This is a true story from Guyana．One day, a boy took a piece of paper from a box．He made a paper ball and pushed it into his nose．He couldn’t get it out．He ran crying to his mother．His mother couldn’t get the paper out, either．A week later, the paper was still in the boy’s nose．His nose began to have a bad smell．

So his mother took the boy to a hospital．The doctor looked up at the child’s nose, but she couldn’t get the paper out．She said she had to cut the boy’s nose to get the paper out．

The boy’s mother came home looking sad．She didn’t want her child to have his nose cut．The next day she took the boy to her friend Sidney who lived in a house with an old lady called May．May wanted to see the child, so the child let her look up his nose．

“Yes, I can see it,” May said．“It will be out soon．”

As she spoke, she shook some black pepper （胡椒粉）on the child’s nose．The child gave a mighty sneeze and the paper flew out．His mother was surprised．May told his mother to take the boy to the seaside for a swim, for the salt water would go up his nose and stop the bad smell．

So the lucky boy didn’t have to go to the hospital to have his nose cut．

36．After the boy pushed a paper ball into his nose, ____．

                 A．he took it out                              B．his mother took it out

                 C．he did nothing but cry                       D．he tried to take it out but failed

37．Which of the following is TRUE?

                 A．The doctor helped to take the paper ball out of the boy’s nose．

                 B．May succeeded in taking the paper out．

                 C．The boy’s mother found some black pepper to solve the problem．

                 D．The boy had to have his nose cut at last．

38．The boy should be taken to the seaside for a swim because ____．

                 A．he needed to learn to swim

                 B．the sea water would stop the bad smell of his nose．

                 C．the sea water would wash out the paper ball．

                 D．he needed a rest

    In the United States, when one becomes rich, he wants people to know it．And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is．That is what “keeping up with the Joneses” is about．It is the story of someone who tried to look as rich as his neighbours．

    The expression was first used in 1913 by a young American called Arthur Momand．He told this story about himself．He began earning $ 125 a week at the age of 23．That was a lot of money in those days．He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighbourhood outside New York City．When he saw that rich people rode horses, Momand went horseback riding every day．When he saw that rich people had servants, Momand and his wife also hired a servant and gave big parties for their new neighbours．

    It was like a race, but one could never finish his race because one was always trying to keep up．The race ended for Momand and his wife when they could no longer pay for their new way of life．They moved back to an apartment in New York City．

    Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with rich lifestyle of their neighbours．He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series of short stories．He called it “Keeping up with the Joneses” because “Jones” is a very common name in the United States．“Keeping up with the Joneses” came to mean keeping up with rich lifestyle of the people around you．Momand’s series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years．

     People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses．And there are “Jonses” in every city of the world．But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses because no matter what one does, Mr．Jones always seems to be ahead．

39．Some people want to keep up with the Joneses because they ____________．

              A．want to be as rich as their neighbours       

              B．want others to know or to think that they are rich

              C．don’t want others to know they are rich                      D．want to be happy

40．It can be inferred from the story that rich people like to ____________．

              A．live outside New York City                                 B．live in New York city

              C．live in apartments                                         D．have many neighbours

41．Arthur Momand used the name “Jones” in his series of short stories because “Jones” is ____________．

              A．an important name                             B．a popular name in the United States

              C．his neighbour’s name                           D．not a good name

42．According to the writer, it is ____________ to keep up with the Joneses．

              A．correct                        B．interesting                      C．impossible                     D．good

During the twentieth century there has been a great change in the lives of women．A woman marrying at the end of the nineteenth century would probably have seven or eight children, of whom four or five lived till they were five years old and up．By the time the youngest was fifteen, the mother would have been in her early fifties and would expect to live a further twenty years, during which chance and health made it unusual for her to get paid work．Today women marry younger and have fewer children．Usually a woman’s youngest child will be fifteen when she is forty-five and can be expected to live another thirty-five years and is likely to take paid work until sixty．

This important change in women’s life has only recently begun to have its full effect on women economic （经济的） position．Even a few years ago most girls left school and took a full-time job．However, when they married their school-leaving age is sixteen．Many girls stay at school after that age, and though women marry younger, more married women stay at work at least until shortly before their first child is born．Very many more afterwards return to fuller part-time work．Such changes have led to a new relationship in marriage （婚姻）, with the husband accepting a greater share of the duties and satisfactions of family life．

43．We are told that in a family about 1900________．

              A．few children died before they were five

              B．seven or eight children lived to be more than five

              C．the youngest child would be fifteen

              D．four or five children died when they were five

44．One reason why the woman of today may take a job is that she______．

A．is younger when her children are old enough to look after themselves

B．does not like children herself

C．needn’t worry about food for her children

D．can be free from family duties when she reaches sixty

45．Many girls are now likely to_______．

    A．give up their jobs for good after they are married

              B．leave school as soon as they can

              C．marry so that they can get a job

              D．continue working until they are going to have a baby

46．According to the passage, it is now quite usual for women to _______．

              A．stay at home after leaving school     B．marry men younger than themselves

              C．start working again in life           D．marry while still at school

Do you forget to turn off the lights and heaters when you go out of a room? In 2040 it will not matter．They will turn themselves off—and on again when you return．You will choose the temperature for each room, the lighting and the humidity．A sensor（传感器） will find the presence of a human （and, with luck, ignore the dog!） and turn the systems on, and when the humans leave it will turn them off again．

The sensors will work through the central home computer, and they will do much more than just turn the fires and lights on and off for you．They will find faulty electrical appliances, plugs or switches, separate them so that they cannot harm anyone, and then warn you that they need repair．They will detect（发现） fire and if you are out of the house, the computer will call the fire brigade．It will not be too difficult because the locks on the outside doors will be electronic．You will open them using your personal card—the one you use for shopping—maybe using a number known only to you．

It will be impossible to lose the key, and a housebreaker will have to tamper（拨弄） with the lock or with a window．It is not very difficult to make such tampering send a signal to the computer．

The computer will be more than a fireman-policeman-servant．It will be an entertainer, and most of your entertainment will come right into your home．It does now, of course, but by 2040 “entertainment” will mean much more．For one thing, you will be able to take part actively, rather than just watching．

47．The author intends to tell us that _____．

              A．in 2040 we will live without lights and heaters

              B．in 2040 we will use much more lights and heaters

              C．in 2040 there will be no switches of lights and heaters

              D．in 2040 lights and heaters will be on and off automatically

48．According to the author, in 2040, new technology _____．

              A．will free us from the keys we use today                 B．will turn everything into sensors

              C．will make the locks out of date                        D．will get rid of all crimes

49．Thanks to computers, in 2040 people _____．

              A．will have no entertainment outside                     B．will replace TV with computers

              C．will be controlled by computers                       D．will have more fun at home

50．The best title for the passage might be _____．

              A．Sensors and Computers                             B．Life at Home in the Year 2040

              C．The Development of Science and Technology

              D．Lights and Heaters in the Year 2040

（共5小题；每小题2分，满分10分）

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

When was the last time you had great fun with your family?   51  So stand up and plan to have fun with your family．

Going to the zoo is definitely a number-one pick for family activities．Other than visiting animals, most zoos nowadays have rides that you can enjoy with your family．Meals are served in the zoo．  52  To add some fun, ask to be the photographer for the day and you might be surprised by how creative you can be．

  53  Even though you might not be really keen on outdoor activities, you can still enjoy your time by playing together after having your lunch．

Visiting the nation's capital would be your choice if you want to go on a trip with your family．Learn more about the history by visiting historical sites．  54 

A treasure hunt is a popular activity, so going hunting with your family is a nice choice．You can train yourself by asking to be the person in charge who can hold the treasure map and make decisions．

Create a video clip with your family．Make your family the characters in the clip．You may talk about your family life in the clip, about your interests or even create a drama．

  55  Plant flowers and mow（修剪） the lawn．After a day of hard work, you can all sit back and enjoy a barbecue at your beautifully cleaned backyard．

              A．History creates topics for you and your family．

              B．At bedtime read to your young kids and read with your elder kids．

              C．Family is always the most valuable thing in life．

              D．Bring your own snacks if you want to save some money．

              E．Doing some yard work together can also be a fun quality time for your family．

              F．Having a picnic at the park is also a good activity for your family．

              G．Here are two examples．