阅读理解

阅读下列短文，从每题所给四个选项(A，B，C和D)中，选出最佳选项．

　　Every day millions of letters go from one country to another. Letters mailed in Italy are received in Japan. Letters mailed in Canada are received in Africa. On the letters are many different kinds of stamps, bought in different countries.

　　The Universal Postal Union helps each letter get to the right place as quickly as possible. It sets up roles about the size and weight of letters, postcards and small packages (包裹). It has rules that all countries must follow about international postal rates(费用).

　　One hundred years ago, international mail did not move so smoothly. One country did not always accept another country's letters. Letters from some countries were too large to fit into the mailboxes of other countries. Letters traveled by many different routes(路线). Some were lost along the way.

　　Sometimes the person who sent the letter could pay only part of the postage. The person receiving the letter had to pay the rest.

　　The United States was the first to suggest that all countries work together to settle the questions of international mail. In 1947, men from twenty-four countries met in Switzerland to form the Universal Postal Union. Today, more than 120 nations belong to this union. From its office in Switzerland, the union helps the mail to move safely and quickly around the world.

1．From the story we can infer that ________.

[　　]

A．mail is important to all countries

B．not enough letters are sent all over the world

C．all the letters must go to Switzerland first

D．all stamps look exactly the same

2．The Universal Postal Union was formed ________.

[　　]

A．to help move mail quickly around the world

B．to give many men a chance to work

C．to help men meet in Switzerland

D．to look for the lost letters along the way

3．Which statement does this passage lead you to believe?

[　　]

A．Countries around the world need each other's help.

B．Most people do not put enough postage on letters.

C．It is not possible for letters to get lost on the way.

D．Some of the letters are too large to be put into the mailbox.

4．The underlined word“postage”in this passage means ________.

[　　]

A．money paid when you buy a stamp

B．money spent on an envelope

C．the charge for carrying a letter by post

D．the pay postman receives for his work

5．This passage is mainly about ________.

[　　]

A．different kinds of stamps in different countries

B．an organization that makes rules

C．international mail

D．the size and weight of letters

I had an experience some years ago, which taught me something about the ways in which people make a bad situation worse by blaming themselves．One January, I had to hold two funerals on successive days for two elderly women in my community．Both had died “full of years”, as the Bible would say．Their homes happened to be near each other, so I paid condolence （吊唁） calls on the two families on the same afternoon.
At the first home, the son of the deceased （已故的） woman said to me, “If only I had sent my mother to Florida and gotten her out of this cold and snow, she would be alive today．It’s my fault that she died.” At the second home, the son of the other deceased woman said, “If only I hadn’t insisted on my mother’s going to Florida, she would be alive today．That long airplane ride, the sudden change of climate, was more than she could take．It’s my fault that she’s dead.”
You see that any time there is a death, the survivors will feel guilty．Because the course of action they took turned out badly, they believe that the opposite course — keeping Mother at home, putting off the operation — would have turned out better．After all, how could it have turned out any worse?
There seem to be two elements involved in our willingness to feel guilty．The first is our pressing need to believe that the world makes sense, that there is a cause for every effect and a reason for everything that happens．That leads us to find patterns and connections both where they really exist and where they exist only in our minds.
The second element is the view that we are the cause of what happens, especially the bad things that happen．It seems to be a short step from believing that every event has a cause to believing that every disaster is our fault．The roots of this feeling may lie in our childhood.
A baby comes to think that the world exists to meet his needs, and that he makes everything happen in it．He wakes up in the morning and summons the rest of the world to its tasks．He cries, and someone comes to attend to him．When he is hungry, people feed him, and when he is wet, people change him．Very often, we do not completely outgrow that childish view that our wishes cause things to happen.
【小题1】The author had to hold the two women’s funerals probably because __________________.

We were on tour a few summers ago, driving through Chicago, when right outside of the city, we got pulled over. A middle-aged policeman came up to the car and was really being troublesome at first. Lecturing us, he said, “You were speeding. Where are you going in such a hurry?” Our guitarist, Tim, told him that we were on our way to Wisconsin to play a show. His way towards us totally changed. He asked, “Oh, so you boys are in a band（乐队）？” We told him that we were. He then asked all the usual band questions about the type of music we played, and how long we had been at it. Suddenly, he stopped and said, “Tim, you want to get out of this ticket, don’t you?” Tim said, “Yes.” So the officer asked him to step out of the car. The rest of us, inside the car, didn’t know what to think as we watched the policeman talk to Tim. Next thing we knew, the policeman was putting Tim in the back of the police car he had parked in front of us. With that, he threw the car into reverse（倒车），stopping a few feet in back of our car. Now we suddenly felt frightened. We didn’t know if we were all going to prison, or if the policeman was going to sell Tim on the black market or something. All of a sudden, the policeman’s voice came over his loudspeaker. He said, “Ladies and gentlemen, for the first time ever, we have Tim here singing on Route 90.” Turns out, the policeman had told Tim that the only way he was getting out of the ticket was if he sang part of one of our songs over the loudspeaker in the police car. Seconds later, Tim started screaming into the receiver. The policeman enjoyed the performance, and sent us on our way without a ticket.
【小题1】The policeman stopped the boys to      .

完形填空 （满分20分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后下列各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题纸上将该选项标号涂黑。
When Carol was diagnosed, her cancer had   21  to her bones. We calmly talked about what to expect. I reviewed choices for   22 and printed out new research. But   23  , I cried and struggled. Only half the patients are alive two years after diagnosis.
Carol began treatment afterwards. She felt almost   24  and went right back to work. Carol hates the idea of being   25  as a “sick” person. She likes her life   26  . Last winter, Carol suddenly found   27  difficult to swallow. She slept a lot and was slow to wake in the morning. There was continuous pressure in her chest and   28  I saw her looking thoughtful. One day, she told me, “I think I   29  never leave the hospital,” she continued, “I just want to enjoy the little things---   30  is out of the window.” We had never spoken of that before.   31  we began an African safari, a trip she had dreamed of for years.
Morning and afternoon, we went diving and rolled into the clear water    32  down like peas in honey. In the evenings, we spent time on the pier, watching the sun set. One of the young couples on the island wondered if we were sisters. We laughed. “Friends for 34 years,” I said. I could see by their   33  that they didn’t really understand that kind of time. We have been friends   34  than they have been alive.
  35  dives, we talked about where to go next. I made lists    36  she slept. Our plans were now more theoretical, and the big trip to the South Pacific one day seemed a long way off. Cancer has become part of our   37 . We are well aware that our bodies are temporary gifts. Not knowing what comes next means   38  is possible. Perhaps I will be hit by a truck, or my heart will stop. Life is   39  .
We took our last dive of the trip. When we reached the deep blue water, we spread our arm out like wings and pretended to   40  .      
【小题1】.