They paid their taxes ____ cash.

  A few days ago I asked my sons’ governess（女家庭教师）Julia to come into my study. “Be seated, Julia, ”I said, “Let’s settle our accounts. I guess you most likely need some money, but maybe you’re too polite to mention it. Now then, we agreed on thirty dollars a month...”
  “Forty.”
  “No, thirty. I made a note of it. I always pay our governess thirty. Well, um, you’ve been here two months, so...”
  “Two months and five days.”
  “Exactly two months. I made a special note of it. That means you have sixty dollars coming to you. Take off nine Sundays... you know you didn’t work with Tom on Sundays, you only took walks. And three holidays... ”Julia was biting her finger nail nervously, her face red, but - not a word.
  “Three holidays, therefore take off twelve dollars. Four days Tom was sick and there were no lessons, as you were occupied only with Dick. Three days you had a toothache and my wife gave you permission not to work after lunch. Twelve and seven - nineteen. Take nineteen off ... that leaves. hmm.... forty one dollars. Correct？”
  Julia’s left eye reddened with tears welling up. Her chin trembled; she coughed nervously and blew her nose, but - still not a word.
  “Around New Year’s Day you broke a teacup and a saucer; take off two dollars. The cup cost more, it was a treasure of the family, but- forget it. When didn’t I take a loss! Then, due to your neglect （疏忽）, Tom climbed a tree and tore his jacket; take away ten. Also due to your carelessness the maid stole Dick’s shoes. You ought to watch everything! You get paid for it. So, that means five more dollars off. The tenth of January I gave ten dollars.”
  “You didn’t. ”sobbed Julia.
  “But I made a note of it.”
  “Well... if you say so.”
  “Take twenty seven from forty one -that leaves fourteen.”
  Both her eyes were filled with tears. Beads of sweat stood on the thin pretty little nose. Poor girl!
  “Only once was I given any money,” she whispered, her voice trembling, “and that was by your wife. Three dollars, nothing more.”
  “Really? You see now, and I didn’t know that! Take three from fourteen.. leaves eleven. Here’s your money, my dear. Three, three, three, one and one. Here it is !”
  I handed her eleven dollars. She took them and pocketed them.
  “Merci （法语: 谢谢）,”she whispered.
  I jumped to my feet and started pacing the room. I was overcome with anger. “For what, this - ‘merci’?” I asked.
  “For the money. ”
  “But you know I’ve cheated you - robbed you ! I have actually stolen from you ! Why this‘merci’？”
  “In my other places they didn’t give me anything at all.”
  “They didn’t give you anything? No wonder! I played a little joke on you, a cruel lesson, just to teach you... I m going to give you all the eighty dollars! Here they are in the envelope all ready for you... Is it really possible to be so spineless （懦弱）?Why didn’t you protest? Why were you silent? Is it possible in this world to be without teeth and claws（爪）―to be such a fool?”
  Embarrassed, she smiled. And I could read her expression,“It is possible.”
  I asked her pardon for the cruel lesson and, to her great surprise, gave her the eighty dollars. She murmured her little“merci”several times and went out. I looked after her and thought,“How easy it is to crush the weak in this world !”

  63．While talking to Julia, the wrier expected from her ________.
  A. a protest             B. gratitude
  C. obedience           D. an explanation
  64．What shocked the writer was Julia’s ________.
  A. nervousness in front of her boss
  B. acceptance of injustice
  C. shyness when talking about money
  D. reluctance to express herself
  65．The writer said, “Is it possible in this world to be without teeth and claws?” He was actually telling the governess ________.
  A. to be more aggressive
  B. to be more careful in her work
  C. to protect her right
  D. to live independently
  66．At the end of the story, the writer said,“ How easy it is to crush the weak in this world!”to show ________.
  A. his understanding of Julia’s anxiety
  B. his worry about Julia’s future
  C. his concern on the living condition of working - class people
  D. his sympathy for the mental state of those exploited
  67．From the story, we can tell that Julia’s employer was ________.
  A. greedy but honest
  B. ill - tempered but warm - hearted
  C. strict but forgiving
  D. none of the above

A strong wind was blowing hard, thunder was rumbling (雷声隆隆地响), and lightning flashed across the dark sky. Rain was   1   down; it looked as if heaven had been broken open.

Gleams of light appeared from windows of faraway houses, ___2___ like jewels in all the dark.

A   3   woman dressed in rags and trembling with cold was   4   on a lonely road, while the merciless rain was   5   her without pause.

She knocked at a door, and a  6  answered it. She begged him to let her stay a while   7  . The boy then let her into the sitting room and   8   her sitting by the fire.

The woman  9  old and tired under the bright electric light,   10  she was only in her early thirties. She sat   11  for a moment, and then her eyes began to look about the   12  . When her wandering eyes rested on the picture of a young man, she   13   up, looking thunderstruck.

Just then, the boy came with his  14. The man at once recognized the woman as his   15  . They had   16   touch with each other during the war, and he thought he had lost her forever.

17   words needed to be spoken. They ran into each other’s arms  18   the boy stared at them, puzzled.

The storm was over and the sky cleared. Feeling very   19  , the couple stood face to face with their child between them, watching the rain as it gradually   20  .

1．A. pouring      B. falling        C. dropping         D. flooding

2．A.blowing     B.breaking         C.shining           D. flying

3．A. rich         B. beautiful           C. poor         D. ugly

4．A. crying  B. wandering        C. struggling               D. wondering

5．A. striking  B. hitting         C. flowing                    D. beating

6．A. girl       B. woman                    C. man              D. boy   

7．A. out             B. near               C. inside            D. outside

8．A. left           B. made            C. asked                   D. told

9．A. became         B. appeared           C. showed            D. sounded

10．A. so           B. though              C. however               D. and

11．A. still         B. thirsty            C. hungry           D. straight

12．A. house            B. picture           C. room               D. fire

13．A. picked        B. came              C. stood               D. looked

14．A. brother       B. mother           C. friend               D. father

15．A. sister                B. wife          C. mother       D. girlfriend

16．A. kept         B. got                 C. made                 D. lost

17．A. Much         B. Many               C. No                     D. Not

18．A. as           B. while               C. when                D. since

19．A. disappointed          B. sorry          C. happy        D. sad

20．A. began             B. stopped             C. ended           D. went

C
"Reduce, reuse and recycle, this familiar environmentalist slogan tells us how to reduce the amount of rubbish that ends up in landfills and waterways.
The concept is being used to deal with one possibly dangerous form of waste –--- electronic junk (电子垃圾), such as old computers, cell-phones, and televisions. But this process for managing e-waste may be used in an unscrupulous（不择手段的） way more often than not used, a recent report suggests.
“A lot of these materials are being sent to developing nations under the excuse of reuse –--- to bridge the digital divide,” said Richard Gutierrez, a policy researcher.
One of the problems is that no one proves whether these old machines work before they hit the seaways. Because of this, the report says, e-waste is a growing problem in Lagos, Nigeria, and elsewhere in the developing world. Much of the waste ends up being thrown away along rivers and roads. Often it’s picked apart by poor people, who may face dangerous exposure to poisonous chemicals in the equipment.
Businessmen also pay workers a little money to get back materials such as gold and copper. This low-tech recovery process could expose workers and the local environment to many dangerous materials used to build electronics. According to Gutierrez, this shadow economy exists because the excuse of recycling and reusing electronics gives businessmen “a green passport” to ship waste around the globe. “Developing nations must take upon some of the responsibility themselves,” Gutierrez said. But, he added, “A greater portion of this responsibility should fall on the exporting state.”
China, for example, has become a dumping（倾倒，堆放） place for large amounts of e-waste. The nation is beginning to take action to stop the flow of dangerous materials across its borders. The Chinese government, after many years of denial（否认）, is finally beginning to take the lead.
70．What does the fourth paragraph mainly discuss?
A. Old computers and TVs still work before they are sent abroad.
B. Poor people break up e-waste to collect some valuable materials.
C. A lot of e-waste is dumped in developing countries.
D. The problem of e-waste is growing in developing countries.
71．From what Gutierrez said we can learn that ________.
A. exporting countries should mainly be responsible for this problem.
B. neither rich nor poor countries should be blamed for this problem
C. developing countries should be responsible for this problem
D. poor countries should be blamed for this problem
72．It can be inferred from the last paragraph that _______.
A. China has hidden a large amount of e-waste in many secret places
B. China has greatly changed the idea about the problem of e-waste
C. China has prevented poisonous materials from entering China for a long time
D. China is falling behind other countries in dealing with e-waste
73．The passage mainly tells us that _______.
A. developing countries are facing serious environmental problems
B. e-waste is a growing problem in developed countries
C. e-waste is sent to developing countries under the excuse of reuse
D. developing countries are making full use of e-waste

For the first time in Hong Kong’s history, an entertainer has been written into middle school textbooks. He is considered one of the best actors in Hong Kong. Yes, he is Chow Yun-fat.

The example of his long hard struggle for success has been used in a chapter in a Hong Kong middle school textbook. Using his experience, students can learn to make the most of their time and to grab every opportunity to succeed．

    On hearing about this, Chow said happily, “I really hope that my experiences can make young people understand that one should not be afraid of difficulties and setbacks (挫折), for they are the only way to success.”

    Indeed, Chow has travelled a long and difficult path to reach his success. In 1955, he was born into a poor family in Hong Kong. When he was 17, he had to leave school. He worked in a number of jobs—as a postman, camera salesman and taxi driver. These experiences paved (铺路) the way for him to play all kinds of roles later in life.

    Chow broke into the film industry in the late 1970s. He was one of the hardest working actors and starred in a number of popular TV dramas and films including “Shanghai Bund”(《上海滩》) and “A Better Tomorrow”. Since 1985, he has won many awards including Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards and Hong Kong Film Awards.

In 1995, he went to Hollywood. Although he was already over 40, he had to learn English. He even put chopsticks in his mouth to practise pronouncing certain sounds. His film, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”, began to gain him more fame and recognition around the world. In 1998, the mayor of Chicago set aside January 12 as “Chow Yun-fat Day”.

1.Chow Yun-fat has been written into middle school textbooks mainly because ________.

A. he plays best in Hong Kong

B. he keeps on struggling for success

C. his experiences are very special

D. he is well thought of

2.Chow felt ________ when he learned that he had been written into middle school textbooks.

   A. surprised        B. shy           C. sad          D. happy

3.What can we infer from the passage?

A. Chow Yun-fat is proud of his success.

B. Chow Yun-fat prefers to make a living by selling cameras rather than by    performing.

   C. Chow Yun-fat has won more awards than other actors.

   D. Chow Yun-fat is popular both at home and abroad.

4.The underlined sentence (in paragraph 6) suggests ________.

   A. chopsticks is of great help to practise English pronunciation

   B. Chow Yun-fat is willing to struggle with difficulties

   C. Chow Yun-fat has suffered a lot before he went to Hollywood

   D. it is hard for a person who is over 40 years old to learn spoken English

5.The author wrote this passage to ________.

A. introduce Chow’s films

B. praise Chow for his excellent performance

C. call on people to learn from Chow 

D. show why Chow is popular