D
At the railway stations all across Britain next week, groups of students will gather with their backpacks to wait for the trains that will carry them home for Christmas. This is a large movement of human beings as before, but with more contradictory traffic flows, so that trains filled with the young pass each other travelling in every direction.
At first, I went home every weekend with my washing, but then those visits became less regular. How did I let my parents know I was coming? They had no phone. Perhaps I wrote to them (“Expect me with dirty shirts this Friday afternoon”), but more likely I didn’t let them know, and just turned up or didn’t turn up, not understanding that my parents’ hopes of seeing me were a greater disappointment of my carelessness than a spoiled tea.
And in all this I suspect I was typical (有代表性的), at least of young men. As for our fathers and mothers, none of them talked of “empty-nest syndrome (综合症)”, even though its possible effect that the main human duty is to protect and feed the young would have suited their generation better than ours. Then, the feeling of loss went without a name. Today, it’s a condition with remedies, which will make parents feel more enjoyable in their life, The Mayo Clinic, for example, suggests you try to maintain regular contact with your children through “visits, phone calls, emails, texts or video chats”. If you feel unhappy, lean on (depend on … for support) loved ones or your mental health providers. Above all, stay positive: “Thinking about the extra time and energy that you might have to devote to your marriage or personal interests after your last child leaves home, it might help you adapt to this major life change.”
What can’t be denied, however, is that children often leave home. In modern societies, this is what they do. Christmas is the very time they can be depended on to return. For the non-religious, that may be this season’s true comfort and significance.
【小题1】The main reason for the busy traffic across Britain next week is that _______.

(D)
At a certain time in our lives we consider every place as the possible site for a house. I have thus searched the country within a dozen miles of where I live. In imagination I have bought all the farms, one after another, and I knew their prices.
The nearest thing that I came to actual ownership was when I bought the Hollowell place. But before the owner completed the sale with me, his wife changed her mind and wished to keep it, and he offered me additional dollars to return the farm to him. However, I let him keep the dollars and sold him the farm for just what I gave for it.
The real attractions of the Hollowell farm to me were its position, being about two miles from the village, half a mile from the nearest neighbor, bounded(相邻) on one side by the river, and separated from the highway by a wide field. The poor condition of the house and fences showed that it hadn’t been used for some time. I remembered from my earliest trip up the river that the house used to be hidden behind a forest area, and I was in a hurry to buy it before the owner finished getting out some rocks, cutting down the apple trees, and clearing away some young trees which had grown up in the fields. I wanted to buy it before he made any more of his improvements. But it turned out as I have said.
I was not really troubled by the loss. I had always had a garden, but I don’t think I was ready for a large farm. I believe that as long as possible it is better to live free and uncommitted(无牵无挂). It makes but little difference whether you own a farm or not.
57.What do we know about the author?
A. He wanted to buy the oldest farm near where he lived.
B. He made a study of many farms before buying.
C. He made money by buying and selling farms.
D. He had the money to buy the best farm in the country.
58.Why did the author want to buy the farm in a hurry?
A. He was afraid the owner might change his mind.
B. He hoped to enlarge the forest on the farm.
C. He wanted to keep the farm as it was.
D. He was eager to become a farm owner.
59.The underlined words “the loss” in the last paragraph refer to _____?
A. the money the author lost in buying the farm
B. the sale of the garden in the Hollowell place
C. the removal of the trees around the house
D. the failure to possess the Hollowell place
60.What does the author believe as important in life?
A. To own a farm               B. To satisfy his needs
C. To be free from worries.       D. To live in the countryside.

D

At the railway stations all across Britain next week, groups of students will gather with their backpacks to wait for the trains that will carry them home for Christmas. This is a large movement of human beings as before, but with more contradictory traffic flows, so that trains filled with the young pass each other travelling in every direction.

At first, I went home every weekend with my washing, but then those visits became less regular. How did I let my parents know I was coming? They had no phone. Perhaps I wrote to them (“Expect me with dirty shirts this Friday afternoon”), but more likely I didn’t let them know, and just turned up or didn’t turn up, not understanding that my parents’ hopes of seeing me were a greater disappointment of my carelessness than a spoiled tea.

And in all this I suspect I was typical (有代表性的), at least of young men. As for our fathers and mothers, none of them talked of “empty-nest syndrome (综合症)”, even though its possible effect that the main human duty is to protect and feed the young would have suited their generation better than ours. Then, the feeling of loss went without a name. Today, it’s a condition with remedies, which will make parents feel more enjoyable in their life, The Mayo Clinic, for example, suggests you try to maintain regular contact with your children through “visits, phone calls, emails, texts or video chats”. If you feel unhappy, lean on (depend on … for support) loved ones or your mental health providers. Above all, stay positive: “Thinking about the extra time and energy that you might have to devote to your marriage or personal interests after your last child leaves home, it might help you adapt to this major life change.”

What can’t be denied, however, is that children often leave home. In modern societies, this is what they do. Christmas is the very time they can be depended on to return. For the non-religious, that may be this season’s true comfort and significance.

1.The main reason for the busy traffic across Britain next week is that _______.

A．young students will travel home for Christmas.

B．young people will travel in every direction.

C．it is a large movement of human beings

D．the traffic flows will be more contradictory

2.From the second paragraph we can learn that the writer _______.

A．went home every week to wash dirty clothes

B．understood his parents’ desire of seeing him

C．didn’t understand his parents’ feelings

D．went home to see his parents regularly

3.The underlined word “remedies” in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to _______.

A．reasons           B．excuses           C．habits            D．solutions

4.From the last paragraph we know that _______.

A．in modern society, children should leave home

B．Christmas is likely a time for family reunion

C．the significance of Christmas is celebration

D．Christmas is not a comfort for the non-religious

5.From the passage we can infer that by writing the article the writer is to _______.

A．persuade the young to show concern for their parents

B．ask the young to go home regularly

C．make the young understand their parents’ interest

D．enable the young to be more independent

B

       On the last day of his life, my dog Otto spent that morning of spring napping in the garden．This was always one of his favorite things to do, even before the days when he was too old and too weak to get out of a car by himself．

       I probably would have started crying over Otto right then, if my two other little dogs hadn't suddenly raced past．Larry, who was a puppy, got knocked into Otto, then licked Otto's ear, and that got Otto excited, and Otto barked and tried to stand up again, but it was hard for him．

       Soon it was time for me to drive to see Steve, our vet．

       When Steve gave Otto the first shot, it made him woozy （眩晕的）．Otto wandered over to where Steve and I were sitting and settled down between us．He has always liked to touch everyone in his pack, if possible, while he sleeps．

       After Steve gave him the last shot and Otto stopped breathing, he didn't look like Otto anymore．He looked like an old gray-brown piece of beat-up carpet, and I suddenly realized what bad shape he'd been in for a long, long time．I wondered if he'd been in much more pain than I knew．Wondering made me feel even worse．

       The week after Otto died was not good．Every morning when I walked Larry and Sticky in the neighborhood, somebody would come up and say they had heard about Otto and they were sorry．They were all Otto's friends and some of them cried．Others, like Debbie who lives on my street, reminded me about how, even at the end．Otto would stand between her twins' stroller （婴儿车） and the street when the garbage truck went by．"Like it was his job to protect them," she marveled．

       Otto has left us, but his memory lives on．

60．How did the author feel when Otto was napping in the garden?

       A．She felt like crying．                B．She thought life was beautiful．         

       C．She found spring was wonderful．       D．She was relieved．

61．According to the passage, how did the dog die?

       A．He had an accident on the street．        B．He died naturally．    

       C．He was made to die by a vet．     D．He starved．

62．What can we know about Otto?

       A．He was already too old to bark．   B．He liked people to keep him company．   

       C．He died a very painful death．           D．He was protected by the neighbours．

63．We can see from the passage that Sticky is a ______．

       A．cat                B．dog       C．child           D．Neighbour

(D)

At a certain time in our lives we consider every place as the possible site for a house. I have thus searched the country within a dozen miles of where I live. In imagination I have bought all the farms, one after another, and I knew their prices.

The nearest thing that I came to actual ownership was when I bought the Hollowell place. But before the owner completed the sale with me, his wife changed her mind and wished to keep it, and he offered me additional dollars to return the farm to him. However, I let him keep the dollars and sold him the farm for just what I gave for it.

The real attractions of the Hollowell farm to me were its position, being about two miles from the village, half a mile from the nearest neighbor, bounded(相邻) on one side by the river, and separated from the highway by a wide field. The poor condition of the house and fences showed that it hadn’t been used for some time. I remembered from my earliest trip up the river that the house used to be hidden behind a forest area, and I was in a hurry to buy it before the owner finished getting out some rocks, cutting down the apple trees, and clearing away some young trees which had grown up in the fields. I wanted to buy it before he made any more of his improvements. But it turned out as I have said.

I was not really troubled by the loss. I had always had a garden, but I don’t think I was ready for a large farm. I believe that as long as possible it is better to live free and uncommitted(无牵无挂). It makes but little difference whether you own a farm or not.

57.What do we know about the author?

  A. He wanted to buy the oldest farm near where he lived.

  B. He made a study of many farms before buying.

  C. He made money by buying and selling farms.

  D. He had the money to buy the best farm in the country.

58.Why did the author want to buy the farm in a hurry?

  A. He was afraid the owner might change his mind.

  B. He hoped to enlarge the forest on the farm.

  C. He wanted to keep the farm as it was.

  D. He was eager to become a farm owner.

59.The underlined words “the loss” in the last paragraph refer to _____?

  A. the money the author lost in buying the farm

  B. the sale of the garden in the Hollowell place

  C. the removal of the trees around the house

  D. the failure to possess the Hollowell place

60.What does the author believe as important in life?

  A. To own a farm                B. To satisfy his needs

  C. To be free from worries.        D. To live in the countryside.