Thirteen, for me, was a challenging year. My parents divorced and I moved to a new town with my father, far from my old family and friends. I was terribly lonely and would cry myself to sleep each night. To ease my sadness, my father purchased an old horse for me at a local auction. I named him Cowboy.

Cowboy was without a doubt the ugliest horse in the world. But I didn’t care. I loved him beyond all reason. I joined a riding club and suffered rude comments and mean snickers about Cowboy’s looks. I never let on about how I felt, but deep inside, my heart was breaking. The other members rode beautiful, registered horses.

When Cowboy and I entered the events where the horse is judged on appearance, we were quickly shown the gate. No amount of preparation and love would turn Cowboy into a beauty. My only chance to compete would be in the speed events. I chose the jumping race.?

One girl named Becky rode a big brown horse in the race events. She always won the blue ribbons.  Needless to say, she didn’t feel threatened when I competed against her at the next show. She didn’t need to. I came in next to last.

The stinging memory of Becky’s smirks made me determined to beat her. For the whole next month I woke up early every day and rode Cowboy five miles to the arena (赛马场). We practiced running and jumping for hours in the hot sun and then I would walk Cowboy home totally exhausted. All of our hard work didn’t make me feel confident by the time the show came. I sat at the gate and sweated it out while I watched Becky and her horse charge through the course and finish in first place.

My turn finally came. I put on my hat, rubbed Cowboy’s neck and entered the arena. At the signal, we dashed toward the first fence, jumped it without trouble and raced on to the next one. Cowboy then flew over the second, third and fourth fences like a bird and I turned him toward the finish line. As we crossed the line the crowd was shocked into silence. Cowboy and I had beaten Becky and her fancy horse by two seconds!

I gained much more than a blue ribbon that day. At thirteen, I realized that no matter what the odds, I’d always come out a winner if I wanted something badly enough to work for it.

63. The underlined expression "shown the gate" (paragraph 3) most probably means ______.

A. told how to enter the arena

B. shown how to make the horse beautiful

C. removed from the competition early

D. told to enter the timed-speed events

64. When the final race finished, nobody cheered because        .

A. the audience didn’t like Cowboy             B. people envied the writer

C. the win was unexpected?            D. the writer bad run out of time

65. Why was the writer not confident of victory?

A. He was an inexperienced rider.

B. He had not practiced enough.

C. He believed he was unpopular with the crowd.

D. He thought his horse wasn’t so good as the others.

66. What did the writer learn from his experience?

A. Life can sometimes be unfair.

B. Anything is possible if one tries hard enough.

C. A positive attitude will bring success.

D. One should not make judgments based on appearance.

阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将选项涂黑。

One day Tom bought , for two dollars , a large number of second-hand books . He put them in a  21  and pulled them to the   22   . He had to remain at work  23   three in the morning .

At three , he began to walk home . The streets were dark . Tom could   24   wait to arrive home to begin reading his new books . “  25   ! ” a voice shouted . But Tom was too  26    to hear the shout . A moment later , a gunshot went  27   his ear . He heard the shot . Tom turned to see what was  28   . An angry policeman ran towards him . The policeman didn’t  29   that the bag was Tom’s . He shouted at Tom , “   30    it !”

“Open it ! ” the policeman   31    .

Tom opened it and the old books fell out of it .

“Why did you not stop  32   when I shouted ?” the policeman asked , “If I could shoot  33   , you would be dead .”

“I didn’t  34   you , ” Tom said , “ I am almost deaf . ”

The policeman told Tom he was  35   for having shot at him . “  36   would be better for you not to walk on the  37   at night . ” he said .

Tom smiled , and told the policeman that his job   38   a clerk in the telegraph office was a  39   job . The policeman could think of  40   to answer this .

A. basket      B. box          C. desk         D. bag

A. office      B. bedroom      C. bookstore     D. police station

A. at          B. by          C. until          D. to

A. eagerly     B. really        C. hardly         D. almost

A. Stop       B. Thief         C. Hello         D. Danger

A. nervous     B. excited       C. delighted      D. frightened

A. off         B. into          C. from          D. past

A. breaking    B. taking        C. happening     D. following

A. say         B. think         C. hope         D. wish

A. Fall        B. Throw        C. Drop         D. Keep

A. ordered     B. asked         C. begged       D. wanted

A. hearing      B. running       C. crying       D. carrying

A. earlier       B. later         C. worse        D. better

A. recognize    B. hear         C. know         D. understand

A. careless     B. brave         C. angry        D. sorry

A. It          B. That          C. Things        D. This

A. way        B. ground        C. streets        D. shops

A. like         B. as           C. with         D. of

A. dawn        B. daytime      C. dark         D. night

A. nothing      B. everything    C. anything      D. something

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36—55各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Last night, when I was driving back home, I noticed a hitchhiker(搭便车的人) who was having no luck getting a ride. I rolled down my  36  and signed to the man to my car. I asked him where he was  37  and he told me he needed a  38  to his doctor’s office which would close in 15 minutes. I told him to  39  and he gratefully did so.

40  he got in he told me that he was a  41  and went out to sea for weeks at a time. He took medicine for his nerves and  42  to get another prescription(处方) before he left on the boat. He said that he had prayed (祈祷) 43  would stop for him so he could be there before the  44      office closed. With some  45  driving we managed to make it there in about 10  46. I then asked him how he  47  on getting back home and he said he could walk. “I’ll patiently  48      for you and bring you back,” I told him. He  49  me and said he should only be about 15 minutes.

Afterwards he got back in my 50 and tried his hardest to pay me back: offering me dinner, gas money, even offering to ship me 40 lbs of scallops (海扇贝)! I  51  refused, gave him a smile card and asked him to help someone else the next time he had a  52. I drove him back to where I had picked him up and  53  one more “thank you” he was on his way.

I feel that the universe  54   provides us with what we need. In the man’s  55  it was a ride, in mine the opportunity to help someone else.

A. wheel                       B. window                  C. engine                    D. door

A. heading                       B. working                  C. living                     D. studying

A. walk                         B. talk                        C. trip                        D. ride

A. go out                       B. run away                       C. get in                     D. lie down

A. As far as                     B. As soon as               C. Even if                  D. Just before

A. farmer                      B. pianist                    C. doctor                    D. fisherman

A. needed                      B. stopped                   C. agreed                    D. preferred

A. someone                    B. nobody                   C. anyone                   D. everybody

A. teacher’s                     B. doctor’s                  C. manager’s               D. captain’s

A. good                        B. normal                   C. wrong                    D. fast

A. days                          B. hours                     C. minutes                  D. weeks

A. focused                     B. depended                       C. turned                    D. planned

A. look                         B. call                        C. wait                       D. drive

A. doubted                   B. thanked                  C. greeted                  D. accepted

A. car                            B. home                     C. office                    D. shop

A. politely                     B. angrily                   C. immediately           D. surprisingly

A. dream                       B. problem                  C. chance                   D. choice

A. before                       B. until                       C. besides                   D. after

A. never                       B. always                   C. sometimes               D. seldom

A. opinion                     B. way                       C. case                       D. condition

This year some twenty-three hundred teenagers(young people aged from13~19)from all over the world will spend about ten months in U.S. homes. They will attend U.S. schools, meet U.S. teenagers, and form impressions of the real America. At the same time, about thirteen hundred American teenagers will go to other countries to learn new languages and gain a new understanding of the rest of the world.

   Here is a two-way student exchange in action. Fred, nineteen, spent last year in Germany with George’s family. In turn, George’s son Mike spent a year in Fred’s home in America.

   Fred, a lively young man, knew little German when he arrived, but after two months’ study the language began to come to him. School was completely different from what he had expected—much harder. Students rose respectfully when the teacher entered the room. They took fourteen subjects instead of the six that are usual in the United States. There were almost no outside activities.

   Family life, too, was different. The father’s word was law, and all activities were around the family rather than the individual(个人). Fred found the food too simple at first. Also, he missed having a car.

   “Back home, you pick up some friends in a car and go out and have a good time. In Germany, you walk, but you soon learn to like it.”

   At the same time, in America, Mike, a friendly German boy, was also forming his idea. “I suppose I should criticize(批评)American schools,” he said. “It is far too easy by our level. But I have to say that I like it very much. In    Germany we do nothing but study. Here we take part in many outside activities. I think that maybe your schools are better in training for citizens. There ought to be some middle ground between the two.”

This year ________teenagers will take part in the exchange programme between America and other countries.

A. twenty-three hundred

B. thirteen hundred

C. over three thousand

D. less than two thousand

The whole exchange programme is mainly to__________.

A. help teenagers in other countries know the real America

B. send students in America to travel in Germany

C. let students learn something about other countries

D. have teenagers learn new languages

Fred and Mike agree that__________.

A. America food tasted better than German food

B. German schools were harder than American schools

C. Americans and Germans were both friendly

D. There were more cars on the streets in America

What is particular in American schools is that________.

A. there is some middle ground between the two teaching buildings

B. there are a lot of after-school activities

C. students usually take fourteen subjects in all

D. students go out side to enjoy themselves in a car

Which of the following is not true according to this passage?

A. There were few outside activities in Germany.

B. Fred had his own car when he was in America.

C. Subjects seemed easy for Mike in the USA.

D. All family activities were around the individual in Germany.