My husband Jeff and I moved into our new home in Scottsbluff last year just before Christmas. I did not have the 1 or energy to carry out my traditional Christmas decorating and baking activities. What was the point, anyway? It was going to be a 2 Christmas after all.

__3__, the neighborly nature of west Nebraska residents started to trickle (陆续来临) in.

There was a 4 on the door one evening. It was Jeff’s new colleague, John Smith, and his wife, Phyllis. The Smiths had stopped by to 5 us to town with a loaf of homemade bread. They pointed out a 6 on the porch (门廊). Apparently the doorbell wasn’t working in the cold snowy weather and we had 7 a visit from the Browns, our across-the-street neighbors, who brought us a Christmas card and more Christmas cookies.

The 8 feelings brought by these thoughtful gestures lasted longer than the food.

As Jeff and I were clearing pre-Christmas 9 from our driveway, Ernie Guzman came over from next door to 10 us to dig out.

Then, we received an invitation to 11 a Christmas Eve meal with our neighbors, Ernie and Nancy Sommer, and their 12 — a 90-year-old lady, who also had no family in the immediate area with whom to spend the holiday.

Our Christmas Eve was quite merry, thanks to our 13 . Our Christmas morning 14 was special, thanks to the Smiths’ gift of bread. I was so 15 for these gestures of welcome, especially during the holidays.

This year, we were again unable to be with our families for Christmas. The 16 and work schedules just made things too difficult. 17 that sense of Christmas isolation (孤立) all too well, we decided to try to round up some other folks who were 18 in the holidays.

Lonely people are all around us, but most of us 19 notice them. Just take a look around you. Sometimes, the smallest 20 gesture can make a world of difference.

1. A. chance　　　　　　 B. time　　　　　　 C. anxiety　　　　 D. ability

2. A. merry　　　　　　 B. free　　　　　　 C. lonely　　　　　 D. usual

3. A. Therefore　　　　　 B. Meanwhile　　　 C. Somehow　　　 D. However

4. A. card 　　　　　　 B. sign　　　　　　 C. knock　　　　　 D. note

5. A. welcome　　　　　 B. invite　　　　　　 C. drive　　　　　 D. send

6. A. tree　　　　　　　 B. package　　　　　 C. mail　　　　　　 D. flower

7. A. forgot　　　　　　 B. arranged　　　　 　C. received　　　　 D. missed

8. A. deep　　　　　　 B. true　　　　　　　 C. warm　　　　　 D. mixed

9. A. snow　　　　　　 B. rubbish　　　　　 C. dust　　　　　 D. leaves

10. A. teach　　　　　　 B. help　　　　　　　 C. urge　　　　　 D. forbid

11. A. share　　　　　　 B. prepare　　　　　 C. taste　　　　　 D. exchange

12. A. aunt　　　　　　 B. guest　　　　　　 C. maid　　　　　 D. partner

13. A. folks　　　　　　 B. relatives　　　　　 C. colleagues　　 D. neighbors

14. A. call　　　　 　　B. greeting　　　　　 C. breakfast　　　 D. meeting

15. A. sorry　　　　　　 B. eager　　　　　　 C. ready　　　　　 D. grateful

16. A. distance　　　　 B. expense　　　　　 C. season　　　　　 D. situation

17. A. Studying　　　　 B. Showing　　 　　C. Knowing　　　　 D. Discovering

18. A. alone　　　　　 B. busy　　　　　　 C. happy　　　　　 D. active

19. A. always　　　　　 B. seldom　　　　　　 C. finally　　　　　 D. usually

20. A. careful　　　　　 B. patient　　　　　　 C. vague　　　　 　D. kind

根据对话情景的内容，从对话后所给的选项中选出能够填入每一空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。该选项中有两个为多余选项。

M: How are your new neighbors, Nancy?

W: They seem nice enough, but they have a son who’s driving me crazy．

M: ___6___

W: He comes home every night around 10 with his car window rolled down and radio turned up really loud．___7___ But by then Brian and Lisa are wide awake．

M: Oh, no．

W: Oh, yes．Sometimes it takes us until midnight just to get them to settle down again．

M: ___8___

W: We haven’t even really met them yet except to say a quick hello．

M: You are not going to like them when you do meet them, I dare say．

W: I know, but I feel stupid complaining．___9___ I’m just not getting enough sleep and neither are the children．

M: ___10___

W: Yeah．

M: Then you could mention that the hardest thing at present is getting your children to sleep at night．

         A．Have you tried talking to them?

         B．What do you mean?

         C．Actually, they didn’t say anything．

         D．Maybe you could ask about their son and they’ll be sure to ask about yours．

         E．Well, you know how early I have to get up to be here at the office．

         F．Don’t get your hopes too high!

         G．It stops as soon as he turns the car off．

语法填空(共10小题；每小题1. 5分，满分15分)

阅读下面短文，按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求，在空格处填入一个适当的词或使用括号中词语的正确形式填空，并将答案填写在答卷标号为16-25的相应位置上。

Six days of spring rain had created a wild river       (run) by Nancy Brown’s farm. As she tried to drive her cows to higher ground, she        (slip) and hit her head on a fallen tree trunk. Nancy was badly hurt and could only walk with great       (difficult). The water       (rise). Nancy’s pace got slower and slower. Finally, all she could do was to throw her arm around Lizzie’s neck and try to hang on. About 20 minutes later, Lizzie managed to       (succeed) pull herself and Nancy out of the water and onto a bit of high land.

    It took rescuers another two hours to discover Nancy.      helicopter lowered a doctor,    attached Nancy to a life-support lift. They raised her into the helicopter and took her to the school gym,      the Red Cross had set up an emergency shelter.

When the flood subsided two days later, Nancy immediately went back to the highland. Lizzie was gone.      was one of the 19 cows that Nancy lost. “I owe my life      her,” said Nancy sobbingly.

信息匹配（共5小题；每小题2分，满分10分）

阅读下列应用文及相关信息，并按照要求匹配信息。请在答题卡上将对应题号的相应选项字母涂黑。请阅读以下学生的基本信息，为他们选择合适的团体。

．Nancy comes from China and wants to join a club that can help her know more about   America．Her major is linguistics which requires her to know the cultural differences．And she is busy on weekends because of her part—time job．

Catty is an outgoing person．She loves nature very much and always goes cycling around the university．Since she is not familiar with America，she wants to know more about it．

Both of Margaret’s parents are doctors．She has been wanting to be a doctor since she was a little girl．She hopes that the club will help her get to know more about the recent development on medicine．

Thompson always gave a performance in his middle school whenever there was an event．He loves music and movies very much．But he is busy finishing his course and has no time to attend the club meetings．

Lucy always keeps an eye on the daily life problems that happen around the campus．She is ready to help others and she hopes that she can help more people through the club．

The information about extra curricular activities

A．Asian—American Students Union

Set up for more than thirty years，this club has been mainly focusing on the cultural differences between Asia and America．The members in this club should come from Asia or America and they will hold a meeting every Thursday evening to discuss the interesting points they have found in their daily lives．Besides，they will conduct some surveys among their classmates to dig the roots of the differences．

B．Yale Film Society

Students who are movie-lovers come here to enjoy wonderful movies together and they will learn the actors’ lines．More than that，some nice films produced by themselves will have the chance to be praised by teachers and students on the campus．They will get together every Friday night to hold a small meeting where they will have their opinions exchanged and may recommend some new movies．

C．Yale AIDS Watch

All the members in this club should have some basic knowledge about AIDS and be interested in the serious headache for the people all around the world---AIDS. They will collect the latest reports on the development of the study of the disease．At the same time，they will have some leaflets printed to give out to the students．The time for them to meet is Friday afternoon twice a month．

D．Society of Women

The members are female only and they will pay attention to the problems they come across in their school lives and outside the campus．All the girls are welcome to this club as long as they want to protect their rights as women．They will get together every Sunday afternoon to deal with the letters from girls and try to solve their problems．

E．Yale Pop Band

This band has been very popular among students who are keen on pop music．The members introduce latest albums and most of them are good at singing and each of them plays a key role in any party．They have no regular meetings but keep in touch by mail．

F．Yale Camping Club

There are many opportunities for the members to go hiking or sightseeing．If the weather allows，they will camp along the seaside or river banks．It attracts many students who come from abroad because this will give them opportunity to see more places in the US．

     Researchers are placing robotic dogs (机器狗) in the homes of lonely old people to determine whether they can improve the quality of life for humans. Alan Beck, an expert in human-animal relationship, and Nancy Edwards, a professor of nursing, are leading the animal-assisted study concerning the influence of robotic dogs on old people’s depression, physical activity, and life satisfaction. “No one will argue that an older person is better off being more active, challenged, or stimulated (刺激) ,” Edwards points out. “The problem is how we promote(使……成为现实)that, especially for those without friends or help. A robotic dog could be a solution.”

    In the study, the robot, called AIBO, is placed for six weeks in the houses of some old people who live alone. Before placing AIBO in the home, researchers will collect baseline data for six weeks. These old people will keep a diary to note their feelings and activity before and after AIBO. Then, the researchers will review the data to determine if it has inspired any changes in the life of its owner.

    “I talk to him all the time, and he responds to my voice,” says a seventy-year-old lady.“When I’m watching TV, he’ll stay in my arms until he wants down. He has a mind of his own.”

     The AIBOs respond to certain orders. The researchers say they have some advantages over live dogs, especially for old people. Often the elderly are disabled and cannot care for an animal by walking it or playing with it. A robotic dog removes exercise and feeding concerns.

    “At the beginning, it was believed that no one would relate to the robotic dog, because it was metal and not furry,” Beck says. “But it’s amazing how quickly we have given up that belief.

   “Hopefully, down the road, these robotic pets could become a more-valuable health helper. They will record their masters’ blood pressure, oxygen levels, or heart rhythms. AIBOs may even one day have games that can help stimulate older people’s minds.”

48. The purpose of Beck and Edwards’ study is to ______

    A. understand human-animal relationship       B. make lonely old people’s life better

    C. find the causes of old people’s loneliness    D. promote the animal-assisted research

49. In the research, the old people are asked to ______

    A. note the activities of AIBOs                      B. keep AIBOs at home for 12 weeks

    C. record their feelings and activity               D. analyze the collected information

50. What is the advantage of AIBO over live dogs?

    A. It is easier to keep at home.                      B. It can help the disabled people.

    C. It responds to all the human orders.           D. It can watch TV with its owner.

51. The author seems to suggest that the future robotic dogs may ______

    A. cure certain diseases                                B. keep old people active

    C. change people’s beliefs                             D. look more like real dogs