“Yes, I’ll be ready at nine in the morning. Goodbye, dear, and thanks again.” It had not been an easy telephone call for Mrs. Robson to make. Her daughter had been very kind, of course, and had immediately agreed to pick her up and drive her to the station, but Mrs. Robson hated to admit that she needed help. Since her husband had died ten years before, she had always been proud of her independence. She had continued to live in their little house, alone.

    On this evening, however, she was standing at her living-room window, staring out at the SOLD notice in the small front garden. Her feelings were mixed. Of course, she was sad at the thought of leaving the house, as it was full of so many memories. But at the same time she was looking forward to spending her last years near the sea, back in the little seaside town where she had been born. With the money from the sale of the house, she had bought a little apartment there. She turned from the living room window, and looked round at the walls. There was a small fish tank, with two goldfish in it. When asked why, her husband used to say, “It’s nice to have something alive in the room.” Since he had passed away, she had always kept some goldfish, had always had “something alive in the room.”

    The next morning, as her train was pulling out of the station, Mrs. Robson called to her daughter, “Kate, you won’t forget to collect the goldfish, will you? The children will love them. It’s …”

“I know,” Kate interrupted gently, “It’s nice to have something alive in the room.” 

According to the passage, we know that Mrs. Robson _________.

    A．was tired of living alone      B．was not liked by her daughter

    C．did not like asking people for help  D．did not want to be visited by her daughter

Mrs. Robson was going to _______.

A．be in hospital     B．live with her daughter    

C．travel abroad alone     D．live where she was born

The feelings of Mrs. Robson on her last night in the house were           .

       A．sad and hopeful              B．regretful and excited

       C．sad and regretful             D．excited and hopeful

Against the assumption that forest fires in Alaska, Canada and Siberia warm the climate, scientists have discovered that cooling may occur in areas where burnt trees allow more snow to mirror more sunlight into space.

       This finding suggests that taking steps to prevent northern forest fires to limit the release of greenhouse gases may warm the climate in northern regions. Usually large fires destroyed forests in these areas over the past decade. Scientists predict that with climate warming, fires may occur more frequently over next several centuries as a result of a longer fire season. Sunlight taken in by the earth tends to cause warming, while heat mirrored back into space tends to cause cooling.

       This is the first study to analyze all aspects of how northern fires influence climate. Earlier studies by other scientists have suggested that fire in northern regions speed up climate warming because greenhouse gases from burning trees and plants are released into the atmosphere and thus trap heat.

       Scientists found that right after the fire, large amounts of greenhouse gases entered the atmosphere and caused warming. Ozone（臭氧）levels increased, and ash from the fire fell on far-off sea ice, darkening the surface and causing more radiation from the sun to be taken in. The following spring, however, the land within the area of the fire was brighter than before the fire, because fewer trees covered the ground. Snow on the ground mirrored more sunlight back into space, leading to cooling.

       “We need to find out all possible ways to reduce the growth of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.” Scientists tracked the change in amount of radiation entering and leaving the climate system as a result of the fire, and found a measurement closely related to the global air temperature. Typically, fire in northern regions occurs in the same area every 80 to 150 years. Scientists, however, found that when fire occurs more frequently, more radiation is lost from the earth and cooling results. Specifically, they determined when fire returns 20 years earlier than predicated, 0.5 watts per square meter of area burned are soaked up by the earth from greenhouse gases, but 0.9 watts per square meter will be sent back into space. The net effect is cooling. Watts are used to measure the rate at which energy is gained or lost from the earth.

According to the new findings, taking steps to prevent northern forest fires may _______.

   A. result in a warming climate      

B. cause the forest fires to occur more frequently

   C. lead to a longer fire season                      

D. protect the forests and the environment there

Earlier studies about northern forest fires ________.

   A. analyze all aspects of how northern fires influence climate

   B. indicate that forest fires will pollute the atmosphere

   C. suggest that people should take measures to protect environment

   D. suggest that the fires will speed up climate warming

The underlined phrase “soaked up” in the last paragraph most probably means ________.

       A. released        B. absorbed          C. created              D. disturbed

From the text we can draw a conclusion that forest fires in Alaska, Canada and Siberia may ______.

       A. warm the climate as the assumption goes

       B. allow more snow to reflect more sunlight into space and thus cool the climate

       C. destroy large areas of forests and pollute the far-off sea ice

       D. help to gain more energy rather than release more energy .

—Since you can’t find a better job, why don’t you stick to the recent one?

—Well,              .

 A. I believe not           B. I don’t care                     C. never mind               D. I might as well

Having driven almost thirty hours, I decided to stay in South Carolina for a few days. The next morning, I purchased a three-day fishing license and bait (饵料) before heading to the lake.

Opening my trunk, I carefully took out my fishing gear (用具), put it on the lake’s edge, baited up and began to fish.

 “Good morning,” said someone, walking up from behind me.

Turning around, I saw a game warden (猎场管理员) with a clip-board.

 “Good morning,” I said, nodding my head.

 “Catch any fish?” he asked.

 “No sir, just relaxing and killing time.”

 “Can I see your fishing license?”

I handed him the license I had purchased at the bait shop.

 “Can I see your driver’s license, too?” he requested.

 “I see the name on the driver’s license is spelled Kiser and the name on the fishing license is Kaiser,” said the warden.

 “The gentleman at the bait shop must have written it wrong,” I told him.

 “Well, I’m afraid I’ll have to write you up for fishing with an invalid license and take away your fishing gear.”

 “You’ve got to be kidding,” I responded, with a surprised look on my face.

Sure enough I was written up and my fishing gear taken away. I was told that I would have to pay a fine and that my stuff would be sold at auction（拍卖）.

I stood there almost in tears as he drove away. Those rods and reels were very special to me. I had used them over twenty years, fishing with my friends, who were now all dead.

After returning home in Georgia, I telephoned South Carolina trying to explain the situation, but no

one would listen. I was told that the Department of Fish and Game had a “zero tolerance” for fishing and hunting violations. Finally, in tears I paid the fine and gave up the fight.

Nine months later, I received a letter. I had no idea who it was from as there was no return address. On a plain piece of notebook paper was written “Auction for the Department of Fish and Game held this Saturday at 11:00 am.”

On Saturday, at six in the morning I headed to South Carolina. By ten o’clock I had found the auction. There were numerous boats and piles upon piles of fishing equipment. All at once, there it was—my wonderful stuff all thrown in a pile as if it was worth nothing.

As the auction began I took my seat. In my wallet was twenty-seven dollars. For more than an hour I waited for my property to be brought to the auction block.

 “We have three rods and reels here. I guess we will sell this as a unit,” said the auctioneer.

 “50 dollars,” yelled someone in the crowd.

 “51 dollars,” yelled another man.

I rose from my seat and walked out of the auction.

“66 dollars,” I heard as the bidding continued.

 “100 dollars,” came another bid. The auction became silent.

“100 dollars once, 100 dollars twice, 100 dollars three times. Sold for 100 dollars,” went the auctioneer.

I walked to my truck, got in and just sat there. Suddenly I heard something hit the side of my truck. Turning around, I saw the back of a man putting my three rods and reels into my truck. It was the same game warden who wrote me the ticket almost a year ago!

As I got out of the truck he stuck out his hand and said, “I wasn’t wrong. It’s the law that is wrong.”

I shook his hand, thanked him and drove away. I cried as I crossed the South Carolina Georgia state line.

Who wrote a letter to the writer telling him about the auction?

A. The Department of Fish and Game.                  B. The game warden.

C. A person unmentioned in the passage.                      D. The auction organizers.  

Why did the writer walk out of the auction while it was going on?

A. He realized he was unable to get back his fishing gear.

B. He was too nervous to stay inside till the auction ended.

C. He couldn’t bear hearing people selling his fishing gear.

D. He knew the game warden was waiting for him outside.

What did the game warden mean by saying “It’s the law that is wrong”?

A. It didn’t make any sense to prohibit people from fishing freely in South Carolina.

B. The writer did break the law by fishing with an invalid license whatever the reason.

C. The writer should have been allowed a chance to explain and get his things back.

D. The auction should not have been held to sell the boats and fishing equipment.

六、书面表达（满分25分）

假定你是李华，希望通过外籍教师Peter找一个英语笔友。请写一封短信，描述一下你理想中笔友的条件，并说明为什么选这样的笔友。具体条件包括：

1．        年龄；

2．        性别；

3．        爱好（旅游、运动、宠物等）。

注意：1．词数100 左右；

     2． 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；

     3． 开头语已为你写好。

Dear Peter,

I am writing to ask whether you are able to do me a favor.

．The book is for the students ________ native language is not Chinese to study in a Chinese university.

A．their      B．that         C．whose        D．of whom

It is reported that fully 95 per cent of ____ US public schools are now connected to ____ Internet.

  A. the; the         B. the;  \            C. \; the              D. \;  \

Learning Chinese has been like climbing a steep(陡峭的)mountain.

My mother was born in Tokyo,while my father moved from Shanghai to Hong Kong when he was seven years old. At home we speak English. I know some basic Chinese customs :to use chosticks gracefully (得体地)and what to say on Spring Festival to get a red envelope. But I never truly learned to speak Chinese.

Why should I need to learn the language ,anyway? I live in America where everyone speaks English.

I realized I was wrong in ninth grade when I arrived at Philips Academy,a famous boarding school in Massachusetts.The school encourages a global outlook(视野). There I decided to welcome the opportunity to learn Chinese. I met other American-born Chinese and together we spoke Ching-lish outside of the classroom.

I searched for ways to access Chinese culture through dramas such as Meteor Garden (《流星花园》)and music by singers such as S.H.E,Wilbur Pan and Jasmine Leung（梁静茹）. Listening to Chinese music is where I found my favorite singer in the whole world:Jay Chou. Even if I cannot understand what he is crooning（哼唱）, I do feel more Chinese whenever I listen to his music.

Last summer I spent five weeks in China,four of which were taking a language course at a Beijing high school. I was proud when I could understand the dialogue in Intitial D（《头文字D》） and when I could easily translate Fairy Tale sung by Kong Leung（光良）.

Learning Chinese has been a rocky trek（艰苦跋涉）, and I know it will continue to be that way before I arrive at a relative plateau（高地） of fluency（流利）.I hope that one day I will be able to work and maybe even live in China as a true Chinese.

1、The author wrote the text mainly to___.

A.share her experience of learning Chinese

B.tell us why she is interested in learning Chinese

C.show off(炫耀) the progress she made in learning Chinese

D.give advice on how to learn Chinese

2、The author's attitude to learning Chinese changed because___.

A.she found Chinese was interesting to learn

B.she wanted to take a course to pass easily

C.she realized she should have an open mind to the outside world

D.she made friends with some American___born Chinese at the school she studied

3、The author tried all of the following to learn Chinese EXCEPT___.

A.listening to Chinese music

B.practicing speaking Chinese with her parents

C.enjoying Chinese dramas

D.taking a Chinese course in China

4、We can learn from the text that___.

A.S.H.E.is the author's favorite singer

B.dialogues in Meteor Garden are easy to guess

C.the author enjoys learning Chinese though it is difficult

D.the author can speak fluent Chinese now

V. 书面表达

在英语课堂上，你喜欢你的老师授课时只用英语，还是英语、汉语兼用？某英语杂志社就此话题邀请中学生发表看法。请你围绕“How do you prefer your English classes to be taught? In English only, or in bothe English and Chinese?”这个问题，参考所给要点，选择一种授课形式，写一篇英语短文。

注意：1. 词数100～120，短文开头已给出（不计词数）

      2. 参考词汇：atmosphere 氛围

   I prefer my English classes to be taught in …

Washington, a state in the United States, was named _______one of the greatest American presidents.

   A. in honor of   B. by means of   C. in search of   D. in need of