Over the years, thanks to my life’s obstacles(障碍), I understood the meaning of faith and the strong will to survive. It was Hurricane Ike that made me fully____ the beauty of our strength and a human’s motivation to ____.

?? Mom had a two-week ____ in summer. While we enjoyed our holiday in Southeast Texas, we didn’t realize the fact that Ike ____ cause months and likely years of “labor”. By September 7th, the “eyes of Texas” were watching Hurricane Ike more ____, making the typical mad rush for last-minute hurricane ____. Two days later, both oil and ice were in ____ demand.

?? In the early hours of September 11th, some neighbors were planning to ____the storm in their homes, ____ others were making final preparations to get away. At first, we decided to stay. But that afternoon, the Houston-Galveston area would be on the more ____ side of the storm. Mom and I packed some of our most ____ belongings in the car and ____ the East Texas town of Lufkin.

?? As Ike pushed farther inland, we ____power in Lufkin. On Sunday, our next-door neighbor told us via cell phone that our ____ had remained well. Our hopes could not have been ____. But a few hours later, the neighbors reported that our brick chimney had ____, and it was sitting on our living room, ____ a hole in the roof between two skylights (天窗).

We wouldn’t be allowed to return home ____ September 17th. I climbed upstairs, and looked toward the hole in the roof which showed a beautiful blue sky.

Without hesitation, I shouted, “Wow! A third skylight!”

My neighbors could not believe I was making jokes ____ crying, but ____ is always good medicine. It was with that joke that I knew, given time, everything would be okay.

1.A. observe????????????? ????????????? B. appreciate????????????? ????????????? C. explore????????????? ????????????? D. improve

2.A. work????????????? ????????????? B. apologize????????????? ????????????? C. recover????????????? ????????????? D. change

3.A. vacation????????????? ??? B. journey????????????? ????????????? C. meeting????????????? ????????????? D. schedule

4.A. must????????????? ????????????? B. might????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C. should ????????????? ????????????? D. would

5.A. closely????????????? ????????????? B. constantly????????????? ????????????? C. warningly????????????? ????????????? D. differently

6.A. adventure????????????? B. equipment????????????? ????????????? C. supplies????????????? ????????????? D. reports

7.A. basic????????????? ????????????? B. high????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C. pure????????????? ????????????? ????????????? D. neat

8.A. get through????????????? B. put away????????????? ????????????? C. test out????????????? ????????????? D. suffer from

9.A. since????????????? ????????????? B. when????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C. until????????????? ????????????? ????????????? D. while

10.A. dangerous????????????? B. abundant????????????? ????????????? C. peaceful????????????? ????????????? D. awesome

11.A. available????????????? B. concrete????????????? ????????????? C. prized ????????????? ????????????? D. potential

12.A. set out????????????? ????????????? B. headed????????????? for????????????? ????????????? C. settled down????????????? D. watched out

13.A. provided????????????? B. reduced????????????? ????????????? C. produced????????????? ????????????? D. lost

14.A. garden????????????? ????????????? B. house????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C. pool????????????? ????????????? ????????????? D. yard

15.A. clearer????????????? ????????????? B. wilder????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C. lower????????????? ????????????? ????????????? D. higher

16.A. passed????????????? ????????????? B. stood????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C. gone????????????? ????????????? ????????????? D. followed

17.A. leaving????????????? ????????????? B. digging????????????? ????????????? C. filling????????????? ????????????? ????????????? D. kicking

18.A. by ????????????? ????????????? B. before ????????????? ????????????? C. until? ????????????? ????????????? D. after

19.A. in spite of????????????? B. instead of????????????? ????????????? C. apart from????????????? ????????????? D. in terms of

20.A. faith????????????? ????????????? B. will????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C. strength????????????? ????????????? D. laughter?????????????

   In the earliest stages of man’s development he had no more need of money than animals have. He was content with very simple forms of shelter, made his own rough tools and weapons and could provide food and clothing for himself and his family from natural materials around him. As he became more civilized, however, he began to want better shelter, more efficient tools and weapons, and more comfortable and more lasting clothing than could be provided by his own neighborhood or by the work of his own unskilled hands. For these things he had to turn to the skilled people such as smiths, leather workers or carpenters. It was then that the question of payment arose.

   At first he got what he wanted by a simple process of exchange. The smith who had not the time to look after land or cattle was glad to take meat or grain from the farmer in exchange for an axe or a plough (犁). But as more and more goods which had no fixed exchange value came on the market, exchange became too complicated to be satisfactory. Another problem arose when those who made things wanted to get stocks of wood or leather, or iron, but had nothing to offer in exchange until their finished goods were ready.

   Thus the difficulties of exchange led by degree to the invention of money. In some countries easily handled things like seeds or shells were given a certain value and farmer, instead of paying the smith for a new axe by giving him some meat or grain, gave him so many shells. If the smith had any shells left when he had bought his food, he could get stocks of the raw materials of his trade. In some countries quite large things such as cows or camels or even big flat stones were used for trade. Later, pieces of metal, bearing values according to the rarity (稀有) of the metal and the size of the pieces, or coins were used. Money as we know it had arrived.

What does the first paragraph mainly tell us?

A. Man needed little in the earliest stages of development.

B. Man preferred to make tools by himself.

C. How the simple process of exchange arose.

D. What the early man needed from others.

As men became more civilized they __________.

A. all learnt to make by themselves the things needed

B. had to travel a lot to look for what they wanted

C. wanted better things than those they themselves could provide

D. no longer provided food and clothing for themselves

Exchange of goods became difficult because __________.

A. man became more civilized

B. there was not a marketplace for farmers and smiths to exchange their goods

C. farmers hadn’t enough grain or meat to provide for skilled workers

D. more and more goods which had no fixed exchange values appeared on the market.

Money was not used until __________.

A. paper was invented

B. nothing could be offered in exchange

C. people practiced a simple process of exchange

D. the exchange of one thing for another became too complicated

What was used for trade according to the text?

A. Shells                        B. Tea                                C. Salt                           D. Horses

第四节阅读理解（20×2分）
James Langston Hughes finally arrived in New York on September 4, 1921 to attend Colombia University. Langston felt frustrated at Colombia due to the discrimination of his white classmates. His grades began to suffer and finally he left and looked for a job.
Job were still hard to come by for most blacks. He longed to work on a ship that would sail abroad. After much persistence, he headed to Africa on a freighter ( 货船 ). Hughes was disturbed by the African tribes’ lack of political and economical freedom. The Africans considered him white because of his brown skin and stranded dark hair. It was here that he met a mulatto （白黑混血）child who was ignored by the Africans and the whites. This was a sourced of inspiration for his play, “Mulatto”.
Hughes found work on another freighter and ended up in Pairs. While there he worked at a night club that featured southern cooking and jazz performers. While moving on to Italy, Hughed was robbed and left stranded (helpless) wanting to return to the United States. He tried to get a job on a ship heading for the U.S.A. but was told they only hired the white. In this depressed state of mind he wrote, “I, Too, Sing America.”
He returned to America and found the Harlem Renaissance was spreading across racial boundaries（种族界线）. Many black poets and authors were now published in mainstream publications. Hughes was warmly welcomed by his peers （同辈）and recognized for the poetry he wrote while traveling. 
56. What inspired James Hughes to white the play “Mulatto”?
A. Neither the African nor the whites took care of a mulatto child he met.
B. The African did not like white people.
C. Blacks found it hard to find a decent job.
D. There was no political nor economical freedom in Africa.
57. How did Hughes pay for his trip from Africa to Paris?
A. He sold his poems.                 B. He got a job on ship.
C. He worked for a night club.     D. His African friends gave him some money.           58 . What happened to Hughes at Colombia University?
A. His white classmates were kind and helpful to him.
B. He was recognized as a promising poet.
C. He graduated with honors.   
D. He was very disappointed.   

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 (声带) 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 (混合曲) of pop songs.
But let’s not just pick on poor Burbure. He’s not the only person chasing meaningless accolades. 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 (有进取心的) 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.
【小题1】From the text, we can learn that the author         .

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

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

C．thinks singing for 80 hours straight is completely meaningless

D．is quite worried about Burbure’s vocal cords

Summer school is something a kid will never forget．For some, it's a way to advance past their classmates．For most, summer school is' a requirement in order to graduate with their classmates I can remember being forced into taking a summer school course．It was not the school that forced me into this awkward situation it was my mother．
I was a 16-year-old kid in a new school; My school did not offer summer courses so I had to take my course at an alternative school in the city．It was an experience I will never forget．I was not concerned with making friends．I was there to get credit （学分） for a course that I should have received credit for the previous semester．It was．my doing that landed me in the situation and it was important that I understood this．
The fees were lowest but the experience was amazing．I enjoyed I didn't miss the day． The course was from Monday to Friday for an entire month．I passed the course with an A．I was thrown into an awkward situation and actually enjoyed it．My friends didn't even know I took the course．Most of them were still sleeping by the time my course  ended each day．
Awkward situations are so important for personal growth．This situation made me feel more independent．I made friends．I finally understood what sacrifice and hard work were all about．While attending college, I remembered how much I enjoyed summer school and I chose to take summer school in my first three years of college．Some kids get pushed too much but some don't get pushed enough．I was never pushed enough．
Enable your children to struggle for success．If your child needs summer school you explain to them why it's important．Some parents are surprised by the situation and may want to be more involved in their children's education．Follow through and follow up．
【小题1】Most students go to the summer school in order to ____．