February has long been a month of romance. With the sweet smell of roses in the air, romantic films hit cinemas and love stories fill newspapers and magazines.

　　 On the 14th day, it is a custom for a boy to take his girlfriend out to dinner, buy her flowers and chocolates, write poems, sing to her or even spell out her name with rose petals! This is what you see on Valentine’s Day, a day named after Valentine who was a priest in the third century Rome. When the emperor (皇帝) decided that single men could become better soldiers than those with wives, he didn’t allow marriage.

　　 But Valentine continued to perform marriage ceremonies for young lovers in secret. When his actions were discovered, the emperor sentenced him to death. While in prison, it is said that Valentine fell in love with the daughter of his prison guard. Before his death, he wrote her a letter, which he signed “From your Valentine”, an expression that is still in use today. Valentine died for what he believed in and so he was made a Saint (圣徒), as well as becoming one of history’s most romantic characters.

　　 Nowadays, Valentine’s Day is also popular among Chinese young people. Some students are planning to make Valentine’s cards for parents, teachers and friends. Others want to hold parties at which they will exchange small gifts and eat heart-shaped cakes. The idea is to have fun and encourage people to share in the spirit of St. Valentine.

1. Why did the emperor in Rome not allow marriage in his country?

　　 A. Because there were few women in his country at that time.

　　 B. Because he thought men without wives could be better soldiers.

　　 C. Because there wasn’t enough food for so many people.

　　 D. Because he wanted to control the birth rate.

2. Valentine was put into prison because ______.

　　 A. he killed one of the soldiers

　　 B. he stole a lot of food

　　 C. he didn’t obey the emperor’s order　

　　 D. he didn’t want to be a soldier

3. The last paragraph mainly tells us ______.

　　 A. students in China send cards to their teachers

　　 B. it is a good idea to celebrate Valentine’s Day in China

　　 C. it is interesting to celebrate Valentine’s Day in China

　　 D. Valentine’s Day is also popular in China now

4. The best title for this passage should be ______.

　　 A. Valentine’s Day　 　　　　　 B. A Brave Priest　

　　 C. Valentine’s Day in China　　　 D. A Romantic Man

"My aunt will come down soon, Mr．Nuttel," said a young lady of fifteen．

Framton Nuttel attempted to say something to please the niece． Privately he doubted whether this visit would do much towards helping with his　nerve problem．

"I know how it will be," his sister had said, "People there　 are nice． I shall just give you letters of introduction to all the people I know there．" Framton wondered whether Mrs．Sappleton, the lady to whom he was presenting one of the letters ofintroduction came into the nice division．

"Do you know many of the people round here?" asked the niece．

"Hardly a soul," said Framton．

"Then you know practically nothing about my aunt． Her great tragedy（悲剧） happened

just three years ago," said the child, “Out through that window, her husband and her two young brothers went off for their day's shooting． They never came back． Poor aunt always thinks that they will come back someday． She has often told me about Ronnie, her youngest brother, singing ‘Bertie, why do you bound?"'

At this time, Mrs． Sappleton came in, greeting,“I hope you don't mind the open window．" She talked on cheerfully about the shooting． To Framton it was all purely horrible． He made a desperate but only partially successful effort to tum the talk on to a less scary topic． "The doctors agree in ordering me complete rest, and an absence of mental excitement．" he announced, "On the matter of diet they are not so much in agreement," he continued．

"No?" said Mrs． Sappleton, in a voice which only replaced a yawn at the last moment． "Here they are at last!" she suddenly cried． In the deepening dusk out came three figures with a tired brown spaniel （猎犬）．And then a young voice rang out of the dusk, "I said, Bertie, why do you bound?"

Framton grabbed wildly at his stick and hat, without a word of goodbye, and rushed out of sight．

“What is up?" Mrs． Sappleton was confused．

"I expect it was the spaniel," said the niece calmly, "He told me that he was once hunted into a tomb by a pack of dogs, and had to spend the night in a newly dug tomb with the creatures barking just above him． Enough to make anyone lose their nerve．"

Romance at short notice was her specialty．

72． According to the passage, we leam that Mrs． Sappleton　　　　 ．

　　　 A． felt sorrow about the shooting 　　　　　　　　 B． got along well with Ronnie

　　　 C． listened carefully to Framton 　　　　　　　　　 D． trusted and spoiled her niece

73． As for Framton's nerve problem, his doctors　　　　 ．

　　　 A． recommended him to go off for a shooting

　　　 B． suggested to him a rest cure in the countryside

　　　 C． advised him to keep his mind off excitement

　　　 D． agreed on the treatment of his diet

74． Which word can best describe Framton?

　　　 A． Cheerful． 　　　 B． Brave． 　　　　　 C． Fragile． D． Wise．

75． What can be inferred about the niece from the last sentence?

　　　 A． She was good at making up a story in a short time．

　　　 B． She showed a strong love for scary stories．

　　　 C． She fell in love with Framton in no time．

　　　 D． She took no notice of strange visitors．

The firemen ______ went into the ______ house without any hesitation．

[　　]

A．brave…burn 　　　　 B．bravely…burning

C．bravery…burning 　　D．braving…burnt

Just as the manager says, 　　　to take their adventure course will certainly learn many useful skills .

A. Kids brave enough　　　　　　 　　　 B. Enough brave kids　　

C. Brave enough kids　　　　　 　　　　　 D. Kids enough brave

James’s New Bicycle　

James shook his money box again. Nothing! He carefully __1__ the coins that lay on the bed. $24.52 was all that he had. The bicycle he wanted was at least $90! __2__ on earth was he going to get the __3_ of the money?　

He knew that his friends all had bicycles. It was __4__ to hang around with people when you were the only one without wheels. He thought about what he could do. There was no __5__ asking his parents, for he knew they had no money to __6__.　

There was only one way to get money, and that was to __7__ it. He would have to find a job. __8__ who would hire him and what could he do? He decided to ask Mr. Clay for advice, who usually had __9__ on most things.　

“Well, you can start right here,” said Mr. Clay. “My windows need cleaning and my car needs washing.”　

That was the _10__ of James’s odd-job（零工） business. For three months he worked every day after finishing his homework. He was amazed by the __11__ of jobs that people found for him to do. He took dogs and babies for walks, cleared out cupboards, and mended books. He lost count of the __12__ of cars he washed and windows he cleaned, but the __13__ increased and he knew that he would soon have __14__ for the bicycle he longed for.　

The day __15__ came when James counted his money and found $94.32. He __16__ no time and went down to the shop to pick up the bicycle he wanted. He rode __17__ home, looking forward to showing his new bicycle to his friends. It had been hard __18__ for the money, but James knew that he valued his bicycle far more __19__ he had bought it with his own money. He had __20__what he thought was impossible, and that was worth even more than the bicycle.　

难易度：难

1. A. cleaned　　　 B. covered　　 C. counted　　　　 D. checked　

2. A. How　 B. Why　 C. Who　 D. What　

3. A. amount　 B. part　 C. sum　 D. rest　

4. A. brave　 B. hard　 C. smart D. unfair　

5. A. point B. reason　 C. result　 D. right　

6. A. split　 B. spend　 C. spare　 D. save　

7. A. borrow B. earn　 C. raise　 D. collect　

8. A. Or　 B. So　 C. For　 D. But　

9 A. decisions B. experience 　C. opinions D. knowledge　

10. A. beginning B. introduction　 C. requirement　 D. opening　

11. A. similarity B. quality　 C. suitability　 D. variety　

12. A. brand　 B. number C. size　 D. type　

13. A. effort　 B. pressure C. money D. trouble　

14. A. all　 B. enough　 C. much　 D. some　

15. A. finally B. instantly C. normally D. regularly　

16. A. gave　 B. left　 C. took　 D. wasted　

17. A. patiently B. proudly　 C. silently　 D. tiredly　

18. A. applying　 B. asking　 C. looking　 D. working　

19. A. since B. if　 C. than　 D. though　

20. A. deserved B. benefited C. achieved D. learned