July 21^st, 2007 was a typical English summer’s day – it rained for 24 hours! As usual, I rushed home from work at midday to check on the house. Nothing was amiss. By the time I left work at 5 pm, however, the road into our village was flooded （淹没的）. Our house had never been flooded but, as I opened the front door, a wave of water greeted me. Thank God the kids weren’t with me, because the house was 5 feet deep in water. We lost everything downstairs. And the plaster had to be torn off the walls, ceilings pulled down.

At first we tried to push on through. We didn’t want to move the children out of home. So we camped upstairs. We put a sheet of plastic across the floor to protect us from being wet. But after three months, we felt very sick, so we moved to a wooden house in a park. The house was small, but at first we were all just happy to be in a new place. Unluckily, things took longer than expected. What surprised me most was how much I missed being part of a community （社区）. We had lived in a friendly village with good neighbours, and I’d never thought how much I’d miss that. Although our situation was very bad, it’s difficult to feel too sorry for yourself when you look at what’s happening elsewhere.

We moved back home in August. With December coming, there’s reconstruction（重建）work to be done, so it’s difficult to prepare for Christmas. But I can’t wait- I’m going to throw a party for our friends in the village to say thanks for their support. This year, I won’t need any gifts-living away from home for months has made me realize how little we actually need or miss all the things we have. Although we are replacing things, there’s really no rush-we have our home back, and that’s the main thing.

53 What does the underlined word “amiss” in Paragraph I mean?

A. Wrong.                    B. Missing.                   C. Right.               D. Normal.

54. We can learn from the passage that the family _____.

A. was sick of staying downstairs

B. stayed away for nearly 10 months

C. was happy to live in the wooden house

D. did not deal well with the trouble during the flood

55. What does the writer mainly want to express by telling her story?

A. She valued human feelings more than before.

B. She realized she almost didn’t need anything.

C. She found Christmas gifts could be replaced easily.

D. She thought her own home was the most important.

The following is part of Maria's diaries（日记）about her holiday．

The 3rd Day   Yesterday we arrived in London in the rain．We went to some famous shops．

The 4th Day         We came to Paris．The day was cloudy and the food wasn't good．We enjoyed the shops in Paris，hut the things were expensive．

The 5th Day         We got to Rome（罗马）in the hot weather．We had lunch in a cheap restaurant，but the food was excellent．The shops we visited were all wonderful．

The 6th Day         We arrived in New York and the shops were the most expensive．But we liked the warm weather in New York．

The 7th Day   Today we visited New York city．The weather，was still fine．We'll go back home tomorrow after a week's holiday．

1．How many days did Maria spend on her holiday?

A．Three．            B．Five．             C．Seven．

2．In every city，Maria always visited _________．

A．shops                B．museums                C．restaurants

3．Maria liked the food in _________．

A．New York        B．Rome             C．Paris

4．From the diary we can see that Maria visited _________ cities．

A．four              B．five               C．six

5．Which of the following cities had the best weather?

A．London．          B．Rome．             C．New York．

This morning, I went camping along a path in Green Natural Park with my friends. We were happy because it was a sunny day. We were expecting an enjoyable two-day holiday. On the way, we kept singing and making jokes.

However, in the afternoon, when we finished our picnic at one o’clock, it was dark and windy. Soon, there was a shower. Unluckily, none of us brought an umbrella. We ran about but we could find no place to hide.

Twenty minutes passed and it was still raining. There were hours to go before we reached the campsite (野营地). It was even worse that our small compass (指南针) showed that we went to the wrong way. We had lost our way!

We had to make a quick decision as it was raining heavily. Chris said we could set up a tent to hide in, so Mary and Tom helped to set up the tent. Chris and I tried to make a fire to keep us warm. But we were unable to light the fire, as everything was wet. We dried ourselves, chatted and waited inside the tent. At about five o’clock, it stopped raining. We decided to give up the camping trip because all of us had been very tired.

This camping trip may not be very successful but we know each other better. And the most important thing I’ve learned from this trip is the importance of team spirit.

1.The writer with his friends went camping in Green Natural Park ______.

A．to have a picnic                         B．to have a shower

C．to enjoy a two-day holiday                 D．to make jokes

2.The writer thought it even worse that they ______.

A．had no picnic                          B．lost their way

C．couldn’t light the fire                   D．couldn’t know each other

3.Which of the following is NOT true？

A．It was sunny in the morning.               B．None of them had an umbrella.

C．They gave up the camping at last.           D．They ran about to dry themselves.

4.The writer has learned the importance of ______ from the trip.

A．making a decision                       B．working together

C．enjoying holidays                       D．taking a compass

In the morning , we went camping in Green Nature Park. We were happy because it was a sunny day. However, in the afternoon , when we finished our picnic(野餐), it was dark and windy. Soon ,there was a shower. Unluckily, none of us brought an umbrella. We ran about but we could find no place to hide(藏身).
Twenty minutes passed and it was still raining .There were hours to go before we reached the campsite(野营地). It was even worse that our compass showed that we went to the wrong way. We had lost our way!
We had to make a quick decision as it was raining heavily. Chris said we could set up a tent(帐篷) to hide in, so Mary and Tom helped to set up it . Chris and I tried to make a fire to keep up warm. But we couldn’t as everything was wet. We dried ourselves and waited inside the tent. At about five o’clock , it stopped raining. We decided to give up the camping trip because all of us were tired.
This camping trip may not be successful but we know each other better. And the most important thing I’ve learned from this trip is the importance of team spirit(精神).
【小题1】It was even worse that they _____.