完型填空(共20小题;每小题1.5分, 满分30分)
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中，选出可以填入空白处
的最佳选项，并在机读卡上将该选项涂黑。
There is a small shop about 200 meters from where I live that sells groceries, meat and other basic necessities. About 10 yearsa ago, there was a beggar who would go into the shop every day and ask the owner for a   21 . The owner,  22  he would love to help, simply didn’t have any jobs availabe, so he kept   23  the man’s office.
This situation continued   24  for a few months, until the owner   25  to give the homeless man a job which   26  sweeping outside the shop. Every single day form 5 a.m, the homeless man was there doing the very   27  he could for the   28 , making it the community’s favourite, even though it did earn him pennies.  29 , the owner saw how good a job the man was doing and gave him a job working   30  a cashier(收银员). He was watched closely to make sure that he didn’t   31  any of the money received from the sales. He was still homeless, after all. The homeless man did a/an   32  job as a cashier for over 2 years, and did such a good job that he was promoted to   33  the finances for the whole shop.
To my   34 , this was the arrangements up until 2 years ago, when the owner   35 . In his will, he only had one   36 , to give the whole shop to the now stable, “homeless” man. Now, I could walk into that shop and see him working as hard as   37 , with his own business that is still   38  and active 10 years after getting his job as a sweeper.
From this story, we can probably get the inspiration: work hard and give everything your best effort, even if it isn’t your   39  situation, it very well may turn out to   40  some day in the future.

Although man has known asbestos （石棉） for many hundreds of years, it was not until 160 years ago that it was mined for the first time on the North American continent. H.W.Johns, owner of a New York City Supply Shop for roofers, was responsible for the opening of that first mine．

Mr.Johns was given a piece of asbestos which had been found in Italy． He experimented with the material and then showed its surprising powers to his customers. After putting on a pair of asbestos gloves, which looked much like ordinary work gloves, he took red-hot coals from the fireplace and played with them in his hands.How astonished the customers were to discover that he was not burned at all．You can well imagine that he had increasing business in asbestos roofing materials． However, because it was very expensive to transport them from Italy to the United States, Mr.Johns sent out a young scientist to seek a source nearer home. This young man found great vein（岩脉）, in the province of Quebec in Canada．

Ever since 1881 Quebec has led the world in the production of this unusual mineral, which is made up of magnesium, silicon, iron, and oxygen．When it is mined, the asbestos is heavy, just as you would expect a mineral to be．When it is separated, a strange thing happens: the rock breaks down into fine, soft, soapy fibres．

Scientists do not know why the rock can be separated easily into threads, but they have found thousands of uses of this fireproof material, of the so-called “cloth of stone”．

1.Which title best expresses the main idea of this passage?

A．Asbestos mined in Canada                 B．Fireproof matter

C．A “wonder” mineral                  D．A new roofing material

2.Johns proved his ability as a salesman by_______．

A．going into roofing business                B．carrying asbestos from Italy

C．sending a trained scientist                 D．showing the use of asbestos gloves

3.Which is the most important characteristic of asbestos that the author wants to show us?

A．It is like thread．                       B．It feels soapy．

C．It burns easily．                        D．It is unusually heavy．

4.The author’s main purpose in writing this passage was to _______．

A．show the need for more scientists

B．compare asbestos with other minerals

C．increase the sales of asbestos

D．present facts about asbestos

When I was seven my father gave me a Timex, my first watch. I loved it, wore it for years, and haven’t had another one since it stopped ticking a decade ago. Why? Because I don’t need one. I have a mobile phone and I’m always near someone with an iPod or something like that. All these devices （装置） tell the time ― which is why, if you look around, you’ll see lots of empty wrists; sales of watches to young adults have been going down since 2007.  

But while the wise have realized that they don’t need them, others ― apparently including some distinguished men of our time ― are spending total fortunes on them. Brands such as Rolex, Patek Philippe and Breitling command shocking prices, up to ￡250,000 for a piece.  

This is ridiculous. Expensive cars go faster than cheap cars. Expensive clothes hang better than cheap clothes. But these days all watches tell the time as well as all other watches. Expensive watches come with extra functions ― but who needs them? How often do you dive to 300 metres into the sea or need to find your direction in the area around the South Pole? So why pay that much of five years’ school fees for watches that allow you to do these things?  

If justice were done, the Swiss watch industry should have closed down when the Japanese discovered how to make accurate watches for a five-pound note. Instead the Swiss reinvented the watch, with the aid of millions of pounds’ worth of advertising, as a message about the man wearing it. Rolexes are for those who spend their weekends climbing icy mountains; a Patek Philippe is for one from a rich or noble family; a Breitling suggests you like to pilot planes across the world.  

Watches are now classified as “investments” （投资）. A 1994 Patek Philippe recently sold for nearly ￡350,000, while 1960s Rolexes have gone from ￡15,000 to ￡30,000 plus in a year. But a watch is not an investment. It’s a toy for self-satisfaction, a matter of fashion. Prices may keep going up ― they’ve been rising for 15 years. But when fashion moves on, the owner of that ￡350,000 beauty will suddenly find his pride and joy is no more a good investment than my childhood Timex.  

59. The sales of watches to young people have fallen because they      .  

A. have other devices to tell the time                      B. think watches too expensive  

C. prefer to wear an iPod                                      D. have no sense of time  

60. It seems ridiculous to the writer that ______.  

A. people dive 300 metres into the sea  

B. expensive clothes sell better than cheap ones  

C. cheap cars don’t run as fast as expensive ones  

D. expensive watches with unnecessary functions still sell  

61. What can be learnt about Swiss watch industry from the passage?  

A. It targets rich people as its potential customers.  

B. It’s hard for the industry to beat its competitors.  

C. It wastes a huge amount of money in advertising.  

D. It’s easy for the industry to reinvent cheap watches.  

62. Which would be the best title for the passage?  

A. Timex or Rolex?                                      B. My Childhood Timex  

C. Watches? Not for Me!                              D. Watches ― a Valuable Collection  

When I was seven my father gave me a Timex, my first watch. I loved it, wore it for years, and haven’t had another one since it stopped ticking a decade ago. Why? Because I don’t need one. I have a mobile phone and I’m always near someone with an iPod or something like that. All these devices （装置） tell the time — which is why, if you look around, you’ll see lots of empty wrists; sales of watches to young adults have been going down since 2007.

But while the wise have realized that they don’t need them, others — apparently including some distinguished men of our time — are spending total fortunes on them. Brands such as Rolex, Patek Philippe and Breitling command shocking prices, up to ￡250,000 for a piece.

This is ridiculous. Expensive cars go faster than cheap cars. Expensive clothes hang better than cheap clothes. But these days all watches tell the time as well as all other watches. Expensive watches come with extra functions — but who needs them? How often do you dive to 300 metres into the sea or need to find your direction in the area around the South Pole? So why pay that much of five years’ school fees for watches that allow you to do these things?

If justice were done, the Swiss watch industry should have closed down when the Japanese discovered how to make accurate watches for a five-pound note. Instead the Swiss reinvented the watch, with the aid of millions of pounds’ worth of advertising, as a message about the man wearing it. Rolexes are for those who spend their weekends climbing icy mountains; a Patek Philippe is for one from a rich or noble family; a Breitling suggests you like to pilot planes across the world.

Watches are now classified as “investments” （投资）. A 1994 Patek Philippe recently sold for nearly ￡350,000, while 1960s Rolexes have gone from ￡15,000 to ￡30,000 plus in a year. But a watch is not an investment. It’s a toy for self-satisfaction, a matter of fashion. Prices may keep going up — they’ve been rising for 15 years. But when fashion moves on, the owner of that ￡350,000 beauty will suddenly find his pride and joy is no more a good investment than my childhood Timex.

1.The sales of watches to young people have fallen because they      .

A. have other devices to tell the time              B. think watches too expensive

C. prefer to wear an iPod                       D. have no sense of time

2.It seems ridiculous to the writer that ______.

A. people dive 300 metres into the sea

B. expensive clothes sell better than cheap ones

C. cheap cars don’t run as fast as expensive ones

D. expensive watches with unnecessary functions still sell

3.What can be learnt about Swiss watch industry from the passage?

A. It targets rich people as its potential customers.

B. It’s hard for the industry to beat its competitors.

C. It wastes a huge amount of money in advertising.

D. It’s easy for the industry to reinvent cheap watches.

4.Which would be the best title for the passage?

A. Timex or Rolex?                      B. My Childhood Timex

C. Watches? Not for Me!                     D. Watches — a Valuable Collection

Personally I think it is the sales manager, rather than the sales girls, ______ to blame.

A. is                   B. that is         C. are              D. who are