He must have been completely lost in something he was reading because I had to tap on the windshield to get his attention.

“Is your taxi  1  ?” I asked when he finally looked  2  at me. He nodded, then said  3  as I settled into the back seat, “I'm sorry, but I was reading a  4  .” He  5  as if he had a cold .

“I am not in a hurry,” I told him. “Go ahead and finish your letter.” He  6  his head. “I've read it several times already. I guess I  7  know it by heart.”

“Letters from home always mean a lot,” I said. “From a child?”

“This isn't  8  ,” he replied. “Although it  9  just as well have been family. Old Ed was my oldest friend. In fact, we used to call each other 'Old Friend' when we'd meet. I'm not much good at  10 .”

“I don't think any of us keep  11  our correspondence (通信) too well,” I said. “I know I don't. But I take it he's someone you've  12  quite a while?”

“All my life. We were kids together, went to school together and all the  13  through high school.”

“There are not too many people who've had such a long friendship,” I said.

“ 14 ,” the driver went on, “I hadn't seen him more than once or twice a year over the past 25 or 30 years because I  15  away from the old neighbourhood and you kind of lose touch  16  you never forget.”

“You said 'was'. Does that mean—?” He nodded. “ 17  a couple of weeks ago.”

“I'm sorry,” I said. “It's no fun to lose any friend—and losing a real old one is  18  tougher.”

He didn't  19  to that, and we rode on in silence for a few minutes. But I realized that Old Ed was still on his mind when he spoke again, almost more to himself than to me: “I should have kept in touch.”

“Well,” I agreed, “we should all keep in touch with old friends more than we do. But things  20  and we just don't seem to find the time.”

When I got to my hotel room I didn't unpack right away. First I had to write a letter and mail it.

1. available    B. acceptable          C. beneficial       D. occupied

2. A.       down      B.    up    C.    to    D. off

3. A.       unexpectedly      B. curiously        C. apologetically D.  definitely

4. A.       booklet       B. novel              C.       book          D. letter

5. A.       sounded   B. spoke  C.    seemed    D. continued

6. A.       hung      B.       nodded       C. shook       D. kept

7. A.       anyhow   B.    hardly     C.    almost     D. really

8. A.       friendship       B.    family     C.    leadership       D. colleague

9. A.       could      B. might  C.    maybe     D. would

10. A.     writing    B.    reading    C.    talking    D. earning

11. A.      up    B.    with C.    on    D. in

12. A.     found      B.    written    C.    known     D. seen

13. A.     curriculum      B.    coincidence     C.    life  D. way

14. A. Eventually   B.    Actually  C.    Additionally   D. Besides

15. A. removed      B.    left  C.    headed    D. moved

16. A.     even though    B.    as though C.    when       D. whereas

17. A.     Died       B. Suffered     C. Choked      D. Survived

18. A.     ever B.    even C.    fairly      D. quite

19. A.     appeal          B. reply    C.    adapt       D. talk

20.   A.    take up         B. pick up          C. come up             D. break up

“Why didn’t she come to the meeting yesterday?” “I’m not so sure. She ______ ill.”

A. should be   B. should have been

C. must be      D. might have been

He must have admired what you did yesterday, ___?

A. hasn't he  B. didn't he   C. must he    D. haven't he

Twelve years age I flew from my home in Minnesota to spend Father’s Day with my father in California. This wasn’t a typical Father’s Day visit, but to say goodbye to my father as his cancer rapidly advanced. We hadn’t had much of a relationship up to that day and never did much talking. He wasn’t verbal (善用言詞辭的) or demonstrative (易流露感情的) nor was I. I knew he loved me simply because fathers love their children. He never told me he loved me and I never told him. That’s the way we did things in our house.

   My father told me a bit about his career growth from a poor boy to a very successful businessman. He had got a lot through his hard work. He had reasons to be proud of what he had done and I had the benefit of his success. “Maybe I didn’t do things right. I never really knew you or your brothers. I did what I thought was right.” This visit didn’t change our ways. We shook hands and said goodbye as I left. Our relationship ended as we lived it.

   As a father for more than 14 years I look back and understand why I am staying at home full-time with my children. I tell my children I love them every day, I hug them and I talk with them and let them know how important they are to me. However, as much as we would like to believe that we are all ideal fathers but we are not. We all made mistakes and hopefully we learned from them, just as I learned from my father.

Why did the author visit his father?

  A. He wanted to wish his father a happy Father’s Day.                   

B. He planned to look after his sick father.   

C. He wanted to express his love to his father.               

D. He came to see his father for the last time.

57. What did the author think of his father?

  A. He didn’t talk much but was a good father.  B. He didn’t do anything right.

  C. He just did what a father should do.         D. He didn’t like his children at all.

58. Which of the following statements about the author’s father is TRUE?

  A. His father had been away from their home for a long time.     

  B. His father gained great success through hard work. 

C. His father quite understand his children.

D. His father was sorry for his mistake.

59. The author believes that fathers should________.

  A. set good example to their children through actions        

  B. stay at home with their children all the time

  C. tell their children what is right

  D. express their love to their children

閱讀下面短文，掌握其大意，從每題所給的A、B、C、D四個(gè)選項(xiàng)中，選出最佳選項(xiàng)，并在答題卡上將該項(xiàng)涂黑。

When I entered Berkeley, I hoped to earn a scholarship. Having been a Straight-A student, I believed I could __36__ tough subjects and really learn something. One such course was World Literature given by Professor Jayne. I was extremely interested in the ideas he 37 in class.

When I took the first exam, I was 38 to find a 77, C-plus, on my test paper,   39   English was my best subject. I went to Professor Jayne, who listened to my arguments but remained_ 40   .

I decided to try harder, although I didn’t know what that  41  because school had always been easy for me. I read the books more carefully, but got another 77. Again, I   42  with Professor Jayne. Again, he listened patiently but wouldn’t change his 43     .

One more test before the final exam. One more  44  to improve my grade. So I redoubled my efforts and, for the first time.   45   The meaning of the word “thorough”. But my  46__    did no good and everything  47   as before.

The last hurdle(障礙) was the final. No matter what   48   I got, it wouldn’t cancel three C-pluses. I might as well kiss the   49   goodbye.

I stopped working head. I felt I knew the course material as well as I ever would. The night before the final, I even  50  myself to a movie. The next day I decided for once I’d have  51__with a test.

A week later, I was surprised to find I got an A. I hurried into professor Jayne’s office. He  52__ to be expecting me. “If I gave you the As you  53  , you wouldn’t continue to work as hard.”

I stared at him.  54  That his analysis and strategy(策略) were correct. I had worked my head   55  , as I had never done before.

I was speechless when my course grade arrived: A-plus. It was the only A-plus given. The next year I received my scholarship. I’ve always remembered Professor Jayne’s lesson: you alone must set your own standard of excellence.

36.  A. take        B. discuss      C. cover         D. get

37.  A. sought      B. presented    C. exchanged     D. obtained

38.  A. shocked     B. worried      C. scared        D. anxious

39.  A. but         B. so          C. for           D. or

40.  A. unchanged   B. unpleasant   C. unfriendly     D. unmoved

41.  A. reflected     B. meant       C. improved     D. affected

42.  A. quarreled    B. reasoned     C. bargained     D. chatted

43.  A. attitude      B. mind        C. plan         D. view

44.  A. choice       B. step         C. chance       D. measure

45.  A. memorized    B. considered   C. accepted      D. learned

46.  A. ambition      B. confidence   C. effort         D. method

47.  A. stayed        B. went        C. worked       D. changed

48.  A. grade         B. answer      C. lesson        D. comment

49.  A. scholarship     B. course      C. degree       D. subject

50.  A. helped         B. favored     C. treated       D. relaxed

51.  A. fun            B. luck       C. problems      D. tricks.

52.  A. happened       B. proved     C. pretended     D. seemed

53.  A. valued         B. imagined    C. expected     D. welcomed

54.  A. remembering    B. guessing    C. supposing    D. realizing

55.  A. out            B. over       C. on           D. off