第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，共40分）
请阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳答案，并在答题卡上将该选项的标号涂黑。
A
After my husband died suddenly from a heart attack，my world crashed around me. My six children were all under 10，and I was burdened with the responsibilities of earning a living，and caring for the children. I was fortunate to find a wonderful housekeeper to care for the children during the week，but from Friday nights to Monday mornings，the children and I were alone.
One Friday evening I came home from work to find a big pretty German Shepherd（牧羊犬）on our doorstep. This dog seemed to intend to enter the house. The children liked “German” immediately and begged me to let him in. I agreed to let him sleep in the basement. That night I slept peacefully for the first time in many weeks.
The following morning we made phone calls and checked lost-and-found ads for German’s owner，but with no results.
On Sunday I had planned to take the children on a picnic. Since I thought it best to leave German behind in case his owner came by，we drove off without him. When we stopped to get gas，we were amazed to see German racing to the gas station after us. No way was he going to be left behind.
Monday morning I let him out for a run. He didn’t come back and we were all disappointed. We were convinced that we would never see him again. We were wrong. The next Friday evening，German was back on our doorstep. Again he stayed until Monday morning，when our housekeeper arrived.
This pattern repeated itself every weekend for almost 10 months. We grew more and more fond of German. We took comfort in his strong，warm presence，and we felt safe with him near us. As German became part of the family，he considered it his duty to check every bedroom to be sure each child was cozy in bed.
Each week，between German’s visits，I grew a little stronger，a little braver and more able to handle; every weekend we were no longer alone and enjoyed his company. Then one Monday morning we patted him on the head and let him out for what turned out to be the last time. We never saw German again.
56．The dog first came to the family when _______________.
A．it was needed most
B．the writer became strong enough
C．the writer was away on a business trip
D．the writer was busy on the weekday
57．The family planned to go on a picnic without the German Shepherd because ____.
A．it was too wild to control
B．it was too young to walk so far
C．the owner might come by to pick it up
D．it might spoil the trip
58．The writer was ____________ the German Shepherd.
A．afraid of　　B．grateful to     C．cruel to 　　D．annoyed with
59．Which of the following can’t be used to describe the dog？
A．Loyal 　　　B．Helpful    C．Lovely 　　 D．Wild

When I was young, I really doubted whether there was love between my parents．Every day they were busy earning money so that they could   36  the high tuition my brother and I needed．They didn’t   37  in the romantic ways that I read in books or saw on TV．

One day, Mom was sewing a quilt（被子）．I  38  sat down beside her．“Mom, I have a　39  here,” I said after a while．“Is there love between you and Dad?” I asked her in a very 　40 voice．

Mom stopped her work and raised her head with   41  in her eyes．She didn’t answer immediately．She bent her head and continued to sew the quilt．I was   42  if I had hurt her．I was in great embarrassment and I was at a loss what to do．But at last she said, very   43  , “Susan, look at this   44 ．Sometimes it appears, but most of it disappears in the quilt．The thread really makes the quilt strong and lasting．If   45  is a quilt, then love should be a thread．It can hardly be seen, but it’s really there． 46  is inside．”

    I listened carefully but I couldn’t understand her until years later．

    One day, Dad accidentally got  47  while on duty．Ever since then he could no longer  48

properly．Every morning and dusk Mom would help Dad walk slowly on the country road．Along the country road, there were beautiful flowers, green grass and trees．The leaves were gently glistening   49  the sun shining upon them．All of these made up the most beautiful   50  in the world．

“Dad, how are you feeling now?”” I asked him one day． “Susan, don’t worry shout me,” he said gently． “I just like walking with your mom．I like this kind of life．” Looking into his eyes, I  51 　　what they meant．

The doctor had said Dad would   52   in two months．But that day never came．He   53 away in peace．

54   I thought love meant flowers, gifts and sweet kisses．But from this   55 , I understand that love is just a thread in the quilt of our life, which makes life strong and warm…

1.A．afford           B．cost               C．spend            D．offer

2.A．go               B．live               C．act              D．walk

3.A．happily          B．silently           C．secretly        D．nervously

4.A．request          B．problem            C．message          D．question

5.A．loud             B．light                            C．low              D．clear

6.A．surprise         B．anger              C．stress           D．horror

7.A．amazed           B．confused           C．shocked          D．ashamed

8.A．quickly          B．excitedly          C．bitterly         D．gently

9.A．quilt            B．needle             C．thread          D．sewing

10.A．belief          B．work               C．experience                     D．life

11.A．Warmth          B．Thread                           C．Cotton             D．Love

12.A．tired           B．drunk              C．ill                            D．injured

13.A．talk            B．walk               C．work             D．think

14.A．with            B．as                 C．for              D．by

15.A．signs           B．symbols            C．pictures                       D．reflections

16.A．read            B．doubted            C．translated                     D．recognized

17.A．retire          B．recover           C．regain           D．remove

18.A．passed          B．escaped            C．faded            D．turned

19.A．Again           B．Once               C．Then             D．Later

20.A．lesson        B．account              C．experience      D．accident

    Today, roller skating is easy and fun. But a long time ago, it wasn’t easy at all. Before 1750, the idea of skating didn’t exist. That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin. Merlin was a person who liked playing the violin and was full of ideas and dreams. People called him a dreamer.

One day Merlin received an invitation to a fancy dress ball (化装舞会). He was very pleased and a little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think how to make a grand  entrance at the party. He came up with an idea. He thought everyone would be attracted by him if he could skate into the room.

Merlin tried different ways to make himself roll. Finally, he decided to put two, wheels under each shoe. These were the first rolled skates. Merlin was very proud of his invention and dreamed of arriving at the party on wheels while playing the violin.

　　On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room, playing the violin. Everyone was amazed to see this. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skates. Suddenly he ran into a huge mirror hanging on the wall. It fell down and broke into pieces. Nobody forgot Merlin's entrance for a long time.

60．The passage is mainly about_______.

A．a strange man   　　       

B．an unusual party

　　 C．how roller skating started

　　 D．how people held parties in the 18th century

61．People thought Merlin was a dreamer because he________.

         A．often gave others surprises      B．was a gifted musician

         C．invented the roller skates D．was full of imagination

62．Merlin put wheels under his shoes to_________.

         A．impress the party guests  B．arrive at the party sooner

         C．test his invention                D．show his skill in walking on wheels

63．What is main point the writer is trying to make in the last paragraph?

        A．The roller skates needed further improvement.

         B．The party guests took Merlin for a fool.

         C．Merlin succeeded beyond expectation.

         D．Merlin got himself into trouble.

 From his ______ look, I could see that he didn't believe what I said.

A. amazing　　　　B. amaze             C. amazed                 D. amazement

When I was young, I really doubted whether there was love between my parents. Every day they were busy earning money so that they could   41  the high tuition my brother and I needed. They didn’t   42  in the romantic ways that I read in books or saw on TV.

One day, Mom was sewing a quilt（被子）. I  43 sat down beside her. “Mom, I have a  44  here,” I said after a while. “Is there love between you and Dad?” I asked her in a very　45 voice.

Mom stopped her work and raised her head with   46  in her eyes. She didn’t answer immediately. She bent her head and continued to sew the quilt. I was   47  if I had hurt her. I was in great embarrassment and I was at a loss what to do. But at last she said, very   48  , “Susan, look at this   49 . Sometimes it appears, but most of it disappears in the quilt. The thread really makes the quilt strong and lasting. If   50  is a quilt, then love should be a thread. It can hardly be seen, but it’s really there.   51  is inside.”

I listened carefully but I couldn’t understand her until years later.

One day, Dad accidentally got　  52  while on duty. Ever since then he could no longer　  53　properly. Every morning and dusk Mom would help Dad walk slowly on the country road. Along the country road, there were beautiful flowers, green grass and trees. The leaves were gently glistening（发光）   54  the sun shining upon them. All of these made up the most beautiful   55  in the world.

“Dad, how are you feeling now?” I asked him one day. “Susan, don’t worry about me,” he said gently. “I just like walking with your mom. I like this kind of life.” Looking into his eyes, I  56　what they meant.

The doctor had said Dad would   57 in two months. But that day never came. He   58 away in peace.

59 I thought love meant flowers, gifts and sweet kisses. But from this   60 , I understand that love is just a thread in the quilt of our life, which makes life strong and warm…

1.                A．afford          B．cost            C．spend    D．offer

2.                A．go             B．live            C．act  D．walk

3.                A．happily         B．silently         C．secretly  D．nervously

4.                A．request        B．problem        C．message  D．question

5.                A．loud           B．light           C．low  D．clear

6.                A．surprise        B．anger          C．stress    D．horror

7.                A．amazed         B．confused        C．shocked  D．ashamed

8.                A．quickly         B．excitedly        C．bitterly   D．gently

9.                A．quilt           B．needle         C．thread   D．sewing

10.               A．belief          B．work           C．experience D．life

11.               A．Warmth        B．Thread         C．Cotton    D．Love

12.               A．tired           B．drunk          C．ill    D．injured

13.               A．talk            B．walk           C．work D．think

14.               A．with           B．as             C．for   D．by

15.               A．signs           B．symbols        C．pictures   D．reflections

16.               A．read           B．doubted        C．translated  D．recognized

17.               A．retire          B．recover        C．regain D．remove

18.               A．passed         B．escaped        C．faded D．turned

19.               A．Again          B．Once          C．Then D．Later

20.               A．word          B．account        C．experience D．accident