After my husband died suddenly from a heart attack on the tennis court, my world crashed around me. I was overwhelmed with the responsibilities of earning a living, caring for the children and just keeping my head above water.

I was fortunate to find a wonderful housekeeper to care for the children during the week, but from Friday nights to Monday mornings, the children and I were alone, and frankly I was uneasy.

One Friday evening I came home from work to find a big beautiful German shepherd on our doorstep. He gave every indication that he intended to enter the house and make it his home. I agreed to let him sleep in the basement until the next day.

The following morning we made phone calls and checked lost-and-found ads for German’s owner, but with no results. German, meanwhile, actually made himself part of the family. Saturday night he was still with us, sleeping in the basement.

On Sunday I had planned to take the children on a picnic. When we stopped to get gas at a local station, we were amazed to see German racing to the gas station after us. He settled down in the back for the ride to the picnic.

Monday morning I let him out for a run while the children got ready for school. He didn’t come back. As evening came and German didn’t appear, we were all disappointed. We were convinced that he had gone home or been found by his owner, and that we would never see him again. We were wrong. The next Friday evening, German was back on our doorstep. Again we took him in, and again he stayed until Monday morning, when our housekeeper arrived.

This pattern repeated itself every weekend for almost 10 months. We grew more and more fond of German and we took comfort in his strong, warm presence, and we felt safe with him near us.

Each week, between German’s visits, I grew a little stronger, a little braver and more able to cope; every weekend I enjoyed his company. Then one Monday morning we patted his head and let him out for what turned out to be the last time. He never came back. We never saw or heard of German again.

I think of him often. I believe German was sent because he was needed, and because no matter how abandoned and alone we feel, somehow, somewhere, someone knows and cares. We are never really alone.

61. What does the underlined part in the first paragraph mean?

  A. trying to keep calm in public                B. avoiding being neglected by others

C. showing her high spirit in the face of trouble   D. managing to continue to live

62. Why did the German shepherd come to the author’s house?

   A. He was hungry and had no place to live in.     B. His owner went away on weekends.

C. He couldn’t find his way to his owner’s house.  D. The passage doesn’t tell us directly.

63. We can conclude from the passage that ________.

   A. German liked to have a picnic with the family  B. German’s owner put an ad for him

C. German was fond of living with the family   

D. the writer was not very willing to find German’s owner

64. Which of the following doesn’t agree with the passage?

   A. The children needn’t go to school on the weekend.

B. The housekeeper only came on weekdays.

C. But for the dog the writer would have broken down.

D. German’s coming was a great comfort for the writer.

65. Which is the best title for the passage?

   A. We are not alone                B. Love from a dog  

C. Raising a dog can be beneficial    D. Keep up when in trouble

  Can better food create better people? This is the true idea that is driving the development of today’s farming quickly.

The future food is the best food. Scientists will put real-time sensors into our bodies that can read the information of what our bodies need. A personal health system will be able to study the information that the sensor provides before making a food order. Then the order will go to the local food supplier, who will get in touch with the food maker on the farm. The entire supply will be controlled by computer according to the needs of the end user. Food from restaurants will come in over a million kinds. Customers will be able to order the food that is really good for their health.

By 2050, a farm will use technologies that will leave today’s farming far behind. A farm, as shown by Despommier, a farming scientist, will be a 30-storey-tall building and used to grow plants without soil. The farms of the future will grow half-plant, half-animal products, and people will be able to control nature. Special crops will be grown in this controlled special space, such as short stalk corn, personalized fruits and vegetables.

Besides growing food , new ways will be found to “ grow ” products . We will also be able to control plants in other ways . For example , we will some day be able to “ train ” a tree to grow its branches into the shape of tables , coffee tables , chairs , or rocking chairs . Once these unusual branches are fully grown , farmers can walk up to the tree and harvest the rocking chairs by cutting them off , which is the same as harvesting apples or pears .

The entire production area in the future will be managed by a robot that travels up and down doing all the necessary jobs of planting , weeding , watering , and harvesting .

56. The real- time sensors in our bodies will find out        .

A. what we like and what we hate          B. whether we are healthy or not

C. how much food we need               D. what food our bodies need

57. The food order goes to the local food supplier so that        .

A. the needs of the end user will be well met

B. the food supplier will not waste any money

C. the food maker will know how to grow plants

D. the food supplier will know what healthy food is

58. What can we infer from Paragraph 3 ?

A. Crops will take longer to grow by 2050 .

B. In the future , there will be no animal products .

C. Crops in the future will be very different from today’s .

D. Crops in the future will grow without sunshine , water , or soil .

It’s no secret that many children would be healthier and happier with adoptive parents than with the parents that nature dealt them. That’s especially  36  ­of children who remain in homes where they’re badly treated  37  the law blindly favors biological parents. It’s also true of children who  38  for years in foster (寄養(yǎng)) homes because of parents who can’t or won’t care for them but  39  to give up custody (監(jiān)護(hù)) rights .

Fourteen-year-old Kimberly Mays  40  neither description, but her recent court victory could

 41  help children who do. Kimberly has been the  42  of an angry custody battle between the man who raised her and her biological parents, with whom she has never lived. A Florida judge  43  that the teenager can remain with the only father she's ever known and that her biological parents have "no legal  44  " on her.

Shortly after  45  in December 1978, Kimberly Mays and another baby were mistakenly switched and sent home with the  46  parents. Kimberly's biological parents, Ernest and Regina Twiggs, received a child who died of a heart disease in 1988. Medical tests  47  that the child wasn’t the Twiggs’ own daughter, but Kim only was, thus leading to a custody  48  with Robert Mays . In 1989, the two families  49  that Mr. Mays would maintain custody with the Twiggs getting  50  rights. Those rights were ended when Mr. Mays decided that Kimberly was being  51 .

The decision to  52  Kimberly with Mr. Mays caused heated discussion. But the judge made clear that Kimberly did have the right to sue (起訴)  53  her own behalf. Thus he made it clear that she was  54  just a personal possession of her parents. Biological parentage does not mean an absolute ownership that cancels(取消) all the  55  of children.

36.A. terrible                 B. sad                   C. true                  D. natural
37.A. but                        B. if                     C. when             D. because
38.A. settle                    B. live                C. suffer               D. gather
39.A. have                    B. refuse                  C. stick                 D. fail
40.A. likes                        B. gives            C. fits                   D. knows
41.A. actually                   B. eventually        C. successfully         D. abruptly
42.A. victim                  B. object               C. sacrifice            D. teenager
43.A. ruled                    B. believed               C. ordered                D. indicated
44.A. expectation              B. action                  C. effect             D. claim
45.A. birth                    B. judgment           C. operation           D. school
46.A. biological                B. own               C. kind                  D. wrong
47.A. examined              B. explained          C. decided             D. showed
48.A. battle                B. right               C. agreement            D. decision
49.A. thought                B. quarreled          C. agreed           D. prepared
50.A. equal                   B. same                 C. visiting              D. speaking

51.A. harmed                    B. forbidden           C. wounded           D. hidden
52.A. make                    B. leave                C. give               D. keep
53.A. by                     B. through            C. on                    D. in

54.A. more than                B. no more than        C. not more than       D. less than
55.A. freedom                  B. happiness          C. rights             D. ideas

 ---- I just heard that the tickets for tonight show have been sold out .

   ---- Oh no !        .

A. I was looking forward to that            B. It doesn’t matter

C. I knew it already                      D. It’s not all interesting

 Should we attempt to find a publisher before the book is completed        at least announce that we are doing the book ?

A. and             B. or               C. so               D. but

When you keep your promise , no matter what efforts it takes , you will be        .

A. calculated        B. confirmed        C. rewarded         D. evaluated

 ---- Has Mr. John arrived yet?

---- Yes, already . ______ he come in right now or just wait for a moment ?

A. Shall            B. May            C. Could            D. Must

______ the orange trees suffered severe damage from a storm in the summer, the farmers are expecting a sharp decline in harvests this autumn.

   A. Since          B. Though            C. Unless               D. Before

. ---- Who is dancing to music in the next room?

  ---- ______ the children.

   A. It is           B. They are            C. That is               D. There are

Some people suggest leaving out some items in Auto Correct function they find ______ because they change what you type when you do not want it ______.

   A. annoying ; change                    B. annoying ; changed

C. annoyed ; changing                   D. annoyed ; changed