In the Lincolnshire village of Burgh-le-Marsh there was once a large area of land called Bell String Acre. It got its name, the local legend tells, because of a narrow escape. On a dark winter's night early in the seventeenth century, they say, a ship's captain was guiding his ship to pass along this difficult distance of coast when he suddenly heard church bells. “If I can hear those,” the captain reasoned, “then I must be far too close to shore for comfort.” Swiftly he changed his position, thus saving himself and his ship. To show his thanks, he soon afterwards bought a piece of land at Burgh-le-Marsh. Rent on this Bell String Acre, he ordered, should go toward the maintenance of the church bell's pull-rope, so that it might ring out its helpful warnings, he required firmly, “for ever.”

Another less charming story tells how the townspeople refused to ring the bell, for they all relished the idea of stealing goods from shipwrecks, but that a minister ran to the tower and rang the bell. His brave act saved the ship, but then the minister died of extreme tiredness. (And then it is said, the grateful captain married the clergyman's daughter.)

In any case, the captain’s request is honored all winter long in Burgh-le-Marsh. Beginning every October 10, the bell rings nightly at 8 p.m. April 7 is the last night of the bells―that is, till the next October.

58. What does the first paragraph mainly tell us?

A. Where Bell String Acre is.

B. A story about a brave captain.

C. The origin of Bell String Acre.

D. It is dangerous to sail along the coast.

59. It can be inferred from the passage that ____________.

A. it was very cheap to buy a piece of land in Lincolnshire

B. The church in Burgh-le-Marsh was very close to the coast

C. The townspeople refused to ring the bell because of lack of money

D. The church couldn’t afford to keep the bell’s pull-rope in good condition

60. The underlined word “relished” in the second paragraph probably means ______.

A. preferred                    B. disliked      C. competed                    D. warned

61. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A. There was no way that the minister would attend the captain’s wedding.

B. Bell ring from the church warned the ship of its dangerous course.

C. There was no bell at night for the sailors for about half a year.

D. The Minster’s daughter was forced to marry the captain.

Kiss of Death is a romantic detective story whose basic theme focuses totally on dogs.

Whitney Marshall had just gone through a divorce, appearing practically penniless while her husband, a promising plastic surgeon, was left with the property and the debts, and his new wife. Whitney seeks help from her cousin, Miranda, who had lived with them as a child. Miranda is operating a dog walking business and lives in the caretaker's cottage of one of her employers, Calvin Hunter. Whitney’s approach is timely as Miranda is getting married and leaving for a two- week honeymoon. She leaves her house and the dogs in Whitney’s care.

Living next door is Adam Hunter; an expert of the Iraqi war who had suffered a battle injury. During his recovery, his uncle Calvin had asked Adam to his home in Greece telling him that he was certain someone was likely to murder him.

His uncle Calvin recently died of an apparent heart attack and Adam has come to Calvin California home to straighten out his affairs and to further investigate the death. Adam is from the area, and was previously called up in the security business with his former police partner.

Immediately after Calvin's death, his home had been broken into and the only things stolen were his computer and related things. Adam has an accountant trying to sort out his uncle financial affairs. His uncle had become fascinated to a pet dog who had “taken Westminster by storm,”and had caught the dog show fever, spending his time judging and attending shows. To the surprise of all, however, there does not seem to be any money in his accounts.

Whitney and Adam meet when he catches her in the house. Whitney is merely dealing with Calvin’s dog, one of her new responsibilities. They continue to meet as outside causes throw them together and romance starts.

Whitney’s former husband Ryan tries to persuade her to sign a deal over to him that he claims he had not been properly taken care of in the divorce. She is hesitating, waiting to see a lawyer. Then, Whitney’s dog is missing, kidnapped(绑架) by Ryan’s new wife’s personal trainer; the caretaker’s cottage is bombed; and most importantly, they find the man that Miranda was to marry had never heard of her, and she seems missing.

The plot seems to circle among all these people, heading nowhere until the end of the book when it picks up speed, and all is exposed. Kiss of Death will be unforgettable only to readers who enjoy learning mysterious facts about dogs.

62. Which of the following is TRUE about Whitney Marshall?

A. Her cousin asked her to look after the dogs while she was away.

B. Adam set traps so that he could meet Whitney frequently

C. She’s going to get married to Adam Hunter.

D. Her former husband hopes to marry her again.

63. What is the relationship between Whitney and Calvin Hunter?

A. She is his neighbor.

B. She is his employee.

C. She is a cousin of one of his employees.

D. She is the future-to-be daughter-in-law of him.

64. Which of the following is NOT true about Calvin Hunter?

A. Calvin Hunter’s death caused some doubt and disbelief.

B. People expect there to be a lot of money in his accounts.

C. He once had a fever because of his dog.

D. He likes dogs very much.

65. This passage is most probably part of _________.

A. life story of the author of Kiss of Death

B. an article by a literary reviewer

C. a book-seller’s advertisement

D. a diary by a real detective

    Your particular relationships with your parents, not God or genes, determines your academic performance. In my case, it was my father who made the difference.

     I had three sisters and my father never showed much interest in their success. He took no notice of the school reports of one of them. They all made it to university. But this was largely because of my mother’s encouragement. However badly I did, and it was usually very bad, he always told me I was clever and that I could do well.

    When I was eight and remained at the bottom of my class, he tried to coach me in Latin and maths. His main goal was to show me that, if I could make myself concentrate on the dull tasks, I could do them.

    He chose the head of my house at public school with great care. He found a man who made a huge effort to teach the backward, raw material with which he started when I was 13. Together, they convinced me to take exams seriously. But the most important factor was that I knew my dad loved me. He expressed this in many kind letters. When we were together, he would take me in his arms. He encouraged me to think for myself and to enjoy what I enjoyed. He once watched me eating a huge amount of chocolate and said, “Eat as much as you like ― you won’t always enjoy it that much.”

    So I started working hard. I agreed with his own clever ways. And I started to enjoy the learning of knowledge and the expression of ideas. Although exams gave little opportunity for that, I could sort of see the point.

    A lot of parents do not realize how important the emotional aspect of the relationship is. It determines their child’s performance. I recently heard a parent discussing what school their child might get into. “I don’t know how bright he is,” she said.

     Many parents are troubled by their children’s marks at school. Their relationship with the child is almost wholly built around this. It was not at all like that with my dad. Until I was eight, he did not seem to worry about marks. And, after that, it was never exam performance that he was concerned with. Rather, he concentrated on my self-perception(自我感知). He constantly showed me that I was not stupid by pointing out things I had said that were signs of intelligence. It meant I had a reasonable self-regard. I kept failing exams. But, my father thought there was a difference between my failing one exam and whether I would be a success or failure in life.

66. According to the writer, which of the following influences your school performance most?

   A. Your interest in your success.                          

B. The effort your teacher makes.

   C. Opportunity or luck that you have.    

D. Your emotional relationship with your parents.

67. Which of the following statements is NOT true about “my father”?

  A. He was good at Latin and maths.

  B. He used to write letters to encourage me.

  C. He paid much attention to my school marks.

  D. He paid little attention to my sisters’ school reports.

68.In Paragraph 4, “the backward, raw material ” refers to __________.

    A. a poor student                                             B. the writer himself     

C. one of the writer’s sisters                           D. a smart boy

69. What does “the point” in the last sentence of Paragraph 5 mean?

  A. How important it was to enjoy the learning.

  B. How important the emotional aspect of the relationship was.

  C. How important it was to choose a man to teach me at home.

  D. How important a child’s exam performance was to the parents.

70. Which of the following can be the best title of this newspaper story?

  A. How my father respect me                    B. How to enjoy learning something

  C. Relationship with your parents               D. A success or a failure

 Under a new ten-year plan, our company __________________ (正在改变) into an international corporation. (transform)

假设你是某中学的艾运东, 你一直关注和支持在NBA火箭队效力的中国球星姚明。作为姚明的粉丝,你想给他写一封100词左右的英文信, 内容如下:

1.       表示崇拜和钦佩(列举理由一二);

2.       对他近况了解: 火箭队进入季后赛,首场大胜;

3.       美好祝愿;

4.       索要一张签名照片。

参考词汇: 火箭队 Houston Rockets  季后赛　2009 NBA Playoff　

Dear Yao Ming,

I am Ai Yundong from a high school in China. I have always been your loyal fan since you began to play for Houston Rockets. 

It is unnecessary to use your own brain for __________ of numbers when computer memory has become so cheap.

A．arrangement       B．storage         C．connection           D．consequence

Do not think that I have come to __________ the existing rules or plans；I just want to make some small changes to them , or rather , have them improved.

A．acknowledge       B．apply          C．associate             D．abolish

He didn’t find his tongue until his fear __________. He was still shaking like a leaf when telling us what had happened.

A．gave out          B．broke down       C．died down        D．sent out

It is reported that only few strong buildings __________ in that terrible earthquake.

A．stayed up         B．saved up         C．kept up           D．set up

As is expected , the new holiday system includes several traditional festivals , __________ indicating a trend towards more traditional values among the Chinese.

A．simply           B．similarly         C．regularly          D．definitely