In the United States, when one becomes rich, he wants people to know it. And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is. That is what "keeping up with the Joneses" is about. It is the story of someone who tried to look as rich as his neighbors.

　　The expression was first used in 1913 by a young American called Arthur Momand. He told this story about himself. He began earning $ 125 a week at the age of 23. That was a lot of money in those days. He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighborhood outside New York City.. When he saw that rich people rode horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. When he saw that rich people had servants, Momand and his wife also hired a servant and gave big parties for their new neighbors.

　　It was like a race, but one could never finish this race because one was always trying to keep up. The race ended for Momand and his wife when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They had to move back to an apartment in New York City. Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with rich lifestyle of their neighbors. He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series of short stories. He called it "Keeping up with the Joneses” because "Jones" is a very common name in the United States. "Keeping up with the Joneses" came to mean keeping up with rich lifestyle of the people around you. Momand's series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years.

　　People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses. And there are "Joneses" in every city of the world. But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses because no matter what one does, Mr. Jones always seems to be ahead.

1.Some people want to keep up with the Joneses because they ______.

A. want to be as rich as their neighbors

B. want others to know or to think that they are rich

C. don't want others to know they are rich

D. want to be happy

2. It can be inferred from the story that rich people like to ________.

A. live outside New York City

B. live in New York City

C. live in apartments

D. live with many neighbors

3.What's the author's attitude to keeping up with the Joneses?

A. Negative.    B. Positive. 　　C. Supportive.    D. Objective.

E
　　About ten years ago, a young and very successful businessman named Josh was traveling down a Chicago neighborhood street. He was going a bit too fast in his shiny, black, 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE, which was only two months old.
　　He was watching for kids rushing out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no child came out, but a brick sailed out and-WHUMP!-it hit the Jag’s shiny black side door! SCREECH…!!!! Immediately Josh stopped the car, jumped out, seized the kid and pushed him up against a parked car. He shouted at the kid, “What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing?!” Building up a head of steam, he went on. “That’s my new Jag, that brick you threw is going to cost you a lot of money. Why did you throw it?”
　　“Please, mister, please… I’m sorry! I didn’t know what else to do!” begged the youngster. “I threw the brick because no one else would stop!” tears were streaming down the boy’s face as he pointed around the parked car. “It’s my brother, mister,” he said. “He rolled of the curb(路沿) and fell out of his wheelchair and I can’t lift him up.” Sobbing, the boy asked the businessman, “Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He’s hurt and he’s too heavy for me.”
　　Moved beyond words, the young businessman tried hard to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. Straining, he lifted the young man back into the wheelchair and took out his handkerchief and wiped the scrapers and cuts, checking to see that everything was going to be OK. He then watched the younger brother push him down the sidewalk toward their home.
　　It was a long walk back to the black, shining 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE-a long and slow walk. Josh never did fix the side door of his Jaguar. He kept the dent(凹痕) to remind him not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at him to get his attention. Feel for the bricks of life coming at you.
67．The boy threw a brick at the businessman’s car because ________.
A．he wanted to ask for some money
B．he envied the brand-new car very much
C．the businessman drove at a high speed
D．he wanted to get help from the driver
68．Which of the following is the right order of the story?
a．The younger brother threw a brick at Josh’s car.
b．The elder brother fell out of his wheelchair.
c．The younger brother begged Josh for help.
d．Josh lifted the elder brother back into his wheelchair.
e．Josh shouted at the younger brother.
A．b，a，c，e，d        B．a，c，d，b，e
C．b，a，e，c，d        D．a，c，b，e，d
69．What can we learn from the passage?
A．Josh was a kind-hearted man.
B．The two kids were Josh’s neighbors.
C．Josh would accept the money from the kids.
D．Josh’s new car broke down easily.
70．According to the passage, we must ________.
A．try to be more understanding seeing others in trouble
B．drive fast in a neighborhood street that is dangerous
C．try to get ready for the trouble in your future life
D．protect oneself from being hurt

The telephone rang in the police station at Richmond， California， USA. “Police station？ A train for Santa FE collide(碰撞)with a(n)　31　at the McDonald Street Crossing. Please go there at once， with an ambulance too. A man is badly injured，” said a(n)　32　voice of a young woman.

“Just a minute， we’ll come　33　. Please stay there and wait，” answered the policeman.

Within a minute， a police car and an ambulance　34　. Soon they got to the　35　， but only to　36　everything was fine. No collision， no　37　man.

“What a dirty trick！” said the policeman　38　. “We must find out that mischievous(恶作剧的)　39　and. . . ”

They had not been able to say anything about a punishment　40　they heard the whistle of a train： the train was nearing them quickly. All　41　a sudden， a truck appeared. It came fast towards them， too. 　42　it was passing the crossing， it suddenly refused to move on. Right then and there， before the eyes of all the people present， the train collided with the truck heavily and struck it　43　meters away.

When Randolph Bruce， the driver was　44　out of the damaged truck， he was　45　hurt just　46　the young woman had foretold on the phone. As he was taken to the　47　in time， he was saved at last.

Later the policemen did　48　they could to find the woman who had telephoned them， but　49　.

It is　50　that a prophecy(预言)should coincide(巧合)with the fact so exactly.

31. A. ambulance　　　　B. truck　　　　C. car　　　　　D. bus

32. A. anxious         B. sweet             C. gentle            D. low

33. A. fast            B. ahead             C. soon              D. later

34. A. went by        B. set off             C. got there           D. came on

35. A. telephone       B. street             C. station             D. crossing

36. A. feel            B. find              C. have              D. tell

37. A. injured         B. trapped            C. frightened         D. killed

38. A. happily         B. excitedly          C. angrily            D. disappointedly

39. A. man           B. policeman          C. woman           D. boy

40. A. until           B. since              C. while             D. when

41. A. at             B. of                C. by                D. for

42. A. When          B. Where            C. That              D. Which

43. A. dozen          B. dozens            C. dozen of           D. dozens of

44. A. raised          B. helped            C. pushed            D. forced

45. A. slightly         B. clearly            C. hardly            D. badly

46. A. as             B. so                C. before            D. for

47. A. police station    B. market            C. hospital           D. sidewalk

48. A. that            B. which             C. however          D. whatever

49. A. delayed         B. worked           C. stopped            D. failed

50. A. surprised        B. surprising         C. satisfied           D. satisfying

There are many kinds of friends. Some are always    36  you, but don't understand you. Some say only a few words to you, but understand you. Many people will step in your life, but only   37 friends leave footprints.
　　I shall always recall (回忆) the autumn and the girl with the  38  . She will always bring back the friendship between us. I know she will always be my best friend.
　　It was the golden season. I could see the yellow leaves   39 on the cool  40 . In such a season, I liked walking alone in the leaves,  41  to the sound of them.
　　Autumn is a  42  season and life is uninteresting. The free days always get me   43  . But one day, the sound of a violin   44  into my ears like a stream (小溪) flowing in the mountains. I was so surprised that I jumped to see what it was. A young girl, standing in the wind, was  45  in playing her violin.
　　I had  46 seen her before. The music was so nice that I listened quietly. Lost in the music, I didn't know that I had been   47 there for so long but my existence (存在) did not seem to disturb her.
　　Leaves were still falling. Every day she played the violin in the corner of the building  48 I went downstairs to watch her performance. I was the only listener. The autumn seemed no longer lonely and life became   49 .  50 we didn't know each other, I thought we were already good friends. I believe she also loved me.
Autumn was nearly over. One day, when I was listening carefully, the sound suddenly
   51 . To my astonishment (惊讶), the girl came over to me.
　　“You must like violin.” she said.
　　“Yes. And you play very well. Why did you stop?” I asked.
　　Suddenly, a   52 expression appeared on her face and I could feel something unusual.
　　“I came here to see my grandmother, but now I must leave. I once played very badly. It was your listening every day that   53 me.” she said.
　　“In fact, it was your playing   54 gave me a meaningful autumn,” I answered, “Let's be friends.”
　　The girl smiled, and so did I.
I never heard her play again in my life. I no longer went downstairs to listen like before. Only thick leaves were left behind. But I will always remember the fine figure (身影) of the girl. She is like a   55 —so short, so bright, like a shooting star giving off so much light that it makes the autumn beautiful.

完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）

　　阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36—55各题所给的四个选项（A，B，C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

　　I went to Beijing this National holiday, and it was an interesting experience of my life.

　　My friends told us that taking the “hard　 36　 ”to Beijing would be really terrible. So we didn’t know what to　 37　. But we were pleasantly surprised when we finally boarded the

　 38　 , which was relatively modern and　 39　 . During the 14 - hour ride we ate peanuts and talked. It was not　 40　 at all.

　　It was morning when we arrived. We stepped out of the railway station, having sat in hard seats and not getting much　 41　 . However, We had energy, First we tried to get teturn tickets to Shanghai, but the tickets seller　 42　 us that tickets would not be on　 43　 for another two days. We were a little worried about getting　 44　 , but we made up our minds to　 45　 for the hotel to put our bags down. After fighting our way　 46　 the“ gypsy”taxi drivers that tried to　 47　 us one hundred yuan for the ride, we found a taxi and it　 48　 cost us thirty yuan to get　 49　 we had planned to go. When we reached the hotel, there was a window for airplane and train tickets.　 50　 the man behind the counter could get tickets that day, which we

　 51　 . The most important lesson about China I ever　 52　 , is to get someone to do your work for you, and it seems to work out much　 53　 . We were not able to get tickets, but the

　 54　 agents（代理）could.

While in Beijing we saw a lot of places of interest, most of which were very　 55　 . It was fun to be with thousands of people in one place, There aren’t any words to describe it.

36．A. chair                       B. bed                         C. seat                         D. bench

37．A. provide                   B. expect                     C. happen                    D. think

38．A. plane                             B. bus                         C. ship                        D. train

39．A. quick                             B. clean                       C. simple                     D. long

40．A. bad                         B. good                       C. easy                        D. hard

41．A. trouble                    B. food                        C. sleep                       D. help

42．A. promised                 B. informed                 C. advised                    D. persuaded

43．A. time                        B. show                       C. duty                        D. sale

44．A. behind                    B. out                          C. through                   D. back

45．A. start                        B. ask                          C. look                        D. pay

46．A. towards                   B. into                         C. across                      D. past

47．A. offer                       B. charge                     C. bargain                    D. share

48．A. even                       B. still                         C. also                         D. only

49．A. what                       B. which                      C. where                      D. how

50．A. Somehow                B. However                 C. Therefore                D. Otherwise

51．A. wouldn't                  B. couldn't                   C. shouldn't                  D. needn't

52．A. learned                    B. taught                     C. offered                    D. heard

53．A. harder                     B. earlier                     C. later                        D. easier

54．A. business                  B. transport                  C. travel                             D. hotel

55．A. interesting                      B. crowded                  C. famous                    D. noisy