② “Shoes always gave yoaway,” comments a woman in a story called “Cracked” about a houseguest’s too-high cork wedges(坡跟鞋). And, in the final story here, called “Gift,” a once-poor man made good says, “The sense of apology did not go away, it was a tiring thing to carry.”

③ But, back to Dottie. When an elderly doctor and his wife come to stay at her guesthouse, Dottie bonds over tea with the wife, Shelley, who shares a story about a long-ago social humiliation.

④ At breakfast the next morning, however, Shelley obviously regrets that confidence and becomes the Doctor’s wife again. She freezes Dottie out and puts her back in her place as the inn-keep.

There’s comic satisfaction in seeing Dottie secretly spitting into the breakfast jam, but the more profound rewards of this story have to do with its recognition of the many varieties of human insecurity — or, as Lucy Barton herself more bluntly puts it, the many ways “people are always looking to feel superior to someone else.”

Other stories have to do with sexual shame, or with the tragic ways close neighbors or family members misread each other; but I’m making Anything Is Possible sound too grim when, in fact, so many of these stories end in an understated (低调的) gesture of forgiveness. Strout is in that special company of writers like Richard Ford, Stewart O’Nan and Richard Russo, who write simply about ordinary lives and, in so doing, make us readers see the beauty of both their worn and rough surfaces and what lies beneath.

65. The author of the article may have reviewed these books EXCEPT_______.

A. Amy and Isabelle B. The Burgess Boys

C. Anything Is Possible D. Olive Kitteridge

66. What can be inferred according to the second paragraph?

A. The book Anything Is Possible depends wholly on that Barton girl.

B. The character Lucy floats in and out of these disconnected stories.

C. An ordinary character in one story can be a leading role in another.

D. Elizabeth Strout isn’t skillful at describing small characters in life.

67. Shelley freezes Dottie out the next morning because _______.

A. she feels she is superior to Dottie

B. Dottie spits into the breakfast jam

C. Dottie desires to be middle-class

D. she regrets the confidence in Dottie

68. The sentence “Indeed almost all of Strout’s characters have sharp eyes and even sharper observations to make when it comes to that great American subject: class.” should be put in ______.

A. ① B. ② C. ③ D. ④

69. The tone of the article can be described as _______.

A. depressing B. critical C. appreciative D. indifferent

70. What might be the best title for the passage?

A. Anything Is Possible — unquietness depths of ordinary lives

B. Elizabeth Strout — an outstanding Pulitzer Prize Winner

C. Anything Is Possible — a collection of grim short stories

D. Elizabeth Strout — a writer with clever writing techniques

第四部分：任务型阅读(共10小题;每小题l分，满分l0分)

请认真阅读下列短文,根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。

注意：请将答案写在答题卡上相应题号的横线上。每个空格只填1个单词。

Music is a Universal Language

“Music is the universal language of mankind.” – Henry Longfellow

Everyone has the inborn ability to understand and enjoy music. There are many theories as to why this is, but it has become a part of human beings. Since the beginning, humans have expressed themselves through music. Simple tribal rhythms evolved into many types of more complex music, including classical, rock, jazz, and R&B. While the styles between these many types of music may vary, everyone is able to understand and relate to them.

What are the essential parts of a language? Every language uses vocabulary, or a set of words, to create sentences that convey messages. The tone and style of the sentences convey different feelings or emotions. Music is exactly the same way. Twelve tones, or notes, are combined to create phrases that also convey emotion. Music can even be written, like most other languages. Conversations even take place in music. Two saxophonists can play melodies back and forth, expressing different styles and feelings, building off of each other, responding to each other. Music changes over the years like other languages. Most people who speak fluent English cannot read one of Shakespeare’s plays because the language has changed so much. Music is also affected by time, and over a long period, many new types of music and instruments have emerged to create different sounds and convey different messages. There are so many similarities between vocal language and music that they must be same.

I recently had a chance to experience conversation through music. In 2008, I traveled to Manila, Philippines to participate in a high school jazz exchange where many students from all over Asia came together to share their talents. Everyone was mixed into different small groups to prepare for a concert at the end of week. Few people spoke fluent English so vocal communication was very tough. However, it wasn’t needed. Everyone seemed to understand each other simply through the music and there were few times where direct translation was needed. At the performance, every group played for a live audience. They all sounded phenomenal and it felt like they were in perfect time and harmony. During my group’s performance, I was able to improvise with a Korean boy who spoke very little English. But we managed to have a conversation through our instruments, building off each other’s riffs until we were creating our own melody on the fly. It was a great experience.

Because of the many similarities that music shares with other languages, it is a very effective way to communicate with others. Music brings us together, connects us with other people, and allows us to express ourselves in ways that are different from speech and writing. It has the ability to convey emotions and messages to the core of people, which is why Henry Longfellow is absolutely correct when he states that “music is the universal language of mankind.”

Music is a Universal Language

第五部分：书面表达(满分25分)

请阅读下面短文，并按照要求用英语写一篇150词左右的文章。

The Lazy Donkey