“Good night, Yammine.”

“Good night, Chief，” I reply.

The cell door __36__ and I hear Chief's keys clinking as other doors clang shut further down the row. I step into my little cell and sit down. I glance up at the window, covered in mesh(铁网)，and think to myself, “This isn't a life, it's just a(n) __37__．”

Being __38__ makes me feel as though I'm being buried alive. I am a puppet(木偶) with people __39__ strings so that I eat, sleep and wake when they want me to.

I lie on my bed as night __40__ and think the same thoughts __41__. I think about how it all went so wrong, and imagine how I will __42__ for all the time I've lost.

Every day I live the same routine and nothing changes except the people. Prisoners depart for other prisons, or get __43__. Others __44__ from different prisons, or fresh from custody. It's a __45__ revolving(旋转) door.

When I committed my __46__， I was a lost young boy, but now I am __47__. Walking around the yard, I would notice my fellow prisoners reading books and writing letters to friends and family, which upset me as my __48__ at school was limited.

I longed for the day when I'd be able to sit in the sun, enjoying a cup of coffee and reading a newspaper or book __49__ my choice. I also longed to write letters to my friends and family, sharing my thoughts and feelings.

I decided not to waste my time inside and, __50__， make the most of all the resources available to me. I started to learn and was __51__ to realize my dream.

Now, after five years' persistence, heartache and hard work, I have __52__ my goal. Having __53__ a course as a reading adviser, I can now help others to read and write. And I have even started a creative writing workshop at Junee Correctional Centre. Learning to read and write at a highter level has given me the inner strength to present myself in a more __54__ manner.

And the day I've dreamed about has come true: I now enjoy my cup of coffee with a book in my other hand. Learning to read and write has changed my life and this article is my first piece of “proper” writing, and it won't be my __55__．

1.A. opens　　　　　B. closes　　　　　　　C. breaks　　　　D. sticks

2.A. existence  B. appearance  C. offence  D. holiday

3.A. at school  B. at home  C. in hospital  D. in prison

4.A. pulling  B. shaking  C. winding  D. casting

5.A. becomes  B. drops  C. feels  D. falls

6.A. once and for all  B. over and over again  C. once again  D. for good

7.A. do up  B. make up  C. fix up  D. mend up

8.A. revealed  B. sentenced  C. punished  D. released

9.A. reach  B. get  C. arrive  D. go

10.A. continually  B. occasionally  C. accidentally  D. rarely

11.A. mistake  B. crime  C. error  D. fault

12.A. caught  B. home  C. found  D. trapped

13.A. attendance  B. absence  C. allowance  D. assistance

14.A. in  B. of  C. over  D. by

15.A. however  B. instead  C. thus  D. nevertheless

16.A. devoted  B. dedicated  C. determined  D. decided

17.A. gained  B. recognized  C. arrived  D. achieved

18.A. attended  B. completed  C. started  D. organized

19.A. positive  B. negative  C. sensitive  D. passive

20.A. best  B. worst  C. latest  D. last

 

Concern with money, and then more money, in order to buy the conveniences and luxuries of modern life, has brought great changes to the lives of most Frenchmen. More people are working harder than ever before in France. In the cities the traditional leisurely midday meal is disappearing. Offices, shops, and factories are discovering the great efficiency of a short lunch hour in company lunch rooms. In almost all lines of work emphasis now falls on ever increasing output. Thus the “typical” Frenchman produces more, earns more, and buys more consumer goods than his counterpart of only a generation ago. He gains in creature comfort and ease of life. What he loses to some extent is his sense of personal uniqueness, or individuality.

Some say that France has been Americanized. This is because the United States is a world symbol of the technological society and its consumer products. The so called Americanization of France has its critics. They fear that “assembly line life” will lead to the disappearance of the pleasures of the more graceful and leisurely (but less productive) old French style. What will happen, they ask, to taste, elegance, and the cultivation of the good things in life to joy in the smell of a freshly picked apple, a stroll by the river, or just happy hours of conversation in a local café?

Since the late 1950s life in France has indeed taken on qualities of rush, tension, and the pursuit of material gain. Some of the strongest critics of the new way of life are the young, especially university students. They are concerned with the future, and they fear that France is threatened by the triumph of this competitive, goods-oriented culture. Occasionally, they have reacted against the trend with considerable violence.

In spite of the critics, however, countless Frenchmen are committed to keeping France in the forefront of the modern economic world. They find that the present life brings more rewards, conveniences, and pleasures than that of the past. They believe that a modern, industrial France is preferable to the old.

1.Which of the following is a feature of the old French way of life?

A．Leisure, elegance, and efficiency

B．Elegance, efficiency, and taste

C．Leisure, elegance, and taste

D．Elegance, efficiency, and leisure

2.Which of the following is NOT true about Frenchmen?

A．Many of them prefer the modern life style.

B．They actually enjoy working at the assembly line.

C．They are more concerned with money than before.

D．They are more competitive than the old generation.

3.The passage suggests that _________.

A．in pursuing material gains the French are suffering losses elsewhere

B．it’s now unlikely to see a Frenchman enjoying a stroll by the river

C．the French are fed up with the smell of freshly picked apples

D．great changes have occurred in the life style of all Frenchmen

4.Which of the following is true about the critics?

A．Critics are greater in number than people enjoying the new way of life.

B．Students critics are greater in number than critics in other fields.

C．Students critics have, on occasion, resorted to violent means against the trend.

D．Critics are concerned solely with the present and not the future.

5.Which of the following best states the main idea of the passage?

A．Changes in the French Way of Life

B．Criticism of the New Life Style

C．The Americanization of France

D．Features of the New Way of Life

 

阅读理解

　　I still remember—my hands and my fingernails still remember—what used to be prepared for us on our return to school from the holidays. The schoolyard would be covered with fallen leaves, lying around here and there in piles. In some places there were even more than just piles of them: it would be like a muddy sea of leaves.

　　“Get that all swept up!”the headmaster would tell us.“I want the whole place cleaned up, at once.”

　　At once! There was enough work there, very hard work too, to last for a week. Especially since the only tools with which we were provided were our hands, our fingers and our nails.

　　“Now see that it's done properly, and be quick about it,”the headmaster would say to the older pupils,“or you'll have to answer for it!”

　　So at an order from the older boys we would set to work. If the work was not going as quickly as the headmaster expected, the big boys, instead of giving us a helping hand, used to find it simpler to beat us with branches pulled from the trees.

　　In order to avoid these blows, we used to bribe (贿赂) our“kings”with the cakes or other good food which we used to bring for our midday meal. And if we happened to have any money on us, the money would change hands at once. If we did not do this, the blows were doubled. They would hit us so badly that even a dumb person would have realized we were being beaten not to make us work harder, but to make us obey. Thus we would be only too glad to give up our food and money.

　　Occasionally, one of us worn out by such cruel beating would have the courage to complain (抱怨) to the headmaster, who would, of course, be very angry, but the punishment the older boys received was always very small, nothing compared with what they had done to us. And that fact is that however much we complained, our situation did not improve in the slightest.

1．The writer says“My hands and my fingernails still remember!”because ________.

[　　]

A．his hands and fingers have the sense of memory

B．he could never forget his headmaster

C．he suffered a lot from the hard work

D．he would remember his school life forever

2．The old boys beat the young ones extremely hard because ________.

[　　]

A．they wanted the young ones to work quickly and properly

B．they were too lazy to work themselves

C．they knew this would make the young ones offer bribes

D．they knew the headmaster would do no harm to them

3．When the younger boys complained to the headmaster ________.

[　　]

A．it made no difference to them

B．it only made matters worse

C．he became very angry with them

D．he gave the older boys punishing blows

4．What can be the best title for the passage?

[　　]

A．Hateful Older Pupils

B．What a Headmaster

C．Wrong Use of Power

D．Hard Days at School