We were a very motley (混杂的) crowd of people who took the bus every day many years ago. During the early morning ride from the suburb, we sat drowsily (昏昏欲睡地) with our collars up to our ears.
A small grey man took the bus to the center for senior citizens every morning. No one ever paid very much attention to him. Then one July morning he said good morning to the driver before he sat down. The driver nodded guardedly. The rest of us were silent.
The next day, the old man boarded the bus energetically, smiled and said in a loud voice: "And a very good morning to you all!" Some of us looked up, amazed, and murmured "Good morning!" in reply.
The following weeks we were more surprised. Our friend was now dressed in a nice old suit and a wide out-of-date tie. He said good morning to us every day and we gradually began to nod and talk to each other.
One morning he had a bunch of wild flowers in his hand. The driver turned around smilingly and asked: "Have you got yourself a girlfriend, Charlie?" The man nodded shyly and said yes. Every morning after that Charlie always brought a flower.
The summer went by when one morning Charlie wasn't waiting at his usual stop. When he wasn't there the new day and the day after that, we started wondering if he was sick or – hopefully – on holiday somewhere, Later we were told one of his very close friends had died at the weekend. How silent we were the rest of the way to work. The next Monday Charlie was waiting at the stop, a little bit more grey. Inside the bus was a silence similar to that in a church. Even though no one had talked about it, all those of us sat with our eyes filled with tears and a bunch of wild flowers in our hands.
【小题1】From the first paragraph we can inter that the passengers ____.

 (08·陕西A篇)

They say there are three ways to experience the Grand Canyon：on foot, on mules(骡子) or by air. We chose the first. Up early, my husband and I and our three children couldn’t wait to get started. We decided to walk along a lovely path named Bright Angel Trail.

As we set out, I was shocked at how narrow the path was. And I couldn’t help noticing that the other tourists weren’t like us. They had heavy backpacks, water bottles, and hats. But as usual we were dressed.As the sun rose higher, Arizona’s famous heat seemed to roast(烘烤)us. There was no shade and our legs were aching. We decided to go back, with the girl on my back and the boys far behind. By the time we finally got back,our legs were like jelly.

The next day, after we’d had a long rest and a good breakfast, we were ready for another view of the Canyon—by air. After our last walk, this would be the easiest thing in the world.

We called to each other excitedly as the plane took off and circled around the Canyon. But the smiles on our faces disappeared as the pilot tossed(翻转)　the plane around, pretending he was going to hit the ground. I shouted, “STOP, TAKE US BACK!” When we finally arrived back on land, once again our legs were like jelly. We hardly spoke as we drove back.

As I said, there are three ways to view the Grand Canyon. We never tried the mules, but personally I’d suggest a fourth: buy yourself a good magazine like National Geographic. That way, you can see the Canyon, without fear or tiredness.

41. Which of the following is TRUE according to the second paragraph?

A. They made a careful preparation before the trip.

B. The children were more joyful than their parents.

C. Bright Angel Trail was not as lovely as they expected.

D. The summer heat prevented them from enjoying the view.

42. The underlined expression “our legs were like jelly” probably means         .

A. we were weak                                            B. we were unhappy   

C. we were dissatisfied                                     D. we were disappointed

43. Which of the following best describes their Canyon trip by air?

A. It proved to be frightening.                         B. It was more comfortable.

C. It turned out to be exciting.                        D. It made each of them tired.

44. We can infer from the passage that          .

A. experiencing the Canyon on mules would be the best way

B. one needs to dress less when visiting the Grand Canyon

C. the writer was not serious when she made the suggestion

D. the whole family narrowly escaped from the air accident

Andrew’s heart missed a beat. This time he would have to do it. Do or Die! A sense of urgency gripped him. Somehow he must prove himself to his father.
It was now the end of the day and the shop was being closed. The assistant employed by his father, called Mike, chuckled and put his arms round poor Andrew to comfort him,“ Sort it out yourself. It’s gotta come from yourself.” he said.
The shop was located in a bustling shopping center. Andrew left the shop and walked round the complex aimlessly and by chance entered a large bookstore. He glanced at the books and was about to leave when his eyes caught some interesting titles:‘ How to increase your confidence,’‘ The art of communication,’‘How to sell well’amongst others.
The next minute he was out of the store with the shopping bag bugling with books. In his apartment (for he loves separately from his parents and little sister),he settled himself in his easy chair and devoured the contents of the books, one by one. His keen intelligence enabled him to focus the details that matter and pick out the ideas and techniques expounded.In a week his image underwent a transformation. Gone was the stubble that used to give him an untidy image likened to a heroin addict.He was also smartly dressed now. Instead of his usual slurred speech and incoherence ,he spoke with clarity, purpose and forcefulness.He was more convincing and persuasive. Above all, confidence flowed from his being and he seemed to have learned a few tricks of the selling trade. He worked hard at his sales pitch and one day he succeeded in selling a computer. His first sale. He had finally achieved the quota of one sale within the given time frame of three weeks. The job, the shop, was his. He had to thank Mike for it. And now he had to go beyond his first successs and score, consistently and persistently. Nevertheless he had proved himself at last and the future looked bright and promising.

1. 1.

   We learn from the story that at the beginning Andrew’s father_________.

   1. A.
      holds the view that Andrew is hopeless
   2. B.
      has lost his patience with Andrew
   3. C.
      has given the shop to Andrew
   4. D.
      still hopes Andrew will improve
2. 2.

   We learn from the story that Andrew_________.

   1. A.
      has turned himself into an experienced sales manager
   2. B.
      has tried in vain to get his job done in six months
   3. C.
      has let his father down in the end
   4. D.
      has done well with the help of Mike
3. 3.

   What’s the most significant change of character in Andrew?

   1. A.
      He’s more convincing.
   2. B.
      He’s more hard-working.
   3. C.
      He is more confident.
   4. D.
      He is more intelligence.
4. 4.

   What conclusion can we draw from the story?

   1. A.
      Success depends on hard work,talent,and willingnesss to make changes.
   2. B.
      However hard you try, you won’t achieve success without others’ help
   3. C.
      It takes time to succeed, you have to try again and again and never give up
   4. D.
      It’s good communication skills and some tricks that result in big business.

Just recently I was invited to attend a ceremony to celebrate the 25th anniversary of a business owned by a very good friend of mine.

The day of the  1 arrived. However, because of a business appointment  2 time, I knew that I was going to be late,  3  I phoned to let my friend know. I arrived 20 minutes  4  and my friend came out to welcome and  5  me. He said he was  6  to see me and had put off the  7  part of the celebration, knowing that I was on my  8 .

As I joined the other guests, I could  9  a wonderful sense of friendship, warmth and happiness in the room.  10 , I had very little time to speak to more than a couple of people  11  the official part of the celebration  12.

In his  13 , my friend welcomed all the guests on behalf of his family and team members, and then  14  the majority of the people who were gathered in the room for their support and friendship over the  15  25 years. In his thank-you speech, he used a quote: Always  16  with the person you took to the dance.

He then went on to talk about the importance of  17  loyal to those people who had supported him. He also  18  that during that time many people had offered their services and even sometimes provided a  19  arrangement for his business.

What a great  20  it was for me to continue to go to the dance with such a good friend!

1.                A．meeting        B．discussion       C．celebration    D．activity

2.                A．running over    B．taking on        C．making up D．standing for

3.                A．but            B．so             C．and  D．or

4.                A．behind         B．ahead          C．late  D．afterwards

5.                A．help           B．praise          C．respect   D．greet

6.                A．surprised       B．pleased         C．interested D．disappointed

7.                A．official         B．normal         C．usual     D．ordinary

8.                A．holiday         B．mind           C．way  D．duty

9.                A．learn          B．find            C．feel  D．touch

10.               A．Luckily         B．Happily         C．Angrily    D．Sadly

11.               A．before         B．after           C．when D．why

12.               A．ended         B．started         C．continued D．paused

13.               A．self introduction  B．explanation     C．speech    D．comment

14.               A．thanked        B．blamed         C．encouraged    D．criticized

15.               A．first           B．next           C．other D．last

16.               A．work          B．live            C．dance     D．sing

17.               A．remaining       B．falling          C．growing   D．turning

18.               A．guessed        B．mentioned      C．thought   D．supposed

19.               A．bigger         B．harder         C．worse     D．better

20.               A．pride          B．idea           C．honor     D．comfort