Not too long after I had begun to drive as a teenager, someone pulled out of a parking lot onto the road in front of me. I reacted   36  and pulled up very close behind her--- just to show my irritation(怒气) and let her know she didn't "just   37   with that!" We've all been there with      38   incidents and reactions. My mother was with me, and told me to turn into the   39  parking lot. Safely there, she asked me why I   40   that lady had pulled out in front of me purposely.   41   rude, power play--- I guessed. Mom said that maybe she had just had some bad   42  , maybe she was late picking up her child and was distracted(分心). Think of all the   43   of why someone does something like that. It's usually not on purpose--- but what I do as a reaction is on purpose. She always said that I   44   to think about the other side before I   45  . Usually the reaction causes more of a   46  .

I am in my fifties now, and to this day, that has always   47   my head whenever those   48   happen. I've   49   my children the same thing. We often see and hear about "road rage." No matter to what   50    that "rage" is taken, my children will say something like, "They need Grandma's words!" As adults, I don't see them react as most of us do   51   their first reaction is always anger and irritation --- they   52   it and   53   what the other person's problem might be. Even if the other driver really might be   54   or doing a "power play," no more   55  reactions will occur because of their irritation.

There are many kinds of friends. Some are always    36  you, but don't understand you. Some say only a few words to you, but understand you. Many people will step in your life, but only   37 friends leave footprints.
　　I shall always recall (回忆) the autumn and the girl with the  38  . She will always bring back the friendship between us. I know she will always be my best friend.
　　It was the golden season. I could see the yellow leaves   39 on the cool  40 . In such a season, I liked walking alone in the leaves,  41  to the sound of them.
　　Autumn is a  42  season and life is uninteresting. The free days always get me   43  . But one day, the sound of a violin   44  into my ears like a stream (小溪) flowing in the mountains. I was so surprised that I jumped to see what it was. A young girl, standing in the wind, was  45  in playing her violin.
　　I had  46 seen her before. The music was so nice that I listened quietly. Lost in the music, I didn't know that I had been   47 there for so long but my existence (存在) did not seem to disturb her.
　　Leaves were still falling. Every day she played the violin in the corner of the building  48 I went downstairs to watch her performance. I was the only listener. The autumn seemed no longer lonely and life became   49 .  50 we didn't know each other, I thought we were already good friends. I believe she also loved me.
Autumn was nearly over. One day, when I was listening carefully, the sound suddenly
   51 . To my astonishment (惊讶), the girl came over to me.
　　“You must like violin.” she said.
　　“Yes. And you play very well. Why did you stop?” I asked.
　　Suddenly, a   52 expression appeared on her face and I could feel something unusual.
　　“I came here to see my grandmother, but now I must leave. I once played very badly. It was your listening every day that   53 me.” she said.
　　“In fact, it was your playing   54 gave me a meaningful autumn,” I answered, “Let's be friends.”
　　The girl smiled, and so did I.
I never heard her play again in my life. I no longer went downstairs to listen like before. Only thick leaves were left behind. But I will always remember the fine figure (身影) of the girl. She is like a   55 —so short, so bright, like a shooting star giving off so much light that it makes the autumn beautiful.

III．阅读（共两节，满分40分）

第一节     阅读理解（共15小题，每小题2分，满分30分）

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Until late in the 20th century, most Americans spent time with people of different generations．Now middle-aged Americans may not keep in touch with old people until they are old themselves．

    That’s because we group people by age．We put our three-year-olds together in day-care centers, our 13-year-olds in schools and sports activities, and our 80-year-olds in senior-citizen homes．Why?

　　We live away from the old for many reasons．Young people sometimes avoid the old to get rid of fears of aging and dying．It is much harder to watch someone we love disappear before our eyes．Sometimes it’s so hard that we stay away from the people who need us the most．

　　Fortunately, some of us have found our way to the old．And we have discovered that they often save the young．

　　A reporter moved her family onto a block filled with old people．At first her children were disappointed．But the reporter baked banana bread for the neighbors and had her children deliver it and visit．Soon the children had many new friends, with whom they shared food, stories and projects．“My children have never been less lonely,” the reporter said．

　　The young, in turn, save the old．Once I was in a rest home when a visitor showed up with a baby, she was immediately surrounded．People who hadn’t gotten out of bed in a week suddenly were ringing for a wheelchair．Even those who had seemed asleep woke up to watch the child．Babies have an astonishing power to comfort and cure．

　　Grandparents are a special case．They give their grandchildren a feeling of security(安全) and continuity．As my husband put it, “My grandparents gave me a deep sense that things would turn out right in the end．” Grandchildren speak of attention they don’t get from worried parents．“My parents were always telling me to hurry up, and my grandparents told me to slow down,” one friend said．A teacher told me she can tell which pupils have relationships with grandparents: they are quieter, calmer and more trusting．

41．Now in an American family, people can find that _____．

　　A．children never live with their parents

　　B．not all working people live with their parents

　　C．aged people are supported by their grandchildren

　　D．grandchildren are supported by their grandparents

42．What may be the reason why old people are left alone?

　　A．The old don’t like to live in a big family

　　B．The young can’t get enough money to support the old

　　C．Different generations have different lifestyles

　　D．The old are too weak to live with the young

43．The fact the reporter told us shows that _____．

　　A．old people in America lead a hard life

　　B．old people in America enjoy banana bread

　　C．she had no time to take care of her children

　　D．old people are easy to get along with

44．Seeing a baby, the old people got excited because _____．

　　A．they had never seen a baby before

　　B．the baby was clever and beautiful

　　C．the baby brought them the image of life

　　D．the baby’s mother would take care of them

45．Why are some children quieter,calmer and more trusting?

         A．Because they have relationships with their grandparents

         B．Because their worried parents ask them to act like that

         C．Because they have nothing to worry about

         D．Because their teachers ask them to act like that

The famous director of a big and expensive movie planned to film a beautiful sunset over the ocean, so that the audiences could see his hero and heroine in front of it at the end of the film as they said goodbye to each other for ever. He sent camera crew out one evening to film the sunset for him.

　　The next morning he said to the men, "Have you provided me with that sunset? "

　　"No, Sir," the men answered.

　　The director was angry. "Why not? " he asked.

　　"Well, Sir, " one of the men answered, "we are on the east coast here, and the sun sets in the west. We can get you a sunrise over the sea, if necessary, but not a sunset."

　　"But I want a sunset!" the director shouted. "Go to the airport, take the next flight to the west coast, and get one. "

　　But then a young secretary had an idea. "Why don't you photograph a sunrise, " she suggested, "and then play it backwards? Then it'll look like a sunset."

　　"That's a very good idea! " the director said. Then he turned to the camera crew and said, "Tomorrow morning I want you to get me a beautiful sunrise over the sea. "

　　The camera crew went out early the next morning and filmed a bright sunrise over the beach in the middle of a beautiful bay（海湾）. Then at nine o'clock they took it to the director. "Here it is, Sir, " they said, and give it to him. He was very pleased.

　　They all went into the studio（摄影棚）. "All right, " the director explained, "now our hero and heroine are going to say goodbye. Run the film backwards so that we can see the 'sunset' behind them. "

　　The "sunset" began, but after a quarter of a minute, the director suddenly put his face in his hands and shouted to the camera crew to stop.

　　The birds in the file were flying backwards, and the waves on the sea were going away from the beach.

1.One evening, the director sent his camera crew out____.

　　A. to watch a beautiful sunset               B. to find an actor and an actress

　　C. to film a scene on the sea　　            D. to meet the audience

2.Why did the director want to send his crew to the west coast?

　　A. Because he changed his mind about getting a sunset             B. Because he was angry about his crew

　　C. Because it was his secretary's suggestion.　　                 D. Because he wanted to get a scene of sunset

3.Which of the following is NOT true?

　　A. The crew had to follow the secretary's advice.

　　B. If you want to see a sunrise, the east coast is a place to go.

　　C. The camera crew wasn't able to film the scene the first day

　　D. The director ordered his crew to stop filming the "sunset"

4.The director wanted to film a sunset over the ocean because_____.

　　A. it went well with the separation of the hero and heroine

　　B. when they arrived at the beach it was already in the evening

　　C. it was more moving than a sunrise

　　D. the ocean looked more beautiful at sunset

5.After the "sunset" began, the director suddenly put his face in his hands____.

　　A. because he was moved to tears

　　B. as he saw everything in the film moving backwards

　　C. as the sunrise did not look as beautiful as he had imagined

　　D. because he was disappointed with the performance of the hero and the heroine

Two travelling angels (天使) stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy (富有) family. The family was rude(无礼的)and refused to let the angels stay in the guest room. Instead the angels were given a space in the cold basement (地下室). As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied, “Things aren't always what they seem.”

The next night the_pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable(好客的) farmer and his wife. After sharing the little food they had, the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night's rest. When the sun came up the next morning, the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their only income (收入), lay dead in the field.

The younger angel was very angry and asked the older angel, “How could you watch out for the cow? The first man had everything, yet you watched over his house.” She accused (指责), “The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you did not help.”

“Things aren't always what they seem.” the older angel replied, “When we stayed in the basement, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so greedy(贪婪的) and unwilling(不愿意的)to share his good fortune (财富)．I asked the God if I could seal (封口) the wall so he couldn't find it. Then last night as we slept in the farmer's bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I asked God if the angel could take the cow instead. The things aren't always what they seem.”

6．Why did the old angel repair the hole for the rich family?

A．Because she didn't like the greedy owner.

B．Because she wanted to save the gold for the poor.

C．Because the basement was too cold to stay in.

D．Because she believed that one should always be ready to help others.

7．What does the underlined phrase“the pair”in the second paragraph refers to?

A．The poor couple.　　　　B．The rich couple.

C．The guests.             D．The angels.

8．The younger angel was very angry because ________.

A．the older angel killed the farmer's cow

B．the older angel treated the two families unfairly

C．the wealthy man give them a bad place to live in

D．the angel of death took the cow away

9．Why did the older angel let the farmer's cow die?

A．Because the God wanted the older angel to take the cow.

B．Because she wanted to teach the younger angel a lesson.

C．Because she wanted to save the farmer's wife.

D．Because she was sympathetic to the rich.

10．The story tries to tell the reader that ________.

A．angels are always ready to (乐于)help the poor

B．sometimes things are not what they seem

C．angels are always ready to help the rich

D．the young should always learn from the old