B
Kincaid looked at his watch: eight-seventeen. The truck started on the second try, and he backed out, shifted gears, and moved slowly down the alley under hazy sun. Through the streets of Bellingham he went, heading south on Washington 11, running along the coast of Puget Sound for a few miles, then following the highway as it swung east a little before meeting U.S Route 20.
Turning into the sun, he began the long, winding drive through the Cascades. He liked this country and felt unpressed stopping now and then to make notes about interesting possibilities for future expeditions or to shoot what he called “memory snapshots.” The purpose of these causal photographs was to remind him of places he might want to visit again and approach more seriously. In later afternoon he turned north at Spokane, picking up U.S Route 2, which would take him halfway across the northern United States to Duluth, Minnesota.
He wished for the thousandth time in his life that he had a dog, a golden retriever, maybe, for travels like this and to keep him company at home. But he was frequently away; overseas much of the time and it would not be fair to the animal. Still, he thought about it anyway. In a few years he would be getting too old for the hard fieldwork. “I must get a dog then.” He said to himself.
Drives like this always put him into a sentimental mood. The dog was part of it. Robert Kincaid was alone as it’s possible to be – an only child, parents both dead, distant relatives who had lost track of him and he of them, no close friends.
He thought about Marian. She had left him nine years ago after five years of marriage. He was fifty–two now, that would make her just under forty. Marian had dreams of becoming a musician, a folksinger. She knew all of the Weavers’ songs and sang them pretty well in the coffeehouse of Seattle. When he was home in the old days, he drove her to the shows and sat in the audience while she sang.
His long absences – two or three months sometimes – were hard on the marriage. He knew that. She was aware of what he did when they decided to get married, and both of them had a vague (not clear) sense that it could all be handled somehow. It couldn’t when he came from photographing a story in Iceland and, she was gone. The note read, “Robert, it didn’t work out, I left you the Harmony guitar. Stay in touch.”
He didn’t stay in touch. Neither did she. He signed the divorce papers when they arrived a year later and caught a plane for Australia the next day. She had asked for nothing except her freedom.
46. Which route is the right one taken by Kincaid?
A. Bellingham – Washington 11 – Puget Sound – U.S Route 20 – U.S Route 2 – Duluth
B. U.S. Route 2 – Bellingham – Washington 11 – Puget Sound – U.S Route 20 – Duluth
C. U.S. Route 2 – U.S Route 20 – Duluth – Bellingham – Washington 11
D. Bellingham – Washington 11 –U.S. Route 2 –U.S Route 20 –Duluth
47. Which statement is true according to the passage?
A. Kincaid’s parents were dead and he only kept in touch with some distant relatives.
B. Kincaid would have had a dog if he hadn’t been away from home too much.
C. Kincaid used to have a golden retriever.
D. Kincaid needed a dog in doing his hard fieldwork.
48. Why did Kincaid stop to take photos while driving?
A. To write “memory snapshots”.
B. To remind himself of places he might want to visit again.
C. To avoid forgetting the way back.
D. To shoot beautiful scenery along the road.
49. What can you know about Marian?
A. She died after five years of marriage.
B. She was older than Kincaid.
C. She could sing very well and earned big money.
D. She was not a professional pop singer.
50. We can draw a conclusion from the passage that _____
A. Marian knew what would happen before she married Kincaid.
B. Kincaid thought his absence would be a problem when he married Marian.
C. It turned out that Marian could not stand Kincaid’s absence and left him.
D. After Marian left him, they still kept in touch with each other.

完形填空（共20小題，每小題1分，滿分20分）

閱讀下面短文，從短文后各題所給的四個選項（A、B、C和D）中，選出可以填入空白處的最佳選項。

Our three-year-old daughter Becky wanted a dog. But we were too busy to buy one. One day, Becky ran in, shouting, “Mom! Come to see my dog!” Her face was red with   1 .

I followed her to the bush and found a   2 ! He was hurt. Seeing me, he stood up   3 ! I could see his teeth! God! My mouth felt dry. “Don’t be afraid. That’s Mom. She  4 you, too.” Becky said. Then he became friendly. It was  5 !

I   6  to find my husband and told him about the wolf. We should have  7  the wolf, but Becky loved him. Besides, he was gentle(溫柔的) to Becky. So we called the vet finally.

Becky named the wolf (狼) Ralph ,  8  she carried food to him every day. Later, Ralph got well. They played together in the daytime. At night, Ralph would return to the mountains. Sometimes he   9  but came back several days later.

On Becky’s first day of school, we could see Ralph’s   10 . After the school bus left, Ralph lay by the side of the road and   11  . When Becky returned, he got happy again. This   12  throughout Becky’s school years.

Twelve   13  passed.

One day we heard that a she-wolf was killed. The other wolf was hurt and ran away. We were   14  about Ralph. That night, Ralph returned with a wound (傷). Fifteen-year-old Becky held his head and   15  him. We hope he could come through. However, he   16 .

Becky cried. I noticed something strange in the bush — two little yellow eyes! Ralph’s  17 ! Before he died, Ralph   18  his child to us! He knew he would be  19  here, as he had been. Ralph, Ralph. I was   20 .

“Don’t be afraid, little ... Ralphie. That’s Mom. She loves you, too.”

1.                A．encouragement  B．entertainment    C．a(chǎn)greement    D．excitement

2.                A．dog            B．fox            C．wolf D．tiger

3.                A．lovely          B．finally          C．suddenly  D．patiently

4.                A．hurts          B．loves           C．kills  D．hates

5.                A．wonderful      B．unhappy        C．unbelievable   D．normal

6.                A．prepared       B．rushed         C．pretended D．wanted

7.                A．loved          B．found          C．damaged  D．killed

8.                A．a(chǎn)nd            B．but            C．so   D．or

9.                A．disappeared     B．turned         C．passed   D．came

10.               A．sadness        B．dream         C．understanding  D．a(chǎn)nger

11.               A．slept           B．left            C．sang  D．waited

12.               A．stopped        B．joined          C．lived  D．continued

13.               A．days           B．weeks          C．months    D．years

14.               A．surprised       B．puzzled         C．worried   D．careful

15.               A．comforted      B．beat           C．washed   D．a(chǎn)mused

16.               A．succeeded      B．died           C．cried D．woke

17.               A．mother         B．father          C．wife  D．child

18.               A．posted         B．brought        C．sold  D．threw

19.               A．safe           B．happy          C．warm D．friendly

20.               A．confused       B．disappointed    C．moved    D．frightened

When I was a little girl, I found love in a box all because of a class assignment. On a Friday night I   36  at the dinner table, “My teacher said we have to bring a box, a special box, for our valentines on Monday”.

Mother said, “We’ll see,” and she continued eating.

What did “We’ll see” mean? I had to have that box,   37  my second grade Valentine’s Day would be a disaster. Maybe they didn’t love me enough to help me with my   38  .

All Saturday I waited   39  and with Sunday arriving, my concern increased. However, I   40  that an enquiry about the box would   41  anger or loud voices, for in my house children only asked once. More than that   42  trouble.

Late Sunday afternoon, my father called me into the kitchen. The table was covered with different kinds of colorful   43  . A (n)   44  shoebox rested on top of it.   45  flooded through me when Daddy said, “Let’s get started   46  your project.”

In the next hour my father   47  the shoebox into an impressive valentine box. Colorful paper covered the ugly cardboard with red hearts   48  to what I considered all the right places. He sang while he worked. When he finished, he was so delighted that a   49  smile spread across his face. “What do you think of that?” he asked.

I answered him with a hug.

But inside,   50  danced all the way to my heart. It was the first time that my father had devoted so much   51  to me, for his world consisted only of work.

The holiday party arrived, and my classmates put cards and presents into the valentine boxes. Laughter filled our classroom until dismissal time   52 .

On the way home, I held out my valentine box for the world to   53  . The love that filled it meant more to me than all the valentines inside.

The valentine box became a symbol of his love that   54  through decades of other Valentine’s Days. My father gave me other gifts through the years, but none   55  compared with the love I felt within the limits of the old, empty shoebox.

1.                A．a(chǎn)nnounced      B．a(chǎn)ppeared       C．served   D．sat

2.                A．a(chǎn)nd            B．but            C．or   D．so

3.                A．design         B．plan           C．idea D．project

4.                A．sadly           B．a(chǎn)nxiously        C．disappointedly D．patiently

5.                A．found          B．realized         C．knew D．imagined

6.                A．start           B．cause          C．mark D．produce

7.                A．invited         B．took           C．saved    D．had

8.                A．boxes          B．gifts            C．paper    D．food

9.                A．new           B．big            C．a(chǎn)ttractive D．empty

10.               A．Relaxation      B．Relief          C．Cheer D．Calm

11.               A．by            B．a(chǎn)t             C．in    D．on

12.               A．folded         B．packed         C．changed   D．pressed

13.               A．joined         B．a(chǎn)ttached        C．linked D．connected

14.               A．slight          B．brief           C．broad D．confident

15.               A．joy            B．fun            C．interest   D．a(chǎn)musement

16.               A．money         B．time           C．support   D．hope

17.               A．reached        B．set            C．spent D．came

18.               A．a(chǎn)ccept         B．respect         C．a(chǎn)dmire    D．recognize

19.               A．carried         B．kept           C．spread    D．lasted

20.               A．ever           B．even           C．yet   D．still

When I was a little girl, I found love in a box all because of a class assignment. On a Friday night I   36  at dinner table, “My teacher said we have to bring a box, a special box, for our valentines (情人節(jié)) on Monday”.
Mother said, “We’ll see,” and she continued eating.
What did “We’ll see” mean? I had to have that box   37  my second grade Valentine’s Day would be a disaster. Maybe they didn’t love me enough to help me with my   38 .
All Saturday I waited   39  and with Sunday arriving, my concern increased, but I   40  an enquiry（詢問）about the box might   41  anger or loud voice, for in my house children only asked once. More than that   42  trouble.
Late Sunday afternoon, my father called me into the kitchen. The table was covered with colorful   43  of different kinds. A (n)   44  shoebox rested on top of it.   45  flooded through me when Daddy said, “Let’s get started   46  your project.”
In the next hour my father   47  the shoebox into impressive valentine box. Colorful paper covered the ugly cardboard with red hearts   48  to what I considered all the right places. He sang while he worked. When he finished, he was so delighted that a   49 smile spread over his face. “What do you think of that?” he asked.I answered him with a hug.
But inside,   50  danced all the way to my heart. It was the first time that my father devoted so much   51  to me, for his world consisted of work only.
The holiday party arrived, and my classmates put cards, and presents into the valentine boxes. Laughter filled our classroom until dismissal time   52 .
On the way home, I held out my valentine box for the world to   53 . The love that filled it meant more to me than all the valentines inside. The valentine box became a symbol of his love that   54  through decades of other Valentine’s Days. He gave me other gifts through the years, but none   55  compared with the love I felt within the limits of the old, empty shoebox.

I grew up in a small town. My father raised chickens and ran a construction company. I was barely 10 years old when my dad gave me the responsibility (責(zé)任) of feeding the chickens and cleaning up the stable. He believed it was important for me to have those jobs to learn responsibility. Then, when I was 22, I found a job in Natchbill at a country music club called the Natchbill Palace, I washed dishes and cooked from 4: 00 pm to 9: 00 pm and then went on stage and sang until 2:00 in the morning. It wasn’t long before I became known as a singing cook. I had been rejected so many times by record companies that it was hard not to be discouraged. One night, a woman executive (懂事) from a company named Warner Brothers Records came to hear me sing. When the show was over, we sat down and talked and after she left, I said to myself it was one more rejection. A few weeks later, my manager received a phone call — Warner Brothers wanted to sign me to a record deal. Soon after, I released my first record in June 1986. It sold over 2 million copies. My best efforts had gone into every job I’ve ever held. It was the sense of responsibility that made me feel like a man. Knowing that I had done my best filled me with pride. I still feel that way today, even though I have become a well-known singer.

Why was the writer once known as the singing cook?

A. Because he was a cook at a country-music club.

B. Because he sang for guests while he worked as a cook.

C. Because he often sang while cooking.

D. Because he liked singing better than cooking.

Who first recognized his talents and helped make his career successful?

A. Wamer Brothers.                    B. His manager.    

C. His father.                              D. A businesswoman.

What made the writer proud of himself?

A. His ability to live independently.

B. His sense of responsibility in whatever he did.

C. His courage in the face of rejections.

D. His hard work in his early days.