It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.
Over the phone, his mother told him, “Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday.” Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel（纪录片） as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.
“Jack, did you hear me?”
“Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It’s been so long since I thought of him. I’m sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago,” Jack said.
Well, he didn’t forget you. Every time I saw him he’d ask how you were doing. He’d reminisce (回忆) about the many days you spent over ‘his side of the fence’ as he put it,” Mom told him.
“I loved that old house he lived in,” Jack said.
“You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man’s influence in your life,” she said.
“He’s the one who taught me carpentry. I wouldn’t be in this business if it weren’t for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important… Mom, I’ll be there for the funeral,” Jack said.
Busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr. Belser’s funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.
The night before they had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time, which was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture… Jack stopped suddenly.
“What’s wrong, Jack?” his Mom asked.
“The box is gone,” he said.
“What box?” Mom asked.
“There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he’d ever tell me was ‘the thing I value most’,” Jack said.
It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it.
“Now, I’ll never know what was so valuable to him,” Jack said sadly.
Returning to his office the next day, he found a package on his desk. The return address caught his attention.
“Mr. Harold Belser” it read.
Jack tore open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack’s hands shook as he read the note inside.
“Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It’s the thing I valued most in my life.” A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, and tears filling his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch. Running his fingers slowly over the fine cover, he opened it.
Inside he found these words carved: “Jack, Thanks for your time! Harold Belser.”
“Oh, My God! This is the thing he valued most…”
Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his assistant and cleared his appointments for the next two days. “Why?” his assistant asked.
“I need some time to spend with my son,” he said.Why did Jack think Mr. Belser died years ago?
| A．Jack was too busy realizing his dreams to think about Mr. Belser. |
| B．Jack was too busy with his business and family to think about Mr. Belser. |
| C．College and career prevented him from remembering Mr. Bleser. |
| D．His present busy life washed away his childhood memories. |
Jack’s mother told him on the phone about Mr. Belser EXCEPT that ______.
| A．Mr. Belser often asked how Jack was doing |
| B．Mr. Belser’s funeral would take place on Wednesday |
| C．Mr. Belser had asked for Jack’s mailing address |
| D．Mr. Belser had pleasant memories of their time together |
Why did Jack say he needed some time to spend with his son?
| A．He was very tired of his work and wanted to have a good rest. |
| B．He had promised to spare more time to stay with his son. |
| C．He had missed his son and his family for days. |
| D．He came to realize the importance of the time with his family. |
Which of the following is the most suitable title for this passage?
| A．The Good Old Times | B．What He Valued Most |
| C．My lost friend | D．The Lost Childhood Days |
B
For a 400-year-old art form, operas had a bad fame: overweight actresses singing the words which are hard to understand in one of those romance languages you were supposed to learn in high school. And with tickets costing as much as $ 145 a performance, opera goers also have a certain appearance in people’s mind: rich, well-dressed and old.
But now opera companies around the country are loosening their ties and kicking off their shoes in an attempt to bring the opera to the audience. It needs to keep it alive, the young and not-so-rich.
Opera producers have found that to attract this crowd, they need to make the opera closer to common people. That means no formal suits, old-styled theatre or band-breaking ticket prices. And because young people don’t or won’t come to the opera, companies are bringing the opera to them, giving performances in such unusual places as parks, libraries and public schools.
The Houston Grand Opera’s choice is the public library, where it performs “mobile operas”, shortened versions (剧本) of child-friendly operas. This summer’s production is Hansel & Gretel. By performing smaller versions of large productions, producers are able to make people interested while keeping costs at a reasonable level. The San Francisco Opera, which will be celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, is staging Cinderella free of charge, keeping costs down by employing students from its Young Artists’ Training Program.
45．Which is the main idea of this passage?
A．Opera is famous for its long history.
B．Opera is only performed for rich people.
C．Young people are not interested in opera.
D．Opera companies are trying to keep opera alive.
46．The underlined phrase “loosening their ties and kicking off their shoes” (paragraph 2) means ______.
A．breaking up the old rules B．changing the formal suits
C．making the audience at ease D．advertising themselves
47．The San Francisco Opera Company employs student actors in order to ______.
A．celebrate its 75th anniversary B．reduce the cost
C．attract young people D．make Cinderella popular
48．From the passage we can infer that ______.
A．the tickets for operas are very expensive
B．operas are performed in a difficult language
C．operas are not so popular an art form today
D．students enjoy performing operas very much
第二部分：阅读理解（第一节20小题, 第二节5小题；每小题2分, 满分50分）
第一节：阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题纸上将该选项标号涂黑。
A
Nate suffered a hard blow when he lost his job. His boss had spoken rudely, “Your services are no longer needed.” Nate left the building filled with despair. By the time he reached home, he was in a deep depression. When he entered his house, he blurted out to his wife Sophia, “I lost my job. I am a complete, utter failure.” A tense silence followed. Then a smile crept across Sophia’s face. “What great news!” she responded.
“Now you can write the book you have always wanted to write.”
“But I have no job and no prospect of a job,” YC he objected, completely without hope. “If I struggle to be an author, then what will we live on? Where will the money come from?” Sophia took her husband by the hand and led him to the kitchen. Opening a drawer, she took out a box that was full of cash. “Where on earth did you get this?” Nate gasped. “To whom does it belong?”
“It’s ours!” Sophia replied. “I always knew that one day you would become a great writer if only you were given the chance. From the money you gave me for housekeeping every week, I have saved as much as I could so you would have your chance. Now there is enough to last us a whole year.”
What a surprise! What encouragement! What a wife! The unemployed husband did concentrate on writing that year, and the novel he wrote became a literary masterpiece. The book is The Scarlet Letter. Sophia had an even greater achievement, and she turned Nathaniel Hawthorne from a poor clerk into a world famous master.
41．Which of the following can be inferred from the first paragraph?
A．Sophia was very disappointed to hear the news
B．Nate was too sad to speak any more
C．Sophia was thinking of how to encourage Nate
D．Neither husband nor wife had any idea what to do
42．Sophia saved money because ______.
A．she knew her husband would lose his job one day
B．she knew their life would be in difficulty
C．she was very careful with money
D．she was trying to help her husband in every possible way
43．From the passage we can know that Sophia was ______.
A．kind and brave B．careful and encouraging
C．friendly and warm-hearted D．honest and determined
44．What would be the best title for the passage?
A．Sophia’s Achievement. B．A great writer’s struggle to success.
C．Great encouragement in hard times. D．Failure is the mother of success.
D
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68．What does a person need most to be fit for the one-hour weekday job?
A．He should he cheerful, dependable, and easy-going．
B．He has to work from Monday to Friday．
C．He can remain calm in a difficult situation．
D．He can welcome guests and deal with phone calls．
69．According to the above information, what is the right thing to do when you swim ?
A．To keep close to the beach． B．To dive into unknown waters．
C．To use floating toys on the water． D．To swim soon after lunch．
70．The best title for the last piece of information would be_________．
A．Tips on Showing Interest in a Job
B．Steps to a Successful Interview
C．Advice on Introducing Yourself Politely
D．Rules of Body Language in an Interview
C
Napoleon, as a character in Tolstoy’s War and Peace, is more than once described as having “fat little hands．”Nor does he “sit well or firmly on the horse．”He is said to be “undersized,” with “short legs” and a “round stomach”．The issue here is not the accuracy of Tolstoy’s description—it seems not that far off from historical accounts—but his choice of facts：other things that could be said of the man are not said．We are meant to understand the difference of a warring commander in the body of a fat little Frenchman．Tolstoy’s Napoleon could be any man wandering in the streets and putting a little of powdered tobacco up his nose—and that is the point．
It is a way the novelist uses to show the moral nature of a character．And it turns out that, as Tolstoy has it, Napoleon is a crazy man．In a scene in Book Three of War and Peace, the wars having reached the critical year of 1812,Napoleon receives a representative from the Tsar(沙皇),who has come with peace terms．Napoleon is very angry：doesn’t he have more army? He, not the Tsar, is the one to make the terms．He will destroy all of Europe if his army is stopped．“That is what you will have gained by engaging me in the war!” he shouts．And then, Tolstoy writes, Napoleon “walked silently several times up and down the room, his fat shoulders moving quickly．”
Still later, after reviewing his army amid cheering crowds, Napoleon invites the shaken Russian to dinner．“He raised his hand to the Russian’s．．．face,” Tolstoy writes, and “taking him by the ear pulled it gently．．．” To have one’s ear pulled by the Emperor was considered the greatest honor and mark of favor at the French court．“Well, well, why don’t you say anything?” said he, as if it was ridiculous in his presence to respect any one but himself, Napoleon．
Tolstoy did his research, but the composition is his own．
64．Tolstoy’s description of Napoleon in War and Peace is ___________．
A．far from the historical facts B．based on the Russian history
C．based on his selection of facts D．not related to historical details
65．Napoleon was angry when receiving the Russian representative because ________．
A．he thought he should be the one to make the peace terms
B．the Tsar’s peace terms were hard to accept
C．the Russians stopped his military movement
D．he didn’t have any more army to fight with
66．Tolstoy intended to present Napoleon as a man who is __________________．
A．ill-mannered in dealing with foreign guests
B．fond of showing off his iron will
C．determined in destroying all of Europe
D．crazy for power and respect
67．What does the last sentence of the passage imply?
A．A writer doesn’t have to be faithful to his findings．
B．A writer may write about a hero in his own way．
C．A writer may not be responsible for what he writes．
D．A writer has hardly any freedom to show his feelings．
B
When former American President Bill Clinton traveled to South Korea to visit President Kim Young Sam, he repeatedly referred to the Korean president’s wife as Mrs．Kim．By mistake, President Clinton’s advisers thought that Koreans have the same naming customs as the Japanese．Clinton had not been told that, in Korea, wives keep their family names．President Kim Young Sam’s wife was named Sohn Myong Suk．Therefore, she should be addressed (称谓)as Mrs．Sohn．
President Clinton arrived in Korea directly after leaving Japan and had not changed his culture gears．His failure to follow Korean customs gave the impression that Korea was not as important to him as Japan．
In addition to Koreans．Some Asian husbands and wives do not share the same family names．This practice often puzzles(使困惑) English-speaking teachers when talking with a pupil’s parents．They become puzzled about the student’s correct last name．Placing the family name first is common among a number of Asian cultures．
Mexican naming customs are different as well．When a woman marries, she keeps her family name and adds her husband’s name after the word de (of)．This affects (影响)how they fill in forms in the United States．When requested to fill in a middle name, they generally write the father’s family name．But Mexicans are addressed by the family name of the mother．This often causes puzzlement．
Here are a few ways to deal with such difficult situations： don’t always think that a married woman uses her husband’s last name．Remember that in many Asian cultures, the order of first and last names is reversed (颠倒)．Ask which name a person would prefer to use．If the name is difficult to pronounce, admit it, and ask the person to help you say it correctly．
60．The story of Bill Clinton is used to ．
A．improve US-Korean relations B．introduce the topic of the text
C．describe his visit to Korea D．tell us how to address a person
61．The word “gears” in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to ．
A．action plans B．naming customs
C．travel maps D．thinking patterns
62．When a woman marries in Korea, she ．
A．continues to use her family name
B．uses her husband’s given name
C．shares her husband’s family name
D．adds her husband’s given name to hers
63．To address a married woman properly, you’d better．
A．use her middle name B．use her husband’s first name
C．ask her which name she likes D．change the order of her names