For six hours we shot through the landscape of the Karoo desert in South Africa. Just rocks
and sand and baking sun. Knowing our journey was ending, Daniel and I just wanted to remember all we had seen and done. He used a camera. I used words. I had already finished three notebooks and was into the fourth, a beautiful leather notebook I’d bought in a market in Mozambique.
Southern Africa was full of stories. And visions. We were almost drunk on sensations. The roaring of the water at Victoria Falls, the impossible silence of the Okavango Delta in Botswana . And then the other things: dogs in the streets, whole families in Soweto living in one room, a kilometre from clean water.
As we drove towards the setting sun, a quietness fell over us. The road was empty -- we  hadn’t seen another car for hours. And as I drove, something caught my eye, something moving   next to me. I glanced in the mirror of the car; I glanced sideways to the right, and that was when I saw them. Next to us, by the side of the road, thirty, forty wild horses were racing the car, a cloud of dust rising behind them -- brown, muscular horses almost close enough to touch them, to   smell their hot breath. I didn’t know how long they had been there next to us.
I shouted to Dan: “Look!”, but he was in a deep sleep, his camera lying useless by his feet.   They raced the car for a few seconds, then disappeared far behind us, a memory of heroic forms   in the red landscape. When Daniel woke up an hour later I told him what had happened.
“Wild horses?” he said. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”
“I tried. But they were gone after a few seconds.”
“Are you sure you didn’t dream it?”
“You were the one who was sleeping!”
Typical, he said. “The best photos are the ones we never take.”
We checked into a dusty hotel and slept the sleep of the dead.
【小题1】 During their journey in Africa, the two travelers______.

Several years ago, we moved into the apartment where we live now. When my friends helped me move in, the downstairs neighbors began to  16 about the noise. I could do  17 about it. After all, noises are unavoidable(不可避免的).How can anyone move in  18 .

Still  19 ,the complaints continued on a daily basis—well after the first day. We walked “too loudly”down the stairs, we laughed too often, we opened and closed the door too many times…They had many  20 to complain.

Nobody can stand the endless complaints and quarrels. I soon learned that they had  21 the last few families who lived above them by the same way. So I had the information I needed and I tried to  22  every situation carefully.

I tried to walk in  23 to avoid any possible noises. Whenever they called  24 came to the door with a complaint, no matter how unreasonable, I simply listened. From their confused expressions, I could imagine that they had never expected to get a   25 attitude from me.

Of course, it was hard to keep calm but my sister and I  26 . I told my sister that we were going to be pleasant and  27  them to change their attitude to neighbors. I explained to her that they probably felt  28 in their lives because they are common people.   29 , they were always looking for a   30 to show their power so that nobody could look down upon them. I continued smiling and greeting them as I saw them, much to their  31 .On more than one occasion(不止一次), I ended up  32 them. They thanked me before they left.

Unexpectedly, the next time I saw them, they all smiled and  33 friendly. We had a short but pleasant  34 . Ever since then, they’ve been very pleasant neighbors, and we’ve become good  35 .

1.                A．worry          B．talk            C．care D．complain

2.                A．verything       B．nothing         C．something D．anything

3.                A．quietly         B．quickly         C．suddenly  D．slowly

4.                A．angrier         B．less            C．better    D．worse

5.                A．purposes       B．times           C．reasons   D．persons

6.                A．come across     B．driven off       C．knocked into   D．taken in

7.                A．treat           B．allow           C．keep D．accept

8.                A．fashion         B．trouble         C．doubt    D．peace

9.                A．but            B．so             C．or   D．as

10.               A．funny          B．positive        C．gentle D．satisfying

11.               A．continued      B．decided        C．began D．stopped

12.               A．order          B．ask            C．forbid D．encourage

13.               A．stupid          B．powerless       C．unfortunate    D．dangerous

14.               A．Besides        B．Therefore       C．Otherwise D．However

15.               A．task           B．chance         C．challenge  D．job

16.               A．surprise        B．worry          C．taste  D．expect

17.               A．frustrating      B．annoying       C．helping    D．joining

18.               A．sounded        B．felt            C．phoned   D．looked

19.               A．discussion      B．quarrel         C．conversation   D．journey

20.               A．friends         B．workmates      C．partners   D．classmates

Early this morning, I got up to make a batch of Rice Krispie treats（大米花糖） for my neighbor across the hall. She   21  greets me when we see each other, and her little boy, who’s now 4, won’t talk to me either.

Last Monday, she called the firefighters when a pan I’d forgotten on the stove caused my flat to     22  . I had gone for a walk, but when I came home the street in front of our apartment was   23   by a police car, a fire truck and an ambulance!   24   I saw them, I remembered the pan!

I felt safe knowing that    25  we don’t get along, my neighbor had done the right thing and didn’t blame me. Hence, the Rice Krispie treats.

Last Christmas, my neighbor revealed that she had been a little angry about me because of a(n) __26___ four years ago. I had apologized and asked if there was anything I could do to ___27___ our relationship, but she would not accept my     28  .

Her direct refusal really    29   me. After that, I decided I’d just leave her be—a relationship     30   two to work.

So, you see, I was really scared she was going to refuse my offer again,    31    me standing on her     32   holding my plate of treats. Then, I reminded myself of how good I had felt the day before when I’d done some random acts of ___33___ after telling myself: “ Feel the fear, and do it    34   !”

After placing the Rice Krispie treats on a beautiful plate, I opened my apartment door and met her in the hall way. I said：“I just wanted to tell you how    35   I am that you were paying attention on Monday.” I held the plate    36  her, explaining these were very sweet American treats and that she    37  try to see whether she and her family liked them. She took the plate and we talked a bit about   38   she’d become aware of the smoke in my flat before parting ways.

Back at home I    39   a “ happy dance”, because I had been kind even though I wasn’t sure it would be appreciated. I want to be able to be kind without expecting people to    40  in a certain way.

1.                A．warmly         B．occasionally      C．barely    D．frequently

2.                A．go up          B．smoke up       C．burn up  D．tear up

3.                A．filled           B．surrounded      C．blocked  D．taken

4.                A．The instant      B．For a minute     C．That moment  D．At that time

5.                A．as though       B．in case          C．now that  D．even though

6.                A．affair          B．incident        C．deed D．event

7.                A．improve        B．build           C．reunite   D．establish

8.                A．advice         B．suggestion       C．apology   D．request

9.                A．shocked        B．saddened       C．amused   D．amazed

10.               A．takes          B．costs           C．covers    D．makes

11.               A．having         B．leaving         C．keeping   D．remaining

12.               A．home          B．hall            C．apartment D．doorstep

13.               A．kindness        B．happiness       C．politeness D．willingness

14.               A．some way       B．anyway         C．somehow  D．somewhat

15.               A．kind           B．safe           C．happy D．grateful

16.               A．at             B．on            C．towards   D．over

17.               A．could          B．must           C．would D．need

18.               A．when          B．what           C．how  D．where

19.               A．performed      B．learned        C．did   D．played

20.               A．receive        B．respond        C．reflect    D．realize

Last winter, when I was heavily pregnant(怀孕), I was visiting my sister and brother-in-law’s house. I had to park my car in a nearby parking lot because they didn’t have a place for parking. The snow was extremely heavy and there was lots of    1   on the ground, so not many people dared to go out that evening! When I left their house and    2   to my car around 11pm, I noticed that my car was the only one    3  .
Surrounded by silence, I rushed into the car nervously. When I finally tried to   4   away, my wheels began to spin(打滑). I realized I was stuck! I wondered what I should do.   5  , in my rear-view mirror(后视镜), I saw four teenage boys    6   my car. They were walking side by side in a line and behaved a bit like    7   ------ at least I thought that was what they looked like. My car was in a very    8   area and I was so frightened when I saw them. I was certain they were coming to my car to    9   me.
Terrified, I just froze. One of the young men tapped on my window    10   and said, “Excuse me, Madam, would you like some    11  ? You seem to have a problem with the car.” Still a little afraid, I said, “I am stuck.” And the young man said, “It’s okay. Stay in your car and we’ll    12   you out of the snow.” And they did! When they finally got my car out of the snow, they   13  and waved good-bye to me. I rolled down my window and thanked them,    14   to have judged them so poorly.
People like to judge the person they come across, and they are in turn judged by others. It’s natural that we judge others, but when we do this, we shouldn’t    15   the old saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”

B
One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class walking home. His name was Kyle. He was carrying all of his books. I thought to myself, “Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd(书呆子).” So I shrugged my shoulders and went on. As I was walking, I saw some kids running at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and he landed in the dirt. His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him. I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes. I jogged over to him, and as he crawled around looking for his glasses, I handed him his glasses. He said, “Thanks!” There Was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude. I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived, It turned out he lived near me, so I asked him why! had never seen him before. He said he had gone to a private school before coming to this school. I would have never hung out with a private school kid before. We talked all the way home. He turned a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to play football on Saturday with me and my friends. He said yes. Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.
Graduation day arrived. Kyle was valedictorian of our class, so he had to prepare a speech for graduation. In his speech he said. “Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. I am going to tell you a story.” I stared at my friend in disbelief as he told the story of the first day We met. He had planned to kill himself over the weekend. He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home. He gave me a little smile. “Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable.” I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment.
45．What does the underlined word “valedictorian” in the second paragraph mean?
A．A graduate who delivers a farewell speech in a class.
B．A graduate who is the youngest in a class.
C．A student who is the most popular in a class.
D．A student who can not graduate on time in a class.
46．It can be concluded from the text that the author______.
A．was good at playing football in high school
B．had not liked to make friends with the students from private schools before
C．seldom helped others
D．did not study hard in high school
47．Not until the graduation day did the author know_______.
A．the real reason why Kyle carried all his books home the first day they met
B．Kyle was his best friend
C．Kyle enjoyed making speeches in front of the class
D．Kyle's many weaknesses
48．What does the author mainly want to express by telling this story?
A．A friend in need is a friend indeed.
B．Helping others is a Virtue.
C．Your action is powerful: with one small gesture you can change a person's life.
D．We should have a pity on the weak.