59．What has the author learned from her own experiences?

　　　 A．Less successful students can still have a career.

　　　 B．Qualifications are necessary for a career.

　　　 C．Hard work makes an excellent student.

　　　 D．One must choose the job she likes.

答案　 56.D　 57.B　 58.C　 59.A

Passage 57

(05·天津C篇)

The house was quiet at 5 am and Tim' s mother was asleep. Only the sound of the big freezer

broke the quiet. He' d dreamt of the cave last night. The purring (轻微颤动声) of the freezer had been the sea.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

Tim pulled on a sweater and put some apples into his schoolbag. It was too early for breakfast. He' d eat after he' d been through the cave, sitting on the rocks and staring at the sea.

He wished he had a proper pack. His schoolbag would have to do. What else? Sandwiches-

but his mother might wake up if he started pulling out bread for sandwiches, she' d want to know why he had to leave so early. He settled for some biscuits, and left a note stuck to the table:

Gone to Michael' s. Back tonight, Tim.

The sky was high and soft and light outside, though the sun still wasn't up. Even the highway

up the hill was quiet as he made his way down the street. The wind from the sea was fresh and

sweet.

The sand hills still breathed heat from yesterday' s sun, though the top of the sand was cool. He ran down to the beach impatiently, but there was no one, just dry sand dancing in the early wind and seabirds marching up and down watching the waves.

The light changed suddenly. The first rays of sunlight stretched (延伸) across the sea. The

sun was pushing its way over the edge of the world.

Over the first rocks, along to the point. Tim glanced back. The beach was still empty. The sun sailed higher in the sky.

He could see the cave now, even darker in the morning light. The sand turned silver then dark gold as the water flowed away from it. He had to force himself to go closer. Why was it so much more mysterious (神秘的) now? But it would be silly to go back now after so much trouble. He needn't go in all the way...

58．Why did the author leave her first job?

　　　 A．She found a full – time job.

　　　 B．She was fed up with children.

　　　 C．She decided to attend a part – time course.

　　　 D．She needed a rest after working extra hours.

57．When staying with the two girls’ family, the author 　　　.

　　　 A．was paid for extra work　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B．often worked long hours

　　　 C．got much help from her boss　　　　　　　　　　　　 D．took a day off every other week

56．What is the author’s present job?

　　　 A．Working part – time in a college.

　　　 B．Taking care of children for a family.

　　　 C．Helping children with their schoolwork.

　　　 D．Looking after children at a kindergarten.

53．We may infer from the text that the criminal knows how to reach the car owners because 　　　.

　　　 A．he reads the ads in the newspaper

B．he lives in the same neighborhood

　　　 C．he has seen the car owners in the park

D．he has trained the pigeons to follow them

答案　 49.D　 50.C　 51.A　 52.C　 53.D

Passage 56

(05·北京A篇)

Chances

I really love my job because I enjoy working with small children and like the challenges and awards from the job. I also think my work is important. There was a time when I thought I would never have that sort of career(职业).

I wasn’t an excellent student because I didn’t do much schoolwork. In my final term I started thinking what I might do and found I didn’t have much to offer. I just accepted that I wasn’t the type to have a career.

I then found myself a job. Looking after two little girls, It wasn’t too bad at first. But the problems began when I agreed to live in, so that I would be there if my boss had to go out for business in the evening. We agreed that if I had to work extra hours one week, she’d give me time off the next. But unfortunately, it didn’t often work out. I was getting extremely tired and fed up, because I had too many late nights and early mornings with the children.

One Sunday, I was in the park with the children, and met Megan who used to go to school with me, I told her about my situation. She suggested that I should do a course and get a qualification(资格证书)if I wanted to work with children. I didn’t think I would be accepted because I didn’t take many exams in school. She persuaded me to phone the local college and they were really helpful. My experience counted for a lot and I got on a part – time course. I had to leave my job with the family, and got work helping out at a kindergarten.

Now I’ve got a full – time job there. I shall always be thankful to Megan. I wish I had known earlier that you could have a career, even if you aren’t top of the class at school.

52．The underlined word “they” in the last paragraph refers to 　　　　　.

　　　 A．criminals

B．pigeons

C．the stolen cars

D．demands for money

51．The writer mentions the fact that “none of the stolen cars have been returned” to show 　　　　.

　　　 A．how easily people get fooled by criminals

　　　 B．what Chen thinks might be correct

　　　 C．the thief is extremely clever

　　　 D．the money paid is too little

50．The “lazier and more inventive” criminal refers to 　　　　　.

　　　 A．the car thief who stays at home

B．one of those who put the ads in the paper

　　　 C．one of the policemen in Changwa

D．the owner of the pigeons

49．After the car owner received a phone call. He 　　　　

　　　 A．went to a certain pigeon and put some money in the bag it carried

　　　 B．gave the money to the thief and had his car back in a park

　　　 C．sent some money to the thief by mail

　　　 D．told the press about it

43．Who was the sender of the flower?

　　　 A．A boy the writer had run into.

B．One of the writer’s neighbors.

　　　 C．One of the writer’s classmates.　　　　　　　

D．The writer’s mother.

答案　 41.A　 42.B　 43.C

Passage 55

(05·全国ⅡC篇)

Taiwan police cannot decide whether to treat it as an extremely eleven act of stealing or an even elev-ecer cheat (诈骗). Either way , it could be the perfect crime (犯罪), because the criminals are birds-horning pigeons !

The crime begins with a telephone message to the owner of a stolen car : if you want the car back, pay up then, the car owner is directed to a park, told where to find a bird cage and how to attach money to the neck of the pigeon inside . Carrying the money in a tiny bag , the pigeon flies off .

There have been at least four such pigeon pick-ups in Changwa. What at first seemed like the work of a clever stay-at-home car thief, however , may in fact be the work of an even lazier and more inventive criminal mind-one that avoid (避免)not only collecting money but going out to steal the car in the first place . Police officer Chen says that the criminal probably has pulled a double trick: he gets money for things he cannot possibly return . Instead of stealing cars , he lets someone else do it and then waits for the car-owner to place an ad (启事) in the newspaper asking for help .

The theory is supported by the fact that , so far , none of the stolen cars have been returned . Also, the amount of money demanded-under 3,000 Taiwanese dollars –seems too little for a car worth many times more .

Demands for pigeon-delivered money stopped as soon as the press reported the story. And even if they start again, Chen holds little hope of catching the criminal . “We have more important things to do, ” he said .