Although I had left school against the advice of my teachers, I had, without telling a

Molly Wilson (1) a dancer and a mother for many years when she (2) to sail round the world to raise money for charity.

As a child she (3) as a ballet dancer, but at 15 she had grown too tall for classical ballet, so she (4) (A) a member of a pop dance team.

She (5) , and (6) she had children she retired from show business to bring them (7) . They grew up, and when they were 18 they left home.

She says, “When I decided to do the round-the-world race, my husband thought I was bored because the children had left home. He was also worried (8) I had never sailed (9) . I was not bored, but I (10) some people who told me about the race. They had taken part in it, but they had only done one section, say, from New Zealand to Australia. I wanted to do the whole ten-month journey.3”

1) A. is B. was C. has been

2) A. decidesB. decided C. had decided

3) A. had trained B. had been trained C. was trained

4) A. became B. had become C. has become

5) A. gets married B. got married C. had married

6) A. before B. when C. after

7) A. downB. up C. out

8) A. although B. however C. because

9) A. before B. ago C. since

10) A. met B. had met C. has meet

Passage One

Shortly after the war, my brother and I were invited to spend a few days' holiday with an uncle who had just returned from abroad. He rented a cottage in the country, although he rarely spent much time there. The cottage, however, had no comfortable furniture in it, many of the windows were broken and the roof leaked, making the whole house damp.

On our first evening, we sat around the fire after supper listening to the stories our uncle had had to tell of his many adventures in distant countries. I was so tired after the long train journey that I would have preferred to go to bed, but I could not bear to miss any of my uncle's exciting tales.

He was just in the middle of describing a rather terrifying experience he had, when there was a loud crash from the bedroom above, the one where my brother and I were going to sleep.

"It sounds as if the roof has fallen in!" shouted my uncle, with a loud laugh.

When we got to the top of the stairs and opened the bedroom door, a strange sight met our eyes. A large part of the ceiling had collapsed (坍塌), falling right on to the pillow of my bed. I was glad that I had stayed up late to listen to my uncle's stories, otherwise I should certainly have been seriously injured, perhaps killed.

That night we all slept on the floor of the sitting room downstairs not wishing to risk our lives by sleeping under a roof which might at any moment collapse on our heads. We left for London the very next morning and my uncle gave up his cottage in the country. This was not the kind of adventure he cared for, either!

What does the writer say about his uncle during the war？

A．He had a lot of adventures.

B．He fought as a soldier.

C．He made a lot of money.

D．He enjoyed many of his adventures.

I had to learn to say “please”, “sorry”, “thank you”, whether I felt it or not. Once, while buying a ticket to Waterloo, I forgot to say “please”. The man at the counter was offended and would not give me the ticket until I had said “please”. When he handed me the ticket, he said “sorry”, and hurried inside to take the only empty seat.

On the way to the office one morning, a man collapsed in my compartment. At Waterloo, everybody left, but I stayed with him until the ambulance arrived and was an hour late getting to the office. I was told that it was not my job to look after strangers.

I found that many did not even look after their own parents who were old and helpless. In India, it is the duty of the children to look after their parent and old relatives. While serving a meal, my mother always gave food to the elderly relatives and children first and ate whatever was left over. The elderly never felt isolated. They lived with their families and contributed to the happiness of the house.

31. How long had the writer stayed in England？

A. Just a year

B. More than a year

C. Almost two years

D. About ten months

32. What does the word “rarely” mean in the first paragraph？

A. seldom

B. always

C. often

D. independent while the wife is dependent

33. What did the writer mean when he said “many had a natural gift for gossip”？

A. Many British people were born speakers

B. Many British people were talkative.

C. Many British people were hot-tempered.

D. Many British people were talented

34. What did the writer mean to say by giving us the examples in the second paragraph？

A. English people are very polite because they always say “thank you” or “sorry”.

B. English people enjoy teaching others lessons of politeness.

C. He had to learn to say “please”, “sorry”, “thank you”.

D. English people say polite words without sincere politeness.

35. What does the last paragraph suggest？

A. Many old people in England were lonely because they were not taken good care of.

B. Old people in India never felt isolated.

C. The writer’s mother always ate whatever was left over.

D. Old people in most countries are respected.

Can ballet change Lives？

21.____Last night I was worried,very worried. I had the job of going to watch amateur ballet dancers performing on stage with one of the UK's top professional ballet companies. A performance like this seemed very risky and! asked myself, 'Are they mad？'Before I tell you the answer,I'll tell you why I had such big doubts.

22.____The idea of mixing amateur and professional dancers started a couple of years ago when two friends with very different jobs found a way of working together. One of the men had created an award-winning TV series. Musicality ,in which amateurs trained to perform. in the musical Chicago. The other man runs a charity called Youth at Risk which works with young people who have serious problems with aggression and antisocial behaviour. Although it was a risk, the two men thought they could make a TV programme in which ballet changed the lives of young people with problems.

23.____Their idea was this: if the young people could accept the strict discipline and challenge of ballet training,it would build their self-esteem and give them new confidence in themselves. The first step was to find suitable teenagers to take part and they asked teachers and youth workers already working professionally with young people at risk, to find candidates for the project. Through them 300 young people joined the programme and although about half dropped out,in the end sixty teenagers appeared on stage in the public performance.

24.____The ballet they chose was Sergei Prokofie's Romeo and Juliet ,choreographed by Sir Kenneth MacMillan. The story of Romeo and Juliet includes family conflict, the generation gap ,gangs, murder ,young love and teenage suicide so it is the perfect mirror for the lives of troubled young people in today's society.

25.____Going back to my original question: 'Are they mad？' The answer is definitely ‘no’. As soon as the ballet started, my worries disappeared. It was amazing how these unlikely dancers were magically transformed into their characters. At the end of the evening I was left with this thought: 'ballet can change lives'. It is a dancing cure, not a talking cure; it is silent so it stops arguments.

A. Why I love going to the ballet

B. Where the idea came from

C. Why I was worried

D. Romeo and Juliet is the perfect choice

E. A new star is born in Chicago

F. How they found the young people

G. My final thoughts

H. A dancer's life

A. though

B. because

C. although

D. as

A.are

B.were

C.have been

D.had been

Hardly ______ the office when it began to rain.

A) did I leave B) had I left C) I left D) I had left

A.left…alone

B.left…behind

C.left…aside

D.left… off

Although he refused to act on my suggestion, he had to admit that ______ what I said.

A．it was something in

B．there was something as

C．it was something as

D．there was something in

When we first met，I fell hard for Christopher right away. although I wouldn't call it love. I'd never been with a man who was prettier than I was，but after a while I got used to this. and it didn't bother me so much. I was recovering from a broken heart and needed something to help me move on. If it wasn't love，it was good enough，and when he asked me to marry him I jumped at the chance. knowing that it might be my last.

Things started out so well. I was working steadily and Christopher was patiently climbing up the ladder in his department. Then，without any warning，one gray winter afternoon in year five，he just upped and left his desk at the bank，handed in his resignation，and came home and told me he wanted to start an interior design business.

He has always loved mixing and matching，and has a real eye for color，texture，and shape，but the idea of turning a hobby into a business wasn't something we had ever discussed. I thought the stress of his job was becoming too much and perhaps he would take a few months off over the spring and summer to relax and get the idea out of his system. I didn't believe he could be serious. But once he had a few clients，he began to draw up plans，ordering catalogues and turning our empty workshop into a kind of makeshift studio with all of his sketches pinned to the wall. After spending a lot of time and money on all of this preparation，and really doing quite a nice job of it,he called each client in turn and apologized，saying he wouldn't be able to design their living spaces after all.

As a financial planner，Christopher______.

A．paid his clients very well

B．was trusted by his clients

C．was making his yoga studio profitable

D．could make his family's budget balanced