My wife and I have always been friendly with the clerks at the local store. I don’t think many people appreciate what a difficult job these clerks have. They work for a little money and I often wonder how they make ends meet.
One of the clerks, Charlie, was always wearing his glasses but he didn’t one day. I asked him about it and he said they’d been out of order and that he couldn’t afford a new pair. His family needed money. It was clear that he was having a difficult time.
We wanted to help him, so we turned to our own eye doctor for help with a plan. We had his secretary contact him, asking him to come in for an eye exam for free. We told the doctor to let him order whatever glasses he wanted and that we would pay for them. Although Charlie questioned what was going on, the doctor just told him that someone had offered the money for his new glasses. When we went in to pay the bill, the doctor told us he was touched by our idea so that he waived the exam fee and only charged us for half the price of the glasses!
It was so wonderful to see Charlie in his new glasses and he enjoyed telling all the regular customers how the gift came about. I’m sure that upon hearing his story, ideas of kindness may have come in the minds of many people.Why didn’t the clerk Charlie wear glasses one day?
| A．It was very warm and fine. |
| B．His glasses were missing. |
| C．His old glasses were broken. |
| D．He forgot to wear his glasses. |
From the passage, we can infer that ______.
| A．Charlie was a young man with skills |
| B．Charlie knew who paid the money for the new glasses |
| C．Charlie completely accepted the money for the new glasses |
| D．Charlie couldn’t support his family with enough money |
The underlined word “waived” in the third paragraph can be replaced by ______.
| A．took up | B．gave up |
| C．cut down | D．put off |
Which of the following could be the best title for the passage?
| A．Customers’ Gift to an Employee |
| B．A Friendly Clerk — Charlie |
| C．The Wonderful Feeling of Helping others |
| D．An Expensive Pair of Glasses |
It was already dark when an old man came to a small town. He found an inn and wanted to stay there for the night. After he had gone to his room, the owner said to his wife, “Look at his bag, dear. I’m sure there are lots of valuable things in it. I want to steal it when he is asleep.”
“No, no,” said the woman. “He must look for his bag tomorrow morning. Then he’ll take you before the judge.” They thought and at last the woman had an idea. “We have forgetful grass,” said the woman, “Why not put some into his food? If he has the food, he will forget to take his bag away.” “How clever you are!” said the owner, “Don’t forget it when you prepare supper for him.”
The old man had the food with the forgetful grass and went to bed. The next morning, when the owner got up, he found the door was open and the old man had left with his bag. He woke his wife up and said angrily, “What a fool! Your forgetful grass isn’t useful at all.”
“No, no,” said the woman. “I don’t think so. He must forget something.”
“Oh, I’ve remembered!” The owner cried out suddenly, “He forgot…”The old man came to the inn _______.
| A．in the morning | B．in the afternoon |
| C．in the evening | D．at night |
The owner and his wife wanted to _______.
| A．get the man’s bag |
| B．steal the man’s money |
| C．make the man pay them more |
| D．hide the man’s bag |
The owner and his wife put the forgetful grass into the food because _______.
| A．the old man always forgot something |
| B．they wanted to make the food better |
| C．they hoped the old man would leave the bag in the inn |
| D．they wanted to know if the grass was useful |
According to the passage the old man forgot _______.
| A．to take his bag away |
| B．to tell the owner when he left |
| C．to close the door when he went to sleep |
| D．to pay them the inn money |
One evening last summer, when I asked my 14 year old son, Ray, for help with dinner, his response shocked me．"What’s a colander(漏勺)?" he asked．
I could only blame myself．In the family, nobody else’s hands went in the sauce except my own．But that night, as I explained with a touch of panic that a colander is the thing with holes in it, I wondered what else I hadn’t prepared Ray for．
As parents, while we focus on our sons’ confidence and character, we perhaps don’t always consider that we are also raising someone’s future roommates, boyfriends, husbands, or fathers．I wanted to know that I’d raised a boy who would never ask the woman in his life, "What’s for dinner?" So I came up with a plan: I would offer Ray a private home economics course．I was delighted to find that he didn’t say no．For two hours, three days a week, Ray was all mine．One day, as his tomato sauce reduced on the stove, he washed and seasoned a chicken for roasting．Then he rolled out the piecrust (馅饼皮) and filled it with apples, all while listening to my explanation on the importance of preheating an oven．
I knew that he would rather have been shooting hoops in the driveway than learning to mend socks with his mother—he tried to beg not to have sewing lessons, even though I insisted that one day, someone would find the sight of him fixing his own shirt very attractive— but it couldn’t be denied that he was learning, and more than just housekeeping．"I appreciate what you do as a mom," he told me one day．Ray now understands the finer points of cooking, and more importantly, he realizes there’s nothing masculine (男子气概的) about being helpless．
Now, not only can he make his own dinner, but also he can make a big meal for his family．That’s what I call a man．I’m glad that I prepared so great a present for my future daughter in-law．Why was the author shocked at her son’s response?
| A．Because he was not well behaved． |
| B．Because he refused to help with dinner． |
| C．Because he didn’t know the common kitchen tools． |
| D．Because he was very curious about kitchen tools． |
In the author’s opinion, some parents pay little attention to _______．
| A．building up children’s confidence |
| B．telling kids what is right and wrong |
| C．preparing children for their future life |
| D．making children live a hard life |
After learning to do housework, Ray _______．
| A．fell in love with sewing |
| B．did other work in the house |
| C．began to be more hardworking |
| D．acknowledged his mother’s efforts |
We can infer from the text that Ray _______．
| A．made great progress in cooking． |
| B．always thought housework interesting． |
| C．preferred sewing to cooking． |
| D．was unwilling to learn cooking at first． |
What would the author like to convey in the text?
| A．Useful education for boys |
| B．The importance of housework |
| C．Boys should be involved in housework． |
| D．Cooking and sewing make boys masculine． |
In Shanghai's Grand Theater, a fashionable, mainly young audience applauds enthusiastically as Guo Yong takes center stage．He holds a large bushy tree branch with leaves．Blowing on one of the leaves, he produces a sound like the singing of birds as he plays a traditional Buyi folk song．Some other musicians are also playing the traditional instruments from various ethnic groups in China．
It's the first time such music has ever been performed in the Grand Theater．But all this is the efforts of Zhu Zheqin, a Cantoneseborn singer, who has made it her mission to help preserve China's traditional ethnic music．
In 2009, after being appointed a United Nations Development Program ambassador, Zhu traveled through some of China's remotest regions in an attempt to document the traditional music of various minority groups．In the course of the fourmonth trip, she recorded more than a thousand songs．But she noticed that many of the best musicians were old, and some of the music was at risk of dying out．
“I was shocked by the beauty of what I heard—it was so good，” she says．“But it needed support．I hope to let people see the beauty of these things in the contemporary times．”
So Zhu decided to introduce some of the musicians to a wider audience．By doing this, she hopes to rekindle(点燃) the interest of the younger generation．“Young people don't like this music much; they prefer pop music and love songs．They think these songs are something their grandma sings．This kind of repackaging gives young people a new door into their heritage．”
Zhu believes China needs to look again at its own roots．“China today is basically all Western art; in our conservatories (音乐学院) Western classical music is the top，” she says．“For China to really contribute to the world, we need to go on our own path．So what can represent China today？” The answer, she suggests, is to move from “made in China” to “created in China”．
From the first paragraph, we learn that________．
| A．the audience are all young people |
| B．Guo Yong is playing the Buyi folk music |
| C．Guo Yong is the only minority performer in China |
| D．tree branches make good musical instruments |
Which of the following is true of Zhu Zheqin?
| A．She teaches music in a conservatory． |
| B．She is helping preserve Chinese ethnic music． |
| C．She works as an official in the United Nations． |
| D．She's created all the music for the Grand Theater． |
What is Zhu Zheqin's idea about Chinese traditional music?
| A．It is completely out of date． |
| B．Only old musicians play it well． |
| C．It needs changes to attract young people． |
| D．It is quickly dying out． |
What does Zhu Zheqin mean in the last paragraph?
| A．The traditional music should be repackaged． |
| B．Chinese conservatories shouldn't teach Western music． |
| C．China has contributed a lot to the Western art． |
| D．Only the things created in China can be symbols of China． |
Raeann Sleith began making bracelets (手链) when she was six. Family and friends loved her designs and asked for more. When admirers suggested that Raeann sell her bracelets, she realized she wanted to do just that — and donate the money to help kids with special needs, like her brother Derek.
Raeann’s older brother, Derek, has cri du chat syndrome. Children with cri du chat usually have problems understanding ideas and might have a hard time learning to talk. Many also have weak muscles that can cause problems with walking or using their fingers to pick things up. The term cri du chat means “cry of the cat” in French. Babies with cri du chat often have a high-pitched cry that sounds like that of a little cat.
Over the years, Derek’s teachers helped him learn sign language and gestures. They also taught him skills such as recognizing letters, cutting with scissors, and understanding basic math. Raeann wanted to donate money to Derek’s school. “I just wanted to help my brother,” she says, “and the people who help him.”
At first, Raeann focused on creating jewelry that would raise awareness for cri du chat. But people started requesting bracelets to wear as a symbol of support and awareness for a variety of other diseases and disorders. To create those symbols, Raeann researched the color most often associated with raising awareness for the disease or disorder, such as pink for breast cancer or orange for leukemia.
In the end, it turned out to be a great idea. In only a few years, Raeann has donated more than $30,000 to local charities. Raeann’s mom says that working on the bracelets has developed the generosity and kindness that already existed in her daughter. Raeann plans to keep making bracelets and raising dollars for charities. “I just want to keep going on with it,” she says, “to help my brother more.”Paragraph 2 is mainly about _____.
| A．the origin of the term cri du chat |
| B．the research on cri du chat syndrome |
| C．the treatment for cri du chat syndrome |
| D．the characteristics of cri du chat syndrome |
The bracelets Raeann Sleith has made _____.
| A．are decorated with colorful jewels |
| B．represent different kinds of diseases |
| C．are very popular all over the world |
| D．add up to more than 30,000 |
Which of the following can best describe Raeann Sleith?
| A．Caring and generous. | B．Honest and responsible. |
| C．Polite and determined. | D．Creative and humorous. |
The main purpose of the text is to _____.
| A．tell us the story of a loving girl |
| B．show us how to make bracelets |
| C．introduce a kind of rare disease |
| D．ask us to donate to local charities |
Perhaps Joe Cheng has become popular with thousands of fans and has been chased by girls and middles students. But do you know his resume(简历)?
Yes. Joe Cheng, who plays the most popular boy in high school in the popular Taiwanese drama “It Started with a Kiss.”
Although thousands of girls have fallen in love with him for his cute smile and strong body, Cheng, 27, doesn’t want to rest on his good looks. He made the move from modeling to acting six years ago, and now he is trying another career－this time, to be a singer. Cheng worked on his first album, “Joe Cheng’s Day”, for a year. It came out on September 7.
Apart from recording his CD, Cheng has been practicing dance moves for his music video. Given his height, 188cm, this was not an easy job. “I had bad dreams about dancing,” he said.
Cheng’s life has had many ups and downs. His parents divorced when he was in primary school and he has lived with his father ever since. After dropping out of high school, he took on all kinds of jobs before being spotted by a scout（星探）for a modeling agency. Cheng said his key to life is “keeping a positive outlook and making the most out of life.”
Cheng admitted that he got bad grades when he was in high school. But he was still very popular at school. “Being very active in the students union, I was elected president. I liked to organize parties and field trips, so many teachers and students knew me,” he said.
Cheng once dreamed of becoming a cartoonist, and he regrets that he never did it. Now he hopes his teenage fans can learn from his life. “When you are in school, just focus on studies,” Cheng said. “Every young heart is eager to explore the world outside. But take your time. Finish your studies first.”Which of the following can be the best title for this text?
| A．Finish Your Study First. |
| B．Life Is Full of Ups and Downs. |
| C．He Has It All, but Still Has Regrets. |
| D．The Key to Success. |
What career didn’t Joe Cheng try?
| A．Acting in some dramas. | B．Dancing for an agency. |
| C．Modeling for an agency. | D．Recording his own CDs. |
The underlined word “outlook” in Paragraph 4 means __________.
| A．attitude | B．scene | C．fame | D．appearance |
Which of the correct order of these events?
a. Joe Cheng dropped out of high school.
b. Joe Cheng worked on his first album, “Joe Cheng’s Day”.
c. Joe Cheng’s parents divorced.
d. Joe Cheng played the most popular boy in “It started with a Kiss”.
e. Joe Cheng worked in a modeling agency.
| A．acedb | B．caebd | C．caedb | D．Acebd |
On a stormy day last August, Tim heard some shouting. Looking out to the sea carefully, he saw a couple of kids in a rowboat were being pulled out to sea.
Two 12-year-old boys, Christian and Jack, rowed out a boat to search a football. Once they’d rowed beyond the calm waters, a beach umbrella tied to the boat caught the wind and pulled the boat into open water. The pair panicked and tried to row back to shore. But they were no match for it and the boat was out of control.
Tim knew it would soon be swallowed by the waves.
“Everything went quiet in my head,” Tim recalls（回忆）. “I’m trying to figure out how to swim to the boys in a straight line.”
Tim took off his clothes and jumped into the water. Every 500 yards or so, he raised his head to judge his progress. “At one point, I considered turning back,” he says. “I wondered if I was putting my life at risk.” After 30 minutes of struggling, he was close enough to yell to the boys, “Take down the umbrella!”
Christian made much effort to take down the umbrella. Then Tim was able to catch up and climb aboard the boat. He took over rowing, but the waves were almost too strong for him.
“Let’s aim for the pier（码头）,” Jack said. Tim turned the boat toward it. Soon afterward, waves crashed over the boat, and it began to sink. “Can you guys swim?” he cried. “A little bit,” the boys said.
Once they were in the water, Tim decided it would be safer and faster for him to pull the boys toward the pier. Christian and Jack were wearing life jackets and floated on their backs. Tim swam toward land as water washed over the boys’ faces.
“Are we almost there?” they asked again and again. “Yes,” Tim told them each time.
After 30 minutes, they reached the pier.Why did the two boys go to the sea?
| A．To go boat rowing. |
| B．To get back their football. |
| C．To swim in the open water. |
| D．To test the umbrella as a sail. |
What does “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to?
| A．The beach | B．The water |
| C．The boat | D．The wind |
Why did Tim raise his head regularly?
| A．To take in enough fresh air. |
| B．To consider turning back or not. |
| C．To check his distance from the boys. |
| D．To ask the boys to take down the umbrella. |
How can the two boys finally reach the pier?
| A．They were dragged to the pier by Tim. |
| B．They swam to the pier all by themselves. |
| C．They were washed to the pier by the waves. |
| D．They were carried to the pier by Tim on his back. |
One dark and stormy night，an elderly man and his wife entered the hall of a small hotel in Philadelphia，hoping to get shelter for the night．
The clerk，a friendly man with a beautiful smile，explained that there were three conferences in town．“All of our rooms are taken，”the clerk said，“but I can't send a nice couple like you into the rain at one o'clock in the morning．Would you perhaps be willing to sleep in my room? It's not a suite，but it will be good enough to make you comfortable for the night．”The couple agreed．
As the elderly man paid the bill the next morning，he told the clerk，“You are the kind of person who should be the boss of the best hotel in the United States．Maybe someday I’ll build one for you．” The clerk looked at them and smiled．The three of them had a good laugh．
Two years passed．The clerk had almost forgotten the incident when he received a letter from the elderly man，asking the clerk to pay him a visit．The elderly man met him in New York，and led him to the corner of the Fifth Avenue and 34th Street．He then pointed to a great new building there，a reddish stone one with watchtowers thrusting (插入) up to the sky，and told the clerk that it was the hotel he had just built for him to manage．
That wonderful building was the original Waldorf-Astoria Hotel．And this young clerk whose name was George C．Boldt never foresaw the return of events that would lead him into the manager of one of the world's most attractive hotels．
Why did the elderly man build a hotel for the clerk?
| A．He was grateful to the clerk． |
| B．They had a bet at first． |
| C．He wanted to please the clerk． |
| D．He wanted to sell the hotel． |
Which of the statements about the story is NOT true?
| A．The story took place at about one a．m． |
| B．The old couple were too poor to afford a luxurious room． |
| C．The clerk was willing to help those in need． |
| D．The clerk received an unexpected invitation from the old man． |
According to the text，the clerk．
| A．helped the couple because he thought they were poor． |
| B．hoped that the old couple could give him a large amount of money． |
| C．didn't expect to receive things in return from the old couple． |
| D．became rich，thanks to his own efforts． |
Which of the following proverbs suits the story the best?
| A．Every little thing helps． |
| B．Make hay(干草)while the sun shines． |
| C．Accidents will happen． |
| D．One good turn deserves another． |
Online shopping has become more and more popular these years. Women have jumped ahead of men for the first time in using the Internet to do their holiday shopping, according to a study published last week in the US.
For years men have been more likely to shop on the Internet than women, but during the 2013 holiday season 58 percent of those shopping online were women.
“It shows how mainstream the Internet is becoming,” said Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet and American Life Project group, which carried out the study. Rainie said it was only a matter of time before women shoppers caught up with men. This is because women traditionally make decisions about spending.
Users were more likely to shop online to save time. Internet users between the ages 18 and 29 were responsible for some of the surprising increase in the online gift-buying population this time around.
However, three-quarters of the US Internet users did not buy holiday gifts online in 2013. They worried about credit card security(安全), or just compared online prices with off-line prices, then dashed off to the shops to get the best deals.
“But even if shoppers don’t buy online, websites are becoming promotion(促销) tools for stores, ” said Dan Hess, vice president of Com Score Network Inc. Hess said that actually most stores’ websites can make customers fully believe the security of their credit card numbers. And most are able to ensure that gifts arrive on time.
“It’s all about making the shopping experience more efficient, more reliable and more comfortable.” Hess said.Which of the following statements is true?
| A．There were fewer women online shoppers than men in 2013. |
| B．More women shopped online than men in 2013. |
| C．Most of the Internet users between the ages of 18 and 29 are women. |
| D．People in the US were more likely to buy gifts online. |
What does the underlined part “dashed off” probably mean ?
| A．关闭 | B．推迟 | C．匆忙 | D．起飞 |
According to Dan Hess, shopping online ______.
| A．is unsafe | B．is convenient |
| C．is a waste of money | D．is cheaper |
The most frightening words in the English language are, “Our computer is down.” You hear it more and more when you are on business. The other day I was at the airport waiting for a ticket to Washington and the girl in the ticket office said, “I’m sorry, I can’t sell you a ticket. Our computer is down.”
“If your computer is down, just write me out a ticket.”
“I can’t write you out a ticket. The computer is the only one allowed to do so.”
I looked down on the computer and every passenger was just standing there drinking coffee and staring at the black screen. Then I asked her, “What do all your people do?”
“We give the computer the information about your trip, and then it tells us whether you can fly with us or not.”
“So when it goes down, you go down with it.”
“That’s good, sir.”
“How long will the computer be down?” I wanted to know.
“I have no idea. Sometimes it’s down for 10 minutes, sometimes for two hours. There’s no way we can find out without asking the computer, and since it’s down it won’t answer us.”
After the girl told me they had no backup(备用) computer, I said. “Let’s forget the computer. What about your planes? They’re still flying, aren’t they?”
“I couldn’t tell without asking the computer.”
“Maybe I could just go to the gate and ask the pilot if he’s flying to Washington, ” I suggested.
“I wouldn’t know what gate to send you to. Even if the pilot was going to Washington, he couldn’t’t take you if you didn’t’t have a ticket.”
“Is there any other airline flying to Washington within the next few hours?”
“I wouldn’t know,” she said, pointing at the dark screen. “Only ‘IT’ knows. ‘IT’ can’t tell me.
By this time there were quite a few people standing in lines. The word soon spread to other travelers that the computer was down. Some people went white, some people started to cry and still others kicked their luggage.The best title for the article is _______.
| A．When the Computer Is Down |
| B．The Most Frightening Words |
| C．The Computer of the Airport |
| D．A different travel |
What could the girl in the ticket office do for the passengers without asking the computer?
| A．She could sell a ticket. |
| B．She could write out a ticket. |
| C．She could answer the passengers’ questions. |
| D．She could do nothing. |
Why do you think they had not a backup computer?
| A．Because it was easy down |
| B．Because it was not relied on . |
| C．Because it was not useful. |
| D．Because it was very expensive. |
The last paragraph suggests that _______.
| A．a modern computer won’t be down. |
| B．computers can take the place of humans |
| C．sometimes a computer may bring suffering to people |
| D．there will be great changes in computers |
What kind of feeling did passengers have when the computer was down?
| A．upset | B．determined |
| C．encouraged | D．happy |
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. |
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