50．Which of the following words best describes Mum?

　　　 A．strange　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B．warm – hearted

　　　 C．clever　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D．hard – working

C

I had just gone to bed after a very hard day when the phone rang. It was a strange farmer. I had never met him before although I had often heard people talk about him. He sounded quite nervous and he had been talking for a minute or so before I understood anything. Even then all I could make out was that someone called Milly had had a very bad accident. I really didn’t know who she was but I had to go.

It had been snowing heavily that day and I didn’t know the way. I had been driving for at least an hour when I finally found his place. He was standing there, waiting for me. It seemed that Milly had died. “She meant more to me than anyone – even my own wife! He said. I could see that he had been crying. I thought something terrible had taken place, a possible scandal (丑闻). I was even more surprised when he told me he had put her in the barn (厩). “I wouldn’t leave her out in the cold!” he said. Milly had clearly been a secret lover of his. I was about to tell him he could not expect me to cover anything up when he opened the barn door. He lifted his candle and I saw a dark figure on the ground.”

“She was such a good cow! I wouldn’t let anyone except a doctor touch her!” he said and cried again.

49．From the text we know that Linda is most likely 　　　　　.

　　　 A．the story – teller’s sister　　　　　　　　　 B．Mum’s friend

　　　 C．the story – teller’s classmate　　　　　 D．Dad’s boss

48．After reading the story what can we know about the hospital?

　　　 A．It is a children’s hospital.

　　　 B．It has strict rules about visiting hours.

　　　 C．The conditions there aren’t very good.

　　　 D．The nurses and doctors there don’t work hard.

47．When the nurse talked to Mum she thought Mum was a 　　　　　.

　　　 A．nurse　　　　　　　　 B．visitor　　　　　　　 C．patient　　　　　　　 D．cleaner

46．When she took a mop from the small room what Mum really wanted to do was 　　　　　.

　　　 A．to clean the floor　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B．to please the nurse

　　　 C．to see a patient　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D．to surprise the story – teller

45．This passage is mainly about 　　　　.

　　　 A．what the writer saw on a farm　　　 B．a happy holiday in the village

　　　 C．an outing (郊游) on a farm　　　　　　 D．the trouble in an outing

B

We walked in so quietly that the nurse at the desk didn’t even lift her eyes from the book. Mum pointed at a big chair by the door and I knew she wanted me to sit down. While I watched with mouth open in surprise, Mum took off her hat and coat and gave them to me to hold. She walked quietly to the small room by the lift and took out a wet mop. She pushed the mop past the desk and as the nurse looked up, Mum nodded and said, “Very dirty floors.”

“Yes, I’m glad they’ve finally decided to clean them,” the nurse answered. She looked at Mum strangely and said, “But aren’t you working late?”

Mum just pushed harder, each swipe (拖一下) of the mop taking her farther and farther down the hall. I watched until she was out of sight and the nurse had turned back to write in the big book.

After a long time Mum came back. Her eyes were shining. She quickly put the mop back and took my hand. As we turned to go out of the door, Mum bowed politely to the nurse and said, “Thank you.”

Outside, Mum told me: “Linda is fine. No fever.”

“You saw her, Mum?”

“Of course, I told her about the hospital rules, and she will not expect us until tomorrow. It’s a fine hospital. But such floors! A mop is no good. A brush (刷子) is needed.”

44．Why did they run back to the car as quickly as possible? 　Because they saw 　　　　.

　　　 A．a lot of sheep going up the hill　　　　　　 B．about 200 sheep coming towards them

　　　 C．over 200 sheep at the top of the hill　 D．a lot of sheep in their car

43．Then they were ready to 　　　　.

　　　 A．have a picnic　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B．have a rest

　　　 C．visit the farm　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D．cut the cool grass

42．Last August they got to 　　　　　in the end.

　　　 A．a quiet place　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B．a quiet village　

　　　 C．a lonely farm　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D．a big city

41．According to the passage people 　　　　on a holiday if the weather is fine.

　　　 A．like to go shopping　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B．like to go to the park

　　　 C．like to go swimming　　　　　　　　　　　　 D．don’t like to stay at home