(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 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.

A thief entered the bedroom of the 30th President of the United States, who met him and helped him escape punishment．

The event happened in the early morning hours in one of the first days when Calvin Coolidge came into power, late in August, 1923．He and his family were living in the same third-floor suite (套房) at the Willard Hotel in Washington that they had occupied several years before．The former President’s wife was still living in the White House．

Coolidge awoke to see a stranger go through his clothes, remove a wallet and a watch chain．

Coolidge spoke, “I wish you wouldn’t take that．”

The thief, gaining his voice,  said, “Why?”

“I don’t mean the watch and chain, only the charm (表坠)．Take it near the window and read what is impressed on its back, “ the President said．

The thief read, “Presented to Calvin Coolidge．”

“Are you President Coolidge ? “ he asked．

The President answered, “Yes, and the House of Representatives (众议院) gave me that watch charm．I’m fond of it．It would do you no good．You want money．Let’s talk this over．”

Holding up the wallet, the young man said in a low voice, “I’ll take this and leave everything else．”

Coolidge, knowing there was ＄80 in it, persuaded the young man to sit down and talk．He told the President he and his college roommate had overspent during their holiday and did not have enough money to pay their hotel bill．

Coolidge added up the roommate and two rail tickets back to the college．Then he counted out ＄32 said it was a loan (借款)．

He then told the young man, “There is a guard in the corridor．” The young man nodded and left through the same window as he had entered．

What caused the thief to meet the President?

A．He knew the President had lots of money．

B．He knew the President lived in the suite．

C．He wanted to be a rich businessman．

D．He wanted to steal some money．

Why did Calvin Coolidge live at the Willard Hotel in those days?

A．Because the former President was still living in the White House．

B．Because the former First Lady hadn’t left the White House．

C．Because the First Lady liked to live there．

D．Because he liked there．

Coolidge counted out ＄32 ______．

A．in order not to be killed by the thief

B．in order to be out of danger

C．so as to help the young student overcome his difficulty

D．because he had no more money

The young man’s roommate went back to the college ______．

A．by air B．by water C．by bus D．by train

Which of the following might happen afterwards?

A．The young student repaid the＄32．

B．The thief was put into prison．

C．The President told many reporters the thief’s name．

D．The President ordered the young man to repay the money．

A powerful earthquake struck the northeastern coast of Japan at two forty-six p.m. local time on March eleventh.2011. Japan's Meteorological Agency released its first tsunami（海啸） warnings just three minutes later. The country has one of the best earthquake early warning systems in the world.

There are more than four thousand Seismic Intensity Meters in place throughout Japan to measure earthquake activity. These meters provide information within two minutes of an earthquake happening. Information about the strength and the center of the earthquake can be learned within three minutes.

There are also concrete(混凝土) sea walls around much of the Japanese coastline. But these measures proved no match for the powerful earthquake and tsunami.

Costas Synolakis ，a tsunami expert at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles said，"Japan is one of those most well-prepared countries on earth in terms of tsunami warning. They had a warning. I think what went wrong is that they had not expected the size of this event."

He says there are two reasons for this. Japan has not had any event anywhere near as big as this one in the last one hundred fifty years. And scientists had not expected such a large earthquake happening off the coast of Japan.

The nine point zero magnitude earthquake was the fourth most powerful earthquake ever recorded worldwide. It was also the worst earthquake ever to hit Japan. The tsunami waves that followed were reported to have reached as high as thirteen meters in some areas.

Costas Synolakis says Japan's concrete sea walls were not built to handle such high waves.

Experts say early warning systems will continue to be limited by these facts until earthquakes and tsunamis can be predicted

Where can this passage probably be adapted from?

    A．A magazine on science       B．A fairy Tale 

C．A scientific fantasy book     D．A newspaper  

Which of the following statements NOT true ?

    A. A terrible earthquake hit the northeastern coast of Japan

    B. It was also the worst earthquake in Japan

C. The 9.0 earthquake was the fourth most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Japan

D. Japan's concrete sea walls was unable to handle such high waves.

According to Costas Synolakis, why did Japan suffer such a loss?

  A. The country has never experienced any event as big as this one over the past 150 years

B. Japan has the best earthquake early warning systems in the world.

C. There are not concrete sea walls around all of the Japanese coastline

D. The government didn’t announce its first tsunami warnings three minutes earlier.

C

Do’s and Don’ts in Whale(鲸) Watching

       The Department of Fisheries and Oceans has developed guidelines for whale watching in Johnstone Strait, where killer whales are found on a daily basis each summer. It is strongly recommended that vessel(船只) operators follow these guidelines for all kinds of whales.

       · Approach whales from the side, not from the front or the back.

· Approach no closer than 100 metres, then stop the boat but keep the engine on.

· Keep noise levels down — no horns, whistles or racing of engines.

· Start your boat only after the whales are more than 100 metres from your vessel.

· Leave the area slowly, gradually moving faster when you are more than 300 metres from the whales.

· Approach and leave slowly, avoiding sudden changes in speed or direction.

· Avoid disturbing groups of resting whales.

· Keep at low speeds and remain in the same direction if traveling side by side with whales.

· When whales are traveling close to shore, avoid crowding them near the shore or coming between the whales and the shore.

· Limit the time spent with any group of whales to less than 30 minutes at a time when within 100 to 200 metres of whales.

· If there is more than one vessel at the same observation spot, be sure to avoid any boat position that would result in surrounding the whales.

· Work together by communicating with other vessels, and make sure that all operators are aware of the whale watching guidelines.

64. For whom is this text written?

   A. Tour guides.                             B. Whale watchers.       

C. Vessel operators.                            D. Government officials.

65. When leaving the observation areas, the vessel should ______.

   A. move close to the beach             B. increase speed gradually

   C. keep its engine running slowly   D. remain at the back of the whales

66. When going side by side with whales, the vessel should ______.

   A. keep moving in the same direction      B. surround the whales with other boats

   C. travel closer and closer to the shore      D. take a good viewing position

67. What is the shortest safe distance from the whales?

   A. 400 metres.         B. 300 metres.              C. 200 metres.              D. 100 metres.