43. What does the underlined word “forage” in Paragraph 3 mean?

　 　　　　　　　　　　　　 A. Worry.　 　　 B. Decorate.　　　　 C. Search.　　 D. Appear.

42. Why doesn’t Madame Mathilde Loisel want to go to the party at first?

　 　　　　　　　　　　　　 A. Because she doesn’t have anything nice to wear.

　 　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. Because she doesn’t want to use up her husband’s money.

　 　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. Because she doesn’t want to borrow jewels from her friend.

　 　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. Because she doesn’t want to embarrass her husband in public.

41. What can we learn about Madame Mathilde Loisel from the passage?

　 　　　　　　　　　　　　 A. She has no job and lives a poor life.

　　 B. She used to be in a high social position.

　 　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. She used to have a lot of wonderful jewels.

　 　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. She marries a man who doesn’t have much money.

40. What can be expected to happen?

　　 A. Snowzilla will disappear after Christmas.

　　 B. Powers will move away from his neighborhood.

　　 C. Powers will be sent to prison after Christmas.

　　 D. Tourists will be charged higher after Christmas.

B

The Necklace is a short story by Guy de Maupassant. It tells the story of Madame Mathilde Loisel and her husband Charles. Mathilde always imagines herself in a high social position with wonderful jewels. However, she has nothing and marries a low-paid clerk who tries his best to make her happy.

Through lots of begging at work, Charles is able to get two invitations to the Ministry of Public Instruction Party. Mathilde refuses to go, for she has nothing to wear. Her husband is upset to see her sadness. Using money that he saved to buy a rifle, he gives Mathilde 400 francs and asks his wife to buy a dress that suits her. Mathilde goes out and buys a dress. However, even with the clothes, Mathilde is still not happy as she has no jewels to wear with it. The couple does not have much money left, so her husband suggests Mathilde borrow something from her friend, Madame Jeanne Forestier. Mathilde picks out the fanciest diamond necklace that she can find. After attending the Ministry of Public Instruction Party, Mathilde discovers that she has lost the necklace.

Mathilde and her husband forage everywhere, but the necklace is not to be found. So they have to take out loans from generous friends to buy a diamond necklace that looks just like the one that was lost. It takes them ten years of hard labor to pay the loans back. Towards the end, Mathilde takes a walk, recalling her past and the night when the necklace was lost. Suddenly, she comes across Madame Jeanne Forestier. Mathilde confesses (坦白) about that night and how she worked so hard to return her necklace. Madame Jeanne Forestier, deeply moved, tells Mathilde that the one she borrowed was not made of real diamonds, and that it was worth at most 500 francs.

39. Which of the following is NOT caused by Snowzilla?

　 　 A. The heavy traffic.　　　　　　　　　 B. Powers’ desire for giant snowmen.

　　 C. The neighbors’ complaining. 　 D. The public notice on Powers’ door.

38. What’s the purpose of the city’s ban?

　　 A. To prevent cars entering the city.

　　 B. To prevent road accidents happening.

　　 C. To ensure the ease of local people’s life.

　　 D. To ensure the safety of Powers’ children.

37. When did Snowzilla begin to attract tourists?

　　 A. In 2008.　　　　 B. In 2009.　　　　 C. In 2010.　　　　 D. In 2011.

36. Who most probably built the giant snowman in Billy Powers’ front yard this year?

　　 A. Powers’ friends.　　　　　　　　　　 B. Some officials.

　　 C. Powers’ neighbors.　　　　　　　　 D. Powers and his children.

27. A. way　　　　　　　 B. street　　　　　　　 C. wish　 　　　　 D. sail

Section C (12 marks)　　　

Directions: Complete the following passage by filling in each blank with one word that best fits the context.

What’s life like on a deserted island? Jeff Flake of Arizona decided to find out.

Jeff Flake took a vacation and went (28)　　 a four-day Robinson Crusoe style holiday with his two teenage sons, 15-year-old Tanner and 13-year-old Dallin. They traveled 5,200 miles (29)　　 Phoenix, Arizona to Biggarenn Island, a distant island in the North Pacific Ocean. They didn’t carry any food (30)　　 water.

The island is part of the Marshall Islands. It offered (31)　　 basic equipment, so the Flakes had to catch and cook their own food and purify (净化) their water. Their diet was made up of coconuts, crabs and fish. (32)　　captured the crabs and fish by themselves and cooked the food over (33)　　 open fire.

The Flakes carried two pumps to remove salt from ocean water. It took (34)　　 several hours each night to pump for just a few gallons of fresh water.

(35)_____ the adventure was challenging, it was still an enjoyable holiday for them. “For a dad it was a wonderful trip. No video games around, no television, and no texting,” Flake said.

Part II Reading Comprehension (30 marks)

Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage.

A

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A giant snowman named Snowzilla has mysteriously appeared again this year — despite the city’s ban.

Someone again built the giant snowman in Billy Powers’ front yard in Anchorage. Snowzilla reappeared before dawn Tuesday, two days before 2011 Christmas.

For the last three years, Snowzilla — to the delight of some and the disagreement of others — has been a very popular attraction in Powers’ yard. In 2008, Snowzilla rose 16 feet. He had a corncob pipe (玉米穗轴烟斗) and a carrot nose and two eyes made out of beer bottles. This year, Snowzilla is about 25 feet tall. He’s wearing a black stovepipe hat (礼帽) and a scarf.

Snowzilla has been rising outside Powers’ home. His children — he is the father of seven — collected snow from neighbors’ yards to make the snowman big enough. Each year, Snowzilla got a bit bigger.

Not everybody in the neighborhood liked all the cars and visitors who came to see him. City officials thought Snowzilla to be a public nuisance (滋扰行为) and potential danger. The city put up a public notice on Powers’ door. City officials said Snowzilla increased traffic to the point of endangerment and that the snowman itself was unsafe.

The mayor’s office on Tuesday issued a statement defending its move against Snowzilla.

“He has repeatedly ignored city efforts to find ways to cater for his desire to build a giant snowman without taking the quiet life quality of the neighborhood into consideration,” said an official from Mayor Mark Begich’s office. “This is a neighborhood of small homes on small streets. It can’t support so heavy traffic and visitors that are interested in Snowzilla.”

The city said it did not expect to take any further action until after Christmas.

26. A. hold 　　　　　　 B. take　　　　　　　　 C. explain 　　　 D. change