When he looked up, he suddenly found himself        by a group of teenagers,        looked at him anxiously.

A．to be surrounded; which                              B．surrounded; who

C．be surrounded; who                     D．having  been surrounded; which

—Why do you cook this much beef?

—       the guests decide to stay for dinner.

A．As though       B．Even if      C．In case     D．So that

The president has made many visits to Canada, the most recent of        began today.

A．when       B．which       C．where       D．whom

The tree is so big that it takes forty children to make a ring        it        holding hands.

A．across; with     B．through; by      C．over; with D．around; by

Many people watch the news on television        themselves the trouble of reading the newspaper.

A．save  B．to save      C．saving      D．are saving

Abbie, shy and quiet, started her ninth grade in a new school. She soon found herself  1   her old class. This new school was much too cold and  2   !

       No one at this school seemed to  3   if Abbie felt welcome or not. She walked the halls every day almost invisible; her  4   was never heard.

       Her parents were very worried about her and they knew since they got divorced（离婚）,she probably needed a  5   very badly. They tried everything they  6   to help her fit in. They bought her clothes and CDs, but it didn’t  7  .

       Believing that no one would ever become her real friend, Abbie often  8  herself to sleep. She was all alone with  9   to do but let her mind run  10   .

       She once tried  11   a Christian youth group at a local church, hoping to make friends but her   12   failed her again. Abbie was so upset that she was thinking of ending her life. She decided that she would jump  13   the local bridge on Christmas Eve, while her parents were at a party.

         14   she left her warm house for the bridge, she decided to leave her parents a note in the mailbox. When she opened the mailbox, she found some letters already there.

       She  15   the letters out and found one addressed to her. It was a card from one of the guys in the youth group:

       Dear Abbie,

       I want to apologize for not talking with you   16   You know, my parents are in the middle of a divorce, so I am hoping you could help me with some questions I have about divorced kids. I think we could become friends. See you at Youth Group on Sunday!

                                                                             Sincerely your friend, Wesley Hill

       She  17   at the card and read it over and over again. “Become friends,” she smiled,  18 that someone cared about her life and wanted her as a friend. She felt so special.

       She called Wesley. I guess you could say he was  19   Christmas miracle（奇迹）because

  20   is the best gift you can give anyone.

1．A．missing                 B．enjoying              C．impressing           D．reminding

2．A．cruel                     B．lonely                  C．painful                D．unfriendly

4．A．sound                   B．whisper               C．noise                   D．voice

5．A．relative                  B．friend                  C．roommate            D．brother

6．A．should                  B．would                 C．could                  D．might

7．A．affect                   B．match                 C．work                  D．attract

8．A．screamed              B．cried                   C．waited                 D．fought

9．A．everything             B．anything              C．nothing               D．something

10．A．sad                     B．calm                   C．excited                D．wild

11．A．joining                 B．forming               C．creating               D．inserting

12．A．pride                   B．shyness               C．guilt                    D．shame

13．A．beyond                B．across                 C．off                      D．into

14．A．Though               B．Unless                 C．Since                  D．As

15．A．opened                B．pulled                  C．read                    D．tore

16．A．faster                  B．sooner                 C．quicker               D．longer

17．A．glanced               B．stared                  C．pointed                D．worked

18．A．realizing              B．judging                C．meaning              D．guessing

19．A．the                      B．a                         C．this                     D．that

20．A．friendship      B．satisfaction        C．security            D．marriage

The Bride（新娘）Comes To Yellow Sky

       But as the distance from Yellow Sky grew shorter, the husband grew more restless. As a matter of fact, Jack Potter was beginning to get very nervous. He, the sheriff（警察）of Yellow Sky, a man known, liked, and feared, a well-respected person, had gone to San Antonio to meet a girl he believed he loved, and there, after the usual prayers, had actually married her, without telling anyone in Yellow Sky. Because he knew everyone in the community would be surprised and shocked, he was not looking forward to bringing his bride back home.

       Of course, people in Yellow Sky were free to marry, and the town often celebrated their marriages, but Potter, a bachelor（单身汉）of long standing, thought of his duty to his friends. He had promised them he would remain a bachelor forever, but face to face with this woman in San Antonio, he had gone head over heels（uncontrollably in love）. Because no one knew him in San Antonio, he had found it easy to get married. But now they were approaching Yellow Sky.

       He knew full well that his marriage was an important thing in his town. The men in town would not forgive him. Frequently he had thought of telling them by telegraph, but even though as sheriff he had often faced the guns of outlaws（歹徒）without fear, he was afraid to do it. And now the train was hurrying him toward his friends, who would laugh at him, curse him, and never drink with him again.

       Knowing that soon the train would leave them standing by the tracks in Yellow Sky, he planned the trip from the station to his house. They would get to his home as fast as possible, so no one would see them. Then, once home, he would quietly go out alone, tell someone—anyone—the awful news, and retreat to his house to hide until the citizens got tired of talking about him and his new bride.

1．Why was Jack afraid to tell his friends about his marriage?

       A．He had already married a nice girl.         B．Another woman was waiting for him.

       C．He had promised to remain a bachelor.   D．His bride was not very good-looking.

2．“Jack was not looking forward to bringing his bride back home” suggests       .

       A．Potter thought their train would be late   B．Potter was afraid to face his friends

       C．Potter regretted having got married        D．Potter didn’t love his bride very much

3．He planned to retreat to his house to hide because       .

       A．he feared those outlaws in his town      

       B．he wanted to get retired and have a rest

       C．he needed time to avoid people’s attention

       D．he wanted to stay with his bride at home

4．What kind of man should a sheriff be in the eyes of the town folks?

      A．A brave bachelor                                  B．A thoughtful father

       C．A loving husband.           D．A nervous fellow

When parents use sarcasm（讽刺）to make jokes with their young children, do the kids see the humor? Not likely, according to a Canadian researcher who has completed a study showing that children need to be 10 or older before fully getting the idea that sarcasm can be funny or even rude. “The results offer good advice for everything from the content of children’s television programming to understanding rude behaviors,” University of Calgary psychologist Penny Pexman said. “Our study suggests that the 5-year-olds are beginning to understand the simplest form of sarcasm and are getting better at it, but still by the age of eight they really don’t find it funny. So there is disconnection there,” said Pexman, who has been studying sarcasm for the past six years. “They can see that the person means the opposite of what they are saying, but they don’t find it humorous.” In addition, children under the age of 10 almost always took a sarcastic remark as a serious one, even when it was intended to be humorous. It is still not completely clear what determines how children understand sarcasm, but Pexman said factors（因素）could include the amount used at home, their social environment and the types of television shows they watch. In fact, adults write kids’ television programs but much of the humor may be lost on the intended audience, she said.

1．One of the aims for Pexman to study sarcasm is       .

       A．to play jokes with young children         

       B．to help children learn more humor

       C．to guide kids’ television programming   

       D． to make children learn the funny world

2．What can we conclude from the passage?

       A．The 5-year-olds were too stupid to understand sarcasm.

       B．The 8-year-olds knew sarcasm was funny and rude.

       C．The 11-year-olds always took a sarcastic remark seriously.

       D．The 12-year-olds could find sarcasm funny or even rude

3．Which of the following is Pexman’s conclusion?

       A．It’s not a good idea for parents to tell children what humor is

       B．Humours written by adults sometimes fail to work among children.

       C．Kids’ sense of humor is decided by the type of TV sets at their home.

       D．Adults shouldn’t write kids’ TV programs since they don’t have a sense of humor

Either out of confusion or discomfort we sometimes express our feelings in an unclear way. One key to making your feelings clear is to realize that you most often can shorten them in a few words: hurt, glad, confused, excited, angry, and so on. In the same way, with a little thought you can probably describe very briefly any reasons you have for feeling a certain way.

       In addition to avoiding too long expressions, a second way to prevent confusion is to avoid downplaying your feelings by saying“I’m a little unhappy”or“I’m pretty excited”.Of course, not all feelings are strong ones. We do feel degrees of sadness and joy, for example, but some communicators have a tendency to downplay almost every feeling. Do you?

       A third danger to avoid is expressing feelings in an indirect or coded manner. This happened most often when the sender is uncomfortable about showing his or her feeling in question. Some codes are verbal ones, as when the sender hints more or less subtly at the message. For example, an indirect way to say“I’m feeling lonely”might be“I guess there isn’t much happening this weekend, so if you’re not busy, why don’t you drop by?”such a message is so indirect that the chances that you real feeling will be recognized are small. For this reason, people who send coded messages stand less of a chance of having their feeling understood and their need met.

       Finally, you can express yourself clearly by making sure that both you and your partner understand that your feeling is centered in a specific（特定）set of environments rather than being indicative of the whole relationship. Instead of saying“I hate you”,say“I hate you when you don’t keep your promises”. Rather than“I’m bored with you”, say“I’m bored when you talk about your money.”

1．According to the first sentence, we sometimes express our feelings in an unclear way because

              .

       A．we are not clear what it is                    

       B．we have just get rid of a discomfort

       C．we are in a very bad feeling                 

       D．we do not want to tell anyone about it

2．We downplay our feeling if       .

       A．we don’t like it and try to hold it from anyone

       B．we control our anger without letting it out

       C．we use weak words to express a strong feeling

       D．we are confused an feel uncomfortable about it

3．The writer points out that if we express our feelings in a coded manner       .

       A．we will make them harder to be understood                          

       B．we will feel all the more confused

       C．we will feel uncomfortable                   

       D．we will make the listener uncomfortable

4．If you use very general words to express your feelings       .

       A．you tend to be downplaying them         

       B．you tend to be strengthening them

       C．you will make yourself well understood 

       D．your listener will not understand you well

5．According to the writer,“I’m bored with you”is an expression       .

       A．that strengthens our feelings                 B．that downplays our feelings

       C．that will make our listener confused       D．that is made in a coded manner

---You can’t finish the book in less than an hour, I suppose?

--- ________. I won’t break my promise, you know.

A. Yes, I’m sure I can                               

B. No, but I can

C. Sorry, I make you disappointed              

D. However, I'm