A MAN planted a rose and watered it   41   . One day as he examined it, he saw a bud that would soon blossom, but he also    42     thorns (刺) on the stem . He thought, "How can a beautiful flower come from a plant with so many sharp thorns?" Saddened by this thought, he     43     to water the rose, and just before it was ready to bloom, it died.

So it is with many people. Within every soul there is a rose. The good    44  planted in us at birth grow amid the thorns of our faults. Many of us look at ourselves and see only the thorns, the defects. We become    45    , thinking that nothing good can possibly come from us. We neglect to water the good within us, and    46   it dies. We never realize our   47    .

Some people do not see the rose within themselves; someone else must show it to them. One of the greatest gifts a person can     48     is to be able to reach past the thorns and find the rose within others.

This is the characteristic of love ― to look at a person, know his faults, recognize the goodness in his soul, and help him realize that he can    49     his faults. If we show him the "rose" within himself, he will conquer the thorns. Only then will they blossom many times over.

A round of applause, please, for the Indian man who recently sang for 80 hours straight, setting a new Guinness world record. It’s an impressive feat, to be sure, but let’s just hope he still has a voice．According to Indian newspapers, Rajesh Burbure has been told to keep silent for several days so his vocal cords can heal.

It was reported that Burbure and his family are in a celebratory mood. “It’s a proud moment for all of us,” his wife told DNAIndia.com.

I, on the other hand, am unable to share their enthusiasm. Don’t get me wrong: I hope the 35-year-old Burbure lives forever, sells a million records and becomes an international celebrity. But his record—singing for 80 hours straight—is about as meaningful as most of the other curious but crazy feats listed in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Granted, I’m not qualified to speak on the subject. I’ve got no world records to my name, and I never expect to have any. Then again, maybe I am qualified to speak for those of us who have better things to do than train for years to sing an 80-hour medley of pop songs.

But let’s not just blame poor Burbure. He’s not the only person chasing meaningless reputation．The Guinness Book of World Records is full of the names of people who at one time grew the longest hair, or built the biggest bicycle, or baked the largest cheesecake.

To all of these enterprising souls I ask, simply, “What was it all for?”

Congratulations! For all of your painstaking effort, you became a footnote in a thick book that no one reads, except for you and the person who will eventually surpass you, with one more hour of singing, a few more centimeters of steel or a few more pounds of cheese.

After all, records are made to be broken.

60. From the text, we can conclude that the author _________.

       A. thinks singing for 80 hours straight is completely meaningless

       B. feels it a pity he was not invited to share the happiness with the Burbures

       C. is quite worried about Burbure’s vocal cords

       D. has no Guinness records, so he admires Burbures’ feat

61. The author’s attitude to some Guinness world records is ________.

       A. positive                   B. impressed                       C. negative                          D. touched

62. We can infer from the article that ________.

       A. after the 80 hours of singing, Burbure could no longer speak

       B. Burbure’s wife didn’t support his attempt to make a Guinness record

       C. many have criticized Burbure for his stupid behavior

       D. challenging a Guinness record may be harmful to the health

63. What can possibly be the best title for the passage?

       A. What Was the Point                                             B. The Boring Guinness Book

       C. A New Guinness Record                                      D. Records Are Made to be Broken

A popular saying goes, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” However, that’s not really true. Words have the power to build us up or tear us down. It doesn’t matter if the words come from someone else or ourselves --- the positive and negative effects are just as lasting.

We all talk to ourselves sometimes. We’re usually too embarrassed to admit it, though. In fact, we really shouldn’t be because more and more experts believe talking to ourselves out loud is a healthy habit.

This “self-talk” helps us motivate ourselves, remember things, solve problems, and calm ourselves down. Be aware, though, that as much as 77% of self-talk tends to be negative. So in order to stay positive, we should only speak words of encouragement to ourselves. We should also be quick to give ourselves a pat on the back. The next time you finish a project, do well in a test, or finally clean your room, join me in saying “Good job!”

Often, words come out of our mouths without us thinking about the effect they will have. But we should be aware that our words cause certain responses in others. For example, when returning an item to a store, we might use warm, friendly language during the exchange. And the clear will probably respond in a similar manner. Or harsh（刻薄的）and critical language will most likely cause the clerk to be defensive.

Words possess power because of their lasting effect. Many of us regret something we once said. And we remember unkind words said to us! Before speaking, we should always ask ourselves: Is it loving? Is it needed? If what we want to say doesn’t pass this test, then it’s better left unsaid.

Words possess power: both positive and negative. Those around us receive encouragement when we speak positively. We can offer hope, build self-esteem（自尊）and motivate others to do their best. Negative words destroy all those things. Will we use our words to hurt or to heal? The choice is ours.

60．The main idea of the first paragraph is that______.

A. words have a lasting effect on us　 B. inspiring words give us confidence

C. negative words may let us down　 D. not sticks and stones but words will hurt us

61．There is no sense for us to feel embarrassed when we talk to ourselves because _____.

　　　 A. almost everybody has the habit of talking to themselves

　　　 B. talking to ourselves always gives us courage

　　　 C. we can benefit from talking to ourselves

　　　 D. it does no harm to have “self-talk” when we are alone

62．The underlined part in the third paragraph means that we should also timely ______.

　　 A. remind ourselves　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. praise ourselves

　　　 C. make ourselves relaxed　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. give ourselves amusement

63．The author would probably hold the view that ______.

　　　 A. encouraging words are sure to lead to kind offers

　　　 B. negative words may stimulate us to make more progress

　　　 C. people tend to remember friendly words

　　　 D. it is better to think twice before talking to others

四．阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）

A year ago, I paid no attention to English idioms, though my teacher emphasized the importance again and again. But soon, the importance of English idioms was shown in an amusing experience.

One day, I happened to meet an Englishman on the road, and soon we began to talk. As I was talking about how I was studying English, the foreigner seemed to be astonished gently shaking his head, shrugging his shoulders, saying, “You don’t say！”“You don’t say!” I was puzzled. I thought, perhaps this is not an appropriate topic. “Well, I’d better change the topic. ”So I said to him, “well, shall we talk about the Great Wall?” By the way, have you ever been there? “Certainly, everyone back home will laugh at me if I leave China without seeing it. It was magnificent（壮丽的）.” He was deep in thought when I began to talk like a tourist guide, “The Great Wall is one of the wonders in the world. We are proud of it.” Soon I was interrupted again by his order “You don’t say!” I couldn’t help asking .I said, “Didn’t you say you don’t say?” Hearing this, the Englishman laughed to tears. He began to explain, “You don’t say actually means really? It is an expression of surprise. Perhaps you don’t pay attention to English idioms.” Only then did I make a fool of myself. Since then I have been more careful with idiomatic expression.

1. A year ago, I paid no attention to English idioms because     .

       A. English idioms were too difficult to master

       B. I cared little about the teacher’s instruction

       C. my teacher didn’t emphasize the importance

       D. I had no interest in English learning

2. When I first heard “You don’t say!” I thought     .

       A. the Englishman was not interested in my English

       B. the Englishman was only interested in the Great Wall.

       C. I had talked too much

       D. I had to stop talking at once

3. Which of the following is true?

       A. The Englishman was leaving China without seeing the Great Wall.

B. The Englishman wanted to see the Great Wall after I talked about it.

       C. The Englishman wanted me to act as his guide.

       D. The Englishman visited the Great Wall and thought it worth visiting

4. After the Englishman explained the idiom, ___   .

       A. the Englishman made me a fool

       B. the Englishman made a fool of himself

       C. I felt very silly

       D.I felt proud of my understanding

三节．阅读理解（40%）
阅读理解下面的短文，然后按要求答题。
I was born in New York, but I grew up in San Francisco. I began to live in London 25 years ago. If I am asked now where I want to live forever, I would say London. But I will always be American.
San Francisco, like London, has many parks. Every day my sisters and I were taken to play in the parks as children. I didn't go to school. I only had three hours of formal education when I was five. I was sent to school in the morning but came home at noon on the first day. I said I didn't enjoy it and hadn't learned anything. My parents thought that school was unsuitable for me. They agreed with me, so I never went back to school.
Then my mother taught me and my two sisters at home, in the way of an English lady who had good education. We learned languages and reading more than sciences and maths. Sometimes she taught us herself, but we also had other teachers. They asked us to take lessons every day. About once a week we walked to Golden Gate Park. While we were walking, my mother taught me to read music. One day I noticed a little toy train in the window of a shop and I remember now how I'd like to have it. I couldn't say "r" when I was small. My mother said if I could say an "r" well, I would have the toy train. I practiced and practiced. Then one morning I woke everybody up with my "r"s. I got the toy train. I usually get the things I want in life — but I work hard for them.
1 The writer ___ .
A. was born in San Francisco      B. likes living in London
C. is living in New York now      D. doesn't like America
2. The writer didn't go to school in America because ___ .
A. his mother wanted him to go to school in English
B. his parents didn't think formal education was right for him
C. his mother wanted him to play outdoors in the parks
D. he couldn't get on well with the other children
3. Which of the following is TRUE?
A. The writer was taught by his mother and other teachers.
B. The writer had no education at all.
C. The writer didn't have lessons every day.
D. The writer walked to the park to learn languages once a week.
4. The writer got the little toy train at last because ___ .
A. his mother gave him the money
B. he tried his best to read music
C. he wanted it very much
D. his mother was pleased with his progress