When I ______home, I caught a thief stealing from a passer-by.

A. headed          B. was heading    C. has headed          D. had headed

When I was a child, I often dreamed of the time when I could leave home and escape to the city. We lived on a farm, in the winter especially, we were quite cut off from the outside world. As soon as I left school, I packed my bags and moved to the capital. However, I soon discovered that my life has its _______ too.
One big disadvantage is money. It costs so much to go out, not to mention basics like food and housing. Another disadvantage is pollution. I suffer from asthma(哮喘), and  the air is so  that I am afraid to go outside. Then there is the problem of traveling round. Although I have a car, I seldom use it because of the traffic jams. One choice is to go by bicycle, but that can be quite dangerous.
Of course there are advantages. First, there is so much to do in the city, whatever your tastes in culture or entertainment(娱乐活动). Besides, there are wonderful jobs and greater chances of moving to a more important job or position. Finally, if you like shopping, the variety of goods is very surprising --- and , what is more, shops are often only a short walk away.
Is life better then, in the city? Perhaps it is , when you are in your teens(十几岁)or twenties. However, as you get older, and especially if you have small children, the peace of the countryside may seem preferable. I certainly hope to move back there soon.
【小题1】Which of the following words can be put into the blank in the first paragraph?

A month after Hurricane Katrina, I returned home in New Orleans. There lay my house,

reduced to waist-high ruins, smelly and dirty.

Before the trip, I’d had my car fixed. When the office employee of the garage was writing up

the bill, she noticed my Louisiana license plate. “You from New Orleans?” she asked. I said I was,

“No charge.” She said, and firmly shook her head when I reached for my wallet. The next day I

went for a haircut, and the same thing happened.

As my wife was studying in Florida, we decided to move there and tried to find a rental house that we could afford while also paying off a mortgage（抵押贷款）on our ruined house. We looked at many places, but none was satisfactory. We’d began to accept that we’d have to live in extremely reduced circumstances for a while, when I got a very curious e-mail from a James Kennedy in California. He’d read some pieces I’d written about our sufferings for Slate, the online magazine and wanted to give us (“no conditions attached”) a new house across the lake from New Orleans.

It sounded too good to be true, but I replied, thanking him for his exceptional generosity, that we had no plan go back. Then a poet at the University of Florida offered to let his house to me. While he want to England on his one-year paid leave. The rent was rather reasonable. I mentioned the poet’s offer to James Kennedy, and the next day he sent a check covering our entire rent for eight months.

Throughout this painful experience , the kindness of strangers has done much to bring back my faith in humanity .It’s almost worth losing you worldly possessions to be reminded that people really when given half a chance.

56.The garage employee’s attitude toward the author was that of _______.

A.unconcern                              B.sympathy                        C.doubt                      D.tolerance

57.What do we know about James Kennedy?

A.He was a writer of an online magazine.                 B.He was a poet at the University of Florida

C.He offered the author a new house free of charge.  

D.He learned about the author’s sufferings via e-mail.

58.It can be inferred from the text that _______.

A.the author’s family was in financial difficulty

B.rents were comparatively reasonable despite the disaster

C.houses were difficult to find in the hurricane-stricken area

D.the mortgage on the ruined house was paid off by the bank

59.The author learned from his experience that _______.

A.worldly possessions can be given up when necessary

B.generosity should be encouraged some cases           C.people benefit from their sad stories

D.human beings are kind after all.

When I was quite young, I discovered that somewhere inside the telephone lived an amazing
person - "Information Please" and there was nothing she did not know.　
One day while my mother was out, I hit my finger with a hammer. The pain was terrible, but
there was no one home to give me any sympathy. I walked around the house, finally arriving at the telephone! Quickly, I called “Information Please" and told her what happened.  She told me to open the icebox and hold a little piece of ice to my finger.
After that, I called "Information Please" for everything. When my pet bird died, I told
"Information Please" the sad story. She tried to comfort me, she said quietly, "Paul, always remember that there are other worlds to sing in." Somehow I felt better. Another day I was on the telephone, “How do you spell ‘grateful’? ". All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. When I was 9, we moved to Boston.
A few years later, on my way to college, my plane put down in Seattle. I had about half an
hour or so between planes. Without thinking, I dialed my hometown operator and said, "Information, please."    　　
Surprisingly, I heard the small, clear voice I knew so well, "Information." I hadn't planned on
this but I heard myself saying, "Could you please tell me how to spell ‘grateful’?"  
There was a long pause. Then came the soft-spoken answer, "I guess your finger must have
healed by now."   I laughed. "So it's really still you," I said, "I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me during that time."  I told her how often I had thought of her over the years and asked if I could call her again. "Please do," she said, "Just ask for Sally."　　
Three months later I was back in Seattle. A different voice answered me. I was told that Sally
passed away five weeks before.   　　
Before I could hang up she told me that Sally left a message for me—“Tell him I still say
there are other worlds to sing in. He'll know what I mean.”  I thanked her and hung up. I knew what Sally meant.
Never underestimate the impression you may make on others. Whose life have you touched
today?　
59. What does “Information, Please” refer to in the passage?
A. An amazing girl.
B. A special kind of telephone.
C. A communication system.
D. A service that helps telephone users.
60. What happened to the little boy one day when he was at home alone? 
A. He was amused by the telephone.
B. He hurt his finger with a hammer.
C. He found an amazing telephone.
D. He got a piece of ice from an icebox.
61. What did “Information, Please” give the little boy whenever he was in trouble? 
A. Information and conversation.
B. Good memories and happiness.
C. Sympathy and information.
D. Friendship and cheers.
62. When did the author get in touch with “Information, Please” again after he moved to
Boston?  
A. When he was in trouble on his way to college.
B. When his plane stopped in Seattle for half an hour.
C. When he went back to Seattle to visit his sister.
D. Three months later after he moved to Boston.

After giving a talk at a high school, I was asked to pay a visit to a special student. An illness had kept the boy home, but he had expressed an interest in meeting me. I was told it would mean a great deal to him, so I agreed.
During the nine-mile drive to his home, I found out something about Matthew. He had muscular dystrophy (肌萎缩症). When he was born, the doctor told his parents that he would not live to five, and then they were told he would not make it to ten. Now he was thirteen. He wanted to meet me because I was a gold-medal power lifter, and I knew about overcoming obstacles and going for my dreams.
I spent over an hour talking to Matthew. Never once did he complain or ask, “Why me?” He spoke about winning and succeeding and going for his dreams. Obviously, he knew what he was talking about. He didn’t mention that his classmates had made fun of him because he was different. He just talked about his hopes for the future, and how one day he wanted to lift weights with me. When we had finished talking, I went to my briefcase and pulled out the first gold medal I had won and put it around his neck. I told him he was more of a winner and knew more about success and overcoming obstacles than I ever would. He looked at it for a moment, then took it off and handed it back to me. He said, “You are a champion. You earned that medal. Someday when I get to the Olympics and win my own medal, I will show it to you.”
Last summer I received a letter from Matthew’s parents telling me that Matthew had passed away. They wanted me to have a letter he had written to me a few days before:
Dear Dick,
My mum said I should send you a thank-you letter for the picture you sent me. I also want to let you know that the doctors tell me that I don’t have long to live any more, but I still smile as much as I can.
I told you someday that I would go to the Olympics and win a gold medal, but I know now I will never get to do that. However, I know I’m a champion, and God knows that too. When I get to Heaven, God will give me my medal and when you get there, I will show it to you. Thank you for loving me.
Your friend,
Matthew
【小题1】The underlined sentence in the third paragraph probably means that_______.