Linda Evans was my best friend—like the sister I never had. We did everything together: piano lessons, movies, swimming, horseback riding.

When I was 13, my family moved away. Linda and I kept in touch through letters, and we saw each other on special time—like my wedding (婚礼) and Linda’s. Soon we were busy with children and moving to new homes, and we wrote less often. One day a card that I sent came back, stamped “Address (地址) Unknown. ” I had no idea how to find Linda.

Over the years, I missed Linda very much. I wanted to share (分享) happiness of my children and then grandchildren. And I needed to share my sadness when my brother and then mother died. There was an empty place in my heart that only a friend like Linda could fill.

One day I was reading a newspaper when I noticed a photo of a young woman who looked very much like Linda and whose last name was Wagman — Linda’s married name. “There must be thousands of  Wagmans,” I thought, but J still wrote to her.

She called as soon as she got my letter. “Mrs Tobin!” she said excitedly, “Linda Evans Wagman is my mother. ”

Minutes later I heard a voice that I knew very much, even after 40 years, laughed and cried and caught up on each other’s lives. Now the empty place in my heart is filled. And there’s one thing that Linda and I know for sure: We won’t lose each other again!

1.The writer went to piano lessons with Linda Evans _______.

A．at the age of 13

B．before she got married

C．after they moved to new homes

D．before the writer’s family moved away

2.They didn’t often write to each other because they _______.

A．got married

B．had little time to do so

C．didn’t like writing letters

D．could see each other on special time

3.There was an empty place in the writer’s heart be­cause she _______.

A．was in trouble

B．didn’t know Linda’s address

C．received the card that she sent

D．didn’t have a friend like Linda to share her happi­ness or sadness

4.They haven’t kept in touch _______.

A．for about 40 years

B．for about 27 years

C．since they got married

D．since the writer’s family moved away

Remember those big, colorful books with large pictures of balls or apples when you were a little kid? Those have proven to be helpful, according to a number of studies. Between 1 and 5 years old, introducing books to Children can help greatly because this is usually the age when intellectual (智力的) capabilities form.
At age 1 to 5, a child can decide whether he wants to learn or wants to be a good learner. The road to learning starts here. Their curiosity (好奇) and imagination are fed with the many pictures, sounds and colors in the books.
Children normally began school at 5 years old. But today, they go to school when they are as young as one and a half years old. This is because many parents have recognized that influencing the child's formative years (性格形成时期) is very important. The fight influence can make the child want to read in the future.
Parents should play a part in encouraging children to read. Even just reading them bedtime stories can help children feel the joy and amazement connected to reading. This can help them become better readers and better learners as they grow older.
If children are interested in reading books rather than watching television, they can improve many skills besides reading and learning. Books can act as stepping stones to intelligence. However, parents must be very careful not to overpower their children. If they force children to read books that are too hard to understand, they might think reading is boring and lose interest in it.
【小题1】. This passage mainly ­­­______.

Lynn was a young French Canadian girl who grew up in the farming community. At the age of l6, her father thought that she had enough schooling and forced her to drop out of school to contribute to the family income. In l922, with limited education and skills, the future didn’t look bright for Lynn. Her father demanded that Lynn find a job as soon as possible, but she didn’t have the confidence to ask for a job.

One day, Lynn gathered her courage and knocked on her very first door. She was met by Margaret Costello, the office manager. In her broken English, Lynn told her she was interested in the secretarial position. Margaret decided to give her a chance.

Margaret sat her down at a typewriter and said, “Lynn, let’s see how good you really are.” She directed Lynn to type a single letter, and then left. Lynn looked at the clock and saw that it was 11:40 a.m. Everyone would be leaving for lunch at noon. She thought she should at least attempt the letter.

On her first try, she got through one line but made four mistakes. She pulled the paper out and threw it away. The clock now read 11:45. “At noon,” she said to herself, “I’ll move out with the crowd, and they will never see me again.”

On her second attempt, things didn’t get any better. Again she started over and finally completed the letter, full of mistakes, though. She looked at the clock: 11:55—five minutes to freedom.

Just then, Margaret walked in. She came directly over to Lynn, and put one hand on the desk and the other on the girl’s shoulder. She read the letter and paused. Then she said, “Lynn, you’re doing good work!”

Lynn was surprised. She looked at the letter, then up at Margaret. With those simple words of encouragement, her desire to escape disappeared and her confidence began to grow. She thought, “Well, if she thinks it’s good, then it must be good. I think I’ll stay!”

Lynn did stay at Carhartt Overall Company…for 51 years, through two world wars and 11 presidents—all because someone had the insight to give a shy and uncertain young girl the gift of self-confidence when she knocked on the door.

1.Why did Lynn leave school at an early age?

A. To learn English well.                

B. To earn money for her family.

C. To get self-confidence.                   

D. To become a typist.

2.When Lynn applied for the job, she               .

A. could speak good English             

B. didn’t know much about typing

C. knew Margaret very well              

D. never wrote any letter

3.How many attempts did Lynn make to type the letter?

   A. One.            B. Two.            C. Three.        D. Four.

4.Who does the underlined word “someone” in the last paragraph refer to?

   A. Lynn’s father.                    B. Lynn herself.       C. A president.     D. Margaret.

5.What can we learn from Lynn's story?

A. Encouragement makes a difference.                     

B. Honesty is the best policy.

C. Virtue(美德) leads to success.       

D. Time waits for no man.

第二节：完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）

请认真阅读下面各题，从题中所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

The Conservative Party leader David Cameron has been elected British Prime Minister. Labor Party’s Gordon Brown, the   36   Prime Minister, had to   37   the tears as he said his goodbyes outside of 10 Downing St. And Cameron is the youngest UK prime minister in almost 200 years.

According to electoral rules, the leader of the party that wins a majority in Parliament becomes the new prime minister and forms the new government. If no party wins a majority, a coalition (联合) government   38   several parties may be formed. The head of the coalition party that   39   most seats in parliament probably becomes the new prime minister.

In Britain’s May 6 parliamentary   40  , Cameron’s Conservative Party won the most seats, but did not get a majority. After negotiations, with an agreement   41   between the Conservatives and the third-placed Liberal Democrats, a governing coalition was formed. [来源:ZXXK]

Cameron has grown   42   a shy primary school student with   43   school reports into a famous political   44  . He is reportedly a   45   of King William IV (1765 –1837). Cameron studied at the elite Eton College, for centuries the school   46   the choice for the nation’s wealthiest people to send their male children to. He went   47   to Oxford University, where he graduated with a degree in philosophy, politics and economics.

Once at primary school, Cameron had the poorest school report in the class. At Eton, Cameron was a problem boy. In 1983, he was suspected of taking drugs. He was punished, and   48   ordered to copy 500 lines of Latin text. He   49   the incident and worked harder.

Cameron was very   50   at Oxford. He captained the tennis team there. He was a member of a dining society. After graduation, he   51   politics. In 2001 Cameron became a member of Parliament and in 2005, at the age of 38, was elected the leader of the Conservative Party.

Now he has been elected the head of a country   52   deep economic troubles. At least 1.3 million people have been   53   in the serious financial crisis. British voters will be looking to see   54   the program his party has proposed to deal with the problem   55   do anything to help.

36. A. latest                                 B. current                          C. former                             D. latter

37. A. hold back                          B. hold off                            C. hold on                            D. hold out

38. A. is made up of                   B. consisting of                  C. is composed of              D. makes up of

39. A. holds                                  B. takes                               C. includes                          D. contains

40. A. selection                           B. election                           C. conference                     D. negotiation

41. A. reached                             B. arriving at                      C. coming to                       D. establishing

42. A. with                                    B. of                             C. from                                 D. for

43. A. excellent                           B. poor                                 C. average                          D. outstanding

44. A. people                               B. character                       C. image                              D. figure

45. A. son                                     B. grandson                        C. relative                           D. descendent

46. A. is                                        B. has been                         C. had been                        D. being

47. A. on                                       B. up                                     C. down                               D. out

48. A. otherwise                         B. therefore                        C. nevertheless                 D. however

49. A. survived from                  B. recovered from             C. benefited from              D. changing from

50. A. silent                                  B. positive                           C. active                              D. enthusiastic

51. A. took to                               B. toot after                       C. took off                           D. took over

52. A. faced                                  B. facing with                     C. faced with                      D. faces

53. A. laid off                               B. laid down                        C. laid aside                        D. laid out

54. A. that                                    B. what                                C. if                                       D. how

55. A. can                                     B. should                            C. must                                D. need

下面是上海博物馆展品的介绍，请阅读下列应用文和相关信息，并按照要求匹配信息。
A: A collection of over 3,000 pieces covers the history of the birth and development of Chinese currency. The ancient Silk Road coins record the economic history of those ancient nations along the Silk Road.
B: About 100 pieces of furniture illustrate the elegant simplicity of Ming style and the brilliant appearance of Qing style. A Ming­style reception hall and a study, together with a set of furniture models unearthed from a Ming tomb, represent the household life of centuries back.
C: Beginning with the writing carved on oracle bones and bronzes, to the age of bamboo slips and stone steles (石碑), many masterpieces, including those by Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi, present the interpretations of seal, official, running, cursive and regular scripts.
D: Long long rolls by masters from Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties are displayed in the showcases by the long corridor, unfolding the glorious history of Chinese painting.
E: Over 400 bronzes of unique shapes, delicate decor and excellent techniques tell you the 1500­year history of the great Chinese Bronze Age from 18th century B. C. till 3rd century B. C.
F: About 120 statues in the gallery cover the development of Chinese sculpture art from the Warring States to the Ming dynasty. The Buddhist sculptures show how Buddhism confronted and harmonized with Chinese traditional culture over the history.
下面是部分参观者的信息，请为他们找到各自需要的展馆。
【小题1】Liu Qiang is a middle school student, who is fond of art handwriting. He is curious about the development of all art handwriting in history.
【小题2】Cha Leon is from Thai and he is a devoted Buddhism believer. He wants to learn what Buddhism has brought into Chinese culture, especially at an aspect of art.
【小题3】Mr. Chang is a successful businessman. One of his hobbies is to collect house fittings in old look, especially beds, chairs or desks centuries ago. He won't lose a chance to appreciate such kind of things.
【小题4】Mai Ya is studying in a university majoring in economy. Next week she will present her project with a lot of pictures of ancient money in her PPT, but she still needs to learn more about the money and the history period.
【小题5】Xiao Yang is fond of fine art. He believes enjoying masterpieces is a shortcut for him to develop painting ability, and he is fond of Chinese traditional ones.