When I opened the door, I found my father sitting in his chair, completely ______ in a         magazine.

A. absorbed        B. focused        C. losing          D. occupied

He began to take political science _________ only when he left school.

A. strictly                B. truly                  C. carefully           D. seriously

— Joan was badly injured in the accident yesterday and she was sent to hospital.

       — Oh, really? I ____. I ____ visit her.

A．didn’t know; will go to   B．don’t know; will go to

       C．didn’t know; am going to       D．haven’t known; am going to

.The basketball match will be put off if it ________.

   A.will rain          B.rained           C.is raining                D.rains

Illegal removal of coral(珊瑚) along Sri Lanka’s coastline increased the amount of destruction on the island by last December’s tsunami, say researchers.

Harindra Fernando, a fluid dynamicist (力學家) at Arizona State University in Tempe, made the connection after a visit to his native Sri Lanka earlier this year．While serving as a scientific expert and translator for a BBC-documentary team, he chatted with locals who said they saw the tsunami turn sideways when it hit coral—which would have made it less powerful than in coral-free areas．Fernando linked this to trucks he had seen last year carrying piles of coral away from the sea.

Using the eyewitness reports, estimates (估算) of wave heights, and a series of divers to check the presence or absence of corals, Fernando and his colleagues produced a map of coral gaps and wave flooding along Sri Lanka’s southwest coast.

The tsunami reached significantly farther inland through the gaps: in one instance, the water traveled 1.5 kilometres long and knocked a passenger train off its tracks, killing 1,700．But only a few kilometers away, where the coral was still undamaged, the wave travelled just 50 metres inland and caused no deaths.

There is a similar phenomenon．In Nicaragua in 1992, a tsunami poured through a break in the coral reef made to let boats through．“Within this passage, water went one kilometre inland,” says Fernando．“But nearby, where the coral was undamaged, there were still beach umbrellas standing.”

In Sri Lanka, coral is illegally mined to provide souvenirs for tourists, or to be used in house paint．Coral harvesters sometimes blow it up with dynamite (炸藥) in order to collect fish at the same time．Often, the reefs in the best shape are those in front of hotels, as the hotel owners maintain them for the tourists．Fernando hopes that his findings will encourage the Sri Lankan government to enforce(實施) its laws against coral mining.

57．Harindra Fernando did all the following EXCEPT ________.

       A．serving as a translator for a BBC-documentary team

       B．helping the Sri Lankan government enforce its laws against coral mining

       C．producing a map of coral gaps along Sri Lanka’s southwest coast

       D．linking the coral removal with the destruction of Tsunami

58．The main idea of Paragraph 5 is that________.

       A．undamaged coral can greatly decrease tsunami damage

       B．coral-free area is a danger to passenger trains

       C．in general, water travels 30 times farther inland in a coral-free area

       D．it is urgent to enforce laws against coral mining

59．Which of the following may NOT be the cause of coral gaps?

       A．Boat passages．       B．Tourists’ sightseeing．  

       C．Fish collecting．        D．Tourists’ souvenirs.

60．Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

       A．Harindra Fernando, a Great Environment Protector

       B．Stop Using Coral as Souvenirs

       C．Coral Cried “Help! Help!”

       D．Coral Mining Enhanced (加劇) Tsunami Damage

— Has the little girl passed ______ P.E．test?

— She has tried twice, and the teacher will allow her to have _____ third try.

       A．the; 不填                B．a(chǎn); the            

       C．the; a                    D．the; the

A ______ with the party in power will have a bad influence on the social stability.

A. constitution     B. construction     C. collision  D. connection

. —What do you think we can do for our aged parents?

—You ________ do anything except to be with them and be yourself.

A. don’t have to  B. oughtn’t to   C. mustn’t   D. can’t

    For the people living in the Nile Basin, the river is their life:. This 6,825 km waterway, whose watershed（流域） covers three million square kilometers, flows through mountains ,woodlands, lakes and deserts. Its potential for fishing, tourism and shipping is great—but so are its challenges.

Water shortage , already serious in Egypt and Sudan , will soon influence several other countries in the watershed as well. Today, about 160 million people depend on the Nile River for their living. Within the next 25 yeas ,the district's population is expected to double, adding to the demand brought about by growth in industry and agriculture. The frequent drought（干旱）adds to the urgency.

Water quality is also a problem. Precious soil is washed out to sea. Wastes from industry and agriculture create pollution. Higher concentrations of salt influence irrigated soils. Water-borne diseases continue unchecked. In areas where it's hot and damp, water hyacinths choke off（阻止） lakes, dams and other sections of the river, making it difficult for fishing and other businesses to move forward.

Native people along the narrow area of farmland have watched the sand move closer day by day. They’ve seen the river change course, and their only source（來源） of water thickened with mud. They’re very poor and have few choices.

But a new program, the Nile Basin Initiative （NBI）， is offering very practical assistance. The program is more than just a water-management project. It’s a plan for the social and economic development of a vast district: it concentrates on the needs of the poorest of the poor and the environment that supports them.

    These are whole ecosystem problems, calling for united solutions（解決辦法）. Half the Nile Basin's countries are among the world's poorest nations；yet, somehow, they must find the  resources, skills and political will to overcome these challenges.

53. What are the great challenges the Nile Basin faces？

A. The development of .shipping industry.

B. Overfishing of native people.

C. Water shortage and water quality.

D. Increasing population and tourism.

54. The underlined word “hyacinths” （in Paragraph 3） refer to “_______”.

    A. animals                    B. plants                C. rocks                       D. salts

55. The program NBI is mainly aimed at _______ .

A. preventing water pollution                           

B. changing the river course

C. improving living condition of the poor

D. preventing land from becoming desert

56. What would be the best title of this passage？

A. People's Life in Egypt and Sudan

B. Frequent Drought in Egypt and Sudan

C. The Poorest Countries in the Nile Basin

D. The Ecosystem Problems in the Nile Basin

語音知識（共5小題；每小題1分， 滿分5分）從A、B、C、D四個選項中， 找出其劃線部分與所給單詞的劃線部分讀音相同的選項。

1. result       A. moment     B. double          C. super           D. musician

2. pleasure      A. noisy      B. usually   C. sugar           D. sailor

3. headache     A. league     B. queue     C. technique     D. choke

4. follow     A. crowd     B. shower       C. town          D. show

5. polite       A. police      B. exit            C. island         D. promise