For years, my family has vacationed in the same Florida town. In fact, we just returned home after spending a week of spring break there with our three sons.

Many nights, we take the same scenic drive to dinner at a favorite restaurant. As we travel along Gulf Shore Boulevard, we admire a combination of small beach apartments, swanky high-rises and spectacular homes.

A few years ago, we noticed that whenever we drive this particular route, there are always two men sitting in front of the same third-floor window of a low-rise apartment building that overlooks the road. All that is visible from the road are their two silhouettes. Even during off-peak months, they’ve always been there. Over the years, we’ve had great fun speculating about who they are, whether they’re having a drink, and if so, what they fancy, where they’re from, and what they might be discussing. Our guesses have become a modern form of car bingo. Widowers? Retirees? Partners? We’ve run through the gamut of possibilities.

Eventually, I started beeping the horn as we passed. We’d wave. Our new friends would do likewise. There was something comforting in seeing them. In a world of constant change, it has been nice to look up and see that they are there, just as we remember from our last visit. And then last spring, we drove by and they were missing. The apartment was dark. No one was visible in the window. Strangely, we drove by and they were missing The apartment was dark. No one was visible in the window. Strangely, we grew worried about two people we’d never even met. Where did they go? A new round of the guessing game began.

On our last trip at Christmastime, we were relieved to see them once again. We were driving past about 6 p.m., and there they were at cocktail hour. I told my wife that I suspected they were gin drinkers and said we should buy them a bottle. She said that if I bought it, she’d deliver it. I said, “Tomorrow.”

1.Driving along the scenic route, the author’s family were to          .

A．meet their friends there     B．visit the Florida town

C．appreciate a place of interest      D．have supper together

2.Why did the author blow the horn?

A．It was a pleasure for them to see the two men again.

B．It was his habit while driving along the special route.

C．It was an agreement between him and the two men.

D．It was for the sake of safety while driving.

3.Which of the following can best describe the family?

A．generous and sensitive        B．curious and kind

C．helpful and brave                  D．friendly and hurnorous

4.Which of the following will best continue this passage?

A．The two men’s favorite drinks.

B．The two men’s beach apartments

C．The reason of the two men’s absence

D．The author’s next visit to the town

　　A man walked into a restaurant that advertised having the longest menu in the world. The manager was very proud of being able to provide any dish, no matter how unusual.

　　At the bottom of the menu, there was a notice that said, “If you do not see the dish you require on this menu, please tell us and we will add it to the menu immediately.”

　　The man looked at the menu and decided to make life really difficult for the manager and his chef. He would order something that was very unusual.

　　When the waiter came up to take his order, he said,“You say you can serve any dish, anything at all, even if it's not on your menu, which is the longest menu in the world.”

　　“That is correct, sir. We have never yet been unable to meet our customers' requirements.”

　　“Very well,” the man said.“In that case, bring me two elephant ears on toast. Indian, not African.”

　　The waiter wrote down on his pad：Two Indian elephant ears on toast.

　　“Very good, sir,”he said.“That shouldn't take long.”

　　He walked away quickly.

　　The man was very surprised and rather disappointed.

　　Then he smiled as the waiter returned with a very unhappy look on his face. “Ah!” the man said. “You can't bring me elephant ears on toast, can you?”

　　The waiter was very apologetic.

　　“I'm very sorry, sir, and this is most embarrassing,” he said, “but I'm afraid we can't. Unfortunately, we've run out of bread.”

(1) What did the man want to do?

[　　]

A．Embarrass the manager.

B．Have some toast.

C．Buy an elephant.

D．Read the longest menu in the world.

(2) What did the notice at the bottom of the menu mean?

[　　]

A．Please order elephant ears.

B．We will serve any dish you want.

C．We have the newest menu in the world.

D．If you think a certain dish isn't to your taste, you can leave it out.

(3) Why did the customer order elephant ears?

[　　]

A．He was hungry.

B．He had never eaten them.

C．He thought they would be tasty.

D．He didn't think the restaurant had any.

(4) The customer was disappointed because _______.

[　　]

A．the waiter was not worded by his order

B．the waiter was too slow

C．he wanted to eat Indian elephant ears

D．there were too many people

(5) The waiter was unhappy because _____.

[　　]

A．the man didn't order elephant ears

B．they had no elephant to cook

C．they didn't want to serve the customer

D．the chef didn't know how to cook the elephant ears

For years, my family has vacationed in the same Florida town. In fact, we just returned home after spending a week of spring break there with our three sons.
Many nights, we take the same scenic drive to dinner at a favorite restaurant. As we travel along Gulf Shore Boulevard, we admire a combination of small beach apartments, swanky high-rises and spectacular homes.
A few years ago, we noticed that whenever we drive this particular route, there are always two men sitting in front of the same third-floor window of a low-rise apartment building that overlooks the road. All that is visible from the road are their two silhouettes. Even during off-peak months, they’ve always been there. Over the years, we’ve had great fun speculating about who they are, whether they’re having a drink, and if so, what they fancy, where they’re from, and what they might be discussing. Our guesses have become a modern form of car bingo. Widowers? Retirees? Partners? We’ve run through the gamut of possibilities.[来源:学科网ZXXK]
Eventually, I started beeping the horn as we passed. We’d wave. Our new friends would do likewise. There was something comforting in seeing them. In a world of constant change, it has been nice to look up and see that they are there, just as we remember from our last visit. And then last spring, we drove by and they were missing. The apartment was dark. No one was visible in the window. Strangely, we drove by and they were missing The apartment was dark. No one was visible in the window. Strangely, we grew worried about two people we’d never even met. Where did they go? A new round of the guessing game began.
On our last trip at Christmastime, we were relieved to see them once again. We were driving past about 6 p.m., and there they were at cocktail hour. I told my wife that I suspected they were gin drinkers and said we should buy them a bottle. She said that if I bought it, she’d deliver it. I said, “Tomorrow.”

1. 1.

   Driving along the scenic route, the author’s family were to         

   1. A.
      meet their friends there
   2. B.
      visit the Florida town
   3. C.
      appreciate a place of interest
   4. D.
      have supper together
2. 2.

   Why did the author blow the horn?

   1. A.
      It was a pleasure for them to see the two men again
   2. B.
      It was his habit while driving along the special route
   3. C.
      It was an agreement between him and the two men
   4. D.
      It was for the sake of safety while driving
3. 3.

   Which of the following can best describe the family?

   1. A.
      generous and sensitive
   2. B.
      curious and kind
   3. C.
      helpful and brave
   4. D.
      friendly and hurnorous
4. 4.

   Which of the following will best continue this passage?

   1. A.
      The two men’s favorite drinks
   2. B.
      The two men’s beach apartments
   3. C.
      The reason of the two men’s absence
   4. D.
      The author’s next visit to the town

C
I’ve been told that in China，having a pet，particularly a dog，is often considered to be a status（地位）symbol because it shows the family can afford to have an animal．It’s very different here．
In Canada it’s common to have pets．Many people have dogs；many others have cats，fish，birds or rabbits．Some keep what we call exotic（奇异的）pets，although keeping exotic animals is difficult，and because it can also be hard on the animals, the keeping of some exotic animals is not allowed by law．Some people do it anyway．
I like animals．As far back as I can remember my family has always had cats．Our cats．of course，wanted to go outside and it seemed reasonable to let them wander the neighborhood finding birds to run after，trees to climb and sunny places to sleep．As we always lived in a city，however，there was a problem．I remember more than once losing a cat that was killed by a car and it was heartbreaking．
Now，my wife and I lived in a small town．We no longer have a house—we live in an apartment（公寓）．We have a cat named Callie and she never goes out except onto the halcony（阳台）so cars are no longer a problem．She’s about sixteen years old and will probably live to be twenty or more．The trouble will come when she dies．We’ve had a pet for so long that it seems like a natural part of our lives and without a cat around the  room it will seem somehow empty．On the other hand，we’re getting older and，given that a cat can live about twenty years we wonder if we’ll ever have another after Callie goes.
Having a pet is very good for a number of reasons．It helps to teach children how to look after a living creature，makes them realize that animals have feelings just like we do and that, in many ways，we depend on each other．For older people like me an animal is a companion（伙伴）and a comfort to have around．A pet，properly treated, returns the favor by giving back unconditional love．Wouldn’t this world be a great place if people could learn how to do that !
64．The writer keeps a cat as a pet now because___________．
A．she feels lonely living in the countryside
B．it acts as her companion
C．her family is used to keeping a cat
D．it can helps her teach her children．
65．What will happen after the writer’s pet，Callie dies?
A．She will surely buy another one．     B．She won’t keep pets any longer．
C．She will remember it for a long time． D．Her room will be empty．
66．What should people do in keeping a pet according to the text?
A．Not allow it to go out of the room．   B．Catch birds for him to play with．
C．Let it wander outside as it likes．     D．Not live in the city．
67．What can be the best title for the passage?
A．How to keep a pet．               B．My pet，Callie．
C．Keeping Pets in Canada．           D．It’s the Animal in Me．

Texting is a great way to communicate and teenagers are doing just that. New research shows that on average, teens are sending 2,000 text messages a month, and doctors say it’s causing injuries.
13-year-old Bailey Baker keeps using her thumbs, sending text messages to her friends again and again. The past March may have been her best month ever, texting 8,000 times. Now, she says she’s feeling the pain. “Just mainly back and neck problems and thumb numbness,” she says.
Baylor-Garland Dr. Jane Sadler is seeing more and more teens who simply text until it hurts. She says parents, including Bailey’s mom, have no idea how much their kids are texting. “I was thinking she was texting about 25 texts a day,” says Lisa Baker. “Wrong! We’ve uncovered a problem.” It didn’t take Dr. Sadler long to find the problem. She gave Bailey the once-over and learnt that Bailey had developed Texting Teen Tendinitis(肌腱炎)
“A lot of them report pain in their thumbs, back and neck,” says Dr. Sadler. “When we look into it and examine a little bit further, we see texting is the main cause of the problem.” Dr. Sadler says back pain is caused by poor posture while texting. Bailey often texts for up to 2 hours a day; that’s a lot of wear and tear on the thumbs which over time, can break down. Dr. Sadler tells over-texting teens to look into the future. “What I tell them is ‘Hey, you might be normal now, but when you are 40 or 50, you can get arthritis (关节炎).’”
Dr. Sadler recommends limiting texting to 50 a day, and keeping good posture. Dr. Sadler also says touch screens are easier on the thumbs than keyboards and hand exercises are great to build up those muscles, making it easier to text.
1. How many text messages did Bailey Baker send a day on average last month?
A. Less than 226.   B. About 230.        C. About 267.        D. More than 300.
2. Because of texting, Bailey Baker suffers from the following problems EXCEPT ______.
A. back pain          B. neck pain          C. headache           D. thumb numbness
3. What does the underlined part in Paragraph 3 mean?
A. She gave Bailey Baker a quick examination.
B. She solved Bailey Baker’s problem at once.
C. She gave Bailey Baker a piece of advice.
D. She let Bailey Baker send a text message again.
4. What can we conclude from Paragraph 4?
A. Teenagers won’t get hurt if they stop texting right now.
B. Poor posture while texting is the main cause of injuries.
C. Thumbs won’t ache if teens text for no more than 2 hours a day.
D. Over-texting may have a bad effect on people in the long run.