A farmer had some puppies（小狗）to 　36 . He painted a sign advertising the puppies and 　37__ nailing （钉）it to a post on the edge of his yard. As he was driving the last nail into the post, a little boy came to him.

“Mister,” he said, “I want to buy one of your puppies.”

“Well,” said the farmer, as he 　38 the sweat off his face, “these puppies come from fine parents and cost 　39 money. Do you have enough money?”

The boy 　 40　 his head for a moment. Then reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a handful of 　41 and held it up to the farmer. “I’ve got thirty-nine cents. Is that enough to take a look?” “Sure,” said the farmer. And with that he 　42 a whistle (口哨声), “Here, Dolly!” he called. 　43 from the doghouse and down the ramp ran Dolly 　 44 by four little balls of fur. The little boy’ eyes danced with delight. As the dogs made their 　45 to the fence, the little boy noticed something else stirring inside the doghouse. 　46　 another little ball appeared; this one noticeably smaller. Then in a somewhat 　 47　 manner the little pup began hobbling（蹒跚） toward the others, doing its best to 　 48　 .

“I want that one,” the little boy said, 　49　 to the smallest one. The farmer said, “Son, you don’t want that puppy. He will never be able to run and play with you 　50 these other dogs would.”

With that the little boy 　51 back from the fence, and began 　 52 　up one leg of his trousers. In doing so he exposed a steel support running down both sides of his leg 　53 itself to a specially made 　54　 . Looking back up at the farmer, he said, “You see sir, I don't 　55　 too well myself, and he will need someone who understands.”

36．A. sell　 　　　　　 B. buy 　　　　　　　　　　　 C. raise　 　　　　　　　　　 D. drive

37. A. set off　　　　　　　 B. set out　　　　　　　　　　 C. set about　　　　　　　　 D. set up

38. A. wiped　　　　　　　 B. removed 　　　　　　　　 C. settled　　　　　　　　　　 D. drove

39. A. a number of 　　 B. quite a few　　　　　　　 C. a great deal of　 　 D. only a little

40. A. raised 　　　　　　 B. buried 　　　　　　　　　　 C. dropped　　　　　　　　　 D. shook

41. A. change　　　　　　 B. price　　　　　　　　　　　 C. treasure　　　　　　　　　 D. wallet

42. A. made out　　　　　 B. put away　　　　　　　　 C. gave away　　　　　　　 D. let out

43.　 A. In 　　　　　　　　　 B. Away　　　　　　　　　　　 C. Out　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. Up

44. A. equipped　　　　　 B. protected　　　　　　　　 C. attacked　　　　　　　　　 D. followed

45. A. way　　　　　 　　　 B. direction　　　　　 　　　 C. path　　　　　　　　 　　　 D. struggle

46. A. Rapidly　　　　　　 B. Slowly　　　　　　　　　　 C. Suddenly　　　　　　　　 D. Simply

47. A. curious　　　　　　 B. foolish 　　　　　　　　　 C. ordinary　　　　　　　　　 D. active

48. A. catch up　　　　　 B. keep up　　　　　　　　　 C. put up　　　　　　　　　　 D. make up

49. A. staring 　　　　　　 B. pointing　　　　　　　　　 C. greeting 　　　　　　　　 D. devoting

50. A. while　　　　　　　 B. as　　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. that 　　　　　　　　　　　 D. what

51. A. stepped　　　　　　 B. escaped　　　　　　　　　 C. went　　　　　　　　　　　 D. kept

52. A. pushing　　　　　　 B. forcing　　　　　　　　　　 C. rolling　　　　　　　　　　 D. tearing

53. A. attaching 　　　　 B.attached　　　　　　　　　 C. being attached　　　　　 D.to attach

54. A. leg　　　　　　　　　 B. stick 　　　　　　　　　　 C. shoe　　　　　　　　　　　 D. foot

55. A. walk　　　　　　　　 B. run　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. live　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. go

Mary got a little white lamb（羊羔）. She tied it to a tree in her field during the day and went to take it home every evening. One evening, she found the lamb gone. Someone had cut the rope and stolen the lamb. When her husband came home, she told him what had happened. Henry at once set out to look for the thief.
It was easy to find the thief in the small village. Henry heard that his neighbor Alex got a lamb. He went to the neighbors’ house and said angrily, “Return the lamb to me, or I’ll call the police.”
Alex explained that he had bought a lamb, but it was black. Henry looked out of the window. There in the garden was a little black lamb. He felt ashamed. Then he apologized to his neighbour. While they were talking, it began to rain. He stayed in Alex’s house until the rain stopped. When he went outside, he was surprised to see the lamb changed. The lamb, which had been black half an hour before, was now almost white.
“What colour on earth is the lamb,” Henry wondered, “black or white?”
【小题1】When her husband came back Mary told him __________.

Many trees in the Brackham area were brought down in the terrible storms that March. The town itself lost two great lime trees from the former market square. The disappearance of such striking features had changed the appearance of the town center entirely, to the annoyance of its more conservative inhabitants(居民).

Among the annoyed, under more normal circumstances, would have been Chief Inspector Douglas Pelham, head of the local police force. But at the height of that week's storm, when the wind brought down even the mature walnut tree in his garden, Pelham had in fact been in no fit state to notice. A large and healthy man, he had for the first time in his life been seriously ill with an attack of bronchitis.

When he first complained of an aching head and tightness in his chest, his wife, Molly, had tried to persuade him to go to the doctor. Convinced that the police force could not do without him, he had, as usual, ignored her and attempted to carry on working. Predictably, though he wouldn't have listened to anyone who tried to tell him so, this had the effect of fogging his memory and shortening his temper.

It was only when his colleague, Sergeant Lloyd, took the initiative (主动) and drove him to the doctor's door that he finally gave in. By that time, he didn't have the strength left to argue with her. In no time at all, she was taking him along to the chemist's to get his medicine and then home to his unsurprised wife who sent him straight to bed.

When Molly told him, on the Thursday morning, that the walnut tree had been brought down during the night, Pelham hadn’t been able to take it in. On Thursday evening, he had asked weakly about damage to the house, groaned (含糊不清地说) thankfully when he heard there was none, and pulled the sheets over his head.

It wasn't until Saturday, when the medicine took effect, his temperature dropped and he got up, that he realized with a shock that the loss of the walnut tree had made a permanent difference to the appearance of the living-room. The Pelhams’ large house stood in a sizable garden. It had not come cheap, but even so Pelham had no regrets about buying it. The leafy garden had created an impression of privacy. Now, though, the storm had changed his outlook.

Previously, the view from the living-room had featured the handsome walnut tree. This had not darkened the room because there was also a window on the opposite wall, but it had provided interesting patterns of light and shade that hid the true state of the worn furniture that the family had brought with them from their previous house.

With the tree gone, the room seemed cruelly bright, its worn furnishings exposed in all their shabbiness. And the view from the window didn’t bear looking at. The tall house next door, previously hidden by the tree, was now there, dominating the outlook with its unattractive purple bricks and external pipes. It seemed to have a great many upstairs windows, all of them watching the Pelhams' every movement.

“Doesn’t it look terrible?” Pelham whispered to his wife. But Molly, standing in the doorway, sounded more pleased than dismayed. “That's what I’ve been telling you ever since we came here. We have to buy a new sofa, whatever it costs.”

1.Why were some people in Brackham annoyed after the storm?

A．No market could be held.

B．The police had done little to help.

C．The town looked different.

D．Fallen trees had not been removed.

2.In the third paragraph, what do we learn about Chief Inspector Pelham’s general attitude to his work?

A．He finds it extremely annoying.

B．Не is sure that he plays an important role.

C．Не considers the systems are not clear enough.

D．He does not trust the decisions made by his superiors.

3. What aspect of the Pelhams’ furniture does “shabbiness” in paragraph 8 describe?

A．its condition.       B．its colour.          C．its position.        D．its design.

4.As a result of the storm, the Pelhams’ living-room _____.

A．was pleasantly lighter                    B．felt less private

C．had a better view                       D．was in need of repair

5.Why did Molly sound pleased by her husband’s comment?

A．It proved that he was well again.

B．She agreed about the tree.

C．She thought he meant the sofa.

D．It was what she expected him to say.

　　Amtrak（美国铁路客运公司）was experiencing a downswing in ridership（客运量）along the lines comprising its rail system. Of major concern to Amtrak and its advertising agency DDB Needham, were the long-distance western routes where ridership had been declining significantly.

　　At one time, trains were the only practical way to cross the vast areas of the west. Trains were fast, very luxurious, and quite convenient compared to other forms of transportation existing at the time. However, times change and the automobile became America's standard of convenience. Also, air travel had easily established itself as the fastest method of traveling great distances. Therefore, the task for DDB Needham was to encourage consumers to consider other aspects of train travel in order to change their attitudes and increase the likelihood that trains would be considered for travel in the west.

　　Advertisements showed pictures of the beautiful scenery that could be enjoyed along some of the more famous western routes and emphasized the romantic names of some of these trains (Empire Builder, etc.). These ads were strategically placed among family-oriented TV shows and programs involving nature and America in order to most effectively reach target audiences. Results were impressive, the Empire Builder, which was focused on in one ad, enjoyed a 15 percent increase in profits on its Chicago to Seattle route.

(1) What's the author's purpose in writing this passage?

[　　]

A．To show the inability of trains to compete with planes with respect to speed and convenience.

B．To stress the influence of the automobile on America's standard of convenience.

C．To emphasize the function of travel agencies in market promotion.

D．To illustrate the important role of persuasive communication in changing consumer attitudes.

(2) It can be inferred from the passage that the drop in Amtrak ridership was due to the fact that ________.

[　　]

A．trains were not suitable for short distance passenger transportation

B．trains were not the fastest and most convenient form of transportation

C．trains were not as fast and convenient as they used to

D．trains could not compete with planes in terms of luxury and convenience

(3) To encourage consumers to travel by train, DDB Needham emphasized ________.

[　　]

A．the freedom and convenience provided on trains

B．the practical aspects of train travel

C．the adventurous aspects of train trips

D．the safety and cleanliness of train trips

(4) The train ads were placed among family-oriented TV programs involving nature and America because ________.

[　　]

A．they could focus on meaningful travel experiences

B．they could increase the effectiveness of the TV programs

C．their profits could be increased by some 15 percent

D．most travel-lovers and nervous fliers were believed to be among the audiences