I am beginning to wonder whether my grandmother isn’t right when she complains, as she frequently does, that children nowadays aren’t as well-behaved as they used to be. Whenever she gets the opportunity, she recounts in detail how she used to be told to respect the elders and betters. She was taught to speak only when she was spoken to, and when she went out on her own, she was reminded to say 'please' and 'thank you'. Children in her day, she continues, were expected to be seen and not heard, but these days you are lucky if you ever hear parents telling their children to mind their p’s and q’s.

       If you give her the chance, she then takes out of her drawer the old photograph album which she keeps there, and which she never tires of displaying. Of course when you look at pictures of her parents, you feel sure that, with a father as stern-looking as that, you too would have been "seen and not heard". He had a lot of neatly cut hair, long side-whiskers and a big moustache. In the photographs, he is always clutching (抓住) his coat with one hand, while in the other he holds a thin walking stick. Beside him sits his wife, with their children around her: Granny and her elder brothers. It always occurs to me that perhaps those long, stiff, black clothes were so clumsy to a little girl, that she hadn’t enough breath left to be talkative, let alone mischievous (淘气的). It must have been a dull and lonely life too, for she stayed mainly at home during her childhood, while her brothers were sent away to school from an early age. Despite their long black shorts and their serious expressions in the photographs, I always suspect that their lives were considerably more enjoyable than hers. One can imagine them telling each other to shut up or mind their own business, as soon as their parents were out of sight.

       Going to see Granny on Sundays used to be a terrible experience. We would always be warned in advance to be on our best behavior, since my mother made a great effort to show how well brought up we were, in spite of our old, comfortable clothes, our incomprehensible (to Granny) slang, and our noisy games in the garden. We had to change into what Granny described as our "Sundays best" for lunch, when we would sit uncomfortably, kicking each other under the table. We were continually being ordered to sit up straight, to take our elbows off the table, to wait till everybody had been served, not to wolf down our food, nor to talk with our mouths full. At length we would be told to ask to be excused from the table and ordered to find quiet occupations for the rest of the day. We were always very bad-tempered by the evening, and would complain angrily all the way home.

       Yet though we hated the Sunday visit, we never questioned the rules of good manners themselves. I remember being greatly shocked as a child to hear one of my friends telling her father to shut up. I knew I could never have spoken like that to my father and it would never have occurred to me to do so.

       However, my childhood was much freer than Granny’s. I went to school with my brother and I played football with him and his friends. We all spoke a common language, and we got up to the same mischief. I would have died if I had had to stay indoors, wear a tight dress, and sew.

       But I do sometimes look wistfully (惆怅地) at an old sampler which hangs in the hall, which was embroidered (刺绣) by an even more distant relative—my great-great-aunt, of whom, regrettably, no photograph remains. It was done as an example of her progress in learning. The alphabet is carefully sewn in large colored childish letters from A to Z, and below it a small verse reads:

                     Mary Saunders is my name,

                     And with my needle I worked the same,

                     That by it you may plainly see

                     What care my parents have for me.

       It must have taken that little five-year-old months and months of laborious sewing, but, in a circle in a bottom corner of the sampler, there is a line: "Be Ever Happy".

50. The writer’s grandmother will complain that ______.

  A. children used to be mischievous

  B. children behave worse than they did in the past

  C. children are often reminded of what to do

  D. children are very badly behaved

51.Visiting Granny on Sundays was a terrible experience because ______.

  A. the writer was not so well raised as she was required to pretend

  B. Granny continually warned the writer to be on her best behavior

  C. Granny was always describing the writer’s "Sunday best"

  D. the writer was always blamed for not behaving well

52. From Paragraph 4, we can infer that the writer ______.

  A. seldom spoke to her father in the way her friend did

  B. was never questioned about the rules of good manners

  C. never doubted the value of the strict rules at that time

  D. was worried that her friend’s father would be shocked

53. The writer looked wistfully at the sampler, because______.

  A. it was embroidered by a relative.

  B. she wished she could sew herself.

  C. it called to mind the values of good old days.

  D. she had no photographs of Mary Saunders.

54. By sewing "Be Ever Happy" in the sampler, Mary Saunders ______. 

  A. suggested she was unhappy then

  B. indicated happiness was hard to gain

  C. expected we would find happiness in sewing

  D. hoped happiness would be everlasting

Interview with God

I dreamed I had an interview with God. “So you would like to interview me?” God asked. “If you have the time,” I said. “My time is eternity （永恒的）.” God smiled, “What questions do you have in mind for me?” “What surprises you most about humankind?” God answered, “That they get bored with childhood, they rush to grow up, and then long to be children again. That they lose their health to make money... and then lose their money to restore their health. That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such that they live in neither the present nor the future. That they live as if they will never die, and die as though they had never lived.” God’s hand took mine and we were silent for a while. And then I asked, “As a parent,  what are some of life’s lessons you want your children to learn?” “To learn they cannot make anyone love them. All they can do is to let themselves be loved. To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others. To learn to forgive by practicing forgiveness. To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in those they love, and it can take many years to heal them. To learn that a rich person is not one who has the most, but is one who needs the least. To learn that there are people who love them dearly, but simply have not yet learned how to express or show their feelings. To learn that two people can look at the same thing and see it differently. To learn that it is not enough that they forgive one another, but they must also forgive themselves.” “Thank you for your time,” I said humbly. “Is there anything else you would like your children to know?” God smiled and said; “Just know that I am here always.”

56. In answering how many questions did God give “me” his opinion?

A. One.                            B. Two.                        C. Three.                      D. Four.

57. To God’s eye, a rich man is one who _________.

A. lives a simple life                                       B. is content with little

C. doesn’t want to be rich                              D. gives others a lot

58. Which of the following is best supported by the text?

A. God does exist in the world.

B. He who loves others is sure to be loved by others.

C. When one makes a mistake, he should try to find an excuse to forgive himself.

D. It is easier to lose a friend than to make a friend.

59. The author wrote the passage to _________.

A. invite people to believe in God

B. present people’s wrong attitudes to life and give advice on how to live happily

C. show what is important in life

D. give God’s opinions of humankind and lessons God wants us to learn

How can you make a million dollars in one month? I’m sure I am going to get the   1.  of many readers with this question. The    2.   news is that you are not going to make a million dollars in one month    3.   you win the lottery (彩票) or some prize.

We all want to be millionaires. However, if you try to find out how they become   4.  rich, you will learn that they worked very    5.  for the money. That is what most   6.  have had to do, including Bill Gates and Andrew Carnegie, and they often went   7.  hardships before they succeeded    8.   .

There are many reasons why the millionaires have made it   9.    for themselves. In this article, I am going to    10. passion (热情) which I think is the most    11.   quality to have in order to succeed. I am sure that if one was to   12.   the people who made millions in their lifetime, this would be found in all of them.

Take J.K Rowling for    13.  . Her first Harry Potter was sent to twelve publishing houses, all of which    14.  to publish it. A year later, she was finally given the chance by a small    15. , which paid 15.000. and the  16. from that company was that she should get herself a job since she had little  17.   of making a living by writing children’s books. If you want to make a million dollars, find something that    18.   you really passionate (热情的) and work hard at it. It doesn’t    19.   what it is. Let me know how you    20.   ! 

21.               A．consideration    B．attention       C．surprise   D．happiness

22.               A．disappointing    B．surprising       C．good D．funny

23.               A．if             B．although        C．unless D．when

24.               A．such           B．too            C．this   D．that

25.               A．happily         B．hard           C．long D．less

26.               A．teachers        B．rich           C．millionaires D．poor

27.               A．through        B．back           C．on   D．under

28.               A．at first         B．at last          C．by chance D．on end

29.               A．happen        B．cause          C．change    D．rise

30.               A．refer to        B．object to        C．talk about D．agree with

31.               A．good           B．interesting      C．exciting   D．important

32.               A．discuss         B．like            C．study D．visit

33.               A．granted        B．experiment     C．example   D．experience

34.               A．refused        B．agreed         C．promised  D．loved

35.               A．school         B．factory         C．bank  D．publisher

36.               A．praise          B．word           C．comment  D．advice

37.               A．chance         B．time           C．dollar D．energy

38.               A．makes         B．matter         C．drives D．forces

39.               A．care           B．matter         C．work D．tell

40.               A．begin          B．finish          C．go   D．understand

When I lived in Guangzhou, I went to La Seine every month. Now I am in Shanghai, and I have discovered that there is also a fronchise(加盟店)here. But unfortunately, the Shanghai one is very far from the Guangzhou one in terms of quality and service. The personality of the chef is key, as it impresses its mark on the choice of wines, on the menu, and more importantly on the efficiency and the dedication of the staff.

The French chef, Nicolas Varnoux, previously his own boss in Paris, has been in Guangzhou for almost two years now. His passion for cooking finally led him to become the chef in La Seine, and he really manages his staff with a strong hand!

Decoration: Nothing extraordinary, a slight dark but cozy atmosphere, tables not too close to each other, a few boxes allowing for some intimacy.

Menu: Of course the menu is well packed, with dishes rooted in the French culinary(烹饪)tradition. The wine list includes a number of treasures, but it is possible to order wine by the glass.

An interesting thing about La Seine is that they hold a buffet(自助餐) every Saturday and Sunday noon. For 96 RMB, free access to a well-stocked buffet is granted. Various soups, salads, well-chosen main courses and tempting desserts are ideally suited for inviting Chinese friends to discover French cuisine(烹饪), without taking any risk as they will always find something they like. Tea or coffee is included in the buffet price.

In conclusion, I’m sure it’s a place you will want to visit again. Of course, having the chef as a friend helps, but he is such a great guy that it is easy to have a chat with him when he comes to the dining room to check if everything is okay. And he is always ready to share some little trick-of-the-trade.

53. The reason why the Shanghai one is not so good as the Guangdong one is that___________.

   A. the location of the Shanghai one is not satisfactory

   B. it doesn’t have a good chef to manage it well

   C. the price is high and the service is disappointing

   D. no buffet is provided on Saturday and Sunday

54. What is the meaning of the underlined word “cozy”?

   A. Comfortable    B. Friendly     C. Convenient     D. Traditional

55. From the passage we can infer that _____.

   A. the writer likes Guangzhou more than Shanghai

   B. the writer used to invite his Chinese friends to La Seine

   C. the buffet price is not as expensive as the writer expected

   D. the writer is fond of French food

56. From the description we can imagine the personality of the French chef is__________ .

   A. responsible     B. boastful     C. sweet-talking    D. ambitious

57. What is the writer’s conclusion in this passage?

   A. The Shanghai Franchise is inferior to the Guangzhou one

   B. it is of great help to often chat with the chef

   C. The La Seine restaurant in Guangzhou is worth many visits.

   D. The writer doesn’t like Chinese food at all.

Dear SJ，

    Losing a best friend is never easy．

    Your problem，SJ，is not just that you miss your best friend，it is that you feel empty and lost without her friendship．

    It takes time to get over a loss，and during that time，your mind is getting used to a new way of being．This is usually a good thing，even if it feels like a bad thing．

    Now that you are on your own，you are being forced to learn to be by yourself and to rely upon your own inner voice for guidance．I am sure that this feels strange for you，but if you can hang on for a bit，it may work to your advantage．

    Best friends are cool，but it is important to know the difference between missing someone and being too dependent upon them．

    At your age，girls do tend to stick together and having a boy friend may not yet be the better choice．Your friend is a little ahead of herself in leaving you，her best friend，for a boyfriend．Boyfriends are completely different from best friends；the distinction being that boyfriends come and go，while girl friends often stay in your life throughout high school，and even afterwards．It is a completely different sort of bond．

    I suggest that you take advantage of this period in your life to expand your horizons．Enjoy the freedom of having no best friend for a while，and hang with the group．By the time your former best friend breaks up with her boyfriend，you will be in a completely different place，a far better place；in your head that is．

    And，by the way，next time that you feel empty and lost，try to write about it in a diary or just simply on paper．In several months，you will look back and read it with curiosity about yourself．“       Who was I then．and what could I have been thinking?”

1．Judging from the letter, SJ’s problem was that she didn’t know_________．

    A．whether to give up her best friend   B．what to do without her best friend

    C．who to choose between two friends      D．how to stop missing her former friend

2．By“a new way of being”．the writer referred to the situation in which SJ had to_________．

    A．find a new friendship    B．live without a best friend

    C．learn to give up         D．be independent

3．When the writer said“your friend is a little ahead of herself’, she meant SJ’s friend_____________．

   A．was acting without thinking

B．was doing something she might regret later

C．was too young to fall in love

D．was unwise to leave SJ so soon

4．The writer believed SJ would _______by the time her former friend lost her boyfriend．

   A．grow physically stronger                    B．do better at school

   C．feel more independent and confident          D．win her best friend back

5．The last paragraph seems to suggest that_______________．

A．keeping a diary helps correct oneself 

B．SJ will get over her problem soon

   C．unhappy experiences are easy to forget

D．one shouldn’t forget the past experiences