They then headed south to Brisbane but the city was experiencing 27 flooding, so they crossed the country to Perth where they 28 escaped violent bush fires. The couple them flew to Christchurch, New Zealand, arriving just 29 a powerful magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck the city on February 22. Mrs. Svanstorm said, “ When we got there the whole town 30 a war zone. We could not visit the city since it was completely 31 , so instead we travelled around before going to Japan.” 32 days after the Svanstorms arrived, Tokyo was rocked by Japan’s largest earthquake since 33 began,.

The family returned to Stockholm on March 29, 2011 after a much 34 visit to their last destination China. But Mr. Svanstorm—who also survived the 35 Boxing Day tsunami that hit Southeast Asia in 2004—said the marriage was still going 36 . He added, “I know marriages have to experience some hardship, but I think we have been 37 most of them. We’ve certainly experienced more than our 38 share of catastrophes, but the most important thing is that we’re together and happy.” Mrs. Svanstrom added, “To say we were unlucky with the weather doesn’t really 39 it! It’s so absurd that now we can only 40 .”

21. A. started B. fled C. abandoned D. left

22. A. consistently B. immediately C. temporarily D. desperately

23. A. due to B. owe to C. thank to D. result from

24. A. suffered B. stuck C. struck D. blown

25. A. hide B. sleep C. shelter D. squeeze

26. A. over B. into C. along D. across

27. A. unique B. massive C. rare D. common

28. A. narrowly B. scarcely C. nearly D. deliberately

29. A. before B. after C. when D. as

30. A. resembled B. liked C. ruined D. represented

31. A. blocked off B. knocked off C. fallen off D. burnt off

32. A. However B. But C. Therefore D. So

33. A. history B. disasters C. records D. civilization

34. A. better B. worse C. cheaper D. calmer

35. A. amazing B. breathtaking C. stimulating D. destroying

36. A. strong B. young C. friendly D. fast

37. A. through B. against C. beyond D. with

38. A. fair B. legal C. total D. separate

39. A. hold B. beat C. cover D. reach

40. A. laugh B. weep C. sigh D. yell

第二部分：阅读理解(第一节20小题，第二节5小题;每小题2分，满分50分)

第一节：阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中，选出最佳选项，并在答题纸上将该选项标号涂黑。

( A )

When a couple decide to marry, they naturally inform both sets of parents or stepparents before having a party planned or telling all their friends.The days are long gone of the man going trembling to the girl’s father and saying, “ Sir, may I have the honor of having the hand of your daughter in marriage?” However, a wise couple always discuss their plans for marriage with their respective families, and a young man often suggests a “financial talk” with his future father-in-law before the latter is faced with the embarrassment of asking for one.Even if a young woman has supported herself and lives away from home, her parents have the right to know how her fiancé proposes to handle the long-range financing of their family and home.The fiancé should state his income, his savings, and his failure expectations, without overstating any of them.

Engagement parties are given by the parents of the bride-to-be or by a relative of the bride acting for her parents, usually just before the newspaper announcement of the engagement.If the bride-to-be and her fiancé live in a city other than her parents, it is better for her parents to go to the city than her to go home to them for the engagement party.She and her fiancé will, after all, be partied in her parents’ hometown during the wedding festivities.However, if the family home is not far away, it is proper for the engaged couple to travel there for the announcement party.The young man’s family should be invited, too.If the bride’s parents are no longer living, then a relative or a close friend can give the party.It is usually a simple cocktail’s party, champagne served for toasts to the engaged couple.

If the party is very large, the engaged couple and the girl’s parents might form a receiving line---- but they do not have to.The bride-to-be usually wears her engagement ring officially for the first time on this occasion.If she has a gift for the groom-to-be, she gives it to him right before or after the engagement party.

For Americans, the traditional engagement ring is a diamond solitaire (单粒宝石).However, today anything goes---- a ring with many colored stones, a ring with a large semiprecious stone, an heirloom(传家宝)ring reset in a modern design, or even a stone in the bride’s family, simply reset in a Tiffany setting.The wedding ring will be of the same metal as the engagement ring.Some girls prefer no engagement ring but choose a wedding band that is decorated with stones instead.No one has to have an engagement ring.A girl may want her fiancé to give her a pearl necklace instead, or a jeweled watch.Jeweled rings can be given as gifts on many occasions during the married lives---- such as wedding anniversaries, the birth of a child, or an important job promotion .

41.According to the first paragraph, young men _________________.

A.must tell all their friends before planning a party

B.used to feel afraid of going to meet their girl friends’ parents

C.must promise that their family could support them

D.must guarantee they live away from home already

42.The underlined word “one” in the first paragraph most probably means ______________.

A.a marriage B.a plan

C.a financial talk D.an embarrassment

43.Which of the following statements does NOT agree with the passage?

A.The bride-to-be and her fiancé will have to wait in line with both of their parents.

B.If the girl’s parents are dead, a relative or a close friend gives a party on their behalf.

C.The engagement party is usually given before the newspaper announcement.

D.It’s no longer necessary to give a diamond solitaire as the engagement ring.

44.We can infer from the last paragraph that ________.

A.a young man can give his wife a jeweled watch on the birthday of their child

B.the heirloom must be reset in a modern design

C.the engagement ring and the wedding ring are different

D.some girls don’t mind what they are given for the engagement

( B )

“Who questions much, shall learn much, and remember much.”----Francis Bacon (1561-1626)

It seems obvious now how we acquire knowledge and understanding.To start with, you need questions.Then, to find answers, you observe the world around you and study the facts.After that you consider possible answers and test each to find the right ones.Although today we are more accustomed to typing a few key words into a search engine and waiting for the Internet to spit the answer out for us, modern scientists and thinkers are still solving the world’s problems with this type of analysis -- luckily for us.

However, in the 17th century when Francis Bacon suggested that this type of thinking was the way to gain knowledge, he was going against the views of the day. At that time, people believed more in religion than in facts, and people like Galileo Galilei, who proved scientific ideas such as “ the Earth is not the centre of the universe”, were often punished by the church with no one coming to their defense.The church and many people tended to ignore the facts and were unwilling to challenge what they had always comfortably believed.They preferred to make assumptions about the world based on the experience of others.In fact, when Galilei proved that the Earth was not the centre of the universe, instead of believing him, people chose to believe ancient views put forward by the great philosopher Aristotle (384-322BC).

This also shows how people didn’t want to search for their own understanding or educate themselves.And this is still often true today.People feel that if someone important and respected says that something is right, then it must be so.But even though Aristotle was a great man who inspired many great scientists and philosophers after him, he was wrong at times.And Galilei too made mistakes.He is now known as the father of astronomy but he believed that the earth moved round the sun in a perfect circle.He was wrong.Therefore our understanding of the world around us is constantly growing and changing.In other words, we learn more every day and none of us can ever sit back and say “We know it all.”

We need to thank the great men of the past for the wisdom to know that we don’t know it all and probably never will, for that would mean a world without questions.So much of our knowledge and understanding of the world today is due to people like Bacon and Galilei, who were brave enough to step out from the shadows of old thoughts in order to find the kingdom of knowledge that today’s civilization is built upon.These men knew that knowledge and understanding are things to fight for; more vital to a man, and more beneficial to mankind, some might say, than all the money in the world.

“All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.”----Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)

45.In Bacon and Galileo’s times, people would prefer to ________.

A.learn new things by observing the world around themselves

B.acquire knowledge from church or experience of great ancestors

C.seek answers to their puzzles from contemporary scientists

D.explore knowledge out of facts they saw with their own eyes

46.In this passage Bacon and Galileo are mentioned as examples for ________.

A.their great achievements in science