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The small unframed painting called “Fisherman” was signed by a little-known Italian artist, Maveleone (1669-1740). When it was sold recently in New York for $ 27000, the seller, Mr. Oliver Pitt, was asked to explain how the picture had come into his possession.
Pitt said, “I didn’t know it was so valuable. I’m not an art expert. Photography is my hobby. I bought ‘Fisherman’ in Italy in 1970 for $140．the picture was dirty, and I couldn’t see the artist’s signature. But anyway it wasn’t the picture that I like. I bought it because of the frame.”
“It’s most unusual frame, made of tiny, silvery sea-shells. They are set in such a way that they reflect perfect light onto the surface of a picture. I now have a photograph of my wife in that frame, and I’ll never part with it.”
“When I returned to New York I showed the painting in its frame to a customs officer. I told him that I had paid $140 for it but admitted I didn’t know its actual worth. The customs man valued it at $ 140, and I was asked to pay duty on that value. I did so, there and then.”
“Later, I took off the frame, and that uncovered Maveleone’s signature. My wife suggested in fun that the painting might be a valuable one, so I cleaned it and put it up for sale.”
As a result of his explanation, Oliver Pitt had to appear in court. He was accused of (指控) knowingly making a false statement of the value of a picture so as to cheat the Customs Department.
Pitt was not happy. “I told the truth as I knew it then,” he said, “What else could I say?”
And then the judge agreed with him. “The Customs Department is to be responsible (blame),” he said, “for making a true valuation of goods bought into the country, so that the correct amount of duty may be charged. Mr Pitt did not cause or try to cause the mistake that was made. He paid the duty that was demanded. If now, the Customs Department finds that its valuation was not correct, it cannot be allowed to have another try. Pitt is not guilty.
【小題1】Pitt met the customs officer __________, where the officer was employed to ________.

I fell in love with music from a young age and often sat down making a few songs of my own．What would life be like, I wondered, without a beautiful song? In 1992, I made two love songs to my darling wife and watched tears run down her face as I sang．"Sam," she said earnestly, "Your songs should be heard by more people."
She got my ballads and started bothering various media people about me, her singing barber husband．Two radio stations took an interest and played the songs．After the programme was aired, I became known in our community as the Singing Barber．
The biggest surprise, however, was still to come．I received a call from a music promoter who offered me a long-term recording contract．He explained that he would be investing a lot of money to market my songs．I needed to be wholly focused on selling my records all over Australia．
But I hesitated．
My friends all told me to go for it．And Mary also thought I should do．"Go, Sam．I'll manage with the family．．．it'll be OK．"
I watched my daughter and son playing in the backyard．Soon they would both be in high school．．．and where would I be? I was so used to my family turning to me for love and support．If I were to start a singing career, I would not only miss them terribly, I'd also certainly miss out on watching them grow up．Signing this contract would put a huge gap between my family and me．．．and I couldn't bear it．My family was my life．So I refused the music promoter's offer．I'm still making music, I'm rich in love and I have no regrets．
【小題1】When the author was offered the contract, most of his friends _____．

The other day, I happened to meet someone I hadn’t seen for many years. I couldn’t believe the change in him. In fact, he didn’t even seem like the    36   person.
When I first knew Bill , back in   37 , he was one of the most carefree（無憂無慮）people I had ever    38  . He was always ready to have a party. He thought    39  of going out for beer at three o’clock in the morning or driving 15 miles to see an old   40    he really liked. Bill and I were in the same class in college, and    41   was never dull when he was    42  . With him there was one wild    43   after another. Sometimes I wonder how we    44   to study for our exams.
Last week I was in Houston on business and I ran into Bill in the bar at the hotel.   45  , I wasn’t even sure it was    46  . Was this short-haired businessman really the same person? I wasn’t really sure until I came near him but it indeed was Bill. Now he works for a bank. He   47    most of the evening about his job, his new car and his house. How he had changed! Back when we were in college, the    48   thing Bill cared about were possessions(財富). Now they seemed to be his main    49  . Although I have changed quite a bit myself, somehow I never    50   Bill changing so much. My image of him   51    the one I had formed     52  the time when we were college students together.
I suppose it’s   53    to expect people to remain the same, especially    54   I have changed so much myself. But I must say that I enjoyed the old Bill much more than the new Bill. Maybe he    55   the same way about me.

I come from a city on the United States’east coast. It’s a ten-hour flight for me to get home from Shanghai. When I got off the plane, I took photos of the blue sky and white clouds along the way. After two weeks, I returned to Shanghai. Much to my surprise, the blue sky in Shanghai that I liked before was not as blue as that in the US. I couldn’t help wondering what had happened.
A few days later, I went to tour Waitan (a famous tourist attraction in Shanghai) by the Huangpu River with some of my friends. There we saw five Ferrari sports cars by the side of the road. The red and yellow cars looked so nice that everyone was looking at them. However, when I turned my head, I noticed the sky over Waitan, I was shocked to find that the buildings in the Lujiazui area on the other side of Huangpu River could hardly be seen. It was then that I realized that Ferrari cars could be bought with money, but a blue sky couldn’t.
Shanghai is an important economic (經濟的) and trade center in China. It has made great contributions (貢獻) to the whole nation’s economic development. However, we need to protect the environment during economic growth. Pollution is poisoning our air and our rivers. Without clean air and rivers, how will people be able to survive?
【小題1】The author mentioned the Ferrari sports cars in order to _______.

第二部分：閱讀理解（第一節20小題，第二節5小題；每小題2分，滿分50分）
第一節：閱讀下列短文，從每題所給的四個選項（A、B、C和D）中，選出最佳選項，并在答題紙上將該選項標號涂黑。
Compassion is a desire within us to help others. With effort, we can translate compassion into action. An experience last weekend showed me this is true. I work part-time in a supermarket across from a building for the elderly. These old people are our main customers, and it’s not hard to lose patience over their slowness. But last Sunday, one aged gentleman appeared to teach me a valuable lesson. This untidy man walked up to my register(收款機) with a box of biscuits. He said he was out of cash(現金), had just moved into his room, and had nothing in his cupboards. He asked if we could let him have the food on trust. He promised to repay me the next day.
I couldn’t help staring at him. I wondered what kind of person he had been ten or twenty years before, and what he would be like if luck had gone his way. I had a hurt in my heart for this kind of human soul, all alone in the world. I told him that I was sorry, but store rules didn’t allow me to do so. I felt stupid and unkind saying this, but I valued my job.
Just then, another man, standing behind the first, spoke up. If anything, he looked more pitiable. “Charge it to me,” was all he said.
What I had been feeling was pity. Pity is soft and safe and easy. Compassion, on the other hand, is caring in action. I thanked the second man but told him that was not allowed either. Then I reached into my pocket and paid for the biscuits myself. I reached into my pocket because these two men had reached into my heart and taught me compassion.
1. The aged gentleman who wanted to buy the biscuits ______.
A. promised to obey the store rules                
B. forgot to take any money with him
C. hoped to have the food first and pay later          
D. could not afford anything more expensive
2. Which of the following best describes the old gentleman?
A. kind and lucky                                                B. poor and lonely
C. friendly and helpful                                         D. hurt and disappointed
3. The writer acted upon the store rules because ______.
A. he wanted to keep his present job                     
B. he felt no pity for the old gentleman
C. he considered the old man dishonest                 
D. he expected someone else to pay for the old man
4. What does the writer learn from his experience?
A. Wealth is more important than anything else.            
B. Helping others is easier said than done.
C. Experience is better gained through practice.            
D. Obeying the rules means more than compassion.