Whether we find a joke funny or not largely depends on where we have been brought up．The sense of humour is mysteriously(神秘地)connected with national characteristics．A Frenchman ,for instance, might find it hard to laugh at Russian joke．In the same way, a Russian might fail to see anything amusing in a joke which would make an Englishman laugh to tears．

       Most funny stories are based on comic situations．In spite of national differences, certain funny situations have a worldwide request．No matter where you live, you would find it difficult not to laugh at, say ,Charlie Chaplin’s early films．However, a new type of humour, which stems largely from America, has recently come into fashion．It is called “sick humour”．Comedians base their jokes on tragic situations like violent (cause by force)death or serious accidents．Many people find this sort of joke distasteful．The following example of “sick humour” will enable you to judge for yourself．

A man who had broken his right leg was taken to hospital a few weeks before Christmas．From the moment he arrived there, he kept on pestering(纠缠) his doctor tell him when he would be able to go home．He was afraid of having to spend Christmas in hospital ．Though the doctor did his best, the patient’s recovery was slow．On Christmas day, however, the doctor consoled(安慰)him by telling him that his chances of being able to leave hospital in time for New Year celebrations were good．The man took heart and, sure enough , on New Year’s Eve he was able to hobble(跛行) along to a party．To compensate(补偿)for his unpleasant experiences in hospital , the man drank a little more than what was good for him．In the process, he enjoyed himself and kept telling everybody how much he hated hospitals．He was still mumbling something about hospitals at the end of the party when he slipped on a piece of ice and broke his left leg．

Whether you find “sick humour” funny or not will depend on ________．

       A．your having been brought up in America                           

B．the joke being related to a really comic situation

       C．your ability to see the funny side of an unpleasant event  

D．your ability to laugh until you cry

The man spent Christmas day feeling miserable because ________．

       A．the doctor had failed to cure him                 

B．he was not able to be with his friends

       C．being unable to walk, he did not enjoy the celebrations at the hospital

       D．he thought he might also miss the New Year’s Eve celebration

The point of the joke taken to explain “sick humour” is that ________．

       A．no sooner was the out of hospital than he had to go back in again．

       B．the man should not have said how much he hated hospitals

       C．the man would be unable to walk for the rest of his life  

D．the man had not got a leg to stand on

What can you learn from this story ?

       A．On New Year’s Eve, the man was able to walk properly to the party．

       B．At the party , he enjoyed himself but only drank a little．

       C．He had to go to hospital again though he hated it．

       D．The man got well soon because the doctor took good care of him．

Born in America, I spoke English, not Chinese, the language of my ancestors. When I was three, my parents flashed cards with Chinese ___16___ at my face, but I pushed them aside. My mom believed I would learn when I was ready. But the ___17___ never came.

On a Chinese New Year’s Eve, my uncle spoke to me in Chinese, but all I could do was ___18___ at him, confused, scratching my head. “Still can’t speak Chinese?” He ___19___me, “You can’t even buy a fish in Chinatown.”

“Hey, this is America, not China. I’ll get some right now with or without Chinese.” I replied and turned to my mom for ___20___.

“Remember to ask for fresh fish, Xin Xian Yu,” she said, handing over a $20 bill. I ___21___ the words, running downstairs into the streets of Chinatown.

I found the fish ___22___ surrounded in a sea of customers. “I’d like to buy some fresh fish,” I shouted to the fisherman. But he ___23___ my English words and turned to serve the next customer. The laugh of the people behind increased with their impatience. With every ___24___, the breath of the dragons on my back grew stronger---my blood boiling---___25___ me to cry out, “Xian Sheng Yu， please.” “ Very Xian Sheng,” I repeated. The crowd burst into laughter. My face turned ___26___ and I ran back home ___27___, expect for the $20 bill I held tightly in my pocket.

Should I laugh or cry? They’re Chinese. I’m Chinese. I should feel right at ___28___. Instead , I was the joke , a disgrace (丢脸)to the language.

Sometimes, I laugh at my fish ___29___, but , in the end .the joke is on me. Every laugh is a culture ___30___; every laugh is my heritage (传统)fading away.

A. custom                        B. games          C .characters                     D. language

A. success                     B. study                 C. time                                 D. attempt

A. aim                          B. joke                   C. nod                                   D. stare

A. cared about             B. laughed at       C. argued with                   D. asked after

A. decision                       B. permission  C. information          D. preparation

A. repeated                B. reviewed               C. spelled                            D. kept

A. farm                    B. stand                      C. pond                                D. market

A. guessed                       B. forgot                     C. doubted                          D. ignored

A. second                    B. effort                      C. desire                              D. movement

A. forcing                       B. allowing                 C. persuading          D. leading

A. bright                         B. blank                      C. pale                                      D. red

A. open-mouthed        B. tongue-tied C. empty-handed     D. broken-hearted

A. service           B. home                      C. risk                      D. root

A. trade                       B. deed                       C. challenge                  D. incident

A. thrown           B. lost                         C. divided                  D. reflected

阅读下列各小题， 根据括号内的汉语提示，用句末括号内的英语单词完成，并将答案写在答题卡上的相应题号内。

1.So rapidly                                                                                          that no book can ever be fully up to date. (advance)

计算机技术发展如此之快以致于书都不能全面及时更新。

2.Without the flood in the village ten years ago, the group of youths ______________ with their parents during their childhood. (lead)

村子里要是没有十年前的那场洪水，这群年轻人在他们的童年时期本可以和他们的父母一起过着快乐的日子。

3. Hearing the joke, everyone in the room couldn’t help _______________. (burst)

听到这个笑话，屋子里的人都忍不住爆笑起来。

4.Mr. Smith doesn’t know this city very well because it was only two months ago, in

March, _____________ working here. (start)

史密斯先生对这个城市并不太熟，因为他在两个月前，也就是三月份，才开始

这里工作。

5. His younger sister teaches in a secondary school, in front of __________________.

(flow)

他妹妹在一所中学教书，学校门前流淌着一条小河。

6.The old temple ________________ several times, now it looks brand-new. (restore)

这个古庙经历了数次重建，如今看着一派簇新。

7.We’re said _______________________ in the Information Age, a time for new discoveries and great changes. (live)

据说我们正生活在信息时代，一个有着新发现和伟大变革的时代。

8. I ________________________ if you would turn the music down. (appreciate)

如果你把音乐关小一些，我将不胜感激。

9. We all believe that with the help of science and technology, it will not take too long _________________________ the Mars. (settle)

我们都相信在科技的帮助下，不久人类将定居火星。

10.________________ teenagers taste, the song is increasing popular with middle school students. (base)

基于青少年的品味，这首歌在中学生中日趋流行。

During the years of depression(萧条), food and money were very hard to find and people had to trade things with each other.

One day I was  36   some potatoes from Mr Miller. I noticed a small poor boy hungrily   37   a full basket of freshly picked green peas. Then I was  38   to see that Mr Miller sold the boy a bag of peas for just a marble (弹球).

Mrs Miller, who had been standing nearby,   39_ and told me that Mr Miller loved to trade with the three boys in the village for peas, tomatoes, and other things  40   he didn’t really need any marbles. I left the stand, smiling to myself,   41   by this man.

Several years went by. One day I learned that Mr Miller had died. I took part in the funeral(葬礼),  42_  three young men . They came over to Mrs Miller, hugged her, kissed her on the cheek, spoke with her and moved on, _43_ their eyes.

Our _44_ came to meet Mrs Miller. I mentioned _45   she had told me about the _46. She told me, “Those three young men above were the boys I told you about. They just told me   47  they appreciated the things Jim ‘traded ’with them. Now, at last, they came to pay their debt.”

“We’ve _48   had a great deal of the wealth in this world,” she _49_, “but right now, Jim wouldW#W$W%.K**S*&5︿U consider himself to be the _50_ man.”

Then she gently lifted the   51   fingers of her husband. Resting underneath were three red marbles.

At that time I realized that we would not be  52    by our words, but by our kind  53  . It is said that it takes a minute to find a  54  person, an hour to appreciate him, a day to love him, but an entire life to 55   him.

1.A.buying          B. selling              C. borrowing            D. hunting

2.A.reaching for        B. glancing at          C. staring at           D. picking up

3.A. astonished         B. amazed           C. annoyed          D. worried

4.A.turned over         B. going over           C. came over            D. coming over

5.A.but             B. otherwise            C. or               D. although

6.A.suspected           B. impressed            C. regretted            D. embarrassed

7.A.discovering         B. watching             C. finding          D. seeing

8.A.closing         B. rolling              C. cleaning         D. wiping

9.A. time               B. chance               C. turn             D. decision

10.A. the story             B. the proverb          C. the legend           D. the joke

11.A. marbles           B. men              C. debt             D. life

12.A.why                B. how              C. when             D. what

13.A. ever              B. always               C. never                D. seldom

14.A.laughed            B. cried                C. sighed               D. added    

15.A. honest            B. happiest         C. coldest              D. richest

16.A. lifeless          B. regretless           C. useless          D. hopeless

17.A. thought           B. touched          C. remembered       D. affected

18.A.deeds              B. things               C. remarks          D. rewards

19.A. strict                B. honest               C. special              D. learned

20.A.ignore             B. forget               C. recognize            D. remind

第三部分：阅读理解(共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分)
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。
A handsome middle­aged man walked quietly into the cafe and sat down. Before he ordered，he couldn’t help but notice a group of younger men at the table next to him. It was obvious they were making fun of something about him and it wasn’t until he remembered he was wearing a small pink ribbon(丝带) on the lapel of his suit that he became aware of what the joke was all about.
The man pretended not to notice it，but the whisper and laughter began to get to him. He looked one of the rude young men straight into the eye，placed his hand beneath the ribbon and asked，“This？”
With that the young men all began to laugh out loud. The man he spoke to said，“Hey，sorry，man, but we were just commenting on how pretty your little pink ribbon looks against your blue jacket！”
The middle­aged man calmly invited the joker to come over to his table, and politely seated him. As uncomfortable as he was, the young guy had to, not really sure why. In a soft voice，the middle­aged man said, “I wear this ribbon to bring awareness about breast cancer. I wear it in my mother’s honor.”
“Oh, sorry. She died of breast cancer？”
“No, she didn’t. She’s alive and well. But her breasts nourished me as a baby，and were a soft resting place for my head when I was scared or lonely as a little boy. I’m very grateful for my mother’s breasts, and her health.”
“Umm,” the young replied “yeah.”
“And I wear this ribbon to honor my wife” the man continued.
“And she’s okay, too？”the young guy asked.
“Oh, yes. She’s fine. Her breasts have been a great source of loving pleasure for both of us，and with them she nurtured and nourished our daughter 23 years ago. I’m grateful for my wife’s breasts，and her health.”
“Uh, huh. And I guess you wear it to honor your daughter, also？”
“No. It’s too late to honor my daughter by wearing it now...”
Shaken and ashamed，the young guy said, “Oh, I’m so sorry，mister.”
“So, in my daughter’s memory, too, I proudly wear this little ribbon, which allows me the opportunity to enlighten others. And here...”With this，he reached in his pocket and handed the young man a little pink ribbon. The young guy looked at it, slowly raised his head and asked, “...？”
51．The young men joked about the middle­aged man’s________.
A．looks       B．ribbon      C．attitude     D．clothes
52．What may have happened to the man’s daughter?
A．She died of breast cancer.                B．She was ill with cancer.
C．She had gone abroad.                    D．She got married.
53．What will the young man probably ask at the end of the story?
A．May I give it to my mother?           B．Can you help me put it on?
C．Will you please forgive me?            D．Shall we have some drink together?
54．What is the best title for the passage?
A．An Unusual Meeting               B. An Impressive Lesson
C．Be Grateful to Your Beloved     D. A little Pink Ribbon