At a few minutes past five, Dave noted that the blanket of darkness was lifting. He was just able to make out the heavier masses that eventually appeared as the familiar trees that lined the road at the base of the hill. The upper reaches of the sky showed lighter shades of gray.

    Dave got out of bed quietly and dressed quickly. He mixed a spoonful of instant chocolate into a glass of cold water, and his impatience forced him to finish the drink in gulps.

    As he walked down toward the lake, Dave paused to reach for the fishing pole and gear box on the bench where he had left them the night before.

    By the time he reached the small boat, a thick white mist (霧氣) had spread over the surface of the water. He stepped into the boat, sat down, and rowed out of the weed beds that lined the edge of the shore.

    The outer fringe (邊緣) of the lake disappeared as the boat moved forward noiselessly. All he could see was the enveloping whiteness. He could not tell where the boat and the surrounding air met the surface of the lake.

    Dave rowed steadily ahead, relying on a mental picture of the surroundings. Then the mist began to rise, slowly. It soon rested inches above the still surface of the lake. The heavy silence was now being broken by the fish breaking through the surface as they leaped out of the water for low-flying insects.

    The magic time had arrived. Dave raised his pole. Dawn was broken. He was excited with expectancy.

39. Dave got up early in the morning to ______

    A. enjoy the scene of the lake                       B. seek adventure at the lake

    C. go fishing in the lake                               D. take a walk by the lake

40. According to the story, which of the following is TRUE?

    A. Dave broke the quietness of the lake.         B. Dave was familiar with the surroundings.

    C. Dave took a picture of the lake with him.   D. Dave forgot the fishing pole at the beginning.

41. The underlined word “It” in Paragraph 6 refers to ______

    A. fish                   B. boat                        C. silence              D. mist

42. What can we learn from the end of the story?

    A. Dave was hopeful of catching a lot of fish.       B. Dave wished the weather would be better.

    C. Dave was happy that dawn was broken.     D. Dave expected someone else would come.

A strong wind was blowing hard, thunder was rumbling, and lightning flashed across the dark sky. Rain was    36   down; it looked as if heaven had been broken open.

Gleams of light appeared from windows of   37   houses, shining like jewels in all the dark.

A   38   woman dressed in rags and trembling with cold was   39   on a lonely road, while the merciless rain was   40   her without pause. She knocked at the door, and a   41   answered it. She begged him to let her stay a while   42  . The boy then let her into the sitting room and   43   her sitting by the fire.

The woman   44   old and tired under the bright electric light,   45   she was only in her early thirties. She sat   46   for a moment, and then her eyes began to look about the   47   . When her wandering eyes rested on the picture of a young man, she   48  up, looking thunderstruck. Just then, the boy came with his   49  . The man at once recognized the woman as his    50  . They had   51   touch with each other during the war, and he thought he had lost her forever.

  52   words needed to be spoken, They embraced each other   53   the boy stared at them, puzzled. k*s*5u

The storm was over and the sky cleared. Feeling very   54  , the couple stood face to face with their child between them, watching the rain as it gradually   55  .

A. pouring                 B. falling                   C. dropping                D. flooding

A. poor                      B. black                   C. faraway                    D. nearby

A. rich                       B. beautiful                  C. poor                      D. ugly

A. crying                   B. wandering               C. struggling               D. wondering

A. striking                 B. hitting                     C. flowing                    D. beating

A. boy                       B. girl                          C. woman                     D. man

A. out                        B. near                         C. outside                     D. inside

A. made                     B. left                          C. asked                     D. told

A. became                  B. showed                    C. appeared                D. sounded

A. so                         B. and                          C. however                 D. though

A. straight                  B. thirsty                     C. hungry                     D. still

A. room                     B. house                      C. picture                          D. fire

A. picked                   B. stood                       C. came                      D. looked

A. father                    B. mother                           C. friend                    D. brother

A. wife                      B. sister                        C. mother                      D. girlfriend

A. kept                      B. got                          C. made                     D. lost

A. Much                    B. Many                    C. No                           D. Not

A. as                         B. while                       C. when                       D. since

A. disappointed         B. sorry                        C. happy                      D. sad

A. began                    B. stopped                    C. ended                       D. wanted

A strong wind was blowing hard, thunder was rumbling (雷聲隆隆地響), and lightning flashed across the dark sky. Rain was   1   down; it looked as if heaven had been broken open.

Gleams of light appeared from windows of faraway houses, ___2___ like jewels in all the dark.

A   3   woman dressed in rags and trembling with cold was   4   on a lonely road, while the merciless rain was   5   her without pause.

She knocked at a door, and a  6  answered it. She begged him to let her stay a while   7  . The boy then let her into the sitting room and   8   her sitting by the fire.

The woman  9  old and tired under the bright electric light,   10  she was only in her early thirties. She sat   11  for a moment, and then her eyes began to look about the   12  . When her wandering eyes rested on the picture of a young man, she   13   up, looking thunderstruck.

Just then, the boy came with his  14. The man at once recognized the woman as his   15  . They had   16   touch with each other during the war, and he thought he had lost her forever.

17   words needed to be spoken. They ran into each other’s arms  18   the boy stared at them, puzzled.

The storm was over and the sky cleared. Feeling very   19  , the couple stood face to face with their child between them, watching the rain as it gradually   20  .

1．A. pouring      B. falling        C. dropping         D. flooding

2．A.blowing     B.breaking         C.shining           D. flying

3．A. rich         B. beautiful           C. poor         D. ugly

4．A. crying  B. wandering        C. struggling               D. wondering

5．A. striking  B. hitting         C. flowing                    D. beating

6．A. girl       B. woman                    C. man              D. boy   

7．A. out             B. near               C. inside            D. outside

8．A. left           B. made            C. asked                   D. told

9．A. became         B. appeared           C. showed            D. sounded

10．A. so           B. though              C. however               D. and

11．A. still         B. thirsty            C. hungry           D. straight

12．A. house            B. picture           C. room               D. fire

13．A. picked        B. came              C. stood               D. looked

14．A. brother       B. mother           C. friend               D. father

15．A. sister                B. wife          C. mother       D. girlfriend

16．A. kept         B. got                 C. made                 D. lost

17．A. Much         B. Many               C. No                     D. Not

18．A. as           B. while               C. when                D. since

19．A. disappointed          B. sorry          C. happy        D. sad

20．A. began             B. stopped             C. ended           D. went

B
　　Although man has known asbestos 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 he 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 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 fibers .
　　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”.
　60. 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
　61. 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
　62. Which is the most important character 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.
　63. 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

B
“It was all his own idea, ” says Pat Peters, the 38-year-old wife of Palo Alto, California high school football coach Bob Peters, 39. Bob had just drawn up a “motherhood contract” --a document stating that for 70 days this summer he would take over the care and feeding of the couple’s four children, plus all household chores. Although he didn’t even know how to make coffee when he signed, he was quite confident.(He thought the experience would make a nice book.)
After 40 of the 70 days, he was ready to give up. “I was beaten down, completely humbled（挫敗的）,”  admits Peters. Three weeks later he spoke to the local press, stating, “Not only is motherhood a difficult task, not only is it never-ending, it is an impossible job for any normal human being.”
Bob and Pat were high school sweethearts. After they were married in 1960, she worked as a secretary to help put him through university. Since then Bob has been the football and wrestling coach at Palo Alto’s Cubberley High while Pat raised the kids. Then two years ago Pat went back to work as a secretary at Cubberley. “I had been around children so much,” she sighs, “I couldn’t talk to a grown-up.” She continued to run the household, however----until Bob signed the contract, therefore, she decided to relax and enjoy it. 
Although Peters had consulted(咨詢) with his school’s home economics teachers and the head of the cafeteria, his meals were sometimes a disaster. “I tried to slip the butter I’d forgotten under the eggs after they were frying, ” he says. For the last three weeks, the family ate out a lot—sometimes having Macdonald’s hamburgers for lunch and dinner.
As for housekeeping, a home economics teacher had told Bob that a room always looks clean if the bed is made. “I found an easier way-I shut the doors, ” he says. Soon the kids were wearing the same clothes for a week. “I made them wear their shirts inside out, and when we went to pick up Pat at work they turned them right side out so they would look clean.”
Now that Bob has publicly admitted he was wrong, he is routinely sharing the child-raising and household tasks with Pat. The tentative（暫時(shí)的） title of his book about the summer is taken from something he shouted at the kids one day.
45. The couple signed the contract because _______.
A. Pat complained a lot about her doing the housework all by herself
B. Bob loved taking care of children and wanted his wife to have a good rest
C. they agreed that husband and wife should share household tasks
D. Bob thought it easy to take care of the family and wanted the experience for a book
46. It was agreed that if Bob failed to keep to the contract, he would have to _______.
A. pay a certain amount of money
B.  admit publicly he was wrong about motherhood 
C. say sorry to his wife         D. do all the housework for years
47. What can we learn about Pat Peters?
A. She was hard-working and selfless.   B. She was pretty and kind-hearted.
C. She was tired of the child-raising and household tasks.
D. She did not love Bob any longer.
48. Which of the following can best end the news story?
A. “Wait till your mother gets home!”    B. “My experience of being a mother.”
C. “I’m proud of you all, my dear!”     D. “Motherhood: an impossible job for anyone.”