It was about midday. I’d left work early in the morning to cash a cheque. I walked along to the bank, and found that there weren’t too many people about ten or eleven customers in there, which was pretty unusual for those central city banks.
I waited until it was my turn and just went up to the desk and started to talk to the bank clerk. He had a really strange expression on his face -- just sort of blank stare at least I thought he was looking at me and then I realized he was staring over my shoulder.
I began to turn round to see what he was looking at. At the same moment the outside bank guard came flying through the door and lay face down on the floor and following him through the door were three frightening masked men. They were carrying guns; at least I think the one in front was carrying a gun. Whether or not they said anything at that point I can’t remember to this day, or whether people just automatically put their hands up I’ve just no idea.
For a few moments there was just total silence, suddenly broken by the telephone ringing and I remember thinking and wondering who was on the other end of the telephone. Nobody went to answer the telephone, so this thing just kept on ringing and ringing. Then two of the masked men went to the counter, jumped over it and got the cashiers and the bank clerks to start filling the bags with cash. While the two were getting the money, the one at the door who was covering us with the gun was a bit frightened. He started swearing at them, and telling them to hurry up, to get a move on. They jumped back over the counter. One of them slipped as he landed on the floor and fell over and the other two swore at him again. They left through the door. Warning us, “Don’t move, stay like that with your hands up for ten minutes.” And then they just disappeared. Again back to total silence. People put their hands down, I put my hands down but I just stayed exactly where I was.
【小题1】What does the writer mean by saying “…a pretty unusual number for those central banks” in the first paragraph?

第二节完型填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36—55各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上涂黑。
A successful business man was growing old and wanted to choose a successor to take over the business. He called all the young executives together and said, "I have to __36__ and choose the next CEO from you."
They were __37__, but the boss continued. "I am going to give you a very __38__ seed. I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back one year from today with __39__ you have grown from the seed. I will then __40__ the plants, and choose the next CEO."
Jim went home __41__. Everyday, he would water the seed and see __42__ it had grown. Although he kept __43__ his seed, nothing ever grew. Many weeks went __44__, still nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants, but Jim didn't have a plant and he felt like a __45__.
A year later, they brought their plants to the CEO for __46__. When Jim arrived, he was __47__ at the variety of plants grown by the other executives. They were beautiful.
The CEO greeted them. "What great plants, trees, and flowers you have grown," said the CEO. "Today one of you will be__48__ the next CEO!"
All of a sudden, the CEO __49__ Jim at the back with his empty pot. The CEO asked him what had happened - Jim told him the story. He looked at Jim, and then __50__, "The next CEO is Jim!"
Jim couldn't believe __51__. Jim couldn't even grow his seed. "How could he be the new CEO?" the others said.
Then the CEO said, "The seeds I gave you were boiled seeds; they were dead - it was not __52__ for them to grow. Jim was the only one with the courage and __53__ to bring me a pot with my seed in it. __54__, he is the one who will be the new CEO!"
If you plant honesty, you will reap __55__. So, be careful what you plant now; it will determine what you will reap later. 
36. A. step down           B. sit down            C. settle down        D. hand down
37. A. exhausted            B. shocked             C. annoyed            D. embarrassed
38. A. special                B. valuable            C. common            D. expensive
39. A. how                   B. which               C. where               D. what
40. A. compare                B. observe             C. judge                D. examine
41. A. heatedly                 B. excitedly           C. desperately        D. disappointingly
42. A. if                       B. unless               C. until                 D. though
43. A. checking             B. planting            C. appreciating       D. counting
44. A. down                  B. away                 C. by                    D. back
45. A. fool                    B. failure               C. successor           D. onlooker
46. A. direction             B. application        C. instruction         D. inspection 
47. A. amazed               B. discouraged              C. amused             D. puzzled
48. A. performed           B. voted                C. considered         D. appointed
49. A. spotted               B. glanced             C. stared                D. noticed
50. A. announced          B. stated                C. confirmed         D. whispered
51. A. it                       B. those                 C. themselves         D. him
52. A. likely                 B. sure                  C. necessary           D. possible
53. A. confidence          B. honesty             C. optimism           D. diligence
54. A. Moreover            B. However           C. Therefore          D. Besides
55. A. trust                   B. success              C. power               D. reputation 

I was waiting for a phone call from my agent. He had left at message the night before, telling me that my show was to be cancelled. I called him several times, but each time his secretary told me that he was in a meeting and that he would call me later. So I waited and waited, but there was still no call. Three hours passing by, I became more and more and impatient. I was certain that my agent didn’t care about my work, and he didn’t care about me. I was overcome with that thought. I started to shout at the phone, “Let me wait, will you? Who do you think you are?”  

At that time I didn’t realize my wife was looking on. Without showing her surprise, she rushed in, seized the phone, tore off the wires, and shouted at the phone, “Yeah! Who do you think you are? Bad telephone! Bad telephone!” And she swept it into the wastebasket.  

I stood watching her, speechless. What on earth...?  

She stepped to the doorway and shouted at the test of the house, “Now hear this! All objects in this room----if you do anything to upset my husband, out you go!”  

Then she turned to me. Kissed me and said calmly, “Honey, you just have to learn how to take control.” With that, she left the room.  

After watching a crazy woman rushing in and out, shouting at everything in sight , I noticed that something in my mood （情绪） had changed. I was laughing. How could I have trouble with that phone? Her anties helped me realize I had been driven crazy by small things. Twenty minutes later my agent did call. I was able to listen to him and talk to him and talk to him calmly.  

56. Why did the author shout at the telephone?

A. He was mad at the telephone.

B. He was angry with his agent.

C. He was anxious about his wife.

D. He was impatient with the secretary.

57. What did the author’s wife do after she heard his shouting?

A. She said nothing.

B. She shouted at him.

C. She called the agent.

D. She threw the phone away.

58. What made the author laugh?

A. His own behavior.

B. His wife’s suggestion.

C. His changeable feelings.

D. His wife’s sweet kiss.

59. What does the underlined word “antics” refer to?

A. Smart words.

B. Unusual actions.

C. Surprising looks.

D. Anxious feelings.

The 30-mile road that runs through the mountains of Willie Valley makes most drivers′ hands sweat. But Andersen, a 46-year-old father of four, wasn’t expecting any trouble on the road last New Year’s Eve, when he set off for a ski trip to the Bear Mountains with nine-year-old daughter Mia, four-old son Baylor, and nine-year-old neighbor Kenya. Andersen had driven through the Valley hundreds of times over the years.

The weather was fine. But the higher they drove, the more slippery the road became. Rounding a sharp U-turn, Andersen saw a heavy truck off the road and immediately hit his brakes. In a minute, the car was going at 25 miles per hour down the mountain before falling down from a ten-foot dam into the extremely cold Logan River.

The crash had broken a few windows, and within seconds, the car was filled with water. “It was frightening that we were going fast into deep water,” remembers Andersen, a soft-spoken manager.

Having lost all sense of direction, Andersen began to search the freezing water for the kids. Mia had been right next to him in the front seat; now, in the blackness, he couldn’t find her. “I thought, if I don’t get out, maybe none of us are going to get out.” Andersen got out of his seat belt, swam through a broken window, and, deeply and quickly, breathed air at the surface. That’s when he saw a group of men, about ten in all, appear at the top of the dam. One after another, they rushed down into the water. Helping onto safety all the three children, they began to shout at the father, “Who else is in the car？”

Andersen says respectfully, “It was like the sight of angels.”

1. What might be the main cause of the car accident？

A. The bad weather.                        B. The high dam.

C. The sudden brake.                                D. The heavy truck.

2. Andersen didn’t expect any trouble on the road because _____.

A. he was familiar with the road

B. he was good at driving

C. his hands didn’t have sweat

D. the weather was fine

3. What can be learned from the last paragraph？

A. Andersen lost consciousness in the water.

B. Strangers helped Andersen out of the car.

C. Andersen liked Mia most among the children.

D. Strangers teamed together to save three children.

4.The underlined sentence is to express Andersen’s feeling of being _____.

A. tired                     B. excited                     C. doubtful                    D. thankful

5.Which of the following can be the best title of the text？

A. Stay calm when in trouble

B. Drive rounding a U-turn

C. Miracle rescue from a river

D. Mystery of the Bear Mountains

Here’s an unusual story: a diamond ring was recently found in an egg. The magician（魔术师）, Liu Qian, discovered it, in front of an audience of millions at CCTV’s Spring Festival Gala. Liu’s magic tricks have made the centuries old art of magic fashionable once again, and made him the hottest magician in China.
As a seasoned young magician from Taiwan, Liu is popular worldwide for his magic shows. Countries he has performed in include the United States, Japan, South Korea and the UK.
Witnessing something impossible happen right before your eyes is the root of people’s love for magic.
Liu is known for his interaction(互动) with his audiences. He has a unique understanding of showmanship (演出技巧).
“It is actually thinking, rather than one’s manipulation(操作)skills, that is more important to achieving a successful magic show. We think carefully about how to design the shows creatively, to make them appear more intriguing(吸引人的),”Liu said.
Liu Qian’s success dates back to his childhood. Born in 1976 in Taiwan, he found himself attracted to a magic toy in a shop when he was seven years old. At the age of 12, he won Taiwan’s Youth Magic Contest, which was judged by the great American magician, David Copperfield.
Yet, Liu never planned on becoming a professional magician. He studied Japanese literature at university and only hoped to be an amateur（业余的） magician in his spare time. However, his failure to find a decent(体面的)job after graduation pushed him towards magic as a career.
To refine（升华） his performing skills, he has performed on streets, roads and fields, for pedestrians(路人), policemen and farmers.
“Street shows are the biggest challenge for us magicians. We have to deal with unexpected situations and tough crowds,” Liu said.
【小题1】Why do people love to watch magic?