In recent years advances in medical technology have made it possible for people to live longer than in the past. New medicines and machines are being developed every day to extend life. However, some people, including some doctors, are not in favor of these life extending measures, and they argue that people should have the right to die when they want. They say that the quality of life is as important as life itself and that people should not be forced to go on living when conditions of life have become unbearable. They say thatpeople should be allowed to die with dignity (尊严) and to decide when they want to die. Others argue that life under any conditions is better than death and that the duty of doctors is always to extend life as long as possible. And so the battle goes on and on without a definite answer.

The best title for this passage is _____.

A. The Right to Live    B. The Right to Die

C. The Doctor’s Duty   D. Life Is Better Than Death

In recent years, people can live longer than in the past. It’s because of _____ .

A. the development of medical technology 

B. big hospitals

C. good doctors  

D. both B and C    

According to some people whether a dying patient has the right to die or not is up to _____ .

. A. the doctors            B. the surroundings

 C. his or her family      D. the patient himself or herself

In the writer’s opinion _____ .

A.death is better than life

B. life is better that death

C. neither death nor life is good

D. none of the above

Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

A. Most of the medical workers join in the argument.

B. The argument has ended in favor of the patient.

C. The argument hasn’t ended yet.

D. The quality of life is not as important as life itself, so it is generally thought that people should not be allowed to die under any conditions.

I have had just about enough of being treated like a second-class citizen, simply because I happen to be that unfairly treated member of society --- a customer. The more I go into shops and hotels, banks and post offices, railway stations, airports and the like, the more I am convinced the things are being run solely to suit the firm, the system, or the union. There seems to be a deceptive (欺骗的) new motto for so-called “service” organizations --- Staff Before Service.
　　 How often, for example, have you queued for what seems like hours at the Post Office or the supermarket because there were not enough staff on duty to man all the service grilles or checkout counters? Surely in these days of high unemployment it must be possible to hire cashiers and counter staff. Yet supermarkets, hinting darkly at higher prices, claim that uncovering all their cash registers at any one time would increase operating costs. And the Post Office says we cannot expect all their service grilles to be occupied “at times when demand is low”.
　　  It is the same with hotels. Because waiters and kitchen staff must finish when it suits them, dining rooms close earlier or menu choice is cut short. As for us guests, we just have to put up with it. There is also the nonsense of so many friendly hotel night porters having been thrown out of their jobs in the interests of “efficiency” and replaced by coin-eating machines which offer everything from lager to laxatives (从贮藏啤酒到通便剂). Not to mention the tea-making kit in your room: a kettle with a mixed collection of tea bags, plastic milk boxes and lump sugar. Who wants to wake up to a raw teabag? I do not, especially when I am paying for “service”.
　　Can it be stopped, this worsening of service, this growing attitude that the customer is always a bore? I angrily hope so because it is happening, sadly, in all walks of life.
　　Our only hope is to hammer home our anger whenever and wherever we can and, if all else fails, bring back into practice that other, older slogan --- Take Our Deal Elsewhere.
【小题1】The writer feels that nowadays customers __________.

A．deserve the lowest status in society

B．are unworthy of proper consideration

C．have received high quality service

D．have become victims of modern organizations

【小题2】The writer argues that the quality of service is changing because __________.

A．customers’ demands have greatly changed

B．the staff receive more consideration than customers

C．customers’ needs have become more complex

D．staff members are less considerate than their employers

【小题3】 According to the writer, long queues at counters are caused by __________.

A．not having enough male staff on duty

B．difficulties in hiring more efficient staff

C．lack of cooperation between staff members

D．not providing enough staff on purpose to reduce budget

【小题4】The writer suggests that a customer __________.

A．be patient when queuing before checkout counters

B．put up with the rude manners of the staff

C．try to control his temper when ill-treated

D．go to other places where good service is available

One August afternoon, Richard Allen dropped off his last passenger, Mrs. Carey. Lifting two grocery bags, he followed her across the yard and stood on the step of her house. Glancing up, he saw a large wasp（黄蜂） nest under the roof. Allen had heard that wasps can become more likely to sting (sting, sting, stung蜇) in summer. He mentioned this to Mrs. Carey, who had opened the door.

“Oh, they don’t bother me,” she said lightly. “I go in and out all the time.”

Anxiously, Allen looked at the nest again—— to see the wasps flying straight at him. “Hurry!” he shouted to Mrs. Carey. “Get in!”

She stepped quickly inside. Allen ran for his mini-bus. Too late; they were upon him. Just as he jumped aboard, half a dozen red spots showed on his arm, and he felt more on his back and shoulders.

As he was driving down the road, Allen felt as if something was burning at the back of his neck, and the “fire” was spreading forward toward his face. And immediate anxiety took hold of him. Allen knew that stings could cause some persons to die. But he had been stung the previous summer and the after-effects soon passed. However, what he didn’t know what that the first sting had turned his body into a time bomb waiting for the next to set off an explosion.

Miles from the nearest medical assistance, Allen began to feel his tongue thick and heavy and his heartbeat louder. Most frightening, he felt his breathing more and more difficult. He reached for the radio mike（话筒）, trying to call the mini-bus center, but his words were hardly understandable. Signals were also poor that far out. He knew a rescue team was on 24-hour duty at the Amherst Fire Department’s north station. So his best chance was to make a run for it.

Rushing down the mountain, Allen tried not to panic, focusing his mind on each sharp turn. He was almost through the last of them when he felt sure he was going into shock（休克）. Just then he reached for the radio mike again.

“Call fire station,” he shouted, concentrating to form the words. “Emergency. Bee sting. Emergency. There in ten minutes.”

“Five-ten,” the center replied.

Hold on, Allen thought. Keep your eyes open. Breathe. Keep awake.

At last he reached the station. Two firemen ran out. Allen felt their hands grasp him before he hit the ground. You made it, he thought.

It is mentioned in the passage that wasps are more likely to attack when _______.

A. there are huge noises

B. strangers are approaching

C. the air is filled with food smell

D. the hottest season comes around

Allen didn’t know that if stung by wasps again, he would _______.

A. have no after-effects

B. suffer from sharper pain

C. surely lose his life

D. become more sensitive

Allen failed at his first attempt to send his message to the mini-bus center because _______.

A. he was unable to speak clearly

B. his radio equipment was poor

C. he was in a state of shock

D. no one was on duty

Which would be the best title for the passage?

A. Allen, A Helpless Driver

B. Wasps, Bloody Killers

C. A Race Against Death

D. War Against Wasps

第二节   完形填空 （共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）

阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（ABCD）中，选出可以填入空白的最佳答案，并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。

Preparing for tomorrow

    Sixth-grade schoolteacher Ms．Shelton believed in readiness．Students remembered how she walked in on the first day of class and began writing words of eighth-grade on the    36  ．They quickly protested that the words were not on their   37    and they couldn’t learn them．

    Their teacher insisted that the students could and would learn these   38   ．She said that she would teach them something that should be given．Ms．Shelton   39     by saying that one of the students in the classroom could go on to   40   , maybe even be president someday, and she wanted to prepare them for that day．

    Ms．Shelton spoke those words many years ago．  41    did she know that someday one of her students—Jesse Jackson—would take them   42   ．She believed that if they were well prepared, they could   43   high goals．

    Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “People only see what they are   44    to see．” If that’s true, then it is also    45    that they only become what they are prepared to become．And many things in life are just about getting ready．

    “I want to be doing something more    46    with my life than what I am doing now,” a young man once said to me．He    47    what he was doing was just not that important．Other people have said things to me such as, “I only    48    I had a meaningful relationship．” And, “I’d really like to get a better job, but I just don’t see    49    ．”

    You fill in the blanks．What is it you would like to    50    that isn’t happening? Perhaps the answer is that you are not yet   51   ．Maybe you need more time to prepare before you are truly ready for that which you   52   ．

    Think of today as another chance to   53   yourself for the exciting future you are looking for．Today is not wasted．If you desire more from   54   , then you can use today as training．For you will experience only what you are prepared to    55   ．Something wonderful can happen．And you can use today to get ready for tomorrow．

1.A．desk             B．wall           C．chalkboard     D．door

2.A．duty             B．desk           C．mind           D．level

3.A．words            B．grammars       C．pronunciations D．sentences

4.A．started          B．ended          C．warned         D．reminded

5.A．greatness        B．wealth         C．honor          D．failure

6.A．Seldom           B．Little         C．Hardly         D．Totally

7.A．nervously        B．eagerly        C．seriously      D．simply

8.A．keep             B．have           C．set            D．achieve

9.A．prepared         B．forced         C．attracted      D．tempted

10.A．proper          B．exact          C．legal          D．true

11.A．difficult       B．significant    C．pleasant       D．interesting

12.A．boasted         B．behaved        C．felt           D.  looked

13.A．wish            B．expect         C．hope           D．imagine

14.A．what            B．when           C．why            D．how

15.A．survive         B．happen         C．gain           D．win

16.A．adventurous     B．active         C．ready          D．intelligent

17.A．concern         B．arrange        C．adore          D．desire

18.A．prepare         B．enjoy          C．imagine        D．conduct

19.A．history         B．nature         C．life           D．marriage

20.A．suffer          B．experience     C．struggle       D．work

 

A guest comes up to Mrs. Dale, the Duty Manager, telling her 31        (anger) about the Hall Porter’s Department. Since there are 32        guests present, the Duty Manager invites the guest to come to her office 33         (talk) things over.

The guest says that the Hall Porter yesterday 34           (promise) to get theatre tickets 35          a show in the city. He says that today, 36            he went to collect the tickets there was  37          porter on duty. The porter could not find any tickets for the guest, and could not find any record of the request for       tickets. It seems that the porter on duty today did not believe 38                the guest had made any request for tickets. The guest says that the tickets were promised,   38                 he has planned to go to the theatre that night, and that it is the 40                (hotel) job to provide the tickets.