A MAN planted a rose and watered it   41   . One day as he examined it, he saw a bud that would soon blossom, but he also    42     thorns (刺) on the stem . He thought, "How can a beautiful flower come from a plant with so many sharp thorns?" Saddened by this thought, he     43     to water the rose, and just before it was ready to bloom, it died.

So it is with many people. Within every soul there is a rose. The good    44  planted in us at birth grow amid the thorns of our faults. Many of us look at ourselves and see only the thorns, the defects. We become    45    , thinking that nothing good can possibly come from us. We neglect to water the good within us, and    46   it dies. We never realize our   47    .

Some people do not see the rose within themselves; someone else must show it to them. One of the greatest gifts a person can     48     is to be able to reach past the thorns and find the rose within others.

This is the characteristic of love ― to look at a person, know his faults, recognize the goodness in his soul, and help him realize that he can    49     his faults. If we show him the "rose" within himself, he will conquer the thorns. Only then will they blossom many times over.

A round of applause, please, for the Indian man who recently sang for 80 hours straight, setting a new Guinness world record. It’s an impressive feat, to be sure, but let’s just hope he still has a voice．According to Indian newspapers, Rajesh Burbure has been told to keep silent for several days so his vocal cords can heal.

It was reported that Burbure and his family are in a celebratory mood. “It’s a proud moment for all of us,” his wife told DNAIndia.com.

I, on the other hand, am unable to share their enthusiasm. Don’t get me wrong: I hope the 35-year-old Burbure lives forever, sells a million records and becomes an international celebrity. But his record—singing for 80 hours straight—is about as meaningful as most of the other curious but crazy feats listed in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Granted, I’m not qualified to speak on the subject. I’ve got no world records to my name, and I never expect to have any. Then again, maybe I am qualified to speak for those of us who have better things to do than train for years to sing an 80-hour medley of pop songs.

But let’s not just blame poor Burbure. He’s not the only person chasing meaningless reputation．The Guinness Book of World Records is full of the names of people who at one time grew the longest hair, or built the biggest bicycle, or baked the largest cheesecake.

To all of these enterprising souls I ask, simply, “What was it all for?”

Congratulations! For all of your painstaking effort, you became a footnote in a thick book that no one reads, except for you and the person who will eventually surpass you, with one more hour of singing, a few more centimeters of steel or a few more pounds of cheese.

After all, records are made to be broken.

60. From the text, we can conclude that the author _________.

       A. thinks singing for 80 hours straight is completely meaningless

       B. feels it a pity he was not invited to share the happiness with the Burbures

       C. is quite worried about Burbure’s vocal cords

       D. has no Guinness records, so he admires Burbures’ feat

61. The author’s attitude to some Guinness world records is ________.

       A. positive                   B. impressed                       C. negative                          D. touched

62. We can infer from the article that ________.

       A. after the 80 hours of singing, Burbure could no longer speak

       B. Burbure’s wife didn’t support his attempt to make a Guinness record

       C. many have criticized Burbure for his stupid behavior

       D. challenging a Guinness record may be harmful to the health

63. What can possibly be the best title for the passage?

       A. What Was the Point                                             B. The Boring Guinness Book

       C. A New Guinness Record                                      D. Records Are Made to be Broken

A few days ago I asked my sons' governess（家庭女教師）Julia to come into my study. “Be seated，Julia,”I said，“Let's settle our accounts. I guess you most likely need some money，but maybe you're too polite to mention it. Now then，we agreed on thirty dollars a month...”

“Forty.”

“No，thirty. I made a note of it. I always pay our governess thirty. Well，um，you've been here for two months，so...”

Two months and five days.”

Exactly two months. I made a special note of it. That means you have sixty dollars coming to you. Take nine Sundays off... you know you didn't work with Tom on Sundays，you only took walks.And three holidays... ”Julia was biting her fingernail nervously，her face red，but,not a word.

“Three holidays，therefore take twelve dollars off your pay. Four days Tom was sick and there were no lessons，as you were occupied only with Dick. Three days you had a toothache and my wife gave you permission not to work after lunch. Twelve and seven makes nineteen.Take nineteen off... that 1eaves，hmm... forty-one dollars. Correct?”

Julia's left eye reddened with tears welling up. Her chin trembled，and she coughed nervously and blew her riose，but still not a word.

“Around New Year’s Day you broke a teacup and a saucer；take two dollars off your pay.The cup cost more，because it was a treasure of the family，but forget it. When didn't I take a loss! Then，due to your neglect(疏忽），Tom climbed a tree and tore his jacket；take away ten. Also due to your carelessness the maid stole Dick's shoes. You ought to watch everything！You get paid for it. So，that means five more dollars off. The tenth of January I gave you ten dollars”.

“You didn't.”sobbed Julia.

“But I made a note of it.”

“Well... if you say so.”

“Take twenty-seven from forty-one, and that leaves fourteen.”

Both her eyes were filled with tears. Beads of sweat stood on the thin pretty little nose.Poor girl！

“Only once was I given any money，”she whispered，her voice trembling，“and that was by your wife. Three dollars，nothing more.”

“Real1y? You see now，and I didn't know that！Take three from fourteen and it leaves eleven.  Here’s your money，my dear．Three，three，three，one and one. Here it is！”

I handed her eleven dollars. She took them and pocketed them.

“Merci（Thanks），”she whispered.

I jumped to my feet and started pacing the floor. I was overcome with anger.“For what，this merci”? I asked.

“For the money”.

“But you know I’ve cheated you—— robbed you！”I have actually stolen from you!Why this“merci？”

“In my other places they didn’t give me anything at all.”

“They didn’t give you anything? No wonder! 1 played a little joke on you，a cruel lesson，just to teach you…I'm going to give you all the eighty dollars！Here they are in the envelope all ready for you…Is it really possible to be so spineless(懦弱)? Why didn't you protest?Why were you silent? Is it possible in this world to be without teeth and laws(爪)—— to be such a fool?''

Embarrassed,she smiled. And I could read her expression，“It is possible”.

I asked her pardon for the cruel lesson and， to her great surprise，gave her the eighty dollars. She murmured her little “merci”serveral times and went out. I looked at her and thought，“How easy it is to crush the weak in this World! ”

67.While talking to Julia.the writer expected ＿＿＿＿＿＿from her.

A. a protest       B.gratitude          C.obedience       D. an explanation

68.What shocked the writer was Julia's＿＿＿＿＿＿．

A. nervousness in front of her boss                          B. acceptance of injustice

C. shyness when talking about money             D. reluctance to express herself

69.The writer said, “Is it possible in this world to be without teeth and claws(爪)一to be such a fool?” He was actually telling the governess＿＿＿＿＿＿．

A. to be more aggressive                         B. to be more careful in her work

C.to protect her right                                             D.to live independently

70. From the story, we can know that Julia's employer was         

A. greedy but honest                                                B.ill tempered but warm-hearted

C. strict but forgiving                                  D. none of the above

A popular saying goes, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” However, that’s not really true. Words have the power to build us up or tear us down. It doesn’t matter if the words come from someone else or ourselves --- the positive and negative effects are just as lasting.

We all talk to ourselves sometimes. We’re usually too embarrassed to admit it, though. In fact, we really shouldn’t be because more and more experts believe talking to ourselves out loud is a healthy habit.

This “self-talk” helps us motivate ourselves, remember things, solve problems, and calm ourselves down. Be aware, though, that as much as 77% of self-talk tends to be negative. So in order to stay positive, we should only speak words of encouragement to ourselves. We should also be quick to give ourselves a pat on the back. The next time you finish a project, do well in a test, or finally clean your room, join me in saying “Good job!”

Often, words come out of our mouths without us thinking about the effect they will have. But we should be aware that our words cause certain responses in others. For example, when returning an item to a store, we might use warm, friendly language during the exchange. And the clear will probably respond in a similar manner. Or harsh（刻薄的）and critical language will most likely cause the clerk to be defensive.

Words possess power because of their lasting effect. Many of us regret something we once said. And we remember unkind words said to us! Before speaking, we should always ask ourselves: Is it loving? Is it needed? If what we want to say doesn’t pass this test, then it’s better left unsaid.

Words possess power: both positive and negative. Those around us receive encouragement when we speak positively. We can offer hope, build self-esteem（自尊）and motivate others to do their best. Negative words destroy all those things. Will we use our words to hurt or to heal? The choice is ours.

60．The main idea of the first paragraph is that______.

A. words have a lasting effect on us　 B. inspiring words give us confidence

C. negative words may let us down　 D. not sticks and stones but words will hurt us

61．There is no sense for us to feel embarrassed when we talk to ourselves because _____.

　　　 A. almost everybody has the habit of talking to themselves

　　　 B. talking to ourselves always gives us courage

　　　 C. we can benefit from talking to ourselves

　　　 D. it does no harm to have “self-talk” when we are alone

62．The underlined part in the third paragraph means that we should also timely ______.

　　 A. remind ourselves　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. praise ourselves

　　　 C. make ourselves relaxed　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. give ourselves amusement

63．The author would probably hold the view that ______.

　　　 A. encouraging words are sure to lead to kind offers

　　　 B. negative words may stimulate us to make more progress

　　　 C. people tend to remember friendly words

　　　 D. it is better to think twice before talking to others

A Tour City ------- Pompeii

Every year thousands of tourists visit Pompeii (龐貝，意大利那不勒斯附近一座古城) , Italy. They see the sights that Pompeii is famous for ------ its stadium (運(yùn)動(dòng)場(chǎng)) and theatre, its shops and restaurants. The tourists do not, however, see Pompeii’s people. They do not see them because Pompeii has no people. No one has lived in Pompeii for almost 2000 years.

Once, Pompeii was a busy city of 22,000 people. It lay at the foot of Mount Vesuvius (維蘇威火山) , a grass-covered volcano (火山). Mount Vesuvius had not erupted (爆發(fā)) for centuries, so the people of Pompeii felt safe. But they were not.

In August of AD 79, Mount Vesuvius erupted. The entire top of the mountain exploded, and a huge black cloud rose into the air. Soon stones and hot ash began to fall on Pompeii. When the eruption ended two days later, Pompeii was buried (埋藏) under 20 feet of stones and ashes. Almost all of its people were dead.

For centuries, Pompeii lay buried under stone and ash. Then, in the year 1861, an Italian scientist named Ginseppe began to uncover (發(fā)現(xiàn)) Pompeii. Slowly, carefully, Ginseppe and his men dug. The city looked almost the same as it had looked in AD 79. There were streets and fountains, houses and shops. There was a stadium with 20, 000 seats. Perhaps the most important of all, there were everyday objects, which tell us a great deal about the people who lived in Pompeii. Many glasses and jars had some dark blue colour in the bottom, so we know that the people of Pompeii liked wine. They liked bread, too; metal bread pans were in even bakery (面包房). In one bakery there were 81 round, flat loaves of bread ------- a type of bread that is still sold in Italy today. Tiny boxes filled with a dark, shiny powder tell us that women liked to wear eye-makeup (眼部化裝品) .

Ginseppe has died, but his work continues. One-fourth has not been uncovered yet. Scientists are still digging, still making discoveries that draw the tourists to Pompeii.

49．Why do large numbers of people come to Pompeii each year?

A.　　 To visit the volcano.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. To shop and eat there.

C.To watch sports and plays.　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. To see how Pompeiians lived

50. Why did the city uncovered look almost the same as it had looked in AD 79?

A Because Ginseppe and his men dug it slowly and carefully.

B Because the city was buried alive and remained untouched.

C Because scientists successfully rebuilt the city with everyday objects.

D Because nobody had lived in the city ever since the volcano erupted.

51. What’s the meaning of the underlined word “ exploded” in the third paragraph?

A.　爆炸 　　　　　　　 B.震動(dòng)　　　　　　　　　　　　 C.倒塌　　　　　　　　　　　　 D.開裂

52. What do we know about the Pompeiians who lived 2000 years ago?

A They lived more or less the same as Italians now do.

B They liked women wearing all kings of makeup.

C They enjoyed a lazy life with drinking and eating.

D They went back to Pompeii after the eruption in AD 79.