(09·四川C篇)

Honesty comes in many forms. First there’s self-honesty. Is what people see the real article or do you appear through smoke and mirrors? I find that if I try to be something I’m not.  I feel unsure of myself and take out a part from my PBA（personal bank account）. I love how singer Judy Garland put it.  “Always be a first-class version（版本）of yourself, instead of a second-class version of somebody else. ”

Then there’s honesty in our actions. Are you honest at school, with your parents, and with your boss? If you’ve ever been dishonest, I think we all have, try being honest, and notice how whole it makes you feel. Remember, you can’t do wrong and feel right. This story by Jeff is a good example of that:

In my second year of study, there were three kids in my math class who didn’t do well. I was really good at it. I would charge them three dollars for each test that I helped them pass. I’d write on a little piece of paper all the right answers, and hand them off.

At first I felt like I was making money, kind of a nice job. I wasn’t thinking about how it could hurt all of us. After a while I realized I shouldn’t do that anymore, because I wasn’t really helping them. They weren’t learning anything, and it would only get harder down the road. Cheating certainly wasn’t helping me.

It takes courage to be honest when people all around you are getting away with cheating on tests, lying to their parents, and stealing at work. But, remember, every act of honesty is a deposit(儲蓄) into your PBA and will build strength.

49. The underlined part “appear through smoke and mirrors” in the first paragraph means “       ”     

A. to be honest

B. to be unreal

C. to become clear

D. to come from an imagined world

50. Which of the following can best explain Judy Garland’s words?

A. Be your true self rather than follow others.

B. Don’t copy others or you can’t be the first class.

C. Make efforts to be the first instead of the second.

D. Don’t learn from others unless they’re excellent.

51. What does the author expect to show by Jeff’s story?

A. Honesty the author expect to show by Jeff’s story?

B. A bad thing can be turned into a good one.

C. Helping others cheat can do good to nobody.

D. One should realize the wrong in his bad deeds.

52. In the last paragraph the author mainly wants to express          .

A. one must be brave to be honest

B. it’s difficult to be honest when others are not

C. one should be honest when making a deposit

D. honesty in one’s actions can help him in the future

Lie in bed, by an open window, and listen…
“No air conditioning? How can you sleep?” a friend asks, horrified. I tell her my family has decided to shut the air conditioner off and reduce our electric bill. On this first night of our cost-cutting plan, it’s only 85 degrees. We’re going to suffer, but the three kids complain anyway.
They have grown up in 72-degree comfort, protected from the world outside.
“It’s too hot to sleep,” my 13-year-old daughter complains. “I’m about to die from this heat,” her brother complains down the hall. “Just try it tonight,” I tell them. In truth I’m too tired to turn for long. My face is sweaty, but I lie quietly listening to the cricket choirs outside that remind me of childhood.
The neighbor’s dog howls. Probably a passing squirrel. It’s been years since I took the time to really listen to the night.
I think about grandma, who lived to 92 and still helped with my mom’s gardening until just a few weeks before she died. And then, I’m back there at her house in the summer heat of my childhood. I move my pillow to the foot of grandma’s bed and turn my face toward the open window. I turn the pillow, hunting for the cooler side.
Grandma saw me turn over and over. “If you just watch for the breeze(清風),” she said, “you’ll cool off and fall asleep.” I stare at the filmy white curtain, willing it to move. Lying still, waiting, I suddenly notice the life outside the window. The bug chorus. Neighbors, porch(門廊)-sitting late, speak in unclear words that calm me.
“Mom, did you hear that?” my seven-year-old son cries, “I think it was an owl(貓頭鷹)family.”
“Probably,” I tell him, “just keep listening…”
Without the working air conditioner, the house is peaceful, and the natural night noises seem close enough to touch. I hope I’m awake tonight when the first breeze comes in.
【小題1】On the first night of the writer’s cost-cutting plan, her children ______.

Lie in bed, by an open window, and listen…
“No air conditioning? How can you sleep?” a friend asks, horrified. I tell her my family has decided to shut the air conditioner off and reduce our electric bill. On this first night of our cost-cutting plan, it’s only 85 degrees. We’re going to suffer, but the three kids complain anyway.
They have grown up in 72-degree comfort, protected from the world outside.
“It’s too hot to sleep,” my 13-year-old daughter complains. “I’m about to die from this heat,” her brother complains down the hall. “Just try it tonight,” I tell them. In truth I’m too tired to turn for long. My face is sweaty, but I lie quietly listening to the cricket choirs outside that remind me of childhood.
The neighbor’s dog howls. Probably a passing squirrel. It’s been years since I took the time to really listen to the night.
I think about grandma, who lived to 92 and still helped with my mom’s gardening until just a few weeks before she died. And then, I’m back there at her house in the summer heat of my childhood. I move my pillow to the foot of grandma’s bed and turn my face toward the open window. I turn the pillow, hunting for the cooler side.
Grandma saw me turn over and over. “If you just watch for the breeze(清風),” she said, “you’ll cool off and fall asleep.” I stare at the filmy white curtain, willing it to move. Lying still, waiting, I suddenly notice the life outside the window. The bug chorus. Neighbors, porch(門廊)-sitting late, speak in unclear words that calm me.
“Mom, did you hear that?” my seven-year-old son cries, “I think it was an owl(貓頭鷹)family.”
“Probably,” I tell him, “just keep listening…”
Without the working air conditioner, the house is peaceful, and the natural night noises seem close enough to touch. I hope I’m awake tonight when the first breeze comes in.

1. 1.

   On the first night of the writer’s cost-cutting plan, her children ______.

   1. A.
      live a comfortable life as usual
   2. B.
      begin to be unhappy
   3. C.
      are protected from the world outside
   4. D.
      are about to die from the heat
2. 2.

   The author talks about her grandmother and her childhood to show that ______.

   1. A.
      people used to live a hard life
   2. B.
      people at that time were hardworking
   3. C.
      it’s OK for people to live a simple life
   4. D.
      she has learned a great deal from her grandma
3. 3.

   In the writer’s eyes, her children are ______.

   1. A.
      free from parents’ protection
   2. B.
      full of dissatisfaction with life
   3. C.
      dependable because of parents’ love
   4. D.
      lacking in real test of hardships in life
4. 4.

   Which of the following titles best suits the passage?

   1. A.
      Waiting for the Breeze.
   2. B.
      An Interesting Experience.
   3. C.
      Life at Present and Life in the Past.
   4. D.
      Different Times, Different Children

I’ve always loved pigeons（鴿子）. Some years ago I managed to persuade my wife to let me buy a few and start   37   them myself. They cost a lot of money and so it spoilt（破壞）our   38   a bit, but my wife never actually stopped me so I    39   carried on. I learnt so much about them that I could   40   a good racer anywhere and I bought some beauties. My pigeons won some top races, and I even began to make a bit of   41   .

       My wife had been changing her   42   to the pigeons over the last year or two anyway. She was quite   43   of all the prizes we’d won. Then there was the traveling, which she liked. You see someone has to take the pigeons a    44   way off and release them. Some of the    45   were really nice. I never traveled. I used to like to wait at home and see them   46   in. They’ve got this wonderful sense of    47   , which can bring them back home so quickly. They’d flown hundreds of miles sometimes   48   storms or against strong winds. And there they’d come, tiny white birds against the blue   49   .Then I’d watch them   50   round and come down onto the landing shelf. I’d look at my watch and think,“My goodness, that’s a good   51   .”And I’d take off the little leg ring and push it through the machine to   52   what time he’d arrived. Then my wife would    53   up and say,“Has he arrived yet?”Then we would work out if we’d won   54  .

       Then last year we had a    55   !One of them got some sort of flu（流行病）and died, then they all went down.（病倒）. It was   56   , I had to burn them all. We lost a fortune, of course.

37．A．racing      B．feeding     C．tending     D．flying

38．A．kids  B．experiment       C．marriage   D．experience

39．A．just   B．even  C．almost      D．hardly

40．A．notice       B．learn C．imagine    D．recognize

41．A．living       B．fun    C．money      D．change

42．A．subject     B．decision    C．relation     D．attitude

43．A．proud       B．fond  C．careful      D．sure

44．A．different   B．long  C．short D．far

45．A．distances   B．activities   C．trips  D．movements

46．A．to come    B．come C．came D．have come

47．A．direction   B．sight  C．hearing     D．touch

48．A．over  B．across       C．with  D．through

49．A．heaven     B．mountain  C．cloud D．sky

50．A．turn  B．dance       C．circle D．whistle

51．A．fly    B．time  C．day   D．look

52．A．write B．record      C．count D．memorize

53．A．come B．show C．phone       D．cheer

54．A．again B．finally      C．only  D．accidentally

55．A．disadvantage    B．chance      C．test    D．disaster

56．A．terrible     B．great C．mean D．beautiful