Juanito Estrella has been a housekeeping manager on the US-based large passenger ship Carnival Spirit for 18 months and feels he has found the suitable position in his career（职业）．He has always wanted to travel.“I guess I am a really restless spirit. I like traveling, so when the chance came, I jumped at it,”he says.
The chance came in the form of a newspaper advertisement for work on cruise ships（游船）．At the time Estrella was the housekeeping manager at a Melbourne hotel. He applied and, after two interviews，a medical check and police clearance，the job was his.
Estrella is responsible（负责的）for the cleanliness of the ship, making sure that 160 crew work properly. "I enjoy it because there is no other work--you wake up each day in a different place and a different culture. It's exciting when you go to the next country and you don't understand the language，”he says.
Estrella likes being busy and getting to know people from all over the world. The 1,000 crew come from 94 countries, and Estrella has learnt Spanish and a little Croatian.
But there is a downside. “You cannot get really drunk... because you have safety responsibilities to yourself and others，”he says. "You don't really think about home. You start to-think about home only when you get closer to your vacation and wonder what you'll be doing.”
Life on the ship is anything but cruising. Estrella and his fellows work at least 10 hours a day，seven days a week. He warns the job is not for everybody. “You have to love being busy and be prepared to work every day--and to give up drinking too much alcohol.”In his spare time，if the ship sails into a port, Estrella explores it, otherwise he works out in the crew's gym，goes on the internet or calls home.
1.What do we know about Estrella?
A. He is very fond of traveling.
B. He doesn't drink wine now.
C. He cannot speak a foreign language.
D. He used to be a housekeeping manager.
2.The underlined word "downside" in paragraph 5 probably means＿.
A. disappointment B. disadvantage C. failure D. loss
3.Which of the following is true?
A. Estrella doesn't often feel homesick because of his work.
B. The work on the ship is not suitable for a married person.
C. Estrella can find no other job except the one on the ship.
D. The people on the ship are from 94 countries.
4.In the last paragraph, the writer thinks that life on the ship is＿．
A. not a tiring journey at all B. just an interesting voyage
C. far from a voyage for pleasure D. more than a pleasant travel by sea
Welcome to Ontario Parks，a new body set up to manage Ontario's most treasured special places, the parks in our area.
We are entering a very exciting year for Ontario Parks. Last season we asked some 15，000visitors in 45 parks how we could improve our programs and services. We also looked at the thousands of comment cards we received. As a result, new comfort stations have been added，the number of campsites has been increased, and we've made other facility（设施）improvements. In addition，we'll be providing more educational programs. This year, for example, more than 40parks will offer special day and evening activities to excite your curiosity about nature and history.
Through the Internet, you'll be happy to know that you can now explore all 270 parks on line. Let your family plan your park vacation, study a map of canoe routes, listen to the call of a loon or find up-to-date information about programs，services and facilities.
So come and discover what Ontario Parks has to offer. Our parks are places to go with families and friends，for relaxation and fun，or simply to get away from it all. They are places where we can enrich our souls and "recharge our internal（内部的）batteries". They provide chances to explore nature，see wildlife, swim, canoe，camp, hike, picnic，ride a bike.…You'll enjoy some of the best outdoor experiences available anywhere in the world.
We urge you to make 2006 the year that you come out and have an Ontario Parks experience!
1.The writer's purpose in writing the text is to _______．
A. tell more people the improvements in Ontario Parks
B. attract more people to explore the parks on line
C. praise the beauty of nature in Ontario Parks
D. have more people visit the parks
2.The facility improvements of Ontario Parks include＿．
A. new programs and services
B. new comfort stations and campsites
C. comfort stations and special activities
D. new campsites and educational programs
3.From paragraph 4，we know that Ontario Parks offers visitors＿．
A. the world's new sports and games
B. the most exciting adventures in the world
C. many choices to relax and refresh themselves
D. chances to experience all the outdoor activities
4.According to the text, we can safely say that＿．
A. some visitors suggested more campsites
B. about 15,000 people visited 45 parks last season
C. many more people will visit Ontario Parks in 2006
D. the manager of Ontario Parks worries they will have fewer visitors
I was the middle child of three，but there was a gap of five years on either side，and I hardly saw my father before I was eight. For this and other reasons I was somewhat lonely. I had the lonely child's habit of making up stories and holding conversations with imaginary persons，and I think from the very start my literary ambitions（文学志向）were mixed up with the feeling of being isolated（孤独）and undervalued. I knew that I had a natural ability with words and a power of facing unpleasant facts，and I felt that this created a sort of private world in which I could get my own back for my failure in everyday life.
However, the quantity of serious writing which I produced all through my childhood would not add up to half a dozen pages. I wrote my first poem at the age of four or five，my mother taking it down to dictation. I cannot remember anything about it except that it was about a tiger and the tiger had "chair-like teeth”--a good enough expression. At eleven，when the war of 1914-18 broke out, I wrote a poem which was printed in the local（地方的）newspaper, as was another, two years later, on the death of Kitchener. From time to time, when I was a bit older, I wrote bad and usually unfinished "nature poems". I also, about twice，attempted a short story which was a failure. That was the total of the would-be serious work that I actually set down on paper during all those years.
1.The underlined word“it" in paragraph 2 refers to_____.
A. the quantity of serious writing B. the writer's first poem
C. the writer's childhood D. the tiger in the poem
2.From the text, we learn that as a little boy the writer＿．
A. had no playmates
B. showed his gift for writing
C. put out lots of poems and stories
D. got his first poem published in 1916.
3.What can be inferred about the writer?
A. He was least favoured in his family.
B. He had much difficulty in talking with others.
C. He had an unhappy childhood for lack of care.
D. His loneliness resulted in his interest in writing.
阅读下面短文，从短文后所给的四个选项（A,B,C和D）中，选出可以填人空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
One day, Raul was miles away from the small ranch（牧场） house in a large valley. 1seemed to be all right, yet he felt strange and somewhat uneasy. The wind had picked up, and angry, dark clouds 2across the sky. He could smell the rain coming. And it did. 3, the lightning flashed through the clouds, nearly 4Raul. The thunder（雷声） was so loud that he buried his 5in his hands and rubbed his eyes. Then he
heard it. Hoofbeats（蹄声）. He 6. There before him stood a tall, white 7. An old man stared down at him from its back.
“Wh-Wh-Who are y-y-you?” asked Raul. “My name is Gray Cloud,” the old man answered 8. “Come with me.”
Raul followed on his horse. A 9feeling came over him. All 10them the rain was pouring down, 11not a drop fell on them. They seemed to be 12back toward Raul’s home. Raul lost track of time. Then all at once he found 13at the ranch gate. The old man turned his horse, 14his hand, and smiled. Lightning flashed again. The old man and his horse were 15.
Raul’s father ran out across the yard to 16him. “We have been 17sick about you. Are you okay? Hurry. Let’s get in out of the 18.”
“Wait,” said Raul. “have you ever heard of an old man called Gray Cloud?”
“Can’t say I … wait. I 19my great-grandfather used to tell stories about a man called Gray Cloud. He died a long time ago. They say he was 20by lightning during a terrible thunderstorm. Why do you ask?”
1.A. Something B. Everything C. Anything D. Nothing
2.A. dropped B. fell C. rolled D. covered
3.A. Suddenly B. Strongly C. Quickly D. Hardly
4.A. beating B. blinding C. burning D. touching
5.A. nose B. hair C. neck D. head
6.A. looked up B. woke up C. lay down D. sat down
7.A. tiger B. horse C. lion D. elephant
8.A. lazily B. angrily C. coldly D. slowly
9.A. natural B. common C. strange D. bad
10.A. around B. beside C. through D. above
11.A. yet B. for C. so D. or
12.A. walking B. leading C. heading D. returning
13.A. them B. themselves C. him D. himself
14.A. shook B. waved C. held D. took
15.A. gone B. left C. followed D. lost
16.A. see B. meet C. beat D. ask
17.A. waited B. thought C. worried D. excited
18.A. yard B. wind C. grass D. rain
19.A. believe B. consider C. doubt D. forget
20.A. defeated B. caught C. damaged D. struck
---Why didn't you tell him about the meeting?
---He rushed out of the room ______ I could say a word.
A. before B. until C. when D. after
---Do you mind my smoking here?
---- ___________
A. No, thanks. B. No. Good idea.
C. Yes, please. D. Yes. Better not.
