【正文】 23. By improving reading skills, you can read faster and understand more of you read. A. that B. what C. which D. whether 24. Students plain that homework has ________ most of their time after class. A. taken away B. taken up C. put up D. made up 25. The singer hopes her concert will be like a big party everyone enjoys themselves. A. which B. when C. what D. where 26. This book is said to be a special one, which ______many events not found in other history books. A. writes B. covers C. prints D. reads 27. There are many beautiful islands _____the east coast of the country. A. off B. along C. on D. from 28. It’s worth much ____ is worth_____. A. to do that。 doing C. to do what。 to do 29. The man made another wonderful discovery, which I think is ______ great importance to science. A. of B. in C. to D. by 30. Finally came the day_____ he had to begin his study for the next term. A. till B. when C. since D. which 31. I won’t go to his party next time. It couldn’t have been _____ in fact. A. any better B. any worse C. so bad D. the best 32. It is a good plan in theory, but it ___________ to be seen whether it works in practice. A. waits B. stays C. stands D. remains 33. The disc, digitally in the studio, sounded fantastic at the party that night. A. recorded B. recording C. to be recorded D. having recorded 34. he felt very tired because of riding his bike to work every day, my father refused to buy a motorbike when he thought about such a high price. A. However B. In spite of C. Although D. As a result 35. Although punctual（守時） himself, the teacher was quite used ______ late for his lecture. A. to have students B. for students’ being C. for students to be D. to students’ being 第二節(jié) 完形填空（共 20 小題；每小題 分，共 30 分） 閱讀下面短文，掌握其大意，從每題所給的 A、 B、 C、 D 四個選項中，選出最佳選項。 A One cold morning in winter, when I was a little boy, a smiling man with an ax on his shoulder stopped me, saying: “My pretty boy, has your father a grindstone(砂 輪 )” “Yes, sir,” said I. “You are a fine little fellow!” said the man. “Will you let me grind(磨 ) my ax?” Pleased with the flattery, I answered, “Oh, yes, sir. The grindstone is down in the shop.” Patting me on my head, he said, “Will you get me some hot water?” I ran and brought the hot water. “How old are you, and what is your name?” he asked without waiting for a reply, “I’m sure you are one of the finest boys I have ever seen. Will you turn the grindstone a few minutes for me?” Hearing the flattery again, I went to work with a will. It was a new ax, and I worked hard until I was almost tired to death. The school bell rang, but I could not get away, because the ax was not half ground. At last, however, it was sharpened. Then the man turned to me and said, “Now, you little rascal(小壞蛋 ), you’ve played truant(逃課 )! Run to school, or you’ll be sorry! “ “Alas!” thought I. “It was hard enough to turn a grindstone this old day, but now to be called a rascal is too much.” The memory of turning the grindstone that winter morning sank into my mind. I have thought of it since. Now, whenever I hear words of flattery, I say to myself. “That man has an ax to grind.” 56. In this passage, the word “flattery” means _____. A. an order or direction B. nice words used beyond truth C. kind words spoken by elder people to children D. good manners 57. The man asked the boy many questions because _____. A. he liked the boy very much B. he wanted to know the boy’s name C. he wanted to sharpen his ax D. he wanted to know how old the boy was 58. The man called the boy “rascal” because _____. A. his ax was damaged by the boy B. he didn’t like the boy’s play truant C. he didn’t need the boy any more D. he thought that boy should go to school on time 59. Today in the writer’s vocabulary “That man has an ax to grind” means _____. A. that man has some selfish reasons for his actions B. that man works with an ax C. that man is very kind and polite to boys D. that man needs to sharpen his ax B Sometimes life gets a little dull. What used to be fun and different bees boring. That is the