Robert performs his 24-foot boat past willow(柳树) young trees that stick out of the waters of the
Mississippi River. __1__ dances off maples(枫树), their branches heavy with __2__ spring leaves. But a
_3__ inspection discloses trouble behind the beautiful sight. Rubbish is __4__ in a logjam(浮木阻塞) and hangs from the tree"s branches.
For the next three hours Robert and his team pull plastic bags, tanks, bottles and __5__ bowling pins
out of the water. Then they __6__ for a picnic table caught in the trees. Welcome to the Mississippi River
Beautification Project begun in 1997 with Robert"s one man __7__ to pick up rubbish __8__ a 400 mile
stretch(伸展) of the 2,340 mile river. That year, often working __9__, the 22-year-old fellow cleaned 150 miles of shoreline.
At first the project appeared__10__ and useless. But Robert tried his best to find __11 , and with their backing, he soon had a new boat and five-man __12 -the Boom Crane Crew. Last year alone the crew
__13_ from the water 44,055 gallon durms,1,104 tires and enough plastic bags to __14__ a football
field. Much of the waste will be __15__.
"Robert"s operation is the only one actually in __16___on the river," says Mark of the Mississippi
River Basin Alliance, a union of environmental groups. "It"s the __17_I have ever seen in 20 years, and he
is inspiring others to do the __18_ ."
"The river has given me a livelihood and brought me so much _19_ ," Robert says, "I want to do
something in __20_ ."
1-5 ADCCB 6-10 CDDAC 11-15 ABBBD 16-20 BACBA
One summer evening I was sitting by the open window, reading a good science storybook. (1) I was so interested in the story I was reading that I did not notice that it was getting dark. When I realized it was too dark for me to read easily, I put the book down and got up to turn on the light. Just then I heard someone crying, "Help! Help!" It seemed to come from the trees at the other end of the yard. (2) I looked out but it was now too dark to see anything clearly. Almost immediately I heard the cry again. It sounded like a
child, but I could not imagine what anybody could be doing in our backyard, unless one of the
neighborhood children had climbed a tree and had not been able to get down.
I decided that I should to out and have a look in the yard, just in case someone was in trouble. I turned on the light and found for myself a flashlight and a stick in the room. I thought they might be useful. Armed with these, I went out into the yard. Once again I heard the cry and this time there was no doubt that it
came from the trees at the far end of the yard. "Who"s there?" I called out as I walked across the yard
towards the trees. But there was no answer. With the help of my flashlight, I searched all over that end of
the yard, including the branches of the tree. There was no sign of anybody or anything. I came to the
conclusion that my imagination was playing tricks on me, probably because of the story I was reading
about strange creatures on another planet.
Feeling rather foolish about hunting around in my own backyard with a baseball bat, I went back into
the house and put the bat and the flashlight away. I had just sat down to read my book again when I was
frightened by the cry of "Help! Help!" from right behind me. I dropped my book and jumped up. There,
sitting on the table was a large green and red bird. It was my neighbor"s parrot(鹦鹉)! While I was out in
the yard, the parrot must have seen the light in the living room and come in through the open window.
| ( )1. A. lay ( )2. A. newspaper ( )3. A. when ( )4. A. drink ( )5. A. found ( )6. A. book ( )7. A. but ( )8. A. away ( )9. A. failed ( )10. A. paper | B. sat B. magazine B. because B. help B. thought B. mouth B. therefore B. up B. succeeded B. luggage | C. looked C. book C. as C. food C. felt C. arms C. so C. down C. missed C. feet | D. got D. letter D. while D. sleep D. expected D. shirt D. however D. out D. refused D. hands |
| 完形填空。 | |||
| As Christmas drew near, Ursula was faced with just that problem. She had come to live in an American home and learn English. 1 , she would mind the children and do anything she was asked. One of her tasks was to keep track of arriving Christmas presents. Ursula did this faithfully, but she became increasingly worried. What could she buy for her 2 with the little money she had that would compare with the gifts she was recording daily? 3 , even without any of the gifts, her employer seems to have everything. Ursula 4 long and hard. On Christmas Eve, she went to a store. She moved slowly through crowds of shoppers, 5 things in her mind. Finally she bought a baby dress. She immediately called a taxi. "Excuse me, please, can you help me find a poor family with a baby?" "A poor family?" said the 6 driver. "Yes, a very poor family." Ursula told the man what she was trying to do. He listened in silence, and then said, "I know a family who needs just about everything." When they reached a building, the driver said, "They live on the third floor." Ursula shook her head, "Would you take this dress to them and tell them it"s from someone...someone who has everything." Early the next day, Ursula 7 everyone for the presents she received. Then, she began to 8 why there seemed to be none from her. She told about what she did the night before. When she finished, there was a long 9 . "You see," she added, "I try to do a kindness in your 10 . And this is my Christmas present to you." | |||
| ( )1. A. In return ( )2. A. own family ( )3. A. Otherwise ( )4. A. talked ( )5. A. selecting ( )6. A. delighted ( )7. A. thanked ( )8. A. settle ( )9. A. delay ( )10. A. case | B. As a result B. classmates B. Therefore B. thought B. matching B. anxious B. encouraged B. repeat B. silence B. opinion | C. By the way C. friend C. Besides C. waited C. remembering C. surprised C. praised C. argue C. time C. memory | D. In a sense D. American family D. But D. worked D. organizing D. respectful D. admired D. explain D. break D. name |
| 阅读理解。 | |||
| Much as Robby tried, he lacked the sense of tone and basic rhythm (节奏). But he dutifully reviewed his lessons. Over the months he tried and tried, and often repeating to me "My mom"s going to hear me play some day." But he seemed hopeless, with no born ability. A real bad advertisement for my teaching!I was so happy when one day he stopped coming. Several weeks later my students are to have a recital (演奏会). To my surprise, Robby came, asking to play in the recital. "But, it is for current pupils, you dropped." "My mom was sick. But I have been practicing. I"ve just got to play!" I don"t know what led me to agree, maybe …. The recital came. I put Robby up last to play before my "curtain closer", by which, I could save the recital if … The recital went off well. Robby came up on stage, clothes wrinkled and his hair looked like he"d run an egg-beater through it. "How could his mom …?" Robby pulled out the piano bench and began. It was Mozart"s work! I was not prepared for what I heard next. Like in a dream, I was then woken up by the wild applause, everybody was on their feet! "I"ve never heard you play like that Robby! How"d you do it?" Through the microphone Robby explained: "Well, Miss Hondorf, remember I told you my mom was sick? Actually she had cancer and died this morning. She was born deaf, tonight was the first time she ever heard me play. I wanted to make it special." My eyes were wet. He was not a student of mine, but a teacher! | |||
| 1. What can be inferred from the underlined sentence? | |||
| A. The writer was fully confident that Robby would perform well B. The writer thought that Robby would make the recital special. C. The writer thought that Robby wouldn"t play at the recital then. D. The writer had no confidence in Robby at all for the recital. | |||
| 2. What made the boy succeed in the recital? | |||
| A. Love for his mother B. Musical talent C. The writer"s help D. Regular practice | |||
| 3. What made the writer think that Robby was her teacher, not student? | |||
| A. That he played better than her in the recital. B. That he loved his mother more than she did. C. That he never gave up. D. That the audience gave him more applause than her. | |||
| 4. What is the highlight of the recital? | |||
| A. The writer"s performance B. Robby"s performance. C. Robby and his mom"s story. D. The audience"s applause. | |||