1、Residents of southern California are trying to get used to skyrocketing prices for gasoline. The average price for 87 octane economy gas is $2.22, almost 30 percent higher today than it was 12 months ago. The（25） （low） gas price in the Southland right now is $2.09 a gallon at the Seashell station in
2、 Arcadia. The station manager, Everett, said the reason his gas is cheaper than elsewhere is （26） he bought a lot of gas two years ago at（27） （reduce） prices, so he is passing his savings on to his customers.The lines at the Seashell station often run 10 to 20 vehicles long. The police have been her
3、e several times （28） cars block traffic on Horsetrail Drive. Everett said, “I tell people in line that the Barco station a block away is only $2.14, （29） theyd rather wait and save 5 cents. Its OK with me, of course. I dont mind （30） （make） money.”A young man pumping gas was said（31） （wait） in line
4、for 20 minutes. When asked why he didnt go a block away where there were no lines, he said, “Every penny counts. When I bought this 99 Bummer, gas was only $1 a gallon, which was pretty cheap. So, （32） I only get eight miles per gallon, I wasnt paying that much to fill my tank. But todays prices are
5、 killing me. I drive to work, and I drive to the grocery store. Thats it. I used to drive around the neighborhood just to show off my wheels, but I（33） never do that any more.”（B）People joke that no one in Los Angeles reads; everyone watches TV, rents videos, or goes to the movies. The most popular
6、reading material is comic books, movie magazines, and TV guides. City libraries have only 10 percent of the traffic （34） car washes have. But how do you ex-plain this? An annual book festival in west Los Angeles is sold out year after year. People wait half an hour for a parking space to become avai
7、lable. This outdoor festival, sponsored by（35） newspaper, occurs every April for one weekend. This years attendance（36） （estimate）at 70,000 on Saturday and 75,000 on Sunday. （34）The festival featured 280 exhibitors. There were about 90 talks given by authors, with an audience question-and-answer per
8、iod（37） （follow） each talk. Autograph seekers （38） （seek）out more than 150 authors. A food court sold all kinds of popular and ethnic foods, from American hamburgers to Hawaiian shave ice drinks. （39） a $ 7 parking fee, the festival was free. Even so, some people avoided the food court prices by sne
9、aking in their own sandwiches and drinks.People came from all over California. One couple drove down from San Francisco. “This is their sixth year here now. We love it.” said the husband. “It is just fantastic to be in the great outdoors, to be among so many books and authors, and to get some very g
10、ood deals, too.”The idea for the festival occurred years ago, but nobody knew it would succeed. Although book festivals were already popular in other US cities, would Los Angeles residents embrace one? （35）One of the festival founders said that it all depends as angelinos are very unpredictable.Sect
11、ion BDirections Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Echa word can be only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.A .observers B .customs C. isolated D. occasionally E. rejected F. intentionally G. preferring H. although I. distinctive J .hooks K. other
12、Primarily a farming community, the Amish was attracted to the fertile farmlands in the eastern United States. The largest concentration of Amish today is in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and（41） important groups are in Ohio, Indiana, and Ontario, Canada.The Amish are best known for their simple wa
13、y of life. They are easily recognized by their （42） Clothing. The men wear wide-brimmed black hats, collarless black coats, and black trousers. These homemade clothes are fastened with （43） and eyes instead of with buttons or zippers. Those who are strict （44） of Amish customs do not wear neckties o
14、r belts. In fact, anything which is considered to be a part of modern, worldly life is （45） .the men have beards but ni mustaches. Their long hair is parted in the middle and drawn back over their ears. The womens clothing is black, （46） they wear white prayer caps. They wear hats and long, high-nec
15、ked dresses, long black coats, and black shoes and stockings. They wear their hair parted in the middle and tied behind in a bun. An Amish woman wears no jewelry of any kind. The Amish have （47） separated themselves from the modern technological world. They prefer to live according to the （48） of th
16、eir 17th century European ancestors. Often called the Plain People, the Amish live in simple homes without mirrors, pictures, curtains and carpets. Somehow they manage to get along without radios, telephones, and electric lights. They do not own cars, （49） to travel by horse. The Amish are excellent
17、 farmers, yet they refused to buy tractors or other modern farm machinery. They work the land with horse-drawn plows. Because the Amish are largely self-sufficient and fairly （50） from other communities, they have resisted social change.III Reading ComprehensionSection ADirections for each blank in
18、the following passage there are four words or phrases marked a,b,c and D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.The next great land area that man hopes to control is the moon. In size it is nearly （51） to the area of North and South America. However, it presents a hos
19、tile （不友好的） environment. Temperatures （52） +120 to -150 degrees Centigrade （摄氏）. There is no air, and no water.Today there are （53） scientific speculation （思索） about living on the moon. When man will begin life on the moon surface is still not （54） . But experts believe that settlement will take pla
20、ce in three steps. First, there will be increasing periods of exploration with temporary （55） . These periods will be followed by longer stays with housing under the surface of the moon and systems necessary to（56） life brought by the colonizers themselves. Finally, colonies that are ecologically an
21、d （57） self-supporting will be established.The principal job of the early settlers will be to stay （58） . They will have to bulid shelters to （59） an atmosphere like that of earth. They will have to plant crops under huge domes to produce food and （60） and find water sources. After this is done, the
22、 settlers will have time to explore the possibilities of commercial development and to make discoveries important to science. The characteristics of the moon that make it bad for human staying alive may make it （61） for certain kinds of manufacturing. Operations that require a vacuum or extreme cold
23、, are an（62） . Precision ball bearing, industrial diamonds, or certain medicines might be produced on the moon.The most immediate interest in the moon, however, is a scientific one, Geologists can explore the history and composition of the（63） . Meteorologists will have opportunities to forecast wea
24、ther on earth. Cosmologists can study the origin of the solar system, Astronomers（天文学家） can use their optical telescopes and radio telescopes（64） of atmospheric and man-made distortions. And perhaps at some distant date the moon can serve as a base from which space explorers can travel to other plan
25、ets in the earths solar system and to worlds（65） .51. A superiorB.essential C.equal D.fertile52. A rangeB.restoreC.sortD.rise53. A sociableB. inevitableC.mysteriousD.considerable54.A determinedB.occupiedC.initiatedD. resembled55.A monumentsB.sheltersC.rocketsD.houses56.A sacrificeB.support C.spareD.
26、risk57.A economicallyB.sociablyC.imaginarilyD.enthusiastically58.A.activeB.attractiveC.aliveD.ambitious59.A.mentionB.motivateC.maintainD.monitor60.A.mineral B.oxygenC. proteinD.medicine61.A.idealB.complicatedC .difficultD.expensive62.A.explanation B.excursionC. executive D.example63.A.earthB.starC.s
27、atelliteD.planet64.A.fullB.consciousC.lackD.free65.A.beyond B.highlyC .else D.aheadDirections Read the following passages. Each passage is followed by several quesitons or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A,B,C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to th
28、e information given in the passage you have just read. Culturally speaking, America might be called a European colony. No other country whose origins lie in Europe has had so sharp an awareness of its distinction and superiority to the parent cultures. Running through American history, and therefore
29、 through American literature, is a double consciousness of Old World modes and New World possibilities. As American , the writer has distributed Europe; as writer, he has envied the riches available to his European Counterpart. In the nineteenth century some immigrants came in order to avoid militar
30、y service in their homeland. But even so, the snowballing process had for most Americans a deep, almost legendary significance. In the legends, Europe was associated with the Past, with British red-coats at Concord, absentee landlords（不在的地主），dynastic pride, hunger, poverty, oppression. America, by c
31、ontrast, was the future plenty, prosperity, freedom. For much of its history America has been a busy, restless land, more interested in innovation than in conservation（保守）. Its people have been highly optimistic, setting great store by the ability of the individual to overcome obstacles. The individual has had a right to expect success. Optimism and pessimism mix unusu
