8．Without your kind help, we ______ in the experiment.

A．cannot succeed     B．hadn’t succeeded    

C ．w ouldn’t succeed  D. couldn’t have succeeded  

Violent gangs. Bar fights. Broken bones. No, we aren’t talking about a late night in Downtown Chico; we’re talking about the things that come to many people’s minds when the word, motorcycle, is mentioned.

Many Chico State students have learned of the convenience of small motorcycles and scooters when it comes to parking on or near campus. Motorcycle parking is something that is available when compared to the amount of vacant automotive parking—something especially valuable when running a bit late for class. Motorcycle-riding students have also learned to appreciate the 50 to 80 average miles per gallon, especially today when it seems as if gasoline prices are shooting up faster and more often than a back alley addict.

Still, some people are reluctant to ride the steel horse. Marc Lewis, a 24-year-old Chico State anthropology student, is one of those people. “I’ve had motorcycles in the past. I know what they’re about. I want another one, for recreational purposes,” Lewis said. The only things holding Lewis back are insurance costs and what he refers to as “unsafe drivers”. Safety and insurance costs certainly are important factors.

Chris Kelley, employee of Cost-U-Less Insurance Center at 166 Cohasset Road, Suite 3, admits that motorcycle insurance can get pricey. The average price per month for Chico State students in their 20s is about $100, Kelley said. “The most expensive rate I’ve ever charged was something like $32,000 a year,” Kelley said. “The guy had a horrible record.”

If a motorcycle is something that you’ve always been curious about but have been frightened by the dangerous image it is often given, try rethinking your position. Motorcycling is one of the most diverse activities in existence. Consider the information you find here a brief introduction to several of the more popular aspects of motorcycle riding.

44. When it comes to motorcycles, one tends to think of ____.

A. a late night in Downtown Chico           B. the horse made of steel

C. the money paid for insurance               D. a horrible image motorcycles give

45. According to the second paragraph, which of the following is NOT true?

A. It is very convenient for students to ride motorcycles.

B. The campus has enough parking place for motorcycles.

C. Students are often late for class riding motorcycles.

D. Motorcycles consume less gasoline.

46. Why are some people unwilling to ride the steel horse?

A. Because they often have their bones broken.

B. Because they are worried about the costly insurance and safety problems.

C. Because they have to pay for the pricey gasoline.

D. Because they don’t want to ride it for entertainment.

47. The writer intends to tell us in the last paragraph that ____.

A. we shouldn’t buy a motorcycle due to the danger it causes

B. many people are frightened by the dangerous image

C. we shouldn’t be curious about the motorcycle any more

D. motorcycles are still popular regardless of the disadvantages

任务型阅读（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）

请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。

注意：每个空格只填1个单词。

The Hong Kong government is set to overhaul(革新) its immigration policy with the aim of making it easier for mainland and overseas talents to live and work in the city. This is a welcome step because it will remove what is widely seen as a major hurdle to Hong Kong’s efforts to attract qualified immigrants to help its development.

To sustain the growth of the services sector, which accounts for nearly 80 percent of Hong Kong’s GDP, it is necessary to continuously expand the pool of talents in various fields. Efforts to attract mainland and overseas talents to Hong Kong are taking on special urgency not only because of fierce competition from other cities, particularly Singapore, but also the rapidly aging population resulting from years of low or negative birthrates.

Hong Kong enjoys certain distinct advantages over many Asian cities in the competition for talents. Beyond its vibrant economy, underlined by a free market environment, Hong Kong has a combination of some of the most distinctive elements of Chinese and Western cultures. Hong Kong is as exciting as many other Asian boomtowns, and yet it is no less efficient than a typical European city with a much smaller population. Housing costs are high, but no higher than those in other financial centers. For international banks and multinational corporations, housing costs are a concern only when the opportunity to make money begins to dry up. And this situation is not happening in Hong Kong as the local economy, riding the boom on the mainland, is rapidly expanding.

It is within this context that the government takes the lead to revise its immigration policy, which calls for, among other things, the establishment of a one-stop service center to process all applications under various migrant schemes. This means that an applicant will in future need to submit only one form for processing. Other changes to the policy include the removing of the age restrictions and lowering of experience requirements. Under the present scoring system used to vet applicants, those who are older than 50 and those with less than five years of work experience win no points in their respective categories. The details of the proposed changes have not been announced. But according to a government official quoted by the local press, the aim is to broaden the pool of qualified applicants.

Tom likes sitting close to TV, so his parents try to _____ him _____ the bad habit.

A. treat; of                  B. treat; with           C. cure; of                   D. cure; with

----Daddy, can you buy me a new MP4 when you go to Beijing?

   ----You ______ get one if you are admitted to a key middle school.

     A. could        B. shall             C. may                 D. can

Ten years ago the population of our village was ________ that of theirs.

         A. as twice large as                             B. twice as large as

         C. twice as much as                            D. as twice much as

We are looking for someone who is___ and hard-working.

A. anxious      B. reliable     C. unknown      D. foolish

----- Sorry to have hurt you.

----- _______. You didn’t mean to, did you?

A. OK            B. Take it easy        C. Don’t say so      D. Forget it

He tried to ________ in Japanese.

   A. understand himself                        B. make himself understanding

   C. make himself understood                   D. make to understand

The play went along well until the middle of Act 2 ,_____the excitement began .

   A so  B but  C when  D which