Be sure to _______ making your decision. Let’s see what’ll happen next.

A．hold on            B．hold off             C．hold up              D．hold back

One of the boys kept laughing, ___________ annoyed Jane quite a lot.

Ａ. which                     B．who                C．that                 D．what

But _____________ your opinion is right, I have to admit. New technology is changing the world every day.

A．in no way           B．on the way             C．in a way            D．by the way

Any normal boy of his age would be ____________ with this game.

A．common             B．familiar              C．similar             D．regular

For further ____________, please write to the following address.

A．information               B．message              C．news               D．knowledge

Tom entered the room and made an apology to his father, ________ that it was all his fault.

A．thinks              B．to think                C．thought            D．thinking

—Oh, come on. Just ____________. Nothing can beat me.

—Well, to be frank, you should rewrite your essay.

A．come to the point                          B．take your time

C．take your turn                              D．don’t hesitate

We walked so quietly that the nurse at the desk didn’t even lift her eyes from the book. Mum  1   to a big chair by the door and I knew she wanted me to have a  2 . While I watched, mouth  3   in surprise, mum took off her hat and coat and gave them to me to  4  . She walked    5   to the small room by the lift and  6  a wet mop. She pushed the mop    7    the desk and as the nurse looked up, mum nodded and said, “Very  8  floors.”

 “Yes. I’m glad they’ve finally decided to 9  them.” The nurse said. She looked at mum __10  and said, “But aren’t you working late?”

Mum just pushed harder,   11   swipe of the mop taking her farther and farther __12   the hall. I watched   13   I couldn’t see her and the nurse had turned back to write in the big   14  .

After a long time mum came back. Her eyes were    15   . She rapidly put the mop back and took my hand. As we turned to go out of the door, mum nodded politely to the nurse and said, “Thank you.”

__16  , mum told me: “Dagmar is fine. No fever.”

“You saw her, mum?”

“  17  . I told her about the hospital rules, and she will not   18   us until tomorrow. Dad will stop   19   as well. It’s fine hospital. But such floors! A mop is no good. You need a   20 .”

1. A．turned                 B．looked                    C．pointed            D．referred

2. A．chat                    B．seat                        C．discussion        D．conversation

3. A．open                   B．shut                        C．wide                D．tight

4. A．wear                   B．hide                        C．store               D．hold

5. A．quickly                B．quietly                    C．suddenly          D．immediately

6. A．took out                     B．checked out            C．picked out        D．handed out

7. A．through               B．across                    C．over                D．past

8. A．pretty                 B．ugly                        C．dirty                D．smooth

9. A．change                B．damage                   C．abandon          D．clean

10. A．strangely           B．straightly                 C．seriously          D．rudely

11. A．any                   B．each                       C．another            D．either

12. A．up                     B．around                    C．against             D．down

13. A．after                  B．because                  C．until                D．while

14. A．desk                  B．office                            C．book               D．ward

15. A．shining              B．tearful                     C．surprising        D．doubtful

16. A．However           B．Outside                   C．Besides            D．Gradually

17. A．No way             B．Not at all                 C．Of course        D．With pleasure

18. A．disturb                     B．expect                    C．appeal              D．convince

19. A．missing             B．attending                 C．overworking    D．worrying

20. A．brush                B．soap                       C．broom             D．spade

After 21 years of marriage, my wife wanted me to take another woman out to dinner and a movie. The other woman my wife wanted me to visit was my mother, who has been a widow for 19 years, but the demands of my work and my three children had made it possible to visit her only occasionally.

That Friday after work, when I arrived at her house, my mother waited in the door with her coat on. She had curled her hair and was wearing the dress that she had worn to celebrate her last wedding anniversary.

We went to a restaurant that, although not elegant, was very nice and cozy. My mother took my arm as if she were the First Lady.

During the dinner, we had an agreeable conversation nothing extraordinary but catching up on recent events of each other’s life. We talked so much that we missed the movie.

As we arrived at her house later, she said, “I’ll go out with you again, but only if you let me invite you.” I agreed.

A few days later, my mother died of a massive heart attack. It happened so suddenly that I didn’t have a chance to do anything for her.

Some time later, I received an envelope with a copy of a restaurant receipt from the same place Mother and I had dined. An attached note said: “I paid this bill in advance. I wasn’t sure that I could be there; but, nevertheless, I paid for two plates—one for you and the other for your wife. You will never know what that night meant for me. I love you, son.”

At that moment, I understood the importance of saying in time: ‘I love YOU’ and to give our loved ones the time that they deserve.

Nothing in life is more important than your family. Give them the time they deserve, because these things cannot be put off till some “other” time.

1. From the passage we can see _________.

A．the mother was happy to have dinner with her son

B．the author doesn’t like his work and his three children

C．the author and his mother went to a high-class restaurant

D．the author saw a movie with his mother after dinner

2. What can we know about the author’s mother according to the passage?

A．She wanted to celebrate her last wedding anniversary.

B．She wanted to invite her son to have dinner again.

C．She died of a massive heart attack very suddenly.

D．She wrote a letter to tell her son about her illness.

3. During the dinner, what did they talk about?

A．Extraordinary things.

B．Some national events.

C．Each other’s daily life.

D．Movies and dishes.

4. It can be inferred from the passage that_________.

A．the author regretted for not showing much love to his mother

B．the author was satisfied to do something for his mother

C．the mother felt happy to pay for the bill in advance

D．the mother was sorry for inviting her son to have dinner

5. The author of the passage tends to agree that _________.

A．family should be as important as work

B．work is more important than family

C．we can show our love till some other time

D．we should spend more time with our family

HAVANA （Reuters） - U.S., Cuban and Mexican scientists have drawn up plans for joint research in the Gulf of Mexico, in another sign of improvement in long-unfriendly U.S.-Cuba relations.

In a meeting in Havana this week, they agreed on collecting information about the Gulf, a body of water shared by the three countries but about which little cooperative research has been done in recent years.

“This is a logical, low-risk area in which to begin discussions with Cuba. It is without question in our common interest to share science and ideas on our shared resources like the Gulf of Mexico,” Environmental Defense Fund senior official Dan Whittle said on Tuesday.

Whittle was among 30 Americans, 30 Cubans and six Mexicans at the meeting, held on Sunday and Monday ahead of an international meeting on ocean science this week in the Cuban capital.

“We’re starting now to enter a new era of cooperation,” said meeting organizer David Guggenheim, American marine scientist.

The plan assumes that U.S.-Cuba relations will continue to get better under President Barack Obama, who has said he wants to end five decades of bitterness between the two countries separated by just 90 miles of ocean.

He has initiated talks on migration and regain of postal service with Cuba and allowed Cuban Americans to travel and send money freely to their homeland.

But a general travel ban to Cuba for most Americans remains in effect, as does the United States’ 47-year-long trade prohibition against the communist-led island.

There are also restrictions on travel of U.S. and Cuban academics between the two countries, although it has gotten easier under Obama to obtain permission, Guggenheim said.

Whittle said Obama needs to remove all obstacles for scientists to assure a “free flow of information” between the countries.

The plan of action calls for shared projects to track marine animals and to study such things as the effects of pollutants and climate change on coral reefs.

Cuba has rented out much of its offshore area for oil exploration, which when it begins will bring danger of oil spills（漏油）that computer models show would flow north to Florida.

“We need a dialogue to talk about coordinated emergency response. Everything points to the need for cooperation and communication, not continuation of a Cold War policy,” Guggenheim said. 

1. How is the relation between US and Cuba?

A．They are getting on quite well with each other.

B．The citizens in both countries are free to visit each other.

C．The two countries’ scientists cooperated well with each other.

D．There are some improvements in relations between the two countries.

2. The Gulf of Mexico _________.

A．belongs to the Mexico alone

B．is a body of water badly polluted

C．has something to do with the three countries

D．has been explored by the three countries together

3. President Barack Obama _________.

A．is for the present relation between US and Cuba

B．wants to set up a good relation between the two countries

C．banned the American travelers from going to Cuba for a visit

D．has got rid of 50 years of bitterness between the two countries

4. What has little effect on coral reefs?

A．Marine animals.                   B．Climate change. 

C．Oil spills.                      D．Pollutants.

5. It is anything but _________ that can remove all obstacles for people or countries.

A．dialogue                      B．cooperation

C．communication                     D．Cold War policy