高中英语故事类阅读阅读理解

When I was six, Dad brought home a dog one day, who was called “Brownie”. My brothers and I all loved Brownie and did different things with her. One of us would walk her, another would feed her, then there were baths, playing catch and many other games, Brownie, in return. loved each and every one of us. One thing that most touched my heart was that she would go to whoever was sick and just be with them .We always felt better when she was around.
One day, as I was getting her food, she chewed up(咬破)one of Dad’s shoes, which had to be thrown away in the end. I knew Dad would be mad and I had to let her know what she did was wrong. When I looked at her and said, ”Bad girl,” she looked down at the ground and then went and hid. I saw a tear in her eyes.
Brownie turned out to be more than just our family pet, she went everywhere with us .People would stop and ask if they could pet her. Of course she’d let anyone pet her. She was just the most lovable dog. There were many times when we’d be out walking and a small child would come over and pull on her hair. she never barked(吠) or tried to get away. Funny thing is she would smile. This frightened people because they thought she was showing her teeth. Far from the truth, she lovely everyone.
Now many years have passed since Brownie died of old age. I still miss days when she was with us.
What would Brownie do when someone was ill in the family?

A．Look at them sadly.	B．Touch them gently.
C．Play games with them.	D．Keep them company.

We can infer from Paragraph 2 that Brownie__________.

A．world eat anything when hungry

B．felt sorry for her mistake

C．loved playing hide-and-seek

D．disliked the author’s dad

When I was growing up in America, I was ashamed of my mother’s Chinese English. Because of her English, she was often treated unfairly. People in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously ,did not give her good service ,pretended not to understand her ,or even acted as if they did not hear her .
My mother has realized the limitations of her English as well. When I was fifteen, she used to have me call people on phone to pretend I was she . I was forced to ask for information or even to yell at people who had been rude to her. One time I had to call her stockbroker (股票经纪人).I said in an adolescent voice that was not very convincing, “This is Mrs.Tan..”
And my mother was standing beside me ,whispering loudly, “Why he don’t send me cheek already two week late.”
And then , in perfect English I said : “I’m getting rather concerned .You agreed to send the check two weeks ago, but it hasn’t arrived.”
Then she talked more loudly. “What he want? I come to New York tell him front of his boss.” And so I turned to the stockbroker again, “I can’t tolerate any more excuse. If I don’t receive the check immediately , I am going to have to speak to your manager when I am in New York next week.”
The next week we ended up in New York. While I was sitting there red-faced, my mother, the real Mrs.Tan, was shouting to his boss in her broken English.
When I was a teenager, my mother’s broken English embarrassed me. But now, I see it differently. To me, my mother’s English is perfectly clear, perfectly natural. It is my mother tongue. Her language, as I hear it, is vivid, direct, and full of observation and wisdom. It was the language that helped shape the way I saw things, expressed ideas, and made sense of the world.
Why was the author’s mother poorly served?

A．She was unable to speak good English.

B．She was often misunderstood.

C．She was not clearly heard.

D．She was not very polite.

From Paragraph 2, we know that the author was ________ .

A．good at pretending	B．rude to the stockbroker
C．ready to help her mother	D．unwilling to phone for her mother

After the author made the phone call, _______.

A．they forgave the stockbroker

B．they went to New York immediately

C．they failed to get the check

D．they spoke to their boss at once

What does the author think of her mother’s English now?

A．It confuses her.

B．It embarrasses her.

C．It helps her understand the world.

D．It helps her tolerate rude people.

We can infer from the passage that Chinese English ________.

A．is clear and natural to non-native speakers

B．is vivid and direct to non-native speakers

C．has a very bad reputation in America

D．may bring inconvenience in America

His first successful fight was for the equal rights of black people in South Africa. Then, as the first black president, he fought to unite the country and organize the government. Now Nelson Mandela has set his sights on a new enemy, AIDS.
On March 19 the 82-year-old, former president, hosted his second AIDS-awareness concert. He warned that 25 million people in Africa were already infected with the fatal disease.
Mandela was born in a small village in South Africa in 1918. He was adopted by the chief of his tribe and could have been a chief himself and lived a happy country life.
But he refused to be a chief when his people lived under racial discrimination(歧视). He decided to fight for equal rights for all the people in South Africa. Before 1990, under the country’s Racial Segregation Law, colored and white people lived separately. Black people were treated unfairly even when taking a bus. Blacks had to stand at the back of the bus to make room for white people even when there were only a few of them on board.
For his opposition to the system, Mandela was arrested and spent 27 years in prison. He was freed in 1990 and became the president of the country after the first election were held in which everyone could vote.
Mandela was not only a political fighter who attacked with speeches. He was also a trained boxer and fought in the ring when he was young.
“Although I did not enjoy the violence of boxing, I was interested in how one moved one’s body to protect oneself, how one used a strategy both to attack and retreat”, he wrote in his autobiography.
As a skillful fighter, he chose music as his weapon against AIDS. He hopes to win another victory against AIDS.
When was Mandela arrested?

A．In 1963

B．In 1990

C．When he refused to be a chief

D．When he became the president

Nelson Mandela succeeded in doing the following except _______.

A．winning the equal rights for the black people in South Africa

B．Uniting South Africa

C．organizing a government in South Africa

D．controlling the spread of AIDS

If Nelson Mandela hadn’t fought against racial discrimination, he_______.

A．could have been the president of South Africa

B．could still have lived a happy life

C．could have been in a difficult situation

D．would have been an excellent boxer

Which of the following statements can best describe the life of Nelson Mandela?

A．struggle is his life

B．sports make his fame

C．fight for equal rights

D．a great fighter against government.

Susan Sontag (1933----2004) was one of the most noticeable figures in the world of literature. For more than 40 years she made it morally necessary to know everything---to read every book worth reading, to see every movie worth seeing. When she was still in her early 30s, publishing essays in such important magazines as Partisan Review, she appeared as the symbol of American culture life, trying hard to follow every new development in literature, film and art. With great effort and serious judgment, Sontag walked at the latest edges of world culture.
Seriousness was one of Sontag’s lifelong watchwords(格言),but at a time when the barriers between the well-educated and the poor-educated were obvious, she argued for a true openness to the pleasure of pop culture. In Notes on Camp, the 1964 essay that first made her name, she explained what was then a little-known set of difficult understandings, through which she could not have been more famous. “Notes on Camp”, she wrote, represents “ a victory of ‘form’ over ‘content’, ‘beauty’ over ‘morals’”.
By conviction（信念）she was a sensualist, but by nature she was a moralist, and in the works she published in the 1970s and 1980s , it was the latter side of her that came forward. In Illness as Metaphor —published in 1978, after she suffered cancer—she argued against the idea that cancer was somehow a special problem of repressed personalities, a concept that effectively blamed the victim for the disease. In fact, re-examining old positions was her lifelong habit.
In America, her story of a19thcentury Polish actress who set up a perfect society in California, won the National Book Award in 2000.But it was as a all-purpose cultural view that she made her lasting fame. “Sometimes,” she once said, “I feel that, in the end, all I am really defending …is the idea of seriousness, of true seriousness.” And in the end, she made us take it seriously too.
The underlined sentence in paragraph 1 means Sontag_________.

A．was a symbol of American cultural life

B．developed world literature, film and art

C．published many essays about world culture

D．kept pace with the newest development of world culture

She first won her name through ___________.

A．her story of a Polish actress

B．her book Illness as Metaphor

C．publishing essays in magazines like partisan Review

D．her explanation of a set of difficult understandings

According to the passage, Susan Sontag__________.

A．was a sensualist as well as a moralist

B．looked down upon the pop culture

C．thought content was more important than form

D．blamed the victim of cancer for being repressed

As for Susan Sontag’s lifelong habit, she __________.

A．misunderstood the idea of seriousness

B．re-examined old positions

C．argued for an openness to pop culture

D．preferred morals to beauty

Why Susan Sontag won her lasting fame was because of___________-.

A．her point which was suitable for common cultural view

B．her lifelong watchword：seriousness

C．her publishing books on morals

D．her enjoying books worth reading and movies worth seeing

One day, a poor boy who was trying to pay his way through school by sending newspapers door to door, was so hungry that he decided to beg for a meal at the next house.
However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so she brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked, “How much do I owe you?”
“You don’t owe me anything,” she replied. “Then I thank you from the bottom of my heart.” With these words, Howard Kelly left that house.
Years later the woman became badly ill and was finally sent to the hospital in a big city. Dr. Howard Kelly, now famous, was called in. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes. Dressed in his doctor’s clothes, Dr. Kelly went into her room and recognized her at once. From that day on, he gave special attention to her, and decided to do his best to save her life.
At last the woman was saved. Dr. Kelly asked the business office to pass the final bill to him. He looked at it and then wrote something on the side. The bill was sent to the woman’s room. She was afraid to open it because she was sure that it would take the rest of her life to pay for it off. Finally she looked, and the note on the side of the bill caught her attention. She read these words:
“Paid in full with a glass of milk, Dr. Howard Kelly.”
Tear of joy flooded her eyes.
The boy sent newspapers door to door in order to ________.

A．continue his schooling

B．become a famous doctor

C．thank the woman for her kindness

D．support his poor family

Which is true about the boy and the woman?

A．He was too shy to ask her for some water.

B．She thought he was not hungry but thirsty.

C．She wanted him to pay for the glass of milk.

D．She never thought he would save her life later.

After Dr. Kelly knew who the woman was, he ________.

A．began to take good care of her himself

B．told her she once gave him a glass of milk

C．decided to try his best to save her

D．asked for her bill and paid it off at once

The best title for this passage is ________.

A．A Warm-hearted Woman	B．A Glass of Milk
C．The Final Bill	D．A Famous Doctor

A qualified doctor who rarely practiced but instead devoted his life to writing. He once said: “Medicine is my lawful wife, and literature is my lover.” Russian writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, was a great playwright and one of the masters of the modern short story.
When Chekhov entered the Moscow University Medical School in 1879, he started to publish hundreds of comic short stories to support his family. After he graduated, he wrote regularly for a local daily newspaper.
As a writer he was extremely fast, often producing a short story in an hour or less. Chekhov’s medical and science experience can be seen through the indifference(冷漠) many of his characters show to tragic events. In 1892, he became a full time writer and published some of his most memorable stories.
Chekhov often wrote about the sufferings of life in small town Russia. Tragic events control his characters who are filled with feelings of hopelessness and despair.
It is often said that nothing happens in Chekhov’s stories and plays. He made up for this with his exciting technique for developing drama within his characters. Chekhov’s works combined the calm attitude of a scientist and doctor with the sensitivity(敏感) of an artist.
Some of Chekhov's works were translated into Chinese as early as the 1940s. One of his famous stories, The Man in a Shell, about a school teacher’s extraordinarily orderly life, was selected as a text for Chinese senior students.
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov ________.

A．had a lawful lover	B．was an illegal writer
C．used to be a lawyer	D．was a competent doctor

In 1880, Chekhov ________.

A．became a full-time writer

B．studied medicine in Moscow University

C．practiced medicine in his hometown

D．published his most memorable stories

Which of the following adjectives can’t be used to describe Chekhov?

A．Sensitive.

B．Cool.

C．Quick-minded.

D．Warm-hearted.

Which of the following is the right order of the events?
a. became a doctor
b. became a full time writer
c. started to publish comic short stories
d. wrote regularly for a local daily newspaper.
e. entered the Moscow University Medical School

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

Once a group of 17-year-old schoolboys decided to break the world basketball marathon（马拉松）record. They wanted to play for 90 hours ,breaking the record by adding 6 hours . Each team had 9 players, with 5 at a time. The boys decided each person would play 21.5 hours and then rest for 2 hours. Then they started at 6 o’clock in the evening.
The first night was very hard for the players. When it was their turn to rest, they were too excited to fall asleep at once. On the second night,they fell asleep as soon as they stopped.Some of them had trouble with their feet and hands, but the only serious problem was a psychological（心理学的）one. Each boy was thinking: Why am I doing this? How can I play any longer? After the third night, the players knew they could finish the 90 hours. The basketball on the fourth nigth was very slow. But in the final hours, the players got better. For the last few minutes, the players looked as fresh as when they started. How happy everyone was!
Before this basketball marathon, the world record was      .

A．84 hours

B．86 hours

C．90 hours

D．96 hours

The first night was hard for the players because     .

A．they were too excited to sleep

B．they only slept for a short time

C．no one watched them play

D．it was very long

The sentence“the players looked as fresh as when they started.”Here“fresh”means       .

A．不熟练的

B．兴奋不己的

C．精神饱满的

D．伤痕累累的

Which of the following is Not true?

A．Some of the boys were hurt when they played

B．It was hard for the players to fall asleep for the first night

C．The boys started playing at 6 o’clock in the evening

D．In the end,all the boys felt happy

One day when Jack was walking in the park, he saw a woman, who lived a few miles away, sitting on a bench with a dog beside her. The dog was looking up at the woman.
Jack walked up to the woman and said, "Hello, Sue, how are you? May I sit and talk with you for a while?" "Of course, please sit down," Sue said. Jack sat down next to Sue on the bench, and they talked quietly together. The dog continued to look up at Sue, as if waiting to be fed.
"That's a nice dog, isn't he?" Jack said, pointing at the animal.
"Yes, he is. He's handsome. He's a bit of a mixture, but that's not a bad thing. He's strong and healthy."
"And hungry, "Jack said." He hasn't taken his eyes off you. He thinks you've got some food for him."
"That's true, "Sue said." But I haven't."
They both laughed and then Jack said, "Does your dog bite?"
"No, "Sue said, "He's never bitten anyone. He's always gentle and friendly."
Hearing this, Jack decided to hold out his hand and touched the animal's head. Suddenly it jumped up and bit him.
"Hey!" Jack shouted." You said your dog didn't bite."
Sue replied in surprise, "Yeah, I did. But this is not my dog. My dog's at home."
The dog looked at the woman because ___.

A．the woman wanted to feed him	B．the woman was friendly
C．he was strong and healthy	D．he was hungry

Jack touched the dog because he believed ___.

A．the dog was handsome	B．Sue's dog was unfriendly
C．the dog belonged to Sue	D．Sue's dog was at home

We can infer form the passage that ___.

A．Sue gave a wrong answer	B．Jack made a mistake
C．the dog wasn't dangerous	D．both Jack and Sue liked the dog

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

A．A Wrong Question	B．Sue's Dog
C．A pleasant Meeting	D．Sue's Friend

According to an old story, a farmer once found that a bag of corn had been stolen from his house. He went to the judge and told him about his loss. The judge ordered all the people of the farm to come before him. He took a number of sticks of equal length and gave one stick to each man.
　He then said, “Come before me again tomorrow. I shall then know which of you is the thief because the stick given to the thief will be one inch longer than the others.”
　The thief was afraid of being found out, and so he cut an inch off his stick. The next day the thief’s stick was found to be one inch shorter than any of the others. In this way the thief was found out, and was at once taken away to prison.
The judge gave each man a stick _______.

A．to change back the farmer’s corn

B．to beat the thief

C．as a tool to find out the thief

D．so as to play a game together

Since the thief cut the stick short, ________.

A．he was found out

B．the judge couldn’t catch him

C．his stick had an equal length with the others’

D．his stick wouldn’t be any longer

The wise way the judge found out the thief in the end was to make ______.

A．the thief cut the stick off

B．the thief cut an inch off the stick

C．the stick grow an inch longer

D．the other’s sticks would become one inch shorter

In 1989 an 8.2 earthquake almost flattened America, killing over 30,000 people in less than four minutes. A father rushed to the school where his son was supposed to be, only to discover that the building was as flat as a pancake.
After the shock, he remembered the promise he had made to his son: “No matter what happened, I’ll always be there for you!” And tears began to fill his eyes. As he looked at the pile of ruins that once was the school, it looked hopeless, but he kept remembering his promise to his son.
Remembering his son’s classroom would be in the back right corner of the building, he rushed there and started digging.
Other parents tried to pull him off the ruins, saying: “It’s too late! They’re all dead! You can’t help!” He replied, “Are you going to help me now?” The fire chief showed up and tried to pull him off the school’s ruins saying, “Fires are breaking out, explosions are happening everywhere. You’re in danger. We’ll take care of it. Go home.” This loving, caring American father asked, “Are you going to help me now?”
The police came and said, “You’re, anxious and it’s over. Go home. We’ll handle it!” He replied, “Are you going to help me now?” No one helped.
Courageously he went on alone. He dug for eight hours...12 hours...24 hours...36 hours...then, in the 38th hour, he heard his son’s voice. He screamed his son’s name, “ARMAND!” He heard back, “Dad! It’s me, Dad! You promised no matter what happened, you would always be there for me! You did it, Dad!” “What’s going on in there? How is it?” the father asked.
“There are 14 of us left out of 33, Dad. ”
“Come out, boy!”
“No, Dad! Let the other kids out first, because I know you’ll get me! No matter what happens, I know you’ll always be there for me!”
Why did the father keep digging?

A．Because he promised his wife he would take care of their son.

B．Because others persuaded him to do so.

C．Because he promised his son that he would be with him whatever happened.

D．Because his son was his only child.

Many people came up and tried to persuade the father to stop digging except ______.

A．the police	B．the fire chief
C．some kind parents	D．the medical officer

Which of the following best describes the son?

A．Calm, hopeful and strong-minded.

B．Careful, helpful and absent-minded.

C．Frightened, hopeless and thankful.

D．Cold-hearted, honest and faithful.

What does the underlined word “they” in the fourth paragraph refer to?

A．those parents	B． the students
C．the teachers	D．The fire officers

We can learn from the passage that ______.

A．sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand

B．you cannot go on well in life until you forget your past failures

C．love can set us free from all fear and overcome the difficulties

D．we have enough happiness to make us sweet and enough sorrow to keep us human

No one was left in the museum now, and John was walking round to see if everything was all right. Suddenly he saw a beautiful painting lying on the floor. John picked it up and gave it to the director of the museum.
The director called several museums to check and see if it was a stolen painting, but no one claimed (认领) it. So the director decided to hang it in the museum. All the experts came to look at the painting. Each one said it was beautiful and had very deep meaning. The director was proud to have such a painting in his museum and congratulated John on his discovery.
Some weeks later a woman and her little son came to the museum. While they were looking at the new painting, the little boy began to cry. The director went over and asked him.
“Why are you crying?”
The child pointed to the painting and said, “That’s my painting on the wall and I want it back.”
“Yes,” said his mother, “he left it on the floor a few weeks ago. If you look carefully, you can see his name on the painting.”
John was perhaps _______.

A．a painter	B．an expert on painting
C．a visitor to the museum	D．a man working in the museum

John found the painting _______.

A．before the museum opened

B．after the museum was closed

C．during his visit to the museum

D．while he was enjoying his walk

The boy began to cry before the painting because _______.

A．he was afraid of it

B．he thought it was his painting

C．he wanted to have the painting back

D．Both B and C

After the director heard what the woman and the boy said, he must be very _______.

A．angry

B．afraid

C．surprised

D．proud

All the experts thought the painting good because _______.

A．it was really very beautiful and had very deep meaning

B．the painting was drawn by a famous painter though he was a child

C．all of them did not look carefully enough

D．they examined it very carefully

The first time I saw Carlos I would never have believed he was going to change my life．I had my arms full of books and I was rushing into the classroom when 1 ran into something solid. It was Carlos.
"My... you're tall," he said. The whole class burst out laughing .
“Take that seat,” Mr. McCarthy told the cocky(骄傲自大的) newcomer Carlos，pointing to the only empty one , in the back of the room.
Carlos laughed widely. "But I need a couple of dictionaries."
The bell rang for classes. As I stood up to go, I saw Carlos coming toward me. "I'm sorry I embarrassed you," he said . I looked straight ahead over the top of his black hair. "That's all right."
"I ought to know better." He was still blocking my way. "What's your name?" "Karen Forbes." He held out his hand. Unwillingly, I shook hands with him. He looked up at me seriously with his brown eyes. " I am Carlos . I don't see why you're so touchy."
It was the school elections that made me think of Carlos again. Carlos was voted vice-president．“How come ?”I kept asking myself, "How come this shrimp（虾）who’s only been in town for a little over a month gets to be so popular?"
So on that morning，I stopped Carlos and said，“It doesn't seem to bother you — being short.” He looked up at me, "Of course I mind being short．But there isn’t anything I can do about it. When I realized I was going to have to spend my life in this undersized skin, I just decided to make the best of it and concentrate on being myself." "You seem to get along great,” I admitted, "But what about me? The trouble with you is you’re afraid to be yourself. You’re smart. And you could be pretty. In fact, you might be more than pretty.” I felt myself turning red…
It is a story about a short boy who            .

A．won the school election	B．is ashamed of his height
C．has learned to accept his size	D．is embarrassed by his class

From the text, we can see Carlos is          .

A．handsome and proud	B．humorous and confident
C．diligent but shy	D．honest but sensitive

The underlined word "touchy" in paragraph 8 probably means          .

A．moved

B．cheerful

C．curious

D．annoyed

According to the text, which is the most likely ending?

A．The author didn’t want to make friends with Carlos

B．Carlos and the author argued with each other.

C．The author changed her attitude towards Carlos.

D．Carlos was elected president of the student committee.

Who do you think was the most important woman of the past 100 years?
Jane Addams (1860 - 1935)
Addams helped the poor and worked for peace. She created shelters, education opportunities and services for people in need. In 1931, Addams became the first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Rachel Carson (1907 - 1964)
Rachel Carson was born in the rural river town of Springdale, Pennsylvania in America. The popular 1962 book “Silent Spring” by Rachel Carson made people realize the dangers and the harmful effects (影响) of pollution on humans and on the world’s lakes and oceans.
Angela Merkel (1954 -   )
In 2005, Germans chose Angela Merkel as their first woman head of the country. She had been a scientist in the past. As Germany’s leader, she has had an effect on the whole world.
Sandra Day O’Connor (1930 -   )
When Sandra Day O’Connor finished her class at Stanford Law School, in 1952, she could not find work because she was a woman. However, she became the first woman to join the U.S. Supreme Court (最高法院) in 1981 after years of hard work.
Margaret Thatcher (1925 -   )
In 1979, Margaret Thatcher became Britain’s first woman Prime Minister (首相). She served until 1990, which made her the first British leader to serve three terms in a row. Because of her high standards and strong will, people called her Britain’s Iron Lady.
Marie Curie (1867-19245102534)
Polish-born scientist Marie Curie discovered that some types of metal give off energy called radiation (辐射能). Her research led to new medical treatments and arms. She received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 and in Chemistry in 1911.
Who once won the Nobel Prize?

A．Jane Addams and Marie Curie.

B．Jane Addams and Margaret Thatcher.

C．Marie Curie and Angela Merkel.

D．Marie Curie and Rachel Carson.

We can infer from the text that Rachel Carson worked to _____.

A．help the poor

B．spread geographic knowledge

C．protect the environment

D．protect the rights of women

What do Angela Merkel and Margaret Thatcher have in common?

A．Both of them were scientists before coming to power.

B．Both of them are the first woman head of their country.

C．Both of them are famous for being strict.

D．Both of them have worked for three terms.

Who once failed to find a job?

A．Jane Addams.	B．Sandra Day O’Connor.
C．Rachel Carson.	D．Margaret Thatcher.

What would be the best title for the text?

A．Great women .

B．Famous scientists .

C．Strong leaders .

D．Ways to success for women .

After two classes, I started to recognize several of the faces in each class. There was always someone braver than the others who would introduce themselves and ask me questions about how I was liking Forks. I tried to be diplomatic, so mostly I just lied a lot to appear to be skilled at dealing with people. At least I never needed the map.
One girl sat next to me in both Trig and Spanish, and she walked with me to the cafeteria for lunch. She was tiny, several inches shorter than my five feet four inches, but her wildly curly dark hair made up a lot of the difference between our heights. I couldn't remember her name, so I smiled and nodded as she gossiped about teachers and classes. I didn't try to keep up.
We sat at the end of a full table with several of her friends, who she introduced to me. I forgot all their names as soon as she spoke them. They seemed impressed by her bravery in speaking to me. The boy from England Eric, waved at me from across the room.
It was there, sitting in the lunchroom, trying to make conversation with seven curious strangers, that I first saw them.
They were sitting in the corner of the cafeteria, as far away from where I sat as possible in the long room. There were five of them. They weren't talking, and they weren't eating, though they each had a tray of untouched food in front of them. They weren't staring at me, unlike most of the other students, so it was safe to stare at them without fear of meeting an over interested pair of eyes. But it was none of these things that caught and held my attention.
I stared because their faces, so different, so similar, were all extremely, inhumanly beautiful. They were faces you never expected to see except perhaps on the airbrushed pages of a fashion magazine, or painted by an old master as the face of an angel. It was hard to decide who was the most beautiful -- maybe the perfect blond girl, or the bronze-haired boy.
What does the underlined word “diplomatic” mean?

A．clever

B．smooth

C．honest

D．delight

From the passage, we can infer that _______________.

A．“I” was really liking the new place.

B．“I” had a bad memory, so it’s hard to remember names.

C．“I” was good at making friends.

D．“I” was not interested in what the girl said.

According to the last two paragraphs, why did “they” catch “my” attention?

A．Because “they” looked incredibly beautiful.

B．Because “they” weren’t talking.

C．Because “they” sat in the corner.

D．Because “they” didn’t eat the food.

According to the passage, which statement is NOT true?

A．The girl walked with “me” was a little short.

B．“I” saw the five students for the first time.

C．Those students sitting in the corner had finished their food.

D．“I” probably wanted to know more about those five students.

Brenda Bongos was a happy, artistic girl. She had one big ambition—to play the drums in a band. But one big problem lay in her way. To be good enough to play in a band, Brenda had to practice a lot, but she lived next-door to a lot of old people. Many of them are sick. She knew that the sound of beating drums would really get on their nerves. So, she had tried playing in the strangest places: a basement, a kitchen, and even in a shower. But there was always someone it would annoy.
One day, while watching a science documentary on TV, she heard that sound cannot travel in space, because there's no air. At that moment, Brenda Bongos decided to become a sort of musical astronaut.
With the help of a lot of time, books and work, Brenda built a space bubble. This was a big glass ball connected to a machine which sucked out all the air inside. All that would be left inside was a drum kit（成套设备） and a chair. Brenda got into the space suit she had made, entered the bubble, turned on the machine, and played those drums like a wild child.
It wasn't long before Brenda Bongos came very famous. Many people came to see her play in her space bubble. Shortly afterwards she came out of the bubble and started giving concerts. Her fame spread so much that the government suggested that she be part of a unique space journey. Finally, Brenda was a real musical astronaut, and had gone far beyond her first ambition of playing drums in a band.
Years later, when asked how she had achieved all this, she thought for a moment, and said: ''If those old people next – door hadn't mattered so much to me, I wouldn't have found a solution, and none of this would have ever happened.''
Why did Brenda try to play in the strangest places?

A．Because she didn't want others to hear her play.

B．Because she didn't mean to disturb others.

C．Because she didn't have her own room.

D．Because she didn’t like her neighbors.

Brenda started to give concerts _______.

A．after she practiced in her space bubble

B．when she became part of the unique space journey

C．after she became a real musical astronaut

D．when people came to see her in the space bubble

Brenda became famous because _______.

A．she was good at music and science

B．she became a real musical astronaut

C．she invented a special way of practice

D．she played well and had a talent

Which of the following can be used to describe Brenda?

A．Kind, hardworking and clever.

B．Brave, kind and hardworking.

C．Lovely, brave and kind.

D．Nervous, kind and clever.

It can be inferred from the text that: " _______".

A．He laughs best who laughs last

B．It's never too old to learn

C．Two heads are better than one

D．One good turn deserves another