Reading poems is not exactly an everyday activity for most people. In fact, many people never read a poem once they get out of high school.

    It is worth reminding ourselves that this has not always been the case in America. In the nineteenth century, a usual American activity was to sit around the fireplace in the evening and read poems aloud. It is true that there was no television at the time, nor movie theatres, nor World Wide Web, to provide diversion. However, poems were a source of pleasure, of self-education, of connection to other people or to the world beyond one’s own community. Reading them was a social act as well as an individual one, and perhaps even more social than individual. Writing poems to share with friends and relations was, like reading poems by the fireside, another way in which poetry had a place in everyday life.

    How did things change? Why are most Americans no longer comfortable with poetry, and why do most people today think that a poem has nothing to tell them and they can do well without poems?

    There are, I believe, three culprits (肇事者): poets, teachers and we ourselves. Of these, the least important is the third: the world surrounding the poem has betrayed (背叛) us more than we have betrayed the poem. Early in the twentieth century, poetry in English headed into directions hostile (不利的) to the reading of poetry. Readers decided that poems were not for the fireside or the easy chair at night, that they belonged where other difficult-to-read things belonged.

    Poets failed the readers, so did the teachers. They want their students to know something about the craft (技巧) of a poem, and they want their students to see that poems mean something. Yet what usually occurs when teachers push these concerns on their high school students is that young people decide poems are unpleasant crossword puzzles.

Reading poems is thought to be a social act in the nineteenth century because _______.

A. it built a link among people             B. it helped unite a community

C. it was a source of self-education            D. it was a source of pleasure

The underlined word “diversion” in Paragraph 2 most probably means _______.

A. diversity        B. change           C. amusements       D. happiness

In the last paragraph, the writer questions _______.

A. the difficulty in studying poems                 

B. the way poems are taught in school

C. students’ wrong ideas about poetry                  

D. the techniques used in writing poems

According to the passage, what is the main cause of the great gap between readers and poetry?

A. Poems have become difficult to understand.                      

B. Students are poorly educated in high school.

C. TV and the Internet are more attractive than poetry.

D. Students are becoming less interested in poetry.

根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容，從短文后的選項中選出能填入空白處的最佳選項。選項中有兩項為多余選項。（答案涂在答題卡上E=AB F=AC G=AD）

No．1 Will the economic climate improve this year?

    I don't think we will see too much improvement this year, but of course I hope so．

No．2 How important is an MBA compared to experience?

    I won't say a degree isn't important．一____1 ____．When I look at potential employees, I look at what they have done in the past that I can use to help me tomorrow．

    No．3 How can you ensure your job is safe with the economy so shaky?

No job is safe．Never will it be．The half-life of any particular skill set is, at most, five years．And that's on the long side．  2__Be curious, be willing to learn, have a moral compass and know what gives your life meaning．

    No．4 When the job market is this bad, how can you distinguish yourself as a andidate?

Know the company, its competitive position, recent announcements, stock-price history．Do a Google or Yahoo search on the person you'll be meeting with and you should be able tofind something about him or her．Then develop an "outsider's view" of their key needs and opportunities．  3___

No．5 I'm graduating from business school this spring．  4___

    If you haven't already secured an internship （職業(yè)院校證）within your chosen field, do sonow．Take any internship; forget about being paid．  5___ the experience in your field and the opportunity to check out onto a possible employee．Your connections, and your connections connections, will be the hot ticket to get you in the door for job interviews．

        A．You are after two things．

        B．Do all you can to be the solution to someone else's problem．

        C．Will technology create more jobs?

        D．Any job advice?

        E．But nothing beats experience．

        F．What will keep you alive?

        G．Different jobs needs different skills．

---Shall I tell your best friends what happened to you yesterday?

—           they ask you．

    A．Not if   B．Not unless   C．Not except   D．Not though

________ unemployment insurance would mean telling millions of our neighbors who are out of work today that they’re on their own.

A. Cut              B. Cutting          C. Having cut       D. Being cut

— I haven’t finished my task yet.

  — You shouldn’t have watched the film last night, or you _______ it by now.

A, need have finished                       B. may have finished

C. should have finished                     D. will have finished

It was about 5 o’clock in the afternoon _______ they had their supper.

A. that             B. what             C. before           D. when

Noise is unpleasant, _____ when you are trying to sleep．

    A． especially                          B． specially 

    C． extremely                           D． naturally

完形填空（共20小題；每小題1．5分，滿分30分）

閱讀下面短文，從短文后各題所給的四個選項（Ａ、Ｂ、Ｃ和Ｄ）中，選出可以填入空白處的最佳選項，并在答題卡上將該項涂黑。

He fell in love with her at the first sight at a party． She was so outstanding while he was so  36  ． At the end of the party, he invited her to have  37  with him． She was very  38  , but she promised．

Sitting in a nice coffee shop, he was too  39  to say anything． Suddenly he

said to the waiter,“Would you please give me some  40  ?” Everybody stared at him, so strange！His face turned red, but still, he  41   the salt in his coffee and drank it．

She asked him  42  ,“Why do you have this  43  ?”

He replied,“When I was a little boy, I was living near the  44  ． Now every time I have the salty coffee, I always think of my childhood and my  45  ．”

While saying that tears  46   his eyes． She was deeply  47  ． That was a really nice talk, also a beautiful beginning of their story． Later they got  48   … And, every time she made coffee for him, she put some salt in the coffee, as she knew that’s the way he liked it．

After 40 years, he passed away, leaving her a letter which  49  :

My dearest, please forgive my lie,  the only  50   I said to you --the salty coffee． The first time we  51   I was so nervous that actually I wanted some sugar． I  52   to tell you the truth many times, but I was too afraid to do that, as I have  53   not to lie to you forever… Having you is my biggest happiness even though I have to drink the salty coffee．

Her tears  54  the letter totally wet． Someday, someone asked her,“What’s the taste of salty coffee?”She replied,“It’s  55  ．”

A． handsome   B． pretty      C． humorous    D． ordinary

A． dinner B． coffee  C． tea     D． meal

A． surprised  B． disappointed    C． shocked D． ashamed

A． anxious    B． eager  C． nervous     D． serious

A． sugar      B． paper   C． salt    D． spoon

A． put    B． took    C． mixed  D． dipped

A． curiously  B． carefully   C． seriously   D． elegantly

A． interest   B． practice    C． hobby   D． act

A． city   B． village C． sea D． road

A． mother     B． family  C． hometown    D． friend

A． formed         B． filled  C． collected   D． appeared

A． touched    B． moved   C． inspired    D． encouraged

A． divorced   B． married C． drunk   D． hurt

A． wrote  B． spoke   C． told    D． said

A． request    B． will    C． fact    D． lie

A． danced     B． dated   C． gathered    D． talked

A． managed    B． offered C． tried   D． failed

A． promised   B． asked   C． ordered D． persuaded

A． romantic   B． salty   C． sweet   D． cosy 

What’s your idea of a good time? What about dancing in a rainy field with one hundred and fifty thousand other people while a famous rock band plays on a stage so far away that the performers look like ants?

It may sound strange but that is what many hundreds of thousands of young people in the UK do every summer． Why? Because summer is the time for outdoor music festivals．

Held on a farm, the Glastonbury Festival is the most well-known and popular festival in the UK． It began in 1970 and the first festival was attended by one thousand five hundred people each paying an admission price of ￡1 — the ticket included free milk from the farm．

Since then the Glastonbury Festival has gone from strength to strength — in 2004 one hundred and fifty thousand fans attended, paying ￡112 each for a ticket to the three-day event． Tickets for the event sold out within three hours． Performers

included superstars, such as Paul McCartney and James Brown, as well as new talent, like Franz Ferdinand and Joss Stone．

Although many summer festivals are run on a profit —making basis, Glastonbury is a charity event, donating millions of pounds to local and international charities．

Glastonbury is not unique in using live music to raise money to fight global poverty （貧窮）． In July of this year, the Live 8 concerts were held simultaneously （同時） in London, Paris, Rome and Berlin． Superstars such as Madonna, Sir Elton John and Stevie Wonder performed in order to highlight （強調(diào)） international poverty and debt．

What does the author mean by saying “the Glastonbury Festival has gone from strength to strength”?

    A． The festival has achieved growing success．

    B． Great efforts have been made to hold the festival．

    C． The festival has brought in a large amount of money．

    D． There have been thousands of fans attending the festival．

Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

    A． The Glastonbury Festival is run on a profit-making basis．

    B． Tickets for the 2004 Glastonbury Festival were in great demand despite the high price．

    C． Both James Brown and Joss Stone were born in poor families．

    D． In the 1970 Glastonbury Festival, one could have lunch on the farm for free．

We can learn from the last paragraph that _____．

    A． the Glastonbury Festival is not so popular as the Live 8 concerts

    B． the Live 8 concerts are held every year in London

    C． London, Paris, Rome and Berlin are famous for outdoor music festivals

    D． some superstars are concerned about global poverty

What is the best title for the passage?

    A． How to have a good time B． Charity events around the world

    C． The Glastonbury Festival    D． Superstars’ performances in charity events

完形填空（共20小題；每小題1.5分，滿分30分）

     I was in the kitchen making lunch when I saw my six-year-old son, Billy, walking toward the woods. I could only see his back. He  56   to be walking with a great effort, trying to be as  57  as possible.

    A few minutes after he disappeared into the   58  , he came running toward the house again. I went back to making sandwiches,   59   that whatever task he had been doing was completed. Moments later,  60  , he was once again walking slowly toward the woods.

      61  curiosity, I walked out and followed him on his journey. He was  62   both hands in front of him as he walked, being  63   not to spill the water he held in them. I secretly walked   64   behind him as he went into the woods and I saw the most amazing  65  .

    Several large deer loomed in front of him. Billy walked right up to them. I almost  66   at him to get away. A huge male deer with elaborate（精美的）antlers was   67   close. But they didn’t even move as Billy   68  . And I saw a small deer lying on the ground, obviously suffering from   69  and extreme heat, lift its head  70   to drink the water cupped in my beautiful boy’s hands.

    It was on this day that I learned the true lesson of  71  . You know, we hadn’t had any rain for three months and our crops were   72 . As the tears that rolled down my face began to hit the ground, they were suddenly   73   by other drops. I looked up at the sky. It was  74   God was moved to weep. The rain came that day and saved our farm, just like the  75  of one little boy who saved another.

A. happened    B. seemed   C. managed  D. intended

A. quickly    B. secret   C. smoothly D. still

A. distance   B. yard C. woods    D. park

A. wondering   B. thinking    C. studying D. doubting

A. eventually B. actually         C. however  D. therefore

A. Within B. Out of       C. Beyond   D. In spite of

A. holding B. waving       C. surrounding D. cupping

A. careful B. worried  C. eager    D. prepared

A. away   B. close    C. out  D. off

A. scene  B. story    C. view D. game 

A. fought  B. signed   C. screamed D. waited

A. hardly B. dangerously      C. easily   D. nearly

A. ran away   B. turned out  C. knelt down   D. settled down

A. hunger  B. disease  C. thirst   D. injury

A. in turn    B. in silence       C. with appreciation    D. with difficulty 

A. suffering  B. supporting       C. sharing  D. depending

A. dying  B. reducing     C. harvesting   D. growing

A. hidden B. covered  C. joined   D. caught

A. when   B. as if    C. because  D. that

A. wish    B. dream    C. action   D. expectation