高中英语故事类阅读试题

EDGEWOOD — Every morning at Dixie Heights High School, customers pour into a special experiment: the district’s first coffee shop run mostly by students with special learning needs.
Well before classes start, students and teachers order Lattes, Cappuccinos and Hot Chocolates. Then, during the first period, teachers call in orders on their room phones, and students make deliveries.
By closing time at 9.20 a.m., the shop usually sells 90 drinks.
“Whoever made the chi tea, Ms. Schatzman says it was good,” Christy McKinley, a second year student, announced recently, after hanging up with the teacher.
The shop is called the Dixie PIT, which stands for Power in Transition. Although some of the students are not disabled, many are, and the PIT helps them prepare for life after high school.
They learn not only how to run a coffee shop but also how to deal with their affairs. They keep a timecard and receive paychecks, which they keep in check registers.
Special-education teachers Kim Chevalier and Sue Casey introduced the Dixie PIT from a similar program at Kennesaw Mountain High School in Georgia.
Not that it was easy. Chevalier’s first problem to overcome was product-related. Should schools be selling coffee? What about sugar content?
Kenton County Food Service Director Ginger Gray helped. She made sure all the drinks, which use non-fat milk, fell within nutrition (营养) guidelines.
The whole school has joined in to help.
Teachers agreed to give up their lounge (休息室) in the mornings. Art students painted the name of the shop on the wall. Business students designed the paychecks. The basketball team helped pay for cups.
What is the text mainly about?

A．A special educational program.

B．A best-selling coffee.

C．Government support for schools.

D．A new type of teacher-student relationship.

The Dixie PIT program was introduced in order to_________．

A．raise money for school affairs

B．develop students’ practical skills

C．do some research on nutrition

D．supply teachers with drinks

How did Christy McKinley know Ms. Schatzman’s  opinion of the chi tea?

A．She met her in the shop.

B．She heard her telling others.

C．She went to her office to deliver the tea.

D．She talked to her on the phone.

We know from the text that Ginger Gray ___________ ．

A．manages the Dixie P1T program in Kenton County

B．teaches at Dixie Heights High School

C．sees that the drinks meet health standards

D．owns the school’s coffee shop

Ernest Hemingway was born in Oak Park, Illinois, on July 21^st, 1899. Influenced by his father, he enjoyed camping, fishing and hunting at his early age. In 1917, after graduation from high school, Hemingway began his writing career with The Kansas City Star. And then, after being rejected for army service in World War I because of poor vision, he volunteered to serve as a driver for an American ambulance unit in France. In 1918, he transferred to duty on the Italian front, where he was seriously wounded in an explosion. After his recovery, he returned home. He worked for The Toronto star, covered the Greco-Turkish war as a foreign reporter, and then returned to Paris, which was a city full of intellectual life, creativity, and genius after the war. In Paris, where he accomplished a revolution in literary style and language, his first book, Three Stories and Ten Poems, appeared in 1923, and was followed by a short story collection In Our Time, which marked his entry to American literature in 1925.
Hemingway’s status as a remarkable writer of his time was confirmed with the publication of A Farewell to Arms in 1929. The novel represented a farewell both for war and for love. In 1937, he became a foreign reporter covering the Spanish Civil war. Three years later, he published For Whom the Bell Tolls. Set in Spain during the Civil war, the novel restated his view of love found and lost and described the tough spirit of the common people. In 1912, the same judgment was reflected in his portrait of fisherman, Santiago, with an indomitable spirit in defeat, in The Old Man and the Sea, which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1953. Hemingway won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. With one of the most important influences on the development of the American short story and novel, Hemingway has seized the imagination of the American public like no other twentieth-century author. He died by suicide, in Ketchum, Idaho, in 1961.
Hemingway was turned down for army service in World war I because ______ .

A．he was unlearned	B．he was in poor condition
C．he was inexperienced	D．he had bad eyesight

The publication of _______ proved Hemingway one of the greatest literary lights of the 20th century.

A．Three Stories and Ten Poems

B．A Farewell to Arms

C．The Old Man and the Sea

D．In Our Time

Which is the correct order of the following events given in this passage?
a. Hemingway’s work For Whom the Bell tolls came out.
b. Hemingway won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
c. Hemingway’s first book was published in Paris.
d. Hemingway got wounded on the Italian front.
e. Hemingway covered the Greco-Turkish war as a foreign reporter.

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

The underlined word “indomitable” in the last paragraph probably means ______.

A．unending

B．unselfish

C．unbending

D．Unchanging

Liu Huan is a professor at the University of International Business and Economics. He is also a noted musician and popular singer in the Chinese mainland.
Born on Aug. 26, 1963 in to a teacher’s family in Tianjin, Liu enrolled at the University of International Relations in Beijing in 1981, majoring in French literature. He was retained at the university as a faculty member(教职工)after graduation in 1985. He won two first prizes in Beijing’s first-ever university English and French singing contests in 1985. To help promote local education by teaching music, he lived in Shizuishan, a remote area in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, in 1985~1986. He was appointed a professor at the University of International Business and Economics to teach the history of Western music in 1991, and has been working at the university for more than 20 years.
As a professor, Liu is invited every year to colleges and universities in Beijing to teach music courses. As a famous musician, when asked if his classes differ from other teachers’, Liu simply said, “Nothing different. While standing on the platform, I am just a teacher. Everything outside has nothing to do with me at that moment. ”
Since becoming a professional singer in 1985, Liu’s singing has been widely welcomed across the country. He won many national awards, including the Top 10 Film and TV Singers in the Country in 1988, in 1990 and in 1992. On Aug. 8, 2008, Liu sang a duet “You and Me” with Sarah Brightman at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games, reaching the top of his singing career. In addition to singing, Liu Huan also creates original scores for film and TV. His works have been well received by both audiences and his peers in the industry.
Therefore, Liu is chosen to act as one of the four judges on “The Voice of China” , a surprisingly popular singing talent show which has been aired on Zhejiang Satellite TV since July 13, 2012. At the same time, his fellow judges are Na Ying, Yang Kun, and Harlem Yu. (322W)

What does the underlined word “noted” in the first paragraph mean?

A．Famous.

B．Skilled.

C．Gifted.

D．Important.

Liu Huan used to live in Shizuishan, a remote area in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region to_____

A．learn about their customs and cultures

B．improve his ability of composing music by living in the village

C．help promote local education by teaching music

D．find some talented students in music

When he reached the top of his singing career, he was      .

A．45

B．22

C．28

D．49

Which is NOT true of the description about his musical achievements?

A．He has won the Top 10 Film and TV Singers in the Country three times.

B．He succeeded in singing a duet “You and Me” with Sarah Brightman at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games.

C．He creates many original scores for film and TV.

D．He is the only one who acts as a judge on “The Voice of China”.

About ten years ago, a young and very successful businessman named Josh was traveling down a Chicago neighborhood street. He was going a bit too fast in his shiny, black, 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE, which was only two months old.
He was watching for kids rushing out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no child came out, but a brick sailed out and—WHUMP! —it hit the Jag’s shiny black side door! Immediately Josh stopped the car, jumped out, seized the kid and pushed him up against a parked car. He shouted at the kid, “What was that all about and who are you? That’s my new Jag, that brick you threw is gonna cost you a lot of money. Why did you throw it? ”
“Please, mister, please. . . I’m sorry! I didn’t know what else to do! ” begged the youngster. “I threw the brick because no one else would stop! ” Tears were streaming down the boy’s face as he pointed around the parked car. “It’s my brother, mister, ” he said. “He rolled of the curb (路沿) and fell out of his wheelchair and I can’t lift him up. ”Sobbing, the boy asked the businessman, “ Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He’s hurt and he’s too heavy for me. ”
Moved beyond words, the young businessman tried hard to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. Straining, he lifted the young man back into the wheelchair and took out his handkerchief and wiped the scrapers and cuts, checking to see that everything was going to be OK. He then watched the younger brother push him down the sidewalk toward their home.
It was a long walk back to the black, shining 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE—a long and slow walk. Josh never did fix the side door of his Jaguar. He kept the dent (凹痕) to remind him not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at him to get his attention. Feel for the bricks of life coming at you.
How did the driver reflect firstly when he found the boy throwing a brick on his car?

A．Surprised

B．Angry

C．Strange

D．Sad

The boy threw a brick at the businessman’s car because _________.

A．the businessman drove at a high speed

B．he envied the brand-new car very much

C．he wanted to ask for some money

D．he wanted to get help from the driver

Which of the following is the right order of the story?
a. The younger brother threw a brick at Josh’s car.
b. The elder brother fell out of his wheelchair.
c. The younger brother begged Josh for help.
d. Josh lifted the elder brother back into his wheelchair.
e. Josh shouted at the younger brother.

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

What can we learn from the passage?

A．Josh would accept the money from the kids.

B．The two kids were Josh’s neighbors.

C．Josh was a kind-hearted man.

D．Josh’s new car broke down easily.

According to the passage, the last sentence means ________.

A．trying to get ready for the trouble in your future life

B．driving fast in a neighborhood street is dangerous

C．trying to be more understanding seeing others in trouble

D．protecting oneself from being hurt

In October 2013, Davion Only made an appeal on the Internet. He had learned that his biological mothr had died not long before. ”My name is Davion and I've been in foster care (寄养照管) since I was born," he said, “but I'm not giving up hope. "
The heartbreaking appeal spread quickly, and Only's foster agency received calls from more than 10,000 people. Only ended up travelling to Ohio to live with a family. But after Only got into a physical fight with one of his elder would-be brothers, the family changed their minds.
Back in Florida, Only passed through four different temporary homes over the following year, until he called Connie Going, his adoption case worker, to make a special request. Only had known Going for nearly ten years, and had asked every year if she would adopt him, but she always hesitated. “I always believed there was a better family than us out there," Going said in an interview. But last July, when Only called and asked again if she might adopt him, Going said something felt different. "When he asked me, my heart felt this ache and I just
knew he was my son," she said.
So Going, 52, invited Only to start spending time with the rest of her family-her two daughters, Sydney, 21, and Carly 17, and a son Taylor, 14, who she also adopted out of foster care.  Eventually, after seeing how well the arrangement was working, Going, who had rented a bigger home, started adopting Only. Only moved in with her family last December.He officially joined Going's family on April 22, 2015 when the adoption papers went through.
"Today, I feel blessed and honored to have been chosen to be the parent of all my children," Going said.
By making the appeal, Davion Only hoped that

A．service in his foster agency would improve

B．his biological mother would come to him

C．a foster agency would accept him

D．he would be adopted by a family

Davion Only didn't live with the family in Ohio because

A．he hated living with them

B．they finally refused to accept him

C．he has received another invitation

D．he often fought with his would-be brothers

What do we know from Paragraph 3?

A．Davion Only had fun living in different homes.

B．Connie Going had cared about Davion Only for over ten years.

C．Davion Only had a strong desire to be adopted by Connie Going.

D．Connie Going believed she would give Davion Only what he wanted.

After Davion Only joined Connie Going's family,

A．Connie Going bought a bigger house

B．the four kids often had physical fights

C．Connie Going didn't regret her decision

D．another three kids were later adopted as well

Around four years ago, I received a call from the principal of our school as to the “Parents View” talk the next morning. He asked me to speak to the group. After the call, my whole body became feverish and panicky. The time from his call to the next morning seemed like years. The whole night, I could not sleep with many ominous apprehensions in mind. One of them was to call the principal with regret and tell him that I could not come. Finally, I gathered some courage. I thought, “If I miss this opportunity, surely the school will never invite me again to any of their programs.”
I reached the school in time. Before my turn came, my whole body was trembling. When my turn came and I started speaking, my heartbeat increased and my mouth went dry. I wasn’t even able to read the written speech properly. I was not aware of where I was standing and what I was reading. That was the day when I realized my biggest weakness, Public Speaking.
After my speech, I met with the principal and explained what happened to me. He told me that this happens to everyone. Even great speaker, faced the same things when they started. He suggested that I come again next time.
Around one month later, I was invited to refer to a topic on Motivation. This time I was feeling comfortable. My speech was not only appreciated by the principal as well as the teachers, because I was able to get my idea across to them. They encouraged and praised my efforts.
After delivering is successfully, I became more confident .l said to myself, “If I can speak in front of such a learned audience, like the principal who educates others, I can now speak in front of others too.”
I started delivering lectures in my plant, on various topics like Self Motivation, Personality Development, Personal Excellence, Spoken English and Presentation Skills. This has become a passion for me. I learned that everything is possible if we have the courage to take the first step.
Which of the following is the hest title for the passage?

A．Practice Makes a Man a Better Speechmaker

B．Public Speaking Makes a Man Embarrassed.

C．Principal Provides the Best Chances.

D．Spoken English Develops in Malting Speeches.

The author had bad feelings before the speech because______.

A．he disliked the idea of giving a lecture

B．he had got a high fever before that

C．he regretted accepting the invitation

D．he feared he couldn't perform it properly

What does the underlined part “ominous apprehensions” in the first paragraph mean?

A．Unlucky opportunities.

B．Negative ideas.

C．Curious views.

D．Happy comments.

What can we conclude from the passage?

A．Nothing is to be got without pains but poverty.

B．Knowledge makes humble, ignorance makes proud.

C．A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

D．Necessity is the mother of invention.

Some people collect stamps. Other people collect works of art or musical instruments. But a man in the American state of Maryland collects secrets.
For the past 10 years, people have been sending Frank Warren postcards and other objects with secrets written on them. He now has a million secrets. “It’s a drawing of a lift. And the secret says: ‘I feel guilty when I take lifts for one floor, so I limp when I get out.’” Frank said.
Ten years ago, Mr. Warren created an art project called PostSecret. People then began to send him postcards, other objects and emails telling their secrets. Every Sunday, he chooses 10 secrets and puts them on the website.
Mr. Warren says he created PostSecret so people could share their secrets in a safe place. “I was struggling with secrets in my own life. And it was by creating this safe place where others could share their secrets with me, I think that space was something I needed just as much as they did.”
He has published six books full of the secrets people have shared with him. One secret in each book is his. Eric Perry delivers mail for the U.S. Postal Service. He has brought thousands of secrets to Frank’s home over the past three years. “I have a couple of the books that Frank’s given me and I’ve read them all and my family has read them all and it’s wild!”
The project itself was once one of Frank’s secrets. His wife Jan didn’t know exactly what he was doing until the first book was published. The publisher told him that the address was going to be on the book, and he refused. However, the address was there just because of the contract between them. Actually Warren wasn’t very happy about that.
Some people tell Frank of their secret desire to kill themselves. So he and the PostSecret community have raised more than $1 million to help prevent suicides（自杀）.
It is implied in Mr. Warren’s words in Paragraph 2 that ________.

A．the person was ashamed of using an elevator for one floor

B．Americans are not allowed to use an elevator for one floor

C．the person felt guilty when pretending to be a disabled one

D．he has received different secrets about using an elevator

Mr. Warren created PostSecret in order to ________.

A．satisfy his curiosity about others’ secrets

B．collect more materials for his series of books

C．offer a safe place for people to share their secrets

D．earn a lot of money by sharing others’ secrets online

What do we know about Eric Perry from the passage?

A．His family are eager to collect the books written by Frank.

B．His main job is to deliver mails and postcards for Frank.

C．He has been a postman who has a great many secrets.

D．He has developed a good relationship with Frank.

What was Mr. Warren’s secret according to the passage?

A．He once took the lift only for one floor.

B．He is interested in collecting others’ secrets.

C．He created an art project without telling his wife.

D．He helped prevent others from committing suicides.

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