At Blossom End Railroad Station, 22-year-old Stanley Vine sat, waiting for his new employer. The surrounding green fields were so unlike the muddy landscape of war-torn France. After four horrible years as an army private fighting in Europe, Stanley had returned to England in February 1946. Armed now with some savings and with no prospects for a job in England, he answered a newspaper ad for farm help in Canada. Two months later he was on his way.

When the old car rumbled toward the tiny station, Stanley rose to his feet, trying to make the most of his five foot, four inch frame. The farmer, Alphonse Lapine, shook his head and complained, “You’re a skinny thing.” On the way to his dairy farm, Alphonse explained that he had a wife and seven kids. “Money’s tight. You’ll get room and board. You’ll get up at dawn for milking, and then help me around the farm until evening milking time again. Ten dollars a week. Sundays off.” Stanley nodded. He had never been on a farm before, but he took the job.

From the beginning Stanley was treated horribly by the whole family. They made fun of the way he dressed and talked. He could do nothing right. The humourless farmer frequently lost his temper, criticizing Stanley for the slightest mistake. The oldest son, 13-year-old Armand, constantly played nasty tricks on him. But the kind-hearted Stanley never responded.

Stanley never became part of the Lapine family. After work, they ignored him. He spent his nights alone in a tiny bedroom. However, each evening before retiring, he lovingly cared for the farmer’s horses, eagerly awaiting them at the field gate. He called them his gentle giants. On Saturday nights he hitch-hiked into the nearest town and wandered the streets or enjoyed a restaurant meal before returning to the farm.

Early one November morning Alphonse Lapine discovered that Stanley had disappeared, after only six months as his farmhand. The railway station master, when questioned later that week, said he had not seen him. In fact no one in the community ever heard of him again. That is, until one evening, almost 20 years later, when Armand, opened an American sports magazine and came across a shocking headline, “Millionaire jockey(賽馬騎師), Stanley Vine, ex-British soldier and 5-time horse riding champion, began life in North America as a farmhand in Canada.”

56. Stanley Vine decided to go to Canada because ________.

A. he couldn’t find a job in England              B. he wanted to serve in the Canadian army

C. he loved working as a farmhand              D. he wanted to escape from war-torn France

57. Which of the following is True according to the passage?

A. Stanley joined the Canadian army when he was 18 years old.

B. On the farm Stanley had to milk the cows 14 times a week.

C. The Lapine family were rich but cruel to Stanley.

D. Stanley read about the job offer in a newspaper.

58. What can we infer from the passage?

A. Stanley’s weekly salary was not enough for him to live on.

B. When Stanley first met his employer, he tried to impress him but failed

C. Stanley had never worked on a farm, so he made a lot of mistakes.

D. Stanley left the farm by train, without telling anyone why he did so.

59. What did Stanley like doing after work each day?

A. Hitch-hiking to different towns.                B. Wandering around the farm alone.

C. Preparing meals on the farm.                   D. Caring for the farmer’s horses.

60. Why was Armand so astonished when he read about Stanley in the magazine?

A. He had no idea Stanley had always been a wealthy man.

B. He didn’t expect Stanley to become such a success.

C. He didn’t know his father paid Stanley so little money.

D. He didn’t know Stanley had been a British soldier.

As young parents, my husband and I felt that at age 6 and 8, our children were old enough to be cleaning their  36  and making their beds. But they thought otherwise. My complaints, repeating myself, even self-justified shouting were landing on  37  ears. I felt  38 , and very often a whole afternoon’s scolding would end with their  39  into tears, I realized I needed to  40  my methods of “mothering”.

One day while they were at school, I had great fun  41  their rooms. On their desks, in plain  42 , I left the cards: “Dear Bill (the other card was  43  to Sarah), your room was messy this morning and I’m sure you like it clean. Love, the House Fairy. ” 44  arriving back, the children were  45     excited to receive the little note from the House Fairy. The next day, their rooms were fairly tidy. Sure enough, there was another note from the House Fairy  46  for them, thanking them for their nice “gift” of a clean room and  47  asking them to play a certain violin  48 . Each day, thank--you notes would be worded differently to keep the ideas  49 .

Sometimes the House Fairy would propose a little  50 : “If you can finish your homework today and  51  it before dinner, I’ d like to watch a particular television program with you tonight. ” Sometimes some colored markers or other little items would be left in  52  of jobs especially well done the day before.

53  I can’t remember how long “the House Fairy” continued leaving her love notes. When they were no longer age appropriate, we used various versions of Post-Its. The bathroom mirror became the    54  centre of our home. Appointments, notices about visiting relatives, lesson schedules, and changes in plans could be posted.

We all benefited from and  55  the idea of sharing reminders and daily details of life through notes. I believe the true legacy(遺留、遺產(chǎn)) of the House Fairy notes survives in our frequent and enjoyable communication.

36. A. shoes            B. clothes              C. rooms              D. items

37. A. side             B. deaf                      C. neither               D. either

38. A. tiring            B. shocked                C. annoyed        D. boring

39. A. bursting       B. breaking           C. crying                D. bumping

40. A. adopt             B. adjust          C. access               D. addict

41. A. moving          B. tidying        C. painting                 D. clearing

42. A. distance       B. words                   C. speech               D. sight

43. A. sent            B. read                   C. delivered      D. addressed

44. A. As              B. At                     C. Of                     D. Upon

45. A. more than     B. rather than                  C. no more than    D. other than

46. A. asking           B. waiting            C. praying                 D. expecting

47. A. casually       B. directly             C. gently                 D. toughly

48. A. music           B. song                               C. piece                  D. tone

49. A. respectable    B. uninteresting       C. incredible                           D. fresh

50. A. challenge         B. question                C. suggestion                           D. advice

51. A. go with          B. go through              C. look up                 D. look into

52. A. response         B. answer                C. praise                  D. honor

53. A. Actually             B. Even so                 C. Even if                  D. Though

54. A. reminder      B. main                                         C. memory                  D. life

55. A. learned          B. thanked                C. shared                  D. appreciated

 Don't be too hard on the boys .After all, it was for the first time _____ they made such a mistake.

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

 Progress so far has been very good, we are, _____, confident that the project will be completed ahead of time .

A. nevertheless        B. moreover              C. however             D. therefore

 You are creating something out of nothing, _____ means, in one sense, _____ none of it is true．

A. that; that         B. which; which         C. which; that             D. that; which

 China's president meets with Japan's prime minister, urging Tokyo to _____ on its World War II aggression and support its apologies with actions.

A. reflect                     B. recall                     C. recover                 D. respond

---- How could I thank you enough?

----Don’t mention it．Any other man _____ that．

A .would do　　　 　 B. will do　 　　　 C. would have done　 D. had done

If you have a job, _____ yourself to it and finally you'll succeed．

　　　 A. being devoted B. devoted C. devoting D. do devote

Until we have discussed all the details, no decision _____ about any new operations.

A. is made B. is being made C. has been made 　　　 D. will be made

 Now it’s not easy for new graduates to find a job, for most companies tend to give _____ to applicants with some experience.

A. preference                  B. benefit               C. ambition                   D. competition