Today, roller skating is easy and fun．But a long time ago, it wasn’t easy at all. Before 1750, the idea of skating didn’t exist. That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin. Merlin’s work was making musical instruments. In his spare time he liked to play the violin. Joseph Merlin was a man of ideas and dreams. People called him a dreamer.

One day Merlin received an invitation to attend a fancy dress ball（化装舞会）. He was very pleased and a little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think how to make a grand entrance at the party. He had an idea. He thought he would get a lot of attention if he could skate into the room.

　　Merlin tried different ways to make himself roll. Finally, he decided to put two wheels under each shoe. These were the first roller skates. Merlin was very proud of his invention and dreamed of arriving at the party on wheels while playing the violin.

　　On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room playing his violin. Everyone was astonished to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skates. He rolled on and on. Suddenly, he ran into a huge mirror that was hanging on the wall. Down fell the mirror, breaking to pieces. Nobody forgot Merlin’s grand entrance for a long time!

60．The text is mainly about ________.

         A．a strange man              B．an unusual party

         C．how roller skating began     D．how people enjoyed themselves in the 18th century

61．People thought Merlin was a dreamer because he _________.

　　A．often gave others surprises　　　　　 B．was a gifted musician

         C．invented the roller skates　　　　　　D．was full of imagination

62．Merlin put wheels under his shoes in order to ________ .

A．impress the party guests　　　　　　B．arrive at the party sooner

C．test his invention　　　　　　　　　D．show his skill in walking on wheels

63．What is the main point the writer is trying to make in the last paragraph?

         A．The roller skates needed further improvement.  B．The party guests took Merlin for a fool.

         C．Merlin succeeded beyond expectation.        D．Merlin got himself into trouble.

I’m a pig, and my son is a rabbit. I have snakes for daughters, and my wife, believe it or not, is a dragon! Do I live in a zoo? No, of course not! I am talking about Chinese zodiac signs. Depending on the year of your birth, each person has an animal for a sign. That’s why I am a pig and my wife is a dragon. If you, like me, were born in the year of the pig, then you are brave, thoughtful and loyal. The year of the pig is filled with good fortune.

　　Now let’s take a closer look at this interesting animal.

　　Pigs were first raised by man about 9,000 years ago, and are still a very common farm animal in many parts of the world. We don’t just use pigs for their meat — almost every part of the animal is used. The hair is used for artists’ brushes. The fat is used to make floor wax, rubber and plastics.

　Pigs have also been important in the world of entertainment. In 1995 the film ‘Babe’ starred a loveable talking pig as its main character. The film won an Oscar and was nominated for 6 more. In England you can even go to watch pig racing. A farmer, Rob Shepherd, has been raising money for charity by holding pig races on his farm. The events have been very successful. People don’t just want to eat pigs, it seems!

　Pigs also play an important role in the English language. For example, if someone says that he will travel to the sun one day, you can say “pigs might fly!” to him. Hungry? Well then, you can “pig out” and eat lots of food. And what if someone rescues you? Well, you can say that they “saved your bacon”.

44. The writer wrote the first paragraph in a ______ tone.

　　A. sad　　　　　　B. confused

　　C. serious　　　　 D. humorous

45. We may know from the passage that ______.

　　A. people in England like pigs more than other animals

　　B. pigs are more useful than ordinary people imagine

　　C. pigs are the first animals raised by man

　　D. more people don’t want to eat pigs now

46. The underlined sentence “pigs might fly!” in the fifth paragraph means “______”.

　　A. What you have just said is impossible

　　B. Pigs are great animals

　　C. I don’t understand your words

　　D. I can’t agree with you more

47. Which diagram shows the structure of the passage?

假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处，每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。

　　增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。

　　删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。

　　修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。

　　注意：1.每处错误及其修改均限一词。

2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。

I often dream of be a teacher. I dream of standing in the platform（讲台）in the classroom and I give

lessons to lovely boys or girls. I teach them, play with them, and watch them growing up. I am always

Young when I was staying with them. I know there is not easy to be teacher. Without enough knowledges , you can never teach well. Besides, you have to make friends with your pupils and take good care of him.

Though I am a student now, but I will work very hard to make my dream comes true.

完形填空

Charles Dickens, who was one of the famous English writers, was born in 1812. He didn't like to 1 noisy and active games. He began to read books in 2 childhood.

When he was about six, someone 3 him to a theatre. He saw a play by Shakespeare(莎士比亚)and liked it 4 that he made up his mind to write a play of 5 .

Several years later, the family moved to London. There 6 several young children in the family. His father was 7 for debt at that time. He worked hard from early morning till late at night to help his family. Only when his father was set free could Charles go to school. But he didn't finish school at all. He had to go on working 8 .

When he was fifteen, he often went to the library of the British museum. He 9 long hours reading and 10 he received his education in his early life.

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