D

It was Sunday morning. All the summer world was bright and fresh, and full of life. There was cheer on every face and a spring in every step.

Tom appeared on the sidewalk with a bucket of whitewash and a long-handled brush. He stopped by the fence in front of the house where he lived with his aunt Polly. He looked at it, and all joy left him. The fence was long and high. He put the brush into the whitewash and moved it along the top of the fence. He repeated the operation. He felt he could not continue and sat down.

He knew that his friends would arrive soon with all kinds of interesting plans for the day. They would walk past him and laugh. They would make jokes about his having to work on a beautiful summer Saturday. The thought burned him like fire.

He put his hand into his pockets and took out all that he owned. Perhaps he could find some way to pay someone to do the whitewashing for him. But there was nothing of value in his pockets—nothing that could buy even half an hour of freedom. So he put the bits of toys back into his pockets and gave up the idea.

At this dark and hopeless moment, a wonderful idea came to him. It filled his mind with a great, bright light. Calmly he picked up the brush and started again to whitewash.

While Tom was working, Ben Rogers appeared. Ben was eating an apple as he walked along the street. As he walked along, he was making noises like the sound of a riverboat. First he shouted loudly, like a boat captain. Then he said “Ding-Dong-Dong”, “Ding-Dong-Dong” again and again, like the bell of a riverboat. And he made other strange noises. When he came close to Tom, he stopped.

Tom went on whitewashing. He did not look at Ben. Ben stared a moment and then said: "Hello! I’m going swimming, but you can’t go, can you?”

No answer. Tom moved his brush carefully along the fence and looked at the result with the eye of an artist. Ben came nearer. Tom's mouth watered for the apple, but he kept on working.

Ben said, "Hello, old fellow, you’ve got to work, hey?"

Tom turned suddenly and said, "Why, it's you, Ben! I wasn't noticing."

"Say — I'm going swimming. Don't you wish you could? But of course you’d rather work — wouldn't you? Of course you would."

Tom looked at the boy a bit, and said "What do you call work?"

"Why, isn't that work?"

Tom went back to his whitewashing, and answered casually,

"Well, maybe it is, and maybe it isn't. All I know is, it suits Tom Sawyer."

"Oh come, now, you don't mean to say that you like it?"

The brush continued to move.

"Like it? Well, I don't see why I shouldn’t like it. Does a boy get a chance to whitewash a fence every day?" Ben stopped eating his apple. Tom moved his brush back and forth, stepped back to look at the result, added a touch here and there, and stepped back again. Ben watched every move and got more and more interested. Soon he said,

"Say, Tom, let me whitewash a little."

Tom thought for a moment, was about to agree; but he changed his mind:

"No — no — it won’t do, Ben. You see, Aunt Polly wants this fence to be perfect. It has got to be done very carefully. I don’t think there is one boy in a thousand, maybe two thousand, that can do it well enough."

"No — is that so? Oh come, now —let me just try. Only just a little."

"Ben, I'd like to, but if it isn’t done right, I’m afraid Aunt Polly— "

"Oh, I'll be careful. Now let me try. Say -- I'll give you the core（核心）of my apple."

"Well, here — No, Ben, now don't. I'm afraid —"

"I'll give you all of it."

Tom gave up the brush with unwillingness on his face, but joy in his heart. And while Ben worked at the fence in the hot sun, Tom sat under a tree, eating the apple, and planning how to get more help. There were enough boys. Each one came to laugh, but remained to whitewash. By the time Ben was tired, Tom sold the next chance to Billy for a kite; and when Billy was tired, Johnny bought in for a dead rat — and so on, hour after hour. And when the middle of the afternoon came, Tom had won many treasures

And he had not worked. He had had a nice idle time all the time, with plenty of company -- and the fence had been whitewashed three times. If he hadn't run out of whitewash, Tom would have owned everything belonging to his friends.

He had discovered a great law of human action, namely, that in order to make a man or a boy want a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to get.

68．Tom was about to agree to let Ben whitewash when he changed his mind because ______ .

A. Tom wanted to do the whitewashing by himself

B. Tom was unwilling to let Ben do the whitewashing

C. Tom was afraid Ben would do the whitewashing better

D. Tom didn’t want to let Ben do the whitewashing before he made him give up his apple first

69．The underlined word “casually” is most similar to “______” in meaning.

A. carelessly                 B. delightedly               C. seriously                  D. angrily

70．We can learn from the passage that ______ .

A. Tom was interested in whitewashing the fence.

B. Tom had a lot of friends who are ready to help others.

C. Tom was unwilling to whitewash the fence, but he managed to let other boys do it for him

D. Tom was good at whitewashing the fence, so he looked at the result of his work with the eye of an artist.

A few days ago I asked my sons' governess（家庭女教师）Julia to come into my study. “Be seated，Julia,”I said，“Let's settle our accounts. I guess you most likely need some money，but maybe you're too polite to mention it. Now then，we agreed on thirty dollars a month...”

“Forty.”

“No，thirty. I made a note of it. I always pay our governess thirty. Well，um，you've been here for two months，so...”

Two months and five days.”

Exactly two months. I made a special note of it. That means you have sixty dollars coming to you. Take nine Sundays off... you know you didn't work with Tom on Sundays，you only took walks.And three holidays... ”Julia was biting her fingernail nervously，her face red，but,not a word.

“Three holidays，therefore take twelve dollars off your pay. Four days Tom was sick and there were no lessons，as you were occupied only with Dick. Three days you had a toothache and my wife gave you permission not to work after lunch. Twelve and seven makes nineteen.Take nineteen off... that 1eaves，hmm... forty-one dollars. Correct?”

Julia's left eye reddened with tears welling up. Her chin trembled，and she coughed nervously and blew her riose，but still not a word.

“Around New Year’s Day you broke a teacup and a saucer；take two dollars off your pay.The cup cost more，because it was a treasure of the family，but forget it. When didn't I take a loss! Then，due to your neglect(疏忽），Tom climbed a tree and tore his jacket；take away ten. Also due to your carelessness the maid stole Dick's shoes. You ought to watch everything！You get paid for it. So，that means five more dollars off. The tenth of January I gave you ten dollars”.

“You didn't.”sobbed Julia.

“But I made a note of it.”

“Well... if you say so.”

“Take twenty-seven from forty-one, and that leaves fourteen.”

Both her eyes were filled with tears. Beads of sweat stood on the thin pretty little nose.Poor girl！

“Only once was I given any money，”she whispered，her voice trembling，“and that was by your wife. Three dollars，nothing more.”

“Real1y? You see now，and I didn't know that！Take three from fourteen and it leaves eleven.  Here’s your money，my dear．Three，three，three，one and one. Here it is！”

I handed her eleven dollars. She took them and pocketed them.

“Merci（Thanks），”she whispered.

I jumped to my feet and started pacing the floor. I was overcome with anger.“For what，this merci”? I asked.

“For the money”.

“But you know I’ve cheated you—— robbed you！”I have actually stolen from you!Why this“merci？”

“In my other places they didn’t give me anything at all.”

“They didn’t give you anything? No wonder! 1 played a little joke on you，a cruel lesson，just to teach you…I'm going to give you all the eighty dollars！Here they are in the envelope all ready for you…Is it really possible to be so spineless(懦弱)? Why didn't you protest?Why were you silent? Is it possible in this world to be without teeth and laws(爪)—— to be such a fool?''

Embarrassed,she smiled. And I could read her expression，“It is possible”.

I asked her pardon for the cruel lesson and， to her great surprise，gave her the eighty dollars. She murmured her little “merci”serveral times and went out. I looked at her and thought，“How easy it is to crush the weak in this World! ”

67.While talking to Julia.the writer expected ＿＿＿＿＿＿from her.

A. a protest       B.gratitude          C.obedience       D. an explanation

68.What shocked the writer was Julia's＿＿＿＿＿＿．

A. nervousness in front of her boss                          B. acceptance of injustice

C. shyness when talking about money             D. reluctance to express herself

69.The writer said, “Is it possible in this world to be without teeth and claws(爪)一to be such a fool?” He was actually telling the governess＿＿＿＿＿＿．

A. to be more aggressive                         B. to be more careful in her work

C.to protect her right                                             D.to live independently

70. From the story, we can know that Julia's employer was         

A. greedy but honest                                                B.ill tempered but warm-hearted

C. strict but forgiving                                  D. none of the above

I grew up in a house where the TV was seldom turned on and with one wall in my bedroom entirely lined with bookshelves, most of my childhood was spent on books I could get hold of. In fact, I grew up thinking of reading as natural as breathing and books unbelievably powerful in shaping perspectives (观点) by creating worlds we could step into, take part in, and live in.
With this unshakable belief, I, at fourteen, decided to become a writer. Here too, reading became useful. Every writer starts off knowing that he has something to say, but being unable to find the right ways to say it. He has to find his own voice by reading widely and discovering which parts of the writers he agrees or disagrees with, or agrees with so strongly that it reshapes his own world. He cannot write without loving to read, because only through reading other people’s writing can one discover what works, what doesn’t and, in the end, together with lots of practice, what voice he has.
Now I am in college, and have come to realize how important it is to read fiction (文学作品)．As a law student, my reading is in fact limited to subject matter—the volume (量) of what I have to read for classes every week means there is little time to read anything else. Such reading made it all the clearer to me that I live in a very small part in this great place called life. Reading fiction(小说) reminds me that there is life beyond my own. It allows me to travel across the high seas and along the Silk Road, all from the comfort of my own armchair, to experience, though secondhand, exciting experiences that I wouldn't necessarily be able to have in my lifetime

1. 1.

   What does the underlined word in paragraph 1 mostly probably mean?

   1. A.
      even
   2. B.
      almost
   3. C.
      tiredly
   4. D.
      gradually
2. 2.

   What can be inferred about the author as a child?

   1. A.
      He never watched TV
   2. B.
      He read what he had to
   3. C.
      He found reading unbelievable
   4. D.
      He considered reading part of his life
3. 3.

   The underlined word "voice" in the second paragraph most probably means “________________ ”

   1. A.
      an idea
   2. B.
      a sound quality
   3. C.
      a way of writing
   4. D.
      a world to write about
4. 4.

   What effect does reading have on the author?

   1. A.
      It helps him to realize his dream
   2. B.
      It opens up a wider world for him
   3. C.
      It makes his college life more interesting
   4. D.
      It increases his interest in worldwide travel
5. 5.

   Which of the following can be the best title of this text?

   1. A.
      Why do I read?
   2. B.
      How do I read?
   3. C.
      What do I read?
   4. D.
      When do I read?

Let us suppose it is now about A．D.2060. Let's make believe it is about sixty years from now. Of course, things have changed and life is very different.

Voyages to the moon are being made every day. It is as easy to take a holiday on the moon today as it was for the people in 1960 to take a holiday in Europe. At a number of scenic spots on the moon, many hotels have been built, the hotels are air－conditioned, naturally. So that everyone can enjoy the beautiful scenery on the moon. Every room has at least one picture window. Everything imaginable is provided for entertainment of young and old.

What are people eating now? People are still eating food. They haven't yet started to take on their supply of energy directly as electrical current or as nuclear power. They may be some day. But many foods now come in pill form, and the food that goes into the pill continues to come mainly from green plants.

Since there are several times as many people in the world today as there were a hundred years ago, most of our planet's surface has to be filled. The deserts are irrigated with water. Crops are no longer destroyed by pests. The harvest is always good.

Farming, of course, is very highly developed. Very few people have to work on the farm. It is possible to run the farm by just pushing a few buttons now and then.

People are now largely vegetarians. You see, as the number of people increased, the number of animals decreased. Therefore, the people have to be vegetarians and we are healthier in both our bodies and our minds, too, and we know the causes and cure of diseases and pain, and it is possible to get rid of disease. No one has to be ill any more.

Such would be our life in 2060.

6. What are the hotels on the moon used for in 2060?

A. Scientific experiments.

B. People who have no houses.

C. Astronauts.

D. Holiday people.

7. Which of the following is WRONG?

A. In the story, the population of the world has increased.

B. Voyages to the moon are being made every day.

C. A great number of people work on the farm.

D. The food comes mainly from green plants.

8. According to the passage, why are people largely vegetarians?

A. Because most people like vegetables better.

B. Because the number of people increased and the number of animals decreased.

C. Because people think meat is unhealthy.

D. Because there are no animals at all.

9. According to the passage, what about the people's health in 2060?

A. Because the people have to be vegetarians, they are very thin.

B. The people have no illness.

C. The doctor don't know how to treat the diseases and pain.

D. The people are less healthier in our bodies than in our minds.

10. When was the passage written?

A. In about A．D. 2060.

B. In about 1960.

C. In about 2000.

D. In about 2004.

Olaf Stapledon wrote a book called First and Last Men, in which he looked millions of years ahead. He told of different men and of strange civilizations (文明), broken up by long “dark ages” in between. In his view, what is called the present time is no more than a moment in human history and we are just the First Men. In 2 000 million years from now there will be the Eighteenth or Last Men.

    However, most of our ideas about the future are really very shortsighted. Perhaps we can see some possibilities for the next fifty years. But the next hundred? The next thousand? The next million? That's much more difficult. When men and women lived by hunting 50 000 years ago, could they even begin to picture modern life? Yet to men of 50 000 years from now, we may seem as primitive (原始的) in our ideas as the Stone-Age hunters do to us. Perhaps they will spend their days gollocking to make new spundels, or struggling with their ballalators through the tribe. These words, which I have just made up, have to stand for things and ideas that we simply can't think of.

    So why bother even to try imagining life in the future? Here are two reasons. First, unless we remember how short our own lives are compared with the whole human history, we are likely to think our interests are much more important than they really are. If we make the earth a poor place to live on because we are careless or greedy (贪婪) or quarrelsome, our grandchildren will not bother to think of excuses for us.

    Second, by trying to escape from present interests and imagine life far in the future, we may arrive at quite fresh ideas that we can use ourselves. For example, if we imagine that in the future men may give up farming, we can think of trying it now. So set your imagination free when you think about the future.

1．A particular mention made of Stapledon's book in the opening paragraph ________.

    A. serves as a description of human history

    B. serves as an introduction to the discussion

    C. shows a disagreement of views

    D. shows the popularity of the book

2．The text discusses men and women 50 000 years ago and 50 000 years from now in order to show that ________.

    A. human history is extremely long

    B. life has changed a great deal

    C. it is useless to plan for the next 50 years

    D. it is difficult to tell what will happen in the future

3．Spundels and ballalators are used in the text to refer to ________.

    A. tools used in farming

    B. ideas about modern life

    C. unknown things in the future

    D. hunting skills in the Stone-Age

4．According to the writer of the text, imagining the future will ________.

    A. serve the interests of the present and future generations

    B. enable us to better understand human history

    C. help us to improve farming

    D. make life worth living