C. Several pieces of meat. D. Many pieces of meat.

( ) 55. Could Joe give the woman both pieces of meat?

A. Of course not. B. Certainly. C. He would try his best. D. Yes, he could.

(C)

Tom and Joseph are best friends. They spent their summer vacation in Africa. When they were walking through the desert(沙漠), they started to argue(争吵) about something. Tom became very angry and slapped(掌击) Joseph in the face.

Joseph felt hurt, but he didn’t say anything to Tom. Then Joseph wrote in the sand(沙地): “Today my best friend slapped me in the face.”

They kept on walking until they found a small lake. They decided to have a bath. But when Joseph got in the water, he started to sink(下沉). Tom jumped in after him and pulled him out. His friend saved his life.

After he became well again, Joseph wrote on a stone: “Today my best friend saved my life.”

Tom couldn’t understand it. “After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand. Now you write on a stone. Why?” he asked.

“When someone hurts us, we should write it down in sand, and the wind can take it away.” Joseph answered. “But when someone does something good for us, we must write it in stone so that no wind can ever take it away.”

( ) 56Tom and Joseph went on a trip in ________.

A .Europe B .America C. Africa. D .Asia

( )57. Tom slapped Joseph because ________.

A. he wanted to play a trick on Joseph B. he argued with Joseph and got angry with him

C. Joseph took him the wrong way in the desert D. Joseph played with sand

( )58. When they found a nice place, they decided to ________.

A. buy some sand and stones for their friends B. find something delicious to eat

C. have a swimming competition D. have a rest and wash themselves

( )59. The underlined(画线)sentence means that we should ________.

A. let other know we are angry with them B. forgive(原谅) others for bad things as time goes by

C. make sure what we write will always be there D.keep important things in sand but not on stone

( )60. The most suitable title(题目) of this article may be ________.

A. Tom saved Joseph B. Tom slapped Joseph

C. A friendship saved in stone D. Travel in Africa

(D)

Students work very hard but many are unhappy. They feel heavy pressure(压力)from their parents. Most parents always tell their children to study harder so that they can have a wonderful life. Though this may be a good idea for those very clever students, it can have terrible(严重的)results(结果)for many students because they have difficulties in their studies.

As it is reported (据报道), some students killed themselves. Some join the groups of trouble makers(制造者). Many of them have tried very hard at school，but they have failed(失败)in the exams and it makes their parents lose hope. Such students feel that they are hated by everyone else they meet and they don’t want to go to school any longer, so they become dropouts.

It is surprising that though most parents are worried about their children, they do not help them in any way. Many parents feel that they are not able to help their children and that it is the teachers’ work to help their children. To make matters(情况)worse, a lot of parents send their children to those schools opening in the evening sand(晚自修)on weekends. Those schools only help students to pass exams. It is a great surprise that almost three quarters(四分之一)) of middle school students have been to such kind of schools. Many schools usually have rules(规定)about everything, from the students’ hair to their clothes and the things in their school bags. In fact, such strict(严格的)rules may hurt the feelings of the students. Almost 40% of the students said that no one had taught them how to get on with others, how to tell(分辨)right form wrong and how to show love to others, even to their parents.

( )61. Many students feel unhappy because .