested in how one moved one’s body to protect oneself, how one used a strategy both to attack and retreat”, he wrote in his autobiography.
As a skillful fighter, he chose music as his weapon against AIDS. He hopes to win another victory against AIDS.
【小题1】When was Mandela arrested?

Holidays

What can you do if you like to go on holidays with pets?

A. Choose the holiday in Devon. 

B. Go to the Snowdonia Centre

C Join the World Sea Trip of 2008

    D. Visit Acapulco and Hawaii

In what way is the Snowdonia Centre different from the other two holidays?

A. It provides chances of family gatherings.

B. It provides customers with good food.

    C. It offers a sport lesson.

    D. It offers comfortable room.

What is special about the World Sea Trip of 2008?

A. You can have free meals on deck every day.

B. You can sleep on a ship and tour many places.

C. You will have chances to watch and act in a play.

D. You have to do your own packing and unpacking.

At the Snowdonia Centre, the beginners’ costs of ￡57 do not cover               .

      A. food         B. rooms             C. body exercises            D. walking shoes

A small plane crashed into a hillside five miles east of the city, _____ all four people on board.

A. killed   B. killing  C. kills    D. to kill

     It was a Sunday and the heavy storm had lasted all night.The morning after the storm,though,was beautiful:blue skies,warm air and a calm,inviting sea touching the shore gently.

     My father realised it was a good day for fishing and invited my sister and me to go with him.I was only 14 and fishing had never been my thing, but I decided to go all the same.I’m so glad I did.

On the road to the harbour we could see the terrible destruction on the coast,but the harbour itself was in fairly good shape.After allm it was protected by the arms of a bay that had only one tiny channel to the sea.As we got on board,we noticed two big humps(脊背) in the distance.

On approaching them,we saw it was a mother whale with her baby.We couldn’t beliece it ----there aren’t any whales along the coast here.The storm must have driven them across the ocean into the bay, in which the still water was so badlly polluted that nothing could surive.

The little baby whale ----actually as big as our boal----was obviously stuck and could not move.The mother dived under the water and came up suddenly,making big whirlpools(漩涡) and waves.”She’s trying to help her baby, but on the wrong side,”my father said.At this point,myfather moved our boat in a semicirele to the other side and ,heading the boat towards the baby whale,pushed it gently.With our several gentle pushes the big hump turned over and disappared under water.Then it swam up right beside its mum.They stuggled in their desperate attempts to escape but missed the exit and started heading in the wrong direction.We hurried up to the whales

and tried to lead them towards the bay channel.Showly,they let us lead them,some-times rising from the water right beside us to breathe----and to give us a trusting look with those huge eyes.Once they hit their first part of clean water flowing straight from the sea,the mum gave us a wave with her tail and off they swam into the distance.

In the excitement it had felt like only a few minutes, but we had been with those wonderful animals for almost an hour and a half.That was the simple and lasting beauty of the day,Nearly four decades later ,I still look back fondly to that golden day at sea.

51. The author says “I’m  so glad I did .”(in Para.2)because __________.

A. be witnessed the whole process of fishing

B. he enjoyed the beauty of the calm sea

C. he experienced the rescue of the whales

D. he spent the weekend with his family

52. The harbour survived the storm owing to____________.

A. the shape of the harbour

B. the arms of the bay

C. the still water in the channel

D. the long coast line

53. The mother whale failed to help her baby because__________.

A.  she had stayed in the polluted water for too long

B.  the whirlpools she had made were not big enough

C.  she had no other whales around to tutu to for help

D. the waves pushed her baby in the wrong direction

54.what is the theme of the story?

A. Saving lives brings people a sense of happiness

B. Fishing provides excitement for children

C. It’s necessary to live in harmony with animals

D. it’s vital to protect the environment