54. Who brought the writer the bad news that her mother was ill？

　　 A. Her sister.　　　　　　 　B. The headmaster.

　　 C. Her teacher.　　　　　 D. The police officer.

52．In the passage，the writer suggests(暗示)that the word “cool”________．

A．can be used instead of many words

B．usually means something interesting

C．can make your life colourful

D．may not be as cool as it seems

D

I will always remember my mother‘s last few days in this world.

　　 On February 14th，2000，my class went on a field trip to the beach. I had so

much fun. When we returned to school，my teacher told me to go to the headmaster‘s office. When I got into the office，I saw a police officer. Suddenly

I realized something was wrong. The police officer told me what had happened and we went to pick my sister up. After that，we went to the hospital and waited.

Time went slowly. Finally，we got to see our mother. It was terrible.

　　 On the next day，the headmaster came and told my two teachers what had

happened. I was taking a rest that day. I knew it had something to do with my

mother. I kept thinking that she either died or had gotten better. How I wished

that she had gotten better. When my teacher took me outside，my sister ran up to

me. She started crying，“She‘s gone. Teresa，mommy’s gone. She‘s dead.” I couldn’t believe it. We jumped into the car and drove straight to the hospital. Most of my family were there. The silence was terrible. I knew I had to say goodbye.

　　 Today when I look back，I still miss my mother very much，but I know that I

will live. My mother was a strong mother，who had the biggest heart. My mother

was an angel walking on the earth. I will always remember her as living. When

someone is asked who their hero (英雄) is，they usually say someone famous，like Michael Jordan or Britney Spears. When someone asks me who my hero is，I tell them，my mother. My mother lives every day. That is what makes her a true hero.

　　 53 Where was the writer when she learned her mother was very ill？

　　 A. On the beach.　　　　　 　B. At the hospital.

　　 C. At school.　　 　　　　　D. At home.

51．If you are _______ something，you may say，“It’s cool.”

A．interested in　　　 B．angry about

C．afraid of　　　 D．unhappy with

50．In the passage，the word“express”means“________”.

A．see　 B．show　　 C．know　 D．feel

49．We know that the word "cool" has had ________.

A．only one meaning　　　　　 B．no meanings

C．many different meanings　　 D．the same meaning

48. The owner of the very large company thought _______.

　　 A. she was really important because she owned one of the largest companies

　　 B. the banker was really important

　　 C. the owner of many buildings in the center of New York was really important

　　 D. the visitor would be really important if while he was visiting the President，the President would not answer any telephone call

C

“Cool”is a word with many meanings．Its old meaning is used to express a

temperature that is a little bit cold．As the world has changed，the word has had

many different meaning．

　“Cool”can be used to express feelings of interest in almost anything．When you see a famous car in the street，maybe you will say，“It's cool．”You may think，“He's so cool，”when you see your favorite footballer．

We all maximize(扩大) the meaning of“cool”．You can use it instead of many words such as “new” or “surprising”．Here's an interesting story we can use to show the way the word is used．A teacher asked her students to write about the

waterfall(瀑布)they had visited．On one student's paper was Just the one

sentence，“It's so cool．Maybe he thought it was the best way to show what he saw

and felt．

But the story also shows a scarcity(缺乏)of words．Without “cool”，some people have no words to show the same meaning．So it is quite important to keep some credibility(可信性)．Can you think of many other words that make your life as colorful as the word “cool”？ I can．And I think they are also very cool．

47. The banker thought _______.

　　 A. he was really important because he was a rich banker

　　 B. the visitor to the White House was really important

　　 C. the visitor who met the President of the United States

　　 D. the reporter was really important

46. There are _______ in this passage.

　　 A. two men and two women

　　 B. three men and one woman

　　 C. three women and one man

　　 D. four women

45. This story happened in _______.

　　 A. England　　　　　　 B. America

　　 C. Japan　　　　　　　 D. Australia

44. Which of the following is true？

　　 A. Mr. King will be sent away if he keeps being late

　　 B. Mr. Baker can‘t afford to buy an old car

　　 C. Mr. King didn‘t hear the policeman

D. Something was wrong with the car

B

Several years ago, a television reporter was talking to three of the most important people in America. One was a very rich banker， another owned one of

the largest companies in the world，and the third owned many buildings in the

center of New York.

　　 The reporter was talking to them about being important.

　 “How do we know if someone is really important？”the reporter asked the

banker.The banker thought for a few moments and then said，“I think anybody who is invited to the Whiter House to meet the President of the United States is really important.”

　　 The reporter then turned to the owner of the very large company. “Do you

agree with that？” she asked. The man shook his head， “No. I think the President invites a lot of people to the White House. You‘d only be important if while you were visiting the President，there was a telephone call from the president of another country， and the President of the US said he was too busy to answer it.”

　　 The reporter turned to the third man. “Do you think so？”

　　 “No， I don‘t，” he said. “I don’t think that makes the visitor important.

That makes the President important.”

　　 “Then what would make the visitor important？” the reporter and the other two men asked.

　　 “Oh， I think if the visitor to the White House was talking to the President

and the phone rang， and the President picked up the receiver， listened and then

said， ‘It’s for you. ”