His humorous closing speech was a welcome addition to the ______dull meeting．

 A．therefore       B．meanwhile     C．otherwise       D．nevertheless

Some years ago, writing in my diary used to be a usual activity. I would return from school and spend the expected half hour recording the day’s events, feelings, and impressions in my little blue diary. I did not really need to express my emotions by way of words, but I gained a certain satisfaction from seeing my experiences forever recorded on paper. After all, isn’t accumulating memories a way of preserving the past?

When I was thirteen years old, I went on a long journey on foot in a great valley, well-equipped with pens, a diary, and a camera. During the trip, I was busy recording every incident, name and place I came across. I felt proud to be spending my time productively, dutifully preserving for future generations a detailed description of my travels. On my last night there, I wandered out of my tent, diary in hand. The sky was clear and lit by the glare of the moon, and the walls of the valley looked threatening behind their screen of shadows. I automatically took out my pen…

At that point, I understood that nothing I wrote could ever match or replace the few seconds I allowed myself to experience the dramatic beauty of the valley. All I remembered of the previous few days were the dull characterizations I had set down in my diary.

Now, I only write in my diary when I need to write down a special thought or feeling. I still love to record ideas and quotations that strike me in books, or observations that are particularly meaningful. I take pictures, but not very often—only of objects I find really beautiful. I’m no longer blindly satisfied with having something to remember when I grow old. I realize that life will simply pass me by if I stay behind the camera, busy preserving the present so as to live it in the future.

I don’t want to wake up one day and have nothing but a pile of pictures and notes. Maybe I won’t have as many exact representations of people and places； maybe I’ll forget certain facts, but at least the experiences will always remain inside me. I don’t live to make memories—I just live, and the memories form themselves.

1.Before the age of thirteen, the author regarded keeping a diary as a way of ______.

A．observing her school routine              B．expressing her satisfaction

C．impressing her classmates                 D．preserving her history

2.What caused a change in the author’s understanding of keeping a diary?

A．A dull night on the journey.                B．The beauty of the great valley.

C．A striking quotation from a book.            D．Her concerns for future generations.

3.What does the author put in her diary now?

A．Notes and beautiful pictures.              B．Special thoughts and feelings.

C．Detailed accounts of daily activities.         D．Descriptions of unforgettable events.

4.The author comes to realize that to live a meaningful life is ______.

A．to experience it                        B．to live the present in the future

C．to make memories                      D．to give accurate representations of it

From good reading we can derive pleasure, companionship, experience, and instruction. A good book may absorb our attention so completely that for the time being we forget our surroundings and even our identity. Reading good books is one of the greatest pleasures in life. It increases our contentment when we are cheerful, and lessens our troubles when we are sad. Whatever may be our main purpose in reading, our contact with good books should never fail to give us enjoyment and satisfaction.
With a good book in our hands we need never be lonely. Whether the characters portrayed are taken from real life or are purely imaginary, they may become our companions and friends. In the pages of books we can walk with the wise and the good of all lands and all times. The people we meet in books may delight us either because they resemble human friends whom we hold dear or because they present unfamiliar types whom we are glad to welcome as new acquaintances. Our human friends sometimes may bore us, but the friends we make in books need never weary us with their company. By turning the page we can dismiss them without any fear of hurting their feelings. When human friends desert us, good books are always ready to give us friendship, sympathy, and encouragement.
One of the most valuable gifts bestowed by books is experience. Few of us can travel far from home or have a wide range of experiences, but all of us can lead varied lives through the pages of books. Whether we wish to escape from the seemingly dull realities of everyday life or whether we long to visit some far-off place, a book will help us when nothing else can. To travel by book we need no bank account to pay our way; no airship or ocean liner or stream-lined train to transport us; no passport to enter the land of our heart’s desire. Through books we may get the thrill of hazardous adventure without danger. We can climb lofty mountains, brave the perils of an Antarctic winter, or cross the scorching sands of the desert, all without hardship. In books we may visit the studios of Hollywood; we may mingle with the gay throngs of the Paris boulevards; we may join the picturesque peasants in an Alpine village or the kindly natives on a South Sea island. Indeed, through books the whole world is ours for the asking. The possibilities of our literary experiences are almost unlimited. The beauties of nature, the enjoyment of music, the treasures of art, the triumphs of architecture, the marvels of engineering, are all open to the wonder and enjoyment of those who read.
53．Why is it that we sometimes forget our surroundings and even our identity while reading?
A．No one has come to disturb us.
B．Everything is so quiet and calm around us.
C．The book we are reading is so interesting and attractive.
D．Our book is so boring that we are to finish it at a fast speed.
54．How would you account for the fact that people like their friends in books even more?
A．They are like human friends exactly.      B．They are unfamiliar types we like.
C．They never desert us.                 D．They are purely imaginary.
55．Which of the following is true according to the text?
A．Your wish to visit some far-off place can be realized thought the pages of the books.
B．To escape from the dull realities of everyday life you should take up reading.
C．Books can always help you live a colourful life.
D．You may obtain valuable experience from reading good books.
56．By saying “…the whole world is ours for the asking,” the author implies that___________.
A．in books the world is more accessible to us
B．we can ask to go anywhere in the world
C．we can possess everything in this world
D．we can make a round-the-world trip free of charge

His humorous closing speech was a welcome addition to the ______dull meeting．

 A．therefore       B．meanwhile     C．otherwise       D．nevertheless

完成句子（满分5分,每题1分）

1.你一定是把我错当成我妹妹了。

You must be _______ me _____ my younger sister.

2.整个系统不便于使用。

The Whole system was not _________ _________ ___________.

3.第二天，美国总统就向日本宣战了。

The next day, US President ________ __________ __________ Japan.

4.那两队要争夺冠军。

The two teams will ________ ________ the championship.

5.这部小说是以战前的伦敦为背景的吗？

________ the novel _______ ________ pre-war London.