A

In Washington D.C., 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is a very special address. It is the address of the White House, the home of the president of the United States.

Originally the White House was gray and was called the presidential Palace. It was built from 1792 to 1800. At this time, the city of Washington itself was being built. It was to be the nation’s new capital city. George Washington, the first president, and Pierre Charles L'Enfant, a French engineer, chose the place for the new city. L'Enfant then planned the city. The president's home was an important part of the plan.

A contest was held to pick a design for the president's home. An architect named James Hoban won. He designed a large three-story house of gray stone.

President Washington never lived in the Presidential Palace. The first president to live there was John Adams, the second president of the United States, and his wife Mrs.Adams did not really like her new house. In her letters, she often complained about the cold. Fifty fireplaces were not enough to keep the house warm.

In 1812 the United States and Britain went to war. In 1814 the British invaded Washington. They burned many buildings, including the Presidential Palace.

After the war James Hoban, the original architect, partially rebuilt the president’s home. To cover the marks of the fire, the building was painted white. Before long it became known as the White House.

The White House is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the United States. Every year more than 1.5 million visitors go through the five rooms that are open to the public.

56. The White House was built in Washington_____.

A. because a French engineer was invited to design it

B. because President George Washington liked to live in it

C. because the British invaders lived in it in1812-1814

D. because it was to be the nation’s capital city

57. The president’s home and the city of Washington were______.

A. built by the American army              B. built by the British troops

C. planed by George Washington           D. planned by the French

58. The original home of the president needed to be rebuilt______.

A. because John Adams’ wife did not like it

B. because it was cold in winter even with 50 fireplace

C. because it had been burned down during the war

D. because George Washington was not willing to live in it

59. The new presidential home was painted white to ______.

A. cover the marks of fire             B. attract tourist from France

C. to please Mrs. John Adams         D. keep it warm in winter

                      Don't wait Until Flowers Fade

   Each spring brings a new blossom of wildflowers in the ditches(路溝) along the highway I travel daily to work.

   There is one  36  blue flower that has always  37  my eye. I've noticed that it blooms only in the morning hours, the afternoon sun is  38  warm for it. Every day for  39  two weeks, I see those beautiful flowers.

   This spring, I started a wildflower garden in our yard. I can look out of the  40  window while doing the dishes and see the flowers. I've often thought that those lovely blue flowers from the ditch would look  41  in that bed alongside  42  wildflowers.

Everyday I  43  past the flowers thinking, "I'll stop on my way home and dig them." "Gee, I don't want to get my good clothes  44  ..." Whatever the reason, I never stopped to dig them. My husband  45  gave me a folding shovel(鏟) one year to be used for that  46  purpose.

   One day on my way home from work, I was  47  to see that the highway department had moved the ditches and the pretty blue flowers were gone. I thought to myself, "Way to go, you   48  too long. You  49  it when you first saw them blooming this spring."

   A week ago we were shocked and saddened to learn that my oldest sister-in-law has a terminal brain tumor(腦瘤晚期). She is 20 years older than my husband and unfortunately,          50  age and distance, we haven't been as  51   as we all would have liked. I couldn't help but  52  the connection between the pretty blue flowers and the  53  between my husband's sister and us. I do believe that God has given us some time left to plant some wonderful  54  that will bloom every year for us.

   And yes, if I see the blue flowers again, you can bet I'll stop and  55  them to my wildflower garden.

 36.  A. sweet           B. interesting         C. different         D. particular

 37.  A. fascinated       B.struck             C. caught           D. charmed

 38.  A. too             B. very              C. much            D. enough

39.  A. extremely       B. approximately      C. hardly           D. rarely

40.  A. bedroom        B. main hall          C. classroom        D. kitchen

 41.  A. great           B. well               C. horrible          D. ugly

 42.  A. many           B. various            C. other            D. colorful

 43.  A. walked          B. drove              C. went             D. ran

 44.  A. damaged        B. ready              C. dirty             D. smelly

 45.  A. ever            B. once               C. never             D. even

 46.  A. expressed       B. temporary          C. unfinished         D. long-term

 47.  A. annoying       B. saddened           C. interested           D. helpless

 48.  A. wasted         B. ignored            C. thought            D. waited

 49.  A. could have done B. need have done      C. should have done    D. must have done

 50.  A. in spite of       B. regardless of        C. because of         D. in terms of

 51.  A. close           B. far               C. closed              D. near

 52.  A. see            B. to see             C.seeing               D. saw

 53.  A. friendship      B. relationship       C. support             D. relative

 54.  A. trees           B. memories         C. species              D. grass

 55.  A. dig            B. rescue            C. transmit            D. transplant

After the rich man heard the touching story, he _____ most of his money to charity.

A. gave in      B. gave off      C. gave away      D. gave out

A good advertisement, ____ people attach positive meanings, can contribute to the sales of a product.

A. for which     B. to which       C. of which        D. on which

It is ______ Tom often breaks the school rules _____ makes his teacher unsatisfied with him.

A. what; that     B. that; what     C. that; that     D. which ; that

 --- Could you be so kind as to close the window?

   ---- ______.

A. With pleasure.    B. Go ahead.     C. Yes, please.    D. That’s ok.

 Statistics show that men have ______ as women do for every mile they drive.

    A. serious accidents as twice many       B. twice as many serious accidents

    C. twice serious accidents as many       D. serious accidents as many twice

---- It was the drug, not the disease, that killed the boy.

   ---- He would be still alive today if he ______ that drug.

    A. not take     B. shouldn’t have taken    C. didn’t take   D. hadn’t taken

 It really seemed ages ___ the police came on the scene and cleared away the damaged

    A. before         B. after       C. when           D. as

______ the website of the Fire Department in your city, and you will learn a lot about firefighting.

    A. Search      B. Searching      C. To search       D. Having searched.