51. A. before B. though C. because D. unless 52. A. set up B. pushed up C. gave up D. looked up 53. A. rich B. famous C. successful D. powerful 54. A. training B. grades C. experiments D. abilities 55. A. woman B. doctor C. sister D. teacher 四：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
A
“What If”questions can help you think about what to do in case something should happen. There are no right answers because every case is different．Use the questions with your parents or with friends and decide what you think might work? Think of your own solutions and make up new“What If”questions to answer．
1 ) You are walking to school and a gang of older bullies(person who uses his strength or power to frighten or hurt weaker people) demands your money Do you：
a．Shout and run away? b．Give them the money?
Give them the money(or other possessions)一your safety is more impoaant than money. 2) You are in the school toilet and an older student comes in，beats you and then tells you not to do anything or?you?ll get worse?．You know who the person is and you have never done anything to him／her．Do you：
a．Wait until the person leaves and then tell a teacher? b．Get it a fight with him／her? c．Accept what happened and don?t tell?
Tell the teacher—you didn’t deserve to be beaten and the bully was wrong to do it．If you don't tell，the bully will just keep on beating up other kids．
3) A gang of bullies gets you alone and starts beating you．Do you： a．Do nothing—just take it? b．Fight back?
c．Shout to attract attention?
d．Watch for your chance and run away?
You must decide．but c.＆. d．together could work very well．It would be quite difficult to a whole gang of bullies and you might be hurt badly if you did．
4) Someone in your class always makes rude comments about you and says them loud enough for you(and others)to hear．It really upsets you．Do you： a．Ignore the comments?
b．Face the bully and tell him／her off? c．Tell the teacher? d．Hit the bully on the nose?
You may feel like beating the bully，but you’ll probably be the one to get into trouble if you do.Try a .first—ignoring comments is difficult，but can work if the bully gets tired of trying to get you to be angry or cry or show some reaction．Your teacher should be told about the comments because no one should make hurtful comments to others．If you are feeling brave，tell the bully off.Try practising in the mirror to get the right effect ! 56．What is the passage mainly about? A．The bully?s behaviors． B．The questions the students meet． C．The solutions to the students?questions． D．The advice on how to fight against the bully．
57．Using Situation 4，the author aims to tell the students that ． A．they should fight back immediately B．keeping calm is the first thing they should do C．only being brave can help them solve the problem D．they should practise boxing to defend themselves 58．We can conclude from the passage that ． A．all the older students like to bully the younger students B．if the students fight with the bullies，they will get hurt C．the teachers can help to solve the bullying problems D．the students?safety is more important than money 59．Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A．When the bullies ask for money，giving up the possessions is the right choice． B．When beaten by the bullies,the students should find a chance to run away． C．The bullies make rude comments to get the bullied students into anger．
D．The students are most likely to be bullied in the school toilet．
B
Feb 28, 2008
Dear Colleagues,
It is no secret that we are in the midst of one of the worst economic times in recent state history. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed $14 billion in cuts, which means cuts to parks, prisons, and yes, education. For our school district that figure translates to $12 million. We must have planned cuts in place before June 30.
We have been meeting with representatives of all the unions and management staff and a community-based budget committee to talk about ways of making budget cuts. We created a special link on the district website to provide information on budget cuts across the county. I?ve produced two videos, also placed on the special “Budget Update” link on the website. These videos have outlined what we?re doing to look at all programs across the district in our efforts to save money. We?re beginning a campaign where we?re going to encourage all of our employees and parents to write, call, and email their legislators (立法委员) to spare education from big cuts.
Despite the efforts we made to keep the cuts as far away from classroom as possible, we know we will have some serious decisions to make. With 87% of our budget going to employee salaries and benefits, we know these cuts may affect people. We?re hoping that those thinking of retiring will tell us soon so that we can also place people in those positions, if possible. We?re hoping that we can place people into open positions.
These conversations are not easy. I promise you, however, that we will be honest and open with you — that we will share with you all the information that was considered in making decisions.
Thank you for all you do for the students of our school district.
Sincerely,
Jesus M Gandara, Ed. D.
Superintendent
60. The letter is probably written by a(n) ___________. A. teacher B. administrator
C. parent
D. governor
61. What does the writer mean by “keep cuts as far away from classroom as possible”? A. Avoid talking about the problem in the classrooms. B. Spend the same amount of money building classrooms. C. Protect teachers and students from being affected. D. Keep the same number of students in the district.
62. The efforts made by the district include the following EXCEPT __________. A. meeting different people concerned B. providing information on the district website C. calling on teachers and parents to get involved D. forcing people to retire early 63. This letter is mainly to __________.
A. keep the employees informed about the budget cuts B. encourage people to join in the campaign C. warn people that they may lose their jobs
D. thank the teachers for what they have done for the students
C
Gossip (闲话) moves so quickly that few people have time to cover their ears, even if they want to.
“I hate it when others gossip about me,” said Mandy Miraglia, 16, a high school student from California, “but to be honest, gossiping with my friends makes me feel I am trusted and belong to the group.” Maraglia is not the only person who feels like that.
Gossip has long been looked down on as little more than nonsense and bad manners. But recent research shows that gossip has many positive effects on your social life.
“There has been a trend among people to dislike gossip,” said David Sloan Wilson, professor from the State University of New York in Binghamton, US. “But gossip appears to be a very important form of behavior in a group of friends, defining their group membership.”
For 18 months, Kevin Kniffin, from the University of Wilsconsin, US, researched the behavior of 50 people. He found that gossip levels went up when a sports team included a slacker,
someone who regularly missed practices or showed up late. Other members of the team would soon start to joke about the slacker?s shortcomings behind his back, because they think they are bad for the whole team.
Gossip about the mistakes of senior members helps newcomers rebuild their confidence after a failure.
It also helps relieve social and professional anxiety. Long-term studies show that people around the world devote from a fifth to two-thirds or more of their daily conversation to gossip, and men appear to be just as eager for gossip as women.
It is hard to judge gossip, but it is more powerful than you think. 64. The author would probably agree that ________.
A. gossip is bad manners B. gossip has many good effects C. gossip is somewhat like nonsense D. gossip is more powerful than advice 65. What does the underlined word “slacker” mean according to the context? A. Someone who values the team?s benefit much B. Someone who does not do what they are expected C. Someone who is active in sports D. Someone who shows no interest in sports
66. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage? A. Gossip is a useful way of building group membership. B. Gossip can possibly make people confident. C. Generally, women are more fond of gossip than men.
D. Actually everyone gossips to some degree in their daily conversation. 67. The second paragraph is used to ________.
A. show some people hate gossip B. list the bad effects of gossip C. point out gossip also has its benefits D. analyze the two sides of gossip
D
The hardworking blacksmith Jones used to work all day in his shop and so hard working was he that at times he would make the sparks (火星) fly from his hammer.
The son of Mr. Smith, a rich neighbor, used to come to see the blacksmith every day and for