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D
I was 20 years old when my mother passed away. It was the first real blow that life had dealt me, and I thought I would never recover. Then, by the time the following spring came, the pain was almost bearable and again I could find pleasure in the miraculous reward of nature.
At first, I went to the cemetery with trepidation. But then, amazingly, by tending her grave and decorating it with flowers, I was ridding myself of the painful memories.
The years passed. I moved from Kaposvar, Hungary, the town where I had been born and had spent my youth. So did my siblings. We only came together on feast days, especially on All Souls’ Day in the cemetery.
Father lived with me for many years, to a ripe old age. Now that he, too, rests beneath the white marble stone, I go even more eagerly to the cemetery. While I tend my parents’ grave site, again I am with them in thought.
One day I noticed a modest grave site behind my parents’ plot. It lay among the magnificent granite and marble markers of the other graves, its very simplicity calling attention to itself. Ivy(长春藤) had covered the site and its only decoration was a simple wooden cross on which was written in copper letters a name, and that she lived 22 years. Whenever I went by, the plot and its surroundings looked cared for and neat, and each time I felt curious about this mysterious woman who had lived all of 22 years.
Once I saw an elderly man leaving from there. I concluded that perhaps he had come to visit his wife. In 1996 I was preparing for All Souls’ Day in the cemetery when again I caught sight of him, tending the grave. Tall, somewhat bent, he was well passed middle age. We nodded to each other and continued our work. Occasionally I stole a glance at my neighbor. When I noticed that he hadn’t got the tools for a proper cleanup, I offered him mine, which he gratefully accepted. After this, it seemed only natural to engage him in conversation. I asked him whose grave it was. This was his answer:
“My mother’s. She died young, in 1912 when I was only a year-and-a half old. I really never knew her. I made her that cross and the copper letters.”
Then he went on:” No one comes to visit this grave but me because I was her only child. She died of pneumonia. My father remarried and my stepmother only cared for her own children. So then I always came here to my mother, whether in sadness or in joy. Later, life took me far afield, but I never forgot this grave. For me it was the same as the family home is for others. I always came home here.”
“With the years passing, it is getting more difficult for me to come, but as long as my legs will carry me, at least twice a year I visit my mother. I’m in my 80s. so who knows how long I can still make it.’
In stunned silence I listened. Tears clouded my eyes as I realized that I had never seen such boundless love. How much easier is my lot, I thought, for at any moment I can reach into my storehouse of memories and draw out the joyful or sad vignettes(小插图) that bind me to my parents with a thousand threads. What memories might this kindly old gentleman harbor? Perhaps a face from an ancient faded photograph of his mother.
What a great attachment throughout his long life must have led him back again and again to the resting place of that young woman whose motherly love he could never truly savor(尝到), only forever feels its enormous lack.
We said good-bye. I was deeply moved because I knew that I had been given a great gift. I had been allowed a glimpse of the royal and long-lasting affection that bound a simple and noble-hearted man to his mother. I decided I would tend the grave together with that of my parents, where, finally, the aged child will have met his youthful mother.
55. All Souls’ Day is a feast day ______________.
A. to visit the cemetery and memorize the dead
B. for families to get together in the cemetery
C. to give gifts to family members
D. for daughters and sons to memorize their parents
56. From the passage, we know _____________.
A. the author’s mother died young and her father, too
B. the author’s mother is dead while her father enjoys a long life
C. the man’s mother died very young before he was born
D. the author’s father lived long while the man’s mother died very young
57. The underlined words “calling attention to itself” in the 5th paragraph means_______.
A. desiring to be paid attention to B. making it easily noticed
C. too modest to be noticed D. calling itself to draw others’ attention
58. The author stole a glance at her neighbor because____________.
A. they were living in the same neighborhood
B. the man was tall and straight, well passed middle age
C. she was wondering about the dead young lady’s story
D. she knew the dead in the grave was the man’s mother
59. From Paragraph 10 we can conclude that ___________.
A. the author lived near the cemetery and can visit her parents at any time
B. the poor gentleman had hardly any memory of his dear mother’s love
C. the author is bound to her parents with threads
D. the gentleman comes back “home” whenever he wants to
60. What message is conveyed in the passage?
A. Love is a length of thread to bind mother and children together.
B. Mother needs love from her children even if she is dead.
C. Parents’ love is always royal and long-lasting to children.
D. Mother’s love can be a boundless gift to their children.
第二节（共5小题；每小题2分，共10分）根据短文内容，从短文后的七个选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
House Sitting
In many countries of the world people do what is called house sitting. It means that if owners of the house are going away, they want someone to come into their home and look after the house and maybe pets while they are away.
In Australia, many people travel. After people retire, they might buy a van and travel all over the country.    61    (many people---retired people---thousands of them)
So if someone wants to travel or go away for some reason, they might want someone in their home to care for it and keep the gardens tidy. House sitters might have to care for pets. Also, quite a few people have swimming pools in their back yards and they need cleaning.    62    I feel it is a great way of seeing the country, because you go and stay in a new city, get to meet new people, and have time to go sightseeing in a new area.
    63    There are websites where you find the advertisements by people who want to travel, and by replying to the advertisement, you can make arrangements to go and look after their home.
There are some requirements to be a house sitter. You must be a trusted person, so that the home owner knows you will not steal anything. You must be able to go when the house owner wants you to go, so you need lots of free time.    64    You need to be good with pets, able to care for cats and dogs, or other pets they may have.
Some house sitting jobs are just for a few days or a couple of weeks while the home owner has a short holiday. Sometimes it is for much longer. We have had one house sit for six months, while the home owner travelled to Europe.
   65    Then you can travel to many different countries and stay there. One of the important things to get are references from the home owners where you have stayed. A reference is a written letter to say that you are trustworthy and have looked after their home well. You can show these letters to prospective house sitting jobs and they know you will do a good job.
A. I have done house sitting many times.   
B. Thousands of people do this all the time.
C. It is also possible to do house sitting in other countries.
D. Generally you have many opportunities to get a house sitting job.
E. You must take a little care over what your description says about you.
F. This is an international house sitting service for all city and country areas.  
G. You must have a good car, so you can travel to different parts of the country. 
非选择题部分(共50分)
第四部分：写作（共三节，满分50分）
第一节：阅读下列材料,在空白处填入适当的内容(一个词)或括号内单词的正确形式
In 2015, Adele Adkins（阿黛尔·阿德金斯） said “hello” to her greatest achievement yet. Despite giving every other musician an 11-month head start, she had no trouble ____66____(beat) the competition, ____67____ (become) not only the year’s most talked-about artist, but also its ____68___ successful one. Her third album, 25, ____69____ ( release) on Nov 20, not only broke a record for one-week album sales in just over three days, but also sold more than US singer Taylor Swift’s 1989 to become ____70____ best-selling album of 2015. No ___71___ USA Today named Adele “Musician of the Year” on Dec 28.  
So what is behind the album’s ____72____ (popular)? First and foremost, the 27-year-old British singer has “an awe-inspiring voice that shows her genuine talent”, wrote The Christian Science Monitor. But her directness is also a huge part of her appeal（魅力）. As the Chicago Tribute commented, “Adele sings about her personal struggles” with emotional lyrics (歌词) that invite everyone into her world.
Take the album’s hit single Hello ____73____ an example. Adele has connected with people this tear-stained（泪痕斑斑的）song because, as the Chicago Tribute （芝加哥论坛报） put it, “who doesn’t need a good cry once in a while?” Music, after all, is ___74___ Chris Ferguson, an associate professor of psychology at Stetson University in Florida called “a social event.” The pain in her songs satisfies everyone’s need for love. “It is this sense of ‘we’ve been here before’ ____75____ makes Adele,” said the Chicago Tribute.
第二节：应用文写作 (满分15分)
昨天，你的同班同学李越做了一件好事。请你根据根据事情的经过（买了束花去医院看朋友，但是护士不许带入监护病房，等电梯时看到一位伤心的医院工作人员，把花送给了她），用英语写个题目为Flowers For A Stranger 100-120个词的博客。
你的文章应包括下列要点：
1.事情的经过；
2.你的评论。
注意： 1.文章的标题和开头已给出（不计词数）。
参考词汇：电梯elevator ,医院工作人员hospital personnel
Flowers For A Stranger
Yesterday Li Yue went to the hospital to visit a friend in the Intensive Care Unit. ______________
____________________________________________________________________________________
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