It was a winter morning, just a couple of weeks before Christmas 2005. While most people were warming up their cars, Trevor, my husband, had to get up early to ride his bike four kilometers away from home to work. On his arrival, he parked his bike outside the back door as he usually does. After putting in 10 hours of labor, he returned to find his bike gone.
The bike, a black Kona 18 speed, was our only transport. Trevor used it to get to work, putting in 60-hour weeks to support his young family. And the bike was also used to get groceries（食品杂货），saving us from having to walk long distances from where we live.
I was so sad that someone would steal our bike that I wrote to the newspaper and told them our story. Shortly after that, several people in our area offered to help. One wonderful stranger even bought a bike, then called my husband to pick it up. Once again my husband had a way to get to and from his job. It really is an honor that a complete stranger would go out of their way for someone they have never met before.
People say that a smile can be passed from one person to another, but acts of kindness from strangers are even more so. This experience has had a spreading effect in our lives because it strengthened our faith in humanity（人性）as a whole. And it has influenced（影响）us to be more mindful of ways we, too, can share with others. No matter how big or how small, an act of kindness shows that someone cares. And the results can be everlasting(持久的，永久的).
52. Why was the bike so important to the couple?
A. The man’s job was bike racing. B. It was their only possession(财产).
C. It was a nice Kona 18 speed. D. They used it for work and daily life.
53. We can infer from the text that ____________.
A. the couple worked 60 hours a week. B. people were busy before Christmas
C. a wonderful stranger bought a bike. D. life was hard for the young family.
54. How did people get to know the couple’s problem?
A. From radio broadcasts. B. From a newspaper.
C. From TV news. D. From a stranger.
55. What do the couple learn from their experience?
A. Strangers are usually of little help. B. One should take care of their bike.
C. News reports make people famous. D. An act of kindness can mean a lot.
In the sea, there are many islands. In its warm waters there are some little ones. We call them "Coral Islands".
A coral island is very nice to look at. It looks like a ring of land with trees, grass and flowers on it.
One part of the ring is open to the water. There is a little round lake inside the island. If you look into this lake, you'll see beautiful coral. You may think they are flowers. If you look at a piece of coral, you'll see thousands of little holes in it. In each of those holes, a very small sea animal has lived. These sea animals make the coral.
They began to build under the water. Year after year, the coral grew higher and higher. At last it grew out of the water. Then the sea brought to it small trees and other things. After some years, these things changed into earth. Sometimes the wind brought seeds to the earth. Sometimes birds flew over it and brought seeds to the island. The little seeds grew. In a few years, there were plants all over the islands. In a few more years there were trees growing there.
So you see, these islands were built little by little. The workers were very small. Don't they teach us a lesson? What do you know the lesson is?
48. What does a coral island look like? It looks like ________.
A. a desert B. a ring of land
C. trees, grass and flowers D. a colourful lake
49. There are sea animals living in the holes of the coral.
A. thousands of B. 1,000
C. quite a few D. only one
50. ________ in the sea.
A. We can see many flowers B. There are lots of big trees
C. There are some coral islands D. The water is always warm
51. How were seeds of trees, grass and flowers mainly brought to the coral islands?
A. Fishes brought them there. B. The water brought them there.
C. People brought them there. D. None of the above.
四、阅读理解（15小题，计30分）
There are probably no other two museums in the world that share such a similar name. In Chinese, they are both called Gugong. In English, the one in Taipei is named the "National Palace Museum". The other one is in Chinese mainland--the Palace Museum standing inside the Forbidden City (紫禁城) in Beijing.
The name suggests the two museums are connected, and soon they may be. The "National Palace Museum" has a collection of more than 650,000 pieces of ancient Chinese artwork, making it one of the largest in the world. Most of the collection is made up of high quality art collected by China's ancient emperors.
After years of waiting, people from the Chinese mainland could soon get a look at the relics (文物)that were once housed in Beijing' s Palace Museum.
In late February, the mainland agreed to lend 29 Qing Dynasty relics from the Palace Museum to Taiwan to display in October. They hope the favor will be returned. It is reported that the second half of the swap(交换)might happen within the next three to five years.
Chinese citizens are already drawing up lists of relics they'd most like to see in a mainland exhibition. These include the jade cabbage(翡翠玉白菜), the Dongpo look-alike stone(东坡肉形石)and the other half of the Song Dynasty painting Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival. Half of it has hung in Taipei since 1949; the other half can be seen in Beijing.
45. Which is right about the "National Palace Museum"?
A. The "National Palace Museum" stands inside the Forbidden City in Beijing.
B. It is the largest museum in the world.
C. All the collection in it is made up of high quality art collected by China's ancient emperors.
D. There is the jade cabbage and the Dongpo look-alike stone in it.
46. The underlined sentence "They hope the favor will be returned. "means ________.
A. it's hoped that Taiwan will have some of its relics appear in a mainland exhibition
B. they hope Taiwan will return their favourite relics
C. the mainland hope some relics once housed in Beijing' s Palace Museum will be returned
D. it's hoped that the "National Palace Museum" and the Palace Museum will become one
47. According to the passage, which is right about the painting Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival ?
A. It was painted in Qing Dynasty.
B. In 1949 the whole painting once hung in Taipei.
C. The two halves of the painting were not drawn by the same person.
D. It's likely that half of the painting hanging in Taipei was once housed in Beijing's Palace Museum.
三、完形填空（15小题，计15分）
Once there lived in Egypt a famous philosopher(哲学家) named Zun-Nun. One day a young man came to visit him and asked ___30___, “Please, sir, why are great people like you dressed in such a way?”
___31____ his ring to the man, the philosopher said, “I will answer your question, ___32____ first you must take this ring to the ____33___ and sell it for one gold coin.”
Looking at the dirty ring, the young man replied ____34___, “One gold coin? Could this ring be sold at that ___35____?” Then he went to the market. He ____36___ the ring to the vegetable, meat, fish traders, and others. The fact was that no one was willing to ____37____ a gold coin. He went back and said ___38____ to Zun-Nun, “I didn’t manage to sell it. They all thought a gold coin was too ___39____ a price for such an ugly ring.” With a smile, Zun-Nun said, “Now go ___40____ the gold shop at the back of this street, and show ____41____ to the owner. Don’t give your price; just wait and let him tell you ___42____ he would like to pay.”
The youny man went to the shop, returned and reported, “The traders in the market don’t know the ____43___ of this ring. The gold trader said he would pay one thousand gold coins for it.”
“That’s the answer to your question, my young friend. A person cannot be valued only from his ____44____.” Zun-Nun said gently.
30. A. foolishly B. Coldly C. proudly D. politely
31. A. Handing B. Turning C. Joining D. Selling
32. A. for B. so C. but D. or
33. A. theatre B. restaurant C. market D. school
34. A. with joy B. for sure C. by mistake D. in surprise
35. A. price B. table C. farm D. house
36. A. added B. returned C. showed D. Reported
37. A. pay B. make C. save D. get
38. A. good-bye B. sorry C. yes D. cheers
39. A. short B. long C. Low D. high
40. A. through B. to C. out of D. away from
41. A. you B. him C. it D. them
42. A. how many B. how much C. how often D. how far
43. A. shape B. value C. design D. size
44. A. words B. coins C. ring D. dress
--Shall we go to visit Uncle Lee this weekend?
--_________. I wonder whether I will be free that day.
A. It doesn’t matter B. It all depends
C. I’m afraid we should D. I don’t mind
No one is allowed ______ in the classroom.
A. smoking B. smoke C. smoked D. to smoke
