I was puzzled! Why was this old woman making such a fuss about an old copse which was of no use to anybody? She had written letters to the local paper, even to a national, protesting about a projected by-pass to her village, and, looking at a map, the route was nowhere near where she lived and it wasn’t as if the area was attractive. I was more than puzzled, I was curious.

The enquiry into the route of the new by-pass to the village was due to take place shortly, and I wanted to know what it was that motivated her. So it was that I found myself knocking on a cottage door, being received by Mary Smith and then being taken for a walk to the woods.

“I’ve always loved this place,” she said, “it has a lot of memories for me, and for others. We all used it. They called it ‘Lovers lane’. It’s not much of a lane, and it doesn’t go anywhere important, but that’s why we all came here. To be away from people, to be by ourselves. ” she added.

It was indeed pleasant that day and the songs of many birds could be heard. Squirrels watched from the branches, quite bold in their movements, obviously few people passed this way and they had nothing to fear. I could imagine the noise of vehicles passing through these peaceful woods when the by-pass was built, so I felt that she probably had something there but as I hold strong opinions about the needs of the community over-riding the opinions of private individuals, I said nothing. The village was quite a dangerous place because of the traffic especially for old people and children, their safety was more important to me than an old woman’s strange ideas.

“Take this tree,” she said pausing after a short while. “To you it is just that, a tree. Not unlike many others here.” She gently touched the bark, “Look here, under this branch, what can you see?”

“It looks as if someone has done a bit of carving with a knife.” I said after a cursory inspection.

“Yes, that’s what it is!” she said softly.

She went on, “He had a penknife with a spike for getting stones from a horse's hoof, and I helped him to carve them. We were very much in love, but he was going away, and could not tell me what he was involved in the army. I had guessed of course. It was the last evening we ever spent together, because he went away the next day, back to his Unit.”

Mary Smith was quiet for a while, then she sobbed. “His mother showed me the telegram. ‘Sergeant R Holmes …Killed in action in the invasion of France.’…”

“I had hoped that you and Robin would one day get married.” she said, “He was my only child, and I would have loved to be a Granny, they would have been such lovely babies’- she was like that! ”

“Two years later she too was dead. ‘Pneumonia (肺炎), following a chill on the chest’ was what the doctor said, but I think it was an old fashioned broken heart. A child would have helped both of us.”

There was a further pause. Mary Smith gently caressed the wounded tree, just as she would have caressed him. “And now they want to take our tree away from me.” Another quiet sob, then she turned to me. “I was young and pretty then, I could have had anybody, I wasn’t always the old woman you see here now. I had everything I wanted in life, a lovely man, health and a future to look forward to.”

She paused again and looked around. The breeze gently moved through the leaves with a sighing sound. “There were others, of course, but no one can match my Robin!” she said strongly. “And now I have nothing - except the memories this tree holds. If only I could get my hands on that awful man who writes in the paper about the value of the road they are going to build where we are standing now, I would tell him. Has he never loved, has he never lived, does he not know anything about memories? We were not the only ones, you know, I still meet some who came here as Robin and I did. Yes, I would tell him!”

I turned away, sick at heart.

63. The main purpose of this passage is to ________.

A. draw attention to the damage that wars cause

B. persuade people to give up private interest

C. arouse the awareness of being environmentally friendly

D. introduce a touching but sad love story

64. The underlined sentence “I felt that she probably had something there” means ________.

A. I thought there might be something hidden in the woods by Mary Smith

B. I guessed there might be a story related with Mary Smith

C. I thought there might be some reason for Mary Smith’s protest

D. I guessed there might be a secret purpose of Mary Smith.

65. What was probably the carving on the wounded tree?

A. Their names and a heart with a sign of arrow through it.

B. Their wish that this place and tree would last long.

C. The date when Robin Holmes would leave for army.

D. Their protest against the war which tore them apart.

   I was puzzled! Why was this old woman making such a fuss about an old copse which was of no use to anybody? She had written letters to the local paper, even to a national, protesting about a projected by-pass to her village, and, looking at a map, the route was nowhere near where she lived and it wasn’t as if the area was attractive. I was more than puzzled, I was curious.

   The enquiry into the route of the new by-pass to the village was due to take place shortly, and I wanted to know what it was that motivated her. So it was that I found myself knocking on a cottage door, being received by Mary Smith and then being taken for a walk to the woods.

“I’ve always loved this place,” she said, “it has a lot of memories for me, and for others. We all used it. They called it ‘Lovers lane’. It’s not much of a lane, and it doesn’t go anywhere important, but that’s why we all came here. To be away from people, to be by ourselves. ” she added.

It was indeed pleasant that day and the songs of many birds could be heard. Squirrels watched from the branches, quite bold in their movements, obviously few people passed this way and they had nothing to fear. I could imagine the noise of vehicles passing through these peaceful woods when the by-pass was built, so I felt that she probably had something there but as I hold strong opinions about the needs of the community over-riding the opinions of private individuals, I said nothing. The village was quite a dangerous place because of the traffic especially for old people and children, their safety was more important to me than an old woman’s strange ideas.

“Take this tree,” she said pausing after a short while. “To you it is just that, a tree. Not unlike many others here.” She gently touched the bark, “Look here, under this branch, what can you see?”

“It looks as if someone has done a bit of carving with a knife.” I said after a cursory inspection.

“Yes, that’s what it is!” she said softly.

   She went on, “He had a penknife with a spike for getting stones from a horse's hoof, and I helped him to carve them. We were very much in love, but he was going away, and could not tell me what he was involved in the army. I had guessed of course. It was the last evening we ever spent together, because he went away the next day, back to his Unit.”

   Mary Smith was quiet for a while, then she sobbed. “His mother showed me the telegram. ‘Sergeant R Holmes …Killed in action in the invasion of France.’…”

“I had hoped that you and Robin would one day get married.” she said, “He was my only child, and I would have loved to be a Granny, they would have been such lovely babies’- she was like that! ”

“Two years later she too was dead. ‘Pneumonia (肺炎), following a chill on the chest’ was what the doctor said, but I think it was an old fashioned broken heart. A child would have helped both of us.”

There was a further pause. Mary Smith gently caressed the wounded tree, just as she would have caressed him. “And now they want to take our tree away from me.” Another quiet sob, then she turned to me. “I was young and pretty then, I could have had anybody, I wasn’t always the old woman you see here now. I had everything I wanted in life, a lovely man, health and a future to look forward to.”

   She paused again and looked around. The breeze gently moved through the leaves with a sighing sound. “There were others, of course, but no one can match my Robin!” she said strongly. “And now I have nothing - except the memories this tree holds. If only I could get my hands on that awful man who writes in the paper about the value of the road they are going to build where we are standing now, I would tell him. Has he never loved, has he never lived, does he not know anything about memories? We were not the only ones, you know, I still meet some who came here as Robin and I did. Yes, I would tell him!”

   I turned away, sick at heart.

55. The main purpose of this passage is to ________.

   A. draw attention to the damage that wars cause

   B. persuade people to give up private interest

   C. arouse the awareness of being environmentally friendly

   D. introduce a touching but sad love story

56. Which of the following words can best describe Mary Smith?

   A. Selfish.            B. Faithful.           C. Changeable.        D. Stubborn.

57. The underlined sentence “I felt that she probably had something there” means ________.

   A. I thought there might be something hidden in the woods by Mary Smith

   B. I guessed there might be a story related with Mary Smith

   C. I thought there might be some reason for Mary Smith’s protest

   D. I guessed there might be a secret purpose of Mary Smith.

58. What was probably the carving on the wounded tree?

   A. The date when Robin Holmes would leave for army.

   B. Their wish that this place and tree would last long.

   C. Their names and a heart with a sign of arrow through it.

   D. Their protest against the war which tore them apart.

59. In Mary’s opinion, which of the following might have caused Robin’s mother’s death?

   A. Pneumonia       B. A chill on the chest     C. A heart attack     D. Severe sorrow

60. The “tree” probably stands for ________.

   A. her romance      B. her determination         C. her sadness          D. her dream

Looking out of the window, my son saw a tree whose branches were strongly swaying back and forth. “How does the tree move its branches like that?” He asked.

Without rising from my chair, nor looking up from my book, I started to answer, “The tree is not moving the branches, son. The wind is…” But before the words were out, I caught myself. Instead I rose from my chair and moved to the window to join my son. I looked at the tree. From inside our room, from behind the window, I could neither feel nor hear the wind. I saw instead a tree with its branches silently moving and thought to myself, from inside this room, how could I possibly be sure that the branches were moving because of the wind rather than from the tree’s own willing?

        As I stood there with my son watching the tree, I became struck by the movement of the branches, the shimmer of the leaves. My mind quieted and I became less sure myself of what was causing the branches to move. Was it the wind, or was it some expressive, independent movement of the tree? “I see what you mean,” I said to my son. “The movement of the tree is very beautiful.”

         “Do you think the tree is dancing?” asked my son. “Why would it be dancing?” I asked. “Maybe it is happy because the sun is shining,” he said. “Perhaps,” I said. “Or because it’s spring,” he added, “and it’s not cold any more.” “Perhaps,” I said.

         As we continued to watch the tree together, I, too, began to appreciate the dance of the tree. I enjoyed the movement and sway of the branches, seeing little nuances(微妙之处) that I hadn’t noticed before. There seemed to be a rhythm to the movement, first strong and forceful, then light and gentle, then more vigorous, sometimes nearly violent.

         “Are trees alive?” my son asked. “Yes, they are alive. Why do you ask?” “Because this tree looks happy,” he answered. “Can a tree be happy or sad?” “What do you mean?” I asked.

         “In the winter, trees seem sad,” he said. “Their branches hang down, and they look cold and lonely. But now with the leaves on the tree and the sun shining and the birds flying, it looks happy.”

1.What is the meaning of the underlined word “caught” in Para 2?

A. stopped                  B. grasped                   C. seized                      D. held

2.What on earth caused the tree to move?

A. The tree itself felt happy and was dancing.

B. The tree was too sad to sway as if to get rid of all trouble.

C. It was the warm spring.

D. The wind did so.  

3. What do you think of the boy?

A. Naughty.                 B. Imaginative.    C. Clever.                 D. Foolish.

My topic is fashion(时装). Fashion is important to all of us. Now we are all wearing school uniforms(校服). When we go home, what do we do? We change into other clothes. If we are going out, we like to wear fashionable clothes. So my first object is this blouse. It looks beautiful, doesn’t it? It is the most expensive piece of clothing, and I love it. It cost over ＄600. You may say that it is too expensive, but luckily I can afford it. The more you spend, the better the quality is. So you see, fashion is quite important to me, I admire it.
However, I’m not as fond of fashion as my elder brother. Last summer, my parents took us both to London. They wanted to show us some famous sights. But my brother Gary did not appreciate the old buildings. He just wanted to spend all his time in the big shopping arcades(拱廊), searching for the coolest pair of trousers! For him, fashion was more important than culture. These are the trousers he bought. Were they worth the expensive of a trip to London to buy these? I don’t think so. I think it was a waste of time and money.
We must, however, remember that fashion is a very big business. Changes in fashion can create or lose jobs. As an example, I have bought this blonde(淡黄色的) wig(假发) to show you. Do you like it? It belongs to one of my mother’s friends. She told me that in the 1960s, it was fashionable for western women to wear wigs. But a few years later fashions changed and women wore wigs much less often. Then the wig factories closed down and hundreds of workers lost their jobs.
53. The passage may be ____.  
A. a story from a magazine        B. a piece of news from a newspaper
C. a report on the radio           D. a speech to the classmates
54. The author （作者）showed all these objects EXCEPT_____ in the passage.
A. the blonde wig                B. the expensive blouse
C. the coolest trousers             D. the school uniform
55. What does the author （作者）want to tell us in last paragraph?
A. Wigs were always popular
B. People in the east once liked wearing blonde wigs
C. Fashion is actually a business
D. Business often depends on the production of wigs.

NEW YORK— Picking a Christmas tree takes most people a few minutes, or a couple of hours if they head for the woods. Dave Murbach needs 11 months.

Almost every day of every year, Murbach’s thoughts turn to vision of a perfectly shaped evergreen tree that will take everyone's breath away.

     Murbach is the man responsible for finding the towering tree that makes more attractive Manhattan’s Rockefeller Center each Christmas season.

     “I'm always looking for a tree,” the center's chief gardener says. “I look for it even when I go to the beach in the summer. It' s like a homework assignment hanging over your head.”

     And if he gets it wrong, there's nothing hiding it.

     “Every day it's up, 400,000 people go by, and 2.5 million people watch the lighting celebration on television,”he says.

    This year’s tree, a 74-foot Nomy spruce (云杉) from Richfield, Ohio, flown to New York on the world's largest cargo plane, was lighted on December 2.

    The arrival of the tree leads in the Christmas season in New York — a tradition dating back to 1931, when the workers building Rockefeller Center put up a small tree with ornaments (装饰品). 

     The search for the next year's tree starts soon after the old tree is chopped up for wood chips and horse-jumping logs.

    Murbach has three standards: The tree must be at least 65 feet high, at least 35 feet across and leaves dense (密集的) enough not to see through.

    That's not as simple as it sounds. Though forests are full of evergreens, few get enough sunlight or space to fill out. And branches in snow regions often break under the weight, making trees unbalanced.

    Back at the office, he sorts through hundreds of letters from people offering their trees, many addressed simply to “Mr. Christmas Tree Man.”

Though there was occasional anxiety attack and sleepless night, Murbach knows the effect the tree has on people: “It's for bringing people together, attempting to bring together people you love. That's what I hope it sets off.”  But Murbach says he's always too worn out to celebrate Christmas.

51． Which is the correct order of the events in the passage?

a. Murbach’s thoughts turn to a perfectly shaped tree.

b. 2.5 million people watch the Christmas tree.

c. The tree is flown to New York.

d. It was lighted on December 2.

e. The tree is chopped up.

f. Murbach searches for the tree.

A. a, b, c, d, e, f                                B. c, d, b, f, e, a

C. c, d, e, b, a, f                                D. a, f, c, d, b, e

52． Murbach spends a lot of time         that are exhibited in Manhattan’s Rockefeller Center each Christmas season.

A. taking care of Christmas trees

B. deciding on the perfect evergreens

C. sorting the letters from people

D. deciding the TV programs

53． Why does Murbach take his job seriously?

A. Because he wants everyone to be happy with his choice.

B. Because he hopes to make everybody unable to breathe.

C. Because he enjoys showing off.

D. Because he wishes to attract people's attention to himself.

54． According to Murbach' s standard of trees, the best tree must_______ .

A. be evergreen

B. have lots of space between their branches

C. be tall enough not to see through

D. be equally balanced

55． What kind of person do you think Murbach is?

A. A person always ignoring his family.

B. A person full of love.

C. A person devoted to his work.

D. A person with great anxiety.