The question is very important. It really needs _______.

　 A. carefully discussing 　    B. carefully to discuss

　 C. to carefully be discussed 　 D. being discussed carefully

Stepping into a pool of water is common enough, but who could ever imagine stepping into a pool of fish? In February of 1974, Bill Tapp, an Australian farmer, saw a rain of fish that covered his farm. How surprised he must have been when he heard many fish hitting against his roof!

　　 What caused this strange occurrence? This is a question that had long puzzled people who study fish. The answer turned out to be a combination of wind and storm.

　　When it is spring in the northern part of the world, it is fall in Australia. Throughout the autumn season, terrible storms arise and rains flood the land. The strong winds sweep over Australia like huge vacuum cleaners, collecting seaweed, pieces of wood, and even schools of fish. Strong winds may carry these bits of nature for many miles before dropping them on fields, houses, and astonished people.

　　Although they seem unusual, fish-falls occur quite frequently in Australia. When Bill Tapp was asked to describe the scene of fish, he remarked, “They look like millions of dead birds falling down.” His statement is not surprising. The wonders of the natural world are as common as rain. Nature, with its infinite wonders, can create waterfalls that flow upward and fish that fall out of the sky.

　　56. What is this passage about?

　　A. A sad story. 　　　　　　　　　　　　B. A rain of fish.

　　C. Australia’s northern part.　　　　　D. The damage done by floods.

　　57. Fish-falls occur in Australia_________ .

　　A. quite often 　　　　　　B. on large farms

　　C. only in winter　　　　　D. when the air is calm

　　58. It is a known fact that ________.

　　A. one should watch where one steps

　　B. Bill Tapp is a scientist who studies farming

　　C. the natural world can never create waterfalls that fall upward

　　D. the seasons in the southern part are different from those in the northern part

　　59. The word “infinite” is closest in meaning to _________.

　　A. easy 　　　B. difficult 　　　C. countless 　　　D. dangerous

C
　　The curtain on the 2008 US presidential election finally rose last month as Requblican Senator(参议员) John McCain and Democratic Senator Barack Obama were formally selected as candidates of the two major parties.This may be one of the hardest decisions voters have to make between two appealing candidates.The big question for voters,as they face both an economic downturn and international threats,is :who will they elect? A young first - term senator promising change and new ideas,or a longtime senator with strong military experience and a reputation as a maverick(特立独行的人)？
　　American voters have never seen a candidate quite like Obama.He has a white mother from the US and a black fater from Kenya who left the family when Obama was very young.He spent part of his youth in Indonesia.
　　However,McCain has a very different life story.
　　He grew up in a Navy family and was a daring pilot during the Vietnam War in the 1960s. When Obama was in kindergarten in Indonesia,McCain's plane was shot down over Ietenam and he became a prisoner of war.McCain could have been set free if he disowned America but he refused and so was held for five years.
　　"We need a president who is very,very old,"McCain joked at his age as many others do.If elected,he would be 72 when he takes office and the oldest man to step in.
　　So in the end,the election may depend on several factors that are hard to judge:Will Obama's race matter to a significant number of voters ? Will workingclass whites who tended to support his primary (党内初选) oponent,Hillary Clinton,vote for Obama? And perhaps most important of all,will uncertain voters be more attracted to Obama's vision or to McCain's experience?
　　Whatever happens,one thing is clear,however:Whoever walks into the White House on January 20,2009,will find huge challenges waiting for him in the Oval Office,both at home and abroad.
　　64.______makes the result of the election hard to predict.
　　　A.Whether working class whites care about Obama's inexperience
　　　B.The economic trouble the country now faces
　　　C.Who uncertain voters will finally decide to vote for
　　　D.McCain being too old to govern the country
　　65.The appeal in Obama as a presidential candidate lies in _________
　　　A.his multi - cultural background
　　　B.his belife in tradition
　　　C.his inexperience in politics
　　　D.his fantastic promises
　　66.The word "disown" in Paragraph 6 means closest to ______.
　　　A.flee from
　　　B.turn his back on
　　　C.not keep it private
　　　D.expose secrets about
　　67.The challenges that will face the new preident______.
　　　A.are not mentioned in the text
　　　B.include buklding a strong party and a friendly image
　　　C.refer to the problems of immigrants and economy
　　　D.refer to the problems of economy amd international relations

51---------

Successful people are nicer to those who are jealous of them, psychologists have found.

　　　The fear that they may become the target of malicious（恶意的）envy makes people act more helpfully toward people who they think might be jealous of them.

　　　Previous research found jealousy could be divided into benign and malicious envy. Those with benign envy were motivated to improve themselves, to do better so they could be more like the person they envied.52--------　The Dutch researchers then set out to question the effect on the target of the envy.

      In lab experiments a group of people were made to feel like they would be maliciously envied by being told they would receive an award of five euros（欧元）53-------The researchers thought that the deserved prize would lead to benign envy, while the undeserved prize would lead to malicious envy.

　　　Then the volunteer was asked to give time-consuming advice to a potentially envious person.People who had reason to think they would be the target of malicious envy were more likely to take the time to give advice than targets of benign envy.

　　　In another experiment, an experimenter dropped a number of erasers on the floor as the volunteer was leaving.54--------　He said: 'This sort of serves a useful group function. We all think better-off people should share with others but that's not something we are inclined to do when we are better off..55----------　　

A. Those who thought they would be maliciously envied were more likely to help him pick them up.

    B. Helping others is a virtue.

C. However those with malicious envy wanted to bring the more successful person down.

    D. Malicious envy. is terrible.

E. This fear of envy can encourage us to behave in ways that improve the social interactions of the group.'

　　F. People are more likely to help others if they think they are envious of them.

G.. Sometimes the prize was deserved and was based on the score they were told they had earned on a quiz. But sometimes it was not based on their score at all.

The Fourth “21st Century Cup” National English Speaking Competition is to be held in Shanghai.

　　Organizers: China Daily and Shanghai Broadcasting Network.

　　Co-ordinater: China University English Speaking Association （CUESA）.

　　Co-sponsors（联办单位）: English Speaking Union （ESU）, Lotus Software （China）Co. Ltd., Times Publishing Group of Singapore, Hilton Shanghai, Pearson Education, Foreign Language Teaching & Research Press.

　　Date: March 26（Friday）, 1999.

　　Place: Hilton Shanghai.

　　Competition Format （形式）: Each student will present a prepared speech on the given topic, followed by a three -minute off - hand speech and a three - minute question and answer period with the judges.

　　Prepared speech period: six minutes.

　　Q & A period: three minutes.

　　Speech topic: People and Nature: In search of harmony （和谐）in a new age ＋ your personal opinion. （Topics for the off-hand speech will be given on the day of competition）.

　　Prizes: Besides books and certificates （证书）, the top two winners will be offered scholarships（奖学金） to travel to the annual international English -speaking competition which will be held by the English Speaking Union in London in May, 1999. The third and fourth place winners will be offered a study trip to Singapore, sponsored by the Times Publishing Group. The fifth through 10th place winners will be offered cash prizes. All the competitors will receive certificates from the English Speaking Union and book prizes provided by Pearson Education and Foreign Language Teaching & Research Press. The teachers of the top winners will also receive a one - year membership to the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language（IATEFL）

1.The main purpose of this passage is ________.

　　A. to invite you to take part in the competition

　　B. to tell you some information about the competition

　　C. to help to improve your spoken English

　　D. to show you how to win the competition

2.Which of the following is NOT mentioned about the Shanghai English Speaking Competition?________.

　　A. Where and when it will take place.

　　B. Its programs.

　　C. What each winner will be offered.

　　D. The number of its competitors.

3.Suppose you get the sixth place, you’ll________ .

　　A. travel to London for free.

　　B. become a one - year member of IATEFL

　　C. get some money, some books and a certificate

　　D. get a chance to study in Singapore

4. An “off- hand speech” is________.

　　A. a speech not longer than three minutes

　　B. a speech without preparation

　　C. a speech with a piece of paper in hand

D. a speech which is well prepared