“The Lord of the Rings”, one of the best sellers in the new millennium（千年）, was made up of three parts――“The Fellowship of the Ring”, “Two Towers”, and “The Return of the King”. Millions upon millions of people have read it in over 25 different languages, but fewer know about the author and the history of the composition of the creative mater work.

       John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born in South Africa in 1892. His parents died when he was a child. Living in England with his aunt, Tolkien and his cousins made up play languages, a hobby that led to Tolkien’s becoming skilled in Welsh, Greek, Gothic, Old Norse and Anglo-Saxon.

       After graduating from Oxford, Tolkien served in World War I. In 1917, while recovering from trench fever, he began composing the mythology for The Rings. As a professor of Anglo-Saxon in 1930s at Oxford, Tolkien was part of an informal discussion group called the Inklings, which included several writers. The group was soon listening to chapters of Tolkien’s imaginative work “The Hobbit”.

       Hobbit was a name Tolkien created for a local people that could best be described as half-sized members of the English rural（鄉(xiāng)村的）class. Hobbits live in hillside holes. One of them, Bilbo Baggins, looks for treasures with a group of dwarves（侏儒）. On the way, he meets the twisted, pitiful creature Gollum, from whom he sees a golden ring that makes the holder invisible.

       One of Tolkien’s students persuaded her employer, publisher Allen & Unwin, to look at a draft（草稿）. The chairman of the firm, Stanley Unwin, thought that the best judge for a children’s book would be his ten-year-old son. The boy earned a shilling for reporting back that the adventure was exciting, and “The Hobbit” was published in 1937.

       It sold so well that Unwin asked for a continuation. Over a dozen years later, in 1954, Tolkien produced “The Lord of the Rings”, a series of books so creative that they hold readers―new and old ―after their publication.

60．What can we learn from the text?

       A“The Lord of the Rings” didn’t sell well in the last millennium.

       B．People know better about Tolkien himself than about his works.

       C．Tolkien was quite familiar with Old English.

       D．Tolkien knew very well about different kinds of local languages in Africa.

61．What can we learn about “Hobbit” that Tolkien created in his works?

       A．Hobbit was a race living in English downtown areas.

       B．Hobbit was a local people who were very tall and strong.

       C．Hobbit was a social group of people who lived in old castles.

       D．Hobbit was a group of people who were mostly dwarves.

62．Which of the following helped most in making “The Hobbit” published?

       A．One of Tolkien’s students.                    B．Stanley Unwin’s son.

       C．Allen & Unwin.                                     D．Bilbo Baggins.

63．What is mainly discussed in the text?

       A． “The Lord of the Rings” and its writer.

       B．A completely new masterwork in the new millennium.

       C．a(chǎn) famous professor at Oxford University.

       D．The power of the magic ring.

64．Which of the following shows the right order of Mr J.R.R.Tolkien’s life experience?

       a．He had his “The Hobbit” published.

       b．He became a member of the lnklings.     

       c．He served in World WarⅠ

       d．He became an undergraduate at Oxford.

       e．His work “The Lord of the Rings” came to the world.

       f．He moved to England to live with his aunt.

       A．f-d-b-c-a-e          B．f-d-c-b-a-e          C．f-c-d-b-e-a          D．d-f-c-a-b-e

The measure of a man’s character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.―Thomas MacaulaySome thirty years ago, I was studying in a public school in New York. One day, Mrs. Nanette O’Neil gave an arithmetic(算術(shù))  ___ 36 ___  to our class. When the papers were  ___ 37 ___  she discovered that twelve boys had made the same mistakes throughout the test.

  There is really nothing new about  ___38___  in the exams. Perhaps that was why Mrs. O’Neill  ___39___  even say a word about it. She only asked the twelve boys to  ___40___  after class. I was one of the twelve. Mrs. O’Neill asked  ___41___  questions, and she didn’t  ___42___  us either. Macaulay, she wrote on the blackboard the  ___43___  words by Thomas Macaulay. She then ordered us to  ___44___  these words into our exercise-books one hundred times.

  I don’t  ___45___  about the other eleven boys. Speaking for myself I can say: it was the most important single  ___46___  of my life. Thirty years after being introduced to Macaulay’s words, they  ___47___  seem to me the best yard-stick(準(zhǔn)繩), because they give us a  ___48___  to measure ourselves rather than others. ___49___  of us are asked to make  ___50___  decisions about nations going to war or armies going to battle. But all of us are called  ___51___  daily to make a great many personal decisions.  ___52___  the wallet, found in the street, be put into a pocket or turned over to the policeman? Should the  ___53___  change received at the store be forgotten or  ___54___? Nobody will know except ___55___. But you have to live with yourself, and it is always better to live with someone you respect.

Was it in the village ______ we used to live in _________ the accident happened?

I can think of many cases, ________students obviously knew a lot of English words and expressions but couldn’t write a good essay.

--Do all _______ you think are right, _______ others say.

--Yes,  I________.

A. what; as; do                B. as; no matter what; will

C. that; whatever; will      D. what; whatever; must

This is ________you are mistaken.

This area ______ wildlife. Which phrase is false?

A. is abundant in      B. is abundant with      C. is filled in         D .is rich in

--How was your dinner date, dear?

--Very nice. __________     

A. Much more than I could have imagined        B.I can’t wait to have it again

C. Could have helped myself to some more       D. If they had served better

He brings a lot of profits to the company. He ______ well of his boss.

She is ________ a friend _____ a mother.

  A. rather; than      B. more; than     C. as; as         D. preferring; to