Hidden in our subconsciousness (潜意识) is a perfect mental picture. We see ourselves on a long trip that goes across the continent. We are traveling by train. Out the windows, we think in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways, of children waving at a crossing, of cattle feeding on a distant hillside, of smoke pouring from a power plant, or row upon row of corn and wheat, of flat lands and valleys, of mountains and rolling hills, of city skylines and village halls.
But uppermost in our minds is the final destination. On a certain day at a certain hour, we will pull into the station. Bands will be playing and flags waving. Once we get there, so many wonderful dreams will come true and the pieces of our lives will fit together like a completed jigsaw（拼图玩具） puzzle. How restlessly we pace the aisles(通道), condemning the minutes for loitering --waiting, waiting, waiting for the station.
“When we reach the station, that will be it!” we cry. “When I’m 38.” “When I buy a new 450SL Mercdes Benz!” “When I put the last kid through college.” “When I have paid off the!” “When I get a promotion.” “When I reach the age of retirement, I shall live happily ever after! ”
Sooner or later, we must realize there is no station, no one place to arrive at once and for all. The true joy of life is the trip. The station is only a dream. It constantly outdistances us.
“Relish(appreciate) the moment” is a good motto, actually it isn’t the burdens of today that drive man mad. It is the regret over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow. Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of today.
So stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles. Instead, climb more mountains, eat more ice cream, swim more rivers, watch more sunsets, laugh more and cry less. Life must be lived as we go along. Then the station will come soon enough.
1.Why does the author describe the mental picture?
A．To lead us into a perfect world. B．To let people enjoy the scenery.
C．To introduce an actual trip of his. D．To compare it to our life’s journey.
2.How do people feel when they’re on their trip?
A．Puzzled. B．Happy. C．Relaxed. D．Impatient.
3.What does the author mean by “Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of today” in Line 2 Paragraph 5?
A．Regret and fear are responsible for the loss of today.
B．We must be careful of the two thieves: regret and fear.
C．regret and fear stop us from enjoying our present life.
D．We’re frequently challenged by the two : regret and fear.
4.Why does the author write the passage?
A．To teach us a good lesson. B．To tell us the right attitude to life.
C．To advice us to forget our worries. D．To stop us wandering along the aisles.
This is time of year when we think about giving and receiving presents. Can you find a little extra to give? On this page we suggest a few organizations you might like to help.
Littleton Children’s Home
We don’t want your money, but children’s toys, books and clothes in good condition would be very welcome.
Also—we are looking for friendly families who would take our children into their homes for a few hours or days as guests. You have so much—will you share it?
Phone Sister Thomas on 55671.
Children’s Hospice
We look after a small number of very sick children. This important work needs skill and love. We cannot continue without gifts of money to pay for more nursing staff. We also need story books and toys suitable for quiet games.
Please contact The Secretary, Little Children’s Hospice, Newby Road.w.^w..c.#o@m
Street Food
In the winter weather, it’s no fun being homeless. It’s even worse if you’re hungry. We give hot food to at least fifty people every night. It’s hard work, but necessary. Can you come and help? If not, can you find a little money? We use a very old kitchen, and we urgently need some new saucepans. Money for new ones would be most welcome indeed.
Contact Street Food, c/o Mary’s House, Elming Way, Littleton. Phone 27713.
Littleton Youth Club
Have you got an unwanted chair?—a record player?—a pot of paint?
Because we can use them!
We want to get to work on our meeting room!
Please phone 66231 and we’ll be happy to collect anything you can give us.
Thank you!
The Night Shelter
We offer a warm bed for the night to anyone who has nowhere to go. We rent the former Commercial Hotel on Green Street. Although it is not expensive, we never seem to have quite enough money. Can you let us have a few pounds? Any amount, however small, will be such a help.
Send it to us at 15, Green St, Littleton. Please make check payable to Night Shelter.
1.Reading the passage, you might like to help these organizations which work for
A．homeless and sick children
B．less fortunate members of our society
C．hungry people who have no beds to sleep in
D．friendly members of our society to help others
2.If you like children and can offer a happy family to a homeless child, you may go to .
A．Street Food B．Night Shelter C．Children’s Home D．Children’s Hospice
3.We can infer that .
A．there are too many social problems in this country
B．people are very poor during the time for giving presents
C．warm-hearted people like to give away money
D．this passage is taken from a local newspaper
4.If your child has grown up, you may take the child’s things to .
A．Children’s Home and Children’s Hospice B．Youth Club and Children’s Home
C．Children’s Hospice and Night Shelter D．Youth Club and Night Shelter
Thousands of people began pouring into Pennsylvania from other states．They wanted to buy lottery tickets．The tickets cost only ﹩0．9 each．But that small spending could bring them a reward of ﹩90 million．That was the second largest lottery jackpot（积累奖金）in history．
More than 87 million tickets were bought for the Pennsylvania lottery drawing．Those who bought tickets had to choose seven numbers from 1 to 80．The chance of winning was one in 9．6 million．But that little chance certainly didn’t affect ticket sales．In the last few days before the drawing, tickets were selling at the unbelievable rate of 500 per second．
Experts say many people buy lottery tickets because they just want to have a piece of the action．Others say the lottery is a stock market for poor people．It allows them to dream about wealth they’ll probably never have．
But many people believe lotteries are no better than legalized（合法化的） gambling．Some critics note that most people who play are poor and may not be able to afford the tickets．There are also many addicts who take the game seriously．They may pour their life savings into lottery tickets．Some clubs have been formed to help them kick the habit．
Politicians like lotteries because they provide money that would otherwise have to come from new taxes．The profits from lotteries are usually used to pay for education or programs for senior citizens．But critics say this arrangement just allows states to legalize vice（恶习）, under the name of social progress．No matter whether you regard state lotteries right or not, you cannot refuse to accept their extreme popularity with many Americans．
1.The main idea of the passage is that ．
A．lotteries are of great benefit to everyone who buys them
B．playing a lottery is just like investing in the stock market
C．a lot of people buy lottery tickets, but lotteries cause disagreement
D．lotteries are just legalized vice
2.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A．Politicians like lotteries because they don’t have to pay extra tax．
B．The popularity of lotteries in America actually is social progress．
C．Some critics don’t like lotteries because many poor people waste their money on them．
D．People love the lottery because it is a stock market．
3.In just one hour in the last few days, the Pennsylvania lottery sold tickets totaling ．
A．$1.62million B．﹩90million C．﹩9.6million D．﹩87million
4.People who are addicted to playing lotteries should ．
A．join a club B．kick the habitw.
C．win the Pennsylvania D．save every cent
Think of some of your favorite singers. When you listen, they can make you happy or sad, peaceful or angry. They can make you relax or want to get up and dance. Gifted singers have the power to affect us in many ways—emotionally, physically and mentally.
But becoming a great singer isn’t as easy as listening to one. It takes practice, devotion and strong lungs! Just ask the well-known American opera（歌剧）star Carol Vaness.
At the Metropolitan Opera in New York City where she often sings, Carol’s voice must be loud enough to be heard by four thousand people. It must reach every person in the theater, without a microphone, even when she’s singing softly. The reason Carol can project her voice that far is the way she breathes.
“When you breathe, it’s like a swimmer taking a deep breath before going underwater,” Carol explains. “You have to take a lot of air into your lungs.”
According to Carol, the main difference between pop singing and opera is “how you breathe, how much air you take in, and how you control it coming out. Regular singing is more like speaking, and it’s lot softer. When I sing for children, they’re often surprised by how the vibrations strike their ears—like waves on a beach, ”Carol says. “In opera, the air doesn’t just go out of your mouth—it vibrates in your chest，the way a guitar vibrates when it’s played.”
Ever since she started piano lessons at the age of ten, Carol has loved music. As she got older, she decided to become a music teacher. When she went to college, she took singing lessons as part of her studies. Her voice teacher discovered that nineteen-year-old Carol had an exceptionally beautiful soprano voice-the highest singing voice for women.
Carol decided to make opera her goal, not only because she loved to sing but also because she loved the drama. Opera is a play in which the characters sing the words instead of speaking them. The stories of opera can be tragic or comical. They can be personal stories about two people falling in love or grand stories about kings and queens who lived long ago. As the characters in an opera sing, the emotions（情感）expressed by words and music come to life.
Today, Carol performs throughout the United States and Europe and she has song for almost twenty years. But she has never forgotten where she started singing in the first palace.
“Put your heart into your singing and enjoy it,” says Carol, “because singing is a great joy. That’s why I sing. In fact, that’s why everybody sings.”
1.According to the passage, the Metropolitan Opera in New York City .
A．is a five-story building B．can seat 4,000 people
C．has no microphone in it D．can project the singer’s voice
2.What is the best title for this passage?
A．Opera Singing and Pop Singing B．The Way an Opera Star Sings
C．An Opera Star D．Singing without a Microphone
3.Which statement is true?
A．A pop singer’s lungs are usually stronger than those of an opera singer’s
B．Opera singing is more like speaking.
C．A pop singer takes in much more air than an opera singer when singing.
D．An opera singer breathes differently from a pop singer when singing.
4.From the passage you can conclude all the following EXCEPT that .
A．Carol once learned to play the piano
B．Carol worked as a music teacher
C．Carol has been singing opera for 20 years or so
D．Carol is popular with Americans and Europeans
完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）
Love in a Box
When I was a little girl, I found love in a box all because of a class assignment. On a Friday night I 36___ at dinner table, “MY teacher said we have to bring a box, a special box, for our valentines (情人节) on Monday”.
Mother said, “We’ll see,” and she continued eating.
What did “We’ll see” mean? I had to have that box 37 my second grade Valentine’s Day would be a disaster. Maybe they didn’t love me enough to help me with my 38 .
All Saturday I waited 39 and with Sunday arriving, my concern increased, but I 40 an enquiry about the box might 41 anger or loud voice, for in my house children only asked once. More than that 42 trouble.
Late Sunday afternoon, my father called me into the kitchen. The table was covered with colorful 43 of different kinds. A (n) 44 shoebox rested on top of it. 45 flooded through me when Daddy said, “Let’s get started 46 your project.”
In the next hour my father 47 the shoebox into impressive valentine box. Colorful paper covered the ugly cardboard with red hearts 48 to what I considered all the right places. He sang while he worked. When he finished, he was so delighted that a 49 smile spread over his face. “What do you think of that?” he asked.
I answered him with a hug.
But inside, ___ 50 ___ danced all the way to my heart. It was the first time that my father devoted so much ___ 51 ___ to me, for his world consisted of work only.
The holiday party arrived, and my classmates put cards, and presents into the valentine boxes. Laughter filled our classroom until dismissal time 52_____m
On the way home, I held out my valentine box for the world to __53 __. The love that filled it meant more to me than all the valentines inside.
The valentine box became a symbol of his love that __54__ through decades of other Valentine’s Days. He gave me other gifts through the years, but none __ 55 __ compared with the love I felt within the limits of the old, empty shoebox.
36．A．announced B．appeared C．served D．sat
37．A．and B．however C．or D．so
38．A．design B．plan C．idea D．project
39．A．sadly B．anxiously C．disappointedly D．patiently
40．A．found B．realized C．knew D．imagined
41．A．start B．cause C．mark D．produce
42．A．invited B．took C．saved D．had
43．A．boxes B．gifts C．paper D．food
44．A．new B．big C．attractive D．empty
45．A．Relaxation B．Relief C．Cheer D．Calm
46．A．by B．at C．in D．on
47．A．folded B．packed C．changed D．pressed
48．A．joined B．attached C．linked D．connected
49．A．slight B．brief C．broad D．confident
50．A．joy B．fun C．interest D．amusement
51．A．money B．time C．support D．hope
52．A．reached B．set C．spent D．came
53．A．accept B．respect C．admire D．recognize
54．A．carried B．kept C．spread D．lasted
55．A．ever B．even C．yet D．still
It was several minutes before I was ______of what was happening.
A. aware B. accused C. tired D .a shamed
