The Worst Part

Mom is usually home on Sunday but this week she was going to a big golf game and I was all alone in the house． I was mad at Mom for divorcing Dad．

I kept looking at the telephone until I couldn’t stand it any longer． I picked up the receiver and dialed Dad’s number over in Bakersfield． I even remembered to dial I first because it was long distance． “You promised to phone me this week but you didn’t,” I said, feeling I had to talk to him．

“Take it easy, kid,” he said． “I just didn’t get around to it． I was going to call this evening． The week isn’t over yet．”

I thought about that．

“Something on your mind?” he asked．

“I hoped you would call, so I waited and waited．” Then I was sorry I said it．

“There was heavy snow in the morning,” he said, “I had to chain up on highway 80 and lost time．”

I know putting chains on eight big wheels in the snow is no fun． I felt a little better, as long as we were talking． “How is Bandit?” I asked．

There was a funny silence． For a minute I thought the line was dead． Then I knew something must have happened to my dog．

“Well, kid―”, he began． “My name is Leigh!” I almost yelled． “I’m not just some kid you met on the street!”

“Keep your shirt on, Leigh,” he said． “When I had to stop along with some other truckers to put on chains, I left Bandit out of the cab, I thought he would get back … I have sent out a call to CB radio, but I didn’t get an answer yet．” I was about to say I understood when there came the bad part, the really bad part． I heard a boy’s voice say, “Hey, Bill, Mom wants to know when we’re going out to get the pizza?”

56．From the story we know that             ．

A．Leigh’s dad never had a rest on Sundays

B．Leigh was a deserted boy

C．Leigh’s dad lived in another city

D．Leigh’s mother often went to golf fames

57．What happened to Bandit?

A．It was frozen to death．                     B．It was let out of the cab and got lost

C．It was killed by a truck．                   D．It ran off Highway 80 and into the mountain．

58．The underlined sentence “Keep your shirt on” probably means “            ”．

A．Listen to reason  B．Stop talking         C．Calm down          D．Keep warm

59．The worst part in Leigh’s eyes may be that            ．

A．his dad got remarried                           B．his parents got divorced

C．his dad didn’t love him                       D．his mom didn’t take him to pizza

Before Alaska became part of the U.S., it had been owned by Russia. Trading posts and small settlements were scattered along the coast. The rest of land was left unexplored. The Russians were mainly interested in the wealth of furs from the vast herds of seals they found there.
By the mid-1800’s, most of the seal herds had been wiped out, and Russia no longer wanted to keep Alaska. William Seward, Secretary of State for President Johnson, believed the United States should buy Alaska from Russia. President Johnson wasn’t so sure it was a wise way to spend U.S. money, but he agreed to let Seward discuss it with the Russians. Acting quickly, Seward made a deal. On March 30, 1867, he signed an agreement for the U.S. to pay seven million dollars for the land.
Many people thought it was a foolish waste of America’s money. They called the deal “Seward’s folly”. Then gold was discovered in Alaska and public opinion changed quickly.
Seward did not live to see the true value of Alaska. He died in 1872, five years after making the purchase (購買). Each year, Alaska’s natural resources have brought in many times the $7,000,000 paid for it. Natural gas, coal, oil, lumber, seafood and other minerals, besides the gold first found, have made it a valuable addition to the United States. In 1959, Alaska became the 49th state of the United States.
【小題1】The Russians wanted to sell Alaska because ______.

Before Alaska became part of the U.S., it had been owned by Russia. Trading posts and small settlements were scattered along the coast. The rest of land was left unexplored. The Russians were mainly interested in the wealth of furs from the vast herds of seals they found there.
By the mid-1800’s, most of the seal herds had been wiped out, and Russia no longer wanted to keep Alaska. William Seward, Secretary of State for President Johnson, believed the United States should buy Alaska from Russia. President Johnson wasn’t so sure it was a wise way to spend U.S. money, but he agreed to let Seward discuss it with the Russians. Acting quickly, Seward made a deal. On March 30, 1867, he signed an agreement for the U.S. to pay seven million dollars for the land.
Many people thought it was a foolish waste of America’s money. They called the deal “Seward’s folly”. Then gold was discovered in Alaska and public opinion changed quickly.
Seward did not live to see the true value of Alaska. He died in 1872, five years after making the purchase (購買). Each year, Alaska’s natural resources(資源) have brought in many times the $7,000,000 paid for it. Natural gas, coal, oil, lumber, seafood and other minerals, besides the gold first found, have made it a valuable addition to the United States. In 1959, Alaska be-came the 49th state of the United States.
【小題1】The Russians wanted to sell Alaska because ______.

Alien: I've never been a big fan of the bears, especially the vacation show．On my last trip to Disneyland（1999） we passed it by, because we didn't want to spend the time on something we didn't really enjoy．If known it would be closed by our next visit, I'm sure we would have watched it one more time．I was just making the point that it wasn't until Disney announced the closing that this feeling suddenly sprang （彈跳） up for the Country Bear show at Disneyland．

But I think the idea of keeping some attractions open forever regardless of the number of visitors it gets is a mistake．We all have great memories of the Bears, but clearly very few kids today （or I should say families today） are making those same memories from this show．That may be a sad fact, but it's a fact．For whatever reason, the show doesn't pull in the numbers．Isn't it right to use the Country Bear space to bring in a more popular attraction so that more kids today can make those magic memories of an attraction they like? Otherwise aren't we just telling kids today that they "have to" make great memories of the Bears, when it's obvious that the kids themselves are not enjoying the Bears like we did?

Roger: I am very disappointed that they have decided to retire the Country Bear Playhouse．I remember going to the show as a child, and still enjoyed it as a teenager, and now young adult．It is true that there aren't a lot of shows left at DL and with this one closing even less．Being at DL does require a lot of walking, and it is nice to have a few attractions that are a place to sit and enjoy a good show．I understand that DL has to develop, but there has to be some history to the Disneyland that Walt Disney first designed．There should be some parts of DL that just never go away, and this is one of them．By the time I have children it looks like there won't be any attractions that I can say I went to as a child at the rate they are going．

Now the Bears are leaving．What I want to say is: stop trying to compete with everyone! DL is the best, because of attractions like the Country Bears．If DL insists on destroying all of its magic to make way for the latest, well, then it might as well be just another theme park．

68．What news might get people talking about the problem of the Country Bears?

       A．The Country Bear Playhouse will be closed．

       B．There will be a new attraction for our guests at Disneyland．

       C．The number of visitors to the Country Bear Playhouse is falling．

       D．The Bears will retire because of old age and can't give shows any more．

69．Allen spoke mainly to get his point across that ____．

       A．the Bears will be missed

       B．we should tell kids today that they "have to" make great memories of the Bears

       C．the longtime attraction ought to make way for a future attraction

       D．people never care about what they have until all is lost

70．Which is the best choice to complete Roger's idea: "The Country Bears have been a part of Disneyland for nearly 30 years, ____"

       A．a(chǎn)nd I feel it is time to give our bears a good rest

       B．but anyway, the attraction has lost interest

       C．but I know that Disneyland will always be changing, and I accept that

       D．a(chǎn)nd I am sad that the Bears will be leaving

71．Which of the following is not in the same group as the other three?

       A．a(chǎn)n attraction                                  B．the latest magic                              

       C．the Bears                                    D．a(chǎn) theme park