That was four years ago. I and Richard had no experience of living in the country. But at this stage of our lives, it was exciting to begin a new adventure. Besides, my parents were gone, the kids were grown and, to be honest, if I saw one more apartment building go up in my neighbourhood, the top of my head was going to explode.

The first winter in our new home was a difficult one, with more snow falling than in the past 10 years. I learned the true meaning of “cabin fever(幽闭烦躁症)”—when I developed an uncontrollable thought to beat Richard over the head with a stick because I couldn’t stand the sound of the air blowing through his nose when he breathed. We were trapped together 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. A lot! It wasn’t pretty. When spring came I found myself driving to the city at least once every few weeks. I need to hug a tall building. I wasn’t quite used to the new life so well.

But there are so many wonderful things about living in the country. I first realized it would be different when I, with 12 items(物品), went through the express lane(快速结帐通道) at the local supermarket which is for people taking 5 items or less and nobody threatened my life or even gave me dirty looks. People actually smiled at me.

And driving around the countryside is a relaxing experience. I have discovered clouds. I am fascinated by all sorts of lovely birds and wildlife. I’m getting into a new role and a new life and it feels good. Now, I’m at home, the city is no longer where I belong. I’m here forever. So, there is no doubt that carrots grow in the ground.

28．The author and her husband moved to the countryside when ____________. A．they retired from work B．their kids were grown C．their parents were gone

D．they sold their city house at a high price 29．How was their first winter in the country？ A．Discouraging. B．Frightening. C．Boring. D．Exhausting.

30．The author shares her experience in a supermarket to show_________. A．people in the country are nice

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B．people in the country lead simple lives

C．supermarkets in the country have a few customers D．she is cleverer than people in the country

31．What is the meaning of underlined sentence “So, there is no doubt that carrots grow in theground”(the last paragraph)？

A．Carrots can be gathered in the ground. B．The author is interested in agriculture.

C．The author has totally got used to the life in the country. D．Carrots are very common in the country. D

US spaceman Scott Kelly said he is fighting tiredness but is back to his normal height after nearly one year in space.

Kelly’s 340-day mission(任务)—spent testing the effects of long—term spaceflight ahead of a future mission to Mars, along with Russian spaceman Mikhail Kornienko—wrapped up early Wednesday when they landed in freezing Kazakhstan aboard a Soyuz spaceship.

One of the effects of the spending such a long time without gravity was that Kelly’s spine(脊柱) got longer temporarily, making him grow 3.8 centimeters, only to go back to normal as he returned to Earth.

His twin brother, Mark Kelly, said they were the same height again by the time they hugged in Houston early on Thursday.

According to John Charles, human research program associate manager of international science at NASA(National Aeronautics and Space Administration), any height gain “probably went away very quickly because fluid(体液) gradually got more and more in the discs between the bones in the spine.”

Kelly also said reports that he had grown a full 5.1 centimeters were exaggerated. “I don’t know where that came from. I did measure myself and it was an inch and a half, so maybe somebody just decided to just round up and write it as a fact,” he told reporters in his first extended media appearance since his rectum.

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The details are of great importance because a team of doctors is carefully researching all the differences between Kelly and his twin, who is also a spaceman but who stayed on Earth to take part in the study.

The details of those ongoing studies are secret for now, as scientists will do further analysis and provide their findings for other researches before publishing them.

The idea is to learn more about the harmful effects of spaceflight before NASA green lights any deeper space mission to Mars, journeys that would last a year or more. 32．What made Scott Kelly grow taller after he spent 340 days in space？ A．Loneliness.

B．Low amount of oxygen. C．The lack of gravity.

D．Harmful effects of spaceflight.

33．What did Scott Kelly mean by saying “the reports… were exaggerated”(in Para. 6)A．The reports were illegal. B．The reports were total lies. C．He was annoyed about the reports. D．He did not grow that much.

34．The job of Mark Kelly, Scott Kelly’s twin brother, in the study is _______. A．to comfort Scott B．to compare with Scott C．to protect Scott D．to take care of Scott 35．Why are the details of the studies secret？ A．The studies are harmful to spacemen. B．Scientists have not finished their jobs yet. C．NASA does not permit giving out the details. D．The studies concern the safety of human beings.

第二节 （共5小题；每小题2分，满分10分）

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根据短文内容，从短文后的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。

Suppose you have two friends, A and B, both of whom have been learning English for years. Both are clever young men, and both are anxious to master a good knowledge of the language. 36 : A can write short letters and read easy news but cannot read any passage in the classics(经典名著), while B can read here and there in some classics but cannot write short letters or read easy news. 37 ？

I believe you would prefer to be like A rather than B. You should. I am sorry to find that among Chinese learners of English there seem to be more like B than like A. The trouble lies mainly in what is read.

38 ？ I mean to ask what you take as your main reading material. Is it a novel or a volume(册) of essays written more than a hundred years ago？ If it is, my advice to you is to change it for something else. Your main reading material must have been written far less than a hundred years ago, a few weeks ago if possible, must have been written in simple English, and must have been written by an Englishman or an American.

39 . But I think I have to make some general remarks. Your main reading material needs not to be a literary masterpiece(文学著作). Nor need it be written by a famous author. A short passage in a magazine is better than a novel or some long essays.

You must have noted that in the above I have talked about only what your main reading material should be. 40 , which may be a little more difficult, but which still had better not be a classic of more than a hundred years ago. A．Well, what do you read

B．What you read must be very easy for you

C．When you read a short story, you may read it only for pleasure D．But they got very different results E．You should also read something else

F．Which of your two friends would you prefer to be like G．I am not going to give a list of books here

第三部分 英语知识运用（共三节，满分45分）

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