第三部分阅读理解(共15小题，每小题2分，满分30分)
A
Our first winter in Canada was the happiest we have ever experienced. We were living in the countryside then and had just arrived from Hong Kong that autumn. One evening in mid December snow began to fall. When we looked out of the window and saw that it was snowing, we all cheered. It was the first snow we had ever seen and we were excited. We could hardly wait  for the snow to stop so that we could go out lo play. Next morning when we woke up,it was still snowing. We switched on the radio and learned that more than ten inches of snow had fallen during the night and that since the roads were blocked, there would he no school that day. We jumped up and down for joy and beg mother to let us go outside to play in the snow, She said we could go out after breakfast if we dressed warmly and promised to come back as soon as we felt cold. When we went out, the snow had almost stopped. The roads, paths, gardens, and playgrounds were all hidden under a white blanket of soft snow. It was the most beautiful sight we had ever seen. Just then we saw some neighbours, children coming out to play. We ran over to join them. Together we built a snowman and a snow house. After that, we took turns sliding down a hill on a large piece of carboard. We were having so much fun when supper time came. Mother almost had to force us to go in and eat.
56. The children in the story had come from Hong Kong______ before the event described in the story happened
A. a year       B. the summer     C. a few weeks   D. the winter
57. The children were jumping with joy when they saw the snow because        .
A. they would go to school the following day
B. it was the first time they had seen snow
C. their mother would buy them warm clothes
D. they liked cold winter
58. When the children asked their mother lo let them go out to play, she ____.
A. asked them to go to school          B. refused to let them go outside
C. told them to switch on the radio .     D. told them to wait until after breakfast

  When I was thirteen, my family moved from Boston to Tucson, Arizona.  36  the move, my father  37  us in the living-room on a freezing January night. My sisters and I sat around the fire, not   38  that the universe would suddenly change its course. "In May, we're  39  to Arizona."

     The words, so small, didn't seem  40  enough to hold my new life. But the world changed and I awoke on a tram moving across the country. I watched the  41_  change from green trees to flat dusty plains to high mountains as I saw strange new plants that  42  mysteries(奥秘) yet to come. Finally, we arrived and  43  into own new home.

     44  my older sisters were sad at the loss of friends, I   45   explored(探索) our

new surroundings.

     One afternoon, I was out exploring  46  and saw a new kind of cactus(仙人掌). I crouched (蹲) down for a closer look. "You'd better not  47  that."

     I turned around to see an old woman

     "Are you new lo this neighborhood?" I explained that I was,  48 , new to the entire state.

     "My name is Ina Thorne. Have you got used to life in the  49 ? It must be quite a   _50  after living in Boston."

     How could I explain how I  51  the desert? I couldn't seem to find the right words.

     "It's vastness," she offered. “That vastness  52  you stand on the mountains overlooking the desert -- you can  53  how little you are in comparison with the world.  _54 , you feel that the possibilities are limitless.”

     That was it. That was the feeling I'd bad ever since I'd first seen the mountains of my new home. Again, my  55  would change with just a few simple words.

     "Would you like to come to my home tomorrow? Someone should teach you which plant you should and shouldn't touch."

It's really true what people say about English politeness: it's everywhere．When squeezing past someone in a narrow aisle, people say "sorry"．When getting off a bus, English passengers say "thank you" rather than the driver．In Germany, people would never dream of doing these things．

After all, squeezing past others sometimes can't be avoided．and the bus driver is merely doing his job．I used lo think the same way, without questioning it, until I started traveling to the British Isles and came to appreciate some more polite ways of communicating with people．

People thank each other everywhere in England, all the time．When people buy something in a shop, customer and retail assistant in most cases thank each other twice or more．In Germany, it would be exceptional to hear more than one thank you in such a conversation．British students thank their lecturers when leaving the room．English employers thank their employees for doing their jobs as opposed to Germans, who would normally think that paying their workers money is already enough．

Another thing I observed during my stay was that English people rarely criticize others．Even when I was working and mistakes were pointed out to me．my employers stressed several times but none of their explanations were intended as criticism．It has been my impression that by avoiding criticism, English people are making an effort to make others feel comfortable．This also is shown in other ways．British men still open doors for women, and British men are more likely to treat women to a meal than German men．However, 1 do need to point out here that this applies to English men a bit more than it would to Scottish men' Yes, the latter are a bit tightfisted．

1.What is the author's attitude towards English politeness?

    A．He appreciates it                    B．He gives no personal opinion

    C．He thinks it is artificial             D．He thinks it goes too far．

2.What can we learn about customers and retail assistants in Germany?

    A．It's always a retail assistant who says thank you．

    B．A customer never says thank you to a retail assistant．

    C．They always say thank you to each other．

    D．They may say thank you only once．

3.We can learn from the last paragraph that Scottish men _____．

    A．are more likely to be involved in a fighting．

    B．are not so willing to spend money for women．

    C．are more polite than English men.

    D．treat women in a polite way.

4.The author develops the text through the method of         .

    A．giving comments                      B．telling stories

    C．making comparisons       D．giving reasons

Death Valley is a land of beautiful yet dangerous extremes. Death Valley can be dangerously cold      during the winter months. Storms in the mountains can produce sudden flooding on the floor of the Valley.
The air temperature during the summer has been as high as fifty- seven degrees Celsius. The sun can heat the ground so that the temperature of the rocks and soil can be as high as seventy -four degrees Celsius.                                                                     
Death Valley contains evidence of several ancient volcanoes that caused huge explosions. Evidence of one of these explosions is called Ubehebe Crater. The explosion left a huge hole in the ground almost a kilometer and a half wide. In many areas of Death Valley it is easy to see where the ground has been pushed up violently by movement deep in the Earth. This movement has created unusual and beautiful rock formations. Some are red. Others are dark brown, gray, yellow or black.
The area was named by a woman in 1849. Thousands of people from other parts of the ountry traveled Lo the gold mining areas in California. They were in a hurry to get there before other people did. One group trying to reach California decided to take a path called the Old Spanish Trail. By December they had reached Death Valley. They did not have to survive the terrible heat of summer, hut there was still an extreme lack of water. There were few plants for their work animals to eat.
The people could not find a pass through the call mountains to the west of the Valley. Slowly, they began co suffer from a lack of food. To survive, they killed their work animals for food and began to walk out of the Valley. As they left, one woman looked back and said, “Good -bye, death valley.”  The name has never been changed.
Almost everyone who visits Death Valley visits a huge house called Scotty' s Castle. The building design is Spanish, with high thick walls to provide protection from the fierce heat.
The castle is named for Walter Scott , called Scotty by his friends. He was a gold miner. He told everyone that he built the house with money he made from his gold mine. Many people believed him. But it was not really the truth.
【小题1】The first two paragraphs discuss Death Valley' s               ．

第二卷

第四部分：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lO分。)

此题要求改正所给短文中的错误。对标有题号的每一行作出判断，如无错误，在该行右边的横线上画一个勾(√)；如果有错误(每行只有一个错误)，则按下列情况改正：

此行多一词：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。

此行错一词：在错词下划一横线，在该行右边横线上写出改正后的词。

注意：原行没有错的不要改。

Dear Mr. Smith,

I am writing to tell you a piece of excited news:                       76.___________

I won first place in the Spoken English Competition of            77.___________

our city. The achievement that I made it is due to your             78.___________

kind help. You spent so much time help me with my spoken        79.___________

English that I made rapid progress. I remember you advice        80.___________

“Speak slowly and clearly.” Thank you very much all your time     81.___________

and advice . I hear that you and your wife will visit               82.___________

our school before long. I’m very glad and looked forward to        83.___________

see you. I sent you a telescope as a small gift.                   84.___________

Please check the mail and I hope you will like them.              85.___________

Yours

Li Ming