Mail was usually carried west on ships that sailed around the bottom of South America and then north to California．That could take several months.
So, in eighteen fifty-seven, D.C．Lawmakers in Congress（国会） in Washington wanted to make it possible to send mail all the way across the United States by land．Congress offered to help any company that would try to deliver mail overland to the West Coast. A man named John Butterfield accepted this offer. He developed plans for a company that would carry the mail—and passengers, too.
Congress gave John Butterfield six hundred thousand dollars to start his company. In return, he had to promise that the mail would travel from Saint Louis, Missouri, to San Francisco, California, in twenty-five days or less.
It was not possible to travel straight through because of the Rocky Mountains and the deep snow that fell in winter. So the stagecoach（马车） would travel south from Saint Louis to El Paso, Texas, then over to southern California, then north to San Francisco. The distance was about four thousand five hundred kilometers.
Two hundred of these stations were built, each about thirty-two kilometers apart. The workers were to quickly change the horses or mules whenever a stagecoach reached the station. There could be no delay. Each stagecoach was to travel nearly two hundred kilometers a day.
One hundred stagecoaches were built and painted red or dark green. They were the most modern coaches that money could buy. They were designed to hold as many as nine passengers and twelve thousand pieces of mail. The seats inside could be folded down to make beds. Passengers either slept on them or on the bags of mail.
The cost would be one hundred fifty dollars to travel from Saint Louis to San Francisco. If a passenger was not going all the way, the cost was about ten cents a kilometer. The passengers had to buy their own food at the stations. The stagecoach would stop for forty minutes, two times a day.
The company warned passengers about the possible dangers. A poster said: “You will be traveling through Indian country and the safety of your person cannot by granted by anyone but God.”
1．What is the passage mainly about?
A．Different ways of sending mail in the United States.
B．The difficulty in sending mails across the USA by land.
C．The first stagecoaches that carried both passengers and mail.
D．The history of the first stagecoaches carrying mail to the American West.
2．The reason why Lawmakers wanted to send mail by land was that ________.
A．mail was usually carried west on ships
B．it was safer to travel to send mail by land
C．it would take less time to send mail by land
D．stagecoaches could carry passengers and mail
3．As is described in the passage, the stagecoach ________.
A．could only stop once a day
B．was modern with seats ,beds and cooking equipment
C．was a closed wagon operated only by skillful drivers.
D．had different horses or mules pulled all the way
4．What can we learn from the passage?
A．John Buttterfield got thousands of dollars for delivering mail in stagecoaches.
B．John Buttterfield kept his promise to deliver mail straight to the West Coast.
C．Passengers might be robbed by Indians when traveling through the West.
D．Passengers needed to pay one hundred dollars for their journey.
If I were writing a history of my family, some of the darkest moments recorded would be those about Christmas trees. One would certainly think otherwise; selecting and putting up our trees have always been filled with risk. For example, one afternoon dangerously close to Christmas Eve my mother bought what she thought to be a bargain, a glorious tree that was so full and tall that we could hardly get it into the house. Once we did, my father immediately realized that we would have to hire a carpenter（木匠） to build a stand for it. Another December, perhaps the very next one, we bought a tree earlier than we ever had before. We were happy with its shape and delighted that its size was manageable. We easily placed it in a stand, decorated(装饰) it from top to bottom, and then self-satisfiedly sat back by the fire in its soft light. Two or three days passed and the truth could not be hidden; we had bought a tree cut so long ago that its needles were coming off. There was nothing to do but undecorate it, take it down, and begin tree shopping again. Our most recent Christmas tree offered still another difficult task. When we brought it home, once again it seemed larger than it was in the great outdoors. To complicate matters, we had bought a new stand, one whose nuts (螺帽) and bolts (闩子) worked more mysteriously than those of our old stands. I persuaded two young neighbors to stop playing basketball and to help us get the tree into the house and set it correctly in the stand. Unfortunately, no one noticed the mud on our helpers' shoes, so only after removing several reddish brown spots from the carpet were we able to discuss the question of where the lights and ornaments (装饰物)were stored. Perhaps those who cut their own trees have tales more painful than these. I don't care to hear them, as my family's experiences are enough to cause me to make the following suggestion:" Let's forget the tree next Christmas. Let's simply hang some flowers on the front door and over the mirror in the hall. "
1．The darkest moments in the writer's family were with the fact that _____.
A．the family bought big Christmas trees B．they had problems decorating their Christmas trees
C．they had problems picking suitable Christmas trees
D．they had problems finding carpenters for putting up Christmas trees
2．We can learn from the passage that the writer would like to _____.
A．forget about Christmas stories
B．get the neighbors to put up their trees
C．buy a better tree to celebrate Christmas
D．make other decorations rather than Christmas trees
3．When the writer said " my mother bought what she thought to be a bargain", he means ____.
A．she bought the tree at a cheap price
B．she didn't really want to buy it
C．she had to bargain hard with the salesman
D．she couldn't afford a more expensive one
4．Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
A．How to Choose a Christmas Tree B．No More Christmas Tree for Us
C．Dark Moments of Life D．Christmas Without Trees
阅读理解（共20小题，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题纸上将该项涂黑
In the past, people who graduated from college felt proud of their academic（学业的）achievements and confident that their degree would help them to find a good job.
However, in the past four years the job market has changed greatly. This year’s college graduates are facing one of the worst job markets. For example, Ryan Stewart, a graduate of San Jose State University, got a degree in religious studies, but he has not gotten any job offers. He points out that many people already working are getting laid off and don’t have jobs, so it’s even harder for new college graduates to find jobs.
Four years ago, the future looked bright for his class of 2006. There were many high-tech(“dot com”) job opportunities, graduates received many job offers, and they were able to get jobs with high salaries and benefits such as health insurance and paid vacations. However, “Times have changed. It’s a new market,” according to an officer of the university.
The officer says students who do find jobs started preparing two years ago. They worked during summer vacations, they have had several short-time jobs, and they majored in fields that are still paying well, such as accounting or nursing.
Even teaching is not a secure profession now. Ryan Stewart wanted to be a teacher. But instead he will probably go back to school in order to become a college teacher. He thinks college teaching could be a good career even in a bad economy.
In conclusion, these days a college degree does not automatically lead to a good job with a high salary. Some students can only hope that the value of their degree will increase in the future.
1. What did a college degree mean to people in the past?
A. It was a proof of their professional skills.
B. It would guarantee their quick promotion（升职）.
C. It built up their confidence in the job market.
D. It would help them to start an academic career.
2. Why does Ryan Stewart want to be a college teacher?
A. Teaching jobs are well-paid. B. He majored in teaching in the university.
C. College teaching is less challenging than high-tech jobs.
D. College teaching career won’t be influenced by economy.
3.It can be concluded from the passage that _____.
A. the value of a college degree has decreased now
B. new college graduates today can’t find any job
C. a college degree can still lead to a good job
D. graduates must prepare early to find jobs
完形填空:
My ears are recently full of joyous remarks from my friends such as, “Oh, Beckham is so handsome, so cool, that I can’t help falling in love with him!” Or “What perfect skills he has!” Yeah, I agree 36 some degree, though I sometimes do want to ask them how much they 37 Beckham, apart from his appearance and how much they know about football 38 scoring goals. It seems funny that we are crazy for things, with which we are unfamiliar or 39 which we are uncertain, but we all, my friends 40 I, consider this one of life’s 41 .
We need these pleasures to brighten up our lives. But that doesn’t amount to craziness 42 nonsense（胡闹）. As an old saying 43 : “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” We should not 44 anything from its appearance. We should all know, it is one’s good character and great contribution that 45 one a star and unforgettable. Therefore we’d better say 46 about Beckham’s good looks.
If we close our eyes, 47 in deep thought, we can find that the things that 48 us to be in truth happy, sad or touched 49 a clear meaning. If we don’t go deeper and just satisfied with superficial（表面的）things, 50 we will find that we have not really gained anything 51 our first impression has blinded and misled us, and we’ll remain ignorant(无知) 52 we realize that and make some changes.
It is believed that thinking and going deeper than before is a sign of great 53 . If one day we are willing to go deeper into everything, no matter how much it 54 us, we will finally prove how much we have grown up, how much more sensible（理智的）, mature（成熟的）, and intelligent we have 55 .
36．A．to B．on C．in D．at
37．A．learn from B．learn C．know D．know about
38．A．rather than B．except for C．except D．apart from
39．A．with B．in C．about D．for
40．A．not B．as well as C．rather than D．but
41．A．pleasures B．taste C．sorrow D．regrets
42．A．nor B．and C．or D．or else
43．A．speaks B．talks C．tells D．goes
44．A．take B．judge C．accept D．conclude
45．A．makes B．causes C．builds D．create
46．A．better B．more C．worse D．less
47．A．taking B．leaving C．falling D．getting
48．A．move B．change C．doubt D．follow
49．A．lack B．have C．include D．cover
50．A．in fact B．indeed C．in a while D．sooner or later
51．A．so B．even though C．because D．although
52．A．even if B．although C．unless D．if
53．A．joy B．progress C．effort D．work
54．A．cares B．pains C．delights D．minds
55．A．come B．made C．had D．become
Eliza remembers everything exactly as if it ______ yesterday.
A．was happening B．happens C．has happened D．happened
．—Did you see who the driver was?
—No, so quickly_________ that I couldn’t get a good look at his face.
A．does the car speed by B．the car sped by
C．did the car speed by D．the car speeds by
