高中英语故事类阅读阅读理解

An African-American man named John Henry was the hero of former slaves and the people who built the railroads in the US in the 19th century.
John Henry was born a slave. He was known for his strength. Many people say he represents the spirit of growth in America during that period.
John Henry grew up in a world that did not let children stay children for long. Before he was six years old, he was carrying stones for workers building a nearby railroad. By the time John Henry was a young man, he was one of the best railroad workers in the country.
John Henry was asked to lead workers on a hard project, creating a tunnel through a mountain. The project required about 1,000 laborers and lasted three years. Hundreds of men became sick as a result of the hot weather and tiredness. John Henry was the strongest and fastest man. Concerned his friends might lose their jobs, he picked up their hammers and began doing their work. He worked day and night, rarely stopping to have a rest.
One day, a salesman came to the work area with a new drilling machine powered by steam. He said it could drill holes faster than twelve men working together.
John Henry looked at the machine and saw images of the future. He saw machines taking the place of America’s best laborers. He saw himself and his friends unemployed and sanding by a road, asking for food. He decided he would never let the machine take their jobs. Therefore, a competition between a man and a machine began .At first, the steam-powered drill worked twice faster. Then, John Henry started working with a hammer in each hand. He worked faster and faster. People cheered when the machine broke down and was pulled away. But they were sad to find John Henry fall to the ground, with blood spilling all around, and still holding a hammer in one of his hands.“I beat them,”he said. Then he took his last breath.
What does the underlined part in Paragraph 3 most probably mean?

A．Many children in those days starved to death.

B．Children at that time grew much faster.

C．Children in those days had to work like adults.

D．Children at that time couldn’t stay together.

Why did hundreds of workers become sick?

A．Because they had to work long hours.

B．Because the weather was hot and they were tired.

C．Because the project was too hard.

D．Because they didn’t have time to eat.

John Henry helped do his friends’ work     .

A．because he was the strongest and fastest man

B．for fear that his friends would lose their jobs

C．so that they could regain their strength

D．in order be the hero of the railroad workers

Which of the following best describes John Henry?

A．Kind and determined.	B．Cautious and considerate.
C．Brave and strict.	D．Hardworking and stubborn.

I must have been about fourteen then, and I put away the incident from my mind with the easy carelessness of youth. But the words, Carl Walter spoke that day, came back to me years later, and ever since have been of great value to me.
Carl Walter was my piano teacher. During one of my lessons he asked how much practicing I was doing. I said three or four hours a day.
“Do you practice in long stretches, an hour at a time?”
“I try to.”
“Well, don’t, ” he said loudly. “When you grow up, time won’t come in long stretches. Practice in minutes, whenever you can find them five or ten before school, after lunch, between household tasks. Spread the practice through the day, and piano-playing will become a part of your life.”
When I was teaching at Columbia, I wanted to write, but class periods, theme-reading, and committee meetings filled my days and evenings. For two years I got practically nothing down on paper, and my excuse was that I had no time. Then I remembered what Carl Walter had said. During the next week I conducted an experiment. Whenever I had five minutes unoccupied, I sat down and wrote a hundred words or so. To my astonishment, at the end of the week I had a rather large manuscript(手稿) ready for revision. Later on I wrote novels by the same piecemeal （零碎的）method. Though my teaching schedule had become heavier than ever, in every day there were moments which could be caught and put to use.
There is an important trick in this time-using principle: you must get into your work quickly. If you have but five minutes for writing, you can’t afford to waste it in chewing your pencil. You must make your mental preparations beforehand, and concentrate on your task almost instantly when the time comes. Fortunately, rapid concentration is easier than most of us realize.
I admit I have never learnt how to let go easily at the end of the five or ten minutes. But life can be counted on to supply interruptions. Carl Walter has had a significant influence on my life. To him I owe the discovery that even very short periods of time add up to all useful hours I need, if I throw myself into it without delay.
The meaning of “stretch” in the underlined part is the same as that in the sentence “_______”

A．The dog woke up, had a good stretch and wandered off.

B．Bob worked as a government official for a stretch of over twenty years.

C．My family wasn’t wealthy by any stretch of the imagination.

D．This material has a lot of stretch in it.

Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．The author didn’t take the teacher’s words to heart at first.

B．Rapid concentration is more difficult than people imagine.

C．The author thanked his teacher for teaching him to work in long stretches.

D．Carl Walter has influenced the writer greatly since he was a student.

We can infer that the author______.

A．had new books published each year however busy his teaching is

B．is tired of interruptions in life because he always has much work

C．has formed a bad habit of chewing a pencil while writing his novels

D．makes mental preparations beforehand so as to focus on work quickly

What is probably the best title for this text?

A．Concentrate on Your Work	B．A Little at a Time
C．How I Became a Writer	D．Good Advice

Anais Nin was a famous writer. Nin was born French-Cuban but lived in the United States in her later years of life till she died. Nin’s works had her relationships with authors, artists, and other figures as the main subject. Some of her writings were made into films. Nin was also a visiting lecturer in several colleges and promoted Women's Movement with her strong writings.
Anais Nin was born in France in 1903. Her father was a Spanish artist and a composer living in Cuba (古巴) where he met her mother, a French singer working in Cuba. As a child Nin was brought up in Spain. When her parents separated, Nin and her two brothers moved to New York with their mother. At the age of 16, Nin decided to give up studying and started to work as a dancer and model to reduce the financial burden on her mother so that her brothers could go on with their studies.
In 1923, Nin got married to her husband, Hugh Parker Guiler in Cuba. In 1924, Nin and Hugh moved to Paris where Hugh continued with his banking career and Nin started writing. Nin wrote her first book in print, D. H. Lawrence: An Unprofessional Study in 16 days. In 1939, Nin left Paris as it was a French government’s request to its residents to leave Paris because of the coming war. Nin returned to New York with Hugh and sent her written books to Frances Steioff of the Gotham Book Mart in New York for safekeeping.
In 1931, Nin wrote her book Henry and Jun: From the Unexpurgated Diary of Anais Nin. In 1936, Nin published House of Incest which was a 72-page fiction novel
Nin also appeared and was a part of various films. In 1973, Anais Nin was awarded an honorary doctorate    (荣誉博士学位) by the Philadelphia College of Art. In 1974, Nin was elected to the United States National Institute of Arts and Letters.
In 1977, Nin died in her Los Angeles home after battling with cancer for three years.
What can we know about Anais Nin from the first paragraph?

A．She was a native American.

B．She started Women’s Movement

C．She gave lectures in several colleges.

D．She wrote mainly about her family life.

Why did Anais Nin give up studying at the age of 16?

A．Because she wanted to help support her family.

B．Because her parents divorced.

C．Because she wanted to realize her dream of becoming an artist

D．Because she moved from country to country.

In 1939 Nin and her husband moved back to New York to______ .

A．enter the film industry	B．stay away from war
C．have her books published	D．promote her new books

What is the passage mainly about?

A．The awards Anais Nin won.

B．Anais Nin and her incomplete family.

C．The hardship Anais Nin experienced.

D．Anais Nin and her great achievements.

Inventor，physicist，surveyor，astronomer，biologist，artist... Robert Hooke was all these and more. Some say he was the greatest experimental scientist of the seventeenth century. Once he worked with renowned（有名声的） men of science like Christian Huygens，Antony van Leeuwenhoek，Robert Boyle，Isaac Newton and the great architect，Christopher Wren.
Hooke’s early education began at home，under the guidance of his father. He entered Westminster School at the age of thirteen，and from there he went to Oxford，where he came in contact with some of the best scientists in England. Hooke impressed them with his skill at designing experiments and devising（发明） instruments. In 1662，at the age of twenty－eight，he was named Curator of Experiments of the newly formed Royal Society of London. Hooke accepted the job，even though he knew that it had no money to pay him!
Watching living things through the microscope was one of his favorite occupations. He devised a compound microscope for this purpose. One day while observing a cork (软木) under a microscope，he saw honeycomb－like structures. They were cells—the smallest units of life.In fact，it was Hooke who coined the term “cell” as the boxlike cells of the cork reminded him of the cells of a monastery(修道院)．
Perhaps because of his varied interests，Hooke often left experiments unfinished. Others took up where he left off and then claimed sole(独占的)credit. This sometimes led to quarrels with colleagues. One work that he finished was his book MICROGRAPHIA，a volume that reveals the immense potential of the microscope. The book also includes，among other things，ideas on gravity and light which may have helped scientists like Newton while they were developing their own theories on these phenomena.
Hooke made valuable contributions to astronomy too. A crater(陨石坑) on the moon is named after him in appreciation of his services to this branch of science.
From the first paragraph，we can know that Robert Hooke __________.

A．was famous because he worked with many scientists

B．liked making friends with the famous people

C．received a lot from other scientists

D．made contributions to many different fields

Robert Hooke probably went to school in __________.

A．1647

B．1634

C．1662

D．1640

Robert Hooke made himself known to some of the best scientists in England by __________.

A．learning by himself with his father’s help

B．introducing himself to them

C．designing experiments and instruments

D．refusing any reward from Royal Society of London

Robert Hooke couldn’t get along well with his colleagues because __________.

A．he couldn’t finish his work on time sometimes

B．he had all kinds of interests in his daily life

C．he was too proud to look up to them

D．the other scientists took the fruits of his experiments

Where we live，on the eastern shore of Maryland，the gentle waters run in and out like fingers slimming at the tips.
The Canada geese know this place，as do the white swans and the ducks. In autumn，they come home for the winter. Once or twice each year，snow and frozen rain move into the area. When this happens，if the river is at its narrowest，there is a freeze which hardens the water to ice.
One morning，a friend of mine set the breakfast table beside the huge window，which overlooked the Tred Avon River. Suddenly she leaned forward and cried out，“There is a goose out there.”
We saw the figure of a large Canada goose，very still，its wings folded tight to its sides，its feet frozen into the ice.
Then from the dark skies，she saw a line of swans. They floated from the top of the sky downward and at last landed on the ice. My friend was on her feet now，with one hand against her mouth，unbelieving. As the swans surrounded the frozen goose，she feared that life it still had might be pecked(啄) out by those great swan bills.
Instead，those bills began to work on the ice. The long necks were lifted and curved down，again and again. It went on for a long time. At last，the goose’s head was lifted. Its body was pulled. Then the goose was free and stood on the ice. And the swans stood in the air watching. Then，as if it had cried，“I cannot fly.” Four of the swans came down around it. Their powerful beaks chipped off the ice held in the feathers. Slowly，the goose spread its wings as far as they would go，and moved slowly into the sky.
This is a true story. I just think of it in the bad moment，and from it comes only one hopeful question：If so for birds，why not for man？
Which would be the best title for the passage?

A．Why Not for Man?	B．Graceful Swans
C．Swans’ Brave Act	D．I Just Couldn’t Believe It!

What happened to the Canada goose?

A．It was deserted by other geese.

B．It was stuck in the ice.

C．It was wounded and couldn’t fly.

D．It was lost in the water.

At first the author’s friend was worried that________.

A．the swans would not help the Canada goose

B．she didn’t care about this matter any more

C．the swans wouldn’t identify with the Canada goose

D．the swans would peck the Canada goose to death

What did the swans do when they saw the Canada goose couldn’t fly?

A．They chipped off the ice held in its feathers.

B．They waited patiently for the ice held in its feathers to melt.

C．They came down and lifted it up to the sky together.

D．They stayed with it and protected it.

I have been very lucky to have won the Nobel Prize twice. It is, of course, very exciting to have such an important recognition of my work, but the real pleasure was in the work itself. Scientific research is like an exploration of a voyage of discovery. You are continually trying out new things that have not been done before. Many of them will lead nowhere and you have to try something different, but sometimes an experiment does work and tells you something new and that is really exciting. However small the new finding may be, it is great to think “ I am the only person who knows this” and then you will have the fun of thinking what this finding will lead to and deciding what will be the next experiment. One of the best things about scientific research is that you are always doing something different and it is never boring. There are good times when things go well and bad times when they don’t. Some people get discouraged at the difficult times but when I have a failure, my policy has always been not to worry but to start planning the next experiment, which is always fun.
It is very exciting to make a new discovery. Some people will do the strangest things for this excitement, such as going round the world in a balloon or walking to the North Pole. There are not many new places to explore but there is a lot of new information to be discovered in science and a journey into this unknown area can be much more worthwhile and just as exciting.
I am sometimes asked, “What do you have to do to win a Nobel Prize?” My answer is: “I don’t know. I have never tried.” But I know of one way not to win one. There are some people whose main reason for doing science is to win prizes and they are always thinking about how to do it. Such people don’t succeed. To do good science you must be interested in it and enjoy doing experiments and thinking out problems. And, of course, you must be prepared to work hard and not to be too discouraged by failure.
In the writer’s eyes his greatest pleasure in all his lifetime is _______.

A．to win the Nobel Prize for the first time

B．to be awarded the Nobel Prize for the second time.

C．in the work itself

D．to have a much more important recognition of his work.

Why did the writer think scientific research to be one of the best things?

A．You will be able to win the Nobel Prize through the scientific research

B．You can make as much money as possible by doing the scientific research.

C．You may continue doing with something different and exciting, so you can never be tired of doing the scientific research.

D．You can get much more chances of promotion by making the scientific research.

What would the writer do when he had a failure?

A．He would forget this failure and start the next experiment.

B．He used to be worried about it for several days and never forget it.

C．He always gave up his study as the result of the failure.

D．He used to think out the reasons and then continue to do it again.

Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A．The writer could still keep calm when he heard the news that he had won the Nobel Prize.

B．The writer always gave up his courage when he met with some difficulties in the course of his scientific research.

C．In the field of science there are still many new things which need to be studied further.

D．There are still many exciting places to explore in the world.

A traveler lost his way and got off the highway to see where he was. As he drove by, he saw rows and rows of pigpens and pigs running in fields. Suddenly, his eyes caught something really strange. It looked like a pig with a wooden leg.
He drove up into the arm, where he met the farmer. “ Excuse me, ” the traveler said. “ I was just driving by and looking at all your pigs, and I just had to stop and ask about it. Tell me, is there really a pig out there with a wooden leg?” The farmer smiled. “ Oh, that would be old Caesar you saw. He’s the finest pig I’ve ever had ---and smart! Well, let me tell you a little about that pig.”
“ One night a couple of years ago I got to drinking and I guess I had more than I should have. I fell down and knocked over a lamp. That started a fire in the house and old Caesar smelled the smoke. He came in the back door, got the wife and kid out, roused me up and got me out. There is no question about it ---- that night old Caesar saved all our lives. You know that I’m not going to forget it too easily.”
“ Why,” the traveler said, “ this is amazing! I have never heard of a pig like this before! This is fantastic! But tell me, how did he get that wooden leg?”
The farmer laughed and said, “ Well, when you have a pig so smart, you don’t want to eat him all at one time!”
The farmer thought the pig _______.

A．very fat

B．very clever

C．very kind

D．very strange

The passage indicates that _______.

A．the pig lost a leg in the fire

B．the farmer deeply thanked the pig

C．the pig had a very good keeper

D．the real leg had been eaten by the farmer

The author wants to _______.

A．report a piece of news

B．tell us a moving story

C．tell us a humorous story

D．have a joke with us

My father was Chief engineer of a merchant ship, which was sunk in World War II. The book
Night of the U-boats told the story.
Memories
In September, 1940, my mother, sister and I went to Swansea, where my father’s ship was getting ready to sail. We brought him a family photograph to be kept with him at all times and keep him sail.
Then I remember my mother lying face down, sobbing. She had heard from a friend that the ship had been sunk by a torpedo(鱼雷).
I can remember the arrival of the telegram(电报),which in those days always brought bad news. My grand- mother opened it. It read, “Safe, Love Ted.”
My most vivid memory is being woken and brought down to sit on my father’s knee, his arm in a bandage.
He was judged unfit to return to sea and took a shore job in Glasgow for the rest of the war. For as long as I can remember, he had a weak heart. Mother said it was caused by the torpedoes. He said it was because of the cigarettes. Whichever, he died suddenly in his early 50s.
Ten years later I read Night of the U-boats and was able to complete the story.
Torpedo
One torpedo struck the ship. Father was in the engine room, where the third engineer was killed. He shut down the engines to slow the ship making it easier for it to be abandoned.
By the time he got on deck (甲板) he was alone. Every lifeboat was gone except one which had stuck firm. When he tried to cut it free it swung against the ship, injuring his hand and arm. He had no choice but to jump—still with the photograph in his pocket.
Three days later, he and other survivors were safe in Glasgow. All 23 with him signed the back of the photograph.
In my room is the book and the photograph. Often, glass in hand, I have wondered how I would have dealt with an explosion, a sinking ship, a jump into a vast ocean and a wait for rescue? Lest（以免）we forget, I have some more whisky and toast the heroes of the war.
We can infer(推断) that the mother and children went to Swansea ________.

A．to meet a friend

B．to see the father off

C．to take a family photo

D．to enjoy the sailing of the ship

What did the author learn about the father from the telegram?

A．he was still alive.

B．His knee was broken.

C．His ship had been sunk.

D．He had arrived in Glasgow.

What can we know about the author’s father after his ship was attacked?

A．He lost his arm

B．He repaired the engines.

C．He managed to take a lifeboat.

D．He was the last to leave the ship.

What is the passage mainly about?

A．A group of forgotten heroes

B．A book describing a terrifying battle.

C．A ship engineer’s wartime experience.

D．A merchant’s memories of a sea rescue.

When the swim season began, my 11-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, and I cut a deal. She would go to practice three times a week and try really hard, and I wouldn’t make her compete in the swim meets because on the day of a meet, she would be nervous all day. Her nerves rooted from the possibility that she would do something horribly wrong and let everyone down.
Recently, they had a T-shirt relay, which works like this: one person from each relay team puts on a T-shirt and a pair of socks, swims 50 meters, and gets out of the pool. She takes off the clothes and puts them on the next person, who then swims 50 meters. This continues until everyone on the team has completed a lap.
By the last leg, Elizabeth’s team had built up a moderate lead. Then it was Elizabeth’s turn to swim. She seemed to swim faster in the T-shirt and socks than when she wasn’t wearing them.
Approaching the halfway mark, she was still in the lead. Then one of Elizabeth’s socks fell off and was floating in the pool. “She has to get that sock on before the end of the race,” a swimming official told her team, “or you will be disqualified.”
Everybody on her team started screaming, “Elizabeth! Elizabeth! Stop! Get the sock!” But she couldn’t hear them. As she started her last 25 meters, a girl in Lane 2 was gaining on Elizabeth. It was time for desperate measures. A girl on my daughter’s team jumped in the pool, grabbed the sock, and swam after Elizabeth. She grabbed Elizabeth’s foot. “You have to put the sock on,” the girl screamed. Elizabeth continued swimming while her teammate put on the sock.
By now, the girl in Lane 2 was about to pass Elizabeth. With the sock finally on, Elizabeth swam her heart out for the last 15 meters. It was close, but Elizabeth beat the other girl to the wall for the victory.
On the ride home, she relived her moment of glory again and again. She told me that if the T-shirt relay was an Olympic event, her team would win the gold medal. I told her that in my professional opinion, she was absolutely right.
Elizabeth was nervous about swim meets because she _______.

A．was afraid of disappointing everyone

B．didn’t expect to lose the swim match

C．didn’t want to compete against other girls

D．was worried about making errors in public

From the passage, we know that _______.

A．socks contributed greatly to Elizabeth’s victory

B．the match nearly drove Elizabeth desperate

C．good luck finally fell on Elizabeth’s team

D．Elizabeth’s team narrowly won the match

It can be inferred that Elizabeth would _______.

A．swim faster in the T-shirt

B．enjoy swim meets later on

C．experience the moment again

D．take part in an Olympic event

Rocky Lyons was five years old when his mother, Kelly, was driving along the country road with him. He was asleep on the front seat of their truck, with his feet resting on her lap. As his mom drove carefully down the winding country road, she turned onto a narrow bridge. The truck hit a rock and slid off the road. She attempted to bring it back up onto the road by pressing hard on the gas pedal and turning the steering wheel to the left. But Rocky’s foot got caught between her leg and the steering wheel and she lost control of the truck.[ X.JTYJY.COM/]
The truck fell into a 20-foot ravine（峡谷）. When it hit bottom, Rocky woke up. “What happened, Mama?” he asked. “Our wheels are pointing toward the sky.”
Kelly was seriously wounded and blinded by blood. “I’ll get you out, Mama,” announced Rocky, who had surprisingly escaped injury. He climbed out from under Kelly, slid through the open window and tried to yank（用力拉）his mother out. But she didn’t move.
“Just let me sleep,” begged Kelly, who was out of consciousness. Rocky insisted, “Mom, you can’t go to sleep.”
Rocky managed to push Kelly out of the truck and told her he’d climb up to the road and stop a car to get help. Fearing that no one would be able to see her little boy in the dark, Kelly refused to let him go alone. Instead they slowly moved up to the road. The pain was so great that Kelly wanted to give up, but Rocky wouldn’t let her.
Rocky kept repeating the inspirational phrase, “I know you can, I know you can.” When they finally reached the road, Rocky broke into tears seeing his mother’s torn face clearly for the first time. Waving his arms and shouting, “Please stop!” the boy stopped a truck. His mother was sent to hospital.
It took 8 hours to rebuild Kelly’s face. She looks quite different today---“I used to have a straight long nose, thin lips and high cheekbones; now I’ve got a flat cheeks and much bigger lips”--- but she has few scars and has recovered from her injuries.
Rocky’s heroics were big news. Everyone was surprised at this little boy’s power. “It’s not like I wanted it to happen,” The boy explained. “ I just did what anyone would have done.” “If it weren’t for Rocky, I’d have died,” said his mother.
According to the text, Rocky and Kelly _________ .

A．were lost on a country road

B．had limited time to find their way

C．were involved in a truck accident

D．knew little of what happened to them

When he woke up, Rocky ___________ .

A．was frightened by his mother’s blood

B．found his mother had fallen asleep

C．was stuck against the door of the truck

D．found the car was turned over

What happened to Kelly at last?

A．She passed away.

B．She survived and recovered from injuries.

C．She became a hero.

D．She had a different life.

What is the best title for the text?

A．A Boy and His Mother	B．How to Behave Well？
C．I Think I Can	D．Nothing is Lost

A 34-year-old mother has spoken of how she woke up thinking she was 15 years old and living in 1992.
Naomi Jacobs, from Manchester, was convinced she was still a teenager. In her mind, John Major was Prime Minister and George Bush Sr. was running the White House. She also showed how she screamed when a boy appeared and called her “Mum”. Mobile phones and e-mails were puzzling and Google, Facebook and YouTube sounded like made-up words, she said.
Ms. Jacobs, who had no memory of the years, was told by doctors that she had Transient Global Amnesia (TGA). She has now written a book about the experience which happened in 2008.
“I fell asleep in 1992 as a brave, very confident know-it-all-15-year-old, and woke up as a 32-year-old single mum living in a rented house,” Ms. Jacobs said. “The last thing I remember was falling asleep in my bed, dreaming about a boy in my class. When I woke up, I looked in the mirror and had the fright of my life when I saw an old woman with wrinkles staring back at me. Then a little boy appeared and started calling me Mum. That’s when I started to scream. I didn’t know who he was. I didn’t think he was much younger than I was, and I certainly didn’t remember giving birth to him. I began sobbing uncontrollably. I just wanted my mum. I couldn’t get my head around going to bed one night and waking up in a different century.”
TGA is a rare type of amnesia which can occur suddenly, affecting around three people per 100,000 each year. Fortunately, permanent memory loss is rare. Ms. Jacobs’ memory started to return after eight weeks.
Some people who often suffer from migraines (偏头痛) also appear to be more likely to have TGA. The cause of TGA is unknown. Some think that it may be caused by a temporary cut of blood flow to parts of the brain involved in memory.
When a little boy came to call her “Mum”, Naomi Jacobs was _____.

A．excited

B．frightened

C．worried

D．embarrassed

What was the last thing Naomi Jacobs could remember?

A．She was a brave and confident girl.

B．She met an old woman with wrinkles.

C．George Bush Sr. was elected President.

D．She fell asleep dreaming of a boy in her class.

According to the text, TGA _____.

A．is quite common

B．is caused by brain injuries

C．results in permanent memory loss

D．causes people to lose part of their memory

What’s the main idea of the text?
A. Naomi Jacobs has a poor memory.
B. Naomi Jacobs gets an amazing career after TGA.
C. Naomi Jacobs wakes up with the memory of her youth.
D. Naomi Jacobs succeeds in overcoming the disease.
According to the passage, we know _______.

A．Ms. Jacobs’ memory returned to normal now

B．Ms. Jacobs often doesn’t remember things

C．Ms. Jacobs has not got married yet

D．Ms. Jacobs is very young now in deed

At times my mom has been uncomfortable seeing these qualities in me. For example, when I was 12, I went to Puerto Rico all by myself to stay with my grandmother for the summer. My mom was extremely nervous about it. She kept telling me how things were different in Puerto Rico, to always put on sunscreen, not to wander away from my grandmother, and other warnings. She helped me pack and did not leave the airport until she saw my plane take off.
But despite her worries, she let me go on my own. As I moved into my teens, she continued to give me space to grow and learn, even when it might have been difficult for her. When I reached my senior year, I decided to move away for college. Once again I found that I differed from my peers. While many of them wanted to stay close to home, I couldn't wait to be out in the world on my own. I had been looking forward to this chance for longer than I could remember. And once again, while my mom may not have been happy at the thought of me going away, she was supportive and excited for me. Sure, there were times when she’d nag (不断地唠叨)me about certain choices I made, but for the most part she did not stand in my way.
One big thing I realized during my senior year was that she actually believes in me and trusts me. That means a lot. Most of my life, and especially when I was little, the main person I tried to impress was my mother. I knew she expected nothing but the best from me. Sometimes it was hard to live up to her standards; getting a single B on my report card would make me feel bad because I knew she wanted me to have all A’s.
I know that her high standards have helped me stay focused on what's important, like education, and made me who I am. I am thankful for her support and involvement in my life. Most of all I respect her; she is the strongest woman I know and that's why I have turned out so strong and independent.
When the author decided to go to Puerto Rico, his mother ________.

A．wanted to go with him

B．worried about his safety

C．didn’t allow him to go

D．asked his grandmother for advice

The author decided to move away for college to ________.

A．be different from his peers

B．keep away from his mother

C．be independent in outside world

D．make his mother unhappy

We can learn from the third paragraph that the author’s mother ________.

A．had a high expectation from him

B．was too strict with him

C．used to expect nothing from him

D．cared little about his learning

We can learn from the last paragraph that the author ________.

A．is quite grateful for his mother’s trust

B．still doesn’t quite understand his mother’s attitude

C．doesn’t like his mother’s involvement in his life

D．wishes to have more freedom from his mother

In 1883. John Roebling was inspired by an idea to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with the Long Island. However, bridge building experts throughout the world thought this was an impossible mission and told Roebling to forget the idea, but Roebling could not ignore the vision he had in his mind of this bridge. After much discussion and persuasion he managed to convince his son Washington, an up and coming engineer, that the bridge in fact could be built.
The project started well, but when it was only a few months underway a tragic accident on the site took the life of John Roebling. Washington was injured and left with a certain amount of brain damage, which resulted in him not being able to walk or talk or even move.
"We told them so." "Crazy men and their crazy dreams.'' "It's foolish to chase wild visions." Everyone had a negative comment to make and felt that the project should be scrapped since the Roeblings were the only ones who knew how the bridge could be built. In spite of his handicap, Washington was never discouraged.
One day he was lying on his bed in hospital, seeing the sky and the tops of the trees outside for just a moment with the sunlight streaming through the windows, and a gentle breeze bowing the  flimsy white curtains apart when an idea hit him. He decided to make the best use of the only finger  he could move. Thus, he slowly developed a code of communication with his wife.
He touched his wife's arm with that finger, indicating to her that he wanted her to call the engineers again. Then he used the same method of tapping her arm to tell the engineers what to do. It seemed foolish but the project was under way again.
For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife's arm until the bridge was finally completed.
Which of the following is true of Washington and his father?

A．They are hardworking and courageous.

B．They are stubborn and bold.

C．They are creative and persistent.

D．They are curious and modest.

In the third paragraph, the underlined phrase ''wild vision" refers to______.

A．the tragic accident

B．the building of the bridge

C．the brain damage

D．the discussion and persuasion

From the passage, we know that _______ when Roebling proposed building the bridge.

A．people all over America supported him

B．almost no bridge experts in the world supported him

C．his friends were strongly in favor of his idea

D．many people considered it would be a great project

The passage suggests that______.

A．NO pains, no gains.

B．Many hands make light work.

C．A lighted heart is a good medicine.

D．Passion creates wonder.

I first heard this story a few years ago from a girl. Probably the story is one of those mysterious bits of folklore that reappear every few years. However, I still like to think that it really did happen, somewhere, sometime.
They were going to Fort Lauderdale-- three boys and three girls -- and when they boarded the bus, they were carrying sandwiches and wine, dreaming of golden beaches and sea tides as the gray, cold spring of New York vanished behind them.
As the bus passed through New Jersey, they began to notice Vingo. He sat in front of them, dressed in a plain ill-fitting suit, never moving, his dusty face masking his age. He kept chewing the inside of his lip a lot, frozen into complete silence.
Deep into the night, the bus pulled into Howard Johnson's, and everybody got off except Vingo. He sat rooted in his seat, and the young people began to wonder about him: perhaps he was a sea captain, a runaway from his wife, an old soldier going home. When they went back to the bus, one of the girls sat beside him and introduced herself.
¨We're going to Florida," she said brightly. “I hear it's really beautiful. "
"It is," he said quietly, as if remembering something he had tried to forget.
“Want some wine?" she said. He thanked her and retreated again into his silence. After a while, she went back to the others, and Vingo nodded in sleep.
In the morning, they awoke outside another Howard Johnson's, and this time Vingo went in. The girl insisted that he join them. He seemed very shy, and ordered black coffee and smoked nervously as the young people chattered about sleeping on beaches. When they returned to the bus, the girl sat with Vingo again, and after a while, slowly and painfully, he began to tell his story. He had been in jail in New York for the past four years, and now he was going home.
¨Are you married?"
“I don't know. "
“You don’t know?" she said.
“Well, when I was in jail I wrote to my wife," he said. ¨‘I told her that I was going to be away a long time, and that if she couldn't stand it, if the kids kept asking questions, she could just forget me. I'd understand. Get a new guy, I said - she's a wonderful woman – and forget about me. I told her she didn't have to write me. And she didn't. Not for three and a half years. "
"And you're going home now, not knowing?"
" Yeah," he said shyly. ‘‘Last week, when I was sure the parole was coming through, I wrote her again. There's a big oak tree just as you come into town, I told her that if she didn't have a new guy and if she'd take me back, she should put a yellow handkerchief on the tree, and I'd get off and come home. If she didn't want me, forget it - no handkerchief, and I'd go on through. "
"Wow," the girl exclaimed. "Wow. "
She told the others, and soon all of them were in it, caught up in the approach of Brunswick, looking at the pictures Vingo showed them of his wife and three children.
Now they were 20 miles from Brunswick, and the young people took over window seats, waiting for the approach of the great oak tree. Vingo stopped looking, tightening his face, as if fortifying himself against still another disappointment.
Then Brunswick was 10 miles, and then five. Then, suddenly, all of the young people were up out of their seats, screaming and shouting and crying. All except Vingo. Vingo sat there stunned, looking at the oak tree. It was covered with yellow handkerchiefs —20 of them, 30 of them, maybe hundreds. As the young people shouted, the old con slowly rose from his seat and made his way to the front of the bus to go home.
According to the passage, which statement is TRUE?

A．The young people are travelling from Florida to New York.

B．Vingo was put in prison ten years ago, and now he was set free to go home.

C．The young people around Vingo were quite curious about his silence.

D．At last, Vingo went home together with the three boys and three girls.

From the underlined sentences in Para 3, we can infer that _____.

A．Vingo was nervous because he didn't know whether his wife would accept him.

B．Vingo was very disappointed because his wife didn't answer his letter.

C．Vingo was very shy because he knew someone was watching him.

D．Vingo was excited because he could go home and meet his wife and children.

The underlined word "fortify" in the passage has the same meaning as that in Sentence___.
A. The French soldiers are working hard to fortify airbase.
B. The food has been fortified with Vitamin C.
C. People in the whole city were fortified by the moving story about their hero.
D. We had to drink some more coffee to fortify ourselves for the journey.
Which word do you think can best describe Vingo's wife?

A．humorous

B．loyal

C．generous

D．hard-working

After reading the whole story, we can probably make a conclusion that_____.

A．Young people are always curious about everything new around them.

B．Home is always the first place a person wants to go.

C．Don’t laugh at a person who has no home.

D．It is impolite to ask questions about one's privacy that he or she doesn't want to tell.

What's the best title for the passage?

A．A story of a poor man	B．The power of love
C．Help from strangers	D．Going home

Brief  Introduction	Virginia Woolf (née Stephen; 25 January 1882 – 28 March 1941)
(Adeline) Virginia Woolf was an English novelist and essayist, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century.During the interwar period, Woolf was a significant figure in London literary society and a member of the Bloomsbury Group. Her most famous works include the novels Mrs Dalloway (1925), To the Lighthouse (1927) and Orlando (1928), and the book-length essay A Room of One's Own (1929), with its famous dictum, "a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction."
Reading （A litter writen by her）
My dear， 'Dearest, I feel certain I am going mad again. I feel we can't go through another of those terrible times. And I shan't recover this time. I begin to hear voices, and I can't concentrate. So I am doing what seems the best thing to do. You have given me the greatest possible happiness. You have been in every way all that anyone could be. I don't think two people could have been happier till this terrible disease came. I can't fight any longer. I know that I am spoiling your life, that without me you could work. And you will I know. You see I can't even write this properly. I can't read. What I want to say is I owe all the happiness of my life to you. You have been entirely patient with me and incredibly good. I want to say that - everybody knows it. If anybody could have saved me it would have been you. Everything has gone from me but the certainty of your goodness. I can't go on spoiling your life any longer. I don't think two people could have been happier than we have been 　　　　　　                      ...........................from the last letter of virginia woolf
Background  of  litter
During this period, Virginia Woolf wrote his masterpiece, it can be said that this period of her creation of the harvest season. But this does not relieve her illness, her symptoms of schizophrenia is more and more serious, especially in the second world wars, the German Air Force bombing the UK for some time. Wolf created a printing factory was destroyed, then he lived in London for the villa was blown out. These two events left not resolve the shadow in the heart of Woolf, shorten（缩短） her embrace death. In March 28, 1941, she came to the ouse River, in the clothing pocket filled with stones, step by step toward the middle of the river walk, over his short life, has left us with a large number of magnificent; ornate; fascinating（美轮美奂的） works of art.

According to the first paragraph we can infer that            

A．During the interwar period，virginia woolf was important for London people.

B．She has been living for 55 years

C．Her first the novels Mrs Dalloway in 1925

D．She regarded as one of the foremost romanticism literary figures of the twentieth century

What is form of The main body？

A．Letter of resignation	B．Letter of condolence
C．Letter of suicide	D．Letters of apologies

Where can we see this article？

A．newspaper

B．testbook

C．German Literature

D．television

According to the reading, which of the following is not the reason of her Dutch act（自杀）？

A．She can't go on spoiling your life any longer.

B．She feels certain she is going mad again.

C．She cannot bear her husband's interference.

D．The approach of war makes her psychological problems aggravated.

What can we know about virginia woolf’s character？

A．Optimistic

B．Complex

C．Ordinary

D．Lonely