the problem of land erosion getting more serious, the local government is searching for a way to deal with it.

       A．As    B．With  C．When       D．If

The invention of the typewriter was a great_______  to communication and printing.

A. contribution   B. devotion C.  revolution  D.   construction

She said the fun of reading books was different from ___ of any other kind．

       A．one        B．that        C．it   D．those

My family consider ____ a computer, which is considered ____ a great help in our work and study．

       A．to buy; to be  B．buying; being        C．to buy; being        D．buying; to be

With the development of the Internet, _____ communication will be done by regular mail.

A．more          B．less           C．much                 D．little

We ______ that you would be able to visit us, but you did not.

  A. hope  B. hoped  C. had hoped   D. are hoping

Most of us know we should cut down on fat, but knowing such things isn’t much help when it ________ shopping and eating.

A. speaks of     B. refers to    C. comes to     D. focuses on

_____ that Marie was able to set up new branches elsewhere.

A. So successful her business was    B. So successful was her business

C. So her business was successful    D. So was her successful business

“Hey, Dad, are you going to come to my award ceremony tonight? ”I   36   asked my father. “I have to work late tonight. I doubt whether I’ll be able to   37   it on time. I am just too busy right now, ”he replied.

My mind could not   38   the idea that he would be too busy working late. He was also too busy to   39   my horse show, football games and the 15th birthday party. He always used the same   40  . Why had I even bothered to ask?   41  , there was always a slight hope that

As my mother and I arrived at school, two friends   43   me. “Jill, meet my da   D．Dad, this is my friend Jill. ”I shook the hand of a tall man. Camera flashes lit up the room, and claps filled the   44   as students accepted their awards. My name was finally called,   45   three others. I followed my classmates to the   46  . When I reached out my hand to shake the   47  , a big smile lit up her face. The blinding flash from my mother’s camera   48   my eyes and I knew my dad wasn’t there. I walked back to my seat   49  .

Back at home, seeing my dad’s car in the garage, I told myself he would not be   50  this time . But as usual the strong smell of alcohol hit me as soon as I  51  inside, and I could feel my tears   52  . I followed the sound of his drunken words and saw him   53   on the couch.

  54   did father lie to me? I threw my award on the floor, walked to my bedroom, and shut the door. Tears rolled down my face. I wondered if I would ever be more   55   than his whiskey bottle.

A．confidently      B．eagerly         C．proudly        D．fearfully

A．reach             B．keep           C．take           D．make

A．create             B．support         C．appreciate     D．accept

A．watch            B．avoid         C．attend           D．speed

A．excuse           B．reply         C．promise        D．trick

A．Besides          B．Thus           C．Otherwise     D．However

A．active            B．formal          C．different       D．serious

A．recognized        B．greeted         C．encouraged      D．showed

A．air              B．audience       C．school          D．playground

A．apart from       B．other than       C．except for       D．along with

A．stage            B．position        C．office          D．exit

A．Jill’s            B．teacher’s       C．mother’s     D．father’s

A．fixed            B．touched         C．hurt         D．spotted

A．successfully     B．disappointedly C．delightedly     D．hopefully

A．drunk            B．woken       C．forgiven       D．hidden

A．stepped           B．noticed         C．examined     D．glanced

A．getting off       B．falling down   C．building up   D．turning around

A．leaning         B．lying         C．putting         D．carrying

A．How          B．Where           C．Why          D．Whether

A．perfect        B．comfortable      C．fortunate       D．important

A story from the Bible tells of old Babylon, where the men decided to build a tower that would touch the sky．But God was unhappy, and he made them speak different languages．They couldn’t understand each other, so their dream never came true．

Yet the dream remains alive: if all men speak the same language, they can do anything．L．L．Zamenhof from Poland was among the men who pursue this dream．He developed Esperanto（世界语）between 1877 and 1885．

As the most successful man-made world language, it is spoken by over two million people around the world．Last month, the World Esperanto Congress（大会）, dealing with language rights, ended in Sweden．The 2004 conference will be held in Beijing．Most Esperanto speakers are in Central and Eastern Europe and in East Asia, particularly Chinese mainland．

Esperanto has two advantages．First, it’s easy．Each letter has exactly one sound and there are just 16 basic grammar rules．The second advantage is that it belongs to no one country．But Esperanto has only reached a small number of people compared with natural languages widely used around the world-such as English or Chinese．While these languages are deeply connected with their nations and cultures, Esperanto doesn’t have this background．

Will Esperanto really become a global language? It remains a question．

The writer tells us a story at the beginning to          ．

           A．explain why men have been making the effort to create a language shared by all

              B．explain why men now speak different languages

              C．show the relationship between man and God

              D．prove that language is very important

What does the underlined word “pursue” in the second paragraph mean?

              A．“Realize”．     B．“Work for”．   C．“Be against”． D．“Follow”．

What is the basic difference between Esperanto and English?

              A．More people speak English than Esperanto．

              B．Esperanto words are easier to spell．

              C．Esperanto has fewer grammar rules．

              D．Esperanto is not supported by any country or culture．

What does the story mainly talk about?

              A．Advantages and disadvantages of Esperanto．

              B．Men’s dream of sharing the same language．

              C．The most successful planned language-Esperanto．

              D．Comparison of Esperanto and other languages like English and Chinese．