How to improve our life? Many people think that they have to accept whatever life throws at them. They'll say，“my destiny(命運(yùn)). I cannot change it. ”

Of course not! You don't have to suffer needlessly. Your life depends on you, not on any other external(外部的) factor.

I know a woman who says she just accepts what life gives her because she has done everything she can to improve it. Guess what her lifestyle is. She wakes up in the morning, goes to work, comes back home, relaxes, chats with people, watches TV, and then goes to sleep. Next day, the same routine cycle follows.

Huh! Is this what she calls “doing her best”？ She believes she has tried her best and just accepts for her heart that this is the life that has been intended for her, and that her luck can only change if God wills it. She hasn't realized that we have to do our share of making the effort to live the life of our dreams.

Remember that you harvest what you sow. You have to get off the sofa, get your eyes off the TV screen, get your hands off the phone(unless it contributes to your success), and get your mind and body to work! Don't expect your luck to change, unless you do something about it.  If something goes wrong, don't just regard it as a temporary setback; instead, learn your lesson, make the most of the situation, and do something to solve the problem. It's not enough to think positively; you also have to act positively.

If someone's life is in trouble, do you just hope and pray that things will turn out fine? Of course not! You get to do anything you can to save the person. So it is with your own life. It is not enough to hope for the best, but you have to do your best. In other words, don't just stand(or sit) there, do something to improve your life.

55. According to the woman mentioned in Para. 3, her life ________.

A. doesn't need improving

B. couldn't be improved

C. will be better some day

D. will be worse in the future

56. What does the author think of the woman's life?

A. Passive.       B. Positive.

C. Colorful.      D. Boring.

57. Which of the following statements is the author's opinion?

A. Your temporary problem is not discouraging.

B. Your luck can be changed by your efforts.

C. You can only achieve success when God wills it.

D. You should treat yourself in the way you treat friends.

58. In Para. 5, the author emphasized the importance of ________.

A. hope for the best

B. intention to succeed

C. positive thinking

D. positive action

Early one morning the sub­inspector at a station at the other end of the town rang me. An elephant was damaging the town. Would I please come and do something about it?

I did not know what I could do, but I got onto a horse and started out.  I took my gun, maybe too small to kill an elephant, but I thought the noise might scare him. Various local people stopped me on the way and told me about the elephant's doings.

It was not, of course, a wild elephant, but a tame one. It had been chained up but last night it had broken its chain and escaped. Its owner, had set out to run after it, but had taken the wrong direction. He was now twelve hours' journey away, and in the morning the elephant had suddenly appeared in the town. It had already destroyed somebody's bamboo hut (棚屋), killed a cow and turned over fruit­stalls.

I came round the hut and saw a man's dead body sprawling in the mud.  He was an Indian, and he could not have been dead many minutes. The people said that the elephant caught him with its trunk, put its foot on his back and grounded him into the earth. This was the rainy season and he was lying on his stomach in the soft mud, the__peacebreaker standing beside, looking innocent.

As I lifted my gun, I hesitated a few seconds. Then I fired. That was a shot that did for him.

You could see the pain of it knock the last strength from his legs. But in falling he seemed for a moment to rise, his trunk reaching skyward like a tree. He trumpeted, for the first and only time. And then down he came, with a crash that shook the ground.

51. Which of the following statements about the author is TRUE?

A. He was an Indian.

B. He knew elephants well.

C. He was not a local villager.

D. He was the owner of the elephant.

52. The elephant made so much trouble because ________.

A. its owner treated him cruelly

B. it got out of control

C. it hated the village people

D. it was a wild elephant

53. The underlined words “the peacebreaker” in Paragraph 4 refer to ________.

A. the elephant               B. the dead man

C. the author                 D. the sub­inspector

54. It can be inferred that the author felt ________ when he shot the elephant.

A. excited                    B. sad

C. frightened                 D. happy

About a week ago, my 4-?year?-old cousin and I were playing basketball at our local park. The__31__was warm, and many other children were outside__32__. As we played, I noticed a small group of boys__33__a smaller, skinnier, and possibly younger boy. They were calling him names and__34__pushed him to the ground and__35__dirt in his face. When I saw that, I grabbed my__36__by the hand and walked over to the__37__.

I stepped__38__them and the younger boy, and asked them__39__what this boy had done deserved__40__they were doing to him. They all__41__silently for a moment, and then the most amazing thing __42__：one of the boys who hadn't said anything since I__43__stepped around the younger boy and helped him off the__44__and then apologized. He offered to let him play with them，__45__the boy quietly said “thank you” and refused, and then left there.

As I looked around, I__46__that there were dozens of other people at the park—some of them were__47__with children of their own—but no one else had stopped to help this boy. I felt__48__that the one of the boys was brave enough to stand up against his friends to help someone__49__， but I felt sad that no one else had even taken a second__50__. I couldn't help but think that those parents at the park would want someone to help their child in that situation, and yet they did nothing but stood by.

31．A. climate 　　　　 B. atmosphere　 C. air 　　　　　　　　 D. weather

32．A. as usual 　　　　 B. as well　　　 C. as planned D. as yet

33．A. picking on 　　 B. leaving for　 C. staying in D. taking over

34．A. yet 　　　　　　　 B. only　　　　 C. even 　　　　　　 　　D. just

35．A. noticed 　　　　 B. kicked　　　 C. watched 　　　　 D. showed

36．A. cousin 　　　　　 B. son　　　　　 C. daughter 　　　 D. boy

37．A. class 　　　　　　 B. family　　　 C. group 　　　　　　 　　D. society

38．A. among 　　　　　 B. at　　　　　 C. over 　　　　　　　 D. between

39．A. hopefully 　　　 B. finally　　　 C. politely 　　　　　　 D. possibly

40．A. who 　　　　　　　　　　 B. how　 　　　　C. why 　　　　　　　　　 D. what

41．A. came 　　　　　　 　　B. went　　　　 C. stood 　　　　　 　　D. talked

42．A. continued 　　　 B. stopped　　　 C. emerged 　　　　 D. happened

43．A. jumped up 　　 B. walked over　 C. went by 　　　　 D. went away

44．A. tree 　　　　　　　 B. room　　　　 C. stone 　　　　　 　　D. ground

45．A. so 　　　　　　　　 B. but　　　　　 C. then 　　　　　　　 D. still

46．A. expected 　　　 B. imagined　　 C. realized 　　　　　 D. admitted

47．A. neighbors 　　　 B. friends　　　 C. classmates 　　　 D. parents

48．A. angry 　　　　　 B. sorry　　　　 C. sad 　　　　　　　 D. happy

49．A. in turn 　 　　　 B. in advance　 C. in need 　　　　　 D. in all

50．A. knock 　　 　　 　　B. shout　　　　 C. noise 　　　　　　 　　D. glance

 We all know that, __________, the situation will get worse.

A. not if dealt carefully with         B. if not carefully dealt with
C. if dealt not carefully with         D. not if carefully dealt with

—Can I join the club, Dad?

—You can when you _____ a bit older.

A. get　　 B. will get　 C. are getting　 D. will have got

 If you are in any doubt as to _____ you should be doing these exercises, consult your doctor.

A that     B which    C what     D whether

—When can I come for the photos? I need them tomorrow afternoon．

—They_______ be ready by 12：00.

　 A．can　　　　 B．should　　　　 C．might　　　　 D．need

 Was it _____ she heard with her ears ____ really made her frightened?

A that; that    B what; that    C what; what  D that; what

Beneath our feet _____ that our life depends on for food and clothing.

A. the earth lay　 　　　 　 B. the earth lies 　　　　　　　　　　　　

C. lies the earth D. does the earth lie

 We must treasure every minute because _____ time is _____ forever.
A. lost; losing        B. lost; lost

C. losing; losing      D. losing; lost