(C)
Most American students said goodbye to expensive fruits these days. In school canteens across the country, cheaper fruits like apples and oranges heave replaced them. “People are afraid to spend now” said Linda Morrow, who owns a shoe and handbag store. “They basically don’t know what the future will bring and keep waiting till after the Presidential Election.”
The current financial crisis(金融危机)， during which several of the country’s biggest banks have been forced to sell or close, has made lots of Americans unwilling to buy expensive goods.
Samira Martino, a restaurant owner in Miami, found everyone is ordering water instead of juice and more people are sharing meals. In more than two dozen interviews with the Associated Press across the country last month, American talked about their concerns, from worries about small businesses to doubts about simply making ends meet.
The crisis began last year. Experts blame it on U.S. banks lending money too easily. A lot of people and companies, who borrowed money, have found themselves unable to pay it back. This left the banks, as well as the people who put their money in the banks, without money. Since the banks borrowed money between themselves and even across borders, the whole world’s financial markets were involved.
This month the U.S. government agreed on a $ 700 billion plan to try to save the financial market. But a turn-around(转机) is not sure. President George W. Bush has warned it will take some time for the full effects of the plan to take hold in an economy that has had a world of trouble.
Last week top finance officials from 20 major economies promised to work together to find a way out of the money trouble. They believe the current crisis is the worst since the Great Depression in 1929. And they all think international cooperation is the key to solve it.
51. From the first paragraph, we can infer that______
A. apples and oranges become more expensive
B. people are worrying about the Election
C. people are expecting a turn-around after the Election
D. expensive fruits are in short supply in American markets
52. Samira Martino’s restaurant is mentioned in the passage in order to ______
A. show that people cut down their expenses.
B. attract more people to come to his restaurant
C. show how hard he is trying to run his business
D. encourage people to start businesses like him
53. What is the cause of the current financial crisis of America?
A. The Presidential Election
B. U.S. banks lending money too easily.
C. The decreasing economy.
D. America’s rapid development.
54. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
A. Many students can not eat expensive fruits in school canteens.
B. Americans are very worried about their lives.
C. The international cooperation is most needed.
D. The current financial crisis is the worst in American history.
55. This passage mainly talks about______
A. the terrible life of Americans
B. the situation of the financial crisis
C. the way to go through the crisis
D. the world financial market

(C)

Most American students said goodbye to expensive fruits these days. In school canteens across the country, cheaper fruits like apples and oranges heave replaced them. “People are afraid to spend now” said Linda Morrow, who owns a shoe and handbag store. “They basically don’t know what the future will bring and keep waiting till after the Presidential Election.”

The current financial crisis(金融危机)， during which several of the country’s biggest banks have been forced to sell or close, has made lots of Americans unwilling to buy expensive goods.

Samira Martino, a restaurant owner in Miami, found everyone is ordering water instead of juice and more people are sharing meals. In more than two dozen interviews with the Associated Press across the country last month, American talked about their concerns, from worries about small businesses to doubts about simply making ends meet.

The crisis began last year. Experts blame it on U.S. banks lending money too easily. A lot of people and companies, who borrowed money, have found themselves unable to pay it back. This left the banks, as well as the people who put their money in the banks, without money. Since the banks borrowed money between themselves and even across borders, the whole world’s financial markets were involved.

This month the U.S. government agreed on a $ 700 billion plan to try to save the financial market. But a turn-around(转机) is not sure. President George W. Bush has warned it will take some time for the full effects of the plan to take hold in an economy that has had a world of trouble.

Last week top finance officials from 20 major economies promised to work together to find a way out of the money trouble. They believe the current crisis is the worst since the Great Depression in 1929. And they all think international cooperation is the key to solve it.

51. From the first paragraph, we can infer that______

A. apples and oranges become more expensive

B. people are worrying about the Election

C. people are expecting a turn-around after the Election

D. expensive fruits are in short supply in American markets

52. Samira Martino’s restaurant is mentioned in the passage in order to ______

A. show that people cut down their expenses.

B. attract more people to come to his restaurant

C. show how hard he is trying to run his business

D. encourage people to start businesses like him

53. What is the cause of the current financial crisis of America?

A. The Presidential Election

B. U.S. banks lending money too easily.

C. The decreasing economy.

D. America’s rapid development.

54. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?

A. Many students can not eat expensive fruits in school canteens.

B. Americans are very worried about their lives.

C. The international cooperation is most needed.

D. The current financial crisis is the worst in American history.

55. This passage mainly talks about______

A. the terrible life of Americans

B. the situation of the financial crisis

C. the way to go through the crisis

D. the world financial market

(C)

Most American students said goodbye to expensive fruits these days. In school canteens across the country, cheaper fruits like apples and oranges heave replaced them. “People are afraid to spend now” said Linda Morrow, who owns a shoe and handbag store. “They basically don’t know what the future will bring and keep waiting till after the Presidential Election.”

The current financial crisis(金融危机)， during which several of the country’s biggest banks have been forced to sell or close, has made lots of Americans unwilling to buy expensive goods.

Samira Martino, a restaurant owner in Miami, found everyone is ordering water instead of juice and more people are sharing meals. In more than two dozen interviews with the Associated Press across the country last month, American talked about their concerns, from worries about small businesses to doubts about simply making ends meet.

The crisis began last year. Experts blame it on U.S. banks lending money too easily. A lot of people and companies, who borrowed money, have found themselves unable to pay it back. This left the banks, as well as the people who put their money in the banks, without money. Since the banks borrowed money between themselves and even across borders, the whole world’s financial markets were involved.

This month the U.S. government agreed on a $ 700 billion plan to try to save the financial market. But a turn-around(转机) is not sure. President George W. Bush has warned it will take some time for the full effects of the plan to take hold in an economy that has had a world of trouble.

Last week top finance officials from 20 major economies promised to work together to find a way out of the money trouble. They believe the current crisis is the worst since the Great Depression in 1929. And they all think international cooperation is the key to solve it.

51. From the first paragraph, we can infer that______

A. apples and oranges become more expensive

B. people are worrying about the Election

C. people are expecting a turn-around after the Election

D. expensive fruits are in short supply in American markets

52. Samira Martino’s restaurant is mentioned in the passage in order to ______

A. show that people cut down their expenses.

B. attract more people to come to his restaurant

C. show how hard he is trying to run his business

D. encourage people to start businesses like him

53. What is the cause of the current financial crisis of America?

A. The Presidential Election

B. U.S. banks lending money too easily.

C. The decreasing economy.

D. America’s rapid development.

54. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?

A. Many students can not eat expensive fruits in school canteens.

B. Americans are very worried about their lives.

C. The international cooperation is most needed.

D. The current financial crisis is the worst in American history.

55. This passage mainly talks about______

A. the terrible life of Americans

B. the situation of the financial crisis

C. the way to go through the crisis

D. the world financial market

Thirteen, for me, was a challenging year. My parents divorced and I moved to a new town with my father, far from my old family and friends. I was terribly lonely and would cry myself to sleep each night. To ease my sadness, my father purchased an old horse for me at a local auction. I named him Cowboy.

Cowboy was without a doubt the ugliest horse in the world. But I didn’t care. I loved him beyond all reason. I joined a riding club and suffered rude comments and mean snickers about Cowboy’s looks. I never let on about how I felt, but deep inside, my heart was breaking. The other members rode beautiful, registered horses.

When Cowboy and I entered the events where the horse is judged on appearance, we were quickly shown the gate. No amount of preparation and love would turn Cowboy into a beauty. My only chance to compete would be in the speed events. I chose the jumping race.?

One girl named Becky rode a big brown horse in the race events. She always won the blue ribbons.  Needless to say, she didn’t feel threatened when I competed against her at the next show. She didn’t need to. I came in next to last.

The stinging memory of Becky’s smirks made me determined to beat her. For the whole next month I woke up early every day and rode Cowboy five miles to the arena (赛马场). We practiced running and jumping for hours in the hot sun and then I would walk Cowboy home totally exhausted. All of our hard work didn’t make me feel confident by the time the show came. I sat at the gate and sweated it out while I watched Becky and her horse charge through the course and finish in first place.

My turn finally came. I put on my hat, rubbed Cowboy’s neck and entered the arena. At the signal, we dashed toward the first fence, jumped it without trouble and raced on to the next one. Cowboy then flew over the second, third and fourth fences like a bird and I turned him toward the finish line. As we crossed the line the crowd was shocked into silence. Cowboy and I had beaten Becky and her fancy horse by two seconds!

I gained much more than a blue ribbon that day. At thirteen, I realized that no matter what the odds, I’d always come out a winner if I wanted something badly enough to work for it.

63. The underlined expression "shown the gate" (paragraph 3) most probably means ______.

A. told how to enter the arena

B. shown how to make the horse beautiful

C. removed from the competition early

D. told to enter the timed-speed events

64. When the final race finished, nobody cheered because        .

A. the audience didn’t like Cowboy             B. people envied the writer

C. the win was unexpected?            D. the writer bad run out of time

65. Why was the writer not confident of victory?

A. He was an inexperienced rider.

B. He had not practiced enough.

C. He believed he was unpopular with the crowd.

D. He thought his horse wasn’t so good as the others.

66. What did the writer learn from his experience?

A. Life can sometimes be unfair.

B. Anything is possible if one tries hard enough.

C. A positive attitude will bring success.

D. One should not make judgments based on appearance.

Thirteen, for me, was a challenging year. My parents divorced and I moved to a new town with my father, far from my old family and friends. I was terribly lonely and would cry myself to sleep each night. To ease my sadness, my father purchased an old horse for me at a local auction.(拍卖) I named him Cowboy.
Cowboy was without a doubt the ugliest horse in the world. But I didn’t care. I loved him beyond all reason. I joined a riding club and suffered rude comments and mean snickers about Cowboy’s looks. I never let on about how I felt, but deep inside, my heart was broken. The other members rode beautiful, registered horses.
When Cowboy and I entered the events where the horse is judged on appearance, we were quickly shown the gate. No amount of preparation and love would turn Cowboy into a beauty. My only chance to compete would be in the speed events. I chose the jumping race.?
One girl named Becky rode a big brown horse in the race events. She always won the blue ribbons.  Needless to say, she didn’t feel threatened when I competed against her at the next show. She didn’t need to. I came in next to last.
The stinging memory of Becky’s smirks(得意的笑) made me determined to beat her. For the whole next month I woke up early every day and rode Cowboy five miles to the arena (赛马场). We practiced running and jumping for hours in the hot sun and then I would walk Cowboy home totally exhausted. All of our hard work didn’t make me feel confident by the time the show came. I sat at the gate and sweated it out while I watched Becky and her horse charge through the course and finish in first place.
My turn finally came. I put on my hat, rubbed Cowboy’s neck and entered the arena. At the signal, we dashed toward the first fence, jumped it without trouble and raced on to the next one. Cowboy then flew over the second, third and fourth fences like a bird and I turned him toward the finish line. As we crossed the line the crowd was shocked into silence. Cowboy and I had beaten Becky and her fancy horse by two seconds!
I gained much more than a blue ribbon that day. At thirteen, I realized that no matter what the odds, I’d always come out a winner if I wanted something badly enough to work for it.
1. The underlined expression "shown the gate" (paragraph 3) most probably means ______.
A. told how to enter the arena
B. shown how to make the horse beautiful
C. removed from the competition early
D. told to enter the timed-speed events
2. When the final race finished, nobody cheered because________.
A. the audience didn’t like Cowboy      B. people envied the writer
C. the win was unexpected?        D. the writer bad run out of time
3. Why was the writer not confident of victory?
A. He was an inexperienced rider.
B. He had not practiced enough.
C. He believed he was unpopular with the crowd.
D. He thought his horse wasn’t as good as the others.
4. What did the writer learn from his experience?
A. Life can sometimes be unfair.
B. Anything is possible if one tries hard enough.
C. A positive attitude will bring success.
D. One should not make judgments based on appearance.