The drug store was closing for the night and Alfred Higgins was about to go home when his new boss approached him.

“Empty your pockets please, Alfred,” Sam Carr demanded in a firm voice.

Alfred pretended to be shocked but he knew he had been caught. From his coat he withdrew a make-up kit, a lipstick and two tubes of toothpaste.

“I’m disappointed in you, Alfred!” said the little gray-haired man.

“Sorry, sir. Please forgive me. It’s the first time I’ve ever done such a thing,” Alfred lied, hoping to gain the old man’s sympathy.

Mr Carr’s brow furrowed as he reached for the telephone, “Do you take me for a fool? Let’s see what the police have to say. But first I’ll call your mother and let her know her son is heading to jail.”

“Do whatever you want,” Alfred shot back, trying to sound big. But deep down he felt like a child. He imagined his mother rushing in, eyes burning with anger, maybe in tears. Yet he wanted to come quickly before Mr. Carr called the police.

Mr. Carr was surprised when Mrs. Higgins finally arrived . She was very calm, quiet and friendly. “Is Alfred in trouble?” she asked.

“He’s been stealing from the store,” the old man coolly replied.

Mrs. Higgins pulled out her hand and touched Mr. Carr’s arm with great gentleness as if she knew just how he felt. She spoke as if she did not want to cause him any more trouble. “What do you want to do, Mr.Carr?”

The woman’s calm and gentle manner disarmed the once-angry store-owner, “I was going to get a cop. But I don’t want to be cruel. Tell your son not to come back here again and I will let it go.” Then he warmly shook Mrs. Higgins’ hand.

Mrs. Higgins thanked the old ma for his kindness, then mother and son left. They walked along the street in silence. When they arrived home his mother simply said, “Go to bed, you fool.”

In his bedroom, Alfred heard his mother in the kitchen. He felt no shame, only pride in his mother’s actions. “She was smooth!” he thought. He went to the kitchen to tell her how great she was, but was shocked by what he saw.

His mother’s face looked frightened, broken. Not the cool, bright face he saw earlier. Her lips moved nervously. She looked very old. There were tears in her eyes.

This picture of his mother made him want to cry. He felt his youth ending. He saw all the troubles he brought her and the deep lines of worry in her grey face. It seemed to him that this was the first time he had ever really seen his mother.

56. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

　 A. It was the first time Alfred had stolen anything.

B. Mr. Carr set a trap to catch Alfred stealing.

　 C. Alfred tried to sound big to hide his fear.

D. Mr. Carr had planned to forgive Alfred from the beginning.

57. What does the underlined word “disarmed” probably mean?

　 A. annoyed　　　 B. got over　　　 C. convinced　　　 D. made less angry

58. What was the mother’s attitude towards Alfred?

　 A. She felt disappointed with him.　　 B. She was strict with him.

　 C. She was supportive of him.　　　　 D. She was afraid of him.

59. What impressed Alfred most about his mother at the drugstore was_______.

　 A. how angry she was　　　　　 B. how effective she handled Mr. Carr.

　 C. that she was able to save him　 D. that she didn’t cry

60. From the last paragraph, we know Alfred________.

　 A. was no longer a youth.　　　　　 B. felt proud of his mother

　 C. wanted his mother to be happy　　 D. felt guilty and regretful for his deed.

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

Over the last 25 years, British society has changed a great deal – or at least many parts of it have.  1. . Ideas about social class – whether a person is “working - class” or “middle - class” – are one area in which changes have been extremely slow.

　　In the past, the working-class tended to be paid less than middle-class people. The typical working man would collect his wages on Friday evening and then, it was widely believed, having given his wife her "housekeeping", would go out and squander（挥霍） the rest on beer and betting.

　　The old style of what a middle-class man did with his money was perhaps nearer the truth. He was-and still is-inclined (有意) to take a longer-term view. Not only did he regard buying a house as a most important thing, but he also considered the education of his children as extremely important.   2.   . Only in very few cases did workers have the opportunity （or the education and training） to make such long-term plans.

　　 3.  . In a large number of cases factory workers earn as much as their middle – class supervisors (管理者). Improved social security and laws have made it less necessary than before to worry about "tomorrow". Working-class people seem slowly to be losing the feeling of inferiority(自卑感). In fact there has been a growing tendency in the past few years for the middle-classes to feel slightly ashamed of their position.

       4.   .They generally tend to share very similar tastes in music and clothes, they spend their money in having a good time, and save for holidays or longer-term plans when necessary. There seems to be much less difference than in precious generations.  5.   . As long as this gap exists, there will always be a possibility that new conflicts and jealousies will emerge, or rather that the old conflicts will re-appear, but between different groups.

    A. Nowadays, a great deal has changed

    B. Both of these provided him and his family with security

    C. As a result, differences in life – styles and attitudes came into existence

    D. However, we still have a wide gap between the well – paid and the low - paid

    E. In recent years, the working – class people have begun to design long – term plans

    F. In some ways, however, very little has changed, particularly where attitudes are concerned

    G. The changes in both life–styles and attitudes are probably most easily seen amongst younger people

第二节　完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）
　　阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。
　　One day a young man was standing in the middle of the town proclaiming that he had the most beautiful heart in the whole valley. A large crowd gathered．and they all admired his heart for it was 　31　. There was not a scar in it. Suddenly, an old man appeared and said, “Why, your heart is not nearly as beautiful as 　32　.”
　　The crowd and the young man looked at the old man’s 　33　. It was full of scars, it had places 　34　 pieces had been removed and other pieces 　35　 in, but they didn’t fit quite right, and there were several 　36　 edges. In fact, in some places there were deep gaps where whole pieces were missing.
　　The young man laughed. “ 　37　 your heart with mine, mine is perfect and yours is a mess of scars.”
　　“Yes,” said the old man, “Yours 　38　 perfect but I would never trade with you. You see, every 　39　 represents a person 　40　 I have given my love. I tear out a piece of my heart and give it to them, and often they 　41　 me a piece of their heart that fits into the 　42　 place in my heart. But because the pieces aren’t exact, I have some rough edges, which I cherish, because they remind me of the love we 　43　.
　　“Sometimes I have given pieces of my heart 　44　, and the other person hasn’t returned a 　45　 of his or her heart to me. These are the empty gaps—giving love is 　46　 a chance. Although these gaps are painful, they 　47　 open, reminding me of the love I have for those people too, and I hope someday they may return and fill the space I have been waiting. So now do you see what true beauty is?’’
　　The young man walked up to the old man, 　48　 his perfect heart, and tipped a piece out. He 　49　 it to the old man.
　　The old man placed it in his heart, then took a piece from his old scarred heart and placed it in the wound in the young man’s heart. It 　50　, but not perfectly, as there were some jagged edges.
　　The young man looked at his heart, not perfect anymore but more beautiful than ever, since love from the old man’s heart flowed into his.
　　They embraced and walked away side by side.
31．A．ugly          B．perfect      C．beautiful     D．hurt
32．A．mine         B．his          C．theirs          D．ours
33．A．coat         B．appearance    C．face           D．heart
34．A．that        B．which       C．where　      D．whose
35．A．cut           B．set            C．put          D．brought
36．A．smooth       B．rough          C．broken             D．pretty
37．A．Comparing    B．Compared    C．Compare     D．Compares
38．A．looks        B．seems          C．is           D．fits
39．A．one        B．heart       C．piece         D．scar
40．A．on whom           B．in whom      C．with whom    D．to whom
41．A．take          B．give        C．lend        D．pass
42．A．empty         B．full            C．original       D．first
43．A．had           B．gave        C．shared       D．owned
44．A．in           B．away         C．off         D．up
45．A．lot            B．sheet          C．piece       D．pile
46．A．making       B．taking       C．keeping      D．bringing
47．A．keep          B．cut         C．come         D．stay
48．A．carried away  B．reached into    C．took out      D．brought up
49．A．offered      B．took        C．passed      D．served
50．A．fit             B．hit           C．beat           D．set

短文改错

The drug store was closing for the night and Alfred Higgins was about to go home when his new boss approached him.

“Empty your pockets please, Alfred,” Sam Carr demanded in a firm voice.

Alfred pretended to be shocked but he knew he had been caught. From his coat he withdrew a make-up kit, a lipstick and two tubes of toothpaste.

“I’m disappointed in you, Alfred!” said the little gray-haired man.

“Sorry, sir. Please forgive me. It’s the first time I’ve ever done such a thing,” Alfred lied, hoping to gain the old man’s sympathy.

Mr Carr’s brow furrowed as he reached for the telephone, “Do you take me for a fool? Let’s see what the police have to say. But first I’ll call your mother and let her know her son is heading to jail.”

“Do whatever you want,” Alfred shot back, trying to sound big. But deep down he felt like a child. He imagined his mother rushing in, eyes burning with anger, maybe in tears. Yet he wanted to come quickly before Mr. Carr called the police.

Mr. Carr was surprised when Mrs. Higgins finally arrived . She was very calm, quiet and friendly. “Is Alfred in trouble?” she asked.

“He’s been stealing from the store,” the old man coolly replied.

Mrs. Higgins pulled out her hand and touched Mr. Carr’s arm with great gentleness as if she knew just how he felt. She spoke as if she did not want to cause him any more trouble. “What do you want to do, Mr.Carr?”

The woman’s calm and gentle manner disarmed the once-angry store-owner, “I was going to get a cop. But I don’t want to be cruel. Tell your son not to come back here again and I will let it go.” Then he warmly shook Mrs. Higgins’ hand.

Mrs. Higgins thanked the old ma for his kindness, then mother and son left. They walked along the street in silence. When they arrived home his mother simply said, “Go to bed, you fool.”

In his bedroom, Alfred heard his mother in the kitchen. He felt no shame, only pride in his mother’s actions. “She was smooth!” he thought. He went to the kitchen to tell her how great she was, but was shocked by what he saw.

His mother’s face looked frightened, broken. Not the cool, bright face he saw earlier. Her lips moved nervously. She looked very old. There were tears in her eyes.

This picture of his mother made him want to cry. He felt his youth ending. He saw all the troubles he brought her and the deep lines of worry in her grey face. It seemed to him that this was the first time he had ever really seen his mother.

1.Which of the following is true according to the passage?

2.What does the underlined word “disarmed” probably mean?

3.What was the mother’s attitude towards Alfred?

4.What impressed Alfred most about his mother at the drugstore was_______.

5.From the last paragraph, we know Alfred________.