– What a hard chair!   --Yes, it is. But in fact, it is very comfortable to _____.

Nowhere else in our world ________ such a quiet, beautiful place ________ Angkor Wat.

– We’ll spend the vacation in Hawaii. Don’t you think it is a wonderful idea? 

-- ___  I have waited for it for a whole year. Now my dream has come true.

I have the same opinion as yours _____ we should carry out the experiment at once.

完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）

阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

When my children were small, the toughest part of the day was getting to work. There were diapers(尿布), formula(奶粉),  36  of clothes to worry about for the children. There was their breakfast, and I must  37  they were clean and ready for the day. It was pretty chaotic(混乱的). I have always been one to  38  more about making sure everyone else had what they needed than to take care of myself. 39 , I had my clothing and my packed lunch set out so that I could quickly get ready and then turn my  40  back to getting the children ready.

I tried to keep my  41  pretty easy in the morning. There just wasn’t time, but that was OK as long as I kept moving. I would manage a  42  look at myself in the full-length mirror just before I  43  out the door.

Once a week we had management team  44  and it was important to be there on time and to appear relaxed and  45 . We would go around the conference table, each  46  on successes and areas of concern. When it came around to my  47 , all eyes would be on me as I had my chance to brag(自夸) on my programs and increasing  48 .

I thought I was pretty  49  at playing the role of the cool, calm, collected program manager 50  one week I arrived at one of these management team meetings and as the  51  went around the table, getting to me. There were  52  looks on the faces of the others looking at me. I started to feel a little  53  as that “ what’s going on?”  54  grew more intense. My closest colleague started doing this strange nodding thing in my direction. It was then that I  55  that I had my dress on inside-out.

I first visited hutong as part of a tourist group several years ago. We rode on a trishaw（脚踏三轮车） with a guide explaining the history, architecture and lifestyle of the local inhabitants.

Having visited the "must-sees" of Beijing, like the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Drum Tower and the Summer Palace, going into the hutong home of some famous ancient families gave the “Beijing experience” a human element.

My curiosity has sharpened over the years from reading about them at every opportunity. During the preparation for the Olympics I was eager to learn that some siheyuan courtyards in hutong were turned into accommodations（食宿） for visitors. I wished to stay in one someday.

Preparing for a recent trip to the capital, I eagerly sought one out. On my limited teacher’s salary, I settled on an affordable option, though I looked longingly at the more upscale courtyard accommodations.

As usual, I ended up having something closer to a true experience. A real family still lives in the courtyard, which is closer to the original. The rooms all opened into the central courtyard. Flowers were blooming, beans and peas were climbing up the bamboo fence, and the cat was napping in the sun. Every day after exploring the city, I'd hurry back to the hutong, take a quick shower and join the cat – snoozing（小睡） in a bamboo-made chair with a book ready nearby.

As the other guests came back we’d greet one another. There was a mother and young daughter from France, a guy from Canada, a mother and teenage daughter from the Netherlands, a teacher from England and several guests from various parts of China.

Coming and going through the narrow alleys（小巷） of the hutong, the residents would smile and give cheery “ni hao” （hello）. Laughing children were playing under the watchful eyes of the neighbors. I felt right at home in this friendly neighborhood.

1. The main idea of the passage is about ______________.

2. When did the author have the idea to visit Beijing hutong?

3. The underlined word “upscale” in the fourth paragraph means _________.

4. What is the impression of the author about the people in hutong?

Herta Müller, the Romanian-born German writer, has won the 2009 Nobel Prize for Literature. Ms. Müller, 56, immigrated to Germany from Romania in 1987. She is the first German writer to win the Nobel in literature since Günter Grass in 1999 and the 13th winner writing in German since the prize was first given in 1901. She is the 12th woman to gain the literature prize. But unlike previous winners like Doris Lessing and V. S. Naipaul, Ms. Müller is unknown inside of literary circles in Germany.

“I am very surprised and still cannot believe it,” Ms. Muller said in a statement released by her publisher in Germany. “I can’t say anything more at the moment.”

She has written some 20 books, but just 5 have been translated into English, including the novels “The Land of Green Plums” and “The Appointment.”

At a news conference on Thursday at the German Publishers & Booksellers Association in Berlin, where she lives, Ms. Müller, wearing all black, appeared overwhelmed(不知所措) by all the cameras in her face.

When asked what it meant that her name would now be mentioned in the same breath as German greats like Thomas Mann and Heinrich Böll, Ms. Müller remained philosophical(达观的). “I am now nothing better and I’m nothing worse,” she said, adding: “My inner thing is writing. That’s what I can hold on to.”

Earlier in the day, at a news conference in Stockholm, Peter Englund, secretary of the Swedish Academy, said Ms. Müller was honored for her “very, very distinct special language” and because “she has really a story to tell about…and growing up as a stranger in your own family.

1..we can learn from the passage that Ms. Muller is_______.

2. Ms. Müller was surprised at the news about her winning the award because ____.

3. The underlined expression “in the same breath” is the nearest in meaning to ____.

4. We can infer according to the passage that ____.

Hundreds of people lined up at Grand Central Terminal yesterday, but they weren’t there to catch a train. They came to New York City’s famous railroad station to trade in old dollar bills for the new George Washington Presidential $ 1 coin.

The gold-colored coin is the first in a new series by the U.S. Mint（造币厂）that honors former U.S. Presidents. The Mint will issue four Presidential $ 1 coins a year through 2016. Like the popular 50 State Quarters(纪念币) program, which issues coins in the order in which each state joined the Union, Presidential $ 1 coins will come out in the order in which each President served. The George Washington coin is the first to be released. John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison coins will come out later this year.

The Presidential $ 1 coins will be the same size and color as the Sacagawea Golden Dollar. However, there is an important difference. For the first time since the 1930s, there is an inscription（题字）on the edge of each coin. Each coin will show a different President on its face, or head side. It will also show the President’s name, the order in which he served and his years in office. The other side of the coin will show the Statue of Liberty and the inscriptions “United States of America” and “$ 1”.

There will be one Presidential $ 1 coin for each President, except Grover Cleveland. He will have two! Cleveland is the only U.S. President to have served two nonconsecutive（不连续的）terms.

The last President scheduled to get a coin is Gerald Ford because a President must have been dead for two years before he can be on a coin.

1. Hundreds of people lined up at the railway station in order to ____________.

2. What may you find on the head side of the new US $ 1 coin?

3. Why will Grover Cleveland have two coins ?

A. He is the only one who has served two terms

B. He is the most famous President in the U.S.

C. He served longer than any other President.

4.From the passage we can infer that_________.

As late as 1800, women’s only place was in the home. The idea of woman in the business world was unthinkable. Men were certain that no woman could do a good job outside her home. This was such a widely accepted idea that when the well-known Bronte sisters began writing books in 1864, they had to sign their books with men’s names instead.

Teaching was the first profession open to women soon after 1800. But even that was not an easy profession for women to enter because most schools and colleges were open only to men. Oberlin College in Ohio was the first college in America to accept women.

Hospital nursing became respectable work for women only after Nightingale became famous. Seeing that she was not only a nurse but also a rich and well-educated woman, people began to believe it was possible for women to nurse the sick and still be “ladies”. Miss Nightingale opened England’s first training school for nurse in 1860.

The invention of the typewriter in 1867 helped to bring women out of the home and into the business world. By 1900, thousands of women were working at real jobs in schools, hospitals and offices in both England and America. Some women even managed to become doctors or lawyers. The idea that women could work in the business world had been accepted.

1. Why couldn’t women become teachers easily? Because___________

2.The article is mainly about __________.

3.Which fact does the article lead you to believe?

根据短文内容, 从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

Africa is a very diverse land with many different tribes. One tradition that many of these groups share is painting or marking their bodies and faces in color. They do this for many reasons. Some marks are used to identify people as part of a group.____ 1____ Let’s look at some different examples of body painting.

____2_______ Among the Masai of East Africa, when men are old enough to marry and make decisions for their people, they participate in a special ceremony in which they paint their heads and faces red. This ceremony take place every seven to fourteen years, so there is not an exact age for participating in it. The Samburu, also from East Africa, like to paint their faces and hair red because they think it looks attractive.

______3________ To show that he has killed a lion, a man will paint his body with a natural white material, making special marks to represent this accomplishment. The Masai men also use this white to show that they are on longer boys and are considered adults.

One quite unusual example of face painting is done by the Wodaabe people of West Africa. Once a year, they have a beauty contest for men. ___4_________ Then they add white and black circles and lines. Black paint is used near the eyes and on the lips to draw attention to the whiteness of their eyes and teeth, which the Wodaabe consider most beautiful.____ 5_________.

As you travel, enjoy the beautiful and bright colors of Africa.

E. The women then decide which man they like best.

F. The men pretend to fight each other.

G. The men paint their faces yellow and red.