A few months before I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around to welcome me into the world a few months later.

As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my young mind, he had a special position. My parents were complementary instructors：Mom taught me the words, and Dad taught me to obey them. But the stranger... He was our storyteller. He would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies(喜剧).

If I wanted to know anything about politics，history or science，he always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able to predict the future! He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The stranger never stopped talking, but Dad didn't seem to mind.

I now know that my early concepts about relationship were influenced strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom blamed...and NEVER asked to leave.

More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family. He has blended(融合) right in but is not nearly as fascinating as he was at first. Still, if you were to walk into my parent's room today, you would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures. His name?

We just call him...“TV”.

He has a younger sister now. We call her “Computer”.

56．When the stranger came to live with our family, he was ________.

A. ignored by the children                     B. driven away for no reason

C. abandoned because it was too noisy         D. accepted by every family member

57．The stranger can do all the following things EXCEPT that he can ________.

A. tell us some funny stories                  B. reject our proposals(提议)

C. influence the children's character                 D. predict the future

58．The underlined word “spellbound” in Paragraph 2 most probably means ________.

A. concentrated                                          B. puzzled

C. fascinated                                            D. astonished

59．What can we learn from the last three paragraphs of the passage?

A. The computer is more advanced and has gained greater popularity.

B. Old as he is，we like the stranger best.

C. The TV set is out of fashion and often breaks down.

D. We decide to throw the TV set away immediately.

A few months before I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around to welcome me into the world a few months later.

As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my young mind, he had a special position. My parents were complementary instructors：Mom taught me the words, and Dad taught me to obey them. But the stranger... He was our storyteller. He would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies(喜剧).

If I wanted to know anything about politics，history or science，he always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able to predict the future! He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The stranger never stopped talking, but Dad didn't seem to mind.

I now know that my early concepts about relationship were influenced strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom blamed...and NEVER asked to leave.

More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family. He has blended(融合) right in but is not nearly as fascinating as he was at first. Still, if you were to walk into my parent's room today, you would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures. His name?

We just call him...“TV”.

He has a younger sister now. We call her “Computer”.

51．The stranger can do all the following things EXCEPT that he can ________.

A. tell us some funny stories                  B. reject our proposals(提议)

C. influence the children's character             D. predict the future

52．The underlined word “spellbound” in Paragraph 2 most probably means ________.

A. concentrated     B. puzzled   C. fascinated    D. astonished

53．What can we learn from the last three paragraphs of the passage?

A. The computer is more advanced and has gained greater popularity.

B. Old as he is，we like the stranger best.

C. The TV set is out of fashion and often breaks down.

D. We decide to throw the TV set away immediately.

Some people are never right．They never have good luck．They usually do the wrong thing and say the wrong thing．And even if what they say or do is OK, they as a rule say it or do it at the wrong time．So these people always have problems．They often break dishes．They sometimes miss buses and airplanes．Mr Neff is different．He is always right．He is never wrong．He usually has good luck．He seldom has problems．He never breaks dishes．He never misses buses or airplanes．Even if he does miss them, it is always the fault of the buses or air planes．Mr Neff knows almost everything．He doesn't ask questions; he answers questions．He never says, “I don't know．”

Q：Which of the following best describes the writer's attitude towards Mr Neff?

1. A.
   He finds Mr Neff hard to understand．
2. B.
   He thinks Mr Neff wonderful．
3. C.
   He feels pity for Mr Neff．
4. D.
   He does not like Mr Neff．

He ________ or never gives his child a present.

[　　]

  阅读下面 短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项A、B、C、D中选出能填入相应空白处的最佳选项。

  There were two lazy men who    1   did any work at all. They    2   spend the whole day sitting in the sun and sleeping    3   talking about what they would do when they were    4   . many years went    5   in this way and the two men    6   poor. One summer’s day as they were sitting    7   on a bench in the sunshine, one of the men jumped　　 

 8   his feet without warning and exclaimed, “We can’t go on    9   this. We’ve got to do something to    10    some money”

  “    11   for instance?” asked his friend in a 　　 12   voice.

  “We’ll go to the mountains and    13   snails(蜗牛)，”said the first man.

  The second man didn’t want to go out at first. But in the end his friend　　 14  him. They each took a bucket(桶) and set    15   for the mountains. They walked extremely slow. When they reached the hill, they looked    16   it might have a lot of snails on it. The first man said, “Let’s work    17   . I’ll go up this side with my bucket, and you go up the other side with    18  , we’ll meet at the top”.

  They 　　19   snails all day and in the evening they were on top of the hill. “How many did you get?” asked the first man. “Two,” said the second man. “I 　　20   got three, but one got away.”

1．A. always　　　　   B. never　　　　  C. often　　　　    D. seldom

2．A. used to　　　　   B. was used to　　  C. got used to　　   D. became used to

3．A. or　　　　　　 B. and　　　　　　  C. but　　　　　　    D. with

4．A. old　　　　　　 B. ill　　   　　　　C. rich　　　　　　    D. poor

5．A. on　　　　　　  B. with　　　　　　  C. by　　　　　　　　  D. down

6．A. appeared　　　　  B. proved　　　　  C. continued　　　　   D. remained

7．A. calmly　　　　    B. quietly　　　　   C. nervously　　　　   D. nearly

8．A. up　　　　　　    B. down　　　　　　 C. off　　　　　　    D. to

9．A. as　　　　　　    B. like　　　　　　    C. with　　　　　　   D. about

10．A. steal　　　　　　  B. rob　　　　　　   C. exchange　　　　   D. make

11．A. How　　　　　　 B. However　　　　　　 C. What　　　　　　  D. Whatever

12．A. tireless　　　　　　 B. tiring　　　　　　   C. tired　　　　　　   D. tiresome

13．A. catch　　　　　　 B. take　　　　　　  C. get　　　　　　  D. fetch

14．A. advised　　　　    B. persuaded   　　   C. agreed　　　　　　 D. forced

15．A. up　　　　　　   B. about　　　　　　  C. down　　　　　　 D. off

16．A. as　　　　　　 B. though　　　　　　  C. that　　　　　　  D. as though

17．A. lonely　　　　  B. separately　　　　    C. alone　　　　      D. together

18．A. mine　　　　   B. ours　　　　　　  C. yours　　　　　　　　  D. yourself

19．A. hunted　　　　    B. found　　　　　　 C. searched　　　　    D. caught

20．A. nearly　　　　　　 B. finally　　　　　　 C. mainly　　　　　　 D. already