A year ago, at the annual pre-Grammy party, Whitney Houston, the great star, walked on stage and closed the evening with a brilliant performance．

Last Saturday, Houston was once again the focus before the Grammy, but her presence was a regrettable one．Earlier that day, the pop music's former queen was found dead in her hotel room．She was 48．This, no doubt, is sad news to the whole music industry and her fans all over the world．

At her peak, Houston was the golden girl of the music world．From the mid-1980s to the late 1990s, she was one of the world's best-selling artists．She impressed audiences with her effortless, powerful and peerless performance．

Besides multi-million record sales, Houston made countless hits such as The Greatest Love of All, I Ha-oe Nothing , and the mostly famous I Will Always Love You．She also influenced a generation of younger singers, from Christina Aguilera to Mariah Carey．

       But by the end of her career, there was a shocking fall for this superstar．Houston had been addicted to drugs．Her album sales declined and the hits stopped coming and her once beautiful voice became hoarse （嘶哑的）, unable to hit the high notes as she used to．

In 2009, Houston staged a successful comeback with the album I Look To You, which fell on top of the charts．But hoarse voice, canceled concerts, and continuous illness-Houston's comeback trail wasn't smooth at all．In an interview with Oprah Winfreyin2009, Houston admitted: "It （show business） is too much for me and I wanted out．"

       Now that Houston has finally taken a break from all the chaos, may she rest in peace．

64．Whitney Houston died ______．

       A．shortly before the Grammy this year     B．earlier last Sunday

       C．a year ago                        D．at the annual pre-Grammy party

65．The underlined word "peerless" in Paragraph 3 most probably means ______．

       A．having great power                   B．having no equal

       C．requiring no effort                   D．leaving no impression

66．The cause of the fall of Whitney Houston was that _____ ．

       A．her album sales declined

       B．show business was too much for her

       C．her once beautiful voice became hoarse

       D．she had been addicted to drugs

67．Whitney Houston's achievements include the following except that     .

       A．She made countless hits such as I Have Nothing

       B．She influenced a generation of younger singers

       C．She became the focus before the Grammy this year

       D．She staged a successful comeback in 2009

September 21, 2050----At a press conference today it was announced that the first tourist heading for Mars will be the 38-year-old US businessman Patrick Clifford. He will leave the earth in the  launching window of June 2052 and set his foot on the surface of Mars in November, together with the other 6 astronauts assigned for the mission to further explore the planet.
Patrick has now two years of training ahead of him to get ready for the trip. Not only will he spend five months in getting to Mars, but another 600 days there before he can go back home.  Patrick was of course very excited, “ This has been my dream since I was four, and seeing the first man on Mars 20 years ago made me realize that it was possible.”
To be able to pay the $ 1. 3 billion for his ticket for the trip Patrick sold his majority stake (股份) in the company his father had built. “I know that my father would have been proud of me if he had still been alive today, he knew what this means to me”, says Patrick. There is no risk though that you will find Patrick begging in your street corner when he comes back, but it is said that he was paid twice as much for his part of the company.
So, how is he going to spend his 600 days on the red planet? “Well, since I don’t have a job when I get back after selling the company, I have plenty of time to come up with a new business idea”, he says and laughs. If he brings a shovel（铁锹）he can start building the first hotel there, but maybe he shouldn’t expect too many guests until someone can offer a cheaper ticket.
【小题1】How long will Patrick Clifford be away before he comes back?

四、写作（共两节，满分35分）

第一节 短文改错（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）

　　以下标有题号的每一行均有一个错误，请找出，并按下列情况改正：

　　此行多一个词：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉，在该行右边横线上写出该词，并也用斜线划掉。

　　此行缺一个词：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），在该行右边横线上写出该加的词。

　　此行错一个词：在错的词下划一横线，在该行右边横线上写出改正后的词。

注意：请在答题卡上作答。

John stayed up late last night, so while he woke up in the                     76．__________

morning, it was already 9 o’clock. He thought, “I was late for                        77．__________

school.” Then he got dressed quickly and washed him                                           78．__________

in no more than ten seconds and hurried into living-room                               79．__________

where his mother was preparing for breakfast. Before his mother                           80．__________

could say anything, he told her, “Mum, it is too late that I                              81．__________

have no time enjoy my breakfast. Good-bye!” With these words                            82．__________

he got his schoolbag but ran out. On the way to school, he                              83．__________

rode fast. It took him ten minutes, four minutes less than usually, to                84．__________

come to the school gate. To his great surprises, it was closed. “Ha!                  85．__________

It is Saturday! How forgetful I am today!”