PART THREE   READING COMPREHENSION (30%)
Directions: Read the following three passages．Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements．For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C, and D．Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage
They say a cat has nine lives, and I think that possible since I am now living my third life and I’m not even a cat. My father died when I was 15, and we had a hard struggle to make a living. And my mother, who was seriously ill in her last years, died while still in her 60s. My sister married soon after, and I followed her example within the year.
This was when I began to enjoy my first life. I was very happy, in excellent health. I had a good job in San Jose and a beautiful home up the peninsula (半岛) in San Carlos. Life was a pleasant dream. Then the dream ended. I became afflicted (使苦恼) with a slowly progressive disease of the motor nerves, affecting first my right arm and leg, and then my other side. Thus began my second life...
In spite of my disease I still drove to and from work each day, with the aid of special equipment installed in my car. And I managed to keep my health and optimism (乐观), to a degree, because of 14 steps. Crazy? Not at all. Our home was an affair with 14 steps leading up from the garage to the kitchen door. Those steps were a standard measure of life. They were my yardstick, my challenge to continue living. I felt that if the day arrived when I was unable to lift one foot up one step and then drag the other painfully after it ---repeating the process 14 times, I would be through---I could then admit defeat and lie down and die.
Then on a dark night in August, 1971, I began my third life. It was raining when I started home that night; strong winds and slashing rain beat down on the car as I drove slowly down one of the less-traveled roads. Suddenly the steering wheel jerked (猝然一动). In the same instant I heard the bang of a blowout. It was impossible for me to change that tire! Utterly impossible!
I started the engine and thumped slowly along until I came to the dirt road, where I turned in and where I found lighted windows welcomed me to a house and pulled into the driveway and honked the horn.
The door opened and a little girl stood there. When she knew what happened to me, she went into the house and a moment later came out, followed by a man who called a cheerful greeting. I sat there comfortable and dry, and felt a bit sorry for the man and the little girl working so hard in the storm.
About an hour later, the man’s voice was heard, “This is a bad night for car trouble, but you’re all set now.” “Thanks,” I said. “How much do I owe you?” He shook his head, “Nothing. Cynthia told me you were a cripple. Glad to be of help. I know you’d do the same for me. There’s no charge, friend.” I held out a five-dollar bill, “No! I like to pay my way.” He made no effort to take it and the little girl stepped closer to the window and said quietly, “Grandpa can’t see it.”
56. “A cat has nine lives” here means ___________.
A. a cat can live nine times longer than any other animal  B .a cat can die ninth
C .a lucky man can not die easily                     D the writer will live nine times
57. What do you think of the man who helped change the tire?
A. Old, warm-hearted but pitiable             
B. Blind, but warm-hearted and happy
C. A blind old man that has nothing to do every day.
D. A poor old man that is always ready to help others.
58. How will the story be ended?
A. The writer paid the little girl but the old man did not accept.
B. The writer drove away with tears running down his cheek.
C. The writer stayed there, without knowing what to do and how to do it.
D. In the next few frozen seconds the writer felt the shame and astonishment he had never felt
before.
59. How do you understand the underlined sentence “I followed my sister’s example?”
A.  He listened to his sister carefully.
B  Mother told him that he must get the agreement from his sister for whatever he would do.
C  His sister got married. He, too.
D  His sister was a great woman.. He must learn from her.
60. The best title for this passage perhaps will be _____.
A.The Old Man and His Daughter              B. Heart Leaping Up
C.Never Lose Heart                        D. Good Will Be Rewarded Good

PART THREE   READING COMPREHENSION (30%)

Directions: Read the following three passages．Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements．For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C, and D．Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage

They say a cat has nine lives, and I think that possible since I am now living my third life and I’m not even a cat. My father died when I was 15, and we had a hard struggle to make a living. And my mother, who was seriously ill in her last years, died while still in her 60s. My sister married soon after, and I followed her example within the year.

This was when I began to enjoy my first life. I was very happy, in excellent health. I had a good job in San Jose and a beautiful home up the peninsula (半岛) in San Carlos. Life was a pleasant dream. Then the dream ended. I became afflicted (使苦恼) with a slowly progressive disease of the motor nerves, affecting first my right arm and leg, and then my other side. Thus began my second life...

In spite of my disease I still drove to and from work each day, with the aid of special equipment installed in my car. And I managed to keep my health and optimism (乐观), to a degree, because of 14 steps. Crazy? Not at all. Our home was an affair with 14 steps leading up from the garage to the kitchen door. Those steps were a standard measure of life. They were my yardstick, my challenge to continue living. I felt that if the day arrived when I was unable to lift one foot up one step and then drag the other painfully after it ---repeating the process 14 times, I would be through---I could then admit defeat and lie down and die.

Then on a dark night in August, 1971, I began my third life. It was raining when I started home that night; strong winds and slashing rain beat down on the car as I drove slowly down one of the less-traveled roads. Suddenly the steering wheel jerked (猝然一动). In the same instant I heard the bang of a blowout. It was impossible for me to change that tire! Utterly impossible!

I started the engine and thumped slowly along until I came to the dirt road, where I turned in and where I found lighted windows welcomed me to a house and pulled into the driveway and honked the horn.

The door opened and a little girl stood there. When she knew what happened to me, she went into the house and a moment later came out, followed by a man who called a cheerful greeting. I sat there comfortable and dry, and felt a bit sorry for the man and the little girl working so hard in the storm.

About an hour later, the man’s voice was heard, “This is a bad night for car trouble, but you’re all set now.” “Thanks,” I said. “How much do I owe you?” He shook his head, “Nothing. Cynthia told me you were a cripple. Glad to be of help. I know you’d do the same for me. There’s no charge, friend.” I held out a five-dollar bill, “No! I like to pay my way.” He made no effort to take it and the little girl stepped closer to the window and said quietly, “Grandpa can’t see it.”

56. “A cat has nine lives” here means ___________.

A. a cat can live nine times longer than any other animal  B .a cat can die ninth

C .a lucky man can not die easily                     D the writer will live nine times

57. What do you think of the man who helped change the tire?

A. Old, warm-hearted but pitiable             

B. Blind, but warm-hearted and happy

C. A blind old man that has nothing to do every day.

D. A poor old man that is always ready to help others.

58. How will the story be ended?

A. The writer paid the little girl but the old man did not accept.

B. The writer drove away with tears running down his cheek.

C. The writer stayed there, without knowing what to do and how to do it.

D. In the next few frozen seconds the writer felt the shame and astonishment he had never felt

before.

59. How do you understand the underlined sentence “I followed my sister’s example?”

A.  He listened to his sister carefully.

B  Mother told him that he must get the agreement from his sister for whatever he would do.

C  His sister got married. He, too.

D  His sister was a great woman.. He must learn from her.

60. The best title for this passage perhaps will be _____.

A.The Old Man and His Daughter              B. Heart Leaping Up

    C.Never Lose Heart                        D. Good Will Be Rewarded Good

第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题，每题2分，满分40分）

请认真阅读下列短文，从短文后各题所给的 (A、B、C和D) 四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

Many years ago, when I was fresh out of school and working in Denver, I was driving to my parents’ home in Missouri for Christmas．I stopped at a gas station about 50 miles from Oklahoma City, where I was planning to stop and visit a friend．While I was standing in line at the cash register（收款台）, I said hello to an older couple who were also paying for gas．

       I took off, but had gone only a few miles when black smoke poured from the back of my car．I stopped and wondered what I should do．A car pulled up behind me．It was the couple I had spoken to at the gas station．They said they would take me to my friend’s．We chatted on the way into the city, and when I got out of the car, the husband gave me his business card．

       I wrote him and his wife a thank-you note for helping me．Soon afterward, I received a Christmas present from them．Their note that came with it said that helping me had made their holidays meaningful．

       Years later, I drove to a meeting in a nearby town in the morning．In late afternoon I returned to my car and found that I’d left the lights on all day, and the battery was dead．Then I noticed that the Friendly Ford dealership-a shop selling cars-was right next door．I walked over and found two salesmen in the showroom．

       “Just how friendly is Friendly Ford?” I asked and explained my trouble．They quickly drove a pickup truck to my car and started it．They would accept no payment, so when I got home, I wrote them a note to say thanks．I received a letter back from one of the salesmen．No one had ever taken the time to write him and say thank you, and it meant a lot, he said．

       “Thank you”-two powerful words．They’re easy to say and mean so much．

56．The author planned to stop at Oklahoma City        ．

       A．to visit a friend              B．to see his parents

       C．to pay or the cash register       D．to have more gas for his car

57．What happened when the author found smoke coming out of his car?

       A．He had it pulled back to the gas station．

       B．The couple sent him a business card．

       C．The couple offered to help him．  

       D．He called his friend for help．

58．The battery of the author’s car was dead because        ．

       A．something went wrong with the lights    B．the meeting lasted a whole day

       C．he forgot to turn off the lights         D．he drove too long a distance

59．By telling his own experiences, the author tries to show        ．

       A．how to write a thank-you letter      B．how to deal with car problems

       C．the kindness of older people        D．the importance of expressing thanks