(08·重庆A篇)

I arrived at my mother’s home for our Monday family dinner.The smells of food flew over from the kitchen.Mother was pulling out quilt(被子) after quilt from the boxes,proudly showing me their beauties.She was preparing for a quilt show at the Elmhurst Church.When we began to fold and put them back into the boxes,I noticed something at the bottom of one box.I pulled it out.“What is this?” I asked.

“Oh?” Mom said,“That’s Mama’s quilt.”

I spread the quilt.It looked as if a group of school children had pieced it together;irregular designs,childish pictures,a crooked line on the right.

“Grandmother made this?” I said,surprised.My grandmother was a master at making quilts.This certainly didn’t look like any of the quilts she had made.

“Yes,right before she died.I brought it home with me last year and made some changes,” she said.“I’m still working on it.See,this is what I’ve done so far.”

I looked at it more closely.She had made straight a crooked line.At the center of the quilt,she had stitched(缝) a piece of cloth with these words:“My mother made many quilts.She didn’t get all lines straight.But I think this is beautiful.I want to see it finished.Her last quilt.”

“Ooh,this is so nice,Mom,”I said.It occurred to me that by completing my grandmother’s quilt,my mother was honoring her own mother.I realized,too,that I held in my hands a family treasure.It started with the loving hands of one woman,and continued with the loving hands of another.”

56.Why did the author go to her mother’s home?

A.To see her mother’s quilts.

B.To help prepare for a show.

C.To get together for the family dinner.

D.To discuss her grandmother’s life.

57.The author was surprised because         .

A.the quilt looked very strange

B.her grandmother liked the quilt

C.the quilt was the best she had seen

D.her mother had made some changes

58.The underlined word “crooked” in the passage most probably means         .

A.unfinished                B.broken                C.bent                       D.unusual

59.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A.A Quilt Show                                         B.Mother’s Home

C.A Monday Dinner                                   D.Grandmother’s Quilt

 (08·上海B篇)

Zoe Chambers was a successful PR (Public Relations) consultant and life was going well—she had a great job,a beautiful flat and a busy social life in London.Then one evening in June last year,she received a text message telling her she was out of work.“The first two weeks were the most difficult to live through,”she said.“After everything I’d done for the company,they dismissed me by text!I was so angry and I just didn’t feel like looking for another job.I hated everything about the city and my life.”

Then,Zoe received an invitation from an old schoolfriend,Kathy,to come and stay.Kathy and her husband,Huw,had just bought a farm in northwest Wales.Zoe jumped at the chance to spend a weekend away from London,and now,ten months later,she is still on the farm.

“The moment I arrived at Kathy’s farm,I loved it and I knew I wanted to stay,”said Zoe.“Everything about my past life suddenly seemed meaningless.”

Zoe has been working on the farm since October of last year and says she has no regrets.“It’s a hard life,physically very tiring,”she says.“In London I was stressed and often mentally exhausted.But this is a good,healthy tiredness.Here,all I need to put me in a good mood is a hot bath and one of Kathy’s wonderful dinners.”

Zoe says she has never felt bored on the farm.Every day brings a new experience.Kathy has been teaching her how to ride a horse and she has learnt to drive a tractor.Since Christmas,she has been helping with the lambing—watching a lamb being born is unbelievable,she says,“It’s one of the most moving experiences I’ve ever had.I could never go back to city life now.”

68.When working as a PR consultant in London,Zoe thought she lived a         life.

A.satisfying                    B.tough                    C.meaningless            D.boring

69.The most important reason why Zoe went to visit Kathy’s farm is that         .

A.Zoe lost her job as a PR consultant

B.Kathy persuaded her to do so

C.Zoe got tired of the city life

D.Zoe loved Wales more than London

70.How does Zoe feel about the country life according to the passage?

A.Tiresome and troublesome.

B.Romantic and peaceful.

C.Mentally exhausting but healthy.

D.Physically tiring but rewarding.

71.Which of the following is closest to the main idea of the passage?

A.A friend in need is a friend indeed.

B.Where there is a will,there is a way.

C.A misfortune may turn out a blessing.

D.Kill two birds with one stone.

 (08·全国ⅡA篇)

There was a story many years ago of a school teacher—Mrs.Thompson.She told the children on the first day that she loved them all the same.But that was a lie.There in the front row was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard.He didn’t play well with the other children and he always needed a bath.She did not like him.

Then Mrs.Thompson got to know that Teddy was actually a very good boy before the death of his mother.Mrs.Thompson was ashamed of herself.She felt even worse when,like all her other students,Teddy brought her a Christmas present too.It was his mother’s perfume(香水).

Teddy said,“Mrs.Thompson,today you smell just like my Mom used to.”After the children left she cried for at least an hour.On that very day,she stopped teaching reading,writing and math.Instead,she began to teach children.

Mrs.Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy.The boy’s mind seemed to come alive.The more she encouraged him,the faster he improved.By the end of the sixth grade,Teddy had become one of the smartest children in the class.

Six years went by before she got a note from Teddy.He wrote that he had finished high school,third in his class,and she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life.He went to college.Mrs.Thompson got two more letters from him with the last one signed.Theodore F.Stoddard,M.D.(医学博士).

The story doesn’t end there.On his wedding day,Dr.Stoddard whispered in Mrs.Thompson’s ear,“Thank you,Mrs.Thompson,for believing in me.You made me feel important and showed me that I could make a difference.”

Mrs.Thompson,with tears in her eyes,whispered back,“Teddy,you have it all wrong.You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference.I didn’t know how to teach until I met you.”

41.What did Mrs.Thompson do on the first day of school?

A.She made Teddy feel ashamed.

B.She asked the children to play with Teddy.

C.She changed Teddy’s seat to the front row.

D.She told the class something untrue about herself.

42.What did Mrs.Thompson find out about Teddy?

A.He often told lies.

B.He was good at math.

C.He needed motherly care.

D.He enjoyed playing with others.

43.In what way did Mrs.Thompson change?

A.She taught fewer school subjects.

B.She became stricter with her students.

C.She no longer liked her job as a teacher.

D.She cared more about educating students.

44.Why did Teddy thank Mrs.Thompson at his wedding?

A.She had kept in touch with him.

B.She had given him encouragement.

C.She had sent him Christmas presents.

D.She had taught him how to judge people.

 (08·浙江D篇)

For a while, my neighborhood was taken over by an army of joggers(慢跑者). They were there all the time: early morning, noon, and evening. There were little old ladies in gray sweats, young couples in Adidas shoes, middle-aged men with red faces. “Come on!” My friend Alex encouraged me to join him as he jogged by my house every evening. “You’ll feel great.”

    Well, I had nothing against feeling great and if Alex could jog every day, anyone could. So I took up jogging seriously and gave it a good two months of my life, and not a day more. Based on my experience, jogging is the most overvalued form of exercise around, and judging from the number of the people who left our neighborhood jogging army, I’m not alone in my opinion.

   First of all, jogging is very hard on the body. Your legs and feet take a real pounding（重击）running down a road for two or three miles. I developed foot, leg, and back problems. Then I read about a nationally famous jogger who died of a heart attack while jogging, and I had something else to worry about. Jogging doesn’t kill hundreds of people, but if you have any physical weaknesses, jogging will surely bring them out, as they did with me.

   Secondly, I got no enjoyment out of jogging. Putting one foot in front of the other for forty-five minutes isn’t my idea of fun. Jogging is also a lonely pastime. Some joggers say, “I love being out there with just my thoughts.” Well, my thoughts began to bore me, and most of them were on how much my legs hurt.

    And how could I enjoy something that brought me pain? And that wasn’t just the first week;it was practically every day for two months. I never got past the pain level, and pain isn’t fun. What a cruel way to do it! So many other exercises, including walking, lead to almost the same results painlessly, so why jog?

   I don’t jog any more, and I don’t think I ever will. I’m walking two miles three times a week at a fast pace, and that feels good. I bicycle to work when the weather is good. I’m getting exercise, and I’m enjoying it at the same time. I could never say the same for jogging, and I’ve found a lot of better ways to stay in shape.

52. From the first paragraph, we learn that in the writer’s neighborhood ______.

A. jogging became very popular   

B. people jogged only during the daytime

C. Alex organized an army of joggers

D. jogging provided a chance to get together

53. The underlined word “them”(Paragraph 3) most probably refers to _____.

A. heart attacks                                               B. back problems  

C. famous joggers                                            D. physical weaknesses

54. What was the writer’s attitude towards jogging in the beginning?

A. He felt it was worth a try.                          B. He was very fond of it.

C. He was strongly against it.                         D. He thought it must be painful.

55. Why did the writer give up jogging two months later?

A. He disliked doing exercise outside.  

B. He found it neither healthy nor interesting.

C. He was afraid of having a heart attack.

D. He was worried about being left alone.

56. From the writer’s experience, we can conclude that______.

A. not everyone enjoys jogging

B. he is the only person who hates jogging

C. nothing other than jogging can help people keep fit

D. jogging makes people feel greater than any other sport

 (08·天津E篇)

As kids, my friends and I spent a lot of time out in the woods. “The woods” was our part-time address, destination, purpose, and excuse. If I went to a friend’s house and found him not at home, his mother might say, “Oh, he’s out in the woods, ” with a tone(语气) of airy acceptance. It’s similar to the tone people sometimes use nowadays to tell me that someone I’m looking for is on the golf course or at the gym, or even “away from his desk.” For us ten-year-olds, “being out in the woods” was just an excuse to do whatever we feel like for a while.

We sometimes told ourselves that what we were doing in the woods was exploring(探索). Exploring was a more popular idea back then than it is today. History seemed to be mostly about explorers. Our explorations, though, seemed to have less system than the historic kind: something usually came up along the way. Say we stayed in the woods, throwing rocks, shooting frogs, picking blackberries, digging in what we were briefly persuaded was an Indian burial mound.

Often we got “lost” and had to climb a tree to find out where we were. If you read a story in which someone does that successfully, be skeptical: the topmost branches are usually too skinny to hold weight, and we could never climb high enough to see anything except other trees. There were four or five trees that we visited regularly—tall beeches, easy to climb and comfortable to sit in.

It was in a tree, too, that our days of fooling around in the woods came to an end. By then some of us had reached seventh grade and had begun the rough ride of adolescence(青春期). In March, the month when we usually took to the woods again after winter, two friends and I set out to go exploring. We climbed a tree, and all of a sudden it occurred to all three of us at the same time that we really were rather big to be up in a tree. Soon there would be the spring dances on Friday evenings in the high school cafeteria.

52. The author and his friends were often out in the woods to _______.

   A. spend their free time                                 B. play golf and other sports

   C. avoid doing their schoolwork                    D. keep away from their parents

53. What can we infer from Paragraph 2?

   A. The activities in the woods were well planned.

   B. Human history is not the result of exploration.

   C. Exploration should be a systematic activity.

   D. The author explored in the woods aimlessly.

54. The underlined word “skeptical” in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ______.

   A. calm                    B. doubtful               C. serious                  D. optimistic

55. How does the author feel about his childhood?

   A. Happy but short.                                     B. Lonely but memorable.

   C. Boring and meaningless.                          D. Long and unforgettable.

 (08·陕西A篇)

They say there are three ways to experience the Grand Canyon：on foot, on mules(骡子) or by air. We chose the first. Up early, my husband and I and our three children couldn’t wait to get started. We decided to walk along a lovely path named Bright Angel Trail.

As we set out, I was shocked at how narrow the path was. And I couldn’t help noticing that the other tourists weren’t like us. They had heavy backpacks, water bottles, and hats. But as usual we were dressed.As the sun rose higher, Arizona’s famous heat seemed to roast(烘烤)us. There was no shade and our legs were aching. We decided to go back, with the girl on my back and the boys far behind. By the time we finally got back,our legs were like jelly.

The next day, after we’d had a long rest and a good breakfast, we were ready for another view of the Canyon—by air. After our last walk, this would be the easiest thing in the world.

We called to each other excitedly as the plane took off and circled around the Canyon. But the smiles on our faces disappeared as the pilot tossed(翻转)　the plane around, pretending he was going to hit the ground. I shouted, “STOP, TAKE US BACK!” When we finally arrived back on land, once again our legs were like jelly. We hardly spoke as we drove back.

As I said, there are three ways to view the Grand Canyon. We never tried the mules, but personally I’d suggest a fourth: buy yourself a good magazine like National Geographic. That way, you can see the Canyon, without fear or tiredness.

41. Which of the following is TRUE according to the second paragraph?

A. They made a careful preparation before the trip.

B. The children were more joyful than their parents.

C. Bright Angel Trail was not as lovely as they expected.

D. The summer heat prevented them from enjoying the view.

42. The underlined expression “our legs were like jelly” probably means         .

A. we were weak                                            B. we were unhappy   

C. we were dissatisfied                                     D. we were disappointed

43. Which of the following best describes their Canyon trip by air?

A. It proved to be frightening.                         B. It was more comfortable.

C. It turned out to be exciting.                        D. It made each of them tired.

44. We can infer from the passage that          .

A. experiencing the Canyon on mules would be the best way

B. one needs to dress less when visiting the Grand Canyon

C. the writer was not serious when she made the suggestion

D. the whole family narrowly escaped from the air accident

 (08·湖北C篇)

One August afternoon, Richard Allen dropped off his last passenger, Mrs.Carey.Lifting two grocery bags, he followed her across the yard and stood on the step of her house.Glancing up, he saw a large wasp’s（黄蜂） nest under the roof.Allen had heard that wasps can become more likely to sting (sting, sting, stung蜇) in summer.He mentioned this to Mrs.Carey, who had opened the door.

“Oh, they don’t bother me,” she said lightly.“I go in and out all the time.”

Anxiously, Allen looked at the nest again — to see the wasps flying straight at him.“Hurry!” he shouted to Mrs.Carey.“Get in!”

She stepped quickly inside.Allen ran for his minibus.Too late; they were upon him.Just as he jumped aboard, half a dozen red spots showed on his arms, and he felt more on his back and shoulders.

As he was driving down the road, Allen felt as if something was burning at the back of his neck, and the “fire” was spreading forward toward his face.An immediate anxiety took hold of him.Allen knew that stings could cause some persons to die.But he had been stung the previous summer and the after-effects soon passed.However, what he didn’t know was that the first sting had turned his body into a time bomb waiting for the next to set off an explosion.

Miles from the nearest medical assistance, Allen began to feel his tongue thick and heavy and his heartbeat louder.Most frightening, he felt his breathing more and more difficult.He reached for the radio mike(话筒), trying to call the minibus center, but his words were hardly understandable.Signals were also poor that far out.He knew a rescue team was on 24-hour duty at the Amherst Fire Department’s north station.So his best chance was to make a run for it.

Rushing down the mountain, Allen tried not to panic, focusing his mind on each sharp turn.He was almost through the last of them when he felt sure he was going into shock（休克）.Just then he reached for the radio mike again.

“Call fire station,” he shouted, concentrating to form the words.“Emergency.Bee sting.Emergency.There in ten minutes.”

“Five-ten,” the center replied.

Hold on, Allen thought.Keep your eyes open.Breathe.Keep awake.

At last he reached the station.Two firemen ran out.Allen felt their hands grasp him before he hit the ground.You made it, he thought.

69.It is mentioned in the passage that wasps are more likely to attack when _______.

      A.there are huge noises                                     B.strangers are approaching

C.the air is filled with food smell                 D.the hottest season comes around

70.Allen didn’t know that if stung by wasps again, he would _______.

A.have no after-effects                               B.suffer from sharper pain

C.surely lose his life                                    D.become more sensitive

71.Allen failed at his first attempt to send his message to the minibus center because _______.

A.he was unable to speak clearly                  B.his radio equipment was poor

C.he was in a state of shock                        D.no one was on duty

72.Which would be the best title for the passage?

      A.Allen, A Helpless Driver                            B.Wasps, Bloody Killers

C.A Race Against Death                              D.War Against Wasps

 (08·湖北B篇)

Kathy started at my nursery school at the age of three. She settled into the group easily, and would be first on the slide and highest up the climbing frame.She could put on her coat without help and not only fasten her own buttons but other children’s too.

She was a lovely child but unfortunately a scratcher.If anyone upset her or stood in her way, her right hand would flash out fast and scratch down the face of her playmates.Children twice her age would fly in fear from her.

This must have been very rewarding for Kathy but obviously it had to be stopped.All the usual ways failed and then I remembered an account by G.Atkinson of Highfield School, of how fights in the playground had been stopped.No punishment had been given, but the attacker had been ignored and the victims rewarded.So I decided to try this out on Kathy.

With a pocketful of Smarties I followed Kathy around.She was so quick that it was impossible to prevent her scratching, but I was determined to stay within arm’s length all afternoon.

All was peaceful but then I saw Kathy’s hand moved and heard the scream.Gently I gathered up the little hurt one in my arms and said “Nice, nice sweetie” and I put a Smartie into her mouth. Kathy opened her mouth, expecting a Smartie and then looked puzzled when she got nothing.

Soon came another scream, this time from John.While holding him in my arms, I said, “Look, Kathy, a nice Smartie for John” and put it into John’s mouth.

A smile of understanding flashed across Kathy’s face.Minutes later, she came to me and said loudly, “Give me a Smartie! I have hurt my finger!”

“No,” I replied, “you’ll get it if someone hurts you.”

On purpose, she turned and scratched a nearby boy, Tom, and waited quietly while I mothered and rewarded him, then she walked away.

She has never scratched a child since.

Parents who find older children bullying younger brothers and sisters might do well to replace shouting and punishment by rewarding and giving more attention to the injured ones.It’s certainly much easier and more effective.

65.From the passage, we know that Kathy is _______.

      A.sensitive but slow                                         B.smart but a bit rude

C.independent but selfish                                  D.quick but sort of passive

66.Kathy scratched Tom because _______.

A.she was angry at Tom, who was in her way

B.she wanted to get a Smartie from the teacher

C.she was in the habit of scratching other children

D.she wanted to know if the teacher meant what she had said

67.According to the passage, the underlined word “bullying” is closest in meaning to“_______”.

A.helping                      B.punishing                   C.hurting                      D.protecting

68.The writer of this passage aims to recommend an approach to _______.

      A.rewarding children’s good behavior             B.correcting children’s bad behavior

C.punishing badly-behaved children                   D.praising well-behaved children

 (08·湖北A篇)

Margaret, married with two small children, has been working for the last seven years as a night cleaner, cleaning offices in a big building.

She trained as a nurse, but had to give it up when her elder child became seriously ill.“I would have liked to go back to it, but the shifts（工作班次） are all wrong for me, as I have to be home to get the children up and off to school.”

So she works as a cleaner instead, from 9 p.m.till 6 a.m.five nights a week for just ￡90, before tax and insurance.“It’s better than it was last year, but I still think that people who work ‘unsocial hours’ should get a bit extra.”

The hours she’ s chosen to work mean that she sees plenty of the children, but very little of her husband.However, she doesn’t think that puts any pressure on their relationship.

Her work isn’t physically very hard, but it’s not exactly pleasant, either.“I do get angry with people who leave their offices like a place for raising pigs.If they realized people like me have to do it, perhaps they’d be a bit more careful.”

The fact that she’s working all night doesn’t worry Margaret at all.Unlike some dark buildings at night, the building where she works is fully lit, and the women work in groups of three.“Since I’ve got to be here, I try to enjoy myself—and I usually do, because of the other girls.We all have a good laugh, so the time never drags.”

Another challenge Margaret has to face is the reaction of other people when she tells them what she does for a living.“They think you’re a cleaner because you don’t know how to read and write,” said Margaret.“I used to think what my parents would say if they knew what I’d been doing, but I don’t think that way any more.I don’t dislike the work though I can’t say I’m mad about it.”

61.Margaret quit her job as a nurse because _______.

      A.she wanted to earn more money to support her family

B.she had suffered a lot of mental pressure

C.she needed the right time to look after her children

D.she felt tired of taking care of patients

62.Margaret gets angry with people who work in the office because _______.

A.they never clean their offices                       B.they look down upon cleaners

C.they never do their work carefully                D.they always make a mess in their offices

63.When at work, Margaret feels _______.

A.light-hearted because of her fellow workers

B.happy because the building is fully lit

C.tired because of the heavy workload

D.bored because time passes slowly

64.The underlined part in the last paragraph implies that Margaret’s parents would _______.

      A.help care for her children                            B.regret what they had said

C.show sympathy for her                               D.feel disappointed in her

 (08·北京A篇)

Twenty years ago, I drove a taxi for a living. One night I went to pick up a passenger at 2:30 AM. When I arrived to collect, I found the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window.

I walked to the door and knocked. “Just a minute,” answered a weak, elderly voice.

After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her eighties stood before me. By her side was a small suitcase.

I took the suitcase to the car, and then returned to help the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the car.

She kept thanking me for my kindness. “It’s nothing,” I told her. “I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated.”

“Oh, you’re such a good man,”she said. When we got into the taxi, she gave me an address, and then asked, “Could you drive through downtown?”

“It’s not the shortest way,” I answered quickly.

“Oh, I’m in no hurry,” she said. “I’m on my way to a hospice(临终医院). I don’t have any family left. The doctor says I don’t have very long.”

I quietly reached over and shut off the meter(计价器).

For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked, the neighborhood where she had lived, and the furniture shop that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.

Sometimes she’d ask me to slow down in front of a particular building and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

At dawn, she suddenly said,“I’m tired. Let’s go now.”

We drove in silence to the address she had given me.

“How much do I owe you?” she asked.

“Nothing,” I said.

“You have to make a living,” she answered. “Oh, there are other passengers,” I answered.

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly. Our hug ended with her remark, “You gave an old woman a little moment of joy.”

56. The old woman chose to ride through the city in order to ______.

A. show she was familiar with the city

B. see some places for the last time

C. let the driver earn more money

D. reach the destination on time

57. The taxi driver did not charge the old woman because he ______.

A. wanted to do her a favor                            B. shut off the meter by mistake

C. had received her payment in advance          D. was in a hurry to take other passengers

58. What can we learn from the story?

A. Giving is always a pleasure.

B. People should respect each other.

C. An act of kindness can bring people great joy.                                                 

D. People should learn to appreciate others’ concern.