高中英语故事类阅读试题

Henry was a pen name used by an American writer of short stories. His real name was William Sydney Porter. He was born in North Carolina in 1862. As a young boy he lived an exciting life. He did not go to school for very long, but he managed to teach himself everything he needed to know. When he was about 20 years old, O. Henry went to Texas, where he tried different jobs. He first worked on a newspaper, and then had a job in a bank, when some money went missing from the bank O. Henry was believed to have stolen it. Because of that, he was sent to prison. During the three years in prison, he learned to write short stories. After he got out of prison, he went to New York and continued writing. He wrote mostly about New York and the life of the poor there. People liked his stories, because simple as the tales were, they would finish with a sudden change at the end, to the reader’s surprise.
In which order did O. Henry do the following things?
a. Lived in New York.   b. Worked in a bank.
c. Travelled to Texas.   d. Was put in prison.
e. Had a newspaper job.  f. Learned to write stories.

A．e. c. f. b. d. a	B．c. e. b. d. f. A
C．e. b. d. c. a. f.	D．c. b. e. d. a f.

O. Henry went to prison because.

A．people thought he had stolen money from the newspaper

B．he broke the law by not using his own name

C．he wanted to write stories about prisoners

D．people thought he had taken money that was not his

What do we know about O. Henry before he began writing?

A．He was well-educated.

B．He was not serious about his work.

C．He was devoted to the poor.

D．He was very good at learning.

Where did O. Henry get most material for his short stories?

A．His life inside the prison.

B．The newspaper articles he wrote.

C．The city and people of New York.

D．His exciting early life as a boy.

I was born in Tuckahoe，Talbot Country，Maryland. I have no accurate(准确的)knowledge of my age，never having seen any record containing it. By far the larger part of the slaves know as little of their ages as horses know of theirs，and it is the wish of most masters within my knowledge to keep their slaves thus ignorant(不知情的)．I do not remember having ever met a slave who could tell of his birthday. They seldom come nearer to it than plantingtime，harvesting，springtime，or falltime. A lack of information concerning my own was a source of unhappiness to me even during childhood. The white children could tell their ages，but I could not tell. Why the same right ought to be taken away from me！I was not allowed to ask my master about it. He considered all such questions on the part of a slave improper and impolite. The nearest estimate(估计)I can live makes me now between twentyseven and twentyeight years of age. I come to this，from hearing my master say，some time during 1835，I was about seventeen years old. My mother was named Harriet Bailey. She was the daughter of Isaac and Betsey Bailey，both colored，and quite dark.
My father was a white man. The opinion was also whispered that my master was my father；but of the correctness of this opinion，I know nothing and I have no means to know. My mother and I were separated when I was but an infant—before I knew her as my mother. It is a common custom，in the part of Maryland from which I ran away，to part children from their mothers at a very early age. Frequently，before the child has reached its twelfth month，its mother is taken from it，and hired out on some farm a considerable distance off，and the child is placed under the care of an older woman，too old for field labor.
It can be learned from the text that________.

A．the slaves forgot the exact time when they were born

B．the writer didn't know whether his master was his father

C．the writer was about twentyseven years old in 1835

D．the writer's mother left him as soon as he was born

The underlined word “it” in Paragraph 1 refers to________.

A．their birthday	B．my age
C．a record	D．Maryland

The author was most probably raised________.

A．by his grandparents

B．by an old woman slave

C．with his master's support

D．together with other children

How does the writer feel about not knowing his age?

A．Curious.	B．Unhappy.
C．Astonished.	D．Ashamed.

I saw a dear friend a few days ago and stopped by to ask her how she was doing．She looked up，voice lowered，just complaining：“I'm so busy…have so much going on”
Almost immediately after，I ran into another friend and asked him how he was．Again，the same tone，the same response：“I'm just so busy…got so much to do．”
Their responses knocked me down．How did we create a world in which we have more and more to do with less time for leisure，less time for reflection，less time for community? When did we forget that we are human beings，not human doings? What happened to a world in which we can sit with the people we love so much and have slow conversations with meaningful pauses and silences that we are in no rush to fill?
This disease of being “busy” is spiritually destructive to our health and well-being．It weakens our ability to be fully present with those we love the most in our families, and keeps us from forming the kind of community that we all so desperately tong for．
I don’t have any magical solutions．All I know is that we are losing the ability to live a truly human life．I am always a prisoner of hope, but I wonder if we are willing to make a change to our so-called busyness of life．Somehow we need a different model of organizing our lives，our societies，and our families．
I want us to have a kind of existence where we can pause，look each other in the eye，touch one another，and ask ourselves：Here is how my heart is doing，I am taking the time to reflect on my own existence，and I know how to express the state of my heart．

What’s the result of the busy lifestyle?

A．People will become forgetful in their everyday life．

B．People are beginning to find some time for leisure．

C．People may lose the ability of enjoying their life．

D．People will further understand the importance of community．

How can we live a relaxed and balanced life according to the author?

A．By seeking help from local families．

B．By improving our working ability．

C．By reconstructing the model of our lives．

D．By creating a smarter open community．

Calling himself a prisoner of hope，the author means that            .

A．he thinks people won’t change

B．he actually has magical solutions

C．it is harmful to have many hopes

D．he is always optimistic about life

What is the purpose of the author writing the article?

A．To express concerns about people’s complaints．

B．To criticize and reflect on the people’s present lifestyle．

C．To voice his opinions on how to live a simple life．

D．To question whether it is possible to live a slow life．

Yesterday was my stepmother’s birthday．I haven’t been home for a long time, so I wanted to stop by the house to see her on this special day．
I have been struggling on a low income so I was afraid that I couldn’t afford the long trip．Gas is so expensive nowadays! Anyway, I filled my tank with gas and set off．
I stopped at a shopping mall and found a present．It was the perfect gift and I knew she would love it．But when I got to the cashier, my card wasdeclined! I didn’t have enough money in my account to pay for the gift!
So I pondered the issue for a few minutes．I could put it back and get something cheaper, but I knew there was nothing else in the store she would have liked as much．So, I got to my smart-phone and transferred some money from my saving account and was able to buy the gift．It took a big part of my savings but I wanted her to have something special．
It turned out that she loved the gift and I felt that even though I had spent almost all my money, my stepmother deserved the best．I was glad I gave her the best I could．
Before I left my parents’ house, my dad took me to one side and, with our secret handshake, he gave me some money．I hadn’t said anything to him about my financial condition, but I guessed my dad just knew it．When I got to the car, I saw the amount he gave me was three times what I had spent on the gas and the gift!
It goes to show that doing the right thing always comes with great rewards．
Why was the writer unwilling to have a long trip?

A．Because gas was hardly available．

B．Because the writer didn’t like driving．

C．Because the writer was short of money．

D．Because the road was difficult to drive on．

The underlined word “pondered” in Paragraph 4 probably means ________．

A．thought about	B．tried on
C．depended on	D．got through

From the passage, we can infer that ________．

A．the writer loves his stepmother very much

B．the gift the writer bought was loved by his father very much

C．the writer spend all his savings buying the gift for his stepmother

D．the gift the writer bought was the most expensive one in the shop

Why did the writer’s father shake hands with the writer in secret?

A．Because he wanted to ask the writer for something special．

B．Because he wanted to give the writer some money．

C．Because he knew the writer had been struggling financially．

D．Because he didn’t want others to copy their handshake．

C
Justin Bieber may have millions of fans worldwide, but Russia’s bears don’t appear to admire the pop singer’s music --- which proved fortunate for one lucky fisherman.
Igor Vorozhbitsyn had his life saved by a Justin Bieber ringtone, when his mobile phone went off during a dangerous attack by a brown bear.
The 42-year-old was attacked as he was walking to a favourite fishing spot in northern Russia’s Yakutia Republic and firmly believed that he was going to be killed.
Wildlife experts believe the ringtone must have frightened the bear into stopping its attack.
‘Sometimes a sharp shock can stop an angry bear in its attack and that ringtone would be a very unexpected sound for a bear,’ explained one.
Mr Vorozhbitsyn suffered from cuts and severe wounds and was rescued when he was found by other fishermen after using the phone to call for help.
Mr Vorozhbitsyn ---now recovering from his wounds---explained: ‘I had parked my car and was walking towards the spot I’d marked out when there was a tremendous impact on my back and the bear was on top of me.’
‘I couldn’t believe my luck when the phone went off and it run away.’
‘I know that sort of ringtone isn’t to everyone’s taste but my granddaughter loaded it onto my phone for a joke,’ he added.
Adult brown bears can weigh as much as 600kg and have been known to kill wolves and even Siberian tigers.
Finally, this is a proof that Justin Bieber is unbearable
Igor Vorozhbitsyn was attacked when____.

A．he was fishing at his favourite fishing spot.

B．he was walking towards his favourite fishing spot.

C．he was phoning his granddaughter.

D．he was driving to his favourite fishing spot.

The bear stopped attacking because___.

A．Justin Bieber came to rescue Igor Vorozhbitsyn.

B．Justin Bieber sang to it.

C．Justin Bieber’s ringtone was a sudden fright to it.

D．Igor Vorozhbitsyn’s mobile phone was a sudden fright to it.

What is the writer’s attitude towards Justin Bieber?

A．positive

B．negative

C．neutral (中立的)

D．not mentioned

What does the last paragraph imply?

A．Justin Bieber’s music is popular all over the world.

B．Justin Bieber’s music is life-saving.

C．Justin Bieber’s music is threatening.

D．Even bears cannot stand Justin Bieber’s music.

My grandfather spent most of his life in a turbulent (动乱的) India. After settling in New York, he took up his true passion: gardening.
Grandfather’s garden was where I took refuge (避难) from a world of adults and schoolwork. My grandfather cultivated squash (南瓜) and tomatoes — it was not rare to find me somewhere in the garden, either secretly eating a tomato, or just sitting and admiring my grandfather’s hard work. However, as time went by, I did not have the chance to visit his house as often as I used to.
On my eleventh birthday, I received a gift bag wrapped in pretty paper from my grandfather. Excited to see what he had given to me for my birthday, I tore apart the paper only to find a yellow squash. I was very angry. What a stupid present!
But gradually, I realized that in my developing a relationship with his garden, I had unknowingly grown very close to my grandfather himself, something he wished to remind me of through his gift. His commitment towards doing things definitely influenced me. It could bring him a sense of accomplishment. Because of him, I try to model the idea of approaching everything with both drive and passion.
My grandfather passed away five years ago, but his influence on me could not be bigger than it is today. As I prepare to enter college and move on from my relatively sheltered high school life toward achieving complete independence, allowing my passions to find their way into whatever I may be doing will be very necessary. I still look up to my grandfather very much to this day, and I hope that one day I will be able to sow in my own garden, and give someone else a squash on his or her birthday — it was the most meaningful gift I have ever received.
When the author was young, she often visited the garden mainly to ______.

A．have a taste of her favorite vegetables

B．help her grandfather cultivate the garden

C．escape from the adults and schoolwork

D．admire her grandfather’s hard work

When the author saw the squash gift from her grandfather, she was ______.

A．excited	B．confused
C．curious	D．upset

Why did the grandfather send the author a squash?

A．Squash was the author’s favorite vegetable.

B．Squash was the greatest achievement of him.

C．He wanted to remind the author that they had been close.

D．He wanted the author to follow his career.

What’s the best title for the text?

A．A Special Gift — Yellow Squash

B．Grandfather and India

C．Life with Grandfather

D．Gardening and Life

My 17-year-old daughter went off to college and having her away from home brought back memories of watching Peter Pan when she was little. In the classic TV production, one scene in particular impressed me: when Mrs. Darling puts her children into bed. As she turns off the last of the night light, she takes one last look at the bedroom and says, “Dear night lights, protect my sleeping children.” As a mother, I know how much she loves her children.
It has been several weeks since we took our daughter to college and she seems to be adjusting  well after a short period of homesickness. For us, though, it’s another story. Like most parents, I love checking in on my children at night. But now she’s gone, and I find nighttimes the hardest. I miss her most at night.
In my neighborhood, most of the parents whose kids are off to college are dealing with similar melancholy. My husband is filled with anxiety. One friend talked about getting this sick feeling in her stomach as she prepared for the college drop-off. We complained that many of us were too busy to truly enjoy being with our children while we had them.
For us moms, seeing Toy Story 3 only made the sadness worse as we watched the character Andy, who is the same age as our kids, say goodbye to his childhood as he prepares to leave for college. And it’s not just “first-time” parents like me. Two moms who have kids already well into college said the separation didn’t get any easier. “You feel like something has been taken away from inside you，” said one of them.
I imagine things will get easier with time, especially as I see my daughter adjust to college life. Meanwhile, as I keep my cell phone close to me in bed and text my daughter goodnight and sweet dreams every night, I like to think at messages serve as a night light that keeps her safe.
The writer was deeply impressed by the scene in Peter Pan because ________.

A．she watched the scene with her daughter

B．the scene was very exciting and interesting

C．the scene taught her and her daughter a good lesson

D．the scene showed a mother’s deep love for her children

After her daughter went to college, the writer ________.

A．didn’t get used to the change for a long time

B．often cried as she missed her daughter so much

C．realized she hadn’t done enough for her daughter

D．failed to have a good sleep every night

What is the underlined word “melancholy” in Paragraph 3 similar in meaning to?

A．Happiness.	B．Anger.
C．Sadness.	D．Excitement.

According to the last paragraph, why did the writer keep her cell phone close to her in bed?

A．To call her daughter any time.

B．To wait for her daughter’s calls.

C．To say good night to her daughter.

D．To wait for her daughter’s messages.

Directions：Read the following three passages．Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements．For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D．Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.
Death is a serious theme worthy of great poets．For example, John Keats’s ‘When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be’ and John Donne’s ‘Death, Be Not Proud’ both discuss death in reflective ways．However, the imagery(意象) in these poems shows that while Keats believes that death can only destroy, Donne believes that death can be overcome.
Keats is afraid of death, because to him death means the loss of those things that make his life worth living: ‘On the shore/ of the wide world I stand alone, and think/ Till Love and Fame to nothingness do sink.’ Earlier in the poem, Keats says that he hopes this ‘Love’ will be a ‘high romance’ with a ‘fair creature.’ He also says that he hopes the ‘Fame’ he seeks will be the result of the ‘high piled books’ produced by his ‘crowded brain.’ In other words, Keats’s fear is that death is a ‘nothingness’ that will arrive before he can finish his life’s work or find his true love.
Donne has a different attitude toward death, and so the imagery in his poem is different, too．To Donne, death should ‘be not proud,’ because it is not ‘mighty and dreadful.’ Unlike Keats, Donne sees death as weak and merely a ‘slave to Fate, chance, kings, and desperate men.’ He also says that death is like ‘rest and sleep’．Donne believes that we will all wake from the sleep of death to everlasting life, just as we wake from our normal sleep to our everyday lives．In fact, Donne believes that it is death itself that will die: ‘One short sleep past, we wake forever,/ And Death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.’
Keats and Donne both know that death is a prat of life, and both poets use powerful imagery to talk about that difficult theme．The differences in this imagery show two very different attitudes toward the subject, one of which is much more positive than the other．Which poet to believe is up to the reader to decide.
Not surprisingly, the readers’ own experiences may play a part in the way they respond to these poets’ approaches．Like the two poets and their beliefs, contemporary readers also may be divided on the subject．This may explain why Keats’s and Donne’s poetry remains fascinating years after their won deaths.
According to the passage, ________ makes Keats’s life worth living.

A．expressing his grand passion for poetry

B．walking on the shore with a pretty lady

C．defeating nothingness with his true love

D．pursuing the fame of being a romantic poet

In Donne’s poems he believes that death is ________ .

A．generally powerful and terrible

B．only a ceaseless sleep

C．merely the loss of work and love

D．hardly worth the fear

Contemporary readers may view the two poets’ serious subject differently because ________.

A．they are attracted to the two poets’ everlasting opposite beliefs

B．they are divided naturally by their positive or negative personalities

C．their own life experiences affect the understandings of the poems

D．their preferences for the poets’ strong imageries are various

Which of the following best describes the main writing style of the passage?

A．Analysis．

B．Argument．

C．Comparison．

D．Reasoning.

Gregory Kloehn digs through dustbins every day, but not for the reason that most people would think．He isn’t homeless．In fact he is trying to help the homeless.
Gregory began his life as a sculptor．But he often felt that his sculptures, which just stood in rich people’s houses for years, lacked a meaningful purpose．So in 201l he decided to put his artistic energies into creating homes to sell—not ordinary homes but small structures built entirely from recycled materials.
The thought of creating homes for the homeless didn’t occur to him until the year 2013, when a homeless couple asked him for a tarp(防水布)．Instead of a tarp, Gregory offered them something better: a small home with a water tank, a kitchen and a trap for waste．They were so grateful that Gregory decided to focus his efforts on helping house the homeless population in his city．And soon his “Homeless Homes Project” was started.
Before starting a new home, Gregory, goes hunting for materials by digging through dustbins．Everything he finds is usable—refrigerator doors become house doors; washing machine doors often serve as windows, and the tops of cars become strong roofs．He put wheels at the bottom for users to move their homes around easily．Each home takes two to three days to make．
So far Gregory has donated dozens of homes to the city’s most needy．While his small low-cost mobile homes are not the final solution to the problem of homelessness, they are really practical and do provide a warm and safe place for the homeless to stay in．They are simply a way for one man to do something nice for those in need of some help.
Gregory has written a book titled Homeless Architecture, where he explains techniques to build those homes and he is now working on weekend workshops．“A lot of people who hear about what I’m doing want to get involved,” he said． “Maybe we can meet someplace and put a couple of homes together.”
Why did Gregory turn from making sculptures to creating homes?

A．He had no home to live in．

B．He had to make more money.

C．He lost interest in sculpture.

D．He wanted to help the homeless.

The author mentions the story in Paragraph 3 to tell us____________.

A．Gregory’s small homes were popular among the homeless

B．how Gregory got the idea of “Homeless Homes Project”

C．the homeless couple asked Gregory to produce more homes

D．housing the homeless in a city was not an easy task

What can we conclude from Paragraph 4?

A．Gregory has great trouble hunting for materials for his small houses．

B．It takes Gregory a long time to produce a home．

C．Gregory’s work requires imagination and creativity

D．Everything in the dustbins will be used in Gregory’s work．

What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．Gregory’s project will help more homeless people.

B．Gregory doesn’t need to make small homes now．

C．Gregory’s work will completely solve the homelessness problem．

D．A single person can make no difference to social problems．

When Peng Liyuan stepped off the plane in Moscow，the whole world wanted to know who dressed the elegant first lady．The reporter released the secret—Ma Ke．
Peng Liyuan has been wearing Ma Ke's designs for more than a decade，a fact that was only highlighted recently when she was on her first state visitaccompanying her husband President Xi Jinping．The elegant and attractive Peng，formerly a popular singer，has been compared with the US' first lady Michelle Obama and France's Carla Bruni­Sarkozy，since stepping off the airplane in Moscow on March 22.Suddenly，everyone was curious to know more about the first lady's wardrobe．
Even so，Ma prefers a low­key approach．“If you eat a tasty egg why would you want to see the hen？” she says of all the media attention．
Ma's relationship with Peng began 10 years ago after a concert in Guangzhou when a reporter told Peng she knew the designer behind the label Exception de Mixmind． Peng asked for an introduction because she was a fan of Ma's designs and had been wearing them for years．
The two naturally became friends．Ma says: “The painting reflects the painter，and clothes reflect both the designer and the wearer．Someone desires fame and wealth，or love and sympathy; what you have in your heart is reflected in the design．Those who don't share my philosophy won't buy my clothes．Peng is a caring person，devoted to charity and environmental protection，which is exactly what I'm doing now．”
However，regardless of the brand，Peng's support of Chinese labels has surprised millions of Chinese who favor foreign fashion brands．
“Instead she presented a vision of Chinese fashion，desiring to bring Chinese designers to the world stage,”says a western designer．
The first lady's double­breasted coat and her black leather handbag aren't available at any of Exception's shops，though Exception's physical stores do have seen a rising number of visitors．
The passage mainly discusses________．

A．the designer of the first lady Peng Liyuan's dress，Ma Ke

B．the friendship between Peng Liyuan and her designer

C．Peng Liyuan's clothes on her first state visit

D．the reactions to Peng Liyuan's first visit to Moscow

In the underlined sentence in Paragraph 3 Ma Ke mentioned“an egg and the hen” to show________．

A．it is hard to explain “Which came first，the egg or the hen？”

B．paying such great attention to her was unnecessary

C．the outcome was more important than the process

D．her dissatisfaction with the media attention on her dress

What can be inferred from the passage?

A．First ladies compete with each other whenever they are together．

B．Peng's suits can be bought in Ma Ke's clothes stores．

C．Ma Ke offered to design the first lady's clothes through her friends．

D．Peng had liked Ma's designs long before she got to know her in the flesh．

Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A．Peng wears the dress designed by a Chinese designer probably to support Chinese brands．

B．Many citizens found Peng Liyuan's choice quite unexpected．

C．Black leather handbags like Peng's are widely sold in bag stores in big cities．

D．After Peng Liyuan's visit to Moscow Ma Ke's clothes became more popular．

Amanda Clement grew up in Hudson, South Dakota. Baseball was always her favorite sport. Once in a while her brother Hank and his friends would let her play first base in their games. More often, however, they asked her to umpire (裁判) for them, because they knew her calls would be fair and there would be no arguing.
One day in 1904, Amanda and her mother traveled to Hawarden, Iowa, to watch Hank play for the home team against Hawarden. When they arrived at the ball field, two local teams were waiting to play a preliminary (预备) game. The umpire hadn’t arrived, so Hank argued that the teams should let his sister serve as umpire. The players finally agreed.
Amanda, then sixteen and standing five feet, ten inches tall, made perfect calls. She was so good that players for the main game asked her to umpire for them and even offered to pay her. Thus, at sixteen, Amanda Clement became the first paid female baseball umpire of all time. She is honored in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.
Why did Hank and his friends often ask Amanda to umpire for them?

A．Because she called them brothers.

B．Because they wanted to make her happy.

C．Because no one else wanted to do it for them.

D．Because she knew the rules well and was fair.

Amanda went to Hawarden in order to ______.

A．serve as umpire

B．watch her brother play

C．make money

D．help the local teams

Amanda most probably learned how to umpire a baseball game ______.

A．in her P. E. classes at school

B．in an umpire training school

C．by watching and playing the games

D．from her mother, a baseball umpire

Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?

A．The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown

B．Amanda Clement, First Female Umpire

C．Baseball Games in Hawarden, Iowa

D．A Family of Baseball Fans

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A,B,C,D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂上.
When Charles Stratton was five, he stopped growing. His mother took him to see the famous showman, P. T. Barnum. Mr. Barnum thought a small person would be the perfect addition to his show. He hired Charles' parents along with him, and they traveled the world together.
He gave the two-foot-tall Charles a name, General Tom Thumb. He taught Tom how to sing, dance, act and tell jokes. When he felt Tom was ready to perform on stage, he made up ads. To stir up great interest, he said that Tom was eleven years old and had come from England.
During the show, Tom fought battles pretendedly with tall people. He also danced upon a wooden plate held by a person who was eight feet tall. Tom's act was very popular and brought in a lot of money. By the time Tom was an adult, he had grown very rich. He had become a billionaire at the age of twenty five.
Fortunately for Tom, Mr. Barnum added more little people to his show, and Tom became lucky in love as well. One of the little people was Lavinia Warren, a schoolteacher. Tom was able to win her love, and they married.
The ceremony and reception were the talk of the town. They were attended by many rich and famous people and by about 2000 guests. Crowds filled the streets of New York to have a look at their tiny wedding marriage. The couple even met with President Abraham Lincoln on their honeymoon just before going to live in Tom's house in Connecticut.
Their wedding, which took place during the Civil War, provided a welcome escape from the sad problems of war. Not willing to let this bit of sunshine fade, communities throughout the country sponsored "Tom Thumb" weddings. In these weddings, small boys and girls, all dressed up, went through marriage ceremony for fun.
The underlined words "talk of the town" means________.

A．it was in the newspaper

B．it was the most popular topic

C．people spread bad rumors about it

D．it was discussed in a city meeting

Which one of the following statements is true according to the text?

A．Charles mother took him to see the famous showman because he stopped growing.

B．Tom had to fight with others during the show.

C．Tom’s wedding ceremony helped people cheer up in a dark time.

D．Tom and his mother came from England.

What is the main idea of the last paragraph?

A．Weddings always make people feel full of sunshine.

B．People are always disappointed during war time.

C．Entertainment can serve an important purpose.

D．People should be married when they are small children.

The world is filled with smart, talented, educated and gifted people. We meet them every day. A few days ago, my car was not running well. I pulled it into a garage and the young mechanic had it fixed in just a few minutes. He knew what was wrong by simply listening to the engine. I was amazed. The sad truth is: Great talent is not enough.
I am constantly shocked at how little talented people earn. I heard the other day that less than 5 percent of Americans earn more than $100, 000 a year. A business consultant who specializes in the medical trade was telling me how many doctors and dentists struggle financially. It was this business consultant who gave me the phrase, “They are one skill away from great wealth.”
There is an old saying that goes, “Job means just over broke (破产)' ”. And unfortunately, I would say that the saying applies to millions of people. Because school does not think financial intelligence is intelligence, most workers “live within their means”. They work and they pay the bills. Instead I recommend to young people to seek work for what they will learn, more than what they will earn.
When I ask the classes I teach, “How many of you can cook a better hamburger than McDonald’s?” almost all the students raise their hands. I then ask, “So if most of you can cook a better hamburger, how come McDonald’s makes more money than you?” The answer is obvious: McDonald’s is excellent at business systems. The reason so many talented people are poor is because they focus on bui1ding a better hamburger and know little or nothing about business systems. The world is filled with talented poor people. They focus on perfecting their skills at building a better hamburger rather than the skills of selling and delivering the hamburger.
The author mentions the mechanic in the first paragraph to show that __________.

A．he has a sharp sense of hearing

B．he is ready to help others

C．he is just one of the talented people

D．he knows little about car repairing

The underlined part in the third paragraph can be best replaced by__________.

A．spend more than they can afford

B．live within what they earn

C．live in their own circle

D．do in their own way

Why do talented people earn so little according to the author?

A．They don't work hard enough.

B．They have no specialized skills.

C．They don't make full use of their talents.

D．They lack financial intelligence.

The main purpose of the author is to tell us___________.

A．why so many talented people are poor

B．what schools should teach students

C．how young people can find a satisfactory job

D．how McDonald's makes much money

Larry was on another of his underwater expeditions(探险)but this time, it was different. He decided to take his daughter along with him. She was only ten years old. This would be her first trip with her father on what he had always been famous for.
Larry first began diving when he was his daughter’s age. Similarly, his father had taken him along on one of his expeditions. Since then, he had never looked back. Larry started out by renting diving suits from the small diving shop just along the shore. He had hated them. They were either too big or too small. Then, there was the instructor. He gave him a short lesson before allowing him into the water with his father. He had made an exception. Larry would never have been able to go down without at least five hours of theory and another similar number of hours on practical lessons with a guide. Children his age were not even allowed to dive.
After the first expedition, Larry’s later diving adventures only got better and better. There was never a dull moment. In his black and blue suit and with an oxygen tank fastened on his back, Larry dived from boats into the middle of the ocean. Dangerous areas did not prevent him from continuing his search. Sometimes, he was limited to a cage underwater but that did not bother him. At least, he was still able to take photographs of the underwater creatures
Larry’s first expedition without his father was in the Cayman Islands. There were numerous diving spots in the area and Larry was determined to visit all of them. Fortunately for him, a man offered to take him around the different spots for free. Larry did not even know what the time was, how many spots he dived into or how many photographs he had taken. The diving spots afforded such a wide array of fish and sea creatures that Larry saw more than thirty varieties of creatures.
Larry looked at his daughter. She looked as excited as he had been when he was her age. He hoped she would be able to continue the family tradition. Already, she looked like she was much braver than Larry had been then. This was the key to a successful underwater expedition.
In what way was this expedition different for Larry?

A．His daughter had grown up.

B．He had become a famous diver.

C．His father would dive with him.

D．His daughter would dive with him.

What can be inferred from Paragraph 2?

A．Larry had some privileges.

B．Larry liked the rented diving suits.

C．Divers had to buy diving equipment.

D．Ten-year-old children were permitted to dive.

Why did Larry have to stay in a cage underwater sometimes?

A．To protect himself from danger.

B．To dive into the deep water.

C．To admire the underwater view.

D．To take photos more conveniently.

What did Larry expect his daughter to do?

A．Become a successful diver.

B．Make a good diving guide.

C．Take a lot of photos underwater.

D．Have longer hours of training.

The story began with a young mother who had three sons. Unfortunately, the youngest son developed slow thinking skills, not having the intelligence of his brothers.
With double duty as the mother of the household, she was exhausted, so that the youngest was often the target of anger and annoyance. Bad words, such as “you little fool” and the like, served as a daily meal for the youngest.
The words and curses he got from the mother and ridicule from friends convinced him that he was distressing and embarrassing his family. Every morning he woke up with his own face staring from the mirror reflection, he started to say quietly and sadly, “The fool is going to school.”
As adult citizens, there was compulsory military service which should be lived. Thus, the youngest son also signed up and started to follow the various tests: a medical, physical ability test and other tests. On the day of the announcement, he was called into the board of examiners.
In his mind, he convinced himself that he was the fool and couldn’t pass the tests this time as he entered the room with his head down. It was not expected at all. The tests turned out to have the highest praise from the board of examiners.
“Congratulations, young man! Your test results are incredible! You are really a great and talented young man. ”Words from the board of examiners became the discovery of a new side of himself that was not known in advance. Voice kept echoing in his mind, such as “I, the great man, am in the shower”, “The great man washes his face”, “The talented young man again brushes his teeth” and so on. Confidence and improved self-image came beyond usual.
20 years later, the youngest established himself as a successful businessman who was admired and respected, and received many awards.
The mindset and belief are the power behind the success that is within us. Whatever we think and believe in or minds continuously, it will eventually materialize in reality. That’s the universally applicable law.
Why was the youngest often scolded by his mother?

A．He was not as clever as his brothers.

B．He considered himself to be a fool.

C．He didn’t behave himself at school.

D．He didn’t cook meals for his mother.

From the story we know that the young mother is ____.

A．selfish and lazy

B．gentle and caring

C．ill-tempered and impatient

D．kind-hearted and diligent

What happened to the youngest son later on?

A．He received aid from others.

B．He became an admirable psychologist.

C．He became confident and successful.

D．He developed strange mental diseases.

From this passage, the author tells us that____.

A．military service can change a person completely

B．mothers’ attitude toward children is important

C．even a fool can become a successful businessman

D．think big and you will get big results