It was a warm April day when a big fat envelope came in the mail from the only college I had ever imagined attending. I tore open the packet. My eyes were fixed on the word “congratulations”. I don’t remember ever smiling so wide.

Then I looked at my financial package.

The cost of Dream School’s tuition, room and board was around MYM 40,000—an impossible sum! How could I afford to attend? What good reasons did I have to go there when three other fine colleges were offering me free tuition? My other choices were good, solid schools even if they weren’t as famous as my first choice.

In my mind, attending my dream university would be the only way to realize my dream of becoming a world-class writer. My parents understood how I felt. They told me that even though it would be a financial problem, I could go wherever I would be happiest. But as 1 was always careful with money, I wasn’t sure what to do.

One of the schools that offered me a full ride had an informational dinner one night in the spring. Considering my parents’ financial difficulties, I decided to drive the 45 minutes and attend. At first, all I had planned to do was smile politely, eat free food, listen quietly. But I surprised myself.

At dinner the president of the university talked about the wonderful activities on campus including guest lectures and social gatherings. He also made it perfectly clear that free food would be offered at all future events. He continued with explanations of professors, class sizes, activities, and sporting events on campus. As he spoke, I began to realize that this school, though not as good as my first choice, might be the best one for me. It seemed small yet with many great programs. It seemed challenging yet caring.

As the president ended his speech, we clapped politely and pushed back our chain. As I walked out of that door, a feeling of comfort washed over me. Looking at the campus that night, I realized that I would be spending the next four years fighting there.

In all honesty, my university is not as well-known as my “dream” university. However, it turned out to be the right choice of schools for me.

59. How did the author feel when he started to read the letter?

A. He was full of joy.                 B. He was lost in his dream.

 C. He was worried about the money.     D. He was uncertain which school to go to.

60. We can learn from the passage that the parents were _________.

A. honest           B. strict           C. supportive      D. decisive

61. In Paragraph 5, “offered me a full ride” can be replaced by “_________”.

A. would pay for transport to the school    B. would show me around the campus

C. would offer free meals at all events      D. would charge me nothing for tuition

62. What does the author mainly want to say?

 A. Your second-choice college may actually be your best fit.

B. You should consider comfort in your choice of schools.

C. You should try your best to attend your dream school.

D. Your choice of schools should be based on their fame.

Computer programmer David Jones earns $35.000 a year designing new computer games. yet he cannot find a bank ready to let him have a credit card（信用卡）.Instead he has been told to wait another two years until he is 18. The 16-year-old works for a small firm in Liverpool where the problem of most young people of his age is finding a job .David’s firm releases（推出）two new games for the fast growing computer market each month

But David’s biggest headache is what to do with his money. Even though he earns a lot he cannot drive a car, take out a mortgage（抵押貸款）,or get credit cards. David got his job with the Liverpool-based company four months ago ,a year after leaving school with six O-levels and working for a time in a computer shop. “I got the job because the people who run the firm knew I had already written some programs” he said. David spends some of his money on records and clothes and gives his mother 50 pounds a week. But most of his spare time is spent working.

“Unfortunately, computing was not part of our studies at school” he said, “But I had been studying it in books and magazines for four years in my spare time .I knew what I wanted to do and never considered staying on at school. Most people in this business are fairly young, anyway” David added, “I would like to earn a million and I suppose early retirement（退休）is a possibility. You never know when the market might disappear.”

56．In what way is David different from people of his age?

A．He often goes out with friends     B．He lives with his mother

C．He has a handsome income        D．He graduated with six O-levels

57．What is one of the problems that David is facing now?

A．He is too young to get a credit card   B．He has no time to learn driving

C．He has very little spare time         D．He will soon lose his job

58．Why was David able to get the job in the company?

A．He had done well in all his exams

B．He had written some computer programs

C．He was good at playing computer games

D．He had learnt to use computers at school

59．Why did David decide to leave school and start working?

A．He received lots of job offers     B．He was eager to help his mother

C．He lost interest in school studies  D．He wanted to earn his own living

We have met the enemy and he is ours. We bought him at a pet shop. When monkey-pox, a disease usually found in the African rain forest suddenly turns up in children in the American Midwest, it’s hard not to wonder of the disease that comes from foreign animals is homing in on human beings. “Most of the infections （感染）we think of as human infections started in other animals” says Stephen Morse, director of the Center for Public Health Preparedness at Columbia University.

It’s not just that we’re going to where the animals are; we’re also bringing them closer to us. Popular foreign pets have brought a whole new disease to this country. A strange illness killed Isaksen’s pets and she now thinks that keeping foreign pets is a bad idea “I don’t think it’s fair to have them as pets when we have such a limited knowledge of them”says Isaksen

“Laws allowing these animals to be brought in from deep forest areas without stricter control need changing” says Peter Schantz. Monkey-pox may be the wake-up call. Researchers believe infected animals may infect their owners. We know very little about these new diseases. A new bug（病毒）may be kind at first. But it may develop into something harmful（有害的）.Monkey-pox doesn’t look a major infectious disease But it is not impossible to pass the disease from person to person.

60．We learn from Paragraph I that the pet sold at the shop may_______.

A．come from Columbia       B．prevent us from being infected

C．enjoy being with children    D．suffer from monkey-pox

61．Why did Isaksen advise people not to have foreign pets?

A．They attack human beings        B．We need to study native animals

C．They can’t live out of the rain forest

D．We do not know much about them yet

62．What does she phrase “the wake-up call” in paragraph 3 most probably mean?

A．a(chǎn) new disease               B．a(chǎn) clear warning

C．a(chǎn) dangerous animal           D．a(chǎn) morning call

63．The text suggests that in the future we               .

A. may have to fight against more new diseases

B. may easily get infected by diseases from dogs

C. should not be allowed to have pets

D. should stop buying pests from Africa

Sunday, October 5

Clear, 69°F

My wife, Eleanor , and I took the train from Paris to Strasbourg, where we were met by our driver and guide. And the minibus which goes along with the boat. We stopped off in Barn for an hour on the way. Then we were taken to Nancy where the boat was kept.

After the other passengers arrived, we had our first dinner on the boat. After dinner we walked into downtown Nancy, a village with a large square and wooden houses.

Monday, October 6

Rained last night, cloudy in the morning, 69°F

We spent about two hours in Nancy, then sailed on the Canal de la Marne au Rhine. Kind of a lazy day. Eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner, after dinner we watched a tape on Baccarat. Where we will visit tomorrow.

It was pleasant to sit out on deck （甲板）and watch the scenery go by at about 3 mph.

Tuesday, October 7

Light rain, 64°F

This mourning we drove over to Baccarat and toured its museum and the church , which has this unbelievable lamp that is going on a world tour the next day. We did lost of shopping , then walked across the bridge to see a very , very modern Catholic church with special Baccarat windows.

We drove to the top of the Voges Mountains and started down the eastern side. Later we drove to Sorrenbourg to see the 13th century church at the Cordeliers. It contains the largest window by Mar.

Wednesday, Ocrober8

Cloudy.65 °F

Today we sailed from Schneckenbush to Saverne. We went through two caves, an extremely unusual part of the journey. This river scenery is very different. We were in a mountain valley with grassland on one side and a forest beginning to show some color on the other.

Thursday, Ocrober9

Cloudy, 66°F

Our dependable minibus was waiting to load the luggage and take us to the hotel where everyone went their separate ways. Our boating days are over until next time.

68. Where did the author get off the train?

A. Paris       B. Strasbourg        C. Nancy         D. Barn

69. From the text, we learn that Baccarat and Sorrenbourg are the names of_________.

A. towns     B. churches      C. museums       D. mountains

70. What does the author think of the tour?

A. Tiring     B. Expensive      C. Enjoyable      D. Quick

A couple of years ago I took the family on a winter vacation to New York City to experience the holiday atmosphere. The longest lines that week weren’t in the hall of the Empire State Building at the Statue of Liberty ferry or any of the Big Apple’s other landmarks, but in the square at Fifth Avenue and 58th Street, where the crowd to get into FAO Schwarz snaked around the block.

It wasn’t until I got inside that it became clear how a toy store could trump (勝過) everything else that Manhattan offers between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Far more than a shopping experience, the hour we spent wandering along the passage at FAO Schwarz was more like visiting a museum of everything that children care for very much. And for me ------ and all of the other bright-eyed grown-ups ------ it was a trip down memory lane to the toys we knew as kids.

That’s the thing about great toy stores: Much like the best children’s films, they work on two levels, something for the kids and their wish-I-was-still-a-kid parents.

And FAO Schwarz is not lonely. America’s most unique toy stores are found from coast to coast, in big cities and also in small towns. A more traditional toy store is Mile Zone, which sells model cars. Owner Russ Burke started the store ten years ago.

“It’s such an addicting hobby,” says Burke, who admits that he originally created the store as a means to feed his own toy car collection. “Once you buy your first, you’re hooked forever.” The store stocks around 30,000 vehicles.

Mile Zone’s customers range from kids with interest in speedy toys to grown-ups who view the model cars as time travel back to their youth. “Muscle cars are really big right now because most of the serious collectors are in their 30s, 40s and 50s. I find that most car collectors go for things that bring back their childhood,” says Burke.

59. In Para. 1 the author mainly wants to tell us ______ in New York.

A. the distribution of people                             

B. the poor traffic conditions

C. the popularity of a toy store                           

D. the nice holiday atmosphere

60. FAO Schwarz provides a chance for adult customers to______.

A. enjoy convenient shopping                          

B. recall their childhood

C. study the history of Manhattan                         

D. learn the way of producing toys

61. Why did Burke first set up Mile Zone?

A. He hoped to bring happiness to kids.                  

B. He was interested in traditional culture. 

C. He wanted to show off his toy car collection.     

D. He hoped to increase his own toy car collection.

62. What do FAO Schwarz and Mile Zone have in common?

A. They both attract more than just children.              

B. They both deal with one main kind of toy. 

C. They both started from the inspiration of films.  

D. They both change adults’ attitude towards kids.  

Speeding off in a stolen car, the thief thinks he has got a great catch. But he is in for an unwelcome surprise. The car is fitted with a remote immobilizer (發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)防盜系統(tǒng)), and a radio signal from a control centre miles away will ensure that once the thief switches the engine off, he will not be able to start it again.

The idea goes like this. A control box fitted to the car contains a mini-cellphone, a micro-processor and memory, and a GPS satellite positioning receiver. If the car is stolen, a coded cellphone signal will tell the control centre to block the vehicle’s engine management system and prevent the engine being restarted.

In the UK, a set of technical fixes is already making life harder for car thieves. “The pattern of vehicle crime has changed,” says Martyn Randall, a security expert. He says it would only take him a few minutes to teach a person how to steal a car, using a bare minimum of tools, but only if the car is more than ten years old. Modern cars are far tougher to steal, as their engine management computer won’t allow them to start unless they receive a unique ID code beamed out by the ignition key (汽車等的點(diǎn)火開關(guān)).

In the UK, technologies like this have helped achieve a 31% drop in vehicle-related crime since 1997. But determined criminals are still managing to find other ways to steal cars, often by getting hold of the owner’s keys .And key theft is responsible for 40% of the thefts of vehicles fitted with a tracking system. If the car travels 100 metres without the driver confirming their ID, the system will send a signal to an operations centre that it has been stolen. The hundred metres minimum avoids false alarms due to inaccuracies in the GPS signal. Staff at the centre will then contact the owner to confirm that the car really is missing, and keep police informed of the vehicle’s movements via the car’s GPS unit.

56. What’s the function of the remote immobilizer fitted to a car?

A. To allow the car to lock automatically when stolen

B. To prevent the car thief from restarting it once it stops

C. To help the police make a surprise attack on the car thief

D. To prevent car theft by sending a radio signal to the car owner

57. By saying “The pattern of vehicle crime has changed” (Lines1-2,Para.3) Martyn Randall suggests that _____.

A. Self-prepared tools are no longer enough for car theft

B. the thief has to make use of computer technology

C. it takes a longer time for the car thief to do the stealing

D. the thief has lost interest in stealing cars over 10 years old

58. What is essential in making a modern car tougher to steal?

A. A GPS satellite positioning receiver

B. A unique ID card

C. A special cellphone

D. A code ignition key

59. Why does the tracking system set a 100-metre minimum before sending an alarm to the operations centre?

A. To give the driver time to contact the operation centre

B. To allow for possible errors in the GPS system

C. To keep police informed of the car’s movements

D. To leave time for the operations centre to give an alarm

Everywhere you look, large quantities of information in the world are pouring. This data flood is already starting to transform business, government, science and everyday life. It has great potential for good — as long as consumers, companies and governments make the right choices about when to restrict the flow of data, and when to encourage it.

A few industries have led the way in their ability to gather and take advantage of the data. Credit-card companies monitor every purchase and can identify cheats with a high degree of accuracy. Stolen credit cards are more likely to be used to buy hard liquor than wine, for example, because it is easier to overlook. Insurance firms are also good at combining clues to spot doubtful claims: dishonest claims are more likely to be made on a Monday than a Tuesday, since policyholders (保險(xiǎn)客戶) who stage accidents tend to assemble friends as false witnesses over the weekend. By combining many such rules, it is possible to work out which cards are likeliest to have been stolen, and which claims are untrue. By analyzing “basket data”, supermarkets can make promotions to appeal to particular customers’ preferences. The oil industry uses supercomputers to help them before drilling wells.

But the data flood also poses risks. There are many examples of databases being stolen: disks full of social-security data go missing, laptops loaded with tax records are left in taxis, credit-card numbers are stolen by online purchase. The result can be privacy made public, identity stolen and cheats permitted large space. Rather than owning and controlling their own personal data, they very often find that they have lost control of it.

The best way to deal with the data flood is to make more data available in the right way, by requiring greater transparency in several areas. First, users should be given greater access to and control over the information held about them, including whom it is shared with. Google allows users to see what information it holds about them, and lets them delete their search histories or modify the targeting of advertising, for example. Second, organizations should be required to disclose details of security breaches (安全漏洞), as is already the case in some parts of the world, to encourage bosses to take information security more seriously. Third, organizations should be subject to an annual security check, with the resulting grade made public (though details of any problems exposed would not be). This would encourage companies to keep their security measures up to date.

64. What is the best title for this passage?

A. Information Flood              B. Benefits of Data Flood

C. Harms of Data Flood          D. How to Use Data in a Right Way

65. From the passage we can infer that _____.

A. lots of data are lost because of hardware problems

B. online purchases are becoming more and more popular

C. credit cards are not so secure to use and will go out of use very soon

D. insurance firms have to investigate before they confirm their policyholders’ claims

66. Which of the following is the writer’s opinion about how to deal with the data flood?

A. Personal information should be used for public benefits.

B. The users should be given the right to access public information.

C. Companies should update their measures to guarantee their data safety.

D. Organizations should keep their resulting grade of security checks unknown to the public.

67. From the passage we can conclude that _____.

A. the data flood makes peoples’ life less convenient and more expensive

B. companies and insurance firms are responsible for the data flood

C. the information flood is more useful to organizations than to individuals

D. the information flood has both positive and negative influence on modern life

       The sun shone in through the dining room window，lighting up the hardwood floor. We had been talking there for nearly two hours．The phone of the“Nightline”rang yet again and Morrie asked his helper．Connie，to get it .She had been taking down the callers’names in Morrie’s small black appointment book .It was clear 1 was not the only one interested in visiting my old professor—the“Nightline”appearance had made him something of a big figure—but I was impressed with．perhaps even a bit envious of，all the friends that Morrie seemed to have

      “You know．Mitch，now that I'm dying，I've become much more interesting to people．I’m on the last great journey here——and people want me to tell them what to pack．”

    The phone rang again．

    “Morrie，can you talk?”Connie asked .

    “I’m visiting with my old friend now，”he announced．“Let them call back．”

    I cannot tell you why he received me so warmly．I was hardly the promising student who had left him sixteen years earlier．Had it not been for“Nightline，”Morrie might have died without ever seeing me again．

      What happened to me?

      The eighties happened .The nineties happened．Death and sickness and getting fat and going bald happened．I traded lots of dreams for a bigger paycheck，and I never even realized I was doing it .Yet here was Morrie talking with the wonder of our college years，as if I'd simply been on a long vacation

      “Have you found someone to share your heart with?” he asked .

       “Are you at peace with yourself?”

      “Are you trying to be as human as you can be?”

      I felt ashamed，wanting to show I had been trying hard to work out such questions．What

happened to me? I once promised myself I would never work for money，that I would join the

Peace Corps，and that 1 would w*w^w.k&s#5@u.c~o*mlive in beautiful，inspirational places．

    Instead, I had been in Detroit for ten years，at the same workplace，using the same bank，visiting the same barber .I was thirty-seven，more mature than in college，tied to computers and modems and cell phones．I was no longer young，nor did I walk around in gray sweatshirts with unlit cigarettes in my mouth．I did not have long discussions over egg salad sandwiches about the meaning of life．

      My days were full，yet I remained，much of the time，unsatisfied .

      What happened to me?

56．When did the author graduate from Morrie’s college?

      A．In the eighties．                        B．In the nineties．

      C．When he was sixteen                    D．When he was twenty-one．

57．What do we know about the“Nightline”?

A．Morrie started it by himself          B．It helped Morrie earn a fame．

C．The author helped Morrie start it．   D．It was only operated at night．

58．What can we infer from the passage?

       A．Both the author and Morrie liked travelling.

       B．Morrie liked helping people pack things for their journeys.

       C．The author envied Morrie’s friends the help they got from him.

       D．The author earned a lot of money at the cost of his dreams.

59．What’s the author’s feeling when he writes this passage?

       A．Regretful.      B．Enthusiastic.      C．Sympathetic.       D．Humorous.

Last week my youngest son and I visited my father at his new home in Tucson, Arizona. He moved there a few years ago, and I was eager to see his now place and meet his friends.

My earliest memories of my father are of a tall, handsome, successful man devoted to his work and family but uncomfortable with his children. As a child I loved him; as a school girl and young adult(成年人)I feared him and felt bitter(痛苦的) about him. He seemed unhappy with me unless I got straight A’s and unhappy with my boy friends if their fathers were not as “successful” as he was. Whenever I went out with him on weekends, I used to struggle to think up things to say, feeling on guard.

   On the first day of my visit, we went out with one of my father’s friends for lunch at an outdoor cafe. We walked along that afternoon, did some shopping, ate on the street table, and laughed over my son’s funny facial expressions Gone was my father’s critical(挑剔的)air and strict rules. Who was this person I knew as my father, who seemed so friendly and interesting to be around? What had held him back before?

The next day my Dad pulled out his childhood pictures and told me quite a few stories about his own childhood. Although our times together became easier over the years, I never felt closer to him at that moment. After so many years, I’m at last seeing another side of my father. And in so doing, I’m delighted with my new friend. My Dad, in his new home in Arizona, is back to me from where he was.

60．Why did the author feel bitter about her father as a young adult?

A．He was silent most of the time    B．He was too proud of himself

C．He did not love his children       D．He expected too much of her．

61．When the author went out with her father on weekends，she would feel______.

A．nervous     B．sorry       C．tired  D．safe

62．What does the author think of her father after her visit to Tucson?

A．More critical．           B．More talkative

C．Gentle and friendly．      D．Strict and hard-working．

63．The underlined words“my new friend” in the last paragraph refer to______

A．the author’s son                     B．the author’s father

C．the friend of the author’s father         D．the cafe owner

It was midnight in Paris and we were rolling toward Avenue Bosguet. As we came to the Pont Alexandra Ⅲ, the taxi slowed down, for the traffic light was red against us, and then, without stopping, we sailed through the red in a sudden burst of speed. The same performance was repeated at the Alma Bridge. As I paid the driver, I asked him why he had driven through two red lights.

“You ought to be ashamed of yourself, breaking the law and endangering your life that way,” I protested.

He looked at me, astonished. “Ashamed of myself? I am a law abiding(守法的)citizen and have no desire to get killed either.” He cut me off before I could protest.

“No, just listen to me before you complain.What did I do? Went through a red light. Well, did you ever stop to consider what a red light is, what it means?”

“Certainly,” I replied. “It’s a stop signal and means that traffic is rolling in the opposite direction.”

“Half-right,” said the driver, “but incomplete. It’s only an automatic stop signal. And it does not mean that there is cross traffic. Did you see any cross traffic during our trip? Of course not. I slowed down at the light, looked carefully to the right and to the left. Not another car on the street at this hour. Well, then! What would you have me do? Should I stop like a stupid animal because an automatic, brainless machine turns red every forty seconds? No, sir,” he shouted. “I am a man, not a machine. I have eyes and a brain and judgment, given me by God. Ashamed of myself, you say? I would only be ashamed of myself if I let those blinking lamps do my thinking for me. Good night ,sir.”

Is this bad, is this good? Frankly I am no longer sure...

60. At the Alma Bridge, ______.

A. the writer stopped the taxi and paid the driver              

B. the taxi went through a red light again

C. there was a performance the writer had already watched

D. the writer began to criticize the driver

61. To the taxi driver, a red light ______.

      A. was not a stop signal                            

B. should not work at midnight

C. sometimes made mistakes in judgment    

D. didn’t always mean that there was cross traffic

62. The main reason the driver dared to drive through the red light was that ______.

      A. he found there was no cross traffic there at that time

B. he thought it a shame to be controlled by a machine

C. he knew no other driver would see him at this hour

D. he didn’t trust any brainless machine

63. According to the passage, the driver thought what he had done was ______.

      A. law abiding（守法的）                               B .lawbreaking 

C. something to be proud of                             D .something to be ashamed of