56．What’s the main idea of the first paragraph?

　　　 A．How Columbus found Costa Rica．　 B．How Costa Rica got its name.

　　　 C．What the Costa Ricans wore．　 　　　　 D．What language the Costa Ricans spoke.

47．A．stuck　　 　　　 B．involved　　 　 C．lost　　　 　　　 D．spread

SECTION C ( 12 points )

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

Mr．Smith used to be in prison for three years, which may have you think he is not a good man．But 　48 _ a matter of fact, he is kind-hearted as well as honest．The reason 　49 　he was put into prison was not that he himself broke the law, 50 　that his six-year-old son blew up(使…爆炸)the bridge near his home, imitating what he had seen on TV．51 　this little boy did break the law, he was too young to be put in prison．According to the local law, the boy’s parents had to be punished．As a result, Mr．Smith received the punishment．He was arrested and taken to 　52 　police station finally．Most of the people in the town showed pity on him, but it was useless．After all, law is law．Everybody is to obey 　53．As the proverb of “When it rains, it pours”, Mrs．Smith was out of work before long．She had to move to a southern state, 54 　she was born and grew up．Misfortunes tell us what fortune is．55 　the Smiths have experienced does teach us a good lesson．

PART THREE　 READING COMPREHENSION ( 30 points)

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

When Christopher Columbus landed on the then unnamed Costa Rica in 1502, he saw many Indians wearing gold earrings．So he thought the land must be rich in gold．He named the place Costa Rica, which means “rich coast” in Spanish.

　　 Though little gold was found, Costa Rica today is indeed rich with coffee and bananas．Coffee is the most important product in Costa Rica and most of it is exported (出口) to other countries like America and West Germany．Bananas are the country’s second most important export.

　 　Costa Ricans also grow many other crops such as fruits, corn and beans for their own use．Costa Ricans love colors and their houses are painted in bright colors．

　　 Education is very important to the Costa Ricans．Almost every village has a school and education is a must for children between seven and fourteen years of age．Boys and girls go to separate (单独的) schools．Classes begin in March and end in November．The other three months of the year are harvest time and the children have to help their parents to pick coffee beans.

46．A．starting　 　　　 B．lasting　　 　　　　 C．finishing　　 　　 D．running

45．A．never　　 　　　 B．ever　　 　　　　　 C．even　　　 　　　 D．still

44．A．so　　 　　　　　　 B．but　　 　　　　　 C．or　　　 　　　　 D．as

43．A．concentration 　 B．collection　 　　　 C．combination　 　 D．classification

42．A．mass　　 　　　　 B．residents　 　　　 C．crowd　　　 　　 D．team

41．A．seemed　　 　　　 B．used　　　 　　　 C．happened　 　　　 D．had

40．A．eagerness　　 　 B．pleasure　　 　　 C．relief　　　 　　　 D．worry

39．A．competing　 　 B．training　　 　　 C．fighting　 　　　　 D．attending