One evening I went out and left my 17-year-old son in charge of his 8-year-old brother and 4-year-old sister．On this occasion, the work was made less troublesome by the presence of his girlfriend．I left with complete confidence that the older children would do a wonderful job of babysitting the younger children and the younger children would do a wonderful job of accompanying the older ones．Later, I discovered that complete confidence was the last thing I should have left home with.
I had decided to return home earlier than planned so that my son and his girlfriend could go out．I called home with this happy news．But instead of hearing his cheerful, grateful voice on the other end of the line, all I heard was the sound of a telephone ringing.
It was, I should point out, after 10 p.m., when the two younger children should have been in bed, and when the two older children should have been answering the phone．“I’ll give him a lesson,” I said．I decided they must be outside．Why they might be outside at 10:30 on a wintry night I had no idea, but it was the only explanation I could come up with.
Finally, in desperation, I called his girlfriend’s house．After what seemed like countless rings, his girlfriend answered．“Yes,” she said brightly, “He’s right here.”
He came on the phone．I was not my usual calm, rational self．After all, one of the rules of survival for modern parents is that you can’t trust modern teenagers．“Where are the children?” I said．He said they were with him．They had done nothing wrong．My son had taken the younger children over to his girlfriend’s house just for ice cream and cake．This was too good to be believed．Well, it turns out that I shouldn’t have believed it．It was only part of the truth.
The following Saturday evening we were at my parents’ home, celebrating my birthday．My oldest son gave me the children’s gifts．Mounted and framed were a series of lovely color photographs of my children, dressed in their best clothes, and wearing their most wonderful expressions. They are pictures to treasure a lifetime, all taken by the father of my son’s girlfriend.
1.The author went out and left her eldest son in charge of the younger children because _____ _.
A．she knew that his girlfriend was a good baby-sitter
B．she believed he could take good care of the younger ones with the help of his girlfriend
C．the older children have always loved the younger ones
D．she could not find a baby-sitter on that winter night
2.Shortly after the author left home one evening, she discovered that ______.
A．her son had brought his girlfriend home
B．her son had left home with his girlfriend
C．she shouldn’t have completely trusted her son
D．she should have taken the children along with her
3.The sentence “It was only part of the truth.” （Para．5） implies that the children not only enjoyed ice-cream but also ______.
A．had a birthday party B．framed some photographs
C．had their pictures taken D．showed off their best clothes
4.Which of the following possible titles best expresses the main idea of this passage?
A．An Evening Out B．Modern Teenagers
C．Mother and Children D．A Precious Birthday Gift
SYDNEY （AFP） Nick Bryant reports:
“It gives me great pleasure to introduce the new caretaker of the islands of the Great Barrier Reef, from the United Kingdom, Ben Southall.”
A global recruitment（招聘） drive with the trappings of a TV reality show made it truly a tourism marketing campaign．
The best job in the world’s competition finally has a winner, Ben Southall, a 34-year-old charity worker from Britain．He beat 34,000 candidates from 200 countries in an online competition that became something of an Internet phenomenon．
“To go away now as the island caretaker for Tourism Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef is an extreme honour．I hope I can fill the boots as much as everybody is expecting, my swimming hopefully is up to standard and I look forward to all of the new roles and responsibilities that the task involves.” [Ben Southall]
For a disappointing Australian tourism industry currently in the doldrums, this has been an unexpected encouragement．Tourism Queensland deliberately chose the middle of winter of the northern Hemisphere to launch the campaign back in January, but didn’t expect anywhere near the global response．They think the only countries where people didn’t visit their website were North Korea and a few African nations．
What’s said to be the best job in the world comes with a $110,000 （about 750,000 yuan） contract for six months’ work, a luxury beachside home and a plunge pool．
In return, the island caretaker will be expected to stroll the white sands, enjoy the sun, diving and taking care of the reef, “maybe clean the pool”-- and report to a global audience via weekly blogs, photo diaries and video updates.
For the losers meanwhile, there’s the worst of long journeys home.
1.Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A．The global recruitment mostly took place online．
B．Ben Southall got the job in January.
C．The recruitment started in winter in Australia．
D．The organizers knew the activity would attract attention from all over the world.
2.The caretaker of the islands is expected to be good at all the following EXCEPT ______.
A．swimming B．writing C．photographing D．acting
3.It can be inferred from the report that ______.
A．it’s the easiest job in the world
B．you need to surf the Internet regularly to know what Ben Southall is doing there
C．the organizers of the activity knew North Koreans would never be interested in the job
D．The journey home of the losers of the competition will be dangerous
4.The underlined word “doldrums” probably means ______ .
A．depression B．development C．recovery D．promotion
Centuries ago, many houses in a bad state in London were torn down to make way for new streets．However, the construction project was put off for quite some time, and the foundations of the houses pulled down were left in the open.
One day, a team of scientists arrived, only to discover that, on the patches of the foundations blocked from sunlight for years, was growing wild plants, dotted with little flowers．Puzzlingly, some species were native to Mediterranean countries only.
Most of the destroyed houses had been built during the Roman invasion．Weighed down by piles of bricks and stones year after year, the seeds possibly brought here in Roman times had almost no hope for survival．However, once bathed in the sun, they came alive.
The little seeds were so fragile yet so persevering．Though bricks piled on them many years, they still remained alive．Once exposed to sunshine and rain, they immediately exhibited signs of life．A little seed, lying underground for hundreds of years, still cherished the hope to live on．But what if a man is stuck in a similar situation?
One year, a British expedition was marching through the boundless Sahara sands．With the sun hanging overhead, hot waves of sandy winds were blowing against their faces like hot iron grains．The men were suffering both thirst and anxiety．The last drop of water was gone．Just then, the captain brought out a water bottle, saying, “There is still one bottle of water left．However, no one is to drink any before going out of the desert.”
The bottle of water lent them confidence to get through the desert, and embodied their hope to live on．It was handed down the line of people．This changed into firmness the despair registered on the men’s faces．Finally the men walked out of the desert, shaking off the threat of death．Tears out of joy welled out, and trembling hands were trying to screw off the bottle cap and let out the water, which had supported them spiritually．Now, however, it was sand pouring out—a bottleful of sand!
Was it a bottle of sand that rescued them from the burning sun and the boundless desert? No, it was their firm faith, like a seed that had taken root in their hearts and that finally let them out of the awful desert.
1.Centuries ago, a team of scientists arrived in London and discovered _____, which made them confused.
A．some wild plants
B．some foundations of many old houses
C．many houses in a poor state
D．some little seeds
2.When the British expedition were marching through the Sahara, _____.
A．they had one bottle of water left
B．they had the last drop of water
C．the weather was anything but tolerable
D．they experienced thirst, anxiety and hunger
3.The underlined sentence in Paragraph 6 probably means _____.
A．the bottle of water changed the firmness on the men’s face into despair
B．the bottle of water transformed the men’s desperation into confidence
C．feeling heavy made the men strong rather than weak
D．feeling heavy changed the men’s hope into disappointment
4.What lesson can we learn from the passage?
A．Telling a lie is sometimes necessary.
B．Man can overcome any difficulty whatever it is.
C．A man can do no more than he can.
D．Where there is a seed, there is hope.
阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
It was a winter morning, just a couple of weeks before Christmas．While most people were 1their cars, Trevor, my husband, had to 2early to ride his bike four kilometers away from home to work．On arrival, he 3his bike outside the back door as he usually does．After 410 hours of labor, he returned to find his bike 5.
The bike, a black Kona 18 speed, was our only tool．Trevor used it to get to 6, putting in 60-hour weeks to 7his young family．And the bike was also used to get groceries， 8us from having to walk long distances from where we live．
I was so 9that someone would steal our bike that I wrote to the newspaper and told them our story．Shortly after that, several people in our area 10to help．One wonderful stranger 11bought a bike, then called my husband to pick it up． 12my husband had a way to get to and from his job．It really is a（an） 13that a complete stranger would go out of their way for someone they have never met before．People say that a smile can be 14from one person to another, but acts of kindness from 15are even more so．This experience has had a spreading effect in our lives because it 16our faith in humanity as a whole．And it has 17us to be more mindful of ways that we, too, can 18with others．No matter how big or how small, an act of kindness shows that someone 19．And the results can be 20．
1.A．cooling down B．warming up C．speeding up D．slowing down
2.A．get up B．wake up C．turn up D．rise up
3.A．piled B．pushed C．parked D．paused
4.A．putting in B．putting on C．putting off D．putting away
5.A．broken B．robbed C．hidden D．gone
6.A．study B．shop C．work D．deliver
7.A．live B．support C．serve D．protect
8.A．getting B．protecting C．saving D．allowing
9.A．surprised B．thrilled C．puzzled D．sad
10.A．offered B．supported C．provided D．supplied
11.A．still B．finally C．even D．yet
12.A．Now and then B．Once in a while C．Once again D．Sooner or later
13.A．honor B．pity C．sympathy D．respect
14.A．thrown B．passed C．sent D．got
15.A．friends B．strangers C．relatives D．parents
16.A．weakened B．spread C．reduced D．strengthened
17.A．moved B．forced C．urged D．influenced
18.A．share B．connect C．deal D．work
19.A．likes B．cares C．worries D．wonders
20.A．short B．promising C．permanent D．temporary
Many of the scientists and engineers are judged how great their achievements are.
A．in spite of B．in ways of C．in favor of D．in terms of
We welcome rain, but a（an） large amount of rainfall will cause floods.
A．eventually B．extremely C．gradually D．constantly
