In the fall of 1985, I was a bright-eyed girl heading off to Howard University, aiming at a legal career and dreaming of sitting on a Supreme Court bench somewhere. Twenty-one years later I am still a bright-eyed dreamer and one with quite a different tale to tell.
My grandma, an amazing woman, graduated from college at the age of 65. She was the first in our family to reach that goal. But one year after I started college, she developed cancer. I made the choice to leave college to care for her. It meant that school and my personal dream would have to wait.
Then I got married with another dream: building my family with a combination of adopt and biological children. In 1999, we adopted our first son. To lay eyes on him was fantastic—and very emotional. A year later came our second adopted boy. Then followed Son No. 3. In 2003, I gave birth to another boy.
You can imagine how busy I became, raising four boys under the age of 8! Our home was a complete zoo—a joyous zoo. Not surprising, I never did make it back to college full-time. But I never gave up on the dream either. I had only one choice: to find a way. That meant taking as few as one class each term.
The hardest part was feeling guilty about the time I spent away from the boys. They often wanted me to stay home with them. There certainly were times I wanted to give up, but I knew I should set an example for them to follow through the rest of their lives.
In 2007, I graduated from the University of North Carolina. It took me over 21 years to get my college degree!
I am not special, just single-minded. It always struck me that when you’re looking at a big challenge from the outside it looks huge, but when you’re in the midst of it, it just seems normal. Everything you want won’t arrive in your life on one day. It’s a process. Remember: little steps add up to big dreams.When the author went to Howard University, her dream was to be ______.
| A．a writer | B．a teacher | C．a judge | D．a doctor |
The author quit school in her second year of college because she ______.
| A．wanted to study by herself |
| B．fell in love and got married |
| C．suffered from a serious illness |
| D．decided to look after her grandma |
What can we learn about the author from Paragraphs 4 and 5?
| A．She was busy yet happy with her family life. |
| B．She ignored her guilty feeling for her sons. |
| C．She wanted to remain a full-time housewife. |
| D．She was too confused to make a correct choice. |
What does the author mostly want to tell us in the last paragraph?
| A．Failure is the mother of success. |
| B．Little by little, one goes far. |
| C．Every coin has two sides. |
| D．Well begun is half done. |
Which of the following can best describe the author ?
| A．Caring and determined. | B．Honest and responsible. |
| C．Ambitious and sensitive. | D．Innocent and single-minded. |
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题，每题2分，共40分）
Once a rich woman asked Martin Brown, a famous singer, to her house. She wanted him to sing for her friends, but she didn't ask him to have dinner with them. She told him to eat downstairs with the servants.
The singer was surprised. But he said nothing and went downstairs. After the meal he stood up and said to the servants, "Now, my good friends, I shall sing for you."
Of course, the servants were pleased. He sang them several songs. When they asked for more, he sang more. At 9 o'clock the rich woman asked the singer to come up to the sitting room. When he came in, he saw all the friends sitting and looking at him.
"We are ready now, Mr. Brown," said the woman. "You may begin."
"Ready for what?" asked the singer.
"For your songs, of course, "she answered. "But I have sung already!" said Mr. Brown, "and I can't sing twice in one evening."
"You have sung already!" said the rich woman in surprise. "But when? And where did you sing?" "Just now, downstairs." "Really?" she cried.
"Yes, madam," said the singer. "I usually sing for the people after I have dinner with them, you know."
And with a polite "Good night", he left the rich woman's house.
56. Martin Brown was
A. a rich woman B. a famous singer
C. a servant D. the rich woman's friend
57. The rich woman asked Martin Brown to her house .
A. to meet her friends B. to have dinner with her
C. to sing for her friends D. to do some cooking
58. What did the singer do after the meal?
A. He cleaned the house.
B. He went upstairs to see his friends.
C. He went home by bus.
D. He sang for the servants.
59. How did the rich woman feel when she knew that the singer had sung for her servants?
A. She was happy. B. She was angry.
C. She was surprised. D. She was sorry.
60. From this story we know.
A. the rich woman and the singer are very good friends
B. the singer didn't sing for the rich woman's friends
C. the servants didn't like Martin Brown's songs
D. the woman's friends were very pleased to hear the songs
Ever since t
he first skyscraper(摩天大楼) was built in Chicago in 1883, more and more buildings that reach for the skies have been constructed in the large cities of the world.
For many years, the Empire State Building in New York City was the tallest building in the world. It was 1250 feet high when it was opened in 1931. Then in 1951 a TV transmission⑨ tower was added for radio and television broadcasts. This tower added 222 feet to its height.
Soon other skyscrapers were built. The World Trade Center in New York, 1350 feet high, and 
Chicago’s Sears Tower, 1450 feet high. No one can say how much higher skyscrapers will go in the future.
Early skyscrapers were built with thick heavy walls of solid brick, stone, or concrete. Now the new skyscrapers are built with a steel framework⑩ that supports the weight of the building. The solid walls are no longer needed, and the framework makes it possible to build to greater heights.
Built at first mainly for offices and shops, some skyscrapers are now becoming homes for people who want to live in the center of the city. The 100-story John Hancock Center, a Chicago skyscraper that opened in 1970, is an example. Between the first and 43rd floor, there are offices and shops. There is a swimming pool on the 44th floor. From the 45th floor to the 92nd there are apartments. The people who live in these apartments can look down on the clouds instead of up at them.
67.What happened to the Empire State Building in 1951?
A. It was no longer the tallest building in the world.
B. A tower was added to it, which increased its height.
C. It was transformed into a radio and television broadcasting station.
D. It provided homes for people who wanted to live in the city center.
68.We cannot know how much taller skyscrapers will become in the future because _______________.
A. a TV transmission tower can be added
B. solid walls of brick, stone or concrete are no longer needed
C. the steel framework makes it possible to build to greater heights
D. some skyscrapers are now becoming homes
69.Originally, skyscrapers were built as _______________.
A. business centers and offices
B. radio and television broadcasting stations
C. apartment complexes
D. apartment and shops
70.How do people benefit from living in the John Hancock Center?
A. They can enjoy looking at the clouds above the building.
B. They have all the city center facilities nearby.
C. They can use the swimming pool on the top of the building.
D. They can work at offices inside the building.
Marilyn Monroe was certainly one of the most famous actresses of the twentieth century.She was known as the “Blonde Bombshell” and the “Sex Goddess of the Silver Screen”.However,surprisingly,this famous actress never won any major acting awards throughout her 15year career in the movies.Critics(评论家) may not have thought highly of her acting ability,but the huge number of her fans flocking to see her movies propelled(推进) her to fame and fortune.
Being a teenager,she found a job in a parachute packing factory during World War Ⅱ.A picture of young Ms Mortenson in a magazine led her into modelling.Hoping to move from modelling into acting,the young woman began trying out for acting jobs with several movie studios in Hollywood.She finally got a oneyear contract(合同)with Twentieth Century-Fox.However,Ms Monroe’s career as an actress did not start well.She was given small parts in several films which did n
ot do very well at the box office,and the studio decided to drop her contract.With no money and no work,the actress agreed to let a photographer take pictures without any clothes on for a calendar,for which she was paid $50.
In 1951,with the help of a friend,Ms Monroe got a sevenyear contract with the same studio again.The studio began putting the actress in movies playing a “dumb blonde”and Ms Monroe became a hit.After playing “dumb blonde” in six more movies,she got her first lead role in the movie Niagara in 1953,which did well in box office.She proved that she could sing and dance in her own sexy way in movies like Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire.She also showed that she could perform as a comic actress.
While her movie career went on well,her private life was not quite a successful.She had got married for three times,but all her marriage didn’t last long.Probably due to her addiction to alcohol and sleeping pills,she was difficult to work with and was fired.Two months later,she was found dead from an overdose.
63.How long did she stay in the field of the movie?
A.5 years. B.15 years. C.10 years D.20 years.
64.What did Ms Monroe do before she became an actress?
A.She made a calendar. B.She worked in a factory.
C.She designed clothes. D.All of the above.
65..In which movie did Ms Monroe have her first staring role?
A.Niagara. B.How to Marry a Millionaire.
C.Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. D.Some Like It Hot.
66.We can infer from the passage that .
A.what she was after were fame and fortune
B.what she liked most were alcohol and sleeping pills
C.she couldn’t get on well with 
others
D.she didn’t feel happy in spite of her fame and fortune
BUS SERVICE
New York City — Brennan, New Jersey
(Trip time: 30 minutes each way )
Timetable
●Buses leave the Railway Station, New York 7:00 a.m. and every half-hour thereafter(此后) until 11:30 p.m. (7 days a week).
●Buses leave Brennan Station 20 minutes before and after every hour from 6:20 a.m. to 10:40 p.m. (7 days a week ).
●Evening rush hours(5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.) buses leave the Railway Station, New York every 15 minutes (Monday — Friday).
●Holidays: buses leave every hour on the hour time, each direction.
All tickets must be bought at Window 12, the Railway Station, New York, or at the Brennan Station Window before boarding buses.
60. What time does a bus leave New York for Brennan every Thursday?
A. 10:20 a.m. B. 6:30 a.m. C. 6:45 p.m. D. 4:40 p.m.
61. Which is the latest bus you should take from Brennan if you have to arrive at the Railway Station, New York before 4:00 p. m. on Monday?
A. The 3:20 p. m
bus B. the 3:00 p. m bus
C. The 3:30 p. m bus D. The 3:40 p. m bus
62. What time does a bus leave Brennan for New York on Christmas Day
A. 1:00 p. m B. 9:40 a. m C. 3:15 p. m D. 8:30 a. m
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题，每小题2分，满分40分）
第一节：（共15小题，每小题2分，满分30分）
Strange coincidences（巧合）happened to the deaths of John F.Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln.For example,Kennedy was elected President in 1960 while Lincoln became President in 1860.Both were murdered from behind,on a Friday,and in the presence of their wives.The two men were exactly one hundred years apart and so were their murderers,Lee Harvery Oswald and John Wilkes Booth.Perhaps the strangest coincidence is that Kennedy’s secretary,whose name was Lincoln,advised him not to go to Dallas where he was shot later.Lincoln’s secretary,whose name was Kennedy,suggested him not going to the Ford Theatre,where he met his death.
56.The coincidence of the two presidents’ death were .
A.very mysterious B.just the same
C.rather different D.quite special
57.Where was his wife when Kennedy was murdered?
A.Maybe she was in a church
.
B.She was at home because the secretary had advised her not to go with her husband.
C.She was somewhere we don’t know.
D.She was with his husband.
58.Which of t
he following is NOT true?
A.The two murderers were one hundred years apart.
B.The two murderers fired their guns behind the two presidents.
C.The two presidents were shot in a theatre.
D.Both secretaries told the two presidents not to go where they were killed,but both failed.
59.What’s the passage mainly about?
A.Two strange presidents.
B.Strange coincidences between Kennedy’s and Lincoln’s deaths.
C.Both Kenney and Lincoln didn’t die in a natural way
D.Both Kennedy and Lincoln died on Friday.