For each blank in the following passage there are four words or phrases marked A, B, C and D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.

Until I took Dr. Offutt’s class, I was an underachieving student. But I left that class

     50 _never to underachieve again. He not only taught me to think, he convinced me, as much by examples as words, that it was my  _51   obligation to do so and to serve others.

Neither of us could know how our relationship would   52   over the years. When I first came back to DeMatha to teach English, I worked for Dr. Offutt, the department chair. My discussions with him as he mentored me were like graduate seminars in adolescent (青少年)  53    , classroom management and school leadership.

After several years, I was   54     department chair, and our relationship shifted again. I thought that it might be   55    to chair the department, since all of my former English teachers were   56   there, but Dr. Offutt supported me  57    . He knew when to give me advice about curriculum, texts and personnel, and when to let me   58    my own course.

In 1997, I needed his  59 about leaving DeMatha to become principal at another school.  60     he had asked me to stay at DeMatha, I might have.   61    , he encouraged me to seize the new opportunity.

Five years ago, I became the principal of DeMatha.    62     , Dr. Offutt was there for me, letting me know that I could    63    him as I tried to fill such big shoes. I’ve learned from him that great teachers have an inexhaustible wealth of lessons to teach. Even if his students don’t know it yet, I know how    64    they are: I’m still one of them.

50. A. anxious              B. eager                   C. determined          D. worried

51. A. family               B. legal           C. academic            D. moral

52. A. evolve               B. stay          C. remain               D. worsen

53. A. process             B. procedure     C. development         D. movement

54. A. called                B. appointed       C. entitled           D. offered

55. A. awkward            B. uneasy          C. unnatural           D. insensitive

56. A. once                B. already         C. still                D. never

57. A. through             B. throughout      C. at the beginning       D. in the end

58. A. chart              B. head            C. describe            D. manage

59. A. opinion             B. request          C. permission          D. promise

60. A. Even if              B. Although         C. If                   D. When

61. A. Naturally            B. Instead         C. Consequently         D. Peacefully

62. A. Once again          B. Now and then  C. Hopefully                        D. Surprisingly

63. A. count on            B. account for       C. call on               D. appeal to

64. A. earnest            B. worried          C. fortunate            D. desperate

Although women lead healthier, longer lives, the cruel perception that they reach their sell-by date and become “old” sooner than men is widespread in the workplace, research shows.

A survey of more than 2,600 managers and personnel professionals showed that age discrimination is not only common in the workplace, but is full of inconsistencies(矛盾). Six in ten managers thought that they had suffered from age discrimination——usually because they were turned down for a job for being too old or too young. Yet more than a fifth admitted that they used age as a condition when they employ new workers.

Although the survey found widespread agreement that older workers were better than younger colleagues when it came to reliability, commitment, loyalty and customer service, these qualities were not necessarily considered to be worthy of advancement. More than half of respondents believed that workers between 30 and 39 were the most likely to be advanced in their company, with only 2 per cent citing (引证)50-year-olds or above.

Dianah Worman of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development said that there was anecdotal evidence that people were considered old at different ages in different sectors. “We heard of one man working in IT who said he was considered too old by the age of 28,”she said.“There was no evidence to suggest that older workers were less valuable to companies than younger workers, in fact the opposite was often true because older workers often brought experience.” she added.

The findings also suggested that the Government’s ideas on age in the workforce may also be out of step with reality.

68. The text is mainly about ______.

A. the government’s idea on age in workforce 

B. age discrimination in the workforce

C. the people who find work             

D. the discussion about who is worth promoting

69. The underlined word “sell-by date” in paragraph 1 probably refers to______.

A. the age when they retire   

B. the age when they should be promoted

C. the date on which they’re sold  

D. the date when they sell goods

70. The writer’s purpose in writing the text is to ______.

A. tell the government to employ older workers 

 B. criticize managers who treat workers unfairly

C. report the findings of a survey    

D. show he objects to age discrimination

书面表达 (满分25分)

下图描绘的是现在人类面临的窘境。请你根据对下面这幅漫画的理解用英语写一篇短文，描述这种现象，说明其产生的原因及后果，并发表你的看法。

注意：

1. 仔细品味图中的幽默，要适当发挥想象，不要做简单描述。

2. 词数150左右。开头已经写好，不计入总词数。

3. 作文中不得提及考生所在学校和本人姓名。

Nowadays, human beings are faced up with an embarrassing situation. __________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

—He is eager to try something he has never tried before.

    —Oh, I see. That’s _______ he’s different from others.

A. when               B. where     C. how       D. what

—I’m sorry I broke your teapot.  —___________

       A．Forget it.  B．Bad luck.  C．Oh, is that so?  D．Really?

－How is that, Joan?

    －Yeah, it’s from the boss. She _________ first, whether she likes it.

    A. shall go    B. ought to have gone     C. should go     D. must have gone

So difficult ________ it to live in an English－speaking country that I determine to learn English well. 

       A. I have felt           B. have I felt       C. I did feel       D. did I feel

--Hi, Linda. What do you think of Jack's performance at the sports meeting?

   --Not bad. You know, he came very close _________ the first place in the 100-meter race.

    A. getting       B. to get        C. to getting       D. to have got

At weekends in Chengdu, you can often see many people _____ outside some restaurants, _____ to have dinner.

A. sit; wait    B. seated; waiting    C. seating; waiting   D. sitting; to wait