10－year－old John ran bare foot out of the door on a windy, cold day in February and he __1__ straight for the 125－foot electric tower behind their home. The tower carried 230,000 volts through its silver wires but John wasn't __2__ of the danger. He had suffered from a mental illness, a condition that separates him from reality，__3__ him to live within his own __4__. That day his thoughts were set on climbing to the top of that tower, touching the sky and feeling what it was like to __5__.

His seventeen－year－old brother, James, who had always been close by, watching him and making sure that no __6__ came to him，__7__ to realize that he was missing this time.

John had already __8__ the handrails(栏杆) and was making his __9__ to the sky by the time James __10__ him. James understood the __11__ of the electrical tower but he chose to follow his younger brother up each gray rail, trying not to look __12__，all the way to the top. James finally __13__ his brother and held him tightly with his right hand. With his left hand, he held on to a metal bar to help stabilize(固定) them __14__.

The minutes lengthened into hours __15__ they balanced on a three－inch rail. James sang songs to __16__ his own beating heart and to draw his brother's attention away from the rescue action taking place __17__.

Hundreds of people gathered at the base of the tower and they looked like ants to James. Helicopters(直升飞机) began to circle overhead and emergency trucks rushed to the __18__.When secured with a safety line, the brothers and their rescuers were carefully lowered to the ground, the crowd below burst out __19__. They witnessed the __20__ of a 17－year－old boy named James.

1. A. looked  B. headed  C. cared  D. sent

2. A. aware         B. proud         C. sure           D. afraid

3. A. teaching      B. allowing      C. coaching       D. forcing

4. A. words         B. opinions      C. thoughts       D. ideas

5. A. run           B. fly           C. rush           D. walk

6. A. harm          B. wound         C. fear           D. damage

7. A. refused       B. headed        C. pretended      D. failed

8. A. removed            B. cleared      

C. overcome           D. occupied

9. A. way           B. trip          C. tour           D. journey

10. A. caught       B. saved         C. found          D. recognized

11. A. usage        B. danger        C. effect         D. height

12. A. left         B. right         C. up             D. down

13. A. reached      B. touched       C. fetched        D. found

14. A. either       B. both          C. all            D. each

15. A. before       B. till          C. where          D. as

16. A. stop         B. rest          C. calm           D. resist

17. A. below        B. nearby        C. ahead          D. around

18. A. land         B. space         C. center         D. scene

19. A. cries        B. cheers        C. laughter       D. shouts

20. A. carefulness       B. friendliness 

C. braveness        D. unselfishness

  George has stolen some money. The police had caught him and he had been put in prison. Now his trial was about to begin, and he felt sure that he would be found guilty and sent to prison for a long time.

  Then he discovered that an old friend of his was one of the jury at his trial. Of course, he didn’t tell anybody, but he managed to see his friend secretly one day. He said to him, “Jim, I know that the jury will find me guilty of having stolen the money. I cannot hope to be found not guilty of taking it―that would be too much to expect. But I should be grateful to you for the rest of my life if you could persuade the other members of the jury to add a strong recommendation for mercy（从轻量刑 ）to their statement that they consider me guilty. ”

  “Well, George,” answered Jim, “I shall certainly try to do what I can for you as an old friend, but of course I cannot promise anything. The other eleven people on the jury look terribly strong―minded to me. ”

  George said that he would quite understand if Jim was not able to do anything for him, and thanked him warmly for agreeing to help.

  The trial went on, and at last the time came for the jury to decide whether George was guilty or not. It took them five hours, but in the end they found George guilty, with a strong recommendation for mercy.

  Of course, George was very pleased, but he didn’t have a chance to see Jim for some time after the trial. At last, however, Jim visited him in prison, and George thanked him warmly and asked him how he had managed to persuade the other members of the jury to recommendation mercy.

  “Well, George,” Jim answered, as I thought, those eleven men were very difficult to persuade, but I managed it in the end by tiring them out. Do you know, those fools had all wanted to find you not guilty!”

56. Which phrase best defines a “jury”?

A. A person who works in a court.

B. A policeman.

C. A judge.

D. A group of people who decide if someone on trial is guilty or not guilty.

57. According to the passage George wanted his friend Jim ___ .

A. to help him run away from prison

B. to believe he was not guilty

C. to make others believe that he was guilty

D. to make the jury ask for less punishment for George.

58. Jim couldn’t promise anything. Why?

A. He thought George was guilty.

B. George’s case was too serious.

C. The other members might not listen to his recommendation.

D. He didn’t want to help George.

59. Why did George feel pleased about the decision?

A. He thought he deserved the punishment.

B. Jim did what he had promised.

C. He would be set free immediately.

D. The punishment was less severe than expected.

                              A
George had stolen some money, but the police had caught him and he had been put in prison. Now his trial was about to begin, and he felt sure that he would be found guilty and sent to prison for a long time.
Then he discovered that an old friend of his was one of the members of the jury at his trial. Of course, he did not tell anybody, but he managed to see his friend secretly one day. He said to him, "Jim, I know that the jury will find me guilty of having stolen the money. I cannot hope to be found not guilty of taking it —— that would be too much to expect. But I should be grateful to you for the rest of my life if you could persuade the other members of the jury to add a strong recommendation for mercy to their statement that they consider me guilty."
“Well, George,”answered Jim. “I shall certainly try to do what I can for you as an old friend, but of course I cannot promise anything. The other eleven people on the jury look terribly strong-minded to me.”
George said that he would quite understand if Jim was not able to do anything for him, and thanked him warmly for agreeing to help.
The trial went on, and at last the time came for the jury to decide whether George was guilty or not. It took them five hours, but in the end they found George guilty, with a strong recommendation for mercy.
Of course, George was very pleased, but he did not have a chance to see Jim for some time after the trial. At last, however, Jim visited him in prison, and George thanked him warmly and asked him how he had managed to persuade the other members of the jury to recommend mercy.
"Well, George," Jim answered, "as I thought, those eleven men were very difficult to persuade, but I managed it in the end by tiring them out. Do you know, those fools had all wanted to find you not guilty!"
【小题1】56. We are told that George expected Jim to help _____.