4. The food industry ______ hard times in 2011, and there is no sign of a turnaround (好转)　 in 2012.

　　 A. balanced 　　　　 B. celebrated　　 C. influenced 　　　 D. experienced

3. In the 1970s, watching outdoor films was really ______. They could always draw crowds of people.

　　 A. valuable 　　　　 B. acceptable　　 C. enjoyable　 　　 D. suitable

2. Though ______ effects of bear bile (熊胆) are powerful, the bear should be protected as ______ living creature.

　　 A.不填; a　　 　　　 B. the; a　　　　 　　　 C. 不填; the　 　　 D. the; the

一、单项填空

从A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最合适的答案填在下面的空格处。

1. — Could we make it December 10th?

　　 — ______. I’ll be available that day.

　　 A. It doesn’t matter　　　　 B. I’m afraid not

　　 C. Go ahead with it　　 D. That’s fine with me

D

Cervantes was born to poor parents. His future looked dark as he grew to see a life of sadness and poverty before him. He joined the army as a common soldier and was hurt so badly that he could not use his left arm.

He later failed to find a job and, on two occasions, was sent to prison. He continued to have brushes (冲突) with the law and struggled just to survive.

But, despite these troubles of his life, he never let go of his dream — to write a book. He realized his dream and he wrote a book. In the book he told of a beautiful story which came from his heart’s deepest dreams. It is about a man who saw the world differently than everyone else. Though created in suffering, the book is an inspiring (鼓舞人的) story of hope. This man’s story has been put to music and film, translated into many languages and remains a literary classic after some 400 years. It has moved many people in the world. The author was Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra and the book is Don Quijote de la Mancha (《堂吉诃德》). Perhaps Cervantes himself believed that “the world sees people as they are — I see them as they can be!” Cervantes may never have written such a wonderful work if he had not seen some potential (潜能) within himself. He knew, and has taught others ever since, that great truth: What we see will come to be.

Some see situations as they are, others as they can be. Some see people as they are, others as they can be. And some see themselves as they are, others as they can be. But when we set our sights upon the best that is within a situation or a human being, what we see will come to be. And we’ll know the power of hope.

48. The author writes this passage to remind us that 　　.

A. we should be brave to deal with troubles

B. nothing is hard if we put our heart into it

C. we all have great potential inside ourselves

D. no one knows what he can do until he tries

49. What was the dream of Cervantes?

A. To be a writer.

B. To be a solider.

C. To be a banker.

D. To be a doctor.

50. Cervantes met the following troubles EXCEPT that 　　.

A. he was sent to prison

　　　 B. his left arm got hurt　

　　　 C. he failed to find a job

　　　 D. he was refused by the army

C

Americans celebrate Valentine’s Day each year on February 14th. So do candy companies, jewelry stores and people selling flowers. Valentine’s Day is for lovers. It is a good day to ask your boyfriend or girlfriend to marry you. It is also a popular day for marriage. But other couples might celebrate with a dinner at a nice restaurant.

The holiday is named for Saint Valentine. He was an early Christian churchman who was said to have helped young lovers. Valentine was executed (处死) for his Christian beliefs on February 14th, more than one thousand seven hundred years ago. But the day is even older than that.

The ancient Romans celebrated a holiday for lovers more than two thousand years ago. As part of the celebration, each girl wrote her name on a piece of paper and put it in a large box. Each boy reached into the box and pulled out the name of a girl. That girl became his girlfriend for a year.

Lovers still put their names on pieces of paper on Valentine’s Day. They send each other cards that express their love. Sometimes they send other gifts, too, like jewelry, flowers, candy, or all three!

It was reported that the average American spent about $134 for Valentine’s Day in 2014. That was up about three dollars from 2013. Men spent about twice as much on their partners as women did. And it is said the total spending for Valentine’s Day in the United States reached about $17.3 billion.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

44. Valentine’s Day is named for Saint Valentine mainly because Valentine 　　.

A. came up with the idea for Valentine’s Day

B. lost his life because of his Christian beliefs

C. once helped young lovers as a churchman

D. sent gifts to young lovers on February 14th

45. At the ceremony for lovers in ancient Rome, 　　.

A. a boy got his girlfriend quite by luck

B. boys and girls exchanged cards to show love

C. a girl had the freedom to choose her boyfriend

D. girls put their words of love in a large box

46. Which of the following traditions on Valentine’s Day is kept alive from ancient days?

A. Writing lovers’ names on pieces of paper.

B. Sending gifts like candies, flowers and jewelry.

C. Asking your boyfriend or girlfriend to marry you.

D. Having a dinner with your boyfriend or girlfriend.

47. When was the passage probably written?

A. After Valentine’s Day in 2013.

B. Before Valentine’s Day in 2013.

C. After Valentine’s Day in 2014.

　　　 D. Before Valentine’s Day in 2014.

B

Our first expression is “in the red”. It is another way of saying that a business is losing money. In the past, numbers in the financial (金融的) records of a company were written in red ink to show a loss (损失).

A business magazine recently published a report about a television company. The report said the company was still in the red, but was able to cut its loss from the year before. A profit by a business is written in black numbers. So a company that is “in the black” is making money.

Another financial expression is “run on the bank”. That is what happens when many people try to get all their money back from a bank. A “run on the bank” usually happens when people believe there is a danger that a bank may fail or close down. Newspaper reports about a bank crisis (危机) in Russia used that expression. They said the government acted because of the fear that the crisis would cause a run on the bank.

“Day trading” is a new expression about a system that lets investors (投资者) trade directly in an electronic market system. The system is known as NASDAQ, short for the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation. It was the first completely computerized stock market (股票市场). Day trading companies offer a desk and a computer system to an investor who wants to trade. Investors must provide fifty thousand dollars or more for the trading company to pay for the stocks they buy. Thousands of other investors do day trading at their homes.

A day trader keeps a watchful eye on stock prices. When he sees a stock rise in price, he makes use of the computer to buy shares of the stock. If the stock continues to rise in price in the next few minutes, the day trader sells out the shares quickly to make a small profit. Then he looks for another stock to buy. If a stock goes down, he may sell his shares and accept the loss.

The idea is to make a small profit many times during the day. Many day traders may break down in a week or so. Only about thirty percent people succeed in earning enough money from their efforts to continue day trading.

40. What does the passage mainly talk about?

　　 A. Some financial words and expressions.

　　 B. Newspaper reports about a bank crisis.

　　 C. Some interesting stories about making money.

　　 D. Some tips on how to buy and sell stocks.

41. When a company runs well, the financial records will be written in 　　 ink.

　　 A. red　　　　　　　 B. black　　　　　　　 C. green　　　　　　　　 D. yellow

42. When a bank is faced with a crisis, we can use the expression “　　”.

　　 A. break the bank　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. run on the bank　

　　 C. in the red　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. day trading

43. In which section of a newspaper will this passage appear?

　　 A. Economy.　　　　　　　　 　 B. Health & Life.

　　 C. Entertainment.　　　　　　 　　 D. Science.

二、完形填空

In 1934, a bronze statue (青铜塑像) of a dog called Hachiko was set up at the Shibuya Train Station in Tokyo, Japan. Everyone will be 　16　 by the following story of the dog.

Hachiko was born in 1923 and was 　17　 by Eisaburo Ueno, a professor in the agriculture department 　18　 the University of Tokyo. The professor used to take a 　19　 from the Shibuya Station every day to go to the university. Each day Hachiko 　20　 with the professor to the train station when he left for 　21　. Upon returning, the professor would find the dog 　22　 waiting for his master (主人) and wagging (摇摆) his tail.

This happy habit 　23　 until one terrible day in 1925, when the 　24　 was taken ill on the job and unfortunately 　25　 before he could return home. 　26　, the dog waited at the train station that day for his master to return home. However, 　27　 that he wasn’t coming back, Hachiko waited till 　28　 fell and returned home.

The 　29　 day Hachiko went back to the train station again, 　30　 for his master to come back. He patiently waited till sunset and then 　31　 home. The dog was so devoted (忠诚的) to the professor that he continued to 　32　 the train station every day for the next 10 years! People who 　33　 the devoted dog each day were so touched by his 　34　 that they built a statue in his honor in 1934.

In 1935, Hachiko died at the very 　35　 place where he used to wait for his master.

16. A. paid　 　　　　　 B. refused 　　　　 C. moved 　　　　　 D. amazed　

17. A. treated 　　　　 B. owned 　　　　 C. stopped 　　　　　 D. killed　

18. A. for 　　　　　　 B. on 　　　　　　　 C. near　 　　　　　　 D. at　

19. A. train 　　　　　 B. plane 　　　　　 C. taxi 　　　　　　　　 D. boat　　

20. A. stayed up 　　 B. went along 　 C. looked around D. ran away　

21. A. work 　　　　　 B. school　　　　　 C. money 　　　　　 D. home　

22. A. hardly 　　　　 B. suddenly　　　　 C. patiently 　　　　 D. recently　　

23. A. changed 　　　 B. appeared 　　　 C. happened　 　　　 D. continued　

24. A. dog　 　　　　　 B. professor 　　 C. worker　　　　　　 D. student　

25. A. died 　　　　　 B. slept 　　　　　　 C. lost 　　　　　　　　 D. awoke　

26. A. For example 　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. In turn 　　　　　 C. As usual 　　　 D. At present　

27. A. saying　　　　　 B. seeing 　　　　　 C. forgetting 　　　 D. repeating　

28. A. rain 　　　　　　 B. snow　　　　　　 C. light 　　　　　　　 D. night　

29. A. next 　　　　　 B. other 　　　　　 C. last 　　　　　　　　 D. first　

30. A. standing 　　　 B. looking 　　　　 C. waiting　 　　　　 D. asking　　

31. A. found　　　　　 B. returned 　　　 C. left 　　　　　　　　 D. missed　

32. A. catch 　　　　　 B. clean 　　　　　 C. watch 　　　　　　 D. visit　

33. A. passed 　　　　 B. bought 　　　　 C. kept 　　　　　　　 D. discovered　

34. A. life 　　　　　　 B. lesson 　　　　　 C. joke 　　　　　　　 D. story　

35. A. different 　　 B. strange 　　　　 C. same 　　　　　　　 D. beautiful